Bobby interviews Jane G. Meyer and Megan Gilbert, the creators of the new book A Child’s Guide to the Divine Liturgy, published by Ancient Faith Publishing.

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on St. Paul's words in Philippians, chapter 4.

Dr. Albert Rossi shares about his experience of having eye surgery and how it compares to our spiritual sight.

Bobby Maddox, the Director of Digital Media for Ancient Faith Ministries, interviews Dr. Philip Mamalakis, author of the Ancient Faith publishing book Parenting Toward the Kingdom: Orthodox Christian Principles of Child Rearing, about the book's new Companion Guide.

Bobby Maddex interviews Kendra Hunter, Kristina Tartara, and Stephanie Petrides, the authors of the new companion guide to Dr. Philip Mamalakis's book Parenting Toward the Kingdom: Orthodox Christian Principles of Child Rearing, publishing by Ancient Faith Publishing.

Guest: Joel Miller, author of the recently published Lifted by Angels: The Presence and Power of Our Heavenly Guides and Guardians discusses with Kevin Allen and the callers the reality and role of angels within the Christian salvation context.

In this episode, entrepreneur and bestselling author Josh Kaufman reveals the secrets to running a successful creator business as a solo entrepreneur. Josh shares his insights on leveraging AI and smart systems to accomplish the work of an entire team while maintaining work-life balance. Learn practical strategies for working efficiently, understanding your audience, and building […]

Content may be king, but data sits behind the throne and has the king’s ear. 

You want to be informed by data before you make changes to your marketing strategies. This is never truer than in the case of your website, which is a rich source of behavioural analytics and, therefore, a valuable insight into your audience’s interests.

Books, booze and unique stocking fillers.

When to go, what to see and how to save money.

Today we're publishing a refreshed, more pocket-sized version of the SEO Starter Guide with a better focus on a starter audience and the topics we think a person who's just dipping their toes in SEO should focus on and why.

1. Management of opioid use disorder: 2024 update to the national clinical practice guideline  CMAJ
2. New set of guidelines set to combat opioid usage  CTV News Toronto

1. Your ultimate guide to Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour stops in Toronto  CP24
2. A Taylor Swift glossary to keep up with the Eras Tour fever gripping Canada this week  The Globe and Mail
3. IN PHOTOS | See Swiftmania sweep Toronto  CBC.ca
4. Is Taylor Swift the key to solving traffic in Toronto?  Canada NewsWire

Software start-ups generally use development practices that are adapted to their agile and innovative environment. However, these practices, although consolidated, may not be the best ones for a specific context. This paper aims to present a set of guidelines for software development in start-ups. It also aims to show the results of three studies to validate and refine the proposed guidelines: a confirmatory survey, a focus group, and an expert panel. The participants were actors from both the industry and the academia. The results revealed that the guidelines obtained a positive perception from the participants of both contexts. Based on their approval, we can infer that those guidelines can increase the quality of products generated by start-ups and the chances of success for these organisations. Besides, the need for some improvements has been identified, and they will be implemented in the next version of the guidelines.

Aim/Purpose: To examine the early perceptions (acceptability) and usability of EASEL (Education through Application-Supported Experiential Learning), a mobile platform that delivers reflection prompts and content before, during, and after an experiential learning activity. Background: Experiential learning is an active learning approach in which students learn by doing and by reflecting on the experience. This approach to teaching is often used in disciplines such as humanities, business, and medicine. Reflection before, during, and after an experience allows the student to analyze what they learn and why it is important, which is vital in helping them to understand the relevance of the experience. A just-in-time tool (EASEL) was needed to facilitate this. Methodology: To inform the development of a mobile application that facilitates real-time guided reflection and to determine the relevant feature set, we conducted a needs analysis with both students and faculty members. Data collected during this stage of the evaluation helped guide the creation of a prototype. The user experience of the prototype and interface interactions were evaluated during the usability phase of the evaluation study. Contribution: Both the needs analysis and usability assessment provided justification for continued development of EASEL as well as insight that guides current development. Findings: The interaction design of EASEL is understandable and usable. Both students and teachers value an application that facilitates real-time guided reflection. Recommendations for Practitioners: The use of a system such as EASEL can leverage time and location-based services to support students in field experiences. This technology aligns with evidence that guided reflection provides opportunities for metacognition. Recommendation for Researchers: Iterative prototyping, testing, and refinement can lead to a deliberate and effective app development process. Impact on Society: The EASEL platform leverages inherent functionality of mobile devices, such as GPS and persistent network connectivity, to adapt reflection tasks based on lo-cation or time. Students using EASEL will engage in guided reflection, which leads to metacognition and can help instructors scaffold learning Future Research: We will continue to advance the application through iterative testing and development. When ready, the application will be vetted in larger studies across varied disciplines and contexts.

Aim/Purpose This paper aims to illustrate, through an exploratory ideographic case study, how a Complex Thinking framework can inform the design of scientific events and the facilitation of scientific Inter and Transdisciplinary groups towards positive emergent outcomes, both at the level of the functioning of the group and the collective complexity of their thinking. Moreover, it aims to show how the choice of facilitation strategies can contribute to positive emergent outcomes in the context of a fully online event, with its inherent constraints. Finally, this study aims to conduct an exploratory qualitative evaluation of the participants’ experiences during School, with a focus on the processes and how they relate to the aims of the School and the goals of the facilitation. Background Science needs to embrace modes of knowing capable of generating more complex (differentiated, integrated, recursively organized, emergent), ecologically fit, and creative responses, to meet the complexity of the world’s challenges. New formats and strategies are required that attend to the facilitation of Inter and Transdisciplinary scientific events and meetings, towards creative and complex outcomes. A Complex Thinking framework provides suggestions for the facilitation of Inter and Transdisciplinary meetings and events through targeting key properties which may lead to the emergence of complex and creative outcomes. Methodology We adopt an ideographic case study approach to illustrate how a complex systems approach, in particular a Complex Thinking framework, grounded in an enactive view of cognition, guided the design choices and the facilitation strategies of an online Inter and Transdisciplinary Advanced Training School (Winter School). We aim to illustrate how the facilitation strategies were selected and used to promote deep and creative interactions within the constraints of an online environment. We adopt an exploratory qualitative approach to investigate the participants’ reports of their experiences of the School, in light of the principles and goals that guided its design and facilitation. Contribution This paper opens a new area of theoretical and applied research, under the scope of a Complex Thinking framework, focused on the facilitation of Inter and Transdisciplinarity at scientific events, meetings, and discussions towards complex and creative outcomes. Findings The results of the exploratory qualitative analysis of the participants’ experiences regarding the event suggest a critical role of its methodology in fostering rich, deep, and constructive interactions, in leading to the emergence of a collective group experience, to the integration of ideas, and in facilitating transformative personal experiences, under the effects of the emergent group processes. It suggests that the strategies employed were successful, anticipating and overcoming the particular constraints of an online event. Recommendations for Practitioners This case study suggests that a Complex Thinking framework can fruitfully guide the design of facilitation strategies and activities for scientific events and meetings, activating a number of key relational processes that contribute to or boost the emergence of positive group experiences and the production and integration of novel ideas. Recommendations for Researchers This study calls for action-oriented and applied research focused on the developmental evaluation of innovations, regarding the facilitation of scientific creativity and integration, within the scope of a Complex Thinking approach. Impact on Society This paper calls for new modes of organization and formats of scientific activities, suggesting that Inter and Transdisciplinary events and meetings may benefit from intentional management and facilitation of interactions between participants to produce transformative impacts. It demonstrates the importance of the organizational principles used to plan and run events that engage multiple and various societal agents, from academics to practitioners and social activists, towards enhancing their richness and relevance to complex real-world challenges. Future Research This study highlights the need for process-focused systematic case study research using complex systems-informed designs to explore how and which facilitation strategies may promote which (interaction of) properties of Complex Thinking and associated processes and how, and under which conditions, these lead to more complex and creative outcomes.

Amazon Fire TV Commercials Guide Understanding Amazon Fire TV advertisements is essential for maximizing their marketing potential. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the various ad options on Amazon Fire TV, including inline ads, feature rotators, sponsored screensavers, and sponsored tiles. It also explores targeting and personalization features to tailor advertisements to [...]

[…] occurred to me – but Karen Blakeman has posted this advice – SEASONAL OPENING TIMES – NEVER TRUST GOOGLE’S ANSWERS (OR BING’S) (Dec 29) – information about open and closed times of shops might not be right – always […]

Often dubbed 'expensive moisturisers,' there is a way to make them work for you

1. You don’t have to use cash for everything. Here’s how to tell in which categories you should use cash. To reap the benefits of using cash in your budget, you don’t have to go exclusively to cash. Some may choose to go exclusive, but it’s not necessary. Instead, identify which categories will be most […]

The post 11 Guidelines For Using Cash In Your Budget first appeared on Getting Finances Done.

MASS A-Z Second Location Guide (One payments of $498USD)

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Recommendations from the FP7-funded EU project BESAFE

Biodiversity decline is a fact, but how can society be convinced of the benefits of biodiversity for human well being and of the necessity of further protective action? The FP7 funded EU project Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Arguments for our Future Environment (BESAFE) addressed this challenge to produce guidance that can help improve the way we use arguments for conservation and convincingly demonstrate the value of biodiversity to decision-makers.

Credit: Rob Bugter

Two key outputs of the project are the final brochure "How to Argue for Biodiversity Conservation More Effectively: Recommendations from the BESAFE project", including key conclusions from project publications and case studies, and an interactive online tool, which can lead stakeholders to the relevant information in a few mouse clicks.

Key recommendations of BESAFE featured in these resources are:

• The success of a more integrated approach depends on stakeholder engagement. A top-down policy framework that sets goals for the protection of particular sites and species is important, but it is not enough to prevent biodiversity loss. - -- An integrated approach, seeking to 'mainstream' biodiversity concerns across all policy sectors (e.g. agriculture, forestry, water, energy, transport and urban planning) is needed.
• Promote bottom-up initiatives at the local level. All stakeholders need to be actively involved in the decision-making process, which should facilitate building trust and working towards generally agreed and accepted solutions.
• Tailor arguments to the audience. Arguments need to be framed to fit the values and goals of the audience, embracing the plurality of values attached to nature, and using appropriate language. For example, over-emphasising economic arguments could alienate people who are motivated mainly by ethical and moral concerns.
• Use positive arguments. Positive framing of arguments to emphasise benefits is often more powerful than negative framing that focuses on threats and losses. The concept of ecosystem services is useful for emphasising positive benefits, provided that it is properly explained to stakeholders.
• Use a wider range of arguments. Arguments based on the economic value of nature for humans dominate European and national policy-making, and are often seen as central to gaining high-level policy-maker support, but our results show that many decision-makers and other stakeholders also use and respond positively to ethical and moral arguments.

"We aimed to provide the essence of 4 years worth of research in an easy to read and reuse form, to maximise the potential of using the right arguments for conservation at the right time in order to successfully demonstrate the value of biodiversity to decision-makers," comments Rob Bugter, co-ordinator of the BESAFE project.

Try out the resources below:

Bugter R., Smith A.C. and the BESAFE consortium. 2015. How to argue for biodiversity conservation more effectively. Recommendations from the BESAFE project. Pensoft Publishers, Sofia, 26 pp. Available at: http://www.besafe-project.net/img/uplf/BESAFE_brochure_online_18.pdf

BESAFE web tool available at: http://tool.besafe-project.net/

While development and implementation of data publishing and sharing practices and tools have long been among the core activities of the academic publisher Pensoft, it is well-understood that as part of scholarly publishing, open data practices are also currently in transition, and hence, require a lot of collaborative and consistent efforts to establish.

Based on Pensoft's experience, and elaborated and updated during the Framework Program 7 EU BON project, a new paper published in the EU BON dedicated collection in the open science journal Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO), outlines policies and guidelines for scholarly publishing of biodiversity and biodiversity-related data. Newly accumulated knowledge from large-scale international efforts, such as FORCE11 (Future of Research Communication and e-Scholarship), CODATA (The Committee on Data for Science and Technology), RDA (Research Data Alliance) and others, is also included in the Guidelines.

The present paper discusses some general concepts, including a definition of datasets, incentives to publish data and licences for data publishing. Furthermore, it defines and compares several routes for data publishing, namely: providing supplementary files to research articles; uploading them on specialised open data repositories, where they are linked to the research article; publishing standalone data papers; or making use of integrated narrative and data publishing through online import/download of data into/from manuscripts, such as the workflow provided by the Biodiversity Data Journal. Among the guidelines, there are also comprehensive instructions on preparation and peer review of data intended for publication.

Although currently available for journals using the developed by Pensoft journal publishing platform ARPHA, these strategies and guidelines could be of use for anyone interested in biodiversity data publishing.

Apart from paving the way for a whole new approach in data publishing, the present paper is also a fine example of science done in the open, having been published along with its two pre-submission public peer reviews. The reviews by Drs. Robert Mesibov and Florian Wetzel are both citable via their own Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).

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Original source:

Penev L, Mietchen D, Chavan V, Hagedorn G, Smith V, Shotton D, Ó Tuama É, Senderov V, Georgiev T, Stoev P, Groom Q, Remsen D, Edmunds S (2017) Strategies and guidelines for scholarly publishing of biodiversity data. Research Ideas and Outcomes 3: e12431. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.3.e12431

Being a primary caregiver while working full time is a challenge in itself and even more so during the pandemic. Elaine Varelas guides on how to best keep your family members safe while maintaining your work responsibilities.

The post As both a full-time employee and a primary caregiver to one of my family members, I am worried about potentially exposing my family to COVID. Is there anything I can do? Elaine Varelas guides appeared first on Boston.com.

The American Concrete Institute, in collaboration with NEx: An ACI Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials, has released two new resources for fiber-reinforced polymer reinforcement.

The Buzz Guide features products from a variety of brands in the construction industry.

Owens Corning recently launched the Architectural Information Center, an online portal for architects and building specifiers.