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South African Journal of Education
On-line version ISSN 2076-3433
Print version ISSN 0256-0100
S. Afr. j. educ. vol.33 n.4 Pretoria Jan. 2013
Active facilitation of focus groups: Exploring the implementation of inclusive education with research participants
Norma RA RommI; Norma M NelII; Lloyd DN TlaleIII
IDepartment of Adult Education and Youth Development, University of South Africa. firstname.lastname@example.com
IIDepartment of Psychology of Education, University of South Africa
IIIDepartment of Inclusive Education, University of South Africa
In this article, we explain how we took an "active" approach to focus group discussions with teachers in three South African schools. The topic of discussion was their views on the implementation of inclusive education. We shall also show how we sought feedback from the participants on their experiences of these discussions. In seeking this feedback, we were interested in seeing if they interpreted the sessions as being learning experiences - that is, as sessions that enabled the participants to learn from each other as well as from facilitators with a view to promoting mutual learning. We indicate how the participants chose to use the feedback opportunity to suggest that further processes should be put in place (by us) in the light of their expressed concerns. Finally, we outline how we took responsibility by creating a further forum for discussion with those who were regarded as having additional "actioning" power.
Keywords: feedback on focus groups; focus group facilitation; opening spaces for collaboration; researcher-participant relationships
In South Africa, as elsewhere, the complexity of the implementation of inclusive education policies is an ongoing concern for both theorists and practitioners of education (cf Sayed & Soudien, 2003; Tlale, 2008; Miles & Singal, 2010; Paugh & Dudley-Marling, 2011; Nel, Müller, Hugo, Helldin, Báckmann, Dwyer & Skarlind, 2011; Ngcobo & Muthukrishna, 2011; Ntombela, 2011; Hill, Baxen, Craig & Namakula, 2012). The focus group research reported in this article forms part of a broader international project exploring teachers' roles in inclusive education. The project involves six countries: China, Finland, Lithuania, Slovenia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. In this comparative study, a mixed-method design was executed in two phases. The first phase consisted of the administration of questionnaires; the second phase employed focus group interviews (which, as we shall see, we prefer to call discussions). The rationale for this mixed-method design was that the questionnaires would offer statistically analysable data, while the focus groups would delve more fully into participants' experiences of teaching in inclusive classrooms and provide "high quality data" in specific contexts.
As far as the use of different methods explicitly involving paradigmatic reflections is concerned, we (the three of us involved in the focus groups in South Africa) chose to handle the focus group sessions in relation to the questionnaire results by adopting a position somewhere between a "pragmatic" and a "transformative" approach. Our pragmatism can be classed as what Onwuegbuzie, Johnson and Collins (2009:1268) refer to as a "dialectical pragmatism"; this form of pragmatism embraces a philosophy of "careful listening to multiple perspectives" rather than upholding a strong form of realism.1 Furthermore, our form of pragmatism veers in the direction of including features associated with the transformative paradigm as elucidated by Mertens (2010). Mertens (2010) indicates that, within the transformative paradigmatic outlook, it is recognised that it is part of the researcher's responsibility to consider the uses that might be made of their work, and to take into consideration the way in which research outcomes can be linked to social justice.
In whatever way we conceptualise our approach, what we emphasise is that we addressed the focus group part of the research in South Africa in terms of a conception of "realities" as being re-searched/re-examined with the research participants. We believe that the survey method, and the results generated from this method, can be seen as offering one way of gaining a perspective. Briefly put (because this is not the key focus of this article), the survey conducted during the first phase was geared towards comparing (across the countries) teacher profiles of attitudes towards implementing inclusive practices as well as perceived self-efficacy. Perceived self-efficacy was measured in terms of scales relating to participant teachers' instructional competencies in an inclusive education context, their competencies in behaviour management in the classroom, and their efficacy in collaborating with others.2 (See Savolainen, Jiacheng, Nel, Gaber, Alisauskiene & Engelbrecht, 2012). As far as the analysis of the findings is concerned, South African teachers regarded their ability to manage behaviour as the strongest aspect of self-efficacy. They obtained lower scores on the other scales, and scored lowest on their belief in their ability to collaborate. It was further found in comparing three of the countries where the results have thus far been analysed (China, Finland and South Africa) that collaboration (which involves team work) was the best predictor of attitudes towards possibilities for implementing inclusive education.
The focus groups
Focus group interviews (as planned in the overall project) were designed around the following three questions, which were considered in all participating countries to be suitable starting questions to guide the discussions:
1. If you look at/think of your own classroom, how do you deal with all the children and their needs?
2. If you talk ofsupportfor learners in your classroom, what do you mean ? Describe specific support strategies - adaptations, accommodations and modifications. Did they help to assist you in implementing inclusive education?
3. How would you describe the social and the learning interaction of the learners in your classroom?
In this article, we concentrate on the focus groups conducted by us, the researchers, in South Africa and also on the feedback obtained from participants. The questions we used to guide the feedback process were:
1 . How did you experience the focus group session?
2. How did you experience the process offacilitation?
3. How did you feel about the facilitator's questions - did they make sense to you - did they make you think?
4. Do you think you learned anything from the facilitator?
5. Do you think you learned from others in the group and can you give examples?
6. Would you have liked us to ask any other questions?
The responses obtained during the feedback sessions conducted directly after the focus groups indicated that participants considered the focus group questions as an invitation to talk about issues of concern to them - and moreover they felt that the discussion had been a learning experience. Furthermore, they felt stimulated and motivated by the discussion as they experienced that their perspectives were taken seriously by the facilitators. The focus group discussions also gave them the opportunity to speak freely with colleagues about their challenges and about some of their attempts at dealing with these challenges. Regarding our own inputs in the discussion,3 participants expressed a variety of views: some felt that the suggestions offered by facilitators as options for possibly addressing problematic situations were helpful - for instance, as one participant put it: "Guidance from the facilitator was helpful." Others felt that even more concrete advice could have been given. For example, they stated that: "You could offer something in terms of solutions to the challenges", or "need further ideas from facilitators' experiences".
The focus group sessions, which we choose to call active focus group sessions, were clearly interpreted by the teachers as intended to be beneficial to them in some way. Exactly in what way expectations on the part of participants might be met can, of course, pose dilemmas for those involved in "active facilitation", because different participants may expect different degrees of input (as also was evident from the feedback we received).4 In our case, we tried to meet additional expectations that were suggested, i.e. where participants used the feedback sessions to express to us inclusive education issues they felt could be further dealt with in different forums. In this article, we specifically highlight how we acted in view of requests to carry forward their concerns.
We propose that, taken as a whole, the approach we adopted as researchers can be considered as active in the sense that we actively tried to make a difference to the field of practice in which participants were operating. McKay and Romm (2008: 151-152) make a distinction between "traditional" action research and what they call "active research". They claim that action research in which definite plans can be set, implemented, and evaluated via an action research cycle, may not be appropriate for contexts where broader development goals are at stake, and where trajectories of change cannot be clearly determined as part of the research process. Via what McKay and Romm (2008:165) call "active research", openings are sought by researchers (with participants/co-explorers) identifying spaces for "transformative possibilities" along the way; this is what we suggest was done in this case.
Selection of participants, and justification of research procedure
With the assistance of a district official, we selected three schools located in a poor socio-economic area in Tshwane South. These schools were chosen because they had functional Institutional Level Support Teams (ILSTs) as defined in Education White Paper 6 (Department of Education, 2001).5 We believed that the research participants (teacher-members of the ILSTs in the respective schools) would be able to offer rich perspectives based on their experiences as teachers. The principals of the schools asked for volunteers and, in the process of seeking their consent, we held further discussions with them about the purpose of the research. The sessions were conducted in June 2012. Focus groups 1 and 3 consisted of seven teachers and group 2 consisted of six teachers, making a total of 20 participant teachers. (In all the focus group sessions, the vast majority of teachers were female, and the age range was 30-60 years). One-hour (approximately) focus group discussions were conducted in each school followed by 20-30 minute feedback sessions.
As pointed out in the Introduction, the guiding questions for all three focus groups were taken from those used in the larger international project. For comparison purposes, these questions had to be similar. That said, we arranged, with the South African research participants, to offer feedback on, among other things, our questions: this gave them the opportunity to engage in discussions about other questions of interest/ concern as raised by them. The pre-formulated questions were developed to complement the 283 responses to a questionnaire posted to 605 students enrolled for the Advanced Certificate in Education: Inclusive Education (47.3% return rate).
As far as the organisation of the overall project is concerned, there are different teams handling the research process in different countries. Sometimes, in these various participating countries, the composition of teams for the questionnaires and those for the focus groups differed. We support Teddlie and Tashakkori's (2010) suggestion that a methodologically eclectic approach enables all researchers involved in a project to contribute to that project, and to creatively add new contributions/ideas on how to develop the project. We also agree with Johnson (2009:449), who proposes that a pragmatic approach be geared to "provide pragmatic, ethical solutions to local and societal problems". This was the intention of the South African researchers involved in the questionnaire administration and in the focus groups - with a slightly different team handling the focus groups. (Nel and Tlale were part of both teams; in the questionnaire administration another researcher other than Romm was the third person on the team.) We suggest that a "pragmatic" umbrella can serve as a justification for mixing otherwise apparently contradictory philosophical and epistemological perspectives on what it means to conduct "quality" social research (Romm, 2010:438-439).
In our own approach, given our pragmatic purpose to "make a difference" via the research, we were interested in treating the focus group sessions as a forum where participants could feel they were already learning from their involvement in the research/exploration process. We were also interested (having heard participant feedback) in acting as mediators in setting up further discussion/collaboration processes (as will be discussed later).6
Focus groups as learning encounters and as potentially leading to additional outcomes From our review of the literature, it appears that most researchers conducting focus groups regard them as primarily a method - alongside other research instruments - for researchers to "gather evidence" about how people converse on certain topics. This material, it is argued, may later (or may not) be used by other audiences such as policy makers (cf Silverman, 2000; Hennink, 2007). The idea has been put forward by certain authors that the group communication in a focus group can be a source of learning for participants and thus be beneficial to participants. However, these authors have surmised this from an analysis of interactions occurring in the group - without their having specifically sought participant feedback on this (cf. Gregory & Romm, 2001; Wibeck, Abrandt-Dahlgren & Öberg, 2007; Bay-Cheng, Livingston & Fava, 2010). Furthermore, authors have not, generally speaking, reported on the manner in which - if at all - the focus group facilitators introduced the sessions in a way that people became encouraged to treat the sessions as co-learning encounters. This is what we attempted to do in what we call our "active facilitative" endeavours.
To start with, we specifically introduced the discussions in this way - thus gearing participants in this direction from the outset. We presented ourselves as having come with some questions that derived from an international research proj ect, but also made it clear to participants that we wanted to create a forum where we could all re-search (re-look at) issues connected with the implementation of inclusive education.
During the feedback process at the end of the sessions, we asked the teachers whether they felt that they had learned anything from each other (as well as from the facilitators). As it turned out, they were positive about the learning they had experienced. As expressed by one participant: "When we share as a group we gain from each other and can implement what we get from others". Or, as another stated it: "Learned from examples that others offer about how they deal with situations." Another indicated that she "learned that our colleagues are trying to cope". (A full account of the participants' feedback in relation to learning from colleagues and from the facilitators forms the topic of another article).
During the feedback sessions many participants expressed the view that our style of asking questions was helpful in drawing out their concerns, and also that what they had said during the focus group discussion should be taken seriously and carried forward. They felt that this would be an important outcome of the discussion. One participant stated this by suggesting that we needed to "carry the baton" by taking their views into forums where they would be heard. As she put it: "It [you being here] shows that someone cares and wants to know what is happening. You have been listening carefully to us and we are happy about it. Maybe someone will [now] carry the baton."
In order not to betray their trust in expecting us to make the focus groups a more worthwhile encounter by "speaking to the right people", we decided to arrange a session with the district officer (who had originally helped to select the schools) and the participants from the focus groups. The idea was that, at this "report back" session, we could discuss our synthesis of what we had learned from all three groups (about what was needed for inclusive education policies to become more manageable for teachers). We also thought it was imperative to raise certain issues that were relevant to the District and Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) head office, issues of concern that are voiced by the teachers in all the schools, namely:
1. They felt that they were not getting enough support from the District.
2. When personnel do visit schools, they do not show them what to do in situations with learners experiencing difficulties.
3. They are not sufficiently aware of the problems and challenges faced by teachers, which is why schools are described as "underperforming" - a label that the teachers resisted (because those who applied this label did not know enough about the circumstances under which teachers worked).
A meeting with three Tshwane South district officials (Inclusive Education Unit) and a GDE Head Office official (Inclusive Education) was subsequently arranged.
Meeting with focus group participants and stakeholders (10 December 2012) The meeting was held at the University of South Africa (Unisa), and lasted about three hours. Below we present a narration of this meeting, highlighting what we consider to be the main trajectory of the discussion.
On arrival we asked a group of participants whether they had, since the focus group sessions in June, had any further discussions with each other as a result of the focus group sessions. Some participants (from one school) said one of the issues which they had decided to discuss further was the issue of poor parental involvement; they had started to discuss strategies as to how to get parents more involved - especially when the children in their classes were not achieving in the way they should be. The conversation then turned to what they, as the ILST, can do when children are not performing well. At this point a district official entered the conversation by noting that the ILST can put in an application to the District Office if they feel a learner requires a special school. This district official also pointed out that, in the case of learners who have writing difficulties but who can perform better orally, there are forms to fill in in order to obtain special permission for a learner to be assessed orally. She also mentioned the option of applying for a class of Learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN) at the school. In this class, the children concerned obtain learning support and are sent back to the mainstream classes once the particular problem has been addressed. She expressed her concern that ILSTs in some schools are "too lazy" to fill in the forms, which means that the opportunity to make use of these options is not fully explored. Finally, the district official stated that help could be given to aid the ILST through the process of filling in these forms and that she wanted to recommend this as a course of action. To this a few people at the meeting replied that "you will get applications next year".
At the official start of the meeting, one of us presented the context of the research results based on the questionnaire administered in the various participating countries. This researcher indicated that these results showed that South African teachers do not collaborate in the way they should - with one another, with principals, with the District Office, with professionals such as psychologists and speech therapists, and with "us at the university".
Turning to the focus groups, she reported that the material from the focus groups also pointed to the need for more collaboration by all involved, including personnel employed at the District Office. She stated that it seems teachers (including ILST members) and district officials appear to be living in two different worlds; indeed, sometimes they do not even know each other. The researcher remarked that this meeting was a starting point for people to get to know one another, to begin (or further) communication, and set the scene for future communications.
At this point, one of the ILST members stated that she would like to "confess" that sometimes the teams are less than functional owing to their workload and because the forms seem so onerous to fill in. Also, being so busy "the whole week", she said that they cannot perform "at their level best" to attend to all the learners in the class. One of the district officials thanked her for her honesty and the discussion proceeded along the lines of how they could manage to fill in the forms by seeking support from the District Office in this regard. She also indicated that not all teachers are able to handle the challenges posed by the need to deal with "inclusive education" classrooms, and that, in her unit at the District, there were only 11 people available to service 260 schools.
The discussion turned to the problem of how they could obtain buy-in from senior management at schools (such as principals) so that teachers could plan to go for training. A problem seems to be that people are informed about training at the last minute, which means the right people are not sent for training. Furthermore, even when some of the right people are sent on training, the information is not cascaded down to the other teachers. The question about how to encourage "buy-in" was then discussed.
One of us referred back to the focus group sessions and claimed to be encouraged by the fact that, in the feedback sessions, the participants seemed to be excited that they had learned from one another, e.g. they stated that "I never knew what you were doing in your class that is working." This author mentioned that the focus groups were an opportunity for participants to talk about their problems and to learn from each other (and thus to collaborate). However, he was concerned that the attitude of the district officials sometimes made it difficult for teachers to feel that they could develop a working relationship with these officials. He said that a gap in collaboration needed to be bridged. He asked the question: "How often do head office people or district officials go to schools to praise them about the good work that they are doing?" He suggested that it would be very motivating if people could be praised for the good job they do in the face of so many constraints and challenges. The visits to schools could perform the function of being supportive - in other words, these visits could help people deal with the challenges facing them, but not based on the attitude that teachers themselves are guilty of "underperforming". This same researcher stated that part of the feedback from the focus group sessions was that participants had told us they were now more motivated (they had been extremely demoralised), because the facilitators had shown an appreciation of their situation and what they were doing - and had understood that teachers were working in difficult circumstances.
His statement helped to set the tone for the rest of the discussion: the district officials asserted that, "We normally say to teachers that 'you are doing a good job' and we try to encourage them in this way". They also reminded the teacher-participants that "the District" is not one thing (or homogenous entity): some of the problems, for example, in implementing the Gauteng Primary Language and Mathematics Strategy (GPLMS) - which teachers expressed they found difficult - were not of their doing. In addition, the District Unit that dealt with the GPLMS sometimes seemed to be pulling in a different direction from that of the Inclusive Education Unit. In short, initiatives needed to be integrated. The head office official responded to the concerns raised about the GPLMS by saying that she was "noting it down" - and that she would take these issues up with head office.
Towards the end of the meeting we made the point that the university could offer help if called upon to do so. The person from head office said that they were already making use of support from the university, for which they were grateful, and she said she would take up the offer for further support - for example, from staff that could help learners with barriers "on the scholastic side".
After the close of the meeting, teachers, district officials, and the head office official continued their conversation: as a result, further meetings were being set up between district officials and teachers and between one of the district officials and the person from head office.
It is worth highlighting here that the structure of discussion during the seminar/ meeting can be seen as representing a shift from the vertical relationship between district officials and teachers, in which the former are normally given a higher status from which they pronounce their "knowledge". For our part, we tried to lay the groundwork for an alternative "knowing" relationship via the seminar forum where the conversation could be, in Stokes and Carr-Chellman's (2007:94) terms, "horizontal, on a level playing field [and] where all participants communicate with each other" in order to "explore various approaches to an issue".
Further deliberations
Pragmatic and transformative underpinnings: some reflections
We have indicated that we consciously adopted a pragmatic orientation towards our involvement in the international project. This orientation was informed by our understanding that constructions of alternative realities can be generated via different methods and our appreciation that, in the course of social life, there are multiple perspectives on issues of social concern. We follow Johnson's (2009:454) suggestion that "scientific research in education" should "refrain from writing [and acting] as if our way of viewing reality and knowledge were the only ('one') way". We also agree with him that pragmatism need not be associated with a stance of claiming that some methodological design (which involves, say, mixing methods) works - because the question still arises as to what is interpreted as "working" and for whom it can be seen as "working". (See also Romm, 1996; Midgley, 2000; Mclntyre-Mills, 2008; McKay & Romm, 2007; Naidoo, 2008; and Velez-Castiblanco, 2012, for further elaboration.) Questions therefore need to be asked about how any proposed or emergent research design can be said to benefit more vulnerable groups of people in society (as indeed emphasised by Mertens (2010:13) in discussing her understanding of the "transformative paradigm").
We agree with Mertens (2010:12) that, in embracing a transformative agenda, researchers need to take it upon themselves to "push the [ethical] regulatory principles of respect, beneficence and justice" while also taking some responsibility for how use might be made of the research in society. Our way of showing respect for teacher-participants (as research participants), and earning their trust to the point that they asked us to "carry the baton", as well as our way of taking responsibility for the way the research could be carried forward, is in tune with her account of a transformative paradigm.
Creative (active) approach to "member checking"
A further question worth addressing relates to whether we can "justify" our interpretations of the material that arose in the focus group discussions. The question arises as to whether, if at all, we engaged in a process of "member checking". As Romm (2010:259) points out, this activity itself can be guided by a constructivist approach, where it is admitted that the process of "member checking" (even in one-to-one depth interviewing) is, at the same time, an opportunity for both the "members" and the "researchers" to re-engage with the gist of what was said earlier in the discussion. As Romm (2010:259) puts it, while referring to Cho and Trent's (2006:327) remark that member checking can operate within a range of epistemological outlooks, "member checking can be seen as part of the process of developing enhanced intersubjective understanding as a dialogical process".
What is important to mention here is that, while the discussions were taking place during the focus groups, the primary facilitator made a point of, from time to time, checking her understanding of the gist of what participants were saying. And, at times, the secondary facilitator also added interpretive comments. We have chosen the following excerpt from one of the focus groups as an example, because it also relates to an issue that was taken up with district personnel during the meeting of 10 December:
- Participant: The advisors [from the District Office] come here and tell us what to do. We have our own inputs, remember, but we are not allowed to say anything. They think because we are underperforming they must tell us what to do. We are considered underperforming. We have got diplomas and degrees and short course training but she can come as if we are underperforming and there is something wrong with us. This is not fair.
- Facilitator 1: So they put a label onto you without looking at your challenges. [This was a reference to the earlier discussion about challenges.]
- Facilitator 2: Your challenges are more intense.
- Participant: Yes!
It is noteworthy that the participant speaking in this extract does not individuate herself- but speaks to some extent on behalf of the group. Murdoch, Poland and Salter (2010:585) indicate that, owing to the character of the "data" generated in focus group discussions, where the material is an outcome of collective discussion (as indeed we were encouraging), "the analytic lens" is not focused on individuals and their (individual) statements. Instead, the statements generated are regarded as a product of interaction between people. These authors suggest that, once we (as analysts) recognise this, we need to be careful of "imposing different research methods and techniques - such as member checking - on the talk of participants" (Murdock et al., 2010:582). In line with their caution, we believe that our method (i.e. the facilitators making synthesising statements from time to time to "sound out" participants) was an appropriate approach, which indeed the participants appreciated, and which we suggest other researchers may wish to bear in mind as an option.
At the meeting of 10 December, we had another opportunity to "member check" in our (creative) fashion, by outlining for all the participants what we took to be some of the gist of the discussion in all three focus groups - with participants having the chance to talk to (and around) the brief presentation, and to extend it further. The "reporting" process thus became an opening for additional action-relevant discussion among the participants. We see this as in keeping with a pragmatic-transformative oriented approach.
In this paper we discussed how, as researchers/facilitators, we considered our responsibilities as including attempting to develop processes that would enable focus group participants to feel they were more or less directly benefiting from the focus group -rather than their thinking that, "at some later date" perhaps policy makers or others may notice the research results and possibly make use of them. For this reason we indicated to participants at the start of the sessions that we regarded the focus group discussions as a mutual co-exploration process, one in which everyone could -hopefully - learn from one another in the encounter. Furthermore, with the participants' agreement, we arranged to set aside "feedback time" for participants to express how they had experienced the sessions, so that we could learn from this for future facilitative processes and so that we could hear of any concerns/suggestions of theirs that could be taken forward.
We have named our approach as active in the sense that we did not try to divorce our "scientific" inquiry from the realm of "practice" (as if this binary can be maintained), but consciously set out to make a constructive difference to people's experience of the quality of their (working) lives - as far as opportunities and openings arose.
It should be noted in conclusion that, in expanding somewhat on the remit of the international project as far as our conduct of the focus groups in South Africa was concerned, we "touched base" with the project leader from time to time - and she agreed with our approach. She offered enthusiastic comments about the way in which we creatively worked with the project design by interpreting and developing the research remit in the way we did.
We thank Ms Shila Mphahlele, district official, for helping us with the logistics of this research work.
1 See Romm (2010:1-8) for a discussion of realism in relation to epistemological alternatives.
2 This scale, which includes three subscales, was developed by Forlin, Earle, Loreman and Sharma (2011) to measure the perceived self-efficacy of teachers in implementing inclusive education.
3 We did not shy away from offering input at times in order to enrich the process of the discussion, as also advised by Gregory and Romm (2001). For example, the primary facilitator had, in the past, been a district officer serving a number of communities; she drew on her experience to suggest, among other things, how support structures could be accessed and also how buddy systems could be generated. Our active involvement in offering content interventions is in line, too, with Holstein and Gubrium's (1995) account of active interviewing - although they discuss this more in terms of one-to-one interview encounters (rather than focus group sessions).
4 One of our anonymous reviewers pointed out that this can be a dilemma in particular during "interventionist/action research projects", where some focus group participants may expect a form of "workshop training".
5 White Paper 6 also specifies that District Based Support Teams (DBSTs) are put in place to support ILSTs: The primary focus for DBSTs is the development and ongoing support of local institutional-level support teams (Department of Education [DoE], 2001:29).
6 We appreciate Ferreira's (2012) urging that "research findings be applied to practical problems and facilitate social transformation". In the spirit of this plea, the focus of our research was on facilitating the exploration of solutions to specific, practical issues. This means (for us) that the research "findings" already contain a practical component. (See also Romm, 2001, 2007).
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Nel N, Müller H, Hugo A, Helldin R, Backmann Ö, Dwyer H & Skarlind A 2011. A comparative perspective on teacher attitude-constructs that impact on inclusive education in South Africa and Sweden. South African Journal of Education, 31:74-90. Available at http://www.ajol.info/index.php/saje/article/view/63492/51335. Accessed 25 September 2013. [ Links ]
Ngcobo J & Muthukrishna N 2011. The geographies of inclusion of students with disabilities in an ordinary school. South African Journal of Education, 31:357-368. Available at http://www.ajol.info/index.php/saje/article/view/69820/57901. Accessed 25 September 2013. [ Links ]
Ntombela S 2011. The progress of inclusive education in South Africa: Teachers' experiences in a selected district, KwaZulu-Natal. Improving Schools, 14:5-14. doi: 10.1177/1365480210390082 [ Links ]
Onwuegbuzie AJ, Johnson RB & Collins KMT 2011. Assessing legitimation in mixed research: a new framework. Quality and Quantity, 45:1253-1271. doi: 10.1007/s11135-009-9289-9 [ Links ]
Paugh PC & Dudley-Marling C 2011. 'Speaking' deficit into (or out of) existence: how language constrains classroom teachers' knowledge about instructing diverse learners. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15:819-833. doi: 101080/13603110903437144 [ Links ]
Romm NRA 1996. Inquiry-and-intervention in systems planning: Probing methodological rationalities. World Futures, 47:25-36. doi: 10.1080/02604027.1996.9972584 [ Links ]
Romm NRA 2001. Accountability in social research: Issues and debates. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum. [ Links ]
Romm NRA 2007. Issues of accountability in survey, ethnographic, and action research. In A Rwomire & F Nyamnjoh (eds). Challenges and responsibilities of social research in Africa: Ethical Issues. Addis Ababa: The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA). [ Links ]
Romm NRA 2010. New Racism: Revisiting researcher accountabilities. New York: Springer. [ Links ]
Savolainen H, Jiacheng X, Nel M, Gaber S, Alisauskiene S & Engelbrecht P 2012. A comparative analysis of teachers' roles in inclusive education. Paper presented at the European Conference for Educational Research (ECER): The Need for Educational Research to Champion Freedom, Education and Development for All, September. Available at http://www.eera-ecer.de/ecer-programmes/conference/6/contribution/16816/?cHash=743651b76db674ffd0d7ad0e181c45e1& addToBookmark1=1&bookmark_contriUid=16816. Accessed 26 September 2013. [ Links ]
Sayed Y & Soudien C 2003. (Re)framing education exclusion and inclusion discourses: Limits and possibilities. IDS Bulletin, 34:9-19. doi: 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2003.tb00055.x [ Links ]
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Stokes H & Carr-Chellman A 2007. Seeds of engagement: Design conversations for educational change. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 24:91-101. doi: 10.1002/sres.812 [ Links ]
Teddlie C & Tashakkori A 2010. Overview of contemporary issues in mixed-methods research. In A Tashakkori & C Teddlie & (eds). Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioral research (2nd ed). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Available at http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/34743_Chapter1.pdf. Accessed 26 September 2013. [ Links ]
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lightgrid, St-Germain, gridwork, 7-Ray, Violet Ray, net-of-light
YOU WILL GET A BETTER SENSE OF WHO YOU ARE BECOMING :- You are awakening parts of yourselves now that are happy to be included in your ascension journey. You have many different aspects of…
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Investors Group threw coals on the housing fire this week by cutting its three-year variable mortgage rate to a market-share-boosting 1.99%. Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver is watching.
As competitive pressures among lenders push rates down to nearly unheard-of levels, the government keeps trying to cool things off. It is a delicate public/private balancing act.
A recent move by Ottawa stopped CMHC, the federal mortgage insurer, from insuring mortgages on second homes. The government also tightened requirements for the self-employed, requiring independent validation of income statements.
These were the latest in a series of post-2008 rule changes that have made it more difficult for Canadians to qualify for a mortgage even as historically low rates make home-buying more tempting. Guideline B20, announced in 2012, was a big one, ending default insurance for mortgages with amortizations of more than 25 years and making 5% down a minimum requirement. Some in the industry say more changes may be coming from CMHC.
Ottawa's efforts have been a boon to lenders who charge a bit - or in some cases a lot - more interest for taking on borrowers turned down by banks and other traditional mortgage lenders. Known as the "Alt-As," they fall somewhere between the prime and the now-vilified sub-prime market in terms of the amount of risk they're willing to accept. They're lending to more Canadians - people who only a couple of years ago would have been welcomed by the banks.
Pino Decina, executive vice-president of residential mortgages at Toronto-based Home Trust Co., which has specialized in alternative lending for more than 25 years, draws some conclusions about the numbers based on what his company is seeing. "It's our experience that pre-B20, about one in five Canadians were denied credit from the bank. Our feeling is that post-B20, it's closing in on one in four."
Borrowers end up at the Alt-As, he says, for three main reasons: Inadequate debt-servicing ratios, bruised credit or being self-employed.
"The self-employed individual makes up the largest part of the Alt-A market," he says.
With documentation requirements tightening, he expects to see more of this type of business. He is also seeing more requests from newcomers to Canada because the definition of "newcomer" has changed. "Previously, if someone had been here for six months to a year, they were seen as new to Canada," Mr. Decina says. "Now it's two to three years."
So how much more can alternative borrowers expect to pay? A rule of thumb is a couple of points (a point being 1/10th of a percentage) more for a mortgage than a prime lender would charge. But some pay less and some more, depending on the perceived risk.
"There's a misconception that the rates are double," Mr. Decina says. "But Alt-A starts at a halfpoint more." And rates in this market are actually falling, even as demand rises, because of increased competition and because alternative borrowers are of a higher quality than they used to be. Many would have qualified for a bank mortgage not long ago.
People who don't qualify for a mortgage from an institutional alternative lender are often referred to the private market, where pools of money are lent by individual investors. As unregulated lenders, they have the most flexibility to offer non-traditional financing. They also charge the highest rates, but here, too, competitive pressures are bringing rates down.
"If you went to a private lender for a typical first mortgage, rates could be anywhere from 7% to 9%," Mr. Decina says. "Now, I've seen them come down to a level of between 5% and 7%."
Northwood Mortgage Ltd., one of the largest independent mortgage brokers in the GTA, has its own pool of money to invest, as well as a network of almost 50 sources of funding, from banks to private investors.
President and broker Art Appelberg says applicants for first mortgages who don't qualify with prime lenders can expect to pay between 4% and 5%, with a mortgage fee averaging between $2,500 and $3,500.
"You can take a short-term mortgage like that," he says, "and it gets you into a house until you qualify. We're looking for an exit strategy for our clients so we can help them again and get them an A lender." One strategy is to provide second mortgages that allow people to consolidate their debts and repair their credit standing. These can cost between 10% and 14%. The company won't go higher than that.
"We're not interested in people who are that risky that they will pay anything," Mr. Appelberg says. "Fourteen percent is the return we need on the highest level of risk we would undertake."
James Laird is the COO of Calgary-based True North Mortgage, and has helped his company increase its business in the GTA. True North doesn't work with private lenders, and the alternative market accounts for only a small portion of its business, but it gives him a window into the riskier parts of the market.
"I've seen private lenders charging 14% to 17%, with fees of $10,000 or more," he says. This type of loan can be useful, for instance, when a homeowner is facing foreclosure and trying to buy time to sell a property. "But 99% of the market is not participating in these types of loans."


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Sitka Local Fly Fishing 8 hour
dan itibaren USD 225,00 $
- Süre: 8 Saat (Tahmini)
Get out and enjoy a day of guided fishing on Sitka local waters accessed from the road system. There are 3 rivers in Sitka that have productive fishing for Salmon, Trout and Char. Your guide will outfit you with waders and gear for the trip at the fly shop and then take you by passenger vehicle to the access points on the rivers. Species availability is seasonal. Your guide will provide information about what is running and take you to the best places to fish based on run timing, tides and weather. On this trip you will have time to explore more than one fishing location and fish for more than one species. the Sitka local rivers have have Chinook, Silver, Chum, and Pink Salmon, as well as Steelhead, Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout, Dolly Varden Char and Arctic Grayling. From the shoreline and in the estuaries you can target Rockfish, Greenling, and Flounder. The rivers that you will find in Sitka are not big but they are fun to fish and easy to access. In the early season we fish Steelhead and Char in the lower rivers and estuaries then in July as the salmon start to run we move up the rivers and target the salmon and char in the river. For a relaxing day of fly fishing this trip is hard to beat. All local fishing is catch and release with easy access waters and easy wading available in picturesque settings to fish.


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Tagged: Billy Crystal
700 Sundays
In New York City there's a fine line between baseball heroes and legends. On that line live the New York Yankees. You got your Derek Jeters, your Mariano Riveras – the players that will go down in history as some of the best to ever play the game.
Then you got the other guys. Like yesterday, heroes Dellin Betances and John Ryan Murphy. Both youngsters proved to be instrumental in the Yanks' 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Betances, in relief of Vidal Nuno, picked up his first major league win while Murphy slugged his first career major league homer; a solo shot that cleared the left field wall in the sixth inning to decide the game.
Tonight newcomer Masahiro Tanaka can be a hero; he's looking to collect his fourth win this season and give the Yankees the rubber game of their three-game set vs. the Halos.
Should the Yankees win, it would mark their 15th win of this early 2014 season – and even if they were to lose tonight, they'd still be atop the AL East here in the early going.
And that – that's great.
In the midst of all the Yankees' success in the infantile stages of the year, I happened to come across an HBO special the other day starring none other than Billy Crystal, a famous Yankee fan and technically, a former Yankee himself.
Even if it was just for one at-bat during Spring Training, 2008 and he was struck out by Paul Maholm of the Pittsburgh Pirates. We all remember it, and his words,
"I only ever wanted to be a comedian or a Yankee. Or a very funny Yankee."
Anyway, the special, entitled "700 Sundays" is in fact Crystal's one-man show about his growing life. He chronicles his years as a young man and a teen, and does so in the only way he can: comically.
In between the comedy though, he retells sweet stories from his youth, including his first trip to Yankee Stadium. He talked about how excited he was to see Mickey Mantle, or as Crystal called him, "Elvis in pinstripes."
Now, I don't really want to give too much away; I think the best thing for all readers would be to check the special out for yourselves. It's been on HBO frequently, so keep your eyes peeled for it. "700 Sundays" runs about two hours – and it's worth every second.
Celebrity Yankee Fans
The other night (before my power went out due to the insane blizzard that has plagued the northeast over the last few days) I happened to stay awake and catch a Stephen King horror movie late at night. "Riding the Bullet" was the name of the movie I watched and I have to admit, it freaked me out.
As I was watching, I kept thinking to myself how big of a Red Sox fan King is. Although the movie was creepy and gave me nightmares, it was the brainchild of a Red Sox fanatic. Then I asked myself, how many celebrities are Yankee fans?
Needless to say, a whole bunch of people came to mind. I have rounded up five of the best and most recognizable celebrity Yankee fans. (Keep in mind they are in no particular order of significance) Here they are:
5) Adam Sandler
He is probably the most proud celebrity Yankee fan there is. Actor/writer/producer Adam Sandler has starred in some of the best comedy movies. My personal favorites are "Big Daddy," "Billy Madison," and "Happy Gilmore." All three of those films are cult classics and I recommend everyone watch them.
Sandler is such a devoted Yankee fan that he even incorporated the team into some of his films. In "Anger Management," a film where Sandler's character Dave Buznik is forced to undergo (you guessed it) anger management classes, the whole ending practically revolves around the Yankees.
Trying to propose to his fiancée Linda (Marisa Tomei) at a Yankee game, Buznik runs onto the field at Yankee Stadium. He bolts onto the field and just as he is about to give his monologue, Roger Clemens appears on screen and says, "Is this clown almost done? My arm is starting to ice over."
Derek Jeter comes on and responds, "Chill Rocket. Goosfraba." The term Goosfraba (according to the movie) is an expression Eskimos use to calm themselves down.
Don't ask. Please.
Right as Buznik is about to kiss the girl, in a loud cry he proclaims, "GO YANKEES!"
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Along with "Anger Management," Sandler dropped another Yankee bomb in his movie "50 First Dates." Now, granted the movie had a terrible premise–having to fall in love with the same girl day after day because of her severe memory problem–there was a scene that stands out in my mind as probably the best in the movie.
Sandler's character Henry Roth decides to make a video tape of everything his love interest Lucy (Drew Barrymore) missed in the last year because she can't remember anything. The movie came out in early 2004, right on the heels of the Yankees' dramatic win over the Red Sox in the 2003 ALCS.
Lucy's video showed a clip of the Red Sox celebrating and a caption appeared that read, "Red Sox win World Series." Then the glorious Aaron Boone home run clip played and another caption came up that read:
"Just kidding." What a great way to stick it to the Red Sox fans!
Being the type of diehard fan he is, Sandler is sometimes seen in the crowd at Yankee Stadium. In fact, when Joba Chamberlain made his first career start, Sandler was seen on TV at the game. I guess he figured it would be historic, but unfortunately the Yankees lost to the Blue Jays 9-3 and Chamberlain only tossed 62 pitches over 2 2/3 innings.
Come to think of it, when they showed him on TV, he was leaving the game in the seventh inning.
I hope Sandler includes the Yankees in some of his upcoming work, but first I hope he can finally start making funny movies again. Although I love him, Sandler has been making lackluster and rather dull movies for the last three or four years now. He should make a whole movie dedicated to the Yankees.
Now that'd be a movie worth seeing!
4) Spike Lee
Actor/director Spike Lee has been a longtime faithful follower of the Yankees.
Like Sandler, he has included the Yankees in his work. Lee directed the 1999 movie "The Summer of Sam," which takes place in 1977 and revolves around the Son of Sam murders. All of the characters live in New York City and are Yankee fans.
The way Lee worked the Yanks into the story was quite clever. The murderer was known as the "Son of Sam" but also developed the nickname the .44 caliber killer, being that he used a .44 caliber handgun on his victims. The characters in the movie suspected Reggie Jackson as the murderer, being that he wore the uniform number 44.
In another scene towards the end, two men in the movie beat the living snot out of another character, simply because he admitted to being a Red Sox fan.
I haven't seen many more of Lee's movies, except for "Do the Right Thing," which, if you ask me, was a great and meaningful movie. It deals with a ton of social issues and racial tension. In fact, I studied the film in my understanding movies class last year because it makes so many cultural references.
Lee not only directed "Do the Right Thing" in 1989, but he also starred in it playing the main character Mookie, a young black man working for Italian-Americans at a pizza shop.
I think Lee meant for there to be significance having Mookie wear a Jackie Robinson jersey for the duration of the film. Although Robinson was not a Yankee, the jersey symbolized where Mookie came from and his background. Robinson had to fight to gain respect and was basically caught in the middle of the racial tension his whole career.
Mookie was the same way–caught in between and needing to find middle ground.
Always a man with a sharp mind, Lee also helped develop a unique Yankee hat with New Era. It is basically the same hat the players wear on the field, only with pennants representing every year the Yankees have won the World Series covering the top and sides.
I have to admit, the hat is very nice. I may eventually have to get one sometime.
At the World Series this year, I noticed Lee was wearing the same Yankee jacket I have. It was the most interesting thing (to me) because I honestly thought I was the only one who had that jacket–up until I saw him wearing it on TV, I had never seen anyone else with it on.
"Spike Lee's wearing my jacket!" That was all I could say when I saw it.
A great Yankee supporter and a devoted fan, I salute you Mr. Lee. Keep on doing the right thing–rooting for the Bombers!
3) Paul Simon
Being one half of the great singer/songwriter duo "Simon and Garfunkel," Paul Simon is a legendary Yankee fan. He is known for his powerful voice and unparalleled songwriting skills but when I think of Simon, I think of the Yankees.
I'd first like to mention that I had the pleasure of meeting Simon's partner Art Garfunkel a few years back at a concert I helped work at. He was very nice and he sang some of the all-time best songs: "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Sounds of Silence," and "Mrs. Robinson."
After the concert, I talked to Garfunkel and told him what a wonderful job he did on "Mrs. Robinson," it being my favorite song of theirs. He thanked me and said only one other thing:
"It would have been better if Paul Simon was here."
Speaking of "Mrs. Robinson," many people are familiar with the lyrics:
"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Woo woo woo.
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson?
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away. Hey hey hey…Hey hey hey."
Simon originally wanted to use Mickey Mantle instead of DiMaggio in the lyrics, but it was a matter of syllables. "Mick-ey Man-tle" only has four syllables while "Joe Di-Magg-io" has five, so he needed to use the Yankee Clipper.
Believe it or not, DiMaggio did not like the lyric and somewhat took offense to it, responding by saying "What do you mean where have I gone? I am right here!"
DiMaggio eventually dropped his complaint after taking a meeting with Simon. The songwriter explained to Joltin' Joe that the lyric was a tribute to him. Back then, the heroes were becoming so pretentious and pop culture distorted how the American public perceive our role models, so Simon kindly told DiMaggio that there was nothing hurtful meant by the lyric.
Now understanding what Simon meant, DiMaggio accepted the lyric as a tribute.
Furthermore, when DiMaggio passed away in 1999, Simon performed "Mrs. Robinson" in centerfield (the position DiMaggio played) at Yankee Stadium. A somber capacity crowd wildly cheered for the lyric.
And here's to you, Mr. Simon. You really are a Yankee fan for sure!
2) Jack Nicholson
"You want the Yankees? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE YANKEES!"
Jack Nicholson is one of the most famous actors in American movie history, starring in classics such as "The Shining," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "A Few Good Men," (see the modified quote above) and my personal favorite, "Batman."
Yes, he was the Joker before Heath Ledger.
One of the other movies Nicholson starred in was "Anger Management" (opposite Adam Sandler) and his Yankee pride was on full display. He wore his Yankee cap with a regular shirt and blazer, much like he does when he attends the games at Yankee Stadium.
Nicholson likes to do it classy.
In September of 2006 his Yankee faith was put to the test. For his role in "The Departed," Nicholson was asked to wear a Red Sox hat. He was playing the part of a gangster in Boston and the director wanted him to wear the cap with the evil "B" on the front.
Ever the loyalist, Nicholson refused to wear the Boston hat in the scene and better yet, wore a Yankee hat for it. That is loyalty and faith, in my view. His boss told him to wear a Red Sox hat and he basically said, "No. I am a Yankee through and through."
For his love for the Yankees, he made the list. Good work Mr. Nicholson. You are a film legend and a devout follower of the Yankees. Good man!
1) Billy Crystal
He is the only person on the list that is not only a devout Yankee fan, has made a movie about the Yankees, but has actually been on the team for one game.
On March 13, 2008, the comedian/actor/director signed a one-game contract to play for the Yankees in a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Crystal only had one at-bat and he struck out swinging. He did however make contact, fouling off a pitch in the sequence before fanning.
I'd say he did well and it was such a neat thing to see. Crystal took part in the Yankees' tune-up game as birthday wish; he had always wanted to play for the Yankees and on his 60th birthday he lived his dream (He also wore the uniform number 60 in accordance to his age)
But he was technically a member of the Yanks, even if it was only one at-bat.
If playing for the Yankees was not enough, Crystal directed "61*" in 2001, an HBO movie about the 1961 home run race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.
For those who have seen the movie, I think the most compelling scene in the film is the part when the Yankees are playing the Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore. What some people may not realize is that game was the 154th game the Yanks played in the '61 season.
If Maris had not reached 60 home runs by that game, the media and Major League Baseball did not consider him the true Home Run King because Babe Ruth hit 60 homers in 154 games. 1961 was the first year MLB played 162 games like they do today.
Maris had 59 home runs by the end of that game, meaning that if he had broken the record in 162 games, it would be "a separate record," according to MLB commissioner Ford Frick. Obviously Maris broke it after 154 games, so the record technically was not his until Faye Vincent (the MLB commissioner in 1991) did away with the "two separate home run records."
Unfortunately Maris passed six years before Vincent abolished the separate records and he never knew the home run record was his. But I think in most peoples' minds, he was the true king and deep down in his heart, I'm sure Maris knew it too.
Crystal did such a wonderful job with "61*" My only hope now is that he makes another movie based off the Yankees. I feel he could certainly pull it off the way he did with "61*" but I think he would need a hot topic. After all, the 1961 Yankee season was one of the most revered campaigns in all of baseball history.
If you ask me, Crystal is one of a kind. A funny guy and a true Yankee man.
On a side note: I may have lost power for awhile because of this awful blizzard, but that did not stop me from playing in the snow like a five year-old and building a snowman.
Hope you all enjoy the picture.
Nice jacket, right Spike Lee?….


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DO-IT precision molds guarantee no flash or trimming. Pour in the lead and take out perfect castings every time. The wood handles make bulky gloves unnecessary. Each mold is machined and halves are perfectly matched. Molds are properly pinned to give perfect alignment. The ultra-hard, warp-resistant aluminum alloy construction with machined faces and precision aligned hinges ensures a perfect mold every time. Designed with wooden handles with hanger holes for storage.
Item No.1106
Don't see the mold you need, Sharky will order you any DO-IT Mold.


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For a special May Day post, instead of pointing you towards knitting your own maypole, or even knitting your own maypole and surrounding it with tiny knitted mice, I thought I'd do a post about half a dozen of the most pleasing floral-themed knitting patterns I could find in a quick Ravelry search and we could just all consider it a May Day post because of the whole May flowers and maying tradition thing. Sound good?
Fine then, just humour me.
This pullover is the Cottage Garden pattern by Cheryl Burke, and is a Twist Collective pattern from Fall 2009. The floral yoke pattern is probably more effective when done in a higher contrast pairing of colours as some of the other sample pictures on its Ravelry page show, but I chose this picture because of a personal weakness for a turquoise and spring green colour combo.
The Sylvi jacket is a Twist Collective Winter 2008 pattern by Mari Muinonen. The lines are clean and simple and the detail on the back is just stunning. I've added this to my favourites on Ravelry, which means I am seriously considering making it at some point. I would probably not make it in red though. I love red, and the red sample looks great, but this particular pattern made in red would entail too many Little Red Riding Hood jokes.
This Floral Cushion pattern is from the Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine Spring/Summer 2011 issue. Simple yet striking.
This is the Dahlia Cardigan from Interweave Knits, Fall 2011. I'm not generally a fan of the wrap/draped front cardigan style but this one is well done (or could be easily made with a button front), and that back detail is just beyond exquisite.
This is the Thistle shawl, designed by The Needle Lady. I'd make it as a throw rather than a shawl, because something this beautiful deserves to be out in plain sight in the living room all the time rather than folded away in a dresser drawer for much of the year.
The Bloomin' sock pattern, by Jeannie Cartmel. They're pretty, the pattern is a free download, and as a bonus whenever you're trying to find them you can ask those you live with if they've seen your bloomin' socks.


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Thursday, September 29, 2011
For those of you who may still be thinking of starting the Blood Coven Vampires series or those of you who have read the series from the library and always wanted your own copy, this is a deal for you!
This Volume One edition contains the first two books in the Blood Coven series - Boys that Bite and Stake That. That's right - two books for the price of one! ($9.99.)
This also makes a great gift for the vampire fan in your life. :) I'll even autograph copies if you want to order by mail. Just email me (firstname.lastname@example.com) for details!
I'm really excited about being able to offer up such a bargain to readers!! The official release date is Oct 4th!
Posted by Mari Mancusi at 8:44 AM No comments:
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Yesterday I talked about how most of my video entertainment now comes from the internet. The on-demand and interactive nature of internet video builds on itself. Here is a specific example of that.
Using Youtube on Xbox One, a bit ago I watched this trailer for Godzilla:
That led me to Red Letter Media's review, which I watched on my Surface Pro connected to my tv:
That review stated that while the new Godzilla was better than the 1990s version, both were inferior to the current directory's previous film, Monsters. Monsters is a post-9/11 style movie, portraying life several years after the dramatic events of a Monster movie. I watched Monsters on Amazon Prime, thru its Xbox One app.
There's still a few 'killer apps' for TV. Some sports, Game of Thrones, and 24 hours news streaming would still be painful to lose. But that seems just a matter of time.


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Christmas tree with gingerbread cookies
Happy Merry Christmas to everybody! and thank you so much, Robyn (RobynNZ)! She is the one of TFL members who taught me the great Christmas tree recipe that she found, and more than that, she is the one who encouraged me to join with TFL. I was very nervous to write about my bread in English. I can't thank her enough as I see that she has been helping everybody here beside me.
You can see the detail from here.
I hope that everybody will have very nice Christmas and a Happy New Year,


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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) French players Josselin Ouanna and Caroline Garcia have been granted Australian Open wild cards in a reciprocal arrangement with the French Tennis Federation.
Tennis Australia said Thursday that it has also granted wild cards to 2012 Australian Open boys' singles champion Luke Saville and Olivia Rogowska, an Australian currently ranked 113th.
Ouanna, ranked 120th in the world, beat current No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the boys' singles draw at the 2004 Australian Open before losing to countryman Gael Monfils in the championship match.
Garcia, ranked 154th, reached the second round of the Australian Open in 2011 in her only appearance in the main draw.
The Australian Open begins Jan. 14 at Melbourne Park.


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Author:Elizabeth Ingall
|←Author Index: In
|Elizabeth Ingall
This author wrote articles for the Dictionary of National Biography, and the list on this page is complete to 1901.
Articles written by this author are designated in the DNB by the initials "E. I."
Dictionary of National BiographyEdit
Some or all works by this author are in the public domain in the United States because they were published before January 1, 1925. They may be copyrighted outside the U.S. (see Help:Public domain). However, works published before 1925 may be in the public domain in countries where they would ordinarily be copyrighted (due to the term of 70 years [or less] after the author's death having not yet expired) but whose legislature has waived copyright by accepting the rule of the shorter term.


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Qualcomm Now Has a Foot in All the Wireless Charging Camps
Qualcomm, which has been a major backer of the Alliance for Wireless Power, is now also taking part in two rival wireless-charging-standards efforts.
On Friday, the company announced that it had joined the Wireless Power Consortium board of management, and the company confirmed on Tuesday that it had also joined the Power Matters Alliance, where it will co-chair a resonant-power working group.
Qualcomm said that both the WPC and PMA have announced plans to move toward the kind of resonant or loosely coupled wireless power similar to Qualcomm's WiPower.
"By joining, Qualcomm can bring its expertise in resonant wireless power to bear and to look toward harmonization across wireless power standards," Qualcomm said in a statement to AllThingsD. "It is Qualcomm's belief that the other entities can leverage the work in resonant wireless charging that has been completed by the Alliance for Wireless Power."
Each of the three wireless-charging groups has a somewhat different take on wireless charging, as well as their own slate of backers, though there is also some overlap in membership. The WPC and its Qi brand have the lead when it comes to devices shipped, while the Power Matters group has won backing from companies such as Starbucks, which is testing the technology in Silicon Valley.


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With over 300 days of sunshine each year, Arizona is home to sunny days and beautiful desert sunsets, with clear calm nights perfect for stargazing. And now planning your getaway will be a breeze with our new framed Earth Toned Arizona State map with pins. This travel map of Arizona is highly detailed, showing Arizona's 2 National Parks, hundreds of place names, highways, rivers and more. County boundaries are outlined and shaded in different neutral colors. The level of detail makes this Arizona push pin map great for pinning your business and client locations. Adding pins to track all your adventures on this pinnable map of Arizona is sure to be a fun time for you and the family. From charting your Grand Canyon visit to viewing the Hoover Dam this Arizona state map allows you to showcase all your Arizonan Adventures!
If you choose to add the personalized plaque, the plaque will be located on top of the Arizona State flag at the bottom of the map. If you prefer the plaque to be in a different location on your framed Arizona push pin map, just let us know!
Framed dimensions are 39.5" H x 27.5" W
For current shipping and processing times, please see ourShipping & Returns page.
Personalized Plaque
|Want to give your map that extra special touch? Customize it with a personalized plaque to make it your own and create a unique way to capture your memories. The plaque will be located on top of the Arizona State flag. If you prefer the plaque to be in a different location, please just let us know! Need some inspiration for what to put on your plaque? Feel free to check out our personalization ideas for some of our more popular quotes and sayings. Plaques may contain up to 3 lines of text with a maximum of 25 characters per line. Please contact us if you have something special in mind that is slightly longer, and we will see what we can do!
How we make our maps
Every Push Pin Travel Maps is hand crafted in The United States of America. We take great pride in every map we produce. We start by professionally dry mounting the map on sturdy foamcore board and then frame it in the stylish frame of your choice. A wire hanging kit is already installed, so your map is ready to hang on the wall right out of the box. We even include the nail and hanger. Find out more details as well as answers to other popular questions in our FAQ section here.
Numerous Frame Options
Here at Push Pin Travel Maps we believe in choices. That's why we offer more frame options than you can find anywhere else. With 8 unique frame styles to choose from and over 20 map styles, you will surely be able to create the perfect combination to match your personal taste and decor.
Choose from either one of our unique 2" wood composite frames or one of our premium solid wood frames, which are 2.25" wide and include a rich finish and elegant beading. Please see listing pictures for images of this map in each frame option.
For more information on each individual frame option, click here.
150 Pins Included
|Each map comes with a set of 150 Pins in a mixture of red, white and black. Designate each color as you choose. For example red pins are his travels, white pins are her travels and black pins are travels together. The options are endless. Need more than 150 Map pins? Additional map pins, in a variety of colors can be purchased here (Map Pins).
Map Dimensions
This Arizona Push Pin Travel Map has the following dimensions...
27.5 inches Wide
39.5 inches High
Hanging kit installed and ready to put on your wall!
Last Minute Gift?
|Push Pin Travel Maps make an excellent gift. Are you are ordering last minute and are not sure if the map will arrive on time? We created this PDF for you to give to the recipient to let them know their map is on it's way.
What is a Push Pin Travel Map?
I purchased this for my husband's birthday and he loved it. The quality of this map is very good and it goes with most decor. I would recommend this map to others.


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Here are some December birthdays for Lincoln's friends and foes. And perhaps a few contemporaries who lived during his time but whom he may not have been personally acquainted with.
George B. McLellan – Major General (Union). Born December 3, 1826. Age 186.
George Armstrong Custer – Major General (Union) & Indian fighter. Born December 5, 1839. Age 174.
Henry Wells – Founder of the American Express Co. and Wells, Fargo & Company. Born December 12, 1805. Age 207.
Mary Todd Lincoln – Wife of President Abraham Lincoln. Born December 13, 1818. Age 194.
Brevet Major General John Hartranft – Read the Order of Execution on the scaffold to the four condemned Lincoln conspirators. He later became Governor of Pennsylvania from 1872 to 1879. Born December 16, 1830. Age 182.
Edwin M. Stanton – Secretary of War (1861-1865). Born December 19, 1814. Age 198.
Dr. Samuel A. Mudd – One of eight Lincoln conspirators put on trial for Lincoln's assassination. Dr. Mudd set John Wilkes Booth broken leg while on the run. Born December 20, 1833. Age 179.
Christopher "Kit" Carson – American frontiersman. Born December 24, 1809. Age 203.
Happy birthday lady & gentlemen!


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Hi there!!
Is this possible to bundle the JRE right into the program that you create? And if yes, so how to do that? It may be very helpful for people that don't know how to download the JRE and how to install and configure it on their computer.*
Thanks in advance!!


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a terrible show has the same name....
English Teacher
You can check the definition of this idiom here.
a terrible show has the same name....
I don't want to be six feet under yet. I'm too young to be.
to pop off or be a goner
another good american english idiom for that would be to buy a farm, or simply, to buy it. for example: he bought it during a skirmish with the jerries. also, when somebody dies, they croak. to give up the ghost, to kick the bucket, to fall off one's perch, to bite the dust, to pop one's clogs - all of these idioms mean to die in colloquial american & canadian english. i'm sure brits, aussies, and kiwies if not use, then are at least familiar with the expressions.
six feet under - is this idiom used formal or informal ( colloquial) speech?
Ok, in the meantime, I found the answer. It is used informal and in a humorous way.
These cigarettes will put Penelope six feet under.
I learn it from a name of a TV drama
If someone is six feet under, they are dead as a doornail!
And certainly not just dead to the world.


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Updated 03.21.2012 to clearly state the Creative Commons Licensing and copyrights used on this site.
My father's family emigrated from the Russian partition of Poland. My mother's family emigrated from the Prussian (German) partition.
The Mierzejewski family emigrated from the Russian partition of Poland (Warsaw region, Troszyn region) to the US in the early 1900s through 1920, scattering themselves primarily into Masschusetts west into Pennsylvania and then into northwest Ohio. I am still plodding through with the help of Garret Mierzejewski, Bill Marsh, and a few others to determine relationships. My father's parents were unrelated Mierzejewskis. Yup. You read that right. My grandmother was a Mierzejewska who married a Mierzejewski. While that seems to be unusual, in the larger scheme of things it's not. The name is not at all uncommon in any of the regions of Poland today and there are a number of Mierzejewska/Mierzejewski marriages. It's been like untangling several miles of knotted string to understand the relationships of the Mierzejewskis in Ohio.
The Plenzlers and Przybylskis emigrated to the US in the 1880s from Poznan, settling primarily in the Toledo, Ohio region. I do not know of any Dauers that emigrated to the US yet. My maternal great-grandmother is Eva Dauer. I have clues that perhaps some of her mother's family (Aumiller) may have settled into northwest Ohio; however, I have not yet investigated that in detail.
We all lived, worked, played, worshipped in an area called Kuschwantz in Toledo. My family all came from Poland–mom's came from Poznan and dad's came from Tomacze northeast of Warsaw which was in the Russian partition. My mom's family came here first, then my father's — but their families each remained in the Kuschwantz region for many, many years. My mother left the area in the early 1990s, several years after my father passed away. When she left, a tie to our history and family was severed.
Toledo had two large Polish communities: Lagrinka (the north side of the city, bounded in general by Lagrange Street and Manhattan Boulevard) and the Kuschwantz (roughly bounded by Nebraska Avenue, Dorr Street, and Junction Avenue). Lagrinka developed a bit ahead of Kuschwantz; however, a large wave of Poles from the Prussian partition of Poland started to migrate into the city in large waves near the end of the 1870s. Because of their Germanic influence (remember, Poland was not recognized as an independent nation until 1918 and was comprised of three partitions prior to World War I–Prussian, Austrian, and Russian), these migrants settled near Lenk's Hill. Lenk's Hill was mainly a Germanic neighborhood, and as it became more heavily populated with those who identified themselves as of Polish extraction, it became known as "Kuschwantz," which means cow's tail, because it generally followed the path of a railroad line.
The Kuschwantz area was heavily settled with Catholic Poles who quickly established parishes in the region, beginning with St. Anthony's, then St. Stanislaus, and then Nativity and St. Hyacinth's.
My parents both lived near St. Stanislaus and St. Anthony's parish. My father's family moved into the St. Hyacinth parish region not long after my father was born. I grew up attending St. Hyacinth's parish and school. In fact, I was one of the first babies baptized in the "new" church in January, 1960. Additionally, I graduated from Notre Dame Academy in Toledo.
Currently, I'm involved in basic data gathering: the whos, the wheres, the whys, and the hows. Part of this effort is driven by the simple fact that I came to slowly realize how large my family was and I never could quite put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Another part of this effort is simply because my mother's memory is not what it used to be–I'd like to be able to record as much of the family history as possible and verify it through her and possibly obtain some oral history from her. Lastly, the history of Toledo and its industrialization, growth, and culture is very much centered around its Polish population. It's simply an interesting story to investigate through the eyes of family.
Information that is placed on this blog is generally information that can be gathered through the public domain (from sites such as familysearch.org and ancestry.com), from digitized records of the Catholic Diocese of Toledo and Cleveland, and other public records such as census records, birth and death records, and land ownership records. The LDS has an excellent collection of digitized records for many collections in the state of Ohio. Records that are provided here can be easily downloaded for your personal use. Additionally, the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio have an excellent GIS and historic land ownership database at http://www.co.lucas.oh.us/index.aspx?NID=377.
Much of this data I cannot claim copyrights to. It is simply put here for those who wish to view or obtain the data. The only copyright I can claim would be for original works, such as my original writing or any original photographs or art work that I would publish here. Other works I cannot claim copyright to would be works cited by another author such as Toledo's Polonia by Rev. Richard Philiposki of the Toledo Polish Genealogical Society.
Anyone with questions, comments, or input can feel free to email me at email@example.com, leave a comment here (I will capture your email and IP), or leave me a comment via Twitter (@mcmanusd). Please note that that any time you post here, I will have to approve the message. I have no desire to be in the censorship business, but I do have a severe allergic reaction to spam! I've noticed a heavy amount of spam hitting this blog lately as well as a lot of phishing going on so I've tightened the security a bit.
If you notice any broken links to documents or other information, please let me know and I'll fix them. Also, if you know anyone mentioned in this blog or have any information you wish to share, or find any inaccuracies, please let me know!
Witamy! Hopefully, this can lead to a collaborative effort with others researching these families.
A note about the Creative Commons Licensing I use
You may use material here without payment by following the Creative Commons Licensing Agreement. What this means is this: you may use any original text or photos in this blog if you attribute them to me as the original creator and copyright owner. In general, this refers to any photos that I have taken or text I have written. Facts, historical photos, or documents posted here can all be considered within the public domain–one cannot copyright fact. This applies to any of my original photos that may be placed on other sites as well, including the Ohio Gravestone Project. Photos placed there remain my copyright and you must abide by the terms and conditions of the Ohio Gravestone Project located here: http://ohiogravestones.org/terms.php.
The reason I insist on this is two fold: the grave photos are difficult to obtain–they require considerable research and verification and because names can be easily confused. I want to take every precaution possible that the correct gravestone is attributed to each person's death that I have documented.


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Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle. Myocarditis may
occur after a viral, fungal, or bacterial infection, such as diphtheria,
rheumatic fever, or tuberculosis.
Treatment for myocarditis includes evaluation and treatment of the
cause of the inflammation. Treatment may require use of antibiotics,
if a bacterial infection is the cause, and medicines to relieve pain and
inflammation. Lifestyle changes, including increased rest and a low-salt diet,
may be part of the treatment.
Last Revised:
April 26, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology & Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


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Forrest Kirby Skater Profile
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