March 2020 - NOMC - lists.nbpcb.org

Institute on Blindness gets grant extension for improved mobility and rehabilitation programs
by ebell＠pdrib.com 25 Mar '20

25 Mar '20

Institute on Blindness gets grant extension for improved mobility and rehabilitation programs Mar 20, 2020 | Louisiana Tech's Institute on Blindness has received grant approval for Structured Discovery Cane Travel (SDCT) and Structured Discovery rehabilitation training, a development that brings more depth and opportunity to the Institute's education programs that are specialized for teaching individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Louisiana Tech University is the only university in Louisiana to offer graduate certifications and master programs in Teaching Blind Students (TBS), Orientation and Mobility (O&M), and Rehabilitation Teaching for the Blind Counseling and Guidance. These graduate certifications and master programs train individuals to become teachers who help give independence to the blind community. The innovative and effective SDCT and Structured Discovery rehabilitation training programs will offer more opportunities to improve mobility and daily living skills for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Dr. Edward Bell, Director of the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness (PDRIB), expressed that he has seen great success from previous years and through the renewed grant he anticipates exponential growth. "Over the past five years, Louisiana Tech has benefited from this grant and has trained 35 individuals who have gone on to be employed across the country in professional careers," Bell said. "With this new grant, we are excited to train as many as 40 new and eager students who are ready to change the world by bringing independence to blind kids and adults nationwide." The PDRIB, housed in Tech's College of Education, prepares highly qualified professionals to educate and rehabilitate individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The PDRIB also conducts thorough research that broadens perspectives, deepens the overall understanding of blindness, and seeks the best methods to increase independence for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. However, there is a nationwide shortage of educators for the blind and visually impaired community. With a 90% illiteracy rate and a 75% unemployment rate nationwide within the blind community, there is a dire need to increase the number of educators trained in teaching students with visual impairments. Job opportunities have grown exponentially for teaching blind or visually impaired students; currently there are four times the number of teaching jobs available then there are the number of qualified educators and instructors to fill those positions. Through their job assistance placement services and new program offerings, Bell and his team seek to do their part to fill this hiring need and empower educators to change lives within the visually impaired community. All tuition and fees are covered for the Structured Discovery Cane Travel (SDCT) and Structured Discovery rehabilitation training programs. Scholarships are available on a competitive basis for those who pursue these programs. Students who receive scholarship funding must work in the field of rehabilitation for two years for each year of their scholarship support. To become an educator for the blind and visually impaired community, contact Bell at ebell at latech.edu. For more details on how to make a difference in the national shortage of teachers for the blind and visually impaired, visit pdrib.com. article end list of 6 items APPLY NOW VISIT ACADEMIC PROGRAMS JOBS CONTACT REPORT AN INCIDENT list end list of 4 items Visit us on Facebook Visit us on Instagram Visit us on YouTube Visit us on Twitter list end C 2020 Louisiana Tech University | Member of the University of Louisiana System | 318.257.2000 | Ruston, LA 71272 Department of Testing & Disability Services Accessibility | Privacy Statement | EEO Statement Webpage problems? Contact web at latech.edu Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., CRC, NOMC, Director, Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness Louisiana Tech University 600 Mayfield Ave / 210 Woodard Hall PO Box 3158 Ruston LA 71272 Office: 318.257.4554 Fax: 318.257.2259 <mailto:ebell at latech.edu> ebell at latech.edu www.pdrib.com ************* "I am somehow less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." -- Stephen Jay Gould

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Cane Walk
by debandjeff＠allophone.com 23 Mar '20

23 Mar '20

Hello Everyone, First of all, I hope this e-mail finds all of you and your families in good health and in a safe working environment. Although things are a bit up in the air regarding National Convention, I feel we should be preparing for convention with the expectation that we will all be seeing each other in Houston in July. Now with that having been said, I hope all of you are planning to be a part of this year's Cane Walk. This is a great opportunity to share both the skills that do so much for blind people on the road to independence, and the power of the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind with our youngest members. So, please remember to include this year's Cane walk among the events you are planning to participate in at this year's convention. I will be sending out more information as it becomes available, and I look forward to seeing all of you in Houston. Jeff Altman MA NOMCT CVRCB

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Looking for good approaches for working at home
by debandjeff＠allophone.com 23 Mar '20

23 Mar '20

Thanks Joanne, I have been doing some of these things, especially the mental mapping exercises, but the apps you mentioned sound great, and I'll start exploring them. I was hoping to have students come to my neighborhood, or that I could possibly go to them outside of the Center; however, my supervisor, and the Deputy Director feel that there is a need for all concerned to avoid the potential exposure on public transportation at this point. I have been giving my students assignments based on their skill level, but without the ability to monitor their travel directly this is both a concerning, and sometimes frustrating effort. Today I assigned two students to travel together for a distance of five blocks, to explore both sides of our main street, and it turned out that they only traveled two blocks before turning around and going back to the apartments. There was no real reason given, other than that was all they did, and they didn't know where the street was that I asked them to walk to before turning around. Of course, this was nothing but a lame excuse for not completing the assignment. So, I will try again tomorrow. Of course, many of the downtown businesses are closed anyway, and that makes it harder to figure out whether they are actually completing assignments anyway. On the other hand, I know that some of my students are following directions very well, and making every effort to complete their assignments, so there is that. I have also spoken with a student that has gone home for the time being, and she lives in a very rural area. So, we discussed different ways of handling non-visual travel over open fields and on country roads. She seemed to get quite a bit out of this, and I felt like she really would benefit. A lot of this is going to be a matter of adjusting to this new teaching environment, and not allowing myself to get overly frustrated when things don't go as I would wish. Thanks again for the ideas. Thanks, Jeff From: Joanne Gabias [mailto:jklgabias at hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, March 23, 2020 3:11 PM To: Merry-Noel; Deb & Jeff Altman; nomc at lists.nbpcb.org Cc: greg.dewall at nebraska.gov Subject: Re: [Nomc] Loking for good approaches for working at home Hello everyone, Thank you Merry-Noel for your comments along with everyone else who has commented. For some reason, responses were going to my junk mail so I just saw these. Jeff, we have done about a week of virtual training at this point. Some of the O&Ms are still doing some one on one instruction while practicing social distancing protocol. Some of our students went back to their respective homes so that is not possible. We have been testing different apps like Moovit, Blindsquare, Transit apps, Google maps. For example, you can use Blindsquare to explore a brand new areas. My dad did that with my new condo and was able to explore everything around my house and could tell my mom about things around my house that she didn't even know was there. My mom had been here and he had not but he became more informed through Blindsquare. I really like Merry-Noel's suggestions of going through routes verbally and working on their mental maps. I have also had students look up a random store like CVS and find 3 different locations around town. They needed to find the address and plan out routes from either their home or from the center. Trying to do as much theoretical things as possible. These apps are also good for instructors to explore the neighborhoods of their students and try and create routes around their student's neighborhoods. I think this is good for students that you know well enough to know that they have the problem solving skills to navigate through things the instructor did not anticipate along the route. I wouldn't do that for students who have not learned all the foundational skills yet or for students that get easily turned around because it would be harder for the instructor to help them problem solve in unfamiliar areas for both the student and the instructor over the phone. I hope these thoughts help your creative juices flow! Joanne Gabias, M.A., NOMC, NCUEB, NCRTB Statewide Operation Manager SAAVI Services for the Blind _____ From: NOMC <nomc-bounces at lists.nbpcb.org> on behalf of Merry-Noel <owinm at yahoo.com> Sent: March 19, 2020 3:30 PM To: Deb & Jeff Altman <debandjeff at allophone.com>; nomc at lists.nbpcb.org <nomc at lists.nbpcb.org> Cc: greg.dewall at nebraska.gov <greg.dewall at nebraska.gov> Subject: Re: [Nomc] Loking for good approaches for working at home Jeff, Work on mental mapping skills. Have them review routes you know they went on. Discuss possible scenarios such as, what if they heard a vehicle on their right instead of their left? Ask them to describe what encounters they have when walking to the bus stop from the apartments. What do they hear, feel? Over the phone, have them do a route in their head- for example, " You walk out of the apartment building and turn right. You walk to the end of the block and turn right then you walk the entire block. At the corner you turn left and cross the street. Then you turn right. Which direction are you facing? What street are you facing? Which street did you just cross?" I'm sure you can come up with other scenarios. Read some articles from Kernal Books, the Braille monitor or Future Reflections and discuss them. Dr. Merry-Noel Chamberlain Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone <https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/?.src=iOS> On Thursday, March 19, 2020, 4:13 PM, Deb & Jeff Altman <debandjeff at allophone.com> wrote: Hello Everyone, Our agency is encouraging staff to work from home for the next couple of weeks or so, and with teaching O&M, that requires quite a bit of creativity. I have been calling students and giving them some basic assignments, and then checking back with them later to see how things have gone, but of course, this has its limits. My supervisor Greg has suggested working with them over the phone on some of the way finding apps, such as Goodle Maps and the like, which I can certainly do; although this is not where I usually focus. So, I'm wondering if any of you have some creative ideas you could share? I know that Joanne has asked this same question, and a few of you have responded, but I'm hoping there may be even more ideas being generated as we all begin shifting to this new mode of teaching. Thanks, Jeff _______________________________________________ NOMC mailing list NOMC at lists.nbpcb.org http://lists.nbpcb.org/listinfo.cgi/nomc-nbpcb.org

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Loking for good approaches for working at home
by debandjeff＠allophone.com 23 Mar '20

23 Mar '20

Hello Everyone, Our agency is encouraging staff to work from home for the next couple of weeks or so, and with teaching O&M, that requires quite a bit of creativity. I have been calling students and giving them some basic assignments, and then checking back with them later to see how things have gone, but of course, this has its limits. My supervisor Greg has suggested working with them over the phone on some of the way finding apps, such as Goodle Maps and the like, which I can certainly do; although this is not where I usually focus. So, I'm wondering if any of you have some creative ideas you could share? I know that Joanne has asked this same question, and a few of you have responded, but I'm hoping there may be even more ideas being generated as we all begin shifting to this new mode of teaching. Thanks, Jeff

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NOMC Digest, Vol 169, Issue 7
by wayne.marshall＠comcast.net 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Hello Joanne, the bulk of my clients are seniors and because they are the most at risk, I have suspended trainings for the next few weeks until Ffurther notice. I Too have informed my seniors that I am available for questions and instructions over the phone. It's best to be safe than sorry? Not only do I recommend that we keep our hands washed and disinfected, but I also suggest that we also keep our ccane grips and handles clean as ageneral rule. Wayne F. Marshall MCRT; NOMC Independence Training Services > I.T.S. "It's For You" > On Mar 14, 2020, at 5:13 PM, nomc-request at lists.nbpcb.org wrote: > > ?Send NOMC mailing list submissions to > nomc at lists.nbpcb.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.nbpcb.org/listinfo.cgi/nomc-nbpcb.org > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > nomc-request at lists.nbpcb.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > nomc-owner at lists.nbpcb.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of NOMC digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: [NOMC] O&M during The Coronavirus (Ron Brown) > 2. Re: [NOMC] O&M during The Coronavirus (Jane Lansaw) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2020 19:53:02 -0400 > From: "Ron Brown" <rb15 at iquest.net> > To: "'Joanne Gabias'" <jklgabias at hotmail.com>, <nomc at lists.nbpcb.org> > Subject: Re: [Nomc] [NOMC] O&M during The Coronavirus > Message-ID: <011101d5f992$88eb6f90$9ac24eb0$(a)iquest.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi Joanne, > I have stepped back from giving in person instruction to the seniors that I work with to giving them instructions over the phone. > For the rest of the younger population; I use disposable plastic gloves, and toss them after every session with different students. I use disposable gloves in my Convenient store as well even when I am handling money! > > Best, > Ron Brown > Owner/Manager > Cane&Able > MA/NOMC > > -----Original Message----- > From: NOMC <nomc-bounces at lists.nbpcb.org> On Behalf Of Joanne Gabias > Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 4:53 PM > To: nomc at lists.nbpcb.org > Subject: [Nomc] O&M during The Coronavirus > > > Hello everyone, > > I hope you are all safe and healthy during this time. As we are all making new procedures and protocols to protect ourselves and our students against COVID-19, I wanted to reach out to the NOMC community to see what each of you are doing during this time. Many things are moving to online instruction however I don?t know how successful that will be for cane travel since many things have to deal with being out in the public and/or hand over hand instruction. Although there are some theoretical concepts that can be covered over the phone or online, that is limited to short term instruction. Although NOMCs have always strongly believed in in-person instruction, we need to acknowledge the current health climate. For theses reasons, I am reaching out to NOMC community to help us all brainstorm. Please respond with thoughtful and helpful ideas. There is already a lot of hysteria out there so I am only looking for constructive solutions at this time. > > All the best, > > Joanne Gabias > > Sent from my iPhone > _______________________________________________ > NOMC mailing list > NOMC at lists.nbpcb.org > http://lists.nbpcb.org/listinfo.cgi/nomc-nbpcb.org > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2020 21:54:40 -0500 > From: Jane Lansaw <widearc2000 at gmail.com> > To: Ron Brown <rb15 at iquest.net> > Cc: Joanne Gabias <jklgabias at hotmail.com>, NOMC at lists.nbpcb.org > Subject: Re: [Nomc] [NOMC] O&M during The Coronavirus > Message-ID: <4145DEA2-DB80-44B8-A763-8537363D2D17 at gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Good luck to the rest of us, I can?t find gloves, masks or sanitizer in Tulsa. I checked Walmart, dollar tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General, researchers and the major pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS. There has been a huge run on them and I just can?t get them anywhere. i?m not totally out of sanitizer so I bring it with me and use it like crazy. I just try to avoid touching anyone. If a client says that she or he has been ill for any reason, I cancel the lesson and move on to someone else. I did have a client self quarantine because her parents had travel to Israel and she and her husband pick them up at the airport before they found out that there was exposure on their tour group. I just checked Amazon and they are price gouging like crazy. There are no large pumps available for under $42 and all of their multi packs our travel size. Most for between 40 and $50. > People in Tulsa are pretty sharp to as there has been a run on hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol. > > It is difficult not to touch clients but I do try only to touch the cane if a client is really really hard of hearing. Most of my seniors are not going to do well on the phone because I have a high population of hearing impaired seniors. > Actually it?s easier to avoid touching my younger folks because they can hear instructions and generally practice with me and follow those instructions. My employers are keeping an ear to the ground and they may van us from assisted-living, independent living or other types of facilities if it gets bad. > President Ricky Moto just canceled state conventions so I?m a little concerned about how bad it is getting. > > But to put things in perspective, more people die every year of the garden-variety American flu then it died so far in this country of coronavirus. That doesn?t mean it can?t get worse, it just means The flu kills people to and we just need to be mindful during flu season of how we disinfect ourselves. > > Hang in there everybody and let?s hope we get to have national convention. > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Mar 13, 2020, at 6:53 PM, Ron Brown <rb15 at iquest.net> wrote: >> >> ?Hi Joanne, >> I have stepped back from giving in person instruction to the seniors that I work with to giving them instructions over the phone. >> For the rest of the younger population; I use disposable plastic gloves, and toss them after every session with different students. I use disposable gloves in my Convenient store as well even when I am handling money! >> >> Best, >> Ron Brown >> Owner/Manager >> Cane&Able >> MA/NOMC >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: NOMC <nomc-bounces at lists.nbpcb.org> On Behalf Of Joanne Gabias >> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 4:53 PM >> To: nomc at lists.nbpcb.org >> Subject: [Nomc] O&M during The Coronavirus >> >> >> Hello everyone, >> >> I hope you are all safe and healthy during this time. As we are all making new procedures and protocols to protect ourselves and our students against COVID-19, I wanted to reach out to the NOMC community to see what each of you are doing during this time. Many things are moving to online instruction however I don?t know how successful that will be for cane travel since many things have to deal with being out in the public and/or hand over hand instruction. Although there are some theoretical concepts that can be covered over the phone or online, that is limited to short term instruction. Although NOMCs have always strongly believed in in-person instruction, we need to acknowledge the current health climate. For theses reasons, I am reaching out to NOMC community to help us all brainstorm. Please respond with thoughtful and helpful ideas. There is already a lot of hysteria out there so I am only looking for constructive solutions at this time. >> >> All the best, >> >> Joanne Gabias >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> _______________________________________________ >> NOMC mailing list >> NOMC at lists.nbpcb.org >> http://lists.nbpcb.org/listinfo.cgi/nomc-nbpcb.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NOMC mailing list >> NOMC at lists.nbpcb.org >> http://lists.nbpcb.org/listinfo.cgi/nomc-nbpcb.org > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > NOMC mailing list > NOMC at lists.nbpcb.org > http://lists.nbpcb.org/listinfo.cgi/nomc-nbpcb.org > > > ------------------------------ > > End of NOMC Digest, Vol 169, Issue 7 > ************************************

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[NOMC] O&M during The Coronavirus
by rb15＠iquest.net 13 Mar '20

13 Mar '20

Hi Joanne, I have stepped back from giving in person instruction to the seniors that I work with to giving them instructions over the phone. For the rest of the younger population; I use disposable plastic gloves, and toss them after every session with different students. I use disposable gloves in my Convenient store as well even when I am handling money! Best, Ron Brown Owner/Manager Cane&Able MA/NOMC -----Original Message----- From: NOMC <nomc-bounces at lists.nbpcb.org> On Behalf Of Joanne Gabias Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 4:53 PM To: nomc at lists.nbpcb.org Subject: [Nomc] O&M during The Coronavirus Hello everyone, I hope you are all safe and healthy during this time. As we are all making new procedures and protocols to protect ourselves and our students against COVID-19, I wanted to reach out to the NOMC community to see what each of you are doing during this time. Many things are moving to online instruction however I don?t know how successful that will be for cane travel since many things have to deal with being out in the public and/or hand over hand instruction. Although there are some theoretical concepts that can be covered over the phone or online, that is limited to short term instruction. Although NOMCs have always strongly believed in in-person instruction, we need to acknowledge the current health climate. For theses reasons, I am reaching out to NOMC community to help us all brainstorm. Please respond with thoughtful and helpful ideas. There is already a lot of hysteria out there so I am only looking for constructive solutions at this time. All the best, Joanne Gabias Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ NOMC mailing list NOMC at lists.nbpcb.org http://lists.nbpcb.org/listinfo.cgi/nomc-nbpcb.org

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O&M during The Coronavirus
by jklgabias＠hotmail.com 13 Mar '20

13 Mar '20

Hello everyone, I hope you are all safe and healthy during this time. As we are all making new procedures and protocols to protect ourselves and our students against COVID-19, I wanted to reach out to the NOMC community to see what each of you are doing during this time. Many things are moving to online instruction however I don?t know how successful that will be for cane travel since many things have to deal with being out in the public and/or hand over hand instruction. Although there are some theoretical concepts that can be covered over the phone or online, that is limited to short term instruction. Although NOMCs have always strongly believed in in-person instruction, we need to acknowledge the current health climate. For theses reasons, I am reaching out to NOMC community to help us all brainstorm. Please respond with thoughtful and helpful ideas. There is already a lot of hysteria out there so I am only looking for constructive solutions at this time. All the best, Joanne Gabias Sent from my iPhone

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O&M during The Coronavirus
by jklgabias＠hotmail.com 13 Mar '20

13 Mar '20

Hello everyone, I hope you are all safe and healthy during this time. As we are all making new procedures and protocols to protect ourselves and our students against COVID-19, I wanted to reach out to the NOMC community to see what each of you are doing during this time. Many things are moving to online instruction however I don?t know how successful that will be for cane travel since many things have to deal with being out in the public and/or hand over hand instruction. Although there are some theoretical concepts that can be covered over the phone or online, that is limited to short term instruction. Although NOMCs have always strongly believed in in-person instruction, we need to acknowledge the current health climate. For theses reasons, I am reaching out to NOMC community to help us all brainstorm. Please respond with thoughtful and helpful ideas. There is already a lot of hysteria out there so I am only looking for constructive solutions at this time. All the best, Joanne Gabias Sent from my iPhone

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Fwd: FW: Principal Posting
by conchita.hernandez＠maryland.gov 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

FYI Open position for principal at the Kentucky School for the Blind. *From:* Monson, Martin <martin.monson at ksb.kyschools.us> *Sent:* Monday, March 9, 2020 8:53 AM *To:* cosb at cosbvi.org *Cc:* Stull, Kevin - KDE Division Director <kevin.stull at education.ky.gov> *Subject:* {COSB} Principal Posting Good Morning Everyone! Please help me share the following information with as many people as possible. The Kentucky School for the Blind has begun the process of looking for a principal. I?ve attached the job posting which contains all the necessary information on how and who to apply to if they are interested. Please share the information widely as we want to have a strong and diverse applicant pool. Thanks for your help! Take care, Martin Martin Monson, Ed.D. Interim Principal / Outreach Director Kentucky School for the Blind 1867 Frankfort Avenue Louisville, KY 40206 Phone: (502) 897-1583 x6212 Fax: (502) 897-2850 [image: cid:image003.png at 01D4773D.1675DB40] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "COSB" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cosb+unsubscribe at cosbvi.org. -- Conchita Hernandez Statewide Blind and Low Vision Specialist Maryland State Department of Education Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services 200 W. Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201-2595 410-767-0812 office 410-333-8165 fax conchita.hernandez at maryland.gov Click here < http://www.doit.state.md.us/selectsurvey/TakeSurvey.aspx?agencycode=MSDE&Su… > to complete a three question customer experience survey.

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Rehab Conference
by ebell＠pdrib.com 05 Mar '20

05 Mar '20

Hello, Mark your calendars: the Annual Rehab conference will be held Tuesday, July 14 at the NFB convention in Houston, Texas. With this note, I am also seeking a couple of volunteers. If you have interest in helping to set the agenda for the rehab conference and pulling together the various components, please send me an email at: ebell at latech.edu <mailto:ebell at latech.edu> Thank you Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., CRC, NOMC, Director, Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness Louisiana Tech University 600 Mayfield Ave / 210 Woodard Hall PO Box 3158 Ruston LA 71272 Office: 318.257.4554 Fax: 318.257.2259 <mailto:ebell at latech.edu> ebell at latech.edu www.pdrib.com ************* "I am somehow less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." -- Stephen Jay Gould

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