It was just not another concert- certainly not the type that we have over the years becomeCoordinator Jacqueline Smith crowns a younger one.accustomed to.It was cutting edge- and the messages were all quite clear,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, and underscored what we so often overlook; the fact that women over fifty still has so much to offer.The Lichas Hall, in Linden repeatedly resounded with applause on Friday evening as women and girls from all age groups took to the stage to do their thing.Demonstrating that talent is not just attributable to the young, women considered far past their prime, modeled, danced and sang to the exquisite pleasure of patrons who turned out in their numbers at the venue.While ?a few of the women were no strangers to the stage, there were a few newcomers, but none could tell the difference, as most sashayed their way across the stage like professionals.The little ones were of course not to be outdone, as they joined with mothers and grandmothers, to emphasize the theme, “Bridging the Generation Gap”.Asked about the idea behind the theme, Coordinator Jacquelyn Smith noted,NFL Jerseys Outlet, that this year the Cutting Edge really wanted to make a difference.“So we came up with the idea for the theme, “Bridging the Generation Gap “The theme of course says it all,Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping, because we had not just the older women, but we introduced the young girls, who were chaperoned by the elders.They complemented each other in their mode of dress, and graced the stage together.So patrons were given the opportunity to look at fashions from two different perspectives. The appropriately dressed older woman and her younger counterpart, also age appropriately dressed.”Smith also spoke enthusiastically of the segment where both age groups donned the traditional wear of the six races.“It was our way of showcasing how we should be promoting racial harmony and not just that,China Jerseys Wholesale, we were also illustrating how we ought to be bridging the generation gap, by having women and girls using fashion as a simple way to bridge that gap. The young girls of course had the opportunity to look at their older counterparts and say wow!,Cheap Jerseys, this is how I should look when I get older, and the older one could offer that guidance and support and encouragement,NFL Jerseys Cheap, and maybe reminisce on the days when she was younger. Most significant though is the fact that we the older ones can learn so much from these young girls, especially in the area of information technology and so on, and we of course can pass on good values and etiquette along with good grooming habits. We all can learn so much from each other.”Founder member of the Cutting Edge, Esther Robertson said that the initiative was born out of the generally held belief by some that women considered past their prime had nothing to offer.“We set out to dispel that notion- we are out to help women to live more abundantly by becoming aware of their true potential… by exploring new things.Women aged fifty and above, have so much to offer, most of them have a lot of hidden talent that was never exposed, so we at Cutting Edge help them to do that. We encourage women to come out of their shells, so to speak. We believe that life after fifty is not just about visiting the doctor and having him tell you, “Oh you’re diabetic, or hypertensive or arthritic. Life after fifty should be more than that.”Midway through the concert the older women took the opportunity to crown their young counterparts, who they each bestowed with a special blessing.Newcomers to the Cutting Edge Stacy Granville and Karen Rogers certainly added their own bit of spice, with the former belting out popular Christmas songs and the latter showcasing her talent in drama and fashion modelling.Friday evening’s concert was the third of its kind hosted by the cutting Edge, which celebrates its seventh anniversary this year.Quite appropriately the curtains came down with the Cutting Edition choir serenading patrons with lively nostalgic Christmas carols. It was a splendid way to culminate a very entertaining evening.(Enid Joaquin)

(Cont’d from last week…)By Dale Andrews?? ?RESISTANCE BY RANK-AND-FILE OFFICERSRhetoric by public officials and activists for policing reforms are often dismissed by detractors as political games.? The technical programmes devised are not supported by skeptics since these activities are proposed in some instances by civilians.But in all fairness, the rank and file within the Guyana Police Force (GPF) might be simply mirroring a hostility to anything which involves civilians in defining their work competencies or evaluating their performance.? As obtains with top management the juniors would not like civilians influencing their operational priorities, or promotional prospects.Aggravated ingrained dislike may also stem from a perception among frontline ranks that individuals in the community are actively involved in policing matters only because they want the police to provide them with personal service and protection.? It is not unknown in Guyana that certain groups and individuals look to the police to protect and defend their social and economic interests.? In that regard any reform programme which threatens the status quo is headed for failure through active and passive resistance from both sides of the public protection spectrum.RESISTANCE BY SPECIAL UNITSSpecialized units are often threatened by programmes that require them to change their ways.? Where it is found that these units have special relationships with politicians, public officials will protect them against inconvenient elements of reform.? Questions continue to swirl around the many unsolved crimes like the Trevor Rose murder, and extra-judicial homicides where police involvement is suspected.Elaborating upon this type of resistance, Skogan identifies “nooks and niches in the organization where police … hide out and get ahead, including the organized crime division, the narcotics unit, and various roving squads of plainclothes tactical officers.”? He reveals that these groups’ “anonymity and disconnection from any community contact helped them ‘take heads’ and ‘kick ass’ with relative impunity, in the name of good,jerseys nfl wholesale, aggressive policing.”COMPETING DEMANDS AND EXPECTATIONSTraining requires officers being removed from duty while being paid, which places a demand on the national purse.? Thus, training in terms of content quality and context appreciation suffers when police administrations seek to implement new programmes cheaply while looking to get different results.? This situation is aggravated when officers have to be diverted away from direct operational tasks like responding to calls to social experiments in “at risk” communities with no apparent regard to appropriate training for roles, while ignorant of what measurable outcomes are desired.? Skogan argues that police forces are resentful about new programmes which are only known about after they have been adopted.On Producing Change in Police Organisations: The Story of the New South Wales Police Service (1996), Dr. Christopher Reynolds in looking social expectations – among them more sensitivity and responsiveness to community needs ? –? blames many policing problems on the nature of “policing administration itself.”INABILITY TO ‘MEASURE WHAT MATTERS’One problem facing policing is an unwillingness or inability to document what the police are doing or if they are being effective.? A fact of police practice is that activities which are measured are more likely to be publicised, regardless of the impact of unmeasured accomplishments.? The reliance on numbers as in reduction of fatal accidents,Cheap Jerseys From China, or increase in number of guns seized ‘undervalues’ intangibles such as community satisfaction,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, public involvement in crime prevention projects,China Jerseys Wholesale, and the formation of police-community partnerships.”The Guyana reform experience is still at its formative stage, and it is left to be seen if there will be a marked departure from an emphasis on quantity, which likely is a major obstacle to reform to the inclusion of qualitative references in achieving reform goals.FAILURE OF INTER-AGENCY COOPERATIONUnresponsiveness by sister agencies to requests by the police in moving forward elements of its reform programme is a major impediment to success,Wholesale China Jerseys, which may be due in part to competitive bureaucratic, budgetary or professional constraints.? Requests for interventions by the relevant institutions in a quest promoting Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), might not be readily acquiesced to thereby frustrating the process of cooperation.PUBLIC UNRESPONSIVENESSPast experiences have not prepared the public to und