The Misery of Travel Over the Holidays

Long ago I vowed never to fly or drive over Thanksgiving after years of flight delays and traffic jams.  Christmas has a larger time frame but I have found that flying on Christmas Eve, later in the day, and returning on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day to be rather seamless days to travel to see loved ones.  It has worked well for many years and hopefully in 2016.

How the ASA Used Social Science to Influence Policy

 



A staff supervisor at the St. Francis Animal Rescue of Venice, Florida, Patricia Lynn Hough received her PhD in sociology from Freie Universitaet Berlin, where she graduated magna cum laude. Patricia Lynn Hough is also a member of the American Sociological Association (ASA), where she serves on the committee on women's issues.

Established in 1905, the ASA is the premier organization for sociologists in the United States. With more than 13,000 members, the association is committed to advancing sociology not only as a profession in the service of public welfare but also as a scientific discipline.

The ASA is an active entity that uses social science to effect change. One recent example is the organization's key role in influencing the US Supreme Court’s June 2016 ruling in the affirmative action case of Fisher v. the University of Texas at Austin. The case challenged the school's admission process, which used race as a factor in deciding acceptance.

For its part, the ASA supported the university in this admission model, citing scientific research that listed the educational benefits of a diverse student body, including better classroom environments and a decline in prejudice. The Supreme Court eventually sided with the university, allowing it to continue its current admission system.

The Parliament of the World's Religions

 


Longtime medical professional Patricia Lynn Hough is currently semiretired but applies her expertise as a supervisor at St. Francis Animal Rescue. Outside of her professional endeavors, Patricia Lynn Hough has volunteered with several nonprofit organizations and charities. Among these, she was a volunteer and attendee of the 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions, held in Barcelona, Spain.

The Parliament of the World’s Religions is a global interfaith movement that began in 1893 as part of an effort to foster religious dialogue among all faiths. In 1988, the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions was founded as a nonprofit organization to promote this mission.

The Barcelona, Spain, parliament drew over 9,000 attendees from more than 70 countries. The event was held July 7, 2004, through a partnership between the Universal Forum of Cultures and UNESCO. The event focused on providing attendees with strategies to work toward a better world, while also promoting peace, justice, and living together in harmony. In addition to the 2004 event in Spain, parliaments have been held in locations in the United States, South Africa, and Mexico.

Florida Film Festival Welcomes Filmmakers to Participate in 2017 Event

Based in Venice, Florida, Dr. Patricia Lynn Hough oversees the work of volunteers and facilitates adoption events in her role as staff supervisor at St. Francis Animal Rescue. In her spare time, Dr. Patricia Lynn Hough enjoys going to independent film festivals.

Over the last 25 years, the Florida Film Festival has celebrated the work of short, independent, and feature filmmakers from across the globe. Not only does the event allow these films to premiere to new audiences, but it also serves as an avenue through which those in the movie industry can directly interact with their fans. Most importantly, the Florida Film Festival is an Oscar-qualifying event in the Live Action, Animated, and Documentary Short categories. 

From April 8-17, 2017, the non-profit arts organization Enzian will host the festival. Throughout the event, attendees will have the chance to participate in nearly 200 activities and film screenings in between visits to Enzian’s Eden Bar. The festival welcomes submissions in both the short and feature-length film categories, over which judges will preside during the 2017 event. Those who receive enough votes from the audience and jury will receive festival awards. Grand Jury Award winners in the short film categories will qualify for entry into the Academy Awards.

Popular Diving Spots in Florida

Dr. Patricia Lynn Hough serves as the staff supervisor at St. Francis Animal Rescue, a role she has held since retiring from the field of social work and psychiatry. In this position, she oversees all adoptions, volunteers, and medical care of the cats and kittens at the shelter. In her free time, Dr. Patricia Lynn Hough enjoys scuba diving.

As a peninsula, Florida boasts a large share of great scuba spots. These areas expend along the state’s coasts and down into the Florida Keys. Below are some of Florida’s top scuba diving spots:

1. Kings Bay: a tranquil bay full of freshwater springs and plenty of fish, Kings Bay features warm water that makes for a comfortable diving experience. Divers regularly enjoy the area’s various rock formations and caverns, but the primary attraction of the spot are the manatees who often enjoy relaxing in the warmth.

2. Devil’s Den: located near Gainesville, Devil’s Den is viewed by many as one of the best cave diving experiences in the state. It was the source of many early settlers’ beliefs that the area was a gateway to hell and is now home to fossils that date back over two million years. The warm-water diving spot is also home to the bones of a 7,500-year-old man.

3. Copenhagen Wreck: a 325-foot steamship, the Copenhagen ran aground in 1900 in Pompano Beach after hitting a rock ledge roughly half a mile offshore. The wreckage sank in the shallow water and eventually became a popular diving spot. Now a Florida Archaeological Preserve, divers can still enjoy exploring the ship’s remains.

The El Paso Center for Children’s Runaway Emergency Shelter Program

 

The staff supervisor at St. Francis Animal Rescue, a no-kill kitten and cat shelter in Florida, Dr. Patricia Lynn Hough is a former psychiatrist and social worker who is semi-retired. Throughout her career, Dr. Patricia Lynn Hough has been involved with a variety of charities and community efforts, including the El Paso Runaway Shelter, where she served on the board of directors.

The Runaway Emergency Shelter in El Paso is a program maintained by the El Paso Center for Children, an organization that provides homes and specialized care to families and children in need. Although the shelter is a residential facility, the program strives to prevent family separations and keep youth safe when they are away from home. In the long run, it aims to reunite runaways with their families and ensure long-term stability. To this end, the El Paso Runaway Emergency Shelter combines community education, crisis intervention, skills training, and counseling to help youth.

The shelter serves youth between the ages of 10 and 17 who have run away from home. Staying on a short-term basis, residents go through intensive counseling in family, group, and individual sessions. Residents are given family-style meals in the morning before they prepare for their assigned chores, school, counseling sessions, and workshops. These chores and requirements are meant to show youth that they can succeed in life while also building discipline and reducing such risk factors as substance abuse.