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A Profile of Houston’s Diverse Immigrant Population in a Rapidly Changing Policy Landscape

The Houston metro area, home to 1.6 million immigrants, is diverse and rapidly growing. This report sketches the area's immigrant population, examining top origin countries, key socioeconomic measures, and more. It also explores how Hurricane Harvey affected the immigrant population, and how national policy changes under the Trump administration are being felt locally, including by DACA recipients and asylum seekers.




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Hillary Clinton and the Action Bias

On Oct. 10, 2002, Hillary Rodham Clinton stood in the Senate to explain why she was authorizing President Bush to use force against Iraq: "In balancing the risks of action versus inaction, I think New Yorkers who have gone through the fires of hell may be more attuned to the risk of not acting. I...




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Clinton, Obama and the Narcissist's Tale

Put yourself in the shoes of Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. You are widely seen by Democratic voters as a transformational presidential candidate. Democrats are nearly evenly divided between you and your competitor, and you think you are the best candidate for your party -- and...




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Visiting Lucy Boston's House

Two weeks ago, some friends and I toured Lucy Boston's house and garden. My friend Val had read Boston's books; her husband Dave hadn't heard of Boston but wanted to see the old house. We took a train from London to the nearby town of Huntington (pop 10,000), then a short taxi ride to Hemingford Grey (pop.230), a quaint small village on the River Ouse.

Here are photos of the town's main or high street:






Since we got to the village early, we walked on one of the two public tow paths along the river:





 
 

until we came to the church, the interior of which was being completely restored so we could not go inside:


The church runs the only coffee & tea room in the town, which is housed in an unused church that is currently also the post office. The old post office is a private house. The coffee shop is staffed by volunteers and serves home-baked cakes, pots of tea, and excellent espresso drinks. The quality of British coffee is much better than American because it is impossible to find drip (or filter) coffee outside of the Huntington train station cafe, so coffee options are espresso-based and therefore very fresh.

 
 
 
After we explored the town, we visited the gardens at Lucy's house.



  • Children of Green Knowe
  • Lucy Maria Boston
  • Manor at Hemingford Grey

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Visiting Lucy Boston's House, Part 2

Since we were early for our 2 PM house tour, we decided to explore the gardens. Lucy talks about designing and building the gardens in her memoir Memory in a House, which also contains some black and white photos of the gardens back when she published the book. However, I did not realize until her daughter-in-law Diana Boston gave us the tour how much of the gardens Lucy build from scratch. Apparently most of the yard was just meadow until she set to work.

What stunned me, Val, and Dave was how large the gardens were in size. We split up in the gardens, and they saw only the more cultivated side:


 
 
 


until I took them to see the the other side of the house, which has a  moat that surrounds three sides of it, a flowering meadow, and a bamboo thicket:







The bamboo thicket is where the gorilla Hanno lives in A Stranger at Green Knowe. The moat is a a constant presence in the books because when it floods, the house is cut off on an island, the way it was originally designed to be by its Norman builder, Payne Osmundson. The story of the builders of the house is told in The Stones of Green Knowe, which is the last of the series. The River Ouse features in The River at Green Knowe, and can be seen from the yard and the windows of the house.

One of my friends commented that the house and garden must be smaller than I expected since I had read the books first as a child and was now an adult. This is not quite true. Although the house was small - the walls are three feet thick so the exterior is larger than the interior, the gardens were bigger than expected. Boston gardened in the warm weather and wrote and created patchwork in the cold weather. It is amazing to see the variety of garden sections that she created. In my next post, I will discuss the gardens in terms of the books and of my experiences as a child both as her reader and as someone who grew up in a decent-sized yard and in fine public parks.





  • Children of Green Knowe
  • Diana Boston
  • Lucy Maria Boston
  • Manor at Hemingford Grey

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Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism, by Franklin Newton Painter

“As a rule,” urges Franklin Newton Painter in his critically acclaimed classic, Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism,  “we should read only books of recognized excellence, and read them with sympathetic intelligence. Trashy books, whatever pleasure they may give, add but little to knowledge or culture; and immoral books often leave an ineradicable stain upon the soul.”

The ideas of “recognized excellence,” “sympathetic intelligence” and “ineradicable stain upon the soul” make one wonder about the criteria by which Painter determines and advocates such notions. Although the criteria for evaluating literature are as old as Homer, they have undergone massive expansion in the 20th century. Besides, in view of new trends in literary theory and criticism, it is also worth pausing for a moment to reconsider the meaning of "theory" itself. According to the Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, today the term "theory" entails a mode of questioning and analysis that goes beyond the earlier criteria of "literariness" of literature.  To an earlier generation, it seems that theory is more of an advocacy rather than a disinterested, objective inquiry into poetics of literature. Because of the effects new social movements, especially the women's and civil rights movements, theory now entails skepticism towards previously taken for granted systems, institutions, and norms. Now theory shows a readiness to take critical stands and to engage in resistance, an interest in blind spots, contradictions, and distortions,  and a habit of linking local and personal practices to the larger economic, political, historical, and ethical forces of culture. How and why did that happen in the world of literature?

Please join us at Brooklyn Book Talk, as we compare Painter’s classical criteria from the beginnings of the 20th century to newer perspectives such as formalism, Marxism,  psychoanalysis, structuralism, post-structuralism, reader-response , feminism, deconstruction, queer theory, cultural studies, new historicism, post-colonial, race, and ethnicity studies, etcetera.

The electronic version of Painter's Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism is in the public domain and can be accessed from Project Gutenberg online at:

 




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Chocolate Lamingtons

This recipe features on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment on 774 Drive with Raf Epstein, 3.30PM, courtesy of Kirsten Tibbals





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Brussels Sprout Caesar with Croutons, Borlotti Beans and Sunflower Seeds

This recipe features on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment on 774 Drive with Raf Epstein, 3.30PM, shared by Hetty McKinnon, founder of Surry Hills community kitchen Arthur Street Kitchen and author of 'Neighbourhood'.





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Glamingtons

This recipe featured on 774 Drive with Raf Epstein, weekdays at 3.30PM, shared by Darren Purchese, Pastry Chef/Director of Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio. This is an edited extract from his book Lamingtons & Lemon Tart, published by Hardie Grant Books, and available nationally.




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The Nutritional Health of Young Refugee Children Resettling in Washington State

Refugee children are vulnerable to health and nutrition risks that can have long-term consequences for their development and well-being. This report examines the prevalence of malnutrition—from stunting and wasting to overweight and obesity—among refugee children from birth to age 10, using data from an overseas medical screening exam before they were resettled in Washington State between 2012 and 2014.




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Here’s how Washington State’s nudge for state park donations works via its web site

A couple years ago, Washington State switched the default rule on state park fees that drivers pay (or don’t pay) when they renew their licenses. Reader Steve Loeb nicely captures what this switch looks like on the Washington State Department of Licensing site.




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Professorship in decision making at Wharton, Operations, Information and Decisions (OID), University of Pennsylvania

APPLICATION DEADLINE OCTOBER 15, 2019 The Operations, Information and Decisions Department at the Wharton School is seeking applicants for a full-time, tenure track, Assistant Professor faculty position in the area of decision-making. Our decision-making faculty is comprised of scholars with a diverse set of backgrounds and interests, and we encourage applicants with degrees in economics, […]

The post Professorship in decision making at Wharton, Operations, Information and Decisions (OID), University of Pennsylvania appeared first on Decision Science News.




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57th Edwards Bayesian Research Conference, Feb 27-29, 2020, Fullerton, CA

SUBMISSION DEADLINE DECEMBER 13, 2019 In this conference, investigators present original research on a variety of topics related to judgment and decision making, including but not limited to: Decision making under risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity Intertemporal choice Cognitive models of judgment and decision making Mathematical and statistical methodology for analyzing behavioral data Applications of JDM […]

The post 57th Edwards Bayesian Research Conference, Feb 27-29, 2020, Fullerton, CA appeared first on Decision Science News.





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Some 2020 grads will take victory lap at Daytona speedway




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Some 2020 grads will take victory lap at Daytona speedway




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Cam Newton Mentors Next Generation of Football Stars | Bless the Babies Ep 1

Cam Newton is more than a quarterback. He's a father, a son, a coach. And to three young men from Georgia and Alabama, a mentor. Look back as the 2018 class of Cam Newton's 7 on 7 football team begins their journey.




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Oregon State lands big commitment from 4-star ILB Easton Mascarenas

Coach Smith is doing a fine job Building the Dam




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Oregon State Beavers land 4-star linebacker Easton Mascarenas

Oregon State gets a commitment from 4-star linebacker.




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Transfer wide receivers bolster Sam Houston State

Sam Houston State has announced the addition of two transfer wide receivers, former Howard standout Jequez Ezzard and Harvard grad transfer Cody Chrest, for their final seasons of eligibility this year. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Ezzard, from College Park, Georgia, gives the Southland Conference program one of the top big-play pass catchers in the FCS. The 6-foot, 190-pound Chrest, from Houston, broke out last season with 45 receptions and 706 receiving yards, Harvard's team highs.




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Washington Supreme Court Ends Years-Long Funding Dispute

The supreme court put an end to five years of legal wrangling that landed the state's public school system with millions more dollars from the state and teachers with a pay raise.




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Washington: A Love Story

We've got information and images a-plenty, if we want to look at states which might have some educational moxie. Teachers are now talking to each other across district and state boundaries, sharing information about how education policy is impacting their daily practice, where market-based reforms h




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Washington




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A Washington State Judge Told Striking Teachers to Return to Work. They Refused

The judge told teachers that the strike could be causing substantial harm to students.




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Transition Update: Washington

DeVos slammed for remarks on HBCU's, a new Senate measure could overturn Obama-era ESSA rules on accountability, and more.




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Seeking Their Due From Court Ruling, Washington State Teachers Strike

Classrooms across Washington state sat empty last week, as teachers in seven districts went on strike when negotiations over salaries and benefits failed to result in contracts by the first day of school.




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In Washington State, the Last Few Teacher Strikes Charge Ahead

Teachers are still on strike in three Washington school districts, and their fights with the districts are escalating.




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'Grassroots' Child-Care Advocates Bring Their Concerns to Washington

Members of 30 different state and national advocacy groups and unions are meeting in Washington, D.C., for the Grassroots Assembly for Child Care and Early Education.




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Washington State Teachers End Strikes, Enabling Students to Go to School

After three weeks of teacher strikes dotting the state of Washington, students in all districts are back in school. Teachers in the Tacoma and Battle Ground districts returned to school at the beginning of last week after settling contract agreements.




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Teacher Evaluation in Washington, D.C.

Unless students are randomly assigned to teachers, it's unfair to label teachers.




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Washington High Court Upholds Most of State Charter School Law

Charter schools in Washington state can continue to receive public funding, the state's high court ruled last week.




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Washington State Teachers Strike Over Salary Negotiations

Teachers in seven districts are striking for higher pay—and Seattle may be next.




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School Aid Skirmishes Still Flare in Washington State

The state’s supreme court ended a yearslong fight over K-12 funding earlier this summer, but in districts across the state the battles have continued and tensions remain.




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Legislature in Washington State Lifts Local Tax Cap for Schools

Washington lawmakers last week reached a deal to lift the state's "levy lid," blunting tighter limits on voter-approved local taxes for schools that were set to take effect this year. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, was expected to sign the legislation that Republicans had criticized.




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Educational Opportunities and Performance in Washington

This Quality Counts 2019 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.




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Washington voters reject affirmative action referendum




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Educational Opportunities and Performance in Washington

This Quality Counts 2020 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.




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Washington State District Closes All Schools for Coronavirus Concerns

All Northshore public schools will be closed beginning Thursday for up to 14 days because of COVID-19 concerns, the district announced Wednesday evening as it transitions to an online-only model.




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Knowledge sharing for the development of learning resources : theory, method, process and application for schools, communities and the workplace : a UNESCO-PNIEVE resource / by John E. Harrington, Professor Emeritis.

The Knowledge Sharing for the Development of Learning Resources tutorial provides a professional step forward, a learning experience that leads to recognition that your leadership is well founded as well as ensuring that participants in the development of learning resources recognize they are contributing to an exceptional achievement.




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Employment contracts : getting them right for your clients... and for your own business! / presented by Kaz Eaton, Flinders Chambers.




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“There but for the grace of God” : review of recent lawyer misconduct cases / presented by: Anna Jackson, Magistrates Court of South Australia, Alex Ward, Edmund Barton Chambers.




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Remunerating legal practitioners : contracts that giveth and taketh, Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) / presented by Elbert Brooks, Buxton Chambers ; Chair, Joseph Wearing.




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Case update / presented by David Crocker, Edmund Barton Chambers.




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Administration issues for winding up the legal practice / presented by Sean Burton CA & Simone Ong CA, CTA, Nexia Edwards Marshall.




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Cooking my books : what the fork to cook tonight / Yvette Hewett.




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Forum 2019 : 2D: Marketing hacks for legal services in 2019 : slides / presented by Loren Renton, Business Partnership and Digital Strategy Manager, NewsCorp.




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Forum 2019 : 5A Instructing experts in the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court / paper presented by John McGinn, Hugh Burton Chambers.




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Forum 2019 : 7A Cross examination of documents / paper presented by: Edward Stratton-Smith, Edmund Barton Chambers.