JOB OPENING – RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN VERMONT

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title:  Research Assistant Professor – Early Childhood Special Education. The University Affiliated Program of Vermont, University of Vermont

Qualifications: Background in early childhood special education.Three years work experience with young children with disabilities and their families in inclusive early childhood settings.  Focus upon community-based, integrated service delivery to families of children birth through five.  Experience teaching graduate courses, superving students, working with public school administrators and teachers and related community service agencies, particularly experience providing training and consultation, is highly desirable.  Ph.D. preferred.

Responsibilities: Teaching graduate courses, supervising student teachers, advising students, collaborating with the Childcare Division of the Agency of Social and Rehabilitative Services, coordinating off-campus training activities and other grant related activities.  To work with other project staff as part of the Early Childhood Team in the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of model practices in early childhood special education/early intervention.  Responsibilities to these projects will include the development, validation, and dissemination of model instruments, materials, and guidelines; provide training and technical assistance to early childhood programs and related agency personnel; collecting and analyzing evaluation data; and disseminating project findings through written and oral presentations.

 

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High Costs and Low Results Incurred by Early Education Programs

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Expanding the number of children required to attend school increases state education costs and thereby may mean an increase in taxes. Such an instant expansion of the student population requires the hiring of more teachers, more truant officers, and more administrative staff. While the change in some school districts may be negligible, the change to the combined school districts of a state would produce a significant impact on state revenues.

When a lowering of compulsory attendance age was considered in Alabama in 1991, the Alabama Legislative Fiscal Offices estimated the cost of the change to be at least $4.7 million per year.10 In 1998, when Connecticut considered lowering its compulsory attendance age, a state department of education representative testified that one town (Enfield, CT) would require 13 new classrooms while another (Meridian, CT) would need 20 additional classrooms.11

Also consider Head Start, a federal program that began providing services in 1965 with an enrollment of 561,000 children and a budget of just over $96 million. By 2000, the enrollment had only grown to 860,000 children, but the budget had increased dramatically, costing taxpayers over $5 billion dollars. That is a 5,108% growth rate in spending with only a 53% increase in enrollment.

The most important goal of any education program is that children be educated. Studies of Head Start, however, demonstrate that early education produces no apparent academic benefits. In its early years, extensive studies were undertaken to prove Head Start worked. But the opposite turned out to be true. In 1969, the Westinghouse Learning Corporation found no difference in the behavior and educational achievement between Head Start and other underclass children.

Sixteen years later, the CRS Synthesis Project study, commissioned by HHS, came to the same conclusion. Although children showed “immediate gains,” by the second grade “there are no educationally meaningful differences.”12

 

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DC Proposes Mandatory Schooling at Age 3

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

D.C. Council member Kevin P. Chavous (D-Ward 7) plans to introduce a bill today that would lower from 5 to 3 the age at which schooling is compulsory, part of a push among school and elected officials to expand early childhood learning. If the legislation passed, the District would be the first jurisdiction in the country to mandate school attendance or home learning for all children at such a young age, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

But although D.C. officials offered support yesterday for the concept behind Chavous’s bill, they said the hurdles in designing and funding a universal program for 3- and 4-year-olds would be significant. The bill would require a child to be enrolled in a public, private or parochial school or in “private instruction” if the child turned 3 before Dec. 31 in that academic year. Chavous, chairman of the council’s education committee, said that home schooling by parents would qualify as private instruction. But it is unclear in the bill what guidelines stay-at-home parents would be required to follow and how they would document those efforts to the school system.

Chavous said his proposal is consistent with national efforts to lengthen the school day and the academic year and with research demonstrating the cognitive benefits of early childhood intervention. “It would force the school system to take charge and responsibility for every 3- and 4-year-old in the city to make sure they are prepared for kindergarten,” he said. The bill envisions a pilot program in fall 2003 and full access to public schooling by 2004. But the source of funding — estimated by the school system at up to $51.6 million in the first year of full access and $32 million a year after that — is unclear.

Joan Logue-Kinder, communications director for Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), said the mayor agreed with the need for expanded early learning. But given limited resources, she said, “the primary purpose is to solidify our base and give the students we presently have the best possible education.” School officials estimated they would need to provide 10,000 slots for 3- and 4-year-olds, compared with the 4,200 slots they currently provide for children of that age enrolled in optional programs. City officials have long been worried about the low enrollment of low-income children in pre-kindergarten classes, Head Start and subsidized child care.

Superintendent Paul L. Vance said he supported the proposal, citing research pointing to the positive benefits linked to early childhood learning. “The earlier you can get these youngsters to make social and cognitive impressions, the better your chances of having productive learners,” he said. “I’d like to get all of these youngsters in school as early as possible.” But D.C. Board of Education President Peggy Cooper Cafritz raised the issue of funding. “Theoretically, it’s fabulous, but to enact such a piece of legislation without an appropriate appropriation is disingenuous and totally bamboozling us,” she said.

School officials said that in addition to increased operating costs, they would face higher capital costs associated with more classroom space. The long-range master plan for school facilities also would need to be revised. They also said they would need to provide transportation to 3- and 4-year-olds if Chavous’s proposal were enacted. The school system currently buses only special education students, and that service is often late and irregular.

Education analysts said the proposal also is likely to raise thorny questions of parental choice. School officials “would need to do some hard calculations and have to make sure they provide generous options for parents,” including home instruction, said Sharon Lynn Kagan, co-director of the Center for Children and Families at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Barbara Willer, deputy executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, said her group supports expanding early childhood education programs, but she raised the question of whether such programs should be mandatory. She said that compulsory attendance would pose the specter of a “Big Brother-type approach” and could be seen by some families as an intrusion.

 

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Group to Label Video Games That Teach

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

*Associated Press/AP Online        

        DALLAS – Does “The Sims” video game accurately depict human psychology? Does a train simulator like “Railroad Tycoon” broach some basic engineering ideas? A group of educators, developers and game publishers believe they might. The consortium, calling itself The Education Arcade, is launching a “games for learning” seal of approval to help consumers identify titles that teach more than hand-eye coordination.
        The labels are to be announced Monday to kick off the   Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles and should begin appearing this fall. Members of the consortium include MIT’s Comparative Media   Studies program, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education and LeapFrog Enterprises Inc., an educational toy maker.”What we hope is something that looks like the Good   Housekeeping seal of approval,” said Alex Chisholm, LeapFrog’s director of content. Beyond labels, the group hopes to persuade game companies to   make more educational games. It could be a tough sell, though, in an industry that favors low-risk, high-profit sequels built on established franchises.
        “Learning multiplication tables on an Xbox hasn’t  exactly happened,” American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy said. “People would rather shoot people, punch somebody or throw a football than learn math.”
        Top titles often take millions of dollars and years to produce, and putting that amount of effort into an educational game is simply too risky, said Warren Spector, studio director of game company Ion Storm in Austin. “In the same way that documentaries don’t really compete with fiction films, I don’t ever expect to see educational games succeed at the financial level expected of a commercial entertainment game,” Spector said. He said educational games will be harder to find and won’t be as well produced.
        So-called “edutainment” titles, which blend fun with learning, account for a sliver of the $10 billion North American video game business. U.S. educational PC software sales have plunged to $191 million last year, from $340 million in 2001, according to The NPD Group, a market research firm.
        LeapFrog, long seen as a success story with its line of   handheld educational game devices, has stumbled lately, posting first quarter losses of $11.8 million on sales of $72 million. Many edutainment products simply have been squeezed out of   store shelves to make room for better-selling shooters and sports titles, said Deborah Forte, president of Scholastic Entertainment in New York. In fact, many companies have gone to great lengths to make educational programs more like recess and less like a final exam. THQ Inc. of Calabasas Hills, Calif., spent several years and   millions of dollars converting a realistic Army training program called “Full Spectrum Warrior” into a commercial video game.
        When it debuts this summer, players will still learn the   intricacies of urban warfare, but only as a side effect of winning, THQ chief executive Brian Farrell said. “We’re in the business of entertaining our   consumers,” he said. “That’s a very separate market, I think. They’re two different kinds of experiences and they’ll stay that way for the foreseeable future.” Such sentiment isn’t stopping MIT and Colonial Williamsburg from collaborating on an online role-playing game, “Revolution,” in which players experience the American Revolution in a three-dimensional virtual world. They hope to license it to a game company this summer.
        “Games can be both entertaining and educational,”   said Henry Jenkins, head of MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program and co-director of The Education Arcade. “The challenge is to get companies to realize there is some good in the ‘L’ word” – for learning. For now, The Education Arcade is tweaking the labeling   guidelines. Issues include whether labels should have detailed information about age-appropriateness or simply specify topics the game addresses, like math or reading.
        There’s a risk that overlabeling could confuse consumers.   Already, game boxes are littered with sales information,   hardware requirements and ratings information from the nonprofit Entertainment Software Ratings Board. Similar to those for movies, the software ratings consider   violence, language and other factors. Ratings range from “EC” for early childhood to “AO” for risque, adult-only content. The ratings board has advised The Education Arcade and supports “more information for parents in any format,” said its president, Patricia Vance.
       Andrew Bub, a stay-at-home father of two who created the video game Web site gamerdad.com, said labels would be nice but only go so far. Rather, he said, parents need to stay involved with their children’s gaming habits. “My belief is you should play games with kids rather than just hysterically assume they’re going to be bad for them,” he said.
        Not all parents believe video games need to be educational.Monica Martin, a mother of two in Frisco, Texas, said the  time her 6-year-old son, Alex, spends playing “Pokemon Coliseum” is all about having fun. “He goes to school for seven hours. He just wants to go   home and play,” Martin said. “I clean houses for a living, and let me tell you, the last thing I want to do when I get home is clean some more.”

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Data Tapes Available for the NHES:91 Early Childhood Education and Adult Education Data Files

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) announces the availability of data tapes and users manuals for the 1991 National Household Education Survey (NHES), the Early Childhood Education (ECE) component and the Adult Education (AE) component.  NHES:91 was a random-digit-dial telephone survey developed by NCES.  The sample for the NHES is drawn from the noninstitutionalized civilian population in households with a telephone in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.  The survey was conducted between late January and early May of 1991.

NHES:91 collected data on 3- to 8-year-old children’s experiences in a wide range of settings, including their homes, childcare arrangements, early education programs, and schools. A survey of participation in adult education among person 16 years of age and older was conducted simultaneously.  Data were collected on the level and characteristics of adult education participation. The files for these two general components of NHES:91 are described below.

Preprimary and Primary Files.  Data from the Early Childhood Education component are divided into two separate data files–the Preprimary File and the Primary File.  The Preprimary File contains responses from completed interviews with the parents of 7,655 children who have not yet enrolled in kindergarten.  The Primary File contains responses from completed interviews with the parents of 6,237 children enrolled in grades 1 and above. Users will be able to merge the Preprimary File with the Primary
File for the purposes of conducting analyses involving all 13,892 children.

Adult and Course Files.  During NHES:91, a sample of adults were questioned about their educational activities over the previous 12-month period.  Data from the Adult Education component are divided into two separate files–the Adult File and the Course File. The Adult File contains responses from each completed AE interview.  There is one record for each completed AE interview; thus, there are 12,568 records in this file.  The Course File contains a record for each part-time course reported by participants in the AE interview (up to four course were allowed).  The file is intended for analyses in which the course, rather than the individual, is the unit of analysis (aggregated course information is also included in the Adult File as part of the record of each adult).  The Adult and Course Files can be merged using a common identifier.

Ordering Information.  The NHES:91 files are available as magnetic tapes.  The ECE Component Files and the AE Component Files are sold separately.  In addition to the raw data files, each tape has SAS system files and SPSSX  and SAS control cards for converting the raw data to SPSSX and SAS formats.  These tapes can be purchased for $175 each, or $250 for both.

 

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“But, Studies Show…!”

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Since the Communism thread has morphed into a home-schooling debate, I thought I’d share some thoughts on that here. The current thread has become almost impossible to follow. There are many reasons why home schooling is becoming such a popular option for parents in the United States, among them the overall failure of the public school systems, a recognition among fly-over folk that children need parents more than they need institutions, and the growing realization that home-schooled kids are outperforming their counterparts. I could relate my own experiences, and will if anyone asks, but that would be anecdotal and so not relevant.

The discussion underway focuses on very young children, so the thing that I wish to refute is this vague, airy dismissal of the concerns voiced over compulsary attendance for small children and the natural rights of human beings as affirmed by the Consitution in the United States. If one is going to use the “studies show” gambit in defense of one’s pre-conceived notions, then one had damned well better be prepared to cite those studies. In this case, “studies show” exactly the opposite of the position held.

Below is the entire text of the HSLDA’s position on the issue of early education, complete with citations. Mandatory Kindergarten Is Unnecessary Compelling children to attend school at an earlier age does not yield consistent results.

Compulsory attendance or mandatory kindergarten at early ages is not the way to improve academic excellence. In fact, it may harm the development of young children to force them into the school system at a young age. The studies below demonstrate that compelling 5 and 6 year olds to attend school is not only unnecessary, but also violates a parent’s fundamental right to direct the education of their children, as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S.
510 (1925); Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 at 233; Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000).

 

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Building knowledge for better early childhood learning

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Additional funding of nearly $2 million will see three new early childhood education Centres of Innovation next year, Education Minister Trevor Mallard announced today. “These new centres, in addition to the six begun last year, will strengthen quality in early childhood teaching and share knowledge of what works best for New Zealand children,” Trevor Mallard said.

“This government is committed to lifting participation in early childhood education and to improving children’s learning and development in these critical years which set the foundation for future learning.” “By being better informed about quality teaching practices we can provide our children with the best possible learning opportunities.”

Trevor Mallard said the Centres of Innovation are supported for three years through assistance and funding to research and develop innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Centres of Innovation support continuous improvement in early childhood education, encourage provider collaboration, facilitate networks of learning support, build research capability, share information, develop leadership and strengthen quality teaching and learning.

“Centres of Innovation are a significant way of improving quality in early childhood education, one of the key goals in Pathways to the Future: Huarahi Arataki, the early childhood education strategic plan, launched in 2002. “The ECE Centres of Innovation programme has shown how vibrant and innovative the early childhood education sector is and reflects its commitment to developing the best teaching practice to support effective learning for children.

The first six centres focused on innovations in the use of ICT, improved links between services, and quality practices in M=E4ori and Pasifika bilingual and immersion services. The Ministry of Education is currently analysing the focus for the next three centres and the selection process would get underway later in the year.

 

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Bipartisan Education Reform

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Bipartisan Education Reform – President Bush submitted his framework for education reform, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), three days after taking office and secured overwhelming bipartisan support less than a year later. NCLB represents the most significant overhaul of Federal education policy since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. NCLB creates strong standards in each state for what every child should know and learn in reading and math in grades 3-8 and holds schools accountable for closing the achievement gap between students of different socio-economic backgrounds.

High Standards and Accountability – Since President Bush signed NCLB into law, all states have developed a plan to ensure that every student becomes proficient at reading and math and that achievement gaps are closed between students of different socio-economic backgrounds. States, districts, and schools are using their unique accountability plans to measure the progress of student achievement, report student and school progress to parents, identify for improvement those schools not making adequate yearly progress, provide support for the improvement of schools and districts, and provide options – including public school choice and tutoring – for children in underperforming schools.

Historic Levels of Funding – President Bush’s overall Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 budget represents a 49% increase for elementary and secondary education since FY 2001. It includes an additional:

  a.. $1 billion in Title I funding for disadvantaged students, for a total that represents a 52% increase since FY 2001.
  b.. $139 million for reading programs totaling four times the amount spent in FY 2001.
  c.. $1 billion for special education programs, for a 75% increase since FY 2001.
Reading First and Early Reading First – President Bush proposed and signed into law the Reading First and Early Reading First initiatives as part of his unequivocal commitment to ensuring that every child can read by the third grade. These programs enable more children to receive scientifically-based reading instruction programs in the early grades. Over $1.8 billion in Reading First funds have been distributed to the 50 states and the District of Columbia to provide training and instructional materials to tens of thousands of teachers. In addition, since the passage of NCLB, states have received almost $200 million in funds for early childhood reading efforts through such initiatives as Early Reading First and the Early Childhood Educator Professional Development program.

Options Available for Parents – Using tutoring money provided under NCLB, low-income parents of children in schools that have been identified as needing improvement can select from the over 1,600 supplemental service providers approved by the states. With this option, parents, for the first time, can find a program that is focused, rigorous, and directed at the specific needs of their child. Under NCLB, states and school districts publish report cards showing how well students in each socio-economic
sub-group are achieving so that communities and parents can know how well their schools are doing.

Providing Parents with School Choice – President Bush worked with Congress to include a school choice program in the FY 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill for approximately 1,700 low-income children in the District of Columbia to attend the school of their choice. The President has also requested funding in his budgets for a Choice Incentive Fund, which would support efforts to provide parents, particularly low-income parents, of students who attend low-performing schools with opportunities to transfer their children to higher-performing public, charter, or private schools.

 

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Administration Seeks Funds to Improve Early Reading

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Washington, DC — Vice President Gore announced today that the Administration will seek an additional $128 million in the FY2000 budget to help children learn to read well.

     This proposal, including an increase of $26 million for the Reading Excellence Act and $50 million for a new initiative to identify and address reading problems in young children, will help schools and communities respond to the President’s challenge that every child should be able to read well and independently by the end of the third grade.

     ”In an economy increasingly powered by information and technology, reading and the ability to learn are strategic skills,” Vice President Gore said.  ”We must help all of our children master the basics and learn to read well in order to help them succeed in the 21st century.”

     According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 60 percent of 4th graders read at the basic level or higher.  Research shows that students who fail to read well by the 4th grade are at greater risk of educational failure and that good reading skills provide an important foundation for subsequent learning and success. In order to address this need, the Clinton Administration launched the “America Reads” challenge and worked with Congress to pass the Reading Excellence Act last year to help more than 500,000 children in pre-kindergarten through third grade learn to read through expanded teacher training, family literacy programs, tutoring and other efforts.

     To expand on these efforts, the Vice President announced today that the Administration will propose:

     A $26 million increase in the Reading Excellence Act to help an additional 50,000 children learn to read through expanded teacher training, family literacy programs, tutoring, and other efforts.

     An increase of $10 million for the Even Start Family Literacy Program to support family-centered education projects helping parents learn literacy and parenting skills while supporting early childhood education for young children.

     $50 million for a new school-based primary education intervention program to identify and address reading problems for children aged 5-9.  While research demonstrates the effectiveness of early interventions to address reading problems and learning disabilities, 60% of children eventually placed in special education are identified too late to receive the full benefit from such interventions.  This initiative will help schools develop and implement research-based strategies to identify and address reading problems in the early grades to reach children earlier and give them the extra help they need to become good readers.

     A $7 million increase for initiatives to improve writing and reading skills, including an expansion of the National Writing Project and the creation of a new competitive grant program to develop and evaluate models of effective writing instruction. Improved writing skills provide an essential foundation for literacy and reading, and this proposal would double the level of funding for these initiatives.

     $35 million for new research on early childhood and early elementary reading, professional development for reading instruction, English language acquisition for limited English proficient children, and improvements in literacy for older children.

     Moreover, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have recently announced other major increased investments to help students learn to read and do well academically.  They recently announced a proposed increase of $400 million for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to provide after-school and summer school programs for more than a million students around the nation.  In awarding these funds, the Education Department will give priority to school districts that end social promotion by requiring that students meet academic standards in order to move to the next grade — but use these funds to give students extra help after-school and in the summer to help them succeed.

     The Vice President also recently announced a $320 million proposed increase for Title I — the largest federal elementary and secondary education program — to help disadvantaged students master the basics like reading and reach high academic standards.  $200 million of this increase would be used by states to identify and intervene in low-performing schools.

 

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University of Scranton

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The College of Health, Education, and Human Resources, of the University of Scranton, invites applications for the following full-time, academic year, tenure track, faculty positions.  The University of Scranton is a selective Catholic and Jesuit institution, located in northeastern Pennsylvania near the Pocono Mountains.

EDUCATION – This position will serve both the Early Childhood and Elementary Education programs.  Responsibilities include some combination of teaching foundations courses, supervision of student teaching, and our early childhood methods courses. Qualifications include earned doctorate in appropriate area, an articulated research focus, significant classroom experience in basic education, and eligibility for Pennsylvania Certification in Early Childhood Education.  Send application information to Dr. David A. Wiley, Chair, Education Dept.

HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION – Responsibilities for this position incude some combination of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in health care accounting, finance, operations management and generic health administration.  Qualifications include earned doctorate or ABD in Health Services Administration or related field, interest in a research agenda, and relevant work experience is required.  Previous college teaching is desirable.  Send application information to Dr. James Grana, Chair, Health Administration Search Committee.

HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION – Responsibilities include some combination of teaching graduate courses in human resource administration, compensation and benefits, evaluative research methods, employment law and human resources planning. Qualifications include earned doctorate of ABD in Human Resources or related feild, interest in a research agenda, and relevant work experience.  Previous college teaching is preferred.  Send applicaton information to Dr. Marie George, Chair, Human Resources Search Committee.

NURSING – Responsibilities include continued program development toward NLN accreditation of the new Family Nurse Practitioner/Rural Health master’s program as the Director of the Nurse Practitioner Graduate Program, and teaching in both the graduate and undergraduate programs.  Qualifications include Master’s degree from an NLN accredited program as a Family Nurse Practitioner, with appropriate clinical experience and earned doctorate in Nursing or related field.  Experience in graduate
education, classroom and clinical teaching at the graduate level desired.  Send application information to Dr. Patricia Harrington, Chair, Dept. of Nursing.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY – Two positions.  Responsibilities for one position include teaching OT practice and related courses in Pediatrics; the second position is in Psychosocial Rehabilitation. Qualifications for both positions include a Master’s degree in OT or related field, doctorate preferred, current certification as an OTR, eligible for licensure in PA, and relevant experience in direct service and teaching.  Send application information, including which position is of interest to you, to Dr. Jack Kasar, Chair, Dept. of Occupational Therapy.

PHYSICAL THERAPY – This position will complement teaching in the neurological track of our five-year master of physical therapy curriculum.  Opportunities to teach in areas of adult and pediatric rehab (including spinal cord injury, head injury, prosthetics/orthotics) and basic patient mobility techniques; and to assist ACCE in clinical education seminars and site visits.  Possession of a doctoral degree is desirable, however, master’s-level candidates are encouraged to apply.  APTA specialty certification is a plus.  Eligiblity for licensure in PA is required.  Send aplication information to Prof. Maria Zichettella, Chair, Search Committee.

 

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