#and how they cope with an environment that attacks their agency and like. responsibility. and resisting the established narrative. and. and

[autisticaradiamegido]

day 251

so like remember when i said i was gonna be mentally ill about utena

#day 251 #year 4 #aradia megido #jade harley #homestuck #arajade #revolutionary girl utena #so this is a wip but i dont have the time or energy to finish it today unfortunately #i do plan to finish it at a later date tho #this isnt really meant to be like #a fully realized au or anything #utena doesnt seem like the kind of thing that lends itself super well to this kind of au? #like the kind where you slot other characters into the roles or the setting of the og series #the characters that exist in it are too integral to the like. Point of the thing. to me at least #BUT there are some themes that cross over really well #into the things i find the most most most interesting about aradia and jade and the differences between them #and how they cope with an environment that attacks their agency and like. responsibility. and resisting the established narrative. and. and #and okay TBH? yeah i drew jade in the rose bride fit. but frankly i could say some shit about EITHER of them in either role. #the themes are absolutely there like theres a connection im making in my brain here i swear im just struggling to articulate it #maybe once i finish the drawing i will have finished my rgu arajade thoughts as well.

[proactivedefenseusa]

How Does Active Shooter Simulation Training Prepare Your Employees for the Unthinkable?

Imagine this scenario: you are at work, at your desk, a typical day when suddenly you hear gunshots and screams. You see a masked gunman entering your office, shooting randomly at anyone he sees. What do you do? If you are like most people, you might freeze in fear, panic, or try to hide. You might hope that someone else will stop the shooter, or that the police will arrive soon. You might not have a plan, a weapon, or a way to escape. But what if you could change your mindset from a passive victim to an active shooter? What if you could create the muscle memory necessary to overcome the shock, fear and chaos of an assault? What if you could learn how to fight back, protect yourself and others, and survive? That's where active shooter simulation training comes in. This is a realistic and immersive way of preparing your employees for an active shooter situation. It involves using realistic weapons, scenarios, and environments to simulate a real attack. Simulation training creates the sound and impact of gunshots and drills employees on the proper action to take. The benefits of active shooter training Texas are many benefits. Here are a few: • It increases awareness and preparedness. Shooter simulation training teaches your employees how to recognize potential signs of workplace violence. • It builds confidence and resilience. Active shooter defense training helps your employees overcome the fear and anxiety of facing a violent threat. It also helps them develop a survival mindset and a sense of empowerment. They learn how to cope with stress, trauma, and uncertainty. • It enhances teamwork and communication. Active shooter simulation training fosters collaboration and coordination among your employees. They learn how to work together, communicate clearly, and support each other in a crisis. They also learn how to cooperate with law enforcement and emergency responders. • It improves performance and productivity. Active shooter simulation training boosts your employees' morale and motivation. They feel more valued and respected by their employer who cares about their safety and well-being. They also feel more engaged and committed to their work and their organization. Active shooter simulation training is not only a smart investment for your employees' safety, but also for your organization's reputation, success and financial well-being. By providing active shooter simulation training for your employees, you are showing that you are proactive, responsible, and caring. It also demonstrates compliance with OSHA’s Duty of Care regulations. By investing in training, you are also reducing the risk of liability, lawsuits, and negative publicity in case of an active shooter incident. Don't wait until it's too late. Contact us today to schedule a shooter simulation training session for your employees. Our trainers are ex-military and Intelligence Agency professionals. They have fought wars, run hundreds of missions across the globe, worked alongside the Secret Service, and are Purple Heart recipients. We have the expertise, equipment, and experience to provide you with the best training possible. We guarantee that you will see the difference in your employees' attitude, behavior, and performance. Shooter simulation training is not just a training option; it's a necessity. Don't let your employees become victims; help them become active survivors. Check out active shooter training programs by visiting https://prodefenseusa.com/ Original Source: https://bityl.co/Izoj

[flash-impact-for-good]

Rethinking how we produce and deliver essential goods - 5 lessons from the surgical mask shortage

Image from Juanjo Menta https://www.pexels.com/fr-fr/@juanjomenta

The Covid-19 pandemic revealed the weaknesses of supply chains mostly relying on centralized production in cost-effective Asia, tiered contractors and subcontractors, limited inventory and just-in-time procurement. When the epidemic started in Wuhan, parts manufactured in China went scarce. As early as February 7th, 2020, although the outbreak had not reached Europe yet, auto makers warned they could shut down European plants due to Chinese parts suppliers not resuming operations [1]. Masks, that are essential for health workers to treat patients, went scarce too.

Could we imagine a more resilient system for essential goods? How would the supply chain look like? How could a revamped production and distribution model be more environmentally sustainable?

1. The Internet distributed architecture, an enlightening model for a more resilient supply chain

During the Cold War, the United States government began to focus on computer science research to conceive the most secure and resilient communication system which they would need in the event of a war [2].  In particular, this system should ensure that the chains of command would not be broken in the case of an attack.

The Internet we know today stems from this ambition. It is based on a distributed architecture of independent network nodes that are able to route messages until they reach their destination and handle peak demand in a decentralized way. The Internet is also very robust to localized failures thanks to the ability of nodes to reroute effectively.

Before Covid-19, China alone was producing about half the world’s sanitary face masks, around seven billion a year [3]. When Covid-19 hit China, factories closed and the manufacturing output sunk.

Masks are simple products but still, no western country was able to immediately produce enough for their health workers, let alone for the general population. There were only 4 mask factories in France: Kolmi-Hopen, Segetex-EIF, Macopharma et Paul Boyé Technologies with production capacity of about 4 million masks while 10s of millions were needed immediately [4].

No country either had sufficient stocks. After a few weeks, new production facilities were turned on, either manual workshops of the textile industry or automated chains. This new production capacity was instrumental to cope with an increased demand.

2. A localized production, an agile set-up with environmental benefits

Developing the local production capacity was one of the immediate and spontaneous answers to surgical mask shortage. In France, in less than 2 months, hundreds of companies mobilized capabilities to produce masks.

After decades of globalization, re-localization of industries is back in the political and economic agenda. There is a push from states to re-localize strategic industries among which pharmaceutical, technologies and food.

The combination of two trends makes this localization shift possible today: automation technologies enabling a cost-competitive local production, and a consumer demand for local products and improved traceability.

Added benefits are three-fold:

1. Development of local and resilient know-how on essential goods and business critical processes.

2. Efficiency and cost gains from shortened supply chain with improved lead-time, less inventory at each step and reduced product waste and scrap.

3. Reduced greenhouse gas emissions from long-haul transport. Transportation is responsible for almost one quarter of direct CO2 global emissions from fuel combustion [5].

After the Covid-19 crisis, companies should certainly reconsider their production and logistics organization to adapt to an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment.

3. Interconnected data systems to manage a distributed production and a diffuse demand

How many masks do we need per week? How many do we have left in inventories? How many can we produce? The lack of information slowed down immediate actions.

The crisis revealed an important weakness in our capability to manage and consolidate data from different sources (suppliers, government, hospitals). Indeed information systems are traditionally badly interconnected with external partners and customers.

Digital collaborative platforms can be a part of the solution. An example came from the fashion industry. Together with the brand Le Slip Français, a fashion association launched Savoir Faire Ensemble, a collaborative platform to connect people who need masks, with companies that provide materials and supplies.

Collaborative tools and interconnected information systems will be key in the future to support efficient and resilient supply chains.

4. Collective intelligence for innovation and resilience

There have been countless innovative initiatives from citizens all over the world who have sought to tackle mask shortages: from video tutorials on how to make a mask with a sock and a pair of scissors to more industrial projects from the textile industry. US Major League Baseball and Fanatics partnered to manufacture masks and gowns. Many fashion players participated to the global effort and retooled their production to help: to name a few Gap, Zara, Etam, Petit Bateau, Lacoste, Saint-James, LVMH, Chantelle, Le Slip Français. Although these masks do not provide the same protection as the N95 or FFP2 worn by health workers, they do help slow down the spread of the virus.

The solidarity effort has been praised. Furthermore, this is a striking example of the ability of an industry to adapt its manufacturing and supply chain to new needs very rapidly. Commercial success or failure of the textile industry has been largely determined by the organization's flexibility and responsiveness (short time-to-market, the ability to scale up or down quickly and the rapid incorporation of consumer preferences). This is definitely an inspiring model for other sectors that want to develop more agile and resilient production systems.

5. Planning for the future

We are painfully realizing from the Covid-19 sanitary and economic crisis, that we are not very good at imagining disruptive futures. We plan them based on our known past. To avoid this cognitive bias, it is a good discipline for organizations to build strategic scenarios to be more resilient in times of disruption. As general and statesman Eisenhower rightly said “Peace-time plans are of no particular value, but peace-time planning is indispensable”.

Distributed systems, targeted localized productions, data enabled ecosystems, collective intelligence and planning, these are 5 key factors for a resilient supply chain with an ability to absorb shocks from supply and demand.  These principles are also beneficial to corporate sustainability: more transparency, more accountability, reduced greenhouse gas emissions from transports.

This article was originally published on https://www.transitionroute.com/

Corinne Bach, MBA INSEAD 05D Entrepreneur in ecological transition

Philippe Raynaud Senior Advisor in Supply Chain Transformation C-way

References

[1] Global automaker supplies threatened by China coronavirus crisis, Automotive News, February 7th 2020 https://www.autonews.com/china/global-automaker-supplies-threatened-china-coronavirus-crisis

[2] A Brief history of the Internet by Stanford Computer Science Department https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/soco/projects/2001-02/distributed-computing/html/history.html

[3] As Coronavirus Spreads, Face Mask Makers Go Into Overdrive New York Times, February 29th 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/business/coronavirus-face-masks.html

[4] La course pour faire renaître de ses cendres l’industrie française des masques, Challenges, April 4th 2020 https://www.challenges.fr/entreprise/sante-et-pharmacie/la-course-pour-faire-renaitre-de-ses-cendres-l-industrie-francaise-des-masques_704955

[5] International Energy Agency https://www.iea.org/topics/transport

[operationwell]

Reflections on Past Institutionalization

Today was the day that I knew would be coming. The day I would have to face, process, and differentiate between my past experiences in psychiatric facilities, and my future stays. I know that all of this doesn’t necessarily happen in one day, but rest assured - it is happening. 

5 years ago, In April of 2015, I entered a hospital in Schaumburg, IL at around 8pm. My Auntie had heard that this hospital offered free psychiatric evaluations, and we had planned to go and have a simple assessment where they could provide insight into which medications were hurting and which were helping my cause. About 6 weeks prior to this, I had been prescribed Celexa as an antidepressant and it caused my depression and anxiety to skyrocket beyond my control, and I became flooded with suicidal ideation. My doctor (the psychiatrist of every student on psych medications throughout my university) insisted that I remain on the medication for 6 weeks. As my symptoms worsened, he prescribed me Trazodone as a sleeping aid and Klonipen to help with my multiple panic attacks daily. As medications were thrown at me, my health worsened. I struggled with sleep disturbances (insomnia, night terrors, inconsistent sleep schedule), I lost weight (food quickly became unappealing on the medications, I had no appetite, I had difficulty eating as I would become nauseous and vomit during and after consuming food) and my health deteriorated. I stopped going to Yoga and working out multiple times a week because I was no longer functional enough to continue. My grades slipped and I received 3 “incomplete”s in my classes and had to finish my work months later for credit. I dropped my commitments to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, alongside many clubs and school groups. I was closeted from my family and all but 2 friends, I had recently broken up with my partner of 3 years. I was in therapy on my college campus, and nothing seemed to be working... so a free psych evaluation sounded like the right thing to do.

That day, I received an award from Loyola University Chicago School of Communications that I was their top student in the Advocacy and Social Change program. Little did the school staff know that within a few hours I would be Baker Acted. I got dressed up and invited my Auntie and 2 friends to the celebration. Like most days when the world feels like it is crumbling, I laughed and smiled and moved through the motions. Saying goodbye to my friends, I packed a weekend bag to head to the suburbs, this was typical seeing that my Auntie is one of my closet friends and mentors, and I frequently “ran away” to her guest room in order to escape my troubles. We agreed to go to dinner with my uncle and cousin, then go for the free evaluation. I pushed food around on a plate and I drank a Shirley Temple with my then 9 year old cousin, Dylan. 

I entered the hospital with Auntie late in the evening. I put in my headphones to listen to Bon Iver because my anxiety was triggered by the hospital environment. I filled out a form that asked two yes/no questions: 

Within the last 24 hours, have you had thoughts of killing yourself? Yes No

If yes, do you have a plan to kill yourself? Yes No

I circled yes for both.

I told myself that dishonesty was not going to get me the help I needed, so I told the truth. After I handed in that questionnaire, my hands were tied. No matter what I said in the clinical evaluation, they would legally have to keep me under the Baker Act. I tried to explain the ways that the medications I was taking were making it worse, how my anxiety and depression were related to trauma, but they were not interested in that. They were interested in protecting me from the threat of myself. The admissions staff informed me that I would be staying for the next few days in the hospital. When I protested and tried to leave, they threatened to call the police. I looked to my Auntie for guidance and she broke down saying “I am so sorry, I wouldn’t have brought you here if I knew they would take you from me”. My auntie is the light of my life and even though this experience was incredibly trying, I am so glad that she was there with me holding my hand and making sarcastic jokes throughout the process. She was, and continues to be, my rock and my safe space. Thank you, Auntie.

I was stripped of my clothes, searched, asked to squat and cough. I was brought into the adult ward with nothing besides the clothes I wore in, and a notebook. I was shocked as I finished the evaluation process - it was now the middle of the night. One of the night staff saw me enter my room and was intrigued because “I don’t look like the other patients in here” to which my response was “what should I look like?” we spoke about religion, and what my goals were; I shared with him my purpose - to bring peace to the world through advocacy, conflict resolution, and vulnerability. He was kind. He very well might have been an angel. But I am convinced he was real. He gave me a gift, and I still have it. A book about hope, religion, and peace. Inside the front cover he wrote “Be at peace and know that you are love”. When he left my room less than 30 mins later, I showered and got into my bed, I slept till the techs woke me to take my blood and I never saw that man again.

The next 72 hours consisted of sharing a room with an older woman who insisted on being naked 24/7 and caused plenty of problems in the ward, attending all-day therapy and coping skill development groups, trying to convince the doctors and nurses I was cured and able to leave, attempting to escape my parents worried calls, being constantly poked and prodded by nursing staff, commiserating with other patients (most of whom were much older than me), and coloring in mandalas and calling it “art therapy”.

During this stay, the psychiatrist kept my diagnosis of depression and anxiety and added “You need to watch out for Bipolar”. He immediately started me on Abilify, an antipsychotic, and after 3 days was convinced the Abilify helped enough to discharge me. I went straight to the pharmacy after my stay and found the medication was $116/ pill. The drug was new, did not have a generic at the time, and I could not afford that, so I discontinued the use of the medication. 

By this time, I am deeply concerning my parents and they have bought me a one way flight to South Florida for the summer after my sophomore year. I was planning on working at Boston College for the summer and spending my entire junior year abroad in the Philippines and Vietnam, but the international travel was not brought to fruition. My parents were hurt by my secrecy, terrified, and looking to help alleviate some of my suffering. They helped me to get to a psychiatrist that might be able to help with the medication situation, and he did. I was put on Zyrexa, an antipsychotic, and the next day the sun came out. I stayed on the medication for over 4 years, but it caused grueling side effects including excessive sleeping, sedation, mixed mood episodes, and extreme weight gain to name a few.

After I was institutionalized, I told myself that I would try whatever I could to avoid the trauma, the expense, and the repetition of my experience in the ward. I felt that while I was held there, I was a prisoner, I had no rights, I had no resources, and I had a one person support system. I never wanted to go back.

Now, I am in very different shoes. I have knowledge and information. I have an entire degree dedicated to better understanding mental health and the system, I have years of experience working clinically in the field, and I have an incredible support system. I am currently seeking treatment to titrate off all unnecessary medications, to stabilize my mental and physical health, and to work intensively with clinicians on sustainable coping mechanisms. This is not like before. 

Today I spent most of the day crying and wondering how I could possibly face being stripped of my agency and belongings again, being isolated from my supports again, and being forced to take medications without consent again. The answer that I found in my tears is that I don’t have to face that again. This new situation of seeking residential treatment is dredging up emotions and memories from my experience 5 years ago; but this is different. I am afraid, and I am allowing myself the grace to feel that fear and tend to it. As I care for myself I am also caring for my younger self, my self at 19, and at any other age when I felt alone, afraid, and out of options. Once I have done my tending, I am able to open my eyes and see that in the here and now I am surrounded by support, I am brave, and I am patient with my options. 

I am surrounded by love. I am love. I am at peace.

Here is something I created in 2015 while in the psych ward. All text is quotes of staff and peers during my 3 day stay.

#psych ward #psych #mental health #triggers

[gusticeleague]

The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy review

Jerry is the most frustrating character in Rick and Morty, both inside and outside the show. In the latter case, it’s to the point that he’s become a kind of pejorative for people who either don’t like, don’t understand or actively whine about the show. If Rick and Morty presents any real moral lesson, it’s about reclaiming your own sense of agency in a universe without meaning that will not cater to your every whim or is actively out to destroy you. Through that lens, Jerry is symbolic of the kind of people who lack the agency to go out and make their own life happen and instead expect everything to come to them, be it love, a job or just general acceptance, and thus goes against the kind of moral architecture the show presents, to the frustration of many.

And that brings me to the moment that best contextualises my feelings on this, per Rick:

“You act like prey, but you’re a predator! You use pity to lure in your victims, it’s how you survive! I survive because I know everything, that snake survives because children wander off, and you survive because people think “Ooh, this poor piece of sh*t! He never gets a break! I can’t stand the deafening silent wails of his wilting soul! I guess I’ll hire him or marry him!”

Survival, from an evolutionary standpoint, is about exploiting what adaptations you have to thrive in the environment that you’re in. For Jerry, he has survived by being so pitiable you almost don’t want to hurt him, even if it would be incredibly easy. Look at his “mythologue” in Big Trouble in Little Sanchez: a spineless, deliberately submissive slug creature that disgusts even himself, and it’s hard not to see that creature in the jaws of that big child-eating alien snake. And while this makes Jerry sympathetic to us, it can also makes him casually despicable in Rick’s eyes.

And what I find really interesting about this episode is that a) it explains Jerry’s psychology in the same way that Pickle Rick did for Beth and b) provides a situation in its B-story which demonstrates just how Beth copes away from either Rick or Jerry. Beth doesn’t “do” emotion because she’s never learned to see the benefit of it, and that’s contextualised by her literally and figuratively messing Summer up as a result, allowing her to get continuously made into a monster by the Morphorizer. Beth is not as smart or as capable as she thinks she is (as her mythologue demonstrated) and she puts up that facade so that she can be the kind of person she thinks will impress her father or make her look better than her spineless wimp of an (ex)husband. She thrived (codependently) with Jerry as much as Jerry has thrived with her, and that lead to their toxic cycle of a marriage.

(That said, while Rick saw fit to end their perpetual cycle, he’s is equally at fault in this situation when you frame their argument in terms of who messed up Beth the most. “She was Rick’s daughter! She had options!”, he says, having never been around to nurture an interest in those options and prevent her from meeting someone like Jerry in the first place. Just throwing that out there if you’re using this episode to justify your Jerry hate.)

By placing Rick and Morty as the voices of reason, now that they’ve gone through their own ‘dealing with the divorce’ arcs in Rick-Mancing the Stone, they can hold each parent to task about their behaviour and ask them what kind of person they are going to be after the divorce. By the end of their adventure (with a stop for some cosmic apotheosis) Jerry is beginning to learn to not feel so sorry for himself and advertise that feeling to the world to gain validation. And while Beth will never be the maternal archetype, she can learn to start correcting her own behaviours as well. Her reconciliation with Summer works because by turning herself into a giant Attack on Titan monster, she’s opening herself up to be vulnerable and understanding to her daughter’s feelings.

I think this might mark the midpoint of Season 3. I’m really liking the direction so far of plumbing the characters for depth in addition to having crazy adventures. It’s hit a good stride, and hopefully by the end we’ll be in as interesting a place by the end as we were at the end of Season 2.

Episode MVP: Morty, by far, as the only sensible person in the whole episode, and proving himself to be more emotionally grounded than his parents and just a good little brother. I can kind of see him become a more compassionate version of Rick in a way, jaded by an amoral universe but doing what good where he can when he absolutely has the ability to step in and do so.

Favourite bit character: The gibble snake going “Oof” in response to Jerry being literally and figuratively chewed out over how pathetic he is.

Best joke: The Morphizer customer service employees escaping from the machine had me rolling.

Final Rating: 8 out of 8 grapples.

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #the whirly dirly conspiracy

[blogyoucanendhumantrafficki-blog]

How To Help Victims of Trafficking Get “Out of the Life”

Excerpt from the book “How You Can Fight Human Trafficking, Over 100 Ways to Make a Difference”

This article is based on interviews with former victims of human trafficking as to what worked and did not work when people tried to talk to them about their victimization. Traffickers prey on vulnerabilities and will groom individuals to believe that they (the trafficker) truly loves them and that law enforcement, their parents, or others will do everything they can to prevent them from being together. As a result, most victims do not see them themselves as a victim and do not self-identify as such. “Victims are often reluctant to come forward because they have been taught by their victimizer that if they attempt to seek help, no one will believe them, and they will be treated like a criminal and a prostitute” (Biglesen, 2013). Victims are bonded with the trafficker through trauma thus making it difficult to break that bond. Building rapport is key when working with victims and survivors. When speaking with victims one must be respectful and non-judgmental. Be careful to not criticize their “pimp”, “boyfriend”, “daddy,” whatever term they use to describe their trafficker because it will create a barrier and they will not open up to you. So you will need to ask questions that has them see for themselves that they are being exploited, rather than telling them they are a victim.

When you are working with youth, please be aware that they may also be victims of domestic violence, incest, human trafficking, drug addiction, etc. They may “act out” in similar ways, but once you have identified what type of victim they are, you need to know the appropriate group to refer them to. If they are using drugs, how are they obtaining their drugs? Many victims will receive drugs in exchange for sex. Sometimes their drug addictions are due to the trafficker getting them addicted or they are using drugs as a way to cope with stress. If you encounter a victim/survivor who suffers from substance abuse issues you should consider referring them to a clinic where they can get help for their addiction. If you are working with a minor victim, then you must notify law enforcement and social services. Make sure you take the time to explain to the minor child the processes and the parties with whom you must contact. Do not lie, give false hope, or make promises that you cannot keep. If a victim feels betrayed they will not cooperate and may even runaway. 

If you are working with an adult, it is imperative that you know your community resources. If you are a member of a church/school, find out if your agency has a directory of local resources. If not, then create one. One way to start is to google “human trafficking agencies in (name of city),” “domestic violence agencies in (name of city)”, etc. Find out if non-human trafficking agencies like domestic violence shelters have staff who are trained to work with human trafficking victims. You will most likely need to help the victims you are talking to on how to answer the questions they will be asked by the agency. Victims may think they are just “ho’s” or a girlfriend of a boyfriend who is “pimping them out.” However, the agencies can’t take them unless they claim that they are victims of human trafficking, so you need to explain to them the legal definition and help them recognize that they are in fact victims of human trafficking if that is the case. 

Oftentimes, people who have experienced trauma feel alone, unloved, unworthy and can easily become victims of exploitation. After reading this section, you may feel that “you didn’t sign on for this.” In other words, I hear from teachers, etc. that they became teachers to teach, not become social workers. However, either we will step in or those who exploit vulnerable children will step in and promise to take care of them and solve their problems. More and more churches are recognizing this which is why “trauma informed congregations.” has become a movement in many countries.  Some common signs to be aware of when talking with a victim is that they are often easily triggered. Victims may cry easily or become easily angered. In other words, they over react to situations. They almost always exhibit low self-esteem. 

Signs to look for: Do they have relationships with older men? Do they have tattoos? Where are they located and do they have someone’s name as part of the tattoo? Do they travel often but have no secure job? Are their nails nicely manicured and do they have nice clothes but no job? When you ask them what they do for a job, are they evasive or have late hours at their job or are often out-of-town? Do they have bruises? Are they avoiding their family and are often absent or truant from school? This could be the result of shame because of what they are involved in. Do they have any close friends? 

So how do you draw them out? Start with neutral questions. Create a safe place for them. Be patient, respectful, and non-judgmental. Building rapport takes time as victims have been conditioned not to trust anyone. Take time to get to know them as a person. Don’t address their trauma by asking them how they feel about things like the nightmares they are having, being beaten, raped, etc. Don’t’ go there unless you are a trained professional. Your role should be one that is loving, compassionate, and empathetic. Found out who they are and what are their interests. Talk about their future, their hopes, their dreams. Most victims need several contacts before they will open up to you. Just ask “Are you okay?” “How are you doing?” “Is there anything you want to talk about?” “I am here if you need to talk.” Your job is to be their friend and get them the resources they need. 

Once they do open up, do not act shocked by anything he or she tells you and be aware of your facial expressions and reactions. Some may try to test you or shock you by using what you may consider to be vulgar terminology and language. Remember this is their norm and it is important to refrain from acting shocked or appalled. You don’t want to come across as horrified or thinking they are a terrible person. Model how you would come across if someone just told you they worked in retail. You would most likely ask them about their job in a way that is curious. For instance, you could ask them how they met their boyfriend, how long they have known them, what do they do when they are together. Validate their feelings by saying things like “he sounds like he was concerned about your safety since he always asked where you were and who was with you.” Let them lead the conversation. Try to avoid asking too many questions in a row. The key is to make sure you do not come across as though you are lecturing them. Tried to avoid making statements like: “Are you crazy meeting a man that you do not know? You could have been killed!” These statements will cause the individual to shutdown as they may feel attacked and they know it is dangerous. A better approach may be to say something like “I worry about you being on the street with predatory men.” What is it you need? Maybe I can help you find a job that isn’t so dangerous.

Remember that what you find shocking, many young people do not. They come from a culture where prostitution has been normalized and the Pimp lifestyle glorified. One of the top rated songs that is currently very popular among the youth is called “Rake It up” by Yo Gotti. Teens and young adults are going around singing the lyrics without really understanding the words. The lyrics and the music video are appalling as in the song the artist makes these types of statements: “I tell all my Ho’s, rake it up, break it down, back it up.”

If they refer to themselves as a “ho,” “prostitute,” etc. do not use those words when you address them. It hurts when you say it. Respond in a loving manner. If they refer to themselves as a “ho” your response could be along the lines of “I am sorry you see yourself that way. I see so much more. I see a girl who is beautiful and smart.” Let them know that they are just like you, a child of God. We are not defined by what has happened to us in life. Once you have established rapport, which may take several conversations, you should refer them to a trained advocate or therapist. 

If you are willing to be a mentor to them while they are addressing their trauma by seeing a counselor, you could offer to help them apply for job corps or college if that is what they want. You could offer to drive them to the agency or their first counseling meeting or college class. This is important. Getting started on a new path is very difficult for people, especially if they have been traumatized. However, you need to allow the survivor to lead the way and take control of his/her own life at their own pace. It doesn’t work to push them. That is what their pimp did. In the opinion of advocates who work with this population, only 3 out of 10 enter prostitution for the money. The pimp will often tell them that they are the only one who really cares about them.  To counter that, you can invite them to your church’s singles group, a women’s group, a bible study. Expose them to environments of caring people and who are being there for them. You need to counter the brainwashing the human traffickers have done with these victims.

For professional advocates and therapists, survivors of human trafficking recommend that the way to go deeper and motivate them to want to get out of the life is to ask them how working as a prostitute makes them feel. How do they feel about their boyfriend asking them to do it? When they respond you could say “I would go crazy if I knew my boyfriend was sleeping around. How does your boyfriend feel about what you do? How does it make you feel that he is okay with you sleeping with other men? If their boyfriend doesn’t know they are participating in the commercial sex trade, ask them how he would feel if he found out. Ask them if they get any of the money. If they tell you their boyfriend is saving it (which a pimp will tell them) ask them if they have access to it. 

Both mentors and professionals need to remember that often victims of human trafficking believe that prostitution is the only way they can survive because their traffickers have convinced them of that to discourage them from leaving. If they tell you they are working as prostitutes because it is the only way they can make money, share with them about job corp and the advantages of going to college. If they tell you they could go “renegade” and make all the money and no other job would pay them that kind of money, then go online and google salaries of various jobs. This way they will be safe because human traffickers often punish those who go “renegade.” If they tell you they are not smart enough to go to college or do another job let them know that isn’t true. Ask them if they have ever posted an ad. If they answer is yes, tell them they have computer skills. Let them know that prostitutes have to have good communication and business skills. Most of them have never considered this. 

Last but not least, for both professionals and non-professionals alike, don’t give up. Don’t take it personally if you can’t enroll them in leaving the life or if they give you push back or get angry with you, etc. Don’t work harder than they are. In other words, don’t beat your head against a wall. It will burn you out and you need to protect your emotional energy, so you are available to help those who are ready to receive your help.

[proactivedefenseusa]

Active Shooter Simulation Training: A Sane Response to the Insanity

Imagine this scenario: you are at work, at your desk, a typical day when suddenly you hear gunshots and screams. You see a masked gunman entering your office, shooting randomly at anyone he sees. What do you do?

If you are like most people, you might freeze in fear, panic, or try to hide. You might hope that someone else will stop the shooter, or that the police will arrive soon. You might not have a plan, a weapon, or a way to escape.

But what if you could change your mindset from a passive victim to an active shooter? What if you could create the muscle memory necessary to overcome the shock, fear and chaos of an assault? What if you could learn how to fight back, protect yourself and others, and survive?

That's where active shooter simulation training comes in. This is a realistic and immersive way of preparing your employees for an active shooter situation. It involves using realistic weapons, scenarios, and environments to simulate a real attack. Simulation training creates the sound and impact of gunshots and drills employees on the proper action to take.

The benefits of active shooter training Texas are many benefits. Here are a few:

• It increases awareness and preparedness. Shooter simulation training teaches your employees how to recognize potential signs of workplace violence.

• It builds confidence and resilience. Active shooter defense training helps your employees overcome the fear and anxiety of facing a violent threat. It also helps them develop a survival mindset and a sense of empowerment. They learn how to cope with stress, trauma, and uncertainty.

• It enhances teamwork and communication. Active shooter simulation training fosters collaboration and coordination among your employees. They learn how to work together, communicate clearly, and support each other in a crisis. They also learn how to cooperate with law enforcement and emergency responders.

• It improves performance and productivity. Active shooter simulation training boosts your employees' morale and motivation. They feel more valued and respected by their employer who cares about their safety and well-being. They also feel more engaged and committed to their work and their organization.

Active shooter simulation training is not only a smart investment for your employees' safety, but also for your organization's reputation, success and financial well-being. By providing active shooter simulation training for your employees, you are showing that you are proactive, responsible, and caring. It also demonstrates compliance with OSHA’s Duty of Care regulations. By investing in training, you are also reducing the risk of liability, lawsuits, and negative publicity in case of an active shooter incident.

Don't wait until it's too late. Contact us today to schedule a shooter simulation training session for your employees. Our trainers are ex-military and Intelligence Agency professionals. They have fought wars, run hundreds of missions across the globe, worked alongside the Secret Service, and are Purple Heart recipients. We have the expertise, equipment, and experience to provide you with the best training possible. We guarantee that you will see the difference in your employees' attitude, behavior, and performance.

Shooter simulation training is not just a training option; it's a necessity. Don't let your employees become victims; help them become active survivors.

Check out active shooter training programs by visiting https://prodefenseusa.com/

Original Source: https://bityl.co/Isvf

[diarrheaworldstarhiphop]

For a British boy to be killed by a grenade attack anywhere is appalling, but for it to happen in a suburb of Gothenburg should shatter a few illusions about Sweden. Last week’s murder of eight-year-old Yuusuf Warsame fits a pattern that Swedes have come slowly to recognise over the years. He was from Birmingham, visiting relatives, and was caught up in what Swedish police believe is a gang war within the Somali community. Last year, a four-year-old girl was killed by a car bomb outside Gothenburg, another apparent victim of gang violence.

For years, Sweden has regarded itself as a ‘humanitarian superpower’ — making its mark on the world not by fighting wars but by offering shelter to war’s victims. Refugees have arrived here in extraordinary numbers. Over the past 15 years, some 650,000 asylum-seekers made their way to Sweden. Of the 163,000 who arrived last year, 32,000 were granted asylum. Sweden accepts more refugees in proportion to size of population than any other nation in the developed world — when it comes to offering shelter, no one does it better. But when it comes to integrating those we take in (or finding the extra housing, schools and healthcare needed for them), we don’t do so well.

It may be news to the rest of the world, but gang warfare has been a feature of our country for years now. Stockholm has been witness to Dickensian scenes of young pickpockets and thieves playing games of cat-and-mouse with the police, who feel powerless. Until fairly recently, Sweden was admired for its progressive social policies. Today, one in seven voters supports the Sweden Democrats, a populist party until recently reviled in polite Swedish society.

The problems relating to immigration have been building up for years, but the country’s left and right were united in maintaining employment regulations and rent controls that kept immigrants unemployed in ghetto-like suburbs. As a result, we lost valuable time. Three years ago, there were riots in socially deprived areas of Stockholm, and it’s only got worse since then. A parallel society is emerging where the state’s monopoly on law and order is being challenged. ‘Today, the gang environment is — well, I don’t want to exactly call it the Wild West, but something in that direction,’ says Amir Rostami, an authority on Swedish organised crime who teaches at Stockholm University.

Integrating adults into Swedish society has been tricky enough, but a much more difficult problem is how to deal with all the unaccompanied children. During the Iraq war, about 400 children arrived without their parents each year — and all of them needed a place to live, social support and proper schooling. In 2014, when the number of children arriving annually hit 7,000, there were serious questions about how Sweden would cope. Last year, just over 35,000 unaccompanied children registered with the authorities.

The children are every age and arrive from all kinds of countries. Afghans and Somalis are currently the two biggest groups. Then come Syrians, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Moroccans and Eritreans. Some are fleeing war; many are fleeing poverty and misery. Strikingly, boys outnumber girls by about five to one. And it’s far from clear how many may in fact be adults — unlike other countries, Sweden doesn’t test for age. Whatever age the applicant gives is accepted, unless it’s ‘obviously’ untrue. The definition of ‘obvious’ is unclear. During one recent interview on Swedish radio, several asylum-seekers confessed to lying about their age to improve their chances of settlement. One, called Dawood, put it bluntly: ‘If I say I’m grown-up, they’ll deport me.’

The cost of accommodating our child refugees is enormous: £160 per child per day. That could be money well spent, if it worked. There are serious concerns, though, about children falling victim to predatory adults who have lied about their age. Earlier this year, a boy of 12 was raped in refugee accommodation by another refugee who claimed to be 15. A dental X-ray suggested the attacker was closer to 19. Later that month, a 22-year-old Swede (herself the daughter of immigrants) was stabbed to death by one of the refugees she was caring for — another adult claiming to be 15.

Such horrific stories raise the fear that the authorities have lost control. This is reflected in the extraordinary rise of the Sweden Democrats. There have also been a spate of attacks on refugee centres, some of which have been burnt down. For many, this seems like history repeating itself — similar attacks occurred in the 1990s, after a rapid influx of Balkan refugees. Such acts cast a dark shadow over our reputation for tolerance.

A while ago, I spoke to Lasse Siggelin, a social worker living in Gotland, who is alarmed at how many unaccompanied children are being placed in refugee care homes that seem hopelessly unfit for the task. Carers are instructed not to talk about the asylum process, or even to ask about the children’s backgrounds. ‘We can’t ask about their home, or about their parents,’ says Siggelin. ‘But such things occupy 90 per cent of their thoughts.’

Child refugees are sent to Swedish schools, but they struggle to integrate and are sometimes placed in separate groups, because of their vastly different learning needs. It’s pretty hard to bond with your classmates if you have to return every night to a care home. Even if school staff want to help, they seldom have the time or capacity to offer a shoulder to cry on. Instead, the children are directed to scheduled appointments with a child psychiatrist. As Siggelin explains, ‘If we don’t acknowledge the hurt and sadness that is there, then there are always people queuing up prepared to lead them astray.’

Those ‘queuing up’ include drug dealers, pimps, gangmasters and even jihadists. Sweden’s care homes have become a rich source of vulnerable young men who are full of frustration and hopelessness and lacking in direction. They may be open to the temptation of easy rewards, or of a path that they are promised will bring new meaning to their lives. There have been reports of Islamic State recruitment drives, not just in public places, but inside Swedish government programmes. Last year my newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, exposed how some official schemes had been infiltrated by jihadists.

But stories of shocking abuse, the kind that would be front-page news in Britain, are relegated to the inside pages of the Swedish press. Tragically, the reason for this is that there is so much of it. In the last few weeks, we have heard about child prostitutes being pimped out in parking lots, and a Palestinian 15-year-old who, it is feared, was forced into prostitution while living in a care home in Malmo. For some time now, children in care homes have been notoriously easy prey and many of them simply vanish — over the past five years, well over a thousand have done so. These children face a sickeningly high risk of being sucked into a life of crime or even sex slavery. As their abusers well know, there is virtually no chance of anyone coming to look for the ones who go missing.

‘There is basically nothing we can do,’ says the head of Skane border police. ‘In some cases, we don’t even have descriptions of the children. So there is no means of identifying them… no information about relatives. We have nothing to work with.’ Lisa Green, who monitors human trafficking in Malmo, has reported 40 cases of suspected child trafficking to the police over the past few years but says her complaints were not even recorded. ‘Nobody is dealing with human trafficking,’ says Mattias Sigfridsson, head of the police department that deals with missing persons. ‘We have no ability to do that right now — there are no staff.’

In response to the crisis that threatens to overwhelm it, Swedish politics has become more realistic, less romantic. Passports are now being checked on the famous Oresund bridge that links Sweden with Denmark. As a result, the journey time has doubled, horrifying Malmo residents who like to regard their city as a satellite of Copenhagen, and making cross-border business more difficult. These new checks have helped fight other crimes, such as drug dealing and drink driving. (Sweden’s minister for sixth-form education failed a breathalyser test and later resigned.)

And still the authorities struggle to deal with the problem of what to do with migrants whose asylum claims are rejected. Between January and April this year, the Migration Agency handed over some 2,645 cases to the police for deportation. Just 1,255 of these are classified as complete — two thirds were deported by force, while the rest left the country voluntarily. Police estimate they will deport 4,000 people this year, up a third from last year, but not much of a dent in the 22,000 cases currently under consideration. Many, of course, will have been summoned and then suddenly disappeared into the expanding Swedish underworld.

As the refugees have arrived, ordinary Swedes have responded in an extraordinary way; individuals and families have opened up their homes, donated clothes and supplies, invested time and effort. Businesses have also found ways to help child refugees to integrate properly into Swedish society by offering opportunities for work. But with the best will in the world, it’s still a race against time.

‘If you are not prepared, you are unprepared.’ These are the words of Fredrik Reinfeldt, our former prime minister, and perfectly sum up Sweden’s migration crisis. We still hear politicians defiantly claim that our country is a humanitarian superpower — but they don’t do so as often, and they sound distinctly less smug when they do. The Swedish Way might not shine quite as brightly as a beacon to the world. But anyone who wants to find out how not to handle a migration crisis is welcome to pay us a visit.

Tove Lifvendahl is the political editor-in-chief of Svenska Dagbladet.

#sweden #europe #EU #migrant crisis #immigration #politics

[shirlleycoyle]

Wildfire Season is Almost Here, and Coronavirus is Making Us Less Prepared

The immense disruption of coronavirus has made it easy to forget the more regular disruptions that the Western U.S. faces: wildfire season. After a winter of little rain, much of the west is gearing up for another raging fire season this summer. As with many other endeavours, the virus presents a set of serious obstacles to preparing for wildfires and fighting them.

For starters, the push for “social distancing,” or limiting contact to 6 feet away, is nearly impossible when fighting fires, when the standard procedure is to fight fires in groups. Depending on the size of the fire, hundreds or even thousands of firefighters from across the nation may also be deployed to quell a blaze, presenting an enormous risk of spreading the disease.

The 2019 fire season was unusually calm compared to the destruction of 2017 and 2018, though still devastating. It’s likely that a long, hot summer could kick up more historic blazes. It’s hard to say how the coronavirus pandemic will look by peak fire season, but it’s already interrupting normal preparations such as training and forest management.

Spring is when vital forest management happens, as crews set prescribed burns and thin forests in order to reduce the fuel for spreading fires. In much of the West, including California, all prescribed burns on national forest land is postponed until further notice. Without being able to properly manage lands to prevent fires, we’ll have to rely heavily on early suppression of fires.

“We’re thinking about how to transform firefighting in this new environment"

“We’re ultimately going to fail if we keep pouring all of our resources into the initial attack strategy,” said Collins. “We’re always going to be in a shortage during wildfire season.”

The U.S. Forest Service has postponed all in-person training of firefighters until at least April 3, spokesperson Jonathan Groveman said in an email. Instead, they are exploring options such as virtual training, smaller groups, or waiving requirements until training can be completed. The Forest Service is also working to update plans regarding infectious diseases and wildland fire.

For its part, the Bureau of Land Management has released social distance and hygiene tips for firefighters. When responding to fires, the BLM is advocating for using more vehicles to better maintain social distancing and advising all firefighters to carry hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. The guidelines also recommend that group trainings be kept to a minimum and be held outside.

In Washington, which was the first US state with a confirmed Covid-19 case, an April fire training academy was cancelled. These interagency events are held throughout the spring, said Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) commissioner Hilary Franz, and train hundreds of firefighters over multiple days in fire camp-like conditions.

According to Franz, fire camps are the “opposite of social distancing.” Tents are close together, firefighters have to wait in line for food and showers, and ride in vehicles together. The Washington DNR is brainstorming with other agencies what fighting fire may look like in a world where Covid-19 still rages. Franz said they’re considering quarantining firefighters after tours if there’s suspected exposure, testing new firefighters that come from other states and countries as they’re onboarded, and creating social distancing protocols. Still, there’s no real precedent for a disruption like this.

“This is a new world. It’s not one we’ve had to deal with before,” Franz said. “We’re thinking about how to transform firefighting in this new environment.”

Franz said she hopes to have recommendations in place this week. However, in a world currently stretched thin by disaster, asking for an uptick of resources is going to be hard. In the past, states would share resources according to times of most need: once California’s fire season slowed down, firefighters would head up to Washington, for example. Now, fire season lasts much of the year, and the biggest blazes have called for firefighters from as far away as Australia. If Covid-19 still rages this fall, it’ll coincide with fire season in the west and hurricane season in the south and east.

“On a broader sense, this illustrates that once you start stacking disasters and stacking crises, it adds complexity and expense,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. “You just don’t have the bandwidth or the person power to deal with these things that are happening.”

Swain called this an “unbelievable metaphor for climate change,” sped way up. As extreme events start coinciding, societal disparities will become more apparent.

For example, a large wildfire may force evacuations of whole towns. In the past, residents fleeing fire have taken residence in overcrowded shelters or pitched tents in parking lots, responses that seem far higher risk now that the prevailing wisdom is to limit all contact with other people. Those with the means can travel farther from the blaze or stay in hotels, while many will be stranded in close quarters.

Because Covid-19 affects the respiratory system, wildfire smoke is particularly hazardous. High exposure to wildfire smoke has been linked to negative immune responses, potentially weakening the body’s ability to fight off a Covid-19 infection. Mary Prunicki, Director of Air Pollution and Health Research at Stanford University, said that researchers were going to continue researching it, but that fire crews and evacuees with high smoke exposure are more likely to get sick and have that sickness be more severe.

“It's another environmental insult on the body,” Prunicki said.

It’s unclear, at this point, what the changing social order may do to wildfire risk. More people staying inside could limit the amount of fires sparking. However, many public lands are seeing unprecedented visitors right now. Already, some parks are closing to prevent large crowds. If more restless people flock to the forest to cope with social distancing, increased campfires could further exacerbate wildfire risk.

While much of the country is at home, experts recommend ensuring your home is as safe from fire as possible, clearing brush and trimming grass in your yard. That goes along with recommendations already in place to stay home and limit contact.

“It starts with everybody, it’s not just firefighters,” said Scott McLean, a spokesperson for CalFire, California’s firefighting agency. “We all need to provide for our collective wellbeing so that we are prepared to meet the future.”

Wildfire Season is Almost Here, and Coronavirus is Making Us Less Prepared syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[kayawagner]

Fate Horror Toolkit Review

When I was younger, my older siblings continually conspired to scare me. They would hide around corners and jump out at me, force me to watch scary things on TV, and — my favorite — pretend to be dead, waiting for me to run screaming to my mom. I guess what I’m saying is, I’m pretty sure I’ve been sick of jump scares since before I was even in first grade.

Despite this baggage, I still managed to develop a fascination with various horror franchises. When my friends and I were in middle school, we would rent all kinds of scary movies. One of the first movies I watched when my little town got cable was Aliens, and through high school I became at least a little obsessed with the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.

I’m not quite as conversant in modern horror, but when I saw that Evil Hat was releasing a Horror Toolkit for Fate, it got my attention.

The Purple Beast

This review is based both on the PDF of the Fate Horror Toolkit, and the physical copy of the book. The book is 152 pages, and the physical copy is the same size as the standard Fate line, in hardcover.

The interior art is black and white, and matches the theme of the chapter in which the art appears. For example, when the topic is the zombie apocalypse or body horror, the art style is different than when it features Spooky Fun. There are some detailed images of dead bodies, insect creatures, and mutated body parts, but viscera and gore are limited (unless you count shadowy textured areas).

The formatting follows the clear and easy to read style that is present in other Fate books, with clearly bold headers, offset example paragraphs, and lots of bullet points.

Chapter 1: Gazing Into the Abyss

This chapter has an overview of the horror genre, what elements make up a horror-themed game, and a summary of the chapter contents. There are page references to specific rules in this book, and references to sections of the Fate Core rulebook.

This chapter also has a sidebar on the responsible execution of horror, and a two-page spread on safety and consent. Given the subject matter of the book, I think it was a very good move to put this right up front. The “Horror Doesn’t Excuse Being Horrible” paragraph hits about a third of the way through the first page, and you can’t miss it.

Chapter 2: The Raveled Sleeve of Care

This section addresses setting up a horror campaign and making characters that will fit into the horror genre. There is a list of media to consume for inspiration (most of which revolves around sympathetic and flawed characters in a horror story), as well as new optional rules to help reinforce the genre.

The tools presented in this section help build connections to the source of the horror and to give players reasons to compel their own aspects. There are also new rules that revolve around the following:

Enhanced self-compels

Group Fate Pools

Heroic Sacrifice

Legacy Aspects

Hauntings

Group Aspects

Intensity Aspects

Moral Dilemmas

There is a lot of great material here even outside of horror games. Enhanced self-compels work with the group Fate Pools to reinforce the PCs working together against a problem. Heroic sacrifice, legacy aspects, and hauntings all incentivize a PC to accept death as part of the story, while giving them a way to continue to participate in the story. Group aspects dovetail with the rules for group Fate Pools, and intensity aspects introduce a rating system for aspects that tie the character to something potentially horrible or dangerous in the game. Moral dilemmas set up a resolution where X or Y equally hard resolutions are the most obvious ways to resolve the situation, and anything outside of those options automatically becomes more difficult.

Many of these tools highlight the agency of the player by creating rewards for their investment in the horror genre. Rather than just making things harder for the player characters, many of these tools highlight how the players can make life worse for the group to tell a better story, while still giving them some options to nudge the story in each direction.

Chapter 3: Some Scars are Invisible

This chapter addresses the portrayal of the mental stresses that are present in the horror genre. There is another list of media inspiration for horror media dealing with the mental toll of horror, and introduces some rules for portraying the long-term repercussions of trauma on the characters.

Some of the optional new rules include the following:

Trauma Aspects

Coping Conditions

The Mental Toll of Gore

In addition to the game advice and new rules, there is also a thoughtful discussion of mental health and the proper way to utilize it in a game without trivializing it. This includes determining what the trauma was, how that would affect a person, and what they would do to lessen that effect. The emphasis is to do this without trying to find a specific medical condition, which could lead to stereotypical behavior based on a shallow reading of a diagnosis.

Trauma aspects are taken on by a character when something seriously disturbing happens, and coping conditions can be checked to allow the character to continue to function. There are different levels of severity for these conditions, based on the condition rules introduced in the original Fate Toolkit and elaborated on in the Dresden Accelerated game.

The mental toll of gore is a means by which the GM can attack the stress track of characters with the disturbing nature of an environment. It functions as an independent element that has a turn where it attacks, although some character aspects may, optionally, be used to explain why a player is inured to such attacks.

Chapter 4: Who’s Who of the Damned

This section is all about making monsters, and giving example monsters. Like the previous chapters, there is a list of media inspirations, this time focusing on media that has strong and memorable antagonists. There are discussions on how to use monstrous skills or approaches, as well as monstrous conditions, to build threats. The final sections of the chapter deal with body horror including rules for how a player character’s body part can function as a monster. There is an extensive section on The Other as a villain–a societal force that is attempting to subsume or eliminate the PCs if they don’t conform.

There are several fully built example threats, like the Vampire, the Slasher, the Killer Swarm, and the Created. There are also stat blocks and special rules for hands, tongues, hearts, and eyes to function as monsters while still connected to a character. This includes effects that might take place when the body part acts against its host, and what happens if a body part breaks free of its original body. As a brief aside, there are times I really love being part of this hobby.

When discussing The Other as a threat, there is advice about using care in choosing what “other” you are portraying. Because it represents more of a societal force or movement, there is more discussion on how a campaign involving The Other progresses over time.

Chapter 5: We Are All Going To Die

This chapter is about playing in a horror campaign where all the characters will eventually die, and how to facilitate that. The media sources cited as inspirational in this section revolve around horror media featuring doomed protagonists, and there are rules for a countdown clock and how it should function.

When setting up the countdown clock, the players and the GM set up what triggers the clock to tick forward, and what, if anything, rolls the clock back. The assumption is that there will be less causing it to roll back than causing it to move forward.

In a campaign like this, the group sets up what their goal is, so they still might accomplish something before the end. Once the clock ticks off its final segment, everyone is doomed, but the amount of time they have to “wrap things up” will vary based on the length of the campaign.

The discussion of this style of campaign was particularly interesting to me, as I like the concept of having an end game in mind when starting a campaign, and I like the dynamic way that a countdown clock might play into that. It also seems like a tool that could have broader applications than just the horror genre.

Chapter 6: The High Cost of Living

If you ever wanted rules to help model survival horror, this is your chapter. Inspirations cited in this chapter revolve around horror media where survivors have limited resources and ever-present external threats, and the optional rules include consumables, consequences and NPCs, and havens.

Consumables drive a lot of play, since they get used in different circumstances. There are general rules for the number of NPCs in a haven, and how they might be removed from play. Havens get assaulted and damaged, and must be defended and repaired.

The rules for connections between the NPCs and the PCs allow for some of the danger of survival horror to remain present while still having a stable cast of protagonists.

Chapter 7: Horror is the New Pink

Chapter seven is all about managing aspects of horror that overlap with the unique way the genre interacts with assumptions about women. It has the usual inspirational material, and has additional rules for feminine horror aspects, horror points, and several thematically linked scenarios.

Much of the material in the Horror Toolkit gives players agency while incentivizing causing problems for their characters, even beyond what Fate Core normally allows. In this case, characters will have a feminine horror aspect linked to the theme of the campaign. Self-compelling this will give the player a horror point, which acts as an especially effective Fate point.

The generation and use of feminine horror aspects and horror points allow for the player to have greater control over when they might be put in a position of vulnerability, and how much agency they will have in the resolution of the scenario.

The example story arcs explored in this section include the following:

Poisonous Sexuality

Anticipated Blood

Alien Pregnancy

These include setups, feminine horror aspects, stunts, NPCs, current issues, and lingering issues. Lingering issues are a specific aspect that characters in a feminine horror scenario have, which represents past events and how they still affect the player character.

While the chapter has several tools for modeling the story structures described, this is definitely one of the chapters where reading the breakdown of the elements, and the usual progression of these stories, is as interesting as the mechanics reinforcing that story structure.

Chapter 8: Spooky Fun

Compared to the heavy topics in some of the other chapters, chapter 8 looks at a slightly lighter side of horror. The optional rules in this section deal with stories inspired by Goosebumps, Scooby Doo, or Nancy Drew. This includes inspirational media suggestions, a new way to present skills (the report card), conditions, stunts, and new rules like courage and fear. It also defines what being taken out looks like in this genre, and introduces formalized rules for twists in the narrative.

The report card version of skills presents a version of skills that is similar to approaches from Fate Accelerated, with the rating of a subject that can be broadly applied depending on the fiction. Player characters using these options do not have a stress track, but mark several conditions that they can clear over time. The group has a Courage stat that builds as they find clues. It can also go up when players introduce a twist to the story. The courage stat is available when the group is together, but not when they get separated, unless there is a special circumstance.

I like the concept of building the Courage stat, and how finding clues is less about having a convoluted mystery, and more about building resources until the group is ready to confront a threat. It reinforces the genre concept that having all of the kids together for the confrontation is the best way to get a favorable resolution.

Appendix

There are two appendices in the book, and both involve safety tools that can be employed at the table. Appendix 1 deals with the X-Card by John Stavropoulos (which can be found here online), and Appendix 2 deals with the Script Change tool by Brie Sheldon (which can be found here online). While some of the text of both tools is included in the appendices, there is also some additional discussion on why these tools might be useful or preferable for a group.

I appreciate that these tools are both in the book in usable forms. Often, when outside safety tools are referenced in RPG material, it can be easy to not follow up on links presented in the text. In this case, while there is more material on both sites, there is enough to make both tools functional from the book itself.

I have a lot of respect for both tools, but I am especially happy to see Script Change referenced in an RPG safety section, as it is a great tool that I have seen used very well at a table, and Brie Sheldon did a great job designing it. I’m looking forward to more “safety in gaming” sections referencing their work.

Plenty of Stakes, Lots of Garlic

 Many horror stories manage to be scary or impactful even when they are using established tropes. This toolkit does a great job of explaining how to use those tropes to maximum effect. 

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The tools in this book are useful for a horror game, but many of them, like the group Fate Pool, heroic sacrifice, and trauma aspects, can be used for games that aren’t explicitly in the horror genre. The discussion of doomed campaigns, survival horror, and feminine horror, as well as the outline of The Other and how it progresses in a game, provide strong campaign frameworks. Almost all the tools provided have a strong, built-in aspect of agency to them.

Should I Have Invited Them In?

If there is any downside to the book, it’s that the tools may work better for creating a good horror story than being immersed in a good horror story. There has been discussion about how well Fate can do horror in the past, and while the tools in this book incentivize players to make the decisions that will put their players in harm’s way, for some players, knowing that they can pump the brake may drop them out of the immersion they were previously hoping to experience.

Recommended — If the product fits in your broad area of gaming interests, you are likely to be happy with this purchase.

If you are even a little interested in Fate or in horror as a genre, it is unlikely you will regret this purchase. In addition to providing a wide range of useful Fate related tools, the discussions on genre and campaign structure are going to be of broad appeal, even for people not running their game using Fate.

If you are the kind of player that is more focused on the flow of the story and hitting the right beats, you may appreciate this a bit more than if you want to be immersed from your character’s point of view, but even in that instance, many horror stories manage to be scary or impactful even when they are using established tropes. This toolkit does a great job of explaining how to use those tropes to maximum effect.

What do you think of horror RPGs? Do you need to feel scared for them to be successful? What horror games have done this the best? What Fate toolkits would you like to see in the future? I’m interested to find out all of that and more, so please leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear from you.

Fate Horror Toolkit Review published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

[smallgirls]

Senior Account Executive, Consumer/Tech PR (NY)

Mission of the Job

To increase visibility + earned media impressions for startup clients and established brands alike at the intersection of consumer lifestyle, food and technology. Current and past accounts of this team include retail disruptors like thredUP & Rent the Runway and innovative food clients like Plated and Graze.

Through creative storytelling and campaign creation, this position will be responsible for furnishing original strategies that successfully secure tier-one press results and originating and producing periodic creative concepts poised for virality.

Role Responsibilities & Outcomes

STRATEGY

Work in tandem with account lead to deliver long-term and monthly PR strategies that achieve client approval

Each PR strategy demonstrates an understanding of client goals & creative thinking (to achieve ownable moments for clients that have the potential for virality or original coverage that could not be achieved through mere seasonal/product angles alone)

Effectively collaborate with supporting team members to ensure client materials are furnished under deadline & the equivalent of the “100” emoji 

Deliver both internal & client-facing insights with an eye that captures quantitative and qualitative results - acknowledging major wins, lessons learned, and moments of impact delivered by the team

Oversee junior team members to produce campaign recaps, monthly activity reports, and case studies that support new business endeavors

Work with manager to spot trends in team results and proactively suggest methods of improvement with regard to how results are both achieved as well as packaged & communicated back to clients

Contribute to new business as relevant client inquiries arise 

Contribute to company as a whole through participating in brainstorms and working across teams to lend a hand or creative idea as required

MEDIA RELATIONS

Deliver in-depth top tier client coverage with an emphasis on digital and broadcast media with experience and relationships with both consumer and business media

Engineer & secure multiple pieces of press coverage for clients monthly, whether through announcements or evergreen storytelling.

Surface new storylines across top-tier relevant publications for clients.

Develop “beat” relationships with media, converting reporters into go-to contacts for the brands under your direction

MANAGEMENT

Lead strategist, driver & day-to-day contact for multiple clients

Expected to advise clients on short and long term strategy, managing expectations and appropriately setting goals, timelines and deliverables 

Manage in all directions to make sure everything runs smoothly and on track (up to manager, down to junior team members, across to clients and fellow SGPR gang members)

Provide consistent guidance and advice to supporting team members

Share daily “Plan of Attack” with manager to align on priorities 

Regroup weekly with manager to provide regular updates and tackle challenges  

Keep Account Supervisor up to date on any client requests, challenges, high-level strategy recommendations or other details as necessary

Communicate professionally and personably with clients: Client-lead on accounts, expected to drive client meetings and work directly with clients & their partners regarding strategy, opportunities, media materials and more.

Can set and meet deadlines for self & juniors and bubble up deadlines to others to ensure the larger team does so as well

Competencies — Examples Include

PR Expertise -- 4-6+ years in media relations, corporate communications, or public relations with client leadership experience and proven, warm reporter relationships. 

Quick, Critical Thinking -- Demonstrates an ability to absorb new information and draw insightful conclusions on the fly.

Adaptability -- Adjusts quickly to changing client priorities; copes and responds supportively to complexity and thrives on tackling new challenges. 

Excellent Presentation Skills -- Speaks and writes articulately and efficiently in all forms of communication; presents ideas with confidence and enthusiasm.

Savvy Relationship Manager -- Can convey to clients or colleagues why a suggested idea might not be effective from a PR perspective (or, pressworthy) while thinking on one’s feet to present alternative solutions.

Culture Bridge -- Knows about trends, communities, and events before others, generating campaign suggestions that connect these emerging concepts to client initiatives.

Organizationally Strong -- Plans and delegates in a productive manner, focusing on key priorities.

Efficient -- Able to work quickly without sacrificing work quality.

Self-starter -- Exhilarated by the opportunity to own entire projects and assignments with comfort being autonomous.

Creative -- Loves coming up with new and experimental ways for everything from pitch angles to events to storytelling through brand partnerships.

Proactive -- Acts & suggests without needing to be explicitly told what to do. Brings fresh ideas and improvement processes to the table.

Detail oriented -- Can spot a typo a mile away, diligent with formatting, double checks everything twice and routinely hits deadlines.

Strong Work Ethic & High Standards -- Willing to personally dedicate hard work and additional hours to complete a job to one’s own high standards. Expects nothing short of the best from self and team. 

About Small Girls

Small Girls PR is a unique communications firm, championing a personal approach to media relations while leveraging new media heavy hitters, stunts & creative campaigns to build buzz among consumers and influencers alike.

Founded in 2010, Small Girls and its staff are digital natives who know how to speak to their tech-savvy peers on behalf of brands. By identifying narratives that are both mindful of trends in media as well as out-of-the-box, the firm has become the agency of record for large brands and helped startup clients reach global audiences.  The founders have been featured speakers on the topics of earned media and influencer marketing at Harvard Business School, Forbes’ CMO excursion, UPenn’s Wharton School of Business and more.

Other accolades for the firm include:

Business Insider’s Top 50 Tech PRs

BuzzFeed’s Top Role Models for 20-Somethings

Effie Marketing Award Winners

Forbes’ 30 under 30

Forbes’ Top 15 Women-Led Startup Companies

Gary Vaynerchuk’s Top 3 Companies to Watch

Marie Claire’s Top 5 Young Guns

NY Observer’s “Power 50 List,” Top 3 Tech PR agencies

Marie Claire’s Top 5 Young Guns

PR Week’s Innovation 50

Well + Good, Companies with Best Perks

The agency is up to 40+ employees and growing 50% year over year, making this a great opportunity to get in with a rapidly growing firm - with the ability to palpably architect the company’s future no matter what level you are hired at.  

Other things of particular note:

One-to-one reporter communication. This means no mass BCC, no press releases, and no mail merge -- ever!  

401(k): Small Girls will contributes 3% of your annual salary into your retirement savings fund, whether you contribute for the 2017 year or not. This is on top of your base salary, rather than out of it, so you’ll receive your total compensation plus an additional 3% equivalent of your annual salary into your retirement savings portfolio.

Healthcare coverage: Small Girls offers multiple plan choices so that Smalls of all lifestyles and stages can choose which is best suited to them. For at least one of these plans, Small Girls contributes 100% of employee health monthly and scales to 80% of contribution, depending on the plan you choose. Huzzah! 

Summer Fridays, Vacation, Sick Days, and Preventative Care Days, oh my!: Vacation days at Small Girls increase with tenure/position. Sick days are separate, and while still paid time off, do not eat into employee vacation allotment; we’d prefer our team focus on getting better and not sweat one less day of fun in the sun. In addition, Small Girls is proud to be one of the companies that participates in an annual Unsick Day - a national movement to encourage employees to take dedicated time off to tend to self-care and their health stress-free.

Data plan contribution, commuter pre-tax compensation, and media networking reimbursement: We’re investing in you doing your job.

Happy working environment: Fun & productive workplace, non-competitive (employees are recognized for securing placements for clients outside of their direct domain & helping other hub teams), everyone held accountable for supporting the team.

Strong Company Culture: Group Events (bowling! group yoga! themed apparel days! rock climbing excursions!), celebrations (birthdays! accomplishments! holidays!), employees empowered to maintain & institute culture activities (everyone picks up a piece of the SGPR pie at their own interest to put their stake in making this company the best place to be a part of).

Manager of your own destiny: Voting on clients, ability to suggest & set new policy/standards for company, skill-sharing to co-learn across teams- from event production to digital strategy to blogger relations.

To Apply

Please fill out this form and we’ll be in touch!

#careers #publicrelations #small girls pr #prjob #hiring #consumer

[ramialkarmi]

The internet is such a mess that brands are hiring executives to make sure their ads don't end up next to objectionable content

Marketers are under increasing pressure to keep their ads away from objectionable or offensive content on the Web. And now many are appointing 'brand safety officers.' 

While GroupM established its dedicated global brand safety practice led by in 2016, others including Bank of America and IPG Mediabrands' UM have recently followed suit.

More broadly, while some players like JPMorgan Chase are developing internal mechanisms to cope with brand safety, industry trade organizations are also looking to organize to take on the issue.

The 4A's today announced the formation of the Advertising Protection Bureau where media agencies will collectively tackle brand safety.

Big advertisers continue to find their ads running in unsavory places on the internet. So they're putting on a show of force.

Increasingly, rather than relying on media partners or third parties to keep their brands safe, marketing companies are appointing executives and/or full teams dedicated to solving these challenges.

GroupM established a dedicated global brand safety practice back in 2016. Now others, including Bank of America and IPG Mediabrands' UM, have recently followed suit.

"Clients are always talking about brand safety, and that’s not something that's going to go away," Joshua Lowcock, UM's newly appointed global brand safety officer, told Business Insider. "We’re trying to get ahead of the curve because it's not client or marketer-specific issue, it impacts the whole industry."

The brand safety battle shows no signs of slowing down

Marketers have dealt with nagging problems such as fraudulent ads and ads landing in unsavory corners of the web for years.

But the issue of brand safety came to a head last year, due to a spate of disasters on YouTube and Facebook, which made global headlines. From ISIS videos to footage of dead bodies and child-exploiting clips, marketers have found their ads next to all sorts of unsavory content online. 

With the problem only becoming more pronounced, brands have stepped up to confront the challenge head-on and come up with pre-emptive solutions to take charge of not only their messaging, but how and where they are actually being delivered.

Lowcock's responsibilities, for instance, include protecting brands’ ads from running in inappropriate contexts, putting into effect global brand safety protocols for UM clients and working with partners to ensure accountability to these standards.

Meanwhile Bank of America is tasking its brand safety officer (who is yet to be named), with protecting the brand and its customers, as well as ensuring that it gets what it pays for, according to The Drum.

"The Brand Safety landscape is multi-dimensional, rapidly changing and has direct impact on marketers’ ability to effectively deploy digital marketing communications," said Joe Barone, managing partner Americas of brand safety at GroupM. 

According to a survey that GumGum released in early 2018, 75% of brands reported to having at least one unsafe brand exposure in the past year, yet 15% said that they didn't use any brand safety measures at all.

Brands are finally waking up and setting the right checks and balances in place, said Ben Plomion, chief marketing officer at GumGum. And it's only getting tougher.

"Advertisers now have to worry about their ads being placed next to divisive and fake news, in addition to the usual suspects like pornography, gambling and drugs," said Plomion.

Ccompanies are wading through the complex world of online advertising using different tactics

The world of online advertising is complex and tackling brand safety is no easy feat.

A chief brand safety officer must not only devise and help the company understand key safety practices such as which publishers are safe to advertise on for which brands, but also be the link between the company and industry groups according to Barone.

"In this environment, brand safety and security cannot be a collateral duty of everyone yet a responsibility of no one," said Dallas Lawrence, svp and head of communications for OpenX. "Quality and safety need to be baked in from the beginning, with brands empowered to make systemic changes to how they do business and who they partner with."

For JPMorgan Chase, instead of creating a dedicated role of a brand safety officer, the company says it has made brand safety an overall priority for its internal marketing team.

For example, its internal programmatic and media-buying teams developed their own proprietary algorithm in-house when the YouTube scandal hit.

"All advertisers would support new initiatives to support strong brand safety; whether this role is supported across multiple teams, a single team or a single officer depends on the structure of that organization," said Carrie Lindsay, vp of media and channel strategy at JPMorgan Chase. "We have found value in centralized functions, but whether it needs to be an exec would depend on the structure of the organization."

On the other hand, big ad agencies are working together to attack the challenge. The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's), for instance, today announced the formation of the Advertising Protection Bureau where media agencies will collectively tackle brand safety.

Members of this bureau will notifying the group when they spot ads in unsafe environments.After risks are flagged, they will be investigated by agency-client teams.

"When it comes to brand and consumer safety, media agencies have to put competition aside," said Louis Jones, evp of media and data at the 4A's. "Brand safety and the negative impact it has on consumer trust is an issue that affects everyone."

Join the conversation about this story »

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