There are over 7 million children in the United States who do not have health insurance. Whether dual income families, or single parents, many families just cannot afford private health insurance, and their children’s health suffers because of it. Families in this situation usually seek medical care only in an emergency, and do not get the preventative care that healthy American children require. If you, or someone you know, cannot afford health insurance, there are many social service agencies at both the federal and state level that may be able to assist you.
The federal government sponsors a Medicaid program, co-funded with each state, to offer medical care and assistance to individuals within the region, Usually children, pregnant women, disabled citizens, blind citizens and those over the age of 65 are eligible for Medicaid. A state’s Department of Public Aid, or a similar department, run the Medicaid program, so check with Public Aid to determine if you or your child is eligible for support.
An insurance program specific to children was organized in 1997 when Congress enacted the CHIP, Children’s Health Insurance Program, to help reduce the number of uninsured children in the U.S. Congress ruled that each state had a three-year grace period to organize their state’s CHIP, known as a State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and at this time, each state has a SCHIP, or similar program, in place.
Though each SCHIP has it’s own rules regarding eligibility, the main qualifications are: child is not eligible for Medicaid; child under the age of 19 (20 in some states); and family makes no more than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Information regarding you state’s SCHIP may be found online or via your state’s Department of Public Aid.
If you do not have health insurance for your child, please do not hesitate to get help by finding out more information at the SCHIP home page or get an children’s health insurance plan from QOOQe.com to price out some options for you and your children.


Samurai of the Saga Clan, government official, statesman. Born in Saga. His father was a samurai of the Saga Clan and a scholar of kokugaku(National Learning). After serving as an instructor at the clan-built school Chienkan, he studied under Guido H. F. Verbeck and mastered English studies. After the Meiji Restoration, he served in the new government and drafted Seitai-sho(Form of Government) with Takachika Fukuoka. In 1871, he assumed the office of gaimukyo(Foreign Minister) and engaged in the negotiations over the Maria Luz Incident. In 1873, he lost in the controversy over the "conquer Korea debate" and resigned from public office. In the following year, he joined in establishing the Aikoku Ko-to (Public Party of Patriots) and with Taisuke Itagaki and Shojiro Goto and others, submitted a memorandum calling for the establishment of a popularly elected parliament to the government. Later he served in the Imperial court as a court councillor, privy councillor, and vice-chairman of the Privy Council. He also served as Minister of Home Affairs in the first Matsukata cabinet.


Japanese Legs: Appearance and Expressions
Never having been a legman, Japanese legs male or female were never an issue prior to arrival in Japan or even for the first several months of living in Tokyo. In the US interest tended to wax and wan with the rise and fall of the hemline.
In Japan though legs appear to be more central to identity and self worth. Women are very aware of their legs and feet length, shape, perceived attractiveness and sandals, eye-catching tights, and short skirts can be seen year-round in Japan.
Even on the coldest mid-winter morning, you will be treated to the sight of goose-pimpled thigh on the Tokyo subway - and not only on high school girls in their uniforms.
An expression to describe just such a situation bare legs is nama ashi, or "raw legs." This is often said in jest, but the word nama has positive sexual connotations in Japan.
Other "leg" expressions also show the importance of the foot/leg in Japan (in Japanese, ashi refers to both foot and leg).
Two quite negative leg expressions are the dreaded daikon ashi and tansoku (soku is another reading for leg in Japanese).
The first, daikon ashi daikon radish legs is very insulting. It comes from the massive, thick vegetable used in much of Japanese cooking.
Unlike smaller, reddish radishes common in the West, the daikon has a large girth. Consequently, to be accused of having such legs is no compliment, and brings to mind sturdy middle-aged farm women with rural accents and a mouthful of gold teeth.
The second, tansoku, literally means "short legs." In Japan, this is a terrible insult as well. Longer (Western?) legs are perceived of as being beautiful whereas, in relation to the upper body, shorter Japanese legs are considered not as desirable.
Though lacking the word "leg," the expression sutairu ga ii (stylish) is roughly the opposite of tansoku. To say of a woman sutairu ga ii implies that among other attributes she has long willowy legs.
Another popular leg type in Japan is uchi mata, or pigeon toes. In the West, this is not considered attractive; in Japan, however, many men find the simpering, obsessively cute, and often nearly deformedly pigeon toed female irresistible. See the woman at right, at a train station in Osaka, as an example.
Kyoto's maiko and geisha, hobbled by their raised geta traditional wooden sandals must walk one foot over the other, with the their feet angled inwards. This is perhaps the origin of the pigeon toed "trend" and its allure. (One of the first ways to spot a fake geisha tourists made up for the day and strolling around Kyoto's Nene no Michi, for example - is watch her feet. The faux geisha are clumsy oafs in comparison to the nimble footwork of the real thing.)
The focus on legs can also be seen in Japan's traditional sports: sumo and judo. Tremendous lower body strength is key to success in Japan's martial arts, and the wrestlers and judoka all have heavily muscled legs. And in sumo you are afforded a full view of the wrestlers legs and backside.
One expression from the world of sumo and judo is: Age ashi o toru (to find fault). As your opponent raises his leg the literal meaning of age ashi in attack, you take the leg and throw him down. This has since come to mean to tease, to point out a misstatement, to find fault.
Another "male" expression using leg is ashi arau (to wash the foot/leg). This phrase has its roots in Japan's Buddhist temples. After a day of begging for alms and walking around the temple parish barefoot, the monks would wash each other's feet upon returning at night. It has come to mean to forget, to wash away the bad things that happened during the day. In English, it is close to washing one's hands of something.
The final "leg" expression is manzoku: "full" "feet." The two Chinese characters combined mean "satisfied," and we have no idea why. And thus we will not become too jiko manzoku (self satisfied).
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A Consultation Whether to Proceed by Land or Water- Preparations for Boat-Building.- An Exploring Party.- A Party of Trappers Detached.- Two Snake Visitors.- Their Report Concerning the River. - Confirmed by the Exploring Party. - Mad River Abandoned.- Arrival at Henry's Fort.- Detachment of Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner to Trap.- Mr. Miller Resolves to Accompany Them.- Their Departure.
0N the banks of Mad River Mr. Hunt held a consultation with the other partners as to their future movements. The wild and impetuous current of the river rendered him doubtful whether it might not abound with impediments lower down, sufficient to render the navigation of it slow and perilous, if not impracticable. The hunters who had acted as guides knew nothing of the character of the river below; what rocks, and shoals, and rapids might obstruct it, or through what mountains and deserts it might pass. Should they then abandon their horses, cast themselves loose in fragile barks upon this wild, doubtful, and unknown river; or should they continue their more toilsome and tedious, but perhaps more certain wayfaring by land?
The vote, as might have been expected, was almost unanimous for embarkation; for when men are in difficulties every change seems to be for the better. The difficulty now was to find timber of sufficient size for the construction of canoes, the trees in these high mountain regions being chiefly a scrubbed growth of pines and cedars, aspens, haws, and service-berries, and a small kind of cotton-tree, with a leaf resembling that of the willow. There was a species of large fir, but so full of knots as to endanger the axe in hewing it. After searching for some time, a growth of timber, of sufficient size, was found lower down the river, whereupon the encampment was moved to the vicinity.
The men were now set to work to fell trees, and the mountains echoed to the unwonted sound of their axes. While preparations were thus going on for a voyage down the river, Mr. Hunt, who still entertained doubts of its practicability, despatched an exploring party, consisting of John Reed, the clerk, John Day, the hunter, and Pierre Dorion, the interpreter, with orders to proceed several days' march along the stream, and notice its course and character.
After their departure, Mr. Hunt turned his thoughts to another object of importance. He had now arrived at the head waters of the Columbia, which were among the main points embraced by the enterprise of Mr. Astor. These upper streams were reputed to abound in beaver, and had as yet been unmolested by the white trapper. The numerous signs of beaver met with during the recent search for timber gave evidence that the neighborhood was a good "trapping ground." Here, then, it was proper to begin to cast loose those leashes of hardy trappers, that are detached from trading parties, in the very heart of the wilderness. The men detached in the present instance were Alexander Carson, Louis St. Michel, Pierre Detaye, and Pierre Delaunay. Trappers generally go in pairs, that they may assist, protect, and comfort each other in their lonely and perilous occupations. Thus Carson and St. Michel formed one couple, and Detaye and Delaunay another. They were fitted out with traps, arms, ammunition, horses, and every other requisite, and were to trap upon the upper part of Mad River, and upon the neighboring streams of the mountains. This would probably occupy them for some months; and, when they should have collected a sufficient quantity of peltries, they were to pack them upon their horses and make the best of their way to the mouth of Columbia River, or to any intermediate post which might be established by the company. They took leave of their comrades and started off on their several courses with stout hearts and cheerful countenances; though these lonely cruisings into a wild and hostile wilderness seem to the uninitiated equivalent to being cast adrift in the ship's yawl in the midst of the ocean.
Of the perils that attend the lonely trapper, the reader will have sufficient proof, when he comes, in the after part of this work, to learn the hard fortunes of these poor fellows in the course of their wild peregrinations.
The trappers had not long departed, when two Snake Indians wandered into the camp. When they perceived that the strangers were fabricating canoes, they shook their heads and gave them to understand that the river was not navigable. Their information, however, was scoffed at by some of the party, who were obstinately bent on embarkation, but was confirmed by the exploring party, who returned after several days' absence. They had kept along the river with great difficulty for two days, and found it a narrow, crooked, turbulent stream, confined in a rocky channel, with many rapids, and occasionally overhung with precipices. From the summit of one of these they had caught a bird's-eye view of its boisterous career for a great distance through the heart of the mountain, with impending rocks and cliffs. Satisfied from this view that it was useless to follow its course, either by land or water, they had given up all further investigation.
These concurring reports determined Mr. Hunt to abandon Mad River, and seek some more navigable stream. This determination was concurred in by all his associates excepting Mr. Miller, who had become impatient of the fatigue of land travel, and was for immediate embarkation at all hazards. This gentleman had been in a gloomy and irritated state of mind for some time past, being troubled with a bodily malady that rendered travelling on horseback extremely irksome to him, and being, moreover, discontented with having a smaller share in the expedition than his comrades. His unreasonable objections to a further march by land were overruled, and the party prepared to decamp.
Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner, the three hunters who had hitherto served as guides among the mountains, now stepped forward, and advised Mr. Hunt to make for the post established during the preceding year by Mr. Henry, of the Missouri Fur Company. They had been with Mr. Henry, and, as far as they could judge by the neighboring landmarks, his post could not be very far off. They presumed there could be but one intervening ridge of mountains, which might be passed without any great difficulty. Henry's post, or fort, was on an upper branch of the Columbia, down which they made no doubt it would be easy to navigate in canoes.
The two Snake Indians being questioned in the matter, showed a perfect knowledge of the situation of the post, and offered, with great alacrity, to guide them to the place. Their offer was accepted, greatly to the displeasure of Mr. Miller, who seemed obstinately bent upon braving the perils of Mad River.
The weather for a few days past had been stormy, with rain and sleet. The Rocky Mountains are subject to tempestuous winds from the west; these sometimes come in flaws or currents, making a path through the forests many yards in width, and whirling off trunks and branches to a great distance. The present storm subsided on the third of October, leaving all the surrounding heights covered with snow; for while rain had fallen in the valley, it had snowed on the hill tops.
On the 4th, they broke up their encampment, and crossed the river, the water coming up to the girths of their horses. After travelling four miles, they encamped at the foot of the mountain, the last, as they hoped, which they should have to traverse. Four days more took them across it, and over several plains, watered by beautiful little streams, tributaries of Mad River. Near one of their encampments there was a hot spring continually emitting a cloud of vapor. These elevated plains, which give a peculiar character to the mountains, are frequented by large gangs of antelopes, fleet as the wind.
On the evening of the 8th of October, after a cold wintry day, with gusts of westerly wind and flurries of snow, they arrived at the sought-for post of Mr. Henry. Here he had fixed himself, after being compelled by the hostilities of the Blackfeet, to abandon the upper waters of the Missouri. The post, however, was deserted, for Mr. Henry had left it in the course of the preceding spring, and, as it afterwards appeared, had fallen in with Mr. Lisa, at the Arickara village on the Missouri, some time after the separation of Mr. Hunt and his party.
The weary travellers gladly took possession of the deserted log huts which had formed the post, and which stood on the bank of a stream upwards of a hundred yards wide, on which they intended to embark. There being plenty of suitable timber in the neighborhood, Mr. Hunt immediately proceeded to construct canoes. As he would have to leave his horses and their accoutrements here, he determined to make this a trading post, where the trappers and hunters, to be distributed about the country, might repair; and where the traders might touch on their way through the mountains to and from the establishment at the mouth of the Columbia. He informed the two Snake Indians of this determination, and engaged them to remain in that neighborhood and take care of the horses until the white men should return, promising them ample rewards for their fidelity. It may seem a desperate chance to trust to the faith and honesty of two such vagabonds; but, as the horses would have, at all events, to be abandoned, and would otherwise become the property of the first vagrant horde that should encounter them, it was one chance in favor of their being regained.
At this place another detachment of hunters prepared to separate from the party for the purpose of trapping beaver. Three of these had already been in this neighborhood, being the veteran Robinson and his companions, Hoback and Rezner, who had accompanied Mr.Henry across the mountains, and who had been picked up by Mr. Hunt on the Missouri, on their way home to Kentucky. According to agreement they were fitted out with horses, traps, ammunition, and everything requisite for their undertaking, and were to bring in all the peltries they should collect, either to this trading post, or to the establishment at the mouth of Columbia River. Another hunter, of the name of Cass, was associated with them in their enterprise. It is in this way that small knots of trappers and hunters are distributed about the wilderness by the fur companies, and like cranes and bitterns, haunt its solitary streams. Robinson, the Kentuckian, the veteran of the "bloody ground," who, as has already been noted, had been scalped by the Indians in his younger days, was the leader of this little band. When they were about to depart , Mr. Miller called the partners together and threw up his share in the company, declaring his intention of joining the party of trappers.
This resolution struck every one with astonishment, Mr. Miller being a man of education and of cultivated habits, and little fitted for the rude life of a hunter. Besides, the precarious and slender profits arising from such a life were beneath the prospects of one who held a share in the general enterprise. Mr. Hunt was especially concerned and mortified at his determination, as it was through his advice and influence he had entered into the concern. He endeavored, therefore, to dissuade him from this sudden resolution; representing its rashness, and the hardships and perils to which it would expose him. He earnestly advised him, however he might feel dissatisfied with the enterprise, still to continue on in company until they should reach the mouth of Columbia River. There they would meet the expedition that was to come by sea; when, should he still feel disposed to relinquish the undertaking, Mr. Hunt pledged himself to furnish him a passage home in one of the vessels belonging to the company.
To all this Miller replied abruptly, that it was useless to argue with him, as his mind was made up. They might furnish him, or not, as they pleased, with the necessary supplies, but he was determined to part company here, and set off with the trappers. So saying, he flung out of their presence without vouchsafing any further conversation.
Much as this wayward conduct gave them anxiety, the partners saw it was in vain to remonstrate. Every attention was paid to fit him out for his headstrong undertaking. He was provided with four horses, and all the articles he required. The two Snakes undertook to conduct him and his companions to an encampment of their tribe, lower down among the mountains, from whom they would receive information as to the trapping grounds. After thus guiding them, the Snakes were to return to Fort Henry, as the new trading post was called, and take charge of the horses which the party would leave there, of which, after all the hunters were supplied, there remained seventy-seven. These matters being all arranged, Mr. Miller set out with his companions, under guidance of the two Snakes, on the 10th of October; and much did it grieve the friends of that gentleman to see him thus wantonly casting himself loose upon savage life. How he and his comrades fared in the wilderness, and how the Snakes acquitted themselves of their trust respecting the horses, will hereafter appear in the course of these rambling anecdotes.Next


Boone County began with a tradition of Justices of the Peace acting as a County Court. On the first Court, which met 17 June 1799, there were five Justices, who had been commissioned by the Governor: John Hall, John Conner, John Brown, Archibald Huston, and Archibald Reid.
The Justices in Kentucky served without pay in the early period, though later they were granted a small compensation. Even the fees they received when they held Court were supposed to be turned over to the County at intervals.
|John Hall||23 Dec 1798||Commissioned Sheriff 26 Jan 1801|
|John Conner||23 Dec 1798||Vacated by Death|
|John Brown||23 Dec 1798||Commissioned Sheriff - refused to Qualify, Apr 1803|
|Archibald Huston||23 Dec 1798||Commissioned Sheriff, 20 Apr 1803|
|Archibald Reid||23 Dec 1798||Commissioned Sheriff, 14 Dec 1804|
|John Bush||26 Jan 1801||Commissioned Sheriff, 1807|
|John H. Craig||26 Jan 1801|
|Elzaphan Hume||12 Jun 1801||Commissioned Sheriff, 9 Nov 1808|


Usually you hear people talking about the other side of the Moon — but what about the Sun? Our orbit around the star means one side is out of view, but NASA’s Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory Ahead (STEREO-A) spacecraft has been collecting images of the side we can’t see.
This image was captured on July 15th by STEREO-A while it orbits the far side of the Sun. NASA explains what it’s doing there:
STEREO-A has been on the far side of the sun since March 24, where it had to operate in safe mode, collecting and saving data from its radio instrument. The first images in over three months were received from STEREO-A on July 11. The three-month safe mode period was necessary because of the geometry between Earth, the sun, and STEREO-A. STEREO-A orbits the sun as Earth does, but in a slightly smaller and faster orbit. The orbit ensured that over the course of years, Earth and the spacecraft got out of sync, with STEREO-A ending up on the other side of the sun from Earth, where it could show us views of our star that we couldn’t see from home. Though the sun only physically blocked STEREO-A from Earth’s line of sight for a few days, STEREO-A was close enough to the sun—from our perspective — that from March 24 until July 8, the sun interfered with STEREO-A’s data transmission signal, making it impossible to interpret.
As STEREO-A kept orbiting, it eventually made its way far enough from the sun to come out of this transmission dark zone. In late June, the STEREO-A team began receiving status updates from the spacecraft, confirming that it had made it through its long safe-mode journey unharmed.


Toolkit | Access to Postsecondary Education
SOCIAL & ECONOMIC IMPACT OF IMPROVING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION FOR IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
STATE LAWS AND POLICIES THAT SEEK to improve access to higher education are premised on the value of a college education to individuals as well as the broader society. Independent research has examined the long-term benefits of tuition equity measures, including the higher income earned and increased taxes paid by college-educated individuals.
GENERAL FINDINGS FROM A 2008 REPORT
Tuition Equity Legislation: Investing in Colorado High School Graduates through Equal Opportunity Postsecondary Education (Elise A. Keaton, Center for Policy Entrepreneurship, Dec. 2008).
This report, prepared as the Colorado legislature considered a tuition equity bill, examines the social and economic impact of improving access to higher education, based in part on the experience of states with tuition equity policies in place. Findings include:
- Test scores. “[C]hildren whose parents have at least some college education have higher cognitive levels, better scores in math and reading tests, and higher standardized test scores than peers whose parents have only achieved at or below a high school diploma.” Citing U.S. Census Bureau, College Board, and U.S. Department of Education.
- Dropout rates. “[I]nitial assessments seem to indicate that tuition equity laws may have slowed the dropout rates for undocumented students and closed the dropout rate gap between Hispanic students and other students.” (Examines data from various states.)
- Smoking. “An estimated 47.5 percent of male and 38.8 percent of female GED earners smoked compared with 11.9 percent of males and 9.6 percent of females with bachelor’s degrees.” Citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Home ownership. “More than 80 percent of individuals with a graduate or professional degree own their own home compared with only 56 percent of individuals with less than a 9th grade education and only 68 percent of individuals with a high school diploma or a GED.” Citing U.S. Census data.
- Fiscal impact. In its review of the fiscal analyses in states with tuition equity laws, the report found either indeterminate, little, or no negative fiscal impact resulting from these policies.
INVESTING IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION YIELDS HIGHER EARNINGS AND INCREASED STATE REVENUES
The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings (Jennifer Cheeseman Day and Eric C. Newburger, U.S. Census Bureau, July 2002).
- The report confirms that earnings increase with educational level. Among adults ages 25 to 64, average earnings ranged from $18,900 for high school dropouts to $25,900 for high school graduates, $45,400 for college graduates, and $99,300 for workers with professional degrees (M.D., J.D., D.D.S., or D.V.M.).
- Earnings differences by educational attainment compound over one’s lifetime. For full-time, year-round workers, earnings estimates over 40 years are about $1 million for high school drop-outs, $1.2 million for high school graduates, $2.1 million for college graduates, and $4.4 million for workers with professional degrees.
California’s Economic Payoff: Investing in College Access & Completion (Jon Stiles, Michael Hout & Henry Brady, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues for The Campaign for College Opportunity, April 2012).
- For every dollar California invests in getting students into and through college, it receives a net return on investment of $4.50. The return for those who complete college is twice as high—$4.80—than for those who enter but fail to complete college—$2.40.
- The return on the state’s initial investment is surprisingly quick; by the time a graduate reaches the age of 38, the state’s initial investment is repaid in full. The costs of investing in higher education would need to more than triple before it would fail to return the state’s original investment.
- University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) graduates provide ongoing returns to the state averaging $12 billion annually, well above the state’s general fund expenditures for the UC, CSU, and California community college systems combined.
- The investments in education are part of a continued and long-term strategy in building state infrastructure. Decreasing investments in higher education today would decrease state revenues substantially in the years to come.
- The personal payoff for each Californian who earns a college degree is substantial—more than $1,340,000 on average over a lifetime, when compared to peers with only a high school diploma. This amount has increased consistently over the last four decades for the overall state population and for individuals of all ethnic groups.
- Entering and completing college dramatically alters an individual’s economic well-being, decreasing the expected time in poverty by nearly four years and the receipt of cash aid by more than two years.
Higher Education: Higher Pay, Higher Tax Revenue (The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis [Virginia], Jan. 22, 2013).
- Earnings for adults increase with years of education and degree completion.
- Virginia also sees a clear return on investment from a college education, since higher-earning individuals pay more in income, property, and sales taxes.
- Immigrants in Virginia are already contributing to Virginia’s economy in important ways.
Maximizing Access to College for Immigrant Children Builds the Texas Economy (Center for Public Policy Priorities, Feb. 5, 2013).
- The estimated general revenue used to support instruction and financial costs for these undocumented immigrant students totaled $21.63 million, while the students themselves paid $32.7 million in total tuition and fees.
- Families headed by an undocumented immigrant in Texas paid an estimated $1.6 billion in state and local taxes in 2010.
- And in 2006, the Texas Comptroller found that undocumented immigrants in Texas generated more taxes and other revenue than they received in state and local benefits.
- One study has shown that high-school drop-out rates of Mexican foreign-born non-citizen students in states with in-state resident tuition laws fell from 42 percent to 35 percent after implementation of the law.
- A Texas worker who completes some college can increase their earnings potential by 96 percent. And those with a four-year degree or higher can increase their earning potential by as much as 139 percent.
Current Population Reports: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009 (Camille L. Ryan and Julie Siebens, United States Census Bureau, Feb. 2012).
- “Among all workers, higher educational attainment was generally associated with higher earnings. The median earnings ranged from about $18,000 for workers with less than a high school degree, to over $60,000 for those with an advanced degree. Workers with a regular high school diploma earned about $27,000, and those with a GED earned about $23,000. Those with a bachelor’s degree earned about $48,000.”
- “People with the highest educational attainment were the least likely to be unemployed in any given month” during the period of January 2008 to December 2010.
- “In August 2010, the unemployment rate for people with less than a high school diploma or GED was 13.3 percent, while the unemployment rate for people with an advanced degree was 4.1 percent. The respective rates for these two groups in March 2008 were 9.5 percent and 1.5 percent. High school graduates were more likely to be unemployed than bachelor’s degree holders within each month of this period.”
TUITION EQUITY POLICIES REDUCE DROP-OUT RATES AND INCREASE ACCESS TO COLLEGE
In-State Tuition for the Undocumented: Education Effects on Mexican Young Adults (Neeraj Kaushal, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Sept. 29, 2008). (May be purchased from Wiley Online Library.)
- Tuition equity policies were associated with a 2.5 percentage point (31 percent) increase in college enrollment, a 3.4 percentage point (14 percent) increase in the proportion with at least a high school diploma, a 3.7 percentage point (37 percent) increase in the proportion with at least some college education (including those without a college degree), and a 1.3 percentage point (33 percent) increase in the proportion of Mexican young adults with a college degree.
- The study also found evidence that tuition equity policies caused a small increase in the proportion of U.S.-born young adults with a college education and raised the college enrollment of U.S. citizens of Mexican heritage. A tuition subsidy for students regardless of status may increase awareness of the benefits of a college education and lower its costs, in turn improving higher education opportunities for citizens with Mexican parents.
Do In-State Tuition Benefits Affect the Enrollment of Non-Citizens? Evidence from Universities in Texas (Lisa M. Dickerson and Matea Pender, 2010).
- This study finds that providing in-state tuition rates to noncitizens increases the probability of noncitizens enrolling in college. It appears that this policy had a significant positive impact on the probability of enrollment at public universities, such as University of Texas-San Antonio and University of Texas-Pan American, two public universities that already enrolled a large number of Latinos.
State Dream Acts: The Effect of In-State Resident Tuition Policies and Undocumented Latino Students (Stella M. Flores, 2010). (Copy may be purchased at ERIC website.)
- This study finds that the availability of an in-state resident tuition policy positively and significantly affects the college decisions of students who are likely to be undocumented, as measured by an increase in their college enrollment rates.
- Data indicates that tuition equity policies significantly increase the college enrollment rates of Latino foreign-born noncitizens, a large percentage of whom are undocumented.
- Foreign-born noncitizen Latinos are 1.54 times more likely than not to have enrolled in college after the enactment of the tuition policies, compared to the same population in the rest of the U.S.
How States Can Reduce the Dropout Rate for Undocumented Immigrant Youth: The Effects of In-State Resident Tuition Policies (Stephanie Potochinick, paper presented at the Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March 31–April 2, 2011).
- This paper examines whether tuition equity policies reduce the likelihood that Mexican-born noncitizens will drop out of high school.
- For states that adopted the policy, the average dropout rate decreased by 7 percentage points—from 42 percent to 35 percent.
- No evidence suggests that in-state tuition policies adversely affect other ethnic/racial groups.
- States with long migration histories may have more extensive support networks to help immigrant youth take advantage of the policy and succeed in school.
In-State College Tuition Policies for Undocumented Immigrants: Implications for High School Enrollment Among Non-citizen Mexican Youth (Robert Bozick and Trey Miller, Population Research and Policy Review, Feb. 2014, Vol. 33, Issue 1, pp. 13-30). (May be purchased from Springer.com.)
- Mexico-born non–U.S. citizen youth living in states that offer access to in-state tuition rates for undocumented youth are 65 percent more likely to be enrolled in school than their peers living in states with no explicit policy.
- Conversely, Mexico-born noncitizen youth who live in states that restrict access to in-state tuition for undocumented students are less likely to be enrolled in high school than peers in states with no explicit policy.
- 78.6 percent of Mexico-born noncitizen youth ages 15-17 living in restrictive states are enrolled in high school compared with 90.9 percent of Mexico-born noncitizen youth living in states that grant access to in-state tuition rates.
- These findings support the conclusion that tuition-equity policies encourage youth to pursue educational opportunities in the long-term.
A STATE’S ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS DEPENDS ON MAINTAINING A HIGHLY EDUCATED POPULACE
Studies demonstrate that individuals with college degrees, who consequently earn higher wages, are less likely to experience long periods of unemployment and are less likely to rely on social services. Many businesses also choose to locate in areas with a highly educated workforce. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, jobs for which demand is growing fastest increasingly require at least a college education.
Occupational Employment Projections to 2022 (Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2013).
- Projections through 2022 reveal that employment that requires at a minimum an associate’s degree will grow at a rate of 18 percent, whereas employment that requires a high school degree will grow at a rate of just 8 percent.
Closing the Gap: Meeting California’s Need for College Graduates (Hans Johnson and Ria Sengupta, with contributions from Patrick Murphy, Public Policy Institute of California, 2009).
- California lags behind many other states in the production of college graduates. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that the state’s economy increasingly demands more highly educated workers. Over the past 26 years, the share of college graduates in the state’s workforce has increased to 34 percent, but the report projects that 41 percent of the jobs in 2025 will require a college degree.
- Two demographic shifts contribute to this trend: The relatively well educated baby-boom cohort is beginning to leave the workforce, and groups with historically low rates of college completion are now entering the state’s workforce population. Absent dramatic increases in college attendance and graduation, only 37 percent of workers in California will have college degrees in 2025.
- The gap between the demands of California’s economy and the supply of college-educated workers is a serious impediment to the state’s economic future. Less-educated adults have lower incomes and labor force participation rates and they require more social services than more highly educated adults. The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems projects that California’s low educational attainment levels among fast-growing groups will lead to substantial declines in per capita income between 2000 and 2020, placing California last among the 50 states in terms of change in per capita income.
- California’s young adult population increasingly is composed of Latinos and other groups with historically low levels of educational attainment. Although Latinos have experienced strong intergenerational progress in educational attainment, rates of college attendance and graduation remain relatively low.
- California can increase its production of baccalaureates by increasing enrollment in the higher education systems, increasing the transfer rates from community colleges to four-year colleges and universities, and improving the completion rates for students already enrolled in four-year colleges and universities.
RESOURCES ON SOCIAL & ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTIONS OF IMMIGRANTS
Immigrant families contribute substantially to the cultural, civic, and economic life of local communities. Inclusive policies that welcome rather than marginalize newcomers are more effective in ensuring that all residents can benefit from their unique skills and contributions.
Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, January 2016).
- The 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States collectively paid $11.64 billion in state and local taxes. ITEP’s analysis finds that their combined nationwide state and local tax contributions would increase by $805 million under full implementation of the Obama administration’s 2012 and 2014 executive actions and by $2.1 billion under comprehensive immigration reform.
State Fact Sheets (American Immigration Council).
- For each state, the fact sheets that comprise this resource provide details on the portion of immigrants and naturalized citizens in the population and workforce, the state and local tax contributions of immigrants, and the economic impact if undocumented immigrants were removed from the state.
- The fact sheets also highlight the education-related economic contributions of foreign students, the percentage of children of immigrants who are English-proficient, the number of immigrants with a college degree, and the percentage of naturalized citizens and U.S.-born children of immigrants who are registered voters.
- The fact sheets include percentages of U.S.-born children who are Asian or Latino, the number of Asian and Latino–owned businesses, and the purchasing power of Asians and Latinos.
Immigrants Are Makers, Not Takers (Center for American Progress, February 2013).
- “Mainstream economists have thoroughly debunked [the] … stereotype of immigrants as takers, finding that immigrants are a net positive for the economy and pay more into the system than they take out. In fact, immigrants’ contributions have also played a key role in prolonging the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund. And the truth is that the cost-benefit analyses that immigration restrictionists have used to make their wild cost projections simply are not well-rounded or accurate.”
All Immigration Is Local: Receiving Communities and Their Role in Successful Immigrant Integration (Michael Jones-Correa, Center for American Progress, Sept. 20, 2011).
- This report builds on the Receiving Communities Initiative, a gathering of leading academics, practitioners, advocates, and local, state, and national officials in Washington, D.C., in December 2010, which examined the role of receiving communities in immigrant integration and whose goal was to reinvigorate immigrant integration in America.
- The report identifies four key strategies for receiving communities: (1) encouraging leadership to address the changes that take place locally and to manage them effectively; (2) fostering contact between immigrants and the native-born; (3) building partnerships between state and local governments and new residents; and (4) reframing the issues to counter misconceptions about immigrants.


Catching sight of evening grosbeaks
Like the last of the yellow leaves on the paper birch, the evening grosbeaks fell one by one from the naked branches reaching over the muddy road before me. I stopped and watched while these ample, mid-sized birds, adorned in brilliant yellow and black plumage, looked for food. Although rare in our region, evening grosbeaks sometimes turn up here in the late fall or winter. This chance sighting at the Babcock Wildlife Area in Colchester joined a long list of others occurring throughout the state since October.
Evening grosbeaks arrive not to escape the bitter cold weather, but instead to escape widespread seed shortages in the north. Experienced birders know these southward migrations as irruptions. During major irruptions of winter finch such as in 1997-98, record numbers of pine siskins, crossbills, and pine grosbeaks sometimes invade the region. So far, this fall, only the pine siskins have appeared with the grosbeaks, but winter is still a few weeks away.
Pine siskins are smaller and less colorful than the grosbeaks. They are brown, heavily streaked birds that resemble female house finch and are slightly smaller in size than our common American goldfinch. Their yellow wing edgings, notched tail, sharply pointed beak, and gregarious behavior help to identify them. Like the evening grosbeak, pine siskins breed to our north, but the siskin’s breeding range extends a bit deeper into the far north, well within the Canadian Shield, into the true boreal regions.
For a few weeks now, their nomadic flocks have delighted birders with unexpected appearances at well-stocked feeders. While most of the sightings are occurring in western Connecticut, a few birders in New London county report them, too. Pine siskins like thistle seed when offered in generous amounts. They are acrobatic birds that feed by clinging, often upside down, to conifer branches. Thus, they are suited for thistle tube feeders.
A fly-through feeder or hopper feeder works best for evening grosbeaks. They prefer striped sunflower seeds that they easily crack open with their heavy conical beaks for which they are given the apropos moniker grosbeak. It is important to place these feeders where they are visible to their nomadic flocks flying above.
Both species are well equipped to survive extreme winter weather. In fact, pine siskins can tolerate temperatures below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit by doubling their metabolic rate. They also possess a crop or pouch in their throat where they store 10 percent of their body weight in seeds. The seeds are digested at intervals to help sustain their metabolism during harsh weather.
Evening grosbeaks have an interesting history in Connecticut. When first described by the early naturalists, the evening grosbeak was essentially a western species. Slowly, it made its way east. By 1880, it had been recorded in the Great Lakes region, and by 1910, it found its way into New England. It was not until 1942 that large numbers began to be seen, but like other winter finches, the occurrence of the species varied from year to year. Eventually, the winter appearance of the evening grosbeak was taken for granted, with large flocks, sometimes in the hundreds, regularly showing up at feeders across Connecticut. Then, about 40 years ago, these birds began to decline in number.
Whether the grosbeaks and siskins visit you or not, now is the time to prepare for hungry winter birds. By using different types of feeders and seed, you will increase your success. Who knows, you might be lucky and witness a winter finch. Imagine the chance sighting of evening grosbeaks or pine siskins.
Robert Tougias is a Colchester-based birder. You can ask him questions at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Just like with families, some are warm and welcoming and others are dysfunctional and belong on "The Jerry Springer Show."


Vitamins and minerals can be helpful in supplement manufacturing, but it’s important to remember that all these different compounds meet different needs. Even metals, like iron, can do more for a body than just be a great heat conductor for cooking your food in. And while zinc is not a metal that many people think about as commonly as iron, its presence in the human body makes it another great product to consider in supplement manu-facturing. But why?
Though it doesn’t get a whole lot of attention in the industrial and commercial arenas, compared to more popular metals, such as iron, platinum or alloys like steel, zinc is an incredibly useful metal. What’s more, it is abundant on our planet, and can be found in trace amounts in just about everything, from rocks, to plants to animals, as well as concentrated deposits. Industrially, zinc is most useful in a process known as hot dip galvanization. This means that substances like iron or steel are literally dipped in a “bath” of molten zinc to cover them completely. Once cooled, the zinc coating prevents these substances from rusting due to exposure to air and water as they normally would.
In the human body, however, zinc plays an even more crucial protective role. For supplement manufacturing, zinc is one of the biggest contributors to an active immune system. Zinc is a crucial “key” or “trigger” for T-lymphocytes, which both control and regulate immunity responses, as well as act directly to attack damaged, or anomalous cells in the body. In other words, people that are diagnosed with a zinc deficiency also have a much higher risk of getting sick on a regular basis.
Zinc also provides other benefits when used in supplement manufacturing. Colds, for example, have been shown to have a shorter duration when zinc is taken, probably related to zinc’s immunity characteristics. Howev-er, zinc also seems to play a role in memory formation. Studies have shown there is a connection between how efficiently neurons interact with each other for the purposes of learning and memory retention, and how much zinc is present in the body. Zinc can even play a role in healing faster from wounds!
So if you’re considering supplement manufacturing for zinc, or other beneficial products, try finding a reliable partner in manufacturing. It’s one of the best ways to get into an industry with nothing but long-term, positive benefits for health!


How do formative and summative assessments differ? Formative assessments are for the student. It's data that helps to identify what they know and what they need to practice. Summative assessments however, provide information to teachers, administrators and parents, about how much a student has learned as of a particular point in time.
How do we ensure balanced and effective assessments in the classroom? Target to method alignment includes four targets to be assessed: knowledge, reasoning, performance skills and products, and four assessment method types: selected response, essay, performance assessment and personal communication.
In this video Marie discusses Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK) model for leveling questions, assessments and performance tasks. Using the Chocolate Chip Cookie Model she explains the four levels - 1) Recall, 2)Skill/Concept, 3) Strategic Thinking and 4) Extended Thinking.


I shot the two little birds here represented, near the village of Henderson, in the State of Kentucky, in May 1811. They were both busily engaged in searching for insects along the branches and amongst the leaves of a dogwood tree. Their motions were those common to all the species of the genus. On examination, they were found to be both males. I am of opinion that they were each young birds of the preceding year, and not in full plumage, as they had no part of their dress seemingly complete, excepting the head. Not having met with any other individuals of the species, I am at this moment unable to say anything more about them. They were drawn, like almost all the other birds which I have represented, immediately after being killed; but the branch on which you see them was not added until the following summer.Despite his definitive statement that he shot two specimens, and painted them from life (well... death), there has always been speculation that Audubon may have invented these birds, or painted them from memory rather than from specimens. Audubon frequently stretched the truth, and many of his untruths are well-documented, although as Jonathan Rosen suggests in a New York Times book review they are "more like the improvisational ''stretchers'' of Huck Finn than the calculated inventions of a man on the make".
While viewing some of Audubon's original paintings at a New York Historical Society exhibit several years ago I noticed that the paintings ranged from very lovingly detailed (e.g. Carolina Parakeet) to more cursory and simplistic (e.g. Bicolored Blackbird and others painted from specimens brought back by Townsend). It occurred to me that the painting style and quality of details might provide clues to Audubon's mystery birds. The recent launch of a complete collection of high resolution scans of Audubon's plates at the University of Pittsburgh (available here) prompted me to take a closer look at this painting.
A brief survey of the painting reveals several factual errors:
- Dark stripes on the back of the lower bird are pointed at the front, broader and diffuse at the rear - opposite of the normal feather arrangement on songbirds
- Median secondary coverts (the shorter wingbar) should have the lower feathers overlapping those above; both birds have these feathers overlapping incorrectly
- Median secondary coverts on the lower bird are too long
- Too much yellow shows in a broad wedge above the forewing on the lower bird, unlike any known songbird; there is no way the feathers painted on the upper bird could be rearranged to look like the lower bird
- Uppertail coverts of the upper bird are shaped and arranged incorrectly
- There is a general lack of detail, a sort of vagueness of structure to the wingtips and tails, both birds lack primary coverts (which should be visible) and the tails are unusually short with very narrow feathers (unlike any known wood-warbler).
This is all merely speculation and circumstantial evidence - weighing possibilities. There is no way to know for certain what Audubon painted (unless the Carbonated Swamp-Warbler were to be rediscovered and confirmed). It's possible that this species did exist, a hyper-specialized wood-warbler, like Kirtland's, that was extinguished by the first clearing of forests in the early 1800s. It's possible that Audubon did see them, and simply painted them poorly. Or that he saw one and tried to recreate it from memory some time later (lying about the two specimens to bolster the credibility of his painting). But given that the only evidence of the species' existence is Audubon's painting and written account, that evidence needs to meet high standards. I think the quality of the painting casts some doubt on his claim that he was working directly from two specimens, and then that casts doubt on the existence of the species.


503. The construction, placing and removal of forms frequently represent a considerable percentage, from five to thirty per cent., of the total Cost of the concrete, and it is therefore evident that an improper design may result in a considerable waste of money, as well as in marring the appearance of the work. The character of the form will of course depend on the character of the work; in the construction of a large number of small blocks of the same shape, where one mold may be used over and over, the thickness of the pieces should not be stinted, and the ease of knocking down the mold should be carefully considered. When a form can be used but once, the size of pieces should be no larger than necessary to give the requisite stiffness, and the ease of first construction is a main consideration. Forms should be left in place forty-eight hours to allow the concrete to set, and in the case of arches and beams a much longer time is necessary, so that the concrete may assume considerable strength before it is called upon to support its weight.
forms for massive walls of monolithic construction usually have vertical posts, with iron ties across, or braced by battered posts outside. The sheathing planks are then placed horizontal. In a few cases horizontal wales have been placed within the posts and vertical sheathing laid against the wales.
The strength of the sheathing must be sufficient to stand the pressure transmitted to it through the concrete when the rammer is used close to the face of the mold. The concrete is seldom built up fast enough to bring upon the sheathing a great head of fluid pressure, but the ramming brings a heavy local pressure upon it. If supported at intervals of four feet, two-inch lumber dressed to one and three-quarters inches thick is usually sufficient; for spans of more than 5 feet, 2 3/4 inch lumber is required to make a perfect face. Boards seven-eighths inch thick are suitable only when supports are not more than about 2 feet apart. In placing concrete in molds under water there is more danger of bursting the mold by the weight of semi-fluid concrete, and if the work is to be built up rapidly, this must be guarded against by sufficient bracing.
505. For exposed faces, the duty to be performed by the lagging includes leaving as smooth a finish as possible on the concrete after the removal of the forms. If green lumber is employed, the boards may shrink before use, leaving openings between the sheathing that will show plainly on the face of the work. A slight tendency of this kind may be checked by keeping the boards well wet with a hose until the concrete is placed. On the other hand, thoroughly seasoned lumber will swell when the concrete is placed; to obviate this difficulty the lower edge of each sheathing plank may be beveled on the outer edge; the thin edge on the inside will then crush when the planks swell.
The use of tongue and grooved lagging has been tried, but is not usually satisfactory, as there is no opportunity to expand, and the planks are particularly hard to place a second time. To give a good face in work under water, however, tongue and groove sheathing will assist in preventing washing of the cement. Yellow pine lumber is found to be excellent for sheathing; on account of the large amount of pitch contained, it absorbs water slowly and holds its shape. For a similar reason, fir timber would be suitable.
In order that the face of the mold shall be perfectly smooth, it is necessary to size and dress the plank on at least one side and two edges.
As it is almost impossible to avoid having some line of demarcation shown in the concrete at the joints of the sheathing planks, care should be taken that the lagging is of uniform width throughout, and laid horizontal so that consecutive sections show the joint continuous. The sheathing may be placed for the entire form before concreting is commenced, or the plank may be raised on the posts as the work advances. The former method will usually give the neater appearance, but is too expensive for high walls.
The appearance of the finished concrete is much improved, and the labor of preparing the forms probably not increased, since less care may be taken in surfacing, by lining the mold with thin sheet iron. Iron of number twenty gauge (.035 inch thick, 1.42 pounds per square foot) has been used for this purpose, but where the same lining is used several times, a heavier iron is preferable. The joining of one sheet of lining to another may present greater difficulties than the joining of planks, but joints will occur less frequently.
In the construction of the Marquette Breakwater, Mr. Clarence Coleman, Asst. Engineer, used sheet steel one eighth of an inch thick for lining molds for building monolithic blocks. Concerning the use of the steel, Mr. Coleman says:1 "Very smooth surfaces were produced on the slopes of the concrete and the work of the molders was greatly facilitated on account of the comparative ease with which the concrete was compacted under the slope pieces of the molds. The steel effectually prevented the aggressive friction of the sharp particles of broken stone on the wooden surfaces of the molds, thus increasing the life of the molds and decreasing the Cost of molding the concrete".
1 Report Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., 1898, p. 2254.
Oiling or greasing the face of the mold, in order that the latter may be removed without detaching particles from the concrete face, is usually advisable. Soap, crude oil, linseed oil, bacon fat, are some of the materials that have been used for this purpose; the first mentioned probably gives the best results, and if not applied too freely will have no injurious effect upon either the finish or strength of the work. Applying shellac to the molds improves the appearance of the concrete surface. When the forms are lined with steel, the adhesion of the concrete to the lining is more difficult to overcome. In this case the ordinary oils are not entirely successful, but fat salt pork has been found to give satisfactory results.


Reports of deer exhibiting lethargy, blue tongues and ulcers and lesions on the tongue and palate have been filed in portions of Oklahoma. These are all symptoms Blue Tongue, one of a group of viruses collectively called hemorrhagic disease.
“These viruses are one of the primary diseases that infect deer in the southeastern United States. They have similar symptoms and thus are often lumped together and called blue tongue,” said Dwayne Elmore, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist. “The disease typically becomes apparent in late summer and coincides with high numbers of certain species of biting midges during August and September.”
Animals do not transmit the disease to each other. Only biting midges are responsible for transmission.
“Not all infected animals die, and mortality rates generally are less than 25 percent, but in some cases can be higher,” Elmore said. “In severe outbreaks, deer numbers may take several years to return to pre-disease levels.”
Often, infected animals will be found lying around water sources with little fear of man or an inability to flee. The disease poses no health risk to humans, and while cattle can be infected, they rarely exhibit signs of disease.
“Hunters are at no risk from eating meat from infected animals unless secondary bacterial infections are present,” he said.
While there is little that can be done to prevent hemorrhagic disease, Elmore said to contact your county wildlife conservation officer if you suspect an outbreak is occurring by observing multiple deer carcasses or noting deer acting strangely.


Fig. 1. Histamine bound to carbonic anhydrase II
Permission to use requested (See Protein Data Bank)
Histamine can cause inflammation directly as well as indirectly. Upon release of histamine by an antigen activated mast cell, permeability of vessels near the site is increased. Thus, blood fluids (including leukocytes, which participate in immune responses) enter the area causing swelling. This is accomplished due to histamine’s ability to induce phosphorylation of an intercellular adhesion protein (called (VE)-cadherin) found on vascular endothelial cells (Andriopoulou et al 1999). That is why histamine is known as being vasoactive. Gaps between the cells in vascular tissue are created by this phosphorylation, allowing blood fluids to seep out into extracellular space. Indirectly, histamine contributes to inflammation by affecting the functions of other leukocytes in the area. It has been suggested by Marone et al that histamine release triggers the release of cytokines and inflammatory mediator by some neighboring leukocytes (1999). These chemicals in turn increases the inflammatory response.
Histamine's second type of allergic response is one of the major causes for asthma. In response to an allergen (a substance that triggers an allergic reaction), histamine, along with other chemicals, causes the contraction of smooth muscle (Schmidt et al 1999). Consequently, the muscles surrounding the airways constrict causing shortness of breath and possibly complete trachial-closure, an obviously life-threatening condition. If the effects of histamine during an allergic reaction are inhibited, the life of an allergic person can be eased (in the case of inflammation) or even saved by preventing or shortening asthma attacks. Thankfully, many effective drugs have been developed to hinder histamine's allergic response activities.
Cuss FM. 1999 July. Beyond the histamine receptor: effects of antihistamines on mast cells. Clinical and Experimental Allergy 29: 54-59.
Emanuel, MB. 1999 July. Histamine and the antiallergic antihistamine: a history of their discoveries. Clinical and Experimental Allergy 29: 1-11.
Janeway CA, Travers P, Walport M, Capra JD. Immunobiology: the Immune System in Health and Disease. 4th ed. London: Current Biology Publication; 1999. p 602.
Marone G, Granata F, Spadaro G, Onorati AM, Triggiani M. 1999. Antiinflammatory effects of oxatomide. Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology 9(4): 207-214.
Protein Data Bank. Structure Explorer - 1AVN. <http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/cgi/explore.cgi?pdbId=1AVN> Accessed 2000 Mar 2.
Schmidt D, Ruehlmann E, Branscheid
D, Magnussen H, Rabe KF. 1999 Aug. Passive sensitization of
human airways increases responsiveness to leukotriene C4. European
Respiratory Journal 14(2): 315-319.


South Koreans will be extinct by 2750 if nothing is done to stop the nation’s falling fertility rate, according to a recently released study by The National Assembly Research Service in Seoul. The study found that the Korean fertility rate declined to a new low of 1.19 children per woman in 2013, well below the rate required to replace the current population of 50 million.
According to the study projections, Korea’s population will fall to 40 million in 2056 and to 20 million in 2100. By 2200, the population is projected to have decreased to three million and to only one million by 2256, gradually becoming extinct over the next 500 years. Of course, such predictions assume that current Korean policy and practice remains the same which it likely wouldn’t once these projections started to become apparent. Before then, South Korea could make changes to its immigration policy, support the family more and increase its birth rates to head off these projections – something many are hoping the country will do.
The mentality which causes such projections is an economically catastrophic one. Yet, part of the reason they exist are as a result of the short-term economic choices young people and government policy makers are making today. Many young people consider getting married and raising children a waste of time compared to improving their employment status and earning capacity. Many couples are also keen to have only one very successful child that they can invest a lot into – perhaps under-estimating the value siblings add to a child’s life. In any case, once there are no people, will houses and other property in these countries be worth anything? Who will jobs be generated by, if not investors and entrepreneurs creating them for a population who demand goods and services? Not to mention the growing financial pressures caused by rising healthcare costs and pension payments for an elderly population as the population slowly dies out.
As an aside in light of my last blog post, it is interesting to note that in 2013 the Wall Street Journal reported that total private expenditure on pet supplies had annually increased by more than 14 per cent since 2000 in South Korea, making one wonder if pets are often taking the place of children in the case of South Korea too.
While South Korea might be projected to be the first national group to become extinct, Japan is hot its heels. According to a 2012 study conducted by Tohoku University, Japan will become extinct in about one thousand years, with the last Japanese child born in 3011. Japan is already taking some measures to reverse the trend. Local authorities are able to apply for central government grants of up to 40 million yen (£237,000) for projects relating to supporting marriage and boosting birth rates, according to Bloomberg. The support of marriage, and the active encouragement of young people to settle down, is regarded by government policy-makers as a key strategy for boosting the nation’s birth rate.
Such projections seem dire, and almost too extreme to be true. However, population experts have long warned of them and we must sit up, and take notice if they are to be reversed. The Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs argues that a complete change of mentality is needed. We must value all new life and the family structure which protects and nurtures children into contributing adults. It is hopeful that earlier this month The Economist reported South Korea to be a country “afire with faith” – one only has to recall the incredible reception of Pope Francis there last month. I have faith in their ability to turn these projections around. South Korea, you have a few hundred years…


Current Population Survey
The CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the U.S. population. Estimates obtained from the CPS include employment, unemployment, earnings, hours of work, and other indicators. They are available by a variety of demographic characteristics including age, sex, race, marital status, and educational attainment. They are also available by occupation, industry, and class of worker.


As the ice ages came to a close, the environment became warm and semi-arid. Water levels receded and water erosion decreased. Mass wasting, or slope movement resulted in a widening of the canyon and a steepening of the cliffs. An average 2 debris flows, or the funneling of water-laden masses of soil and rock in stream channels, occurs in the canyon a year. These come from tributaries and form or expand rapids.


Children still too young to walk are finding ways to wriggle out of protective car restraints and are increasing their risk of serious injuries, a study shows.
Researchers at Yale University’s School of Medicine found some children as young as 12 months can unbuckle their seatbelts. A majority of youngsters less than three years old can do it, with boys most often the ones attempting to unhook their seatbelts.
“Young children might acquire the motor skills to unbuckle from restraints before developing the cognitive ability to understand the necessity of automotive restraints,” said Dr. Lilia Reyes, a clinical fellow at Yale and co-author of the report
Researchers said the findings should prompt a broader study on devices that would keep kids safer, particularly because car crashes are a leading cause of death among four to eight years old.
The findings, which will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Denver on Sunday, are based on 500 surveys distributed at pediatric offices in Connecticut.


In this first episode of the Wi-Fi For Beginners podcast, we start our journey through module one of the various topics we will cover in this podcast series.
Module one takes a look at exactly what we mean by a “Wi-Fi Network”, discussing some of the concepts and terms to give us some foundational knowledge to build on in the rest of the series.
In episode one, we take a look at:
- The aims of the podcast series
- The topics to be covered by this series
- What is a “Wi-Fi” network?
- A reference network model to provide some context to our discussions
- Wireless LAN deployment environments
A copy of the slides that accompany module one can be found here
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Imagine, if you will, a tractor pulling a fertilizer wagon travelling at 8 to 9 mph along a field of thousands of sorghum test plants.
As the tractor moves through the field plots, an onboard computer linked to sensors measures everything from plant height and development to nitrogen needs.
While you're at it, imagine the tractor is driverless; that its operation may be monitored remotely by a human, but the minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour decisions are being made by computer software, said Dr. Alex Thomasson, Texas A&M AgriLife Research agricultural engineer, College Station.
And though such a scenario might sound like science fiction, the reality is not that far away, Thomasson said.
Thomasson has been developing hardware and software for precision agriculture and remote sensing for much of his career.
To date, precision agriculture has been largely about adjusting inputs to known variability within a field. For example, instead of applying fertilizer at the same rate across a 160-acre center pivot circle, precision agriculture systems use data on soil type and residual fertilizer variability to define different management zones within the 160 acres. Fertilizer is then applied to the management zones at optimal rates controlled by a GPS/computer-equipped tractor or through the irrigation system.
But Thomasson wants to take precision agriculture to another level. He wants to develop sensor/computer hardware and software that can determine individual plant status real time, as the tractor automatically transverses the field.
Thomasson is currently working on a system that will be able to aid plant breeders in sorting through the thousands or even tens of thousands of plants for the development of new varieties.
A team comprised of Thomasson; Dr. Bill Rooney, AgriLife Research plant breeder; and John Mullet, AgriLife Research biochemist, is designing such a system for selecting energy sorghums – cultivars used to produce bioenergy rather than food stocks.
"In general, energy crops are likely to be produced with minimal inputs in terms of nutrients, water, etc.," Thomasson said. "Therefore, developing cultivars that have high yield, drought tolerance and high nitrogen use efficiency is of vital importance to a successful sorghum-based energy supply industry."
Rooney and other breeders have been working on new varieties for years. Whether produced by conventional plant crosses or genetic manipulation, the first selections of any breeding program rely a great deal upon observable characteristics of individual plants – what's called "phenotyping."
"A major limitation in the genetic improvement of energy crops is the collection of large, good quality phenotypic data," Thomasson said. "Traditional plant phenotypic measurements rely on humans, and are slow, expensive and subjective."
The team's goal is to develop a phenotyping system for energy sorghum with the emphasis on three important traits: yield, drought tolerance and nitrogen use efficiency.
"It will enable the measurement of plants along their full growth cycle, allowing the traits such as speed and form of growth, flowering and final biomass yield/quality to be investigated," he said.
The team is currently considering development and testing of five types of sensors:
- Down-looking six-band, multi-spectral camera.
- Down-looking thermal imaging camera.
- Light curtain.
- Side-looking camera.
- Ultrasonic sensor.
The six-band, multi-spectral camera can be used to assess nitrogen content, growth status and plant size. The thermal imaging camera can measure plant canopy temperature and water content. The light curtain can measure plant height, projected plant profile and plant size. The side-looking camera can give a plant profile view. And the ultrasonic sensor can give yet another measurement of plant height.
"The redundancy is desirable as some sensors perform better in greenhouses, while others are more suitable for field applications," Thomasson said. "Having a complementary set of devices and techniques for plant measurements will enable us to have different systems suited to specific environments."
Other indicators of plant performance can be derived from a combination of measurements from the group of sensors.
"For example, combining projected leaf area with plant height can be a good indication of plant size and thus the amount of biomass," he said. "Combining the down-looking and side-looking images of the plant provides the opportunity for the 3-D reconstruction of the plants."
Another advantage of the automated sensor approach is that readings on a very large number of plants could be collected weekly or even daily at a high level of accuracy, a process that would not ordinarily be economically feasible using human workers, Thomasson said.
An equally challenging aspect of the project is software development. First there will need to be a program running on a computer to control and coordinate the sensors. Second, there will need be "robust image-processing algorithms" able to distinguish sorghum plants from the background. And finally, a specialized program will need to be developed to store sensor output in a relational database.
Most of the sensors Thomasson is proposing have been proven in one application or another, but not comprehensively for purposes of selection of breeding lines, and not on an autonomous platform, he said.
"There has been some sensor-based phenotyping research done in the past on plants, but a turnkey system doesn't exist," he said. "My goal is always to try to get the technology to a commercialization phase, and I think this has potential.
"At this point, however, we want to demonstrate that our platform can provide rapid and cost-effective ranking and screening of hundreds of candidate lines for the desired traits, and eventually lead to a more efficient energy sorghum breeding program," Thomasson said.
Explore further: Nitrogen-tracking tools for better crops and less pollution


Search and compare thousands of words and phrases in British Sign Language (BSL). The largest collection online.
How to sign: the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals
Similiar / Same: general anatomy
How to sign: alternative names for the body of a human being
"Leonardo studied the human body"; "he has a strong physique"; "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak";


Teens Who Sleep Late Gain Most Weight
Jim LiebeltJim Liebelt's Blog
- 2012 Jan 19
In a new study, researchers at the University of South Australia found that when kids sleep is as important how long kids sleep.
Researchers compared sleeping habits--including early to bed, early risers and late to bed, late risers and found that even though each group got the same amount of sleep--the late to bed, late risers were 1 and a half times more likely to gain weight.
Dr. Nick Nicholson, from Baylor-Plano, TX, said he isn’t surprised--staying up just a few hours later can make a huge difference. "What's that person doing between nine and midnight?” Dr. Nicholson asked. “Well, we know what normally goes on and they are usually in front of the TV or computer and there is a lot of snacking that goes on during that."
Dr. Nicholson said people who sleep late exercise less--and that's exactly what researchers found--early to bed, early risers got about a half hour more of moderate to vigorous exercise.
"This is all about behavior, when you are bored what do you tend to do?” Dr. Nicholson said. “Well, some people may smoke, some people may pace, some people, a lot of us may eat. If you find yourself with excessive free time that is a very common way of filling that time."


Technology takes some of the sting out of winter. With modern heating, fabrics, insulation, snowblowers, plows, salt trucks, and more, the challenge that has traditionally faced humanity in the cold months has been greatly mitigated, at least for those with access to a roof under which to stay.
Along with the harshness of winter, however, there has also been a traditional sense of kinship, of warmth; a commitment to stay warm and dry, share and enjoy the fruits of a recent harvest, and rest until spring pushes us into a new cycle of work, like the buds of a perennial flower breaking through frosty ground. The pre-Romantic English poet and abolitionist William Cowper captured the feeling of winter well in his magnum opus, The Task:
O Winter! ruler of the inverted year,William Cowper, The Task (1785), Book IV, line 120.
I crown thee king of intimate delights,
Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness,
And all the comforts that the lowly roof
Of undisturb’d Retirement, and the hours
Of long uninterrupted evening, know.
And while just about every educator is ready for a mid-winter break and some “undisturb’d Retirement,” they’ll also be back to teaching soon, with two more months of winter to go.
In considering how to bring the themes and realities of winter into your teaching, it’s clear that nature is a key aspect. In this post, we’ll dig into some fun winter-themed ideas and activities to help build the critical, creative, cross-subject learning that’s central to STEAM education.
For Young Learners
Elementary students can build a keen awareness of seasonality and of nature during the winter months.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research is a 115-member group of colleges and universities involved in earth science research. Their Center for Science Education hosts the Winter Weather “Teaching Box” site, which includes standards-aligned science activities that help students engage with the nature of ice and snow, the shapes of snowflakes, and staying warm in the cold.
The Little Bins for Little Hands blog has a number of fun winter science experiments for young learners that can be done at home and with everyday materials. In Scholastic Teacher, Audra Wallace shares some other simple winter science activities for Pre-K learners, also aligned with curriculum standards. Even more crafty activities can be found in this collection from STEM Education Guide. And kids learning at home will benefit from these 14 family-friendly activities from Highlights.
STEAM for All
While winter offers many wondrous activities for young children, winter weather and science can hook students of every age. Here are some resources and inspiration for teaching winter-themed STEAM lessons at many levels.
To that end, the nonprofit Winter Wildlands Alliance has created the Snow Science Curriculum website. While they regularly host in-person, outdoor adventures to study snowy weather, they also host SnowSchool at Home, which includes videos and activities for every grade level.
Get some inspiration and useful links on teaching winter ecology on this page from the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). They also share the Greening STEM Hub, with planning tools, case studies, and resources designed to help educators center the natural environment while learning about science, tech, engineering, and math.
Through the Minnesota state Department of Natural Resources, science teachers Stanley Mikles and Mark Studer each share ten tips to teach science outdoors, when possible, and ways students can be primed to observe the natural world.
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) shares free access to the journal article “The Joys of Teaching Ecology in K–12 and Informal Settings” with a focus on helping students imagine eco-careers. The ESA also provides a vast array of links and resources related to ecology education, from events to their own curricular framework, the Four Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) Framework.
Looking to build more lasting ways to create ecological learning? Check out Project Learning Tree’s piece on the importance of ecological education, and important factors to consider.
Need a few fun STEM activities? Check out 35+ Winter STEM Activities from Cool Hands-ON Learning.
Want to measure snowfall, make your own first, or teach students about how fast ice can melt? Head over to Resilient Educator’s Winter-Themed STEAM Activities for projects and more ideas.
How do you build STEM/STEAM learning in the winter months? Share your ideas and resources in the comments!
More from TechNotes
- Tips, Tricks, and Tech Tidbits – Part 8 (more winter activities)
- Winter Resources for the Elementary Classroom
- Prepping for a STEM/STEAM Year
- Fun with a Holiday FlipHunt
- Celebrate the Season with Holiday Websites
- 5 Holiday Seesaw Activities
- Holiday Websites, Apps, and Extensions
- Merry Merry Breakout


What is the Consumer Protection Act about?
- In the past, people have not always been protected against the suppliers of goods or services. Suppliers misled consumers about the quality of their goods or services, or offered goods or services on unreasonable terms and conditions, leaving the consumer with no remedy in the event of a problem occurring with these goods or services.
- From 1 April 2011, the Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”) provides protection to these consumers against such suppliers.
- The CPA applies to an agreement concluded between a consumer and supplier in the ordinary course of business. A consumer buys or uses goods, or receives services from a supplier. The supplier sells goods, renders services, and/or advertises his/her goods or services to the consumer.
- Goods are anything that can be consumed or in writing, for example, food, electricity, toiletries, information and so on. Services are any work or undertaking to work by one person for the benefit of another, for example, supplying holiday accommodation, education, fixing things and so on.
- These goods or services are exchanged for anything of value, for example, money, property, rights, credit and so on.
- For example, John owns a Spar and Kathy visits John’s Spar to buy groceries. John is the supplier of groceries and Kathy the consumer. An agreement was entered into between John and Kathy in the ordinary course of John’s business, selling groceries. Kathy gave John money for these groceries. As a result, the CPA applies to their agreement.
Does the Consumer Protection Act apply to all agreements?
- The CPA does not apply to an agreement concluded between a supplier and a consumer:
- being the State;
- being a business, with an annual turnover of more than R2 million, or owning property worth more than R2 million, at time of concluding the agreement;
- relating to labour, for example, an employment contract or collective agreement;
- relating to a loan;
- outside of South Africa;
- that is not in the ordinary course of the supplier’s business; or
- if it is exempted by the CPA.
What type of protection does a consumer get from the Consumer Protection Act?
- The CPA provides a consumer with rights and the supplier with obligations, such as:
- A supplier may not discriminate against a consumer based on his/her race, gender and so on.
- A consumer may examine anything before s/he pays for it.
- A supplier must show the price, label and/or trade description of the goods on his/her packaging. The content may not be misleading.
- A consumer must receive a quote or breakdown of his/her financial obligations before entering into an agreement with a supplier, for example, before a supplier starts repairing his/her motor vehicle or before a supplier installs replacement parts. Do not sign a blank agreement consenting to any unknown repairs or replacements.
- The terms of an agreement to supply goods or services may not be unfair, unreasonable and unjust, for example, the terms may not only favour the supplier. Such a term or agreement will be void.
- A supplier may not use force or manipulate a consumer to enter into an agreement, or to pay for goods or services. A consumer has the right to a receipt after paying the supplier for goods or services.
- An agreement between a consumer and a supplier must be in plain language that is easy to understand. A consumer is entitled to a copy of the agreement.
- A supplier must inform a consumer of, or draw his/her attention to, any assumptions of risks, acknowledgement of facts or indemnities contained in an agreement. Always read an agreement before signing.
- An agreement between a consumer and supplier may not be longer than 24 months, unless the consumer agrees to a longer period and the agreement benefits him/her financially. A consumer must be notified in advance of the agreement reaching its termination date.
- A consumer may cancel an agreement with his/her supplier on 20 business days’ notice.
- Advance bookings or reservations may be cancelled by a consumer. However, the supplier may require such a consumer to pay a reasonable cancellation fee.
- A supplier may not accept money from a consumer, if s/he is not able to supply goods or services as a result of insufficient stock or incapacity to render a service. A consumer must be refunded any amount paid plus interest, and compensate the consumer for all costs incurred as a result of the supplier’s overselling or overbooking.
- When a consumer buys goods or receives services from a supplier that approached him/her by mail, in person, e-mail or SMS, s/he has the right to a cooling-off period. This means that the consumer can return the goods bought or cancel his/her order within 5 days after the date s/he received it or ordered it, without penalty or reason. The supplier must inform the consumer of his/her right to a cooling-off period.
- A consumer may choose whether or not s/he wants to receive marketing material from a supplier, for example, a consumer may opt-out from receiving marketing SMSes or telephone calls; or put a notice in his/her post box to avoid pamphlets.
- A consumer may not be contacted by a supplier to market his/her goods or services during the week, before 08:00 in the morning and after 20:00 in the evening; or during the weekend, before 09:00 in the morning or after 13:00 in the afternoon.
- The representation or marketing of goods or services may not be misleading or false, for example, a supplier may not sell a Honda, 1996 model, as a 1999 model.
- If the goods bought from a supplier are defective (not suitable for its usual purpose or for the purpose it was bought, of poor quality and bad working order, or not useable or durable), a consumer has 6 months from the date of delivery to return the goods to the supplier, at the supplier’s risk and expense. At the consumer’s choice, the supplier must fix, replace or refund the goods bought by the consumer. The voetstoots clause no longer applies; this means that a supplier may no longer sell goods “as they are”, unless the consumer has been informed of the defects and accepts them.
- If the services rendered by the supplier are of poor quality or not completed in time, the consumer may request that the supplier correct his/her mistakes or request a refund. A refund will depend on the extent of the supplier’s mistake.
What can a consumer do if a supplier fails to comply with the Consumer Protection Act?
- A consumer must lodge a complaint with the supplier, preferably in writing. If the complaint is lodged by telephone, ask for an e-mail address in order to confirm the conversation about the complaint in writing. Normally, a big business has a department that specifically deals with complaints, it is best to follow the procedure prescribed by that department.
- Before complaining to the supplier, the consumer must know how s/he wants the complaint to be resolved, for example, repairing or exchanging the item bought, by refund or being paid damages. Make copies of all the documents in support of the complaint, for example, a tax invoice, quotes, e-mails and so on.
- Keep records of the date of the complaint, name of the consultant complained to, the reference number of the complaint, and any other relevant details.
- Follow up on the complaint.
- If the complaint is not resolved by the supplier within a reasonable time period, the consumer may lodge a complaint, with the relevant ombud, industry ombud, Consumer Goods and Service Ombud, National Consumer Commission, National Consumer Tribunal, an alternative dispute resolution agent, consumer court or civil court; depending on the type of complaint.
- A complaint must be lodged within 3 years of it occurring. Only a civil court can make an award for damages.
Glossary of terms:
BUSINESS: a juristic person, for example, a company, partnership, body corporate and so on.
INDEMNITY: A person indemnifies another person from liability by giving up his/her right to sue a person when s/he suffers damages, loses something or gets injured.
ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS: when a supplier sells goods or renders services to make a living. For example, when Mpho buys an old guitar from his uncle Mike (who is a motor vehicle dealer), it will not be in the ordinary course of Mike’s business; the CPA will not apply. However, if Mike sold guitars for a living; the CPA will apply.
PLAIN LANGUAGE: an ordinary consumer, with an average education and minimal knowledge on the goods or services being advertised, sold or rendered, must be able to, or expected to be able to, understand the words used.
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Why Thinking of Others Improves Our CreativityShare
Research indicates we're better at solving problems and being creative when we're thinking of others instead of ourselves.
Imagine you’re locked in a tower. Better yet, imagine someone else is locked in a tower.
Besides perhaps savoring the moment of schadenfreude that comes with locking someone in an imaginary tower, such visualization also yields some insights into how to our own creativity works. It turns out, we’re more creative when we’re solving the problems of others rather than our own.
Professors Evan Polman and Kyle Emich asked 137 undergraduates the following riddle:
“A prisoner was attempting to escape from a tower. He found a rope in his cell that was half as long enough to permit him to reach the ground safely. He divided the rope in half, tied the two parts together, and escaped. How could he have done this?”
They asked half the participants to imagine themselves as the prisoner locked inside the tower and the other half to imagine someone else trapped in the imaginary prison. In the first group, those locked in the tower, less than half (48%) the participants solved the riddle. In the second group, nearly two-thirds (66%) found the solution. Polman and Emich had similar findings in related studies. In one they asked participants to draw an alien for use in a short story that either they or someone else would write. In another they asked participants to come up with gift ideas for themselves, someone close to them or someone they barely knew. Across the three experiments, Polman and Emich found that participants generate more creative ideas or better solutions when focused on someone else rather than themselves.
This isn’t just the creative power of altruism. The results strengthen an the theory that when we think of the situations we are in, we tend to think more concretely and can struggle to generate new ideas, whereas when we think about the situations others are in, especially situations distant from our own reality, we tend to widen our perspective and generate ideas that are a little more abstract – more like the creative ideas we might need.
Lisa Bodell, the CEO of the global consulting firm futurethink, runs an idea generation exercise that leverages the efficacy of this other-directed creativity called “Kill the Company.” Bodell asks the teams she works with to imagine a competitor that looks exactly like their organization, with the same strengths, weaknesses and the same market conditions. The teams then list all the ways they could seize opportunities that would put the other company out of business as well as all the environmental threats that would force them to close their doors. Bodell finds that encouraging this perspective produces much better ides than traditional strategic exercises.
Like the tower puzzle, the “Kill the Company” exercise benefits from taking a real situation and making it more abstract, which might free the mind to generate more abstract solutions. Both are powerful reminders that if we want to make better and more creative decisions, it helps to broaden our perspective and get beyond our own problems.
[In case you’re still trapped in the tower here is the solution: the prisoner split the rope in half lengthwise, tied the two halves together, and climbed down.]


Hearing loss is often a part of aging but can be a bigger concern for some people. For example, some may find that their loss of hearing has triggered other mental health problems that they need a test to properly gauge and treat.
Hearing Loss is a Very Difficult Issue
When a person starts losing their hearing, they may not realize that this problem is going to be more difficult and complex than it may seem at first. For example, a person losing their hearing may have a hard time interacting with others – conversation can become very difficult, causing a person to become isolated from others and unable to have the kind of live that they may want to live.
Even worse, there's a good chance that a person losing their hearing may suffer cognitive decline. This issue occurs because a person is less likely to interact with others and may have a hard time learning new things as a result. However, these issues don't have to be a major concern if a person is smart about how they handle this situation. For example, hearing tests can help them gauge the situation and come up with a solution.
Ways a Hearing Tests Helps
Hearing tests are critical for those losing their hearing because they can figure out how much a person has lost as they age. For example, these tests can figure out what frequencies a person cannot hear any more and figure out what is causing their hearing loss. Sometimes, there are various diseases that they may have that can be managed and treated using various medications and healing treatment options.
As a result, a person can get a hearing aid or another type of care option that can restore their hearing to as normal of a level as possible. Once they achieve this hearing acuity, they can improve their cognitive skills by focusing heavily on enhancing this element of their mentality, such as by performing various types of tests and activities that make them smarter and more mentally active.
And when a person is losing their hearing for any reason, frequent tests may be necessary to tweak their treatment. For example, a person may sharply lose more of their hearing unexpectedly and need a high-quality test to gauge what is happening and to figure out a treatment that can help to restore some of their hearing. For more information, contact a hearing test provider like Accurate Hearing Technology Inc.