Live Smoke Free or Die: The Battle for Smoke Free Restaurants in New Hampshire

[Excerpt] The need for a strict statutory scheme prohibiting or effectively segregating tobacco smoke in restaurants and public buildings in New Hampshire is compelling. One evening, during the summer of 2003, I took my wife and daughter to a restaurant in New Hampshire for dinner. When the time came to be seated, the waiter asked if we preferred to be seated in the smoking or non-smoking section. At our request, he led us to the non- smoking section. Over the course of dinner, I considered the irony of why the restaurant even had a non-smoking section. Smoke was coming over the low wall next to us and hovering throughout the area during our entire meal. This low wall was all that separated us from the smoking section. At one point, my two year old daughter told me that she did not like the restaurant. When I asked her why, she replied, “It’s stinky.” This scenario is illustrative of the problem faced too often by people in New Hampshire who wish to dine in a smoke free restaurant. The purported safeguards created by New Hampshire’s Indoor Smoking Act are simply ineffective in application. In small towns it can be especially difficult to find a restaurant that is completely smoke free. The statutory scheme, as applied, offers very little protection from second-hand smoke, forcing patrons to choose between two sections: one with a lot of smoke and one with only some smoke. Without better segregation, the ability to breathe smoke free air is impaired. Therefore, one is forced to choose between dining at home and dining in a smoky restaurant.

Foreign language learning in Second Life and the implications for resource provision in academic libraries

This project focuses on foreign language learning in Second Life and the implications for resource provision in academic libraries. In this context Second Life does not refer to the later years in life but to an online virtual world frequented by thousands of people simultaneously. Hislope sees it as “an excellent potential resource for supplementing foreign language classes” and this project aims to establish whether academic libraries have a role to play in this.The Arcadia Programme has been funded by a generous grant from the Arcadia Fund. http://www.arcadiafund.org.u

Promises, Impositions, and other Directionals

Promises, impositions, proposals, predictions, and suggestions are categorized as voluntary co-operational methods. The class of voluntary co-operational methods is included in the class of so-called directionals. Directionals are mechanisms supporting the mutual coordination of autonomous agents. Notations are provided capable of expressing residual fragments of directionals. An extensive example, involving promises about the suitability of programs for tasks imposed on the promisee is presented. The example illustrates the dynamics of promises and more specifically the corresponding mechanism of trust updating and credibility updating. Trust levels and credibility levels then determine the way certain promises and impositions are handled. The ubiquity of promises and impositions is further demonstrated with two extensive examples involving human behaviour: an artificial example about an agent planning a purchase, and a realistic example describing technology mediated interaction concerning the solution of pay station failure related problems arising for an agent intending to leave the parking area.Comment: 55 page

ICT and adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL

Mellar, H., Kambouri, M., Sanderson, M., and Pavlou, V. (2004) ICT and adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL. London: NRDC. Available at: http://www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_258.pdfResearch report for NRDCThis project set out to obtain a picture of present teaching practice in the use of ICT in adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL within formal provision. (http://www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_258.pdf

Factors influencing take-up of free school meals in primary- and secondary-school children in England.

OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to explore the factors that influence registration for free school meals and the subsequent take-up following registration in England. DESIGN: The research design consisted of two phases, a qualitative research phase followed by an intervention phase. Findings are presented from the qualitative research phase, which comprised interviews with head teachers, school administrators, parents and focus groups with pupils. SETTING: The study took place in four primary schools and four secondary schools in Leeds, UK. SUBJECTS: Participants included head teachers, school administrators, parents and pupils. RESULTS: Findings suggested that parents felt the registration process to be relatively straightforward although many secondary schools were not proactive in promoting free school meals. Quality and choice of food were regarded by both pupils and parents as significant in determining school meal choices, with stigma being less of an issue than originally anticipated. CONCLUSIONS: Schools should develop proactive approaches to promoting free school meals and attention should be given not only to the quality and availability of food, but also to the social, cultural and environmental aspects of dining. Processes to maintain pupils' anonymity should be considered to allay parents' fear of stigma

The Official Student Newspaper of UAS

UAS Answers: Everybody's got one... -- Finding True North: Selected Readings from Kij Johnson's "At the Mouth of the River of Bees" -- Correction to the article "How to boil a frog?" -- Alaska to Germany: Oktober in Deutschland! -- They seen me rollin' -- The challenge of getting around campus -- Suddenly, College: Plenty of fish on campus -- Balancing a busy schedule with hobbies -- Spoken word poetry at Lemon Creek Correctional Facility -- Bake some delicious finger food this Halloween -- Casino Night at the Housing Lodge -- This is Halloween -- Addressing student concerns with the Mourant Cafeteria -- Campus Calenda

Mainstream Legal Responses to Domestic Violence Versus Real Needs of Diverse Communities

Keynote speaker Marcia Ann Gillespie, editor-in-chief of Ms. Magazine, discussed the importance of getting to the root of what makes violence against women. She stressed the importance of looking at what makes men act violent, taking down barriers of reporting violence, and analyzing other contributing factors. Panelist Aurora Salamone from the New York City Department for the Aging then discussed domestic abuse against elders, stressing that domestic violence in the household does not all the sudden stop at a certain age. Panelist Kimberly A. Madden from from the Jewish Association for Services of the Aged discussed how violence against elders is similar to violence at younger ages because of the cycle of violence but different because of how the power is exerted and how someone can get out of the situation. Louisa Gilbert, co-director of the Social Intervention Group at Columbia, then discussed how drug use contributes to abuse of women and how it creates barriers for them from getting help. Holly Devine from Barrier Free Living Domestic Violence Program then described her work at her transitional shelter for disabled men and women who have become homeless. Jenny Rivera, professor CUNY School of Law, discussed the shortcomings of legal solutions for women being abused