3040712    ข้อพิจารณาในการส่งเสริมความร่วมมือของชุมชนและการสร้างเครือข่ายการประสานงาน    Issues in Promoting Community Participation and Networking

ความจำเป็นของการมีเครือข่ายประสานงานระดับชุมชนเพื่อประโยชน์ในการพัฒนาสุขภาพทักษะในการดึงคนและหน่วยงานที่มีความสามารถร่วมกันแก้ไขปัญหาสุขภาพในท้องถิ่นที่สร้างเครือข่ายประสานงานในการแก้ปัญหาสุขภาพ

(The need for community health development network; skills of bringing together the scattered expertise of individuals and institutions to help resolve particular problems; networking techniques for problem solving.)

(3040712 จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย)

So the new Twilight movies. If you were a guy that was forced to see it this past week than I perhaps you can read on because this will not be a glowing review. Perhaps you may enjoy. For those diehard twilight fans read on and please tell me where you think I am wrong.

Twilight New Moon, simply put was better than the last one but not by much. The reason why I say this is primarily for the fact that Jacob Black was in a starring role in this film which made everyone (well all the tweens and me at least) swoon. He is gorgeous which relieves the abosolute necessity to be able to act – we let things like that slide for the amazingly beautiful. For the other actors though – they do not get off that easily.

Bella, unlike her name is not as beautiful to look at as Jacob. In fact, she is awkward all the time and overly possessive and whiny. She envisions Edward everywhere in this film and does not appear to be acting sanely. Her friend Jessica sums it up quite nicely in one of few parts in the film that sanity is introduced (right before the biker gang incident.

Meanwhile, all I can say about Edward is that he would have glowing reviews if only his skin did not glow with glitter. From reading everyone’s disgust at the Wal mart special effects in the previous movie I expected more from this film in that area – especially after making so much money from the las film. GIVE ME BETTER SPECIAL EFFECTS!. I watched the new Star Wars Movie and afterwards Twilight seemed weak and pathetic in this regard. Wow, I am getting off track a bit, back to Edward. Anway his acting leaves much to be desired as well. the one part I do like is when Bella and Edward break up though – it throws the crazy Bella into insanity based upon her over dependence on Edward protecting her. Bravo edward, but then you can’t stay away and leave her and Jacob Black alone huh?

The last need I have for these films is more action. Even though it is a romantic/dramatic/….comedy? I find myself wanting more out of these films. It seems like the producers are stretching out their films to make money rather than create a great film. The entire first book was boring on screen because it was just introducing the characters. The second continues to do this with the introduction of the Voltori in Italy. For anyone who has read the books the real action are in the later books with a volteri showdown (like an army vs the Cullens). That is going to be awesome and would have been great if they having lost thier base of followers by then by introducing two slow paced, bad effectual, and pitiful acting in between now and then.

So basically, Twilight has continued horrible special effects, bad acting for those that are not gorgeous, and acceptable acting for the gorgeous. Any other complaints? We will have to wait and see until the next movie.

A great soundbite from back in October on Issues Etc by Pastor Weedon on the importance of the Nicene Creed to the laity.

I have been an unabashed champion of the power of conference backchannel, but danah boyd’s  (whose work I respect and admire tremendously) experience at the Web 2.0 Expo on November 17 shook me to my very core.  You can read more from boyd here as well as here, but in a nutshell, conference organizers staged a live stream of conference Tweets behind boyd, who could not see the stream content.  boyd, who also could not see the audience well at all and who was unaware of the content of the Twitter stream,  understandably closed down when the audience began laughing just a few minutes into her speech.

My initial reaction to this incident was one of shock and anger.  I guess I am naive for my thirty-eight years, but I was truly appalled by the unprofessional and mean-spirited behavior of those who were posting Tweets that were not constructive criticism but instead, destructive and cruel in nature.  As someone who just saw boyd present a few weeks ago at AASL, I am dismayed and incredulous  that boyd’s message was drowned out by the drivel and thoughtless online behavior of a few who essentially disrupted her speech in such a negative way.   This incident hits close to home for me because  I identify with boyd’s desire to create an exceptional presentation and learning experience that will be informative and inspiring to those in the physical and virtual audience.  No presenter wants to disappoint or come short of audience expectations; if you feel you have faltered, you reflect and work even harder to craft a presentation that will be engaging and meaningful.  I wonder if those posting the disrespectful Tweets had any recognition of the care and intellectual investment boyd had committed to crafting her presentation.  If they did, then could how they act as they did? Even if they did not, how could people behave with such callous disrespect?  Their behavior was something akin to bullies in a schoolyard, taunting and assaulting someone who was vulnerable and undone by laughter she interpreted as ridicule.

As someone who has witnessed the positive power of the backchannel from the perspective as a participant and observer, I still believe the backchannel can be a valuable aspect of the conference or presentation experience.  However, boyd’s blog posts, an engaging and thoughtful Twitter conversation I enjoyed with my personal learning network last night/this morning, and the subsequent Tweets this evening from George Siemens (please see his thoughtful blog post on this topic) have left me with these questions that I think need more discussion and thought:

• We cannot naively take for granted that those in the backchannel will always be respectful.  How do you deal with this kind of situation proactively and with minimal disruption if it does occur?
• Lazygal feels,  ”There’s a new sense of decorum that we need to establish for listeners”; how can we as a learning community model and encourage constructive critique that does not detract from the speaker?
• Bobbi Newman is wondering that even when the backchannel is positive, is there any value to be gained by having the livestream viewable by the audience whether the presenter can see it or not.  She also  wonders if the livestream pulls attention away from the presenter?
• Kristin Fontichiaro and I are wondering if the gender of the speaker was an issue in this sad incident; Kristin also wondered if  age and/or perceived authority as insider/outsider had any bearing on the behavior of those in the Twitterstream/audience.
• Lazygal wondered, ” if a Twitter feed doesn’t enhance professional learning, does it merit a vaunted place onstage?”
• Kristin Fontichiaro wonders if those engaging in the negative behavior it “thought was culturally acceptable … there’s an anthropological piece to this…”—I agree that there is much to be learned from incidents like these because I am sure this is not the first time it has happened to someone (unfortunately).
• boyd observes that if a live and unmoderated Twitter stream is going to be integrated into an event/presentation, the speaker needs to know this ahead of time because “it requires a fundamentally different kind of talk.”
• George Siemens asks, “is the contract with one speaker, or with the conference experience? do expectations (behaviour) vary based on either?”  George also asks, “What is the audience’s responsibility?”
• Darren Draper asks, “Are we almost at a point where every presenter will need to pull a @downes and bring the backchannel to the forefront?”

It is a beautiful and exciting thing when the backchannel works positively as the “forechannel” and enhances the conference/presentation experience.  However, that euphoria can quickly be tempered when a few people act like a vicious mob and detract from the presentation.  While I still believe in the positive power of the backchannel, I know these questions will weigh heavily on my mind the next few months as a presenter and as an attendee at winter, spring, and summer conferences.

What are your thoughts on this issue and the questions/challenges/observations I have shared from others?  I invite you to share your constructive feedback.

It’s no secret that Washington DC is corrupt and dysfunctional.  8th Congressional candidate Marc Savard had a recent posting on this very issue.  He also shares some of what he will be doing over the coming months to distinquish himself in a crowded field, while working to become the candidate residents of the 8th district can trust to represent them Washington.

Voters will have to work diligently to sort through who will earn and deserve their support over the coming months.

In my travels on the campaign trail over the last year talking and listening to residents of the District, one of several common questions arise, and that is how can we possibly change such a dysfunctional and corrupt system in Washington?My answer is that you change it one person at a time.

You don’t support candidates who just  tell you what you want to hear, and who make promises that you know they can’t and won’t keep. You look for a candidate who is living the life that you live with all of the struggles and cares that the vast majority of us deal with every day.You also watch how the candidates conduct their campaigns. What kind of folks do they have on their staff? Who are their volunteers? And most importantly of all, how do they raise and spend the funds needed to operate their campaign. Because how they do all of these things will be a good indicator of the values and judgments they will take to Washington on your behalf. You deserve a candidate who will not only work for you and our country’s well-being, but will also honorably represent you with his behavior when you are not able to follow his every move.

A key indicator of that, from Marc Savard’s perspective is how they raise campaign money.

I believe that how a candidate raises and spends money is one of the key indicators of how he will operate in Washington. Where is he getting his money from. Who is he beholden to for tens of thousands of dollars of contributions. You know as well as I that when Political Action Committees (PACs), or what is generally described as special interest lobbying, gives tons of money to a candidate  ,they expect something in return. It is fundamental to our human nature that when someone does you a favor or gives you something, you are predisposed to return the favor or  give them something in return. You know in your gut for that to be true.

So if “special interest” money is a key to the corruptness of the political system, one way to change that is to not accept such donations.

The only way to break that corrupt Washington cycle between politicians and lobbyists is for a candidate for Congress to not seek out, and not accept, such donations, so that he can go to Washington clean and clear of the attachments such contributions create.

That is something 8th Congressional District candidate Marc Savard is apparently prepared to do.

I will be making just such an announcement in a detailed and formal way before the end of the year. I will also give you the information and tools readily available to you so, as Ronald Reagan aptly put it when dealing with the Soviet Union, you can “trust but verify” my pledge.

So watch my team run in the coming months and see that I will be the candidate who will earn your trust to be your Representative in Washington DC. (Source: Saturday morning on the farm – Savard for Congress)

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For those who knew him, the suicide of Chicago Public Schools board chairman, Michael Scott, came as a surprise. Earlier today, friends and colleagues remembered the dearly departed.

Those close to him have constantly called him a fighter. It is always expected of Scott to continue fighting. Instead, he has given up. During his day, he was one of the closest associates to the Mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley.

Michael Scott was last seen alive at 6:30 pm on November 15. He was reported missing by family members around midnight, coming into the 16th. At 3:15 on November 16, his body was found thirty feet away from his blue Cadillac. Apparently, he had plunged off a ledge into shallow water.

His death came as a shock to Mayor Daley, who said that there was not any prior indication that he was suicidal. He said that he had known Scott for 30 years and that he knew more about the school system than anyone else. Daley said that he never knew that Scott was having any problems, he spent his time solving problems.

Back in August, he had been subpoenaed to appear in court. Michael Scott has been accused of using his political muscle to gain favortism for his school system. Scott adamantly denied that he had ever done such a thing. While the situation may have been stressful, it is doubtful that this is the reason that he took his life.

In the wake of the recent announcement of Oprah Winfrey ending her long-running daytime talk show, very few people realize that she is still preparing to make more history. All that most people see is the legacy that she will be leaving behind with her first show.

When “The Oprah Winfrey Show” ends its run, in 2011, Oprah will be moving to her own network, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). At this channel, she will serve as president and CEO of the network. That will make her the first black woman in history to ever do something like this.

Also, once the network is set up, Oprah will be the focus of a new talk show. So, on top of everything else, Winfrey will probably become the host of the top-rated talk show in cable history. That will be another first set by a black woman. She has raised the bar for talk show hosts, now she will be raising them, again.

Already, she is a billionaire, but when she becomes the head of her own television network, Oprah Winfrey stands to make a lot more money. Once that happens, Winfrey will be setting more records as far as financial success go within the black community.

There are plenty of Oprah fans that are upset at the fact that her show is over, but she is leaving the show for her own network. Already, she is in the history books, but she is set to make even more of an impact once she actually leaves the show to start OWN.

Nature and Animal Conservation

 

     Preserving species and their habitats is important for ecosystems to self-sustain themselves. Yet, the pressures to destroy habitat for logging, illegal hunting, and other challenges are making conservation a struggle.

Visit : http://www.globalissues.org/article/1…

 What is Biodiversity ?

 

    The variety of life on Earth, its biological diversity is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth.

   

    Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to recognize this as being integral to any approach. Almost all cultures have in some way or form recognized the importance that nature, and its biological diversity has had upon them and the need to maintain it. Yet, power, greed and politics have affected the precarious balance.

Does it really matter if there arent so many species?

Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play.

For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops; greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Who Cares?

  Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops; greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions

It is feared that human activity is causing massive extinctions. From various animal species, forests and the ecosystems that forests support, marine life. The costs associated with deteriorating or vanishing ecosystems will be high. However, sustainable development and consumption would help avert ecological problems.

 

  

via SPIN METER: ‘War and Peace’ in 209 pages? – Yahoo! News

Republicans are using everything short of forklifts to show Americans that Democratic health care legislation is an unwieldy mountain of paper. They pile it high on desks, hoist it on a shoulder trussed in sturdy rope and tell people it’s longer than “War and Peace,” which it isn’t.

Although they complain they don’t have time to read all of it, they found the time to tape it together, page by page, so they could roll it up the steps of the Capitol like super-sized toilet paper and show how very long it is.

I won’t overexcite you with the riveting word and page count analysis Woodward and Daniel provide, but suffice it to say that their conclusions are far from relevant when compared to arguments about the mess this bill would create.

About the only angle of the story that bumps universes with reality comes from the third paragraph:

Size matters in the health care debate because Republicans have turned the length of the legislation into a symbol: Big, unwieldy bill means big, overreaching government.

Yeah, having read it, I’d say that’s about right.

Buy Cheap Health Policy Issues: An Economic Perspective

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With over 100 pages of new and updated information, this edition provides a comprehensive view of the economic forces that shape change in today’s healthcare delivery system. In addition to updated information throughout the text, this latest edition includes several new chapters that discuss the Internet’s effect on healthcare, behavioral differences between non-profit and investor-owned hospitals, how to design a Medicare prescription benefit, and the availability of cheaper drugs overseas.

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Detailed book with the author’s opinion on healthcare reform all over it.

More of a textbook than an actual read for leizure

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i use this book to study for comprehensive exams for a PhD. It has a great range of topics and is an easy read.

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I would recommend buying any kind of text book from amazon. It arrives quickly (2 days usually)and has been(for me) the best price out there.

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The book was shipped promptly and in the condition it was promised. I have no issues with the merchant or book. The book itself is actually very informative for those with a limited understanding of the heathcare system and the economics behind it.

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Very lucid and easy to understand. Makes a complex issue very accessible to somebody who is new to the topic. I highly recommend this book.

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I’ve been told about this, a graphical representation of various amounts of money that we hear talked about in the news… It’s called the BillionDollarGram and expresses amounts in a very easy to digest visual format. Click the picture for the full size version or click HERE to go to the original author’s site.

Worldwide expenditure comparisons

What is fascinating is relating various amounts relative to one another. Let’s look at some of the facts this chart gives us…

The Internet Porn industry is more or less the same amount as the foreign aid given by the world’s major nations ($97bn vs $103bn).

Worldwide advertising spend is nearly twice as much as the entire debt owed by African nations to the West.

UK government financial crisis bailout at approximately $238bn exceeds that of African debt by 19% and dwarfs Germany’s at $67bn. For the same money we could feed every single child in the world for 4+ years.

Apparently it’s rather expensive to do business in Russia too – bribery took $300+bn! (Goodness knows where the figures came from for that!)

China spent $41bn on the Olympics last year – more than France did on the crisis bail out. $41bn on a sports even that lasted a couple of weeks! (OK, I know the infrastructure is still there, but really…!)

There are other fascinating comparisons… take a look for yourself while thinking about the debt the government is getting us into….

We’re heading for a debt of the equivalent of $330 billion (assuming £1=$1.65) this year. That’s just on UK government overspending. Take a look at the chart and see what it represents and be shocked…

this morning i woke up feeling like i was from a deleted fight club scene. my throat was sore and i found about 4 bruises on my body that i swear were not there yesterday. i also felt hungover, which is surprisingly odd for me considering i didn’t have any foreign substances last night, except maybe my mom’s version of vegetable soup. i’ve also had really fucked sleep the past few nights. i can always tell how restful my sleep is based on the unused portion of my bed, aka the right side. when i sleep well, the right side looks completely untouched, but if i’m restless, it’s like a tornado ripped across my entire bed. welcome this morning. like the past few mornings, i woke up with my bed completely cluttered. comforter here. flat sheet there. pillows strewn about. the only real change has been that i’ve been sleeping with my fan off. because it’s fucking cold. but maybe the hum of the fan helps me relax and sleep more than i realize. in addition to all that, i had unsettling dreams last night involving my ex. after a week of not talking, he IMed me last night which is the only reason i can imagine he penetrated my dreams. we had gotten to a point where we were really becoming friends and talking often. and then, as always, he completely dicked out on me – like three times. enough for me to just fucking despise him for the time being. but he decided to e-approach me last night and i was cordial in my one-word responses and didn’t bother to ask him a single question about his life, because i really just didn’t care. maybe if i had asked, he wouldn’t have haunted me in my sleep. i need solid sleep soon. i don’t like these nights or mornings. i don’t like waking up feeling like something in my life is off. but honestly, i think plenty in my life is off right now, so maybe i need to begin by addressing that?

It must be national bad hair week and I hadn’t noticed. Nothing else would seem to explain the sudden profusion of hair-related controversies in the media.

Most recent is the shocking case of Australian cricket legend Shane Warne’s hair loss. He and his follicularly-challenged partner in crime Graham Gooch have just been banned. But not, you’ll be glad to hear, from playing cricket. No, it’s much more trivial than that. The Advertising Standards Authority has cracked down on an ad created for trichologist Advanced Hair Studio – promoting its laser therapy and “strand by strand” technology – to whom our two sporting heroes have been lending not only their prestige but their balding pates.

I’m a little at sea over why the ASA has taken two years to reach such a Draconian verdict. After all, the ad doesn’t actually say that AHS cures hair loss.

Which moves me neatly on to hair crisis number two: the case of Cheryl Cole’s false locks. How come that Elvive can get away with plying a palpably false impression of bountiful, bouncing, natural hair, while AHS isn’t even given the benefit of a few reimplanted strands? The answer, as so often, lies in the small print. The ASA found in favour of Elvive because it provided subliminally small disclaimers about Cheryl’s hair not being entirely her own (quite a lot is nylon, I gather). This is not, I’m afraid, a finding which sits happily within the ASA remit of  upholding “legal, decent, honest and truthful” advertising. Such dishonesty is more widespread in cosmetics advertising than we would like to believe.

The third bad hair advertising controversy is not so much a case of fairness as of silliness. I refer to the opening rounds of our forthcoming general election campaign and the two stunningly original poster ads it has so far produced: one for the Conservative Party (Euro RSCG) and one for Labour (Saatchi & Saatchi), both pillorying each other as the Jedwards, whose twin misfortunes are to have been evicted from the X-Factor, and to be burdened with a hairstyle that must make Shane Warne think twice about the wisdom of hair implants. The ASA won’t be allowed to touch these ads, more’s the pity.

Face it my friend, you suck. you really do. It’s seriously time for you to check yourself in the mirror and seriously seriously do a serious reflection on what youve been doing and saying. Maybe you can check if theyre in sync too? Here’s an advice, if theyre not in sync, why dont you try to stfu, huh?

*Hey D, cheer up. I wish i can hug you right now and make you feel better buttttt i cant but i ll be seeing you soon ! hang on there , no bitchass’ words can bring you down babeh !

Click here

It’s a good time to give thanks for the good news on the environmental front.  Easy enough to find the bad news — Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, global warming, endangered species and bio-tech crops invading fields of organic food.  But there are rays of hope on the horizon!

1.  Population growth is down!  Slower population growth means less stress on the planet’s resources, less pollution and more habitat protection.

2.  The Siamese crocodile was nearly wiped out between habitat loss and poaching.  Twenty years ago they were listed as extinct in the wild.  Now experts believe 250 Siamese Crocodiles are living in the wild, thanks to a combination of efforts.

3.  Climate talks in Copenhagen in December will involve over 65 world leaders. While it’s possible that they’ll continue to spin their wheels about resolving global warming, they’re willing to keep working at it, which is something.

4.  The Dutch cabinet approved a driving tax that will attempt to keep drivers off the road, reducing emissions and congestion.  The U.S. has kicked around this very idea, but the auto industry has lobbied heavily against it.  Perhaps, if this tax is effective, the U.S. will reconsider it once again.  At least other nations are actively dealing with traffic and transportation issues.

5.  Speaking of good news for species, the grey wolf was taken off the U.S. endangered species list.  A combination of efforts in several states helped the grey wolf rebound to numbers reaching an estimated 15,000.

6.  While the economy and high gas prices are being blamed, emissions are down in America and holding steady.  Hopefully people have adopted new habits and this trend isn’t temporary.