Virtual Conference: Religion and Democracy on the African Continent: Colonial Legacies and Postcolonial Possibilities “A broad rethinking of political issues becomes possible when Western ideals and practices are examined from the vantage point of Africa.”—Pankaj Mishra, New York Review of Books Join us Saturday, May 7–Sunday, May 8, for a virtual conference, featuring scholars of Africana Studies, Religious Studies, Anthropology, History, Sociology, Law, and Politics, who will share their expertise on religion and democracy on the African continent. The event will feature a keynote address by Mahmood Mamdani, the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University and author of the book, Neither Settler Nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities, (Harvard University Press, 2020). The conference presentations will result in the publication of an edited volume to be made freely available next year.  Registration The conference will be hosted on Zoom; attendees must register separately for each session. Click on the linked session titles below to register and to learn more about the sessions and speakers. All sessions will be recorded and made available on the Religion, Race & Democracy Lab’s Vimeo channel. Schedule of Events Saturday, May 7: Looking Back 9–11 AM EST Historical Formations of Religion and Democracy   11:30 AM–1:30 PM EST African Religious Movements & Democracies   2–4 PM EST Keynote Lecture: Mahmood Mamdani, Neither Settler Nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities    Sunday, May 8: Looking Forward 10 am–12 PM EST Contemporary Conflicts, the State, and Religion in Africa   1–4 pm EST New Theories and the Future of Religion and Democracy in Africa (followed by Closing Remarks)   Co-sponsored by the University of Virginia Democracy Initiative's Religion, Race & Democracy Lab, the Page-Barbour Funds, the Institute of the Humanities & Global Culture, the Carter G. Woodson Institute, and the Virginia Center for the Study of Religion.   Read more

Introduction  PAS Bamako invites proposals for projects that strengthen ties between the United States and Mali by promoting bilateral cooperation and highlighting shared values and shared interests. All programs must advance one of the key priorities listed below and must promote an element of American culture or have a connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s in a specific field that will promote increased ties between the United States and Mali and foster understanding of U.S. policies and perspectives. The PAS Small Grants program is NOT a vehicle to fund development projects, nor can these grants be used to support for-profit entities.    Examples of PAS Small Grants Program projects include, but are not limited to: Artistic and cultural workshops, joint performances, and exhibitions Academic and professional lectures, seminars, and speaker programs Cultural heritage conservation and preservation programs Civic engagement and social activism programs Key Priority Areas and Audiences   The purpose of projects funded under the annual program statement is to strengthen ties between Americans and Malians as we work together to make progress toward the goals outlined below. Strengthening independent media and fighting disinformation through media literacy, training and other engagement; Reinforcing existing Sister City relationships or other relationships between U.S. and Malian institutions (e.g. universities or museums) Ensuring participation of citizens, especially women and youth, in the democratic process; Fostering economic growth and entrepreneurship; Read more

We previously proposed a model for treatment of ADHD that emphasizes a life-course perspective to address the long-term implications and outcomes of early life experiences on health, psychological, and educational outcomes of individuals with ADHD across the life span (Evans, Owens, Mautone, DuPaul, & Power, 2014). In contrast to prevailing models of care that focus on service delivery to individuals emphasizing short-term symptom reduction, the life-course model prioritizes helping youth with ADHD improve competencies and develop into independent, healthy adults who achieve occupational, personal, and recreational success. Briefly, this model is comprised of four layers of services including (1) foundational strategies to establish appropriate structure and supports in home and school (e.g., parent-teacher communication), (2) psychosocial interventions to increase competencies and address impairments in academic, behavioral, and social functioning (e.g., organization interventions), (3) medication treatment, and (4) accommodations to adapt environments to children’s limitations (i.e., reductions in expectations). These layers represent the sequence within which services should be delivered and combined over time and across systems and settings. Read more

Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract knowledge and insights from noisy, structured and unstructured data, and apply knowledge and actionable insights from data across a broad range of application domains. Data science is related to data mining, machine learning and big data. Read more

The first computers were used primarily for numerical calculations. However, as any information can be numerically encoded, people soon realized that computers are capable of general-purpose information processing. Their capacity to handle large amounts of data has extended the range and accuracy of weather forecasting. Their speed has allowed them to make decisions about routing telephone connections through a network and to control mechanical systems such as automobiles, nuclear reactors, and robotic surgical tools. They are also cheap enough to be embedded in everyday appliances and to make clothes dryers and rice cookers “smart.”  Read more

Binary molecular (covalent) compounds are formed as the result of a reaction between two nonmetals. Although there are no ions in these compounds, they are named in a similar manner to binary ionic compounds. The nomenclature of binary covalent compounds follows these rules: The first element in the formula is given first, using the element’s full name. The second element is named as if it were an anion. Prefixes are used to denote the numbers of atoms present. If the first element exists as a single atom, the prefix mono- is omitted. For example, CO is called carbon monoxide rather than monocarbon monoxide. Read more

Conserving water helps us by supplying more amount of water for longer usage. It has become necessary in all areas because these natural resources are reducing along with the increasing population and their usages. There are several ways to conserve water. Here are some important and easy ways for the conservation of water Keeping the tap closed when not in use. Check for the openings or leaks in water distribution pipes. Make sure to use collected rainwater for gardening or washing purpose. Always have a measure of how many buckets of water is wasted in a day and try to reduce. Do not run more water than necessary while washing and cleaning clothes, utensils, etc. Do not prolong your bathing. Go for a quick shower rather than wasting buckets of water Rainwater harvesting is one of the best method used for conserving water. There are different methods used to preserve rainwater instead of getting it wasted. Read more

Myxomatosis, formally infectious myxomatosis, or myxomatosis cuniculi, a highly fatal infectious viral disease of rabbits. It is characterized by fever, swelling of the mucous membranes, and the presence of nodular skin tumours. The disease exists naturally in populations of certain South American rabbits of the genus Sylvilagus and has been introduced into western Europe and Australia as a means of rabbit population control. Read more

Students with ADHD often have the most trouble attending during drill-and-practice assignments because of the repetitive nature of the tasks. Peer-mediated approaches such as those enumerated below are particularly effective for students with ADHD in such cases, because they increase students’ opportunities for engagement and active learning (Piffner, 2011). In creating peer-mediated activities, the teacher may need to choose students whose skill levels complement each other. Students with and without attention difficulties and impulsivity should be considered for peer partnerships. o Peer Tutoring: Peer tutoring is one of the more effective strategies for students with ADHD, because it provides many of the same supports as one-to-one instruction. It facilitates the acquisition of both academic and social skills. Peer tutoring is most effective when training is provided to participating students (Piffner, 2011). Tutors need to be taught how to be prepared with materials needed for the session and how to give positive and corrective feedback to their partner (Greenwood & Delquadri, 1995). o Cooperative Learning: Carefully structured cooperative learning groups in which each student is assigned a role and has clear expectations for desired outcomes are very helpful for students with ADHD. The more structured the cooperative activity, the more likely it is that these students will succeed. o Sharing Strategies: Think, Pair, Share/Square Share/Group Share: Using this approach, students work with peer partners to discuss the lesson, check each other’s work, and share strategies. Read more

Sharing Strategies Think, Pair, Share/Square Share/Group Share: Using thisapproach, students work with peer partners to discuss the lesson, check each other’swork, and share strategies.Partner Reading Student partners take turns reading orally and listening to each other. Peer partners can also be helpful with discussing answers to comprehension questions, spelling, proofreading, and solving math problems. Self-Correction Opportunities Students use calculators or a key provided by the teacher to check their answers.Learning Games Students play board games that reinforce skills such as sight vocabulary, phonics, grammar rules, and basic math facts.  Read more

"There are very many functionalist approaches which have been put forward, and they are often very different from one another. Two prominent ones are Role-and-Reference Grammar (RRG), developed by William Foley and Robert Van Valin, and Systemic Linguistics (SL), developed by Michael Halliday. RRG approaches linguistic description by asking what communicative purposes need to be served and what grammatical devices are available to serve them. SL is chiefly interested in examining the structure of a large linguistic unit--a text or a discourse--and it attempts to integrate a great deal of structural information with other information (social information, for example) in the hope of constructing a coherent account of what speakers are doing. "Functionalist approaches have proved fruitful, but they are usually hard to formalize, and they often work with 'patterns,' 'preferences,' 'tendencies,' and 'choices,' in place of the explicit rules preferred by non-functional linguists." Read more

Clean Out Dates: Periodically ask the student to sort through and clean out his orher desk, book bag, and other special places where written assignments are stored.Extra Books: Provide the student with an extra set of books or electronicversions of books for use at home. This eliminates the student having toremember to bring books back and forth.Use of Calendars: Teach the student to use a calendar for schedulingassignments. Tape a schedule of planned daily activities to the student’s desk tohelp with time management and transitions.Checklist of Homework Supplies: Give the student a checklist that identifiescategories of items needed for homework assignments. The checklist can betaped to the inside of the student’s locker or desk.  Read more