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Announcements

8/6/22

The University of Maryland’s National Foreign Language Center (UMD-NFLC) is proud to  announce that we have become a DLNSEO funded Language Training Center (LTC) which will  provide language courses in Korean, Russian, and Ukrainian beginning this fall.  

Additionally, UMD-NFLC’s existing Title VI Language Resource Center (LRC) has been  renewed for funding for another four years, 2022-2026.  

 

Please see information about each center below.  

LTC Background  

With decades of experience supporting government partners and developing courses, learning  materials, and assessments in over 100 languages, the LTC will provide language courses  specifically tailored to the government’s needs.  

In order to support government and military linguists to carry out their missions UMD-NFLC  will offer courses centered on current, relevant, and authentic curriculum which will be taught in  carefully sequenced thematic units that integrate culture, area studies, and language.  

UMD-NFLC offers five-week hybrid and online language courses, providing 150 hours of direct  instruction with an additional 50 hours of guided practice in the form of graded homework,  online assessments, and online learning modules. Students also have access to the UMD-NFLC’s  Language Portal, an online collection of language learning materials and assessments, and they  can earn ten Continuing Education Units for completing the course.  

Korean; Blended (classroom and online); Incoming ILR 2 Course pre-requisites

Russian; Blended (classroom and online); Incoming ILR 2 Course pre-requisites

Ukrainian; Online; Incoming ILR 2 Course pre-requisites

Pedagogical Approach  

UMD-NFLC’s courses are designed around its research-based principles of effective language  teaching, which maximize students’ proficiency gains:  

  • Implementing a standards-based and thematically organized curriculum  • Integrating culture, content, and language in the classroom
  • Adapting and using expertly-leveled, authentic materials 
  • Using the target language and providing comprehensible input 
  • Facilitating a learner-centered classroom 
  • Conducting performance-based assessments  

Institution Website: https://nflc.umd.edu/LTC  

LRC Background  

Professionals in Education Advancing Research and Language Learning (PEARLL) at the  University of Maryland promotes a multifaced, research-based program for excellence in  language instruction. PEARLL offers a common vision for high-quality language learning and  provides materials and models of professional learning for language educators, with a special  focus on the needs of instructors at community colleges, historically Black colleges and  universities (HBCUs), and of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs). PEARLL’s goals for  the 2022-2026 LRC grant period take a comprehensive view of the knowledge and skills world  language educators need to prepare students to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world,  particularly in light of post-pandemic teacher needs.  

  1. To promote models of educator effectiveness for language learning, PEARLL will  increase the reach of the Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning (TELL)  Framework, develop and pilot model curricula for courses at community colleges and  HBCUs, and identify a network of model classrooms that serve as regional hubs for  professional learning. 
  2. PEARLL seeks to facilitate reflective practice for language educators by continuing to  contribute to the development of Catalyst, an online portfolio for language educators;  maintaining communities of practice; publishing a guide to action research for language  educators; and supporting an educator in resident who will contribute to PEARLL  projects.
  3. Recognizing the importance for language teachers of having knowledgeable and skilled  supervisors and teacher leaders, PEARLL will help leaders develop leadership skills to  support teacher effectiveness through a guide to effective world language programs, a  leadership certificate, a summer leadership academy, and research on how program  leaders adapt to and implement their learning.
  4. To connect language teacher educators and classroom practitioners, PEARLL will  support and host the International Language Teacher Education Conference and identify  how the TELL Framework can facilitate the transition from being a student teacher to a  classroom teacher by examining how the TELL Framework is used in language teacher  training. 
  5. Building on PEARLL’s experience offering in-person and virtual professional learning,  PEARLL will continue to provide professional learning opportunities for language  educators, including a hybrid summit focused on LCTL educators and a series of annual  summer institutes for classroom teachers. These activities will be supported by two  research projects, one to understand language teachers’ needs for professional learning,  and a second to identify whether there is a relationship between professional learning  offered by PEARLL and participating educators’ teaching practices.  

PEARLL’s projects will draw on PEARLL’s and UMD-NFLC’s expertise and experience in  offering high-quality professional learning opportunities; developing resources such as model  curricula; and collaborating with teachers, schools and districts, and colleges and universities  around the country.  

Institution Website: https://pearll.nflc.umd.edu  

 

7/26/22

Mircea Raianu's new book, "Tata: The Global Corporation That Built Indian Capitalism," tells the story of a small business that, over 150 years, had both struggles and success as it grew to become one of the most powerful companies in India.

Nearly a century old, the grand façade of Bombay House is hard to miss in the historic business district of Mumbai. This is the iconic global headquarters of the Tata Group, a multinational corporation that produces everything from salt to software. After getting their start in the cotton and opium trades, the Tatas, a Parsi family from Navsari, Gujarat, ascended to commanding heights in the Indian economy by the time of independence in 1947. Over the course of its 150-year history Tata spun textiles, forged steel, generated hydroelectric power, and took to the skies. It also faced challenges from restive workers fighting for their rights and political leaders who sought to curb its power.

In this sweeping history, Mircea Raianu tracks the fortunes of a family-run business that was born during the high noon of the British Empire and went on to capture the world’s attention with the headline-making acquisition of luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover. The growth of Tata was a complex process shaped by world historical forces: the eclipse of imperial free trade, the intertwined rise of nationalism and the developmental state, and finally the return of globalization and market liberalization. Today Tata is the leading light of one of the world’s major economies, selling steel, chemicals, food, financial services, and nearly everything else, while operating philanthropic institutions that channel expert knowledge in fields such as engineering and medicine.

Based on painstaking research in the company’s archive, Tata elucidates how a titan of industry was created and what lessons its story may hold for the future of global capitalism.

The book is available on Amazon here or on the publisher's website here.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) offers a number of fellowships and grants for faculty. Read below for more information on their 2022-2023 competitions. The ACLS online application system (OFA) will begin accepting applications for many programs in July.

 

 

Save the Date for a virtual ACLS Fellowships Workshop Monday, September 12 at noon. 

5/9/22

About the Conference

a2ru’s next national conference will take place from November 3-5, 2022, on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. This will be an in-person conference, though we anticipate remote attendance will be an option for many sessions.

The a2ru national conference is an opportunity for practitioners and researchers from across the higher education spectrum to share innovations and perspectives in the arts. a2ru advances the full range of arts- and design-integrative research, curricula, programs, and creative practice to acknowledge, articulate, and expand the vital role of higher education in our global society. a2ru’s work, in partnership with an international network of leading higher education institutions, envisions a world in which universities—students, faculty, and leaders—explore, embed, and integrate the arts in everyday practice and research.

Conference Theme

The term, “Art-based research,” was coined by Elliot Eisner at a 1993 Stanford University symposium to describe a mode of formal qualitative inquiry that uses artistic processes to understand and articulate the subjectivity of human experience. That definition is one of many, and invites a more expansive inquiry from both within and beyond higher education: Isn’t artistic research also quantitative? Or is it neither  textual nor numerical? Shouldn’t it be excepted from the concerns of capital on which our accepted notions of research rely? What are examples of pure and applied artistic research? What are the possible rewards of defining artistic practice as research? What are the risks? Why would artists define their work in terms of “research?” What have we learned since 1993 and how can we expand Eisner’s and other definitions?

This year, we are issuing a call for proposals to every discipline, with perspectives on, experiences of, and experiments within the theme, “Exploring Artistic Research.” We welcome proposals that explore artistic research and what it means to individual artists, to the research agenda at our institutions of higher education, and to society at large.

Call for Proposals

  • TRACK ONE: Exploring artistic research
    Topics in Track One connect directly with the 2022 conference theme through the lens of the arts, design, performance and other art-based practices, as well as the practice and teaching of artistic research. Presentations and workshops should contribute to the conference by addressing one of the following themes or related issues: artistic research, arts-based research, collaborative research involving arts methodologies, ways of knowing that are unique to the arts, the landscape of artistic and arts-based research, “disrupting” and revisiting accepted definitions of research, the status of research in arts schools, and addressing differences in global perspectives on the arts and research.

  • TRACK TWO: The arts and design in higher education
    Topics in track two are broadly concerned with creating and supporting art-based practices, developing tools, and presenting ideas about the arts and design in the context of academic research and teaching cultures. Presentations and workshops should contribute to the conference by addressing one of the following themes: modes of collaboration; interdisciplinary stewardship; equity; arts integration on campus; promotion and tenure; and insights, cultures of evidence, impacts case-making, and dealing with data.

Deadline for Submission: June 6, 2022, 5pm EDT

Click here for more information on Session Formats and Guidelines.

Call for UMD Breaking the M.O.L.D, Inaugural Cohort 2022-23

Deadline, Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Please send all materials to: arhu-breakingthemoldumd@umd.edu

 

In these difficult  times, colleges and universities need to transform themselves as they seek to have an impact on society’s contemporary challenges. Arts and Humanities scholars bring distinct knowledge, skills, orientations, and awareness of possibility as higher education designs next steps. As humanists and artists, we are highly prepared to make significant contributions as leaders in higher education by virtue of our scholarly worldviews, training, and modes of inquiry and analysis. We bring historical, humanistic, interpretive, or ethnographic approaches; explore aesthetic, ethical, and/or cultural values and our roles in society; and conduct critical and rhetorical analyses, all modes of analysis/integration that are both directly and indirectly applicable (and often lacking) in higher education leadership roles. Recognizing this dearth of faculty from these disciplines, and especially women from underrepresented minority groups, serving in leadership positions across higher education, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is generously supporting a collaborative, multi-year project between Morgan State University (MSU), University of Maryland-College Park (UMD), and University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), to create a pipeline to senior leadership in higher education for faculty members of color and women from the Arts and Humanities.

Breaking the M.O.L.D. (Mellon/Maryland Opportunities for Leadership Development) for Arts and Humanities Faculty, breaks new ground by creating possibilities for leadership by intentionally investing in the development of a diverse set of leaders from ARHU disciplines at mid-career; and, by creating a rich partnership between three very different public institutions in one state. By the end of the project, cohort participants will be versed in the ways each institution grows and develops its leaders and better prepared to enter leadership roles at different kinds of higher education institutions.

Application Process

Breaking the M.O.L.D-UMD is pleased to accept applications from faculty in the Arts and Humanities as well as the humanistic Social Sciences for the inaugural 2022–2023 academic year cohort. The fellowship is intended for faculty at the associate and full professor level from historically disadvantaged racial groups and women. Faculty with prior leadership experience, (e.g., chairing a department, overseeing a tenure review, running a faculty search, organizing major conferences, serving in leadership in professional organizations and/or with stated interest in campus leadership) are especially encouraged to apply.

To receive full consideration please complete the application by providing a statement of interest in the program that includes your understanding of impediments to success for faculty of color and women in leadership positions on UMD’s campus and strategies for addressing these (2 pages max); a one-page description of your current research; an endorsement letter from your chairperson/director; and a short CV (3 pages max.). Deadline, Wednesday, May 4, 2022.

Fellow Incentives

Breaking the M.O.L.D Fellows will receive:

  • a stipend of research/scholarship support ($10,000) to be allocated to their specific needs, including  but not limited to course releases, summer stipends, subvention grants, or writing workshops;
  • support for travel and attendance at administrative conferences as a means for participants to develop networks and enhance their understanding of leadership roles;
  • the opportunity to apply for a competitive award of up to $50,000 (up to 6 faculty participants per cohort) to cover a teaching release or course buyout, travel expenses, research-related expenses, and/or hourly Graduate Student assistance, to help participants advance their research and  scholarship. (Faculty cohort members could receive up to two course releases during their participation through the research/scholarship support and the research award).
  • access to senior faculty administrative leaders who will be responsible for facilitating key workshop sessions and providing one-on-one mentoring and coaching support to participants throughout the project.
  • participation in a learning cohort of up to 8-10 faculty members composed of faculty from each institution. (All program activities will take place at and rotate among the three campuses however the locations are still to be determined.) 

About Cohort Activities

Program Duration. Fellows will participate in a 15-month program, from August 2022 - August 2024.  

Summer meeting (2022). The summer period will allow faculty participants to spend dedicated time attending skill building seminars, learning from experts who hold senior leadership positions at various types of universities, and participating in mentored applied leadership experiences. (All program activities will take place at and rotate among the three campuses.)

Monthly Meetings. These half-day monthly meetings will provide opportunities for faculty to learn the different organizational and governance structures of each campus (Morgan State and UMBC) and develop cross-institutional peer and mentoring networks. Topics will range from, “Developing and Honing Your Individual Leadership Style,” to “Understanding the University-wide Academic Enterprise.” Some sessions will focus on topics that pertain specifically to the participating university contexts.

A Shadowing Experience. In the final summer of your cohort experience, project leaders and faculty participants will identify a project for each faculty member that will provide them direct leadership experience in creating and implementing an initiative for their campus. Options may range from joining a search committee for an executive position to shadowing a senior-level administrator at key meetings on and off campus.

For questions or information about the initiative, please contact: Prof Psyche Williams-Forson or Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill at arhu-breakingthemoldumd@umd.edu

https://arhu.umd.edu/news/3m-grant-prepare-underrepresented-arts-and-hum...

4/21/21

Dear Faculty and Staff,

The University of Maryland takes on humanity's grand challenges, setting forth an ambitious agenda and vision to move our institution fearlessly forward in the pursuit of excellence and impact for the public good. Our university is a world-class institution with ideas, interests and capabilities that can profoundly impact and improve our communities and the world. This has been true throughout our history, and will continue into our future as a strategic commitment in Fearlessly Forward: the University of Maryland Strategic Plan.

We are pleased to announce the Grand Challenges Grants Program - the largest and most comprehensive program of its type ever introduced at our university. Up to $30 million in institutional investments will be available to fund programs, initiatives and projects designed to impact enduring and emerging societal issues, such as climate change, social injustice, global health, education disparities, poverty, and threats to our democracy.

The Grand Challenges Grants Program has two distinct components:

  • Grand Challenges Institutional Grants will provide funding to develop new institutional structures (interdisciplinary institute, major center, or school; or a new public-private partnership/consortia, etc.) that catalyze cross-disciplinary collaborations around a grand challenge focus or theme.
  • Grand Challenges Project Grants will provide funding for innovative and impactful research, scholarship, and creative activities designed to address grand challenges in service to humanity.

Today we are releasing the Request for Proposals (RFPs) for both the Institutional Grants and the Project Grants, and we invite applications that outline new and creative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Grand Challenges Grants Program can register at go.umd.edu/gcinfo to attend an online information session scheduled for April 26 at 10:30 a.m.

We are so excited to partner with units across campus and can't wait to see how the proposals generated through this program move our campus, state, nation and world fearlessly forward.

Sincerely,

Jennifer King Rice
Senior Vice President and Provost
She/Her/Hers

Gregory F. Ball
Vice President for Research
He/Him/His

4/19/22

By Maryland Today Staff 

The University of Maryland has named Stephanie Shonekan dean of the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU), effective July 1.

As dean, Shonekan will provide strong and visionary leadership for ARHU, supporting an environment of diversity and inclusive excellence in teaching and learning; promoting a culture of impactful research, scholarship and creative activities; and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships.

“I am excited by this opportunity to lead the effort to drive and support an environment of interdisciplinary curricular, pedagogical innovation and research for the faculty and students of the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland,” said Shonekan. “As a professor of music and Black studies, I am a constant champion for the humanities and the fine arts, and am energized to lead collaborative work to help all of us understand the critical importance of these areas, and their potential to enrich all disciplines.”

Shonekan joins UMD from the University of Missouri, where she serves as senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Science. In this role, her work focuses on guiding the college to meet the mission of a public institution, providing a well-rounded education to its students, promoting research productivity, and serving the college, campus and all the various fields of the College of Arts and Science. She leads and manages the college’s budget and administration, faculty affairs, hiring and facilities.

“Dr. Shonekan brings a wealth of experience advocating for the representation of arts and humanities, driving innovation in teaching and learning, and advancing work to create an inclusive culture,” says Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice. “Her scholarship and leadership align with the vision outlined in our strategic plan, and I am thrilled by the knowledge and perspective she brings to the University of Maryland.”

As senior associate dean at the University of Missouri, she has led initiatives to develop guidelines regarding faculty workloads; review and revise the staff support structure throughout the college; and find ways to uplift and highlight the value of the college’s departments and colleagues in the humanities, arts and social sciences.

Prior to her current position, she served as associate dean for graduate studies and inclusive culture, where she created a faculty mentorship initiative focused on meeting the intricate needs of graduate students and led cross-departmental work to make the college and campus a more inclusive space.

Shonekan previously served for five years as a department chair, first at the University of Missouri and then at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and held several roles at Columbia College Chicago for eight years.

Shonekan’s work focuses on race, culture, identity and history. A prolific ethnomusicologist, she is the author of “Black Resistance in the Americas: Slavery and Its Aftermath, Black Lives Matter and Music,” and “Soul, Country and the USA: Race and Identity in American Music Culture.”  She is also co-founder of the national “Race and the American Story” project, dedicated to “cultivating conversation, fostering understanding, broadening knowledge, and building community among people of different backgrounds and walks of life in the U.S.”

Shonekan is the recipient of various awards, including the Commitment to Diversity Faculty award at the University of Massachusetts, and the Marian O'Fallon Oldham Distinguished Educator Award, the Excellence in Education Award and the Black Girls Rock Award, and was a Teaching Excellence finalist at the University of Missouri.

She holds a B.A. in English from the ​​University of Jos, Nigeria, an M.A. in English from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a Ph.D. in folklore and ethnomusicology from Indiana University.

Photo by Jackie Byas.

1/24/22

The College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) at the University of Maryland is seeking proposals for the new ArtsAMP Collaborative Grants, which will support the development of artistic or arts-related work created in collaboration between investigators from at least two distinct fields of study.

Description:
Arts for All is a campus-wide initiative that seeks to: (1) make the arts at the University of Maryland increasingly accessible to—and representative of—all students, (2) connect the arts to other disciplines, especially the sciences, and (3) ensure that the arts are meaningfully engaged with issues of social justice and the grand challenges of our time. ArtsAMP Collaborative Grants are designed to support collaboration between faculty in the arts and faculty in other disciplines as they move to advance these goals by creating new artistic work, new scholarship on the arts, and new classes that further the creative experience of students. 

Eligibility:
Teams of tenure- and/or professional-track faculty (graduate students may be a part of faculty led teams). In most cases, one team member will have a primary appointment in the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU), and one other team member will come from a separate department at the University of Maryland, either within or beyond ARHU. 

Requirements:
ArtsAMP Collaborative Grants may be used to support the development of artistic or arts-related work created in collaboration between investigators from at least two distinct fields of study— normally from at least two different units, departments, or colleges—and which combine the talents and expertise of at least two distinct disciplines. Grants may be used to support research and creative projects at any stage of development, and while all kinds of collaborative, arts-based work will be considered, preference will be given to projects that (1) make the arts more accessible and inclusive, (2) amplify the connection of the arts to social justice, or (3) combine creative expertise with technology. Funding may be used to support collaborative research and creative projects that result in original works of art, performances, digital experiences, or research on the arts. We also welcome proposals for the development of cross-disciplinary, collaboratively-taught courses where the creative process is placed in dialogue with other forms of inquiry. Such courses might partner faculty in the arts with those in the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, or other disciplines. Funds are intended to support work on innovative, collaborative, and artistic projects, and will be paid directly to the collaborators. 

How to Apply:
Please combine all of the following into a single pdf and submit by email to pwarfiel@umd.edu by 5 p.m. on March 15, 2022. All materials should be single-spaced, with one-inch margins and 12-point font.

  1. Contacts: Names, titles, programs, and contact information for all collaborators (one page).
     
  2. Project Description: Summarize the proposed project’s objectives, outcomes, and connections to Arts for All. Explain how two or more disciplines will interact to create new creative experiences, knowledge, or pedagogies (three pages maximum).
     
  3. Collaborator Profile: Provide a summary of the skills, talents, and approaches of each collaborator (two pages maximum).

Post Award Expectations:
A three to four page report summarizing the work and offering suggestions for future grants will be required one semester after the award. Awardees will also be invited to present their work at an ArtAMP Colloquium. Awardees must acknowledge Arts for All in any reports, presentations or materials produced by the funding. Pending available resources, we hope to provide additional funding for awardees to finalize and publish or present projects and run courses.

For questions, contact Patrick Warfield at pwarfiel@umd.edu.

1/25/22

The College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) is now accepting proposals seeking funding support for conferences, events and other programming sponsored by its academic departments, schools and centers. Learn more about proposal requirements below:

Description:
We recognize that such programming can take on a variety of forms, so the guidelines below are designed to be flexible. Events will be considered for College support when they (1) advance the College’s Strategic Priorities, (2) impact an audience beyond the sponsoring unit’s own faculty and students and (3) when the funds requested of the College are matched or exceeded by funding from the host unit and/or its other partners.Eligibility:
Tenure- and professional-track faculty, departments, and centers.Amount:
CEP funds may be used for a wide variety of programming; awarded amount will thus vary. Please use the below as a guideline for preparing budgets and bear in mind that CEP awards require a 1:1 match from the host unit and/or its partners.

  • In general, single events (guest speakers, film screenings, workshops, etc.) may receive up to $1,000 in matching College funds.
     
  • In general, larger conferences and other multi-day, multi-participant events may receive up to $4,000 in matching College funds.
     
  • Events that further the goals of Arts for All may receive up to $1,000 in additional funds (not requiring a match). These goals are: (1) to make the arts at the University of Maryland increasingly accessible to—and representative of—all students, (2) to connect the arts to other disciplines, especially the sciences and (3) to ensure that the arts are meaningfully engaged with issues of social justice and the grand challenges of our time.

Requirements:
CEP funding is designed to support events sponsored by the College’s academic departments, schools and centers; and for events that connect the College’s programs to other colleges and programs on campus. Events may include conferences, visiting speakers, guest artists, undergraduate activities and public programming. Priority will be given to units that did not receive support in the previous academic year and to a unit’s first request for funding in the current academic year. Units outside of the College may initiate funding requests, but they should have an ARHU partner and demonstrate how their event will impact the ARHU community. Funds may be used to support speaker expenses, production costs, rental fees and other approved expenses. All expenses must conform to University of Maryland requirements.How to Apply:
Send the following, as a single pdf, to pwarfiel@umd.edu. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. All materials should be single-spaced, with one-inch margins and 12-point font. 

  1. Project Description: Summarize the proposed event’s objectives, outcomes and connections to ARHU. Explain where the event is in the planning process and how the event will benefit students and faculty beyond a single department (three pages maximum).
  2. Budget and Funding Status: Provide a brief budget and explain all sources of support. Be sure to explicitly state (a) how much you are requesting from the College, (b) if you are requesting Arts for All enhancement funding and (c) how your request is matched by other units.
  3. Letters of support from the appropriate unit heads, explicitly stating the dollar amount of their support.

Post Award Expectations:
A two to three page report summarizing the event, its audience and its impact will be required one semester after the award. Awardees must acknowledge the College of Arts and Humanities and/or Arts for All in any publicity, marketing, reports, presentations or other materials produced by the funding.

For questions, contact Patrick Warfield at pwarfiel@umd.edu.

The University of Maryland's Brain and Behavior Institute, in partnership with the University of Houston, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab at Rice University (along with the University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative) is pleased to announce that registration is open for an International Workshop on the Neural and Social Basis of Creative Movement to be held April 7–10 at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia.

This multi-day convening will bring together scientists, dancers, choreographers, composers, and conceptual artists to focus a multi-disciplinary lens on the interactions between the brain, the body, and emotion. Visiting scholars include leaders in the fields of neuroscience, linguistics, aesthetics, and the arts. I invite you to explore the full list of participants here.

Registration information can be found here, and one can attend either in person or virtually. Arts for All can support the registration fee for a limited number of students. If you are interested, please reach out to Associate Dean Patrick Warfield at pwarfiel@umd.edu.

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