In this podcast we examine a teaching from the Desert Mother Amma Syncletica to understand how to care for our health in a Christ centered manner.

Fr. John Oliver talks about integrity.

Father Joseph talks about possible titles for his forthcoming book: a humorous look at Orthodoxy in America. NOTE: For those keeping score, during the course of this podcast the following words will be mentioned: sycophant, bishops, titles, convivial, cult and Antiochian.

It's not often that one gets scalped by a Christian, rarer still is when a priest willingly airs his failures (of "Biblical proportion"). Protestants may cheer this episode as much as the Orthodox, but with both sides on differing sides. This episode of the Orthodixie podcast eavesdrops on some arguments concerning Scripture and Tradition at St Michael's in Beaumont, Texas.

Fr. Joseph reads a creative letter from the Orthodixie Mailbag. It's not what it seems. Or, is it?

We look at the Psalms, the purpose of the Torah for the Hebrew people, and the story of David dancing before the ark to illumine the theme of liberty seen in our readings for this coming Divine Liturgy.

"Saint Cecilia" and "Saint Barbara" from Saints: Lives and Illuminations, written and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson, read with permission by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2007.

"Saint Bartholomew," from The Disciples of Christ, Illustrated Biographies, by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012)

"Saint Barnabas," from The Co-Workers for the Gospel, Illustrated Biographies, Book 5, by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012)

"Saint Barbara," from Women of Faith, written by Calee M. Lee, illustrated by Lisa Graves (Xist Publishing, 2015)

44. Book 1: Angel in the Waters by Regina Doman (Sophia Institute Press, 2004) Book 2: Brother Bartholomew and the Apple Grove, by Jan Cheripko (Boyds Mills Press, 2004)

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos addresses the importance of God Parents in a child's life in the Orthodox Church.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos explains the meaning of Jesus' call for us to take up our cross and follow him.

I cannot be the only one who has had the experience of visiting a non-Orthodox church service and finding it stunningly empty and plain. After long familiarity with Orthodox worship with its icons, incense, candles, vestments, Gospel books, and crosses, attending such services produces a kind of sensory deprivation, rather like sensory overload in reverse. Entering those churches and experiencing their services left me looking around almost madly for something focus and feed upon—some cross or image. But there was nothing: the walls were barren and empty, with not even a plaque with an inscribed Bible verse to relieve the sensory monotony. It is like bringing to your lips what you expected to be a cup of wine and finding it to contain tepid water: it’s okay, I suppose, but disappointing to the point of surprise and irritation.

Fr. Gregory asks how we can protect ourselves and the poor, who are our brothers and sisters, from those tendencies within ourselves toward greed and the denial of both death and judgement?

On another live version of Ex Libris, Bobby Maddex interviews Melinda Johnson, the author of The Barn and the Book.

Yesterday's views of depredation have become today's banal norms.

Bobby Maddex interviews Christiana Roulakis, the Director of Development at Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM), about Blessings Beyond Bars, OCPM's new Lenten youth project to teach children and young adults about prison ministry.

On this special edition of Ancient Faith Presents, Fr. Evan Armatas, priest at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Loveland, Colorado, and the host of Orthodoxy Live on Ancient Faith Radio, speaks at Holy Apostles Orthodox Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Holy Apostles holds an annual dinner in the Cheyenne community to raise funds and awareness about Orthodoxy. Each year they invite a keynote speaker to address their guests and speak about the Faith. This year the host committee asked Fr. Evan. The event occurred outside of Cheyenne at the historic Shellback Ranch on July 19, 2016.

Fr. Pat discusses the parable of the rich man's barns.

In this vesperal homily, Fr. Pat preaches from 1 John 2:1-6, about the true blessed assurance of our salvation.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Fr. John Chryssavgis join Steve to explore why caring for the environment is part of our role as Christians and priests of creation.

Is faith alone enough to save us? Father Barnabas Powell, an Orthodox priest and former Protestant, joins Steve to consider this important question.

Jake Doyle is playing for a different rugby club every weekend to raise money for a support group.

Owner PD Ports says action is needed to stop wild camping on the peninsula by Redcar Beach.

Hartlepool Borough Council is told Intro Bar started operating despite no planning permission.

Neil Crossley from Barnsley forgot his daughter Amy when walking down the aisle

Mayon's karate championship dreams ‘jeopardised’ due to pending passport application

Defender Ryan Sweeney says it was "about time" Burton registered a League One victory as they ended a 13-match winless start to the season on Saturday.

The Hub in Bromsgrove has helped Skye, 15, gain qualifications and realise she "can do anything".

The way smart energy meters work in northern England and Scotland is causing issues for customers, BBC Panorama has been told. The body that represents energy companies, Energy UK, has […]

The post Smart meters in north/south divide, Bitcoin breaks through $82,000 barrier appeared first on Tech Digest.

BBC Radio Bristol's Sound of the City looks back at Bristol Academy's win against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2014.

A peek behind the famous concrete walls.

Igloos, rooftops and ski lodges.

Praying hard for a lump of concrete.

Apres la nomination d'Elon Musk a la tete d'un ministere de l'Efficacite gouvernementale, le ministre de la Fonction publique francais a exprime sa << hate >> de << partager les meilleures pratiques >>.

La nouvelle enquete Cluster17 pour << Le Point >> installe le Premier ministre dans le top 5 des personnalites politiques preferees des Francais. Gabriel Attal et Gerald Darmanin chutent.

INTERVIEW. << J'aurais souhaite une contribution plus prospective et moins desobligeante a l'egard des barreaux de province >>, reagit M e Julie Couturier au rapport du P r Jamin.

La Russie lance un "nombre record" de drones sur l'Ukraine. Barrage de drones ukrainiens sur Moscou

1. Mobilisation - Les agriculteurs, en colère, vont organiser un barrage filtrant dans le Loiret  La République du Centre
2. L’Union européenne sacrifie l’agriculture française pour sauver l’industrie allemande  Marianne
3. Colère agricole. Retrait des panneaux routiers : peut-on contester une amende pour excès de vitesse?  Ouest-France
4. Colère des agriculteurs : la FNSEA annonce de nouvelles mobilisations  Actu Orange
5. L’appel de plus de 600 parlementaires français à Ursula von der Leyen : « Les conditions pour l’adoption d’un accord avec le Mercosur ne sont pas réunies »  Le Monde

Aim/Purpose: The aim and purpose of this study is to understand why there is a dearth of faculty of color ascending to senior levels of leadership in higher education institutions, and to identify strategies to increase the representation of faculty of color in university senior administrative positions. Background: There is a lack of faculty of color in senior level academic administrative position in the United States. Although there is clear evidence that faculty of color have not been promoted to senior level positions at the same rate as their White colleagues, besides racism there has been little evidence regarding the cause of such disparities. This is becoming an issue of increased importance as the student bodies of most U.S. higher educational institutions are becoming increasingly more inclusive of people of various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Methodology: Qualitative interviews were used Contribution: This study adds to the research and information made previously available regarding the status of non-White higher educational members in the U.S. by contributing insights from faculty of color who have encountered and are currently encountering forms of discrimination within various institutions. These additions include personal experiences and suggestions regarding the barriers to diversification and implications of the lack of diversity at higher educational institutions. Given the few diverse administrative or executive leaders in service today in higher education, these personal insights provide seldom-heard perspectives for both scholars and practitioners in the field of higher education. Findings: Limited diversity among faculty at higher educational institutions correlates with persistent underrepresentation and difficulty in finding candidates for leadership positions who are diverse, highly experienced, and highly ranked. This lack of diversity among leaders has negative implications like reduced access to mentorship, scholarship, and other promotional and networking opportunities for other faculty of color. While it is true that representation of faculty of color at certain U.S. colleges and programs has shown slight improvements in the last decade, nationwide statistics still demonstrate the persistence of this issue. Participants perceived that the White boys club found to some extent in nearly all higher educational institutions, consistently offers greater recognition, attention, and support for those who most resemble the norm and creates an adverse environment for minorities. However, in these findings and interviews, certain solutions for breaking through such barriers are revealed, suggesting progress is possible and gaining momentum at institutions nationwide. Recommendations for Practitioners: To recruit and sustain diverse members of the academic community, institutions should prioritize policies and procedures which allocate a fair share of responsibilities between faculty members and ensure equity in all forms of compensation. In addition, institutional leaders should foster a climate of mutual respect and understanding between members of the educational community to increase confidence of people of color and allow for fresh perspectives and creativity to flourish. Where policies for diversification exist but are not being applied, leaders have the responsibility to enforce and set the example for other members of the organization. Assimilation of diverse members occurs when leaders create an inclusive environment for various cultures and advocate for social and promotional opportunities for all members of the organization. Recommendations for Researchers: Significant research remains on understanding barriers to the preparation of faculty of color for leadership in higher education. While this research has provided first-hand qualitative perspectives from faculties of color, additional quantitative study is necessary to understand what significant differences in underrepresentation exist by race and ethnicity. Further research is also needed on the compound effects of race and gender due to the historic underrepresentation of women in leadership positions. At the institutional and departmental level, the study validates the need to look at both the implicit and explicit enforcement of policies regarding diversity in the workplace. Future Research: Higher education researchers may extend the findings of this study to explore how faculty of color have ascended to specific leadership roles within the academy such as department chair, academic dean, provost, and president.

Aim/Purpose: The objective of this study is to summarize the challenges of Agile Requirements Engineering (Agile RE) in the public sector in republican and constitutional monarchy nations. Additionally, it offers recommendations to address these challenges. Background: Failure of IT projects in the public sector results in financial losses for the state and loss of public trust, often attributed to issues in requirements engineering such as prioritization of user needs and excessive scope of requirements. IT projects can have a higher success rate with Agile RE, but there are also drawbacks. Therefore, this study holds significance by presenting a thorough framework designed to pinpoint and overcome the challenges associated with Agile RE to increase the success rate of IT projects. Methodology: This study employs a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) protocol in the field of software engineering or related domains, which consists of three main phases: planning the review, conducting the review with a snowballing approach, and reporting the review. Furthermore, the authors perform open coding to categorize challenges based on the Agile methodologies adoption factor model and axial coding to map potential solutions. Contribution: The authors assert that this research enriches the existing literature on Agile RE, specifically within the public sector context, by mapping out challenges and possible solutions that contribute to creating a foundation for future studies to conduct a more in-depth analysis of Agile adoption in the public sector. Furthermore, it compares the barriers of Agile RE in the public sector with the general context, leading to the discovery of new theories specifically for this field. Findings: Most challenges related to Agile RE in the public sector are found in the people and process aspects. Project and organizational-related are subsequent aspects. Therefore, handling people and processes proficiently is imperative within Agile RE to prevent project failure. Recommendations for Practitioners: Our findings offer a comprehensive view of Agile RE in the public sector in republican and constitutional monarchy nations. This study maps the challenges encountered by the public sector and provides potential solutions. The authors encourage practitioners to consider our findings as a foundation for adopting Agile methodology in the public sector. Furthermore, this study can assist practitioners in identifying existing barriers related to Agile RE, pinpointing elements that contribute to overcoming those challenges, and developing strategies based on the specific needs of the organizations. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers have the potential to expand the scope of this study by conducting research in other countries, especially African countries, as this study has not yet encompassed this geographic region. Additionally, they can strengthen the evidence linking Agile RE challenges to the risk of Agile project failure by performing empirical validation in a specific country. Impact on Society: This research conducts a comprehensive exploration of Agile RE within the public sector, serving as a foundation for the successful adoption of Agile methodology by overcoming obstacles related to Agile RE. This study highlights the importance of managing people, processes, projects, and organizational elements to increase the success of Agile adoption in the public sector. Future Research: In the future, researchers should work towards resolving the limitations identified in this study. This study has not provided a clear prioritization of challenges and solutions according to their significance. Therefore, future researchers can perform a Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (F-AHP) to prioritize the proposed solutions.