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What are input masks? What are validation rules? Why are they important?
Answer to relevant QuestionsProvide suggestions for reducing input volume.1. For the prototype user interface, design a switchboard that leads from main sections to subsections of related system tasks. The main sections may include member information, registration, payments, fitness instructors, ...How would you define second normal form? How do you convert a 1NF design to 2NF? In your answer, refer to specific pages and figures in this chapter.1. Identify the entities and their relationships. Then create an ERD for the reservations system.2. Create 3NF table designs for the system.3. For each of the entities identified, design tables and identify the possible ...1. Should Green Design adopt ERP? Why or why not? Provide specific reasons.2. Is the experience of other companies relevant? Use the Internet to locate a software platform that may be useful to Green Design. Give a summary ...
Post your question | <urn:uuid:50e896b0-27c5-4496-a138-a29c5a1bd33d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.solutioninn.com/what-are-input-masks-what-are-validation-rules-why-are | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00566-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894705 | 201 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Aug 22, 2021
I thought this course was great! Great introduction to Relational Databases and SQLite. Highly reccomend for anyone new to SQL, Databases, or someone looking to get started with a data science career.
Apr 5, 2020
This course has really helped with optimizing queries that I work with everyday, enhancing my understanding of RDBMS, joins, analyzing and structuring exactly what you need and yielding those results.
创建者 Allen P•
May 27, 2021
I learned some basics about SQL and enjoyed it, but I think there wasn't enough practical instruction about how the code is used. It made it hard for me to figure out how to get the data I was asked for in the assessments.
创建者 Eleanor T•
Mar 21, 2022
This course gave a really strong overview but some of the questions in the assignments were ambiguous/needed clarification. From the discussion boards this has been the case for quite a few years without being addressed!
创建者 Giulia T•
Feb 14, 2020
The course vidoes were really nice.
The wording of the exercises is frequently confusing, especially in the peer-reviewed assignment. Many question cannot be answered with the tools provided (i.e. inference, correlation).
创建者 Ganesh K•
Jan 2, 2022
THERE IS BUG IN YOUR PEER ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION THAT THERE IS NO "SHARE LINK" OPTION GIVEN AND IN YOU HAVENT MENTIONED ANY WAY TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM. IT IS REALLY FRUSTATING AND THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE RESOLVED.
创建者 Sung J P•
Dec 1, 2021
Course materials are good, but wish they provide the actual SQL code in answers to quizzes and assignments. Simply providing whether my answer is correct or not is not enough for me to know what I did wrong.
创建者 Vinayak D•
Apr 27, 2020
course was really good and understandable for some beginner like me but at same time I think that more coding exercises were required
ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU FOR IGNITING THE INTEREST TOWARDS DATA ANALYSIS IN ME
创建者 joe b•
Mar 4, 2021
The general structure and idea of the course was good; however, there were many times when the script/questions were worded badly and this was sometimes an issue when it came to understanding the content.
May 20, 2019
No practice examples at all. Videos have only theorethical queries without results, so you can`t see how it works on practice. Reference to SteckOverFlow is awesome. Why should I pay money for nothing?
创建者 Bohan P•
Jun 13, 2022
Final assignment was confusing. Often what you do in the quizes aren't taught in the course material. Would be better if the course videos had more examples of outputs rather than mostly being theory.
创建者 Burhanuddin S•
Apr 16, 2020
Would definitely need to watch Youtube videos to understand the course fully.
Good assignments but the videos are not that great and too much time wasted in learning objectives. Too less examples given
创建者 D H•
May 1, 2019
Good program for beginners. Peer review assignment needs to be updated. The assignment is not graded by instructor. Certification means nothing because anyone who pays money will eventually get it.
创建者 Nathan B•
Feb 20, 2022
There's a significant amount of hand-holding right up until the final exam which then requires a superior cognitive leap to overcome the far-beyond-beginner questions and reasoning. Caveat Emptor!
创建者 Huong D D N•
Aug 8, 2021
Overall, it's a great course to be introduced to SQL without any background knowledge. However, lectures in Week 3 is hard to understand, which I need to seek for other sources to learn on my own.
创建者 Pratyush A•
Aug 21, 2020
The course gives us the basics of SQL only wrt Data Science. It does not tell us much about SQL. Would have liked if more information was given on SQL and how that works. All in all, good course.
创建者 Weiyang T•
Jul 25, 2018
Certain quiz questions were unclear. Final peer-review assignment had unclear/ambiguous questions that didn't fit with the data in my opinion. But content is useful. Delivery could be improved.
创建者 Ibrahim N•
Apr 3, 2021
The course is very well planned with all the basics required to run a query in SQLite. But on the other hand, when it came to the last modules the class just takes off with very few examples.
创建者 Yi W•
Dec 10, 2018
Strongly suggest adding more example code and its running result which will make more sense for beginner. And more exercise problems as current Quiz do not cover all the points in the lecture.
创建者 Ankit M S•
Apr 17, 2020
There should have been more worked examples of queries as it would be hard for a fresher to fully understand it. Btw the Yelp Database lookup page was very helpful to play with the dataset.
创建者 Aatish R•
May 16, 2021
The curse structure was well-drafted. However, the lack of interaction with the moderators was disheartening. The reading material linked is dated and the course needs an overall update.
创建者 Puskar B•
Jan 19, 2021
Too lengthy unnecessary explanations in the beginning and the end of every video lecture. There is no platform to execute during the lecture what the instructor is showing in the video.
创建者 Benjamin A•
Jun 5, 2020
The quizzes will expand your knowledge more. writing and running codes during lecture videos could have made it more easier to understand though, this is what is missing to get a 5 star
创建者 Michelle P•
Jan 29, 2019
You learn the basics of SQL but the course is a bit slow and repetitive, and the last peer-graded assignment should be graded by a computer or the TA's, not just random participants.
创建者 Kelly M•
Oct 9, 2021
Lectures provide limited information and then quizzes jump in difficulty from what is learned in videos. More practice worksheets or examples would be useful for new sql beginners.
创建者 Marcel K•
May 1, 2018
Great Course to start with.
Gives a good understanding of SQL on one side en working with databases on the other.
A syllabus of al the code examples in the video's should behelpfull
创建者 Meredith H O•
Apr 19, 2021
Final assignment has many questions that are unclear. Difficult to find answers in discussion forums, forums are poorly moderated, most questions have no useful answers. | <urn:uuid:999e9e14-77da-4bbb-b6c7-9557b1ff69f1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://zh.coursera.org/learn/sql-for-data-science/reviews?authMode=login&page=130 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572089.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814234405-20220815024405-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.941327 | 1,544 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, is arguably one of the most well-known painters of the 20th century. Her intimate and personal self-portraits are evocative, generating a deep, almost visceral response. Through her paintings, Frida opens a door and invites the viewer to witness something that is both frightening and profound: her lifelong experience with chronic pain.
President-elect Donald Trump promised on multiple occasions during the campaign to bring back torture in order to “fight fire with fire.” As with some of his other campaign promises (draining the swamp of lobbyists, getting rid of Obamacare in its entirety), Trump may pivot away from torture as well. If Trump does what he says, however, we are entering a new chapter in the history of torture.
Citizens of the United States may be witnessing a constitutional crisis, a normal constitutional revolution or normal constitutional politics. Prominent commentators bemoan Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election as the consequence of a breakdown of vital constitutional norms that augurs the destruction of constitutional governance in the United States.
As a highly revered and extensively-studied field, medicine today has certainly evolved from its origins in ancient times. However, to fully appreciate how far we’ve come since then, we’ve compiled some of the best medical advice the ancient Greeks and Romans had to offer back in the day. Disclaimer: We at Oxford University Press do not condone or encourage heeding the advice below.
When people started talking about globalization in the seventies, there was a kind of messianic view that it would change everything; that globalization would sweep the state away, making it no longer the main actor on the global stage. When I taught international relations thirty years ago, and discussion of globalization was taking off, people were predicting the end of the state.
In US general elections a great deal of attention, and much of the money, focuses on events at the national level. But a very great deal of electoral activity also occurs at the sub-national level, with elections for statehouses, governorships, and also initiatives and referendums. In the November 2016 election voters in 35 states were given the opportunity to vote on 154 statewide ballot measures.
What is the biggest whole number that you can write down or describe uniquely? Well, there isn’t one, if we allow ourselves to idealize a bit. Just write down “1”, then “2”, then… you’ll never find a last one.
What are the arguments for ignoring climate change? The simplest is to deny such a thing exists. President Trump’s tweets on the topic, for instance, mostly run along the lines of “It’s record cold all over the country and world – where the hell is global warming, we need some fast!” But this is plainly at odds with the evidence, given what we know now about rising temperatures and accumulation of heat in the oceans.
The only thing that gave me some comfort learning about Kevin Starr’s sudden passing is knowing that he has left behind something as lively and monumental as the man himself: his Americans and the California Dream series. I had the weighty task of editing the last of the books in this series, Golden Dreams, which Kevin felt to be his favorite and most personal because it was about the 1950s, when he met his wife Sheila.
On November 17, 1978, while playing a gig in San Diego, an audience member apparently threw a small silver cross onto the stage, and [Bob] Dylan felt impelled to pick it up and put it into his pocket. The following night, in Tucson, Arizona, he was feeling even worse and reached into his pocket, pulled out the cross, and put it on.
The discovery of cheese predates recorded history. Although the earliest evidence of cheesemaking can be traced back to 5,500 BCE, historians theorize that cheese was originally discovered accidentally: it’s probable that cheesemaking first occurred inside animals organs used for storing milk.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s a new, fast, and instantly appealing music and dance style swept across the globe: the mambo. The man behind the new sensation was the Cuban pianist, composer, bandleader, and showman Dámaso Pérez Prado.
During his campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With the specifics of his replacement plan unknown, it’s clear that the ambiguity is making many in the healthcare industry very nervous. Ted Shaw, president and CEO of Texas Hospital Association, stated, “Any replacement [of the ACA] needs to ensure that patients can get the care they need and providers are fairly paid for services provided.”
As part of our 50th anniversary issue of the OHR, Abigail Perkiss explored the impact of oral history in the aftermath of a Hurricane Sandy in her article Staring Out to Sea and the Transformative Power of Oral History for Undergraduate Interviewers.
After 20 January, 2017, Donald Trump will command America’s enormous power. His order will launch a devastating attack on any country. Sanctions will descend at his pen stroke. Alliances will be his to offer. Yet one kind of foreign power will defeat Trump—as it has defeated presidents for 40 years. This is the power that comes from the world’s consumers, who buy billions of dollars of oil a year from violent and repressive foreigners
In September 2015, the UK Met Office and Met Éireann (the Irish meteorological service) announced a project to give names to potentially damaging storms. The basis for naming any particular storm was the expectation that there would be major impacts on conditions over the British Isles and, in particular, of very high winds. The first storm, Abigail, brought high winds to northern Scotland and the Outer Hebrides. | <urn:uuid:d5cc4c80-e326-42fa-9b6f-08b9e917f169> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.oup.com/category/featured/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00299-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963701 | 1,220 | 2.03125 | 2 |
- How is a mortality charge determined?
- July 19, 2013
For starters, a mortality charge is the cost of pure life insurance protection, which is based on experience tables developed by actuaries and on actual mortality experiences.
It is the amount a company periodically charges the policy owner for the insurance element in the policy. Other expenses include a fee for policy administration, company overhead, and taxes.
Each company uses their own mortality charges, which are based on these tables, mortality experiences and other factors.
Larger companies determine their own mortality charges, while smaller companies rely on industry-wide statistics. As a result, there is a considerable rate variation among companies.
At first glance, that might seem strange since the industry uses pretty much the same data to develop their mortality rates. However, the difference in rates is quite logical.
Some companies specialize in writing coverage on those whose heath is substandard, while other companies take on specialized risks, such as smokers and those in hazardous occupations. Even so, there are still some curious anomalies.
For example, Company A might be more competitive at issue age 40, while Company B is more competitive at issue age 50
A company’s mortality experience is measured (by A.M. Best) at the rate in-which death benefits are paid, then compared to the company’s own actuarial expectations which are used to price the premium.
The difference in mortality charges among life insurance companies can have a greater impact on a policy’s performance than any interest return or dividend. However, this figure doesn’t change very often.
What should I ask about a company’s mortality experience?
-Is the company projecting actual, current experience or better-than-current experience?
-Do the mortality rates vary by product? If so, why?
-Does the company project an unrealistic increase in mortality expenses? If so, is it guaranteed?
The key is to determine which method is being utilized in a particular illustration; however, this is not an easy task. I recommend that you ask, and then get it in writing, if you can.
If you have any additional questions, email me at firstname.lastname@example.org.
About Tony Steuer
Noted insurance author Tony Steuer has spent over 25 years in the life insurance industry. Steuer’s leadership roles include serving on the California Department of Insurance Curriculum board and the National Financial Educator's Council Curriculum Advisory Panel as well as having served as President of the San Francisco Chapter of the American Society of CLU & ChFC, President of the leading Life Insurance Producers of Northern California, and as a board member of the San Francisco Life Underwriters Association. Mr. Steuer is the author of Questions and Answers on Life Insurance: The Life Insurance Toolbook, The Questions and Answers on Life Insurance Workbook and The Questions and Answers on Disability Insurance Workbook - the first two were awarded the “Excellence in Financial Literacy (EIFLE) Award from the Institute of Financial Literacy. Steuer holds a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation and also holds the Life and Disability Insurance Analyst License, a designation that is held by less than thirty people in California.
Questions & Answers on Life Insurance by Tony Steuer, CLU, LA, CPFFE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. | <urn:uuid:7242b197-dee4-429b-bd99-96575ffea605> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.lifequotes.com/articles/how-is-a-mortality-charge-determined/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00088-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945301 | 702 | 1.851563 | 2 |
CitationBauman, Karl E. & Ennett, Susan T. (1994). Tobacco Use by Black and White Adolescents: The Validity of Self-Reports. American Journal of Public Health, 84(3), 394-398. PMCID: PMC1614850
AbstractOBJECTIVES. Previous studies concluded that Black adolescents use tobacco and other drugs less than White adolescents. The Black-White differences typically were attributed to variations in background and life-style. The objective of the research reported in this paper was to determine whether the presumed difference in tobacco use is due to Black-White differences in the validity of self-reports.
METHODS. We used biochemical measures to compare the validity of self-reports of tobacco use by 1823 Black and White adolescents and to assess the contribution of variation in validity to Black-White differences in reported tobacco use.
RESULTS. The sensitivity of Blacks' reports was significantly less than the sensitivity of Whites' reports. The specificity of Whites' reports was significantly less than the specificity of Blacks' reports. Much of the Black-White differences in reports of cigarette smoking and tobacco use were due to Black-White differences in validity.
CONCLUSIONS. Studies of Black-White differences should adjust for the invalidity of reports or acknowledge that much of the difference may be due to measurement error.
Reference TypeJournal Article
Journal TitleAmerican Journal of Public Health
Author(s)Bauman, Karl E.
Ennett, Susan T. | <urn:uuid:ca397b90-6fd0-46f1-ba03-5162d0d5fdf6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.cpc.unc.edu/resources/publications/bib/421/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570871.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808183040-20220808213040-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.91757 | 332 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The Value Co-Creation model has been in place for some time, yet most companies have not adopted this powerful way of differentiating themselves.
Early movers were the likes of FedEx who allowed Customers to check the status of packages themselves, without having to contact someone in the company. This created great value (ease of use, sharing of the work load with the customer, putting the customer in control etc.) And value was co-created for FedEx, as they did not need to have staff to answer status questions.
Others have tried similar approaches, such as setting up service calls, but generally these have not worked well, because tracking of service people is not part of this platform. Imagine if you could track the service person and interact with him. Often problems can be solved without a visit. A platform would help, for delivery, for information and for real time tracking.
Companies that are successful in co-creation understand that co-creation is not managed by the company, but by equal partners in co-creation. So putting the customer in control or in equal control works best. Often co-creation requires the company, the distribution system (or the supply or delivery chain)and the customer to partner in co-creation of value and ease of doing business.
This requires a change of traditional business practices and models. This is particularly true for and applicable with companies that have moved from being owners to co-creators of value. They have designed platforms where they (take companies like Airbnb, Uber, LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon) allow customers, service providers and themselves to connect, to interact, to innovate and to co-create value and success for each other. These are C2C (Customer to Customer), B2C (Business to Customer) and B2B (Business to Business) all one platform.
So we need to look at our business and see how we can set up a co-creation platform, and from the platform connect ourselves to the supplier and the customer. Are we willing to let go? Are we willing to let go control and our traditional thinking?
The first step is to think about and set up a platform, and then make it work.
The easiest platform to form is a co-innovation platform, where the designers and customers can interact. This, of course involves a small part of your customer base.
This is really an idea generation model that can be refined into a more operational model and more result oriented model.
More complex are sales platforms such as Amazon, where the supplier can participate in the sales (his delivery and guarantees), by customers co-creating the confidence in the product through ratings, and co-creating the future requirements of the supplier and the customer. Customers create value for each other, the company to the supplier and the customer and so on.
So connect your Customers, let them “talk” in some way by experiences (so a pesticide company may put in likes and dislikes or ratings of the product, by just punching in a number at the suppliers, or on the platform.
Next help them discuss issues (again this may only mean by a rating system) or help each other by suggesting which concentration of the pesticide was best for you. Or what is best storage method?
Thus this network of people helps you build customers and connect to them and co-create. Your digital infrastructure needs to be designed to allow people to participate and co-create.
Next, try to automate your processes and the way people can co-create.
It is not just the platform; it is your co-creation of value thinking that is important. You have to rethink your strategy for the product, manufacturing, inventory, distribution, customer interface and the like and build your digital infrastructure,
GE and Microsoft are making this transition and so should you.
Customer Value Foundation is co-creation of value experts
President, Customer Value Foundation and Inter-Link India
Founder editor, Journal of Creating Value jcv.sagepub.com
K-185 Sarai Jullena, New Delhi 110025
+91 98100 60368, 011-26831226
Customer Value Foundation (CVF) helps companies to Create Value and profit by Creating Value for the Customers, employee and for each person working with the companies.
Total Customer Value Management (Total CVM) transforms the entire company to focus on Creating Value for the Customer by aligning each person’s role in Creating Customer Value and getting shareholder wealth and Value.
Explore posts in the same categories: Business & Management | <urn:uuid:e2705dc4-9d2d-4080-9409-dd55b3b60f66> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://customerthink.com/the-value-co-creation-platform-welcome-to-the-platform-economy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00246-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953691 | 932 | 1.757813 | 2 |
270 – Psalm 7 – Shiggaion
Psalm 7:title (NKJV)
A Meditation Of David, Which He Sang to [Yahweh] Concerning the Words of Cush, a Benjamite.
We talked last time about the middle two facts revealed in the title of this wonderful little Psalm. Let’s consider the bookend facts presented in this concise yet informative title. The New King James attempts to translate the word transliterated Shiggaion. The translators have decided it means meditation. The truth is, no one knows precisely what the Hebrew word means. The New American Standard translation doesn’t attempt a guess and simply transliterates it to its English spelling, Shiggaion. The translators footnote the word as “Dithyrambic rhythm; or wild passionate song”. Maybe they felt throwing the big word dithyrambic (wildly enthusiastic) in the mix would make them look better. I wish they just would have said, “we don’t know what it means”. Additionally, the New American Standard Dictionary has the following entry.
“NASB Dictionaries perh. a wild passionate song with rapid changes of rhythm”. See the “perh”? They abbreviated perhaps.
Now about the last fact “…Concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite”, we literally have no idea who Cush was or what his “words” were that seemed to taunt King David into writing this interesting song. The third verse might suggest Cush was accusing David of wrongdoing.
Since we discussed verses one and two last time, let’s consider verses three through five together.
Psalm 7:3-5 (NKJV)
3 O [Yahweh] my God, if I have done this: If there is iniquity in my hands,
4 If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, Or have plundered my enemy without cause,
5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes, let him trample my life to the earth, And lay my honor in the dust.
David declares his innocence not by answering his accuser, but rather by entreating Yahweh his God. David knew full well that Yahweh knew whether or not David was guilty as charged. It’s like the modern-day appeal, “if I’m lying may I be struck by lightning right where I stand!”, yet much more weighty because David addresses Yahweh directly.
I believe David uses verses three through five to set up his petition which begins in verse six.
6 Arise, O [Yahweh], in Your anger; Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; Rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded!
Thus far in Psalm seven, it’s clear David truly was innocent of the charges levied against him – this time.
I don’t know where in the chronology of David’s life this Psalm appears, but viewing the whole of David’s life as ancient history we know he was guilty of both adultery and murder.
As I read this particular Psalm I am struck by the confidence with which David declares his innocence. Seems particularly bold of him to communicate in such a way with Yahweh.
I wonder whether David’s confidence was in his own innocence or was it actually found in what he knew to be true of Yahweh as he declared in verses ten and eleven?
Psalm 7:10 (NKJV)
10 My defense is of God [Elohim], Who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a just judge, And God [El] is angry with the wicked every day.
Interesting to note David doesn’t use God’s personal name in these two verses, but rather refers to God as Elohim, and the shortened form El, meaning “powerful or mighty God”. Who is David’s defense? The mighty God!
The more I encounter this Psalm the more I realized it could only be penned by a man who was truly in fellowship with God. The content of this Hebrew song reveals the author to be in intimate fellowship with Yahweh Elohim.
Do we realize the same close fellowship David enjoyed with Yahweh is available to us today? As believers in Christ Jesus, we can plead our case before Him and invoke His protection from our enemies. If you are not a believer in Jesus [the] Christ you will instead suffer the wrath of God as He judges your sin.
Maybe you, unlike David in this Psalm, stand guilty as charged. If you are an unbeliever come to faith in Jesus for your rescue! Allow His blood to cleanse you from your sin and set you free. If you have already done that, have fallen, and are currently guilty as charged then do what John talks about.
1 John 1:7-9 (NKJV)
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
How amazing, good, and awesome is our God? Let me send you the following written invitation.
Psalm 95:6-7 (NKJV)
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before [Yahweh] our Maker. 7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. | <urn:uuid:87001469-693b-435a-8f14-d5aad68e50da> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://truthfellowshiplive.com/blog/270-psalm-7-shiggaion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.957158 | 1,243 | 1.703125 | 2 |
During the 9th research cruise of the R/V Kaiyo-maru, copepod samples were collected from three layers between the surface and 200 m with RMT 8m2 along the three longitudinal lines in the Ross Sea and its neighboring waters. Twenty three copepod species belonging to 13 families were identified and 8 unidentified taxa appeared in the study area. Samples were categorized into four major groups by cluster analysis based on species abundance and composition. Group 1 located in the north of the Southern Boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current was characterized by high abundance (157.5-2279.5; mean 610.5 inds. 1000 m-3) and dominance of Rhincalanus gigas (mean 88.4%). Group 2 located off the Ross Sea (175°E; north of 72°S, 170°W; north of 75°S) was characterized by high abundance (22.6-1542.1; mean 301.9 inds. 1000 m-3) and high composition of Calanus plopinquus (mean 19.0%), Rhincalanus gigas (mean 23.2%) and Calanoides acutus (mean 38.7%). Group 3 and 4 located in the Ross Sea (175°E; south of 72°S, 170°W; south of 75°S) were characterized with low abundances (2.6-5.2; mean 3.6 inds. 1000 m-3, 6.5-50.6; mean 18.5 inds. 1000 m-3).
Número de documento:
Punto(s) de la agenda | <urn:uuid:340069d2-9b1a-49dd-9ee3-7d47927dc450> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://meetings.ccamlr.org/es/wg-emm-08/36 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570913.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809064307-20220809094307-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.9498 | 358 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Pieter Van den Heede is a lecturer and researcher at the Department of History at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
In his research, he primarily focuses on the study of historical culture (how people in past and present relate to the past), history didactics, public history and other forms of meta-reflection on history as a scholarly discipline. In addition, he is interested in the study of the Second World War.
In his dissertation 'Engaging with the Second World War through Digital Gaming' (2021), Pieter studied how digital entertainment games such as Call of Duty represent the war and the Holocaust in particular, and how players reflect on playing these games. The PhD project was part of the broader Research Excellence Initiative (REI) ‘War! Popular Culture and European Heritage of Major Armed Conflicts’ (project leader Prof. Maria Grever) (2015-present). This interdisciplinary project was embedded at both the Center for Historical Culture (CHC) (History Department), and the Erasmus Research Center for Media, Commmunication and Culture (ERMeCC).
Pieter teaches courses on the philosophy of history, historical culture and public history. He considers teaching to be one of his great joys in life. | <urn:uuid:85f761e3-2ad8-4f39-a979-4373df3430ba> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.eur.nl/en/eshcc/people/pieter-van-den-heede | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571090.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809215803-20220810005803-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.944452 | 257 | 1.914063 | 2 |
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Diane Publishing Books
Setting New Directions for Stroke Care: Proceedings of a National Symposium on Rapid Identification & Treatment of Stroke
John R. Marler, Pamela Winters Jones, & Marian Emr (eds.). Proceedings from the Dec. 1996 Nat. Symposium on Rapid Identification & Treatment of Acute Stroke, sponsored by the Nat. Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke. Describes how we can change our health care system to create a Chain of Recovery necessary for treating patients with acute brain attack. The ideas discussed represent the consensus of a wide array of health professionals who for the first time can now offer effective treatment for acute stroke. Chapters: keynote addresses; pre-hospital emergency med. systems panel; emergency dept. panel; acute hospital care panel; health care systems panel; public educ. panel; recommendations; & final keynote address.
Karluk: The Great Untold Story of Arctic Exploration
Illustrated Jewish Bible for Children
Arizona Wetlands & Waterfowl
Anti-Depressant Survival Program: How to Beat the Side Effects & Enhance the Benefits of Your Medication
In the Combat Zone: Special Forces Since 1945
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Copyright � 2004 Diane Publishing Company. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:e25ee365-c6cc-497b-9fe6-9e22184d3e5d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.dianepublishing.net/product_p/0756722721.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.758725 | 473 | 1.609375 | 2 |
This 49 Foot python captured by Indonesian Villagers could be the world's biggest python caught today, This huge python is weighs nearly 990 lbs. It would be the largest snake ever kept in captivity.
Hundreds of people have flocked to see the snake at a primitive zoo in Curugsewu village on the country’s main island of Java. The reticulated python measured 48 feet 8 inches and weighed in at 983 pounds. Eats three or four dogs a month, This Reticulated pythons are the world’s longest snakes. They are capable of eating animals as large as sheep, and have been known to attack and consume humans. The species is native to the swamps and jungles of Southeast Asia. See also this world's largest snakes.
Previously The Guinness Book of World Records lists the longest ever captured snake to be 32 feet. The heaviest — a Burmese Python kept in Gurnee, Ill. — weighs 402 pounds, But it seems soon the title of the longest ever captured snake could be held by this Indonesian Python.
More stunning pics of this Biggest Python Caught after the jump | <urn:uuid:c833c929-eb8e-4c62-a1bc-882cf952819f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://worldmustbecrazy.blogspot.com/2012/04/biggest-python-snake-caught.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283689.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00352-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958076 | 233 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Rhode Island is the birthplace of American religious freedom and the wall of separation between church and state. Sometime between its founding and 2010, however, Rhode Island seems to have forgotten this proud part of its history. That was when a new student noticed a banner at Cranston High School West that read:
Our Heavenly Father.
Grant us each day the desire to do our best.
To grow mentally and morally as well as physically.
To be kind and helpful to our classmates and teachers.
To be honest with ourselves as well as with others.
Help us to be good sports and smile when we lose as well as when we win.
Teach us the value of true friendship.
Help us always to conduct ourselves so as to bring credit to Cranston High School West.
This student was Jessica Ahlquist, and her challenge to the legality of the banner under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment made history for for her poise and determination--and for the viciousness with which it was met. Jessica is in town for the American Atheists Regional Convention this weekend, and she will join us in the studio to talk about her court case and about how life has been since it was won.
- Ahlquist vs. Cranston, an overview of the case
- "Ahlquist Family Told to 'Get out of RI' in Threatening Letter"
- "Banner Author Objects to Jessica’s Scholarship"
Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.
Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.org during the live show.. | <urn:uuid:2e93277c-db04-41a0-9990-edbd9fd86222> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://mnatheists.org/news-and-media/podcast/769-jessica-ahlquist | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283689.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00349-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965049 | 446 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Piped gas in Jamshedpur this month
Supply of piped natural gas to steel city homes will start this month with around 70 apartments at Ashiana Gardens in Sonari as the first beneficiaries.
Ranchi became the first city in the state to get piped LNG (liquefied natural gas) supply last month. Officials of GAIL (India) Limited said they were to launch the facility in the steel city on September 8 but the rollout event would take place later this month due to unavailability of Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“The minister is away from the country now,” S.K. Pal, deputy general manager (city gas distribution), GAIL India, told The Telegraph on Monday. “We will fix a new date for the launch function only after the minister returns. From our end we have readied everything right from necessary installations to testing and trial.”
GAIL is the country’s largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company.
According to Pal, they have decided to supply piped LNG in a phase-wise manner.
“Initially, we will supply the piped cooking gas to around 70 flats. Later, our supply in Ashiana Gardens would be increased to 300, the number of registered consumers. Gradually, we will reach out to other places like Mango, Kadma and Sakchi,” he said.
He said they have set a target to cover 25,000 homes in Jamshedpur in the next two years.
The natural gas company, which has set up a camp office at a hotel in Sakchi, has also set up a decompression unit near the Tribal Culture Centre at Sonari to facilitate supplies.
GAIL, Pal said, would also come up with two CNG (compressed natural gas) stations for vehicles at Mango. The company had already selected two fuel outlets on the NH-33 where the CNG stations would come up. The other areas where GAIL has plans to set up CNG stations include Jugsalai, the station area, the Circuit House area, Sonari, Sakchi and Telco. | <urn:uuid:3c7c2537-521c-4b00-be70-ae3632b83f54> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.telegraphindia.com/jharkhand/piped-gas-in-jamshedpur-this-month/cid/1702138 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573104.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817183340-20220817213340-00466.warc.gz | en | 0.960551 | 450 | 1.539063 | 2 |
2012 POY Finalists: Power Transmission
Finalists in the Power Transmission category for the Plant Engineering 2012 Product of the Year competition.
Operator safety switchgear
Eaton Corporation’s Arc-Resistant Front-Accessible Switchgear provides centralized control and protection for low-voltage power distribution equipment and is engineered to enhance operator safety. The front accessible design minimizes equipment footprint for utility, industrial, data center, institutional, hospital, and water facilities. The design also allows the equipment to be installed against the wall and eliminates the need to meet the National Electrical Code requirement of 36 in. of rear clearance. With an optional ANSI Type 2B rating for the front-accessible arc-resistant switchgear, the operator can be protected while the low voltage control or instrumentation compartment doors are open.
Molded-case circuit breakers
Eaton Corporation’s 2- and 3-pole molded case circuit breakers (MCCB) provide front-accessible and front-connected equipment with ease of maintenance. Drawout feeder MCCBs are available in 20 A to 600 A. The drawout MCCB switchboard and drawout MCCB panelboard may be submitted for almost any application. Breakers on the drawout MCCB units are inserted and removed through a mechanical removal system similar to other drawout designs associated with switchgear. For greater density and reduced space, the breaks are horizontally mounted in a traditional panelboard group mounted way.
The Power Xpert Solar 1500 kW inverter is designed to improve plant levelized cost of energy, maximize energy harvest, operate in harsh environments, and adhere to safety standards. The inverter for utility-scale, solar applications converts dc power into clean ac. Eaton created the inverter to use an MV pad-mount transformer, which is connected to the inverter via a direct-coupled throat connection, reducing cable requirements, pad size, and commissioning time. The Power Xpert Solar 1500 kW features a wide Maximum Power Point Tracking voltage range, which maximizes inverter operation time to boost energy harvest.
Eaton Corporation’s Series 6001 energy storage grid-connect inverter features proprietary electronics and provides improved stability for wind and solar energy customers. The inverter is designed to allow users to achieve full battery storage potential because of a large dc operating voltage window. With a 20-year life for utility applications, the Series has rated magnetic, liquid-cooled power modules with over seven million hours mean time between failure and a rugged enclosure for harsh environments. The Series inverter provides the required grid support, including low-, zero-, and high-voltage range, stand-alone/black start operation, islanding detection, utility communication, and full four quadrant operation.
Mid-size bevel speed reducers
The new upgraded series is a mid-sized family of right angle spiral bevel speed reducers and gearmotors. The Cyclo BBB4 has a combination of features that results in a highly reliable, efficient, and durable gearbox. The all-steel internal construction, featuring Cyclo or planetary inputs and the ductile iron housing, provides unmatched ruggedness. Interchangeable with the Cyclo BBB3 series, the redesigned Cyclo BBB4 series has been optimized for increased power ratings. A new F size yields higher torque and accommodates larger shaft diameters. Sumitomo also introduces 46 new standard ratios, along with 87 optional ratios with this generation of Cyclo BBB4.
Bevel speed reducers
The new Cyclo BBB5 series is a compact, energy-efficient family of right angle spiral bevel speed reducers and gearmotors. This series has been optimized for direct shaft-mounted applications. Similar to the Cyclo BBB4 Series, the Cyclo BBB5 has a combination of features that results in a very reliable gearbox. The all-steel rotating components, featuring Cyclo or planetary, exclusive bevel outputs, and compact housing design provide top performance without thermal limitations. To enable customers to precisely define operating speeds, Sumitomo introduces more than 100 ratios with this new 5 series of Cyclo BBB.
Electric linear actuator
Thomson WhisperTrak Electric Linear Actuators maximize design flexibility and improve performance and user comfort in personal mobility, rehabilitation, and medical equipment applications where reliability, small size, and low noise are design considerations. The actuators comply with all relevant certificates and are built in accordance with ISO 9000. A sealed, IP67 enclosure allows the electric linear actuator to provide maintenance-free operation throughout its lifetime. The actuators are rated to provide at least 10,000 cycles at maximum load. The actuators operate at 12 Vdc or 24 Vdc and can handle static and dynamic loads up to 2,000 N at speeds up to 5.8 mm/sec.
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Annual Salary Survey
Before the calendar turned, 2016 already had the makings of a pivotal year for manufacturing, and for the world.
There were the big events for the year, including the United States as Partner Country at Hannover Messe in April and the 2016 International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago in September. There's also the matter of the U.S. presidential elections in November, which promise to shape policy in manufacturing for years to come.
But the year started with global economic turmoil, as a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing triggered a worldwide stock hiccup that sent values plummeting. The continued plunge in world oil prices has resulted in a slowdown in exploration and, by extension, the manufacture of exploration equipment.
Read more: 2015 Salary Survey | <urn:uuid:b889f8bb-7ee2-4c29-baca-e3b6a8eb5b33> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.plantengineering.com/home/single-article/2012-poy-finalists-power-transmission/dbbc1997ac15a7d04fa73b0098264ffd.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00236-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904633 | 1,168 | 1.59375 | 2 |
雅思的话题分析，替代类话题，母题：Some people think that the government should establish free libraries in each town. Others believe that it is a waste of money since people can access the Internet at home to obtain information. Discuss both sides and give your own opinion. (120112)
大家掌握这个雅思口语模板的关键在于如何选择类别，depends on what? 这是考官最关心的问题。
a. Is it necessary to learn a foreign language?
Do you do anything to keep healthy?
How do people maintain good health?
What would you say is a healthy lifestyle?
Is there any sport or activity that you would like to try in the future?
Did you or do you get any exercise at school?
Has your school/university taught you anything about how to live a healthy life?
Friends and family/parents
Do you think family members should live together?
When do you spend time with your family?
Do you often go out with your friends?
Do you prefer to spend time with your family or with your friends? Why?
Which do you think is more important, your family or your friends? Why?
Do you often play games?
Can you get information about this game on the internet?
What benefits do you get from playing this game?
Do different age groups of people like to play different games? (Examples? What games?)
What can people learn from games?
Do you carry a bag (when you go out)?
What types of bags do you use in everyday life?
What do you put in these bags?
What sorts of bags do women like to buy?
When you are buying a bag, what factors do you consider?
Do you have a bag for special occasions?
Have you ever lost a bag?
A polite person
An interesting person
An old person you respect
A good teacher
A good parent
A good neighbor
A person with an important job
A popular band or singer/ a famous artist
A person you want to be
A person who became your good friend at the first meeting
A person you enjoy talking to
A person you know who made a wrong decision
A popular singer or band in your country
An interesting country you would like to visit
A shopping street
A place crowded with people
A place where people go to listen to music/concert hall
A place where you used to study or work
A beautiful house/flat you have visited
A company/factory you visited
A 24-hour shop
A restaurant/a cafe
A room you spend most of the time in
A seaside place
A perfect holiday
Recent changes of your hometown
A product you were dissatisfied with
A rule in your school with which you disagree
Your favorite means of communication
A movie or a book about future
A film about real people or event
A song which has special meaning for you
A book (about history)
A radio program
A TV program/film (which makes you laugh)
Once again, here's a passage about the further education in MBA programs in this financial tsunami. Apart from that, the way of describing and comparing figures is also useful for writing task one in IELTS.
Going back to school isn't just for kids any more. There is more competition among adults applying to the nation's top MBA programs. A survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council found that two-thirds of full-time MBA programs saw an increase in applications in 2006. That's compared to only 21% seen increases the year before. Part-time and executive MBA programs are also sifting through more applicants. It's not just members of the old boys club who are applying. The survey shows that more women and minorities are looking to advance their careers with an advanced degree. So why are people applying now? Some suggest that the increase in applications could be a result of a slowing economy. More people are willing to attend school during a slowdown and hope things will pick up after graduation. Others see it as a career investment. A survey by the same group conducted in May found that the average starting salary for MBA graduates is 92, 000 dollars. That's 4. 2% more than just a year ago.
Lea 三星教师 擅长：雅思口语写作听力... | <urn:uuid:86195f9f-79b3-4393-babc-4b737251bd88> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://nb.longre.cn/kouyu/1060-2430.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00022-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.768023 | 996 | 2.671875 | 3 |
How to Replace a Fuel Injector in a Nissan Sentraby Contributor
The fuel injector in a Nissan Sentra mixes fuel with air under pressure and rendered carburetors obsolete during the late 1980s. One advantage of a fuel injector is the programmable firmware that allows the same hardware to work with different fuels. The fuel injector assembly includes only the nozzle and valve; it still requires a pump to deliver fuel into the engine.
Determine which fuel injector your Nissan Sentra will need. This depends not only on the make and model, but also the engine size. Models made from 1982 to 1986 may have a 1.5L, 1.6L or 1.7L diesel engine and 1986 to 1990 use 1.6L engines. Models made from 1991 to 1994 may have a 1.4L, 1.6L or 2.0L engine.
Look at later versions of the Nissan Sentra. Models built from 1995 to 1999 may have a 1.6L or 2.0L engine, and engine sizes for 2000 to 2006 models are 1.8L, 2.0L and 2.5L. The current generation debuted in 2007 and is available with a 2.0L MR20DE engine.
Disconnect the negative battery cable with a socket wrench and relieve the fuel system pressure. Disconnect the vacuum hose and remove the intake manifold collector from the fuel pressure regulator.
Detach the fuel hoses from the fuel rail with a socket wrench and disconnect the fuel injector electrical connectors. Remove the fuel rail mounting bolts with a socket wrench so you can separate the fuel rail assembly from the intake manifold with the fuel injectors still attached.
Push on the fuel injector tail piece to separate the injector from the rail. Discard the fuel injector O-rings.
Lubricate the new O-rings with a small amount of clean engine oil and install the new fuel injector by reversing the removal procedure. Use a torque wrench to tighten the fuel rail mounting bolts in two stages. First, torque the bolts to between 84 and 96 inch pounds and then torque them to between 15 and 20 foot pounds.
Things You'll Need
- Fuel injector kit
- Socket wrench set
- Torque wrench
This article was written by a professional writer, copy edited and fact checked through a multi-point auditing system, in efforts to ensure our readers only receive the best information. To submit your questions or ideas, or to simply learn more, see our about us page: link below. | <urn:uuid:e104e30e-049b-4cdc-b8d8-ec50444a8015> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://itstillruns.com/replace-fuel-injector-nissan-sentra-4509081.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.908852 | 545 | 1.773438 | 2 |
ERIC Number: ED250504
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1984-Sep
Reference Count: 0
Computer Assisted VESL Instruction for Vocational Education: Final Report FY-84.
Northwest Educational Cooperative, Palatine, IL.
A prototype software program and accompanying user's manual were developed for teaching vocational English related to basic electricity/electronics to limited English proficient students. The software package was designed to be adaptable to other content areas. Preliminary activities included compilation of a list of learning objectives for and identification of vocational language related to basic electricity/electronics. The prototype computer-assisted instruction (CAI) vocational English-as-a-second-language program included 10 activities, 2 reading passages, and 2 cloze tests (pre and post). The lesson was programmed using Apple Pilot, and a user's manual with a guide for creating new CAI lessons was developed. The prototype was tested through external reviews and pilot testing. Following the eight-page narrative are appendixes that include a list of sources for the task analysis list, cross-referenced block of tasks, a task analysis list for basic electricity/electronics, various materials with vocational language related to basic electricity/electronics, a sample lesson outline, an evaluator's review of the prototype and manual, a student's review of the prototype, and a list of material and human resources. (YLB)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: Illinois State Board of Education, Springfield. Dept. of Adult, Vocational and Technical Education.
Authoring Institution: Northwest Educational Cooperative, Palatine, IL.
Identifiers: Vocational English as a Second Language | <urn:uuid:99ef4da2-ac17-4e34-9929-7b6d4be27113> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED250504 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718285.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00107-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903826 | 358 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Home | Index | Blog | No Autistics Allowed: Autism Society Canada Speaks For Itself
THE IPSOS-REID AUTISM POLL
"Ipsos-Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research."--from the introduction to the autism poll
15 March 2005 (via email)
We have previously spoken on the phone about the Ipsos-Reid autism poll, released on December 20, 2004. As I mentioned, this poll has already been extensively used as a lobbying tool and will surely continue to be.
In response to concerns I raised about the nature of this poll and its consequences to an identifiable group of Canadians, you suggested that I come up with two poll questions.
The position taken by Ipsos-Reid thus far re the autism poll is that Ipsos-Reid is not responsible for verifying information presented as fact in a poll; and that Ipsos-Reid will not concern itself with how identifiable groups are portrayed in polls.
In consideration of this position, and after some thought, I have composed two questions.
I should make it clear that I do not in any way want these questions distributed, and given credibility, with the full authority and power of Ipsos-Reid's status and reputation. After I explain my two questions, I will then have some questions for you, which I would greatly appreciate answers to.
The two questions:
Both the above questions have a factual foundation similar to those in the autism poll. The Intensive Behavioural Treatment described above was developed by the same researcher (Ivar Lovaas) at the same time (early 1970s) at the same university (UCLA) with the same goal (an "indistinguishable" child) as the Intensive Behavioural Treatment described in the autism poll.
The autism treatment was developed in the UCLA Young Autism Project, and a treatment which had among its goals preventing or curing homosexuality was developed in the UCLA Feminine Boy Project. Dr Lovaas was the principal investigator of both well-funded projects. Many rationales were provided for the FBP in the science, some of which are used above. The cost-benefit information could be attached, with any constructed rationale, to any group which is significantly ostracized by society, all such groups having notoriously poor and expensive outcomes.
For more information and parallels between the projects and treatments, see http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/naa_aba.html, sections 5 and 6 (notes, sources, and references provided at the end).
I will repeat that I do not want, and wish never to see, the above questions in a poll. I recognize that the blatant prejudices in these questions may have, and in fact are likely to have, harmful consequences to an identifiable group of Canadians and to individuals in this group. I also recognize the offensive premise and language of the proposed poll questions, including the message that homosexuals suffer due to their homosexuality, are sick and a burden on society, and would be much better off and much less of a burden if they underwent "effective" medical treatment for their condition.
My first question to you is whether Ipsos-Reid has standards which would prevent you from accepting the questions above for distribution and publication as a poll. Unfortunately, it would not be difficult to find groups of non-homosexuals which would have various motives to commission and promote such a poll.
If the above standards exist, my next question is why these standards were not applied to the autism poll, which was asked for, and has been promoted and widely distributed, by non-autistic people.
My next question is whether Ipsos-Reid continues to stand by the autism poll, in either the presence or absence of the standards referred to above.
My last question is whether Ipsos-Reid will take responsibility, and take commensurate action, to mitigate the actual and potential harm done to autistic Canadians by the autism poll. So long as Ipsos-Reid stands by this poll, the harm will continue.
Thank you for your time.
15 March 2005 (via email)
Thank you for your e-mail which is further to our two conversations by telephone. I have also reviewed your correspondence to Mr. Mitchell of March 9, 2005.
What was absent from your e-mail to him was my offer to have you put two legitimate questions on our national public opinion omnibus for free which could then be released into the public domain. I would have final say over the questions. I offered this not because I believe we have done nothing wrong--as I explained, you have a point of view which is different than the group which was identified in the poll and I'm sure they would differ with your view and this simply could go on endlessly, something which we will not engage you in. The point here is that we are prepared to offer you an extraordinary opportunity which would help balance or clarify the issue. If we can help in this regard then we would be pleased to do so. Currently, your response below is not helpful to that end.
17 March 2005 (via email)
Thank you for your response.
Firstly, I do not want to falsely report your or Ipsos-Reid's position. You wrote: "I offered this not because I believe we have done nothing wrong...". It seems possible, or likely, that you meant that you believe that Ipsos-Reid has done nothing wrong. I would very much appreciate clarification of this point.
As I wrote, so long as Ipsos-Reid stands by the autism poll, then autistics in Canada will continue to be harmed. Whether Ipsos-Reid believes this is wrong is a question of major importance to autistics, and to those genuinely concerned with our well-being.
Secondly, re Ipsos-Reid's response to my concerns, Mr Mitchell and I discussed your offer, and one of the results of that discussion was the e-mail which you have now described as unhelpful.
I have not been able to inform Mr Mitchell, who is the parent of an autistic child, or other interested parties whether Ipsos-Reid would unquestioningly accept to distribute and publish the poll questions I sent you. I and many others believe this is an important question, and you have not answered it. It would be very helpful if you did.
You state that you have the final say as to poll questions. However, I still have no information about what kind of criteria or standards Ipsos-Reid has for the polls it conducts and stands by.
I asked for this information because it is possible, if not likely, that any poll done with questions I supply will produce a responding poll by one or another of the ABA parent groups. There are many such groups, including autism societies, and some of them are well-funded. A responding poll not governed by any standards as to either the accuracy of information presented as fact, or how identifiable groups can be portrayed, could result in even more harm to autistic Canadians.
My questions to you were not meant to be helpful to Ipsos-Reid, but to those harmed by your poll. While it is frequently said that autistic people are not intelligent or responsible enough to speak for ourselves, this is just another example of the prejudicial views of autistics widely disseminated by people who are not autistic and will never be. In this case, autistics, as well as parents of autistic children, are asking Ipsos-Reid to be responsible. We are asking you to answer the very basic questions I asked, questions which would take little time or effort to answer.
Ipsos-Reid identifies itself as a leader in its field. It is precisely Ipsos-Reid's leadership position which gives credibility to the false, misleading, offensive, and harmful content of your autism poll.
Leadership should entail responsibility. I have suggested ways in which Ipsos-Reid can act responsibly in this case. Unless I know what Ipsos-Reid's standards are, I could only with great reluctance provide two genuine poll questions. I would have cause to fear that these questions would be rejected outright and Ipsos-Reid would therefore wash its hands. I would equally have cause to fear that consequent polls could result in yet more, and more harmful, false and negative information about autistics being distributed across Canada, fueled by Ipsos-Reid's position of leadership and influence.
In the alternative, you could take a small amount of your time to answer the simple but serious questions I've asked, on behalf of many people who are feeling the consequences of your poll. This would tell me, and many others, that Ipsos-Reid takes seriously the leadership role it advertises. It may then be possible to responsibly determine if it is necessary or beneficial to conduct the poll you are offering.
Finally, like many autistic Canadians, I have lost a great deal, including my freedom, to now widely-distributed pejorative views of autism. To you, and to Ipsos-Reid, intolerance and ostracism may be matters of "opinion". To me, and to many autistic Canadians, they are a daily reality, harming, marginalizing, and endangering us.
Thank you for your time.
17 March 2005 (via BlackBerry)
Thank you for yours.
The clarification is as follows: "we do not believe we have done anything wrong."
Thank you for your considered views.
Note: An article which was previously posted consequent to statements from Mr Wright was taken down and its title cannot, according to Mr Wright, even be mentioned. Because what Mr Wright is objecting to remains uncertain, Mr Wright has become the only person whose comments and statements can safely (without fear of a lawsuit or other unspecified action on the part of Mr Wright) be posted here. Therefore, his public comments and statements have been posted. See Comments of John Wright.
In addition, the comment board attached to this article has, for similar reasons, been taken down. The only comments I can be certain will not meet Mr Wright's objections are his own. I do not want visitors, who may not have substantial power or resources, erroneously assuming it is safe, in this context, to express their views. I apologize to those who posted here and whose posts have of necessity been taken down. I have preserved Mr Wright's messages, which I assume he has no objection to. --Michelle Dawson, February 13, 2006
|Top | Comments | E-mail| | <urn:uuid:96dfdb64-776f-4d45-90ab-1834cf806838> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/naa_ipso.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00163-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9724 | 2,174 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Pediatric Nurse Annual Salary Nevada - NV
Nevada is one of the top ten largest states in terms of area, but its population density is one of the smallest. The majority of the people in the state, more than two-thirds, live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Other cities of note that are not in the Las Vegas metro area include Reno and Carson City, which is the capital.
Nevada is one of the fastest growing states in terms of population and according to U.S. Census Bureau information, children under the age of 18 make up more than 25% of the population. Hospitals in the larger cities, such as Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center (including Sunrise Children’s Hospital) utilize the expertise of pediatric nurse practitioners to treat and educate children and families about health care issues. Other health care facilities that utilize pediatric nurse practitioners may include clinics, physicians’ offices, governmental agencies, and rural health providers.
Salaries for pediatric nurse practitioners in the state of Nevada predominantly fall within a range of $70,000 to $80,000 according to information provided by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Salaries are influenced by several factors, including the years of experience, type of specialty (specialty areas within pediatrics include primary care, acute care, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, and others), location (urban versus rural), and type of facility. | <urn:uuid:8ee297cc-b021-46c7-99df-10dcdb2e271c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.alliedhealthworld.com/pediatric-nurse-salary-in-nevada.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00178-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944985 | 288 | 2.078125 | 2 |
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The Covenants of the Gods
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The Covenants of the gods|
by Brother Gregory Williams
The Covenants of the gods is a detail examination of the contractual
nature of the governments of men, and the methods those institutions use to
increase their power and authority over men.
A central theme of the book was asked by Cecil B. DeMille in the movie
The Ten Commandments: “Are men the property of the state? Or are
they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world.”
By presenting the facts and the progression of legal systems and relating them
to the precepts of law passed down through that by ancient Biblical texts, the
context of history, and the language and literature of men a unique perspective
The vanity of mankind inclines him to blame others for his undesirable state,
condition, or lack of liberty, when in truth the source of our decline into bondage
is our own sloth and avarice.
Proverbs 12:24 tells us:
“The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.”
If men will be free, if they want their rights back they must first take back their
responsibilities as free souls under God, for themselves, their families, and their
If you want to know the whole truth and the ambuscade of your subjugation and the
growing power of the governments of the world. The Covenants of the gods
will reveal the process and the precept of that descent into slavery.
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Binding: Softcover, spiral bound
Size: Large - 8.5"x11"
About the Author
Brother Gregory Williams is a minister with His Holy Church
Married with 6 children and 8 grand children, he lives in Central Oregon.
As a young man, he entered the seminary where he studied Latin, Greek and theology.
In the course of his studies, he began to discover secrets hidden for centuries
within ancient libraries which exposed the folly of the sophistry and superstition of
the people. His quest to understand the whole truth has led him down a path of law
and language, connecting the dots of history in a unique picture of bondage and freedom;
discovering the problem and finding the solution. | <urn:uuid:432e029d-dae3-4fae-ae2b-da2cce6a6933> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.newswithviewsstore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NWVS&Product_Code=B77&Category_Code=BRP | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719784.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00427-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89011 | 626 | 1.5 | 2 |
BRITE Ideas: How Can We Reduce Technology Multitasking in Large Lecture Courses? (Interventions and Course Policies)
Students increasingly use laptops in the college classroom. Despite their apparent potential to aid learning and facilitate quick note taking, laptops also invite multitasking and “cyber-slacking” behaviors such as browsing social media, checking emails and texts, playing games, and watching videos. Mounting evidence suggests that multitasking during a lecture distracts students and leads to worse learning outcomes both for themselves and for their neighbors. Bridgette Martin Hard, PhD, Associate Professor of the Practice, Psychology and Neuroscience, will present evidence from two situation modification interventions aimed at reducing students’ multitasking in class, as well as evidence of the effects of course policies to go “tech-free.” A BRITE Lab and Duke Learning Innovation collaborative event.
Please feel free to bring your lunch. Light refreshments will be provided.
- Tuesday, September 4, 2018
- 12:00pm - 1:00pm
- Rubenstein Library 249 (Carpenter Conference Room)
- West Campus
- Teaching and Learning | <urn:uuid:c25a4a2c-ba1a-48eb-8450-bb5201c6aa81> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://duke.libcal.com/event/4399093 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571538.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812014923-20220812044923-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.923946 | 258 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Credit to Oxfam’s communications team. Each year, riding on the coattails of the jamboree in Davos, they manage to make a huge splash about global wealth inequality.
And every year, it is pointed that, as Tim Worstall explained on CapX last January, wealth is not some fixed pie. It is usually accumulated through entrepreneurial activity that fulfils wants and needs, enhancing global welfare. Sadly, most readers who pay only a passing interest in the story will miss this nuance and receive claims such as “82 per cent of all wealth created in the last year went to the top 1 per cent” with the shock they are designed to trigger.
Oxfam is, of course, a development charity. Their implicit message, amplified through major broadcasting outlets such as the BBC, is that the wealth of global rich causes the poverty of the poor. But where exactly is the evidence that more interventionist government is the way to reduce global poverty? In fact, recent economic history suggests the opposite: global poverty has plummeted as major countries have liberalised and ceased trying to “manage” their economies in the way Oxfam wants.
It would bad enough if Oxfam’s ideological bias was blinding the organisation to what works in the fight against poverty. But the charity also appears to be playing fast and loose with the facts. Take just one of the claims in their report, subsequently republished on the BBC website. Oxfam makes the astonishing claim that “two-thirds of billionaires’ wealth is the product of inheritance, monopoly and cronyism”. Given previous assessments by Forbes, Wealth-X and others have found that around 60 per cent of American billionaires are “self-made,” this seems a particularly striking statistic, in which monopolies and cronyism are doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Intrigued by this finding, Sam Dumitriu of the Adam Smith Institute sought out its source. He found that the methodology was devised in an Oxfam discussion paper called Extreme Wealth Is Not Merited by Didier Jacobs. Overall, that study concludes that 19 per cent of wealth arises from monopolies, with the rest of the 65 per cent coming from inheritance or cronyism. To calculate the share coming from inheritances, he used Forbes data, which chalks up all wealth for individuals who inherited fortunes as “inherited wealth”, regardless of whether that wealth has grown substantially since the inheritance. This figure, by definition, ignores any extra wealth generated by that inheritance and so is hardly representative of genuine passive inheritance.
The cronyism figure is more speculative still. It includes “wealth mainly acquired in a corruption-prone country and state-dependent industry (high presumption of cronyism)” or “wealth mainly acquired in the mining, oil and gas industry.” Again, while in many countries these industries do depend on state favours and are prone to crony capitalism, it seems a little much to suggest that all wealth in these industries in certain countries can be recorded as wealth driven by cronyism.
Oxfam’s real agenda becomes clear, though, when we look at their methodology for the monopoly portion of the claim. As Dumitru has described in detail, Jacobs first defines monopoly to include any industry with “network effects.” By construction then, firms such as Facebook and Google would be monopolists, even though their existence has been overwhelmingly beneficial for consumers. He then makes the same intellectual leap again, asserting that all wealth coming from the IT industry should be recorded as “monopoly”. Not content with this intellectual bankruptcy, this same blanket approach is applied to finance, health care, legal industries and wealth acquired as a CEO of a company, if the billionaire neither founded nor inherited the business.
To claim this is shoddy methodology which hugely overestimates wealth acquired by “bad” means is a spectacular understatement. Again and again, the mere possibility of cronyism or a theoretical argument for market failure in an industry is taken to prove that all billionaire wealth in that industry is ill-gained. That this kind of report is being taken seriously and propagated by our state broadcaster is a travesty.
We should not give Oxfam a free pass or refuse to criticise them for publishing and distributing such nonsense because they happen to be a charity or sometimes do some good. To do so would be like ignoring socialist failures because the revolutionaries had “good intentions”.
Oxfam increasingly pollutes our discourse with phony statistics and false narratives in a highly politicised way. These findings are being used to call for a policy shift — a turn away from market-based capitalism, which has lifted billions around the world out of poverty. No doubt there will be plenty of wanna-be world planners at Davos this week who will lap up the message — the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, will be one of them. But Oxfam’s political agenda goes against the history of the economic development they purport to want.
Perhaps more importantly though, it’s based on very bad analysis. And it’s time our media held them to higher standards, rather than taking their politicised work at face value.
This first appeared in CapX. | <urn:uuid:0ce6fa13-0f3f-477c-acd9-9d31dc6f10e2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.humanprogress.org/oxfam-is-entitled-to-its-own-opinions-but-not-its-own-facts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.961672 | 1,089 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Indians & Cultural Encounters
To help reduce tension and conflicts between Indians and settlers, Europeans negotiated and signed treaties with the tribes who lived in the Americas. The idea was to keep the two factions apart so there would be less conflict. What happened was the land belonging to Indians slowly disappeared with the Indians pushed farther and farther west.
Before 1770, the land which makes up Tennessee today belonged to American Indian tribes, primarily the Cherokees and the Chickasaws. This was confirmed in 1763 by a proclamation by British King George III restricting white settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. Read the proclamation here.
Tennessee was west of the line. The first map, 1770, shows most of the state in orange or belonging to Indians. The land ceded by the Indians in each treaty is shown as green. In the 1775 map, former treaty land, now owned by settlers is colored blue.
By going through the maps one-by-one, you can see how the Indian land shrunk with each treaty and settler land increased. By the last treaty in 1835, most of Tennessee is now colored blue, belonging to the settlers.
1770 Treaty of Lochabar that ceded land north and east of a line running through Long Island on the Holston River (now Kingsport). In 1771, the Cherokees agreed to modify the line allowing area around the Holston, where settlers already lived, to be a legal settlement area.
1775 Treaty of Sycamore Shoals (around Elizabethton) gave land in central Kentucky and north central Tennessee to the Transylvania Land Company for 10,000 British pounds worth of trading goods. At the same meeting, areas around Watauga and Nolichucky were transferred to the white settlers. This treaty was illegal under British law, but still influential.
1777 Treaty of Long Island of Holston transferred most of upper East Tennessee to settlers.
1785 Treaty of New Hopewell officially ended fighting between the Cherokees, who had fought with the British during the Revolutionary War, and the United States government. The Cherokees also gave up land south of the Cumberland River in return for protection of other tribal lands.
1791 Treaty of Holston signed in Knoxville. Cherokees gave up all claims to area east of the Clinch River and north of a line drawn through Kingston to the North Carolina border.
1798 First Treaty of Tellico granted land to settlers between the Clinch River and the Cumberland Plateau and between the Tennessee and Little Tennessee rivers.
1805 Third Treaty of Tellico & Chickasaw Cession gave all land north of the Duck River all the way east to the Tennessee River. This included all of the Cumberland Plateau. It also transferred land at Kingston to be the state capital. The legislature met here for one day only in 1807 to fulfill the state’s obligation.
1806 Treaty of Washington with the Cherokees and a treaty with the Creeks for land south of the Duck River to the southern border of the state. The Creeks received $14,000 while the Cherokees received $10,000, a gristmill, a cotton gin, and a $100 yearly payment to Chief Black Fox.
1817 Jackson and McMinn Treaty transferred lands along the Sequatchie River to white control in return for lands in Arkansas.
1818 Jackson Purchase, negotiated by Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby, paid the Chickasaws $300,000, to be paid over 20 years, for 10,700 square miles of land between the Mississippi River and the Tennessee River (West Tennessee).
1819 Calhoun Treaty purchased land between the Little Tennessee and the Hiwassee Rivers from the Cherokees. After this treaty, the only area left in the state that belonged to the Cherokees was the southeastern corner of the state that now makes up Monroe, Polk, and Bradley and Hamilton counties.
1835 Treaty of New Echota signed by Cherokee leaders who represented only 10 percent of the tribe. It gave up all Cherokee lands in Tennessee in exchange for land in Oklahoma. The treaty gave a two-year time limit for the Cherokees to move. The resistance to this move by the rest of the Cherokees led by John Ross resulted in the forced removal of Cherokees from Tennessee, called the Trail of Tears.
These map versions were created by the Tennessee State Museum based on the Bureau of American Ethnology map. They may only be used for education and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.
Indians & Cultural Encounters >> Indian Life >> Broken Treaties >> | <urn:uuid:dc0eeb10-cbfa-48cc-a1ee-0b13f102b58c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.tn4me.org/minor_cat.cfm/era_id/2/major_id/7/minor_id/15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00190-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951315 | 939 | 4.3125 | 4 |
Published: 22nd Jun 2016
Teaching elderly people how to use the internet can help them to overcome loneliness.
This is according to a new report from think tank Policy Exchange, which has called for older Britons to be shown how to complete basic tasks on the internet such as sending emails and using social networks.
Eddie Copeland, author of the report, stated: "In an increasingly isolated and fast-moving world it is vital that everyone in society is able to use the internet and understand its benefits.
"From alleviating social isolation, bringing together communities, paying bills and now accessing public services, online can improve lives."
The report estimated the cost of teaching enough elderly people basic online skills so that everyone in the UK can make use of the internet by 2020 would reach £875 million, which is roughly just over £140 per person.
Britain's population of people aged 85 and over is expected to double in the next 20 years and Policy Exchange said teaching these individuals how to enjoy the benefits of the web would bring "huge" economic and social benefits for the UK.
Loneliness is already considered to be a growing problem among the country's elderly population and the report said this will only escalate in the future as families move further apart for work. Should older individuals be able to send and receive emails and use social networks it will enable them to maintain contact with friends and family regardless of their location.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics earlier this year revealed slightly more than a third (37 per cent) of people aged 75 and older have never used the internet. This age group accounts for a large proportion of the 6.4 million adults (13 per cent) who have not been online.
Andrew Kaye, of charity Independent Age, told the BBC he welcomes the Policy Exchange's findings, but warned online access is not the sole solution to tackling the elderly loneliness problem.
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Or request a call back by leaving your name and number. | <urn:uuid:ce74b66a-278a-45e0-b570-2520bb2e2c2b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://avonlinebroadband.com/general/news/_article/731/internet-skills-can-help-old-people-overcome-loneliness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00159-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954263 | 440 | 2.5625 | 3 |
April 17, 2020
TissueTech Receives Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) Designation from U.S. Food and Drug Administration
RMAT designation reinforces clinical significance of investigational biologic product TTAX02 used during in-utero fetal surgical repair of spina bifida
Miami, Fla. – April 16, 2020 – TissueTech, Inc., the pioneer in the development and clinical application of regenerative human birth tissue products, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted their cryopreserved human umbilical cord investigational biologic product TTAX02 RMAT designation for the treatment of spina bifida in-utero.
This designation aims to streamline development of regenerative medical products used in the FDA’s Investigational New Drug (IND) program for the treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases such as spina bifida. In spina bifida, the spinal canal opens along vertebrae in the lower or middle back of the fetus. It is the most common neural tube defect in the U.S. and is characterized by incomplete development of the brain, spinal cord, and/or protective covering around the brain and spinal cord.1
“Although rare, patients who suffer from open spina bifida have a ten times greater death rate than the national average from ages five to 40 years,”2 said Amy Tseng, TissueTech Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer. “This RMAT designation highlights the need for an effective treatment for this life-threatening condition and the great potential TTAX02 holds.”
The benefits of in-utero fetal surgery are promising and include less exposure of the vulnerable spinal nerve tissue and bone to the intrauterine environment. Additionally, doctors have discovered that in-utero fetal surgical repair of spina bifida may positively affect fetal hindbrain development in-utero, decreasing the severity of certain complications—such as Chiari II and hydrocephalus—or reduce the need for surgery to implant a shunt.1
In addition to the RMAT designation, TissueTech is also planning to conduct a Phase 3 clinical trial to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of TTAX02 when used as a single patch to cover the neural placode, or a dual patch to close both the skin and meningeal defects during in-utero fetal surgical repair of spina bifida, to determine if it may improve clinically meaningful neurological outcomes after birth.
About TissueTech, Inc.
TissueTech, Inc., the parent company of Amniox Medical, Inc. and BioTissue, Inc., pioneered the development and clinical application of human birth tissue-based products. Founded in 1997, BioTissue markets products for the ophthalmology and optometry markets; and Amniox markets products for use in the musculoskeletal and wound care markets. Clinicians have performed more than 500,000 human implants with the company’s products and published more than 360 peer-reviewed studies supporting its technology platform. The Company’s first product, AmnioGraft®, is the only tissue graft designated by the FDA as homologous use for promoting ophthalmic wound healing as acting as an anti-scarring, anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic agent and supporting epithelial adhesion and differentiation. Learn more at https://biotissue.com/.
Physicians are encouraged to visit the TissueTech Physician Portal to learn more about TissueTech’s platform technology, review product application guides, and view educational webinars. | <urn:uuid:ee78a950-4e32-471f-9594-f0ec57272629> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://biotissue.com/news/tissuetech-receives-regenerative-medicine-advanced-therapy-rmat-designation-from-u-s-food-and-drug-administration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571234.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811042804-20220811072804-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.922137 | 759 | 1.664063 | 2 |
A beautiful episode of intervening grace and its, er, fruit in Leo Tolstoy’s “Where Love Is, God Is”, found in the collection How Much Land Does a Man Need? and Other Stories and discussed in Paul Zahl’s presentation on Grace in Literature at our 2009 NYC Conference. An especially big hat-tip to GW for the incredibly heartwarming video at the end:
….When she was gone Martin ate some soup, cleared the table and sat down to work. As he worked he kept watching that window and every time a shadow fell across it he would immediately look up to see who was passing. People he knew and strangers passed, but no one in particular.
And then an old market woman stopped right in front of his window. She was carrying an apple‐basket but appeared to have sold most of her wares, as it was almost empty. On one shoulder was a sack of wood‐shavings which she had most probably collected at some place where they were building and was on her way home. The sack was clearly very heavy and was hurting her, so to shift it to her other shoulder she put it down on the pavement, placed the apple‐basket on a post and gave the shavings a shake. Just as she was doing this a boy in a ragged cap suddenly ran up, grabbed an apple and tried to run off with it. But the old woman had stopped him, turned round and grabbed his sleeve. The boy tried to struggle free, but the woman seized him with both hands, knocked his cap off and caught hold of his hair. The boy screamed and the woman cursed. Martin did not wait to make fast his awl but threw it down, rushed through the door and stumbled up the stairs, dropping his spectacles on the way. Out in the street the woman was cursing away, and evidently intended on hauling the boy off to the police station. He struggled and protested his innocence.
‘I never took it!’ he said. ‘What are you hitting me for? Let me go!’
Martin separated them, took the boy by the hand and said, ‘Let him go, Grandma. Forgive him, for Christ’s sake!’
‘I’ll forgive him, but not before he’s had a taste of some new birch twigs! I’m taking the little devil to the police station.’
Martin did his best to dissuade her. ‘Please let him go, Grandma. He won’t ever do it again. For Christ’s sake, let him go.’
The old woman released the boy, who wanted to run off, but Martin stopped him. ‘You should ask the old woman to forgive you,’ he said. ‘And don’t you ever do it again –- I saw you take it.’
The boy burst into tears and begged her to forgive him.
‘That’s the way! Now, here’s an apple for you,’ Martin said, taking an apple from the basket and handing it to the boy. ‘I’ll pay for it, Grandma,’ he added.
‘But you’ll only spoil little devils like him that way,’ she said. ‘What he deserves is such a thrashing he won’t be able to sit down for a week.’
‘Oh, Grandma!’ Martin retorted. ‘That may be our way, but it’s not God’s way. If the punishment for stealing just one apple is a thorough thrashing, then what should we deserve for our mortal sins?’
The old woman did not reply.
And Martin told her the parable of the master who excused one of his servants a great debt and how that servant went out and seized his own debtor by the throat. The old woman listened and so did the boy.
‘God has commanded us to forgive, otherwise He will not forgive us. We should forgive everyone – -not least thoughtless little boys!’
The old woman shook her head and sighed. ‘That’s all very well, but children are terribly spoilt these days.’
‘Then it’s up to us, their elders to teach them w hat’s right,’ Martin said.
‘Yes, I agree,’ the old woman replied. ‘I had seven children once, but now I’ve only one daughter.’
And she told him how and where she and her daughter were living, and how many grandchildren she had.
‘As you can see, I’m not very strong,’ she said, ‘but I still have to work myself to the bone. I feel so sorry for my grandchildren –- such lovely boys, all of them! No one is as kind to me as they are. And my Aksyutka wouldn’t leave me for anyone. “Dear Mummy,” she says, “you’re such a d ear!”’ And the old woman was quite overcome.
‘Well, I suppose it’s because he’s so young,’ she added, looking at the boy. ‘May God be with him.’
She was about to lift her sack on to her shoulders when the boy immediately ran forward to help. ‘Let me carry that for you, Grandma,’ he said, ‘I’m going your way.’
The old woman accepted and put the sack on the boy’s back.
And off they went down the street. The old woman forgot to ask Martin to pay for the apple and Martin stood there, watching and listening to them as they went. | <urn:uuid:d8a70422-bbf7-456a-b1b6-410b24451cdc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.mbird.com/2013/10/stolen-apples-thoughtless-little-boys-and-the-difference-between-our-way-and-gods-way-in-tolstoy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285289.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00150-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981813 | 1,245 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Laid out sequentially beneath a rectangular pane of glass, 25 single sheets of paper detail the associative powers of Jorge Pinheiro’s imagination. The words of Martin Heidegger, Plutarch, Paul Valéry and others are neatly inked beneath unrelated photocopies of anatomical diagrams, musical scores, road maps and chessboards in play. Observed from above the pages propose recurrent visual structures: arcs, grids, spirals, intersecting lines, diminishing wholes and expanding volumes. This collation of references – titled Immagini Fatte per Signifare una Diversa Cosa da Quella, Che si Vede con L’occhio (Images made to mean a different thing from those which you see with your eye, 2012) – captures the critical tensions and formal obsessions that define a career spanning more than 50 years: classicism and modernity, mathematics and art, the visible and the invisible.
Born in Coimbra, Portugal, in 1931, Pinheiro hesitated for much of his youth over whether he was a painter or an architect. It is a conflict that remains unresolved: while he studied painting he also refers to himself as a ‘frustrated architect’. The Serralves has reflected this with admirable sensitivity by collaborating on the design of this retrospective of his work, ‘D’après Fibonacci and the world out there’ with the artist Pedro Cabrita Reis – whose idea the show was – and the Pritzker prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto Moura. The large central room features a commanding diagonal white partition wall that accentuates the chromatic high contrast of Pinheiro’s early shaped plywood paintings: joyful tesselations of red, blue, orange and green that seemingly hover in space. Acrylic, steel and mirror sculptures take central positions in each of the subsequent rooms, dynamizing visual correspondences with the works on paper. Works such as Babel (c. 1970/2017), a tower built from mirrored planes and a rectilinear steel framework, splinter into reflections of constant modulation. Pinheiro’s sculptures and canvases are always made at a human-scale, propped up, suspended at eye-level, or extending just beyond head height.
The sequence is of signal importance to Pinheiro and it informed his growing tendency to codify. Encouraged to work traditionally and figuratively as a student, it was not until he left Portugal to travel across Europe in 1966 that Pinheiro became acquainted with new forms of expression. This retrospective begins at this pivotal moment, displaying the thickly-painted plywood constructions produced in the late 1960s that were influenced by the hard-edged, geometric compositions the artist had seen in London and Paris. We follow the development of this abstract language – one that takes on a number of vocabularies – over the course of 80 artworks. The mesmerizing properties of Fibonacci numbers and ratios, of Arthur Schoenberg’s dodecaphony, or of Filipe Pires’ atonal Figurations (1969) all work their mysterious logic in the generative planes of his sculptures and syllabary systems of his paintings. These trailing lines of code – dashes, dots, lines, numbers, and spirals of interchangeable colour arranged in grids, along contours, on a five-line staff or in negative space – are more compelling when used like language. Paintings such as Sem título (Untitled, 1976) lack the notational magnetism of the mark-making in his graphic ‘essays’, the ‘rewritings’ of musical scores, or the coded keys of his untitled maps.
Figuration did not disappear from Pinheiro’s work; it has remained an important part of his questioning and is explored by the parallel show dedicated to his drawings at Lisbon’s Fundação Carmona e Costa. Delicate sepia line portraits are shown alongside complex schematic grids and still life paintings alongside technical studies, underscoring similarities in their design. As an initiate to the work of Pinheiro, the lack of descriptive wall text or supporting material in both shows impeded my full appreciation. However, I’m content to linger over a body of work that would rather ask questions of the structural processes of the physical world than provide answers.
Main image: Jorge Pinheiro, installation view, 2017, Serralves Museum, Porto, Portugal. Courtesy: Serralves Museum, Porto, Portugal; photograph: Joaquim Norte | <urn:uuid:56c113c6-31aa-4ec8-912f-e942b144932f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.frieze.com/article/jorge-pinheiro | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571097.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810010059-20220810040059-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.937016 | 953 | 1.984375 | 2 |
NORTH CREEK As a veterinarian, and devoted dog owner, Linnea Newman of North Creek is well aware of what can go wrong when people do not control their pets. During a recent walk along the Carol Thomas trail in North Creek, she suddenly found herself in the middle of a vicious dog attack that could have left her with permanent physical injury. Ironically, this is not her first experience with a dog bite in North Creek, but she hopes it will be her last. Following her recovery, she related her story in a letter that describe the events of that day. The identity of the attacking dogs owner remains unknown, and Newman maintains her desire to simply bring the subject to light. I saw you walking on the stony beach near the bridge as I looked through the trees, she said. Then I saw you throw a rock into the creek, and your black husky-type dog came bounding from 30 or 40 yards away to where you were laughing and playing with him. I knew that my dog and I would soon walk into sight, so I called to you to grab your dog so he wouldnt run over to mine. You see, my dog has already been attacked while on leash by two other loose dogs in separate incidents. He is now very paranoid of loose dogs when leashed. Newmans pleas to the woman were too late as the un-leashed dog was already aware of her presence and she was almost instantly faced by the loose animal. Within seconds, your dog came bounding around the corner. I was alone on the path with my 60 lb. dog on leash and yours squaring off with him. And a fraction of a second later, your dog See BITE, page 4 had mine down on his back, and your dogs teeth were on my dogs throat. I had the leash in my left hand, trying to control my dog. I reached between the dogs with my right, to try to get your dog off of mine. I sustained 12 deep puncture wounds to my right forearm, wrist and hand as I tried to get your dog off. It felt like forever until you arrived to help as I struggled with two dogs that together out-weighed me. Finally reacting to the situation, the owner of the attacking dog succeeded in breaking up the fight, leaving Newman to fend for herself. You finally pulled your dog back by the tail and I got them separated, mine taking a last hold on your dogs nose. (Did your dog have a collar? I cant even remember). I was bloody, there was blood all over my dog from my arm as I held him on the ground. You may have even asked if I was ok... I cant remember. Then you said you were going to take your dog to the parking lot. I stayed, shaking on my knees for a few seconds, trying to gather my wits. I realized I needed to cool and clean my arm and assess the damage. I walked to the creek and washed my arm off and held it in the cool water. You didnt come back. I walked my dog back toward the Town Hall. The black truck was gone. You were gone. I walked my dog back the few blocks to my house while my arm dripped blood. At home, I called to my young children for help... to check my dog... to go find some peroxide or Betadine. I grabbed ice from the freezer and sat at the kitchen table with my head down, trying to think about what I would do. I was nauseous and light-headed, trying to get my brain to focus. Despite her injuries, and her acknowledgement of her own actions that day, Newmans sincerest hope is to bring light to an often over-looked aspect of dog ownership. You see, I know that people love to exercise dogs off-leash. Myself included. I know that dogs get into fights. Many animals fight (most horseback riding places warn you to let the horses pick their own order some get along better than others). I knew that your dog did not attack me... I stuck my arm in the middle of a dog fight. I didnt want to get into police reports or lawsuits or anything. I knew I got bit because of my own reaction to the fight. But I was hurt by your dog. Rapidly losing blood and slipping into shock, it was the quick thinking of a friend that eventually delivered Newman to the medical treatment she needed. I called Mary Ellen Wood, who often helps me with babysitting. I told her that I might need to drive to the ER. She came immediately, with her own three children in tow. I drove myself to North Creek health center while she watched the children. The health center cleaned my wounds and marveled that I did not sustain damage to the blood vessels, nerves or tendons because of the placement of the wounds. It could have been much, much more serious. Due to the nature of the incident, and according to state law, Newman then had to face the pain of a series of rabies shots. Because you left the scene, there was no way to get rabies vaccination history. By the rules of the public health department, I had to get rabies prophylaxis. And for that, I had to go to Glens Falls Hospital ER. They were going to send me in an ambulance because my blood pressure was 80 over 50 and they would not allow me to drive. (I know that your dog didnt have rabies... it was healthy and in good condition and it did not attack me. But its the rule). Mary Ellen came to the rescue and drove me instead, with six children, to the ER at Glens Falls Hospital, where a dog bite report was filled out and I got my first rabies shot. I have to go back for more. If you had stayed to help, I would have had help with the wounds. I would have had a vaccination history and Mary Ellen and six children would not have lost their Saturday afternoon to help me. I would not be losing work time to get rabies boosters. I was not someone who would have made a police report or sued you. Im a dog owner, too! But I could have sustained injury to an artery in my wrist. I could have been in real trouble and you left. I could have let my dog go. But my dog is powerful too. What if he hurt yours? Then my dog would be in trouble for being off leash. What if I would have just let them be with the leash on? My dog was at a disadvantage. He would have been badly, maybe fatally, hurt. What if I would have tried to walk back down the path the way Id come? (Your dog may have still seen us at the bend in the creek where there are no trees). The simple solution would have been for you to have control of your dog. A leash. A collar. If you had been within close range. In July of 1993, the Town of Johnsburg updated its Dog Control Ordinance in response to a growing problem in the town. The ordinance provides for violation penalties that can include fines and imprisonment for up to 15 days for repeat offenders. Dog owners: there is a leash law in North Creek. But even where there isnt a law (on the Adirondack hiking trails, on a country road), be responsible for your pet. Be a responsible citizen. You never know how your dog will react to another, especially when one is on leash and the other is off leash. And if a mistake happens, stick around to help with the aftermath. Its your responsibility. Myself? I will be just fine. A few small scars. But I will buy some pepper spray. Three times in one summer within North Creek town limits is three times too many. My dog? Hell be fine too: punctures on the neck and ears and some scrapes. And Mary Ellen: thank you so very much for being there! If anyone needs child care, be aware that Mary Ellen is level headed, helpful and responsible. Mary Ellen, I owe you one! | <urn:uuid:94d3e87c-17d3-4c3a-a821-cb35af5e133f> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.suncommunitynews.com/articles/the-sun/dog-bite-victim-recalls-incident/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720845.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00086-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988791 | 1,642 | 1.515625 | 2 |
GAN for Time Series Data Augmentation in Astronomy
Real-world datasets are often imbalanced, which is a problem for training CNNs. Data augmentation techniques have been proposed for image recognition tasks, but only a few have been developed for time series. I will describe a conditional Wasserstein GAN. Our model can learn the implicit probability distribution of a dataset conditioned on the irregular sampling times, amplitudes, and class of the time series, and generate a variety of realistic samples to complement the original dataset.
Pavlos is the Scientific Program Director,Institute for Applied Computational Science (IACS) at Harvard University, andleads the Data Science Masters Program at Harvard. Pavlos has had adistinguished career as a scientist and data science educator, and todayteaches the CS109 series for basic and advanced data science at Harvard, aswell as the capstone course (industry-sponsored data science projects) for theIACS Masters Program. Pavlos has a Ph.D in theoretical physics from theUniversity of Pennsylvania. Pavlos research has since branched into the use ofmachine learning and AI in astronomy, and computer science. He is excited to bea partner of univ.ai, helping steer us to world-class excellence in AI Researchand education, this summer and beyond, asuniv.ai sets sail on its mission. | <urn:uuid:8d5d436a-e443-4dcf-b231-a79b2b7bc734> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.univ.ai/post/gan-for-time-series-data-augmentation-in-astronomy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00070.warc.gz | en | 0.932695 | 280 | 2.34375 | 2 |
- Grid operators and reliability coordinators must improve the interconnection and use of inverter-based resources on the bulk power system (BPS), or they risk disruption to electric reliability, particularly in times of extreme weather, according to a report that will be presented in August to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) board of directors.
- Wind, solar and battery resources do not provide the same inertia as traditional synchronous generation, which can make maintaining system stability a challenge in times of grid stress. Better system forecasting and new inverter technologies can help address that challenge, according to NERC's draft Reliability Risk Priorities (RRP) report.
- There may be short-term discomfort in integrating new power technologies, but within the next decade, "I'm convinced we'll ... see the arc of a wonderful transformation towards a cleaner power grid for society," Mark Ahlstrom, vice president of renewable energy policy at NextEra Energy Resources, said Thursday.
Integrating new technology is always a challenge, and "in the short-term, it can feel like a slog," Ahlstrom said, speaking at a webinar hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
Ahlstrom is also president of Energy Systems Integration Group and is on NERC's Reliability Issues Steering Committee. He authored a section of the RRP report focused on grid transformation, which warns that the continued integration of large amounts of new technologies, including distributed resources, storage and inverter-based technologies, "could lead to inaccurate forecasting of anticipated net demand."
"The dynamic and transient performance and response of these technologies also brings new challenges. Changing technology also has implications for control and protection systems," the report says.
NERC and the six regional reliability entities must "improve inverter-based resource BPS interconnection and operation and stay abreast of new inverter technologies," the report finds. Ahlstrom said operators must also stay on top of advances in inverter technologies, including grid-forming inverter research.
"With future adoption of technical guidelines and equipment standards, and soon with selective deployment of emerging grid-forming inverter technology when needed, inverter-based resources will make important contributions to BPS reliability during grid transformation," the report predicts.
The report is out for public comment until June 23. It will go to NERC's board of directors after the next revision and is likely to be approved in August, Ahlstrom said.
The report, informed by recent blackouts in Texas and California, also notes that "capacity alone, given the grid transformation, is not sufficient to ensure sufficient energy is available to serve consumer needs," and it recommends development of new methods and standards to address energy security.
Ahlstrom also addressed comments by NERC President and CEO Jim Robb, who in May said he has "increased concerns about the changes we're seeing on the grid and the potential consequences for reliability." California and Texas both face elevated levels of risk this summer.
Robb "makes good points," Ahlstrom said, acknowledging that system co-dependency with natural gas is a big issue, particularly following recent events.
"Diversity is good," he said. That includes diversity among new clean energy resources and between renewables and traditional generation. "I think NERC has come to a pretty well-balanced view of this, about how we're just trying to make everything work together."
The solution to a cleaner grid goes beyond the addition of nonemitting resources, said Sheila Tandon Manz, director of decarbonization planning at GE Energy Consulting.
"Bringing in the demand side is the next frontier," she said, in part because renewable penetrations are "pushing the limits of our systems."
Renewables in some areas now make up about 30% of hourly electricity deliveries on an annual basis, and they can be much more in high-penetration areas, Manz said. But adding more means electrifying, she said, which has multiple benefits.
"Electrification allows us not only to clean up all the stuff people are using ... but it gives us another lever," said Manz. "We can now put in price signals to help match up usage with all those excesses [of] wind and solar. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's the way we're going."
Better assessments of supply and demand will also be necessary, said Julia Matevosyan, lead planning engineer at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. "One of the keys is understanding how these resources are working ... In ERCOT, we're working on producing different scenarios of what may happen, not just with inverter-based resources but [with] synchronous generation."
ERCOT, which manages the grid for most of Texas, does expect there will be sufficient generation to meet peak loads this summer. But in an attempt to rebuild trust after winter blackouts, the grid operator has also published low-probability scenarios where extreme weather could lead to blackouts. Those scenarios include unexpected drops in wind generation and thermal outages.
"Overall we're heading towards probabilistic assessments of resource adequacy," Matevosyan said. | <urn:uuid:1ccc0d4d-871a-4271-8cfc-9e980e4bd36c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.utilitydive.com/news/in-10-years-the-energy-transformation-will-look-simple-for-now-it-can-f/602043/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572221.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816060335-20220816090335-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.952056 | 1,070 | 1.90625 | 2 |
A M RICKLEFS
A representative of the agricultural and stock-raising interests of Wayne township is A. M. Ricklefs, who is to-day the owner of one of the fine farms of this locality. He was born in Doddridge county, now West Virginia, November 30, 1862, and is of German lineage. His father, Mins Ricklefs, was a native of the grand duchy of Oldenburg, where his birth occurred in 1800. There he was reared on a farm, and in the '50s he joined a little company of emigrants, including the Albers and Ladwig families, and came to the United States, locating first in Virginia. In the Old Dominion he married Lucenia Albers, and afterward devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. He prospered in that undertaking in the east, but in order to avail himself of the opportunities to get cheap land he came to Kansas, where two of his brothers-in-law had previously settled. He purchased a quarter-section of land in Wayne township, and in this state met with even greater prosperity than in Virginia. He devoted his attention to the cultivation of grain, and as his financial resources increased he added to his real-estate holdings until his property interests aggregated one thousand acres. His homestead was known as the Kent farm, and to it he removed his family in 1865. He took no active part in public affairs beyond the faithful discharge of his duties of citizenship and cared nothing for the excitement of politics. His attention was devoted exclusively to business and his prosperity was well merited. He was a Lutheran in religious belief and a Republican in his political affiliations. His death occurred in 1894. His children were Mary, the wife of William Wilkey, of Wayne township, Doniphan county; A. M., of this review; John, who wedded Annie Volker and resides in Doniphan county; and Garret A., one of the enterprising young farmers of South Wolf River township, who married Ellen Bullock.
Mr. Ricklefs, of this review, remained on the homestead farm until after he had attained his majority. To the public-school system he is indebted for the educational privileges which he received. He was only three years of age when his parents came to Doniphan county and here he has since resided, working in the fields through his youth and ultimately becoming one of the representative farmers of the community. At the age of twenty-two he rented a farm a mile and a half south of Bendena and remained there for three years, after which he purchased the Campbell farm in Wayne township and resided there for three years. At the expiration of that period he purchased the Van Curen farm, upon which he now resides. He is to-day the owner of three hundred and ninety acres of valuable land, and his home property is one of the best in that locality. He has erected thereon one of the largest and finest cattle barns to be found in the county and he is now extensively engaged in feeding and shipping cattle, having about one hundred and fifty head upon his place.
On the 10th of August, 1885, Mr. Ricklefs was united in marriage, in Doddridge county, West Virginia, to Miss Nora Krenn, a daughter of John Krenn, and to them have been born five children, namely: John, Albert; Emma, Violet and Edward. In his political views Mr. Ricklefs is a Republican and has served as treasurer of his school district. In business methods he is very honorable, systematic and progressive, and his marked energy and enterprise have gained him a place among the representative farmers and stock -dealers of his adopted county. | <urn:uuid:4c75c50a-4dce-4b77-bb8c-749c56a5ee10> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pyle/GBR/A_M_RICKLEFS.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00125-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990823 | 763 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Research at Dementia Research Center aims to develop and detection of blood-based biomarkers and neuroimaging tests for the early diagnosis of dementia, paving the way for potential new prevention therapies and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other related diseases of the brain.
Currently, 1500 Singaporeans are participating in the center’s research. The research center will collect comprehensive information from each participant, comprising cognitive, health, and lifestyle questionnaires, physical measurements, and extensive physiological and imaging data.
At the research centre, participants will go through a cognitive assessment that will include state-of-the-art blood tests to find brain proteins, specifically amyloid and tau, as well as a brain scan to look for brain shrinkage and the presence of white matter lesions. They will receive a free report eight weeks after their visit, which they can use for a discussion with their doctors. | <urn:uuid:1fb1ad15-568a-48f9-b4f2-16e7c824bdca> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://aseanrecords.world/dementia-research-center-singapore-the-first-dementia-research-center-in-southeast-asia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572212.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815205848-20220815235848-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.930075 | 182 | 2.5 | 2 |
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From Annie Leibovitz to Robert Capa to Dorothea Lange, the Skylum team has put together a list of 49 famous photographers you should know.
The world of today is filled with photographers. It seems like everyone has a professional-grade camera that they carry around and take photos with. The reason for this is simply the ease of taking photos and sharing them over the internet. In previous times, photography was a time-consuming hobby that required a lot of hard work, skill, and patience. It not only involved taking photos but also required an understanding of how photos are developed in the darkroom. Today, photographers rarely develop film in darkrooms and have almost completely shifted to digital photography. This has led to countless new photographers.
Gregory Crewdson is known for his dramatic and huge photographs. Looking at his work, you can’t help but think that the photos were taken on a film set, and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong in that assumption. Crewdson creates large, intricate sets for his scenes that he then shoots with a large format camera to capture as much detail as possible. He then prints his images in very large sizes so that viewers can truly immerse themselves in his artwork.
Pro tip: If you’re trying to replicate something similar with a digital camera, consider using the denoise feature in your RAW editor of choice to remove visible noise from your photos.
Richard Avedon’s huge prints of portraits from across the USA are breathtaking pieces of art. The expressions he manages to capture with his large format camera are nothing short of captivating. Avedon is known for using a consistent backdrop and lighting setup for his shots in the series In the American West.
Elliot Erwitt’s work revolves around capturing candid moments in the streets. His street photographs are both funny and meaningful at the same time. He developed his craft while working as a photography assistant in the US army. Erwitt is definitely one of the most famous modern photographers.
A photographer made famous after her death, Vivian Maier was a nanny who simply photographed everything she found interesting. She used a twin-lens reflex camera that she would take with her when she went out and about. Vivian’s photographs are bold, at times depicting people looking directly at her camera. Her work is timeless and looks like it could have been done much earlier than it actually was.
Robert Frank was a famous photographer known for his book The Americans. In it, he showcased the daily lives of average Americans that he saw while traveling across the country in his car. While his book was criticized heavily at the beginning, it soon made itself known as a classic collection of photos.
Another street photographer, Garry Winogrand is known for his use of a wide-angle lens to create some very interesting perspectives in his street shots. He’s also famous for his shooting technique of guessing the distance at which he would need to focus rather than focusing in a more conventional way.
If composite photographs are your thing, then you should really look at the work of Jerry Uelsmann. He worked in the dark room and shunned the use of digital cameras. His composites made in the dark room show his skill and understanding of the art like no other.
Pro tip: If you’d like to achieve interesting composites with a digital camera, try using photo enhancing software to give your images a pop. This can create a very interesting look for your composites.
Brian Duffy was a fashion photographer who did most of his work between the 1960s and 1970s. His story is interesting because he actually stopped taking photos after a while as he lost interest in the work, then jumped back into it before he died a year later.
Pro tip: If you’d like to take some fashion photos and need a RAW editor to make your workflow simpler, give Luminar a shot.
An architect by profession, Chou quickly realized he couldn’t do a desk job and got into photography. Since then, he has become a big name in the world of wedding photography and has covered weddings in various parts of the world.
Peter Lik takes panoramic photos and prints them on metallic silver halide paper. This gives his photographs a unique look. His work sells for a lot of money all around the globe thanks to the many galleries where it’s showcased.
Annie Leibovitz is well known for her famous portraits of celebrities. She caught her break during the early years of Rolling Stone when she got her first-ever job from the founding editor to photograph the great John Lennon.
Ansel Adams is a name that any serious photographer is already familiar with. Known for his black-and-white landscape photos of the US, Adams really cared for the environment and was a supporter of wilderness preservation.
If you’re interested in street photography and don’t know who Henri Cartier-Bresson is, then you’re doing something wrong. Cartier-Bresson is known as the pioneer of modern street photography. His work in The Decisive Moment is second to none and inspires countless photographers in the digital age.
You may have seen the captivating image of the Afghan Girl first appeared on the cover of National Geographic in June 1985. That iconic photo is why Steve McCurry is so famous. Other works of McCurry’s focus on cultures, traditions, conflicts, and and what it means to be human.
Anne Geddes takes photos of babies like no other, showcasing their innocence and purity. Her photos look like they’ve come out of a fantasy book, revolving around the themes of love and protection.
Mario Testino is known for his fashion and portrait photography. His creative photographs grace the covers of many magazines around the world, including Vogue and GQ.
For his work capturing the conflict during World War II, Capa received the Medal of Freedom. His work is littered with photos taken during combat, for which he risked his own life time and time again.
Yousuf Karsh is famous for taking elegant photographs of politicians and Hollywood celebrities. He’s widely accepted as the greatest portrait photographer of the twentieth century thanks to his unique style and intimate approach to taking photos of famous people.
Famous for her Migrant Mother photo which shows a mother and her two children surviving on frozen vegetables, Dorothea Lange was a documentary photographer who worked during the era of the Great Depression.
Jay Maisel is one of the current famous photographers. His work is interesting because he doesn’t believe in complicating his images. Maisel’s images are simplistic, taken without the use of too many lights or the newest gear. He’s known for using a single lens for his work at times, and his photos mostly depict interesting shapes and lighting.
Cindy Sherman rose to prominence during the 1970s. Sherman’s black and white Untitled Film Stills are true classics. Each photo looks as if it were a scene from an old film or TV series – they are in fact staged shoots created by Sherman. Number 21, for example, called “City Girl,” is listed in Time Magazine as one of the greatest photos of all time.
Eliot Porter had a lifelong love of photography. He started taking photos of birds as a child with a simple Kodak camera. As he studied the work of the legendary Ansel Adams, Porter started to photograph natural landscapes, but in color. His photos often feature a muted color palette that gives his work an authentic and retro feel. The compositions and colors in his photos of forests and foliage are simply divine.
Robert Frank embarked on an epic journey during the 1950s that catapulted his work into the limelight. It also helped showcase to the world what living in the United States of America was really like. In 1955, this American/Swiss photographer traveled across the country by car and took photos of everyday American life. His photos were published in the now classic book The Americans. Within its pages, you can find photos that paint an unbiased view of life in the States during the 1950s.
Frans Lanting once pursued a career in economics, but luckily turned to photography. Since then, he has provided us with stunning views of our world. His collections are varied, but all feature nature and beautiful remote landscapes. His Jungles collection, for example, showcases close-ups of orangutans and brightly colored butterflies. Earth from Above, on the other hand, gives us a rare insight into what the world’s landscapes look like from an aerial perspective.
Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer in the early to mid-1900s. She experimented with various subjects and styles including nude shots, vast industrial landscapes, and botanical photos. Initially, her work featured blurred photos with a soft focus. This changed in time, and she became known for sharp focus work that usually involved people in action poses. Her black and white shots of exotic plants are superb and show the diversity of nature.
Paul Strand had a photographic career that spanned over six decades. He helped turn photography into an art form and studied a myriad of genres. Strand is mainly known for his development of the American Modernist genre together with Edward Weston and Alfred Stieglitz. Some of his most poignant works include black and white photos of everyday family life in Italy and Mexico.
Arthur Fellig, better know as Weegee, was a photographer from Hungary who created realistic black and white street photography. He rose to prominence during his time in New York. Whilst in the Big Apple he followed emergency services (such as the fire service) and photographed their work. His photos are known for being realistic and depicting true scenes of injury, death, and crime. If you want a truthful look at urban life in the early to mid-1900s, Weegee's work is a must-see.
Don McCullin specialized in showcasing the darker side of society. He wouldn’t shy away from the underside of life: his work depicted poverty, crime, unemployment, and the dregs of society. His images were realistic but beautifully crafted, and contained real soul. War also featured prominently in McCullin’s work – he photographed everything from Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin to soldiers fighting in Vietnam.
David Bailey is possibly the best-known photographer in the UK. Dailey was mainly a photographer of portraits and fashion. He worked during the 1960s and helped popularize a culture of celebrity chic and Swinging London. Bailey even took photos of the notorious and legendary Kray Twins gangster. He also worked for many years at Vogue magazine. During this time, he photographed celebrities such as The Beatles, Andy Warhol, and Mick Jagger.
Robert Doisneau was a prolific photojournalist and helped pioneer the profession. He lived in France, and during the 1930s took fantastic black and white photos of the streets of Paris. The humanist element to his photos was what made his work shine – his shots of people going about their daily business in the streets were simple but carefully composed. In many of his photos, you can see juxtapositions that went against social norms in Paris, such as mingling of classes.
Mario Testino is a fashion photographer from Peru. His work has been featured in prominent magazines such as GC, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. He has also worked with numerous high-end fashion brands including Chanel and Gucci. Aside from fashion photography, Testino actually creates stunning shots of nature and human life: his photos of the Samburu Tribe in Kenya, for example, show their joy for life and traditional dances.
Andreas Gursky is known for creating stripped-back photographs of our world. He actually uses digital manipulation to remove elements from his photos that he deems distracting. In 2016, he created a work simply titled “Amazon” – an intriguing photo showing the vastness of an Amazon warehouse. Some people might not understand his work, but you can really gain a sense of scale when looking at his photos.
As far as famous photographers go, Andre Kertesz is quite unique. He used strange camera angles and compositions that other photographers might frown upon. Many of the techniques and angles he used had never been seen before; his photography was like a breath of fresh air. These unorthodox angles helped Kertesz create stunning street photography from his home country of Hungary. He also traveled to smaller villages and painted a picture of rural life in Hungary during the early 1900s.
Sebastiao Salgado has actually traveled to over 120 countries and photographed countless cultures and landscapes. He’s a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, and his works have been featured in numerous publications. His work is predominantly black and white, which he uses to accentuate the immense detail of his photos. His portrait work of tribes in the Amazon and Africa is outstanding. The shot that captured our imagination, however, is his aerial view of a gold mine in Serra Pelada – take a look at this photo and you’ll understand what we mean!
Gyula Halasz rose to fame during the late 1900s in Hungary. He wandered the streets of Europe and created a wave of excellent and sometimes humorous street photography. From prostitutes playing snooker to sleeping workers on the Rome metro, his work showcases humanity in a truly different light.
Florian Schulz is a master of nature photography. He provides us with excellent and personal insights into the natural world. If you look at his photos, you can see a glimpse of natural life that only a select few have witnessed. From swathes of tightly packed stingrays in the Gulf of Mexico to polar bears searching for food in the Arctic wilderness, Schulz transports us to the farthest corners of the world in breathtaking beauty.
Serge Ramelli is a relatively modern photographer whose work has inspired a new generation of photographers. Ramelli has created a series of stunning photo books featuring shots from New York, Paris, and Los Angeles. His work is both beautiful and artistic. Today, Ramelli provides courses and training to photographers around the world.
Scott Kelby is actually the creator of the hugely popular KelbyOne online photography website; new photographers can learn practically every genre of the craft there. Kelby started as a photographer and soon became known for his series of bestselling photography-inspired books such as The Digital Photography Book.
Dina Litovsky has created a myriad of interesting works, such as her fun collection titled Where the Amish Vacation.” This project shows Amish people enjoying a typical Westernized holiday. Meatpacking, on the other hand, takes a stark look at the modern culture of a typical night out, showing lecherous males and scantily clad young women. Litovsky’s degree in psychology has obviously influenced her photographic work.
Chris McCaw became popular for his unique long exposure shots of sweeping landscapes and the night sky. These exposures, created using homemade kits, could last up to 24 hours! Another fantastic technique he popularized was shooting onto expired photo paper: the paper would solarize and catch fire, leaving a beautiful sun trail.
Didier Massard creates surrealist photography like no one else. He doesn’t create great volumes of work, but the photos he produces are pure masterpieces. Massard uses special techniques to create photos that look ethereal and otherworldly. Standard landscapes are transformed into strange places with beautifully colored sweeping skies. Some people class his work as a form of “magical realism.”
Hendrik Kerstens is well-known for creating photography that emulates painting styles. He particularly enjoys emulating the work of the Dutch masters. Kerstens’s most famous work is possibly his portrait series of his daughter, captured using various props and styles. There’s a well-known shot of her covered in sunburn and even one with a plastic bag on her head.
Hiroshi Sugimoto easily ranks as one of the most famous photographers. His work is mostly black and white. He depicts life in various forms and concentrates on single moments that have great meaning. Examples of his works include series Mathematical Models, Conceptual Forms, and In Praise of Shadows. One series of photos that stands out is on electricity and lightning – you can really see the detail and individual prongs of the lightning bolts.
You won’t find a photographer who plans his work as carefully as Jeff Wall. When creating his shoots, Wall plans every last detail – like for a movie scene. What does he photograph? Scenes of social and political interest like racism, class conflict, and poverty. What makes his work so outstanding is that you can't tell that most of the photos are actually staged. They look like real, everyday occurrences!
Michael Wolf originally worked in Hong Kong, and his time there shaped much of his work. Hong Kong is, of course, a megacity. And Wolf spent much time photographing its hundreds of tightly packed skyscrapers. His work depicts urban landscapes in a realistic light: unforgiving and no-nonsense. In Density, for example – his series depicting densely packed urban areas – the compositions are excellent and show the impersonal nature of these steel and concrete constructs.
Shirin Neshat is one of the most famous modern photographers. She lives in exile and has specialized in creating photographs that explore important social issues. Her black and white photos depicting Muslim women and political issues within Muslim countries are outstanding. She also creates black and white portrait photography embellished with important Islamic texts.
You may think that it’s difficult to rank among famous portrait photographers as a wedding specialist. Roberto Valenzuela proves otherwise. Valenzuela creates exceptional wedding shots and is actually sponsored by Canon. His work is exciting and captures the essence of weddings. Many of his photos have been featured in magazines like Rangefinder, Professional Photographers of America, and Cosmopolitan Bride.
Larry Beard creates sublime ocean photography. He hails from California, and it’s clear this state and his hometown of San Clemente have played an important role in shaping his photographic work. What sets Beard’s photography apart is that he often takes close-up shots of small details such as waves and beaches. Beard has even been featured in National Geographic magazine – not a bad resume at all!
Philippe Halsman earned great renown during the 1940s. Throughout his lifetime, he was published on the cover of Time Magazine more than anyone else. Phillippe specialized in portrait photography. His photos were extremely creative and humorous but also thought-provoking. He worked with Salvador Dali and photographed iconic people such as Winston Churchill and Marilyn Monroe.
As you can see, the world is full of inspiring photographers that have worked hard to perfect their craft. No matter which genre of photography you associate yourself with, you can definitely find someone who has achieved great things in that genre and learn from them.
This is the digital age, and that means you don’t have any excuse not to be able to make great photos. So many features are crammed into cameras and editing software today that you can easily create some magic if you know how. If you would like to learn more about photography or professional photo editing, click below to find out how you can improve your photography drastically.
Photography is, for me, a spontaneous impulse coming from an ever attentive eye which captures the moment and its eternity. Henri Cartier-Bresson
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The future of digital transformation
The future of Digital Transformation is difficult to separate from the past and present as the hype-cycle of tech marketing swirls so rapidly. Marketeers seize on anecdotes from early adopters when the truth is that digital transformation isn’t the same process for every company.
But stories of pilot and demonstration projects, such as drone deliveries and driverless cars, are important guides to what will gradually become mainstream in the mid-market. Quietly and unremarkably, extraordinary technologies, such as machine learning, become everyday apps and simple business hygiene.
And sometimes technology changes rapidly. The pandemic drove the future of Digital Transformation in two fundamental ways.
Firstly, business and domestic consumers quickly adopted online channels for finding and buying a wide range of products and services. This also extends to after-sales and re-ordering, which are widely online now in a way that seemed unlikely in 2019.
Electronic payment is now normal, and cash has been side-lined. Paper brochures and catalogues have disappeared from many sectors, and everyone expects online service and support.
Secondly, rapid adoption of home working kiboshed old-fashioned managers who said, ‘That will never work.’ Not that it was a simple process. When users are scattered, systems and processes must be defined and must work well. Contracts, orders, and payments must be electronic. Collaboration must be online, and any integration gaps are painfully exposed.
Often digital transformation is driven by people’s attitudes rather than what is technically possible, and attitudes have changed irreversibly.
So in the near future, for many mid-market businesses the next phase of Digital Transformation will focus on the following:
- Data has mushroomed, but rather than seeing it as a problem, companies will leverage these new assets for smarter use by humans or AI. Combining data from different sources is now far easier, and cloud-based processing allows for rapid insights that would have been unthinkable even quite recently. Data visualisation technologies, simple machine learning, and process automation are now a reality and can provide a competitive advantage to companies who take up the challenge.
- Internal integration and adoption of the cloud should be in the rear-view mirror. The next phase will focus on external integration. Businesses should only select tech products that support integration and should gravitate towards suppliers, customers and partners who form integrated communities. These integrated communities will out-perform those that are not.
Beyond these near-term changes, as cutting-edge tech becomes more commoditised and more widely available, companies will have to work harder to distinguish themselves by their actual product or service. Their brand really must mean something, and they really do need a competitive edge. For example, now any company can stream movies like Netflix; Disney+ has stepped in and enjoyed incredible growth on the strength of its content.
In fact, many forms of leisure will increasingly be online (though online leisure becomes more complicated as social media, content and play converge).
Similarly, products and services will be increasingly virtual, and paid for with virtual currency. Companies will need to tune into this accelerating change and invest in new types of virtual storefronts and virtual branding. Though I hate to use the term, this is the metaverse.
But there is also convergence between digital transformation and ethical and environmental concerns as both regulators and consumers drive this focus. Traceability of products, optimisation of materials and energy consumption, privacy, security, and justifiable decision-making will all become part of the digital transformation agenda.
Digital Transformation is not simple, and companies will increasingly be bought for their data and their technology capabilities. Digital Transformation will be a key value driver, and companies often have to secure their future value by buying another’s.
All these transformations will be good for your business if you also successfully meet human needs. Zoom and shared docs are no substitute for real face-to-face collaboration. You cannot have a real creative discussion, shift entrenched opinions, or lift someone’s spirits online. Digital Transformation can drive everyday productivity, but mental health and employee well-being for most people also means human contact.
Most people want their company to have a vision beyond profit; they want to be part of something greater than an integrated process, and they want to draw more from their work than just their salary. Digital Transformation can absolutely make a difference in a mid-market business, but only when you add in the human factor.
Visit our Digital Transformation Knowledge Centre which includes all content related to this topic.
Freeman Clarke is the UK’s largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it ‘fractional’) IT leaders. We work exclusively with ambitious organisations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation. | <urn:uuid:a5d4c1b8-7470-4700-9abb-77ff2be53609> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.freemanclarke.com/en-gb/2022/02/21/the-future-of-digital-transformation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572581.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816211628-20220817001628-00070.warc.gz | en | 0.950438 | 998 | 1.789063 | 2 |
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|America's one-eyed view of war: Stars, stripes, and the Star of David
There are two sides to every conflict - unless you rely on the US media for information about the battle in Lebanon. Viewers have been fed a diet of partisan coverage which treats Israel as the good guys and their Hizbollah enemy as the incarnation of evil.
Andrew Gumbel reports from Los Angeles
Published: 15 August 2006
If these were normal times, the American view of the conflict in Lebanon might look something like the street scenes that have electrified the suburbs of Detroit for the past four weeks.
In Dearborn, home to the Ford Motor Company and also the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, up to 1000 people have turned out day after day to express their outrage at the Israeli military campaign and mourn the loss of civilian life in Lebanon.
At one protest in late July, 15,000 people - almost half of the local Arab American population - showed up in a sea of Lebanese flags, along with anti-Israeli and anti-Bush slogans.
A few miles to the north, in the heavily Jewish suburb of Southfield, meanwhile, the Congregation Shaarey Zedek synagogue has played host to passionate counter-protests in which the US and Israeli national anthems are played back to back and demonstrators have asserted that it is Israel's survival, not Lebanon's, that is at stake here.
Such is the normal exercise of free speech in an open society, one might think. But these are not normal times. The Detroit protests have been tinged with paranoia and justifiable fear on both sides. Several Jewish institutions in the area, including two community centres and several synagogues, have hired private security guards in response to an incident in Seattle at the end of July, in which a mentally unstable 30-year-old Muslim walked into a Jewish Federation building and opened fire, killing one person and injuring five others.
On the Arab American side, many have expressed reluctance to stand up and be counted among the protesters for fear of being tinged by association with Hizbollah, which is on the United States' list of terrorist organisations. (As a result, the voices heard during the protests tend to be the more extreme ones.) They don't like to discuss their political views in any public forum, following the revelation a few months ago that the National Security Agency was wiretapping phone calls and e-mail exchanges as part of the Bush administration's war on terror.
They are even afraid to donate money to help the civilian victims of the war in Lebanon because of the intense scrutiny Islamic and Arab charities have been subjected to since the 9/11 attacks. The Bush administration has denounced 40 charities worldwide as financiers of terrorism, and arrested and deported dozens of people associated with them.
Consequently, while Jewish charities such as the United Jewish Communities are busy raising $300m to help families affected by the Katyusha rockets raining down on northern Israel, donations to the Lebanese victims have come in at no more than a trickle.
Outside Detroit and a handful of other cities with sizeable Arab American populations, it is hard to detect that there are two sides to the conflict at all. The Dearborn protests have received almost no attention nationally, and when they have it has usually been to denounce the participants as extremists and apologists for terrorism - either because they have voiced support for Hizbollah or because they have carried banners in which the Star of David at the centre of the Israeli flag has been replaced by a swastika.
The media, more generally, has left little doubt in the minds of a majority of American news consumers that the Israelis are the good guys, the aggrieved victims, while Hizbollah is an incarnation of the same evil responsible for bringing down the World Trade Centre, a heartless and faceless organisation whose destruction is so important it can justify all the damage Israel is inflicting on Lebanon and its civilians.
The point is not that this viewpoint is necessarily wrong. The point - and this is what distinguishes the US from every other Western country in its attitude to the conflict - is that it is presented as a foregone conclusion. Not only is there next to no debate, but debate itself is considered unnecessary and suspect.
The 24-hour cable news stations are the worst offenders. Rupert Murdoch's Fox News has had reporters running around northern Israel chronicling every rocket attack and every Israeli mobilisation, but has shown little or no interest in anything happening on the other side of the border.
It is a rarity on any of the cable channels to see any Arab being tapped for expert opinion on the conflict. A startling amount of airtime, meanwhile, is given to the likes of Michael D Evans, an end-of-the-world Biblical "prophet" with no credentials in the complexities of Middle Eastern politics. He has shown up on MSNBC and Fox under the label "Middle East analyst". Fox's default analyst, on this and many other issues, has been the right-wing provocateur and best-selling author Ann Coulter, whose main credential is to have opined, days after 9/11, that what America should do to the Middle East is "invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity".
Often, the coverage has been hysterical and distasteful
In the days following the Israeli bombing of Qana, several pro-Israeli bloggers started spreading a hoax story that Hizbollah had engineered the event, or stage-managed it by placing dead babies in the rubble for the purpose of misleading reporters.
Oliver North, the Reagan-era orchestrator of the Iran-Contra affair who is now a right-wing television and radio host, and Michelle Malkin, a sharp-tongued Bush administration cheerleader who runs her own weblog, appeared on Fox News to give credence to the hoax - before the Israeli army came forward to take responsibility and brought the matter to at least a partial close.
As the conflict has gone on, the media interpretation of it has only hardened. Essentially, the line touted by cable news hosts and their correspondents - closely adhering to the line adopted by the Bush administration and its neoconservative supporters - is that Hizbollah is part of a giant anti-Israeli and anti-American terror network that also includes Hamas, al-Qa'ida, the governments of Syria and Iran, and the insurgents in Iraq. Little effort is made to distinguish between these groups, or explain what their goals might be. The conflict is presented as a straight fight between good and evil, in which US interests and Israeli interests intersect almost completely. Anyone who suggests otherwise is likely to be pounced on and ripped to shreds.
When John Dingell,
a Democratic congressman from Michigan with a large Arab American population in his constituency, gave an interview suggesting it was wrong for the US to take sides instead of pushing for an end to violence, he was quickly - and loudly - accused of being a Hizbollah apologist. Newt Gingrich
, the Republican former House speaker, accused him of failing to draw any moral distinction between Hizbollah and Israel. Rush Limbaugh
, the popular conservative talk-show host, piled into him, as did the conservative newspaper The Washington Times. The Times was later forced to admit it had quoted Dingell out of context and reprinted his full words, including: " I condemn Hizbollah, as does everyone else, for the violence." (COMMENT: Washington Times is owned by Rev. MOON...(
The hysteria has extended into the realm of domestic politics, especially since this is a congressional election year. Republican have sought to depict last week's primary defeat of the Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, one of the loudest cheerleaders for the Iraq war, as some sort of wacko extremist anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli stand that risks undermining national security. Vice-President Dick Cheney said Lieberman's defeat would encourage "al-Qa'ida types" to think they can break the will of Americans. The fact that the man who beat Lieberman, Ned Lamont, is an old-fashioned East Coast Wasp who was a registered Republican for much of his life is something Mr Cheney chose to overlook
Part of the Republican strategy this year is to attack any media that either attacks them or has the temerity to report facts that contradict the official party line. Thus, when Reuters was forced to withdraw a photograph of Beirut under bombardment because one of its stringers had doctored the image to increase the black smoke, it was a chance to rip into the news agency over its efforts to be even-handed. In a typical riposte, Michelle Malkin denounced Reuters as "a news service that seems to have made its mark rubber-stamping pro-Hizbollah propaganda".
She was not the only one to take that view. Mainstream, even liberal, publications have echoed her line. Tim Rutten, the Los Angeles Times liberal media critic, denounced the "obscenely anti-Israeli tenor of most of the European and world press" in his most recent column.
It is not just the US media which tilts in a pro-Israeli direction
. Congress, too, is remarkably unified in its support for the Israeli government, and politicians more generally understand that to criticise Israel is to risk jeopardising their future careers.
When Antonio Villaraigosa, the up-and-coming Democratic Mayor of Los Angeles, was first invited to comment on the Middle East crisis, he sounded a note so pro-Israeli that he was forced to apologise to local Muslim and Arab community leaders. There is far less public debate of Israeli policy in the US, in fact, than there is in Israel itself.
This is less a reflection of American Jewish opinion - which is more diverse than is suggested in the media - than it is a commentary on the power of pro-Israeli lobby groups like Aipac, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which bankrolls pro-Israeli congressional candidates. That, in turn, is frustrating to liberal Jews like Michael Lerner, a San Francisco rabbi who heads an anti-war community called Tikkun. Rabbi Lerner has tried to argue for years that it is in Israel's best interests to reach a peaceful settlement, and that demonising Arabs as terrorists is counter-productive and against Judaism.
Lerner is probably right to assert that he speaks for a large number of American Jews, only half of whom are affiliated with pro-Israeli lobbying organisations. Certainly, dinner party conversation in heavily Jewish cities like New York suggest misgivings about Israel's strategic aims, even if there is some consensus that Hizbollah cannot be allowed to strike with impunity.
Few, if any, of those misgivings have entered the US media.
"There is no major figure in American political life who has been willing to raise the issue of the legitimate needs of the Palestinian people, or even talk about them as human beings," Lerner said. "The organised Jewish community has transformed the image of Judaism into a cheering squad for the Israeli government, whatever its policies are. That is just idolatry, and goes against all the warnings in the Bible about giving too much power to the king or the state."
"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."
Honore de Balzac
"Democrats work to help people who need help.
That other party, they work for people who don't need help.
That's all there is to it."
~Harry S. Truman | <urn:uuid:383ba5cc-b7d4-4942-aa02-236583c8ff00> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://tvnewslies.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4088 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717963.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00374-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96804 | 2,375 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Providing almost all Canadians with a basic income for six months beginning this fall could cost about $98 billion, the parliamentary budget officer said in a report on the eve of a preview of how COVID-19 will shape government spending until next spring.
The figure is the upper range of the scenarios the budget watchdog was asked to research as part of a report released Tuesday morning as policy-makers consider how to shape emergency supports set to expire in the fall.
Planned federal spending to date on pandemic-related aid now tops about $174 billion, in a range of programs meant to provide a financial floor for individuals and businesses.
The idea of giving a government-guaranteed basic income to Canadians has gained steam as millions have watched their jobs or earnings evaporate in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau and other senior cabinet ministers have repeatedly been asked by senators and MPs about the concept. Advocates argue that it would be an expansion of the $80-billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit for workers who saw their incomes crash.
The CERB and a $45-billion wage-subsidy program are set to expire in October.
Providing six months of a basic income starting that month could cost between $47.5 billion and $98.1 billion, depending on how much of the benefit is clawed back from people whose other incomes increase.
Budget officer Yves Giroux’s report says the average benefit to Canadians aged 18 to 64 would range between $4,500 and $4,800, with the number of recipients depending on the phase-out rate.
Sen. Yuen Pau Woo, who asked for the costing, said a basic-income program could fill in the gaps in Canada’s social safety nets, a patchwork largely run by provinces, that have been exposed by the pandemic.
“It’s a huge undertaking to launch a basic income for the whole country on a permanent basis. The costs are extremely high and the political resistance is likely to be fierce, but we are in a period where it is likely we will have to spend large sums of money on income support going into the balance of 2020 and into 2021,” Woo said in a telephone interview.
“The question to my mind is how we spend it, and in what form.”
A basic income means different things to different people, but it is usually viewed as a no-strings-attached benefit that governments provide to citizens instead of various targeted social benefits.
Also known as a guaranteed minimum income, it can be delivered as a universal payment, or as a means-tested benefit that declines as a recipient’s other income rises.
Giroux’s report says the government could repeal $15 billion in tax measures to offset the overall cost of a basic-income program, which Woo added would likely have to wrap in existing measures to avoid duplication.
The overall cost of the program might be higher than the budget office estimates. The PBO’s estimates rely on some Statistics Canada income data that doesn’t include people living in the northern territories or in First Nations, or some military members.
Nor can the figures simply be doubled to determine a full year’s cost because that might overstate the financial impact. The economy appears to be bouncing back slowly from a bottoming-out in April, and the cost of the program would depend on how many employees are rehired or find new jobs.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which represents small businesses nationwide, said Tuesday that about one-third of members responding to a survey reported being back at full staffing levels, but suggested many believe it will take six months to get back to normal profitability.
Statistics Canada is to release June’s jobs report on Friday.
Projections released Tuesday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimate Canada’s unemployment rate at 11 per cent for the second quarter of the year.
The 37-member international body predicted the national unemployment rate would decline to 7.7 per cent by the end of the year, or to 8.4 per cent should a second wave of the novel coronavirus force renewed lockdowns.
NDP finance critic Peter Julian said Tuesday that the uncertain economic path ahead requires the Liberals to say how the government plans to reshape emergency aid in Wednesday’s fiscal update.
He said a more universal benefit, which the NDP has pushed, would have helped more people and cost less had the Liberals used it from the start.
“It makes more sense to make sure that everybody who needs the benefit can actually get it than the government’s approach,” Julian said.
The Liberals have said the update on Wednesday will provide an economic outlook, an accounting of spending to date and projections for the remainder of the fiscal year, including the expected deficit. The PBO and others estimate that to be at least $250 billion.
Jordan Press, The Canadian Press
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New 'Global Aviation Monitor' from DLR: globally speaking, air traffic remains on a downward trend
17 April 2009
Low Cost Carriers
Global air traffic is experiencing a sharp downturn, which will be sustained until the end of June 2009. This downturn will primarily affect North America and Europe. In contrast, air traffic in the Middle East continues to thrive and prosper. In Germany, for the period from April to June 2009, a downturn substantially in excess of five percent is being predicted. These are the core messages from the Global Aviation Monitor (GAM), produced for the first time by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR).
The quarterly report by the DLR unit 'Flughafenwesen und Luftverkehr' (literally 'Airports and Air Traffic') describes the prevailing situation in the air traffic sector across individual regions of the globe and provides a look at likely trends in the next three-month period. This involves making statements about the global availability of flights and comments relating to the European and German market, as well as individual airports and airlines.
The DLR scientific researchers look at a global total of more than 3500 airports and somewhere in the region of 850 airlines. Since the fifties, air traffic volumes have grown steadily, interrupted only by short-term blips such as those caused by the oil crises in the seventies or the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Particularly over the last few years, there has been a strong upturn in the air traffic sector. Following the 30 million flights offered worldwide on scheduled airlines and charter companies in 2008, the entire market is currently trending sharply downwards. In March 2009, some 2.4 million flights were offered, roughly five percent less than in the same month of the previous year.
Severe downturn in worldwide air traffic
In overall terms, while air traffic is experiencing negative rates of growth, some differences do emerge when you look at individual regions. This crisis is affecting North America particularly badly, and the volume of air traffic in that market is more than ten percent below the level of the previous year. To a lesser extent, these same signs are evident in Europe and in Germany. In other regions, with the Middle East being one example, the situation is much less dramatic. Here, there is even some genuine growth, although not on the scale originally anticipated.
This trend is also reflected when you look at the airports. For example, and especially when you look at North American airports such as Los Angeles, negative growth is running at a high level, well into double figures. In Europe, the airports worst affected are Milan-Malpensa and, in Germany, Dortmund. In contrast, positive growth is being enjoyed by airports across Asia, with Beijing being one good example, as well as in some areas of Europe, for example Istanbul. In Germany, signs of positive growth can be seen, particularly for airports handling low cost carriers.
Parallel to this, a similar situation is affecting the airlines. For example, airlines such as Delta, which operates primarily within North America, are experiencing declines in excess of 10% compared to the previous year, while others such as Air China are finding it possible to increase the space they offer on flights by about 13%. In Europe, British Airways is being particularly badly affected by the crisis, while on the other hand, Turkish Airlines and a few low cost carriers are finding it possible to increase available space. This is particularly noticeable in Germany. For example, Ryanair has been able to extend seat availability for Germany by almost 20 percent for March 2009, compared to the same period last year. Even if you bear in mind that the availability of seats evaluated here was based only on what is known in the trade as planning data, there is nonetheless a close correlation with actual air traffic volumes.
For the period April to June 2009, it therefore follows that, with a small number of exceptions, virtually all air traffic markets worldwide are facing the prospect of a sustained downwards trend. In overall terms, the global availability of flights will fall substantially below 2.5 million flights per month. This downward trend will also be sustained in Germany, and forecasts suggest that the downturn during the aforementioned period will be substantially higher than five percent. | <urn:uuid:fdd55d79-530e-4a02-aba9-328a83726afa> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dlr.de/en/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-4799/7959_read-16938/7959_page-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00363-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951594 | 876 | 1.75 | 2 |
World Social Work Month- BASW England 'No-one Left Behind: Climate Change and Social Work (International, Local and Youth Perspectives)
This session will look at the impact of climate change for social work at a local and international level
- Chair: Vava Tampa, BASW England Committee Chair will facilitate this session speak about his own perspective on the climate crisis and how social work can ensure that no-one is left behind both from national and international perspective
- International: Zoe Cohen from Extinction Rebellion will highlighting current evidence and impact of climate change on communities, what are the risks for the future, what can social workers do in their practice to address them
- Local: Liz Stevens, Social Worker, Manchester City Council and Enya Richards, Social Worker for Plymouth City Council will share their experiences of dealing the impact of climate change on their local social services and the challenges of dealing with the fallout of such events:
re-homing residents, risk to care homes and vulnerable people
- Youth: Professor Lena Dominelli, University of Stirling will discuss work her work with schools in Scotland and reflect on the impact of climate change on their communities and what it means to them and the legacy of COP26.
- Youth: Lexy-Bee Reid will speak about their perspective on the climate crisis and call to action
Liz Stevens is a registered Social Worker and Service Manager for Learning disability and Shared Lives service, with Manchester City Council. As part of the humanitarian response to civil contingencies Manchester city council provides an on call support to other corporate services. In Feb 2020, in the midst of the pandemic and lockdown, on a night of a snowstorm, the banks of the river Mersey came very close to breaching. Building close to the flood plain had resulted in a number of resident households being placed at risk during the storm and they had to be warned and later strongly advised to evacuate. The social care response was comprehensive and included 2 rest centres, staff on site at what became the covid hotel, one that became the non-covid hotel, staff based with the police as liaison, and a group of social workers ringing residents to check in, offer support and strongly advise them to evacuate and of the options (family, hotels) available to them. Liz will discuss the reality of social work at a local level when practice is faced with climate change challenges.
BASW members please log in to your BASW account prior to booking to maintain your CPD record | <urn:uuid:12cd1629-9584-4d2e-bd6e-271b155126fa> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.basw.co.uk/events/world-social-work-month-basw-england-no-one-left-behind-climate-change-and-social-work | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570879.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808213349-20220809003349-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.947937 | 509 | 2.171875 | 2 |
They are just so frustrating, never do what you want them to do, and always have a smart retort, as for the Y generation they should be called the YY Generation; why do I have to do that? Why should I do it? Just a few of the emotions expressed by business owners, senior managers (and parents) about the younger millennials.
It seems we could be forgetting that this has happened generation after generation and the main reason it’s so prevalent today is that those now in senior positions are the older generation, the Baby Boomers and Generation Xers – no longer pushing for change but resisting change.
Generation Y #Millennials were typically born between early 1980s to early 2000s – in effect those now peaking in their mid-30’s. A generation comfortable with modern digital technology, the expectation of going to university (50% of UK millennials went to university, compared to 4% in the 50s) and walking into a well paid job, that they’ll walk straight out of if it’s not working for them. Strauss and Howe talk about seven millennial character traits: sheltered, confident, conventional, special, team-oriented, pressured, and achieving – others refer to the millennials sense of entitlement and narcissism – their right to something and being full of themselves. Sound familiar?
Generations are shaped by circumstances: politics, war, economics, unemployment, famine, the environment, all of which is often expressed in their music – a few years ago I witnessed millennials at a party singing and swaying arm in arm along to Disney’s Frozen! Whatever happened to real music, I’m “talkin’ ‘bout our generation”.
And there you have it’s just the “same same but different” generation gap – so if you want to manage and motivate millennials and sustain your business its about adapting to and embracing change – after all who’s going to sustain your pension when you finally retire.
I recently facilitated a conference for SME business owners and managers struggling with this very issue of how to practically adapt and embrace generational change, disguised under the title: How to manage and motivate Millennials. A subject expertly delivered by a successful millennial business owner Rosie Ginday – a Social Entrepreneur Pasty Chef reducing re-offending in young offenders, Founder and Director of Miss Macaroon.
Here are my top five Rosie takeaways:
1. When recruiting video the role and put it on social media
2. Talk endlessly about culture and values
3. Bring everything back to a real business case
4. Understand and help them achieve their long-term ambitions
5. Always focus on improvement, so keep the praise going and reward results
As one millennial business owner said to me following the session “we are just as frustrated with the older staff, as they are with the younger management”.
Image from J M Twenge | <urn:uuid:f827a16b-460a-496a-a26c-24ffd0ad21f9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thevalueinnovator.co.uk/2017/06/21/how-to-manage-and-motivate-millennials/?shared=email&msg=fail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.960125 | 612 | 1.71875 | 2 |
09 September 2020: Clinical Research
Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Infected Patients with Liver Abscess: A Retrospective Study of 53 PatientsWei Zhang1AE, Hongwei Yu1BC, Na Luo2BC, Zhongjie Hu1AE*
Med Sci Monit 2020; 26:e923761
BACKGROUND: Although episodes of liver abscess (LA) have been reported in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), specific symptoms in these patients remain unclear.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: The clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, treatments, and final clinical outcomes of LA in 53 HIV-infected patients were analyzed.
RESULTS: The most common clinical manifestations were fever (92.5%), chills (41.5%), and abdominal pain (37.7%). The mean CD4⁺ T cell count in these HIV-infected patients at admission was 328.09±236.192 cells/µL. LA and blood cultures were positive in six (17.6%) and two (5.4%) patients, respectively. Thirteen strains of pathogens, including Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and Candida, were detected in LA cultures. Forty-four (95.7%) of 46 patients were successfully treated with antibiotics plus image-guided percutaneous aspiration, drainage, or surgery, whereas four (57.1%) of the remaining seven patients were successfully treated with antibiotics alone. Septic shock [odds ratio (OR)=8.970; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.840–92.110; p=0.014] and ascites (OR=7.057; 95% CI=0.683–72.957; p=0.016) were found to be independent risk factors for poor prognosis. The clinical characteristics of LA in HIV-infected patients were nonspecific, with bacteria being the primary pathogens.
CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics plus image-guided percutaneous drainage can effectively improve treatment outcomes in HIV-infected patients with LA.
Keywords: HIV, liver abscess, Prognosis, Adult, Aged, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Drainage, HIV Infections, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Surgery, Computer-Assisted, Treatment Outcome, young adult
Liver abscess (LA) is classified as a pus-filled suppurated mass in the liver parenchyma, probably caused by infection and multiplication of microorganisms . The incidence of this rare condition varies across regions. For example, the incidence of LA was found to be 1.1–1.3 per 100,000 individuals in western countries [2–4] and 17.6 per 100,000 individuals in Asian countries . Moreover, the incidence of LA in the United States has increased from 3.59 to 4.0 per 100,000 individuals . The mortality rate of LA is relatively high, between 10% and 40% . In recent years, a generally immunocompromised state has been regarded as the key risk factor for LA, although other factors, including diabetes mellitus (DM), cirrhosis, sex, and age have been associated with the onset of LA .
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), characterized by an immunodeficient and immunocompromised state, is an infectious disease caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV-infected patients are susceptible to a number of infections [9, 10], with LA being one of the most common and severe infections reported. In Taiwan, the incidence of amoebic LA in HIV-infected patients has increased markedly . However, the specific characteristics of LA in Chinese patients with underlying HIV infection remain largely unknown.
We have had 8 years of experience in the diagnosis and management of LA in HIV-infected patients. This retrospective study was therefore performed to identify the clinical manifestations; evaluate the imaging, pathological, and microbiological characteristics; and determine the preferred treatment plan for these patients. This study also sought to identify factors that could predict the persistence of LA in HIV-infected patients.
Material and Methods
This retrospective study included HIV-infected patients with LA who were admitted to Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, China, between January 2010 and December 2018, inclusive. The study procedure complied with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by Beijing Youan Hospital, which waived the requirement for written informed consent owing to the retrospective nature of the study. Only the first episode of LA experienced by each patient during the study period was included in the statistical analyses.
The hospital records of Beijing Youan Hospital were subjected to a computerized search using ICD-9 codes to identify HIV-infected patients diagnosed with LA during the study period. Patient characteristics were recorded at admission, with readmissions considered single admissions.
DATA COLLECTION AND DEFINITIONS:
Data collected from patients’ electronic medical records included general information, medical history, clinical symptoms, findings at physical examination, laboratory data, imaging results, treatments, complications, and outcomes. LA was diagnosed based on clinical characteristics, imaging results, microbiological findings, and/or pathological findings. Patients aged <18 years, those with hydatid disease of the liver or secondary pyogenic LA, and those with incomplete data were excluded.
The included patients were categorized into two groups, those exhibiting improved clinical signs and symptoms as well as reduced or absorbed LA (improvement group) and those without significant improvements in clinical signs and symptoms and those who were discharged or died during hospitalization (non-improvement group).
All data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0. Parametric variables were analyzed using Student’s
DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The demographic characteristics of the 53 HIV-infected patients diagnosed with LA between January 2010 and December 2018 are presented in Table 1. These 53 patients included 52 (98.1%) men and one (1.9%) woman, of mean±SD age 36.96±10.86 years (range, 20–71 years). Forty-eight (90.6%) patients were successfully treated, whereas five (9.4%) showed no improvements in clinical signs and symptoms and were discharged or died during hospitalization.
The most common HIV transmission route was homosexual contact (
Of the 53 HIV-infected patients, 23 (43.4%) developed LA 2 months to 7 years after being diagnosed with AIDS. Of these 23 patients, 15 (65.2%) received antiretroviral therapy (ART). The other 30 (56.6%) patients were unaware of HIV infection until developing LA (ART-naïve patients), with 23 (76.7%) of these 30 patients receiving ART during the subsequent course of their disease.
Among the 53 study patients, 23 (43.4%) had syphilis and one (1.9%) had diabetes mellitus. Two (3.8%) patients were coinfected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and one (1.9%) with hepatitis C virus (HCV). No patient was infected with both HBV and HCV. Three (5.7%) patients reported a history of alcohol abuse, and 24 (45.3%) patients had gallbladder diseases.
SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS:
The most frequent symptom experienced by these patients was fever (
Clinically, 23 (43.4%) patients had splenomegaly, 18 (34.0%) had right upper quadrant pain, seven (13.2%) had hepatomegaly, and four (7.6%) were positive for Murphy’s sign at admission (Table 2).
LABORATORY AND IMAGING FINDINGS: As shown in Table 3, white blood cell counts were elevated (>9.5×109/L) in 26 (49.1%) patients and anemia in 46 (86.8%). Abnormal results included elevated alanine aminotransferase (32.7%), aspartate aminotransferase (53.9%), total bilirubin (23.1%), direct bilirubin (32.79%), and alkaline phosphatase (53.3%) activities. The mean CD4+ T cell count at admission in all 53 HIV-infected patients was 328.09±236.19 cells/μL, with 17 (32.1%) patients having CD4+ T cell counts <200 cells/μL.
Forty (75.5%) patients had a single LA, whereas 13 (24.5%) had multiple LAs. LA was present in the right lobe in 33 (62.2%) patients, the left lobe in nine (17.0%), the caudate lobe in two (3.8%), and both lobes in nine (17.0%). LA diameter ranged from 2.10 to 16.30 cm, being <5 cm in six (11.3%) patients, 5<≤10 cm in 31 (58.5%), and >10 cm in 16 (30.2%).
LA culture results were available for 34 (64.2%) of the 53 study patients. Of these 34 patients, six (17.6%) had positive bacterial cultures, with the most commonly identified species being
TREATMENT AND OUTCOMES: Patients were started on empirical antibiotic treatment at the onset of infection, with antibiotics subsequently changed based on the results of susceptibility tests. Seven (13.2%) patients received medical treatment alone without interventional treatment or surgery (Table 4), with four (57.1%) successfully treated with antibiotics alone. Of the three patients who did not respond to antibiotic treatment, two were discharged from the hospital for financial reasons and the third died of lymphadenoma during hospitalization.
Of the 53 patients, 44 (83.0%) underwent ultrasound or computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous drainage, with eight (18.2%) of these 44 patients undergoing drainage 2–3 times. Three patients (6.8%) experienced major complications following interventional drainage. One developed biliary fistulae, which were resolved with medical treatment, whereas two presented with LA rupture, which were resolved using interventional hemostatic therapy. Of the two patients with ruptured abscesses, one died of respiratory failure during hospitalization and the other was discharged owing to worsening of the condition.
Two (3.8%) of these 53 patients underwent successful surgical treatment. One patient required surgery because of LA rupture. The other patient, who was coinfected with HBV, underwent surgery to determine whether the condition was malignant. Five (9.4%) patients developed septic shock. The mean length of hospitalization was 27.9±17.8 days (range, 3–82 days).
The improvement and non-improvement groups were compared to analyze the risk factors associated with final treatment outcome. Multivariable analysis showed that ascites [odds ratio (OR)=8.970; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.840–92.110;
In the 1990s, the etiology of LA mainly included biliary tract infection, portal vein seeding, direct extension, hepatic arterial seeding, penetrating trauma, and cryptogenic causes . More recently, however, LA has been associated with malignancy or its treatments, including radiofrequency ablation and tumor embolization, and immunosuppression [13–15]. Blood transfusion through the hepatic artery and skin abscesses have also been associated with the development of LA in HIV-infected patients. Approximately 50% of the HIV-infected patients in the present study were found to have gallbladder diseases. These patients often exhibit a combination of infections, such as pneumonia, oral Candida infection, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Therefore, it is important to identify the etiology of LA in HIV-infected patients.
A study of 23 HIV-infected patients with LA in Thailand reported that Klebsiella, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common causative pathogens , whereas another study reported that both Mycobacterium avium complex and M. tuberculosis were responsible for the development of LA in HIV-infected patients . The most common pathogen observed in the current study was Staphylococcus. Few LA and blood cultures were positive for pathogens, which was likely due, at least in part, to empirical antibiotic pretreatment. Staphylococci are a group of gram-positive bacteria common in the mucosa of the skin and gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Thus, LA in HIV-infected patients may be caused by skin or respiratory tract infections. The development of molecular biology techniques, such as second-generation sequencing, may reveal the etiology and pathogenesis of LA.
Typical symptoms of LA include the triad of fever, right upper quadrant pain, and hepatomegaly . Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and diarrhea. Jaundice is less common in these patients . In the current study, most patients had fever; but <50% each had right upper quadrant pain and hepatomegaly. Some patients reported chronic febrile illness symptoms, such as long-term diarrhea, loss of appetite, and weight loss. LA in our HIV-infected patients did not always present with typical clinical symptoms. Moreover, many of these patients present with a combination of several opportunistic infections and malignant tumors, the symptoms of which might overlap with those of LA, resulting in a considerable diagnostic delay. Therefore, additional imaging examinations are required for diagnosis of LA in HIV-infected patients.
Ultrasound and CT are highly sensitive for the diagnosis of LA, with contrast-enhanced CT having a sensitivity of approximately 100% [13,20]. However, this condition must be distinguished from amoebic LA, cysts, tumors, and tumor-associated LA. Apart from imaging, LA can be diagnosed using LA smear, special staining, indirect hemagglutination assays for antiamoebic antibodies, and tumor markers. Similar to previous studies, we found that the most common LA location was the right liver lobe (62.2%, 33/53) [14,21], with most of our patients presenting with a single LA (75.5%, 40/53).
At the beginning of the 20th century, the mortality rate from LA was as high as 75%–80% owing to the lack of effective treatment methods . Although antibiotics are presently the primary treatment for LA, no recommendations have been proposed regarding antibiotic treatment of HIV-infected patients with LA. Rather, the principles for treating non-HIV-infected patients are generally applied. Empirical antibiotic treatment is designed to treat gram-negative bacilli, gram-positive cocci, and anaerobic bacteria. Treatment with a third-generation cephalosporin plus metronidazole or piperacillin/tazobactam has shown curative effects in patients with LA [22, 23]. In addition to treatment with a third-generation cephalosporin and piperacillin/tazobactam, patients in the current study were administered metronidazole to treat anaerobic and/or amoebic infections. If antibiotic treatment is ineffective in HIV-infected patients, the possibility of opportunistic or atypical pathogenic infections should be considered. Percutaneous drainage should be considered another first-line treatment, as it reduces the mortality rate from LA to 10–30% . Cultures of drained LA specimens could aid in determining the most appropriate antibiotic treatment. However, percutaneous drainage was reported unsuccessful in 15–36% of treatment patients, a failure likely due to the presence of multilumen LAs and drainage fluid adhesion [23,25,26]. Generally, percutaneous drainage is performed in patients with hemorrhage and biliary fistulae . In this study, three (6.8%) of the 44 patients who developed LAs and experienced major complications related to interventional drainage showed effective improvement after treatment. Treatment selection is dependent on LA size and consistency , with few reports recommending surgical drainage in patients with an LA diameter >5 cm. In the current study, 39 (88.6%) of the 44 patients with large LAs (>5 cm) were treated with percutaneous drainage plus antibiotics, with a success rate of 38–39%, indicating that percutaneous drainage was effective in treating large LAs.
Factors such as male sex, cirrhosis, LA rupture, sepsis, multidrug resistant infection, anemia, and air cavity formation have been associated with increased mortality in patients with LA. Septic shock or ascites associated with severe infections has been associated with a high mortality rate. High-efficiency ART can induce immune reconstitution and impede the clinical progress of HIV/AIDS in HIV-infected patients, effectively altering prognosis, even in patients with severe complications. The poor prognosis of patients in the current study was not associated with highly active ART. Studies are needed to evaluate the effect of highly active ART in HIV-infected patients with LA.
This study had several limitations. First, it was a retrospective single-center study, indicating limitations in sample number and generalization. Moreover, owing to the limitations of the methods of detection, relevant data regarding the involved pathogens were likely insufficient.
The clinical characteristics and laboratory findings of HIV-infected patients with LA are nonspecific, suggesting that the possibility of LA be considered in HIV-infected patients with fever, abdominal pain, and other non-specific manifestations. LA specimens should be tested for pathogens, including fungi and amoebae in addition to bacteria. Recommended treatment methods for these patients include antibiotic treatment combined with image-guided percutaneous suction and drainage, which may be more effective than simple antibiotic treatment, thereby improving prognosis.
TablesTable 1. Demographic characteristics of 53 HIV-infected patients with liver abscess. Table 2. Clinical manifestations in 53 HIV-infected patients with LA. Table 3. Laboratory results of 53 HIV-infected patients with liver abscess. Table 4. Treatments and complications in 53 HIV-infected patients with LA.
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9. Ehrahim RA, Farid EMA, Yousif A, Jamsheer AE, Microbiological infections in HIV positive Bahraini patients with low CD4+ T-lymphocyte count: J Commun Dis, 2002; 34; 160-70
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In the wild world of Russian oligarchs, Boris Berezovsky was among the wildest, gloating over the semi-legal schemes that made him a billionaire in the 1990s and vowing to overthrow the Kremlin from exile in London.
Berezovsky's career traced the arc of Russian society from the dawn of free enterprise in the Soviet Union's dying days to the oligarch-dominated 1990s, followed by the return of state control in the first decade of the new millenium.
It was then that the man who rose to become the Kremlin's "grey cardinal" under Boris Yeltsin had a change of fortune.
Vladimir Putin began his presidency in 2000 by warning that the heyday of super-rich powerbrokers was over. Berezovsky, who had backed Putin's candidacy before realising his mistake, quickly saw the writing on the wall and fled into exile in November 2000, just in time to escape arrest on fraud charges.
In London, he became the Kremlin's greatest nemesis, mockingly defying years of attempts to extradite him. He emerged from an extradition hearing in 2003 wearing a Putin mask, and told journalists: "Call me Vladimir Vladimirovich."
He then spent years supporting the Moscow opposition against Putin, although his name had been discredited among many Russians, and those who received his funding attempted to hide any links to his name.
As his fortunes dried up on a lavish lifestyle and a posse of bodyguards, one of Berezovsky's final acts was to wage an extraordinary legal battle in London in 2012 against fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich which exposed the dirty secrets of Russia's big business in the first post-Soviet years.
Berezovsky lost the suit and with it the reported hundreds of millions of dollars he spent on his legal team. He spent the final months of his life selling his old houses and even paintings, including a famous Andy Warhol print called Red Lenin.
Born January 23, 1946, in Moscow, Berezovsky graduated from a Moscow forestry institute in 1968. For nearly two decades he led a quiet academic career that gave little sign of the meteoric rise that would follow.
When perestroika reforms in the late 1980s brought a modest tolerance for free enterprise, Berezovsky leapt at the opportunity, becoming a car dealer for state auto giant AvtoVAZ.
Within a matter of years, he was a multi-millionaire through what the government later alleged was a dirty scheme -- and, in the era of "wild capitalism," also a target. In 1995 he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt that decapitated his driver.
He seized on the Western-style media obsession that flooded into the new Russia, building a news empire that included shares in two national television networks and several respected newspapers.
His media might was key in 1996, when he banded a group of oligarchs together to lift Boris Yeltsin from single-digit approval ratings to victory in his re-election campaign against Communist Gennady Zyuganov in a matter of a few weeks.
"It is no secret that Russian businessmen played the decisive role in President Yeltsin's victory," Berezovsky later told Forbes magazine. "It was a battle for our blood interests."
In return, Yeltsin granted them huge swathes of national industries at a fraction of their value, ballooning their wealth and spawning a popular hatred among many Russians that endures to this day.
Berezovsky reaped political rewards as well. Yeltsin named him deputy head of the powerful Security Council and chief negotiator with Chechnya shortly after it had won independence from Moscow in a brutal war.
He used his new political connections to expand into the lucrative energy business, and owned 80 percent of oil company Sibneft by the late 1990s.
But his most significant political move was the one that inadvertently sealed his fate: helping Yeltsin choose then-secret services chief Putin as Russia's second president.
Berezovsky quickly became a key target of Putin's crackdown on the oligarchs' political independence. He fled the country and fired back with his entire media arsenal, painting the new president as a budding dictator.
In return, the state stripped him of his television holdings and tried for years to win his extradition from Britain -- even after he won political asylum in 2003.
Prosecutors first charged he had defrauded the state of billions of dollars via his car dealing business.
Graver accusations followed after he told AFP in a January 2006 interview that he was spending his billions on "preparing to take power by force in Russia," a shadowy threat he repeated in later years.
He also became the centre of a circle of anti-Putin exiles in London, including Chechen rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev and former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, whose poisoning death Berezovsky blamed on Putin.
But whatever coup plans he may have set in motion, his dream of returning to the halls of Kremlin power was no more successful than the Kremlin's hope to see him in a jail cell.
Post-Soviet Russia's ultimate insider ended his days on the outside. | <urn:uuid:1242cf11-5213-4e18-abcf-4a1e95dc2611> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/67562/World/International/Berezovsky-Former-Kremlin-kingmaker-turned-exile.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00344-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981984 | 1,057 | 1.84375 | 2 |
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Tic disorders, which are characterized by involuntary movements, vocalizations, or gestures, usually appear in early childhood. For the most part, these tics typically disappear with maturity. However, this isn’t always the case. In fact, those enduring for 12 months or more are defined as chronic as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
The DSM further defines the different types of tic disorders according to their frequency and length of expression. Other criteria used to classify tic disorders include the age of onset, as well as the route to manifestation (i.e., vocal or motor). Other criteria help to isolate outside factors that may contribute to tic disorders, such as emotional stress, physical trauma, or medications.
Transient tic disorders are by far the most common type and can affect up to 20 percent of children under the age of 18 years. As the name implies, these types of tics are usually of short duration and diminish over time without medical intervention. Transient tics can also appear in a great variety of ways. For instance, transient phonic tic disorders may involve repetitive throat clearing or grunting, while transient motor tics may appear as constant blinking of the eyes or coordinated finger movements. Transient tic disorders also commonly involve changing behaviors, often causing them to be dismissed as nervous habits.
A chronic tic disorder is defined as being either vocal or motor and lasting for more than a year, sometimes for several years. Unlike transient tics, the repetitive or involuntary behavior remains consistent throughout the duration of the disorder. In addition, chronic tic disorders commonly involve multiple behaviors of the same origin, but are never both motor and vocal.
There is also a distinction made between simple tics and complex tics. For example, with simple motor tics, the involuntary movement is sudden and fleeting. In contrast, the movement made in complex motor tics seems more deliberate, even appearing to be made consciously. Likewise, simple vocal tics involve making sounds or utterances at random, while complex vocal tics are characterized by real words or phrases.
There are additional classifications of simple and complex tic disorders. A vocal tic that includes suddenly blurting out obscenities is known as coprolalia, while the compulsion to repeat the same words over and over is called palilalia. In addition, “parroting” the words spoken by others is known as echolalia. Similarly, copropraxia is the term for making involuntary obscene gestures, and echopraxia means to mimic the gestures of others.
Tourette’s syndrome, also known as Tourette’s disorder, is the most severe form of tic disorder and is marked by both vocal and motor tics. The frequency and degree to which these tics take form varies with each individual. There is some evidence to suggest that Tourette’s may be genetically inherited via bilineal transmission, meaning derived from both parents. Specifically, researchers have found a strong association between Tourette’s in children who also have fathers that exhibited tics in childhood and mothers with a history of obsessive-compulsive behaviors.
I have a tic pain. It started when I was a kid. I blink a lot. I move my right hand up and down. I move my head and my right legs, and also my finger.
All of it will stop for a week or months. I don't know how, but when it started, I couldn't control it. Everybody told me to stop it but I don't know how.
I think my husband has a transient tic.
First of all, as a child he stuttered his speech. He wouldn't be still and got in trouble with his father and would be tied to be still.
Since I have known him, he blinks a lot. He fidgets with his fingers. He peels his skin on his thumb with his pointer finger. I'm constantly telling him to stop it. His hands are so awful because he is constantly scraping his finger skin. He does it while he is driving all the time. He is so impulsive.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | <urn:uuid:cacfa698-32ec-4ee6-b907-9c843c16eb95> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-tic-disorders.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00557-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974288 | 919 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Revolts broke out and Passerini showed himself quite unequal to coping with the situation.
The varying texture of this rock, its irregular foliation and jointing, and its ramifying veins of pegmatite give it very unequal powers of resistance.
When the segmentation is unequal one of the megameres gives rise by successive divisions to two primary mesoderm cells called mesomeres; these divide to form two masses of cells called mesoblastic bands.
Eternity in such an unequal partnership wasn't even worth considering.
The unequal intensities observed indicate a difference in the effectiveness of the channels through which energy is lost, and this need not be connected with the ultimate state of equilibrium when the body is kept at a uniform temperature.
The last years of his life were spent in comparative poverty and isolation, as even the Esterhazy-Forchtenstein estates were unequal to the burden of supporting his fabulous extravagance and had to be placed in the hands of curators.
The whole world was divided into two unequal parts: one, our Pavlograd regiment; the other, all the rest.
By the unequal development of the secondary cortex the stem becomes twoor three-lobed; the roots, which branch dichotomously, spring from the furrows between the lobes.
It differs from the Algol type in having two unequal minima separated by two equal maxima.
Though he distrusted his powers and declined the responsibility of supreme command, there is nothing in his career to show that he would have been unequal to it. | <urn:uuid:b6a94a58-44df-4913-96fa-fc1fa8e10761> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.all-dictionary.com/sentences-with-the-word-unequal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00291-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973117 | 324 | 2.625 | 3 |
Since the most anticipated and auspicious 15 days long festival ‘Bada Dashain’ has begun before now, Nepalese people around the globe has already started to regale with much revelries. So much of shopping, vacations, get together, partying and renewal of community ties are common agendas in their planning lists. Whilst these are just prime plans, eating and drinking are must have to make these plans more delightful. Balancing the intake of food and drinks is the only wisest idea to save oneself from health hazards that might occur after celebrating such festivities.
Celebrated for the victories of the god and goddesses over the demons, Mahisashura and his army, Dashain revelers pay homage to different avatars of Supreme Goddess Durga on each and every day of the longest festival. People believe that they will be showered by good luck if they worship the Goddess Durga properly but if not, misfortune is sure to follow.
With this belief, thousands of animals and birds including buffaloes, ducks, goats, billygoats etc are sacrificed in tune to appease the goddess, especially on Asthami and Navami. Such sacrifices are done in the name of feasts as well. Since there are so much to eat in this festive season, a responsible drinking and balanced eating is mandatory for health reveling.
Meat cooked in varieties- roasted, dried, stewed, barbequed definitely looks tasty and tastes delicious as they are prepared with lots of oil and spices but reveling under different functions, you might not know the amount of meat being eaten. It is wise to remember that such spicy food cannot be digested all of a sudden and causes abdomen swelling, belching, indigestion, vomiting and gastritis.
Moreover, overeating produces psychological, emotional and physiological side effects forcing an individual to compromise in his/her quality of life and living. Overeating also causes stroke, kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, major depression, arthritis, bone deterioration, sleep apnea (breathing while sleeping) and others.
Dashain is the time where there is a high time while shopping. Adulteration in food items can be found in abundance during such season. We should not ignore that different sweet and confectionaries found in the open market can be adulterated with colors and harmful sugars. Such addition of non-permitted colors can cause liver damage, hyperactivity, cancer, allergies and birth defects.
Adulteration might be done with mixing mineral oil with edible oil and are highly responsible to cause cancers. Anaemia can be caused by the consumption of turmeric power if some amount of lead chromate is added to it. Drinks or food (both natural and processed) can be adulterated with lead responsible for lead poisoning that can causes insomnia, anaemia, mental retardation, foot drop and constipation. If we consume mercury added with fish then it can cause paralysis, brain damage or death.
Drinking alcohol has become a prerequisite during the festive season but responsible drinking is advisable. Too much of alcohol drinking affects the brain communication pathways, functions of heath that can cause stroke, high blood pressure, liver inflammation, cirrhosis, cancers (esophagus, throat, liver, breast etc), pancreatitis (swelling of the blood vessels) and others. Too much drinking weakens the immune system and heavy drinkers are liable to contract diseases like tuberculosis and pneumonia. | <urn:uuid:31f094e5-da46-4fd5-8965-591a149e2ea0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.texasnepal.com/eat-and-drink-responsibly-this-dashain/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.953562 | 707 | 2.203125 | 2 |
BC Cancer Pharmacy – Gastrointestinal Adverse Effects
Describe the following chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal (GI) complications:
- nausea and vomiting
- oral complications: mucositis, neurotoxicity, taste changes, dry mouth, bleeding, osteonecrosis of the jaw
Discuss the etiology, pathophysiology, and grading for chemotherapy-induced GI complications.
Review the assessment of patients for risk factors and symptoms of GI complications.
Summarize the risk of GI complications for individual and combination chemotherapy regimens.
Summarize management strategies for chemotherapy-induced GI complications. | <urn:uuid:41d2e54b-d5ad-4209-93f9-57820ad7b284> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://learninghub.phsa.ca/Courses/6637/gastrointestinal-adverse-effects-of-chemotherapy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573667.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819100644-20220819130644-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.798555 | 138 | 1.648438 | 2 |
- Lack of Proper Formalities. Proper execution of a will requires that the will be signed by the testator and witnessed by two witnesses, who also sign the will. A will can be contested on the grounds that it was not properly drafted, signed, or witnessed in accordance with the applicable requirements.
- Lack of Capacity. Under Florida law, a testator is required to have mental competency to make a will and to understand the nature of his or her assets and the people to whom the assets are going to be distributed. A will can be declared void if lack of capacity can be proven. Typically, incompetence is established through a prior medical diagnosis of dementia, Alzheimer’s, or psychosis, or through the testimony of witnesses as to the irrational conduct of the deceased around the time the will was executed.
- Undue Influence. Undue influence occurs when the testator is compelled or coerced to execute a will as a result of improper pressure exerted on him or her, typically by a relative, friend, trusted advisor, or health care worker. In many cases, the undue influencer will upset a long established estate plan where the bulk of the estate was to pass to the direct descendants or other close relatives of the decedent. Some undue influencers are new friends or acquaintances of the decedent who “befriend” the decedent in the last months or years of life, typically after the decedent has suffered some decline in mental ability. In other situations, one child of the decedent, often a caregiver will coerce the decedent to write the other children out of the will. Undue influencers can also be health care workers or live in aides who implicitly or explicitly threaten to withhold care unless the estate plan is changed in favor of the health care worker. The Estate of Carpenter is the seminal undue influence case for Florida will contest litigation.
- Insane Delusion. Insane delusion occurs when the testator, against all evidence to the contrary, believes something that is not true, and creates or changes an estate planning document (will or trust) based on the insane delusion. For example, the testator could believe that she has been abandoned by a child and disinherits the child. In reality, the child visits his mother every day. The will could be set aside as an insane delusion.
- Fraud. Estate fraud occurs when a beneficiary of a will causes the testator to make or change a will based on misrepresentations. For example, an unscrupulous child could tell a parent lies about a sibling to cause that sibling to be disinherited. Examples of such fraud could be that the sibling has been convicted of a crime, has engaged in illegal or immoral acts, or has said derogatory things about the testator. If the will has been prepared based on the fraud, the will can be set aside in a successful will contest.
The time for contesting a will in Florida is short, typically 90 days after the Notice of Administration has been provided by the Personal Representative, or 20 days in the event that Formal Notice of the probate proceeding is received before the will has been admitted to probate. Therefore, prompt action is required to bring your lost inheritance back to life. Not just a will can be challenged under these grounds. A trust can be challenged under the same grounds, as well as a real estate deed or a beneficiary designation on a financial account. There are many situations where the undue influencer will trick or persuade a weakened person to sign over valuable real estate, a bank account, or other property directly to the influencer, in the hope that they will have left the scene before the wrongdoing can be discovered. Sometimes, the undue influencer will be added as a beneficiary on bank accounts in place of the heirs to whom the decedent intended the account to pass.
If the wrongdoing is discovered prior to the victim’s passing, a common way for a loved one to start to clean up the situation will be to create a guardianship, which will allow the guardian to use the court’s jurisdiction to reclaim assets that were fraudulently removed. If an estate plan was also changed because of undue influence, the guardianship will also allow evidence to be collected for use at a subsequent will contest proceeding. Mr. Skatoff handles Florida will contest cases on an hourly basis, and in some situations will take a will contest case on a contingency fee basis or other alternative billing arrangement.
If you believe that you or a loved one may have been improperly cut out of a will or otherwise deprived of a rightful inheritance, or you have questions about a will contest, trust or estate, please call the probate law firm at (561) 842-4868. The initial call is free. | <urn:uuid:77d5eb7b-ce58-47bc-94d8-343bb153cd4f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://skatoff.com/will-contests/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.955598 | 974 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Evaluation of slug tests in a bounded, phreatic, sand and gravel aquifer
Bastasch, Mark Joseph
Bedient, Philip B.
Master of Science
The purpose of this research was to compare hydraulic conductivity estimates in a bounded phreatic aquifer derived from slug tests to those calculated from more accurate and costly tracer tests. A slug test is a simple method to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of near well material by recording the water level in the well after the instantaneous removal of a known volume of water. The pneumatic method was modified so that it could be used to initiate the slug tests in water table wells. The slug tests were conducted according to new guidelines proposed by the Kansas Geologic Survey (KGS) and analyzed with a new semi-analytical solution (the KGS model) which eliminates many of the simplifying assumptions in the widely accepted models. The slug test estimates were found to underestimate the tracer results by up to a factor of 5.
Hydrology; Civil engineering; Environmental science | <urn:uuid:3bc01652-7e4e-44ab-9b4e-0057c27890ae> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/17062 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00432-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958281 | 213 | 2.25 | 2 |
Q. I'm 73 and in great health. Is it okay to skip my annual physical?
A. It all depends on what you mean by "great health" and "annual physical." I would define "great health" as having no known chronic illnesses. However, most people your age have at least one chronic illnessâsuch as high blood pressure. People with chronic illnesses need to be checked out at least once a year, and usually more often.
I ask all of my patients with no chronic illnesses to come for a check-up every year. A check-up includes some questions, some parts of a physical examination, and some tests. Even though many doctors perform a thorough physical examination of all parts of the bodyâa "complete physical"âthere is not a lot of evidence that this is valuable. I always examine the heart, lungs, abdomen, and skin. Even this limited examination is of unproven value, but I've discovered irregular heart rhythms, mild asthma, and the occasional skin cancer. I'm not sure I've ever turned up anything important on examining the nose, throat, hands, or feet, however.
What is important to do at least once a year? Asking about any new and bothersome symptoms can occasionally reveal the first evidence of a previously undiagnosed chronic disease. The most important parts of an annual check-up are screening for diseases (using various types of tests) and performing immunizations. As we often discuss in these pages, there are many tests that are effective in catching (and sometimes curing) early diseasesâsuch as various types of cancer and heart disease. And beyond annual flu shots, it is important for adults (not just kids) to get several types of immunizations every so often (see page 3 of this issue).
So, I'd advise you not to skip an annual visit to your doctor. You don't need to have every nook and cranny of your person probed every year, but you do need certain questions asked, screening tests performed, and immunizations checked.
âAnthony L. Komaroff, M.D.
Editor in Chief
Harvard Health Letter | <urn:uuid:6831a731-bce8-4b20-b0f5-85c45c79e502> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-29/lifestyle/sns-201308191950--tms--harvhltl69l0913b-20130819_1_check-up-immunizations-tests | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719843.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00292-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969838 | 440 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The water and sewerage industry has set out targets to combat climate change and improve customer experience
Trade body Water UK has announced the appointment of Christine McGourty as its new chief executive.
McGourty will join next month and replaces Michael Roberts, who is stepping down after four years as boss of the UK’s water and sewerage trade association.
She has extensive experience in regulated industries and trade bodies, having led the corporate affairs functions at Centrica, British Gas and Energy UK, as well as serving as a non-executive board member at Smart Energy GB.
She said: “This is a fascinating time to be joining the water industry, with the sector playing an increasingly important role in combatting climate change, stepping up the fight on plastic waste, and making sure customers continue to get the world-class quality water they deserve at a price they can afford.”
Her most recent role was as chief corporate affairs officer at FTSE-listed engineering and technology company Laird.
Prior to entering the corporate world, McGourty was a journalist with more than 20 years’ experience covering science, technology and environmental issues for the BBC and Daily Telegraph.
Water and sewerage industry’s Public Interest Commitment
The water and sewerage industry in England agreed a Public Interest Commitment in April 2019, strengthening their ongoing commitment to work in the public interest and place wider good at the heart of everything it does.
The companies agreed on a series of pledges which complement their individual business plans by showing leadership at a national level.
McGourty said: “The industry has set out an ambitious programme to increase investment, cut leakage and improve the environment, and I look forward to working with all of the water and wastewater companies to address the challenges ahead.”
As part of the commitment, the sector aims to champion measures through which water companies can embody what it means to operate in the public interest.
This could include steps such as amending licences or articles of association, which is a document that outlines regulations for a company’s operations.
Five targets to combat climate change and improve customer experience
As part of the Public Interest Commitment, water companies have also agreed to work together towards five challenging goals that will help the environment and improve customer experience.
- Triple the rate of leakage reduction across the sector by 2030,
- Make bills affordable for all households, with water and sewerage bills no more than 5% of their disposable income by 2030, and develop a strategy to end water poverty,
- Achieve net-zero carbon emissions for the sector by 2030,
- Prevent the equivalent of four billion plastic bottles ending up as waste by 2030,
- Become the first sector to achieve a 100% commitment to the Social Mobility Pledge, which is a cross-party campaign to improve social mobility in the UK.
A programme of work to help achieve these goals is being led by Water UK, with an independent panel being established to report annually on how well the sector is performing collectively. | <urn:uuid:70bd221d-7e53-4db6-b81f-4258380b26e2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/news/christine-mcgourty-water-uk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571538.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812014923-20220812044923-00468.warc.gz | en | 0.962631 | 621 | 1.578125 | 2 |
(Dallas)– In an unprecedented rebuke to the Environmental Protection Agency, Texas has refused to provide critical data EPA says it needs to approve the state’s controversial anti-smog plan for DFW, which requires no new pollution controls despite more than two decades of chronic bad air.
Texas' refusal to cooperate with EPA puts its plan, scheduled to be approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality December 9th, on a collision course with the federal agency.
Although EPA gives state governments authorization to write smog plans for their own metropolitan areas, it still has final approval based on criteria listed in the Clean Air Act. EPA disapproval of the State's DFW plan would trigger the possibility of a federal takeover of the air planning process.
That would be fine with local air quality activists, who've been pushing for the EPA to take over the job of writing a new clean air plan for North Texas since the State unveiled its first draft last year. They say TCEQ's official position that smog isn't harming public health means the Commission can't be trusted to write an effective anti-smog plan. When the state announced a plan imposing no new controls on any sources of air pollution despite DFW being in continual violation of the Clean Air Act for the last quarter century, they feel they were proven right.
"It's as if the state is too embarrassed to do what EPA is asking for fear of finding facts that don't match its ideology," said Jim Schermbeck, Director of the local clean air group, Downwinders at Risk.
He noted among the most important missing items in the State’s final plan published November 20th was a "Reasonably Available Control Technology"(RACT) study for the Midlothian cement plants, as well as answers to the impact of controls on other sources like the East Texas coal plants and oil and gas facilities that EPA posed in its eleven pages of official comments on the first draft last February. Application of modern pollution controls to all major sources of air pollution in a smog-plagued region is a key component of the Clean Air Act.
In official comments last February, EPA specifically requested the state perform a new study of what kind of smog controls should be required of the three Midlothian cement plants immediately south of DFW. EPA warned lack of such a study would mean the plan would be disapproved:
"Failure to conduct a thorough RACT analysis for cement kilns which would include appropriate emission limits would prevent us from approving the RACT portion of the attainment plan submittal.”
By turning-in the same version of the technology review originally criticized by EPA, without any new additional analysis, the TCEQ began a bureaucratic game of "Chicken," daring the EPA to deny approval.
"If you're EPA, I don't see how you take this any other way than a big raised middle finger from Austin," said Schermbeck. "The question is: What's EPA gonna do about it now?"
Also missing in the final state version are any responses to other EPA's concerns and questions about the plan's chances of actually lowering smog levels and the possibilities of reducing smog with new controls on other sources, such as,
“How would a reduction in NOx emissions from utility electric generators in the counties closest to the eastern and southern boundaries of the DFW area impact the DFW area?”
EPA was already openly skeptical about the chances of the state’s plan succeeding without requiring any additional cuts in pollution. Stating “it would be difficult to see” how the plan meets its required 2017 deadline, the Agency concluded “we believe it is likely that additional reductions will need to be included to demonstrate attainment.”
TCEQ’s resubmitted plan doesn’t have any additional reductions. Failure of a state plan to show how it can reach the smog standard by 2017 would be cause for EPA to assume the job itself.
Evidence suggests the state is purposely overlooking the air quality benefits of controls on large industrial sources of air pollution affecting DFW.
In late October, Downwinders at Risk released a new study of its own. It paid for University of North Texas engineers to build a clone of the State’s DFW air computer model and run a series of control scenarios the state hasn’t performed in almost a decade. Using the TCEQ’s own numbers it showed new controls on the cement kilns, coal plants, and gas compressors in the Barnett Shale would lower smog levels enough to meet the current federal smog standard. DFW hasn’t met a federal standard for smog since once was created in 1991.
Dismissing the results as “limited,” TCEQ officials nevertheless agreed with them – since they were based on their own model. The State argues those new controls are not yet technically or economically feasible – despite their being commonplace around the world, in the US, and even in Texas.
This question is one of the keys to the standoff with EPA: are the proposed new controls for industry “Reasonably Available” or not? If they are, they must be included in the air plan. If not, they remain off the table. EPA makes the first call on a definition, and any aggrieved party can sue to expand or contract it.
Because it’s a national hot spot for smog, DFW is only one of a handful of US metro areas that even had to submit a clean air plan this last cycle. EPA computer modeling predicts the area will still be in violation of the Clean Air Act in 2015 unless significant reductions in pollution are made.
This summer saw the North Texas regional smog average rise twice in one hot August week, retreating from gains made during last year’s cooler, wetter summer. DFW once again has higher annual smog levels than Houston. Both cities remain well above the current standard.
According to the American Lung Association, the 10 county DFW “non-attainment” area for smog includes approximately 150,000 asthmatic children, 350,000 adults with asthma, and over 600,000 adults with cardiovascular disease or COPD – all of whom are at risk from the region’s bad air.
“The lungs and lives of seven million residents are being held hostage by a state government that doesn’t think smog is a problem and isn’t willing to require new pollution controls to reduce it, “ Schermbeck pleaded
“Expecting the State of Texas to enforce Environmental laws in 2015 is like expecting the State of Mississippi to enforce Civil Rights laws in 1965. Our only hope is federal intervention.”
In the month that just ended, we only had four monitors on four days that violated the new 75 parts per billion smog standard that takes effect in 2018, and zero violations of the obsolete 1997 85 ppb standard. The maximum 8-hour reading was an 83 at the Denton Airport on June 3rd. Contrast that with last June: 54 violations of the 75 ppb standard and 27 violations of the 85 ppb standard over 9 days. Or 2011 – 24 violations of the 75 ppb standard, 7 violations of the 85 standard.
In fact, you have to go back all the way to 2007 when we had five violations of the 75 ppb standard but no "exceedences" of the 85 ppb, to find as good a June for air quality as we just had. And there are only a couple of other Junes – in 2010 and 2000 that even come close to being as full of safe and legal air. That's the good news.
The bad news is that these years were all followed by worsening air quality trends, that is, they turned out to be aberrations. So if this pattern holds, we'll have to wait until next summer to put it in context. As always, weather has a lot to do with how bad or good our ozone season is. The cooler and wetter, the better. The dryer and hotter, the worse. Just as this summer's cooler temps seem like they're out of place, by next June we could be thinking the same thing about our reprieve from smog.
The good news is that there's no questions that declining emissions in almost every category (we're looking at you oil and gas) have had a positive impact on the numbers. That's your doing. After 20 years of citizen effort, there's a lot less pollution from the cement plant complex in Midlothian, the coal plant belt in East Texas, and the millions of vehicles on and off the road.
For the EPA and the state, 2013 comes a year too late to help them recover from a terrible 2011 "clean air plan" that was supposed to get us down below 85 ppb by watching people purchase new cars. The clock officially ran out on that plan June 15th. Sales of new vehicles are dramatically up, so there's real displacement as old gas guzzlers get traded in for more efficient models. Whether those trade-ins are enough to cancel out the still-exploding growth rate of the area and rising gas and oil activity remains to be seen. That's why the EPA uses a three-year rolling average to determine transgressions against the Clean Air Act, to minimize the impact of anomalies.
You're just going to have to stay tuned to find out whether the summer of 2013 is the exception to the rule, or the re-writing of the rules.
So what's the explanation this year?
With yesterday's high ozone levels sending a 6th monitor into an exceedance of the old 1997 85 parts per billion smog standard, DFW is just one more bad air day away from matching last year's dreadful results. Today's ozone forecast says there should be no high levels of smog in DFW today, even as the temperature reaches for a record high. But then again, they weren't predicted Thursday either.
To give you some idea how rapidly things have gone downhill for air quality in DFW the past two years, just look at the annual numbers. From 2007 to 2010, we had a total of nine monitors register official exceedances of the 85 ppb standard. That's about two monitors a year average. This turns out to be the closest we've ever come to actually meeting the standard. Officials could argue with some justification that air quality was slowly getting better.
On the other hand, during the last two years, we've had 13 monitors record exceedances of the 85 ppb standard, an average of 6.5 a year, and 2012's ozone season is not yet over. You could add up all the exceedances from the four years between 2007 and 2010 and still not equal the number we've experienced in just the last 24 months.
This is not progress.
TCEQ and the gas industry have argued for some time that gas mining couldn't possibly be contributing to smog problems since smog levels were going down as drilling was increasing in DFW. But that's not true anymore. As gas drilling has moved further and further east – into the heart of the non-attainment area, we've seen in increase in ozone concentrations, in exceedances in monitors, and monitors in the eastern part of the Metromess exceeding the standard that hadn't done so in five to seven years.
Meanwhile all other major source categories for air pollution have been decreasing their emissions. Cars, power plants and cement kilns are actually releasing less air pollution now than they were ten or 20 years ago. Only one large specific source category has increased its annual tonnage significantly over that same time – oil and gas.
Is it just a coincidence that smog is getting worse as oil and gas pollution skyrocket – not only in the Barnett Shale that surrounds DFW on three sides, but by all the new oil and gas sources now southeast of Dallas as part of the Haynesville Shale play that are blowing their pollution toward us most of the ozone season? There are now so many gas compressors in Freestone County, less than 75 miles away from the Dallas County line, that their emissions represent the equivalent of over 4 new Big Brown coal plants. What do you think the impact on air quality would be of four large new coal plants located immediately upwind of DFW? Might it look a lot like it does in 2012?
Could it be that the dirty mining of "clean" natural gas is making it impossible for DFW to meet the old 85 ozone standard, much less the new 75 ppb one? That the Devil's Bargain so many former and current elected officials made with the gas operators to grab the cash and run is now coming back to bite them and us in the air quality butt? That was certainly the conclusion of the study we publicized this last Tuesday from the Houston Advanced Research Center:
"Major metropolitan areas in or near shale formations will be hard pressed to demonstrate future attainment of the federal ozone standard, unless significant controls are placed on emissions from increased oil and gas exploration and production….urban drilling and the associated growth in industry emissions may be sufficient to keep the area (DFW) in nonattainment."
It's time for local officials to replace those cash registers in their eyes with gas masks. Because of their rush to make money, they didn't pause to understand how so much new industrial activity could produce smog just like the bad ol' days. They were being paid not to understand. And now 5 to 6 million people who still can't yet breathe safe and legal air are paying the price. | <urn:uuid:56a20adc-3aef-4926-92aa-ce23be5c238c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.downwindersatrisk.org/tag/ozone-pollution/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.963346 | 2,798 | 1.585938 | 2 |
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg16138] Graphic Sizing
- From: "Ed Runco" <maddog at psu.edu>
- Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 03:23:07 -0500
- Organization: Penn State University, Center for Academic Computing
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
Well I figure out how to designate coords for sphere, now I want to show all
of my spheres as a full screen graphic.
I have spheres plotted in a range of about -20 -> 120 in the x,y,and z
Now I would like to show them as a full screen.
I use the plotrange function to designate to -20->120 for the picture, but
when I use the plotregion function and
specify (0,1),(0,1) or any other values, it just plots in a 3" by 3" section
of my screen.
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Help!! - Problems printing to Adobe Acrobat | <urn:uuid:df10fbe6-7806-4191-851a-69c07aa3af2b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://forums.wolfram.com/mathgroup/archive/1999/Feb/msg00457.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280410.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00449-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.854649 | 254 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A Dinosaur Beginning with “Z” – Zhejiangosaurus
At Everything Dinosaur, we tend to get emails sent in by teachers, teaching assistants and pupils from all over the world. Take for example, a request received in the early hours of yesterday morning from a teacher based in Australia. The children in the teacher’s class had been learning all about dinosaurs and their focus had been on dinosaurs that lived in Australia and Asia. The email requested that we provide some information on Asian and Australian members of the Dinosauria and our helpful team members were happy to oblige. Specifically, we were asked to help furnish the classroom “Wow Wall” with a dinosaur beginning with the letter “Z”, as the teacher could not think of one.
We were able to send out some information and drawings on a number of dinosaurs that begin with the last letter of the alphabet – there are more than you might think!
An Asian Armoured Dinosaur Beginning with the Letter “Z”
Picture Credit: Everything Dinosaur
Zhejiangosaurus (pronounced Zay-gee-an-go-sore-us), is an armoured dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of China. It is known from only fragmentary remains and scientists are not sure just how big this “walking tank” was. It was named and described back in 2007 and it is one of a number of members of the Dinosauria that begin with the letter “Z”.
Our team members were happy to help out the antipodean teaching team. After all, dinosaurs existed all over the world during the Mesozoic, their living relatives, the birds are very widespread today. It looks like children learning about dinosaurs is a global phenomenon too. | <urn:uuid:3ff7f96d-6df8-4386-83c3-fd242714f6c9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://blog.everythingdinosaur.com/blog/_archives/2018/10/24/a-dinosaur-beginning-with-z.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.975314 | 362 | 2.515625 | 3 |
This week witnessed some controversial political developments regarding Iran. Most notably, in a rare incident British Foreign Minister William Hague outbid his American and Israeli counterparts in leveling serious accusations against Iran before the British House of Commons. Hague claimed that “Iran has been carrying out covert ballistic missile tests and rocket launches, including testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload in contravention of UN resolution 1929,” . According to the British foreign minister at least three secret tests of medium-range ballistic missiles have been conducted by Iran since October, including some in the ongoing missile drill by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Regardless of the fact that the British foreign minister has presented no evidence to substantiate his allegation, two words in his statement deserve closer scrutiny. First comes the word “covert”, which begs the question of how to determine which missile tests are what it signifies. Put differently, what is the criteria of covertness of missile tests? Advance public announcement of missile tests or any other type of military drills is what is conventionally understood to distinguish a public act from a covert one. Yet this was exactly what was done in the latest missile drill by Iran. How could some of the missile tests in the ongoing drill be labeled covert while others normal? Hague has not elaborated on this.
It appears from Hague’s statement that other claimed instances of what he has referred to as “covert missile tests” have been conducted as isolated cases and not as part of a major military drill. Common sense has it that military organizations typically conduct isolated tests of their newly-purchased or newly-developed missiles in prelude to major military drills. It simply does not sound reasonable for military organizations to publicly announce every single case of their weapons tests. After all, how often do we hear other countries publicly announce their missile tests? Why should then a different standard be applied to Iran?
Second, the term ‘nuclear-capable’ missiles is pretty nebulous and the British foreign minister has not explained how he has verified this. Many kinds of ballistic missiles are capable of carrying both conventional and non-conventional warheads. Even in the unlikely event that Iran had tested such missiles, it is pretty obvious that testing nuclear-capable missiles is not equivalent to working on the design of nuclear warheads. According to Western media reports, several other regional countries are already in possession of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. For example, Saudi Arabia is reported to have purchased nuclear-capable ballistic missiles from China in recent years. Secretary-General of the Saudi National Security Council Prince Bandar bin Sultan reportedly negotiated a deal with Chinese officials that paved the way for the transfer of two types of Chinese missiles to Saudi Arabia, including “the DF-21 (NATO-designated CSS-5), which is a two-stage, solid-propellant, single-warhead medium-range ballistic (MRBM) system developed by China Changfeng Mechanics and Electronis Technology Academy. The DF-21 is capable of delivering a 500kT nuclear warhead over a distance of 1,800 km”.
The recent statement by former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to Washington Prince Turki al-Faisal at a NATO meeting in the U.K. that “ if Iran were to build a nuclear weapon, that "would compel Saudi Arabia ... to pursue policies which could lead to untold and possibly dramatic consequences.", indicates that the Saudi Regime has already been planning for worst case scenarios and the purchase of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles from China can be understood as an integral part of that plan. Despite clear evidence of the possession of nuclear-capable missiles by Saudi Arabia and several other countries in the region, not to mention Israel’s formidable nuclear weapons arsenal, Iran has been target of the latest round of accusations by the British foreign minister. It has been long that double standards have been the spice of the foreign policy of Western powers towards the region but the British foreign minister has turned out to have added a different flavor to that spice. | <urn:uuid:33117ba2-ad3d-4a98-a867-df7e9e5ee248> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.irandiplomacywatch.com/2011_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00468-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96774 | 821 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Burson-Marsteller and the National Smokers Alliance
This article was first published as "Smokers' Hacks: the Tobacco Lobby's PR Front Groups", PR Watch, volume 1, number 1, Third Quarter 1994. The original article was authored by John C. Stauber and is used here with permission. As with all SourceWatch articles, feel free to edit and revise.
Recent news coverage might lead you to believe that tobacco is on its last legs, as its opponents lobby for aggressive public education and strict new regulations to prevent youthful addiction and to protect the public's right to a smoke-free environment.
If you believe this, you're dead wrong, according to the chief PR lobbyist for the tobacco industry. Although tobacco's addicts are dying by the millions each year, sales are growing world-wide, says Tom Lauria of the Tobacco Institute.
At a PR seminar in May, Lauria dismissed tobacco critics as simply the latest "political correctness craze." He ridiculed predictions of tobacco's demise, saying that the media has been preparing smoking's obituary for decades.
Despite the bad press tobacco has been receiving, industry profits are soaring, and the industry is opening new, unregulated mega-markets in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Third World. Even in the United States, most attempts at serious federal or state regulation or taxation are swatted down by tobacco's skilled army of highly paid lobbyists.
Lauria's message to the assembled PR practitioners was that while tobacco may be fighting for its life, its been fighting and winning for a long time. One way the cigarette industry intends to keep winning is by escalating to unprecedented levels its use of PR front groups, such as the National Smokers Alliance.
Snatching Victory from the Ashes
Tobacco front groups date back at least to the 1950s when Hill & Knowlton formed the Tobacco Institute Research Committee. (See article on page 10.) But the latest front group, the National Smokers Alliance, is more ambitious and better-funded than any previous grassroots campaign.
Burson-Marsteller runs the NSA with money from the Philip Morris Company. In recent months, as the FDA and some politicians have increased their efforts to regulate smoking, the NSA has responded with a nationwide mobilization that it claims is bringing thousands of smokers into its ranks each week.
Burson-Marsteller's state-of-the-art campaign utilizes full-page newspaper ads, direct telemarketing, paid canvassers, free 800 numbers, newsletters and letters to send to federal agencies. B-M is targeting the fifty million Americans who smoke. Its goal is to rile-up and mobilize a committed cadre of hundreds of thousands, better yet millions, to be foot soldiers in a grassroots army directed by Philip Morris's political operatives at Burson-Marsteller.
The "National Smoker's Alliance" (NSA) is a sophisticated, hi-tech campaign that organizes tobacco's victims to protect tobacco's profits.
In recent years California has been the front line of the tobacco wars and the state where the industry has suffered its worst setbacks. In 1988 the cigarette companies spent more than $20 million in a failed effort to defeat a major anti-smoking initiative. Since then health activists have succeeded in passing hundreds of local smoking bans. As a result, California has seen a 30% decrease in cigarette consumption, the most success of any state in reducing tobacco's deadly toll.
Philip Morris is fighting back through the NSA and a lesser-known California PR firm called the Dolphin Group. Funded with a reported half-million dollars from Philip Morris, Dolphin CEO Lee Stitzenberger set up a front group deceptively named "Californians for Statewide Smoking Restrictions." Using this name to fool petition signers, the group has gathered the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to place a pro-smoking referendum before California voters this November. If passed, the referendum will do away with the hundreds of strong local anti-smoking ordinances in California.
Philip Morris knows that to win a pro-smoking initiative it has to produce troops, people who can willingly argue on its behalf. The NSA is a sophisticated, camouflaged campaign that organizes tobacco's victims to protect tobacco's profits.
In the past, the tobacco industry attempted, not too convincingly, to distance itself from the pro-smoking forces. The Tobacco Institute's Brennan Dawson told the Congressional Quarterly in 1990, "If we were to fund smokers' rights groups and bring them to Washington, wouldn't they then be viewed as an arm of the tobacco industry?"
Apparently desperate times require more obvious measures. Writing in the National Journal (5/28/94), journalist Peter Stone observed that NSA "is increasingly looking like a subsidiary of Burson-Marsteller," and noted that the PR firm "used its grassroots lobbying unit, the Advocacy Communications Team, to start building membership in the group last year."
Thomas Humber, a B-M vice president, is president and CEO of the NSA. Burson executives Kenneth Rietz and Pierre Salinger are active, as is Peter G. Kelly, a prominent Democrat with the firm of Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly, which is owned by Burson-Marsteller.
Perhaps the tobacco industry is less concerned these days about fooling the news media, but it still appears important that the public not view the members of the NSA as pawns of Philip Morris or Burson Marsteller. Therefore, the names of the NSA's corporate funders and organizers are kept off of the group's materials.
How does the NSA recruit smoking's victims into becoming its advocates? Through a combination of high-tech direct marketing techniques and old fashioned "Feet in the Street" community organizing.
Like every good grassroots group, the National Smokers Alliance has a folksy but strident newsletter for its membership, called "The NSA Voice." According to its June 1994 issue, the NSA is paying hundreds of young activists, mostly unemployed college students, to sign up NSA members in bars and bowling alleys in Washington, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, New York Seattle and other cities.
Eric Schippers, in charge of the membership drive, reports that "during only the first two months of activity, the Chicago campaign put 180 recruiters on the street and enlisted more than 40,000 members." He claims that such one-on-one organizing has helped swell the NSA ranks to more than 300,000 smokers.
Many NSA members are first recruited via full-page ads with 800 numbers that exhort puffers to stand up for their rights. Everyone who calls receives the NSA newsletter free for three months, along with 10 membership recruitment cards and stickers to place in stores and restaurants that say, "I am a smoker and have spent $_____ in your establishment."
NSA members who sign up another ten people at $10 each can win a free NSA t-shirt. The committed and informed pro-smoking advocate can also call a free 800 number to order more sign-up cards and stickers, or get the latest marching orders regarding which bureaucrats or politicians need nudging from Marlboro's masses.
One recent NSA mailing, sent first class to hundreds of thousands of smokers, urged that letters be sent to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to defeat new regulations that would "BAN SMOKING IN ANY SITE WHERE WORK IS CONDUCTED" (capitalization in the original).
B-M's propagandists have even coined a clever play on words that questions the patriotism of anti-smokers by calling them "anti Americans." NSA's newsletter advises, "If 'Anti' America is pushing a discriminatory smoking ban in your workplace, speak up," and "check the laws in your state with regard to the protection of individual rights."
Burson-Marsteller is more than happy to take the money that Philip Morris is pouring into its pro-smoking campaign, and Philip Morris has plenty of millions to spend. But this campaign is not really about swaying public opinion, a battle which the tobacco industry has already lost. Even half of the smokers say they favor stricter government regulation of their deadly habit.
The tobacco industry's goal is not to win good PR, but to avoid losing political and legal battles. This survivalist strategy has served the cigarette industry well for forty years.
The NSA provides Philip Morris with the shock troops they need to fight back at all levels. If the NSA and other deceptive PR practices can pull off a victory in California this November, more and more PR firms will likely imitate B-M's technique of organizing front groups on behalf of their corporate clients.
Other SourceWatch resources
- Burson-Marsteller Hires a Green 'Cash Cow'
- Beauty and the Breast
- Confidence Game: Burson-Marsteller's PR Plan for Silicone Breast Implants
- Science Under Pressure
- Why Philip Morris Hates Trial Lawyers
- Burson-Marsteller and global warming
- Monsanto and Burson-Marsteller Hire a Consumer Organizer | <urn:uuid:8819ca56-3c44-4d29-8931-6038ad64a349> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Burson-Marsteller_and_the_National_Smokers_Alliance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00357-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942532 | 1,865 | 1.515625 | 2 |
What sort of cold-blooded beast is this?
Measuring ten meters long and towering overhead, a muscled, thick mass covered in iridescent black feathers swirls around itself and then dives into itself. Snaking out of the wall as if from a hell-like sewer, Gyre twists with the writhing energy of a sex-drunk lover. Seductive and nightmarish, intricately beautiful and somehow dangerous, the massive sculpture captures the sexy and eerie tone of Kate MccGwire’s exhibition at London’s All Visual Arts. More strange forms dot around the white space and carefully constructed, intimate works adorn the walls – all are as strangely feathered as they are indisputably dark. The alien-like sculptures are placed elegantly on display like taxidermied scientific specimen: under the heavy glass of antique bell jars and behind the doors of dark wooden cabinets. Due to the English winter chill, the icy hollow of the gallery feels like a sterile meat locker for a twisted collection of frozen monster parts.
Appropriately named Lure, the title of the exhibition suggests that enchanting beauty is merely a veil for mortal danger, and that death can lurk behind some of life’s most dazzling enticements. A feathered fishing lure is, after all, glamorous bait for a merciless trap. Some of the feathery forms are secured with industrial, oversized clamps, their size and heft suggesting that the sinister work could re-animate and attempt escape (or worse?) at any given moment. One wall sculpture, called Host VII, has a shape that echoes the body of a woman: two rounded, stacked budges held together like a feathered corset. Yet, these feathers stand up in rows, creating flickering harrows in place of pleats. The gray pigeon feathers have rough, broken edges, and up close look more like lethal, jagged razors – as if anyone persuaded to stroke this curvaceous form would pull away with a handful of blood. Equally as enchanting and tempting to touch, two white works made of feather quills resemble sea anemones waving luxuriously in the seawater. Surge (Corvus) and Surge (Columba) may look like harmless and velvety sea life, but I am also reminded that such creatures often deliver deadly stings to unwelcomed trespassers.
The artist’s Stigma series is also incredibly intriguing, wrought with a myriad of references and made with an unusual yet familiar combination of elements: lead and feathers. This pairing no doubt brings to mind the age-old riddle, ‘What weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of lead?’ This riddle evokes and disturbs the assumptions we hold on such self-defining elements and speaks to the artist’s ability to change the inherent nature of such materials in her work. With the Stigma series, graphite gray sheets of patinated lead are pierced with wound-like ovals. Recalling the injured and burnt canvases of Alberto Burri, the scarred works suggest past violence and, as the titles suggest, are adorned with horrifying yet divine Stigmata. The lesions are also reminiscent of Hagfish mouths, and bits of feathers circle like rows of teeth. Awaiting like Venus fly-traps, a potential for violence also lurks beneath.
For all the violence, danger and disturbing nature of the seductive works on display, there is an undeniable sense of sensuality, sex and explicit naughtiness throughout the exhibition. Chains, leather and latex may be absent, but feathers, ropes and metal clamps stand brazenly in their place. Splice, a mounted, black, feathered braid, certainly suggests an often fetish-ized hairdo as well as a phallis, and Beguile, a small sculpture under glass, seems to be furtively tickling its own flipped and exposed underside. The stigmata of the lead works also sordidly recall alluring body orifices or the infamous vagina-dentada if you equate the spiked feathers with teeth. The sometimes naughty works of Rebecca Horn instantly come to mind, an artist who often made wearable, fetishistic feathered devices. Oozing with sensual energy and made to explore human intimacy, Horn’s works also equated human sexual displays to that of exotic fowl. With MccGwire, a large form in a cabinet, Cleave, is especially aesthetically sexual. It is unique it that it is covered in bright white feathers, a hint of innocence supported by the heart-like shape. Yet, the heart becomes inextricably female in form: kneeling, bending over or arching back while the opposite side of the sculpture seems to bulge and then thrust inside itself again. The cleaved swells all exude from the figure’s axis: a clitorial center, tucked away and marked by a cluster of nerve-ending quills.
MccGwire’s exhibition presents a delightfully tabooed feast for the eyes. Linking sex with death and desire with disgust, Lure hits at the very heart of Eroticism, meaning, the blending of such seemingly disparate objects in a climatic convergence, expressing the very height of the human sexual experience. Georges Bataille would say death is hypnotising. I would agree; but I would also suggest, it is also probably covered in feathers.
Kate MccGwire: Lure
On view from November 23, 2012 – January 26, 2013
All Visual Arts, 2 Omega Place, Kings Cross, London N1 9DR | <urn:uuid:95f29892-e18f-4631-aee7-41a11976d267> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://dailyserving.com/2012/12/kate-mccgwire-glamorous-bait-for-a-merciless-trap/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00303-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943099 | 1,162 | 1.515625 | 2 |
| Rahul Gandhi campaigns in Tilhar in Uttar Pradesh. (PTI)
New Delhi/Islamabad, April 15: Rahul Gandhi has talked up a storm that swept across the heartland, crossed the borders and turned 35 years of official history on its head.
At an election rally in Uttar Pradesh last night, the young MP seemed to casually dismiss Delhi’s persistent claim that Pakistan triggered the 1971 war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
“You know, when our family commits to a task, it also completes it,” he said in Bareilly, to impress on voters that his family kept its word.
“In the past too, members of the Gandhi family have achieved the goals they have initiated — like the freedom of the country, dividing Pakistan into two and leading the nation to the 21st century.”
India’s support to Mujibur Rahman and the Mukti Bahini is an open secret, but Delhi has never claimed that it actively “divided” Pakistan to create Bangladesh.
Delhi’s official version is that Pakistan launched air strikes on Indian Air Force stations in the western sector on December 3, 1971. It was only then that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared in a broadcast to the nation that India was at war with Pakistan.
Rahul’s comment drew sharp responses from both allies and rivals, while Pakistan also took note. Islamabad said it proves what it has been saying: that India “interfered” in its internal affairs and tried to “destabilise” it. “This is a clear admission of it,” foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.
BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said the comment was “atrocious” and reflected a mindset that does not recognise even the role of the Congress party.
“Crediting his family with India’s freedom struggle is a direct insult to revolutionaries and freedom fighters. And if he thinks the Gandhi family is responsible for partitioning Pakistan, he would have to take the blame for partitioning of India and creation of Pakistan in 1947 as well.”
D. Raja, national secretary of the CPI, a central ally of the Congress, said Rahul should concentrate on what his party can do for Uttar Pradesh. “The contribution of the Congress in the past is not enough.”
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said Rahul was “trying hard to find a niche for himself”.
The Congress defended Rahul, saying the statement should be viewed “holistically and not out of context”.
“Bangladesh was formed only after the division of Pakistan. Even (then Opposition leader) Atal Bihari Vajpayee had praised Indira Gandhi at the time and had called her Durga. It is a truth from history and that is what Rahul has repeated,” said spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi.
In Bareilly, Rahul also offered a chadar at the shrine of Sufi saint Ala Hazrat where former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao was not allowed to offer one shortly after the Babri mosque was demolished in 1992.
Congress sources said the decision of the dargah authorities to allow Rahul to pray at the shrine reflected the party’s “increasing acceptability” among Muslims.
They claimed that the faith of Muslims had increased after Rahul’s recent comment that the mosque would have survived had a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family been at the helm in 1992. | <urn:uuid:3d97ad4c-a363-4d5f-9797-4eb6d4f04ea9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.telegraphindia.com/1070416/asp/nation/story_7651518.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00060-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97339 | 745 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Members of the public who were affected the recent flooding have been invited to share their experiences with Maidenhead MP Theresa May.
The Home Secretary is hoping to raise issues put forward by residents with the relevant bodies involved in the floods, including the Environment Agency, Thames Water, and local and central Government.
It is hoped the views of residents will help ensure lessons are learned, measures are taken to further reduce the risk of flooding in future, and improve the response from authorities in the event of flooding.
Some residents have already put forward their views to the MP, including ideas to make the area more flood-resilient and the need for a more effective response to flooding in some places.
Mrs May is seeking more views and residents can either email firstname.lastname@example.org or write to her at the House of Commons by the end of March.
Parish councils in the area have also been asked for comment.
Mrs May said: "A number of people have already been in touch with me to convey their experiences, and I have visited local areas affected by flooding to discuss the situation with residents.
"Various issues have been raised and I will now be taking these upwith the relevant bodies to ensure that the lessons are learned.
"Before doing so, I would like to hear from any other constituents who were affected by flooding and have comments or ideas that they would like me to take up.
"We must continue to make the local area more flood-resilient and ensure a quick and effective response if flooding occurs."
Areas affected included Cookham, Bisham, Hurley, Wargrave, Sonning and Twyford.
Top Ten Articles
The Met Office has issued a yellow alert for Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough and Wokingham, warning that rain moving eastwards across the south of the country may turn to snow in some places. | <urn:uuid:fd11f73b-08b0-422e-a756-2c4994959309> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/news/21878/Theresa-May-invites-resident-comments-on.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00058-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975034 | 385 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Description from Flora of China
Crawfurdia coerulea Handel-Mazzetti, Symb. Sin. 7: 950. 1936; Gentiana cyanea C. Marquand.
Stems twining, terete, 2-3 mm in diam. Petiole 5-10 mm, slender; leaf blade lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 6-7 × 1-2.5 cm, base rounded, margin entire or sometimes slightly revolute, apex acuminate to sometimes caudate, veins 3. Inflorescences 1-3flowered cymes; bracts 1-3 pairs, ovate, to 1 cm. Pedicel 3-10 mm. Calyx campanulate; tube 1-1.4 cm, broadly winged; lobes linear-lanceolate, 5-6 mm. Corolla blue, narrowly campanulate, 3.5-4 cm; lobes ovate-triangular, 5-6 mm, apex acuminate and caudate; plicae semiorbicular, 1.5-2 mm, margin entire or crenulate. Filaments linear, 1.8-2 cm; anthers ellipsoid, ca. 1.5 mm. Disc ca. 1 mm. Style 8-10 mm. Capsules ellipsoid to obovoid-ellipsoid, ca. 3 cm, included in persistent corolla; gynophore less than 5 mm. Seeds light brown, discoid to compressed triquetrous, 2-2.5 mm, broadly winged along ridges. Fl. and fr. Sep-Oct.
* Scrub, bamboo thickets; 2500-3100 m. SW Sichuan. | <urn:uuid:d7b070a6-d356-4691-95fd-47ce21d9bb7c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=200018293 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00210-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.665206 | 370 | 1.828125 | 2 |
10 Truly Disgusting Habits Of Royalty
In the era of the great monarchies, the royal families of European nations were people of dignity and culture, above the low and filthy lifestyles of the poor. At least, that’s what they wanted people to believe. The reality, though, is a bit different. There was enough inbreeding between the monarchs of Europe to spark some strange decisions—and some truly disgusting lifestyles.
10 Henry VIII Had A ‘Groom Of The Stool’
Among his many reforms, King Henry VIII introduced an all-important job to the English monarchy: the groom of the stool. One lucky boy, chosen from the sons of his most trusted nobles, got the job of following the king around with a portable toilet.
The groom of the stool needed to be ever vigilant. He was expected to watch the king as he ate, make notes of what he consumed, and prepare for the job to come. When the moment came, the groom would help the king undress and then clean up his mess.
This was actually a highly respected job. The groom of the stool was trusted with unparalleled intimate access to the king. He also got to live in the castle with a handsome salary.
Wiping up after the king of England became a proud tradition that continued for almost 400 years.
9 Christian VII Pleasured Himself So Often That It Became A National Crisis
Denmark’s 18th-century King Christian VII knew no love greater than his own hand. He spent so much time at it that the Danish government organized meetings to figure out what to do about it.
The doctors who looked after him were convinced that chronic masturbation was the cause of all his problems. Christian VII was mentally ill, afflicted with porphyria. In reality, mental illness was probably the root of his masturbation problems.
His chief physician, Johann Friedrich Struensee, wrote a whole book about Christian’s “masturbatic insanity.” When Struensee couldn’t get the king to put his pants back on and focus on ruling a kingdom, the doctor ended up taking over. He did most of Christian VII’s decision-making for him, which freed up some time for the king to follow his passions.
8 Joanna Of Castile Traveled With Her Husband’s Dead Body
Joanna of Castile, the mother of Emperor Charles V of Spain, spent the better years of her life married to a man known as Philip the Handsome. Apparently, she thought Philip deserved his nickname because she refused to let anyone bury him when he died.
Instead, Joanna kept her husband’s dead body in her room. Over 12 months, while Philip’s body slowly decayed, Joanna went on acting as if he was still alive. Whenever someone asked, she would simply insist that he was asleep and would wake up soon.
She would sleep with the body at night, and she would make the servants treat it with the respect due to a king. In a fit of jealousy, she wouldn’t let any women enter the room with the dead body, apparently worried that they would be overwhelmed by lust.
7 King Charles II Kept A Wig Of His Mistresses’ Pubes
In 1651, King Charles II started a new project. Every time he slept with a woman, he plucked a few hairs from under her skirt. Then he stitched them all together into a wig that gradually grew into an unnervingly thick mane of female hairs.
When the wig got big enough to cover a man’s head, Charles II donated it to a Scottish drinking club called the Beggar’s Benison Club. They loved it so much that they wore it during their ceremonies. One person even stole it and used it to start his own club, where he made people kiss it.
In 1822, King George IV took up the tradition again and kept a box full of his lover’s lower locks for his own collection. Like Charles II, George planned on making them into a wig but tragically died without ever fulfilling his dream.
6 Queen Maria Eleonora Slept With Her Husband’s Heart
Queen Maria Eleonora didn’t love her husband, King Gustavus Adolphus, for his power or his money. She loved him for his heart. When he died, she had his heart ripped out of his body so that she could sleep with it.
Maria Eleonora kept her dead husband’s organ in a golden box that she placed above her bed each night. On some nights, she even made their daughter climb into bed with her so that she could be close to her father’s heart.
It was a traumatizing experience that her daughter never forgot. She later wrote that her mother was horribly abusive and never stopped crying, saying that she “carried out her role of mourning to perfection.”
5 King Farouk Had The World’s Largest Porn Collection
Legend has it that King Farouk of Egypt had the greatest and largest collection of pornography in the world. He boasted that he had “warehouses full of the stuff” scattered around the world, with whole storage compartments filled to the brim in Rome, Monaco, and Cairo.
Writer and former pimp Scott Bowers claims that he convinced Farouk to ship several crates of porn to the famous sexologist Alfred Kinsey. According to Bowers, the crates arrived filled almost exclusively with pictures of Arab men with young boys.
When Farouk’s empire fell, looters scavenged his porn collection. Little pieces of it started showing up around the country, flooding a market with a whole new type of monarchy memorabilia.
4 King Adolf Frederick Ate Himself To Death
Swedish King Adolf Frederick had a habit of eating a dessert called semla, which is a sweet roll filled with cream. This, in itself, is not disgusting, but he ate so many that it killed him.
In 1771, the Swedish king sat down to a meal of lobster, caviar, and every other decadent food you can think of. When the meal was done, he wolfed his way through 14 semlas in a single sitting.
When he managed to stand up, his stomach, unsurprisingly, was bothering him, and he died shortly after. He went down in history as the king who ate himself to death—which wasn’t totally fair. King Henry I of England had already died from eating too many lamprey eels, apparently unable to get enough of the slimy taste.
3 King James I Only Cleaned The Tips Of His Fingers
According to a less than flattering description from Sir Anthony Weldon, King James I wasn’t the most hygienic person. Legend has it that King James never bathed, and according to Weldon, James needed to.
“His tongue,” Weldon wrote, was “too large for his mouth.” Whenever James drank, the liquid would dribble down the side of the king’s chin. James wouldn’t do much about it. “He never washed his hands,” Weldon claimed, “only rubbed his fingers’ ends slightly through the wet end of a napkin.”
This was apparently the only type of hygiene the king ever practiced. It might have been out of necessity. King James made regular use of his fingers. According to Weldon, they were “ever in that walk fiddling about his codpiece.”
2 Charles VI Didn’t Change His Clothes For Five Months
King Charles VI of France was horribly mentally ill. He would break into fits where he would run wildly through his home. On other days, he became convinced that he was made of glass and would not move a single muscle. The worst bout lasted for five long months—during which he did not bathe or change his clothes even once.
For nearly half a year, the king just stayed very still and carefully tried to avoid bumping into anybody. Then, at last, he had a brief moment of lucidity that lasted long enough for someone to change him and to clean what must have been the most disgusting pair of pants in history.
1 Louis XIV’s Throne Doubled As A Toilet
Of all the people in history, French King Louis XIV must have been the smelliest. His throne doubled as a toilet, and he would use it while conducting court sessions.
One would expect the court to notice the smell. But when Louis XIV was in the room, there were enough smells going around already to block it out. The man only bathed three times in his entire life, which was on the low side even by 17th-century standards.
The king made up for the stench by filling his rooms with flowers and dousing himself in perfume. In fact, he had a team design him a new perfume every week.
He would also change his shirt three times a day, which he firmly believed was all one really needed to do to stay clean. Like the toilet, his wardrobe changes were never affairs to be done behind closed doors. Every morning, the king of France called 100 men into his room to watch him while he got dressed. | <urn:uuid:1df90ba4-d64d-4b55-a9b7-44f73ae07056> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://listverse.com/2016/12/18/10-truly-disgusting-habits-of-royalty/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00468-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986792 | 1,932 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Can You See These Signs of Christ’s Return?
“All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
—Matthew 24:8, emphasis added
· The Sign of Global Weather Gone Wild: Jesus predicted a time when weather would be so bad that the whole world would be troubled and fearful as many thousands are killed by the prevalent chaotic weather. Jesus foresaw “the sea and the waves roaring” (Luke 21:25) in the last days, like the 2004 Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
· The Sign of Global Telecommunication and Television: God’s Word explicitly specified that the whole world would simultaneously be able to see and hear globally: The … nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and … will rejoice over them, … because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 11:9-10). In the apostle John’s day, news traveled at “the speed of horseback.” But for the first time ever news can travel the world at the speed of light.
· The Sign of Global Evangelism: Jesus has told us that before the end of days, the gospel would be preached to all nations. We can now preach the gospel anywhere on earth through technology. The Christian gospel is now being “preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Portions of God’s Word or the entire Bible have been translated into over 2,300 languages and dialects, covering more than 90 percent of the world’s population.
· The Sign of Global Pestilences: Despite an increase in scientific knowledge, the Bible predicted that deadly diseases would still be prevalent in the end days: “… There will be famines, pestilences [deadly diseases], and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7). Emerging diseases such as AIDS, Ebola virus, Hantavirus,
For some, becoming more aware of the details of the coming judgments can be frightening. If you find yourself struggling with fear, be like David and cry out to God, When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2). For God promises to keep you in perfect peace if your mind is trustingly focused on Him (Isaiah 26:3)!
For more from Discover the Book Ministries, please visit discoverthebook.org. | <urn:uuid:55b85738-4d19-45af-a848-fc9eab1eeb23> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/discoverthebook/discover-the-book-dec-13-2007-11561732.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00031-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911778 | 520 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Historical cut and paste
Collage: The Making of Modern ArtBy Brandon Taylor, Thames & Hudson, £29.95
Brandon Taylor’s new book deals with an ongoing passion: collage, treated as a generic idea that informs subsequent developments such as photocollage, photomontage, décollage, assemblage or détournement.
On one level, Taylor is narrating a familiar Modernist fable. The story begins just before World War I with the heroic breakthroughs of Braque and Picasso. Then the Cubist baton is passed on to the various avant-garde movements, such as Constructivism, Dadaism and Surrealism, that flourished in the interwar period. After World War II, the baton is taken up by new contenders, such as the New Realists in France, or the Pop artists of Britain and the US. And so on, to the digital present.
On another level, Taylor is a good disciple of Brecht, subtly re-working the usual story. Famous scenes are revised and many new ones are added. He is aware, for instance, that traditional versions of his tale are dominated by male heroes, and therefore makes a point of foregrounding female collagists. Here, the likes of Varvara Stepanova, Hannah Höch or Lee Krasner are given their due and cease to be mere footnotes in the biographies of their respective partners – Rodchenko, Hausmann and Pollock.
Taylor also likes to focus on less obvious aspects of an established artist’s career. Take Willi Baumeister. There is barely a mention of the Fotozeichnungen (photo-drawings) of the 1920s that are the basis for his reputation as a collagist. Instead we are offered an appreciation of his secret anti-Nazi work of the 1940s that was not deemed serious enough to be included in his catalogue raisonné.
The narrative teems with artists rarely mentioned at all in mainstream histories, such as the African-American Romare Bearden. He studied with George Grosz in mid-1930s New York and went on to pursue a career that embraced political cartooning, abstract painting and, from the mid-1960s, collages related to the contemporary struggle for civil rights.
There are visits to all the obvious sites associated with Modernism, but also trips off the beaten track. The account of generations of collage activity in Czechoslovakia is especially rich, and Prague, rather than Paris, is celebrated as the ‘pre-eminent European city of collage’.
Brandon Taylor has produced the best introduction to collage and the critical literature it has inspired. Yet readers of Eye might feel frustrated by the sketchy treatment of the complex crossovers between avant-garde art and graphic design that took place in central and eastern Europe in the 1920s. Key figures in this episode such as László Moholy-Nagy or Jan Tschichold are absent. Others are presented in a misleading manner. Taylor writes eloquently about Kurt Schwitters as a rag-picker who made a new type of art from urban detritus, but never discusses his commercial work. There is a similarly one-sided treatment of Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart who also managed to combine studio experimentation with the running of a successful graphic design business. (Vordemberge-Gildewart and Schwitters were both residents of Hanover and sometimes shared the same clients, for example the local pen and ink company, Pelikan.) All of the above were members or guests of an important organisation that is also not examined – the Ring Neuer Werbegestalter (Circle of New Advertising Designers), co-ordinated by Schwitters. The Ring brought together artist-designers and designer-artists from Germany and neighbouring countries from 1928 to 1931. The group sought to define and promote the new profession of commercial design with photomontage as a favoured medium.
The analysis of Soviet activities of the 1920s is similarly skewed. Taylor concentrates on the collages that seem most related to Cubist precedents and leaves out the creation of the October group and the switch to posters, book dust-jackets or magazine layouts that became urgent with the launch of the First Five Year Plan in 1928.
Taylor gives priority to the unique, crafted art work, sharply differentiated from mass-produced graphic design. And only the former receives his attention if an artist created both. The end result is a revision of a Modernist fable, but not its transformation. | <urn:uuid:d73da7f6-9d5b-4479-808d-014866c7af6d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.eyemagazine.com/review/article/historical-cut-and-paste | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00366-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962115 | 956 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Almost assuredly the most prominent stumbling block in a relationship is miscommunication. It insidiously worms its way into every level of our dealings with others despite our most sincere and concerted efforts to eliminate it. Why, despite our every exertion to the contrary, does miscommunication continue to thrive?
Let’s start with you, the center of creation, at least from your individual perspective. While you can “walk a mile in another man’s shoes” it is still you who is walking in them. You can never completely know what universe they inhabit. Isn’t that true? How many times have you felt that you were in perfect agreement with another person only to find out that you are not only on different pages but are reading out of completely different books. Of one thing you can be absolutely sure, no other person sees the world exactly as you do. So this is our starting point, each of us sees the world differently and while we can share our hopes and loves and fears with others they can never entirely know our world.
Obviously, we can’t fully know there’s either. Our genetic hardwiring and life experience create a chasm impossible to transcend. We can only stand on our precipice and peer across the gulf offering directions and shouting support from afar. So are our relationships forever doomed, our true identity hopelessly concealed from the ones we love? The answer is, “No!” That is because our differences are not our “true identity.”
There is a sameness within us all, a foundation upon which a stable, vibrant, and loving relationship can be built. This common foundation I call Eufeeling. Once Eufeeling is appreciated it unites us, engaging individual differences on a common thread like a string of pearls. Just as the beauty of each pearl is enhanced by its neighbors so individual differences of a Eufeeling relationship shine with the luster of love. Miscommunication will necessarily always exist but it does not need to add to the struggle and strife of a relationship. In the light of Eufeeling, miscommunication softens and submits to the overpowering influence of harmony and love. | <urn:uuid:17b7a88f-198f-4be9-b786-e40ba13bcb98> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kinslowsystemblog.com/?p=67 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572089.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814234405-20220815024405-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.95384 | 452 | 1.617188 | 2 |
The engineering field is extremely broad and touches on numerous aspects of the economy and our daily lives. Engineers are highly sought after by employers in the government and private sector because of their expertise in critical technical areas like energy generation and delivery, computer systems design and maintenance, as well as the design of complex mechanical systems. Engineering is diverse in its applications, but is built on common cores of physics and mathematics.
The variety of specialties in the engineering field and the depth of knowledge required to be successful in any particular area mean that students in bachelor’s programs need to decide on a major concentration almost from the beginning. Some of the major options include electrical and computer engineering, biomedical and chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and aeronautical engineering. At the master’s level, students do advanced work in their chosen subject area, though it may be possible to enroll in a master’s program which is different from, but related to the undergraduate degree.
Engineering is a demanding undergraduate major and a bachelor’s degree in any engineering field involves a substantial amount of coursework in the major, along with mathematics and science prerequisites. Some of these courses include calculus, linear algebra and differential equations, general chemistry for engineers and statistical methods for engineers. Core engineering courses depend on the area of engineering, but may include topics like thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer and statics.
The potential career options for a graduate from a bachelor’s program in engineering depend upon the particular area of concentration, but are generally very good. Biomedical engineers, who work on problems in biology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, earn an average of $81,000 per year. Graduates with bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering, a broad discipline involving design and development of mechanical devices like tools or engines, can earn an average of $77,000 per year. These careers are also generally stable because the skills the engineer brings are essential to the success of the agency or enterprise.
Universities offer master’s degrees in engineering with the same variety of concentrations as are offered at the undergraduate level. Most master’s degree programs require students to have an undergraduate degree in the particular engineering area or a related field. In addition to the coursework, which can take a year or 1.5 years, students are often required to complete a thesis or capstone project on a relevant problem in the field. Examples of master’s courses include design of composite structures, digital control of physical systems and electronic structure of materials.
Graduates from master’s degree programs in engineering are highly qualified professionals who are able to take managerial positions in engineering firms and departments. When they work directly as engineers, they may earn more than engineers graduating from a bachelor’s degree program. The advanced education allows master’s graduates to work in research and development in private engineering and manufacturing firms, or for the federal government. The area of concentration of the master’s program will normally define the range of employment opportunities that graduates encounter.
- Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images | <urn:uuid:3cfa6be0-8f9d-4636-aea1-4a92562aeab9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://oureverydaylife.com/engineering-bachelor-vs-masters-15963.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00064-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947575 | 625 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Two of the major themes on this blog since the very beginning has been the application of science- and evidence-based medicine to the care of patients and why so much of so-called "complementary and alternative" medicine, as well as fringe movements like the anti-vaccine movement, have little or--more commonly--virtually no science to support their claims and recommendations. One major shortcoming of the more commonly used evidence-based medicine paradigm (EBM) that has been in ascendance as the preferred method of evaluating clinical evidence. Specifically, as Dr. Kimball Atwood IV (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) has pointed out extensively before, EBM values clinical studies above all other forms of evidence. On the surface, this sounds quite reasonable (after all, what we as physicians really want to know is whether a treatment works better than a placebo or not). Unfortunately, it ignores one very important problem with clinical trials, namely that prior scientific probability really does matter. Indeed, four years ago, John Ioannidis made a bit of a splash with a paper published in JAMA entitled Contradicted and Initially Stronger Effects in Highly Cited Clinical Research and, more provocatively in PLoS Medicine, Why Most Published Research Findings Are Wrong. In his study, he examined a panel of highly cited clinical trials and determined that the results of many of them were not replicated and validated in subsequent studies. His conclusion was that a significant proportion, perhaps most, of the results of clinical trials turn out not to be true after further replication and that the likelihood of such incorrect results increases with increasing improbability of the hypothesis being tested.
Not surprisingly, CAM advocates piled onto these studies as "evidence" that clinical research is hopelessly flawed and biased, but that is not the correct interpretation. Basically, as Steve Novella, Alex Tabarrok, and I pointed out, prior probability is critical. What Ioannidis' research shows is that clinical trials examining highly improbable hypotheses are far more likely to produce false positive results than clinical trials examining hypotheses with a stronger basis in science. Of course, estimating prior probability can be tricky based on science. After all, if we could tell beforehand which modalities would work and which didn't we wouldn't need to do clinical trials, but there are modalities for which we can estimate the prior probability as being very close to zero. Not surprisingly (at least to readers of this blog), these modalities tend to be "alternative medicine" modalities. Indeed, the purest test of this phenomenon is homeopathy, which is nothing more than pure placebo, mainly because it is water. Of course, another principle that applies to clinical trials is that smaller, more preliminary studies often yield seemingly positive results that fail to hold up with repetition in larger, more rigorously designed randomized, double-blind clinical trials.
Last week, a paper was published in PLoS ONE Thomas by Thomas Pfeiffer at Harvard University and Robert Hoffmann at MIT that brings up another factor that may affect the reliability of research. Oddly enough, it is somewhat counterintuitive. Specifically, Pfeiffer and Hoffmann's study was entitled Large-Scale Assessment of the Effect of Popularity on the Reliability of Research. In other words, the hypothesis being tested is whether the reliability of findings published in the scientific literature decreases with the popularity of a research field. Although this phenomenon is hypothesized based on theoretical reasoning, Pfeiffer and Hoffmann claim to present the first empirical evidence to support this hypothesis.
Why might more popular fields produce less reliable research? Pfeiffer and Hoffmann set up the problem in the introduction. I'm going to quote fairly generously, because they not only confirm the importance of prior probability, but put the problem into context:
Even if conducted at best possible practice, scientific research is never entirely free of errors. When testing scientific hypotheses, statistical errors inevitably lead to false findings. Results from scientific studies may occasionally support a hypothesis that is actually not true, or may fail to provide evidence for a true hypothesis. The probability at which a hypothesis is true after a certain result has been obtained (posterior probability) depends on the probabilities at which these two types of errors arise. Therefore, error probabilities, such as p-values, traditionally play a predominant role for evaluating and publishing research findings. The posterior probability of a hypothesis, however, also depends on its prior probability. Positive findings on unlikely hypotheses are more likely false positives than positive findings on likely hypotheses. Thus, not only high error rates, but also low priors of the tested hypotheses increase the frequency of false findings in the scientific literature , .
In this context, a high popularity of research topics has been argued to have a detrimental effect on the reliability of published research findings . Two distinctive mechanisms have been suggested: First, in highly competitive fields there might be stronger incentives to "manufacture" positive results by, for example, modifying data or statistical tests until formal statistical significance is obtained . This leads to inflated error rates for individual findings: actual error probabilities are larger than those given in the publications. We refer to this mechanism as "inflated error effect". The second effect results from multiple independent testing of the same hypotheses by competing research groups. The more often a hypothesis is tested, the more likely a positive result is obtained and published even if the hypothesis is false. Multiple independent testing increases the fraction of false hypotheses among those hypotheses that are supported by at least one positive result. Thereby it distorts the overall picture of evidence. We refer to this mechanism as "multiple testing effect". Putting it simple, this effect means that in hot research fields one can expect to find some positive finding for almost any claim, while this is not the case in research fields with little competition , .
The potential presence of these two effects has raised concerns about the reliability of published findings in those research fields that are characterized by error-prone tests, low priors of tested hypotheses and considerable competition. It is therefore important to analyze empirical data to quantify how strong the predicted effects actually influence scientific research.
In other words, new scientific fields are almost, by definition, full of hypotheses with low prior probabilities, because, well, it's new science and scientists don't have a sufficient base of research to know which hypotheses are likely to be true and which are not. I particularly like this phrase, though: "low priors of tested hypotheses and considerable competition." Sound familiar? That's exactly what's going on in CAM research these days, the difference being that most CAM hypotheses are unlikely ever to become more plausible. In any case, as more and more groups start doing CAM research (multiple independent testing) and more and more literature is published on CAM, given the very low prior probability of so many CAM modalities, it is not at all surprising that there are, in essence, papers reporting seemingly positive findings in the scientific literature for pretty much any CAM claim, and we can expect the problem to get worse, at least if this hypothesis is true.
Is it true, though? Pfeiffer and Hoffmann chose a rather interesting way to test whether increasing popularity of a field results in the lower reliability of published findings in that field. They chose to look at published reports of interactions between proteins in yeast (S. cerevisiae, a common yeast used in the lab to study protein interactions, often using a system known as the yeast two-hybrid screen). The interesting aspect of this choice is that it's not clinical research; it is far more likely to find definitive yes-no answers and validate them than it ever is in clinical research.
What Pfeiffer and Hoffmann did first was to use the text mining system iHOP to identify published interactions between proteins and genes in titles and abstracts from the PubMed database and expert-curated data from IntAct and DIP, major databases for protein interactions consisting of expert-curated interactions extracted from the scientific literature and high throughput experiments, as an additional source for published statements on protein interactions. Overall, there were 60,000 published statements examining 30,000 unique interactions. The reported frequency of each interaction was then compared to data derived from recent high throughput experiments based on yeast-two-hybrid experiments, high-throughput mass spectroscopy, tandem affinity purification, and an approach that combines mass-spectroscopy and affinity purification. The strength of this approach is that these high throughput results are not influenced by popularity because they make no a priori assumptions about the protein interactions studied and look at thousands of interactions nearly simultaneously; thus, they are not influenced by either effect being examined, the inflated error effect or multiple testing effect. The weakness of this approach is that these high throughput methods are not free from errors or bias and they do not test all the interactions that can be found in the literature. Finally, Pfeiffer and Hoffmann estimated the popularity of various proteins, or the corresponding genes that encode them, by estimating the number of times the protein or its gene is mentioned in the scientific literature, comparing the popularity of the protein interaction partners and how often the high throughput analysis confirmed interactions reported in the literature.
The results are summarized in this graph:
Figure 1A shows what I consider to be a bit of a "well, duh" finding. Specifically, what it shows is that, the more frequently a specific protein interaction is reported in the literature, the more likely it is to be correlate withthe results found in the high throughput experiments, or, as the authors put it:
Interactions that are described frequently in the literature tend to be confirmed more frequently.
This is reassuring in that it at least implies that the more frequently a result is reported by independent labs, the more likely it is to be correct. After all, repetition and confirmation by other investigators are hallmarks of science. However, panels B and C, looking at both datasets examined, show a decreasing reliability for reports of protein interactions that correlates with increasing popularity of individual protein partners in the interactions. In addition, Pfeiffer and Hermann tried to look at the inflated error effect and the multiple testing effect, and found evidence for both being operative, although the evidence for a multiple testing effect was stronger than it was for the inflated error effect--ten times stronger in fact. In other words, if the results of this study are accurate, random chance acting on the testing of hypotheses with a low prior probability of being true is a far more potent force producing false positives than either fraud or "statistical significance seeking."
So what does this mean for clinical research or, for that matter, all scientific research? First, one needs to be clear that this is a single paper and has looked at correlation. The correlation is strong, and, given the methodology used, does imply causation, although it cannot conclusively demonstrate it. What it does imply, at least from the perspective of clinical trials research, is that the more investigators doing more research on highly improbable hypotheses, the more false positives we can expect to see. Indeed, I'd love to see Pfeiffer and Hermann look at this very question.
My impression--and, let me emphasize, it is just that, an impression--is that the number of seemingly "positive" CAM studies is increasing. Certainly, it's not unreasonable to hypothesize this to be the case, given the growth of NCCAM over the last decade, to the point where it is funding approximately $120 million a year of little but studies of low probability hypotheses. Add to that the well-known problems of publication bias and the so-called "file drawer" effect, in which positive studies are far more likely to be published and negative studies far more likely to be left in the "file drawer," and the problem can only get worse. On the other hand, remember that this study looks only at the reliability of individual studies, not the reliability of the literature on topics in totality. The more times a result is seen in science, in general the more reliable that result will be. Similarly, the more frequently a positive result is seen in well-designed clinical studies, the more likely it is to be true. That's why it's so important to look at the totality of the scientific literature; the problem is, of course, winnowing out the huge number of crap studies from that totality. All Pfeiffer and Hermann's work does, at least for me, is to provide evidence supporting a phenomenon that most researchers intuitively suspect to be true. Whether that's confirmation bias or real evidence that it is true will await further study of this provocative hypothesis
On the other hand, I can't help but wonder what would happen if if the line of research that Pfeiffer and Hermann have published on here ever becomes more popular. Specifically, I wonder about the number of false negatives and what happens to them as popularity increases.
1. Ioannidis, J. (2005). Why Most Published Research Findings Are False PLoS Medicine, 2 (8) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124
2. Pfeiffer, T., & Hoffmann, R. (2009). Large-Scale Assessment of the Effect of Popularity on the Reliability of Research PLoS ONE, 4 (6) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005996
Thank you! I've been working on Bayesian methods that explicitly use priors. This is just what I needed to answer critics who say "why use priors?"
I think part of the problem here is human psychology. I think some fraction of people are _more_ likely to believe a surprising finding, just because it is surprising. If they are looking for a magic bullet (think oat bran and cancer) or trying to "stick it to the man" (think some anti-vaxers) or anti-science (creationists just itching to have evolution "disproved"), the very thought that science has "proven" something they wanted to hear gives them comfort.
Oh, wait, sorry: I guess that is Bayesian after all. People use their own prior ("I'll believe what I want to believe") to cover their own posterior.
That is a good way to think about denialists. For example, anti-vaxers have decided that the prior probability that vaccines cause autism is 1. Therefore, no study consistent with the null hypothesis matters.
I remember the very bad epidemiology study that linked childhood leukemia to proximity to high-voltage power lines. Multiple follow-up studies were done, despite the idiocy of believing that barely measurable magnetic fields could cause cancer. A number of follow-up studies "verified" the correlation between power lines and leukemia. The prior probability of those studies was essentially zero, and all the "positive" follow-up studies were false positives.
Well done. You know, I wonder if anyone has ever tried to get funded for real* science research by slipping it past NCCAM to see if they'd notice ? Perhaps if worded in the right** way, it might slip by unnoticed.
*by "real" science I mean anything that might actually have a basis in reality of working, not handwaving or crystal worshiping.
** by "right" wording I mean clouded with apparent psuedoscience gibberish. | <urn:uuid:f5f943cc-6819-4d86-89b8-844e83979116> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/07/06/popularity-versus-reliability-in-medical | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571719.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812140019-20220812170019-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.95806 | 3,161 | 1.984375 | 2 |
The battle of the matches
"Conflict" is a title of an animated short film.
Regrettably I have very little actual details on this movie... IMDb isn't too helpful when looking for really obscure films.
I think it was in Russian (or maybe not; I think the movie opening titles were in Cyrillic! It's been some time since I've seen the movie...) or other slavic language. (There's a Croatian movie called "Konflikt (1972)" by Kresimir Golik in the database, and it has very little details, so I don't know if that's the one... I'll tell if I find more information.)
But the numeric details aren't what matters, or the language (because the animation has no spoken words, only random human sounds)...
This is possibly the coolest anti-war movie I've ever seen! My father, who teaches religion, used to show this in school.
The movie opens with a picture of a match box. Some sounds of fighting can be heard from inside; then, the box opens and all matches run out. There are two kinds of matches; Ones with green head and ones with yellow head. They argue (like people), and both "ethnic groups" form a nation of their own.
A border line is made of small match bits. Two border guards (from both side of the border) are posted on the border; They march back and forth, with "rifles" on their shoulder.
However, the rhythmic marching makes the border line matches jump a bit, and one of those rolls to the other side. The two border guards start to argue a lot where that match bit should go, starting a border dispute!
...and the border dispute soon develops into a full scale war. We see warring matches, their vehicles that look like small matchboxes...
Then, the matches of the other side of the border gather around a rectangular hole in the ground. Something is rising from it, with rumble and flickering red light telling that it's probably something bad.
A huge match box flies up from the "silo".
The match box flies to the other side of the border; all matches there are absolutely terrified and try to run away screaming.
The match box swoops over the matches, and its scratch pad ignites a couple of them.
The fire spreads quickly among the matches.
The matches across the border are very very joyous and cheer. But soon, they realize that they too are in danger, and try to retreat.
That, too, is hopeless.
There are pictures of burning matches, complete with sad, dramatic music...
...and in the final scene, we see hundreds and hundreds of completely burnt matches - some still standing, many fallen on ground and broken.
(...in death... they're all of same color...)
This, if anything, has made me think that nuclear weapons and all other means of mass destruction are a very bad thing. =/ | <urn:uuid:cb0871ef-e7b3-4310-ac1c-b292267b89e1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://everything2.com/title/Conflict | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570921.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809094531-20220809124531-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.958597 | 635 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Daily routines and fast lives have always been a source of mood swings. Today most people are suffering from mood swings knowingly or unknowingly. These mood swings, if repeated can bring a lot of stress because they impact our personal and professional lives. The outcome of this is sense of dejection. This dejection can project itself in the form of sadness, depression, gloominess, anger, and even sleeplessness. Then how can we over come it?
Following are five result oriented tips to keep your mood up:
- Make a SMART schedule
A smart schedule is one which is specific, measurable, and time bound. This helps you keep all your tasks in line. Following this you can manage to complete multiple tasks throughout the day.
- Know when it's time to take a break
Research has shown that the brain working continuously in one track gets bored easily. The other side is that brain finds it hard to concentrate on one issue for too long. Thus, taking a break makes the brain refresh and focus completely in the game again.
- Exercise regularly
Exercise improves our health and increases our pain bearing capacity. It also improves the overall muscle strength. Regular exercise keeps the serotonin levels up, which is the hormone responsible for happiness.
- Read more or explore new music
If you are interested in reading then read some books on self help. Books of interest bring joy to the brain. If you enjoy music then try to explore genres, find songs that soothe you. It has been seen that the brain responds well to music and functions better.
- Meditate regularly
Meditation is the key to maintain our inner stability. We build up a lot of expectations out of our daily lives and if not met, they make us feel sadness or anger. Both of these have can impact our health a lot. Meditation increases all the constructive activities of the body which are needed for healing or balancing our health.
All these habits are time tested and have shown good results for anyone who has practiced them regularly. Consistency in following these is the key to successfully managing stress. | <urn:uuid:f832507e-4f0c-4988-9236-7be32f567031> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.practo.com/healthfeed/five-tested-tips-that-keep-your-mood-up-8312/post | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00292-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959478 | 423 | 2.1875 | 2 |
The printing process is generally more suitable for printing with low-hardness paper, so that the quality of the printing ink is good, and the printing plate durability is also high. According to the characteristics of the product, the reasonable use of paper will play a positive role in improving the printing quality of the product. enhancement.
According to reports, China’s strong product exports have driven the market demand for packaging paper. In addition, in order to increase competitiveness, China’s export enterprises have put forward higher requirements on the quality and aesthetics of packaging, so some light-weight and high-toughness packaging papers are welcomed. This has also prompted companies to eliminate the original low-level packaging paper production technology, introduce cultural paper production technology into the packaging paper production line, and improve the grade and quality of packaging paper.
Due to the differentiation of customer needs, we can still live in harmony during the stable period of raw materials. But when the price of paper soared, forcing customers to focus all their attention on procurement costs, the entire packaging and printing industry chain was facing a situation of disintegration. | <urn:uuid:5eeb5db4-30e2-410b-854c-ed45c90d8c99> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.wrapping-paper-manufacturers.com/the-technological-function-of-packaging-paper-printing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.946754 | 226 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Whether you're looking for a full-time job after graduation, summer job, part-time job or an internship, the most successful job searches are targeted.
Before you embark on your job search you should know some key pieces of information:
- What type of work are you looking for?
- What makes you a good fit for the position in question?
You should already know the answers to these questions from working through the other sections of the My Career Plan Checklist. This is particularly important if you're looking for a "career job" but it's also important when looking for a "just for now" job.
Job Searching Steps
1. Identify your skills & accomplishments
The most important task associated with your job search is learning how to articulate your skills and accomplishments so you can write a great resumé and cover letter and effectively answer interview questions.
Identify your skills & accomplishments
2. Learn effective job search strategies
There's more to a job search than simply applying for online postings, though the majority of job seekers confine their job search to exactly that...
Learn effective job search strategies
3. Understand the importance of a targeted job search
Many students panic at the prospect of not finding immediate employment and apply for any and every job that bears even a remote resemblance to their experience or skill set. This is a mistake for a number of reasons.
Understand the importance of a targeted job search
4. Write a resumé that highlights your accomplishments
In order to stand out as a strong candidate, it's your responsibility to ensure the employer understands how and why you would be a great fit for the position. Write a resumé that highlights your accomplishments
5. Write an engaging cover letter
Your cover letter should never read like a form letter! It's your first introduction to an employer so make sure it's targeted.
Write an engaging cover letter
6. Develop your interview skills
It's natural to feel nervous at an interview! The best way to alleviate your anxiety and come across as confident and knowledgeable is to prepare ahead of time and practice, practice, practice!
Develop your interview skills
You're already networking (whether you know it or not!). The trick is to start networking purposefully.
8. Effectively utilize your online presence
Remember those pictures of that spring break kegger you posted on your Facebook page? Maybe that wasn't such a great idea.
Effectively utilize your online presence
9. Attend employer recruitment activities
Every year, employers from select industries come to campus to connect with York students and new graduates.
Attend employer recruitment activities
10. Consider a job on campus
An on-campus job can be a convenient way to gain valuable work experience and make some money here at York while completing your degree.
Consider a job on campus
11. Use an online job posting site
Responding to online postings shouldn’t be your only job search strategy but it should definitely be a part of your strategy.
Use an online job posting site
12. Know Your Rights
There are laws in place to protect you as a jobseeker and as an employee once you’re hired.
Know your rights | <urn:uuid:591a2d2f-c32b-4cf2-b701-88feb5f97320> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://careers.yorku.ca/students-and-new-grads/looking-for-a-job/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280065.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00539-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928866 | 655 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Download Clinical Lab (HCO3 Deficiency) apk 1.0 free for Android smartphone
Apk file size: 91.0 KB
Bicarbonate Deficits Calculator
Bicarbonate Deficit is condition caused by excessive
organic or inorganic acids in the body.
The excess may be due to abnormally high acid production
which arises during fever and starvation or loss of bases.
This calculator is used to calculate HCO3- deficits in patients with metabolic acidosis.
Ho Hsuhua part of our Medical and have average installs from 1000 to 5000. Last Update March 7, 2012. Google play rating is 91.4286. Current verison is 1.0. Actual size 91.0 KB. | <urn:uuid:c204cb5c-43ef-4171-b7d3-f0fdc720a878> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://androidfeens.com/clinical-lab-hco3-deficiency | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00360-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.880875 | 152 | 1.5625 | 2 |
D.C. gets recycling bins courtesy of Pepsi
Downtown Washington will soon have more recycling options thanks to a partnership between city officials and PepsiCo.
More than 350 recycling bins will be placed downtown under the new initiative announced Tuesday.
Richard Bradley, executive director of the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District, says the bins should collect more than 1 million pounds of recyclable material a year that otherwise would have gone in the trash.
The bins are being provided by PepsiCo through its Dream Machine recycling initiative.
They are computerized and allow users to collect and redeem rewards points for containers that they recycle.
For every bottle or can recycled in one of the bins, PepsiCo will make a donation to a program that provides business training to disabled veterans.
Posted by: MarilynManson | March 1, 2011 1:51 PM | Report abuse
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Posted by: dcparent | March 1, 2011 6:15 PM | Report abuse | <urn:uuid:4f937bf5-2d4e-45d3-b331-9fd1774e7d9c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/dc/dc-gets-recycling-bins-courtes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00306-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936936 | 213 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Postproduction of Bedding Plants: A Focus on Ethylene
In part one of this postproduction series, we explored the potential detrimental effects of ethylene exposure on bedding plants. In this part we will take an in-depth look at the effects of ethylene on 20 bedding plant species and the benefits of protecting plants with the ethylene inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP).
The sensitivity to exogenous ethylene and efficacy of a sprayable formulation of 1-MCP (AFxRD-038, 3.8 percent w/w active 1-MCP; AgroFresh Inc. Springhouse, Pa.) of 73 commercially available cultivars from 20 species of annual bedding plants was investigated. This sprayable formulation of 1-MCP is not currently labeled for use on ornamental plants and is restricted to fruit crops apples, pears, kiwifruit, walnuts, tomatoes and peppers (Harvista) and field crops corn, soybean, cotton, sunflower, wheat and rice (Invinsa). Previous experiments have shown that bedding plants treated with comparable rates of sprayable and gaseous 1-MCP show no difference when exposed to 1-ppm ethylene overnight (data not shown).
Plants were grown from seed or vegetative cuttings, transplanted into 4-inch pots and were pinched to encourage compact growth without the use of plant growth regulators (PGRs). Plants were grown following standard growing practices (e.g. water and fertility) in a glass greenhouse at 68¡ F and ambient light at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Plants were cleaned to remove older flowers and leaves approximately one week prior to ethylene experiments, ensuring only young flowers were present when experiments started. Plants were selected at market stage with enough foliage to cover the growing media in the container and a minimum of six open flowers.
The 1-MCP was applied to runoff (about 2 quarts per 100 square feet) with a hand pump sprayer at a rate of 0 or 25 ppm and allowed to dry. After 1-MCP treatment, species of plants prone to expressing senescence as flower and bud abscission were sleeved. In genera not prone to flower abscission, plants were not sleeved before ethylene treatment.
Plants were then moved into an ethylene-free growth chamber at 70¡ F and placed into 0.4-cubed-meter plexiglass boxes with two small fans mounted inside, and boxes were sealed. Air flowing through boxes was either clean air or air containing 1-ppm ethylene. Air flow was set at 10 liters/minute, giving approximately 1.5 air changes per hour. Plants were treated with ethylene for 18 hours in darkness. Immediately after treatment, plants were assessed for senescence symptoms including flower abscission, wilting or discoloration, bud abscission, bud abortion and leaf epinasty.
There were four groups of ethylene sensitivity: 1) no response to ethylene 2) transient ethylene symptoms 3) partial permanent damage and 4) complete permanent damage (Table 1).
Bidens ferulifolia, Heliotropium arborescens, Osteospermum ecklonis and Scaevola aemula proved to be very resistant to ethylene and showed no response to exposure in these treatments.
Leaf epinasty (downward bending of turgid leaves) is considered a transient symptom of ethylene damage because when plants are removed to an ethylene-free environment they will recover and leaves will return to upright position. Epinasty was seen in Solenostemon scutellarioides, Catharanthus rosea, Cuphea ramosissima, Impatiens x hawkeri and I. walleriana.
Plants exhibiting permanent ethylene damage manifested symptoms of premature flower senescence such as wilting, abscission and bud blast. The majority of ethylene-sensitive plants showed greater than 75 percent of flowers senescing after ethylene treatment (Table 1), the only exceptions to this were Calibrachoa x hybrida and Vebena hybrida, which exhibited approximately 50 percent flower senescence.
Species showing permanent ethylene damage were split into two groups, those that were completely protected by 1-MCP and those in which 1-MCP provided incomplete protection. Plants that were completely protected by 1-MCP showed no signs of premature senescence when exposed to ethylene, while plants exposed to ethylene without 1-MCP pre-treatment resulted in large losses of flowers and flower buds. Angelonia angustifolia, Begonia x benariensis, Calibrachoa x hybrida, Catharanthus rosea (Figure 1), Cleome hassleriana, Diascia barberae, Impatiens x hawkeri (Figure 2), I. walleriana (Figure 3), Lantana camara, Lobelia erinus, Petunia hybrida and Vebena hybrida are among those which 1-MCP provided complete protection from ethylene damage.
1-MCP provided incomplete protection in Cuphea ramosissima, P. peltatum, Pelargonium x hortorum (Figure 4) interspecific and zonal hybrids, resulting in 1-MCP preventing senescence of approximately 50 percent floral parts when in the presence of ethylene. The majority of plants exhibited ethylene damage as flower and bud abscission and only a few showed symptoms of floral wilting and remaining intact on the plant (Lobelia, Calibrachoa and Petunia).
Notable differences in ethylene sensitivity were seen not only between plants of different genera but also within a genus at the species, series and cultivar level. Geraniums exposed to ethylene (without 1-MCP protection) showed an average flower abscission of 90 percent across two series 'Caliente' and 'Pinto Premium' while P. peltatum 'Contessa Sybil' was significantly less sensitive to ethylene with only 38 percent flower abscission. Impatiens
walleriana series 'Tumbler' ranged in flower abscission from 68 to 98 percent while 'Accent Premium' series ranged from 83 to 100 percent abscission. Begonia x benariensis 'Whopper Rose Green' was the least sensitive to ethylene exposure showing 48 percent abscission whereas 'Red Bronze', 'Rose Bronze' and 'Red Green' abscissed 63 to 70 percent of flowers (Table 2).
Ethylene sensitivity is affected not only by genetics but also plant health, nutrition and environmental conditions. Exposure to stress will increase ethylene sensitivity and can increase internal production of ethylene. Genetic differences in ethylene sensitivity are likely to be greatest between genus and species of plants, but differences can even exist within a series. This is not unexpected, as most bedding plants are not specifically selected for ethylene resistance. It is recommended for growers to monitor crops that they suspect to be ethylene sensitive for senescence symptoms during postproduction shipping and handling. Other cultivars of a species may be less susceptible to ethylene and could be suitable for production.
EthylBloc (Floralife Inc., Walterboro, S.C.) and Ethylene Buster (Crysal Americas, Miami, Fla.) are currently the only commercially available 1-MCP products registered for use on ornamental plants. These gaseous 1-MCP products are available in multiple formats for use in contained environments such as trucks, storage rooms, coolers and individual boxes. Our work shows 1-MCP is effective in protecting plants from external and internal ethylene for approximately four days after application. Crops that are susceptible to ethylene and could potentially be exposed to ethylene in shipping and handling would benefit from postproduction 1-MCP treatment before they are loaded into shipping boxes, carts or trucks.
A sprayable formula allows for 1-MCP application immediately before packing and shipping; it is effective and rainfast within minutes of application and growers can target ethylene susceptible crops rather than needed to treat entire shipping containers. We are hopeful that this sprayable 1-MCP technology will be registered and available for use on ornamental flower crops soon. Additional figures for this article can be seen online at www.gpnmag.com.
Postproduction of Bedding Plants: A Focus on Ethylene | <urn:uuid:b16ebc13-094a-4d42-bb73-1c4e6691b97a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.gpnmag.com/article/postproduction-bedding-plants-focus-ethylene-0/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284405.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00041-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931198 | 1,762 | 2.5625 | 3 |
September 11th Attack turns out to be a more successful attack than I first imagined. It was not just the 2,986 lives lost on that day. It was not even the economic recession months later. The real damage was done slowly, in the form of fear and spread like cancer.
9-11 drove us into a war. A war not declared by congress. A war that has none of the legitimacy but has done every bit of damage to both the supposed enemy and ourselves. It cost 30,000 Iraqi lives, 228 billion US dollars, and 2,154 US soldiers. Yet that is not the real damage either. The real tragedy is that in fighting the enemy we somehow became the enemy.
You can’t keep an enemy down without a part of yourself down there with him. Combat is the fastest way for cultures to exchange, for information to spread, and for people to change. There is nothing like the desperation of a fight that forces people to evolve and sometimes move in a direction that is normally unthinkable.
Our defeat is not just in the form of economic loss, not just in the lives of American citizen; our defeat is the lost of our way of life. The abuse and torture of prisoners, the detention of foreign citizens without trial, the secret CIA prisons all over the world – these are not the signs of freedom nor democracy. Even worse we committed all these acts ourselves, we are our worse enemy.
It is easy to talk. It is easy to name a law that strips the right of American citizens the “Patriot Act”. But the fact remains that a horse dropping by any other name would smell just as foul. A fascist country is the one that spy on its people without court approval. Our privacy and freedom is what this country should be about. Yet now, the president can and did order wiretap into your life without the other two legislative branches’ check and balance.
The enemy has already won. Instead of us brining Democracy to them, they have managed to make us loose ours. And in loosing what we used to hold most dear, we also lost the good opinions of friends all over the world. Some countries wonder, “Who is the terrorist? Who invaded whom?” Iraq did not plan nor execute 9-11. Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. It was a war started by mistake. It is our second Vietnam.
We have lost a great amount of political creditability with rest of the world. Our national debt has a disturbing trend of breaking its own gap record month after month. Our brothers are dying on foreign soil for a mistaken war. Even worse, do you really feel safer now? Is America or the world safer? It would seem one terror leader is simply replaced by a couple more nameless one.
An enemy is one that gets you killed, no matter which side he is on. In this case, an enemy is one that takes our Democracy from us, regardless of his side. It is time to seriously start thinking about impeaching Bush and Cheney and start the process of regaining our country.
Lastly, I would like to apologize to people who read this article from another country. My nation has wronged the world. My nation has not listened. Although I am just one small person and my apology meaningless in power, yet this is what I can offer and I offer it with all my heart. | <urn:uuid:6f58257d-883c-4322-bb88-4960e3a47fa7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://sushi-delight.blogspot.com/2005/12/sorry.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00135-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968517 | 694 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Opening of the exhibition “Fixed In Place Of The Sun” by ASEF Junior Fellow Ren Gregorčič
On Friday, July 15, the exhibition “Put in the place of the sun” by ASEF Junior Fellow from Australia Ren Gregorčič was opened. It is located at the exhibition space Vetrinjski in Maribor and it is Ren’s first exhibition in Slovenia. Before the opening and guided tour of the artworks, Ren sat down for a conversation with Maja Pan, a philosopher and cultural critic.
For an introduction, we learned more about Ren, his academic and artistic path, and his plans for the future. During the further conversation, Ren and Maja discussed Ren’s interest in concrete, general curiosity about what things are made of, and the conceptual background of the exhibition and Ren’s other works. The artist is mainly interested in the effect that concrete causes and not the design of concrete structures themselves. Ren commented that there is no system that is completely irresistible to change and that there is nothing that couldn’t be altered. They also addressed the environmental and political issues of water, concrete, capitalism, and climate change.
Ren presented photogrammetry, a technique he uses for his artwork. It provides a multisensory experience of objects to individuals. They also talked about the meaning behind the title of the and what the sun represents to the artist. Ren emphasized that the sun is an important concept for him, which, together with the moon, represents the ultimate concept of change. Maja also brought up his relationship with his Slovenian heritage, which Ren connected to the concrete dragons on the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana. The dragons are a strong symbol of Slovenia, especially for those abroad.
After the comprehensive conversation, the event moved to the exhibition space for the official opening and a guided tour of the works. Ren is presenting three pieces at the exhibition. Two were created in Slovenia, and the third one was created in Canberra, Australia. The artworks are placed in the exhibition space in a way that highlights the architectural elements and involves them in the story.
The work, which was made in Australia, is the author’s response to Haig Park in Canberra. The park is a man-made line of trees that are not native to Australia and serve as a shelterbelt. The focus point of the exhibition are the structures of concrete dragon statues from the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana. The author placed them in the exhibition space with the help of photogrammetry, reconstruction, video, and sound. The dragons were intentionally placed in the arches of the space so the architecture plays a part in the exhibition.
The opening of the exhibition ended with Ren thanking everyone who helped make it happen saying that art never happens solo.
The exhibition is available for viewing until August 19th every weekday between 1 pm and 6 pm at the exhibition space Vetrinjski in Maribor.
Photographs: Filip Bojanič, Gregor Salobir | <urn:uuid:32b99262-28a3-403a-afd3-a41159ffce3e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://asef.net/event/otvoritev-razstave-postavljeno-na-mesto-sonca-stipendista-asef-rena-gregorcica/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.975669 | 631 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Automakers have always had a history of reaching out to aftermarket companies and collaborating on projects. Still, GM is famous for having made everything from wheels to brake pads in their cars, a business model that at one point made them the largest company in the world. Times are different now though, and lately there has been a lot more crossover between automakers and the aftermarket, especially for high-end vehicles like the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.
There are problems, however, with shopping outside the company, as The Truth About Cars discovered on the Corvette Forums. Like many ZR1 owners, he had vibration issues in the steering wheel at highway speeds and soon discovered why; unbalanced rotors!
The Corvette ZR1 is made from an abundance of different aftermarket parts, including Brembo brakes and rotors. Now it’s important to note that many of the Corvette ZR1’s hit the road without any vibration problems at all. But others experienced vibrations in the steering wheel around the 75 mph mark. For a $100,000+ sports car, people expect better (despite the sheer awesomeness of the ZR1 in every other way).
The rotors were in total 1.5 oz out of balance, which doesn’t sound like much, but the vibration increases geometrically with road speed. The customer fixed the rotors himself, and later on received the proper rotors from GM after contacting some higher-up’s. GM is abundantly aware of the problem, having run out of “validated” rotors from Brembo, probably due to the unexpected popularity of the Corvette ZR1. GM and Brembo are both working on a process to ensure all rotors on future ZR1’s don’t have this problem, and really, what more can you ask? | <urn:uuid:6fdd1ba9-7b8c-44e4-af0e-e2e165016baf> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.corvetteonline.com/news/gm-working-on-corvette-zr1-brake-problems/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718957.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00436-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968889 | 384 | 1.546875 | 2 |
South Korea's spy agency on Tuesday accused North Korea of hacking into the smartphones of dozens of key officials, stealing text and voice messages and their call logs.
The announcement came a day after North Korea warned of nuclear strikes in response to the start of Seoul-Washington military exercises it views as an invasion rehearsal. This year's manoeuvres are the largest ever, meant to respond to the North's recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.
| Tensions high as South Korea accuses Pyongyang of provocations
The National Intelligence Service said in a statement that the cyberattacks were made between late February and early March.
It didn't say which officials' phones were hacked or whether the stolen text and voice messages contained any sensitive information.
The statement said North Korea also unsuccessfully tried to hack into email accounts of South Korean railway officials earlier this year, in a preparation for cyberattack on the South's railway transport control system.
There was no immediate reaction from North Korea
Seoul has accused Pyongyang of launching a series of cyberattacks in recent years. Pyongyang has denied the claims.
Meanwhile, South Korea announced new unilateral sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday amid the escalation of tensions on the peninsula, including import-export restrictions
"First, we are expanding the scope of financial sanctions related to North Korea. Second, we are strengthening maritime regulations," said Lee Suk-joon, minister for government policy coordination.
Many alleged North Korean cyberattacks failed to infiltrate computer systems of businesses and government agencies.
But in several successful cases, also denied by North Korea, hackers destroyed hard-drive disks, paralysed banking systems, or disrupted access to websites. One of these attacks was so crippling that a South Korean bank was unable to resume online banking services for more than two weeks.
In 2014, the United States accused North Korea of a cyberattack on Sony Pictures over a movie depicting the fictional assassination of the North's leader, Kim Jong Un. North Korea has denied any involvement in the hacking.
Last year, South Korea said North Korea has a 6,000-member cyber army dedicated to disrupting the South's military and government. The figure was a sharp increase from a 2013 South Korean estimate of 3,000 such specialists.
| UN slams sanctions on North Korea | <urn:uuid:394c978b-5780-4269-9389-e22dd2c54971> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/south-north-korea-hacked-phones-160308055826957.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00471-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9538 | 457 | 1.773438 | 2 |
As we leave behind 2021 and move to 2022, here are some articles on transition:
- Bent, M. (2008). Perceptions of Information Literacy in the Transition to Higher Education. National Teaching Fellowship Project Report. Newcastle University. https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/55850 open access (research carried out in the UK as part of a National Teaching Fellowship. The aim was "to investigate the conflicts and congruencies between staff and student perceptions of information literacy in the transition to higher education, particularly in Chemistry and English" and data was gathered through interviews, focus groups, survey and also workshops developing findings with professionals. It includes some discussion of Threshold Concepts and information literacy - well before ACRL addressed this connection).
- Hicks, A. (2020). Negotiating change: Transition as a central concept for information literacy. Journal of Information Science. (early online publication - open access) https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0165551520949159
- Salisbury, F. & Karasmanis, S. (2011) Are they Ready? Exploring Student Information Literacy Skills in the Transition from Secondary to Tertiary Education. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 42(1), 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/00048623.2011.10722203 (reports on a results of questionnaire/test of 1029 first year health science students: one of the most useful recommendations identifies the value of inderstanding more about the existing skill/knowledge of the students, so you can develop a programme that builds on this).
- Varlejs, J. & Stec, E. (2014). Factors Affecting Students' Information Literacy as They Transition from High School to College. School Library Research, 17. Open access at https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1022549 (interesting study in which they assessed information literacy through a few different means in a first year university course, then identified the schools the students had previously attended, and interviewed librarians in schools where students had either scored very well or poorly. They identify a number of factors that appear to influence the information literacy of new university students, but in particular identify an aspect that wasn't talked about (i.e. the administration and culture of the schools) as being an important hidden factor)
Photo by Sheila Webber: the wreath at number 31, December 2021
Friday, December 31, 2021
As we leave behind 2021 and move to 2022, here are some articles on transition:
Thursday, December 30, 2021
A couple of videos from the Center for Media and Information Literacy, Temple University, USA
- The Power of Algorithms https://vimeo.com/610145688 "Guests Judith Donath and Michael Kearns join host Sherri Hope Culver to share their expertise on algorithms and discuss how they affect our everyday lives."
- A New Reality: Trends in Virtual Communications https://vimeo.com/623467304 "Dr. H Branch Cosett, UPENN Neurology professor and operator of a VR lab, and Paige Gross, head technical reporter of Technical.ly Philly, share their expertise on the future of augumented reality."
Photo by Sheila Webber: memories of snow in November 2021
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
From the most recent issue of priced publication Library Trends:
Warschaw, O. (2021). Information Literacy for Fashion Students: Translating Visual and Tactile Cues into Searchable Key Terms. Library Trends, 70(1), 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2021.0015 "Emerging fashion researchers often have their first experience with visual and tactile research in postsecondary school. Fashion librarians and educators must be able to assist students in adapting their perspective to include analyses of characteristics like color, silhouette, fabric, weave, and embellishment, in addition to familiarity with the fashion scholarship. However, translating visual and tactile cues into searchable vocabulary bridges can be difficult and exposes a gap in information literacy. In this article the author shares three information literacy exercises that librarians may combine with institution-specific resource instruction to guide students in developing a useful vocabulary for image- and object-based research and meeting their unique educational needs."
A superficial search for other fashion-related articles included:
- Duncan, A. (2019). Crossing the threshold: innovations in information literacy. Spark, 4(1). https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/125 (open access) "This case study reflects on the use of threshold concepts (Meyer and Land, 2003) within the teaching of information literacy. It describes three embedded classes which were devised and delivered by an Academic Support Librarian, alongside a Fashion Management Course Leader at London College of Fashion. The article examines how and why the sessions were structured around threshold concepts of information literacy, reflecting on the benefits of the intervention."
- Thompson, L. (2017). Fashioning the Framework: Information Literacy for Fashion Studies. Art Documentation, 40(2), 304-315. https://doi.org/10.1086/716735 (priced)
- Art Libraries Society of North America. (2017). ARLIS/NA Core Competencies for Art Information Professionals. https://www.arlisna.org/news/arlisna-core-competencies-for-art-information-professionals## (open access)
Photo by Sheila Webber: the wreath at number 29, December 2021
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
The latest article in the open access journal ITLWTLP is:
Iris Jastram, Claudia Peterson and Emily Scharf (2021, 13 October). Source Evaluation: Supporting Undergraduate Student Research Development. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2021/source-evaluation/ "Each year since 2008, librarians at Carleton College read samples of sophomore writing as part of the Information Literacy in Student Writing project. The data captured through this project combined with our experiences in consultations and instruction sessions give us a richer understanding of undergraduate information literacy habits. We highlight two challenges for novices: evaluating and selecting sources, and understanding the purpose and methods of integrating sources into written work. We discuss the evidence that leads us to these conclusions and the methods we use to promote student development in these priority areas."
They provide a link to the project website, which includes the rubric they use in marking the work and their marking guidelines https://www.carleton.edu/library/help/research/librarians/infolit/projects/portfolios/
Monday, December 27, 2021
In early December the Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance and UNESCO IITE (Institute for Information Technologies in Education) and held the virtual Global MOOC and Online Education Conference 2021.
On the conference page https://mooc.global/conference you can see each of the tracks, and if you click on a track you get a short overview of key themes and embedded vidoes of the relevant part of the conference. Tracks included: Equitable and Quality Online and Blended Teaching and Learning; Metaverse and Immersive Technology in Teaching and Learning; Designing and Delivering the Most Career-relevant Online Programs.
Photo by Sheila Webber: the wreath at number 27, December 2021
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Photo by Sheila Webber: Chapelgarth skline, December 2021
Saturday, December 25, 2021
A merry and information literate Christmas to you! As usual on Christmas Day, the photo is of the wreath I made out of offcuts from this year's Christmas tree. It is getting a bit damp outside, but the cool and rain will keep the greenery fresh....
Friday, December 24, 2021
A lazy seasonal search ("information literacy" christmas) failed to find any actual articles applying information literacy in a Christmas context. However, I did get a hit for the word Christmas (albeit in passing) in an article about IL and music, so I decided that I would go with music as the theme for this Christmas Eve blog post. Firstly, the article that mentions Christmas carols in passing:
- Kimball, K. & O'Connor, L. (2010). Engaging Auditory Modalities through the Use of Music in Information Literacy Instruction. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 49(4), 316-319. (open access) https://journals.ala.org/index.php/rusq/article/view/3609 It gives examples using music relating to the ACRL IL Standards.
Moving on from the Standards to the Framework:
- Conor, E. (2016). Engaging Students in Disciplinary Practices: Music Information Literacy and the Acrl Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education. Notes, 73(1), 9-21. (not open access) https://doi.org/10.1353/not.2016.0087 "This article presents possible ways to implement the Framework, using the author’s collaboration with Reed College Associate Professor of Music Morgan Luker as a case study."
Something different from standards or frameworks from Australia: Lupton's illuminating research into the information literacy of music students and tax law students (also helps you think about what does "information" itself mean in a music context):
- Lupton, M. (2008). Information literacy and learning. PhD thesis, Queensland University of Technology. (open access) https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16665/
Next, a bibliography
- Duffy, M.(2018) Contemporary Analysis of Information Literacy in Music: A Literature Review and Selected Annotated Bibliography. Music Reference Services Quarterly, 21(2), 45-77. (I think this is opne access) https://doi.org/10.1080/10588167.2017.1398801
Finally, a book (definitely not free!)
- Christensen, B., Conor, E. & Ritter, M. (2018). Information Literacy in Music An Instructor's Companion. A-R Editions & Music Library Association. https://www.areditions.com/christensen-et-al-information-literacy-in-music-tr035.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: the wreath at number 24, December 2021
Thursday, December 23, 2021
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education of Qatar last week held a workshop on Media Information Literacy (MIL), discussing development of MIL in Qatari primary and secondary schools. This is part of a study commissioned by UNESCO Gulf States & Yemen Office in Doha, Qatar. See the release & photos at https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-gulf-states-yemen-office-helm-advanced-discussion-media-information-literacy-qatariPhoto by Sheila Webber: Chapelgarth, tree and sky, December 2021
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
The last in Project Infolit's Provocations series for 2021 (14 December) is Information Literacy for Mortals by Mike Caulfield. Caulfield developed the SIFT approach for evaluating information: (S)TOP; (I)nvestigate the Source; (F)ind better coverage; (T)race claims, quotes, and media back to the original context. His blog has interesting discussion on fact checking as well as links to his publications etc. In the Provocation, Caulfield makes an argument that, in terms of fact checking, less can be more, in that if you spend too much time examining sources from every angle it may become confusung rather than illuminating. He also focuses on everyday life "the citizen is often not looking for academic precision, but to make good decisions under conditions of uncertainty". To read the article go to: https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/information-literacy-for-mortals.htmlPhoto by Sheila Webber: walking near Chapelgarth, December 2021
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Recent articles: Journalism; active learning; disciplinary standards; teaching assistants; international students
The last issue of priced journal Portal: libraries and the academy (volume 21 issue 4) includes:
- Redesigning a Journalism Course to Integrate IL: A Case Study by Piotr S. Bobkowski, Karna Younger, John C. Watson
- Participation and Presence: Interrogating Active Learning by Alison Hicks, Caroline Sinkinson
- Teaching Assistants’ Research Assignments and Information Literacy by Glenn Koelling, Alyssa Russo
- An Analysis of References to Information Literacy in National Disciplinary Standards by Kendall Faulkner, Tiffanie Ford-Baxter
- Understanding Ethics and Quality in Information Literacy: A Multidimensional Approach by María Pinto, Dora Sales, Rosaura Fernández-Pascual
- “Hay muchos Méxicos”: A New Approach to Designing International Information Literacy Instruction by Alison Hicks, Bronwen K. Maxson, Betsaida M. Reyes
- Effects of Students’ Demographic and Academic Characteristics on Library Use: A Perspective from Pakistan by Alia Arshad, Faiqa Mansoor, Khalid Mahmood
Go to https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/46379
Photo by Sheila Webber: the wreath & bells at number 21, December 2021
Monday, December 20, 2021
CILIP's Library & Information Research Group has organised an online course on 25 January 2022 10.00-12.30 UK time, How to write a literature review. "Suitable for: those who want to undertake research into an aspect of library practice, those who are interested in doing a systematic or scoping review in relation to library practice." The tutor is Professor Alison Brettle. It covers "Why it is important to undertake a literature review; The difference between a traditional literature review, a scoping review (and when to use them); Challenges and solutions for doing a literature review; Signposting to further resources"
Price (Including VAT) CILIP Member £15; Student/Unwaged £5; Non-member £20. Go to https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1564685
Photo by Sheila Webber: skyline, Chapelgarth, December 2021
Sunday, December 19, 2021
The Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder delivered their Final Report: Information Disorder on November 15 2021 and this 80-page report, which particularly focuses on a US context, can be freely downloaded.
Information disorder "denotes the broad societal challenges associated with misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation". They make: Recommendations to increase transparency; Recommendations to build trust; and Recommendations to reduce harms. Go to https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/towards-a-stronger-information-ecosystem-commission-on-information-disorder-report-recommendations/
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Webinar: EduMediaTest, an Interactive Tool for Evaluation of Media Literacy Skills in secondary education school students
EKOME in partnership with UNESCO Media & Information Literacy Alliance, Europe Sub-Chapter Mediterranean Group has organised a webinar on the EduMediaTest, an Interactive Tool for Evaluation of Media Literacy Skills in secondary education school students on Monday, 20 December 2021, 17.00 - 18.30 EET (Athens time, which is, e.g. 15.00-16.30 UK time) and live streamed through EKOME Facebook (@ekomemedia). Speakers are: Mittzy Arciniega (researcher at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, and scientific coordinator of EduMediaTest project from Spain), Tânia Soares (Head of Media Analysis Department at ERC in Portugal) and Robert Tomljenovic (Vice President of AEM in Croatia). They will present and discuss the MIL challenges set by the new EU project, co-funded by Creative Europe / Media Literacy for All. The webinar will be moderated by Irene Andriopoulou, UNESCO MIL Alliance co-Secretary General and Head of Research, Studies & Educational Department of EKOME, also national partner of EduMediaTest.
The link to the EduMediaTest project is here https://edumediatest.eu/
Register for the webinar here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0gT7EBHrS4iwXQXvG1IQhw
Photo by Sheila Webber: a beautiful day at Chapelgarth, December 2021
Friday, December 17, 2021
The latest issue of the open access journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (Vol. 16 No. 4) has been published. It includes:
- It’s What’s on the Inside That Counts: Analyzing Student Use of Sources in Composition Research Papers by James W Rosenzweig, Frank Lambert, Mary C. Thill
- Generation 1.5 and Academic Libraries: Strategies for Supporting English Learners (ELs) in Reference and Instruction by Megan Margino Marchese (review article)
- Cultivating Our Practice: A Reflection on Library Synthesis Review Services in the Context of Patient-Oriented Research by Catherine Boden, Angie Gerrard
plus evidence summaries, including: Library Staff Need More Support in Order to Alleviate Teaching Anxiety and Public Libraries Help Patrons of Color to Bridge the Digital Divide, but Barriers Remain
Go to https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/issue/view/1958
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Webinar: Using Project Outcome to Assess and Improve a First-Year English Composition Information Literacy Program
There is a free webinar which is part of ACRL's Project Outcome, taking place at on 14 January 2022 at 3pm US Central time (which is e.g. 9pm UK time): Closing the Loop: Using Project Outcome to Assess and Improve a First-Year English Composition Information Literacy Program. "Join us for a free webinar with librarians from DeSales University where you will learn how to set up and implement Project Outcome for Academic Libraries in a university library. We will discuss how to handle difficulties of implementation as well as how to process results." Registration at https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2ix5BAzyQoqNMdF3s-4Bvg
Photo by Sheila Webber: Xmas wreaths, door no. 16, December 2021
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Call for proposals: Expanding the Conversation: Digital, Media, and Civic Literacies In and Out of the Library
There is a call for proposals for the 20th Annual Information Literacy Summit, which has the theme Expanding the Conversation: Digital, Media, and Civic Literacies In and Out of the Library, and takes place online on 29 April 2022. It is organised by College of DuPage Library and DePaul University Library, USA. The deadline for proposals is 21 January 2022.
"We are seeking presenters to lead engaging and interactive discussions about information literacy and library instruction. We are especially interested in breakout sessions and panels which explore the evolving nature of information literacy and are related to this year’s theme" Suggested themes are
"Digital literacies: How do we make invisible algorithms (and their impacts) visible? What do critical digital literacies look like?
"Media literacies: How do we engage with media literacy in the classroom? In our daily lives? How do we evaluate new forms of media and changing information ecosystems?
"Civic literacies: What opportunities do we have to engage with questions around social justice and democratic participation? How does information shape civic engagement?
"Partnerships promoting information literacy across departments, campuses, institutions: How do we work with first year writing programs to embed key literacies into the core curriculum? What are good examples of media information literacy resources that can be reused across institutions?"
For more information and the proposal submission form go to https://informationliteracysummit.org/call-for-proposals/
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Two recent recordings of Association of College and Research Library (ACRL) webinars:
- Recording of Libraries and Learning Analytics: Facts, False Choices, and Future Forays (November 15, 2021) Speakers: Megan Oakleaf, Ken Varnum, Becky Croxton. 1 hour. https://youtu.be/X-6-YHaX_t4
- Recording of the ACRL PPIRS (Politics, Policy and International Relations Section) webinar: Evidence Synthesis and politics, policy & international relations [including the librarian's role in evidence synthesis] (December 8 2021). Speakers: Emily Keller, Andrew Dudash, Annelise Sklar, & Sarah Young. 1 hour. https://youtu.be/4u5EQe7jOg8 They mention the Evidence Synthesis Methods Interest Group https://www.ala.org/acrl/acr-igsrrm
Monday, December 13, 2021
The latest issue of open access Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship / Revue canadienne de bibliothéconomie universitaire (CJAL/Rcbu) (volume 7) includes:
- Faculty and Librarian Perceptions of Librarians as Researchers: Results from Semi-Structured Interviews by Maureen Babb ("Librarian research was found to be sometimes unsupported and therefore difficult to conduct, but valuable to librarians and the discipline of librarianship. Additionally, librarian research was found to improve relations between librarians and faculty, and more broadly, was found to create a more collegial academic climate.")
- Insiders' Perspectives on the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy An Interview with Trudi Jacobson and Craig Gibson/ Retour sur le Référentiel de l’ACRL avec ceux qui l’ont créé entretien avec Trudi Jacobson et Craig Gibson by Jean-Michel Lapointe, Craig Gibson, Trudi Jacobson
- Creation of an Online Library Instruction Course for Faculty by Diane Zerr, Tasha Maddison Go to https://cjal.ca/index.php/capal/issue/view/2425
Sunday, December 12, 2021
These links are to the e-book versions.
- Miller, M.L. (2021). Mind, Motivation, and Meaningful Learning: Strategies for Teaching Adult Learners. American Library Association, ACRL. ISBN 978-0-8389-3895-9. Cost US $64.00; ALA Member $57.60. https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/mind-motivation-and-meaningful-learning-strategies-teaching-adult-learners%E2%80%94eeditions-pdf-e
- Buljung, B. & Bongiovanni, E. (Eds) (2021). The Scholarly Communications Cookbook. American Library Association, ACRL. ISBN 978-0-8389-3848-5. Cost US $62.00; ALA Member $55.80. https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/scholarly-communications-cookbook%E2%80%94eeditions-pdf-e-book
Photo by Sheila Webber: Greenwich Park, December 2021
Saturday, December 11, 2021
- National University of Ireland, Galway. (2021, 3 December). Service of the Month: Academic Skills and the Academic Writing Centre. http://hardimanlibrary.blogspot.com/2021/12/service-of-month-academic-skills-and.html "The Academic Skills Team in the Library supports the information and research needs of NUI Galway undergraduate and taught postgraduate students." They quote the CILIP definition of information literacy and give examples of their resources and services.
- Reece. (2021, 15 November) Learning from Lecturing. BizLibratory. https://bizlibratory.wordpress.com/2021/11/15/learning-from-lecturing/ "Recently I had my first experience as a guest lecturer. The students were from a variety of social sciences areas and included (non-business) undergraduate students at all levels. ... This experience also got me thinking about what I could learn from guest lecturing and bring back to the research instruction I do, as well as how to integrate similar types of teaching into my work more regularly. I wanted to share some things I have learned from working on this lecture that I hope to apply to all my teaching." [Author is a business librarian at a Canadian University]
Photo by Sheila Webber: hedges and leaves, November 2021
Friday, December 10, 2021
The IFLA Audiovisual & Multimedia Section has organised a webinar on 14 December 2021 09.00-10.00 US Eastern time (which is, e.g 14.00-15.00 UK time): Literacy & Representation: Teaching Media & Visual Literacies Across Communities. "Attendees of this presentation will learn how to incorporate media and visual literacy into their classrooms, to be more aware of a variety of perspectives and communities, and how to encourage and create a safe and inviting space where all learners can be vulnerable and grow." Presenters: Nicholae Cline, Librarian for Media Studies, Gender Studies & Philosophy; Jackie Fleming, Librarian for Visual Literacy and Resources; Monique Threatt, Head, Media Services (Indiana University Bloomington Libraries, USA).
Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_B4Ea5P_cTiCcEcwRWIJduA
More information at https://www.ifla.org/events/avms-webinar-literacy-representation-teaching-media-visual-literacies-across-communities/
Thursday, December 09, 2021
Recording: Advancing an International Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Digital Communications Companies to Promote Media and Information Literacy
Embedded below is the recording of an important panel that took place today as part of the Internet Governance Forum, supported by UNESCO and the European Union: Advancing an International Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Digital Communications Companies to Promote Media and Information Literacy. The panellists were: (as Chair) Mr Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO; Ms Vera Jourova, Vice President and Commissioner, European Commission; Ms Samia Bibars, Minister Plenipotentiary and Director, Monitoring & Crisis Management Department Media & Information Sector, Arab League (Speaking on behalf of the Secretary General of the Arab League); Ms Silvia Bacher, Founder, Las Otras Voces, Member of the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance; Ms Sonia Gill, Secretary General, Caribbean Broadcasting Union; Ms Sinéad McSweeney, Global Vice President of Public Policy, Twitter; and Ms Clair Deevy, Director of Global Policy Programs, WhatsApp.
It was heartening to hear the speakers, from different regions and sectors, stress the importance of Media and Information Literacy (MIL): it seems that MIL is being propelled further up the agenda internationally. Amongst other things, Mr Jelassi mentioned the recent endorsement by UNESCO's General Council of the of the Windhoek +30 declaration on information as a public good.
Wednesday, December 08, 2021
The ALA LIRT (Library Instruction Round Table) invites nominations for two awards created to recognise excellence in information literacy teaching. Winners receive a US $1,000 award, a plaque, and a US $500 stipend to be used to attend the 2022 ALA Annual Conference. The 2 awards are:
- The LIRT Librarian Recognition Award "honors a practicing librarian for their contributions to information literacy and instruction."
- The LIRT Innovation in Instruction Award "honors a library for their innovative approach to information literacy and instruction."
Deadline for nominations is 15 January 2022. You can self-nominate or nominate someone else.
Further information at http://www.ala.org/rt/lirt/awards
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn leaves, November 2021
Tuesday, December 07, 2021
New articles: Preschool IL; IL and citizenship; Critical insights into IL tutorials; Tutorial for transition to Masters; Doctoral students' & law students' digital literacy; Cartoons
There is a new issue (volume 15 no. 3) of the open-access Journal of Information Literacy. The articles are as follows (there are also conference reports and an editorial):
- Kindergarteners building a library of their own by Hilde Terese Drivenes Moore, Irene Trysnes [a project that involved preschool children creating and sharing digital stories]
- ‘Informed’, ‘active’ and ‘engaged’? Understanding and enacting information literacy from a UK citizenship perspective by Simon Paul Cloudesley
- ‘Babe… you're a bit of a know it all’: Student love and breakup letters to a library research skills tutorial by Danielle Dennie, Susie Breier
- (Mis)information, information literacy, and democracy by Pascal Lupien, Lorna Rourke
- A qualitative investigation of the digital literacy practices of doctoral students by Diane Louise Bell
- Step Up to Masters by Daniel John Pullinger, Jiani Liu [reports on the research and development of an online information literacy resource supprting transition to Masters level study]
- The implementation and embedding of digital skills and digital literacy into the curriculum considering the Covid-19 pandemic and the new SQE by Matthew Carl, Louise Worsfold [SQE=Solicitors Qualifying Examination]
- Capturing the big picture by Navroop Gill, Elena Springall [reports on research into academic librarians perceptions of challenges and supports in teaching information literacy]
- Cartooning the Cambridge University Libraries by Clare Louise Trowell
Go to https://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/JIL/issue/view/232
Monday, December 06, 2021
There is a free online event focusing on the Education Companion Document to the ACRL Information Literacy Framework, which is being developed. It is on 10 December 2021 at 14.00-15.30 USA Eastern time (which is, e.g. 19.00-20.30 UK time): The ACRL Framework and Teacher Education: Shaping the Companion Document for Instruction for Education .
"What do education librarians and faculty need from a companion document to the ACRL Framework? The EBSS Instruction for Educators Committee invites you to join colleagues to discuss how the new Education Companion Document to the Framework (a work in progress) could support your work with teacher education faculty and students. This workshop will give you a chance to discuss and provide feedback in small groups. Help shape the new document!" You need to register well in advance, by 17.00 USA Central time (which is, e.g. 23.00 UK time) on 8 December at https://ewu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqcuyhqjMtGtOZVZ2twv0FDZ4M7LT3cIwZ
This is the link to the draft Instruction for Education: Companion Document for the ACRL Framework. https://acrl.libguides.com/ed/Welcome and there is more information about the event here (including discussion questions) https://sites.google.com/view/ebssifedec2021workshop/home
Photo by Sheila Webber: boots and leaves, November 2021
Sunday, December 05, 2021
A couple of interesting posts from other blogs:
- Little, H.B. (2021, 3 December). Different Information Worlds: More Than a “Filter Bubble”. Knowledge Quest. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/%e2%80%8bdifferent-information-worlds/ [Discusses the different information worlds that students, parents and educators may live in, with interesting links to other articles etc.]
- Jarson, J. (2021, 29 October). From clicks toward concepts in the information literacy classroom. ACRL blog. https://acrlog.org/2021/10/29/from-clicks-toward-concepts-in-the-information-literacy-classroom/ [talks about the value of storytelling]
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn branches, November 2021
Saturday, December 04, 2021
Highlighting another Libguide, this time from the University of Akron School of Law library (USA) on Evaluating websites and blogs, with tabs of information and advice relating to: authority, accuracy, scope, currency, official/authentic sources, fake news. There is an update date of November 15 2021 (though I haven't checked myself that all the links are working etc!) Go to https://law.uakron.libguides.com/c.php?g=495106&p=3388091
Friday, December 03, 2021
There is now a te reo version, in addition to the existing English version, of the Rauru Whakarare Evaluation Framework: entitled Rauru Whakarare: He Anga Arotake. This framework was first developed a few years ago, and is introduced thus "The Rauru Whakarare Evaluation Framework provides a kaupapa Māori-informed approach to evaluation that enables us to critique and engage deeply with the information that surrounds us. It is available for teachers, students and librarians in all educational contexts to start a conversation about information quality and its contribution to our learning. We integrated Māori concepts into the framework to promote deeper engagement with the information evaluation process than can be captured using English terms. We believe that the Māori concepts contain an embedded spirituality and metaphor that is often lost in a purely literal English translation." The Framework can be used under a creative commons license, and the page which describes the Framework and links to resources in both languages is here: https://informationliteracyspaces.wordpress.com/rauru-whakarere-evaluation-framework/
Thursday, December 02, 2021
The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) maintains a Libguide about the ACRL Information Literacy Framework with pages for each frame including variously summaries of the key aspects of the frame, links, ideas for activities, a literature review (mostly dated March/April 2020) for each frame, etc. Go to https://libguides.palni.edu/c.php?g=185459&p=1224981Photo by Sheila Webber: snowpeople advancing towards the bandstand, November 2021
Wednesday, December 01, 2021
There is a Portuguese translation of Tom Mackey and Trudi Jacobson's 2014 book Metaliteracy . It is available as an open online resource
Mackey, T. & Jacobson, T. (2021). Metaletramento. http://www.valentim.bsb.br/metaletramento/.
I wrote a 2 page preface to the book so I was excited to see my words in Portuguese! It includes the interactive features such as annotating. The translation & publication was supported by The Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), Research Unit of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) in partnership with UNESCO and ALA/Neal-Schuman Publishing. Mackey & Jacobsen reported this in their Metaliteracy blog.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
An interesting webinar which I think is related to information literacy (evaluation of and trust in information) on 2 December 2021 13.00-14.00 CET (which is, e.g., 12 noon-1pm UK time): Building trust: Faith leaders engagement in vaccine confidence, organised as part of the World Health Organization's Infodemic inititaive.
"A discussion with faith leaders and faith-based organizations highlighting the role of faith leaders in building trust and vaccine confidence during the pandemic response. What were the facilitating factors, and what were the barriers? How can we apply the lessons learned during COVID-19 and for future health emergencies?"
The speakers are: Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik (Spiritual leader of the Congregation Kol Shearith Israel in Panama since 2002; Executive Director of the Panamanian Jewish Congress; member of the Interfaith Committee of Panama); Priestess Beatriz Schulthess (President, Indigenous Peoples Ancestral Spiritual Council; Honorary President, Religions for Peace, Indigenous, Costa Rica); Judge Mohammad Abou Zeid (Head of the Family Court of Sidon; Imam and preacher at Aisha Mosque in Sidon, Lebanon; independent consultant for World Vision International, wrote the Islamic adaptation of WVI Channels of Hope COVID-19 Vaccine module); Dr Manoj Kurian (Coordinator at Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, World Council of Churches); Sister Agatha O. Chikelue (Executive Director, Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace. Chair, Religions for Peace-International Women's Coordinating Committee). Register at https://bit.ly/WHORfPComms2
Monday, November 29, 2021
The next EAVI Conversation is on Tuesday 30 November 2021 at 16.00 CET (which is, e.g., 3pm UK time), with Alexandre Le Voci Sayad who is co-Chair of the International Committee of UNESCO's Media and Information Literacy Alliance. The focus is on Media Literacy for all including "Analyse the role of educators and learners; Identify the critical role of developing specific skills nowadays and the significance of lifelong learning; Examine how cities can educate their citizens for the media" Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1Sl0slP7TTOgpD5OZLyYIwPhoto by Sheila Webber: snowman today, November 2021
Sunday, November 28, 2021
There is an online meeting on New directions in AI: formation of an IFLA Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence on 6 December 2021 at 4pm UTC (UK time); 5pm CET; 11am US EST. This exploratory meeting will: "give an overview of the current state of AI in libraries; discuss the goals and objectives; gather 25 signatories who intend to actively participate in the activities of the SIG for a petition to be submitted to the Professional Council; propose a satellite meeting and main session at IFLA WLIC 2022 in Dublin, Ireland." "Artificial intelligence applications are increasingly a part of the library space: in chatbots, embedded in library systems, used for automated indexing and classification, and integral to robots. The IT Section is sponsoring the formation of a Special Interest Group in AI (AI SIG). ... If the SIG is approved we will also hold the first business meeting to nominate a Convenor and seek volunteers to serve in roles including Secretary and Communications Coordinator. Registration at https://bnf-fr.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kfuGopzssH9z17Zw0Xy2tahGPDZATZlZ-
Friday, November 26, 2021
Middleton, L. & Hall, H. (2021). Workplace information literacy: a bridge to the development of innovative work behaviour [IWB]. Journal of Documentation, 77(6), 1343-1363. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-03-2021-0065 "The purpose of the work reported in this paper was to investigate a further set of possible determinants of the development of IWB: those that are information-related." using mixed methods "A set of information-related determinants of the development of IWB is evidenced, adding to the list of determinants that are already well documented. Notably workplace information literacy (IL) appears to furnish a bridge between determinants of the development of IWB and workplace learning."
Zimmerman, M.S. (2021). Health information-seeking behavior in the time of COVID-19: information horizons methodology to decipher source path during a global pandemic. Journal of Documentation, 77(6), 1248-1264. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-01-2021-0022. The aim was "To determine the differences, as represented by information horizons mapping, in the health information-seeking behavior from a group of participants between March 2019 and April 2020 of the novel coronavirus pandemic." 149 participants drew information horizons maps & did a health literacy test, this was repeated before and after the start of the pandemic "There is a statistically significant difference in the increased number of sources and the ranked quality of the sources that people used during the pandemic. Participants were much more likely to use credible sources and news sources, especially if they were older, more educated and had higher literacy levels – both health and information. They also relied heavily on social media. The participant group in the pandemic had a much heavier reliance on sources that are often used in a passive encountering way but engaging with them in an active information-seeking manner. The health information-seeking behavior in this study did not adhere to other research that found issue with information overload, avoidance and cyberchondria in response to crisis situations."
Ke, Q., Du, J.T. and Ji, L. (2021). Toward a conceptual framework of health crisis information needs: an analysis of COVID-19 questions in a Chinese social Q&A website. Journal of Documentation, 77(4), 851-870. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-10-2020-0173 "This study collected the COVID-19-related questions posted on a Chinese social Q&A website for a period of 90 days since the pandemic outbreak in China. A qualitative thematic approach was applied to analyze the 1,681 valid questions using an open coding process. ... A taxonomy of information need topics for a health crisis context that identifies 8 main categories and 33 subcategories was developed, from which four overarching themes were extracted. These include understanding, clarification and preparation; affection expression of worries and confidence; coping with a challenging situation and resuming normal life; and social roles in the pandemic."
Photo by Sheila Webber: branchlet of autumn leaves, November 2021
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Free online event: Nailed It! Stories of Failure, Setbacks, and Where We Go From There on 3 December 2021 at 9.00-13.00 US Pacific time (which is, e.g., 17.00-21.00 UK time). It is organised by CARLDIG-S (California Academic Reference Librarians Discussion Interest Group-South).
"This program will offer an opportunity for library professionals to share their encounters with frustration or failure in areas of reference and the lessons they learned. Can you think of a time that, despite your best intentions, things just didn't go according to plan? This is the program for you! While we don't often discuss failure in our lives, it is important to normalize these conversations and embrace failure in our places of work. Failures mean we are experimenting, innovating, and creating new opportunities for growth. Through sharing our own stories, we can inspire others as they work through their own workplace challenges. So let's talk about failure!"
The "Tentative" programme includes lightning talks Instructional Fail: How an Active Learning Activity Led To a Title IX Discussion and What’s the Answer? Lessons Learned from Assessing Tutorial Questions, and breakout topics include IL instruction.
Go here for more information and registration: https://carldigs.libguides.com/home
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn carpet of leaves, November 2021
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has just published a Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Research Competencies in Writing and Literature. This elaborates the framework in relation to this subject area. It aims to provide librarians with
"1) concepts for improving information literacy for novice and expert learners of writing and literature,
"2) tools to help create learning objectives for information literacy instruction in these same areas, and
"3) ways to align their teaching practices with the ACRL Framework."
The pdf is at https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/standards/framework_companion_LES.pdf
You can also find this document in the Standards, Guidelines, and Frameworks section of the ACRL website https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards
Photo by Sheila Webber: Agapanthus heads, November 2021
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
A UKeiG Zoom Course is Discovering Google’s databases – meet the hidden family, presented by information expert Karen Blakeman. It runs 10.00-13.00 UK time. "This online course looks at Google’s collection of databases, their features, and when and how to use them effectively." The cost, including presentation slides and documentation, is UKeiG/CILIP members £50 + VAT, non-members £80 + VAT
It is running on 25 November 2021: details here https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1565978&group=201314
and 7 December 2021 details here https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1569784&group=
Monday, November 22, 2021
There is a call for contributions for a Special Issue of the open-acces Journal of Information Literacy on Critical Information Literacy. The issue will be published June 2023 and the deadline for contributions is 9 January 2023. It special issue is edited by Lauren Smith and Alison Hicks.
Contributions "are welcomed in a wide range of formats. We will consider traditional manuscripts focusing on theory or research but are also keen to receive practice-based contributions and those taking unconventional forms. These could include zines, photo- or video-essays, research agendas, collaborative discussions, or audio recordings" As well as contributions, they are seeking mentors to support authors through the process.
They say that the aim "is twofold: to expand on the rich knowledge sharing occurring in critical information literacy practice; and to highlight explorations of this work from a research perspective. What is the nature of the ways the body of theoretical and research literature on critical information literacy is (and is not) reflected in practice? How are social changes influencing discourse in librarianship, and in turn, the boundaries between theory, research and practice related to critical information literacy?"
For more information go to https://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/JIL/announcement/view/44
Sunday, November 21, 2021
Forthcoming Library Juice Academy short online courses include:
- Online Instructional Delivery. December 6 2021 - January 2 2022 Cost US $200. Leader Mimi O'Malley. "This four-week course walks participants through the instructional delivery and facilitation of an online course. The course pays attention to instructor social presence and feedback. This course delves into online instructor strategies for pacing online students on task and remedying student misbehavior in the online classroom." Go to https://libraryjuiceacademy.com/shop/course/267-online-instructional-delivery/
- Critical Information Literacy. Cost US $300. January 3 - February 13 2022. Leaders: Dawn Stahura, Des Alaniz. "Over the six weeks of this course, we will examine core concepts of critical information literacy and critical pedagogy by discussing descriptive biases and controlled vocabulary, knowledge creation and scholarly communications, critical source evaluation and expertise, and using zines, archives, and cultural objects in instruction to highlight multiplicities of knowledge organization." Go to https://libraryjuiceacademy.com/shop/course/234-critical-information-literacy/
Saturday, November 20, 2021
Catching up on issues of the open access College & Research Libraries News: today volume 82 number 8 (September 2021) which includes:
- Teaching Squares: Improving instruction through observation and self-reflection by Maoria J. Kirker, Mary K. Oberlies, Carolina Hernandez, Sara DeWaay ("Ideally, a square is composed of four instructors from multiple disciplines across the university. Throughout a semester, the square members set goals, observe a class session of each member, reflect on their observations, and meet to share their reflections.")
- Streaming access in a fractured world: Designing LibGuides with student users in mind by Sarah Gilchrist, Debbie Li, Erin Toepfner (looks at issues of streaming media online)
Go to: https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/issue/view/1605/showToc
Photo by Sheila Webber: Chinese lanterns, November 2021
Friday, November 19, 2021
An interesting new set of resources based on work by my Information School colleague Dr Susan Oman is Understanding Well-being Data. This online exhibition explores with a critical perspective the questions "What is well-being? How is it understood by different people in different times and places? What is the role of data in understanding well-being, and how can better understanding of well-being data improve shared understanding of societal problems, and make for a more understanding society?"
Go to https://player.sheffield.ac.uk/exhibits/understanding-wellbeing-data There are some short animations (I've embedded the first below) and they are based on her new book:
Oman. S. (2021). Understanding Well-being Data:Improving Social and Cultural Policy, Practice and Research. Springer. ISBN-13: 9783030729394
Thursday, November 18, 2021
The IFLA Audiovisual and Multimedia Section (AVMS) have organised a 1 hour free webinar Accessibility Helps You Share More, Share Better on 23 November 2021 at 11:30-12:30 (US EST - so, e.g., that is 16.30-17.30 UK time). "We want to share our content with as many people as possible and this means making it accessible. There are many ways to look at accessible content. Some of these are obvious and some are less obvious.
Librarian Jessamyn West will look at “born digital” content and share resources and tips to help content producers and sharers reach the widest audience they can."
Registration is required: go to https://www.ifla.org/events/webinar-accessibility-helps-you-share-more-share-better/
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn branches, November 2021
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
EPALE is the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe project, a "multilingual, open membership community of adult learning professionals, including adult educators and trainers, guidance and support staff, researchers and academics, and policymakers." There is a good deal of material on the website, including reports & guides, OERs and MOOCs at https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en.
As examples: a recent report published a few weeks ago is Essential needs of educators to support seniors and earlier this month they posted links to various outcomes from a project on How to design, implement and promote change-oriented adult education in the fields of democracy and digitalisation
An upcoming webinar is on 24 November 2021 at 10am CET (which is, e.g., 9am UK time) on Artificial Intelligence and Adult Education, which will be streamed here
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
There is a call for papers for the 2022 Information Seeking in Context (ISIC) conference which takes place 26-29 September 2022 in Berlin, Germany. "The bi-annual ISIC-conference is the academic home of the Information Behavior research community and focuses on contextualized information activities, expressed in different framings such as ‘information behavior’, ‘information practice’, ‘information seeking’, ‘information experience’ and others." You can submit full or short papers (the complete paper, rather than an abstract), posters, panel discussions or workshops, and there is a doctoral workshop. Deadline for everything except the doctoral workshop is 31 January 2022, deadline for the doctoral workshop is 7 February 2022. More information at https://pages.cms.hu-berlin.de/ibi/isic-2022/call/
Monday, November 15, 2021
The most recent essay in the Project Information Literacy Provocations series is: Tell Me Sweet Little Lies: Racism as a Form of Persistent Malinformation by Nicole Cooke. "Racist/racialized malinformation is the phenomenon of how we are conditioned, socialized, and repeatedly bombarded with racist and negative images and stereotypes. These stereotypes are repeated and normalized until they become malinformation. But how can these deleterious and destructive forces be eliminated? They need to be addressed and battled just as other societal ailments are, and critical cultural literacy can aid in this fight." Cooke explains what she means by critical cultural literacy and its relationship with other literacies, and outlines the persistence of racism as a form of malinformation (malinformation being false information which aims to do harm). Go to https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/tell-me-sweet-little-lies.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn leaves, November 2021
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Photo by Sheila Webber: casting a long shadow, November 2021
Friday, November 12, 2021
The YouVerify project (I think this project part of Savoir Devenir) funded by the European Union and based in France, has launched the MOOC: Disinformation Step by Step, which starts on Monday 15 November 2021 and lasts a month. It will be given in three languages: French, Spanish and English and is aimed at a wide range of people including educators, students, journalists, librarians, youth workers. Being a MOOC, it is open and free and you can get a digital badge on completion. It has 6 modules: critical thinking, Media and Information Literacy (MIL), disinformation, verification, refutation and building MIL projects. There is a particular focus on visual disinformation. It is led by MIL expert Professor Davina Frau-Meigs. Register here: https://hub5.eco-learning.eu/course/disinformation-step-by-step/
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Southern California Instruction Librarians (SCIL) will host SCIL Works on 28 January 2022 as a virtual half-day conference. This "offers librarians the opportunity to share their best practices, innovative pedagogy, and creative solutions with colleagues. SCIL Works 2022 will focus on the many ways librarians have combined their skills built during the pandemic in online instruction with our new in-person services." The deadline for proposals is 3 December 2021.
Suggested topics may include but are not limited to: The many locations of instruction- zoom, in person, hybrid, outdoors, indoors, small group? Adapting in-person activities for masks and social distancing; Shifting virtual activities (back) to a face-to-face environment or new situations; Ensuring accessibility to a diverse population; Asynchronous vs synchronous instruction; Student engagement; Managing behind-the-scenes work Proposals can be for a presentation (20-minute presentation where the presenter shares his/her research or an effective program or practice with participants, with an additional 5 minutes for Q&A.) or Lightning Round (live, 5-minute poster session or slide deck. This presentation could briefly describe a program or initiative, highlight an online tool or tutorial, or exhibit an assessment process or instrument.)
Complete the Proposal Submission form by 3 December 2021: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdTM9rjxLdGO-BF3didG1V62xqYM9m33uvqBONCMehCI4LceA/viewform
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn sky, November 2021
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Webina 11 November: Launch of the Global Standards for Media and Information Literacy Curricula Development Guidelines #MILCLICKS
The launch of the Launch of the Global Standards for Media and Information Literacy Curricula Development Guidelines, co-organized by UNESCO and the Republic of Serbia, in cooperation with the European Commission takes place on 11 November 2021 at 15.00-16.30 (CET) (which is, e.g., 14.00-15.30 UK time). UNESCO published the revised MIL curriculum Media and Information Literate Citizens: Think critically, Click Wisely in September 2021 (with the summary version published earlier in April 2021) and now they are producing these standards.
"The Standards focus on necessary processes at various levels of society and offer an integrated set of core and common learning outcomes that all stakeholders seeking to develop integrated curricula on media and information literacy should consider. This document is a non-prescriptive policy brief. Its primary target groups are policy makers responsible for curricula development and media and information literacy related programmes, curriculum developers and planners, educators, NGO leaders, experts and practitioners implementing media and information literacy related curricula." They say that "This resource will be made available in multiple languages for all Member States of UNESCO, as well as civil society actors" and I will post a link when it is available. Register for the event at https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q1ROJYz8SXyt8ZN7wOtEHA
Monday, November 08, 2021
The EduMediaTest has been developed within the European Commission's Media Literacy for All programme. It is "an online questionnaire designed to carry out an initial assessment of the media literacy of pupils aged 14 to 18, as well as to improve their media skills, based on the results obtained, using training materials that are freely available on this website" If you fill in your details you will be given a code so you can access the questionnaire and administer it to learners. You do not get individual feedback for each learner, but aggregated feedback for the whole cohort that you tested, one result for each of 6 dimensions: language; technology; reception [of the media message]; production & diffusion; ideology; aesthetics. The idea is that then you are able to discuss the results with the class and devote more time to developing the aspects that the class did less well in. There are some support/training materials provided for each dimension, which include at least some of the questions (I don't know if it is all of them, since I haven't applied for the questionnaire), and the follow up material you might use to explore the issue further. In fact this could be useful even if you don't use the questionnaire. The material is available in several European langauges; English, Irish Gaelic, Catalan, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Slovenian and Croatian. Go to https://edumediatest.eu/en
Sunday, November 07, 2021
The UK electronic information Group (UKeiG) is running a half-day online CPD course on Interactive Tools for Online Presentations and Teaching, 10.00-13.00 UK time on 19 November 2021. Delegates will explore a range of tools including: - Menti; Kahoot!; Prezi Next; Google Slide; Padlet "By the end of the training participants will have learned about a variety of interactive tools, tried them all out, and be able to make an informed choice as to when to use them in their online presentations, lectures, workshops, or orientation sessions." Course leader is Ned Potter (Academic Liaison Librarian at the University of York, and a Trainer for various organisation). Costs are UKeiG/CILIP members £50 + VAT - Non-members £80 + VAT - Employer Partner staff £65 + VAT. Booking and more info at https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1559662&group=201314Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn leaves and sky, November 2021
Saturday, November 06, 2021
Further information including a sample chapter https://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/page/detail/facilitating-effective-sixth-form-independent-learning/
Photo by Sheila Webber: nmore autumn leaves, November 2021 | <urn:uuid:9b19fc2e-f6ed-41f2-af6c-bd3ac6b6e328> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://information-literacy.blogspot.com/2021/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.895255 | 12,911 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Is the Sharing Economy Dead?
The sharing economy has been heralded as a transformative approach to how we do business, view ownership and even trust each other. But five years after its initial rise, has it run its course? Fast Company details the optimistic rise and cynical, money-driven fall of the sharing economy. There’s no doubt that today’s “sharing economy” is different than what was envisioned a few years ago, but many characteristics are still evident. There’s potential for different types of firms, from the big players like Uber and Airbnb to little guys like Neighborgoods, to carve out their markets, but how these varying approaches will develop remains to be seen. We’ve written previously about the future of co-working, but is the broader sharing economy facing death, or just going through growing pains? | <urn:uuid:29089760-bf47-4963-a1ee-cee1ca4b7da6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ibigroup.com/ibi-insights/is-the-sharing-economy-dead/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571745.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812170436-20220812200436-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.970457 | 175 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Integrating business planning, performance management, and risk management
This morning, I came across an excellent article from the UK’s Institute of Chartered Management Accountants. Written by two people from Capgemini Consulting, Enterprise Performance Management has some excellent points, but one gaping hole: a very significant omission that I will comment on at the end.
I thoroughly endorse and like these points:
- Even in the good times organisations can be caught out by the unexpected. Businesses that can’t respond in a controlled and profitable way will fall behind the competition and ultimately fail.
- Achieving financial forecasts takes more than luck and good foresight. It requires a planning model capable of detecting changes in customer demand and sales trends and then flexing the sales activities and production to secure the targeted financial result.
- Integrated business planning refers to the alignment of planning, budgeting and forecasting across an organisation’s key functions of sales and marketing, supply chain and finance. In executing this process effectively, an organisation can arrive at a planning result that fulfils its overall strategic goals.
- Integrated business planning is about understanding what makes money for your business and ensuring you are equipped to make profitable responses to both market changes and unexpected events. It starts with obtaining a good understanding of which channels, customers and products make money, not just in terms of direct margin, but full end to end costs.
- The benefits of getting the organisation pulling in the same direction, supported by reliable information, cross functional governance, technology and master data management, are substantial
What is the hole? What is the omission?
A four-letter word: RISK
Risk management has to be part of the integrated processes for business planning and then performance management. Risk management is how you consider and respond to uncertainty in the business.
If this article had included the risk management function as one that needs to be a core contributor to enterprise performance management, then I would praise it to the skies.
Have you integrated business planning, performance management, and risk management? | <urn:uuid:e4f84158-b2fa-4375-9734-bb61a39d4a8e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://normanmarks.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/integrated-epm/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00537-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938496 | 417 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Degree Granting Department
Michael D. Coovert, Ph.D.
Wendy L. Bedwell, Ph.D.
Joseph A. Vandello, Ph.D.
negativity effect, hierarchically restrictive schema, impression formation
Organizational work is characterized by positive as well as often negative work behaviors from employees. The same may be said of work done in virtual teams, where computer-mediated communication among team members can be particularly uncivil and inflammatory (Wilson, Straus, & McEvily, 2006). Accordingly, trust has been theorized as more difficult to develop in these types of teams compared to traditional face to face teams. Using a computer simulation of a collaborative team task, this study examined how individuals in virtual teams integrate conflicting pieces of positive and negative information about a teammate into one overall rating of trust. Data were analyzed from 240 individuals to examine the influence of these behaviors on levels of trust toward a target teammate. Evidence of trust quickly developing and declining, i.e., the dynamic nature of trust, in a virtual team was observed. Secondly, the negativity effect was found, where a negative behavior was given more weight in ratings of trust than a positive behavior. Next, the hierarchically restrictive schema was offered as a plausible explanation for the negativity effect due to creating asymmetrical expectations of subsequent behavior based on an initially observed behavior. Lastly, a significant negativity effect was not found when the two behaviors were performed, one each, by a pair of unrelated persons or by a pair of related persons with entitativity.
Scholar Commons Citation
Lee, Tiffany T., "The Influence of Negative Information on Trust in Virtual Teams" (2015). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations. | <urn:uuid:06ab6d7b-3e77-49fc-91b0-a108c2bf4a75> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/5887/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00678.warc.gz | en | 0.930202 | 422 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Warren Buffett, the man commonly referred to as the greatest investor of the 20th century, was standing in front of 165 wide-eyed students from Columbia University.
One of the students raised his hand and asked Buffett for his thoughts on the best way to prepare for an investing career. After thinking for a moment, Buffett pulled out a stack of papers and trade reports he had brought with him and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.” 1
Buffett estimates that 80 percent of his working hours are spent reading or thinking. It’s enough to make you ask, “Am I reading enough books?”
When I asked myself that question recently, I realized that there were some simple reasons I wasn’t reading as much as I would like to, and I developed a reasonable system that is helping me read more than 30 books per year.
Let me explain…
How to Read More Books
If you know how to read, then reading books is relatively easy. You simply have to make time to read. Easier said than done, of course.
When I looked at my own reading habits, I realized that my reading habits were mostly reactive, not proactive. If an interesting link flashed across my screen on Facebook or Twitter, then I would read it as a reaction. I wasn’t proactively making time to read books each day. I was simply reading interesting ideas that were pushed in front of me.
As a result, most of my reading was done online. Now, there are plenty of excellent articles on the web, but generally speaking, the quality of good books is better. Books typically have better writing (more tightly edited) and higher quality information (better fact-checking and more extensive research). From a learning perspective, it’s probably a better use of my time to read books than to read online content.
So, I had to figure out a strategy that would allow me to read more books without letting typical distractions get in the way.
How do you that?
20 Pages Per Day
Here’s the only pattern I’ve been able to stick with consistently:
Read 20 pages to start the day.
I usually wake up, drink a glass of water, write down 3 things I’m grateful for, and read 20 pages of a book. For the last 10 weeks, I have followed this new habit. As of today, I’m 100 pages into my 7th book. At that pace (7 books per 10 weeks) I’ll read about 36 books in the next year. Not bad.
Here’s why I think this pattern works: 20 pages is small enough that it’s not intimidating. Most people can finish reading 20 pages within 30 minutes. And if you do it first thing in the morning, then the urgencies of the day don’t get in the way.
Finally, 20 pages seems small but adds up fast. It’s a great average speed.
If time allows, I’ll read at other times as well. After the research I did for my article on how to get better sleep, I have added reading to my “prepare for bed” routine as well. But regardless of what happens during the rest of the day, I still get my 20 pages in each morning.
The First Hour
How do you spend the first hour of your day?
Most people spend it getting dressed, getting ready, and rushing out the door. What if that time was spent making yourself a better person? What if you woke up an hour before you needed to each day and worked on yourself? How much better would you be at work, in your relationships, and as a person?
That’s essentially what this reading strategy is asking you to do. Before you move on to the normal bustle of the day, invest in yourself. Before your life turns into a whirlwind of activity, read a book that will make you better. As with most habits that can greatly impact your life, this will never feel urgent, but it is important.
20 pages per day. That’s all you need.
Looking for good books to read? I created a public reading list where you can see all of my book recommendations across a wide range of categories. Here are a few of the best books to start with…
Investors earn handsome paychecks by handling Buffett’s business by Steve Jordon, Omaha World-Herald | <urn:uuid:7a4a4d9c-fd8f-4d54-a912-91ab2865c863> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://jamesclear.com/read-more?hvid=4mKPm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720238.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00190-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970895 | 960 | 1.625 | 2 |
Complete the Darwinism and American Society Worksheet. Using resources from the Topic 2 Readings, including your textbook, materials provided by your instructor through class discussion, and materials from the GCU Library Guide for HIS-144 US History Themes, complete the assignment worksheet. Each answer to the questions should be a minimum of 200-300 words; and, include citations for each question formatted using the APA Style Guide. The overall assignment must include a minimum of three relevant scholarly sources in support of your content.
The overall assignment must include three to five relevant scholarly sources in support of your content. Each response should show good writing mechanics, grammar, formatting, and proper citations at the end of each question/response. Wikipedia, Ask.com, ehow.com and other online information sites, encyclopedias, or dictionaries are not considered university academic sources and are NOT TO BE USED.
This assignment uses a scoring guide. Please review the scoring guide prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe.
You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.Read more
Each paper is composed from scratch, according to your instructions. It is then checked by our plagiarism-detection software. There is no gap where plagiarism could squeeze in.Read more
Thanks to our free revisions, there is no way for you to be unsatisfied. We will work on your paper until you are completely happy with the result.Read more
Your email is safe, as we store it according to international data protection rules. Your bank details are secure, as we use only reliable payment systems.Read more
By sending us your money, you buy the service we provide. Check out our terms and conditions if you prefer business talks to be laid out in official language.Read more | <urn:uuid:fe4c7e2e-8e7f-4983-b52b-ad52d1fac75c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://essaysassignments.com/2022/04/24/darwinism-and-american-society-onl-education-homework-help/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573029.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817153027-20220817183027-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.933426 | 459 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Melbourne, C and Tomor, AK 2006, 'Application of acoustic emission for masonry arch bridges' , Strain, 42 (3) , pp. 165-172.Full text not available from this repository.
There are over 40 000 masonry arch bridges in the UK, 60% of which are over 100 years old. The ever increasing levels of loading and volumes of traffic make it imperative that the condition, life expectancy and load capacity of such bridges are accurately assessed. Assessment procedures, however, generally rely on visual methods without giving any information on the internal condition of the structure. The acoustic emission (AE) technique has the ability to record certain types of damages anywhere within the structure before their effect becomes visible on the surface. Although AE is increasingly widely used for monitoring concrete and metallic bridges, its application for masonry bridges is currently very limited. A series of multi-ring brickwork arches have been tested as part of an extended study on fatigue performance of masonry arch bridges at the University of Salford. The present study attempts to assess the applicability of the AE technique for masonry arch bridges under static and long-term cyclic loading, to study crack propagation and failure mechanisms.
|Themes:||Subjects / Themes > T Technology > TF Railroad engineering and operation
Subjects / Themes > T Technology > TG Bridge engineering
Subjects / Themes > Q Science > QC Physics > QC221-246 Acoustics - Sound
Built and Human Environment
Subjects outside of the University Themes
|Schools:||Schools > School of the Built Environment
Schools > School of Computing, Science and Engineering > Salford Innovation Research Centre (SIRC)
|Journal or Publication Title:||Strain|
|Depositing User:||H Kenna|
|Date Deposited:||05 Oct 2007 12:03|
|Last Modified:||05 Apr 2016 17:31|
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|Edit record (repository staff only)| | <urn:uuid:45245917-8d09-4e11-a517-1c05292f7974> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://usir.salford.ac.uk/657/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00401-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.87285 | 418 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Finding their way into the kitchen of a restaurant may have seemed like the ultimate score for three hungry bears, but their pantry raid had a tragic end.
A mother bear and her two cubs found their way into the Station Two restaurant in Terrace Bay, Ontario, this past Wednesday, entering through a rear door around noon. They quickly began to pull apart containers and eat food in the back room. When employees discovered the bears, they quickly closed the door leading to the dining area and evacuated the customers, avoiding any direct interaction.
The police were called and ultimately shot the mother. The cubs were taken by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, who will bring them to a bear sanctuary.
The Station Two restaurant summarized the event on their Facebook page: “Mama bear crashed in the back door and decided to make some pizza, fast reaction from my staff, saved the restaurant.”
Bears often enter human-populated areas when they smell the promise of food. The best way to keep bears away is to keep food as sealed up as possible, and to put garbage in bear-proof containers.
People who encounter bears in human-populated areas can call the Ministry of Natural Resources Nuisance Bear hotline at 1-866-514-2327.
More from Cottage Life: | <urn:uuid:bb629292-ffa1-4364-b69d-f25ea9ac1f9c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://cottagelife.com/news/mother-bear-and-cubs-break-into-ontario-restaurant-during-lunch-hour | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00553-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974953 | 268 | 1.796875 | 2 |
350 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere is what scientist believe to be the safe limit for humanity. The amount of carbon dioxide currently in the atmosphere of earth is 388 ppm. 350.org is an international campaign that was established with the aim of mobilizing a grassroots movement focusing on creating solutions for climate change problems and pressuring the leaders to mobilize their efforts to solve the environmental crisis that we are currently facing.
In October of last year, they successfully coordinated 5,200 simultaneous rallies and demonstrations in 181 countries, which was described by CNN as the “most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history”. In October 2010, they set their goals higher in organizing a“Global Work Party”, a day were individuals demonstrate their actions and solutions to environmental problems sending a strong message to their leaders that “If we can get to work on solutions to the climate crisis, so can you“.
What is it about?
October 10th marked the first event of their “Get to Work” campaign, in partnership with the 10:10 campaign they launched the “Global Work Party”, a day that encourages people to get to work on projects in their community to help carbon emissions. Projects ranging from planting trees to installing solar panels, even encouraging people to start a dialogue with those of faith about the realities of climate change.
The Buzz In Numbers
This years campaign certainly has been a resounding success attracting more than 7,000 demonstrators from 188 countries;
- In Istanbul – Turkey, 7,000 marched for climate action
- In China, 30,000 students joined over 300 events across the country
- In Bangladesh, citizens demonstrated knee deep in the flood waters that are affecting hundreds of thousands of people
- In Hamadan, Iran, hundreds of students attended an environmental symposium
- In Afghanistan, groups of students planted trees in a valley outside Kabul
- In South Africa, a local business installed solar panels on the roof of an orphanage
- In the United States, there were over 2,000 rallies with events in all 50 states, including 400 clean energy rallies in California
How Will It Make Things Better?
In a long winded struggle like that of fighting climate change every little effort counts, and there is nothing in the world that helps foster a sense of community like social media.
Actually, the first time I have ever heard of the 350.org campaign was from a Lebanese activist friend of mine who helped to organize some activities in Lebanon and then I heard about it again from another friend of mine in the States. The fact that two people from entirely different parts of the world are passionate and evangelizing for the cause of 350.org is a good sign for the campaign and it will hopefully be able to turn the tide of public opinion and policy in favor of mobilizing to find solutions for the problem of global warming.
How do you feel about such campaigns? Do you think such campaigns can be effective or are they just tools to make the people who participate in them just feel better about themselves? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. | <urn:uuid:20a0d4f0-1d51-4284-b325-9f2563117983> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.thoughtpick.com/2010/11/global-work-party-10-10-10.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00217-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96345 | 637 | 2.953125 | 3 |
EU - The European Commission and European food safety officials could take EU-wide measures to control the amount of acrylamide in food.
The move follows a meeting of European Food Safety Authority scientists to discuss some 100 comments with the contributors to a recent public consultation on acrylamide in food, a contaminant that forms in starchy foods as a result of high temperature food processing, including cooking.
The comments and the productive follow-up meeting mainly focused on EFSA’s recent draft description of the potential health risks of acrylamide in food and estimation of human exposure to acrylamide in the diet.
The decision of the European Commission to take action at an EU level is because the commission does not believe voluntary controls will be sufficient.
In its July 2014 draft opinion, EFSA provisionally concluded that “acrylamide in food potentially increases the risk of developing cancer for consumers in all age groups”.
Speaking in Brussels, Dr Diane Benford, Chair of EFSA’s Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), highlighted the positive impact of engaging with the commentators: “Today's meeting has been useful for us to listen, discuss, explain and better understand the public consultation results.
“This will certainly help us to refine our risk assessment and provide clear scientific advice for risk managers to use in developing regulatory or other measures.”
More specifically, Dr Benford added, “We may look to better explain our assessment of the possible health effects especially in relation to studies involving humans. Further clarification of our dietary exposure estimation and the breakdown and reporting of food categories could also be helpful.”
The consultation ensures that the widest possible range of scientific views and information are considered before EFSA’s experts finalise their opinion of acrylamide in food, in the first half of 2015.
The meeting was attended by 50 participants including representatives of national food safety agencies and scientific advisory bodies, the food industry as well as academia and some individuals. EFSA scientific experts and staff were also present.
Nine invited guest speakers gave presentations on issues they raised during the online consultation. These formed the basis for further discussions among all the participants.
A representative of the European Commission also gave a presentation on the background to the request sent to EFSA and the next steps for EU risk managers once EFSA’s opinion is finalised in 2015.
The Commission said it considers the implementation of voluntary mitigation measures to reduce acrylamide levels in food unsatisfactory and variable among food business operators.
The Commission, together with risk managers in Member States, will discuss further measures at EU level to reduce acrylamide levels in food as low as reasonably achievable. | <urn:uuid:b751a7ce-5645-4ec9-aae0-d3113db3a61c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.themeatsite.com/meatnews/26400/eu-action-to-control-acrylamide-possible/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00567-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945121 | 561 | 2.703125 | 3 |
At 3 a. m. on June 25, Ambassador Gross telephoned United Nations Secretary-General Trygve Lie and read to him the formal United States request that the Security Council be convened immediately to consider the aggression in Korea (Korean Conflict). The request, subsequently confirmed in writing later in the morning (U.N. document S/1495), read as follows:
“The American Ambassador to the Republic of Korea has informed the Department of State that North Korean forces invaded the territory of the Republic of Korea at several points in the early morning hours of June 25 (Korean time).
“Pyongyang Radio under the control of the North Korean regime, it is reported, has broadcast a declaration of war against the Republic of Korea effective 9 p. m. EDT June 24.
“An attack of the forces of the North Korean regime under the circumstances referred to above constitutes a breach of the peace and an act of aggression.
“Upon the urgent request of my Government, I ask you to call an immediate meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations.”
At 4 a. m., Assistant Secretary of State Rusk spoke by telephone with William J. Sebald, Acting Political Adviser in Japan, and John Allison, Director of the Office of Northeast Asian Affairs, who had accompanied Mr. Dulles on the latter’s visit to Korea (see page 107) and Japan, both of whom were in Tokyo. Mr. Rusk informed them of the intention of the United States to take the Korean question to the United Nations and asked them for further information, which they were unable to give, on the military situation and on the reported North Korean declaration of war. (Korean Conflict) | <urn:uuid:d0bcd045-d901-427c-be32-110e4fe14852> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1950v07/d67 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.952642 | 355 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Secretary Napolitano: Well, thank you. Thank you, Judy, for that introduction. As she said, we have known each other for quite a long time, a friend who I greatly admire and whose friendship I greatly value.
And I want to thank the American Constitution Society for inviting me this afternoon. I especially appreciate the opportunity to speak here because I notice that the title of the conference, "The Constitution, Congress, and the Courts," conspicuously leaves out one branch of government. That would be my branch, the Executive Branch. And it seems to me that a discussion of the Executive Branch is essential to any discussion of the Constitution because the Executive Branch is where the direct responsibilities of governing are met every day and where many important constitutional issues play out in myriad and in complicated ways.
Indeed, often these constitutional questions arise because someone in an agency far away from the General Counsel's office or the Secretary's office made a decision or adopted a policy with neither the time nor the background to fully consider all of the issues that become evident perhaps only in hindsight. And you know, it's not the decisions I know about that typically cause me to lose sleep. The decisions I don't know about, on the other hand, can be real insomnia-inducers.
The importance of the Executive Branch in our constitutional system is fundamental and profound, and it must constantly be balanced with the prerogatives of the Congress and the judiciary. Over the past year and a half, one of the most important roles of the legal community has been to work with this administration to make sure that the proper balance between competing interests and values is embraced. And as we move forward, we must create a better way of relating our national security to our national values, including personal privacy as well as the core civil rights and civil liberties expressly defined in our Constitution.
Too often, the effort to get to the right balance, especially where a national security question is raised, is portrayed as the same kind of ideological tug of war that we see too often in politics, where you need to be either on one side or the other. And it's not that simple. In truth, we need to protect both our national security and our national values. They are, in fact, intertwined. And while this task is oftentimes hard, there is no more important set of issues. And it is the Executive Branch that deals with these issues on a daily basis.
We frequently hear about a simple inverse relationship between security and liberty. If one is up, the other must be down. If one is embraced, the other must be sacrificed. I say that this is, to use the legal term, baloney.
The description doesn't do justice to the relationship between security and other values, especially in a world of fast-moving and fast-changing threats. Security is interrelated with our core values, and among the aspects of the homeland that must be made secure are our fundamental rights and freedoms. And security itself is a fundamental value. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example, places security of person alongside life and liberty as a foundational right. And within the Constitution itself, we find these values interrelated. The preamble states that we must "ensure domestic tranquility and provide for the common defense," as well as secure the blessings of liberty for the American people.
So there is a simple fact underlying this dynamic: One cannot live free if one lives in fear because people are more able to exercise their freedoms if they feel safe. But the need to be safe, the need to be free from fear should not be used, as it sometimes has been, to justify policies or actions that ignore our rights. It does not mean that our efforts to secure civil rights, liberties, and privacy must be partially rooted in the need to secure our nation.
Here's the truth, and here's the way I look at it. We can significantly advance security without having a deleterious impact on individual rights in most instances. At the same time, there are situations where tradeoffs are inevitable. And what results from this? Well, sometimes there are decisions I make that are relatively straightforward. Sometimes there are decisions where striking the right balance requires a lot of careful thought and planning.
Let me give you three examples of areas where we face these kinds of decisions in the Department today. The examples reflect the weighing process that must occur with so many of our initiatives.
The first example is this administration's effort to expand the use of advanced imaging technology at our nation's airports. Now, this gets to the heart of a clear vulnerability in aviation security, as we saw during the attempted bombing on Christmas Day. The reality is simple: al Qaeda and other terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, and they are attempting to use explosive materials that do not contain metal, and therefore cannot be detected by magnetometers.
This means that we need improved technology to secure the safety of passengers on board planes. AIT is an objectively better technology because it can pinpoint anomalies on a person's body, such as nonmetallic weapons and explosives, as well as other dangerous materials. And the courts have clearly recognized the permissibility of security measures like AITs because they fall within the category of a special need or administrative search.
The Supreme Court has not had the occasion to rule on airport screening. But the Circuit Court precedent is clear. Since the 1970s, case law establishes that airport searches are constitutional if they are done for the right reasons -- to detect the presence of threats to airplane safety -- and if they are done in the right way -- no more intrusively than necessary to accomplish the security purpose.
In one of the earliest of these cases, U.S. v. Davis, the Ninth Circuit upheld airport screening, provided that the screening process was no extensive nor intensive than necessary, in the light of current technology, to detect the presence of weapons or explosives. Now, weapons and explosives have become harder to detect. AIT is a tool that can help detect them. It's reasonably fast and it is noninvasive. This makes AIT an essential security technology.
But it's also one that has raised privacy and civil rights/civil liberties concerns, and DHS, the Department, has worked to accommodate these concerns through a number of steps. We started by asking for help. We consulted with privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties advocates about how to build in protections which were present and are now present in the technology and in our operating policies.
First, the transportation security officer who asks the passenger to walk through an AIT machine never sees the passenger's image. Next, another security officer in a walled-off location, off to the side in the airport, views the black-and-white chalk-like image generated by the technology. And once that officer reviews the image and resolves any anomalies, the image is immediately deleted. None of the machines can store this data because DHS requires the manufacturers to disable the function before the machines can be placed in airports. With AIT, there are no identifiers and there are no records being made.
Next, TSA employees are prohibited from bringing any kind of device capable of capturing an image, like a camera or a cell phone, into any area where images are being shown. And finally, going through an AIT machine is optional. Signs advise travelers of this, and anyone can request a pat-down inspection accompanied by going through a magnetometer. And these are carried out by a person of the same gender and in private if a traveler so requests. All of these things, combined together, are designed to make sure we can use an objectively better technology, but in such a fashion that respects and embraces privacy and other rights.
A second area where we are achieving this balance is how we determine which travelers should receive what kinds of searches before they board a plane en route to the United States. It is critically important that we prevent dangerous people, including those with known connections to terrorism or terrorist groups, from boarding flights to the United States. At the same time, we should be careful of casting the net wider than necessary.
That is why, following the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day, we issued a new security directive for all air carriers with international flights to the United States, based on real time threat-based intelligence. But first, what we had to do was a somewhat cruder measure, and that is that we had to identify all passengers who come through or had any part of their itinerary that had gone through 14 countries. It was the so-called 14-country list. That, obviously, was not acceptable.
What we did was we developed, in consultation with the intelligence community and others, a new system, where we received information from the intelligence community and we write directives or rules about places, about tactics and techniques, that inform our law enforcement measures or officers at airports located abroad. That way, when we are screening abroad, we are screening based on a scenario that is intelligence-based rather than country-based.
In an ideal world, we would actually have the personal identity of a traveler. But we often don't. So we have to use intelligence, and use it in a targeted, specific way to make sure that we increase the security level of air flight and minimize the risk to our passengers. That is one of the ways that we have been able to work, using our offices of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, to achieve the appropriate balance. And the rules that we devise are regularly reviewed to make sure that they match the scope of the intelligence we receive so that we now have a system where intelligence is received, rules are crafted, rules are deployed, rules are constantly reviewed, a better system, a more effective system for all involved.
A third example I'd like to raise is one that is extremely complicated. But it is the need to secure our nation against violent extremism here at home. Put another way, we need to prevent terrorist attacks that are conceived, plotted, and carried out by United States citizens on United States soil. Yet in so doing, the legal and constitutional questions are numerous and complex.
We have seen greater mobilization by violent extremists of people who are either U.S. citizens or are legal residents. Indeed, there is now active recruitment of U.S. citizens or legal residents by al Qaeda or other terrorist groups. There are cases like that of David Headley, the U.S. citizen who helped do some preparatory work for the Mumbai attacks in 2008; or cases like that of Najibullah Zazi, the legal permanent U.S. resident who was arrested last year for planning terrorist bombings in the New York City area.
This not only presents a new challenge to the security system that our country set up post-9/11, but it recognizes that while we have focused on targeting threats coming from beyond our borders and from non-citizens, there are new legal and constitutional questions being raised because there is a new type and form of recruitment being used.
At the base of this, at the base of homegrown terrorism, is the problem of violent extremist ideology, something that at this point we are only beginning to understand from a psychological or sociological perspective. The fact is, the First Amendment protects radical opinions. But we need the legal tools to do things like monitor the recruitment of terrorists via the internet. And when young people are being targeted by terrorist recruits, we must view their communities as partners in solving that problem and in addressing threats to the country, not as parts of the problem.
We have begun important work with many communities across the country. The focus is on preventing violent crime and leveraging successful models like community policing. We seek to collaborate with organizations already working to build strong, capable communities. And finally, we look to educate communities about the evolving threats and what they can do to counter them.
Examples like these, the ones I've just stated, demonstrate how the Department of Homeland Security, and the Executive Branch as a whole are approaching the relationship between our national security and our national values. Today's threats are growing and changing so quickly that we must constantly take action. At the same time, it is essential that we place a priority on preserving and protecting our national values. This is what is happening at the Department.
As I mentioned, we have a Privacy Office, and an Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. They are both active participants in formulating policies before policies are implemented. We do not attempt to shoehorn these considerations into policies after the fact. We consider them critical priorities from the beginning. These offices are robust. They're fully integrated in the decision-making process at the Department. They're each led by lawyers who are nationally respected leaders in their fields. So the Privacy and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Offices aren't merely attempts at tokenism. Instead, they are at the table throughout the policy-making process.
These are the things that have to be debated and embraced within the Executive itself, not just within the courts or at the Congress.
The American people should know that their safety and security comes first. That's what my Department focuses on every day and every week throughout the year. We face a determined set of adversaries who are constantly evolving. The threats we face today are not the ones we are used to.
So in light of the ever-changing threat environment, we also need to evolve. We need to evolve in a way that puts to rest the old dichotomy that pits security against our other values. We need to evolve in a way that recognizes a more complex and dynamic relationships, where we search hard for solutions in which rights and security can work in tandem. The threats we face are very unpredictable, but we can predict one thing, that securing ourselves against them will often present us with challenges and difficult decisions.
I hope that the American Constitution Society can help foster a greater recognition in the public's view of the Constitution that we need careful calibration between both our security and our other national values. We must take both seriously. And we need to realize that this is not an impossible task. Rather, it is a calling, a calling that our nation must heed.
If we hold fast to our guiding principles, we will continue to make progress in securing our country. And while it is not possible to provide 100 percent guarantees against every threat, we can cultivate an American ethic of strength and resiliency in the face of challenge. And this, ultimately, is how we will further the security of the country, and how we will safeguard the values that have made us the great nation that we are, and how we marginalize the politics of fear.
I view this as my charge as the Secretary of Homeland Security. And this is why the Executive Branch must be an essential part of any constitutional discussion in the years to come.
Thank you for having me here today. | <urn:uuid:cdedfc72-6fbf-49ff-a8d2-4c1d33c86f70> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://votesmart.org/public-statement/521285/remarks-by-secretary-napolitano-at-american-constitution-society-national-convention | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718426.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00137-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964212 | 3,026 | 1.859375 | 2 |
IMPACT’s Limerick seminar showed there are loads of bright ideas on resolving the housing crisis. Now we need action.
By Joe O’Connor
IMPACT’s Limerick seminar about our campaign on the homelessness and housing crisis recognised that the problem is not confined to Dublin. It’s a national emergency.
This was reflected in the strong turnout and tremendous engagement throughout the two-and-a-half hours we spent exploring local experiences and the responses put forward by our expert speakers, who included Mark Leahy (chair of IMPACT’s Limerick Local Government branch), Úna Burns of Limerick-based Novas Initiatives, and Rob Lowth of Limerick City and County Council.
In my introduction, I outlined IMPACT’s view that homelessness is a trade union issue because it’s a human rights issue. Every citizen should have a right to a home and the basic dignity that comes with it. The housing crisis is also a trade union issue because the lack of quality and affordable accommodation has a hugely detrimental effect on our members’ living standards, and those of other working people.
With other organisations, IMPACT has been campaigning on this issue over the past two years. Our activities have included:
- Our Boards and Voluntary Agencies branch petition campaign to protect homeless service budgets in Dublin City Council, May 2014
- ‘A Roof is a Right’ public meeting, September 2014
- Stakeholder meeting with homeless charities and economists on housing policy hosted by IMPACT, November 2014
- IMPACT submission to Minister Kelly’s Emergency Homelessness Summit, December 2014
- IMPACT motion to ICTU conference on Housing Provision and Homelessness, July 2015
- Strong involvement with National Homeless and Housing Coalition (NHHC), which comprises of trade unions, homeless charities, political parties, NGOs and minority representatives and community housing action groups
- NHHC has organised two national protests (December 2015 and May 2016) and launched a petition campaign for General Election 2016, calling on concrete and immediate actions from the new Government to tackle the homeless and housing crisis
Our first guest speaker was the incredibly brave Dublin mother Erica Fleming, who spoke in the recent RTÉ documentary My Homeless Family about raising her daughter in a cramped hotel room. She is now a campaigner and activist for government action on homelessness, and joined us with nine-year-old Emily by her side to deliver a passionate and defiant account of her situation. She had just returned from Brussels after travelling with an Irish delegation to address the European Commission on our housing and homelessness crisis.
Focus Ireland’s Mike Allen, and mid-west Simon Community’s Jackie Bonfield, joined us to talk about the complex nature of homelessness and their ideas on how we can end it.
Dublin City Council planner, IMPACT member, and long-time advocate for quality and affordable housing Kieran Rose was next up. He focused on the need for an effective vacant land levy in order to stop land hoarding. He also said reducing apartment housing quality is not a way to increase housing supply or affordability.
Kieran called on the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to investigate anti-competitive practices, in the construction industry and in relation to land hoarding, to see if there is evidence of monopolistic practices.
Our final guest speaker of the evening was Rory O’Donnell, director of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), who discussed the policy solutions set out in four recent NESC reports.
One of these, which was agreed by of trade unions, employers and other groups, advocated an effective system of rent regulation. This chimes with the European model of ‘cost rental,’ or permanent affordable rental, which IMPACT has advocated over the last couple of years.
He also said the political system needed to support local authorities and voluntary agencies to enable them to get on with the job of solving the housing crisis, rather than waiting for a ‘magic solution.’
In his closing address, IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan urged an easing of EU fiscal rules to enable a comprehensive State programme of building and buying affordable housing. He said this is achievable if we work together to put pressure on the political system.
The articulate and passionate questions posed to our speakers by Erica Fleming really captured the hearts of the audience and brought home the fact that, to Erica and Emily, this is more than just a policy issue. It’s their reality.
Thanks are due to IMPACT organiser Sinéad Wynne, our colleagues in the IMPACT mid-west office, and the Limerick local government and health branches for their work in making this event happen. Let’s hope we can now draw upon the energy and ideas in the room to bring an end to the homelessness and housing crisis, a national emergency which is rupturing the fabric of our society. | <urn:uuid:c339c8e1-f1ad-48d5-be72-f9c34fa9f028> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.impact.ie/now-lets-act-on-homelessness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720737.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00221-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959516 | 1,007 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Brick and mortar stores are undeniably losing strength as e-commerce sales continue to grow year on year; the fact is, consumer habits have changed. Such is the case that in the US alone, online sales were estimated to be $353.7 billion for 2017, and are projected to increase to $485.3 billion by 2021. This growing trend isn’t just about the fact that consumers love shopping from the comfort of their homes (or their mobile), it’s also about the quick, efficient and positive digital experience they can have. 71% of consumers who had a good social media service experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others; it’s not all about the face-to-face in-store customer service anymore.
With this data in mind, it’s easy to understand why companies should push to implement bigger and better digital strategies. In fact, one of the aspects that has gained in strength within e-commerce is known as “Social Commerce“, a.k.a e-commerce sites that use social media as a tool to not only boost sales, but to also improve the consumer’s experience. This is done by creating content that feels relatable and fresh, and also by offering flawless customer service. But the ability to build relationships directly with the consumers is just one reason why social networks are the perfect communication channel for fashion brands, there are other outstanding benefits which can be obtained from analyzing your social actions. Putting together a social media analytics report can help inform your brand strategy and open your eyes to your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.
In this article you’ll learn…
Social media reports: 3 incredible benefits
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are currently the most popular social platforms among companies looking to spread their content and differentiate themselves from their competitors. However, mere presence on these social channels isn’t enough; you have to know how to position your brand in order for your social media actions to really see results. The truth is, to achieve a successful branding strategy on social – the type that leaves a mark on your consumers and really builds a brand-customer relationship – you need to carry out a thorough monitoring and analyzing process that goes beyond looking at the main social KPIs.
Getting to know all your different markets, consumers and your competition is indispensable if you want your brand to grow. That’s why an in-depth social media report should not only analyze your actions on all social channels, but also your current and potential competitors’. This allows companies to make more informed decisions when it comes to branding strategies and positioning on social media, and can even imply changes that directly affect your business. A social media report in which you include a global analysis of the positioning and activity of your brand can allow you to…
- Identify emerging markets for your brand. Social media can offer many benefits, including the possibility to connect with other international markets. By analyzing these markets, not only will you get to know consumer behavior in other regions, but you’ll also be able to potentially detect new areas in which your products or services could be a hit. Besides, thanks to the cheap costs of using social channels, as a brand you can test new markets and begin generating brand awareness without spending hardly any money.
- Detect brands that are commonly associated to your brand. By using social media measurement tools to your advantage when creating reports, you’ll be able to gain a more holistic vision of your brand’s positioning – as well as identify new competitors – allowing you to put more effective strategies in place in order to stand out, or even build alliances with other brands that will help reach wider audiences.
- Discover interests according to lines of business. If a business is made up of several lines of business, a social media analysis can help you to better understand your audience’s interests and therefore detect new opportunities for growth for your products, campaigns or lines of business, while also identifying those that need a little more TLC in order to achieve growth.
Ikea & Inditex: Two social media analysis success stories
Social media analytics reports have become indispensable for any company that wants to grow. And the fact is, as online sales continue to gain momentum, it’s more important than ever to connect with consumers on social networks. Fine tuning your social strategy and analyzing social actions will allow you to stay in the know of your consumers’ changing demands and needs so you can quickly adapt.
Virgil Abloh for Ikea. Modern design and accessible prices have internationally positioned Ikea as the go-to home decor retailer. However, to continue growing, you have to keep innovating, and Ikea knows it. What’s their strategy? Collaborations with young designers who know how to connect with new generations. Virgil Abloh, the Creative Director of Louis Vuitton and Off White, is the latest to collaborate with the Swedish behemoth, making his work available to young crowds who perhaps could otherwise not afford his designs. This branding strategy was a hit on social media, and is clearly a result of a thorough analysis in which Ikea identified potential consumers to capture. This strategy is also reminiscent of the one that H&M has been carrying out for some years now with well-known brands such as Lanvin, Versace and Balmain.
Inditex Group has recognized that using the same social media strategy for all of its business lines is a no-go. If you visit the brand profiles of all of the fast fashion labels owned by Inditex, you’ll see that there is a different feel to each of them. The difference in consumer needs according to age, lifestyle and purchasing power, among others, has led the group to adopt different strategies on social media to effectively reach their target markets and generate a higher engagement. Zara hardly publishes content on social channels, however, have you taken a look at what Bershka does? Or, have you seen any of Stradivarius’ international campaigns? Working with celebrities or influencers on their fashion social media campaigns has allowed these brands to reach a wider audience that perhaps they hadn’t accessed before.
These are just some of the examples of strategies that can come from carefully putting together social media reports. The data and insights that you can gain from these platforms are vital, not only for your brand strategy but also for your business. | <urn:uuid:b9f3f275-4086-4c74-990e-c1dc006506c0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.launchmetrics.com/resources/blog/social-media-reports-benefits | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00675.warc.gz | en | 0.960425 | 1,315 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The David v. Goliath story is a great one–the little man defeating a giant. It is often used as a metaphor for other modern day feats, such as a small business owner winning a lawsuit against a major corporation. Alas, it’s been attributed to–not just David–but also Elhanan.
It should also be noted that the King James version of the bible adds the words “brother of” in 2 Samuel 21:19, making it appear that Elhanan slew Goliath’s brother. But this was nothing more than an attempt to fix a glaring contradiction.
Next time I’ll look at how David allegedly brought down the giant. | <urn:uuid:1fe6b1dd-c7b6-4a99-a763-681ca81e9c0e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://atheistpapers.com/2014/01/06/bible-contradictions-5-who-slew-goliath/?replytocom=46 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.961722 | 142 | 1.929688 | 2 |
I built a Swing application that works with an MSAccess database. I have various buttons to click when clicked–they will disconnect and unlock the database.
Sadly, this is only in a perfect world where users will actually use those buttons and not the little red “x” on the upper right. When some users click that, the database stays locked with a file extension ‘.ldb’ for those of you unfamiliar with MSAccess.
I need to avoid that. Is there any function that I can implement? Like a timeout? I looked up the
method, but that seems to be for login attempts. Is there something for my criteria?
PS: Sadly, i can’t use any other database.
Sadly, this is only in a perfect world where users will actually use those buttons and not the little red “x” on the upper right.
See Closing an Application. You can create an Action that can be invoked when you use a button, menu item or when the user clicks on the “X” (close) button. | <urn:uuid:d0a7b805-2cdb-40df-aabc-360c46f29524> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://java.tutorialink.com/incorporate-a-timeout-option-when-user-click-the-upper-right-x-on-the-window-versus-a-button/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.866907 | 239 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Friends now and then succumb to the green-eyed monster. There are numerous strategies to understand whether or not a pal is resentful of you. Analyze the way you talk to decide in case your pal is being condescending or distant. Take the word of ways your friends usually act.
Jealousy is much more likely to be found in a person who exudes pessimism. Talk it out and attempt to give you a compromise in case your pal is resentful of you. Jealousy may also thrive in a robust friendship. You may also inform your pal is resentful of you if:
1. Monitoring your interactions.
Beware of accidental compliments. A pal who's resentful of you can congratulate you to appear helpful. However, because the praises can be misinterpreted, their resentment will come through. You should seize passive-competitive insults in case you pay attention carefully to sure praises. These types of praises can be jealously motivated.
For example, a pal may also discover a manner to make it sound like they’re complimenting you, however paintings in an insult. Say you get a brand new job. Backhanded praise can be something alongside the traces of, “That’s great. They don’t typically lease humans with so little experience, however appropriate for you.”
2. See in case your buddy diminishes your achievements.
A partner who's resentful in all likelihood feels self-conscious. As a result, they're geared up to limit the accomplishments of humans around. Your acquaintance should attempt to locate something ugly to mention or a way to make you seem unworthy in case you get appropriate news.
Let’s use the instance of receiving an “A” on a paper. A pal who's resentful could warn, “Avoid assuming too much. I wouldn’t turn out to be too cocky simply now when you consider that we nonetheless have 1/2 of the semester left.” Some resentful buddies should move one step similarly and make comments that overshadow something accomplishments you can have similarly to downplaying your success.
These buddies may also make remarks that emphasized that they one way or the other are becoming something larger and higher than your very own achievement.
3. Notice a loss of typical encouragement.
Secure buddies have a good time with one another’s achievements. While different buddies may also supply an enthusiastic congratulations if something is going nicely for you, a jealous buddy will react differently. They may also say something curt like, “Ok. Cool.” It will now no longer sound like an honest or excited congratulations.
4. See in case your buddy is pulling away.
A rival pal can start to distance themselves from you. They can see your accomplishment as an image of what they lack if they're feeling resentful. A resentful pal can be visible moving slowly.
A pal you used to go to frequently may also now make motives for now no longer coming to look at you all of the time, along with being “very busy.” You may also have observed that even though your pal frequently makes time for different humans in your social group, she does not make time for you.
5. Pay interest to whether or not your buddy listens.
Hearing approximately your accomplishment could bore a resentful pal. When you talk about subjects like your career, studies, or a brand new romance, you may word your partner seems uninterested. They should flip away, play on their phone, and chorus from speaking to you or asking you approximately your life. Signs Your Friend Is Jealous Of You.
Thank you for reading my article please comment below, like, and share.
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This beautifully preserved 1950s Airstream Globetrotter camper is one of just seven that were made to this specification and it currently belongs to the official painter of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, François Bruère.
Bruère had owned the Globetrotter for a decade and had many adventures towing it behind his Cadillac in France, sometimes to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the Le Mans weekend. Rumor has it that this Airstream was formerly owned by a Hollywood actor who used it for weekends in the Californian desert.
Fast Facts – A 1950s Airstream Globetrotter
- The travel trailers by Airstream are known for their gleaming aluminum alloy bodies and their long history, a history that dates all the way back to the late 1920s.
- Airstream was founded by Wally Byam in 1931 but he had built his first travel trailer on a Model T Ford chassis back in 1929.
- The first Airstream trailers were made from Masonite in Byam’s backyard, but when Hawley Bowlus (designer of the Spirit of St. Louis) developed a aluminum monocoque travel trailer it revolutionized the industry, and Wally Byam followed suit.
- Of the hundreds of companies building travel trailers Airstream would be one of very few to restart production after WWII – Airstream quickly became a nationally-known brand and their travel trailers were bought by everyone from NASA to regular suburban families.
Airstream And The Spirit of St. Louis
Airstream was founded by Wally Byam in 1931, however he had been experimenting with travel trailer designs for two to three years by this point as an amateur. His designs had attracted so much attention that people started commissioning him to build them to order.
His first travel trailer, or caravan as they’re called in many parts of the world, was a simple tent-like structure built on a Model T Ford chassis. His later designs were more refined, they were made from Masonite and they offered good protection from the elements.
A little later in the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression, an engineer and designer named Hawley Bowlus oversaw the construction of the Spirit of St. Louis, it would be the first aircraft to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris.
Bowlus took his expertise in aircraft design and applied it to travel trailer design, doing up with a new aerodynamic shape and building it from aluminum. It would be the first monocoque aluminum travel trailer, and it triggered a revolution within the industry.
Wally Byam quickly realized that aluminum construction was the future of the industry, so he left his Masonite behind and developed a new streamlined camper with a polished alloy exterior.
In the years since the company has continued to evolve the designs, Airstreams would be used by NASA for decades when quarantining returning astronauts to ensure they didn’t have any unusual pathogens, and they became a common sight in campgrounds across the USA as people used them as mobile holiday homes.
The 1950s Airstream Globetrotter Camper Shown Here
The Airstream Globetrotter you see here is one of seven that were made in this configuration, it has three front and rear windows with mosquito nets instead of bay windows, and it’s been carefully kept in period-correct condition inside.
More recently the seals have been changed and the body work polished, the floor has been redone, the interior was restored (while retaining the period furniture), and it has an oven, gas cookers, a range hood, a sink, and a refrigerator.
The horseshoe bench seat can be quickly converted into a double bed and the front dining set up can be set up indoors or outdoors depending on the weather.
This Airstream Globetrotter is due to roll across the auction block with Artcurial on the 2nd of July at the Le Mans Classic sale. The price guide is $63,300 – $105,500 USD, and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Artcurial – ©Kevin Van Campenhout
Ben has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. | <urn:uuid:03d12711-641b-41cf-93e3-114763e9abc4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://silodrome.com/airstream-globetrotter-vintage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573029.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817153027-20220817183027-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.975777 | 967 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Charles Ringling Mansion
Caples'-Ringlings' Estates Historic District
New College of Florida College Hall. College Hall known as Charles Ringling Mansion. Charles Ringling, one of the six famous Ringling Circus brothers, built his magnificent mansion in 1925-1926 as a winter retreat for his family. In the 1960s, New College of Florida purchased the estate.
Contributing Building - Caples'-Ringlings' Estates Historic District - National Register of Historic Places
Taylor, George Lansing, Jr.; Lance Taylor; Photographers -- Florida --Jacksonville; Photograph collections -- Florida -- Jacksonville; College campuses; College buildings; Historic buildings; Residential mansions; Charles Ringling mansion; College Hall; New College of Florida; Charles Ringling; Sarasota, Fl. | <urn:uuid:eb165ff9-f5ae-4ab2-8399-a454fa27c9ea> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/1030/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.819159 | 231 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Jim Keenan said:
Can you imagine hundreds of settlers discarding their shotguns, Winchesters, and Colts and taking up Bulldogs to fend off an Indian attack? I can't.
I think what the author meant was that more of that price range of gun was in use than were the Colts, S&W, etc. we normally see in movies & associate with the Old West. As you noted the Colts were considerably more expensive than the Bulldog & for most of the pioneers would have been out of their price range.
"For a man, be he ever so much resolved to do his duty as a parent, can't be flogging his children all day....."
The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. (William Thackeray). | <urn:uuid:25d31512-42a3-424a-bc3b-1789550a41b9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3107304&postcount=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00393-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989271 | 157 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Do you see yourself as a person to whom a lot of good things happen and who has a good chance of a happy life? If not, then you don’t have to change your life, but your attitude to life. In this article you will learn how to become more optimistic and gain a more positive view of your life.
What does it even mean to be optimistic?
Optimists have a positive outlook on life. They believe that the future will be good in some way. In doing so, they are by no means blind to problems or in denial about them.
Rather, it’s about a self-conscious attitude with which optimists say “We’ll make it!” Because problems will always come up. But problems are not the problem in themselves – as long as you manage to overcome them. This attitude can be described either quite banally as hope or with the more psychological term self-efficacy conviction.
If you are convinced that you can master any situation, then you know no problems, only challenges. Setbacks do not make you despondent or put you in a bad mood. They are like the inevitable potholes in a country road. Sometimes you hit one and then say “Oops!” and drive on.
Why is optimism difficult for us?
A positive outlook on life makes us happy. But unfortunately, we tend to be grumpy by nature. This has evolutionary reasons …
Because our prehistoric ancestors were polarized to danger. In every rustle they suspected a dangerous snake and every stranger could steal your food. Those who were too gullible or careless often had to pay for it with their lives. And so especially the pessimistic genes have continued, because sourpusses simply had a higher chance of survival.
The result is us: A society in which we still see a danger in everything and everyone and suffer from our own pessimism. But today we rarely encounter a snake and, thanks to the police and laws, we no longer have to be afraid of our neighbors.
However, our brain still looks for dangers and finds them even where there are none. We distrust other people for the banal reason that they have a different skin color or a foreign-sounding last name. We also distrust ourselves and do not believe that we can do everything and that we will fail sooner or later.
However, this attitude is very much to our disadvantage, especially in today’s world. Because it causes us to miss the opportunity to make new friends or expand our professional network. Likewise, we may miss out on our dream partner or our dream job because we don’t trust the roast.
4 Thought Patterns of an Optimistic Person
Our thoughts influence our feelings and our actions. If you have good thoughts, you feel good. If you have good thoughts, you are active and able to act. Here are four good thoughts that you can always remind yourself of to become more optimistic.
#1 “Mistakes are part of life”
The pessimist says: But what if we fail? The optimist says to that: So what? The problem isn’t failure, it’s not doing anything. Because you can learn from mistakes. But what can you learn if you persist in doing nothing? So if something goes wrong, remember that mistakes are part of it and are even good!
Besides, not everything is a mistake. Sometimes things don’t work out right away, but you don’t have to consider that a mistake, just an attempt. And you can repeat an attempt as often as you like!
#2 “What’s the good in the bad?”
No matter how bad the situation is, look for the silver lining. Sometimes it may take you some time to find it, but it’s always there. This form of self-reflection works easiest in retrospect.
Think of a situation in your past that was really bad. Looking back, what good can you find in this situation? What good thing came out of it that you wouldn’t want to miss today?
#3 “Everyone is the architect of his own fortune”.
The big key to happiness, as well as to optimism, is the conviction that you are in control of your own destiny. If you believe that you can change your situation by yourself (or with the help of other people), then you are optimistic.
This belief is also a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe you cannot change anything, then you will not be able to change anything. And if you believe that you are the architect of your own happiness, then that is also the case.
#4 “I am not alone”
When a situation is too difficult and you are in danger of sinking into pessimism, get help! Even if you are firmly convinced that you can do anything, it doesn’t mean that you have to do it without help.
Optimism also includes the conviction that we are not alone and that we can always find people to support us.
7 strategies for more optimism
As mentioned above, optimism is not in our nature. Optimism is a state of mind that we must first consciously practice before it becomes second nature to us. Here we have developed 7 strategies for you.
Strategy 1: Keep a gratitude journal
Write down every morning what you are grateful for. This can be the coffee in the morning, the sun’s rays, the rustling of the leaves or the breakfast that someone has kindly prepared for you.
This way you focus your mind on the positive already in the morning. If you write down every morning for a few days in a row what you are grateful for, you will soon automatically see more positive things in life.
Suddenly you will notice the flowers on the side of the road or the pretty top of your colleague. The good things will catch your eye much faster if you sharpen your eye for them in the morning!
Strategy 2: Write down positive affirmations
Optimism is, at its core, a matter of faith. Do you believe that the world is a good place? Do you believe that people, deep down inside, have good hearts? Do you believe that you can turn every shitty situation to the good?
If you would rather answer no to these questions, then you may want to work on your beliefs, your innermost convictions. Here are a few suggestions:
Strategy 3: Do something good for others
Pessimism always includes a good portion of mistrust towards other people. But that makes people unhappy and isolated. Besides, we humans are pack animals. We are always dependent on the help of our fellow human beings to master the difficulties of life.
The easiest way to regain your own trust in people: do something good for others! You can be happy about the joy of your counterpart and also profit in the long run from your good deed. Doing good has been proven to make people healthier and happier.
In addition, the people who receive your gift will certainly remember your good deed and will be happy to help you if you ever need it.
Strategy 4: Do something good for yourself
Has your pessimism perhaps developed because of low self-esteem? If you believe that you yourself are not worth as much as others and are not as smart or successful as others, this can quickly lead to resignation and pessimism.
Remind yourself that you deserve a good life and that happiness is not just something for other people! So do something good for yourself. Because you have it in your hand to make yourself happy!
Strategy 5: Practice self-reflection & look back at past crises.
When in the past have you grabbed a situation by the collar and turned it around? How did you do that? You can transfer this ability to act to other situations.
When you remember crises you have mastered, you also gain a sense of self-confidence. You see that you were able to change your own fate for the better, out of your own strength.
Strategy 6: Ask other people for help
You don’t have to master every situation alone! It is absolutely legitimate to ask for help. We are pack animals and sometimes need the emotional support of our fellow human beings. And sometimes a task is just too big or too complex and collaboration is the only sensible way to master it.
Trying to do things alone quickly leads to pessimism. After all, it’s not realistic to do everything alone. An optimistic attitude to life also includes the belief “I can always get help.“
Strategy 7: Surround yourself with optimistic people
The people around us rub off on us. If you have a lot of sourpusses in your life, it will make you more pessimistic. Therefore, identify the optimistic people in your life and try to spend more time with them.
Likewise, you can also be the optimistic influence and give your pessimistic counterpart a different perspective. But if you find that you are not getting anywhere, don’t get frustrated!
Conclusion: Positive thinking makes you happy and successful
But why should you put so much energy into an optimistic attitude towards life? Maybe you think that your pessimism has saved you from many mistakes, failures and embarrassing situations in the past?
But what else has your pessimism kept away from you? Maybe you haven’t found your dream partner yet because you didn’t dare to talk to a stranger in the train? Or you could have found a cooler, better job a long time ago, if you didn’t think that you could only get worse after your current job.
So when you go out into the world today, look out for the good things, trust yourself and other people, and enjoy the feelings of happiness that you bring into your life.
Be sure to check out the Chainless Mentoring if you want to know the key steps to find your personal purpose and finally break your chains. | <urn:uuid:299aa73e-d859-424c-a8da-7a8767b27ccb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.can-be.eu/becoming-more-optimistic-7-strategies-for-a-positive-outlook-on-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.96657 | 2,071 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Mouth guards protect the teeth from possible sport injuries. They also protect the lips, cheeks, tongue and jaw bones. Most injuries occur to the mouth and head area when a child is not wearing a mouth guard.
Your child should wear a mouth guard while playing any sports based activity where there is a risk of head, face or neck injury. Such sports include hockey, soccer, karate, basketball, baseball, skating, skateboarding, as well as many other sports. Most oral injuries occur when children play basketball, baseball and soccer.
Choose a mouth guard that is comfortable for your child. If a mouth guard feels bulky or interferes with speech, then it is probably not appropriate for your child.
There are many options when choosing a mouth guard. Usually found in athletic stores, mouth guards vary in comfort, protection, and cost. The least expensive tend to be the least effective in preventing oral injuries. Customized mouth guards can be provided through our practice. | <urn:uuid:2c8c5951-e666-40de-b198-38cd15780e11> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kranerfamilydentistry.com/services/childrens-dentistry/mouth-protectors-faq/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.945873 | 197 | 2.59375 | 3 |
LONDON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- With the last economic data released on Friday, British economic recovery showed a fresh sign of consolidation. But some institutions and experts warn that significant risks, highlighted by continuing mounting house price, would probably de-trail the rehabilitation.
GfK, a British polling company, Friday announced that its monthly consumer confidence index climbed to zero this month from negative three (-3) a month prior. This was the highest level of the gauge since April 2005, and exceeded market estimation consensus of negative two.
HOUSEHOLD CONFIDENCE SOARS
British consumer sentiment hit a nine-year high in May, and it is supposed to add fuel to rosy economic recovery in the near future, according to GfK.
Nick Moon, managing director of social research at GfK, said in a statement:" The real driver of the increase is people's assessment of the general economic climate. There was a massive eight point jump in the retrospective assessment of the last 12 months and a four point increase in confidence about the next 12 months."
On the same day, however, the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) announced that it has upgraded its growth forecasts of the country for the next two years. The lobby body expects a growth rate of 3.1 percent this year, and a 2.7 percent next, higher than its previous estimation of 2.8 percent and 2.5 percent respectively. Growth race in 2016 would maintain at 2.5 percent.
Earlier this month, Bank of England, the British central bank predicted that the country's economy would expand by 3.4 percent in 2014, the fastest pace since 2007.
Samuel Tombs, UK Economist of Capital Economics, commented in an analysis piece:" The further improvement in GfK's consumer confidence report in May suggests that the recovery in household spending could gather even more pace soon."
The London-based economic research company said it is sticking with its forecast that real household spending will grow by about 2.5 percent both this year and next.
Though a large proportion of economic indicators this year adding signs of recovery pick up, the consensus on smooth growth race in 2015 and 2016 is demonstrating the other side of the economy -- imbalance.
John Longworth, director general at BCC, said in a statement that Britain still has a lot of work to do to ensure long-term growth prospects, and the expected slowdown in growth in the next two years is a "warning sign" that the country is overly reliant on consumer spending as a driver of growth.
Figures offered by Office for National Statistics (ONS) this month outlined the benign performance in British households.
British unemployment rate dropped to 6.8 percent in the three-month to March, down from 7.2 percent for October and December 2013. Consumer price index (CPI) grew by 1.8 percent in the year to April, and price prospect remain mild over the next two years, turning households' real income growth into positive.
On the other side, however, Britain saw a 8.5-billion-pound (14.25-billion -U.S. dollar) of deficit on trade in goods in March. Exports of goods declined by 3.7 percent to 72.0 billion pounds, and imports of goods also shrank by 2.8 percent over the same period to 33.1 billion pounds. The indicators raised concerns on the flat business investment, and imbalance of economic structure.
"Everything possible must be done to avoid slower growth in future... To sustain investment momentum into the future, the government and the Bank of England need to give business the confidence they need to invest," said Longworth.
Meanwhile, Britain also bears hefty debt and deficit in the public sector side.
Britain's public sector net borrowing or fiscal budget deficit in the fiscal year 2013/14 was 107.4 billion pounds, said ONS in late May. At the end of April 2014, British public net debt was 1,270 billion pounds, equivalent to 75.6 percent of the country's GDP.
Economists said British public finance made for less encouraging reading, and the fiscal consolidation has got off to a poor start to the fiscal year.
HOUSING MARKET BUBBLING
Market expectation on sustainable growth of British economy is adding fuel in the booming housing market.
The annual change in London was up 17 percent in April, said the Land Registry, an executive agency and non-ministerial department registering the ownership of land and property, last week. And according to ONS earlier this month, British average hose prices jumped by 8.0 percent in the year to March 2014, when London leading with a 17 percent increase.
Over the year in 2013 however, Britain's housing prices rose by 9.2 percent in 2013 and 18.2 percent in London, data showed by Britain-based Nationwide Building Society (NBS).
The mounting house prices, and rent fare consequently, not only lead to complaints on the government's house market stimulation policy from ordinary people, but also worrying from the regulators.
Mark Carney, BoE's governor, noted in late May that the out-of-the-reins housing market is the "biggest risk" to financial stability and the long-run recovery.
The central bank is "closely watching" rising property prices and the subsequent increase in large-value mortgages, which could lead to a "debt overhang" that might destabilize the economy, warned Carney.
"Help to Buy (stimulation policy) is a relative small program at this point, but it could grow a lot and it could change attitudes in other parts of the mortgage market. That's why we have to be vigilant," said Carney.
Therefore, how would housing market evolve in the near future? Though maintaining the current high level or even performing in low growth is the market consensus, some institution believe that market auto-correction might take effect eventually.
"My view is that in London we will see a natural correction through the summer months. That intense heat does seem to be dissipating a bit. We could be seeing the early signs of a natural correction," said Graham Beale, chief executive of NBS. (1 pound = 1.68 U.S. dollars) | <urn:uuid:71ddec2c-bd5e-4ef9-a81f-28ad40d9360e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-05/31/c_133375717.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00081-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959546 | 1,285 | 1.554688 | 2 |
2007, Number 2
Med Crit 2007; 21 (2)
Gutiérrez LP, Lozano RS, León PR, Gutiérrez JP, Gutiérrez JR
PDF size: 121.95 Kb.
ABSTRACTIntraabdominal hypertension (IAH) and the abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are important causes of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Intraabdominal pressure (IAP) monitoring has become a fundamental procedure in the intensive care unit because of its role in the patient’s whole treatment.
Normally, intraabdominal pressure is about 5 mmHg though it can rise in the obese, with exercise and with the Valsalva maneuver.
Intraabdominal hypertension is a condition where sustained elevated IAP provokes a functional disorder to the abdominal contents and adjacent extraperitoneal organs.
There are several ways to measure IAP via the urinary bladder, this being the most reproducible and exact method. For this purpose either an open or closed urinary recollection system can be used. It can also be measured either intermittently or continuously.
General medical support is very important, but the precise moment of abdominal decompression must be considered according to clinical evolution and IAP monitoring. In selected cases, surgical decompression is the only treatment for improving hemodynamics, pulmonary function and intestinal perfusion. | <urn:uuid:7fee3be2-ccfb-469d-8a35-8abfbca2e538> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumenI.cgi?IDARTICULO=11982 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.869842 | 305 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Clot-busting drug doesn’t work for 1-in-4 patients – calls for aspirin resistance screening
- Millions prescribed aspirin to combat blood clotting – but it doesn’t work for 25% of patients
- Those who test positive at ‘significantly’ increased risk of heart attack and stroke
- Countless lives could be saved by new £10 Urine test created by Randox to identify aspirin resistant patients
An aspirin a day may not necessarily keep the doctor away, especially if you are among the 1-in 4 people in Britain resistant to the beneficial effects of the ‘wonder drug.
A small dose of aspirin is taken by millions across Britain and around the world to thin the blood, in an attempt to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, but major clinical studies have shown that for 1-in-4 aspirin is ineffective. Validated research has also revealed that the risk of having a heart attack and indeed dying from a cardiovascular event is significantly higher in aspirin resistant patients.
NOT A SILVER BULLET
One of the powerful effects of aspirin is that it inhibits the production of a blood clotting chemical called thromboxane, and as such, it is widely prescribed for the prevention of cardio vascular disease; however the blood thinning properties of aspirin do not work for everybody. In aspirin resistant patients, blood thinning is poor, therefore there is a greater likelihood of clots forming in arteries which are narrowed by fatty and fibrous plaques resulting in heart attack and stroke.
Responding to the problem, scientists at UK Biotechnology Company Randox have developed a new test for aspirin resistance, as Managing Director Dr Peter FitzGerald explains:
“We are faced with the fact that thousands of patients are at increased risk because they are not getting the benefits from their aspirin treatment. Some people have genetic resistance to aspirin, but high cholesterol, diabetes and pre-diabetes (affecting an estimated 1-in-3 people In England) may significantly contribute to the poor aspirin response. Aspirin effectiveness can also be reduced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. To make sure these patients get the right treatment, we have developed a simple, £10 urine test, which can detect if a person is responding to their daily aspirin therapy.”
Dr Paul RJ Ames, Consultant in Haemostasis & Thrombosis at St George’s Hospital, London, who has been working with the new test, believes it could have a significant impact on the health of hundreds of thousands of patients in the UK and is calling for doctors to take aspirin resistance seriously:
“Doctors need to realise that aspirin, the cornerstone of much cardiac therapy is not working for up to 25% of those taking it! Then there are the side effects such as ulcers to consider. Why should you continue to take something that actually isn’t doing any good?! It is also worrying that aspirin resistant patients are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack and almost four times more likely to suffer cardiovascular death than those who are responsive. This increased risk has been clinically validated in internationally recognised research and frontline care must take this knowledge into account. We need to begin testing for aspirin resistance, so that we can identify patients who need alternative treatments, ultimately reducing their risk of heart attack and stroke.”
INCREASED RISK OF DEATH
A ‘meta-analysis’ (summary of 20 studies) published in the British Medical Journal, tracked almost 3000 patients with cardiovascular disease. They were tested and 28% (810 patients) were found to be aspirin resistant. The researchers discovered that 41% of the aspirin resistant patients had a CVD related event, 39.4% of them experienced Acute Coronary Syndrome and 5.7% died. The study concluded that aspirin resistant patients are at a much greater risk of serious cardiovascular disease compared to patients who are sensitive to aspirin.
Meanwhile a major Canadian research project which studied 976 aspirin treated patients, found that those who were aspirin resistant were twice as likely to have a heart attack, and worryingly, almost 4 times at greater risk of cardiovascular death.
According to the British Heart Foundation, there are more than a quarter of a million heart attacks and strokes in the UK each year, it is not yet known how many of these were suffered by aspirin resistant patients, but it is evident that aspirin, the basis of treatment for millions at cardiovascular risk, is not a one-pill-wonder.
For the first time, a test is available which can rapidly and accurately identify aspirin resistance, a breakthrough in individual patient management; with the potential to revolutionise health care for those with cardiovascular risk. | <urn:uuid:d537aac6-6c16-4d51-b67a-f34a75c64ddc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.randox.com/clot-busting-drug-doesnt-work-for-1-in-4-patients-calls-for-asprin-resistance-screening/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281424.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00334-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961209 | 962 | 2.28125 | 2 |
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