And do you think they have beds mother
And sleep just like Me
Why is it becoming night mother,
And cold and bitter wind?
Hear the little cat mother,
It miaws and wants inside.
Seagulla and terns
has no place to leave.
And hear now the stars singing.
they sing me to rest.
This paper explores transracial, intercountry adoption through a critical analysis of the gap that exists between the perception of adoption and reality. In doing so, governmental- and sociocultural aspect are inspected. Transnational adoption is complex, so I conducted a conversation with the lead chairman of the Danish international adoption agency, Lars Ellegaard Jørgensen. His statements and knowledge along with my own curiosity and personal story form the basis of this paper, combined with an investigation of the wider context of adoption and the hidden narratives by the global power structures and personal tragedies, balancing facts and fictions.
This thesis is aimed at answering the following research question: How does the perception of adoption fueled by governmental and sociocultural aspects, relate to real practical life? In order to offer a critical analysis on the state of adoption, this paper starts with an overview of an adoption terminology, followed by an explanation of the adoption process and its history. The main body of the thesis will explore the governmental and sociocultural aspects which will be followed by a critical conclusion that will offer some final clarity on the research findings.
Be aware that this paper is not made to save the system nor a child.
“Don’t ruin the Dream”, “The hero trap”, “The fake diversity”, “White savory”, “Personal branding”, “Twist and turn”, “Perception”, “Bliss”, “Delusional”, “Deprivation”, ”Gap”, “Celebrity adoption”, “Governmental regulation”, “Adoption boom”. These are just some of the keywords and quotes I have been collecting since the start of this paper. As such, allow me to introduce this paper: The Bliss of Adoption – An Ultimate Fairytale. You may know someone who has been adopted or you may have watched a movie portraying an orphan’s story. The perception of adoption in many people’s ears sounds like the right thing to do, a heart-warming story. So please, don’t ruin the dream. Yet, this is something I will most likely do with this paper. I will question the perception of adoption as Western society perceives it.
“This is a good gesture. Children who need parents and parents who need children” (Katrine W. Kjaer, Director of “Mercy Mercy”). This was Katrine’s immediate thought on adoption. You may want to adopt a child because you cannot give birth yourself, or you want to give the possibility of a “good life” to an orphan child. Before entering deeper into these arguments, I must first mention that I was myself an adopted child from China, raised by my beloved mother as a single parent. She adopted me and my non-biological sister in 1997 and 2002. But, in this paper, I will not be talking about my own story, though I will not be 100% neutral on this subject simply because of who I am. I can relate to this subject and will presumably be disappointed several times by my findings, but hopefully in the end my faith in the adoption system will still remain.
In the first instance, adoption of course has a noble intention. But in the second instance, however, there’s always a bigger story, often a tragedy, behind every adoption. It is exactly this second aspect that I want to focus this paper on. How do the official restrictions been facilitated in adoption, and how is adoption promoted? What is its impact on today’s society, and vice versa? Should we question the perception of adoption more than we are doing today? For this reason, this thesis formally explores the following research question: How does the perception on adoption fueled by governmental and sociocultural aspect, relate to real practical life?
This question will be examined by zooming in more closely at the formal adoption process. I will do so by looking at commonly used terminology of adoption and its history, as well as governmental aspects, both from the side of the receiving country as well as the country of origin. Furthermore, I will look at the sociocultural aspects of adoption, mostly by focusing on narratives and portrayal of this phenomenon in the media. Hereby, I will zoom in on four different media objects and cases; I will discuss two fictional film examples, Stuart Little and The Prince of Egypt, and I will zoom in on two real-life cases, the documentary Mercy Mercy, exposing a tragic adoption story, and the story of celebrity Madonna in adopting her Malawian son, David. By analyzing images, films, and interviews, what comes to light is that adoption is largely being glorified and romanticized in popular culture, with too little alignment with the practical lives of the people involved, and with the harsh reality of the adoption industry.
The term adoption refers to the act of legally taking a child to take care of them as your own, as described by Cambridge Dictionary 1.Adoption can be understood as a personal act, a legal process, or a social
service. As
a personal act2, it contains three triad members: the birth parents, the adoptee, and the adoption parents. The birth parents do not necessarily connect with the adoption family. In ‘The Psychology of Adoption’, David
Brodzinsky further
defines “…this act lifelong process rather than a single action”. As a legal process adoption is seen as “the method provided by law to establish the legal relationship of parent and child between persons who are not so
related by
birth, with the same mutual right and obligations that exist between children and their birth parents.”3 Lastly, adoption as a social service represents the legal link between the human perspective and the law.
It entails addressing the steps
from legally freeing the children to be adopted, to selecting and preparing families for adoption, preparing and placing children in adoptive families, and providing postplacement- and post-adoptive services. In this paper, I will focus
on
adoption as a personal act.
Adoption is a large field with multiple types. The terminology differentiates between domestic adoption, public adoptions, private domestic adoptions, transracial adoption, and intercountry adoption. For clarification of these terms, see the table below. To narrow the field down further, this paper focuses on transracial, intercountry adoption. Transracial intercountry adoptions are the most complex types as they contain many extra layers including race and cultural differences, which significantly impact the pre- and post-adoption processes. As the Danish anthropologist and mother of two children from the Republic of Niger, Monica Lorenzo Pugholm, states:“Transracial adoption incorporates culture meeting in so many levels”.4 The fundamental characteristic of intercountry adoption is that the adoptee is from another country than the receiving country. It can easily be confused with transracial adoptions which are adoptions of different races or ethnicities but can happen within the same country.
ADOPTION TERMINOLOGY |
|
|---|---|
| TERMINOLOGY | DEFINITIONS |
| Domestic adoptions | Adoption within a country |
| Public adoptions | Foster care adoption. It’s identified by its control by the child welfare system. In this case the children cannot return to their birth families for reasons of safety or other reasons. These reasons can include child abuse, drug/alcohol related issues, financial issues or a third party having reported the biological parents.1 |
| Intercountry adoptions | 3This is adoption from other countries that have the same race as the adoptive family. This kind of adoption goes through private adoption agencies. |
| Transracial adoption (TRA) | Is the kind of adoption that can both be domestic or international, but the children come from a different race or ethnicity than their adoptive parents. Most transracial adoptions contain children that are “foundlings”. A foundling is a term applied to children who have been abandoned by their parents and discovered by others, typically without any trace of their parents. In other words, transracial adoption is the joining of racially different parents and children together in adoptive families:“The majority of TRAs consist of BIPOC children adopted by white parents.”5 Transracial Adoption is also known as interracial or TRA. |
Adoption is a very complex and long process, involving multiple stakeholders, which can be summarized into three essential groups: the birth parents, the adoptee and the adoption parents. This adoption triad is visualized in FIG 2 as a black triangle encompassed by a red heart, which represents the adoption journey. The methods of adoption differ depending on the policies of the receiving country, leading to a variety of adoption scenarios.
Still, there is an ambiguity that accompanies adoption but that is not addressed in this symbol. However, do not get fooled by the adoption symbol, just because it contains a perfectly shaped red heart. I had the pleasure of speaking with Lars Ellegaard J ørgensen, lead chairman of the Danish International adoption agency, to gain some expert insights on this topic. Ellegaard and his wife, have adopted three siblings from Columbia in 1985. Ellegaard points out “Let's make it clear that adoption is a reaction to a tragedy. A tragedy that contains so much painful thought and decision making.” Up until this point, my research only showed adoption from the moment that the process of adopting had already begun. But from my conversation with Ellegaard I understood, that I needed to look one step before, to investigate the reasons for adoption. Why does adoption happen and how did it begin?
To understand the current developments of adoption and its causes, let us first clarify the historical aspects. Transracial intercountry adoption is a worldwide affair, and the world is constantly evolving. Adoption in general terms has been a well-known practice for centuries. It has been shaped over time by social trends and inventions to become how we know it today. Up until the early 1800s, adoption was a more political affair amongst wealthy and politically influential families.6Adoption has been associated with humanitarianism, upward mobility, and infertility since the Middle Ages when inheritance had to be by blood, by biology. Later on, it became a practical sphere of the Church with the intention of serving God and God's rules and mission. At that time, adoption took place via orphanages, where poor families would give up their child in exchange for different types of compensation.7 Intercountry and transracial adoption first emerged as a reaction to the tragedies of the World wars and the Korean war. This form of adoption can be traced back to 1955, when couples from the US wanted to adopt “war orphans” – the children of foreign soldiers and native women. The children were stigmatized and abandoned due to presumptions of infidelity or illegitimacy, and so given up for adoption.8 This became even more common when China opened the orphanages to Western countries. Important to mention, is that adoptions touched only a very small minority of children. By making this statement, it demonstrated how Western society is built up and works. When someone no longer “wants” something and is maybe in need of something else, then other people are prepared to step in and take over. Just like any other exchange, to say it very brutally.
Today, the majority of adoptions are by natal relatives and stepparents. With that being said, there are over five million Americans adoptees while Americans alone receive 50% of all intercountry adoption-children.9 While
this paper will investigate globally, it will present numbers and strategist mainly from the US and Denmark. Denmark is a convenient case study since it is the country where I got adopted to from China but also as it is part of the
top
ten receiving countries globally.10
1 Cambridge Dictionary. (2021b, January 6).adoption definition:Cambridge.Org.https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/adoption
2 The Practice of Adoption: History, Trends, and Social Context. (2003,November). researchgate.net. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000003258061, Page 3
3 Child Welfare League of America, Standards for Adoption Services, Revised Edition, page 11.
4 Kultur, værdier og adoption. (2017, January). Adoption & samfund, page 31
5 Silverman, A. R. (1993). Outcomes of Transracial Adoption. The Future of Children, 3(1), 104. https://doi.org/10.230/105
FIG 1 Adoption Thermology table, Linea Lan Cai Fabricius, 2020
FIG 2 Adoption symbol
6 Examples are the Roman emperors Caligula, Octavian, Marcus Aurelius and Nero.
7 Adoption History:Timeline of Adoption History.(n.d.). The Adoption History Project. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/timeline.html
Intercountry adoption is a significant component of international migration, 11 making it of importance both to national governments and international governments worldwide. The government is involved in how this transforms society and in portraying adoption through the agency and mediating organization. Agencies and mediating organizations are doing the practical work and counsel the government on how they should make the adoption laws and restrictions. To get an idea on the scale and complexity of this “market”, it’s very important to have knowledge about how power structures are collaborating across the borders. Over 45.000 children12 have been part of the intercountry adoption since after World War 1 and 2. Hereby many adoptions have been legally controlled, however, intercountry adoption has several concerning issues such as child-trafficking and the role of class and race. As a way to prevent these things from happening, the The Hague Convention was initiated in 1993. Over 170 countries practiced adoption, where 30 countries practiced intercountry adoption.13 In FIG 3 is a world map chart of the members of the convention and the admitted countries. Out of 170 countries, 85 countries are members of The Hague Convention (Figure 2) to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders in the adoption triad, especially children, to protect them against child-trafficking. A country and continent as the United States of America stands for 50% of all intercountry adoption and they signed the convention in 1994. However, they only implemented the convention in 2008. This is rather questionable. Considering the fact that they contain 50% of the intercountry adoption, they should have been a role model for the rest of the world. Nevertheless, The Hague Convention offers only an opportunity for better cooperation between nations and the possibility of more systematic processes to serve children effectively. As Associate Professor Van Wichelen state: “The Convention does have an important role to play in ensuring the protection of the child and combating illegal and unethical adoptions”. The problem primarily rests in its implementation. As mentioned before, it went 15 years before as United states of America made the implementation.
Besides the fact that there are no uniform EU rules on adoption, there are some general principles among the counties. It is in my concern that countries cooperate more together, to make sure that the adoption system does not get abused, and to have the same understanding of “child welfare first”.
Members of the HCCH - Purple: Members - Light purple: Admitted Countries – Grey: not a member
See this family!  She is wearing a dusty pink turtleneck. In her arms you see a toddler with black hair and a facial expression that would make most people smirk and scream out ”So cute!”  It seems that the woman with the big smile and the little girl with the black hair are looking in the same direction.   You can
particularly see the smile by looking at the wrinkles around his lips, although he is not showing his teeth. He is wearing a turquoise green working-class shirt, also known as a forester's shirt. His left hand is touching either the
woman's leg or the little girl's feet. They appear to be a very caring couple – the man with his focus on the child, while the woman is holding the child tightly and lovingly. They seem to be sitting on a grey sofa, in a white,
clean
room. Behind them you see a white wall with turquoise green curtains that match the man's shirt. How wonderful! The whole image is in a very pleasing color palette, as such we see a perfectly happy and caring couple that has adopted
a
little girl with black hair
— A nuclear adoption family.
To figure out the gap between the perception of adoption and reality, it's significant to have some knowledge on the adoption process and how it's working in practice.
As said earlier, the adoption involves multiple stakeholders as in the organization, agencies, orphanage management, and The National Board of Appeal (Family Court). FIG 4 visualizes these structures of intercountry adoptions. The relation to the birth family might vary, for instance in the case when a child is abandoned to be found by a stranger. This was my case, as an abandoned child. So, in that case, how does the adoption process work? It has to be mentioned, since intercountry adoption involves so many countries, there are many different process structures, I will be focusing on the Danish adoption process as I went through it myself. The average cost of intercountry adoptions are around 36.000 euros, but it varies heavily by the country.15 The following are requirements of the Danish law on adoption.16, 17
The Danish adoption process contains 4 phases. Before a possible adoption, the adopter is examined and approved by the Adoption Consultation in the Family Court. This is followed by an 'after adoption' phase, newly introduced in 2016.
The average waiting time is 3 years and 9 months, from the approval to bringing the child home.18 Lars Ellegard Jensen explains this long wait:“It has to be difficult to make sure that the adoptee isn't abused or there are
any misunderstandings of what it entails to adopt, not only the adoption process, but also what follows with it. We have to think about the children first. Adoption is mostly not for the adoption parents or the biological parents, but
the child. Child welfare first! If they are not first, then it's wrong on every level.” Of course, there are some significant financial aspects involved in the adoption process, this includes a high dissemination fee, depending on
the receiving and origin country. Here Ellegaard comments: “To adopt a child it's free, doesn't cost you, but you have to pay the administration costs from organization/agency, orphans management and the travel expense. There is
clear misunderstanding here. Many perceptions in the public realm explain that you pay for a child, which is completely wrong and should be clear for everyone.”
When the applicant has sent the application to the Adoption Consultant in the Family Court, the first rate of the dissemination fee will be paid (5000DKK – 684€). An Adoption Consultant in the Family Court assesses the applicants, to measure if they live up to the requirements, by examining their: age, cohabitation, health, criminal conditions, housing conditions, and finances. see FIG 7.
§20 Married couples or cohabitants can only be approved as adopters if they have lived together for at least 2 ½ years at the time of application. Cohabitants may, however, be approved as adopters if they have lived together for at least 1 ½ years at the time of application, and one applicant has already been approved as an adopter.
§21 It is a condition for being approved as an adopter that the applicant's age at the time of application does not exceed the child's age by more than 42 years. However, be waived if the applicant within a reasonable time after receiving an adopted child applies for approval for the adoption of another child, or there are special circumstances.
§22 It is also a condition for being approved as an adopter that 1) the applicant's physical and mental health condition does not impair the chances that the adoption process will be in the best interests of the child, 2) the applicant has housing that is suitable to form the framework for the upbringing of the child, The applicant has responsible financial conditions; and 4) the applicant has not been punished for circumstances that give rise to justified doubts about the applicant's suitability to adopt. The family court shall, as part of the information of the condition obtains a complete criminal record of the applicant.
§23 Participation in an adoption preparation course is a condition for an applicant who has not previously adopted a child to be approved as an adopter.
If the general approval requirements meet up with the applicant, then the Family Court or the conciliation gives permission to continue the adoption process into Phase 2. It seems a bit absurd that restrictions are so bound to such specific numbers. Living together for 2 ½ years? Does it make applicants better parent for that reason? What seems important is the marriage restriction, but not the information about the adoptee itself? As well the marriage requirement. Both the receiving and origin countries have marriage restrictions. But, as the chart illustrates so clearly, the number of marriages each year are decreasing. A question that comes to mind is, have these restrictions been adjusted, after the decrease in marriages?
In Phase 2, the applicants are presented with a mandatory adoption preparation course. The Adoption Council will consider if the applicant will need to attend a preparation course. The preparation course runs over 2 weekends providing information to help applicants to examine their own adoption motive, the child's situation, and their parenting ability, as well as on the adopted child's special situation and what it entails to become its parents.
Before Phase 3 begins, the adopter must be registered with a mediating organization accredited by the Minister of Social Affairs. Phase 3 has to be applied for, within one year from the date the applicants were approved in Phase 1. Here, the Adoption Consultation will assess the applicants after an individual assessment, that will be based on a conversation and home visit. After will the Family Court make a description of the applicants. The registered mediating organization assesses the child who has been submitted for proposal within the applicant's approval and send the matching proposal to the National Board of Appeal. However, as Ellegard said earlier, it has to be about the adoptee, otherwise it's wrong on every level. Then I wonder how the first two phases are mostly about the adoptions parent's information and motivation. Why is the adoptee's perception not part of the application process? It is on this level, that the perception of adoption can be misinterpreted and only be about the parent's fulfillment.
The last phase of the adoption process, but also has been recently added to process. This is achieved if the applicants got their final approval in last stage in Phase 3 by the Family Court. Here, the applicant must counsel with the registered mediating organization with intent match up with the origin countries requirements. After all, the applicants will be placed on a waiting list of the mediating organization. When the applicant is placed on a waiting list, the second rate has to be paid (63.00DKK- 8.400€). When the mediating organization has announced that the cases have been accepted in the choosing country, the third rate has to be paid (40.500DKK -5.400€). One year after the case has been registered on the waiting list, the fourth rate will be paid (32.400DKK – 4.320€). My mother got approval for a child between 1-3 year. I was 3 years and 11 months. Because I was older than the maximum of her approval, she got invited into a special meeting. When the applicant accepts the proposed child, the fifth payment has to be placed (76.500DKK – 10.200€). Before leaving the country to meet the child, the sixth payment will be done (72.800DKK – 9.706€). So now did the applicants pay 290.800DKK - 39.7734€.
This is quite a high price, even though it to pay all the administration costs, and, as Ellegaard says “You don't pay for the adoptee but for the administration costs. It's a big misunderstanding that this perception has been spread.” The problem with this is not the amount, but payment for each country depends on the country. Like the United States of America, the applicants paying $48.329- 39.745€,19 but it's not including the child's passport, medical exam fees, home study fee, document, and paperwork preparation fees. This can easily end up in a total cost of €50.000. When the United states of America pay more than other countries, does the United States of America benefit from it? Do they want something in return? Such as receiving younger children? This is just a hypothesis but nevertheless a well-known rumor among the agencies and applicants. But these rumors have no evidence, since everything happen under the table. After the child has been taken home, the adopter will need mandatory counseling on parenting. There is a minimum of two counseling courses. One of these courses must be given within a period of 5 years after the child joins the family. However, where are the talks by older adoptees or adoptions parents for the adopted child itself? For example, to share knowledge and experience on the adoptees culture heritage; for the adoptee to ask questions about growing up and understanding their background; and about what challenges the adoptee can meet in future. More explicit, where is the focus on the origin country in this adoption process?
This leads me to the perception of adoption within the country of origin. So many websites, articles, studies, and so on contain the adoption situations from an adoption's parentings perspective and from the adoptee perspective, but where is the perspective from the origin country? For this research, I will focus on discussing China, South Korea, Vietnam, and India, which are historically being the most adopted from.
During our conversation, Lars Ellegaard clarified the implications of adoption in the context of Asian countries and the reasons for it. On the one hand, the main reason why children are given up for adoption in Asian counties is connected to local cultural norms, the countries' economic situation and, lastly, its developmental status. Taking the example of South Korea, a highly developed country, it is mostly the societal norms which impact the high numbers of adoption. This is due to the cultural shame connected to being pregnant as a single mother, making it a societal taboo. Ellegaard continues:"In China they have been having the one child policy, because the country was overpopulated. This policy was made in 1979, so ever since then a lot of children have been given away to adoption, especially girls. There was more prestige and status to have boys. Boys could take care of the elderly people. Elderly people are a very well-respected age group."20
On the other hand, a major factor for the popularity of adoptions from Asia can be found in Western societies themselves, and how they perceive adoption mostly based on a different racial understanding. In the USA and in Europe the roots of racism run deep, based on a legacy of slavery and colonialism which undeniably leaves traces in the Western understanding of the world. On the same lines, the portrayal of adoption in the media and especially the large attention that is put on celebrities and their stories of adoption also influences the image and respectability of transracial adoption in the West. Ellegaard says that ideas of adoption often vary from those of the country of origin, because they tend to promote adoption as a positive thing instead of focusing on telling the sad story. The “selling story” has to be positive to be acceptable, and to create the idea that adoption is an act for a better future for all those involved. Does intercountry adoption exist in the future? Ellegaard does not think so. He believes in 30-50 years, intercountry adoption will belong to the past. Since it is becoming more accepted to have interracial marriages, or to be a single mum. Also, the countries may start doing more internal adoption, inside of the country.
11 Rotabi, K. S. (2015). Intercountry Adoption: Policies, Practices, and Outcomes (Contemporary Social Work Studies)(1st ed.). Routledge.
12 Selman, P. (2009). The rise and fall of intercountry adoption in the 21st century. International Social Work, 52(5), 575–594.https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872809337681
13 Jean-François Mignot. (2016, June). Why is intercountry adoption declining worldwide? HAL. Archives-ouvertes.fr.Page 2
14 Common Questions About Adoptive Families. (n.d.). Photograph. https://consideringadoption.com/pregnant/finding-a-family/common-questions-about-adoptive-families/
15 Horan, S. C. (2019b, December 20). Adoption Trends in America: Uncovering Its Prevalence and Cost – 2019 Edition. SmartAsset. https://smartasset.com/checking-account/adoption-trends-in-america-uncovering-its-prevalence-and-cost-2019
16 Undersøgelses- og godkendelsesforløbet. (n.d.). Ankestyrelsen. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://ast.dk/naevn/adoptionsnaevnet/hvis-du-vil-adoptere/undersogelse-og-godkendelse/undersogelses-og-godkendelsesforlobet
17 Retsinformation. (n.d.). Retsinformation.Dk. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2019/726
FIG 5 Selman, P. (2009). The rise and fall of intercountry adoption in the 21st century. International Social Work, 52(5), 575–594. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020809337681, page 577
FIG 6 An overview over the Danish adoption process divided into separate 4 phases, Danish adoption phrase, Linea Lan Cai Fabricius, 2020
18 UDVIKLINGEN I ALDER OG VENTETIDER 2016-2018. (2019). Adoptionsnævnet. page 4
FIG 7 Adoption Paragraf by the danish law, Retsinformation. (n.d.). Retsinformation.Dk. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2019/726
FIG 8 Marriages table from 1920 - 2018, Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2020, July 25). Marriages and Divorces. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces
19 What's the Average Cost of Adoption? (n.d.). The Balance. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.thebalance.com/average-cost-of-adoption-in-the-u-s-4582452
20 Lars Ellegaard – Dialog conversation
21 Adoption History: Adoption Narratives. (n.d.). The Adoption History Project. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/topics/adoptionnarratives.htm
From a sociocultural perspective, adoption is often characterized as an alternative way to form a family, an option to fulfill the human. This storytelling about adoption has played a crucial role in shaping and reshaping the modern adoption experience. Today, autobiographical narratives by birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive parents are as likely to appear on the Internet or in broadcast media, as in print.21
Take a look the family photo, the cinematic instrument they have been using is working perfectly in that we fully trust the story and feel emotionally connected with the different characters and the plot itself. Let's try to take a look at the surroundings behind them. The first thing you see is this red color, but it is not only red, but rather a warm, hearteningly dark red, wherein the lamps light the red up in some places so that it helps the viewer observe the physical embodiment of a warm heart-colored red. And what does that red stand for? Love, of course, which is the major theme of this film. Even the lamps are in a similarly red color! The room does make the photo seem more relaxed and cozier, despite it being a fine dining family photo from the upper-class. The mother Eleanor is wearing a red dress and red lipstick and is smiling with her teeth exposed. Her hair color is brown, which does represent an empathic character which has been important for this film.  If she was wearing a red dress and had blond hair, it would give the viewer the impression of a beautiful mother, but it would be difficult to convince the viewer that this mother is a caring mother, whereas with brown hair, the viewer believes that immediately. The father is wearing a suit in navy blue, representing a protector and trust. If it was not for the father smiling, he could have been a very stiff father figure. But this is altered father's way of smiling with a close mouth but the ends going a bit up, and you see these big eyes behind the round big glasses.
We must not forget the media's power on our perception of adoption and how they twist and turn adoption into story of saviorism. What is being emphasized is what an awful future the adoptee could have had, if the adoptive parents did not come and save the adoptee from poverty and social exclusion. Pop culture has for many decades been playing around with the topic of adoption in regard to many different aspects and intentions. A film that focuses on adoption as a fairy tale often inspires good feelings. One of the first movies I saw when I was little, and which started my first understanding that I was adopted and what it entails, was Stuart little. As you can see in the pictures below, this movie is about a little mouse that gets adopted by a human American family, Eleanor and Frederick Little. From the beginning, Stuart struggles a great deal to be accepted by the other family member, the son and his adoptive brother George, who refuses to acknowledge Stuart as his little brother. The parents Eleanor and Frederick try to do their best to make Stuart feel like a family member, yet despite their efforts, Stuart still feels lonely. After some troubling moments, the brother George eventually understands that despite size and race, he is a part of the family and Stuart is his little brother.
Next, let us compare the previous photo of the nuclear family with the family photo of the Little family. You can see how the setup is very similar, as they use some of the same technical elements of the film medium. Take a look, what do you see? Let us start by looking at the motherly figures, both are smiling and showing their teeth. The father figure in both images is also smiling but with a close mouth. The children in both images are wearing white. Both of the families are placed in center of the images, especially the children being in the main central positions. The families are positioned as a triangle, or, if we have to be very cheesy, a heart. Sweet, right?
The film touches on some of the elements that an adoptee might encounter and experience throughout their life. It's a very family friendly film and talks to children in a non-condescending manner, using the mouse as metaphor as a transracial adoptee, of being from a different race or ethnicity, but also dealing with the feelings caused by the question of “where do I belong?”If we take a look at the film's structure, it has a classical sandwich structure—something good in the beginning, allowing the viewer to achieve an emotional connection with the characters. In this case, they are the adoptive parents and the mouse Stuart. Maybe there are even one or two characters you do not like, but there are no surprises. All this is well organized in the plot. Then, something bad happens and all the characters become involved in the same struggle. This is a point of no return that is so bad that we need some heroes. And here the characters come into the picture again. In this case, the brother George and the cat, Snowball. Because of them, everything gets much better and then they are one big happy family like in the pictures below. Besides, those characters that we do not like in the beginning, are those that will go through the most personal development over the course of the plot. This is a movie that gives you a sense of the American dream. This give a romanticized and one-sided view of the life of a family with an adopted child.
Another film that I would like to highlight in this paper is the Prince of Egypt that was released in 1998. This film is an American animated musical drama that was produced by DreamWorks and is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus wherein you follow Moses' life, from having been abandoned as a child to becoming the prince of Egypt, and finally finding his ultimate destiny; to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Who was crying during this movie? Raise your hands. Who was crying when the biological mom and siblings gave Moses away and followed him by the river until he ends up in the Queen of Egypt's arms flowing by her sister Miriam who prays that he will come back one day and rescue the Hebrew people and set them free? Raise your tissue if you recognize yourself in that position—what a touching moment. What this film mostly represents is the dream that there must be a higher purpose with having been an adoptee, but also the duality of the two worlds of Poor and Rich. So, why do I show these film examples, since as an adoptee you always wonder why you were given up for adoption and what was the purpose of it, if there was any purpose? As in the film “The Prince of Egypt,” Moses had a higher purpose to his life, or more of a say in a dreamier, fantasy-like manner. He had a destiny to help the Hebrew people out of Egyptian slavery. He did have a destiny, with his adoption. This is the fantasy storytelling portrayal in the movies, but how does it work in the reality? Is it still a fantasy without a soundtrack?
During the conversation with Ellegaard, he explains that the perception of adoption is different depending on what point of view you are looking at and what you want to hear. “To the adoptions applicants, the adoption is
promoted as a warm gesture and an opportunity to save a child's poor home condition. The storytelling has to be a motivated story, it must not contain too much dreadful information. It will frighten the adoptions applicants to much.
Therefore, portraying a bright future scenario will be
good way to motivate the applicants. To the biological parents, if there are any in the picture, the portrayal is bit different but somehow the same. Both aspects are focus on the future, but with the hope that child will one day come
back with wealth and status.”
In this section will be presented two cases. One from the portrayal of adoptions applicants' point of view. The other one from the portrayal of the biological point of view.
The first one is the celebrity adoption case. Why do I want to highlight celebrity adoption in this paper? While we must not degrade the influence, a celebrity has on society, given that many lead a life that most would wish they could have, being a celebrity means that everyone knows your name. They are the biggest influencers of our society, because people in the society are looking up to these people by trying to copy or imitate their lifestyles and fashion, so much that many companies use them to promote their brand and their products as they are trendsetters. But being a trendsetter does not only refer to the materialistic and fashion perspective, but also to their possibility to raise their voice by educating other people through platforms. As such, celebrities have a tremendous influence on our global society, even more than you could imagine. Being a celebrity also comes with enormous responsibility, as celebrities can be everything from a singer, actress, sports athlete, or any other profession. In recent decades, celebrities' actions in their private life have been increasingly documented either by themselves or the press.
The woman is wearing a blue blouse with a low cut. The print seems to be natural elements. Her hair is divided into a sharp middle parting, where you can see her brown roots that fade into dried blond colour that's hanging loose on her shoulder. Her skin tone is light skinned with some light red highlights on her chin. Her eyebrows are brown and look clean and sharp. On her eyelids she is wearing black eyeliner that is supporting her mascara. Her lips seem very natural, with a shade of an equal reddish color. She is placed in front of a webcam, centered in such a way that gives the viewer an eye-high perspective. Behind her stands a two-stock light pink orchid, where in the bottom you see the orchid leaves, as well as some other hanging leaves. The chair she is sitting on in is bigger than her and has two armrests. The back of the chair is green and yellow but in light tones. The wall behind her is darker than light, with a yellow tone. The whole setup with her is very 'Mother Earth meets guardian angel', which gives her a more relatable and trustful demeanor. For this interview she is trying stress that she did not do anything, besides falling in love at first sight.
This is woman is the Hollywood celebrity singer Madonna in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2007. For some reasons she was not able to be present in the studio, so they did a 'satellite' interview. In the interview, she is pointing out some interesting thoughts, a way of justifying herself to the public about the adoption of her son that occurred in 2006. In 2006, there were 20,671 total adoption cases. Of these, these were the most sending adoption countries in relation to USA: China (6,492), Guatemala (4,135), Russia (3,702) South Korea (1,373) and Ethiopia (731). From Malawi, there was one. Was that Madonna's adoption case? In the gender chart it does say it was a male. Let's try to take a look at the year after and see how the development has gone.
In the following transcription from the interview, it's interesting to see how Madonna tries to justify her case to a TV audience, how she carefully staged the whole interview to gain the audience's sympathy and convince them that what she did was helpful. “I think I'm disappointed because more than anything it discourages other people from doing the same thing for anybody who had the idea that they too would like to open their home and give a life to a child living in an orphanage who might possibly not live past the age of five anybody who had that idea would be discouraged from doing it for me that's what disappoints me the most.” Is Madonna talking about a personal fulfillment, when she explains her disappointment about people not following her initiative of opening her home and give a life to a child that lives in an orphanage, after all the media critique?
This leads us away from the statement Ellegaard mentioned earlier, that “We have to think about the children first. Adoption is mostly not for the adoption parents or the biological parents, but the child. Child welfare first! If they are not first, then it's wrong on every level.” Madonna stated in the interview:“I wasn't thinking about adopting a child from Africa, my only thought was I wanted to open up my home and give a life to a child who did not have opportunities, who I wanted to go into a third world country I wasn't sure where and give a life to a child who otherwise might not have one.” This was the answer Madonna gave to Oprah in an interview on her show The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007, when she tried to set the record straight about the controversy surrounding her adoption. My mother had as her original choice Tanzania, yet she discovered that Tanzania was having the same restriction as Malawi – namely that as a future adopter, you have to live at least one year in the origin country first. What my mum did was logical, namely to find another country. Again, lucky me! However, as Madonna, with her high social and financial status was allowed to move passed the restrictions, she did not choose an alternative.
Further in the interview, Madonna describes her thoughts of adoption and how she met David. As mentioned before, the policy was that the applicant adopter has to live in Malawi for at least one year until the adoption can be a possibility. Madonna tells what she and her husband wanted to adopt two years ago, but started looking into the adoption protocol only when she was in Malawi to raise the foundation 'Raise Malawi'. This is where she met David and wanted to adopt him. In the interview, she explains that in December - almost a year ago - she didn't know from which country she wanted to adopt from. This means that she has not been following the countries restrictions. Furthermore, in the UK, the adoption pre-process takes 6 month at least (mostly a year), that contains“form-filling, interviews, inspections and a panel examination about the applicants history, the applicants reasons, the applicants character, the applicants situation, the applicants finances, the applicants attitudes etc, before the applicants are cleared to apply to adopt.” 24> However, Madonna has somehow speed up the adoption process. A small anecdote, my mother got offered to pay some money under the table, so she could go around the adoption process and get allow to adopt from Tanzania anyway. She declined. But she knew a couple that accepted this offer and give the orphan manager a fridge, so today they have two children from Tanzania, although the plan was only to adopt one, but they saw another child in orphan, that they must have as well. All this traces back to a type of trading, that the children are being perceived as an exchange item.
Madonna raises also another important point in the interview.“I wanted to go into a third world country I wasn't sure where” She is placing herself in the heroic position by mentioning Africa as a third world continent. This mention of Africa as third world continent is a complete other paper, but one should still be aware of the heroic position she is assigning to herself. Which world is she from? Also, another thing that struck me is “a child who did not have opportunities” What kind of opportunities is she talking about? The opportunity to be a president? Which is referring to the headline of this section. Which is taken from her own Twitter profile in 2018, where she claims that her son will be the future president of Malawi.26 Does her son have the abilities to be the president of Malawi? I don't know, but I doubt it. The perception of adoption is misplaced and this claim is made without any knowledge of the abilities to become a president. Also, since David is adopted into a Western culture, there are innumerous other, more likely, possibilities for his future career, Madonna's celebrity status has a big influence on how the Western culture is perceiving adoption in society, and she uses her fame to adopt this child from Malawi by circumventing the country's adoption restrictions. This is a restriction Madonna did not follow, since she demanded VIP treatment. After, Madonna got injunction by Human Right Consultative Committee which is a network in Malawi (HRCC). After, the court gave her the right to adopt the boy, but you can question the process. For example, because she donated £12 million to Malawi in 2009.27 Later on, she continues adopting more children from Malawi. All adoptions she got injunction on but won them all. Madonna's adoptions stirred anger among some Malawians, who accused the government of allowing the pop star to skirt laws that ban non-residents from adopting children. As Alfred Seza Munika, who is the executive director of Malawi's Child Rights Advocacy and Paralegal Aid Center says: "The law needs to be reviewed. It should be made clear to say what are the set procedures."
In this image there are three people. The first thing you see are two people in a photo album, a man and a woman. Both of them are Caucasian in appearance and wearing orange clothes. The man is wearing an orange t-shirt with some lettering on top in a lighter tone. On his head, he is wearing a dark colored cap. He is looking into the camera with a close-mouthed smile. Next to him is a woman, and under her orange shirt, you see a black shirt. The woman has brown/dark hair. In her hair, she is wearing some glasses. They are sitting in front of a table. The woman is also looking into the camera and smiling without showing her teeth, although she is definitely smiling more than the man, given that by looking at her mouth one can see that it has more of a smile shape than the man. Behind them, you see green grassy background. The picture must have been taken around the summertime. This photo album is being held by a man. You can see on the man's skin tone that he is a person of color. The man is wearing fluted velvet brown pants, and a jacket that contains a Khaki and blue Denim color.
Why is this case especially interesting for this paper? Before, we look at the point of view of an adoption family and how they are portraying adoption given the fact that “a child who did not have opportunities”, as Madonna states. In this case, we see another point of view. Namely that of orphan's management perspective, how they are justified and convince the biological parents to give up their children, because “these children are maybe going to be future presidents”, as the director claims in the documentary. chose this picture because it represents one of the steps in an adoption process where you are told that there is a child waiting for you. I know this because this is what my mother went through when she adopted me, and what my mother and I did when we later adopted my little sister.
Do you remember the photos of the nuclear family and the Little family? Can you see the similarity between the pictures? The picture from Mercy Mercy is a real family but it is similar to the other ones. Your eyes first glance over to the woman first, and then on the man that is a bit in the back. Although they are missing a child, you can almost imagine a child between the women and the man.
This Danish documentary about adoption in which this instructor Katrine W. Kjaer follows an adoption within the time frame of four years, both from the birth parents' perspective and that of the adoptive family. The documentary exposes how the perception of adoption is not aligned between the participants and asks questions regarding the ethical matters of adoption.
The documentary describes how the destinies of two families are intertwined in Ethiopia, where adoption agencies and Western adoptive parents meet. The Danish couple, Henriette and Gert, want to adopt a four-year-old girl named Masho and her two-year-old brother Roba from the Ethiopian Sinkenesh and Husen, a married couple who both have HIV. The two families have different motives for choosing adoption. For the Ethiopian couple, it's about providing two of their children a better life with education and material wealth – but it's also about receiving financial support. For the Danish couple, it is about fulfilling the dream they have had of starting a family but at the same time it is also about saving two children from the risk of becoming orphans due to the parent's illness. Sinkenesh and Husen want to establish a permanent contact with Henriette and Gert. They hope to build a close relationship and receive financial help, but this dream is fading as Gert and Henriette do not see adoption as a life-long connection. In the middle stands a representative of the adoption agency, who conveys some conditions, which since then have only created grief, stress, and wounds in both families. Subsequently, Sinkenesh and Husen feel that they are exposed to fraud, as the adoption agency DanAdopt does not fulfill the promises they have been making. They are not allowed to contact their children nor receive the promised help.
Eventually, Sinkenesh and Husen start get better as they begin to take medication for their illness, and they have become to increasingly miss their kids all the more. In Denmark, Henriette and Gert are experiencing greater and greater problems in integrating Masho. Soon, a process unfolds, involving therapists, psychologists, and foster parents. Eventually, the Danish adoptive parents give up. Masho has to live somewhere else. The documentary clearly illustrates the story of an adoption that goes wrong and provides insight into the conditions that underlie the adoption boom of recent years. In poor Ethiopia, the number of children being adopted abroad has risen sharply in just a few years. Foreign adoption organizations seemingly stand at the ready, as do private orphanages and hopeful adoptive parents from Western countries. The adoptions are seen as a business, and they have a price. These are just some of the quotes and takeaways from the documentary that I would like to highlight and take some time to reflect on from different points of view. The Ethiopian director of the adoption agency says to the birth parents “Let the children get a good education. So, they will not only get in favour for you but also the country. They can become researchers and doctors” and “Don't be worried for the kids. They will forget you. You will think about them, but they will not think about you.”
The whole documentary of this adoption case is increasingly filled with feelings of disgust and shame regarding how this adoption is seen as advertising a product that has the purpose of only serving some powerful people and the adoptive family. How can this happen? What about the child's welfare? What do they want? Why is no one there asking them any questions or just listening to them or observing their body language? This demonstrates what effect it has when no one listens to all three of the participants and how the system of adoption is being abused in this regard. When trust in the adoption system disappears, the perceptions on such adoptions are not aligned.
How objective should I be on these image frames from the documentary Mercy Mercy? I simply cannot. These kinds of quotes make my hair stand on end and make me deeply angry at this man and his position of power. This lack of emphasis towards the biological parents and what they are going through, given the fact that he should know better based on his position and his experiences with several adoption cases. Perhaps it is precisely due to these adoption experiences that maybe he forgot the human perspective (or at least I hope he just forgot, and just had to be reminded of who he is working with and for) and look more into the business side of adoptions, where he will say anything to make the adoption process go smoothly and without any disruptions.
Making up these future scenarios to comfort the parents who have chosen to give up their children for adoption entails a huge lack of realizing what kind of future these children can be given. That he even tries to justify their adoption with this assumption can only turn out wrong and miserable. He utters this quote, see FIG 16 when the parents are saying goodbye and leaving the children to the orphanage and the officials handling the adoption. This is the point of no return. You see in the documentary that mum is in cloud of flies and trying to find comfort in God with the hope that God will show that what they are doing is the right decision to make. The father is speechless, and his hands goes from his face to his hair. Up and down. Trying to comfort himself and trying to be brave. This quote makes me very tired and sad. When this case got public, it got a lot of media attention from the news and the public. After the documentary came out in 2012, politicians made fast move and started an investigating on the process of adoption and where they could prevent this to happen again, and who are responsible in the mistake. After some months, the Danish government temporally closed the option to adopt from Ethiopia. Then, when the investigation was over, the Danish government decided to close all adoptions from Ethiopia for good.
FIG 8 Family photo of the Little family
FIG 9 Hickner, S. H., & Chapman, B. C. (1998). Jochebed(Moses mother) placed Moses in a basket and released him in the flow of River Nile [Photograph]. https://www.intofilm.org/events/140.
FIG 10 Hickner, S. H., & Chapman, B. C. (1998b). The basket fell in the hands of the Pharaoh's daughter who was bathing in the river. Moved with compassion when she discovered the child, she decided to adopt him. [Photograph]. http://basementrejects.com/review/the-prince-of-egypt-1998/
22 BBC News. (2018b, February 20). Madonna: “My son is Malawi's future president.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43127200
FIG 11, 12 MADONNA ON /OPRAH WINFREY SHOW/ 2007/ THE ADOPTION CONTROVERSY/ THESHOW 2019. (2007). [Photography]. Dailymotion.Com. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75gx14
23 Adoption Statistics. (n.d.). Travel State Gov. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/adopt_ref/adoption-statistics-esri.html?wcmmode=disabled
24 Leith, P. (2018, May 26).The waiting game | The Spectator. Spectator.Co.Uk. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-waiting-game.
25 Madonna. (2018, February 20). Twitter. https://twitter.com/madonna/status/965876578541547520?lang=da
26 Madonna. (2018, February 20). Twitter. https://twitter.com/madonna/status/965876578541547520?lang=da
27 Law, B. M., McGrath, B. M., Stephens, B. M., Ducker, B. J., Diver, B. T., & Ducker, B. J. (2009, June 13).Madonna “donated £12 million to Malawi.” The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/madonna/5522159/Madonna-donated-12-million-to-Malawi.html
FIG 13 Adoptionens pris (Mercy Mercy). (2012, January 12). [Documentary]. https://www.dr.dk/drtv/program/adoptionens-pris_156752
FIG 14 Translation “Let the children get a good education, then they will not only benefit you but the country as well.” – Director from the agency.
FIG 15 Translation “These children are maybe going to be future presidents” – Director from the agency.
FIG 16 Translation “Just say thank you to God. It will be good for you” – Director from the agency.
In this paper I have aimed at presenting different perceptions of adoption, by looking at the actual history and process of adoption, in relation to different media examples, both fictional and from real life. It came to me that the media perception of adoption is strongly varying and does not align with the lived experience of the adoption triad: the birth family, the adoptee, and the adoptions family. Besides, when I dive into the literature on adoption – which is very limited, the main literature are on the adoptee’s problems. There is a lack on various perspectives from the adoption triad, especially lack on birthparents perspective.
Also, I found that power structures have a huge impact on the process and perception of adoption. For example, in the Mercy, Mercy, you see that the birth family is excepting a family relationship with the adoption family, but the adoption family do not wish that, and neither is the birth family getting informed about events, which led them into disappointment in the adoption system. Around the world, there are a lot of various rules and restrictions, but if a celebrity as Madonna can go in and make a “fast track” move, then the restrictions are not relevant anymore. As Ellegaard is saying: “It has to be difficult to make sure that the adoptee isn’t abused or there are any misunderstandings of what it entails to adopt.” I agree, but it seems there is not enough honesty nor transparency in the adoption process. I think that is one of main factors why there is a gap between rule/restriction and realities. Because every participant gets told what they want to hear. In that way it will continue to be a dream. So, please, don’t ruin the dream. The dream can’t be ruined anyway, when no one want to wake up but prefer to be in the fantasy of adoption. If it took place between the state and the origin country, it would be more feasible to avoid this desire arising from the origin countries to give the children away. But when you can get money for it, a market emerges.
I approach this paper with a critical and emotional view on the system, exposing how adoption is been used as an international migration instrument to solve the overpopulation and infertilities issues. I question and have concerns about the governmental and sociocultural approach to justify the act, by using the adoption triad as part of the global capitalistic trade. The buzzwords “child welfare first” has been used as an advertisement tool globally, yet without the same policy implementation worldwide. It’s come to my concerns that some receiving countries are abusing the intercountry adoption system by only thinking about individual fulfillment. This paper is filled with disappointment, that the receiving countries allow international business to exceed the human perspective. Child welfare should be first, right?
In my belief, the origin countries should be the ones turning to a possible recipient country to say they need parents for a child, and not the other way around. Besides, there is a need for intercontinental collaborations, and improvements of living standards, so that no child is left to grow up in poverty, without primary caretakers, or loving parents. There should be more up to date regulations, and greater transparency with the adoption system and the implementation process. Only then can the title of my thesis - The Bliss of Adoption – An Ultimate Fairytale – possibly move from being sarcastic, to being genuinely sincere.
My head is spinning and full of thoughts, so I will finish up and go to sleep.
1 Cambridge Dictionary. (2021b, January 6).adoption definition:Cambridge.Org.https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/adoption
2 The Practice of Adoption: History, Trends, and Social Context. (2003,November). researchgate.net. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000003258061, Page 3
3 Child Welfare League of America, Standards for Adoption Services, Revised Edition, page 11.
4 Kultur, værdier og adoption. (2017, January). Adoption & samfund, page 31
5 Silverman, A. R. (1993). Outcomes of Transracial Adoption. The Future of Children, 3(1), 104. https://doi.org/10.230/105
FIG 1 Adoption Thermology table, Linea Lan Cai Fabricius, 2020
FIG 2 Adoption symbol
6 Examples are the Roman emperors Caligula, Octavian, Marcus Aurelius and Nero.
7 Adoption History:Timeline of Adoption History.(n.d.). The Adoption History Project. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/timeline.html
11 Rotabi, K. S. (2015). Intercountry Adoption: Policies, Practices, and Outcomes (Contemporary Social Work Studies)(1st ed.). Routledge.
12 Selman, P. (2009). The rise and fall of intercountry adoption in the 21st century. International Social Work, 52(5), 575–594.https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872809337681
13 Jean-François Mignot. (2016, June). Why is intercountry adoption declining worldwide? HAL. Archives-ouvertes.fr.Page 2
14 Common Questions About Adoptive Families. (n.d.). Photograph. https://consideringadoption.com/pregnant/finding-a-family/common-questions-about-adoptive-families/
15 Horan, S. C. (2019b, December 20). Adoption Trends in America: Uncovering Its Prevalence and Cost – 2019 Edition. SmartAsset. https://smartasset.com/checking-account/adoption-trends-in-america-uncovering-its-prevalence-and-cost-2019
16 Undersøgelses- og godkendelsesforløbet. (n.d.). Ankestyrelsen. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://ast.dk/naevn/adoptionsnaevnet/hvis-du-vil-adoptere/undersogelse-og-godkendelse/undersogelses-og-godkendelsesforlobet
17 Retsinformation. (n.d.). Retsinformation.Dk. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2019/726
FIG 5 Selman, P. (2009). The rise and fall of intercountry adoption in the 21st century. International Social Work, 52(5), 575–594. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020809337681, page 577
FIG 6 An overview over the Danish adoption process divided into separate 4 phases, Danish adoption phrase, Linea Lan Cai Fabricius, 2020
18 UDVIKLINGEN I ALDER OG VENTETIDER 2016-2018. (2019). Adoptionsnævnet. page 4
FIG 7 Adoption Paragraf by the danish law, Retsinformation. (n.d.). Retsinformation.Dk. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2019/726
FIG 8 Marriages table from 1920 - 2018, Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2020, July 25). Marriages and Divorces. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces
19 What's the Average Cost of Adoption? (n.d.). The Balance. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.thebalance.com/average-cost-of-adoption-in-the-u-s-4582452
20 Lars Ellegaard – Dialog conversation
21 Adoption History: Adoption Narratives. (n.d.). The Adoption History Project. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/topics/adoptionnarratives.htm
FIG 8 Family photo of the Little family
FIG 9 Hickner, S. H., & Chapman, B. C. (1998). Jochebed(Moses mother) placed Moses in a basket and released him in the flow of River Nile [Photograph]. https://www.intofilm.org/events/140.
FIG 10 Hickner, S. H., & Chapman, B. C. (1998b). The basket fell in the hands of the Pharaoh's daughter who was bathing in the river. Moved with compassion when she discovered the child, she decided to adopt him. [Photograph]. http://basementrejects.com/review/the-prince-of-egypt-1998/
22 BBC News. (2018b, February 20). Madonna: “My son is Malawi's future president.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43127200
FIG 11, 12 MADONNA ON /OPRAH WINFREY SHOW/ 2007/ THE ADOPTION CONTROVERSY/ THESHOW 2019. (2007). [Photography]. Dailymotion.Com. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75gx14
23 Adoption Statistics. (n.d.). Travel State Gov. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/adopt_ref/adoption-statistics-esri.html?wcmmode=disabled
24 Leith, P. (2018, May 26).The waiting game | The Spectator. Spectator.Co.Uk. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-waiting-game.
25 Madonna. (2018, February 20). Twitter. https://twitter.com/madonna/status/965876578541547520?lang=da
26 Madonna. (2018, February 20). Twitter. https://twitter.com/madonna/status/965876578541547520?lang=da
27 Law, B. M., McGrath, B. M., Stephens, B. M., Ducker, B. J., Diver, B. T., & Ducker, B. J. (2009, June 13).Madonna “donated £12 million to Malawi.” The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/madonna/5522159/Madonna-donated-12-million-to-Malawi.html
FIG 13 Adoptionens pris (Mercy Mercy). (2012, January 12). [Documentary]. https://www.dr.dk/drtv/program/adoptionens-pris_156752
FIG 14 Translation “Let the children get a good education, then they will not only benefit you but the country as well.” – Director from the agency.
FIG 15 Translation “These children are maybe going to be future presidents” – Director from the agency.
FIG 16 Translation “Just say thank you to God. It will be good for you” – Director from the agency.


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| $apptId | report on session for $apptId and the session for the appt preceeding it (if null, the two latest "finished" T sessions are reported on) |
$post_fields = array('filename_prefix' => 'clinic-report-', 'pdfId' => $surveySessionId); 'reportHtml' => $reportHtml);
$this->set('post_fields', $post_fields);
| MedicalRecordsController::clinic_report | ( | $ | patientId = null , |
|
| $ | projectId, | |||
| $ | apptId = null , |
|||
| $ | apptIdPrev = null | |||
| ) |
Data is only reported for sessions which have been at least partially finalized Note that this action redirects to itself in order to avoid displaying patientId's in the (printed) url
| $apptId | report on session for $apptId and the session for the appt preceeding it (if null, the two latest "finished" T sessions are reported on) |
| MedicalRecordsController::clinic_report_sarcoma | ( | $ | patientId = null , |
|
| $ | projectId | |||
| ) |
Data is only reported for sessions which have been at least partially finalized Note that this action redirects to itself in order to avoid displaying patientId's in the (printed) url
| MedicalRecordsController::clinic_report_p3p | ( | $ | patientId = null , |
|
| $ | projectId = P3P_BASELINE_PROJECT | |||
| ) |
Data is only reported for sessions which have been at least partially finalized Note that this action redirects to itself in order to avoid displaying patientId's in the (printed) url
, INFLUENTIAL_FACTORS_SYMPTOMS_SCALE
| MedicalRecordsController::clinic_report_p3p_pdf | ( | $ | patientId = null , |
|
| $ | projectId = P3P_BASELINE_PROJECT | |||
| ) |
REPORT WILL NOT CONVERT TO PDF PROPERLY IF CAKE'S DEBUG LEVEL IS >= 2 Note that this action redirects to itself in order to avoid displaying patientId's in the (printed) url
$post_fields = array('filename_prefix' => 'clinic-report-', 'pdfId' => $surveySessionId); 'reportHtml' => $reportHtml);
$this->set('post_fields', $post_fields);
| MedicalRecordsController::$uses |
Initial value:
array("SurveySession", "Question", "User", "Patient", "Project", "Scale", "Subscale", "Item", "SessionScale", "SessionItem", "Answer", "Option", "SessionSubscale", "Clinic" )


SPLAT Plotting Routines¶
The SPLAT plotting routines are designed to visualize spectral data and comparisons to other templates and models. These are all contained in the splat.plot module, which should be imported separately:
>>> import splat.plot as splot
Basic spectral plots¶
The core plotting function is plotSpectrum(), which allows flexible methods for displaying single or groups of spectra, and comparing spectra to each other. Nearly all of the functions described below are wrappers for plotSpectrum() with various options, described in more detail in the API. Plots are made using the pyplot package in matplotlib.
The simplest way to visualize a spectrum is to simply call plotSpectrum() with the Spectrum class object:
You can also use the Spectrum class’s built in plot() function:
Note that this adds a legend with the name of the source, the uncertainty spectrum (if present) and the zeropoint. These can be called explicitly within plotSpectrum() as well:
>>> splot.plotspectrum(spc,legend=spc.name,showNoise=True,showZero=True)
There are many options for adding details to your spectrum plot, listed below. In addition, the output of a call to plotSpectrum() is a matplotlib.figure.Figure class
>>> plt = splat.plotspectrum(spc)
>>> plt
[<matplotlib.figure.Figure at 0x119e4f710>]
so you can use other options from this class to further augment your plot.
Feature labels and legends¶
Specific absorption features can be labeled on the plot by setting the features
to a list of atoms and molecules.
The features currently contained in the code include:
- Lines:
H I lines at 1.004, 1.093, 1.281, 1.944, and 2.166 micron
Na I: lines at 0.819, 1.136, and 2.21 micron
K I: lines at 0.767, 0.770, 1.169, 1.177, 1.244 and 1.252 micron
Ca I: lines at 1.931, 1.946, 1.951, 1.978, 1.986, 1.987, 2.263, and 2.265 micron
Ca II: lines at 0.986, 0.993, 1.184, and 1.195 micron
Mg I: lines at 1.183, 1.209, 1.488, 1.503, 1.504, 1.575, 1.576, and 1.711 micron
Al I: lines at 1.313, 1.315, 1.672 and 1.676 micron
Fe I: lines at 1.143, 1.160, 1.161, 1.164, 1.169, 1.189, 1.198, 1.256, 1.288 and 1.501 micron
- Molecules:
H2O: bands at 0.92-0.95, 1.08-1.20, 1.33-1.55, and 1.72-2.14 micron
CO: band at 2.29-2.39
TiO: bands at 0.76-0.80 and 0.825-0.831 micron
VO: band at 1.04-1.08 micron
FeH: bands at 0.98-1.03, 1.19-1.25, and 1.57-1.64 micron
CH4: bands at 1.10-1.24, 1.28-1.44, 1.60-1.76, and 2.20-2.35 micron
H2: broad absorption over 1.5-2.4 micron
SB: the spectral binary feature between 1.60-1.64 micron
You can also set groups of features based on the type of object; options include mdwarf
, ldwarf
and tdwarf
To label and shade regions of telluric absorption, set telluric
= True
To add a legend, use the legend
or label
keyword:
You can vary the size and location of the legend using the legendfontscale
and legendlocation
keywords.
Insets¶
You can place an inset in your plot to zoom in on a particular feature using the inset
keyword:
You can get some control over the positioning and sampled range using inset_position
(left edge, bottom edge, width, height) and inset_xrange
:
Colors and line styles¶
plotSpectrum() uses the same commands as pyplot for setting colors (default black) and linestyles (default solid):
Manipulating the plot format¶
You can adjust the plot ranges using the xrange
and yrange
keywords
Or change the labels of these axes using the xlabel
and ylabel
keywords
You can also adjust the plot size using the figsize
keyword
Exporting the plot¶
To export the plot to a file, simply set the file
keyword:
>>> splot.plotSpectrum(spc,file='myplot.pdf')
Note that matplotlib automatically figures out the file format based on the filename suffix.
Plotting multiple spectra¶
plotSpectrum() can also manage plotting multiple spectra, either on top of each other or stacked in the plot, or across multiple. There are also separate routines to handle common cases.
Comparison plots¶
Spectra can be stacked on top of each other using the stack
parameter, which is a numerical value that indicates the offset between sequential spectra. For example, the plot the sequence of NIR L dwarf standards:
>>> splat.initiateStandards()
>>> stdspt = [splat.typeToNum(i) for i in range(20,30)]
>>> sps = [splat.STDS_DWARF_SPEX[s] for s in stdspt]
>>>
[EXAMPLE NEEDED MULTIPLE SPECTRA]
[PLOTBATCH]
[PLOTSEQUENCE]
Multi-page plots¶
Other Plotting Tools¶
plotMap()¶
plotMap() plots coordinates onto a sky map, with options to plot groups of coordinates with different colors, symbols, and symbol sizes. plotMap() takes as its primary input an array of astropy Skycoord objects, but will do conversions as necesssary with properCoordinates(). Map projections are those defined in the matplotlib Basemap documentation.
For example, to plot all of the sources labeled “young” in the SPLAT library:
>>> s = splat.searchLibrary(young=True) >>> c = [splat.properCoordinates(x) for x in s['DESIGNATION']] >>> splot.plotMap(c)
Or to plot bright M dwarfs and L dwarfs separately, and save to a file:
>>> sm = splat.searchLibrary(spt=['M0','M9.5'],jmag=13) >>> sl = splat.searchLibrary(spt=['L0','L9.5'],jmag=13) >>> cm = [splat.properCoordinates(x) for x in sm['DESIGNATION']] >>> cl = [splat.properCoordinates(x) for x in sm['DESIGNATION']] >>> splot.plotMap(cm,cl,colors=['k','r'],markers=['o','o'],alpha=[0.3,0.9],output='bright_ml_map.pdf')
Examples¶
- Example 1: A simple view of a random spectrum
This example shows various ways of displaying a random spectrum in the library
>>> import splat >>> spc = splat.getSpectrum(spt = 'T5', lucky=True)[0] # select random spectrum >>> spc.`plot()` # this automatically generates a "quicklook" plot >>> splat.plotSpectrum(spc) # does the same thing >>> splat.plotSpectrum(spc,uncertainty=True,tdwarf=True) # show the spectrum uncertainty and T dwarf absorption featuresThe last plot should look like the following:
- Example 2: Compare two spectra
Optimally scale and compare two spectra.
>>> import splat >>> spc = splat.getSpectrum(spt = 'T5', lucky=True)[0] # select random spectrum >>> spc2 = splat.getSpectrum(spt = 'T4', lucky=True)[0] # read in another random spectrum >>> comp = splat.compareSpectra(spc,spc2) # compare spectra to get optimal scaling >>> spc2.scale(comp[1]) # apply optimal scaling >>> splat.plotSpectrum(spc,spc2,colors=['black','red'],labels=[spc.name,spc2.name]) # show the spectrum uncertainty and T dwarf absorption features
- Example 3: Compare several spectra for a given object
In this case we’ll look at all of the spectra of TWA 30B in the library, sorted by year and compare each to the first epoch data. This is an example of using both multiplot and multipage.
>>> splist = splat.getSpectrum(name = 'TWA 30B') # get all spectra of TWA 30B >>> junk = [sp.normalize() for sp in splist] # normalize the spectra >>> dates = [sp.date for sp in splist] # observation dates >>> spsort = [s for (d,s) in sorted(zip(dates,splist))] # sort spectra by dates >>> dates.sort() # don't forget to sort dates! >>> splat.plotSpectrum(spsort,multiplot=True,layout=[2,2],multipage=True,\ # here's our plot statement comparison=spsort[0],uncertainty=True,mdwarf=True,telluric=True,legends=dates,\ legendLocation='lower left',output='TWA30B.pdf')Here is the first page of the resulting 5 page pdf file
- Example 4: Display the spectra sequence of L dwarfs
This example uses the list of standard files contained in SPLAT, and illustrates the stack feature
>>> spt = [splat.typeToNum(i+20) for i in range(10)] # generate list of L spectral types >>> splat.initiateStandards() # initiate standards >>> splist = [splat.SPEX_STDS[s] for s in spt] # extact just L dwarfs >>> junk = [sp.normalize() for sp in splist] # normalize the spectra >>> labels = [sp.shortname for sp in splist] # set labels to be names >>> splat.plotSpectrum(splist,figsize=[10,20],labels=labels,stack=0.5,\ # here's our plot statement colorScheme='copper',legendLocation='outside',telluric=True,output='lstandards.pdf')
Search


OSSL_PARAM_dup, OSSL_PARAM_merge, OSSL_PARAM_free - OSSL_PARAM array copy functions
#include <openssl/params.h>
OSSL_PARAM *OSSL_PARAM_dup(const OSSL_PARAM *params);
OSSL_PARAM *OSSL_PARAM_merge(const OSSL_PARAM *params, const OSSL_PARAM *params1);
void OSSL_PARAM_free(OSSL_PARAM *params);
Algorithm parameters can be exported/imported from/to providers using arrays of OSSL_PARAM(3). The following utility functions allow the parameters to be duplicated and merged with other OSSL_PARAM(3) to assist in this process.
OSSL_PARAM_dup() duplicates the parameter array params. This function does a deep copy of the data.
OSSL_PARAM_merge() merges the parameter arrays params and params1 into a new parameter array. If params and params1 contain values with the same 'key' then the value from params1 will replace the param value. This function does a shallow copy of the parameters. Either params or params1 may be NULL. The behaviour of the merge is unpredictable if params and params1 contain the same key, and there are multiple entries within either array that have the same key.
OSSL_PARAM_free() frees the parameter array params that was created using OSSL_PARAM_dup(), OSSL_PARAM_merge() or OSSL_PARAM_BLD_to_param().
The functions OSSL_PARAM_dup() and OSSL_PARAM_merge() return a newly allocated OSSL_PARAM(3) array, or NULL if there was an error. If both parameters are NULL then NULL is returned.
OSSL_PARAM(3), OSSL_PARAM_BLD(3)
The functions were added in OpenSSL 3.0.
Copyright 2021 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html.


public class WordPruningBreadthFirstSearchManager extends TokenSearchManager
recognize
until Result.isFinal() returns true. Once a final result has
been obtained, stopRecognition
should be called.
All scores and probabilities are maintained in the log math log domain.| Modifier and Type | Field and Description |
|---|---|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_ACOUSTIC_LOOKAHEAD_FRAMES
The property that controls the amount of simple acoustic lookahead performed.
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_ACTIVE_LIST_MANAGER
The property that defines the type of active list to use
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_CHECK_STATE_ORDER
The property for checking if the order of states is valid.
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_GROW_SKIP_INTERVAL
The property that controls the number of frames processed for every time
the decode growth step is skipped.
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_LINGUIST
The property that defines the name of the linguist to be used by this search manager.
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_LOG_MATH
The property that defines the name of the logmath to be used by this search manager.
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_MAX_LATTICE_EDGES
The property that specifies the maximum lattice edges
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_PRUNER
The property that defines the name of the linguist to be used by this search manager.
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_RELATIVE_BEAM_WIDTH
The property that specifies the relative beam width
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_SCORER
The property that defines the name of the scorer to be used by this search manager.
|
static java.lang.String |
PROP_SHOW_TOKEN_COUNT
The property than, when set to
true will cause the recognizer to count up all the tokens in the
active list after every frame. |
PROP_BUILD_WORD_LATTICE, PROP_KEEP_ALL_TOKENS
| Constructor and Description |
|---|
WordPruningBreadthFirstSearchManager() |
WordPruningBreadthFirstSearchManager(LogMath logMath,
Linguist linguist,
Pruner pruner,
AcousticScorer scorer,
ActiveListManager activeListManager,
boolean showTokenCount,
double relativeWordBeamWidth,
int growSkipInterval,
boolean checkStateOrder,
boolean buildWordLattice,
int maxLatticeEdges,
float acousticLookaheadFrames,
boolean keepAllTokens) |
| Modifier and Type | Method and Description |
|---|---|
void |
allocate()
Allocates the resources necessary for this search.
|
void |
deallocate()
Deallocates resources necessary for this search.
|
ActiveList |
getActiveList()
Returns the ActiveList.
|
int |
getCurrentFrameNumber()
Returns the current frame number.
|
Timer |
getGrowTimer()
Returns the Timer for growing.
|
LogMath |
getLogMath()
Returns the LogMath used.
|
java.util.List<Token> |
getResultList()
Returns the result list.
|
StatisticsVariable |
getTokensCreated()
Returns the tokensCreated StatisticsVariable.
|
void |
newProperties(PropertySheet ps)
This method is called when this configurable component needs to be reconfigured.
|
Result |
recognize(int nFrames)
Performs the recognition for the given number of frames.
|
void |
setActiveList(ActiveList activeList)
Sets the ActiveList.
|
void |
setResultList(java.util.List<Token> resultList)
Sets the result list.
|
void |
startRecognition()
Called at the start of recognition.
|
void |
stopRecognition()
Terminates a recognition
|
@S4Component(type=Linguist.class) public static final java.lang.String PROP_LINGUIST
@S4Component(type=Pruner.class) public static final java.lang.String PROP_PRUNER
@S4Component(type=AcousticScorer.class) public static final java.lang.String PROP_SCORER
@S4Component(type=LogMath.class) public static final java.lang.String PROP_LOG_MATH
@S4Boolean(defaultValue=false) public static final java.lang.String PROP_SHOW_TOKEN_COUNT
true
will cause the recognizer to count up all the tokens in the
active list after every frame.@S4Integer(defaultValue=0) public static final java.lang.String PROP_GROW_SKIP_INTERVAL
@S4Component(type=ActiveListManager.class) public static final java.lang.String PROP_ACTIVE_LIST_MANAGER
@S4Boolean(defaultValue=false) public static final java.lang.String PROP_CHECK_STATE_ORDER
@S4Integer(defaultValue=100) public static final java.lang.String PROP_MAX_LATTICE_EDGES
@S4Double(defaultValue=0.0) public static final java.lang.String PROP_ACOUSTIC_LOOKAHEAD_FRAMES
@S4Double(defaultValue=0.0) public static final java.lang.String PROP_RELATIVE_BEAM_WIDTH
public WordPruningBreadthFirstSearchManager(LogMath logMath, Linguist linguist, Pruner pruner, AcousticScorer scorer, ActiveListManager activeListManager, boolean showTokenCount, double relativeWordBeamWidth, int growSkipInterval, boolean checkStateOrder, boolean buildWordLattice, int maxLatticeEdges, float acousticLookaheadFrames, boolean keepAllTokens)
logMath
- linguist
- pruner
- scorer
- activeListManager
- showTokenCount
- relativeWordBeamWidth
- growSkipInterval
- checkStateOrder
- buildWordLattice
- maxLatticeEdges
- acousticLookaheadFrames
- keepAllTokens
- public WordPruningBreadthFirstSearchManager()
public void newProperties(PropertySheet ps) throws PropertyException
Configurable
newProperties
in interface Configurable
newProperties
in class TokenSearchManager
ps
- a property sheet holding the new dataPropertyException
- if there is a problem with the properties.public void allocate()
SearchManager
public void deallocate()
SearchManager
public void startRecognition()
public Result recognize(int nFrames)
nFrames
- the number of frames to recognizepublic void stopRecognition()
public LogMath getLogMath()
public ActiveList getActiveList()
public void setActiveList(ActiveList activeList)
activeList
- the new ActiveListpublic java.util.List<Token> getResultList()
public void setResultList(java.util.List<Token> resultList)
resultList
- the new result listpublic int getCurrentFrameNumber()
public Timer getGrowTimer()
public StatisticsVariable getTokensCreated()


ASControlNode(Debugging) Category Reference
| Declared in | AsyncDisplayKit+Debug.h |
|---|
+ setEnableHitTestDebug:
Class method to enable a visualization overlay of the tappable area on the ASControlNode. For app debugging purposes only. NOTE: GESTURE RECOGNIZERS, (including tap gesture recognizers on a control node) WILL NOT BE VISUALIZED!!! Overlay = translucent GREEN color, edges that are clipped by the tappable area of any parent (their bounds + hitTestSlop) in the hierarchy = DARK GREEN BORDERED EDGE, edges that are clipped by clipToBounds = YES of any parent in the hierarchy = ORANGE BORDERED EDGE (may still receive touches beyond overlay rect, but can’t be visualized).
+ (void)setEnableHitTestDebug:(BOOL)enable
Parameters
enable |
Specify YES to make this debug feature enabled when messaging the ASControlNode class. |
|---|
Declared In
AsyncDisplayKit+Debug.h


I am a software developer passionate about building awesome applications, checkout my portfolio.
BACKEND/FRONTEND/MOBILE
I have a diverse set of skills ranging from design(AdobeXD),HTML,CSS,javascript, dart, nodejs, sql databases, firebase, heroku, digital ocean, google cloud, to Python and moblie development
Telkom Kenya's premier mobile network service provider dashboard that provide rich features that enbales full control of the whole telkom service features.


Falsetto
2019
This game was developed under the designation that it had to revolve around sound. Falsetto was a clever play on words for the pitch of a voice which fit perfectly for our theme. Later on we decided it would be a super-bat which would be escaping a mad scientist’s lab, blowing up and dodging obstacles along the way. We had less than 7 weeks to develop this game but were very proud of our result compared to the other groups involved as they struggled with source control such as merge errors and more. I worked on this during my time at Saint Lawrence college, and received a mark of 95% for my contributions to the project.
Click here to download the latest version of our game from our team’s github page
My Role:
- Player movement
- Attack manager
- Sound manager
- UI/UX Development
- Animations and animation scripting
- Scene transitions
Development
- Unity Game Engine
- C# Scripts
- Visual Studio
- SourceTree & Github
- Jira
- Snapchat for Communication
Team Credits: Christopher Landry, Frank Cao, Danny Dolan, Robert Kibuka-Musoke, Mason Lee and Eryck Marleau
Post mortem
Communication was key, it was hard to find time outside of class to collaborate with everyone - therefore having strong communication is what helped us be the only team with a completely built / finished product
The game was made in 7 weeks, it was not a lot of time to implement the ideas we had created, as there was a lot of bugs that we ran into inbetween, we wished to have gone with a more flappy-bird-esque gameplay
Interesting finding out how time effects the game so much, based upon other scripts that are based off of time, we had to find work-arounds to make sure time was only being tracked while in-game
Frogger Re-imagined
2017
The game Frogger Re-imagined was a final project for first semester students at Saint Lawrence college. This was one of my very first projects other than pong which was worked on solo. There were no groups allowed so everything you see below was programmed and created solely by me. The background images and sprites were sourced from free to use and share, modify commercially websites.
As development started for the game there were a lot of different concepts and design flaws that were scrapped such as the side view cars in a top-down perspective. The hardest feat was tweaking the flowing stream of water. There was a lot of code input defining the variables between the frog’s states so that the game would feel natural. As I was fixing bugs along the way the shape of the game came together slowly and my sprites started to suit the look of the perspective.
The final design featured flies, top-down cars, a directionally flipping frog, and a moving stream! All these objects were instantiated via code in C++, debugged directly from visual studio. I also had wanted to make sure the game had a proper tracking system as you did not want the Frogger to die and respawn at the beginning capturing a fly, based upon his position he would be respawned by the water, on the other side or at the beginning of the road using a plethora of Booleans.
Development
SDL Sprites Game Engine
Visual Studio
Post Mortem
As this was a two week project there was not a lot of time for art assets, the art assets utilized were all free source and non-commercial, with more time I would have liked to bring my own aesthetic design to the game to compliment the gameplay
My idea was unique, but with testing seemed a little rigorous to complete, I would have wanted to continue developing the fun aspect of the gameplay


[§414-201] Compensation of directors. Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise, the board of directors may fix the compensation of directors. [L 2000, c 244, pt of §1]


For abuse issues related to this domain, please email your complaint with any relevant logs to abuse i@lia.im


{{- partial "header.html" . -}} This is the Single template in the Hugo Two layouts folder. {{ with .Params.categories }}


Using the patterns in your project
We encourage everyone to use the patterns as part of their project, to create consistency in services but also to gain better user feeback on them so we can iterate and improve.
Sketch file
Use the sketch file as are starting point for your designs, but consider feeding back any developments or changes you make to the community.
Include in your html
You can the css file in your html designs, it's a quicker way to get a design started but is not for production and should only be used in the short term.
You can include using:
https://home-office-digital-patterns.herokuapp.com/public/stylesheets/application.css
Include in the prototyping kit
- include this repository as node dependancy in the package.json file
- import the SASS files required
- the styles and assets will then be available in
node_modules/hod-patterns
- import the sass files required into your stylesheet
Example of how to include the package in package.json
{
"devDependencies": {
"hod-patterns": "https://github.com/hod/hod-patterns.git#v1.0.0",
}
}


An Computational Apprach to Differnential Equations¶
Existance and Uniqueness of Solutions¶
The existence and uniqueness theorems in differential equations helps us determine if a solution to differential equation and if that solution is unique.
To motivate this example let us consider existance and uniqueness of solutions for simple algebraic systems. Consider has a solution for exists, , which is also a unique equation. However, the quadtratic equation has the solution . In this situation, the quadratic equatihas solutions that exist, but those solutions are not unique.
Existance and Uniqueness Theorem. Given the initial boundary problem (IVP)
Exitance. If is continuous in the region surrounding the initial value, , then we can define a rectangular region ,
that contains the point , then the IVP has a unique solution, y(t)
Uniqueness. If is continuous in the region then the IVP has a unique solution, y(t)


Notebooks
Story: !ga ka Kkumm. The Frog's story (Or, The Frog, the Blue Crane, the Beetle, and !kuommain |ka ||kau) (Part I)
!ga ka Kkumm. The Frog's story (Or, The Frog, the Blue Crane, the Beetle, and !kuommain |ka ||kau) (Part I)
Title
!ga ka Kkumm. The Frog's story (Or, The Frog, the Blue Crane, the Beetle, and !kuommain |ka ||kau) (Part I)
Collection
Summary
The Frog, the Blue Crane, the Frog’s husband, and the Beetle. By /han≠kass’o (L VIII.-32. 8812-8820). A tale of the Early Race in which the Frog (!ga) marries !kuommain |ka ||kau, but is embarrassed to relieve herself in front of him. Her body swells up and the Blue Crane makes a hole which the Frog vomits into. !kuommain |ka ||kau returns home and asks where the child is (his swollen wife had appeared as if pregnant). !kuommain |ka ||kau jumps up and runs away.
Comments
1) This is part 1 of the Blue Crane's story, 2) p.8811v: |han≠kass'o heard this from his maternal grandmother (≠kammi); he says it should precede the Blue Crane's story, 3) p.8814v: |han≠kass'o's comments about the Beetle who resembles |kaggen, 4) See also How the Blue Crane vainly sought for !kuommain |ka ||kau, was killed and eaten by the Lions, and restored to life by means of one of the bones of the Mantis (Part 2) 5) This story is found in Book VIII-32
Contributors
|han≠kass'o (Klein Jantje) (VIII)
Date
17 – 18 November 1879
Categories
Keywords
Frog (!ga ka Kkumm or her story) , Frog (called !ga) , Frog (is ashamed) , Frog (will not relieve herself and swells up) , Frog (marries !kuommain |ka ||kau) , Frog (is the Blue Crane's 'mate') , Frog (vomits into a hole) , Frog (her husband runs away) , Frog (her husband is !kuommain |ka ||kau) , Frog (looks pregnant) , !kuommain |ka ||kau (!ga ka Kkumm or the Frog's story) , !kuommain |ka ||kau (is the Frog's husband) , !kuommain |ka ||kau (runs away) , !kuommain |ka ||kau (disappears into a flat stone) , !kuommain |ka ||kau (the Beetle's smell makes him run away) , !kuommain |ka ||kau (thinks his wife the Frog is pregnant) , !kuommain |ka ||kau (!ga ka Kkumm or the Frog's story) , Beetle (!ga ka Kkumm or the Frog's story) , Beetle (called dju) , Beetle (resembles |kaggen) , Beetle (flies and walks) , Beetle (smells like vomit) , Beetle (goes into the Frog's vomit) , Beetle (wants to marry !kuommain |ka ||kau) , Beetle (her smell frightens away !kuommain |ka ||kau) , Blue Crane (!ga ka Kkumm or the Frog's story) , Blue Crane (is the Frog's 'mate') , Blue Crane (makes a hole for the Frog to vomit into) , Blue Crane (searches for the Frog's husband, !kuommain |ka ||kau) , Blue Crane (snatches and misses !kuommain |ka ||kau) , vomit (!ga ka Kkumm or the Frog's story) , vomit (the Beetle goes into the Frog's) , vomit (the smell chases away the Frog's husband, !kuommain |ka ||kau) , vomit (the Frog's) , Early Race (or First Bushmen) , Early Race (the Frog, the Blue Crane, the Beetle and !kuommain |ka ||kau are people of) , |kaggen (and the Frog's story) , name (the Frog is called !ga) , name (Beetle is called dju) , name (the Frog's husband is !kuommain |ka ||kau)
Story Pages
8812-8820


--- layout: post title: 'They Work For You - watch your local MP! (explanation)' date: 2004-06-08 00:00:00 category: links ---


Front-End Projects
Here are a few examples of the front-end projects that I have made. Most of them are hosted on github and you can actually vist their
respective websites to check them out.
You can do this by click the github icon in each section.


/*The ~/Registry.HC.Z file is HolyC code. You can execute a tree branch of it. The Adam branch is executed in the Adam task boot phase. Normally, you will place var declarations in the branch you make, but since an arthmetic expression is valid in HolyC you can place simple expressions without vars. */ RegDft("DemoCompany/Game1","F64 best_score=1.23;\n"); RegDft("DemoCompany/Game1/SimpleVal","1234;\n"); RegExe("DemoCompany/Game1"); U0 Game() { I64 i=RegExe("DemoCompany/Game1/SimpleVal"); "High Score:%6.5f\n",best_score; "Val:%d\n",i; i++; best_score=tS; //You could combine these into one write by making //the $TR...$ and $ID,2$, $ID,-2$, cmds yourself. RegWrite("DemoCompany/Game1","F64 best_score=%9.5f;\n",best_score); RegWrite("DemoCompany/Game1/SimpleVal","%d;\n",i); } Game;