Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has become increasingly critical of charter schools this year, and his new proposals for charters would change how they operate and how they are funded.

At least three states in the last few months have forked over half a million dollars or more for comprehensive studies of their K-12 finance system, a politically fraught process.

"This is a complex and stressful time in our society and the mental health and wellness of our Big Ten family is a critical component of our focus."

Coach Smith is doing a fine job Building the Dam

Less than four months before the scheduled kickoff of the college football season, not one of the 14 schools in the Big Ten Conference can say for sure it will have students back on campus this fall - a crucial step for sports. Uncertainty about how the coronavirus pandemic will unfold through the summer has kept universities from making a definitive decision about the fall semester, which typically begins in late August. The football season, for now, is due to begin Aug. 29, though Big Ten schools don't begin play until the following week.

All 10 schools in the Big 12 Conference expect their campuses to be open in the fall, a key step toward launching fall sports. The coronavirus pandemic has shuttered sports at all levels, and conference commissioners have stressed to Vice President Mike Pence college athletics cannot resume until campuses reopen. The season is slated to begin Aug. 29, though Big 12 schools don't begin play until the following week.

"... The report has been prepared for the purpose of highlighting several areas of concern I have about governance arrangements in SA Health that contribute to risks of corruption, misconduct and maladministration...." -- page 4.

As a tender young townie in the revolutionary sixties, Sue steps away from all that is familiar to spend her life with a man she has known for three weeks. With little prelude she is thrown into the deep end of a gritty farming life in a man's world. A life of work on untamed lands, a two year odyssey through the outback, and months spent in a remote Aboriginal community, reveal to Sue the very character of the Australian landscape. This is the story of one woman's metamorphosis, from timid, imaginative child to resilient, worldly woman - a profound journey of self discovery through tragedy, life-threatening adventure and overwhelming joy.

Bible. Galatians, III, 28 -- Criticism, interpretation, etc

Data protection -- Law and legislation -- Australia.

Climatic changes.

Internet -- Social aspects.

Humphries, Barry, 1934-

Sustainable agriculture.

A little-known monument in Emporia, Kan., which recently received federal recognition, will add 10 new names to the list of teachers and support staff who’ve died on the job.

Braunschweig : F. Vieweg, 1865.

Boston : Nathan Hale, 1835.

The Granite State has legalized Keno gambling and plans to tax the machines to partially fund full-day kindergarten for the state's 5-year-olds.

Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov doesn't consider his series-winning goal against the Penguins in 2018 is the biggest goal of his life.

Kerfoot discussing his first Maple Leafs season spurred a larger discussion.

Howe Island, Canada : Pier 44 Press, [2017]

Great Britain : CreateSpace, 2017.

Pierre Lafaye de Micheaux, Benoît Liquet, Matthew Sutton.

Source: Statistics Surveys, Volume 13, 119--149.

Abstract:
Partial Least Squares (PLS) methods have been heavily exploited to analyse the association between two blocks of data. These powerful approaches can be applied to data sets where the number of variables is greater than the number of observations and in the presence of high collinearity between variables. Different sparse versions of PLS have been developed to integrate multiple data sets while simultaneously selecting the contributing variables. Sparse modeling is a key factor in obtaining better estimators and identifying associations between multiple data sets. The cornerstone of the sparse PLS methods is the link between the singular value decomposition (SVD) of a matrix (constructed from deflated versions of the original data) and least squares minimization in linear regression. We review four popular PLS methods for two blocks of data. A unified algorithm is proposed to perform all four types of PLS including their regularised versions. We present various approaches to decrease the computation time and show how the whole procedure can be scalable to big data sets. The bigsgPLS R package implements our unified algorithm and is available at https://github.com/matt-sutton/bigsgPLS .

Italian version of BIS Press Release - Big tech in finance: opportunities and risks, 23 June 2019

French version of BIS Press Release - Big tech in finance: opportunities and risks, 23 June 2019

Spanish version of BIS Press Release - Big tech in finance: opportunities and risks, 23 June 2019

Theoretical models and experimental evidence have suggested that connections from the dentate gyrus (DG) to CA3 play important roles in representing orthogonal information (i.e., pattern separation) in the hippocampus. However, the effects of eliminating the DG on neural firing patterns in the CA3 have rarely been tested in a goal-directed memory task that requires both the DG and CA3. In this study, selective lesions in the DG were made using colchicine in male Long–Evans rats, and single units from the CA3 were recorded as the rats performed visual scene memory tasks. The original scenes used in training were altered during testing by blurring to varying degrees or by using visual masks, resulting in maximal recruitment of the DG–CA3 circuits. Compared with controls, the performance of rats with DG lesions was particularly impaired when blurred scenes were used in the task. In addition, the firing rate modulation associated with visual scenes in these rats was significantly reduced in the single units recorded from the CA3 when ambiguous scenes were presented, largely because DG-deprived CA3 cells did not show stepwise, categorical rate changes across varying degrees of scene ambiguity compared with controls. These findings suggest that the DG plays key roles not only during the acquisition of scene memories but also during retrieval when modified visual scenes are processed in conjunction with the CA3 by making the CA3 network respond orthogonally to ambiguous scenes.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Despite the behavioral evidence supporting the role of the dentate gyrus in pattern separation in the hippocampus, the underlying neural mechanisms are largely unknown. By recording single units from the CA3 in DG-lesioned rats performing a visual scene memory task, we report that the scene-related modulation of neural firing was significantly reduced in the DG-lesion rats compared with controls, especially when the original scene stimuli were ambiguously altered. Our findings suggest that the dentate gyrus plays an essential role during memory retrieval and performs a critical computation to make categorical rate modulation occur in the CA3 between different scenes, especially when ambiguity is present in the environment.

A new simulation points to a previously untold chapter in Titan’s history

New study extends previous results limited to just two islands to 188 species of lizard across Caribbean as well as Central and South America

From gas stations to public libraries, these celebrity architect-designed buildings are worth a road trip

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was enjoying the best season of his career, and was set to strike it rich with a lucrative new deal this summer before the coronavirus brought the NBA and global sports to its knees in mid-March.

"I have tied up with several NGO’s like Parivartan the change who donate food to over 500 people every day as well with welfare organisations like 4dogsakeindia where we feed over 200 street dogs."

Sugar gliders — cute little marsupials from Australia and Indonesia — are an up-and-coming exotic pet in Atlantic Canada. But are they as sweet as they look?

She only came for a week, but impacted lives of several families with children with autism. Isabel Black shares about her experiences in Montenegro.

After making friends at OM's English Cafe, Igor shares with them how he came from a similar background but was freed from despair when he met Jesus.

By Andrea Picciotti-Bayer

My youngest son Patrick turns four this week. He is a delight to watch at this age, particularly when one of his older brothers carries him around the house. Facing the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve longed for the joy and confidence that Patrick exudes when he’s in their strong arms. The other day, I was reminded of a group that Saint John Paul II once called the “Strong Right Arm” of the Catholic Church – The Knights of Columbus.

The two-million-member Catholic fraternal organization is flexing that “strong right arm” in the response to the COVID-19. The order’s new “Leave No Neighbor Behind” initiative is helping local members address the pandemic’s unique challenges in tangible and intangible ways. “[O]ur duty is to lead our families, protect our parishes, and serve our communities, remembering always that where there’s a need, there’s a Knight.”

In addition to encouraging members to donate to, and volunteer at, local food banks, the Knights of Columbus are also encouraging members to donate blood. The latter is a longstanding tradition of the order. In fact, the Knights of Columbus pioneered nationwide blood drives in the United States in the 1930s. But the “Leave No Neighbor Behind” initiative doesn’t end there, because the Knights understand that the challenges will remain long after the medical crisis abates.

Whether it’s a matter of weeks or months, the stay-at-home orders will eventually be lifted and school, work, social and worship routines will resume. But the economic toll of the public closure of parishes will likely be felt long after parish churches reopen for Sunday mass. Fortunately, the Knights are offering financial support to struggling Catholic dioceses across the United States. The order just announced it has available $100 million in low-interest financing to help dioceses weather the economic impact of COVID-19 crisis. The Knight’s financial assistance program isn’t new; the order has been a key lender to parishes and dioceses for more than a century through its ChurchLoan program. The magnitude of the available assistance is. This financial safety net will allow Catholic parishes to continue to serve bodies and souls during and in the aftermath of this epidemic.

In fact, none of this is new for the Knights of Columbus. They’ve been responding to crises, individual and societal, since their founding in the late 1800s. Started by an Irish-American Catholic priest (Father Michael J. McGivney) and named in honor of the great Italian explorer (Christopher Columbus), the Knights began as an organization to care for widows and orphans from St. Mary’s parish in New Haven, Connecticut. Today the Order is organized into more than 15,000 local councils based in cities and towns across the country and abroad. Dedicated to the principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism, the Knights participate in educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.

The Knights have a long history of community outreach through innovative charitable programs. “During times of need from the 19th century to the present, the Knights of Columbus has been there in communities around the country to support one another, the Church and the evolving needs of their communities,” says Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “From world wars, to influenza pandemics more than a century ago, to hurricanes and earthquakes, the Knights of Columbus has helped make the difference for many individuals and communities, and we will do so again during the present situation.”

Today’s Knights of Columbus constitute a vast volunteer network of members ready and willing to ensure that essential needs are met in communities from coast to coast. Members are assisting one another, especially the elderly and those living alone. At a time when many churches are closed, the Knights are reaching out to their fellow parishioners and pastors to identify and meet local needs as they arise.

Finally, the Knights of Columbus as an organization has kept its focus on the importance of placing our trust in God. It is providing spiritual resources to its members and urging them to offer prayers composed by Pope Francis and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during this time.

Once again, in a time of crisis, the Knights of Columbus has risen to the occasion to serve both neighbor and Church with the strong arms of a loving big brother.

OM Ireland's Big Red Bus visited a housing estate in the town of Ballina in County Mayo.

OM Ireland's Creative Arts Team and a group from the US lead a week-long tour into schools and a kids’ club in a housing estate.

After years of the team dreaming, the Big Red Bus finally joins the National Ploughing Championships during a windstorm.

On 19 March, OM Australia moved into their new home, a place that will help mobilise more people and finances into missions.

OM Panama launches the new International Intensive School of Missions and hosts a new session of Mission Extreme.

A change of plans for OM Panama volunteers leads to a powerful prayer meeting.

A FROSTY morning and the sun is yet to rise sluggishly over the horizon. Outside, though, already snippets of chirping bird song ring out from the pitch blackness. In my mind’s eye, I imagine little groups huddled high among the branches of the trees. Waiting and watching.

During Easter, the oldest town in Austria celebrated the life of Jesus and furthered the dream of planting a church.

MOST people's memories of Millie Small in 1964 are of her climbing international charts with the massive hit song, My Boy Lollipop. But for Dennis Smith, it was her return to Jamaica that year that made the greatest impression.