Podcasts about q so

Mark Beckwith, N5OT,  grew up in Southern California, with amateur radio's most famous television producer, Dave Bell, W6AQ, who was his amateur radio mentor in the 1970s.  Dave opened a lot of doors to Mark, allowing Mark to build up his contesting and DX on-the-air skills. Mark was a professional opera singer for over 30 years, leading to some interesting conversation both on and off the QSO Today microphone.  N5OT is my QSO Today.

Augie, “Gus” Hansen, KB0YH,  always had an interest in radio, but did not get his first ticket until he was in his mid-thirties.  Gus enjoys operating the 80 meter nets and building antennas, now especially STL or Small Transmitting Loop, also known as magnetic loop antennas.  And as this is the 20th Anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Gus has his own story in this QSO Today.

Sara Goldrick-Rab, professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University and founding director of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, and Clyde Wilson Pickett, vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion at the University of Pittsburgh, discuss pandemic-related inequities in higher education.   FASKIANOS: Welcome to CFR's Higher Education Webinar. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at the Council on Foreign Relations. And we welcome you and are happy to have you with us today. Our meeting is on the record and the video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org/Academic. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. So we're delighted to have Sara Goldrick-Rab and Clyde Wilson Pickett with us today to talk about pandemic-related inequities in higher education. We've shared their bios with you, so I'll just give a few highlights. Dr. Goldrick-Rab is professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University and founding director of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice in Philadelphia. She's also the chief strategy office for emergency aid at Edquity, a student financial success and emergency aid company, and founder of Believe in Students, a nonprofit focused on distributing emergency aid. She's known for her innovative research on food and housing insecurity in higher education and for her work on making public higher education free. Dr. Pickett is vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion at the University of Pittsburgh. In his role, he provides leadership for university-wide comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. Previously Dr. Pickett served as chief diversity officer for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. And prior to that, he held positions with several other colleges and universities, including the Community College of Allegheny County, Ohio Northern University, Morehead State University, and the University of Kentucky. So thank you both for joining us today. You know, we really want to have a—dig into this conversation, the primary ways the pandemic has contributed to inequities in higher education that were already there, but we've seen the gap widen. So, Dr. Goldrick-Rab, it would be great if you could begin by talking about the financial challenges, including non-tuition related challenges, related expenses that you've seen pre-pandemic and now with the pandemic. And then we'll go to Dr. Pickett. GOLDRICK-RAB: Great. Yes. Well, thank you so much for having me. And it's great to be here virtually with you all today. It's a real honor. And I'm delighted to be here with Clyde and looking forward to this conversation. This topic of what students go through in order to pay for college is something that I spent about twenty years studying. And a lot of what we have learned over that time is that the challenges are a lot more complicated and a lot more substantial than simple numbers, like the net price of college or the amount of financial aid, would have you believe. So even prior to the pandemic, we saw that students were, for example, having trouble because what the college said it would cost to go there is inclusive of living expenses. And what a college estimates for living expenses is often off. So for example, right, if a student is living at home with their family, the assumption might be that the family is not charging rent. But a lot of students were, in fact, paying rent while living with their families. So one key thing that was challenging was information and, you know, just a good sense of what one had to budget for. A second really big challenge is that the financial aid system was really set up to support a fraction of college students, not to support the majority. And as result, there's a lot of paperwork required. There's a lot of hoops to jump through in order to be able to get and keep financial aid. And, frankly, there's only a limited amount of money. And so the financial aid, even before the pandemic, was leaving students way short, especially when it came to grants. And that's one of the main reasons that we saw the big increase in loans. The other thing is that the financial aid system is heavily bureaucratic. It moves very slowly. And so when a student has an unexpected expense or a shortfall—you know, a car breaks down—it is very hard to get that money quickly using standard financial aid. Another big challenge, it has to do with what happened to people's families, right? So the status of American families over the last twenty years, and the extent to which they can't actually make ends meet, the extent to which they can't survive an unexpected expense themselves, means that a lot of college students come from settings where there isn't anybody there to actually be able to help them in that way. They can provide love, and they can provide support, and they can talk to them and be supportive of, you know, what they're doing. But the idea that every student coming to college has two parents with good incomes who are able to step up and help, that's been an outdated assumption for a very long time. And of course, that also maps onto significant changes in the racial composition of higher education, into the gender composition, right, the class composition of higher education, and so on. Another big issue has to do with working. And working during college is actually the backbone of financial aid packages. Students are mostly assumed that they're going to need to work, and they do need to work. And 70 percent of students were working before the pandemic, and the vast majority of students were trying to find work but couldn't find it. So that was really hard in a labor market where the minimum wage didn't, you know, pay particularly well and where, let's be honest, employers really want flexibility and they're not particularly impressed with students' needs to attend class, for example, at given times of the day. So that, on top of state disinvestment for higher education, which has led a lot of institutions to shift the burden for paying for college onto students, was what thinks looked like before the pandemic. And then the pandemic struck. And we already had gaps in the system. We already had big financial holes for many, many students. And it did a lot of things. It made it harder for institutions that needed to offer students a lot more financial aid or a lot more emergency aid but didn't have the support available, that don't have big endowments. When the federal government stepped up, that was good. But somebody actually has to give out the money. And there wasn't a lot of money to provide for that additional staffing and infrastructure to actually get money to students quickly. That's a lot of work. So one of the results is that we find that an average time it takes to get a student emergency aid is about fourteen days. Which is way out of line when you consider that what happens to people in an emergency is they need money fast. Another thing that happened, of course, is that jobs for students have become a lot harder to find, although it's also been complicated by the fact that employers report they can't find people to work there. But the kinds of jobs that students are comfortable being in—meaning they feel safe, that work with their work schedules, and that pay a decent wage—are still really hard for many of them to find. Another challenge, of course, is that many of these students have family responsibilities. So more than one in four students in the United States has a child of their own. So the things that have happened to our workforce as schools closed and parents had to take care of kids happened to our students too. And to the extent that families became sick or, you know, there was a need for caretaking, students had to do that as well. So in all of the ways that affect regular people in American life—in terms of their financial instability, the volatility, the unexpected expenses—things were hard before and things are even harder now. FASKIANOS: Thank you very much. Dr. Pickett, I'd like to go over to you now to talk about the challenges that you've seen, obviously with the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and strategies that you could offer as we look ahead. PICKETT: Absolutely. Well, certainly I want to take the opportunity to extend my thanks for allowing me to be with you, and to be with our colleagues, and of course to share time with Sara. It's an honor and a privilege. Certainly, one of the things that we need to prioritize is that the current crisis has magnified inequities that have been with us for a long time. And as Sara notes, a number of these things have been present. And so as we think about the impact of this pandemic, they've exposed future, or I should say, current and more pronounced vulnerabilities that already existed. And they impact our populations beyond what we realize. So we put specific attention, as we should, on our students. But to be mindful that these vulnerabilities and specifically the impact of inequity impacts our colleagues. Certainly, that's true for our staff of different designations, particularly those who are economically fragile and who are on the frontlines, as well as our colleagues who are faculty. And to think about how we can't allow this crisis to be an excuse for how we prioritize equity and how we move a strategic agenda forward. So I wanted to be intentional about leading with that. It's an opportunity for us to affirm our commitment and our responsibility to addressing inequities broadly speaking across the institutions that make up higher education. In terms of prioritizing specific areas, I think that inequity has been most pronounced in terms of the areas of student support, more specifically thinking about holistic student support and how we're advancing and thinking collectively about the academic support as well as the broader considerations for how we support our students, the academic priorities of institutions and how we position them front and center. As we think about the responsibility to provide support for faculty who have to pivot to online exchange and instruction, how do we provide intentional support to meet the needs of different learners and to prioritize that beyond just a compliance lens, and to think about how accessibility and digital accessibility had to be front in consideration—a front and center consideration, I should say—for the work that we do. A part of this work, as we think about broad inequities, also is about the work in terms of thinking about the human capital of our institutions. I mentioned just briefly the disproportionate impact that we've—for frontline staff and individuals of different designation who are advancing work, but also to think about what it means in terms of being the caretaker of a loved one or significant other or child who has a health challenge or has been impacted by the pandemic. And more specifically to think about the childcare considerations that are placed on our colleagues and, as Sara pointed out, certainly our students as well. This broad conversation that I think is important for us to think about in terms of the broad DEI agenda and the long-term ramifications are for us to think about funding considerations as well as the academic priorities for the future. We've seen a number of conversations manifest around the country about learning loss and the impact long term in terms of access of higher education, and to mindful of what that means for vulnerable and populations that have been traditionally underrepresented, underserved, and locked out of higher education. So we need to be mindful of that specific impact. It is a necessity that we prioritize inclusion in terms of how we move this work forward. We know loud and clear that the pandemic has further illuminated issues of discrimination, bias, and xenophobia. We've seen that with the uptick in anti-Asian violence around the country, more pronounced incidents of growth in White supremacist groups around the country. And to think about how institutions can take a more proactive approach in creating inclusive spaces on campuses and online, as instruction has pivoted in different ways, and for us to prioritize that. Campuses must be intentional about thinking about the holistic needs our students, the basic needs our students, and to prioritize mental health support and technology, as all of those areas have been escalated for consideration. Certainly, to be mindful of balancing safety as a front and center consideration for how we prioritize inclusion is part of our work. And to think about how we prioritize funding allocation for different opportunities to impact populations has to be a consideration as we think about the strategic equity agenda. So I offer those considerations as we begin our discussion and, of course, look forward to delving into more of them, as well as the questions that might come from our colleagues. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. Thank you very much. Let's go to all of you now for your questions. You can either raise your hand or you can type your question in the Q&A box and I'll read it. If you do so there, though, please state your institutional affiliation so that we know where you are, gives us the context for the conversation. So I'm going to first go to a good colleague, Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome. Over to you. Q: OK. Yeah. Good afternoon. I'm Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome. And I'm a professor of political science at Brooklyn College. One of the concerns that I have is the mental health effects on students, and actually all of us—(laughs)—but really on the students, especially students who do not—who are not traditional students. You know, and so they don't have as many resources available to them. So I was wondering what your insights are on this issue and what could be done institutionally and collectively to address this issue. PICKETT: I'll weigh in just quickly here, and Sara, of course, look forward to your comments as well. As a queued up at the beginning, I think this is a front and center consideration as we think about the strategic equity agenda. Loud and clear we've heard directly from students that mental health is an area of priority. Before we were in the pandemic the request for additional support and for campuses all around the country was a front and center consideration, how we put particular attention and, more importantly, how we resourced mental health support was an area of rising consideration. And for colleagues who work directly in student affairs and student support, we know that this has always been there. But as we continue to navigate this pandemic, it continues to be an even greater area of consideration as we think about the impact, particularly on communities that have been most impacted, and particularly thinking about Black and brown communities, and other economically fragile communities, in terms of the need for additional mental health support, and in areas and certain situations where those communities don't necessarily always connect with mental health support. So that's another consideration. I think campuses that are most proactive, and higher education institutions that are most proactive are putting in specific resources to continue to build out support for mental health support. And for institutions that are less well-prepared for that, I think having alliances with broader institutions and to think about how we can leverage collective support is the answer for how we get at this. I want to be clear. I think we have a responsibility certainly to meet the needs of our students. But I don't want us to miss the opportunity in terms of what we're hearing loud and clear from our colleagues who are faculty and staff at institutions. Burnout is something in terms of climate surveys and assessments that our colleagues are communicating with us loud and clear. And so we have to be mindful that we have to take care of the individuals that take care of our students. So that's another part or a level of this that I think we have to keep at a front consideration. So absolutely I appreciate the question and note that we have to put additional resources and think about strategic collaboration across institution types to move this work forward, but to also think about what that means for our staff and faulty in support as well. GOLDRICK-RAB: I agree. I would say that we have to keep in mind that many institutions don't have any dollars to spare, and that clearly this is going to require federal support. And I think that even as we're sitting here right now there is discussion of a package. You know, the reconciliation is going on. And one piece of that package is $9 billion for student supports. And I think the question about the prioritization of those funds and where institutions plan to spend those funds, if they are to come—if they were to become reality, is a critical part of the conversation. You know, the mental health needs of students across the United States were greatest at the nation's community colleges before the pandemic. And those are the places that had the least level of supports in place. And it wasn't from lack of recognition of the problem; it was from lack of money. And so we have to acknowledge that we already had profound inequities, we already had mental health crises. The Healthy Minds Study has been documenting these things for years. And, yes, the current situation's making it worse. I do want to point out, though, that there are two dimensions to this current situation. One is the pandemic and the effects of the social isolation. The second is the effect of this virus. The Hope Center recently released, to my knowledge, the only study out there on the effect of the virus on college students. And our analyses across about a hundred thousand students across the nation show that it seems that having been infected with this virus is associated with increased anxiety, depression, and food insecurity. And I'm concerned, frankly, that a number of our institutions are not doing anything to allow students to disclose if they have been affected, so that we could direct more support to them. Now, I understand we can't require it—and, you know, there's a big distinction. But these students are at real risk of potentially long COVID effects, and so are staff and faculty. And I think that it is not only urgent that we adjust these challenges, but that we also do the triage that, unfortunately, we have to do because we have limited resources, and perhaps focus them on the populations that have been infected at the highest rates. Which, of course, include Black and brown and indigenous students, and also include student parents, and also include student athletes at very, very high rates. And I think that we'd better attend to it, or we're going to see a lot of ongoing problems. FASKIANOS: Thank you. Sara, I would like to get the link for that survey, and we can circulate it to the group. And any other resources that both of you would like us to share we will follow up with an email. So I'm going to go next to Lucy Dunderdale Cate. And please unmute yourself. Q: Hi. My name is Lucy Dunderdale Cate. I'm with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I wanted to get your thoughts on just how for leadership, you know, for chancellors, for presidents, how should they be communicating to students that are dealing with these issues? And particularly thinking about it—you know, students, but faculty and staff as well, and particularly being sensitive to that kind of toxic positivity that so often is easy for leaders to do. At the same time, wanting to still be encouraging and to be, you know, we can do this together feeling, but not being toxically positive. Would just love to get your thoughts on that. GOLDRICK-RAB: So my team is very taken with the research on empathy and care. And I think that a lot of folks often think that that is, you know, kind of glossing over, or maybe just too touchy-feely. But it's a very effective approach. And what it really means is starting by understanding your students as humans before you think about them as students. Just like we want our doctors to think about as humans before they think about us as patients. It changes the conversation. And what that means is that if you have important information to share with the students that you start with an open acknowledgement that this is a really tough time, right? That we don't gloss over that or skip past that. That we do give them many, many, many openings to be able to speak to somebody—whether that's a peer-to-peer, right, whether that's speak to a professional, whatever that is. And that we continue to not just—it's important, frankly, that we don't just cheerlead and push people, I think as you might be alluding to, towards, you know, just keep going, just stay in, everything is fine, but openly acknowledge that everybody right now is really slogging through it and that coping is incredibly difficult. And I think that the one other piece is that, in my view, this starts with leadership. This really is not effective and cannot happen if the president doesn't embrace it, because it really trickles down from there, frankly. And it has to be in multiple places. So this should be reflected in a statement that's on every syllabus, right? It should show up on the management system, it should show up in correspondence. You know, anything that the institution can do to remind students that they get it. Cutting red tape right now, right? Removing more bureaucracy, relieving and getting out of any kinds of requirements that are not necessary—all of those things are human-centered things. PICKETT: I appreciate everything that Sara offered. And I double down on that in terms of thinking about the senior administrative approach to this. Certainly, there exists consultative means to engage students, and I think we utilize those. Having had the opportunity to work on different kinds of campuses, I do think it's mindful for us to be attentive of the populations that don't easily have ready access to senior administration. Having had the opportunity to serve at a community college, quite often we know that there is a more guided path to get directly to student input and feedback. But I think it's critical to use the necessary means to get directly to students. I think the intentionality that Sara points out in terms of having empathetic messages communicated in different mediums is critical. Whether we're using social media, whether we're doing that on our syllabi, whether we're doing that specifically as it relates to the messages that we put out to the campus community, I think there has to be consistency in the chorus that speaks to the empathy of the now and how we're working to navigate this together. The toxic positivity that you referenced I think is prevalent at a number of institutions. And for us to be mindful of what that means—one of the ways that we were able to execute that here at the University of Pittsburgh was a townhall series that we put in place for all stakeholders called This is Not Normal, to just identify collectively as a community that what we're experiencing is absolutely abnormal, and to talk about what that experience was, and to think about collectively how we could move as a community to respond to the needs and to have ongoing triage and collective concern and outreach by all constituents. And I think to do that, and to be attentive to those populations that are most removed from senior administration, is something that we have to do. So utilizing our colleagues at all levels, specifically looking at peer mentoring models that offer opportunity to have communication with students, and to think about starting those messages during the orientation process is a front and center consideration to move that agenda forward. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to go next to Pearl Robinson. Q: So, Pearl Robinson. I do African politics, international relations, African studies at Tufts University. This being the Council on Foreign Relations, I want to bring up the issue of study abroad. And certainly, last year Tufts both undergraduate and graduate study abroad international relations is very important. The university decided it had to bring home students from all of our study abroad programs except Oxford, which was deemed safe. And we were told how everybody was living with families. And of course, at the end of—they had to eventually bring those people home again. So now we're talking about our study abroad programs. Will we have one in Ghana? I had counseled two students who are going to be studying Africa at either at SOAS or LSE. Maybe we have to shut down Africa because it's too dangerous. I actually want to know, are there are universities that are thinking about the implications of creating—or, not having study abroad opportunities for students in non-European places, and ways in which you might be able to do things? Like, I participated in a couple of very exciting webinars with African universities where there's some kind of interaction. So I just want to know, has anybody been thinking about that? And does the Council maybe have that on its agenda? Have you been doing it secretly and I didn't know about it? FASKIANOS: We can look at it for a future topic, Pearl. Do either of you want to? GOLDRICK-RAB: I don't have any expertise in this space, except to say that I spoke to folks at AIEA yesterday and, you know, they're very concerned about students' health and wellbeing. PICKETT: And the same on my end. I wouldn't have anything in terms of expertise to offer but would say from an administrative standpoint it's intentional for us to be mindful of the different opportunities that we engage with, and to use an equity lens with regard to how we're monitoring those experiences. I know loud and clear as we think about race and ethnicity being a front and consideration as part of this pandemic and our response to be mindful of the ramifications and the impact on different communities. So leadership should put that front and center in consideration, but in terms of specific things that I've seen directly, nothing that I could offer. But I do—should I find information I'll definitely pass it along to Irina. FASKIANOS: And just to follow on a bit, granted from a different angle, what about the pandemic-related inequities facing international studies? What is the—you know, on your campus, the international studies, and have they been able to come this year? And maybe that would be an opportunity to create some international experiences on campus. PICKETT: Absolutely. I think different institutions obviously are in different places with regard to that. We've had a number of students who have been able to return to campus. But to mindful that there has been a significant impact, particularly as they think about housing and what the experience is like in the community. And as we think about, particularly depending on where individuals come from, how they self-identify, and the rising tide of what I would classify as racism and xenophobia potentially impacting those students is a consideration that we have to put front and center. GOLDRICK-RAB: Yeah. I would say that, you know, again, we had big problems before the pandemic with folks not being able to really afford to be here the way they had hoped to be able to really afford to be here. We had students—international students at food pantries well before the pandemic. You know, certainly the number who can't be here at all right now is one issue, but I also want to note that one good thing is that the federal government's Higher Education Relief Funds, the HEERF III dollars in particular, which came out this year, which provided emergency aid to students, does not require students to be United States citizens in order to get those funds. It doesn't even require them to fill out a FAFSA either. So institutions, all of them that receive Title IV, have a substantial amount of emergency aid dollars right now which they could choose to leverage to support international students. Furthermore, their institutional allocations of those same dollars can also be used for those purposes. And so in this case, again, everyone is a human. And we do not have to choose to treat people differently based on that status as an international student. I don't know how widespread that understanding is. It's very clear, frankly, in the federal FAQs. But that's stuff the lawyers read. And I'm concerned that people who advocate for these students might not be aware of this. Or maybe they're not being heard in terms of where the dollars are going to be put. PICKETT: I'd double down on what Sara offers in terms of us thinking about the institutional ethos for support for those students and that student population. How we prioritize that agenda and how we amplify the voices of advocates, particularly for our international students, is a front and center consideration that was present, again, before—you're noticing a trend here—was present before the pandemic. But nonetheless, one that we have to continue to prioritize as a consideration. And as those dollars are available, institutions being willing to make the appropriate allocations and supplement them where necessary to continue to support different students populations, including our international students. FASKIANOS: Thank you. While we wait for a few more questions to queue up, how about the digital inequity? I know, Sara, you said before we got started that you were teaching all online. So the digital inequity has been a big concern, and we've really seen that, as well as, you know, people not wanting to turn on their cameras because, you know, they are sharing spaces, and might not want to show their homes, and all of that. So can you talk a little bit about how—what you're thinking on that. GOLDRICK-RAB: Yeah. I mean, it's a huge issue. So, I mean, the first thing is, again, I keep saying before the pandemic. But, you know, I spent twelve years living in Wisconsin. We had tons of college students all over the state who did not have broadband access, OK? So, you know, and it was a time when, frankly, the state was cutting—well, it's continued to cut state support—but it was cutting back the ability of in-person campuses to even be there and telling people to go online. And there really wasn't real ability to do that. So this, again, is a longstanding problem. We have the same challenge here in Pennsylvania, especially in rural communities. I am teaching online right now. And I want to say that, you know, part of the reason is because there's a whole population of students that want online instruction. These are people who would have to commute quite a long ways to get to school. These are people who have children and are juggling that. These are people who have health challenges and/or other disabilities, right? So there is an appetite for online instruction. One of the biggest challenges, of course, is not only do they have the technology for online instruction, but also who has access to teachers who are comfortable, and well-trained, and good at online instruction? And unfortunately, because we have not made those investments—and, frankly, I think we should view those as infrastructure investments—we did not resource the people who need to do the teaching so they can be prepared. Then we have some of the most vulnerable students getting taught by teachers with the least time and ability to able to kind of pivot like this. We do also have a workforce, frankly, of a lot of folks in wealthier parts of higher education where professors don't think of themselves as teachers. They think of themselves as researchers, and so on. And so getting them to invest the time to learn to teach online is also a challenge. That said, it can be done well. And, frankly, a student doesn't need to turn on their camera to be engaged in a course. And to me, the fact that we keep having that conversation—which is, you know, far from just your question, everybody's asking that question—tells me that we have people who are not taught about how to do engagement with students who can't turn on their cameras. I open up multiple channels for students to be able to interact with me while I'm teaching. They message, OK? They can hit on Slack. I run multiple things. But it requires that I know how to do that and that I am suited to that task. So the last part is this: I mean, here in Philadelphia it's hard to believe, you know, that people would really have trouble getting on the internet. But they really do because they can't afford their internet bills. And so I have multiple students right now who are telling me that they're accessing everything using their phone, not on their laptops. Their phone is their laptop essentially. And they don't have wireless, so they have very spotty service. So they didn't even know that our university offers hotspots now. And so one big part is informational, connecting them to that. PICKETT: I think it's critical, appended to the comments that Sara makes, to be attentive of different populations. Certainly, it's pronounced—it was pronounced at the beginning of the pandemic that there were a number of issues with access to broadband internet in different communities. Obviously having spent time in the state of Minnesota and thinking about the native and indigenous population and the opportunities where there was limited broadband access there, as well as hardware limitations, those are considerations that I think a number of communities have pronounced as areas of consideration. And that's true, I think, for different areas. Certainly, that's true in western Pennsylvania. And as Sara points out, we have a number of students of different backgrounds and of varying means economically that choose to access their courses via cellphone. So to think about the different kinds of instruction and how we're supporting our colleagues to observe equitable practices in a virtual environment, and to think about how we have to systematize that and appropriately educate our colleagues deliver that kind of instruction is a consideration. I think the other areas of consideration, particularly as we're thinking about digital accessibility or the conversations about general academic support in different models of delivery—so whether we're thinking about asynchronous delivery of instruction or the different modalities of learning, to be mindful that different student populations respond to different ways and different things. And to put that as part of our consideration for the academic agenda is a consideration that I think we need to be mindful of. FASKIANOS: And just, if we could hearken back to your experience at the Community College of Allegheny, Clyde, just to talk about the disparities at community college. I know, Sara, you touched upon it, about the mental health crisis that existed before the pandemic and is, you know, they couldn't address it because of lack of resources. But it would be interesting to hear your perspective, Clyde, from what you've experienced. PICKETT: Absolutely. Having had the opportunity to work directly at the Community College of Allegheny County, as well as the State System of Higher Education in Minnesota, and to serve thirty-seven community and technical colleges, it's critical for us to put an equity lens in terms of thinking about the access to hardware and to digital resources for all of our student populations. We know that those inequities existed before that. But in a more pronounced way when we pivoted and made the jump to remote instruction, for a number of institutions and individuals there was the need to provide access to hardware as well as to digital networks for students. And those gaps existed before and exist now. I think as we think about availability of resources, that is an area of consideration. The other thing as we think about this is modality of learning, and how different populations respond to different kinds of learning. And so that's another consideration as we think about the strategic equity agenda and how we work proactively to meet the needs of different learners to make available appropriate support, whether it's online models for tutoring or expanded academic support for advisors—a consideration particularly at our community and technical colleges that I think is a necessity. The other consideration, and Sara talked about this in terms of the equity lens and experience, to equip our educators with utilizing appropriate training and education to not bias how they engage with learners depending on how they interface with the use of technology. To shut one's camera off should not at all impact how an individual engages with what's expected of them in the classroom and certain situations. So to be mindful and to communicate equitable approaches to that exchange I think is a consideration. FASKIANOS: Are there any places that you would suggest for people who would want to sort of dig in on how to better do that? I think, Sara, you mentioned Digital Pedagogy Lab as a resource. GOLDRICK-RAB: Yeah. I would really highly recommend Digital Pedagogy Lab. That's my absolute favorite resource out there. And they do institutes, and they do trainings, and so on. And I really do recommend taking a look. FASKIANOS: Great. In the work that you've been doing, Sara, you know, we've seen a lot of reports about the impact of the pandemic on women, and how many women have left the workforce because the childcare issues, and whatnot. So have you done any studies on women leaving college? And you said—I believe you said one in four have a child. So how does that fall out? GOLDRICK-RAB: Well, so I will tell you, the interesting thing about higher ed is that even though women have a substantial number of challenges, they are less likely than men to drop out. And that's been true for a long time. There are many books written about why men are less likely to attend college, why they're more likely to drop out of college, and so on and so forth. Even though, frankly, you know, a woman—like, the disproportionate number, for example, of people with children in higher education are single moms. There are single dads, for the record. There are married dads. All of the different things are there as well. I would not say that we have done studies, therefore, of them dropping out during this time. But we have done studies of their basic needs and their basic need security during this time. And what I can tell you is that students with children are more likely to not have their basic needs met, to have struggles with food, and housing, and so on and so forth. We don't see really pronounced gender differences, except that I would say that gender nonconforming students, actually, are much more likely to face these challenges and to find that they're really struggling financially. Some of the reason for that, we suspect, has to do with the way that financial aid is allocated. Those students are less likely to be able to access parental resources that make it look like the family has money, even though the student is not getting any of that support. But parenting while in college is already really difficult. And it's especially hard in the pandemic. Students report not being able to concentrate, right? They report juggling all kinds of additional challenges. And I will say, the schools reopening right now is far from an easy thing. So you know, in many districts across the country, including here in Philadelphia, the schools are intermittently open. We have had, you know, a given class where there's a COVID infection, and then suddenly the class is shut down. The school's open, but the student can't go because their class is closed for the week—they're quarantining. This is wreaking havoc for students. I have more students than ever who are saying they don't know what one week is going to be like to the next. And, frankly, the same thing is true for us parents who are staff and faculty. I am ready at the drop of a hat right now to run down and pick my kids up, because we—you know, we had—we've had COVID infections, we had a flood thanks to a hurricane and a tornado. I mean, there's—you know, so—(laughs)—it is—it is a remarkable time to try to keep anything education going right now. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I want to just ask people, we're coming to the end of our time. So if you have other questions—I have a whole list of questions. So I can—I can keep going on. (Laughs.) But I don't want to filibuster here, so please raise your hands. Clyde, can you talk a little bit more about as you think about DEI leadership, how DEI leaders can encourage their institutions to think more strategically about how they take care of Black and brown population, and deal with these pandemic-related inequities? PICKETT: Absolutely. I think part of this is for us to think intentionally about how we monitor, check in, and think about the engagement of those populations on our campuses. Loud and clear as we manage and examine enrollment trends at the institutions, I think we need to be mindful of what the presence of our population is for Black and brown communities as part of our institutions, and to be attentive of that. We're reminded that in the midst of this pandemic was the continued push for racial equity and racial equity in this country. And so a number of institutions, at the same time dealing with the challenge associated with the pandemic, also made renewed commitments to attract and retain more diverse populations across the academy. We saw a number of institutions that made commitments to attract more faculty of color, to be attentive of what it means to support scholars of color, particularly those who are Black and brown. And so thinking about what that means in terms of DEI strategy work is to be mindful of the different populations, and to assess those experiences as they have come to our institution. So we're having a lot of conversations across the academy to think about not only the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pandemic of racism and how it continues to impact our colleagues across the institution, more specifically our students. And so as we think about this DEI strategy, to be mindful of how we examine the experiences of our students and to think about the examination of sense of belonging as they come to our institutions, as well as how they're assessing the experiences for holistic support. So giving the opportunity for our colleagues who are DEI strategists to have access to the data in terms of thinking about those student experiences, and how we can influence and shape policy as a consideration for the work that we do. One of the things that I will point to as a consideration, that we've had some success in a previous role from a systems standpoint, was to use an equity-based lens approach to reviewing all of our policies, when I was at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. And that resource and tool is available online. And we did that to provide real time opportunity for us to think about the policy implications for different populations. And there were a number of things that we unearthed as part of that experience, whether it was a disproportionate impact on Black and brown communities with our financial (holes ?), or to think about other considerations, those are kinds of—the kinds of tools that we can utilize to further move an agenda forward. So I would say that those are things that we have to use as a resource to move our agenda forward. FASKIANOS: Have you seen there to be a decline in enrollment as well? PICKETT: Obviously it depends on the institution type. So we know that community and technical colleges have suffered enrollment challenges as part of the pandemic. The University of Pittsburgh, we're at record enrollment for Black and brown communities here at the university. So I think the institution type, the resources associated with the institution, also obviously impact how and the ways institutions are able to move agenda. So to be mindful of that is a consideration that I think we have to examine. As we think about federal support for higher education—and I know Sara referenced this earlier—that's a consideration. As we think about the institutions who are the haves versus those been most fragile. It requires us to think about how we make specific allocation federally to influence and support those institutions. FASKIANOS: Great. Thank you. So if you were advising the Biden administration, the secretary of education, what would be the top two things that you would suggest the Biden administration to do in hiring? GOLDRICK-RAB: I am advising the Biden administration secretary of education. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. GOLDRICK-RAB: So do you want to know what we're advising them? (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: I do, actually. (Laughs.) GOLDRICK-RAB: I will say, for anybody who's interested, actually I testified before Congress yesterday in front of the U.S. House of Representatives around some of the work that they need to be doing. And I really urge folks in higher ed to take a look because the conversation was about hunger and food insecurity, and the committee was the Committee on Rules. And I worry a lot that our higher ed folks are not watching that committee or the committees outside of the education committees. But I believe that Jim McGovern is actually going to play a leading role in what's going to happen for our students and their basic needs in that space. So it's at rules.house.gov. And you can see the hearing from yesterday. I think one of the most exciting things that is about to happen is that a man named James Kvaal is finally going to take his seat and get to do his job as undersecretary of education. You know, our secretary of education is a K-12 expert. And I've been really glad to see him bring on some great folks like Eloy Oakley Ortiz from the California Community Colleges as an advisor. But James Kvaal is a higher ed expert. And the undersecretary of education's role is absolutely critical. And one of the things that he is intending to do, and that we need him to do, is to put somebody in charge of making sure that we change rules and regulations and administrative minutia to help secure students' basic needs now. So this is the time to make sure that our students get access to SNAP, right? To make sure that we connect them to the child tax credit. There are so many things that are available to students beyond standard financial aid. And right now, the Department of Ed doesn't tell them about any of those things. So that is absolutely imperative. And I also will say that with regard to the reconciliation bill and what the House is doing right now in terms of markup, free community college is in there and it needs to be. And it needs to happen. And it needs to pass. And the time is now. And I think that we will never regret that move. I believe that just as we expanded access to K-12 education starting with elementary school and then moving through high school, we should absolutely go for free community college. It will not be the last thing that we do, but I think it's essential. You know, I don't know how much folks remember the last recession, but I was doing a lot of research during that time. And I'll tell you that all the growth in the enrollment, all the returning growth to higher ed came, right, from students going to community colleges, and came from largely part-time folks. And so we're going to see people returning because they need higher education. And we need to make sure that those institutions are able to help them succeed. A lot of people think going to community college is not the best move. You know, they don't have the best outcomes. And I have one really clear answer for you: You get what you pay for. If you give them the resources and you give the students the resources so that they go to institutions and they actually can focus on learning and not worrying about if they have to eat, they will graduate and they will do well. PICKETT: I, of course, double down on that support for thinking about how we make community college accessible to all. Obviously, a long-standing advocate for community and technical colleges. It's something that is a priority for me. And we know statistically the largest populations of Black and brown students who ultimately complete a four-year degree start at community and technical colleges. So that has to be a priority. And I think in terms of funding and making that a priority, it is a consideration absolutely that we have to keep front and center. The other thing that I would offer is for us to think continually about how we support intentional holistic support. Whether it's mental health support, how we address housing insecurity and food insecurity for consideration for our college students has to be a consideration as well, and to be mindful of what that means long-term. It's an investment in our future of the country. And so I think we have to be mindful that while there is an investment now, long-term it will yield considerable benefits for us as a nation, and for us to not only provide access, but holistic support during that process ultimately will put us in a much better place and lead us down a greater path holistically in terms of where we want to be in the future for this country. FASKIANOS: Thank you. And I'm going to go now to Elsa Dias, who has her hand raised. Q: Yes. I am. Thank you. I am a—I am faculty at a community college in Colorado—at Pikes Peak Community College. And I'm—so to support some of what is being said currently here. But I don't think that students are getting what they're paying for at community colleges. I think that they're getting much more than what they are getting at community colleges. So that statement is sort of—I don't know that I appreciate the statement, because I think that students at community colleges we are working with consistently cut budgets, more so than four schools. And we have much more difficulty in raising tuition. It's not the same thing as in—as in four-year schools. We deal with populations that are in higher need than four-year schools. And we have to meet very different criteria than four-year schools. Our standards in terms of meeting what the students need and what—we are heavily legislated upon, right? So there is these state legislations that sort of affect us very differently than they do four-year schools. So I do believe that students are getting much more than what they are given, and what they get at community colleges. And some of the things that we see today, during this pandemic at community colleges, are I think the stigma to go to community colleges is certainly—continues to be around. And we continue to not participate in many of the voices that we should be included in at the table. But I also think that it's important to realize that our administrators are faced with much higher challenges than administrators at four-year schools, and so in the faculty. And the lack of investment in faculty at four-year schools does not even come close to the lack of investments that we suffer at community colleges. We have to do a lot more with a lot less. Thank you. GOLDRICK-RAB: So if I may respond, I think maybe, Elsa, I wasn't entirely heard for what I was saying. What I was saying was that you are doing a tremendous amount with very little. And the point is when you say what you get what you pay for, right, is if we want to have 100 percent graduation rates at community colleges, the way we do at Harvard, then we should be resourcing the schools, including the faculty, the student support services, et cetera. What we do in higher education is that we give the schools that educate the most vulnerable the least amount of money on a per-student basis. So for example, if you take a look—I served on the national taskforce around the adequate funding for the nation's community colleges. That was all about showing that if you were going to fund community college adequately to actually address the needs of students, and to do so where they would much—have much higher rates of graduation and success in the completion of their programs, you would be spending approximately four to five to six times what you're currently spending. I outline all of this in a very extensive—I have about a fifty-page report called “The Challenges and Opportunities Facing Community Colleges,” which came out in 2010, which actually delineates the underspending on community college faculty, on community college staff, and so on and so forth. I think, given the severe economic disparities between these institutions, their students, and the four-year colleges, it's a miracle that in many ways we get anything, right? That students are able to graduate, because we spend so very, very little. So as a quick last example, in the state of New Jersey taxpayer support goes to Princeton University at fifty times the rate of taxpayer support going to New Jersey Community Colleges. Fifty times. So we should expect, right, that if we increased the support to students at those community colleges there is a strong relationship between the inputs of the finances and the outputs that they produce. I think it's worthy of a greater investment. So I think we're actually agreeing. FASKIANOS: Clyde, anything you would like to add? PICKETT: Well, just that loud and clear I hear the comments and what Elsa brings in. I appreciate the clarity from Sara there. Having had the opportunity to be an administrator at a community college and a developmental studies adjunct faculty member at a community college, I know loud and clear that we're working proactively to meet the needs of our learners in a way that supports them where they are. And we do transformational work. To be clear, that that transformational work should be embraced, welcomed, and supported by four-year institutions. So those of us who are working and serving on the four-year institution side of the house to actually normalize and champion access to community and technical colleges, and to do so in such a way that embraces and makes smooth pipelines and opportunities for our learners who transfer—who complete their education, and to make sure there are appropriate matriculation agreements for programs of study for our students who ultimately complete their four-year education at institutions like the University of Pittsburgh, but start at community and technical colleges. FASKIANOS: Thank you. We are almost out of time, so I wanted to give you each a few minutes to just touch upon anything we didn't touch upon or cover or leave us with some final thoughts. So, Sara, why don't we start with you and then we'll go to Clyde. GOLDRICK-RAB: Clyde was about to go. Please go, Clyde. FASKIANOS: Clyde was about to go. All right, Clyde. PICKETT: No, I appreciate the opportunity. Once again, thank you for allowing me to spend time with you, allowing me to be with you in community. And this is just an opportunity for us to reaffirm where we are in terms of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. And more specifically, to acknowledge that the areas of vulnerability that we've identified, the inequity, have been longstanding with regard to the academy. It's an opportunity for us to flip the mirror and have a very long pause, intentional look at how we can make remedy, how we can make change, and how we can affirm and, for some of us, reaffirm our commitment and responsibility to address the inequity that has been present, but has been further exacerbated as part of this pandemic. So now is the time for us to close equity gaps. Now is the time for us to take action. And I look forward to standing with colleagues all around the country to do so. GOLDRICK-RAB: Yeah. I would just say that, you know, the challenges are really big right now, but there's also a lot of room for structural change. And I think we need to speak up for it and advocate for it, and not just lament it, right? You know, each of us in this country has a representative, or a couple of them, or a bunch of them, right? And they need to hear about what's happening to higher education. It's really, really important. One aspect of the hearing yesterday that was absolutely fascinating occurred when there was an exchange between Representative Cole, who came from Oklahoma, and the panel. And what he said was—he sat back in his chair. And he said: I've got to tell you, I've learned something today. I did not know that college students could go hungry. I did not know that this was happening. He said, we have to do something about this. Folks, tell them about what's going on, because they do not know—many of them do not know. I'm not saying that they'll all act, but many, many of our public leaders are very, very distanced from the realities that we're facing, whether we're staff, whether we're administrators, whether we're faculty. They are not getting it. And I think that it is so important that we communicate as much as we can because they have some big work to do right now, and some big opportunities to create change. FASKIANOS: Thank you, both. This was a really great conversation. We appreciate your insights in sharing your experience with us. And we will put together all the resources that were mentioned here and send them out to all of you to read and digest. You can follow both of our speakers on Twitter, @saragoldrickrab and @cwpick. So please go there. Again, I want to thank Dr. Goldrick-Rab and Dr. Pickett for being with us today. Next week we have a dedicated webinar series for students. And so our first one will be next week of the semester on September 15, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, and it's a great opportunity for students to actually ask their questions. This series is devoted to administrators and professors, but that one is for the students. And we hope you will share with your students and with your colleagues too on campus. So our next Education Webinar for the higher ed community will be on Thursday, October 21, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time with Brian Mateo to talk about civic engagement in higher education. So I hope you'll join us next week and in October of the next one. So with that I encourage you to follow @CFR_Academic on Twitter. Visit CFR.org and ForeignAffairs.com for more information and resources on international affairs. And again, thank you both. We really appreciate it. (END)

Jim Condon, AD4YM, listens for the most rare DX, signals from outer space as a radio astronomer, and keeps his fingers in the gear by collecting and restoring the best ham radio boat anchors, including Collins, Drake, Hallicrafters, and Hammarlund.  AD4YM is my QSO Today.

Tony DePrato WA4JQS had an early love of radio and a junior high school mentor who helped him get on the air in the early 1960s.  An 80 meter DX contact from his native Kentucky to Australia ignited a passion for DX that resulted in Tony leading two DXpeditions to the most sought after DX entities in the World.  WA4JQS tells his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

In this episode, Mike, Rod, Mark, Vince and George come to you live from the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo.  We take listener questions and talk about ham radio projects.

SOTA Operator Rene Lutz, HB9NBG, has the European Alps as his challenge to conquer every summit with his partner Carine, HB9FZC.  Together they operate their successful rural Swiss ham radio sales and service center that attracts ham radio tourists.  Rene and Carine document their amateur radio adventures on their popular YouTube channel.  HB9NBG is my QSO Today.

In this episode of the Used Car Dealer podcast, Zach Klempf interviews Christ Lentz the CEO of AutoSweet and an auto industry entrepreneur with a previous exit. Chris discusses with Zach how dealers have adapted their inventory marketing, Facebook, Google Adwords, best practices with dealer marketing.Some of the questions asked include:Q) So let's get started and for those of us listening talk about your previous experience as an automotive industry entrepreneur pre-AutoSweet and how you got into the business?  Q) What problem in the industry-led you to start AutoSweet? Q) As we are battling the inventory crunch and getting out of the pandemic what have you observed from dealers when it comes to the way they have changed their inventory marketing? Q) How has Facebook grown over the last couple of years to become an important part of dealers' inventory marketing?Q) Shifting gears, when it comes to Google Ads, what are dealers missing out on when it comes to running successful inventory marketing campaigns via Adwords? Q) For dealers listening, discuss the importance of joining an association, and how it can help them become successful? Q) Why is reputation management important for dealers in today's market? Q) What are your predictions for the rest of 2021 and what's coming down the pipeline? Q) How does AutoSweet uniquely help independent dealers succeed in today's marketplace? Listen to our other podcast episodes: https://www.sellyautomotive.com/podcastRead the transcribe of this episode https://blog.sellyautomotive.com/blog/inventory-marketing-with-chris-lentz-of-autosweet

George Dominick, W4UW, focuses on the fundamentals of amateur radio including antenna design, building HF power amplifiers, and the simple fun of getting on the air.  Amateur radio still fascinates George after almost 70 year on the air.  W4UW is my QSO Today.

In this episode, Martin (M1MRB) is joined by Chris Howard (M0TCH), Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Ed Durrant (DD5LP), Frank Howell (K4FMH) and Bill Barnes (WC3B) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode we feature QSO Today Summer Expo ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS We would like to thank Kevin Paquette (KC1OIZ), Gary Bridges (WA0VMV), Bob Collezioni, Roy Jones (VK6RR), and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate FCC Investigating Alleged “Jamming” on 40 Meters What Happens to British Ships When Satellites Don't Work? Repeater Troublemaker Caught Red-Handed! Free Online Examination Study Tool USA Active 40 MHz Experimental Station Brazilian Radio Hams Discuss Online Exams with Regulator

James, “JB”, Anderson, K8OS, will be presenting in the next QSO Today Virtual ham Expo, on August 14th and 15th  on the topic of Vertical Yagi-Uda Array using Wire Elements - Stealth HF Gain on a Budget.  I thought that it would be good to introduce the QSO Today audience to the presenters themselves.  While JB has been a ham for over 50 years, he is also an accomplished electronics engineer and a radio astronomer.  K8OS tells his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

About this Episode Time Stamps Q&A About our Guests Resources With over 53,000 farms in Pennsylvania, it is hard to imagine that anyone may be dealing with food scarcity in their household. Yet over 1.5 million Pennsylvanians were facing hunger prior to COVID-19, and that number soared to well over 5 million at the start of the pandemic. Here to help, Feeding PA is one of several organizations across the commonwealth that make up the charitable food network, and its leaders and volunteers are working hard to ensure that no one is going hungry in the state. On today's episode of Keystone Education Radio, host Annette Stevenson speaks with Jane Clements, chief executive officer of Feeding PA, on the programs and partnerships the organization has with farmers, schools and even county fairs to support those in need. Skip to: 00:52 Can you give us an overview of the hunger and food scarcity issues that exist in Pennsylvania? “In just the first three months of the pandemic, our food bank saw 5.5 million people come through needing additional resources.” “What we saw in the beginning was people like that, they don't look at the charitable food network as something they need. The face of hunger wasn't them. So you saw people hoping this was temporary, but flying through their savings. So the challenge or the objective for us really became to get the word out to people that this is for you. We are here for anyone who is temporarily unemployed and beyond.” Skip to: 03:13 Are there any programs that you're aware of in existence that tie local growers to the organizations that can help get the food to those in need? “There's 53,000 farms in Pennsylvania. I often say for anyone to be struggling with food is outrageous. Not only that, a lot of that food can end up going to waste, and this is such a great win-win for us and agriculture.” Skip to: 04:37 What does the data tell us about the correlation between hunger and student performance? “The statistics tell us there are more behavioral issues, there are more trips to the nurse and there are more absentees. So we've really worked with a lot of the schools, the Department of Education and USDA to really promote the fact that every child should be able to have access to nutritious food, especially during the critical time when they're at school.” Skip to: 05:32 In addition to Hunger Action Month, what are some of the other programs of your organization that might impact K-12 students and their families? “We do a lot of advocacy work with the federal legislators and state legislators, but throughout the year, the things that we do, our food banks definitely partner with school districts. We have afterschool feeding programs that some of our food banks sponsor.” “Through the waiver we got for non-congregate feeding sites, as we call it, a child is able to take that home and it reduces food waste. We often find that they are sometimes sharing with their siblings as well. But it also sometimes it's just a lot more comfortable for families.” Skip to: 07:31 Are there other ways that COVID has, and the circumstances surrounding the past 15 months, other impacts to the work of your organization? “We are fortunate to be part of the Feeding America Network. It really was quite a time in history, I think for everybody. I'm really proud of the work we were well to accomplish.” Skip to: 09:22 Where can listeners find out more information or what are some ways they can help and support this cause? Q: So can you start by giving us an overview of the hunger and food scarcity issues that exist here in Pennsylvania? A: Sure. So hunger has been a long-time issue, unfortunately, in Pennsylvania. Prior to COVID-19, we had about 1.5 million Pennsylvanians facing hunger. People kind of cycle in and out of poverty based on what's going on in their lives. That's why COVID-19 was such a big issue for our food banks, because in just about less than a month, 1.

Foundations of Amateur Radio The essential purpose of an amateur radio contest is to get on air and make noise. Each contest has a set of rules on how they intend to achieve this. An integral part of the rules is the idea that you establish a contact, a QSO, with another station and exchange some predefined information. Likely the callsign, a signal report and often something else, a serial number, the age of the operator, a maidenhead locator or the CQ or ITU zone. I'll race past the discussion around sending 5 and 9 as a standard signal report and move right along. To validate your activity, you record this information in a log and after the contest has concluded, you share your log with the contest organiser who collates and processes the submitted logs to determine a winner. As a participant you look for your callsign on the results page and if you're lucky you get some form of trophy, a certificate, a plaque, or more often than not, a PDF. An amateur radio contest is not a particularly high stakes competition. Recently I asked a group of contesters a question: "How do you learn why a QSO was excluded from your score?" I asked because one of the eight contacts I managed during a recent contest was disallowed, leaving me with an unexplained discrepancy between my log and the results. I will note that this entry didn't affect my ranking, I won my category, mainly because I was the only entrant - hah! Depending on whom you ask, this is either a simple or a complex question. The simple explanation states that if the contact isn't in the log of both stations it's not a valid contact. This interpretation was extremely popular in the group I asked. It was not the only answer I received. When I spoke with individual contesters they came up with different answers to my original question. For example, if I log everything right, if I'm using a serial number, the number increments each time and my log shows that, then my log entry should be valid, even if the other station didn't log it correctly. Note that I said log, not copy, as-in, they repeated back what I gave them, but logged it incorrectly. I also wondered what would happen if I was using a club-station callsign and accidentally called CQ with my own callsign and a station logged that callsign instead of the club-station. Should they be penalised because they logged what was actually exchanged? There's more. For example, what happens if the times are not identical? Based on the simple explanation, this would not be a valid contact, so you would not get recognition for this exchange and in some contests an invalid contact will produce a penalty to both stations. Another variation to the simple answer occurs if the contest organiser doesn't receive a log for every station and as a result, some contests set a maximum number of contacts for stations without logs. All this came within the context of attempting to discover how log validation happens, who decides what's valid and what rules are used. During my group conversation, two contest managers shared how they scored their particular contests and showed that they attempted to award the benefit of doubt to each station. One decided after the discussion to change their interpretation to the simple explanation I've already looked at. I wanted to know if there was any standard and other than pointing vaguely in the direction of a few large contests, I didn't actually manage to find any definitive discussion on how this works, if it's universal, which I suspect it isn't, and if it changes over time, which I know it does. The largest annual contest is the CQ World-Wide. In a 2012 blog post the contest committee discusses the time window of a contact and explains that they allow a 15 minute window, so as long as both contacts agree within 15 minutes, the QSO is allowed. That post also pointed out that if the time for one station was out by 45 minutes, none of their contacts would be allowed and anyone who made contact with that station would by implication get a penalty. Clearly there are variations on how this is handled. I asked if there is validation software for logs that checks this and if that software is open source so others can look at how decisions are made and see how these evolve over time. Is there an arbitration that goes beyond the standard phrasing in most contests: "The decision of the contest committee is final." I was told that this wasn't necessary and I should focus on more practice. I beg to differ. I've been contesting for a decade now, I have plenty of winning certificates on my wall. I'd like to improve my skill and I'd like to learn why and how my contacts are disallowed and I'd like others to be able to do the same. Log checking software is written by humans who interpret the rules and write software to conform to those rules. In order to see what rules are in place and to validate that, the source of that software must in my opinion be open and transparent. As a community we sit at the boundary between professional communications and a hobby and we often use the idea and concepts of a contest to argue that this is the best way to hone skills and to make you a better operator in case of an emergency, but if you cannot actually learn from your mistakes, if there is no discussion on how decisions are made, if there's nothing beyond simple answers, then are we really striving for improvement or just set in our ways? For the record, I think that if a contest log is off by 45 minutes throughout the entire log, software should pick that up, award the contacts and point out the mistake to the person who didn't set their clock correctly, especially since time is not exchanged during any contest I know. I also think that if a station logged what was actually said, there is room for that to be considered a valid exchange, but then I've only been an amateur contester for a decade, so I have plenty to learn. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

GB2RS News Sunday 25th July 2021 The news headlines: RadCom Basics latest issue NRC Net to close DARC reports survey results   The latest issue of RadCom Basics is now available from the RSGB website. In this edition, you can read about split frequency operation and more on logging and eLog, amongst other subjects. RSGB Members can read previous editions of RadCom Basics by going to rsgb.org/radcom-basics. You can register at the same address to receive notification of subsequent issues as they become available. As life returns, we hope, to a degree of normality, the regular weekday National Radio Centre net will cease. Instead, at 10.30 am on 3.737MHz an informal gathering will take place for those that want to call in and have a QSO. The RSGB would like to thank Nigel, G4RWI, who ran the NRC 80m net every day in 2020 and on weekdays throughout 2021. There were over 400 nets with hundreds of callers and thousands of QSOs. The German national society, DARC, has published the results of the amateur radio survey they conducted for the IARU. They had 550 respondents. The results are available via the DARC website, in German. There are some similarities with the RSGB's survey, as well as opinions on FT8 and licensing. On the third weekends of April and May, the IARU Region 1 organised the first 50MHz and 70MHz Machine Generated Modes-only contests. The official results are now published at iaru-r1.org. Congratulations to G4PLZ, who achieved top placing in both contests in the 6-hour section. His best DX on 50MHz was in excess of 1700km, and he achieved almost 1600km on 70MHz. In line with Government advice, Bletchley Park has relaxed their requirement for mask-wearing and social distancing. Their visit-booking system is still in place. Whilst the RSGB acknowledges that the legal requirement of Covid precautions has been reduced, we wish to take a more cautious approach at the National Radio Centre. As space in the NRC is restricted and there is limited airflow, the wellbeing of visitors and volunteers is paramount. This means many Covid precautions such as face coverings and social distancing within the NRC will still be required. The GB3RS station is still unavailable for visiting amateurs, but we will bring you news when this situation changes. As GB2RS continues to expand, it is a pleasure to extend a warm welcome to two new newsreaders. Leigh, M5GWH has joined the existing team in the Stoke-on-Trent area. Essex newsreaders have been joined by Richard, G0NAD. In addition to reading a brand-new broadcast on 70cm, Richard is also assisting with the 4m service in that area. And listeners in the north of England may like to note that the 145.525MHz broadcast from MM0JNL is now additionally covering Northumbria. The QSL Bureau sub-manager for the G4T-Z group is retiring and a replacement volunteer to distribute cards to this active sub-group is urgently needed. If you are an RSGB Member with time, a little space, some basic computer skills plus the desire to help your fellow members, the bureau would like to hear from you. You can find out more by emailing qsl@rsgb.org.uk. And now for details of rallies and events Before travelling to any rally or event, please check the event's website as there may be alterations or cancellations due to the current restrictions. Finningley ARS Car Boot will be outdoor only on the 25th of July, with doors opening at 10 am. It is located near M18 junction 2, Doncaster. Admission is £3. The Wiltshire Radio Rally, Electronics Fair & Car Boot Sale is planned for Sunday the 1st of August at Kington Langley Village Hall & fields, SNl5 5NJ. Doors are open from 9 am to 3 pm and admission is free. Details are at chippenhamradio.club. On the 1st of August, the radio operators of Cornwall are holding the 1st Cornwall Antenna Build-Off. This is a free event. As well as the Build-Off there are Bring & Buy tables available as well as refreshments. For details search @g5xdx on Facebook or email G5XDX@gmx.co.uk. The King's Lynn ARC radio rally will go ahead on the 1st of August at Gaywood Community Centre, King's Lynn PE30 4EL. Doors open at 9 am and the entry is £2.50. There will be trade stands, a Bring & Buy and car boot pitches outside. Catering is available on site. See klarc.org.uk. Dartmoor Radio Rally has moved to the 15th of August at Yelverton War Memorial Hall. Now the DX news Brian, GW4DVB will once again be active as J88PI from Palm Island in the St Vincent and the Grenadines Island group, IOTA reference NA-025, until the 1st of August. Activity will be holiday style on the 40 to 6m bands using CW, SSB, SSTV and FT8. He will use a Yaesu FT-991A into a 10m vertical antenna, an M0CVO HW-40HP off centre fed dipole and possibly new antennas. QSL GW4DVB direct only, g4dvb.co.uk. Laurent, HB9HKE will be active as TF/HB9HKE from Iceland until the 7th of August. His main trip will be for paramotoring, but operations will be on various HF bands using a wire antenna for 20m. QSL via Logbook of The World and eQSL. Jim, W6PQL will be active as CT8/W6PQL from Pico Island, EU-175, Azores until the 4th of September. He will operate FT8 on all bands and SSB on 20 metres. Between the 1st of August and the 3rd of September, he will operate 2m EME and Tropo. QSL via Logbook of The World, or direct to home call. Now the Special Event news Coventry ARS is running two special event stations until May 2022 to celebrate Coventry being the City of Culture. GB1COC & GB8CCC will be running most days, with GB8CCC passing between members of the club. Dates and times will vary. Now the contest news With different parts of the UK having different lockdown restrictions, please make sure you follow the appropriate regulations. Keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe. The 24-hour Islands On The Air Contest ends its run at 1200UTC today, Sunday the 25th. Using CW and SSB on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands on which contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report, serial number and your IOTA reference. Stations on the UK mainland are IOTA reference EU-005; a full list can be found at iota-world.org. The UK Microwave Group Contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC today. Using all modes on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday, the 6th FT4 Series will run between 1900 and 2030UTC using the 80m band. The exchange is your 4-character locator. On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest takes place between 1830 and 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3GHz and up bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked-All-Britain 144MHz Low Power Contest will take place on Saturday the 31st of July between 1400 and 1800UTC. The input power is limited to 10 watts and the full rules are on the WAB website. Entries are to be with the contest manager by the 10th of August. Due to the easing of restrictions, the mobile and portable categories will be resumed; but the organisers ask that entrants ‘please act sensibly'. On Saturday, the Fourth 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1400 to 1800UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode. The 144MHz Low Power contest also takes place on Saturday from 1400 to 2000UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode. Next Sunday, the 1st of August, the 432MHz Low Power Contest runs from 0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 23rd of July Sunspot numbers were down at the start of the week but increased dramatically as the week went on. By Thursday the solar flux index was up to 94 with a sunspot number of 86. There were six active regions visible on the Sun. Although many of these sunspots were quite small and not very complex, they all contributed to the higher solar flux, which is now nudging 100. The region that was active on its last rotation, 2835, and was responsible for multiple coronal mass ejections, appears to have quietened. Nevertheless, the Sun may well be more active next week as some of the regions have produced low-level C-class flare activity over the past few days.  NOAA reports that solar cycle sunspot progression over the past several months has actually been ahead of the cycle 25 forecast. This may bode well for the future. HF propagation remains dominated by Sporadic-E, with daily openings on the upper bands. F2-layer propagation is at seasonal levels, with openings up to 14 and sometimes 18MHz being recorded. We are not seeing much in the way of 21MHz F-layer propagation, but that will kick in as we head into Autumn. Thirty metres, or 10MHz, remains a band to check overnight with MUFs over a 3,000km path typically exceeding 10MHz. Due to all this activity, NOAA has upped its forecast for the coming week. It now has the solar flux index at 85 next week, rising to 90. The geomagnetic prediction is for a maximum Kp index of 2, possibly due to a lack of coronal holes. However, it is too early to say whether we may have any solar flares and CMEs from the new regions currently rotating into view. And now the VHF and up propagation news. After some very good days of Tropo recently, it seems that the picture will look very different in the coming week. The decline of the high pressure will be complete by this weekend and heralds a week of unsettled weather with showers or longer periods of rain. On the upside, this puts rain scatter back on the agenda for the microwave operators. Sporadic-E is still a good contender for DX although heading into August usually thins out the activity. The meteor input to E layer ionisation should keep hopes alive of renewed openings. The jet stream placements are mainly favouring the path to the south into Iberia initially, before moving east later to open up other more eastern parts of Europe. Around we go again into another lunar cycle with negative, but increasing declination, this week. This of course means that we'll see the Moon for longer as each day progresses. Declination goes positive on Thursday, but losses will rise daily after last Wednesday's perigee. Random or sporadic meteor rates are approaching their annual maximum around now, and the Southern delta Aquarids meteor shower is under way. This has a broad ZHR peak of 25 running from the 26th of July through to the 31st. Note that in Europe, the shower radiant is only above the horizon during the night and early morning. There are some other minor showers peaking next week, so we should see excellent meteor scatter conditions. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

Antoine De Ramon NYeurt, 3D2AG, is one of three hams in paradise, who holds up the CW representation from Fiji, the largest Island in the South Pacific and the second largest island in the World next to Australia. Antoine gave an excellent presentation last March at the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo about operating from Figi and Rotuma, another island 600 KM North of Fiji.  3D2AG shares his Fiji and ham radio life in this QSO Today.

Today I welcome Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, back to the Livestream to talk about the upcoming QSO Today Ham Expo on August 14-15 next month!Sign up here: https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com

In this episode, Martin (M1MRB) is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode we feature Portable Operations Challenge 2021 ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS We would like to thank Steve Murphy (M7XSM), Frank Westphal (K6FW), Nigel Wells (2W0CGM), Grant Porter (KG4SDR), Dino Papas KL0S, Dave Lufkin (KB3JRJ), and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate Swiss Radio Amateurs Face Fee to use QO-100 Janet K0JE and Janice K0JA - Ham Radio Twins FCC Reaffirms Fine for Marketing Non-Compliant RF Equipment Ham Radio Helping Lifelong Hobbyists Stay Mentally Fit in Old Age Presentation Tracks announced for QSO Expo RSGB Publishes Amateur Radio Survey Summary Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) Community Meeting

Chip Angle, N6CA, harnessed an early interest in the bands, VHF to microwave, as a passion that continues to this day.  While he is active on every band, Chip pays special attention to low noise receiver performance on his radios that work well above 10 GHz.  This attention to detail and training from the aerospace industry allowed Chip to start his own company building low noise preamps, filters, duplexers, and other hardware ultimately used by government including NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  N6CA shares his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

Andreas Spiess, HB9BLA, is a well known YouTube personality from Switzerland with over 330 thousand subscribers, over 30 million views, and focused on sensors, microcontrollers,  Raspberry Pi programming, and projects that use  this technology applied to amateur radio.  I found Andreas on YouTube as I am preparing my own QO100 geosynchronous satellite earth station, to allow me to work the Quatar Telecom satellite from Israel.  I know that you will enjoy my QSO with Andreas and perhaps become a fan of his YouTube channel.

ハムのラジオ第444回の配信です。 (2021/7/4放送) 今回は「コールサインの仕組み」をお送りします。 最近、新しいプリフィックスの局をよく見かけませんか？　どこの国かわからないけど、とりあえずQSOしておこうとい […]

Tom Perera, W1TP, has a collection of over 3000 Morse code keys and bugs going back to pre-American Civil War, perhaps the largest collection in the World. He displays these keys in his virtual, on-line museum. W1TP shares with me the history of his collection, some interesting stories, and his newest interest and collection of military cipher machines, including the WW2 German Enigma, in this QSO Today.

About this Episode Time Stamps Q&A About our Guests Resources Sometimes, hands-on learning is just what children need – whether it is to give them opportunity for self-direction, a break from the structure of the classroom, or in the case of the endeavors of The Edible Classroom in Lancaster County, PA, a chance at exposure to the growing process that sometimes results in a newfound enjoyment of eating their vegetables. On today's episode of Keystone Education Radio, host Annette Stevenson speaks with the non-profit's founders Grace Julian and Beth Horst on their group's mission to get kids out of the classroom and into the dirt. Skip to: 00:49 What is Edible Classroom and how did it get started? “We just knew the benefits of it and so, hence the Edible Classroom came to be formed.” Skip to: 02:14 What are the ways that you might work with a school district and K through 12 aged students? “We always incorporate the state standards and we're very fortunate to be able to do that in a way that happens very organically, because everything that we do is really covered by a state standard." “The beauty of it is a garden can cover so many different bases and there's so many opportunities for a variety of programs so we kind of have a little bit of everything.” Skip to: 04:45 How does involving children in gardening improve self-esteem? “And as children are in a controlled environment, many times where they are scheduled to do things, the outdoor environment allows freedom of exploration, freedom of observation, that culminates just good mental health as they're able to self-direct.” Skip to: 06:07 Is there a correlation between K-12 students being involved in such a program and then actually on the science achievement side? “We can see the learning take place in the garden through the students' hands-on application of a topic that they heard about and now they're actually seeing in real life.” Skip to: 09:29 What are some of the Edible Classroom's biggest impacts or accomplishments? “We are giving the children the opportunity to participate in the garden and we find across the board that their investment in the process will not guarantee that they like everything, but it will open the door to curiosity, to maybe trying what it is that they've been tending and watering.” “We see the impacts all the time and just, those are very meaningful to us and what we do and reinforcing that what we're doing is really good for these kids.” Skip to: 12:37 If a school district is interested in working with you to get a program started, how do they begin? “We love to meet with schools to try to facilitate whatever it is they want to do.” Skip to: 13:46 If parents want to begin gardening with their children at home, do you have any suggestions for how to begin that in sort of a manageable way? “Rather than head straight into a full-size garden, I think starting small will guarantee your success.” Skip to: 15:24 What is your favorite thing to plant and grow? “I love to plant and grow tomatoes and I always plant too many.” “I love ... gardening simply and picking something straight from the vine and popping it in your mouth is a very simple way to eat. And I appreciate that in our very busy lifestyles.” Q: So let's start by, if you wouldn't mind telling us a bit about Edible Classroom and how you got started. A (Grace): We're a nonprofit organization and we exist to teach children where real food comes from. We partner with schools and communities in the area to develop learning gardens where the students can see and touch and feel, smell, taste, whole foods. A (Beth): Yeah. So we got started, Grace and I had both independently started school gardens at our children's elementary schools and served as the volunteer garden coordinators there. So we were able to see a garden start to finish from the ground up, which was incredibly important and influential in what we did later.

Greg Algieri, WA1JXR, began his ham radio journey by asking his dad for a Gillette Blue Razor Blade to make this first receiver, leading to amateur radio licenses, higher electronics education, and an entire career with Raytheon, where he worked in radio and antenna design.  WA1JXR is active in his amateur radio community as a teacher of new and existing hams, restoring boat anchor vintage radios, and getting on the air.  He is my guest in this QSO Today.

Ted Holland, WB3AVD, describes himself as a cultural anthropologist who creates artistic telegraph or CW keys based on themes that move him, including OZ's Emerald City.  An avid QRP contest operator and local emcomm enthusiast, WB3AVD shares his amateur radio successes in this QSO Today. 

Frank Kollins, WA9CWX, loves to operate CW from multiple operating positions, from restored vintage to the most modern rigs. Frank is a student and teacher of radio history from its very ether-like beginnings, to radio's evolution through World War 2. WA9CWX has an amazing CW key collection and is my QSO Today.  

Marty Woll, N6VI, found his way into amateur radio, along with other high school teens in Southern California's San Fernando Valley in the late 1960s. Interested in CW, chasing DX, and contesting, Marty's ham radio interests evolved to include VHF, UHF, and microwave contest “roving”, and now emergency communications.  N6VI has always been a leader in our hobby and is my QSO Today. 

For Peter ODell, WB2D, amateur radio morphed into a professional life at the ARRL during the time of Spaceshuttle STS-9 and the introduction of the first amateur radio broadcast from the Shuttle.  Peter describes his amateur radio journey and the challenges of being a ham radio journalist in this QSO Today.

Thomas, Tom, Tate, WA7NPX, began his ham radio journey with his best friend in middle school.  The amateur radio hobby can make lifelong buddies as well as develop practical and professional skills.  WA7NPX shares his ham radio story and how it can serve as a springboard for developing expertise in other hobbies as well.

Henry Seidner, WA2ROA,  like many of his contemporaries in the 60s, discovered amateur radio from Shortwave listening and was licensed in high school. Henry  spent most of his professional life living and working in New York City, and travelling the world.  Amateur radio was his door opener allowing him to make lasting friendships.  WA2ROA tells this ham radio story in this QSO Today. 

Today I welcome Tim Duffy, K3LR, and Michael Kalter, W8CI, to the Lunchtime Livestream to talk about the upcoming plans for the 2021 Contest University and Dayton Hamvention QSO Party. Join us for this exciting chat!Contest University: https://www.contestuniversity.comHamvention QSO Party: https://hamvention.org/qso-party-2021

Larry Tyree, or Tree, as he is known in amateur radio circles, loves to operate contests, work DX on 160 meters, from his 28 hilltop acres in the Oregon forest, near Portland.  Tree is a serious CW operator, where good antenna design, focus, skill, and patience bring the amateur radio rewards.  Tree tells his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

I was having a keyboard to keyboard QSO with someone on JS8 today where I shared a link to my CafeCast Studio on Telegram. Chris Esser, KC2RGW was reading the mail and followed the link which led to this spontaneous interview where we heard his ham radio story and talked about many things from FT8 and JS8 to IF tapping, SDR and Mic setups. Thanks, Chris, for jumping into the Cafe. Come back as often as you like. Loved the quality of your audio! Thanks for listening. SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel so you don't miss our video CafeCasts. Drop-in on my LIVE Podcast each morning at 7:00am Central in the DigiCommCafe Chat Group on Telegram in the Voice Chat! Join our DigiCommCafe Community on the Mighty Networks platform, our Facebook alternative. If you're interested in becoming a licensed amateur radio operator, I recommend you use HamtestOnline for your studies and preparations. I used it to get my Extra Class Upgrade. Do you live in a rural location like me? I'll bet you struggle to get reliable internet, don't you? I have finally found an inexpensive service. It's called Visible which is owned by Verizon and uses their network. They only have one plan and it is unlimited everything for $40 a month! If you join the Digicommcafe Party Party Group that drops to $25/month! Request a line at https://visible.com and use my referral code: 3n37nt. Once you have your SIM card installed and registered, go to https://visible.com/p/DigiCommCafe and join our party to drop to $25 a month for unlimited everything! We are very happy with the service. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/digicommcafe/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/digicommcafe/support

I was having a keyboard to keyboard QSO with someone on JS8 today where I shared a link to my CafeCast Studio on Telegram. Chris Esser, KC2RGW was reading the mail and followed the link which led to this spontaneous interview where we heard his ham radio story and talked about many things from FT8 and JS8 to IF tapping, SDR and Mic setups. Thanks, Chris, for jumping into the Cafe. Come back as often as you like. Loved the quality of your audio! Thanks for listening. SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel so you don't miss our video CafeCasts. Drop-in on my LIVE Podcast each morning at 7:00am Central in the DigiCommCafe Chat Group on Telegram in the Voice Chat! Join our DigiCommCafe Community on the Mighty Networks platform, our Facebook alternative. If you're interested in becoming a licensed amateur radio operator, I recommend you use HamtestOnline for your studies and preparations. I used it to get my Extra Class Upgrade. Do you live in a rural location like me? I'll bet you struggle to get reliable internet, don't you? I have finally found an inexpensive service. It's called Visible which is owned by Verizon and uses their network. They only have one plan and it is unlimited everything for $40 a month! If you join the Digicommcafe Party Party Group that drops to $25/month! Request a line at https://visible.com and use my referral code: 3n37nt. Once you have your SIM card installed and registered, go to https://visible.com/p/DigiCommCafe and join our party to drop to $25 a month for unlimited everything! We are very happy with the service. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/digicommcafe/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/digicommcafe/support

Dan Marler, K7REX, owes much of his professional opportunities and success to his amateur radio background.  A people person, K7REX, likes to give back to the amateur radio community as an ARRL Section Manager and founder of the RATPAC, a group that does not include Sammy, Dean, and Frank.  Dan tells his ham radio story in this QSO Today. 

When it comes to understanding how antennas really work, then the “go to” ham is Bob Zavrel, W7SX, author of the ARRL book, Antenna Physics - An Introduction.  Through this book, Bob bridges the gap between “how to” antenna books,  and calculus based antenna theory books for engineers.  Bob has a long resume in radio and electronics, is the accidental creator of the Signetic NE602 mixer chip.  Bob was my guest in this interview over 200 episodes ago and shares his story in this replay in this QSO Today.

Join George, Jeremy, Smitty, Vince, Mike, and Rod as we answer audience questions live!

Join America's Roundtable co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy for a conversation with Honorable Maurice McTigue, QSO on concerns about America's national debt at $28 trillion, the return of earmarks in Congress — a throwback to the days of "Alaska's bridge to nowhere," and the dangers of the omnibus bills combining diverse subjects along with the lack of accountability and transparency in federal government spending. The discussion also brings greater attention to "the death of truth" in the West and its impact on freedom of speech and justice. The Honorable Maurice McTigue, QSO, is Vice President for Outreach at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and Member of the Executive Advisory Board of the International Leaders Summit. McTigue has testified on Capitol Hill and published articles in many major media outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlantic, Bloomberg Businessweek, US News & World Report, and the Chicago Tribune. McTigue advised The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and most federal agencies in the Clinton and Bush administrations on issues of accountability and transparency and has consulted with legislators and governors in more than 30 states. McTigue was a special advisor to Louisiana’s Commission on Streamlining Government and was named to Virginia governor Bob McDonnell’s Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring. A former cabinet minister and member of parliament in his native New Zealand, McTigue was one of the architects of the “New Zealand miracle,” which dramatically reformed the country’s government and economy by implementing market-driven, progrowth policies. He later became New Zealand’s ambassador to Canada and received the prestigious Queen’s Service Order in recognition of his public service from Queen Elizabeth II. For further details about Maurice McTigue and his leadership in advancing principled reforms in his home country of New Zealand, the United States of America and Europe — please review these articles and videos: Rolling Back Government: Lessons from New Zealand https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/rolling-back-government-lessons-from-new-zealand/ Video: Maurice McTigue | The Rule of Law, Jerusalem Leaders Summit 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x1fpYL4eJw Video: Maurice McTigue: Advancing Reforms in Eastern Europe | HRT Prime Time News — Croatia Radio and Television | International Leaders Summit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXOUcLgCzRs https://ileaderssummit.org/americas-roundtable-podcasts/ https://ileaderssummit.org/services/americas-roundtable-radio/ https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 Twitter: @ileaderssummit @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America’s Roundtable radio program - a strategic initiative of International Leaders Summit, focuses on America’s economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. America’s Roundtable is aired by Lanser Broadcasting Corporation - at 96.5 FM and 98.9 FM, covering Michigan’s major market, and through podcast on Apple Podcasts and other key online platforms.

Welcome to the epic 400th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, we stream live from the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo held on March 12-14, 2021. …

Thank you for watching Ham Nation! Tonight we speak with Eric Guth 4Z1UG about the upcoming QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo. Gordo helps us keep our antennas dry. Randy explains why maps are important to hams and how to pick up some new awards. Don covers the news with Amateur Radio Newsline, Doctor T tell us what to expect with space weather and Amanda rounds out the show covering the nets and you comments. Big thanks to ICOM for providng bi-weekly and monthly giveaways for Ham Nation, see http://icomamerica.com/hamnation for more details!Afterchat will be on the Ham Radio Crash Course Discord: https://discord.gg/xhJMxDTDo you have questions about the state of Ham Nation? Please watch this video, we might have answered them! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgL7u-lMjQEGordon West's Study Material can be found here: https://www.gordonwestradioschool.com/Don Wilbank's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHXqPB2Ya0yGTtZtfcO5avQRandy K7AGE: https://www.youtube.com/user/K7AGEDr. Tamitha Skove: https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/Amateur Radio Newsline: https://www.arnewsline.org/Monthly newsletter, stickers, private content:https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasiPodcast...................► https://www.podbean.com/site/search/index?v=ham+radio+crash+courseDiscord.....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDTFacebook.................►https://goo.gl/cv5rEQTwitter......................► https://twitter.com/HoshnasiInstagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasiSnapChat..................► @HoshnasiMusic by, Sonic D:Soundcloud.com/sncd Twitter.com/sncdFacebook.com/djsonicdCompanies can send demo products to: Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, Ca. 90703-5101#hamnation #hamradiocrashcourse #SoggyAntennas

Thank you for watching Ham Nation! Tonight we speak with Eric Guth 4Z1UG about the upcoming QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo. Gordo helps us keep our antennas dry. Randy explains why maps are important to hams and how to pick up some new awards. Don covers the news with Amateur Radio Newsline, Doctor T tell us what to expect with space weather and Amanda rounds out the show covering the nets and you comments. Big thanks to ICOM for providng bi-weekly and monthly giveaways for Ham Nation, see http://icomamerica.com/hamnation for more details!Afterchat will be on the Ham Radio Crash Course Discord: https://discord.gg/xhJMxDTDo you have questions about the state of Ham Nation? Please watch this video, we might have answered them! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgL7u-lMjQEGordon West's Study Material can be found here: https://www.gordonwestradioschool.com/Don Wilbank's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHXqPB2Ya0yGTtZtfcO5avQRandy K7AGE: https://www.youtube.com/user/K7AGEDr. Tamitha Skove: https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/Amateur Radio Newsline: https://www.arnewsline.org/Monthly newsletter, stickers, private content:https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasiPodcast...................► https://www.podbean.com/site/search/index?v=ham+radio+crash+courseDiscord.....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDTFacebook.................►https://goo.gl/cv5rEQTwitter......................► https://twitter.com/HoshnasiInstagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasiSnapChat..................► @HoshnasiMusic by, Sonic D:Soundcloud.com/sncd Twitter.com/sncdFacebook.com/djsonicdCompanies can send demo products to: Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, Ca. 90703-5101#hamnation #hamradiocrashcourse #SoggyAntennas

Thank you for watching Ham Nation! Tonight we speak with Eric Guth 4Z1UG about the upcoming QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo. Gordo helps us keep our antennas dry. Randy explains why maps are important to hams and how to pick up some new awards. Don covers the news with Amateur Radio Newsline, Doctor T tell us what to expect with space weather and Amanda rounds out the show covering the nets and you comments. Big thanks to ICOM for providng bi-weekly and monthly giveaways for Ham Nation, see http://icomamerica.com/hamnation for more details!Afterchat will be on the Ham Radio Crash Course Discord: https://discord.gg/xhJMxDTDo you have questions about the state of Ham Nation? Please watch this video, we might have answered them! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgL7u-lMjQEGordon West's Study Material can be found here: https://www.gordonwestradioschool.com/Don Wilbank's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHXqPB2Ya0yGTtZtfcO5avQRandy K7AGE: https://www.youtube.com/user/K7AGEDr. Tamitha Skove: https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/Amateur Radio Newsline: https://www.arnewsline.org/Monthly newsletter, stickers, private content:https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasiPodcast...................► https://www.podbean.com/site/search/index?v=ham+radio+crash+courseDiscord.....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDTFacebook.................►https://goo.gl/cv5rEQTwitter......................► https://twitter.com/HoshnasiInstagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasiSnapChat..................► @HoshnasiMusic by, Sonic D:Soundcloud.com/sncd Twitter.com/sncdFacebook.com/djsonicdCompanies can send demo products to: Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, Ca. 90703-5101#hamnation #hamradiocrashcourse #SoggyAntennas

Thank you for watching Ham Nation! Tonight we speak with Eric Guth 4Z1UG about the upcoming QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo. Gordo helps us keep our antennas dry. Randy explains why maps are important to hams and how to pick up some new awards. Don covers the news with Amateur Radio Newsline, Doctor T tell us what to expect with space weather and Amanda rounds out the show covering the nets and you comments. Big thanks to ICOM for providng bi-weekly and monthly giveaways for Ham Nation, see http://icomamerica.com/hamnation for more details!Afterchat will be on the Ham Radio Crash Course Discord: https://discord.gg/xhJMxDTDo you have questions about the state of Ham Nation? Please watch this video, we might have answered them! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgL7u-lMjQEGordon West's Study Material can be found here: https://www.gordonwestradioschool.com/Don Wilbank's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHXqPB2Ya0yGTtZtfcO5avQRandy K7AGE: https://www.youtube.com/user/K7AGEDr. Tamitha Skove: https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/Amateur Radio Newsline: https://www.arnewsline.org/Monthly newsletter, stickers, private content:https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasiPodcast...................► https://www.podbean.com/site/search/index?v=ham+radio+crash+courseDiscord.....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDTFacebook.................►https://goo.gl/cv5rEQTwitter......................► https://twitter.com/HoshnasiInstagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasiSnapChat..................► @HoshnasiMusic by, Sonic D:Soundcloud.com/sncd Twitter.com/sncdFacebook.com/djsonicdCompanies can send demo products to: Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, Ca. 90703-5101#hamnation #hamradiocrashcourse #SoggyAntennas

John Ackermann, N8UR,  was my guest almost 200 episodes ago and is a speaker in the upcoming QSO Today Virtual ham Expo.  John spends much of his time as a proponent of open source, freely sharing both hardware and software designs with the TAPR community. Join us as we discuss TAPR, SDR transceivers, and the issues around open source and the maker movement.

Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR, is the founder and CEO of FlexRadio that is now on the cutting edge of building advanced software defined radio (SDR) platforms for amateur radio, as well as for government, business, and the military.   Gerald is a leader and pioneer in the development of SDR leading to the founding of FlexRadio.  This episode is a newly minted version of the original interview that I had with K5SDR in 2015.

Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, is best known for his satelite QSOs using portable gear from grid squares all over the World.  He documents and captures many of his contacts and the equipment that he uses on his website and YouTube Channel.  WD9EWK is a recent addition to the AMSAT board of directors and is my QSO Today.

Bob Allphin, K4UEE, was my guest in Episode 79 over 5 years ago.  As he is one of the speakers in the next QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, his ham radio story would interest today’s listeners.  K4UEE has traveled the World in pursuit of activating DX entities that are isolated, desolate,  and uninhabited.  Forty in total.  Out of his love for travel, he has been to 126 countries during his lifetime. I know that you will enjoy my Bob Allphin, K4UEE.

Jerry Weisskohl, AC4BT, always had a love of radio and short wave listening.  He got a late start in amateur radio but thinks that the art and practice of CW, or Morse code, is exactly what quiets and relaxes the mind after an engaging day as a computer scientist.  AC4BT has taken lead roles with CWops and CW Academy and is my QSO Today.

Peter Butler, W1UU’s ham radio journey began with the purchase of a J38 code key and a trip to the library.  Sputnik inspired Peter to a career in microwave engineering reinforced by this ham radio interest.  Peter is the Vice President of CWops and actively involved in sharing his love for CW and good operating practice with the hundreds of amateurs who are signing on to do the same.  W1UU is my QSO Today.

Mel Swanberg, WA6JBD, has a love of radio that goes back to his childhood.  Growing up in Southern California, Mel found his Elmers and Mentors that led him into a career in the land mobile business  and public safety radio.  Mel is the former president of the Cactus Intertie, perhaps the largest point to point full duplex amateur radio network in the World. Other interests include microwave communications and he is a leader in the San Bernardino Microwave Society.  WA6JBD is my QSO Today

I've been obsessed with things that sound good for as long as I could remember. I've always loved music and the effect it has on my body and brain, so I got interested in the process of creating and capturing sound when I was young.The first podcasts I started listening to back in 2008/2009 were professionally produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by folks who had been working in radio for a long time. So they sounded really good.Then I started listening to some shows produced by normal folks, what you'd call independent podcasters. I liked the content just as much, but I noticed that the sound quality was usually a lot lower, and sometimes so bad it made me stop listening to the show.So I started wondering, can you make a podcast that sounds good even if you don't have a lot of money to spend? Is it possible?I figured out that there were a few key things that made a big difference. So I'm going to make a series of episodes where I share what I've learned about audio recording and sound quality, and how to make a podcast that sounds good.Q: Does it really matter how good you sound?Yes! The quality of an audio recording affects how trustworthy and credible listeners think you are.As a podcast host, you want people to be able to hear you clearly and understand you. If they have a hard time hearing and understanding you, they're not going to stick around for very long. The same goes for any co-hosts or guests you have on your show as well.There's a research article by Eryn Newman and Norbert Shwartz from the University of Southern California published in 2018 that demonstrates the importance of good sound quality.The articles references a study in which two groups of people were shown a video of a scientific talk and asked to rate the credibility and trustworthiness of the presenters.The first group got a version of the video with high quality audio.The second group got a version of the video with low quality audio.When the video was difficult to hear, viewers thought the talk was worse, the speaker less intelligent and less likeable and the research less important.“As soon as we reduced the audio quality, all of a sudden, the scientists and their research lost credibility.” - Eryn NewmanThe quality of audio influences whether you believe what you hear - news.usc.eduIt's important to learn how to record and publish audio that sounds good.Q: When you say something sounds good, what does that mean?I use to talk a lot about sounding good, but I never really broke it down in a way that was easy to understand.I know because I got a 2 star review in Apple Podcasts last year from Red84604.Red said:I can appreciate that the podcast dude is a musician. So am I. But his obsession with audio quality made me look for another podcast to reach me how to podcast. Even if I came to this podcast exclusively for advice about audio, it wouldn’t be useful for that because, from the very beginning, his advice assumes that the listener already knows a whole lot about the subject (more than I know and I actually was a professional musician for a while). I couldn’t follow it. And he went on for episode after episode. I want to produce a podcast with great audio. But even after listening to several episodes I am still not sure how to do that because his advice was so technical. And his snobbery on the topic was off-putting. Sorry.That's fair criticism. So really, you can thank Red for this whole 7 part series I'm about to make and share with you.When I say a podcast sounds good, it means each voice that you hear in the episode is clear and easy to understand, and not difficult to listen to because of distracting background noise or other factors that make it hard to hear and understand someone who is speaking.Let's break that down even further.Clear and easy to understand means:* You've got a microphone that works well for recording a human voice, and you're relatively close to that microphone when you're speaking.* Your voice doesn't sound muffled, or far away, or distorted in any way.* The volume level of your recording is loud enough, but not too loud.* That volume level doesn't change dramatically during the recording. It's consistent, or gets louder when you get speak louder, and quieter when you speak quieter.* Your audio recording is free of distracting background noise (hums, buzzes, pops, beeps, echos, reverb that makes it hard to understand you, etc).* The volume level of your voice is roughly the same as the other voices in the recording (if there are other voices).There's other things that can enhance the quality and impact of an episode, like sound design, music, pacing, and so on, but I want to stay focused on the basics for now.Q: So how do you get this good sound quality?I believe there are 7 important things to know and keep in mind when recording audio if you want your show to sound good.I'll be covering each one in detail over the coming episodes, but this week, I want to talk about why you should invest in a nice microphone.Step 1. Invest in a nice microphoneYour microphone is the single most important part of sounding good. It's a solid investment if you plan to start a podcast, or if you have the kind of job (or want the kind of job) where you'll be talking to people a lot from your home.The good news is you don't need an expensive mic to sound good. Even a $60 USB microphone like the ATR 2100 or Samsung Q2U will work just fine.What doesn't usually work fine is trying to share a single microphone between multiple people, or using bluetooth headsets, or using the built-in microphone on your laptop or desktop computer.(These microphones will technically work, but I've heard plenty of recordings made with bluetooth headsets and built-in computer mics that didn't sound very good, so I don't recommend using them.)I've got a full list of the gear I recommend at https://kit.co/PodcastingwithAaron, so let's take a look.A few key things to keep in mind:* If you'll mostly just be recording by yourself or talking to other people over the internet, a single USB mic will work fine.* If you plan to record multiple people in the same room, you'll need multiple mics (get XLR mics ) and a way to record them all to the same device or computer (via an audio interface) at the same time. Don't try to share a single mic.* I didn't mention it in the episode, but I don't like listening to phone calls (cell phone or land line), so I don't recommend trying to record them. But there are tutorials online if you're really set on it.* Lav mics: Great if you want to do video presentations and don't want to have to stand in one place like I do here. But if you're mostly going to be talking to other people or staying in place, a regular mic like the ones I recommended will probably be a better option.Recap:* Sound quality, sounding good, matters. It affects how much people will believe and trust you.* A good microphone is a solid investment, especially now, and especially if you plan to spend a lot of time talking to people over the internet.* As a podcast host, you want people to be able to hear you clearly and understand you. If they have a hard time hearing and understanding you, they're not going to stick around for very long. The same goes for any co-hosts or guests you have on your show as well.In the next episode, I'll be talking about the importance of learning how to set input gain levels and always checking your audio settings before you start recordings.As always, thanks for watching and/or listening! Reviews in Apple Podcasts are always appreciated, and you can find more at podcastingwithaaron.com or aarondowd.com.Till next time, be well and happy podcasting.Aaron