Month: July 2022

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NEW: Arlington sets record after again ranking No. 1 on American Fitness Index | ARLnow

NEW: Arlington sets record after again ranking No. 1 on American Fitness Index | ARLnow
Runners in Long Bridge Park in Crystal City (team picture by Jay Westcott)

Arlington has rated No. 1 on the American Fitness Index for a history fifth yr in a row.

The county topped the listing, posted by the American Faculty of Sports activities Drugs (ACSM) and the Elevance Health and fitness Basis, after placing initial in the nation in 6 separate exercise and health groups. The new rankings have been introduced this morning.

“Arlington, Virginia, gained its No. 1 designation for the fifth time, a Conditioning Index file, by ranking first in six indicators and scoring amongst the prime 10 towns in 19 of the 34 groups,” ACSM explained in a push launch. “Arlington was ranked No. 1 in both of those the own health and neighborhood/ecosystem sub-scores.”

The groups for which Arlington received leading marks, out of the 100 U.S. localities indexed by ACSM, are below.

  • {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} doing exercises in the final 30 days (Arlington 93.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, metropolis typical 77.6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf})
  • {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} in excellent or pretty superior overall health (Arlington 70.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, metropolis normal 55.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf})
  • {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} physical overall health not good for the duration of the previous 30 times (Arlington 16.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, town average 27.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf})
  • {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} with superior blood force (Arlington 15.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, city typical 30.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf})
  • {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} with stroke (Arlington .4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, city typical 3.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf})
  • {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} with diabetic issues (Arlington 5.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, city normal 10.3{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf})

Arlington’s overall rank was 85, when compared to an typical of 51.7, even though the county’s individual overall health rank was 86.8, when compared to an ordinary of 50.5.

2022 Exercise Index Top rated 10 Infographic (courtesy ACSM)

There was fantastic news for a country in as a total in this year’s rankings, with ACSM reporting an “increase in the percentage of Individuals exercising in the prior month (77.6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) sleeping 7+ hrs/working day (68{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) and reporting great/very very good well being (55.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), because past year’s Conditioning Index.”

An excerpt from this morning’s press release is below.

Arlington, Virginia, has been named “America’s Fittest City” in the once-a-year American Physical fitness Index® rankings released by the American Faculty of Athletics Medicine (ACSM) and the Elevance Well being Basis, the philanthropic arm of Elevance Wellness.

The ACSM / Elevance Conditioning Index evaluated America’s 100 major towns making use of 34 proof-based mostly indicators. Rounding out the leading 10 fittest metropolitan areas are Madison, Wisconsin Minneapolis, Minnesota Washington, D.C. Seattle, Washington Irvine, California Portland, Oregon St. Paul, Minnesota Denver, Colorado and Chicago, Illinois (first time in the best 10). Full rankings and scores, a summary report, town comparison instrument and other insights are accessible on the Fitness Index web page.

“Congratulations to all those city leaders and planners who led initiatives to produce parks and playgrounds, establish bicycle paths and safe and sound streets, and supply a constructed atmosphere that encourages actual physical action,” stated Shantanu Agrawal, M.D., main wellbeing officer of Elevance Health and fitness. “As we entered a different yr of the pandemic, wellness disparities in our communities ongoing to be an challenge, which only encourages us to deal with wellbeing equity head on. We ended up also confronted with a further yr of reduction, illness, and isolation, resulting in the need for improved mental wellbeing. As we start to return to our previous routines, we need to underscore the important psychological and actual physical wellbeing gains work out in our life.”

Now in its 15th 12 months, the Health Index gives city leaders useful research to make probably lifestyle-switching conclusions in coverage, devices and environmental adjust procedures that push physical fitness and well being enhancements in their communities.

As psychological wellbeing concerns grow promptly throughout the country, this year’s Health Index gives statistical evidence relating to the problem’s scope. On common, 39.6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of inhabitants in the Exercise Index metropolitan areas noted bad mental overall health. Almost 58{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of older people in the U.S. understand a pandemic-relevant destructive impact on psychological or mental well being. Towns reporting the highest charges of poor mental wellbeing (outlined from highest to least expensive) involve New Orleans, Louisiana Laredo, Texas San Francisco, California Washington, D.C. San Jose, California Madison, Wisconsin Lubbock, Texas Stockton, California Riverside, California and Cincinnati, Ohio.

There is fantastic news. Study has demonstrated actual physical action – both equally aerobic and strength coaching – to be effective in stopping and cutting down signs and symptoms of panic and melancholy, increasing temper and self-esteem, and increasing good quality of snooze.

ACSM issued a statement in August 2021 and is featuring methods on the positive aspects of physical activity for individuals with psychological health and fitness concerns

“The Fitness Index Advisory Board hypothesized that poor mental wellbeing issues might be a considerable variable simply because the pandemic disrupted just about every stage of our lives, some a lot more than others,” claimed Stella Volpe, Ph.D., R.D.N., ACSM-CEP, FACSM, chair of the American Conditioning Index Advisory Board. “Our selection to hone in on this crucial element was accurate. We identified that towns ranked in the major 25 tended to rating nicely in personalized well being indicators on the other hand, there was one particular exception – mental health. 4 cities in the top rated 25 also rated amongst the cities with the poorest mental well being.”

ACSM and the Centers for Sickness Regulate and Avoidance (CDC) recommend at minimum 150 minutes per 7 days of reasonable-depth cardio activity, about 22 minutes for every day. They also propose muscle mass strengthening action two times a week. Volpe said 22.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of grownups in the Health Index metropolitan areas described no workout in the earlier thirty day period, and only 50.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} satisfied the cardio action recommendations, whilst an even lesser share (23.8) met the guidelines for both aerobic and power things to do.

“Increases in actual physical exercise are possible to enable minimize the mental overall health load,” claimed Volpe. “This underscores the want for nearby community leaders to step up and make bold paying out choices, policy choices, and infrastructure variations to boost opportunities for citizens to be bodily lively and wholesome. Nearby neighborhood actions that modify individual behaviors also cut down being overweight fees, incidence of continual disorder and anxiety. ACSM and the Elevance Well being Basis now employ year-round training and outreach routines close to the Conditioning Index success to aid discover requires in every single town and contribute to possible answers.”

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These are the 4 key takeaways from the Uvalde shooting investigation report : NPR

These are the 4 key takeaways from the Uvalde shooting investigation report : NPR

Family of shooting victims listen to the Texas House investigative committee release its full report on the shootings at Robb Elementary School, Sunday, July 17, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.

Eric Gay/AP


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Eric Gay/AP

Family of shooting victims listen to the Texas House investigative committee release its full report on the shootings at Robb Elementary School, Sunday, July 17, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.

Eric Gay/AP

When an 18-year-old gunman targeted an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, “systemic failures and egregiously poor decision making” on behalf of law enforcement and school officials failed to stop the shooter from killing 19 students and two teachers, a new investigative report found.

Hundreds of law enforcement officials prioritized their own safety over the lives of students and teachers that day as they waited more than an hour to confront the shooter, according to the 77-page report from a Texas House of Representatives committee.

A report detailed the missed warning signs and motives of the Uvalde gunman

After weeks of conflicting and inconsistent accounts of the police response, the report gives the public the most complete picture yet of the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School. As police fumbled without clear leadership or organization, school staff had grown less vigilant, straying from locked door policies and active shooter procedures.

“There were multiple systemic failures,” Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Republican member of the investigative committee, said in summarizing its findings at a press conference on Sunday, hours after the report’s release.

He warned that those breakdowns in safety aren’t just a problem that exists in Uvalde, adding, “some of the same systems that we found here that failed that day are across the entire state and country.”

Here are some of the key revelations the committee found in their probe.

A lack of leadership despite a robust police presence

In all, 376 law enforcement officers arrived at a scene that was chaotic and uncoordinated, the report says. The group of federal, state and local officials lacked any clear leadership, basic communication and enough urgency to take down the gunman, according to the committee.

Previous official accounts of the shooting placed primary blame on the school district’s Police Chief Pete Arredondo – who is on administrative leave and has since resigned from his position on the City Council — and other local police.

After arriving at the school, Arredondo fumbled around with and eventually abandoned his radio at the fence, the report stated, reasoning that one of the other sergeants was on the scene and was “fully uniformed” with a radio, he testified to the committee.

Uvalde school district’s active shooter policy called for Arredondo to be the incident commander who would’ve been responsible for leaving the building in order to organize a response and to inform other officers that he was in charge. Instead, Arredondo stayed inside the building.

Uvalde School Police Chief Pete Arredondo, third from left, stands during a news conference outside of the Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Thursday, May 26, 2022.

Dario Lopez-Mills/AP


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Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

Uvalde School Police Chief Pete Arredondo, third from left, stands during a news conference outside of the Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Thursday, May 26, 2022.

Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

After Arredondo entered the school, he went to classroom 110, which had bullet holes, but no children were inside. He then “prayed” the kids in rooms 111 and 112, where the gunman fired more than 100 rounds, had been emptied as well, he testified.

They had not been, and Arredondo proceeded to handle the incident as one of a “barricaded subject” and not an active shooter, according to the report.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we now know this was a terrible, tragic mistake,” the committee wrote.

Officers said they knew the gunman was in one of the rooms, but did not know what was happening behind the closed doors because they did not hear screams or cries, despite hearing several gunshots ringing out.

Arredondo testified that his assessment of the situation was to prevent the shooter from moving to other classrooms.

“[T]o me … once he’s … in a room, you know, to me, he’s barricaded in a room,” he said. “Our thought was, ‘If he comes out, you know, you eliminate the threat,’ correct? And just the thought of other children being in other classrooms, my thought was, ‘We can’t let him come back out. If he comes back out, we take him out, or we eliminate the threat. Let’s get these children out.”

The report revealed that most of the officers who responded to the incident were from state and federal forces, with 149 from U.S. Border Patrol and 91 from the state police department.

There were 25 city police officers and 16 from the county sheriff’s office. Arredondo’s school police force comprised five of the officers there.

The committee also faults those officers — “many of whom were better trained and better equipped than the school district police” — who it says should have filled the leadership void when they saw the chaotic scene.

“They should’ve begun asking questions and offered their support and guidance, and maybe eventually they would’ve gotten command to have a better response from that,” Rep. Burrows said.

Two officers with the Uvalde Police Department arrived at rooms 111 and 112 minutes after the attacker opened fire. The attacker shot at the officers, who were grazed by bullet fragments and retreated. They did not fire back. One left the building, the report said.

Although law enforcement made multiple missteps that disregarded active shooter training, the report says, it’s not clear that a quicker response from officers once they were on the scene could have prevented the loss of some lives.

Relaxed school security allowed the gunman to attack quickly

Although Robb Elementary had safeguards and active shooter procedures in place, school staff had developed a culture of complacency around such measures. Out of convenience, some teachers frequently left doors unlocked or propped open — a violation of school policy. Due to a shortage of keys, substitute teachers were often told to circumvent locks.

The school was also set up with an intruder alert system. But the frequency of “bailout” alerts, which flag the presence of fleeing human traffickers in the area, desensitized teachers to their urgency. No prior bailout alert had ever resulted in a violent incident at the school.

On the day of the attack, the gunman scaled a 5-foot tall exterior fence before multiple unlocked doors allowed the gunman to enter the classrooms unimpeded, the report found.

“But had school personnel locked the doors as the school’s policy required, that could have slowed his progress for a few precious minutes—long enough to receive alerts, hide children, and lock doors; and long enough to give police more opportunity to engage and stop the attacker,” it read.

Instead, the gunman likely killed most of the victims before any responder entered the building, the committee found: “Of the approximately 142 rounds the attacker fired inside the building, it is almost certain that he rapidly fired over 100 of those rounds before any officer entered.”

The gunman opened fire in his former 4th grade classroom

Reggie Daniels pays his respects a memorial at Robb Elementary School on June 9, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. Nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to the mass shooting that left 21 people dead at the school, but it was more than an hour before the gunman was finally confronted and killed, according to a report from investigators released Sunday, July 17, 2022.

Eric Gay/AP


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Reggie Daniels pays his respects a memorial at Robb Elementary School on June 9, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. Nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to the mass shooting that left 21 people dead at the school, but it was more than an hour before the gunman was finally confronted and killed, according to a report from investigators released Sunday, July 17, 2022.

Eric Gay/AP

At 11:33 a.m., the attacker spent two-and-a-half minutes firing more than 100 rounds into rooms 111 and 112.

Room 111 was the same classroom the gunman attended fourth grade, the report revealed. Just weeks before the attack, the shooter had spoken with an acquaintance about bad memories of fourth grade.

His former fourth-grade teacher, who was in the building at the time of the shooting, told the committee he reported being bullied while in the fourth grade. She consulted with the gunman’s mother, and said he eventually began making friends.

The attacker’s family testified that he continued being picked on for his clothes and speech impediment. By 2018, when the gunman was in the ninth grade, he had accumulated more than 100 absences and had failing grades. In 2021, when the attacker was 17, Uvalde High School withdrew him.

“It is unclear whether any school resource officers ever visited the home of the attacker,” the report said.

When he returned to Robb Elementary on the day of the attack, the shooter was able to enter room 111, as the door was not properly secured, according to the report. The lock on room 111 was known to be faulty, and teachers and students would often enter to use the printer.

“Room 111 could be locked, but an extra effort was required to make sure the latch engaged,” the report’s authors said.

The teacher of that classroom, who was injured during the shooting, testified that he would often be admonished by school police about the door, and notified school administration, who said a request had been submitted. The teacher never submitted a work order himself, “as was the apparent practice among Robb Elementary teachers,” the report said.

The head custodian at the school testified that he never knew of any problems with the door, or would have submitted a work order. The principal said administration had been alerted about the door in March.

On the day of the shooting, the teacher for room 111 said he could not remember receiving an alert about an active shooter or if he used extra effort to secure the door.

The attacker shot his grandmother after an altercation about his phone plan

Three minutes after the gunman fired into rooms 111 and 112, Uvalde Police Department dispatch received a call that a woman had been shot in the head, according to the report. It was the gunman’s grandmother.

Before leaving for Robb Elementary School, the gunman and his grandmother had an altercation about his phone that resulted in her making a call to AT&T to remove him from the plan, according to the report.

During the incident, he contacted a female acquaintance in Germany for an hour, and upon hanging up, texted her of his plans to harm his grandmother, the report showed.

“Ima do something to her rn,” he wrote, along with “I just shot my grandma in her head” and “Ima go shoot up a elementary school rn.”

The acquaintance initially responded with “cool,” which she deleted before saying, “I just saw the news.”

He shot his grandmother in the face before stealing her truck, despite not having a driver’s license, and drove to Robb Elementary.

She survived the attack and was released from the hospital June 29, according to CNN.

The attacker began buying firearms accessories in February, and when he turned 18 in May, spent almost $5,000 on two assault rifles and hollow point bullets, which expand upon impact.

The attacker’s uncle drove him to the gun store twice to pick up the rifles, and after his grandmother told him he couldn’t keep guns in her home, his uncle allowed him to stow one of the weapons at his house.

The gunman told an acquaintance he hid the second rifle outside of his grandmother’s home, and brought it inside the night before the massacre.

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National University Grows to 42,000 Students in Merger, Plans Nationwide Online Expansion

National University Grows to 42,000 Students in Merger, Plans Nationwide Online Expansion
Michael Cunningham
National University System Chancellor Michael Cunningham announces the merger and new emblem. Picture by Chris Jennewein

National College announced Monday it will merge academic functions with its local affiliate, the on-line schooling pioneer Northcentral University, and extend educating nationwide.

The merger will develop a combined college with 42,000 learners and increase 24 doctoral degree systems when providing 90{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of training on the net.

Cunningham said the merger will permit the San Diego-based nonprofit university to supply a comprehensive suite of academic courses from the pre-college to doctoral amount with a target on “micro-credentials” and workforce education applications made with input from prime employers.

“The union of these two institutions will make it possible for us to give workforce-applicable, in-demand plans — practically fully in an asynchronously on the internet format — to adult learners in all fifty states,” mentioned Dr. Michael R. Cunningham, chancellor of the Countrywide University System

The merger has been accepted by the Western Association of Colleges and Colleges, the accrediting entity for equally community and personal institutions in the West, and Cunningham also launched a new emblem for the blended National University.

National University’s power has been in giving profession-applicable levels and credentials for grownup learners at the undergraduate amount, whilst Northcentral has perfectly-founded master’s and doctoral choices. Northcentral, which has 12,000 college students, turned portion of the Nationwide University Program in 2018.

“Bringing together the expertise, abilities and motivation to service of these two numerous tutorial communities will help us to deliver towards our shared mission with appreciably greater effects and access,” stated Dr. Eugene Wilkerson, co-president of Northcentral.

In remarks following the announcement, Cunningham stated the merger will maximize efficiency and aid Nationwide College continue being incredibly cost-effective, with tuition toward a diploma in the vary of $12,000 a 12 months.

“This is not a merger for attrition. This is a merger for excellent,” he said, with no personnel to eliminate careers.

He said a crucial goal in the merger is better obtain and affordability, and mentioned that on the web learning suits busy adult students mainly because it can consider spot “anytime, anyplace.”

National University was started in 1971 and has grown to grow to be San Diego’s major private nonprofit college with 190,000 alumni.

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TTABlog Test: Is “ELEPHANT LEARNING MATH ACADAMY” Confusable With “ELEPHANT GAMES” For Computer Game Software? – Trademark

TTABlog Test: Is “ELEPHANT LEARNING MATH ACADAMY” Confusable With “ELEPHANT GAMES” For Computer Game Software? – Trademark

18 July 2022

&#13
Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.&#13

&#13
&#13

&#13
To print this write-up, all you have to have is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.&#13

The USPTO refused to register the mark ELEPHANT Understanding&#13
MATH ACADEMY for downloadable academic computer software applications&#13
[LEARNING and MATH ACADEMY disclaimed], acquiring confusion likely&#13
with the registered marks ELEPHANT Video games, in&#13
regular people and in the logo variety shown down below, for,&#13
inter alia, computer recreation software program and digital recreation&#13
application for cell phones [GAMES disclaimed]. Effectively, the goods&#13
overlap, but what about the marks? After the disclaimers,&#13
what’s remaining in every mark but “ELEPHANT”? How do you&#13
assume this came out? In re Elephant Studying, LLC, Serial No.&#13
90556090 (July 13, 2022) [not precedential] (Impression by Judge Cindy&#13
B. Greenbaum).

1212980a.JPG

Power of the Cited Marks: Applicant argued&#13
that ELEPHANT is a weak formative for computer software items, pointing&#13
to ten or so use-dependent registrations for marks made up of the word&#13
ELEPHANT (e.g., BUBBLES THE ELEPHANT, ELEPHANT TREASURES, and ASIAN&#13
ELEPHANT). “Potentially additional importantly, the two cited&#13
registrations and the previously mentioned third-bash registrations coexist with&#13
Applicant’s recent registrations for the marks ELEPHANT&#13
Mastering (Learning disclaimed) (Reg. No. 6178676)) and ELEPHANT AGE&#13
(Reg. No. 6047589).” In gentle of all these registrations, the&#13
Board concluded that the cited marks are entitled to “a&#13
to some degree narrower scope of security than that to which marks with&#13
inherently exclusive conditions usually are entitled.”

The Marks The Examining Attorney managed&#13
that ELEPHANT is the dominant factor in the topic marks mainly because&#13
it is the 1st phrase in each and every mark and is additional probable to be&#13
amazed on the memory of a consumer. The Board, having said that, way too a&#13
unique tack:

[T]he proof talked about over&#13
demonstrates that the frequent term ELEPHANT is relatively weak due to&#13
the numerous 3rd-occasion registrations for software. The various&#13
connotations of the trailing phrases Game titles and Learning MATH ACADEMY&#13
substantially contribute to the different commercial impressions of&#13
the marks, as Game titles describes the laptop game titles recognized in the&#13
cited registrations, and Finding out MATH ACADEMY describes the&#13
goal of Applicant’s instructional mobile purposes, which&#13
youngsters will use to master math.

The Board found the marks to be more dissimilar than very similar in&#13
visual appeal, seem, indicating, and business effect. This getting&#13
was bolstered by the existence of applicant’s two prior&#13
registrations.

1212980b.JPG

The Products and Channels of Trade: The broadly&#13
worded computer system activity software discovered in the cited registration&#13
ought to be presumed to encompass all types of activity application, which include&#13
applicant’s video games that entertain and teach. In gentle of the&#13
overlap in merchandise, the Board will have to presume that these overlapping&#13
products travel via the similar, standard channels of trade to the similar&#13
classes of consumers.

Conclusion: Inspite of the overlap in merchandise and&#13
channels of trade, the Board identified the marks to be sufficiently&#13
distinct to avoid a chance of confusion. And so it reversed&#13
the refusal to register.

Read through remarks and put up your comment here.

TTABlogger remark: Superior to see that the Board&#13
did not totally ignore the disclaimed wording.

The content material of this post is meant to supply a standard&#13
tutorial to the matter make a difference. Professional tips ought to be sought&#13
about your distinct conditions.

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Logos Comparative Tutorial

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Emblems Comparative Manual for the jurisdiction of India, check out out our comparative guides segment to assess across numerous nations around the world

Don’t Patent That!

Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.

Did you know that you do not have to have to patent every brilliant notion that you have in get to make revenue off it? Some of the most beneficial mental property is secured as a trade solution.

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3 Augusta nonprofits part of A Community Thrives crowdsourcing effort

3 Augusta nonprofits part of A Community Thrives crowdsourcing effort
Volunteers at the Master's Table Soup Kitchen prepare 300 boxed Thanksgiving meals for guests in need Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020.

Golden Harvest Food items Lender, the Jessye Norman Faculty of the Arts and the Brown Family members Foundation are hoping neighborhood users will donate to their lead to around the future month and land them further funding this calendar year.

They are among a lot more than 700 nonprofits nationwide that are fundraising until Aug. 12 as section of the Gannett Foundation’s A Local community Thrives crowdfunding and grant method, a $2 million initiative. The Augusta Chronicle is owned by Gannett Co. Inc.

The nonprofits have one particular month to raise money by means of the on line system Mightycause and have to access a minimum of $3,000 or $6,000, dependent on their running budget, to qualify as a grant receiver. Through the web site, customers can donate to an organization of their option by filtering the bring about kind, site and group. 

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3 Questions About the Scaled Online iMBA

3 Questions About the Scaled Online iMBA

With more students studying for M.B.A.s on the internet than on campus for the 1st time at any time, I’ve been imagining about what will make a scaled on the net degree method successful. Brooke Elliott, executive associate dean, and Nerissa Brown, associate dean of graduate packages at the College of Illinois, graciously shared the lessons they’ve figured out considering that launching the iMBA in 2016 on Coursera.

The application was the initial diploma on Coursera and pioneered the stackable diploma design, which permitted learners to first acquire a program or specialization from the plan. It is also made available at a breakthrough price—$23,000, about a 3rd of the ordinary rate of household M.B.A. applications.

In 2016, the to start with iMBA cohort was about 100 college students, and this academic 12 months, it’s above 4,600. Here’s what they’ve uncovered as they’ve grown the plan.

Q: You’re a single of the early innovators in building on the web levels additional obtainable, inexpensive and work applicable. A massive portion of that good results is your stackable, scalable degree design. Tell me about how you begun with the iMBA diploma, including how you received internalBrooke Elliott, a white woman with light hair wearing a blue blazer over an orange shirt. get-in and how you have ongoing to expand your on the web diploma portfolio.

Brooke: The University of Illinois is a land-grant establishment, and the iMBA started with this mission in mind—to give large-good quality, obtainable and cost-effective education and learning to all who wish it and are committed to pursuing it. The method was made to be online from the commencing each individual aspect of the system from course length, selection of system offerings, synchronous and asynchronous content material variety and length, engineering for shipping and engagement, to the college engaged to produce and provide the written content was intentionally built to serve an online learner who was also a performing skilled. From the beginning, we committed to acquiring our incredibly most effective tenure-observe and specialised school build and deliver the content—this differentiated us early on in the online market and continues to be a essential differentiator for the iMBA system.

In entire transparency, internal purchase-in was tough as we ended up setting up and preparing to launch the method. Several teachers and administrators were skeptical that we could produce and produce a method that maintained the significant-high quality, arduous tutorial standards that the College of Illinois has constructed its standing on even though also creating the system obtainable and inexpensive. Even so, we were dedicated to disrupting the graduate business education house, and our really finest faculty considered in our mission and our capacity to change larger schooling. By way of the commitment of our college, the leadership of our directors and our willingness to believe wholly diverse about how to deliver significant-quality instruction we have been in a position to effectively launch and mature the iMBA.

Nerissa: The growth of our on-line portfolio is grounded in our core land-grant mission of giving obtainable and flexible lifelong studying options. We purpose to meet up with learners exactly where they are, and as these kinds of, our ongoing technique is to establish stackable articles from the ground up. We visualize our portfolio as developing blocks and start at the microcredential level when establishing new material or repackaging existing articles.

For instance, we generally start out with our Capabilities iCademies or Coursera MOOCs when constructing out or packaging new articles areas. Our iCademy and MOOC offerings are short, mastering systems that give in-desire skills that can be consumed conveniently. The information from theseNerissa Brown, a Black woman with straight dark hair. microcredentials variety the main of several our credit rating-bearing, large-engagement programs that learners can pursue possibly as stand-by itself, nondegree programs or as a part of our graduate certificate and diploma programs. It is with this setting up-block intellect-set that Gies turned the first university companion of Increase with Google and the creator of Illinois’ first set of campus graduate certificates.

We are continuously innovating our portfolio to meet up with market desire for upskilling and reskilling. In simple fact, we are building a catalog of certification packages in specialized techniques these types of as analytics, digital promoting, entrepreneurship and innovation, as properly as foundational business enterprise skills in accounting, finance and management. Two certificates in accountancy analytics and strategic management are anticipated to start in August and are now accepting applications. We are also in the approach of creating in-desire written content in disruptive systems.

Q: How do you replicate the superior engagement whole-time, residential M.B.A.s are known for, like networking, at scale and make these courses thriving?

Brooke: When you inquire our iMBA alums to recognize the biggest values offered by the method, they pretty much normally discuss about the exceptional community they have joined and the individuals they have occur to know and befriend. In residential schooling, a little team of persons from numerous backgrounds and encounters arrive alongside one another in a popular spot to have a widespread academic experience.

What is exceptional about the iMBA system is that a substantial number of people from much more various backgrounds and ordeals occur alongside one another to have a popular educational expertise but from places all about the planet. The learners in iMBA are far more diverse in qualifications and expertise for the reason that when you offer education that is accessible and economical you bring in and provide a additional diverse established of learners. And the community that you develop all around the environment is unmatched—some of our learners wake up in Dubai whilst others wake up in Chicago, and they all study with each other! We use know-how and an inside social media–like system to drive engagement and provide possibilities for our learners to produce and develop their networks.

Nerissa: We also provide alternatives for people about the planet to meet up with each individual other in person. We host an in-person networking and specialist improvement event each fall on campus identified as iConverge. In slide 2021, we had just under 1,000 latest students and alums arrive collectively to understand and to meet just about every other and school facial area-to-deal with. You would never ever know that a lot of had never ever satisfied in human being, as they typically embrace 1 a further as lifelong buddies and colleagues. In addition to iConverge, we host a sequence of skilled development and networking events all over the United States and the globe.

Gies Online has numerous, profitable ways in which our learners network and interact in experiential studying. Networking and experiential finding out is a core component of the Gies brand, and this is no distinct when it comes to our on the internet applications. In addition to iConverge, we provide a sequence of impactful immersion systems to our on the net learners. Our immersions are a collaborative networking expertise that you will not see in most on-line M.B.A. packages.

We offer you the two digital and in-human being immersion options, and the expertise is rated superior by our individuals. In excess of the very last two years, we have immersed students in the company and cultural ecosystems of domestic and worldwide places these as Dallas (Tex.), Colombia, Ghana and Japan. We are receiving ready for our to start with in-man or woman immersion to Seattle considering the fact that the pandemic, and attendee interest has been huge. We will go on to provide an yearly collection of digital immersions so that learners who are not able to participate in individual can nonetheless attain firsthand experience of world-wide organization.

Q: What information do you have for college leaders who are making an attempt to start a scaled on line diploma?

Brooke: Be bold and purposeful in designing the program—do not only consider an current residential software and transfer it on the web. Have interaction school in the style of the software from its inception—faculty buy-in and enthusiasm for on-line schooling are crucial to its results. Recognize training and learning talent with experience in pedagogy, assessment and technology—whether this exists within just your very own college or you will need to employ the service of from outdoors. Be obvious about how on-line schooling can serve your academic mission and increase your institution’s popularity.

Nerissa: Sturdy expenditure in school and staff expertise. Gies On the internet has been profitable in attracting talent from throughout the country. For instance, we have been in a position to attract instructors who are marketplace and engineering leaders and who bring their practical knowledge straight to our virtual lecture rooms. We have been also nimble in our talent acquisition by providing remote function arrangements to workers and our school. Versatile get the job done is important to tap into top expertise, and modern university bulletins on remote work arrangements illustrate how significant it is for larger ed establishments to satisfy expertise in which they are—similar to how on-line schooling reaches learners in the site and at the time that is effective best for them.