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At first sight, the place held by education in Ibn Khaldun's sociology appears uncertain to say the least. What today we understand by the term 'education'—the replication of individuals and groups, firstly at the level of values and secondly at that of knowledge and know-how—is found in the Muqaddima only in a scattered and incomplete fashion. More important, Ibn Khaldun makes no use of a general concept of education. This is all the more surprising as he accustoms us elsewhere to a systematic approach to the main phenomena of life in society. However, upon closer view we discover that this ambiguity and these lacunae in fact reflect the state of the Muslim system of education, and we are forced to admit that, in this field as in many others connected with the knowledge of Muslim society, Khaldun's contribution is the most complete at our disposal.
Abdesselam Cheddadi [1]
Table of contents
1. The education system in Muslim societies
3. Training in Knowledge and Know-How
5. The Teaching of the Sciences
9.1. Notes
9.2. Works by Ibn Khaldun
9.3. Works about Ibn Khaldun, education and Islam
Note of the editor
The following text was originally published as: "Ibn Khaldun (A.D. 1332-1406/A.H. 732-808)" [2], by Abdesselam Cheddadi, in Prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education (Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education), vol. XXIV, no. 1/2, 1994, pp. 7-19. © UNESCO: International Bureau of Education, 2000. Our republishing of the article relies on the authorisation embedded by the publisher according to which the document may be reproduced free of charge as long as acknowledgement is made of the source. The version we republish hereafter was reedited and revised; we publish it with a slightly different title, new images and captions. Click here for the original version (PDF format): English version and French version.
At first sight, the place held by education in Ibn Khaldun's sociology appears uncertain to say the least. What today we understand by the term 'education'—the replication of individuals and groups, firstly at the level of values and secondly at that of knowledge and know-how—is found in the Muqaddima only in a scattered and incomplete fashion, in an order and pattern whose meaning escapes us at first sight. More important, Ibn Khaldun makes no use of a general concept in speaking of education. This is all the more surprising as he accustoms us elsewhere to a systematic approach to the main phenomena of life in society. However, upon closer view we discover that this ambiguity and these lacunae in fact reflect the state of the Muslim system of education, and we are forced to admit that, in this field as in many others connected with the knowledge of Muslim society, Khaldun's contribution is the most complete at our disposal.
1. The education system in Muslim societies
The education system in Muslim societies was without a doubt one of the most extensive and most developed of all those prevailing in pre-industrial societies, which was due to the very nature of Muslim society itself. Compared to agro-literate societies contemporary with it, Muslim society stands out for its more flexible and less hierarchically organized structures. The body composed of scholars and the literati was open, non-centralized, non-hereditary, non-exclusive, with a fluid organization that implied no formal hierarchy [3], thus giving rise to a relatively broad education and teaching system that in many ways prefigured our modern systems [4].
Like the society itself, the education system was both segmented and unified. It was a reflection of the profound separation between the rural and urban worlds: agrarian or agro-pastoral communities of peasants and stock-breeders on the one hand, and an urban society of merchants, artisans, clerics and State civil servants on the other. And, at the same time, it was unified by the common adherence to Islam, identification with which was tangibly represented by the universal Koranic teaching that was virtually obligatory for all. Though education was informal and imparted by the family and the community in rural areas and among the urban poor, there was formal schooling for the children of the mercantile, clerical and political élite. Children were frequently placed under a tutor or received longer, more diversified instruction in a school that went well beyond the teaching of the Koran and the rules of religious practice. Independently of this education of children and without any structural connection between the two, there was also vocational teaching to prepare the learned for various professions. Theoretically available to all, covering all fields of knowledge both ancient and Muslim, homogeneous in its methods, it came to form part of institutions only on a partial basis and at a late date [5]. It is within this educational setting that the madrasa (college), the model of the medieval university in France and Italy and of the English 'college' [6] — which was later to give rise to the modern university—came into being.
Figure 1: Statue of Ibn Khaldun in Tunis, capital of Tunisia. (Image in the public domain).
This basic education, religious above all, and this system of the replication of scholars, was paralleled by what could be called a system of general adult instruction. In Islamic thought, education, which here takes in religion and morals, is a process that ends at no determined stage or age but lasts an entire lifetime, as expressed in the saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad: 'Learn science from the cradle to the grave'.
Such figures as that of the literate man (adib), the pious man, the fakir or dervish, and that of the burgher or governor consorting with the learned, so typical of Muslim society, owed a great deal to this system of general instruction based on such institutions as the mosque or the zaouia, and carried forward by such people as the sermon-writer (khatib, wâ'iz), the poet, the religious reformer or the saint, and by a vast literature of popularizations made up of literary anthologies, encyclopaedias, local or general histories, biographical dictionaries, pious works, mystical treatises, etc.
The educational and cultural Islamic system led to the production of an abundant literature setting forth its organization and functioning, analysing its standards and values. Philosophers such as al-Farabi [7] and Miskawayh [8] proposed a theory of education whose end was to allow human beings to reach the perfection proper to their nature. At another level, al-Mawardi [9] proposed an education programme reconciling worldly and religious interests, and al-Ghazali [10], in his celebrated Hiyal' alum al-din [The Revival of the Religious Sciences], formulated a theoretical basis and devised a practical method for attaining the religious ideal of the good Muslim. All these educational theories, in line with a tradition that goes back to Graeco-Roman antiquity, are interested in the human being per se, considered in every aspect of his or her being. They do not concentrate on a particular stage of human life or a particular type of instruction or institution; they lay down a number of fundamental educational principles, though in a subsidiary and cursory manner: the restrained use of authority and corporal punishment, the need to awaken the child's interest, the value of example, and progression in learning. Above all, they insist on the importance of the pedagogical relationship and define the respective roles and duties of master and student.
Figure 2: In 2006, during an exhibition commemorating Ibn Khaldun and taking place on the 600th anniversary of his death, the façade of Pedro I's Palace in Sevilla, Spain, was illuminated with projections of images that recall the life and culture of the historian's times. (Source).
Thus, in Islamic thought education was perceived as a matter that, during infancy, devolved upon the family, especially the father, whereas in adulthood it became the individual's own responsibility. Yet no clear awareness of a unified system of education as a fundamental component of the social system bringing together all aspects of the replication of individuals and groups had come into being. The accent was placed rather on the individual soul, which had to be corrected (taqwim), improved (tahdhib), reformed (islah) and healed of its sickness (mudawat). General concepts such as ta'dib (educate) or ta'lim (instruct) concerned individuals and comprised acts or relations involving person-to-person relationships.
There was no generic term designating education as a social institution or the education system as a set of institutions, practices and items of knowledge, which in any case was not specific to Muslim society. Such a concept, together with the reality behind it, is closely linked to the emergence of modern nations and States, one of whose principal duties is in fact to manage and develop education [11].
Faithful to the general position he takes in the Muqaddima, that of a 'science of human society' (ilm al-ijtima' al-insani), Ibn Khaldun approaches education neither as a philosopher, a religious thinker, a moralist nor as a jurist—the four approaches adopted by Muslim thinkers who considered the phenomenon of education—but as a sociologist and historian. Yet, while his approach faithfully reflects the fundamental structural features of the Islamic education system (separation of the rural world from the urban world, discontinuity between the training of the person and training for a trade, and the cowardly and badly structured character of educational institutions), it does not apprehend the education system as forming a whole. The aspects of education that we would today classify under the reproduction of values are scattered throughout those chapters of the Muqaddima devoted to social organization and dynamics, power, and rural and urban ways of life. On the other hand, the aspects involving training, knowledge and knowhow are brought together in the two successive chapters dealing with the arts and sciences.
Figure 3: The opening two pages of the Arabic manuscript Suppl. 359 of the world history of Ibn Khaldun: Kitab al-'Ibar wa-diwan al-mubtada' wa-al-khabar fi ayyam al-'Arab wa-al-'Ajam wa-al-Barbar. 261 leaves; 26.5 x 17.5 cm, written in various hands, copied in 1140 H/1728 CE. Housed at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT. (Source).
The well-known concept of 'asabiyya, generally rendered as esprit de corps, solidarity or cohesion, is rarely seen other than from the sociological standpoint. But it also has to do with the world of values. It may even be said that this concept is the underlying value in tribal society, as it is the source of all forms of cohesion in a society organized according to an interlocking principle.
The foundations of asabiyya are what Ibn Khaldun calls nura (kinship), the feeling of affection for and attachment to close relatives and all who are of the same blood [12]. When a relative suffers an injustice or is attacked one feels humiliated and leaps to his or her defence in the same natural reflex that causes one to reciprocate aggression against oneself. Ibn Khaldun calls it a natural tendency that has always existed in human beings. It transmits itself spontaneously from one generation to the next and needs to be neither learned nor taught. It is to be found at the deepest level of a sort of instinct of preservation. But Ibn Khaldun admits that the relations that people are forced to maintain between themselves out of vital necessity are orderly and obey rules and laws. One of the functions of thought is to 'allow people to acquire, through their dealings with their fellows, knowledge of what they must do and what they must not do, of what is good and what is evil' [13].
Thanks to 'empirical intelligence' individuals are capable of discovering for themselves the rules and values that must guide their acts and their social life; but, as Ibn Khaldun points out, this would take too much time, 'as everything that depends on experience requires time' [14]. A much shorter way lies in imitating one's parents, teachers and elders in general. Ibn Khaldun thus poses the problem of the reproduction of values at the most general level, placing himself at the point of view of the individual, however, not that of society, without considering the social function of the reproduction of values as such. He fails here to disengage himself from a general attitude we find in philosophers, religious thinkers and moralists, one that might be called 'edifying'.
Figure 4: Autograph of Ibn Khaldun (upper left corner) on a manuscript of his Muqaddima. (Source).
Individual improvement and salvation are the aims here, requiring the acquisition of certain forms of behaviour and the assimilation of certain rules and values. Ibn Khaldun does not state exactly which ones, but it can safely be affirmed that he means here what Muslim thinkers commonly call the adab, ways of doing, social conventions or rules of behaviour. The adab reach into all fields of human activities and behaviour. They have been codified down to the smallest details, as can be seen in al-Mawardi and al-Ghazali, forming a part of that broad, permanent moral and religious mechanism for human education referred to above.
In other respects, Ibn Khaldun adopts an approach that could without hesitation be described as sociological. It can be illustrated by three examples—examples in which he analyses the courage of rural folk, the corruption of urban dwellers and the phenomenon of imitation. Courage is a cardinal virtue among country people, he observes. They have neither militia nor walls nor gates. They see to their own defence, bearing arms and keeping themselves on the alert at all times. In them, therefore, 'daring has become a character trait, and courage second nature'. Among townsmen, however, this virtue is nearly absent since they are brought up in a state of dependence, sheltered behind their walls and protected by their militia and their governors; they are used to peace and comfort. In addition, their spirits are weakened and their courage annihilated by the weight of the constraints imposed on them by 'governmental and educational laws' [15].
Figure 5: Front cover of the most recent edition of the Arabic text of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddima, edited by Abdessalam al-Shaddadi. (Casablanca, 2005).
Corrupt morals are virtually inescapable for urban dwellers. An affluent life leads to the search for pleasure, the appearance of new habits and of new needs. These become increasingly difficult to satisfy, particularly when dynasties decline and taxes become heavier. Townspeople use any means, good or bad, to cope, ineluctably entering 'the ways of immorality' [16]. In rural areas, on the other hand, a life of making do with necessities constantly calls for control over appetites. The vices and defects that can be acquired are few compared to those of townspeople, and country people remain close to their original natural state and are more inclined to good [17].
Imitation is held by Ibn Khaldun to be a general phenomenon: the dominated always imitate those who dominate them. This is true of children vis-à-vis their parents, pupils vis-à-vis their teachers, subjects vis-à-vis their princes and dominated nations vis-à-vis dominant nations; it holds true as much for custom and behaviour as for all aspects of civilization. Ibn Khaldun finds the explanation for this phenomenon in the fact that the dominated believe in the perfection of those who dominate them [18].
In all three examples the question of values and their transmission is no longer presented as an exclusively individual matter. The courage of rural folk, like the corrupted morals of townspeople and the phenomenon of imitation, do not depend only on subjective will, nor are they the result of incitement: they are the outcome of actual conditions.
As can be seen, without stating the matter explicitly or systematically, Ibn Khaldun deals with all aspects of the reproduction of values in Muslim society. He begins by assuming, in a sort of philosophical anthropological postulate, that human beings, who are endowed with the faculty of thought, organize their relations with the world and each other according to laws and rules that each individual learns through his or her own personal experience, and especially by impregnation from the family and cultural milieu. At the same time, he reveals deeper values, connected with the very functioning of society, whose reproduction occurs independently of individual wills.
Figure 6: Front cover of the French translation by Vincent Monteil of the Muqaddima: Discours sur l'histoire universelle. Al-Muqaddima. (Paris: Sindbad, 3rd edition, 1997, 1132 pp.)
Lastly, it is important to note that Ibn Khaldun brings up twice, although both times in an incidental manner, the matter of the inculcation of religious values. Speaking of the consequences of Koranic instruction on mental development, he points out that it has become 'the symbol of Islam in all Muslim cities', as it allows articles of faith to be inculcated in the heart of the child from the tenderest age. In his analysis of the methods practised in the various regions of the Muslim world he stresses the 'total' linguistic 'deficiency' to which precocious Koranic instruction leads, particularly when it is unique and exclusive, as it was in the North Africa. He approves, at least in theory, of the reforms proposed by Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi, whereby the child would first be taught language and the rules of calculation, but he finds that such ideas clash with habits too deeply ingrained to allow those ideas to be implemented [19], thereby confirming one of the structural features of the Islamic education system, namely that of the basically religious nature of the instruction given to children and of the discontinuity between that instruction and the training of scholars. Moreover, when examining the matter of faith and works in the chapter he devotes to theology, Ibn Khaldun gives a personal interpretation of it based on his theory of habitus (malaka, see 'Learning the Arts' below). In substance, he says that what is required in faith and works is not just a formal declaration or mechanical gesture but a 'knowledge of state', a 'permanent disposition', an 'indelible colouring' of the soul [20]. The essential task of the religious institution is to lead the individual towards such a realization. Ibn Khaldun leaves it up to men of religion to determine and describe the exact practical rules and procedures.
3. Training in Knowledge and Know-How
Ibn Khaldun deals with the learning of trades and the teaching of the sciences in connection with the 'means of existence' argument and the general table of the sciences of his time that drawn up in the last and very long chapter of the Muqaddima. It is not certain that he would agree with our reconciliation of the two, since he sees technology as a field of knowledge and of thought linked to action and consequently inferior to science, which is pure speculation.
In Ibn Khaldun's theory of society the development of the arts (i.e. the trades, in the language of the period) and the sciences corresponds at the human level to the perfection of the spiritual nature and at the social level to the final stage of the gradual transition of society from the rural order to the urban order. The gulf between the rural and urban worlds is perceived as a natural consequence of the passage from the 'necessary' to the 'superfluous', from the 'simple' to the 'complex'. Rural society, being satisfied with the necessary, cultivates only the simplest of the arts, such as agriculture and weaving; it has no knowledge of writing and the sciences, and though at times some of its members may take an interest in such matters they can never reach perfection [21]. In the cities, the arts and sciences develop as production expands and diversifies, as wealth increases and as a taste for the superfluous and luxury comes into being [22].
Figure 7: Front cover of Ibn Khaldun: An Essay in Reinterpretation by Aziz Al-Azmeh (Central European University Press, 2003).
The term art (sina'a) is used by Ibn Khaldun in a very wide acceptation, covering even the vocational and practical aspects of scientific activities. The various arts, presented in relation to 'the means of existence', are classed according to their uses and their social importance before more systematic exposés are made on the main ones. The religious and intellectual offices, such as those of the judge, the mufti or the teacher, are placed on the same level as the other arts considered as 'means of existence'. But, as Ibn Khaldun points out [23], though these are 'noble' as to their ends, they are generally poorly paid.
Ibn Khaldun limits himself here to two remarks: the arts must necessarily be learned from a master; they are highly specialized, and a person who masters one art cannot generally master a second. He does not conceive of technology as a body of knowledge independent of those who possess it. Technique, though understood as something at once practical and intellectual (amr 'amali fikri), is reduced to a skill that may be learned only by observation and imitation (naql al-mu'ayana).
Figure 8: Front cover of the English translation of the famous essay Ibn Khaldun: The Birth of History and the Past of the Third World by Yves Lacoste (Verso, 1997, Paperback).
Learning itself is seen by Ibn Khaldun as the acquisition of a 'habitus' (malaka). He uses this concept, which for philosophers [24] had an essentially moral and intellectual meaning, very widely to cover a vast field going from language to faith, the arts and the sciences. He defines it as 'a stable quality resulting from a repeated action until its form has taken final shape' [25]. Habitus are like gradually formed 'colours' of the soul. They take shape when a person is still in his or her 'state of natural simplicity'. Once the soul acquires a given aptitude it loses its primary simplicity, its readiness weakens and its capacity to assimilate a second aptitude diminishes. We shall return to this important concept later.
5. The Teaching of the Sciences
The ideas developed by Ibn Khaldun on teaching belong to his encyclopedic presentation of the sciences. This opens with a theory of knowledge and a general presentation of the socio-historical and epistemological bases of scientific development. Then the sciences, categorized as the rational—'those that people can apprehend by virtue of the very nature of thought ' [26] —and the traditional— 'those founded upon authority' [27] —are described as to their subjects, their methods, their results and their historical development. Teaching is approached at the end of this enumeration and before the sections on language, the learning of language and the various forms of literary production. Two sides can be distinguished to Ibn Khaldun's presentation, one covering the principles of teaching, the other its methods and content. The learning of language is dealt with separately.
At birth, says Ibn Khaldun, we are entirely devoid of knowledge; we are still no more than 'raw material'. We then gradually gain 'form' 'thanks to the knowledge we acquire through our organs'. Essentially ignorant, we fulfil ourselves as human beings only through knowledge. Ibn Khaldun distinguishes three types of knowledge corresponding to as many 'degrees of thought'. There is practical knowledge, the product of 'the discerning intelligence', which allows us to act in the world in a controlled fashion; then 'a knowledge of what we must or must not do and of what is good or evil', which we acquire through our 'empirical intelligence' and which guides us in our relations with our fellows; and, lastly, theoretical knowledge of everything that exists in the world, which we conquer by our 'speculative intelligence'. Only this last type of knowledge, the subject of the sciences, gives us the possibility of reaching perfection of soul [28].
The teaching of the sciences is necessary for two reasons: firstly, thorough knowledge of them requires a lengthy period of learning that can be carried out only with the help of teachers [29]; secondly, their very development requires them to be communicated to others.
Ibn Khaldun's pedagogical conception is based on the central concept of the habitus, mentioned earlier in connection with the learning of the arts. Whether it concerns the child or the adult, the practical arts or the sciences, moral or religious values, the aim of all pedagogical action is the formation in the soul of a stable disposition. Once it has been acquired, this disposition will not disappear. Ibn Khaldun often compares it to a dye that lasts until the cloth to which it has been applied is destroyed.
All habitus, says Ibn Khaldun, are necessarily corporal. He understands the habitus as something the soul can acquire only through the senses, as opposed to another type of knowledge proper to the prophets and mystics, which can be obtained only through the contemplation by the soul of its own essence. This concerns both the physical and the intellectual aptitudes, starting with the very fact of thinking [30]. The formation of a habitus initially requires continuous repetition until the form is fixed. In order to obtain maximum efficiency, it must be a practice (bi-'l-mubashara) and modelled on the most perfect exemplars with the help of the best teachers, preferably following methods of direct observation (bi-'l-mu'ayana). Ibn Khaldun thinks that the soul has but fairly limited receptivity (isti'dad). For one thing, it cannot receive several 'dyes' at a time; then, when it has taken on one of these, its capacity to receive others gradually diminishes [31]. Training must thus start from the earliest age, when the soul is still virgin, 'because the first things to be imprinted into hearts are like foundations for the habitus; and the building's value is determined by that of its foundations' [32]. Accordingly, the choice of content in the earliest instruction is of decisive importance. Moreover, in the field of the arts as well as in that of the sciences, Ibn Khaldun advises strictly against the teaching of more than one subject at a time. Moreover, he points out, observation shows us that 'it is rare to find a person skilled in one art who is then capable of excelling in another and to the same degree' [33].
Figure 9: Front cover of An Arab Philosophy of History: Selections from the Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun of Tunis by Charles Issawi (translator) (Darwin Press, 1987).
Ibn Khaldun calls attention to another important factor in the formation of habitus, namely that of authority. An overly severe attitude on the part of the teacher leads to the most harmful consequences, particularly for young children. In this connection, he cites the situation of slaves, servants and oppressed nations. Constraint and oppression break the character, sap energy and in the end destroy their subjects' capacity for realizing 'their destiny and their full humanity' [34]. He therefore recommends moderate use of authority and punishment, taking into consideration the personality of the pupil and the need 'to instruct without afflicting the pupil and killing his or her spirit'.
Finally, habitus can be either good or bad; they may take the form of either virtue or vice, good or evil, good taste or bad, refinement or crudeness, clarity and exactness or confusion. They also differ in degree, depending on the quality of teaching and of the models imitated and on the general level of development of the civilization.
The question of the teaching of the sciences Ibn Khaldun approaches from his concept of the habitus. In order to master any discipline and fully possess it, he says, it is necessary to acquire 'a habitus that allows the principles and rules to be grasped, problems to be fully understood and secondary questions to be drawn from principles' [35].
The formation of such a habitus demands a rigorous approach in which must be taken into consideration the student's 'receptivity' and power to assimilate, together with the quantity of information contained in the subject to be taught and its complexity. Ibn Khaldun considers that the process must take place in three progressive stages, whose object and means he is careful to explain [36].
The first of these is a preparatory stage. Its object is to familiarize the student with the subject being taught and to prepare him or her to grasp its problems. This stage is limited to giving an overall view of the subject and emphasizing its main points. Explanations must be kept simple and general and allow for the student's capacity for understanding and assimilating.
The second stage goes deeper. Now the subject must be looked at from every angle and generalizations transcended. Explanations and commentaries must be exhaustive and all divergent points of view examined. The third stage is that of consolidation and mastery. The subject is again studied, in extenso, from the beginning, but this time the most complex and obscure points are gone into.
Ibn Khaldun lays great emphasis on the principle of the progressive approach. He says it is a serious error to begin by the most abstruse problems, as do many teachers who take no account of the student's state of preparation. Such a practice is most harmful, as the student tires rapidly and becomes discouraged. Worse still, in the belief that the difficulties encountered are intrinsic to the subject, he or she turns away from and abandons it. Going further into the matter, Ibn Khaldun perceives clearly that the inculcation of a body of knowledge is inseparable from the development of the mental aptitudes necessary for that knowledge to be assimilated. As he points out: 'At the beginning the student is literally incapable of understanding anything at all, except for a very few points that, in any case, he or she grasps only in an approximate and summary manner, when they are explained with examples drawn from sensory experience. Then the student's readiness gradually develops: the problems of the subject become more familiar with every repetition, and he or she then goes from approximate knowledge to an ever deeper assimilation' [37].
Ibn Khaldun supplements these general principles with a number of practical recommendations. He recommends to teachers that they present their students with consistent teaching material suited to their capacities, keeping to the works selected for the course and seeing to it that they are completely assimilated before passing on to others; not teaching two subjects at the same time, not stretching out the study of a subject over too long a period, in order not to break the interdependence between its different facets. He advises students not to 'dwell on disputes over words' and especially not to weigh themselves down with formal logic. 'Indeed', he says, 'the only natural means of attaining truth is the natural readiness to think, once it is relieved of all false ideas and the thinker places his or her entire confidence in divine mercy. Logic is nothing more than a description of the act of thinking and in most cases follows it' [38].
On the question of the content of science teaching, Ibn Khaldun limits himself to a few remarks inspired by the actual state of education in his time. He denounces three abuses: the overload of work imposed on students; the excessive importance given to the 'instrumental sciences'; and the use of précis. The sciences, particularly religious and literary science, had undergone considerable development under Islam, and Ibn Khaldun describes it in detail. In agreement with his contemporaries, he judges this development to have reached its apogee and its term [39].
How and in what form should the enormous accumulated corpus be transmitted? During the preceding centuries sustained efforts had been made to devise adequate didactic forms: syntheses, treatises, précis and commentaries. For each subject there was a plethora of works available. Each school of thought or trend had its own collection, often with methods and terminologies that were peculiar to it. Ibn Khaldun wondered how the average student could be required to assimilate it all. Teachers, he suggests, should limit themselves to teaching their students the subject-matter of their own schools. But he barely believes in this solution himself, 'owing to force of habit'. Précis do not seem to him to furnish an effective remedy; on the contrary, they only increase the harm done. Intended to 'facilitate memorization for students, they render the task harder for them'. Ibn Khaldun makes two reproaches: by trying to 'fit a maximum number of ideas into a minimum number of words', they are injurious to the quality of expression and lead to comprehension difficulties; and they sow confusion in the students' minds 'by presenting them with the ultimate findings of a subject before preparing them to take in those findings' [40]. Faced with such a situation, it is understandable that he should speak out against the propensity of his age to dwell on the study of the sciences described as 'auxiliary' or 'instrumental'—such as grammar, logic and legal principles.
These are theoretically only means to be placed at the service of the fundamental sciences that are sought for their own sakes. Thus, philology and arithmetic should serve the religious sciences, while logic and philosophy should be similarly available to theology. Too much time spent on the religious sciences is only further weighing down the burden borne by students and distracting them from the essential [41].
This view of education is not seen by Ibn Khaldun as being linked to institutions or places. It appears rather as a private, individual matter at the level of each of its three components: science, teachers and students. The individual soul fulfils itself in and through knowledge. The invention and development of the sciences meets a spiritual necessity above all. Though perfectible, the sciences are conceived as constituting a closed universe, or at least one tending towards a certain completion. The greater part of scientific activity must be devoted to the task of organizing the various fields of knowledge into individualized subjects capable of being transmitted. Thus of the objects assigned by Ibn Khaldun to 'the composition of works', five out of eight deal with organization and the transmission of knowledge: definition of the subject, the systematic exposé of results, the righting of errors, commentary and summary [42].
With the progress of civilization, science became professionalized, organizing itself according to principles and rules, making use of a specialized methodology and terminology; it was practised as a trade. When Ibn Khaldun attempts to trace out a history of education, he concentrates on the sanad, i.e. the network of teachers, across space and time, who guarantee the quality of the knowledge transmitted. Moreover, the history of the sciences is essentially epitomized for him in that of the basic works that have been composed within each subject, with their main commentaries and abstracts. Thus on the one hand, and within each subject, there are a number of established works; on the other, chains of authorities to transmit them: this sums up the institution of education. Ibn Khaldun barely mentions such places as colleges (madrasas) or convents (khanqas, rubut), which he considers only in the role of material assistance to students and teachers (board and lodging) [43]. Thus indirectly, and several centuries in advance, he confirms one of the invariable structural features of the education system in Muslim societies, namely the precarious nature of its institutions.
9.1. Notes
[1] Abdesselam Cheddadi (Morocco) was professor in the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University Muhammad V, Rabat. Translator of the autobiography of Ibn Khaldun under the title Le voyage d'occident et d'orient [The Journey to West and East] (1980), extracts from the Kitab al-Ibar, under the title Peuples et nations du monde [The World's Peoples and Nations] (2 vols., 1986), and numerous studies on aspects of the thought of Ibn Khaldun. He is also the editor of the Arabic text of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddima (Casablanca, 2005, 3 vols.).
[2] The author's original title was 'Education in Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddima'.
[3] Cf. E. Gellner, Nations and nationalism, Oxford, Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1983, pp. 11-18, 29-35.
[4] Cf. G. Makdisi, The Rise of Colleges, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1981; The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1990.
[5] See H.J. Cohen, The Economic Background and Secular Occupations of Muslim Jurisprudents and Traditionists in the Classical Period of Islam (until the Middle of the Eleventh Century), J.E.S.H.O., January 1970, pp. 16-61; J.E. Gilbert, The Ulama of Medieval Damascus and the International World of Islamic Scholarship, Ph.D. dissertation, Ann Arbor, University Microfilms, 1977.
[6] G. Makdisi, op. cit.
[7] See particularly Ara' ahl al-madina al-fadila [The Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Virtuous City] and Kitab tahsil as-sa'ada [The Book of the Attainment of Happiness]. A profile of al-Farabi is included in this series of '100 Thinkers on Education'.
[8] See Kitab tahdhib al-akhlaq [The Book of Moral Education].
[9] See Adab ad-dunya wa-d-din [The Rules of Propriety for the Wordly Life and the Religious Life].
[10] A profile of al-Ghazali is included in this series of '100 Thinkers on Education'.
[11] E. Gellner, op. cit., pp. 35-38.
[12] Cf. Muqaddima Ibn Khaldun, 'Abd al-Wahid Wafi, Cairo, undated, Vol. II, pp. 484-85; French translation by Vincent Monteil, Vol. I, pp. 256-58; English translation by F. Rosenthal, Vol. I, pp. 264-65, (hereafter designated as Fr. tr. and Engl. tr). All quotations from the Muqaddima given in the present essay were translated from Arabic to French by the author.
[13] Muqaddima, III, pp. 1012-13; Fr. tr. II, p. 878-80; Engl. tr. II, pp. 417-19.
[14] Ibid., III, p. 1012; Fr. tr., II, p. 878; Engl. tr., II, p. 418.
[15] Ibid., II, pp. 478-81; Fr. tr., pp. 249-54; Engl. tr., pp. 257-61.
[16] Ibid., II, p. 888 ff.; Fr. tr., II, p. 765 ff.; Engl. tr., II, p. 291 ff.
[17] Ibid., II, pp. 474-79; Fr. tr., I, pp. 246-51; Engl. tr., pp. 253-58.
[18] Ibid., II, pp. 510-11; Fr. tr., I, pp. 291-92; Engl. tr., pp. 290-300.
[19] Ibid., III, pp. 1249-53; Fr. tr., pp. 1222-26; Engl. tr., III, pp. 300-05.
[20] Ibid., III, p. 1072 ff.; Fr. tr., III, p. 965 ff.; Engl. tr. III, p. 39 ff.
[21] Ibid., II, pp. 935, 961; Fr. tr., pp. 816, 847; Engl. tr., II, pp. 346, 378.
[22] Ibid., II, pp. 936-39; Fr. tr., II, pp. 817-19; Engl, tr., II, pp. 347-49.
[23] Ibid., II, pp. 925-26; Fr. tr., pp. 805-07; Engl. tr., pp. 334-35.
[24] See Avicenna, for example, in Shifa'.
[25] Muqaddima, II, p. 935; Fr. tr., II, p. 816; Engl. tr., II, p. 346.
[26] Ibid., III, pp. 1025-26; Fr. tr., II, p. 897; Engl. tr., II, p. 436.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid., III, pp. 1008-09; Fr. tr., II, pp. 873-75; Engl. tr., II, pp. 411-13.
[29] Ibid., III, pp. 1017-18; Fr. tr., pp. 887-88; Engl. tr., II, pp. 424-426.
[30] Ibid., III, p. 1019; Fr. tr., II, p. 889; Engl. tr., II, p. 426.
[31] Ibid., II, p. 942; Fr. tr., pp. 824-25; Engl. tr., pp. 354-55.
[32] Ibid., III, p. 1249; Fr. tr., II, p. 1222; Engl. tr., II, p. 301.
[33] Ibid., II, p. 942; Fr. tr., pp. 824-25; Engl. tr., pp. 354-55.
[34] Ibid. , III, pp. 1253-54; Fr. tr., III, pp. 1226-29; Engl. tr., pp. 305-07.
[35] Ibid., III, p. 1019; Fr. tr., II, p. 888; Engl. tr., II, p. 426.
[36] Ibid., III, pp. 1243-45; Fr. tr., III, pp. 1218-21; Engl. tr., III, pp. 292-94.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Ibid., III, p. 1248; Engl. tr., p. 298.
[39] Ibid., III, p. 1027; Fr. tr., II, p. 901; Engl. tr., II, p. 439.
[40] Ibid., III, p. 1242; Fr. tr., p. 1217-18; Engl. tr., p. 291.
[41] Ibid., III, pp. 1248-49; Engl. tr., pp. 298-300.
[42] Ibid., III, pp. 1237-40; Fr. tr., III, pp. 1211-14; Engl. tr., III, pp. 284-88.
[43] Ibid., III, pp. 1021, 1025; Fr. tr., II, pp. 892, 897; Engl. tr., II, pp. 430, 435.
9.2. Works by Ibn Khaldun
In Arabic
- Kitab al-Ibar [The Book of Advice]. Ed. by N. Hurini. 7 vols. Cairo, Bulaq, 1867 (H. 1284).
- Muqaddima Ibn Khaldun [Ibn Khaldun's Introduction to History]. 4 vols. Cairo, Abd a-Wahid Wafi, 1957.
- [The Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun]. 3 vols. Paris, E. Quatremère, 1858. (In Arabic)
- Shifa' as-sa'il li tahdh ib al-masa'il [Satisfying Questions on the Correction of Problems]. Istanbul, M. Ibn Tawit at-Tanji, 1958.
- at-Ta rif bi-Ibn Khaldun wa rihlatuhu gharban wa sharqan [An Introduction to Ibn Khaldun and His Travels in West and East]. Cairo, M. Ibn Tawit at-Tanji, 1951 (H. 1370).
- Tarikh ad-duwal al-islamiya bi-l-Maghrib [A History of Islamic Countries in the Maghreb]. Algiers, W.M. de Slane, 1847 (H. 1263).
In Translation
- Les Prolégomènes d'Ebn Khaldoun [The Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun]. Fr. tr. W.M. de Slane. 3 vols. Paris, 1863.
- Ibn Khaldun: discours sur l'histoire universelle [Ibn Khaldun: a Presentation of Universal History]. Fr. tr. by V. Monteil. 3 vols. Beirut, 1967.
- The Muqaddima: an Introduction to History. Engl. tr. by F. Rosenthal. 3 vols. Princeton, N.J., 1958, new ed. 1967.
- Nations et peuples du monde [The World's Nations and Peoples]. Fr. tr. introd. and notes by Abdesselam Cheddadi. 2 vols. Paris, Sindbad, 1986. (Extracts from the 'Ibar.)
- La voie et la loi ou le maître et le juriste [The Way and the Law of the Master and the Lawyer]. Fr. tr. from Arabic presented and annotated by René Pérez. Paris, Sindbad, 1991.
- Le voyage d'occident et d'orient : autobiographie [Travels in West and East: an Autobiography]. Fr. tr., introd. and notes by Abdesselam Cheddadi. Paris, Sindbad, 1980.
9.3. Works about Ibn Khaldun, education and Islam
- Ahmad, A. The Educational Thought of Ibn Khaldun. Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society (Karachi), Vol. XIV, 1968, pp. 175-81.
- Berque, J., Ville et université: aperçu sur l'histoire de l'Ecole de Fès [Town and University: a Glimpse on the History of the Fes School]. Revue historique de droit français et étranger (Paris), 1948-1949, pp. 64-117.
- Buhs, H., The Educational System of the Muslims in the Middle Ages. Islamic Culture (Hyderabad), Vol. 1, 1927, pp. 442-72.
- Bulliet, R., The Patricians of Nishapur: a Study in Medieval Islamic Social History. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1972, pp. 249-54.
- Keddi, N., (ed.), Scholars, Saints and Sufis. Berkeley, Calif., University of California Press, 1972.
- Muhasib, J., At-Tarbiya ind Ibn Khaldun [Education according to Ibn Khaldun], al-Mashriq, XLIII, 1949, pp. 365-98.
- Qurayshi, M.A., The Educational Ideas of Ibn Khaldun. Journal of the Maharaja Sayajirao University (Baroda), Vol. XIV, 1965, pp. 83-92.
- Sourdel, D.; Makdisi, G., (eds.). L'Enseignement en Islam et en Occident au Moyen Age [Education in the Islamic World and in the West in the Middle Ages]. Revue des Etudes Islamiques (Paris), special issue, Vol. XLIV, 1976.
- Tibawi, A. L., Philosophy of Muslim Education. Islamic Quarterly (Hyderabad), Vol. IV, No. 2, 1957, pp. 78-89.


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More than 100,000 people are expected to descend on Indio next weekend for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and the fashion world will be watching. While Arcade Fire and Kings of Leon are jamming onstage, fashion and lifestyle companies will be vying for the attention of festivalgoers offstage, with branded cooling tents, beach balls, Coachella "survival kits" at the Empire Polo Club grounds, plus pool parties with bottomless cocktails and their own live music at hotels and estates offsite.
In 12 years, the three-day spring break for adults has become a branding juggernaut approaching Sundance Film Festival proportions. At Sundance, gift lounges dominate the freebie scene, but at Coachella, brands want to reach a wider audience of "influencers" with events such as the G by Guess Artist Retreat Pool Party and BBQ, the A|X + 944 Neon Carnival, the Mulberry BBQ & Pool Party and the fourth-annual Jeremy Scott + Adidas Shindig.
Brands send clothes to celebrities ahead of time in hopes they will be photographed wearing them, distribute promotional items, and sponsor social events with the goal of generating traditional and social media coverage, and, eventually, sales. At the same time, design teams are there, studying the way festival goers dress so they can turn ideas around and sell them next year.
All this has developed around a festival initially conceived as an alternative to corporatized live music experiences with high ticket prices. And it is the idea of that indie spirit that makes Coachella so attractive to fashion brands such as H&M, Lacoste, Levi's, Havaianas and Ray-Ban. (Ironically, the festival itself has evolved into a rather pricey event where guests must pay $269 for three-day tickets — no more day passes — and they must move quickly; tickets sell out in a matter of hours.)
"Coachella is underground, not rebel, but less mainstream than a traditional concert format," says Darin Skinner, Guess' senior vice president of stores, including G by Guess, the Guess brand's younger sibling. "That's how we see G by Guess. The front side of the herd, not the herd."
In one of the brand's biggest marketing initiatives of the year, G by Guess will be sponsoring a party for 750 to 1,000 guests at an 81/2-acre estate in Indio, which boasts its own private lake and an airport. Skinner has also hired a "delta force" of models to ride around the festival on G by Guess-branded bikes, distributing 5,000 Coachella survival kit fanny packs.
More than celebrities, Skinner is targeting the 100,000 festival goers as potential customers. His measure of success? Tweets, texts, Facebook updates, and blog and YouTube mentions of the brand.
Guess is also sending 25 people from its design team to Coachella, to take notes on what folks in the crowd are wearing. (Kate Moss popularized the "festival chic" style of dressing at Glastonbury in Somerset, England, in 2005, when she singlehandedly kicked off the Hunter boot craze by wearing the wellies with sexy denim cutoffs.)
Festival chic, with its carefully calculated, just-rolled-out-of-the-tent look, has gained momentum with the growth of Coachella, and it continues to influence fashion.
Forever 21 is selling a "Coachella" tank top in a neon, Navajo-inspired print. The spring 2011 Diesel Black Gold collection (with lots of 1970s-tinged whip-stitched leather jackets and lace-front skirts) was inspired by Coachella, where the brand hosted a party last year. And the spring 2011 Armani A|X collection advertising campaign ("The A|X Style Festival") was shot at the Empire Polo Club, where the festival is held. Armani AX is using its Neon Carnival event, now in its second year, to unveil its new neon, aviator-style Solar Remix sunglasses with interchangeable brow bars, to 1,500 guests.
Kate Bosworth, reality TV star Olivia Palermo and Kirsten Dunst are expected to attend the Mulberry BBQ and Pool Party, dressed in Mulberry styles, along with bloggers, stylists and editors from Teen Vogue, Style.com and other fashion media outlets. The British clothing and accessories brand also has a page on Mulberry.com devoted to "festival fashion," including flat sandals and the Edie bag with a guitar strap.
"People like to see celebrities being themselves, not just being photographed on an arrival board with logos in the back," says Vanessa Lunt, communications director for Mulberry, which has had synergy with the music industry for some time, booking up-and-coming bands for store openings and fashion week parties, and enlisting DJ Alexa Chung to design the popular "Alexa" bag.
For celebrities, the freebies start flowing even before they pack their bags, as clothing labels "seed" their products, hoping celebrities will be photographed wearing them. "People are paying a lot more attention to street style. And there is a lot of it at music festivals," says Ali Froley, a partner at the fashion public relations firm Bismarck Phillips in Los Angeles.
Before Coachella last year, she sent out blue-and-white tie-dye dresses from the up-and-coming New York label Suno to Bosworth, and a pair of Joie sandals to Rachel Bilson. They were photographed wearing the items, and those images continue to have an effect because they're on the Web, Froley said.
"This year, we are reaching out to performers too," Froley said. Bethany Cosentino, the lead singer of Best Coast, will be curating a selection of festival looks on the retail site RevolveClothing.com, which is a Bismarck Phillips client. "We're seeding our products from clients that make sense," Froley added. "I'm not sending a Lanvin bag, but I am sending Current/Elliot shorts."
The attraction for those watching is to see celebrities dressing themselves, Froley says. "I don't think stylists are styling these girls. So it's a chance for them to say, 'This is who we are.'"
Who they are in free clothes, anyway.


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This is our Australia site, and it looks like you're in United States. Do you want to go to www.wildtangent.com?
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Essential cookies are cookies that WildTangent uses to store user information that allows a user to play and purchase games conveniently. The essential cookies WildTangent include:
To facilitate actions such as playing Facebook games and commenting on games via Facebook and Twitter, WildTangent uses code obtained from these partners, which then sets cookies under one of the wildtangent domains (e.g., wildtangent.com, wildtangent.fr, wildtangent.co.uk). Among the essential cookies WildTangent cookies set by our partners are:
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text:
Kids These Days
It's a funny thing about slippery slopes—you can slide down them slowly. The principle behind the concept isn't that you must move swiftly from here down to there if you have no moral brakes, but that you will …Read More
Castles in the Sand
There are, when we disagree, almost always two disagreements. Most of the time the smaller disagreement is the bigger one. Consider election. There are some in the church who believe that God chooses who will believe His gospel. There are …Read More
Dividing Walls That Unite
"Be not ashamed of your faith; remember it is the ancient gospel of the martyrs, confessors, reformers and saints. Above all, it is the truth of God, against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail. Let your lives adorn your …Read More
Who Draws the Line?
As Jesus ascended into heaven, He delegated His authority to the Apostles to make disciples: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit …Read More
Why Do We Draw the Line?
In recent years, talk of uniting around the center has been very popular in conservative evangelical quarters. One obvious reason for this is that many regard such a center as reflecting the fact that there is a solid core of …Read More
The Church is One
In the seventeenth chapter of his gospel, the Apostle John recounts the most extensive prayer that is recorded in the New Testament. It is a prayer of intercession by Jesus for His disciples and for all who would believe through …Read More
What Kind of Unity?
Thomas Manton, a seventeenth century minister, once wrote, "Divisions in the church breed atheism in the world." Certainly the lack of unity in the church distracts minds, breaks hearts, squanders energy, and inhibits evangelism. Unity in the church is important …Read More
Schism and the Local Church
Although the Great Schism occurred in the eleventh century, dealing with schismatic people in the local church has been a problem since the days of the apostles. Writing to the church at Corinth around AD 55, Paul said, "I appeal …Read More
Our Dear Volac, We have finished our review of your trainee evaluations. We congratulate you on your efficiency. Considering how many minions you have to supervise, it is quite a task to complete this much paperwork on top of your …Read More
The Missing Motive
I am notoriously bad at remembering anniversaries, and last year it was quite a surprise to discover that 2008 marked the fiftieth anniversary of my ordination to the Christian ministry. Not that the occasion was other than memorable. Indeed it …Read More
Out of the Many, One
In the title "United States of America," the emphasis is necessarily on the word united. When America was in its infancy and seeking to establish itself as a sovereign nation, it faced many challenges, not the least of which …Read More
That They May Be the One
The Lord Jesus prayed on the night before His death: "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father …Read More
For All the Saints
Unity matters. However, so does diversity. Indeed, unity and diversity unite in the very nature of God. God is three persons united in one essence. The world around us fails to see how God's creation reflects the Trinity, and it …Read More
Deeds Over Creeds
The English Reformer Hugh Latimer once remarked, "We ought never to regard unity so much that we would or should forsake God's Word for her sake." Wise words from a man who went to the stake, rather than compromise …Read More
True Catholicism
We have all heard it said, and some of you have even said it: "Let's just agree to disagree." If memory serves me, I have never used that expression, primarily because I don't think it makes much sense and …Read More


text:
Second Floor
Binghamton, NY
Fax: 607-770-4237
Hours of Operation:
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM - Monday - Thursday
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM - Friday
24-hour telephone coverage.
An on-call physician may be reached by calling the office telephone number. The answering service will assist you.
Our office was established to meet the health needs of your child. Our emphasis is in education, preventive care, and promoting good health. In addition to providers, our clinical staff includes experienced pediatric nurses and a full time social worker.
Information about financial assistance is available by calling 607-798-5506 or 607-798-5229.
Our Services
- Same day sick call
- Well and sick child care
- Immunizations
- Asthma management
- Lead screenings
- Phlebotomy (blood work)
- Education
- Crisis intervention
Prescriptions and Forms
Please plan ahead and allow seven days for completion of Physical forms for day care, camp, school, etc.
We request 3 business days to refill prescriptions. If your child is ill, diagnosing and prescribing over the phone is usually not in his/her best interest and we would encourage you to call and make an appointment. You can also request a prescription renewal through your Primary Care Patient Portal. Don't have a Portal? Talk to your healthcare provider today about signing up.
What to Bring to Your First Office Visit
If you are transferring from another office, please bring your child's immunization record to the first visit. If you do not have one, you should contact your child's previous health care provider or his/her school for a copy. A parent or a legal guardian should accompany the child to his/her first office visit. Court documentation should be presented at this visit if you are the legal guardian/representative. You should make arrangements with your child's previous doctor to have records transferred to our office. You may also stop in our office during regular business hours to sign a release so that we may obtain your child's records from his/her previous doctor. This is necessary to provide the best health care for your child and should be done in advance so records are available at the time of the first visit.
Gathering this information together for a permanent record will assist us in determining the best health care for your child. The detailed medical history we keep will prove valuable throughout your child's youth and adult life.
Calls to schedule appointments should be made during the office hours listed above. Sick appointments fill up quickly, so you should call early in the day.
Please call the office 24 hours in advance if you are unable to keep an appointment.
Here are a few things to have before calling the office:
- Age and approximate weight of child.
- Child's temperature - Always take your child's temperature before calling. Saying he or she "feels warm" is not enough.
- A list of symptoms.
- Names and dosages of any medications taken.
- A list of any allergies to medications.
- Name and telephone number of your pharmacy.
- Insurance information - Please inform our staff if you are a member of a local HMO or managed care plan.
Sick Calls Outside of Office Hours
If our office is closed and you have an emergency, you can reach the on-call provider by dialing the office number listed above. Your call will be returned as soon as possible, so please be sure your phone is available to receive this call. (Please note, our office phone number does not appear on caller ID.) Calls for routine requests should be made during regular office hours.
If it is an emergency:
We will refer you to the Lourdes Emergency Department for an evaluation. Please identify yourself as a patient with Lourdes DePaul Pediatrics. This helps to ensure our ability to maintain close contact with the emergency department staff.
Missed Appointments
Missing appointments may result in dismissal from the practice. Providers have a daily preset schedule; arriving late will delay other appointments and you may be asked to reschedule your appointment. Walk-ins are discouraged and can result in long wait times because patients with scheduled appointments will be seen first.
Insurance Referrals
Managed Care insurance plans require a referral from your primary care provider for appointments with specialists, emergency room visits, out of network physician visits, etc. It is your responsibility to inform this office at least two weeks in advance for the authorization. Our office should be notified the next working day of any emergency visits.
Patient Satisfaction
We look forward to meeting the health care needs of your children. Please feel free to communicate your concerns and questions to us.


text:
A Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling may have quashed a potential lawsuit seeking the restoration of the jury commissioners in Butler County.
Larry Thompson, a former county jury commissioner and a former president of the Pennsylvania State Association of Jury Commissioners, said a Sept. 17 ruling by the state Supreme Court nullifies the argument to retain the two part-time posts in the county.
"Right now, there is no action we can take," he said.
That ruling upheld the right of county commissioners to eliminate the jury commissioner positions.
Along with county President Judge Thomas Doerr, the jury commissioners create pools of prospective jurors for civil and criminal trials.
Although Thompson is now the county deputy register of wills, he remained involved with the jury association's battle to overturn a law signed by Gov. Tom Corbett in May that enabled counties to jettison the posts.
The county commissioners on May 23 voted to cut the jury commissioners at the end of this year, citing costs savings. The salaries and benefits of the posts are budgeted at roughly $71,000 for 2013.
Jury Commissioner Jon Galante said he hasn't ruled out suing the county.
"I'm researching all my options," Galante said.
Jury Commissioner Clinton Bonetti said he would consider participating in a lawsuit with Galante.
Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, said he would be disappointed if a lawsuit would be filed.
He said the outcome of the state court case was expected.
"We were very pleased with the Supreme Court ruling," McCarrier said. "It's what we thought it would be."


text:
MPEG seamless branching in Kathy Smith's Personal Trainer on CD-i
>> Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Kathy Smith's personal trainer CD was made possible by one of the techniques Philips invented: "MPEG seamless branching", which allows for a continuous video/audio MPEG stream to be displayed, even though it is made of a multiple of very short clips (about 7 second). There are only a few CD-i titles that use this technique; The best example is The Lost Ride, where Digital Video is presenting a virtual roller coaster. Interesting is that the development of this 'Seamless Branching' continued at Philips Research into development of a networked 3D car chasing game for CD-i. From the developer: "Two teams would compete against each other: the good cops and the bad villains. Each player would be part of one of the teams and through his car could see the whole city in 3D-generated MPEG video. MPEG seamless branching was going to be used to seamlessly arrange on the fly thousands of pre-produced road driving sequences (also played back at variable MPEG frame rates), in order to create the illusion of an interactive 3D of very high visual quality. Other cars were going to be shown as graphical sprites. The project did not get past the prototype stage because of its cost, but if it had been completed it would have been the most complex and ambitious CD-i game ever produced. Technically it was a combination of techniques applied in Kathy Smith Personal Trainer (seamless branching), Dead End (variable mpeg frame rates) and networked gaming (this was before the days of the Internet boom!). Too bad it did not happen. It was a lot of fun designing it though!"


text:
Give Us Your Gift-Giving Horror Stories
Between the travel, bad weather, and family functions, Christmas can be perilous. But nothing is more fraught than the act of gift giving. We know you people have gotten some awful gifts, and we want to hear about it.
Unlike last year when we asked you to share tales of holidays gone awry, the horror stories this year must all be gift related. Tell us about the awful sweater that your mother-in-law made you that your wife makes you wear every time you see her. Let us know about the completely inappropriate gift your boss got you in the office secret Santa. We're dying to hear about the most offensive swag you've gotten from companies you work with. A tale of an especially traumatic grab bag would be great. And of course we'd appreciate a story about getting into a fist fight trying to land your daughter the last Justin Bieber doll at the local Toys 'R Us, or the lengths you went to to fulfill a wish on someone else's Christmas list. Oh, and don't forget the time you tried to give your kid books for Christmas.
Here are the ground rules:
- Put your horror stories in the comments section of this post. I love hearing from you guys, but please do not email them to me.
- If you're not currently a commenter, find out how to become one here.
- Text is fine, but pictures are especially encouraged.
- Entries will be judged not only on content but also storytelling prowess. Remember, be concise.
- The deadline is noon on Monday, December 27th.
A completely biased judging panel consisting of myself and my team of elves will pick the winner on the 27th. The person with the worst gift-related horror story will get a $50 Visa Gift Card so you can buy yourself something nice that no one bothered to get you this year.
Now get in the comments and show us your worst!
[Photo via Shutterstock.com. And thanks to Spirit Fingers for the inspiration]


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If profound challenge forges political giants, does the small stuff fetch out the dwarves?
Well, maybe not exactly dwarves. But of the four plausible Democrats now running for mayor of New York City, none is a natural candidate for the Gracie Mansion hall of fame.
Yet one of them will most likely be living there next year.
Not long ago, this would have mattered a great deal. But today, maybe not so much.
That's because Gotham's next chief executive will be following three transformative mayors — men who successively helped to rescue the city from fiscal ruin (Ed Koch), proved that it can indeed be governed (Rudy Giuliani) and then effectively institutionalized the new normal (Mike Bloomberg).
Each man had his flaws, some of them profound. Each exuded controversy. And each — this must be said — wore out his welcome.
Yet it remains that most of the critical municipal-governance reforms of the past generation have either been written into law or incorporated so deeply into social expectations that even a hint of a return to the social dysfunction of the David Dinkins interregnum — theoldnormal — simply will not be tolerated. (You tell a Manhattan stroller mom that she must share a sidewalk with a vagrant.)
This leaves the 2013 candidates free to wage essentially content-free campaigns, and they're taking full advantage of this opportunity.
Most recently:
* Christine Quinn, the City Council speaker, movedto outlaw discrimination against unemployed people — adding yet another protected class to New York's already astonishingly long list of groups with the city's blessing to sue at the perception of a slight.
* Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, formally declared his intentions by informing New Yorkers that he is, in the words of wife Chirlane, a "working dad." This is so nice, but also probably the minimum to be expected of any father who's also mayor.
* Billy Thompson, the former comptroller who came tantalizingly close to defeatingBloomberg four years ago, and who has been resting ever since, announced that he's raised gobs of cash for this go-round. Good to see he has his eye on the basics.
* John Liu, the current comptroller, seems to have at least as much to fear from US Attorney Preet Bharara as he does from Democratic primary voters. But he did take time last week to rip Bloomberg for failing to establish a municipal Bureau of Housing-Mold Mitigation years ago, in anticipation of Superstorm Sandy.
Ah, the deliciously bearable lightness of running for mayor when everything's up to snuff in New York City.
With one enormous exception, of course — that being the public-education elephant standing over in the corner.
The next mayor will follow two immediate predecessors who ran aground on the public schools — Bloomberg, spectacularly so, as will become more apparent as time passes.
But this had much less to do with the righteousness of their cause than it did — does — with the political purchasing power of the United Federation of Teachers, a union with industrial-era sensibilities, but one lacking a conscience, a soul and a moral compass.
Nevertheless, the four Democrats running for mayor would swap their souls for a full-throated UFT endorsement — and soon enough one of them will.
That transaction likely will take meaningful public-school reform off the table for the next four years — and quite possibly forever.
Not that the candidates will concede any of this.
No, each will be running as the "education" candidate — or the "social justice" candidate, or the "vision candidate," or whatever the audience of the hour demands to hear.
This doesn't make them bad people, necessarily. It makes them politicians.
For a politician, nothing is more urgent than the present — than the advantage to be gained in the here and now — and these four seem more likely than most to tailor their convictions, and their promises, to fit the occasion. They don't have much else going for them.
Happily, in the New York tradition, campaign promises have no real post-Inauguration Day currency — and nobody expects otherwise.
So, to be deemed a success — if not a giant — the winner of this scrum needs only to sit back and pray that nothing destructively unexpected happens. Plus to remember that mayors, as with physicians, must always strive to first do no harm.


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October 1, 2012
Let's be clear
The concern I have is what happens when we can't move the ball, as we saw in the 4th quarter. Having broken long plays in all the games isn't a predictor of future ability to do so. You can bet South Carolina and Florida have looked at what Tennessee did defensively to hold us to 16 yards in the last 1/3 of the ball game.
Despite what we saw Saturday in the conference, there will come a game this season that we'll have to win without breaking 60+ yard plays offensively. I'm not sure it'll be this weekend, but it will happen. My concern is that we'll end up having to rely on Bobo to figure out how to get production out of an offense that the other team, either through scheme or match ups, has figured out, especially figured out how to stop the home run play. That is my concern.
I have loved what I've seen out of Bobo this season. He's shown the ability to adjust and get his players to preform extremely well. I just worry that we'll be in a position where we have a two point lead and 4 minutes on the clock and become unable to matriculate the ball down the field because someone has sold out to stop our running game and we become afraid to do the things that has put us in the lead.
To that end, here's hoping that we get the ball outside our own 20 if that is the case.
6 comments:
- Anonymous said...
While I agree, if Wooten had not dropped that pass that would have been a huge first down conversion and helped those numbers and gave the defense more rest.
I agree that we've got to kick it up a notch against Darth Visor.
- Anonymous said...
I have a similar dread, but one thing that I remembered that makes me not get too down, yet: The Missouri game. We weren't doing much of anything for a long time. There were no homeruns. There was no nothing... But then we got the ball moving, even as we were trailing (after the other guys hit some homerun balls). So, I think that shows it at least *can* happen; whether it will, especially as the level of competition steps up significantly, is another matter.
- Dawgfan17 said...
The only thing UT did is stack the box in the 4th as they knew we were going to run it to try to run out the clock. That won't work over the course of a game because if you stack the box then you are leaving our wr's 1v1. The only adjustment we need to make is that when teams stack the box we need to be willing to throw the ball and take some risk that we will have an incomplete pass that will stop the clock.
UT loaded the box at the beggining of the 3rd quarter and we had a beautiful play action roll out that netted 39 yards on the pass to Lynch. We just need to be willing to throw on first down late in games that we are winning so teams can't stack the box and we will be just fine.
- South FL Dawg said...
I share your concern, partially. Yes we need to do better than 2.85, but in the last 3 series where we failed to get a single first down, we had 6 rushes and 4 passes. I can't say we should abandon the run completely when we needed to keep the clock running. Wooten holding onto that pass would've helped. Other than that, we needed our OL to take over and instead Tennessee's d-line took over. We're not as tough upfront yet I don't think.
- Anonymous said...
We didn't fool anybody on what offensive plays we were going to run in that last quarter. I must've had a dozen family members and friends text me "Typical Bobo" or "Vintage Bobo."
- Anonymous said...
You guys are just unreal. This offense has put up more points in 5games than ANY other Georgia Team. There is no way you guys can be believing what you are saying. Look at the good picture. No team can have a 10 yard play or a TD on every play. Be realistic.You made your decision about Mike Bobo 3 years ago and your blinders won't allow you to see the drastic improvement there. I'm done.


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Staff writer
Before Kelly Robson's first season as the Marion High School girls' basketball coach, the team had won three games the previous year. Last year, they won five.
"We made it a goal to improve our skills, and the girls worked hard in the summer," Robson said. "The sophomores through seniors know what I'm expecting now, and we can pick up where we left off."
The Lady Warriors return four starters from last season in Kaelyn Thierolf, Megan Richmond, Kelli Hess, and Katey Ehrlich, each of them seniors that have contributed to the varsity team since they were freshmen.
Thierolf is the lone starter in the post, and despite good rebounding production, Robson noted the team would not be tall down low.
Robson also said Richmond has a knack for understanding where rebounds are going for a smaller athlete at 5-7.
Hess is playing with more confidence this year at the shooting guard position, and will provide outside scoring for the team.
Ehrlich played point guard last season, but will move off the ball this season, passing the main ball-handling duties to sophomore Kirsten Hansen. Robson said Ehrlich does a good job of driving the lane and drawing fouls.
Hansen was not a starter last season, but Robson said she could settle the team in tough situations.
"A few times last year when the defensive pressure stepped up, we let it frustrate us, and we didn't have anyone who could slow it down," he said.
Robson said it is a little early in the season to tell where reserve minutes will come yet, but mentioned junior Julia Hall and sophomores Bailey Robson, Marshelle Mermis, and Erika Hess as potential contributors.
The Lady Warriors begin their season Friday against Southeast of Saline High School in Marion, then the Marion Classic beginning Monday. Robson said he believes the team can win or lose every game in its early schedule, dependent on how the team plays together.
"I'm always about improvement," he said. "Obviously I hope we win more than five games this season. We're better than the last, and I hope it shows."


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Last updated Jan 31, 2019


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Hello, does anyone have any tips for songwriting, perhaps in terms of structure and rhythms? I'm an amateur pop/folk musician and I'm always looking for more insight into music theory without having to put my head in a book, so just any ideas or any tips you have would be very welcome. Please contribute whatever genre, maybe you could tell me how you go about writing a song, or what inspires you to write most songs.
Also, what's your view on lyrics. I often find there is atheist and heretical messages and themes in my lyrics, in fact I find it hard to avoid (it's not always intentional). How do you write your lyrics and do you think that its appropriate to put political or non-theist messages in your music? I'm sure there are both negatives and positives to doing so.
Views: 175
haha, cool. I agree with your take on lyrics too, I think people often put too much distance between song and poetry. It's also true that a lot of popular music now repeats cliches (although its hard to avoid), I think it's good to try say something or tell something that hasn't already been said. Music always has a purpose whether intentional or not, and lyrics always have a message, it's unavoidable because language is non-nuetral, in other words, if there are words in a song there is a message. I really admire how you embrace the message you want to spread in your music, in a way it's something I wouldn't have the guts to do. I don't mean to sound like an eager capitalist, but I worry about putting certain audiences off, thus potentially loosing their money and interest.
I would spout similar view-points to you but instead I try to conceal un-avoidable messages in my lyrics by making them cryptic (although this can mean they are pretentious or bizarre). Why did you decided to make a concept album like this? did you face any problems, in terms of venues or just finding collaborators or band members?
Also, I know exactly what you mean in terms of writing melodies and lyrics, I think theres a lot about the sounds of words and the intonation is key. oh, and what's it like not playing an instrument, i mean how do you go about writing songs, does it mean you have to write songs with you band? A fundamental way in which I write music is with a guitar or piano at my fingers, I would recommend learning to play something, just because of the independence it can give you, and also the time it gives you to fiddle with and create melodies.
"insisted most musicians just don't care what lyrics are about." My band mates don't care much for lyrics either, I find it strange because when I listen to music the singing and the lyrics are often the most prominent and enticing feature. I'm not sure whether they listen to music differently, which is possible, or perhaps they just emphasise the role of other instruments which they play. I can see your point with not wanting to become to immersed in your music, especially since you have other priorities, there's only so much you can give when the music isn't highly profitable. Although, learning to play may no be as time consuming as you think, chords are all you need to play and create music on guitar, a lot of people learn without lessons and in a short amount of time. If you can write an album i'm sure your more than capable, and it could solve your lack of collaborators problem(because you wouldn't need them so much).
I think I would be interested in sharing some music with you, I might need some time to make something to send, I can't promise i'll incorporate it into a performance, but i'm sure something original and useful would come of doing that. It's just interesting to see how other people write.
Knowing more about your personal tastes in music would help.
I listen to everything from classical to hip-hop, folk music from many countries and just about anything I can plug my ears into. Diversifying what you listen to can broaden your own output. I have also found that reading poetry helps with rhythmic construction.
However, I would advise picking up a couple of books or DVD's on music theory. It can help with alternate chord voicings and progressions which can vary the sound of your music.
The content of the lyrics is reflective of where your head is at any given moment. Naturally, if the bulk of your songs is anti-theist or political you may turn off some potential fan but what you produce should be what you feel. We can't please them all so just express yourself. The right ones will hear you.
Hope that didn't come off as too preachy but I am a reverend, y'know.
thanks Rev,
My aim is to create sophisticated and intelligent pop music, which means i'm often wading through the Beach Boys, The Shins and the Beatles kinda area, although this is pretty standard for a lot of musicians. I'm interested in pop songs with multiple section in 'Good Vibrations' structure, and also folk music and rock music old and new, although I often categorise it as some kind of 'pop', because it often has a slow to medium tempo and a strong melody. I agree that listening to different genres can broaden your horizons when song-writing, although, it soften hard to come by new and unconventional song structures, is there anything you could recommend?
"How 'bout an Athiest nexus/musicians song contest? I'm up for it!"
It's possible, we'd have to discuss how it would work though, I think also it would have to run for a few months just so everyone can get something created.
cool stuff, I was enjoying some of cosmic gigolo.
Similarly to what I asked Rick, how did you feel making an album with, not necessarily a message but a considerably ideological slant? Did you face any problems along the way because there a secular themes within your music? do you feel weary or putting off potential audiences, and have you had a good reception from non-thiest groups?
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If you are being treated with any of the following medications, you should not use zinc without first talking to your health care provider.
Amiloride (Midamor) -- Amiloride is a potassium-sparing diuretic (water pill) that may increase the levels of zinc in your blood. Do not take zinc supplements if you take amiloride.
Blood pressure medications, ACE Inhibitors -- A class of medications called ACE inhibitors, used to treat high blood pressure, may decrease the levels of zinc in your blood. ACE inhibitors include:
Antibiotics -- Zinc may decrease your body's absorption of two kinds of antibiotics, quinolones and tetracyclines. These include:
However, doxycycline (Vibramycin) does not seem to interact with zinc.
Cisplatin (Platinol-AQ) -- This drug, used for chemotherapy to treat some types of cancers, may cause more zinc to be excreted in your urine. If you are undergoing chemotherapy, do not take zinc or any other supplement without talking to your oncologist.
Deferoxamine (Desferal) -- This medication, used to remove excess iron from the blood, also increases the amount of zinc that is lost in urine.
Immunosuppressant medications -- Since zinc may make the immune system stronger, it should not be taken with corticosteroids (such a prednisone), cyclosporine, or other medications intended to suppress the immune system.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) -- Zinc interacts with NSAIDs and could reduce the absorption and effectiveness of these medications. Examples of NSAIDs, which help to reduce pain and inflammation, include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naprosyn (Aleve), piroxicam (Feldene), and indomethacin (Indocin).
Penicillamine -- This medication, used to treat Wilson's disease (where excess copper builds up in the brain, liver, kidney, and eyes) and rheumatoid arthritis, decreases the levels of zinc in your blood.
Thiazide diuretics (water pills) -- This class of medications lowers the amount of zinc in your blood by increasing the amount of zinc that is passed in your urine. If you take thiazide diuretics, your doctor will monitor levels of zinc and other important minerals in your blood:


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To promote the New York International Latino Film Festival, ad agency Wing New York came up with a slew of stereotypes in major motion pictures and designed the crap out of them. I guess the point of the ad campaign is to say that this film festival is above all of the following clichés? All I know is that I will cringe the next time I see a movie starring a down-on-her-luck maid, a girl trapped inside of her own car in a horror flick, or anytime a person utters the words "We've got company."
[New York International Latino Film Festival via AdFreak]