Autism spectrum

Autism spectrum or autistic spectrum describes a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders in the fifth revision of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5). The DSM-5, published in 2013, redefined the autism spectrum to encompass the previous (DSM-IV-TR) diagnoses of autism, Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and childhood disintegrative disorder. Features of these disorders include social deficits and communication difficulties, stereotyped or repetitive behaviors and interests, sensory issues, and in some cases, cognitive delays.

Classification

A revision to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was proposed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5 (DSM-5), released May 2013. The new diagnosis encompasses previous diagnoses of autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, and PDD-NOS. Compared with the DSM-4 diagnosis of autistic disorder, the DSM-5 diagnosis of ASD no longer includes communication as a separate criteria, and has merged social interaction and communication into one category.

Mystery meat navigation

Mystery meat navigation (also known as MMN) is a disparaging term coined in 1998 by Vincent Flanders, author and designer of the website Web Pages That Suck, to describe a web page where the destination of the link is not visible until the user points their cursor at it. Such interfaces lack a user-centered design, emphasizing aesthetic appearance, white space, and the concealment of relevant information over basic practicality and functionality.

The epithet "mystery meat" refers to the meat products often served in American public school cafeterias whose forms have been so thoroughly reprocessed that their exact types can no longer be identified by their appearances: like them, the methods of MMN are clear to the producer but baffling to the consumer.

Flanders originally and temporarily described the phenomenon as Saturnic navigation in reference to the Saturn Corporation, whose company website epitomized this phenomenon. Flanders writes, "The typical form of MMN is represented by menus composed of unrevealing icons that are replaced with explicative text only when the mouse cursor hovers over them".

Cenk Uygur

Cenk Kadir Uygur (/ˈdʒɛŋk ˈjuːɡər/, Turkish pronunciation: [ˈdʒɛɲc ˈujɡur]; born March 21, 1970) is an American columnist, political commentator and activist. Uygur is the main host and co-founder of the American liberal/progressive political and social internet commentary program, The Young Turks (TYT) and the co-founder of the associated TYT Network. He worked as an attorney in Washington, D.C. and New York before beginning his career as a political commentator. As a young man, Uygur espoused socially conservative views, criticizing feminism, abortion, and affirmative action. He is now a progressive.

In addition to hosting TYT, Uygur appeared on MSNBC as a political commentator in 2010, later hosting a weeknight commentary show on the channel for nearly six months until being replaced by Al Sharpton. Shortly after leaving MSNBC, Uygur secured a show on Current TV that aired from December 5, 2011 to August 15, 2013. Uygur was from 2012 to 2013 the chief news officer of Current TV, succeeding Keith Olbermann following his departure from the cable television network until Current was acquired by Al Jazeera Media Network.

Ana Kasparian

Anahit Misak Kasparian (Armenian: Անահիտ Միսաք Գասպարեան, pronounced [ɑnɑˈhid miˈsɑkʰ kʰɑsbɑˈɾjɑn]; born July 7 1986) is an American political pundit and the co-host and producer for the online news show The Young Turks. Kasparian began working as a fill-in producer for The Young Turks in 2007, and is now co-host of the main show and host of The Point on the TYT Network. She also appeared on the TV version of the show that aired on Current TV.

Biography

Born in Los Angeles, California, Kasparian is the daughter of Armenian immigrant parents and was raised in the Reseda community of the San Fernando Valley. Kasparian graduated from Valley Alternative Magnet High School of Van Nuys in 2004 and California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts, Journalism (BAJ).

Kasparian was an assistant producer with CBS Radio news stations in Los Angeles, first with KFWB and then KNX. She has also worked with AOL News, YouTube, TidalTv and On Point. After becoming a fill-in host in April 2007, Kasparian became the producer and co-host with Cenk Uygur of the progressive talk radio on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and internet show/TV show The Young Turks. Kasparian says that young people are interested in news, but "they see network anchors as simply folks who read tele-prompters." She co-hosted TYT University, a show focused on issues faced by university students for some years, and now hosts another TYT Network show, The Point. Kasparian is an agnostic atheist.

Rosie O'Donnell

Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, actress, author, and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor, and continues to be a celebrity blogger, lesbian rights activist, television producer, and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family Vacations.

O'Donnell started her comedy career while still a teenager. Her big break was on the talent show Star Search in 1984. After a TV sitcom and a series of movies introduced her to a larger national audience, from 1996 to 2002 she hosted The Rosie O'Donnell Show, which won multiple Emmy Awards. During this time, she wrote her first memoir, Find Me, and developed the nickname "Queen of Nice" as well as a reputation for philanthropic efforts. She used the book's $3 million advance to establish her For All Kids foundation and promote other charity projects, encouraging celebrities on her show to take part.

In 2002 two months before finishing her talk show run, O'Donnell came out, stating "I'm a dyke!" saying that her primary reason was to bring attention to gay adoption issues. O'Donnell is a foster and adoptive mother. She was named The Advocate magazine's 2002 Person of the Year; in May 2003, she became a regular contributor to the magazine.