Now talk about the military in Hawaii. I'm Jay Fidel. This is ThinkTab and talk about the Honor Flight Program. This is really important with Meredith Rosenbeck. She's the CEO of HonorFlight. HonorFlight.org, HonorFlight Inc., which is, she's got, it's got branches all over the country, but for now she's talking to us from Ohio. Thank you for appearing, Meredith. Thank you for having me, Jay. Glad to be here. So what is HonorFlight? Talk to us about how it got organized, what your role is, what it does. Absolutely. HonorFlight began in 2005. It was the brainchild of two amazing men, Earl Morris and Jeff Miller, who came together to form the HonorFlight Network in 2005. Their goal together was to bring World War II veterans to, at that time, the fairly new World War II Memorial. And they both felt an urgency to do so because the World War II veterans at that time even were aging out and dying in a fast clip. And now we're still trying to serve our World War II veterans and knowing that they're aging out even faster at this point. But the program grew from 2005 all the way to today. Our program is currently serving World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War veterans, and all of those in between. We have to date served over 250,000 veterans with a cost-free trip to Washington, D.C., to visit their memorials. In their day in Washington, D.C., our veterans visit the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Wall and Memorial. They typically go to Arlington National Cemetery, to the Air Force Memorial, Iwo Jima, which is the Marine Corps Memorial. They really get the whole gamut of a day in Washington, D.C. It is a day of honor, a day for them to share with each other stories and memories, good and bad. And it's really an honor for me to run this organization at a national level. Why do you do that? My grandfather was a World War II veteran. One of the highlights of his life was going back. He was a proud veteran. And one of the highlights of his life was going back to the World War II Memorial. And, you know, having that opportunity to reminisce and think about his service and what he did for our country. His passion for his time in the military just inspired me to do this role. There are challenges every single day. There are challenges we face as an organization. But I think that his passion for being a veteran and my gratitude towards those who search for our country, like my grandfather, keeps me going through all the days. It's fantastic. I just love our mission. It's so clear. It's so wonderful. You know, it's the best job I could possibly ask for. So how does somebody sign up to pick an honor flight? I'll make a guess and say they go to your website, which is under flight to ORG. We'll show a picture of that soon enough. And I guess they sign up and they have to qualify. What do they have to do to qualify? That's a good question. There is a ton of information available at honorflight.org. We have 130 regional hubs that are around the United States. You can find your link to your regional hub on our website. We have a map of 50 states and you can click on your state and find your regional hub based on the airport that's near you. You can go to the regional hub website, find their application and apply. You have to have served during World War Two, Korean War of Vietnam. You do not have to have served on foreign soil to qualify for an honor flight trip. It's military service and our gratitude is all we're really looking for there. Each of our 130 hubs does their program just a little bit differently. From a national level, we set safety and operational standards for the organization at a baseline and each hub gets to kind of modify that as they see fit to best serve the veterans in their area. So each hub's application is a little bit different. We also know that not every veteran lives near a local hub, regional hub. So we have a program that we run from our national office. We call it the low eagle honor flight. And we serve those veterans who aren't near a regional hub, which is what we're going to be doing in Hawaii here in a couple of weeks. We have those veterans go to our national website and pull our application and apply through our national website. If you're confused and you don't know where to go, your best bet is to go to the national website and apply through the national organization and we will make sure that your application gets to the right place. So it's not too late for a veteran in Hawaii to sign up for the honor flight that's coming in a few weeks? That's correct. So the flight that's coming in a few weeks is nearly full. However, we are looking to create one of a hub, an actual honor flight hub in Hawaii to continue to bring Hawaiian based veterans to Washington D.C. for their day of honor. So this is not a one and done situation for us. We hope to establish a long living program in Hawaii to bring those veterans to D.C. to visit their memorial. I'd support that. You know, we have a lot of veterans here from World War II and Korea and Vietnam for sure and thereafter. A lot of people have retired here because they like their service here and wanted to come back and live here and they are here. Yeah, absolutely the case and we, you know that when we initially announced a few months ago that we were going to be doing our inaugural flight from Hawaii with the support of Alaska Airlines. The feedback we received was tremendous. The veterans were so excited to hear that we would be running our program for them. They, you know, the guardians were ready to go. I mean, we've had so many volunteers already looking to volunteer with the program in Hawaii. It's been amazing. Well, I'm going to talk about age for a minute. If I was a veteran World War II, the greatest generation, the greatest generation that we that we have any contact with. I would be 80 or 90 years old now. And there's a fair chance I would be in firm in one way or another. If I was a veteran from, say, Korea, it would be, you know, 10 years younger, maybe, and I would likewise have the possibility of being in firm. If I was a Vietnam veteran and I am personally, I mean Vietnam era, we put it that way. I would, I would be still I would be in my 70s anyway, or older, and I would have the chance possibility of being in firm. How do you deal with that? You say no, you can't come. You say we'll make special arrangements. We'll accommodate you. You'll be very careful about your, your health and, you know, your, your status, so to speak, you know, and your strengths whatnot would take care of you, even if your infirmity appears on on the program on the flight. Great question, Jay. Yes, we take every veteran regardless of any infirmities they might have or health challenges they might have as long as their doctor is okay with them making the trip. We will make sure to coordinate that veteran with a guardian. Those are our, those are our volunteers that come along with our veterans to help care for them throughout the trip help, not necessarily a nurse or a doctor but someone who can be with the patient on the trip making sure that they have water and are taking their medicine. We have a health questionnaire that we bring along to make sure we know if veterans have any special health needs. We have, you know, we do. We have taken the gamut of veterans. In fact, our loan Eagle program takes terminally ill veterans as well. And so we have dealt with everything from terminal lung cancer patients who are in the last few weeks of their life to, you know, oxygen needs we need oxygen needs wheelchairs, all of the things.  That's a once in a lifetime thing. Yeah, suppose I apply to you for an honor flight every year. Can I do it? Can I do it? Like you said, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's a one time trip. But it's, we will try, we always try to prioritize our veterans based on age. So we try to get our World War two veterans on the flight first, followed by Korea, followed by Vietnam. And if there are terminally ill veterans who serve during any period of time, we prioritize them as well in terms of our waiting list. And so, you know, there is some movement there in terms of waiting list and how we get people on flight. But we want to make sure those are those who have the least amount of opportunity left. We try to get them there as soon as possible because it is a once in a lifetime chance to go see the memorials. So you have a special arrangement for, for eras periods after Vietnam, if they've been handicapped, injured, right, if they have some really profound medical situation, which they gained in war time. How does that work? Yeah, so that's through our national program and those veterans apply just like any other veterans through the Long Eagle program. And we offer a TLC opportunity for those veterans. So it's just based on, you know, their, their condition and, you know, their, their expected life expectancy to get them on a trip as soon as possible so that they don't miss the opportunity. Soon enough, I suppose, you'll have fewer of the World War two veterans and you'll move the, you'll move the frame ahead into Gulf War one and two and so forth, right? And then, you know, Iraq and Afghanistan and all that. So what's your plan on that? What's the timeframe? The two memorials, the War on Terror Memorial, and I'm trying to make sure I get the names right because I don't know if I will. The War on Terror Memorial and the Desert Storm Desert Shield Memorial are both approved and in the process of continuing the fundraising to get the memorials underway. Once those memorials are established and dedicated and we have actually gotten through enough of our Vietnam veteran waiting list because we don't want to, we want to continue to prioritize our oldest veterans first because we want them to have the opportunity to see their memorial. We will then open it up to those veterans, absolutely. So it was interesting, Jay, because when I took this job about four and a half years ago now, I had a good friend who said to me, why would you take that job? And I was, I listed him, I was like, well, it's an amazing opportunity. I'm really excited about it. And he goes, but World War two veterans, they're all going to be gone in a couple of years. And then what are you going to do? And I said, oh no, we're already serving Korean war veterans and Vietnam veterans. And then we're going to move into some of the more recent conflict, Desert Storm Desert Shield War on Terror. All of those conflicts because those veterans also deserve their day of honor. And so it's interesting because I always just assume everyone knows that we're going to continue our program as long as we absolutely can. And as long as we have the support of our generous public to keep our program going, because like I said, all of our honored veterans fly for free. And these trips are expensive. I mean, we fundraise for these trips and we bring all these veterans in so that they don't have to pay a dime. As long as we can continue the fundraising effort, we will continue our program until I'm old and gray, I guess. And then I think someone else will probably take my place. So yeah, I wanted to ask you about the trip. So you mentioned Alaska Airlines. It's a long flight. It's not like you can fly from Hawaii or the West Coast to Washington to see these memorials and have these events without staying over. And I suspect there's got to be a hotel in there somewhere and meals in there somewhere and transportation in there somewhere. How do you, how do you organize that because that, as you said, can be expensive. The massive effort in terms of both logistics and planning and fundraising. And so with respect to this Hawaii trip, it's actually going to be a five day trip. I believe Hawaii on Monday, May 7. I'm looking at kind of looking over my calendar to make sure I get the day straight. They will fly to Portland spend the night. They will get to DC. The evening of Tuesday, the eighth, they will do their tour in DC on Wednesday the night. Go back to Portland on Thursday, the 10th, and then come back to Honolulu for their welcome home on Veterans Day November 11. So it will be a five day trip to just get everyone there, get the tour in and then get everyone back. So, just in terms of the experience that I would have on an honor flight, I would take the flight together with people who have also signed up from my hub and my group, and we would fly together. And then you would bust me to a hotel or a restaurant or combination. And then you would bust me to these various memorials around Washington and give me a tour in each one of them. Somebody going to have to do that. And, and I guess spend a little time with me in some reception, so I can get to know the fellow next to me, right tell me how it works what what is the experience like once I get on that plane. You hit the nail on the head I couldn't have done it better if I tried. So, you will fly to the airport or get yourself to the airport, you will fly to Portland, the hotel, there will be food accommodations.  So, veterans will have someone with them for this entire five day period. Get back on get up in the morning get back to the airport on another flight, get to DC to the airport, you'll be at the airport in DC. You'll spend the evening again you'll have dinner and do all the things hop on a bus the next day, guided tours of each of the memorials as you go around DC. And there's plenty of time. I think that's the one thing that that I love the most about our honor flight trip. Make sure that that not only are you getting to see the memorials there's time for the veterans to reflect and share while they're at the memorials because if you've ever been to them they are moving in and of themselves and when you have the opportunity to visit them with veterans. I, I love to go I don't often go because I don't want to take a veteran seat on any flight. I haven't been to be in DC for meetings or whatever. I always try to go if I know a hub will be in town because veterans love to share their stories and I love to hear them because it's part of history. And we get to carry that along with us. And it's such an amazing day. Everyone has such a healing it's just, you can't describe the day until you go. Wow, you know, you just opened a thought for me. And that is yes it is part of history and, and these are stories that nobody may know about, you know, their personal stories. And it's great that these these veterans can share the stories but puff, it's gone. And the question is how can you memorialize that. And I have an answer for you. You can send them to me, I will memorialize, I will be happy to memorialize them having these conversations if they're willing. And put it on think tech about my job and the thing that's the most rewarding is, we often get letters or emails from families when veterans return home from their honor play trip. And they say dad or grandpa or grandma or whoever the veteran wasn't one of the trip. They never told us anything about their time in the military, not one story about their service, it was bottled up and put on a shelf and never asked about never spoken about. They went on their honor flight trip. They had an opportunity to be with other veterans with similar experiences. And now they came home and they finally told us their story. And for me. That for me is not just leaving that story untold because now the family knows and that's where the history gets continued because now grandchildren can be told about what grandpa did when he served in the military. Or the honor flight trip. It's incredible how often we get that from families and it's just so moving that this trip just allows that opportunity then within that family to share the story. Why I'm sure you've thought about this but why in the first phase is it bottled up. What's what's the scenario that makes these guys and girls of these veterans bottled up for so many years. What what is the psychological process there. I think often it's trauma. I think one of the things that I've seen with our Vietnam veterans and I'm not a medical practitioner or anything like that but one of the things I've seen with our Vietnam veterans that I've had the opportunity to spend some time with on their trip. They often think they themselves didn't do enough. There was always someone else who did more or risked more. And they don't feel deserving of the ability to tell their story or of that story being memorialized. And I hear it all too often because you know and as the day goes on and you know the stories are worked through and and people talk together. Eventually I think that those folks do feel deserving that their story does deserve to be told, because others have similar stories or similar experiences are shared like experiences you know often. It's the World War two veterans to get our Vietnam veterans to open up and I think that's really incredible because those that the experiences were very different. But similar in so many ways and it allows everyone to kind of just be able to open those floodgates that have been closed for so long. It's really, it truly amazed me over the years how often that comes up. I'm still making you the offer. Okay, you know what I looked at your website and I tried to imagine to ideate how this was I thought, gee, wouldn't it be something if these veterans knew each other to start. And they could talk about their, their common experience in a, in a given military unit or some geographical location, some battle who knows what. It's wonderful and wouldn't that be, you know, the most intense possible thing you could have especially given the fact that they may not have talked for, you know, 50 60 70 years, as a matter of fact. But then, you know, talking to you now I realize, it doesn't matter if they knew the other veteran before. The fact that the other veteran in the seat next to them in the in the plane in the bus in the hotel in the restaurant at the at the event in the memorial is somebody who can understand what the experience was and that's enough. The fact is actually even preferable. I don't need to talk to somebody who was there shoulder to shoulder with me that's, that's nice. I want to talk to a number of people who can understand what happened to me. I think you're exactly right on that J. I think different experiences allow people to because they don't, you know, a Vietnam veteran doesn't know what the beaches of Normandy were like, but they can then, you know, hear that. I did, I did this or I went through this and saw this and it's telling you to someone who hasn't been there who's interested in the differences right are interested in the different story that someone else has to tell and I think that the commonality of having served our country is it all together and it really, we always find it that our veterans are just more than willing by the end of the day to just share their stories with each other and with their guardians and with, you know, with the folks on their trip. Yeah, well, there's another part of that story.  So here I was I served with you with somebody like you in World War two or in Vietnam or Korea. But my, my life has moved forward from there. I came back. I was married, I had kids, family, career, I mean, or, or the lack of those things, you know, the track of life for the veteran veteran by definition is someone who is still alive, a veteran is somebody who served in a theater of war, and a veteran is somebody who had a life in the country when he or she got back. And I am sure to a moral certainty and you can confirm this for me that part of their conversation on the plane on the bus in the events at the memorials the restaurants the hotels. It's about what happened after they got back. What kind of lives they've had. And for that matter, how their military experience affected those lives, you know, the step going forward. Am I right. Absolutely. There is so much sharing about children and what they've done and in marriage and family and things that they've been through post war. And I think that that sort of those commonalities and the ability to share some of those day to day things.  And it just gets as the day goes on you kind of get deeper and deeper and as you see the memorials and, you know, you get to experience that with you might be an army guy and go to the Marine Corps Memorial but maybe that experience brings up some memories for the buddy next to you who's been and was in the Marine Corps. And so it's just all the different pieces and parts come together. You know we have something we call honor flight magic day. And it happened from time to time and we also have this thing called honor flight allergies.  But the honor flight magic pieces interesting we've had so many instances where veterans who serve together in wartime have been on separate honor flight trip from different parts of the country. They came into DC on the same day just happens to be the same day and recognize each other at the memorial and can then have a conversation. It's truly incredible it's happened on many occasions, or you know, running to someone that you know it's the son of someone who they serve with and that person's a guardian on their trip. It's just really incredible how you can watch how people come together and this you know I think now used to be seven degrees of separation but I think now what is it or because of the internet right I think it's interesting how it how it comes together on an honor flight trip sometimes just the strange little thing that the universe is kind of manufactured. That's why it's such a gift isn't it. They get reconnected. I may not know this individual but I had such a time talking to him or her. So when I get home maybe I want to send him an email I want to continue that conversation. After all it was an important part of my life and my survival, and the years after that I am a veteran. Do you find that you find that they bond up where they did not know each other before or maybe they did. And now you know that relationship continues after the honor flight. We do, and many of our hubs will do reunion luncheon. And so once a year, they'll get everyone that went that year together and do a luncheon and have a speaker or you know we're just bringing people together. Some of them will have you know guardians reach out and help the veterans get together many of our veterans are in assisted living or independent living facilities and so we have a lot of our volunteers who are more than willing to go help our veterans meet back up with those folks that they met on their trip and so they'll take them go pick them both up and take them to lunch and have a day of it. And so I do, I do think people do stay connected after their trip. If they want to and if they don't want to that, you know, quite fine as well. We don't share information unless we're asked to, you know, by the both parties that share information. But we do find that our veterans do like to stay connected after the trip with those they went on the trip with and with the guardians as well because it's a special day for everyone. You know, I'm thinking if I spent five days with a bunch of guys, Heather and Jan and sort of a swirling community of people where I run into this person and I rub elbows with that person and so forth. There are a lot of things to talk about. And one of them is is the fundamental among all veterans and that is intense patriotism. They have in a way they have invested their lives in the country. And by large I would expect that veterans are more patriotic than the average citizen on the street. And so they must talk about that. On the other hand, you know, the conversation isn't always going to be the same from generation to generation. Their view of patriotism, their view of their relationship with the country would be different. I think from World War two to Vietnam, a lot of people oppose Vietnam, even in the military they oppose Vietnam. Korea, Korea is in the middle somewhere. And of course, more recently and I don't know if you see this yet but I think I think the veterans may have a different view of patriotism now. We know there are a lot of people on active duty, you know, who are not as patriotic as we might be, given the divisiveness in the country right now. They may side with, you know, people who are arguably not democratic. They may have a different view of it entirely. However, it will advise that may be. And I just wonder if the conversation in the airplane, in the bus, in the hotel, in the restaurant at the memorial includes the level of patriotism that they take away from their investment in the country during their years of service. Party to those particular conversations because we let our kind of veterans have their own time and their own, you know, conversations with each other at the dinner. So we, you know, we try to let them have time to share their stories to share their ideas and enjoy each other because that's part of the trip is honoring and celebrating them but also giving them the time to honor and celebrate themselves and with each other right in that camaraderie. But I, you know, I do think that we do see, I don't know that it's patriotism we see different views and in terms of how people felt about their, like, I know my grandfather really felt proud of his service. It was something, you know, he wore his Legion hat with pride, his World War II veteran hat with pride all the time, everywhere. But we have, I know we have some of our Vietnam veterans who still don't have pride for their service because they just felt like it was, you know, a political, there were so many politics surrounding that war. And I want them to be proud of their service though because they sacrificed for our country, and they deserve to be honored for that sacrifice, you know, and I just don't want them ever to be ashamed of their service and I, you know, sometimes we do see that. And I just hope that we can help help get people past that and be able to share with their families, you know, what their service meant to them, maybe at the time and maybe what it means now because at that time it could have meant one thing. And today it could mean something totally different to them. And so, you know, that sharing of that conversation with with their families or with with those on the honor flight trip. I think it's important to like to the healing getting past, you know, the feelings of not even wanting to talk about your service. Well, you know, one thing is clear that a strong country requires dedication by the members of the military and the community to be dedicated to the members of the military to be on the same page.  This is a statement that we care. And it's not only a message to the people who go on the honor flight. It's a message to the people who might be in the military today, or tomorrow, or the people who might never be in the military to say that we are together in this matter. And that we care about the men and women in uniform. So I think it goes beyond just the veterans on those planes that you organize. It's a statement that goes far broader than that. That's my feeling. What's your feeling. I completely agree Jay, and we have so many active duty military who are in the DC area in the Annapolis, Maryland area in the DC. And they love to come out in uniform and greet our veterans at the memorials to read our buses as they drive by to salute our veterans as they as they drive through the memorials. It's truly incredible to see, but I think it does. It does show by honoring our veterans from World War Two through Vietnam. I think it does show that we care for our veterans and we care about that service so much and I, our veterans love when our active duty military come out to see them. It's just such a great experience for them to share to just, you know, just reminisce and remember what it was like to wear the uniform. It's really neat to see because they really do light up when our when our young military folks come out to greet them and talk with them. Did they ever wear their own uniforms. Not usually. I'll tell you, I would, I would wear my own uniform, except I want to be clear about this it would never fit me. We have a couple who have fit back into it I think that's usually half the battle is that it doesn't quite fit anymore you're not quite the same size as you were back in the military days. We've had a couple who have fit into them, but it is neat sometimes to see a number of veterans will have the opportunity with their guardian to show them some of their memorabilia or photo book or you know things that they've collected through their service and you know some of them have brought it out for the first time, you know in 40 years and they bring it out and it's just like wow this is you know truly an incredible piece of memorabilia. And so we love to see that I love when when our veterans are able to share that with their guardians or maybe bring it to the luncheon or you know any of those kinds of things really neat some of the stuff that they have is pretty cool. Yeah. So, some people who watch this may not know about you. Maybe they're learning about it right now as they watch some people who watch this might be inclined to make a contribution to you. Can you take a moment and just leave your final thoughts with them about this. Absolutely. We are always, we always are grateful for monetary donations, and you could make a monetary donation on our website at on our fight.org, but we're also always looking for volunteers to come out. If you're interested in volunteering you can find your regional hub on our website, and you can contact your regional hub director from that website their email is on there their phone number is on there. We are always looking for folks to come out to the airport to greet our veterans when they arrive home from their honor flight trip. That is truly an amazing experience. You can bring your kids to that. Truly, I always say, we are one of the few organizations left where you can actually come out and volunteer if you can actually give your time and volunteer and you can bring your kids along because it's a kid friendly event. Bring them out to the welcome home. Sometimes they get a little late at night you want to make sure to check the time. We have Boy Scout troops and Girl Scout troops who come out, especially during the summertime, because you know there's no school the next day or, you know, it's kind of can be a late night sometimes. But it's great they make they make signs and they, you know, they come out with their parents and they wave flags and it's just it's really impactful for our veterans who come home as part of their celebration. Part of that day of honor for them. But it's really, really nice. So if you want to volunteer, you can check out find your regional hub on our website and contact them to volunteer. You can also make a donation to your regional hub. So if you click on through our website, you can find your regional hub and make a donation to your regional hub as well. We are always, you know, all of our veterans buy for free. I would say the cost of a trip has gone up significantly, at least since covid for a veteran that's east of the Mississippi. The trip for that veteran is around 650 to $750 for a veteran west of the Mississippi. That's probably around 1350 to $1,500 and from Alaska and Hawaii. It's significantly more than that. And so your contributions go directly to our veterans. We have, you know, a small staff that runs a great program, but 95% of our dollars go back to getting our veterans to DC. You know, it occurred to me looking at your website, but it occurs to me now that this whole program is not only celebrating the veterans who are still alive. You're also honoring. Well, thank you, Meredith. Great to talk to you. We really appreciate you joining us on the show and helping us understand not only what Honor Flight does, but what it represents. This is a very important part of our national heritage and our patriotism. Thank you so much. Thank you. Aloha. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.


So, let us look at the comparison with the linear system case alright. So, remember we had a single input system that we are working with and a single output system, single input and single input. So, let us look at the linear single input single output system. So, can be represented by a transfer function right and it has a standard canonical state space realization also all of you are aware of this I hope yeah from this transfer function I can get to the state space realization right. So, basically these two are equivalent. So, this is the A matrix, this is the B matrix, this is the C matrix, B is the control matrix, A is the was the drift and C is the output ok. From this transfer function this is what will be your minimal realization standard ok. Why did I move to the A, B, C is because of course I want to work in state space right not in frequency domain. So, with this setup you can see that the entire system is linear. So, there is no partial linearization and all going on here, we are just trying to see what happens. So, if you look at z 1, z 1 is y equal to this entire thing right. So, I expanded it right it is x 1, x 2 all the way to x minus x n minus r plus 1 yeah. So, I am just how do you get the output is just this multiplied by x the states right. So, that is how I get the output ok, z 2 is obviously y 1 dot just how it is been defined right. So, or sorry z 1 dot if you want to write sorry z 2 is z 1 dot because is y dot and you can expand it, but it is not relevant basically you have all the way going from z 1 to z 2 wait a second yeah. So, z 1 dot is z 2, z 2 dot is z 3, z r minus 1 dot is z r. So, that is the first whatever the first r minus 1 columns covered ok that is this kind I see. So, this is only using n minus r and this is of course, n dimensional ok yeah that is fine it is just how the transfer function is. Now, it is very deliberately done the numerator is deliberately has power only to n minus r just so that you have zeros in the end it is not it is not making use of all the states ok, but this is obvious just because of this dynamics if you write this as x dot is a x plus b u if I write it like this or actually in this case the weights will written as not x dot, but it is written as z dot is a z plus b we are using z not x. So, if you just write this out z dot is a z plus b u you will get this right z 1 dot is z 2 you will get this part right it is pretty obvious right. The only thing left is the last one ok, actually not the last one not not even the last one I apologize not even the last one I am just trying to see what is happening. So, z 1 dot is z 2 and z r minus 1 dot is z r that is obvious and what are we doing we are writing z r as this guy I see what is the need to do this why am I doing this sorry I am going to move forward yeah this is I am just going to move forward and I will come back to it if we need it yeah this much is obvious from the dynamics z dot is a z plus b u right. In fact, the u appears only in the z n dot yeah we are only going from 1 to r minus 1 here ok then we want to look at z r dot ok that is that is where all this is happening ok what is z r dot now what is z r dot from this expression itself you will see that z r dot is simply equal to z r plus 1 because I have not reached n ok I hope that is evident ok yeah I have not reached n the r and the n are different ok. So, and r is obviously less than n so z r is somewhere here. So, so just by this dynamics itself yeah z r minus 1 dot is z r similarly z r dot is z r plus 1 ok now I am just wondering how we get to this form ok with the control that is all how does z r dot contain the control I guess I have no choice, but to actually look at this ah disappointing alright we have to look at it this way there is no choice ok if you look at z 1 it is y which is exactly this guy which is expanded here ok z 2 is z 1 dot I am actually taking the derivatives here.  So, I will get the r index here similarly the r plus 1 index here yeah. So, you just add basically r to it.  So, see how z r plus 1 is not actually this is not true this is not true I should erase this actually this is not what we do we do not define z r plus 1 as z r dot yeah that is not correct ok. So, because we define new coordinates the phi coordinates yeah these are only the linear coordinates we as of now we are only looking at the linear coordinates. So, how we are getting to the dynamics of the linear coordinates is simply by taking consecutive derivatives of y just like we have been doing ok and if you keep taking the consecutive derivatives of y this is what you will get yeah you go to b 0 x 2 b 1 x 3 and so on and then if you keep moving forward in all the way to z r which is z r minus 1 dot you will just match the indices here 2 becomes 2 3 becomes r plus 1 and so on and so forth yeah basically all you are doing is you know you are basically just moving from the 2 th index to the r th index that is it you can see the pattern here it is nothing complicated and then the only important thing to remember here is this brings in x n that is it see these last terms did not mean anything earlier, but now you have an x n why because x n dot contains the control this is what is important ok. So, when I take z r dot which is the derivative of this guy these things would not do anything this will give me r plus 1 r plus 2 n, but x n dot will bring in the control as it should why because it is a relative degree r system yeah ok or if it was not evident to you earlier just by the fact that you go only till n minus r here in the numerator makes it a relative degree r system ok for the linear case. So, this is actually relative degree r system even if it was not evident to you earlier by taking these derivatives it becomes evident to you right because the control appears only in the r th derivative. So, obviously it has to be a relative degree r system yeah. So, that is it I have a relative degree r system this is my linear dynamics z 1 dot is z 2 z 2 dot is z 3 all the way and then z r dot contains the control ok that is what is written here that is it some r and s matrices we need not concern ourselves with it, but there is the control here. Now how do we choose the rest of the coordinates well the way it is been chosen here in these nodes is just take them to be the first n minus r states right because I already had z 1 to z r. So, now I need n minus r more states. So, I am just taking them as the first n minus r states ok it turns out to work fine. So, here it says you have to find the rank of the Jacobian yeah I can even put this as an exercise yeah it is pretty easy to check yeah because the first because the rest of the states are these z 1 to z r and this is the x 1 to x n minus r yeah if you verify the Jacobian will turn out to be full rank all right now. So, now what so this is what is the additional dynamics correct this is what will give me the zero dynamics all right and this is what is the eta's right. So, the z 1 to z r form the size. So, the eta's are these guys ok. So, what is the derivative of the eta's x 1 dot is x 2 x 2 dot is x 3 x n minus r dot is x n minus r plus 1 ok all right. So, if you want to write them in terms of the eta and x i x 1 dot is x 2. So, this is eta 2 x 2 dot is x 3 eta 3 this is how I have actually constructed the eta's and this guy yeah then you go all the way to eta n minus r and this guy x n minus r plus 1 ok what is x n minus r plus 1 it is not any eta I hope that is evident right because eta goes only to x n minus r right it is not eta. So, how do I write it I just go back to this equation right look at this yeah you can see x n minus r plus 1 appearing here all right. So, I am only trying to write everything in terms of the new variables that is all I am not doing any magic here I am just trying to write everything in terms of the new variables ok. So, I know that x 1 to x n minus r are my eta 1 to eta n minus r and then I have z 1 to z r. So, all I want to do is write my zero dynamics in terms of these eta and z. So, eta and whatever z 1 to z r eta and z 1 to z r all right. Now, my problem is when I took the eta dot the last term came out to be x x minus x n minus r plus 1 which is not eta and it is not directly any z 1 to z r either ok. So, but it is pretty simple I just I can see that my output z 1 contains the x n minus r plus 1 right.  So, I can directly write this in terms of z 1 and eta s right just by using the output equation yeah. So, that is what I have it is psi 1 which is z 1 minus this entire all right ok that is what I have written yeah. You have a p x i and a q eta and q is basically this coming from here p x i plus q eta. So, and the q comes from this guy right and so, if psi is 0 your 0 dynamics is just this much which is this yeah ok clear. And so, what is this if you look at this equation this is first of all what r dimensional sorry n minus r sorry keep reminding me yeah ok. So, this is n minus r dimensional system. So, this is also obviously n minus r yeah, but if you look at the structure of this what are the poles of this system what are the poles they are basically sorry not the poles, but the coefficients of the transfer function are this right of this right all right ok. But so, if you want to find the Eigen values what you have to do you have to basically find the zeros of the characteristic equation which is being going to be defined by this guy just this guy right. So, basically the Eigen values of this system are the zeros of the original transfer function right what was my original transfer function was just this right right. So, zeros of this guy is actually equal to Eigen values of my 0 dynamics ok zeros of the original transfer function are the Eigen values of the 0 dynamics right. So, that is what you have q is this Eigen values of this is exactly defined by zeros of that transfer function. So, if you write the characteristic equation of this matrix q you will get exactly these as coefficients right all right. So, what do you have the zero dynamics the name has a very clear connotation ok it is coming from the linear system context yeah that it is the zeros of this transfer function is what is giving you the zero dynamics ok pretty interesting actually right. So, depending on how this guy looks if you are looking at a linear system depending on how this guy looks to you you know that what is the first of all you will know what is the relative degree of the system right in this case what was the relative degree of the system are which was n minus the highest power of this yeah 90 degree is just n minus the highest power why because I will keep taking successive derivatives right that is what I did and I will get to the nth power after r minus 1 steps and then if I take one more I get the control right. So, relative degree is defined immediately by looking at this and the zeros of this guy yeah or the solution of this the solution of this gives you the Eigen values of the zero dynamics yeah. So, if the if this is a stable system this represents a stable system ok. Then say this equal to 0 gives me all real negative real parts negative for the corresponding S then I am good right basically gives me that my zero dynamics is stable right and that in frequency domain context what is this called when the zeros are in the left half plane minimum phase exactly minimum phase ok. So, and that is the nice property that we are extending to non-linear systems right. So, this is a minimum phase system. So, zero dynamics having stable a stable zero dynamics is equivalent to having minimum phase in the linear system yes ok. So, in this case if you have a minimum phase system your Q will have negative real Eigen values or whatever we will have Eigen values with negative real parts ok which is the exponentially stable system and that is what you want remember yeah I hope you remember because we cannot do anything with the non-linear piece. So, if you have negative real Eigen values with negative real parts for that amazing right. So, it is it is going to zero exponentially fast right in this linear system context also I cannot have played with the eta dynamics done anything to the eta dynamics right, but because it turned out that this has good structure yeah I can now only work with the z dynamics yeah alright ok ok great. So, we do not have to talk about this right. So, that is the idea ok in order to get asymptotic stability for the entire non-linear system which has been partially linearized alright you need the non-linear part or the zero dynamics to have nice features which is stability zero dynamics should be stable alright that is really the idea and that is what we are sort of trying to state here alright and what does it say it says that if you have if you without loss of generality if you assume that this is an equilibrium of the system psi and eta equal to zero zero that is in the z states right and it has relative degree R ok then if the zero dynamics is locally asymptotically stable ok suppose that the equilibrium eta equal to zero of the zero dynamics is locally asymptotically stable or you also say use these words the system is minimum phase yeah and the feedback linearized subsystem is also asymptotically stable right. So, what are we saying the linear part is asymptotically stable or stabilized by the control that you have ok and on top of that the non-linear part that is the zero dynamics of the non-linear part is also asymptotically stable then the combination is asymptotically stable ok this is basically the cascade idea because your system looks like this you have a linear part yeah just by virtue of your control you have a linear part yeah and you assume that this is exponentially stable in fact this is exponentially stable right and then you have a non-linear part right you have a non-linear part which I know is locally asymptotically stable when the linear part is zero this is the zero dynamics right zero dynamics is this guy and I am saying that this is locally asymptotically stable. So, the combination is in fact asymptotically stable that is the claim ok any questions yeah how the Q how to write the Q ok that is fine that is fine. So, we are writing this equation by the way not this we are actually writing this equation I hope you got that eta is this x1 x2 all the way to xn minus r now all I am trying to do is because this is the eta dynamics right. So, I am just trying to write eta dot from here. So, eta dot is x1 dot is x2. So, eta 1 dot is eta 2 and so on.  See eta eta and psi are just the split of the z vector that is all I mean I know I am introducing not of new notation, but the way we have been working is we move from the x variables right from the x variables we move to the z variables and all I am doing is splitting this z into psi and eta because this is the linear yeah I want a linear piece and then this is the non-linear piece that is all that is what I am repeating here also yeah. So, psi is basically the first few vectors of z which was the linear part already done and then this is the non-linear part which I am defining these coordinates I have to define these are the phi's phi i's these have to define these I am defining and these vectors these variables from the original state yeah these I have to write. So, now eta 2 is sorry x2 is eta 2 x3 is eta 3 yeah then I go all the way to eta n minus r, but then xn minus r plus 1 is not in eta yeah to 2. So, to write xn minus r plus 1 I go back to my output equation right here I have from this guy I can write xn minus r plus 1 as z1 minus b0 x1 minus b1 x2 all the way to minus bn minus 1 xn minus r and I know that this is eta 1 this is eta 2 this is eta n minus r right and this is z1. So, if you look at this z1 is basically coming from the linear part from the psi. So, I have a psi term and then zr plus 1 to zn is coming in the eta term. This I have just written as this guy right q eta that is the q because I do not care about this because I am going to make this 0. So, I just write the q from here actually here yeah I skip the psi part that is all that is how I get the q this is just 0 if you look at this 0 1 0 0 1 all the way to you know there will be a 0 0 there will be a 1 in the end and then I will get this guy yeah all right.


Since we want to be able to do more than simply list the natural numbers, we have to define some operations, and so we define addition as follows. n plus 0 is n, and the successor of n plus m is n plus the successor of m. So, for example, let's find 5 plus 1, and, importantly, let's prove our result. So, remember, if you're not using a definition, you're probably not doing a proof. So, since we're talking about an addition, let's pull in our definition of addition. And since our definition of addition refers to the successors of the natural numbers, we might remember how we defined those successors. So, by definition, 5 plus 1, there's nothing in here that says what happens when you add 1. But we do know that 1 is the successor of 0, and so 5 plus 1 is the same as 5 plus the successor of 0. And we also know that n plus the successor of m is the same as the successor of n plus m. And so that tells us that 5 plus the successor of 0 is the same as the successor of 5 plus 0. But wait, there's more. We know what 5 plus 0 is because that's part of our definition. 5 plus 0 is the same as 5. And so the successor of 5 plus 0 is the same as the successor of 5. And that is the natural number 6. Now, an important idea in mathematics is math ever generalizes. And we can often form a proof by generalizing the specific. So in this specific case, we found that 5 plus 1 was the successor of 5 or 6. And if instead of using 5, we use n, we can go through the same steps. And that gives us a useful little result for any natural number. n plus 1 is the successor of n. What if we do something more complicated? How about let's find 2 plus 3 and again prove our result. So again, we can always write down one side of inequality. So we can write down 2 plus 3 equals. And again, our definition of addition doesn't tell us what happens when we add anything other than 0. But we do know that 3 is the successor of 2. So 2 plus 3 is the same as 2 plus the successor of 2. Our definition does say this is the successor of 2 plus 2. And now lather, rinse, repeat. 2 is the successor of 1. 2 plus the successor of 1 is the same as the successor of 2 plus 1. And at this point, let's take advantage of the fact that we did determine that n plus 1 is the successor of n. And so 2 plus 1 is the successor of 2. That's 3. The successor of 3 is 4. And the successor of 4 is 5.


Here now are some tips on the successful completion of your three tense units. First, when identifying a sentence's tense, focus on the structure of the sentence rather than its usage. The structure is what dictates the tense used. For example, if a sentence lacks the auxiliary verb to have, it cannot be a perfect tense sentence. Similarly, if a sentence lacks the present participle used as the main verb in the sentence, it cannot be a continuous tense sentence. This can also be helpful for creating sentences. Once you've created a sentence you feel is appropriate, have another look and analyse that sentence's form before looking at its usage. When asked for reasons why you've identified a specific tense, be sure to list a usage. If you're able to do this correctly, your answer will most likely be correct. When asked to explain something to a low-level student, be sure to word your answer as if you're really explaining it to the low-level student rather than your tutor. Be sure to use basic language and be as clear as possible. Finally, when asked to give an Activate Stage idea, please bear in mind the aims of the Activate Stage. These are 1. To maximise student talk time, be sure that your activity allows for the students to speak as much as possible. Secondly, be sure that the students are using the language freely and in an open-ended way so as to maximise or improve fluency. 3. Focus on the target language. We always want to be ensuring that our students are using the very language point that we've been explaining. Finally, keep in mind that these shouldn't be worksheet-based activities where the worksheets are more useful for the study stage rather than the Activate Stage.


I would like to welcome you all to another online video class on journalism and mass communication. In today's class, we are going to talk about the popular forms of traditional communications lesson. This is the Unit 9 of the paper, Traditional Folk Media Belowing to Third Semester, Being in Journalism and Mass Communication, under the Krishna Kandahandic State of the University. In this particular class, we are trying to, we will try to understand the different popular forms of traditional communication lesson, like Bihu, Leng, Ayanam, Lullabies, Ujjapale, Hortria, Bhawna and Gaget. These are eight different forms that we are trying to focus on, most specifically. And after going to this Unit, you will be able to appreciate the role of folk media in preserving the cultural identity of a son. Let us understand the development of the different folk forms in the Assam. Now, let me talk about the traditional folk forms in Assam. It is not only Assam, the traditional folk forms have been there for the past couple of years in the entire country. Assam too can boast of its very rich cultural heritage. It has its own distinctive folk forms, its distinctive religious discourses, its distinctive religious folk songs, folk dance and also as well and other narrative forms as well. Now, the first important or the most popular folk song that comes to our mind when we talk about the most common popular communication, folk media communication tools is the Bihu songs. Now, Bihu is said to be the most important festival of Assam, because it is related to the seasonal change, it is related to the cultivation as it is raising the livestock. Generally speaking, there are three types of Bihu. One is to celebrate it in the particular year. And each coinciding with a distinctive phase in the farm calendar. We have the Ranganya, the Bahag Bihu, which is celebrated in the mid-epid at the onset of spring. It actually marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year and also the beginning of the agricultural system. And the Bahag Bihu is actually celebrated with so much fanfare, there is so much fun, there is so much frolic, you know, people and it cut across a different generation, it cut across all the different age groups, you know, and celebrated by the young and the old. It's not only that, only a certain category of people like to enjoy the different festivities, but different aspects associated with Bihu. Kongali or Kati Bihu, that's actually observed the month of October. And there is not much merriment, as far as Kati Bihu is concerned, because the crops are always in a growing stage and the farmers actually pray for a very rich harvest during this particular period. Then there is a Bhogali or a Mag Bihu, which is actually celebrated in mid-general and this marks the end of the harvesting season. So what actually people, since it's the end of the harvest, assistance, people, they gather together, people try to have a community feast and they try to enjoy the different festivities associated with this particular Bihu. Now Bihu has also many variations to it, it types many variations. We are very much aware of the term Jang Bihu. Jang Bihu is an ancient form of Bihu dance form, from Appasam. And this form of Bihu dance is mostly performed by the women folk and typically it is performed in a monolate night, in a place where they cannot be seen or accessed easily. So the word Jang Bihu is believed to have been inspired from the Asamu Swarajini, which means an obstructive barrier indicating a barrier between the performance and the audience. Then we have the Mokoli Bihu. Now Mokoli Bihu is, from the term itself, you can make out it's actually performed in open fields, open areas and the young boys, they actually sing the Bihu song accompanied by the beating of the drums, there is a playing of the horn pipe and the girls join them in the field, they also dance together. At most phase there are very much merriment, very much fun, there's much frolic in there. So then we have the Moran Bihu. The Moran Bihu is also a typical form of Bihu dance, which is actually practiced by the Moran tribe of Asamu and it's actually in some place, which is very far away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. The Moran boys, they make a bamboo house, which is known as the Bihu Khan. It's divided into two sections, one is for the boys and the other is for the girls. So they even sing and dance from the entire night and most of the songs are woven around the teams of love and longing. Then we have the Missing Bihu. The Missing Bihu is also a form which is associated with the Aliyah Lekan festival of the Missing tribe, which is this particular festival, it's a siege-soul festival and the dance is actually structured in such a way that it depicts the stages in the process of cultivation beginning from sowing to ripping. And the spirit then gets reflected in the Missing Bihu instead of spraying or fertility of the Oppo flower, of love, of longing and romance. Then we have the Diori Bihu. Now this particular Bihu is celebrated by the Dioris of Asamu, who are a tribe, a river and tribe who actually belong to the Lohid district of Auruchar Pradesh. And the Diori Bihu is very much different or distinctly different from other different forms of Bihu. Okay, now let me talk about different Bihu songs. Now the songs are the expression of youthfulness, of freshness, of spirit, of love and coaching. And actually the expression of the carnival of life, they describe a season because most of the different types of Bihu songs and different Bihu performance are, they coincidentally are related to different seasons of life. And since it also describes a season which is a stimulus held by refreshing to the different flora and fauna on a particular season. So that actually brings out a very, you know, a very authentic description of the social life, of the environment and other religious belief in the essence. Then also we have the Aynam. The Aynam is a popular form of devotional song or song. Aynam is actually sung only by the women of folks and the man folk are not part of the performance. Aynam, the term Aynam, Aynam refers to Goddess Shitala, the Divine Mother. Along with her seven sisters, they are considered as the Goddess of Box. So what happens is that, it is very much common practice in Aslamist households that the people or the children who are affected by the Box, they need to hold a prayer session in which the women of the same Aynam with a sense of submission and deep humility to the Divine Mother that please leave the house and just go somewhere else. So it's just like a kind of Divine intervention to actually, you know, refer their own concerns to the Goddess Shitala then, you know, ask her to leave the street and household and proceed to somewhere else. And this Aynam, these songs are very much simple and yet they were highly devotional in nature. Then we have the Lullabies. Now, let me talk about Lullabies or the cradle songs. They are very commonly known as the Nisupani Gita. The Nisupani Gita basically, they are sung to lull the small babies or the small people who know how to make them sleep in a proper way. And they are also known by different names, like the Neen Daligate in Guarbara district. Then there is the Solid Guarbara Gita in Albari district. And there are the Futuni Thai among the boroughs. So Lullabies, they may use up simple, crisp and repetitive words that are borrowed from the daily lives of Lullabies that have an essence of the land and the sweetness of the songs, the sweet melody of the songs. It helps the children to develop the imaginative skills by carrying them to a whole new imagination. Then we have the Ujjapali. Ujjapali is a classical dance form. Basically it's considered to be one of the oldest art forms of song. And the epics, we have the Hindu epics like Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas, they are the main source for the story of Ujjapali. Recitation, singing, dancing, gestures, other dramatic dialogues, they play a pivotal role in Ujjapali performance. Now let me talk about Ujjapali. Basically it consists of a band of four, there are actually four or five people are there, man for color. And the chief of which is called Ujja and the rest of the associates are called pali, meaning assistants. And among the palis, the Dainapali who stands in the right hand side of the Ujja is the chief aid. He makes a performance more interesting but providing a common meaning. And usually Ujjapali has been categorized into major forms. One is the epic-based Ujjapali and the other is the non-epic-based Ujjapali. Let me talk about epic-based Ujjapali. Now it's basically known as the Vaishna-Ujjapali. And it's usually used in the Vaishna-Ujjapali rituals. And the teams are drawn from the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata-Ujjapali. Then we have the non-epic-based Ujjapali. In this particular form, this is associated with the worshiping of the Serpent Goddess, Goddess Manashana. Also referred to as Vishayana, Vodma or Brahmani. And as such a content the structure and the context varies from the epic-based Ujjapali. Of course among the epic-based and non-epic-based Ujjapali, there are also other different forms which you will be able to get a better overview after you go through your respective SLMs. Then we have the hotriya, the sattriya. The hotriya dance form is introduced in the 15th century AD by the great Vaishna-Ujjapali saint, Mohakura Khan, Hong Kong. He has a very powerful medium for propagation of the Vaishna-Ujjapali fate. And the hotriya dance form actually evolved and expanded as a distinctive style of dance later on. The new Vaishna-Ujjapali treasure of Samus, dance and drama has been for centuries nurtured and preserved with great commitment by the hotriyas, that is Vaishna-Ujjapali or the monasteries. She went to Hong Kong to actually introduce this dance form by incorporating the different elements from various fetuses, from local folk dances, his own rararao. So there are actually two dance forms prevalent in Assam, even the newer Vaishna-Ujjapali movement because the Ujjapali and the Devatas. There are many other classical elements as well. And the hotriya dance tradition actually governed by strictly late-done principles. As far as the music is concerned, as far as the dance movement is concerned, as far as the food work is concerned, there are very strict principles that have been laid for them. And this particular tradition has two distinctly separate streams. One is the Bhavna-related repertoire, starting from the Gaya to the Karma and Arnachala. Secondly, the dance numbers, which are independent such as the Chali, Aja Gauri and Shalesha, are different in so and so food. Then we have the Bhavna. Now Bhavna is a presentation of Omkia Nat, which is the one act play of Assam. It has been introduced by Hong Kong diga himself to actually preach Vaishnava religion to the masses. And before it was introduced, before it was introduced by Hong Kong diga, there was no such evidence of theater in Assam. Of course, there were certain other dramatic elements present in the form of Ujjapali and Puttolanas. But apart from that, there were no such other evidence of theater in Assam. So, Bhavna actually was something that actually represented the Vaishnava religion at a wider scale. And in the simplest form, Bhavna actually depicts a victory of good power evil, generally drawing its teams from the Ramayana and the Bhangavat Purali. And usually in the Bhavna group, there are the singers are there, there are the instrumentalists at the good bhayan, gaya and bhayan actors. Puttolhar is also there, but the narrator, who narrates the story. So, the performers, they enter to an art way of light, which is known as the Ogni Gala. And Puttolhar actually starts to play by narrating the story accompanied by the gaya and bhayan. It has been traditionally performed in the precinct of the Naangas. The Naangas are basically the congregational hall, camp, cultural spaces, usually in open spaces. So, in Bhavna, the cultural glimpse of Assam, Bengal, Orissa, Mathura, Brindavan, etc. can be seen. Then, we have the Vargit, another important media form of Assam. Vargit are known as the noble numbers or celestine songs. They are basically Vaishnava devotional songs, the first composed by Hongkong. And they are yet another noble contribution of the great Vaishnava and celestine to the cultural landscape of Assam. And Hongkong is the first Bargit composition. It is believed to be something which actually penned somewhere between 1914 and 1990. And from this first Bargit composition, he later went to compose around 240 Bargits, only around 30 of them exist today. The rest of them actually were lost in a fire after which he actually stopped writing for them. And these Bargits actually represent the very much the cultural ethnicity of Assam. The way it focuses on the cultural dimension of the state of Assam. It gives a brief overview of how the state has evolved. How the different traditional folk forms are interwoven together. So those areas have been portrayed to such kind of folk songs. Now, we have the Lukavit. Now, Assam's Lukavit can actually be classified into three types. We have the ceremonial songs, like the ming songs, aina, biana, etc. We have the ballads, like Moni Kauravgit, Kauravkauravgit. Okay, they are the ballads. Then we have also other miscellaneous theme songs, Sange Lulebis. Okay, and so on and so forth. So Lukavgit oversees a wide range of themes, like devotional, social, philosophical, utility, something like to boat ships, something like to longings, love, and so on and so forth. We have the manifestation of the collective hope, desire, needs and activities of the people at large. So with this, we come to the end of today's class. In today's session, we have tried to analyze the popular forms of traditional communications. Now, most specifically, we have tried to understand Bihu, Aina, there were Lulebis, Ujjapali, Hotriya, Bhavna, Vargit as well as Lukavgit. Apart from this, there are also other traditional folk forms, but we are trying to just concentrate only on a few important ones. And I am sure after going to this particular unit, you will be actually able to understand how these different folk forms have been preserving the cultural identity of the city. How these different folk forms have been working around over the past few decades to unite the people and bring about a development in the society of the state of Assam. And of course, after going to this unit, you will be able to appreciate and understand the popular traditional folk forms. Now, how these different folk forms have had a massive impact on the people of Assam in bringing about the rural development in this particular region. So, with this, we have completed end of today's discussion. And if you would like to understand the different traditional folk forms of Assam in a much better way, we have enlisted a number of other important books in the order of respective study material. There are other books by Bandar Padhyay, Jyotar Badanati, Sagar. We have a very important book by S.N. Bhakotavji. It's about the tribal folk tales of Assam. Then on the very important book is the Hormor-Hongsmiti. This has been brought up by Arunabin Swamdhanath. So, you can get hold of these books. If you would like, you can just search for such kind of resources and online resources for your benefit. So, with this, we have completed end of today's discussion. Thank you so much.


Mewn ddwybr o bobweithio, a rydw i'r llwyfr hwnnw, i'n ddinllun agorweith i ddrygiadwyd ddigonegau Cymru, convened i 2019. Fyddo i'n ddwybr i ddwybr i ddrygiadwyd i ddrygiadwyd i ddrygiadwyniadu cymorth, ymolod, rydym yn petrwyd gweithio i amdain ddysgu i Gweithio. Ydiolch yn ymddangosiaeth ymddangosiaeth yn ei ddwybr i displayedu i gyfnod agaway amddangosiaeth, all forms of discrimination against women. Can I welcome Emma Rich this morning, Executive Director of Engender? I believe that you are going to give us an opening statement. Emma, please. Thanks very much. Thank you to the convener and committee for inviting Engender to give evidence on CEDAW, which is the UN convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. Since ratifying CEDAW in 1986, the UK has had legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfil women's human rights. The view of equality in CEDAW is based on the principle of substantive equality between men and women, and this acknowledges that equality of opportunity and equal treatment is insufficient to redress generations of ingrained disadvantage. It compels system change and a fundamental shift in the distribution of power, resources and safety. The five-year CEDAW examination cycle has just concluded its scrutiny of women's rights in the UK, and it's a timely moment for this committee to consider its response. Seeing international obligations work for women in Scotland is a strategic priority for Engender. We use our special consultative status with the UN to open up space for Scottish women's human rights and other civil society organisations to engage with the process. Over the past two years, we have consulted with women and organisations to identify priorities for action by both Scottish Government and UK Government to bring to the CEDAW committee's attention. We have been the lead organisation in writing shadow reports for Scotland and also for the four nations of the UK, along with colleagues at the Northern Irish Women's European Platform, Women's Equality Network Wales and the National Alliance of Women's Organisations. Our evidence to the UN committee is available in our shadow reports, but the critical issues for women in Scotland and across the UK are familiar. We call for action on violence against women and girls, on women's underrepresentation in council chambers and the Scottish Parliament, on equality in employment, education, healthcare and social security and a response to the crisis in social care. The CEDAW committee's concluding observations pick up on many of our concerns, including incorporation of CEDAW into Scots law, Brexit and women's rights, austerity, gender mainstreaming and data. They also make a number of specific and detailed recommendations that are relevant to Scotland and within the powers of the Scottish Government and Parliament. In our written evidence to the committee, we invited you to consider three issues, including how this committee might best track action in response to the CEDAW committee's concluding observations, how this committee might use the concluding observations and articles when developing its thematic inquiry work on women's equality and rights and how this committee might act to defend the treaty bodies, including the CEDAW committee that are being undermined by the current UN funding crisis. Also at a fourth, how this committee might ensure that the recommendation from the First Minister's advisory group on human rights leadership that CEDAW be incorporated into Scots law be best achieved. Thank you for that. You mentioned some of the concluding observations there and there's obviously quite a range of concern regarding women's inequality in Scotland incorporation. Obviously, we also have some work around the public sector equality duty. This committee has been particularly interested in quality of data. It's something that comes up quite a lot and I'm sure colleagues would agree that it's essential if we're going to have a collective understanding of the different lived experience of women and girls and men and boys that we get that. Another matter that jumped out was action on sexualised and sexist bullying. Obviously, that is not all of them. There are a number of things there, but those were just some that jumped out at me. In the gender submission, you also stated that there'd been less of a focus, less of a Scotland-specific focus and gave a couple of reasons to that and raised it as a concern. How do we change that? What actions can this committee take or their actions for the Scottish Government to take in addressing that? Thank you very much, convener. That's an excellent question. For very good reasons, which are namely that Northern Ireland currently doesn't have a Government, the international committees that we have seen in the last couple of cycles of both CEDO and the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights have been very concerned about the failure to act on specific human rights violations in Northern Ireland and the one that the CEDO committee was particularly exercised by was Access to Abortion Healthcare. Overall, they're concerned that lacking a functioning Government means that anything across human rights is not being acted upon. We have observed through the actions of the CEDO committee a real lack of bandwidth within the committee. They examine five states in five days, giving one day to each examination and during the lunchtime of a state examination, they meet with civil society organisations from the state that they will be examining the next day. So it's an incredibly intense working arrangement. Committee members are unpaid and so must fulfil their committee obligations on the side of their paid work if they have some, and all of this leads to a real difficulty in getting enough space to get a grip on the materials, and we think one of the things that is troubling to them is understanding the devolution settlement of the UK. We think that's exacerbated by the way that the UK Government presents information to the CEDO committee. Often the state party report does not adequately differentiate between the four nations of the UK in terms of legislation, programmes, expenditure and other features of policymaking, and it just becomes very difficult for civil society to try and unravel that to satisfy the committee. We did in the previous cycle, the previous five years of CEDO, as in gender, bring over to Scotland one of the CEDO committee members, Professor Nicholas Brune from Norway, and because the committee members are unpaid and cannot access expenses for making such travel, it's incumbent on civil society or national human rights institutions to pay for that to happen, but it was our perception that that did enable a deeper understanding of the situation in Scotland and a more fulsome engagement with Scotland's devolution settlement in the concluding observations that we saw in the previous round. That is beyond our financial means sometimes, and particularly if critical committee members live in the global south, it's just too expensive for a small charity to fundraise to do that work. I suppose what the committee can do to play its part in raising the profile of CEDO on the importance is what we have asked you in our submission, which is to respond formally to the CEDO concluding observations to track the concluding observations, which are the committee's recommendations for action, to consider how those apply best in a Scottish context, and in doing so signal that Scotland, as part of the four nations of the UK, is very interested in this human rights instrument and in what realising it could achieve for women's rights and equality. In terms of actions for the Scottish Government perhaps? I think a similar set of actions for the Scottish Government so one of the recommendations that has come from the First Minister's advisory group on human rights leadership has been to develop a mechanism which could process the outputs of all of the treaty processes, so all of the eight that the UK is signed up to have similar different overlapping processes, but all produce a set of concluding observations. I think the last time there was an estimate of how many outstanding it was in the region of 600, which is quite a number of individual recommendations for any Government to process, but we think that a systematic approach is required. Thank you. Gail Ross is going to come on to ask you about funding after this and you did touch on some of it in your answer there, but I just wonder if there are any more issues around the CEDAW committee's function and operation that you think we should know about? We received some correspondence this morning from IRAW, which is a Malaysian-based NGO that does a lot of monitoring of the CEDAW structures within the UN system. They advised us that the UK Government has now paid its subscriptions, which is helpful but very late and too late for a different budget process to be selected. They were further able to identify that there have been 25% cuts applied right across the UN system, which is having a particularly negative effect on the treaty bodies, including CEDAW, because they are so reliant on external advisers and experts and the members are unpaid, but the cost of bringing them together for hearings and examinations is critical. IRAW were able to advise us that not only will the CEDAW committee not be seeing some states, which it was due to examine according to their normal cycle of examinations, but some of the matters referred to it using the optional protocol, which is an inquiry system so a state can ask the CEDAW committee to investigate egregious breaches of rights. It can also refer egregious breaches of rights to them using a complaints mechanism. Both of those things are now not happening and some of the circumstances being referred to CEDAW according to IRAW involve egregious breaches, including torture, missing people and other instances where the state is failing to act. So these cuts occasioned by member states failing to pay their subscriptions has already impeded CEDAW's urgent human rights work. Thank you for that. Gil Ross. Thank you, convener. Good morning. I thank you for coming in. So just to follow on that line of questioning, what do you think we as a committee can be doing to put pressure on the UK Government to make sure that they actually do pay on time and make things easier? I think it would be very helpful for the committee to urgently make clear to the UK its concern in this matter. Perhaps to ask some questions about why this failure to pay has come about and to emphasise the fact that failing to pay has had a disproportionate impact on the treaty bodies that are investigating and examining states in a context in which women's rights are being fundamentally undermined. I'm just back from a meeting of the European Women's Lobby. I'm the board member for the UK at the moment in Brussels, and we heard from sister organisations right across Europe that the rise of populism has brought with it profound anti-feminist action. My colleague from the Czech Republic said that in respect of the Istanbul Convention, which is a Council of Europe Convention on Violence Against Women, an NGO with an unclear funding source had sent a leaflet to every single household in the Czech Republic, telling them that the Istanbul Convention would undermine the family and the wellbeing of citizens in the Czech Republic. There are certainly well-funded attacks on women's rights, and the CDOR examination process and the optional protocol processes provide quite a rare space at the moment in a global context to explore and investigate women's human rights. Just for the record, how much is the UK's contribution? I'm sorry, I don't have that information.  Is that still likely to happen now? Yes, the CDOR, so the funding arrangements at the moment are in relation to the budget for 2018-19, which is nearly concluded for the UN. The cuts to the sessions have already had to take place because they have to be planned in advance. At the moment, for two consecutive years, there will be two sessions instead of three and no optional protocol work will be able to be progressed by the committee, which is already hugely oversubscribed. There's been one significant optional protocol case in the UK, which came from Northern Ireland on the issue of abortion healthcare, and that took some six or seven years to wind its way through the system because the demand on the committee massively exceeds the capacity to be able to consider matters referred to it. You talk about breaches of rights and states failing to act and instances that the committee has stepped in, if the committee is unable to do that because of the shortfall in funding. Are there any other organisations that are picking those cases up? No. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Gail. I'm just looking at my list at Fulton. Thank you for coming along in your evidence so far. In terms of the Scotland Civil Society response, I know that you touched on this in a wee bit in your opening remarks, but how do you co-ordinate that response and set priorities from it? Thanks for that. We had a participatory process to identify priorities for the Scotland report. We put out a call for evidence, which was principally to organisations. We convened an expert advisory group with representatives from all of the national women's organisations, race equality organisations, disability organisations, Professor Nicole Busby, who is Scotland's only Professor of Equality Law, with an interest in CEDAW. We also issued a survey for individual women and groups of women to complete. We then had a series of events that went out into communities, including accessing island and rural communities, black and minority ethnic women and disabled women specifically, using face-to-face meetings and webinars as well. We then sifted all of the evidence that came back to us, looking at specifically issues that were of concern to the committee that they had identified in previous examinations, going article by article through the treaty to see how things fit in with that framework and looking at issues which were within the competence of the Scottish Government and Parliament to act. We put other issues relating to UK Government action or inaction into the Four Nations report that we developed with colleagues in Wales, Northern Ireland and England. Unfortunately, there is a word limit of 6,600 words, so we had many, many things we wanted to say but had to compress quite significantly, as you will see. Thanks very much for that. A brief supplement on a specific point, convener. You mentioned the engagement with the racial equality groups and I wondered if you took an account or could comment on the Close the Gap report that was released fairly recently. I've actually put a motion in about Parliament but it's about the main findings. I won't go into it all either. Three quarters of BME women in the workplace of experienced racism, discrimination, racial prejudice and bias, well 42%, indicated the experience of bullying, harassment or victimisation simply because they were a BME women. I understand that in order to tackle the labour market inequalities, particularly also because there is also wealth inequality, it's compounded, it's a necessary step for Scotland to realise its ambition for inclusive growth. Did you come across that in some of the discussions that you had and did you take that report into account? Unfortunately, that report was produced after the examination. Yes, Anna Richie-Allan, who's the Executive Director of Close the Gap, was on our expert advisory group and was able to share some preliminary findings from some of their field work. We are very much bereft of data on the experience of black and minority ethnic women in Scotland, which speaks to the convener's earlier point about the essential nature of data. I think that Close the Gap has done a very strong piece of work. We also need, because the committee is unable to assess the quality of civil society produced reports, they really rely on administrative data when we're communicating with them about specific problems. So I would hope that the committee would see Close the Gap's excellent report as an urge towards finding and securing administrative data on the experiences of black and minority ethnic women in the labour market, but certainly the differential experience of black and minority ethnic women, disabled women and other groups of marginalised women is very much on the committee's mind and is interleaved in our report. Oliver Mundale. Thank you, convener. I just wondered whether you'd had a response from the Scottish Government on the point raised in the civil society response. We haven't had a formal response from the Scottish Government to the concluding observations. It has not been their practice to respond formally to concluding observations, and I think that would be one of the systematic pieces of process we would want to see introduced, and certainly something that seems indicated in the recommendations from the First Minister's advisory group on human rights leadership is something that is important. At the moment, there is not a systematic approach to picking up concluding observations and then integrating them into action. To be absolutely clear, I think that there should be. We do think that there should be, yes. That's very helpful. Thank you. Mary Fee. Thank you, convener. Good morning, Emma. I want to ask you a bit more about this Parliament as a guarantor of human rights and how we could further progress the issue of women's rights, mainstreaming and equality. CEDAW has made a number of different concluding observations. Most of the things that they raise in this committee specifically has looked at, whether it's through inquiry or whether it's come up in inquiries that we've done. If, as a guarantor of human rights, the Scottish Government were to incorporate CEDAW into Scots law, are all the other parts of the jigsaw ready for that to happen? No, the other parts of the jigsaw aren't ready. I refer the committee's certainly to a report produced by Professor Nicole Busby, foreign gender, on the question of CEDAW incorporation directly. She identifies a number of things that would have to happen in order to make that live, including a process by which cases were supported and run and case law would be developed over time, because on the first day of incorporation there wouldn't be case law and so there would need to be a process of arriving at that in order to provide public bodies, including Scottish Government, with legal certainty about how they should approach decision making and how they should act. There have been a number of approaches taken by states around the world to incorporating CEDAW, and I'm sure you're very familiar with the Wales example of incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. So it would be possible for Scotland to develop a suite of duties or other mechanisms to integrate thinking about CEDAW into Scottish public bodies, thinking about equality and rights. It would even be possible, Professor Busby thinks, to integrate CEDAW into a revised and refreshed public sector equality duty in some measure so that public bodies would have to think about CEDAW when they were considering how to respond to that. But certainly the pieces would not be in place and there would need to be concerted action on the part of public authorities, any regulator, the Parliament, the Government and civil society in order to make CEDAW a reality for women and girls. I know the next question that I'm going to ask you is asking you to do a guesstimate, but if all of that work was to take place, how long do you think that that could possibly take? I have absolutely no idea. I mean, I think we can see that we are still, we're still acting on and developing case law with regards to the bits of the Equality Act that used to be the Equal Pay Act and used to be the Sex Discrimination Act. So I think the work of equality and rights is never done. But I think that we could see some impact from any approach to integrating CEDAW into Scotland's thinking, just as in Wales we have seen the incorporation that they have done on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, bearing some fruit in their public authorities. The Government advisory group on human rights, could they take a more proactive role in encouraging those things to happen? Sorry, who was that there? The Government's advisory group on human rights, could they take a more proactive role in encouraging all those little bits to happen? Yes, I mean, I think the recommendations that have come forward from the First Minister's advisory group on human rights leadership did cover all of those questions, how this might be implemented, how it might be brought to life. The announcement has just come out as you'll be aware that the new group has been formed to take this work forward and so I think that will be an urgent part of their work plan to think about not only what any bill or bills might look like, but how all the rest of the work around that is done to make this work. I was quite interested in the comment about getting committees to do thematic inquiries. Even for this committee when we do budget scrutiny, it's very difficult to follow a line of spend through a budget. Do you think it would be helpful if I oppose this as a possibility, not something that would happen? If every subject committee in Parliament over and above the work that they do were asked every year to look at one thing and each committee did a thematic inquiry into one specific thing and then it was all pulled together at the end? Whether it's women in housing, women in mental health, women in the justice system, if every committee was to look at one specific thing, would that help? I don't want every committee in this Parliament to be considering women in equality all the time, but I appreciate that there are lots of competing demands on this place. I think there are definitely considerations to be given to how all of the committees work together to focus on equality. There's been lots of discussion over time across many parliaments about how to do post-legislative scrutiny that thinks about women's equality and rights, whether rapporteurs are a useful feature of parliamentary committees. I think there's definitely some consideration to be done. I think the excellent work this committee did on thinking about human rights in the Parliament could perhaps be emulated by a piece of work looking at equality in the Parliament and seeing if there are any similar sets of recommendations that could come forward about how to grapple with those questions. I think an idea, as you've mentioned or some other similar ideas, may have some merit, but I think that what we would like to see is systematically an approach taken that is proportionate but that does ensure that women and girls' equality and rights are thought about in all committees. We are, after all, more than half of the population and live still very distinct lives, so that is certainly something that should be done to ensure that good legislation and policymaking happens. I suppose that if each subject committee did even a very short thematic inquiry, it may help to sharpen the mind or the thinking about how they specifically look at women. Perhaps indeed. All for sharpening minds. Annie Wells. Good morning, Emma. A question from me on the letter that was sent to the cabinet secretary and copied to the committee. Can you advise if you have received the response and what that response was? We have not yet received your response from the cabinet secretary. I cannot ask what the response was better than. Thank you very much, Emma. Emma, do you have anything further that you would like to share with the committee or ask of the committee? Before you do, or while you are thinking about it, are you able to provide us with the information? I am sorry, I have forgotten the name of them. You said that there was a sister organisation that let you know that the... I will try to think of the correct term here. The dues were paid by the UK Government. Absolutely. I will pass that correspondence on to you. Certainly, yes. I think that the final call I would make would be to reiterate the calls of the beginning that this committee has done some terrific work over time, some of which we drew on in our submission, particularly the inquiry into prejudice-based bullying and our ongoing concerns about the experience of girls in school and the impact on their education of experiencing epidemic, sexual harassment and sexualised bullying. I think that this committee has perhaps more work to do when it comes to thinking about women's equality and rights. I would return to the calls that I made about how you might track these CEDAWR concluding observations and how you might think about the articles of CEDAWR when you are deciding which areas of work to focus on. Again, the threat to the treaty bodies has not dissipated just because the UK Government has now late paid its dues. How will you act to ensure that the CEDAWR committee is an institution that is preserved and protected? I think that the question of CEDAWR incorporation is really interesting and this conversation has just touched on the beginning of that. I would urge the committee to give very considerable regard to that as an interesting question. Thank you. My colleague Mary Fee is making signs of me that she has another question. Thank you, convener. It was just when you were giving that answer there and you were talking about the concluding observations, perhaps instead of saying to committees to do a very short thematic inquiry on a specific thing, if each committee was tasked with looking at one concluding observation and doing an inquiry into that, would that be a more beneficial way of actually getting in-depth information? I think certainly because CEDAWR is such a broad treaty and it covers really all elements of life. I wonder if the committees might instead see all of the concluding observations and decide which ones are most relevant to their work and that might be an approach, but I think these questions are certainly ones for this committee to consider in terms of how the rest of the Parliament responds to women's equality and rights issues and specifically to CEDAWR and other treaty bodies concluding observations. Thank you. Thank you, convener. Thank you for joining us a lot to think about this morning. We appreciate your evidence. Thank you for coming in. The next meeting of the committee will be on Thursday, 20 June, where we will consider the children's equal protection from assault Scotland bill at stage 2. I now close the meeting.