Archbishop Joseph delivers his inaugural comments at the Parish Life Conference for the Western Diocese of the Antiochian Archdiocese in San Francisco, California, after being named Metropolitan by Patriarch John X and the Holy Synod of Antioch.

Final preparations are underway for this year’s ‘Santa Steamlights Experience’.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the key research foci, methodologies, and theoretical perspectives adopted by researchers when studying E-government accessibility for persons with disabilities (PWDs), particularly in developing countries. The study aims to develop a conceptual framework for designing accessible E-government for PWDs in developing countries. Background: Studies on E-government accessibility for persons with disabilities in developing countries have been minimal. The few studies conducted until now have failed to integrate PWDs, a population already marginalized, into the digital society. Accessibility has been identified by researchers as a major hindrance to PWDs participating in E-government. It is imperative therefore to examine the manner in which researchers investigate and acquire knowledge about this phenomenon. Methodology : The study synthesizes literature from top IS journals following a systematic literature review approach. The data synthesis focuses on identifying key concepts relating to E-government accessibility for PWDs. Contribution: The study contributes to the field of E-government, with a focus on how E-government services can be made accessible to PWDs. The study calls on researchers to reflect on their epistemological and ontological paradigms when examining accessibility of E-government services in developing countries. Findings: The findings show that most researchers focus on the evaluation of E-government websites and predominantly adopt quantitative methods. The study also reveals that the use of technological determinism as a theoretical lens is high among researchers. Recommendations for Practitioners : The study recommends that E-government web developers and policy makers involve PWDs from design to evaluation in the development of E-government applications. Recommendation for Researchers: The study advocates the need to conduct studies on E-government accessibility by employing more qualitative and mixed approaches to gain in-depth and better understanding of the phenomenon. Impact on Society : This study creates greater awareness and points out inadequacies that society needs to address to make E-government more inclusive of and participatory for PWDs. Future Research: Further empirical work is required in order to refine the relevance and applicability of various constructs in EADM so as to arrive at a framework for addressing E-government accessibility for PWDs in developing countries.

Aim/Purpose: The digital divide and educational inequalities remain a significant societal problem in the United States, and elsewhere, impacting low income, first-generation, and minority learners. Accordingly, institutions of higher education are challenged to meet the needs of students with varying levels of technological readiness with deficiencies in information and digital literacy shown to be a hindrance to student success. This paper documents the efforts of a mid-Atlantic minority-serving institution as it seeks to assess, and address, the digital and information literacy skills of underserved students Background: A number of years ago, a historically Black university in Maryland developed an institutional commitment to the digital and information literacy of their students. These efforts have included adoption of an international certification exam used as a placement test for incoming freshmen; creation of a Center for Student Technology Certification and Training; course redesign, pre and post testing in computer applications courses; and a student perception survey. Methodology: A multi-methodological approach was applied in this study which relied on survey results, pre and post testing of students enrolled in introductory and intermediate computer applications courses, and scores from five years of placement testing. Student pre and post test scores were compared in order to examine degree of change, and post test scores were also assessed against five years of scores from the same test used as a placement for incoming freshmen. Finally, a student perception and satisfaction survey was administered to all students enrolled in the courses under consideration. The survey included a combination of dichotomous, Likert-scaled, and ranking questions and was administered electronically. The data was subsequently exported to Microsoft Excel and SPSS where descriptive statistical analyses were conducted. Contribution: This study provides research on a population (first-generation minority college students) that is expanding in numbers in higher education and that the literature reports as being under-prepared for academic success. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of current studies examining the information and technological readiness of students specifically enrolled at minority serving institutions. As such, this paper is timely and relevant and helps to extend our discourse on the digital divide and technological readiness as it impacts higher education. The students included in this study are representative of those enrolled in Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, giving this paper broad implications across the country. Internationally, most countries have populations of first-generation college students from under-served populations for whom a lack of digital readiness is an also an issue therefore giving this study a global relevance. Findings: The digital divide is a serious concern for higher education, especially as schools seek to increasingly reach out to underserved populations. In particular, the results of this study show that students attending a minority serving institution do not come to college with the technology skills needed for academic success. Pre and post testing of students, as well as responses to survey questions, have proven the efficacy of computer applications courses at building the technology skills of students. These courses are viewed overwhelmingly positive by students with respondents reporting that they are a necessary part of the college experience that benefits them academically and professionally. Use of an online simulated learning and assessment system with immediate automated feedback and remediation was also found to be particularly effective at building the computer and information literacy skills of students. The total sample size for this study was over 2,800 individuals as data from 2690 IC3 tests administered over a five year period were considered, as well as 160 completed surveys, and pre and post testing of 103 students. Recommendations for Practitioners: Institutions of higher education should invest in a thorough examination of the information and technology literacy skills, needs, and perceptions of students both coming into the institution as well as following course completion. Recommendation for Researchers: This research should be expanded to more minority serving institutions across the United States as well as abroad. This particular research protocol is easily replicated and can be duplicated at both minority and majority serving institutions enabling greater comparisons across groups. Impact on Society: The results of this research help to shed light on a problem that desperately needs to be addressed by institutions of higher education, which is the realities of the digital divide and the under preparedness of entering college students in particular those who are from low income, first generation, and minority groups Future Research: A detailed quantitative survey study is being conducted that seeks to examine the technology uses, backgrounds, needs, interests, career goals, and professional expectations with respect to a range of currently relevant technologies.

Have you ever been browsing a website and then later received an email from the company even though you didn’t provide your email address? Or maybe you added items to your cart on a shopping website but decided not to follow through with the purchase. Then you get an email asking whether you forgot to […]

The post How Spammers Get Your Email Address appeared first on Clark Howard.

Back in December 2023, FDA announced intention in the Federal Register and in a press release to form a new FDA Advisory Committee to be called the Genetic Metabolic Diseases Advisory Committee (GeMDAC). As noted in a recent posting here, … Continue reading →

Greece has one of Europe's lowest fertility rates, a dire demographic state driven by a decade-long economic crisis

Queen Camilla addresses health concerns after resuming Royal duties

Queen Camilla addressed her health concerns after returning to Royal duties following chest infection, due to which she took a brief break from work.

The Queen attended The Booker Prize Foundation at Clarence House...

Millions of uninvited guests have shown up at the U.S. border since President Biden was sworn in.

The discipline of taxonomy is highly reliant on previously published photographs, drawings and other images as biodiversity data. Inspired by the uncertainty among taxonomists, a team, representing both taxonomists and experts in rights and copyright law, has traced the role and relevance of copyright when it comes to images with scientific value. Their discussion and conclusions are published in the latest paper added in the EU BON Collection in the open science journal Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO).

Taxonomic papers, by definition, cite a large number of previous publications, for instance, when comparing a new species to closely related ones that have already been described. Often it is necessary to use images to demonstrate characteristic traits and morphological differences or similarities. In this role, the images are best seen as biodiversity data rather than artwork. According to the authors, this puts them outside the scope, purposes and principles of Copyright. Moreover, such images are most useful when they are presented in a standardized fashion, and lack the artistic creativity that would otherwise make them 'copyrightable works'.

"It follows that most images found in taxonomic literature can be re-used for research or many other purposes without seeking permission, regardless of any copyright declaration," says Prof. David J. Patterson, affiliated with both Plazi and the University of Sydney.

Nonetheless, the authors point out that, "in observance of ethical and scholarly standards, re-users are expected to cite the author and original source of any image that they use." Such practice is "demanded by the conventions of scholarship, not by legal obligation," they add.

However, the authors underline that there are actual copyrightable visuals, which might also make their way to a scientific paper. These include wildlife photographs, drawings and artwork produced in a distinctive individual form and intended for other than comparative purposes, as well as collections of images, qualifiable as databases in the sense of the European Protection of Databases directive.

In their paper, the scientists also provide an updated version of the Blue List, originally compiled in 2014 and comprising the copyright exemptions applicable to taxonomic works. In their Extended Blue List, the authors expand the list to include five extra items relating specifically to images.

"Egloff, Agosti, et al. make the compelling argument that taxonomic images, as highly standardized 'references for identification of known biodiversity,' by necessity, lack sufficient creativity to qualify for copyright. Their contention that 'parameters of lighting, optical and specimen orientation' in biological imaging must be consistent for comparative purposes underscores the relevance of the merger doctrine for photographic works created specifically as scientific data," comments on the publication Ms. Gail Clement, Head of Research Services at the Caltech Library.

"In these cases, the idea and expression are the same and the creator exercises no discretion in complying with an established convention. This paper is an important contribution to the literature on property interests in scientific research data - an essential framing question for legal interoperability of research data," she adds.

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Original source:

Egloff W, Agosti D, Kishor P, Patterson D, Miller J (2017) Copyright and the Use of Images as Biodiversity Data. Research Ideas and Outcomes 3: e12502. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.3.e12502

Sarah Akinbuwa remembers the days when she was bullied over her love of crocheting, a hobby she picked up with her circle of schoolmates as a 12-year-old in Nigeria. Now living in Somerville and devoted to the craft, the 18-year-old is winning acclaim for one of her latest creations: a bright pink, floor-length prom dress […]

The post A Somerville teen crocheted her prom dress in three days. Her video of the design process went viral. appeared first on Boston.com.

About 80 percent of garment industry workers are women. For the past few months, Jasmine Garsd has travelled the globe to meet these workers, in person.

We start in Roanoke Rapids in North Carolina, a formerly bustling cotton mill town, that’s gone quiet. Next, we go to Los Angeles, were we learn how a sweatshop raid in 1995 changed the garment industry in the US forever. Lastly, we got to Bangladesh, where a large portion of our clothing now gets made.

Want to find out how fair your fashion is? Here’s the website mentioned in the programme: https://interactive.pri.org/2017/fair-fashion-quiz/

(Image: Mother and daughter, Rongmala Begum (standing) and Mayna Begum, both work in clothing factories in Bangladesh. Credit: Ismael Ferdous/PRI)

ClarkDietrich has introduced ProChannel Ci Cladding Support with Grip-Deck TubeSeal Technology. The new cladding support system is designed for residential and commercial applications and protects against air and water intrusion.

The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) has published a new document in its ongoing Tech Notes series—“Screws for Cold-Formed Steel-to-Wood and Wood-to-Cold-Formed Steel Attachments.

In this video, W&C friend Thea Dudley—aka “The Credit Overlord”—discusses ways to address and think about fraud and the slow money that plagues players in the industry.

Falls Church, VA – The American Industrial Hygiene Association on Oct. 31 issued guidance about safely removing corrosive drywall from buildings.

Washington – OSHA recently issued a fact sheet about protecting workers from abrasive blasting materials.

Washington – New recommendations issued by NIOSH on Nov. 8 address protecting workers during processes that use engineered nanomaterials.

Washington – The American Industrial Hygiene Association has published a fact sheet that aims to improve safety for workers in the nanotechnology industry.

Washington – OSHA and the Department of Transportation should increase collaboration to protect whistleblowers in the transportation industry, concludes a report released March 19 by the Government Accountability Office.

Washington – A new final rule from OSHA is aimed at improving protections for seamen who inform the government about violations of maritime safety laws or regulations.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has found “noticeable gaps” in safety regarding fired vessels on a few offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico that “warrant attention to prevent or mitigate uncontrolled releases of hydrocarbons, toxic substances or other materials,” according to an agency safety alert issued Oct. 2.

Washington — Effective April 20, the Federal Railway Administration is requiring the nation’s largest freight railroads – known as Class I – and smaller freight railroads with “inadequate safety performance” to develop and implement a formal risk reduction program. However, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says the final rule does not fulfill a congressional mandate to address rail worker fatigue.

Washington — Staffing agencies and host employers share responsibility for protecting temporary workers from respiratory and noise hazards, according to separate bulletins recently released by OSHA as part of its Temporary Worker Initiative.

Washington — In an effort to dispel “incorrect claims” about the efficacy of N95 respirators to protect wearers against COVID-19 infection, OSHA has added a section on respirators and particle size to its series of answers to frequently asked questions on protecting workers from exposure to the coronavirus.

Washington — OSHA has published a fact sheet intended to help employers comply with the agency’s standard on worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica (1926.1153) for general industry and maritime.

Annandale, VA – A webinar about requirements in OSHA’s newly revised Hazard Communication Standard has been scheduled for July 25.

In an era where data-driven insights are increasingly crucial, the physical security domain has yet to fully leverage the abundance of available data.

BMA International and its technology partner, Technowave International LLC, determined that the HID DigitalPersona 4500 Fingerprint Reader met all their requirements.

Written by J. J. Keller’s human resources experts, this free white paper delivers proven strategies for identifying, documenting and addressing unacceptable employee conduct. Download it now and promote a safe, respectful workplace!

Silver Spring, MD — The American Nurses Association, in partnership with the U.S. Public Health Service chief nurse officer and the University of North Carolina and University of Washington schools of nursing, has launched a campaign with initiatives that include addressing industry concerns such as workplace violence and safe and appropriate staffing levels.

Is your worksite ready to respond to an incident? Experts offer advice.

Geneva, Switzerland — Around 20% of workers worldwide have reported some form of violence or harassment, according to a recent report from the International Labour Organization.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Take time this month – and all year round – to promote awareness of worker well-being.

San Francisco — Around half of workers say their employer isn’t doing enough to address the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by Total Brain, a mental health and brain performance platform provider.

How have the products used by utilities workers in recent years evolved to address changing demographics and working conditions?

Washington — NIOSH has published a step-by-step process for improving the mental health of hospital health care workers.

Silver Spring, MD — Nearly 1 out of 5 construction workers report having anxiety or depression, and the overwhelming majority of them haven’t sought expert help, a new report shows.

Washington — The National Safety Council has published a new report highlighting technology solutions that have the potential to reduce the risk of injury and death when working in and around cranes.

What are the biggest health and safety hazards to people today that AI technology can solve?

Washington — A new hazard alert from OSHA is aimed at increasing awareness and ensuring actions are being taken to reduce the “alarming number” of serious, preventable injuries in poultry, meat and other food processing establishments.

The Association for Dressings & Sauces (ADS) hosted the ADS Technical Meeting on October 10-12 in Scottsdale, Ariz. During this meeting, ADS awarded a handful of members and member companies its prestigious Tech Awards and awards for Dressing, Sauce, and Packaging of the Year.

Just as there are so many ingredients combined in a good sauce, there are many factors that combine to impact new product development in sauces, dressings and spreads. And this is true—seemingly for better and for worse.