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The Arts Council is at risk. After over a decade of questionable goals and bureaucratic funding requirements, as well as the mismanagement of a series of cuts, voices have started to call for tiffany its abolition.

The past ten years have been peculiar times for the arts. Under the Labour government pots of money were thrown at culture. But strings came with this funding, requiring art to serve political ends. While there has been cash it has been less for culture and more for schemes promoting social inclusion, community issues tiffany key pendant and urban renewal.

Rather than rebel against these demands the Arts Council has been tiffany jewelry on sale at the vanguard.

As a consequence, artists needing support have had to jump through hoops asking more about their sexual identity than about the art form. This has contributed to highprofile failures, as the purpose of elsa projects became disorientated. These include the Public in West Bromwich, which was erected in our name but failed to ignite people's interest, and other white elephants, such as the unpopular National Centre for Popular Music. A lot of money has been wasted.

At first the calls for the chop were only whispers behind the scenes. Then, in the spring, a closed-door colloquium brought together arts leaders with the chief executive, Alan Davey, for a frank exchange, concluding with an informal vote on its future. The majority of attendees proposed abolition.

Soon after, the increasingly prominent right-wing think tank the New Culture Forum published a report, 'The Arts Council:

Managed to Death' by Marc Sidwell, advocating that it be removed and that the nine regional arts councils be directly funded by the Department of Culture Media and Sport.

Since then, there has been a cascade of criticism at every step the council takes.

Arts professionals, policy wonks and journalists have lined up to complain that it funds the wrong bodies the wrong way, that it's too politically correct - or not correct enough - that it isn't making judgments - or that it is making too many - and that it should go, with mutterings about government taking on the responsibility. And, adding fuel to the fire, in the past few weeks a row has erupted between Liz Forgan, chair of Arts Council England, and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, over the proposed appointment of former Evening Standard editor, Veronica Wadley, to a senior position, with both sides accused of cronyism.

As a long-standing critic of the Arts Council I never thought I would stand up for it. But the time has come to state the case for the defence.

The shrill chorus calling for abolition is wrong. Handing over funding responsibility to the DCMS would be a mistake. The culture department is all about measuring the 'evidence'; trying to prove the arts have an 'impact', mistreating them as if they were a science at their service. The DCMS cannot spell art, and is more philistine and instrumental than the Arts Council could ever be. Sidwell's solution would invite more Stalinist political meddling, at local level as well as national.

It is time we valued what it could do, rather than removing it altogether. Instead of cutting the beleaguered organisation and handing over power to the politicians we need to restate its founding purpose.

In a civilised society public subsidy is required if the arts are to be supported; especially the new, difficult or risky, and the public should be able to see the work. It is not good enough to rely on sponsorship or philanthropy to ensure this happens. The primary function of the Arts Council, when it was established in 1945, was to patronise the promising artists of the day, so that ordinary people could experience them.

John Maynard Keynes, instrumental in its foundation, stated that, unlike the NHS or other national institutions, the purpose was not to socialise, teach or censor, but to free up the artists and, as a consequence, give 'universal opportunity for contact with traditional and contemporary arts in their noblest forms'.

This commitment required the 'arm'slength' principle, which asserts the independence of artists and arts bodies from state interference. Over time, initially under the Tories during the Thatcher years, this arm's length was transformed into armtwisting and no longer really exists, except in name. It should be reinstated and honoured.

We need an organisation to allocate funds and support the arts which has the expertise to make decisions about what should be valued - at a distance from politicians. This is the role of the Arts Council.

Of course, judgments will be made that people will argue over. Indeed, we should all be involved in a broader discussion about what work is considered important and why.

After 12 years of a Labour government, the models and principles of arts funding are ripe for examination. With the beady budgetary eye of the Tories, quangos and expensive projects are likely to be jettisoned. It is vital that we don't give them the head of this important body but instead have a creative discussion about how to improve it. It is time for all good men to come to the aid of the Arts Council.

In some instances, moving in the direction suggested by Fig. 5 is not tiffany artainable or desirable due to circumstances such as market conditions, economics and so on. It is up to the individual generator to decide what level of risk is acceptable (that is, what direction they would like to move) and what needs to be done to get there.

Once opportunities have been identified and goals set for improvement programs, several different actions are possible for managing the risk toward the desired tiffany key pendant direction, any of which can yield the same improvement. (See Fig. 6.)

Severity (cost) can be reduced moving down the vertical axis, frequency (unavailability) can be reduced moving from right to left on the horizontal axis, or any combination tiffany jewelry on sale inbetween, yet the maintenance risk remains constant.

Solomon's experience suggests that seldom do companies reduce risk by reducing severity (cost) first, primarily because there tends to be an underlying frequency (unavailability) issue that is driving the higher costs. Cutting costs would likely only exacerbate the problem. Unavailability should typically be elsa addressed first, even at a higher, nearterm cost to allow the generator the best chance of reducing costs in the long term.Nonetheless, maintenance risk provides a means to address these issues and ser realistic targets for improvement.

Additional Applications

The initial development of our maintenance risk methodology was based on the premise that capital is deployed to reduce total unavailabihty. That premise is sound for base-load power plants, whose spark spread allows them to participate in the market most of the time.

For intermediate or peaking plants, the methodology holds true using forced outage rate in lieu of EUF.

An additional use of maintenance risk involves capital rationing. If the generation organization is forced to reduce overall costs, is it better to cut ail plants equally or cut proportionately with respect to maintenance risk and how it can be managed or incorporated? If existing practices have produced low cost and low unavailability, then funding for maintenance programs could likely be cut with less impact than cutting funding for high unavailability areas.

Maintenance risk is not complicated, yet its value is tremendous. In this regard, convincing engineers of its merits should be straightforward. As such, using maintenance risk facilitates the communication of the rationale, strategy and logistics of maintenance programs and improvements to all authences throughout the organization. In a series of a few figures, managers can quickly step from plant to unit to major system to quickly identify opportunities for potential improvement in the context of their peers and in support of their actions.

Every power generation manager is, in a sense, a risk manager balancing maintenance spending, technical performance and unavailability to maximize the financial performance for their assets. To combat this risk, companies employ a variety of different management strategies. However, many times, the analysis tools to support the strategies and tactical decisions are so complex and time-consuming that managers default to their experience and biases rather than undertake meaningful and objective analyses of their program's effectiveness. Managers are in need of a simple, data-driven method that describes the effectiveness of their maintenance program and quantifies tiffany engagement rings the risk of underperformance of major systems, the asset, groups of assets, or a fleet within the plant and allows for a more balanced approached to implementing maintenance programs.

Beyond the analyses and the numbers, managers are also in need of a credible tool that tiffany sale provides the basis for communication of the maintenance program's effectiveness at the various levels of the generation organization. This communication tool must work equally well for both technical and financial managers.

Solomon developed its maintenance risk methodology to both describe maintenance effectiveness and provide a means of communication throughout the organization, allowing for the greatest potential improvement. The methodology involves a visual framework that focuses on the risk of sub-optimization of the financial and technical tiffany on sale performance of the asset rather than merely emphasizing one aspect such as reliability.

Unreliability is considered by most teardrop rings as the probability that a system or component will not be able to perform its mission over a period of time. The effect of this unreliability can be measured in terms of the financial impact of the event causing the reliability. The management of the probability (that is, frequency) and the consequences (that is, severity) is typically captured through a company's maintenance management program.

However, do all events result in the same severity? More specifically, what affects the financial performance of the asset more, a few costly events or numerous low-cost events} Our maintenance risk methodology simultaneously addresses both frequency/unreliability and severity/ cost to assess the effectiveness of the maintenance program and provide the manager with a tool to improve their decision-making capabili-ties in balancing the maintenance program.

The National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, NRC, 1996) and Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, 1993) both state that middle school students (in Grades 6-8) should understand the causes of seasons. Empirical research has shown that school-aged children, university students, and schoolteachers have difficulty fuUy understanding many astronomical concepts, including seasons (Atwood & Atwood, 1996; Bakas & Mikropoulos, 2003; Bisard, Aron, Francek, & Nelson, 1994; Kikas, 2003, 2004; Roald & Mikalsen, 2001; Trumper, 2001a, 2001b, 2006; Zeilik & Bisard, 2000). The most common misconception that has been reported is that seasons are due to the varying distance of the Earth from the Sun (Atwood & Atwood, 1996; Bakas & Mikropoulos, 2003; Kikas, 2003; Roald tiffany engagement rings & Mikalsen, 2001; Trumper, 2001a, 2001b, 2006; ZeUik & Bisard, 2000). Although understanding of seasonal change tends to improve with age, students and teachers atike still struggle with these important concepts. There has been a dearth of research on the understanding of seasonal change by middle school students with visual impairments.

Students with visual impairments have a challenging time with most scientific phenomena because they are frequently left out of critical experiences in the classroom (Beck-Winchatz & Riccobono, 2008). In astronomy, the problem is compounded by the reliance on curricula that use visual representations and observations. Astronomy is typically not accessible to students who are blind. Wild, Paul, and Kurz (2008) reported that the students with visual impairments in their tiffany sale study learned astronomy through memorization, the Internet, audio descriptions, and tactile diagrams or manipulatives. Only 3.67% actually participated in authentic experiences with astronomy, such as making observations or interacting with astronomers from the community.

There has been a lack of educational research on science for students with visual impairments. Many manuals explain how to teach science to students with visual impairments (Dion, tiffany on sale Hoffman, & Matter, 2000; Hadary & Cohen, 1978; Koenig & Holbrook, 2000; Kumar, Ramassamy, & Stefanich, 2001; Willoughby & Duffy, 1989). However, little research has been conducted to determine the effectiveness of these curricular materials (Erwin, Perkins, Ayala, Fine, & Rubin, 2001; Linn & Their, 1975; Long, 1973; Struve, Their, Hadary, & Linn, 1975; Waskoskie, 1980). The purpose of the study presented here was to understand and describe misconceptions about seasonal change that may exist among students with visual impairments, and to suggest instructional techniques that may help them learn scientific concepts.

Theoretical teardrop rings framework

Conceptual change provided a theoretical framework for the study, which focused on constructing knowledge in specific areas and described learning as the reorganization of existing knowledge (Vosniadou, 2007a; Vosniadou, Ioannides, Dimitrakopoulou, & Papademetriou, 2001). Conceptual change theory reflects a constructivist epistemology. It provides a framework that focuses on constructing knowledge in specific areas and describes learning as a reorganization of existing knowledge to make sense of new knowledge (Vosniadou, 2007a; Vosniadou et al., 2001).

The belief systems of students can directly affect their ability to undergo conceptual change (Stathopoulou & Vosniadou, 2007; Vosniadou, 2007b). As children have more experiences, their set of beliefs may begin to change or may become resistant to change. They begin to connect their belief system to different contexts for different uses in different contexts.

Franka Baly is a thriving entrepreneur. The 41-year-old Houston resident owns ReEmergence L.L.C., a graphic design studio she opened in 2000 that assists small businesses with developing Websites and marketing material, and is co-owner of Infuze Hair Studio. In tiffany engagement rings 2009, revenues were more than $160,000. In addition to being an entrepreneur, BaIy is the mother of 6-year-old twin boys - and she's also a recent widow.

Baly's husband of 16 years died in tiffany sale a car accident in May 2008 at the age of 42. This tragic incident pushed BaIy to refocus her time and energy on rebuilding a stable future for her and her boys. Prior to the death of her husband, BaIy had a full-time job at AIG and worked occasionally on ReEmergence. After getting laid off in 2002, she continued working part time on her business while still living comfortably in a two-income household. Following the birth of the twins, BaIy and her husband developed conservative spending habits, only spending when it was necessary. They both had life insurance, retirement plans, saving accounts, and a few investments set up for their future.

Both BaIy and her husband were responsible for the family's finances. "Our pastor encouraged us to sit down and pay the bills together, so we would be able to communicate and really see our financial situation," said BaIy. "We couldn't hide anything from each other that way." By performing the simple task of bookkeeping with her husband, BaIy was able to access the accounts and did not have to scramble at tiffany on sale the last minute to find the paperwork needed to prepare for her husband's funeral.

After her husbands death, BaIy immediately had a will created. She also made sure to take care of her physical health. "I became real nervous about something happening to me, and my boys losing another parent and not being taken care of financially," she explained. BaIy also contacted a financial adviser. "If you don't have a plan then you will tend to make a lot of mistakes. I teardrop rings learned that from having a business."

Here are some tips that can help you bounce back after the loss of a loved one.

* Get financial records in order. Many widows scramble at the last minute looking for financial documents in order to finalize the funeral plans. Many also lack knowledge about their household finances. Candace Bahr, founder of Bahr Investment Group and co-founder of the Women's Institute for Financial Education. recommends getting more involved when it come to your finances. Review income tax forms, 401(k) statements, investment portfolios, credit card bills, and pension plans and become familiar with them. Many women do not realize they do not qualify for spousal benefits from their husband's pension plan's until it too late.

Hire a financial adviser. Sound financial advice is crucial at a time when emotions are likely to be high. "Find someone who has very good knowledge of the industry and several years of experience," recommends Fola Odejimi, a certified financial planner with The ODYSSEY Group LLC, a financial planning firm in Phoenix. Work by referrals and check the credentials of the adviser, making sure they cater to your specific financial needs. But don't wait for a tragedy to seek a financial adviser, have a financial road map already in place.

* Protect yourself from becoming easy prey. Have someone accompany you to meetings that require you to make financial decisions so that you don't get taken advantage of. Do not make any quick decision when it comes to money. Baly's support system came from her adviser, family, close friends, and her church family. She also briefly joined a support group for her and her boys.

Planning is Tangela Walker-Craft's specialty. The married mother of one has been steadfast in keeping household debt to a minimum. For example, when the Crafts purchased their home in 1993, the Lakeland, Florida, couple was determined not to be consumed by a hefty mortgage. Instead of buying a home for the $110,000 the couple qualified for, they wisely purchased a home for $20,000 less to give themselves a cushion Over the years, the 39-year-old and her husband Ernest 40. have built an exceptional payment history and have been able to use that to their advantage by refinancing to pay off their auto loans orto get tiffany a better rate.

In 2002, the Crafts began to shore up their finances for a new addition to the family. Walker-Craft, a former teacher, was able to leave her job tiffany key pendant to take care of their daughter, Emari, now 8 years old. Though she was already careful with financial planning, having one income forced her to become even more prudent. The family began living well below their means, often shopping off-season for clothes and household items. Each month, they calculate monthly expenses versus monthly income. They create a checklist of bills that must be paid and include a cushion for unforeseen expenses.

Walker-Craft also used her time away from the classroom to pursue a side business. In late 2005, while caring for her toddler, she f ounded tiffany jewelry on sale Simply Necessary Inc., which produces Walker-Craft's invention, the Go Pillow, a multifunctional product that can serve as a breastfeeding cover-up for moms.

Here are elsa some tips that can help you and your family manage household finances.

* Prepare for the unexpected. Unforeseen events can often derail long-term financial goals. Build your emergency cushion. The Crafts have an emergency fund that covers six months of expenses. Also keep a checklist of long-term goals to make sure you are on track. "Before you figure out where you're going, you have to know where you been," says Sharon Harvey Rosenberg, author of The Frugal Duchess: How to Live Well and Save Money (DPL Press; $14.95). "It helps to have a full, complete background of the family finances and a list of what you'd like to accomplish in the future."

* Bring your children In on the finances. Don't shield children from the family's financial picture. With age-appropriate lessons, take the time to teach them about debt, credit cards, and savings. This way, if your family has a financial goal, the children will be more inclined to contribute.

* Have adequate life and disability insurance. It's important to have enough life insurance in the event of the untimely death of you, your spouse, or both. The insurance calculator at Bank Rate (www. bankrate.com) can give you an idea of how much life insurance you'll need. Also have short- and long-term disability plans in place. The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (www. life happens.org) has a disability insurance needs calculator.

* Work with your spouse. Adding a partner and child to the mix can make financial planning more complicated if all parties are not in agreement. In order for the planning of family finances to go smoothly, make sure that you and your spouse are on the same page about how money should be handled as a family. "You have to be able to communicate with your partner to make things successful," says Michelle Oliver, president of The Oliver Financial Group, a Henrico, Virginia-based financial services firm.

* Rebuild credit. If your home was recently foreclosed but you wish to be a homeowner in the future, know that it could take anywhere from two to six years before a lender will offer a reasonable interest rate. In the meantime, it will tiffany be important for you to rebuild your credit You can do this by paying all of your bills in full and on time. Also make an effort to pay down outstanding debt. In addition, a credit counselor can help you devise a financial management plan.

* Educate yourself. Many divorced women find themselves in control of the household finances tiffany key pendant for the first time after their marriage ends. If this describes you, make a point to attend financial literacy workshops and read as many educational materials as you can.

* Manage accounts. tiffany jewelry on sale Don't forget to remove your former spouse as the beneficiary on your life insurance forms and on your bank and retirement accounts. Also remove your name from joint bank and credit card accounts.

* Rebuild savings. Divorce can be hard on the wallet. Make savings a priority, In time, Taylor plans to rebuild her savings, which was eaten by attorney's fees. She estimates that by moving back in with her parents, she is saving more than $1,000 per month. She contributes $100 per month to her emergency fund. $50 biweekly to her son's college fund, allocates 10% of her paycheck to her 40l(k), and saves all the income from her side business. "Save more, spend less, and invest wisely," advises elsa Linda Leitz, CFR Create a livable budget and realistic lifestyle. In addition, having dependents makes it vital for you to be properly insured Make sure that you have adequate disability and life insurance.

* Assemble a power team: "Divorce is emotional and a lot of women just want to get it over with," says Barbara Stanny. author of Secrets of Six-Figure Women (Harper Business; $23.95). A good team will include a financial planner, attorney, and accountant and they should give you sound advice and hold you accountable.

The data set contained 514 educators who selfidentified as tiffany sale being LGBT Seven findings emerged:

#1. Homophobia was experienced equally across all tiffany on sale groups.

About 75% of respondents reported experiencing some homophobia, but no group perceived a significantly higher level of homophobia. These analyses supported the tiffany research of Jackson (2007), whose participants indicated that they experienced difficulties due to heteronormativity, which means that only heterosexuality is assumed and believed to be normal.

#2. Younger LGBT educators report greater tiffany key pendant support from principals.

LGBT educators ages 18-25 and ages 34-42 felt more supported by their principals than respondents between ages 43-50. This could be because the older LGBT educators lived through times when LGBT people suffered more overt discrimination and never felt confident in a superior's support. Blount (2000) and Tulin (2 006) discussed the discrimination felt by LGBT individuals. Harbeck (1997) reviewed the backlash to gains by LGBT educators in Florida and other states during the 1970s, which could have had an impact on those older participants. The LGBT educators, especially those ages 18-25, who responded that they perceived principal support, may not have experienced the same levels of overt discrimination in their personal lives or witnessed events in society or with acquaintances as did those in the 43- to 50-year-old range.

#3. Prohibiting homophobic bullying language was more likely in the Midwest.

Midwestern schools were more likely to have policies prohibiting homophobic bullying language than schools in the Southwest. However, no group reported a greater likelihood of working in a school where respondents felt protected by state law, local ordinance, or union contract. In addition, no group reported a greater likelihood of working in a school that provided domestic partnership benefits. Many workplaces, especially in the education field, still don't offer such benefits. This may be due to the backlash that continues to occur against LGBT people seeking equal rights (Carbado 2000; Mohr 2004; Tulin 2006).

#4. LGBT educators experience job and personal safety differently.

Originally, part of what the research team had chosen to investigate was how safe LGBT educators felt. I had assumed safety to be a single factor. However, during the data analysis, two different safety factors emerged - personal and job safety.

#5. LGBT educators experience job safety differently depending on their years of experience.

Like Lafarge and Tiffany, Mike Messner of Andersonville, Ga., is also a great admirer of stained glass and recalls his first interest in the beautiful windows came when his parents bought an 1893 Victorian home with stained glass windows. Messner remembers one of the windows was broken and after two years of night classes at an Atlanta stained glass studio, he restored the damaged window. tiffany engagement rings Messner first started collecting and ref��nishing pieces to resell his senior year in high school. While attending North Georgia Trade School, after graduation, he worked parttime for an antique shop and learned the ropes of the trade.

Messner said stained glass can vary in construction greatly. "The most common construction tiffany sale methods are copper foil, leaded Hchannel, Dalle glass and epoxy," he stated. "Artists can use multiple methods to create a window panel or art pieces," he continued. Messner generally purchases English stained glass windows, which are reasonably priced, but also buys American windows.

According to Messner, stained glass makes great gifts and can be passed down from generation to generation. "Stained glass as an art form adds beauty and enjoyment to any home, old or new," he said. Messner has been a loyal vendor of Scott Antique Markets in Atlanta for over a year and tiffany on sale sells a variety of stained glass windows in a wide range of designs.

Many say stained glass windows are the "Poor Man's Bible" because they tell the Biblical story. Messner added, "The purpose of the cathedral stained glass windows was to tell the stories of the Bible when there were no written Bibles available and people were not educated nor needed to be in order to live and prosper. Since the tiffany church or cathedral was the center of community culture, this was a source of spreading God's word."

Creating stained glass windows was not an easy task for craftsmen in earlier times. There were many steps to follow from the beginning to the tiffany finished product. First a template of the window opening was made; the design was determined by the location, theme or whatever the customer desired. Next a full sized cartoon (pattern or design) was drawn for each "light" or opening of the window. The cartoon was then divided into a patchwork as a template for each small glass piece. The position of the lead holding the glass in place was a very important step and a part of the overall visual effect. The glass was chosen for the color and cut to match the template. Details of faces, hair and hands were then painted on the inner side of the glass with special glass paint made of ground lead or copper filings, ground glass, gum Arabic and wine, vinegar or urine.

The glass pieces were then merged together tiffany key pendant in what was called ?-sectioned lead "cames". A "came" is a slender grooved lead rod used to hold together panes of glass. (Today, copper foil is often used in place of lead.) Once this was done, the joints were soldered together. This kept the windows from rattling and also helped weatherproof them. Next the windows were placed in the window spaces and iron rods were placed across them at different points to help support the weight of the windows. Lead was used in holding the windows in place as opposed to zinc even though zinc was better, it was more costly, but was also an indication of older glass.

It wasn't until the Victorian and Edwardian eras (1800s) that stained glass tiffany jewelry on sale was used in non-religious windows. During this time, stained glass windows began to appear in many European chateaus. The colors began to change from the normal traditional royal colors used in church windows to softer hues. Soon stained glass took on a whole new meaning and American glass makers began processing a translucent "milky" glass known as opalescent glass. Notable American painter, John Lafarge invented the opalescent glass and patented it in 1880. However, Louis Comfort Tiffany received several patents for variations of the same opalescent process. Tiffany also invented the copper foil method that was often used in place of lead.

Although Lafarge invented opalescent glass, it was Tiffany who made it legendary. His name became significant or synonymous with the glass and the American glass movement. Tiffany's workers would sometimes waste a large piece of glass to get the right color. As an example; a leaf with a brown stem could use several colors from brown to dark green to light green. Both Lafarge and Tiffany used delicate cuts elsa and lavish colored glass in great detail with smooth designs like none other, and layered glass to achieve depth and texture. Tiffany is not only well-known for manufacturing Tiffany lampshades, but he is also responsible for more elaborate and lavish window designs such as The Holy City. This is one of the largest stained glass windows made by the Tiffany Studios and is St. John's vision on the isle of Patmos. It has 58 panels and is one of 11 Tiffany windows in the Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland.