Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Grantwriting services available in Shreveport/Bossier
I am now offering my services as a freelance grantwriter to area non-profits, and to organizations with fiscal agents.
My professional background includes extensive experience in:
- economic & community development
- the arts
- education
- re-entry & ex-offender programs
- emergency response
- homeless/addiction/underserved community services
- women's issues
- volunteer recruitment and management
- serving as a grants panelist for the LADOA DAF grants program
- creating a 501(c)3 organization
- grantwriting services for Volunteers for Youth Justice and other non-profit organizations
- overseeing the Community Grants Program for First United Methodist Church in Shreveport
If you have a need for grantwriting services, including research, technical assistance, etc., please contact me at 318.751.8540, or via email at debchrisjoseph@yahoo.com.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Happy "Equal Pay" Day, ladies!
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Women are almost half of the workforce.
They are the equal, if not main, breadwinner in four out of ten families.
They receive more college and graduate degrees than men.
Yet, on average, women continue to earn considerably less than men.
In 2009, female full-time workers made only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 23 percent. Women, on average, earn less than men in virtually every single occupation for which there is sufficient earnings data for both men and women to calculate an earnings ratio.
IWPR tracks the gender wage gap over time. According to our research, if change continues at the same slow pace as it has done for the past fifty years, it will take almost another fifty (until 2057) for women to finally reach pay parity. IWPR’s project on sex and race discrimination in the workplace shows that outright discrimination in pay, hiring, or promotions continues to be a significant feature of working life.
Pay equity may also be impacted by other more subtle factors than workplace discrimination. IWPR’s research shows that, irrespective of the level of qualification, jobs predominantly done by women pay less on average than jobs predominantly done by men.
Women have made tremendous strides during the last few decades by moving into jobs and occupations previously done almost exclusively by men - yet during the last decade there has been very little further progress in the gender integration of work. This persistent occupational segregation is likely to be a significant contributor to the lack of significant progress in closing the wage gap.
-From the Institute for Women's Policy Research
Monday, April 11, 2011
Maine Mural Projection Artists Discuss 'Photo-Bombing' (via Huffington Post)
First Posted: 04/11/11 08:00 AM ET Updated: 04/11/11 09:23 AM ET
WASHINGTON -- Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) has admitted regret over ordering his Department of Labor to remove a mural depicting the state's labor history from its lobby in the middle of the legislative session. Since he made his announcement, protesters have threatened to form a human chain and the federal government has stepped in.
Inadvertently, the move also made the mural larger than life -- literally. Late at night on April 2, a group of three artists calling themselves "BrokeFix" visited Maine's capitol building in Augusta. Running a projector out of their car, they projected a large image of the mural onto the capitol's edifice for roughly two hours.
A video of their stunt went viral, even making its way to MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, who called it a "brilliant idea," a "giant fantastic slideshow right on the outside of the people's house."
"The beauty of what we are doing is in the DIY [do-it-yourself] mentality that fuels the project," the BrokeFix members said. "The methods we use to achieve our projects are crude, and we, very much so, are making this all up as we go along. We are hoping that this video acts as something of a springboard for more people to get out there and produce something. Anything."
The artists said they had been experimenting with photo-bombing -- a type of non-destructive graffiti and street art -- and used the mural controversy as a test case. The biggest question, they said, was whether they could properly and safely get the technical pieces right.
Like most appliances, the lamp used to project the mural runs on alternating current (AC). In order to project from the road, the artists had to derive some sort of power source.
"We used a car battery because the projector requires great amount of power and the car battery can also be run in conjunction with a car, using the alternator to maintain the charge," the BrokeFix members said. "So our main challenge was to change DC [direct current] power to AC using an inverter to run the projector."
The trio recently became even more mobile, creating what they call a "photon pack" -- which somewhat resembles the "proton pack" of the "Ghostbusters" franchise -- connecting the inverter directly to the car battery rather than the vehicle itself. They used this method during their most recent photo-bombing in Portland, Maine, which featured the mural along with comments they've received about their artwork from around the web.
Toward the end of the Augusta video, a capitol security officer approached and asked the artists what they were doing. "Putting the mural back up," one replied. The officer said that if that were the case, the Augusta Police Department would be forced to intervene.
While many online commenters vilified the officer for sending BrokeFix packing, the stunt's principals said the officer was actually "pretty cool" about the whole thing, "though we did ask what rules we were breaking, and we've yet to find any."
The BrokeFix members said they will likely photo-bomb more locations around Maine, but they are also scrambling for funding for their next project. Meanwhile, a local gallery offered to set up a similar projection of the labor mural on its grounds, and the artists said they were eager to accept.
"We would enjoy an event where a narrator told the story and history of these events depicted in the Maine labor mural and explained the significance of how those events of the past have fed into the present situation to give us many of the rights we currently take for granted," the group said.
The artists criticized the partisan and ideological divides in politics, but also took a strong stance against the notion that labor unions bear responsibility for U.S. economic problems. "Even if the most severe of allegations against the labor unions were true, the money cost to the taxpayers is negligible when compared to the taxpayer cost of supporting the true parasites of our social, political and economic systems," they argued.
Pointing to recent union protests in Maine and Wisconsin, among others, and the uprisings in the Middle East, the group added: "The weight of futility that our society places upon the individual is a meaningless illusion that disappears as soon as you realize that your own two hands can lift it away. Power exists within you as soon as you choose to use it."
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Liberal Brains Bigger in Areas of Complexity - Conservative Brains Bigger in Areas of Fear
This is going to sound sort of obvious, but here we go: A study from University College London published this week in Current Biology has discovered that there are actually differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives. Specifically, liberals' brains tend to be bigger in the area that deals with processing complex ideas and situations, while conservatives' brains are bigger in the area that processes fear.
According to the report: "We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the right amygdala."
People with larger amygdalae respond to perceived threats with more aggression and "are more sensitive to threatening facial expressions." The anterior cingulate cortex, however, "monitors uncertainty and conflict." "Thus," says the report, "it is conceivable that individuals with a larger ACC have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflicts, allowing them to accept more liberal views."
The London researchers say they're unsure whether the brain's structure causes political views or is the effect of them. Regardless, this puts the "Obama's a Muslim socialist" fearmongering at Tea Party rallies into a whole new light.
by Cord Jefferson
Senior Editor of GOOD
According to the report: "We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the right amygdala."
People with larger amygdalae respond to perceived threats with more aggression and "are more sensitive to threatening facial expressions." The anterior cingulate cortex, however, "monitors uncertainty and conflict." "Thus," says the report, "it is conceivable that individuals with a larger ACC have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflicts, allowing them to accept more liberal views."
The London researchers say they're unsure whether the brain's structure causes political views or is the effect of them. Regardless, this puts the "Obama's a Muslim socialist" fearmongering at Tea Party rallies into a whole new light.
by Cord JeffersonSenior Editor of GOOD
Friday, April 8, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
DBE article in City Life Magazine - April, 2011
Many thanks to writer & friend, Karl Hasten, and the staff at Forum & City Life Magazines for the FAB article about my latest artistic pursuits - including my book " Confessions of a Sinful Woman" and its accompanying sculpture series.
Selected sculptures include:
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| "I always wanted to be a boy" (2010) |
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| "I fear becoming apathetic and irrelevant" (2010) |
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| "I like to break things" (2010) |
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| "My greatest fear is becoming my mother" (2011) |
Monday, April 4, 2011
Warning on US states' plan to severely restrict workers' rights
© AP GraphicsBank
17 March 2011
Amnesty International has urged several US states to abandon planned legislation that would drastically restrict workers' rights.
States including Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee have proposed bills severely limiting the collective bargaining rights of trade union members. A similar bill was passed in Wisconsin on Friday.
"State governors must withdraw support for these measures which, if adopted, would violate international law," said Shane Enright, Amnesty International’s trade union adviser.
“The US has an obligation to uphold the rights of American workers - including the specific right to organize and bargain collectively."
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed a bill on Friday that undermines the ability of unions in the public sector to protect workers. The legislation also takes away nearly all collective bargaining rights for most public employees, limiting their negotiation rights only to wages.
As well as restricting collective bargaining rights, union activists say legislators in as many as 37 states have introduced hundreds of anti-union bills. Some affect negotiation of healthcare benefits, restrict freedom of association, place caps on the minimum wage and deprive workers of the right to strike.
Similar measures being promoted in Congress would affect federal public employees.
"The Wisconsin bill is symbolic of a wider attack on unions in the USA, where workers and are facing an onslaught from the authorities," said Shane Enright.
"Many employees are already struggling because of the economic crisis and these laws will undermine fundamental human rights and labour rights protections, which are sorely needed to ensure that employees do not bear the brunt of the crisis. It will also jeopardize the delivery of vital public services that these employees deliver."
“This is also a struggle for migrant workers’ rights, for education and health rights, for wage security, for workplace health and safety. We are seeing communities insisting on social justice, economic rights and personal liberties against powerful vested interests. Fundamental human rights are at stake, and we stand in solidarity with the US labour movement in this struggle.”
Under international law, all workers have a human right to organize and to bargain collectively.
These rights are an essential foundation to the realisation of other rights, and are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, as well as conventions adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
As a state party to the ICCPR and a signatory to the ICESCR, the USA has an obligation to respect the human rights under these instruments and treaties.
As a member of the ILO, the USA also has a commitment, through the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, to respect, promote and realize the fundamental rights set out in the organization’s core conventions.
Moves to limit such rights in the USA are also at odds with commitments made under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) as well as numerous subsequent trade agreements negotiated and ratified over the last 15 years.
(Source: Amnesty International)
States including Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee have proposed bills severely limiting the collective bargaining rights of trade union members. A similar bill was passed in Wisconsin on Friday.
"State governors must withdraw support for these measures which, if adopted, would violate international law," said Shane Enright, Amnesty International’s trade union adviser.
“The US has an obligation to uphold the rights of American workers - including the specific right to organize and bargain collectively."
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed a bill on Friday that undermines the ability of unions in the public sector to protect workers. The legislation also takes away nearly all collective bargaining rights for most public employees, limiting their negotiation rights only to wages.
As well as restricting collective bargaining rights, union activists say legislators in as many as 37 states have introduced hundreds of anti-union bills. Some affect negotiation of healthcare benefits, restrict freedom of association, place caps on the minimum wage and deprive workers of the right to strike.
Similar measures being promoted in Congress would affect federal public employees.
"The Wisconsin bill is symbolic of a wider attack on unions in the USA, where workers and are facing an onslaught from the authorities," said Shane Enright.
"Many employees are already struggling because of the economic crisis and these laws will undermine fundamental human rights and labour rights protections, which are sorely needed to ensure that employees do not bear the brunt of the crisis. It will also jeopardize the delivery of vital public services that these employees deliver."
“This is also a struggle for migrant workers’ rights, for education and health rights, for wage security, for workplace health and safety. We are seeing communities insisting on social justice, economic rights and personal liberties against powerful vested interests. Fundamental human rights are at stake, and we stand in solidarity with the US labour movement in this struggle.”
Under international law, all workers have a human right to organize and to bargain collectively.
These rights are an essential foundation to the realisation of other rights, and are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, as well as conventions adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
As a state party to the ICCPR and a signatory to the ICESCR, the USA has an obligation to respect the human rights under these instruments and treaties.
As a member of the ILO, the USA also has a commitment, through the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, to respect, promote and realize the fundamental rights set out in the organization’s core conventions.
Moves to limit such rights in the USA are also at odds with commitments made under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) as well as numerous subsequent trade agreements negotiated and ratified over the last 15 years.
(Source: Amnesty International)
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