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Poachers slaughtering Africa’s elephants and rhinos with impunity are often shielded from police by powerful connections, but a group of conservationists has turned to the anonymity of tip-offs to try to stem the killing.
The founders of WildLeaks — a sort of WikiLeaks for the environment — say it is the first secure, online whistle-blowing platform dedicated to wildlife and forest crime.
While wildlife rangers face gun battles in national parks with poachers carrying out the slaughter, the online project hopes to target the top-end traffickers who cream off millions of dollars in profit.
“We got, for example, a very interesting leak on a very powerful individual in Kenya, linked to the government, who is behind the ivory trade,” said founder Andrea Crosta, a former security consultant and longtime conservationist.
This kind of person “will never be taken out from within. They?re too powerful. You need help from outside. So right now, we?re trying to gather more evidence,” he said in rapid-fire, Italian-accented English.
– Targeting ‘corrupt’ officials –
Poaching has risen sharply across Africa in recent years fuelled by rising demand in Asia for ivory and rhino horn, coveted as a traditional medicine and a status symbol.
Interviewed in the lobby of an upmarket hotel in Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam, Crosta is fervent in his belief the online platform can be part of the war against poaching.
Launched in February, WildLeaks received its first tip within 24 hours.
Since then the project has gotten over 45 tips and leaks, with at least 28 deemed to be useful.
The information involved a range of topics from around the world including tiger poaching in Sumatra, illegal logging in eastern Russia and Mexico, and the smuggling of wildlife products into the United States.
WildLeaks passed on some tips to law enforcement agencies, while others were shared with trusted conservation organisations that specialise in the area.
Some were also investigated in house. Two WildLeaks probes have already been launched, with another two set to begin in September.
WildLeaks uses encryption and anonymity software to allow those with information to send it safely to those who can do something about it.
It is a new way to tackle a long-standing problem, and other conservationists have offered a cautious welcome.
“It does appear to be a new approach within the wildlife crime sector,” said Richard Thomas from TRAFFIC, the world?s leading wildlife trade monitoring network.
“It could prove its worth over time, if useful information is received and directed towards appropriate professional enforcement agencies for follow-up action.”
Representatives from the Conservation Group of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, which has partnered with WildLeaks to fight the sale of great apes in Central and West Africa, are also positive about the project.
“I think that it’s a really smart idea,” said Mimi Arandjelovic, a member of the group.
“There are also a lot of taboos that people might feel about reporting these sorts of things, so having an anonymous way of reporting it can only be positive.”
– ‘Endless supply’ of poachers –
But the problem with WildLeaks, Crosta admitted, is that in order for the project to be successful, the public needs to know about it ? and trust the people who are involved.
Crosta was in Dar es Salaam to meet potential partners and spread the word about his project.
WildLeaks has yet to receive a leak from Tanzania, even though the east African nation struggles with wildlife crime.
A third of all illegal ivory seized in Asia has come through Tanzanian ports.
Crosta, 45, has a background in both business and security consulting, often for governments and multinational companies.
In 2011, he said he self-funded an 18-month investigation, going undercover to find sources and meet with traffickers. His probe led him to suggest ivory was providing key funding for Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.
While UN experts disputed the findings, many would back WildLeaks’ message: stopping poaching requires action against the wealthy and influential bosses of often extremely well connected organised crime gangs.
“Unlike others operating in the field… we are not after small-time poachers or traffickers, but the people above them, including corrupt government officials,” he said.
No arrests have yet been made, but Crosta attributes this to the newness of the project and the fact that it is aiming for the bigger players in poaching networks.
The spike in poaching, with animals slaughtered even inside heavily guarded national parks or conservation areas, shows that poachers have little fear of tough new laws designed to end the killing.
“You can?t just keep going out catching and jailing poachers because there?s an endless supply out there,” he said, motioning towards the villages of rural Tanzania. “That is not the solution.” | <urn:uuid:c3e86c69-e497-4b9b-b887-66df90063673> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/lifestyle/2014/08/25/online-platform-wildlife-wikileaks-targets-poaching-in-africa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.959413 | 1,063 | 2.09375 | 2 |
THE marketing pitch came by e-mail: Would you like to make an appointment with your dentist to have your teeth cleaned? And while you’re at it, how about recommending him to a friend, or posting a review of your dental care?
I had given my e-mail address and mobile phone number to my dentist’s office a couple of years ago, for those rare occasions when he might need to communicate with me. Now, here I was receiving what I deemed unwanted promotional e-mail — and a text message — about the dentist’s services via Demandforce, a firm in San Francisco that handles customer communications for some 11,000 small business including dentists, spas and automotive shops. (Demandforce describes such messages as appointment reminders.)
Of course, some people may not mind receiving automated, unsolicited birthday greetings or thank-you e-mails on behalf of their health care providers. But I felt that the conditions under which I had provided my contact information had been violated. I wanted the dentist’s office and Demandforce to erase my information.
That proved easy enough — in this instance. But, as I looked into the matter, I discovered that I, as an American, did not actually have an automatic right to demand that a company erase personal information about me.Continue reading the main story
Even as Congress and agencies like the Federal Trade Commission propose new privacy measures, it turns out that the United States still lags behind Europe in ensuring some controls. And, as my colleague Suzanne Daley recently reported, Europeans are hotly debating whether to do more.
Already, under the data protection directive of the European Union, people who have contracted with a company generally have a right to withdraw their permission for it to keep their personal data. Under this “right to be forgotten,” Europeans who terminate frequent-flier memberships, for example, can demand that airlines delete their flight and mileage records, says Lukas Feiler, a lawyer who specializes in information technology and privacy law.
“If I withdraw my consent to the storage of my personal data, they would not have the right to store it,” says Mr. Feiler, an associate at Wolf Theiss, a law firm with headquarters in Vienna. But there are exceptions, he says — for example, when a company has a legitimate reason to store the data that supersedes an individual user’s interest.
In the United States, however, personal information about a consumer generally may be kept by the company that processes it — except for certain regulated industries like credit. Individual companies in many sectors set their own policies on data retention. Some agree to delete information; others don’t.
“As a general matter, companies in the United States don’t have to recognize your right to be deleted,” says Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a research group in Washington. “They may choose to accommodate you, but they are not required to.”
Certainly, there are many legitimate reasons for that. Businesses often keep records for tax or auditing purposes. Lawyers’ and doctors’ offices maintain records for a certain period to protect themselves against malpractice suits.
Now, however, some politicians, regulators and companies want to give Americans more control over their personal information — with limits on data use and retention, says Christopher Wolf, a lawyer who specializes in privacy and the co-chairman of the Future of Privacy Forum in Washington.
“We need to move more toward that regime in order to empower consumers,” Mr. Wolf says. But any limits, he emphasizes, would have to carefully balance personal privacy against the right to free speech and public access to information.
A bill introduced in the House last May, called the Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011, includes an “eraser button” provision for children and parents. It would require companies, when feasible, to allow users to delete publicly available personal information about minors from a Web site. (So far, there is no proposed equivalent covering grown-ups.)
But in a preliminary report, the F.T.C. has endorsed a related idea — that companies collect only the data they need about people and keep it no longer than necessary. If businesses minimize data collection from the get-go, there may be less need for an eraser button later, says Jessica Rich, deputy director of the F.T.C.’s bureau of consumer protection.
For now, she suggests that people read company privacy policies and “figure out ahead of time whether you have the ability to delete your data.”
Mr. Feiler in Vienna says the best hope is market innovation. With people attuned to data proliferation, he says, businesses with enhanced privacy options should prosper. Social networking sites, for instance, could differentiate themselves by offering automatic erasure, giving users the choice to delete their entire records, say, every six months.
“Some consumers would find that very useful,” Mr. Feiler says. “Others may want all their data to be available at least as long as they live.”
In the meantime, Americans like me, who would like companies to delete certain personal information, may find themselves depending on the kindness of strangers — or, at least, acquaintances.
My dentist said his office started using updated, automated communications to keep up with increasingly mobile patients who enjoy social networking but often change their contact information. He immediately agreed to delete some of my details from the system, even though I will now be harder to contact.
Demandforce, the customer communications company, was equally responsive.
Rick Berry, its president, told me that the firm didn’t send out unsolicited e-mails; it merely acts like a communications representative of a small business, transmitting digital reminders where a dentist’s office might once have mailed postcards. He adds that the firm encrypts user data and adheres to health privacy regulations. If people have privacy concerns, they can easily opt out of further contact.
I, however, shouldn’t have received a text message in the first place, said Patrick Barry, Demandforce’s vice president for marketing, since I didn’t give permission for my mobile number to be used that way.
The dentist’s front office “should have opted you out of receiving even a welcome text message,” Mr. Barry said. In a follow-up e-mail, he said Demandforce had deleted my record: “The system has officially ‘forgotten’ you.”
But in a data economy where personal information is an increasingly valuable currency, a consumer’s automatic access to a delete button remains an exception.Continue reading the main story | <urn:uuid:d4e5c52b-cdcb-4c01-b89a-11db42b935bc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/business/in-personal-data-a-fight-for-the-right-to-be-forgotten.html?_r=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00128-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959058 | 1,403 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Nielsen has released a new mobile application report and its findings showcase not only the increase in smartphone usage, but also what applications are most popular. For its report, Nielsen surveyed more than 4,200 people who had downloaded a mobile application in the last 30 days.
The survey really highlights just how much smartphone ownership trails traditional feature phone ownership, at least in the U.S. Nielsen's study shows that 21% of American wireless subscribers have smartphones.
Still, even non-smartphone users have heavily embraced mobile apps. Nielsen's survey indicates that the average number of apps that a feature phone user has on his or her device is 10, while the average number of apps a smartphone user has is 22.
Broken down even further, the average number of installed apps based on smartphone OS looks like this:
Windows Mobile: 13
Most Popular Smartphone Apps
While the specific applications vary from platform to platform, the most popular apps across smartphones were pretty consistent in this report: Maps, weather, Facebook and music all had strong showings.
Check out this chart, which breaks down the five most popular apps by smartphone OS:
It's interesting to see just how much Facebook dominates the mobile app space; it's one of the top five apps on each of the platforms highlighted. Still, Nielsen notes that broken down by demographic, MySpace is still very popular among teens and that LinkedIn is strong in the 25-44 demographic.
Do any of these findings surprise you or does this align with your own mobile app usage? Let us know. | <urn:uuid:c7dc0319-f568-4800-968d-2e0daac0a311> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://mashable.com/2010/06/01/nielsen-mobile-app-june2010/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00429-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955134 | 314 | 1.5625 | 2 |
The Sikes Family
The Sykes (Sikes) family
has been documented back to Massachusetts in the 1600s,
had moved to Michigan by 1837. In
1868 they purchased a 2,400 ½ acre portion of the former
San Bernardo for $2,500. With their 6 children, they
on their property by 1872 and built a one-room adobe
to live in. Additional rooms in the Greek revival style,
popular during the Victorian era, were soon added to the
structure. These additions were of wood, not adobe.
on letters written by Eliza Sikes, we know that the
its final outer dimensions by 1881.
Zenas Sikes died in surgery in April 1881 as a result of being kicked by a horse on his leg twice. Eliza used the insurance payments in part to remodel the house extensively and upgrade the furnishings. She also continued the wheat farming business. The family’s fortunes slowly declined in the decade after Zenas’ death. Wheat became less profitable as competition grew and the land became less fertile. The family began a dairy operation. The remains of the old creamery are still on the site. Debts piled up and in 1897 the property was sold to August Barnett for $10 to pay off the mortgages he held on the property. In 1917 the house was purchased, along with the buildings in the Bernardo community, as part of the Lake Hodges Dam project, initiated by Col. Ed Fletcher.
The Sikes and their neighbors became founders of a community of pioneer farmers that settled the former Rancho Bernardo in the 1870s and developed the region into productive agricultural lands that supported a rural society. Settlement of the agricultural hinterland was critical to the infant city of San Diego. Farmers were desperately needed to feed the expanding urban population and provide markets for local business.
Farmers in the region prospered largely as a result
of grain cultivation. During initial settlement, pioneer
farmers needed a product that could be quickly and cheaply produced. Grains
could be planted quickly with little initial investment and offered
a quick cash return at the end of the season. Wheat was first
planted on a large scale in the central valley during the late
1860’s. It became the largest and most profitable crop in
California between 1860 and 1893. California winter wheat
quickly gained the reputation as premium wheat by millers in England,
Ireland and parts of Europe by the 1870’s. Known abroad as “California
white velvet”, the wheat was harvested in the summer and could
be shipped thousands of miles with little degradation. The
quality was unusually hard and dry, making it suitable for long
maritime transport around Cape Horn.
There is also a farmer's market held every Sunday from 10-3 right in front of the homestead:
And there are hiking trails right behind:
Member's SectionMurphy's Ranch
Anza Borrego Desert
LHOOQ/EXREALISM Vintage Bookstore
Cuyamaca State Park | <urn:uuid:80660d40-15e7-4b9f-a656-f4ab2104c536> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://hiddensandiego.net/sikes-adobe-farmstead.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988722459.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183842-00345-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952563 | 639 | 2.953125 | 3 |
: CNET gives you a decent backgrounder on the coming Supreme Court ruling on the Child Online Protection Act, expected this week.
The court is expected to decide early next week whether the Child Online Protection Act violates Americans’ right to free expression on the Internet. The 1998 law, which restricts sexually explicit material deemed “harmful to minors” that appears on commercial Web sites, includes civil fines and prison terms in its provisions. COPA has been on hold during the court proceedings.
“If it’s upheld, there will be a shock wave,” said Ann Beeson, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union who argued the case before the high court. “We’ve been assuming on the Internet that there aren’t laws like this.”
Nobody would argue that children should not be exposed to pornography (I say we should start with the horrid spam being sent to everyone in the world, including children). But, as with the FCC’s and Congress’ indecent indecency jihads, as always, the problem will be: Where’s the line and who’s drawing it? For example, is the Washington Post over the line because it reported what the Vice President of the United States said this week? | <urn:uuid:bb2845b7-62b6-4a46-8cf3-6db869a558dc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://buzzmachine.com/2004/06/27/free-speech-cnet-gives/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00355-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934725 | 266 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Essay Topic 1
How is Beryl able to transcend her gender and social roles during her lifetime? How have Beryl's upbringing and growing up in British East Africa shaped her as an adult? Use specific examples from the book.
Essay Topic 2
How was survival an integral part of West with the Night? How did that concept relate to Beryl Markham? What were her views on that topic? Support your responses with examples from the book.
Essay Topic 3
How does Beryl Markham depict the relationship between the colonizers and the colonized in British East Africa? As a foreigner living in Africa, do you think that Markham supports the colonial system or does she criticize it? Support your opinions with evidence from the book.
Essay Topic 4
What does flight symbolize in West with the Night? What does flight mean to Beryl? Use specific examples from the book.
Essay Topic 5
This section contains 664 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) | <urn:uuid:12e49a48-1b84-4c4d-9f7b-842fc2a89af0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/west-with-the-night/essaytopics.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573172.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818063910-20220818093910-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.962032 | 218 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Multisoft Virtual Academy offers online SAS® training that is designed to train students in applying SAS® programming skills to clinical trials. The SAS® Clinical training imparts the knowledge and skills required to ensure that clinical data is maintained as per prescribed standards so as to support strategic analysis.y improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your coding department.
- Writing SAS programs.
- Manipulating and summarizing data using SAS procedures.
- Creating SAS programs that are reusable and dynamic using macros.
- Processing SAS data using Structured Query Language (SQL).
- Writing more effective reports.
- Creating high-quality presentation graphics. | <urn:uuid:19459207-7821-447b-9cc6-2911e6dfafc3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://areteservices.org/clinical-SAS.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.863088 | 130 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The "Anticipated Residues in Food (OPPE Pesticide Food Residue)"
database contains pesticide residue data on raw and processed
food. Data are provided on a voluntary basis by government
agencies and ...
The "Environmental Display Manager (EDM)" is a database which
ties together national on-line databases that contain spatial
and attribute information on industrial and municipal
dischargers, drinking ...
The "Federal Reporting Database System (FRDS)" is a centralized
database for information on public drinking water supplies,
including their compliance with monitoring requirements, maximum
The "Lockheed - EPA, Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Las Vegas
(LESC-EPA, EMLS-LV)" database consists of data obtained from the records of
various state and federal agencies responsible ...
The "National Pesticide Survey (NPS)" contains the results of a one-time survey
conducted by EPA to determine the frequency and concentration of pesticides and
nitrate in drinking water wells nationwide, ...
The "National Residential Radon Survey (NRRS)" provides an estimate of the
national frequency distribution of annual average radon concentrations in
occupied residences (97.5% of the 1980 United States ...
The "National Surface Water Survey (NSWS)" is a composite
program aimed at monitoring the chemical characteristics of
surface water in the United States. It includes the National
Stream Survey, the ...
The primary objective of the "Particle Total Exposure Assessment
Methodological Study (PTEAM)" was to estimate the frequency
distribution of exposure of an urban population to inhalable and
The "Permit Compliance System (PCS)" database is a computerized
management information system which contains data on National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit-holding
The "Recall Database" includes vehicle emissions results
generated specifically for enforcement purposes. Selected in-use
motor vehicles are subjected to emissions testing to determine
if they comply ...
"Records of Decision System (RODS)" was developed to track site clean-ups under
the Superfund program and to justify the type of treatment chosen at each site.
Additionally, RODS stores information ...
"The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)" database contains data on annual
estimated releases of over 300 toxic chemicals to air, water and land
by the manufacturing industry. TRI's main purpose is to encourage ...
The Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) was designed by the EPA to
develop and demonstrate methods to measure human exposure to toxic substances
in air and drinking water. The goals of Volatile ... | <urn:uuid:575278d6-39cf-4eab-81dc-24d3b3e984b5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://gcmd.nasa.gov/KeywordSearch/Keywords.do?KeywordPath=%5BKeyword%3D'IDN_NODE+GSFC%2FUSEPA'%5D&Portal=GCMD&MetadataType=0 | 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 | 0.890828 | 546 | 2.640625 | 3 |
How Much Does It Cost? Addressing Price Transparency
// By Althea Fung //
Health care is in the midst of a shift toward a consumer-centric model — empowering patients to have a greater role in how their health care dollars are spent. But there’s a problem. It’s hard to shop around if no one can tell you how much services cost.
A 2017 price transparency study published in the journal Hospital Pediatrics found 30 out of 45 pediatric hospitals contacted provided price estimates. Only 12 of the 30 that provided estimates had online price calculators.
A new price transparency guideline from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which went into effect in January, is aimed at addressing the opaque nature of health care pricing. Hospitals are now required to publish a standard list of prices online in a machine-readable format for patients. University of Utah Health, a four-hospital, Salt Lake City-based system, took the requirement a step farther and implemented a comprehensive cost estimator tool for about 500 common services and procedures, giving a single price that includes the full scope of costs.
“A few years ago, our senior leaders asked the question, ‘How would we respond if asked to publish our prices online?’ We formed a system-wide team consisting of hospital billing, physician billing, marketing, and clinical leaders to answer that question,” says Kathy Delis, administrative director of revenue cycle support at University of Utah Health. “We started going down the path of looking into how we can provide that information for both our existing patients and also consumers who are just shopping.”
In 2016, three years before the guidelines went into effect, University of Utah Health began posting the out-of-pocket expenses on its website. “I’m thankful we went down this path; we don’t just publish our CDM (charge description master), we have a tool that provides a meaningful estimate,” she says.
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Log in below to access this content: | <urn:uuid:2e788b28-07ee-4593-8e01-7d02ffa606f6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://strategichcmarketing.com/how-much-does-it-cost-addressing-price-transparency/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572063.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814173832-20220814203832-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.941835 | 450 | 1.84375 | 2 |
In one sense, we can speak of a church of Christ only since the New Testament era, when believers first testified to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. However, we can see Christ’s church in a broader context. The Greek term for church is ekklesia. Borrowed from the secular world, it refers to those who have been called out. In every generation God has called out a people to reflect His will by lives of faithfulness, trust, love, and obedience.
Read Genesis 2:16-3:7. What test was given to Adam and Eve? Why would such a test be needed for perfect beings?
In order to be able to love, Adam and Eve had to be created as morally free agents. They had to have the ability and the freedom to do wrong, even if they had no valid reason to do so. The test at the tree was a moral test: In what way would they use their God-given moral freedom?
We know the answer.
At the center of morality is law, God’s law, which defines good and evil for us (note that the tree is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). What’s the purpose of a law that forbids lying, stealing, and killing if these beings were incapable of doing any of those things to begin with? The law itself would be meaninglessness in a universe of automaton beings able to do only the good. That’s not, however, how God chose to create us. He couldn’t, not if He wanted beings who could truly love.
Though after the Fall Adam and Eve were to pass the baton to the next generation, humanity’s moral spiral downward was quick and dirty. Of their first two sons, only Abel chose to join God’s church, while Cain became possessed by the spirit of covetousness, lying, murder, and parental disrespect. Things went from bad to worse until evil overshadowed the good, and by the time of the Flood only Noah and his family could truly claim to be members of Christ’s church.
How many times in the past 24 hours have you made moral choices, using the freedom given to us from Eden? What were those choices, and how much were they in harmony with God’s moral law? | <urn:uuid:8918802c-f034-4492-ad00-b7fd7fe76c58> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ssnet.org/blog/sunday-adam-noah/comment-page-1/ | 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 | 0.982986 | 482 | 2.203125 | 2 |
In our previous blogs, we made justification for why you need a database failover and have explained how a failover mechanism works. I’m sharing this in case you have questions on why you should set up a failover mechanism for your MySQL database. If you do, please read our previous blog posts.
How To Setup Automatic Failover
The advantage with using MySQL or MariaDB for automatically managing your failover is that there are available tools you can use and implement in your environment. From open source ones to enterprise grade solutions. Most tools are not only failover capable, there are other features such as switchover, monitoring and advanced features that can offer more management capabilities for your MySQL database cluster. Below, we’ll go over the most common ones that you can use.
Using MHA (Master High Availability)
We have taken this topic with MHA with its most common issues and how to fix them. We have also compared MHA with MRM or with MaxScale.
Setting up with MHA for high availability might not be easy but it’s efficient to use and flexible as there are tunable parameters you can define to customize your failover. MHA has been tested and used. But as technology advances, MHA has been lagging behind as it does not support GTID for MariaDB and it has not been pushing any updates for the last 2 or 3 years.
By running the masterha_manager script,
Where a sample /etc/app1.cnf shall look like as follows,
[server default] user=cmon password=pass ssh_user=root # working directory on the manager manager_workdir=/var/log/masterha/app1 # working directory on MySQL servers remote_workdir=/var/log/masterha/app1 [server1] hostname=node1 candidate_master=1 [server2] hostname=node2 candidate_master=1 [server3] hostname=node3 no_master=1
Parameters such as no_master and candidate_master shall be crucial as you set whitelisting desired nodes to be your target master and nodes that you do not want to be a master.
Once set, you are ready to have failover for your MySQL database in case failure on the primary or master occurs. The script masterha_manager manages the failover (automatic or manual), takes decisions on when and where to failover, and manages slave recovery during promotion of the candidate master for applying differential relay logs. If the master database dies, MHA Manager will coordinate with MHA Node agent as it applies differential relay logs to the slaves that do not have the latest binlog events from the master.
Checkout what MHA Node agent does and its scripts involved. Basically, it’s the script that the MHA Manager will invoke when failover occurs. It will wait for its mandate from MHA Manager as it searches for the latest slave that contains the binlog events and copies missing events from the slave using scp and applies them to itself. As mentioned, it applies relay logs, purge relay logs, or save binary logs.
If you want to know more about tunable parameters and how to customize your failover management, checkout the Parameters wiki page for MHA.
Orchestrator is a MySQL and MariaDB high availability and replication management tool. It is released by Shlomi Noach under the terms of the Apache License, version 2.0. This is an open source software and handles automatic failover but there’s tons of things you can customize or do to manage your MySQL/MariaDB database aside from recovery or automatic failover.
Installing Orchestrator can be easy or straightforward. Once you have downloaded the specific packages required for your target environment, you are then ready to register your cluster and nodes to be monitored by Orchestrator. It provides a UI for which this is very easy to manage but has lots of tunable parameters or set of commands that you can use to attain your failover management.
Let’s consider that you have finally setup and Registering the cluster by adding our primary or master node can be done by the command below,
$ orchestrator -c discover -i pupnode21:3306 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Hostname unresolved yet: pupnode21 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Cache hostname resolve pupnode21 as pupnode21 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Connected to orchestrator backend: orchestrator:[email protected](127.0.0.1:3306)/orchestrator?timeout=1s 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Orchestrator pool SetMaxOpenConns: 128 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Initializing orchestrator 2021-01-07 12:32:31 INFO Connecting to backend 127.0.0.1:3306: maxConnections: 128, maxIdleConns: 32 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Hostname unresolved yet: 192.168.40.222 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Cache hostname resolve 192.168.40.222 as 192.168.40.222 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Hostname unresolved yet: 192.168.40.223 2021-01-07 12:32:31 DEBUG Cache hostname resolve 192.168.40.223 as 192.168.40.223 pupnode21:3306
Now, we have our cluster added.
If a primary node fails (hardware failure or encountered crashed), Orchestrator will detect and find the most advanced node to be promoted as the primary or master node.
Now, we have two nodes remaining in the cluster while the primary is down.
$ orchestrator-client -c topology -i pupnode21:3306 pupnode21:3306 [unknown,invalid,10.3.27-MariaDB-log,rw,ROW,>>,downtimed] $ orchestrator-client -c topology -i pupnode22:3306 pupnode22:3306 [0s,ok,10.3.27-MariaDB-log,rw,ROW,>>] + pupnode23:3306 [0s,ok,10.3.27-MariaDB-log,ro,ROW,>>,GTID]
MariaDB MaxScale has been supported as a database load balancer. Over the years MaxScale has grown and matured, extended with several rich features and that includes automatic failover. Since MariaDB MaxScale 2.2 was released, it introduces several new features including replication cluster failover management. You can read our previous blog regarding MaxScale failover mechanism.
Using MaxScale is under BSL although the software is freely available but requires you to at least buy service with MariaDB. It might not be suitable but in case you have acquired MariaDB enterprise services, then this can be a great advantage if you require failover management and its other features.
Installation of MaxScale is easy but setting up the required configuration and defining its parameters is not, and that it requires that you have to understand the software. You can refer to their configuration guide.
For quick and fast deployment, you can use ClusterControl to install MaxScale for you in your existing MySQL/MariaDB environment.
Once installed, setting up your Moodle database can be done by pointing your host to the MaxScale IP or hostname and the read-write port. For example,
For which port 4008 is your read-write for your service listener. For example, here’s the following service and listener configuration for my MaxScale.
$ cat maxscale.cnf.d/rw-listener.cnf [rw-listener] type=listener protocol=mariadbclient service=rw-service address=0.0.0.0 port=4008 authenticator=MySQLAuth $ cat maxscale.cnf.d/rw-service.cnf [rw-service] type=service servers=DB_123,DB_122,DB_124 router=readwritesplit user=maxscale_adm password=42BBD2A4DC1BF9BE05C41A71DEEBDB70 max_slave_connections=100% max_sescmd_history=15000000 causal_reads=true causal_reads_timeout=10 transaction_replay=true transaction_replay_max_size=32Mi delayed_retry=true master_reconnection=true max_connections=0 connection_timeout=0 use_sql_variables_in=master master_accept_reads=true disable_sescmd_history=false
While in your monitor configuration, you must not forget to enable the automatic failover or also enable auto rejoin if you want the previous master to fail to auto rejoin when going back online. It goes like this,
$ egrep -r 'auto|^[' maxscale.cnf.d/replication_monitor.cnf [replication_monitor] auto_failover=true auto_rejoin=1
Take note that the variables I have stated are not meant for production use but only for this blog post and test purposes. The good thing with MaxScale, once the primary or master goes down, MaxScale is smart enough to promote the ideal or best candidate to take the role of the master. Hence, no need to change your IP and port as we have used the host/IP of our MaxScale node and its port as our endpoint once master goes down. For example,
[192.168.40.223:6603] MaxScale> list servers ┌────────┬────────────────┬──────┬─────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────────────┐ │ Server │ Address │ Port │ Connections │ State │ GTID │ ├────────┼────────────────┼──────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ DB_124 │ 192.168.40.223 │ 3306 │ 0 │ Slave, Running │ 3-2003-876,5-2001-219541 │ ├────────┼────────────────┼──────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ DB_123 │ 192.168.40.221 │ 3306 │ 0 │ Master, Running │ 3-2003-876,5-2001-219541 │ ├────────┼────────────────┼──────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ DB_122 │ 192.168.40.222 │ 3306 │ 0 │ Slave, Running │ 3-2003-876,5-2001-219541 │ └────────┴────────────────┴──────┴─────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────────────┘
Node DB_123 which points to 192.168.40.221 is the current master. Terminating the node DB_123 shall trigger MaxScale to perform a failover and it shall look like this,
[192.168.40.223:6603] MaxScale> list servers ┌────────┬────────────────┬──────┬─────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────────────┐ │ Server │ Address │ Port │ Connections │ State │ GTID │ ├────────┼────────────────┼──────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ DB_124 │ 192.168.40.223 │ 3306 │ 0 │ Slave, Running │ 3-2003-876,5-2001-219541 │ ├────────┼────────────────┼──────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ DB_123 │ 192.168.40.221 │ 3306 │ 0 │ Down │ 3-2003-876,5-2001-219541 │ ├────────┼────────────────┼──────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ DB_122 │ 192.168.40.222 │ 3306 │ 0 │ Master, Running │ 3-2003-876,5-2001-219541 │ └────────┴────────────────┴──────┴─────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────────────┘
Whilst, our Moodle database is still up and running as our MaxScale points to the latest master that was promoted.
$ mysql -hmaxscale.local.domain -umoodleuser -pmoodlepassword -P4008 Welcome to the MariaDB monitor. Commands end with ; or g. Your MariaDB connection id is 9 Server version: 10.3.27-MariaDB-log MariaDB Server Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others. Type 'help;' or 'h' for help. Type 'c' to clear the current input statement. MariaDB [(none)]> select @@hostname; +------------+ | @@hostname | +------------+ | 192.168.40.222 | +------------+ 1 row in set (0.001 sec)
ClusterControl can be downloaded freely and offers licenses for Community, Advance, and Enterprise. The automatic failover is only available on Advance and Enterprise. Automatic failover is covered under our Auto-Recovery feature which tries to recover a failed cluster or a failed node. If you want more details on how to perform this, check out our previous post How ClusterControl Performs Automatic Database Recovery and Failover. It offers tunable parameters which are very convenient and easy to use. Please read our previous post also on How to Automate Database Failover with ClusterControl.
Managing your automatic failover for your Moodle database must at least require a virtual IP (VIP) as your endpoint for your Moodle application client interfacing your database backend. To do this, you can deploy Keepalived with HAProxy (or ProxySQL–depends on your load balancer choice) on top of it. In this case, your Moodle database endpoint shall point to the virtual IP, which is basically assigned by Keepalived once you have deployed it, same as how we showed you earlier when setting up MaxScale. You can also check this blog on how to do it.
As mentioned above, tunable parameters are available which you can just set via your /etc/cmon.d/cmon_.cnf located in your ClusterControl host wherein CLUSTER_ID is the id of your cluster. These are the parameters which would help you manage your autofailover more efficiently,
ClusterControl is very flexible when managing the failover so you can do some pre-failover or post-failover tasks.
There are other great choices when setting up and automatically managing your failover for your MySQL database for Moodle. It depends on your budget and what you likely have to spend money for. Using open source ones requires expertise and requires multiple testing to get familiarized as there’s no support you can run when you need help other than the community. With enterprise solutions, it comes with a price but offers you support and ease as the time consuming work can be diminished. Take note that if failover is used mistakenly, it can cost damage to your database if not properly handled and managed. Focus on what is more important and how you are capable of the solutions you are utilizing for managing your Moodle database failover. | <urn:uuid:acf58588-0ada-473f-9b4e-6e60c0787e30> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://severalnines.com/blog/how-to-automatically-manage-failover-mysql-database-moodle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572870.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817062258-20220817092258-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.777089 | 3,473 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Traduction en anglais : Drinking Water supply while considering toxic geogenic Arsenic concentrations.
Geogenic Arsenic in Drinking Water.
Drinking water production of surface spring water in southern Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen, Germany) was reduced because of microbiological contaminations and unreliably variable water reserves.
Surface spring water in general has a low arsenic content.
As a consequence ground water has been increasingly used for drinking water.
Thus, high geogenic concentrations of arsenic in the central, Buntsandstein in southern Lower Saxony caused high arsenic contents in the groundwater.
Under the regulation of the German Drinking Water Ordinance (1986) the limit for total arsenic (40 mug/l) was exceeded in 2% of 150 fountains, wells and sources in southern Lower Saxony.
Because of the well-known cancerogenic potential of arsenic the limit for total arsenic in drinking water was reduced from 40 mug/l to 10 mug/l suspending the new standard value until January 1996.
This regulation based on new calculations revealing a skin cancer risk of roughly 6 : 10,000 and a mortality risk of roughly 1 : 106 in respect of lifetime in case of arsenic concentrations of 10 mug As/l drinking water.
After that limit change 40% of 150 wells and sources in southern Lower Saxony exceeded the arsenic limit of 10 mug/l drinking water.
As a matter of fact, it became necessary for a large number of water supply works to eliminate arsenic from the drinking water by technical means or to dilute drinking water with high concentrations of arsenic.
Mots-clés Pascal : Arsenic, Pollution eau, Eau alimentation, Toxicité, Epidémiologie, Facteur risque, Homme, Allemagne, Europe, Santé et environnement
Mots-clés Pascal anglais : Arsenic, Water pollution, Feed water, Toxicity, Epidemiology, Risk factor, Human, Germany, Europe, Health and environment
Notice produite par :
Inist-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique
Cote : 98-0498652
Code Inist : 002B30B02A. Création : 19/02/1999. | <urn:uuid:92c61dde-23e7-47bb-b14f-9baa7986d9d4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.bdsp.ehesp.fr/Base/175517/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00364-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.809326 | 478 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Founding Director of the Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues Michael Fernandez authored the following op-ed for the Washington Post. The op-ed was published on the Washington Post website on June 14, 2022.
In his June 5 Local Opinions essay, “Mobile voting in D.C. is the next step in a long march,” Martin Luther King III urged expanding the availability of mobile voting to all D.C. voters to combat low voter turnout, particularly in historically underrepresented communities.
Voting restrictions disproportionately affect already underserved communities. The Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues has long supported responsible uses of technology to facilitate voting and increase access to the ballot box for all voters. But the electronic return of ballots creates serious and currently unsolvable security vulnerabilities.
In an April 2020 letter to governors and state election officials, signed by about 80 prominent computer and cybersecurity experts, we outlined the risks of mobile voting. These systems are vulnerable to the same kinds of hacking tools that closed down schools in Baltimore County and caused massive fuel shortages along the Eastern Seaboard. The rise in cryptocurrency thefts shows that even blockchain-based mobile voting is rife with security risks. In 2020, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the FBI and the National Institute of Standards and Technology jointly concluded that electronic ballot return is a “high risk” and that “ensuring ballot integrity and maintaining voter privacy is difficult, if not impossible, at this time.”
Though we support seeking solutions to address low voter turnout, especially among underserved communities, current evidence underscores that voting by phone, tablet or computer is not safe or secure enough to ensure public confidence and trust in election results. | <urn:uuid:2592bbcf-3c4a-470d-9517-2f3eb4c43080> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.aaas.org/news/mobile-voting-not-answer-low-turnout-and-disenfranchisement | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.944739 | 352 | 2.1875 | 2 |
This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers.
During an El Niño event, the Walker Circulation becomes modified in a major way. The westward flowing surface winds across the equatorial Pacific basin weaken and in the western part of the basin they reverse and flow eastward. This enables water in the warm pool in the west to spread eastwaed.as the warm water shifts eastward, the sea level in the east increases. With the slowing down of the westward winds, the surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific become warmer. As this occurs, the thermocline also begins to shift, moving upward toward the ocean's surface in the west and deepening in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. As the thermocline moves downward along the Peruvian coast, upwelling continues but the water brought up to the surface is warmer and less rich in nutrients (Figure 5.4b, p.70).
Meanwhile, the water in the western equatorial Pacific becomes a few degrees cooler, as the surface and subsurface waters in the central and eastern Pacific warm up. Because convective activity (cloud formation) follows the sea's warm surface water, clouds increase in the central and eastern Pacific, while they decline in the west. This displacement in convective activity generates droughts in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, typhoons in the central Pacific, and heavy rains along the normally arid coast of northern Peru. These conditions can last from 12 to 18 mouths, until the westward flowing surface winds once again begin to strengthen, causing warm water to flow back toward to the region of the western Pacific warm pool. The sea levels at both ends of the basin begin to change direction now rising in the west and falling in the east, as does the depth of the very important but out of sight thermocline. Strong upwelling returns to the equator and to the eastern Pacific boundary of coastal Peru.
Figure 4.2a,b summarizes the west-to-east interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean in the equatorial Pacific under normal conditions and under El Niño conditions. The precise timing of the beginning of any particular El Niño event may not be well known, although there are several hypotheses about how to detect it. Once started, however, the processes that keep El Niño going, as well as the processes that end it, appear to be better idea some months in advance about its potential impacts on some ecosystems and societies around the globe. This was the case for the 1997-98 event. Even though forecasters missed forecasting its onset, they were relatively more successful in identifying some of its worldwide impacts.
Since 1960, the total catch by weight of Peruvian anchovy has exceeded that of any other single fish species in the world, but the annual catch has varied considerably (Figure 5). In the decade between 1962 and 1971, annual yields averaged 9.7 million tonnes, but the catch dropped dramatically in 1972 and averaged only 1.3 million tonnes in the decade between 1976 and 1985. Such large variability in fishery yields makes economic planning very difficult in a country that relies heavily on the foreign exchange from this one source.
One cause of the large fluctuations in anchovy catch is a phenomenon called El Niño, an intrusion of warm, nutrient-poor water from the vicinity of the equator southward along the coast of Peru. The water is transported by the Peru Countercurrent, and in extreme cases may extend as far as 12oS latitude. The intruding water is less dense than the Peru Coastal Current, both because it is warmer and because it is less saline (contains a lower concentration of dissolved salts). This lighter water overrides the Coastal Current water in a nutrient-poor layer up to 30 meters deep. During El Niño, the coastal wind system sometimes slackens, and upwelling may cease. Alternatively, the coastal wind system and upwelling may continue as usual, but because the nutrient-poor upper layer is so much deeper than usual, the upwelled water comes from above the nutricline and so is low in nutrients. From a biological standpoint, upwelling has become ineffective. El Niño conditions have been known to persist for as long as 12 to 18 months.
During El Niño there is a dramatic drop in photosynthetic rates in the coastal current system, in extreme cases by more than an order of magnitude. This decline in photosynthesis impacts the food supply of virtually all organisms in the coastal current ecosystem.
Fish-eating birds are significant and highly visible predators of the anchovy. These birds, regionally known as guano birds, sometimes number in the millions and live on islands off the coast of Peru. Their droppings, or guano, are used as fertilizer. Guano birds include cormorants, gannets or boobies and pelicans. Anchovies account for 95% of the cormorants' diet and 80% of the diets of gannets and pelicans. Guano birds have a limited ability to fish at depth, so when El Niño occurs, the guano bird population is seriously impacted. The weaker swimmers and divers are unable to find food even if the schools of fish do nothing more than disperse into deeper water. Census data confirm that weak, immature guano birds are decimated by El Niño. In mild or moderate El Niño events, the adult guano birds are still able to find enough food for themselves but not enough to sustain their young as well. They abandon their nests, and their nestlings starve. This may be appropriate evolutionary behavior for relatively long-lived birds, because it allows the adults to use available food for survival rather than reproduction. However, in severe El Niño events, significant numbers of adult guano birds die as well. After the severe El Niño of 1957 the guano bird population, then estimated to be about 27 million, dropped to 6 million. Millions of dead birds washed up on the Peruvian coast. The population gradually recovered in subsequent years and had reached 17 million just prior to the El Niño of 1965 (Figure 6). The population dropped to fewer than 5 million in 1966 and to a few hundred thousand after the 1972-73 El Niño.
During a strong El Niño year large numbers of marine organisms also die off the coast of Peru, including fishes, squids, and even turtles and small sea mammals. In some years the decomposition of all these dead bodies may consume the oxygen in the winter, and as a result toxic and foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide gas bubbles up through the water and blackens the paint on boats. Although some geographical redistribution of the anchoveta population may occur during El Niño years, the catch of anchovies by Peru's southern neighbor Chile does not increase during El Niño events. In year when Peru's anchoveta catch has dropped below 2.0 million tonnes, the catch of anchoveta by Chile has never exceeded 0.32 million tonnes. A strong El Niño drastically reduces or eliminates the fertilization of the ocean off Peru by upwelling. The result is a radical drop in the supply of food for all animals in the ecosystem.
Case study - Peru
The waters along the coasts of Peru, Ecuador and northern Chile are normally some of the most productive in the world. Nutrient-rich currents rising from the sea-bed support vast populations of microscopic plankton, which in turn provide food for fish and other wildlife. The system is delicately balanced, with dead plankton falling to the sea floor and decaying to provide the nutrients for future upwellings. During an El Niño, plankton populations drop dramatically, disrupting the food chain and leading to starvation among marine life forms. Over the past 40 years, two of the major industries of Chile and Peru, fertilizer and fishing have been directly affected by these changes.
In the first half of this century, fertilizer made from the droppings of guano sea birds living on off shore islands was central to the Peruvian economy. The sea birds fed on anchoveta fish. Guano fertilizer was exported in bulk, and used domestically to improve crop yields. The changes I sea conditions caused by the 1957-58 El Niño led to a massive drop in anchoveta numbers. Millions of guano birds starved to death and their number dropped from 30 million to 16 million. A few years later, Peru began to expand its anchoveta fishing industry. Competition from fishermen for the anchoveta and stresses caused by El Niño caused a further decline in the number of guano birds and ended the dominance of the guano fertilizer industry in Peru.
The fishing industry continued to grow and, by the late 1960s, Peru had become the world's leading fishing nation by weight of catch, with anchoveta making up the bulk. By 1970, 1400 modern boats were bringing in 14 million tonnes of anchoveta a year, one-fifth of the world fish catch. However, the 1972-73 El Niño devastated the Peruvian anchoveta fishing industry and brought the El Niño phenomenon onto the world stage for the first time. During the onset of the 1972-73 El Niño, the warming of the Pacific coastal waters drove large numbers of anchoveta close to the shore
Interest in the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon, as such, goes back at least to the middle decades of the 1800s. At that time, its adverse effects on the guano birds (i.e. seabirds such as cormorants, gannets and pelicans) and on guano production (bird droppings used as a fertilizer for agriculture) had already been observed. Guano deposits that had built up over millennia were "mined" along the Peruvian coast throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, despite the decline in European demand for it. By 1900, Peruvian authorities were alarmed that this valuable export commodity (guano) was being mined at an alarming and unsustainable rate, that it was being mined at a rate faster than it was being produced. As a result, in the first decade of the twentieth century, the Peruvian government established a Guano Administration Company to oversee the protection of the guano bird population and to control the mining of guano (Figure 3.1 and 3.2).
Guano birds along the Peruvian coast live off of the fish populations that dwell near the ocean's surface (these are called pelagic fish), primarily the anchoveta, which is a fish of anchovy family. The cold oceanic conditions in Peru's coastal waters were usually optimal for anchoveta populations but are occasionally perturbed by El Niño. El Niño-related changes in physical, biological and social conditions can be devastating for the anchoveta, and in turn to seabird populations. Some of these processes are described briefly in the following paragraphs.
The rotation of the earth, combined with the winds that tend to blow toward the equator and offshore up the west coast of South America, pushes coastal surface water westward away from the continent and toward the central Pacific. As a result, cold water is drawn up from the ocean's depths to replace the warmer displaced surface water. This process is referred to as coastal upwelling. Coastal upwelling processes create regions in the ocean that are biologically highly productive oases (Figure 3.3).
The upwelling of deep cold ocean water brings a variety of chemicals in to the sumlit later near the ocaen's surface. They are converted through photosynthesis to nutrients for phytoplankton which are at the bottom of the marine food chain. The plants are eaten by zooplankton and fish populations, which in turn are consumed by guano birds.
The coastal upwelling phenomenon usually occurs along the western coasts of continents in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Coastal upwelling regions from around the globe make up about 0.1% or the ocean's surface area but provide around 40% of all the commercial fish captured globally. The cold water that upwells along the coast tends to suppress rain-producing processes in the atmosphere and as a result, upwelling regions are usually found adjacent to coastal deserts. So, although coastal deserts appear to be harsh and barren environments from a societal perspective, the productivity that they did not get on land they found in their adjacent coastal waters. The location of major coastal upwelling regions are shown in Figure 3.4.
Biological productivity in the marine environment can be measured in terms of fixation of carbon by photosynthesis. The productivity of an upwelling ecosystem is measured in part by the amount of nutrients that is brought into the sunlit layer near the surface. According to David Cushing (1982),
"Each upwelling region moves poleward as spring gives way to summer and each is two or three hundred kilometers broad in biological terms, even if the prominent physical processes are confined to a band within about 50 km of the coast." (Cushing, 1982)
Of these highly productive marine ecosystems, Peru's is considered to be one of the best not only in terms of the rate of fixation of carbon but of tonnage of fish caught as well (mostly anchoveta during non El Niño periods). Before 1960, Peru was not noted for its commercial fishing activities, even though its commercial fish catches had doubled each year in the 1950s. However, from the mid-1960s to the first couple of years of the 1970s, it had become the world's number one fishing nation.
When El Niño events occur, coastal upwelling processes in the eastern Pacific are altered to such an extent that behavior within and among species becomes modified in major ways. Anchoveta, for example, disperse and migrate as well as dwell deeper in the ocean. Patterns of reproduction and migration change for the various fish species, with some reproducing less in the temporarily altered marine environment. Warm water species temporarily invade the waters of the western equatorial Pacific. Some fish populations such as sardines fare well in the new but temporary warm surface water environment. More specific to Peruvian interests, the standing stock of anchoveta becomes reduced for a variety of reasons, including higher mortality and lower fertility.
As a result of changes in the behavior of the anchoveta, the fish population becomes much less accessible to the guano birds, which causes the starvation and death of hundreds of thousands to millions of birds, depending on the magnitude and intensity of the particular El Niño episode. Figure 3.6 provides an example of the adverse impacts on Peruvian guano birds of the combination of El Niño events and heavy commercial fishing pressures over the span of a few decades.
The Guano Administration Company, created in 1909 by the Peruvian government to manage the guano resource, and its main supporters among the Peruvian agricultural elite managed for many decades to block the development of large scale commercial anchoveta fishing ventures. Apparently, they were able to argue successfully within the nation's highest political circles that there were not enough fish in Peru's coastal waters to sustain both a viable guano-mining industry and a viable anchoveta fishing sector. Birds and fishermen would be competing for the same resources in order to "survive". It is important to note that the Peruvian anchoveta captured by humans. They were caught to be processed into fishmeal for use as an animal feed supplement for export primarily to the rapidly expanding North American poultry industry. The anchoveta was also a source of fish oil for Peru's domestic market.
In the early 1950s, however, the enterprisers interested in developing a Peruvian commercial fishery finally convinced politicians at the time to allow them to establish a commercial fishing industry, winning out over those who opposed its development. The arguments of Peruvian investors
Scientists have identified five regions in the equatorial Pacific that they consider to be worthy of special attention with regard to the observations and monitoring of El Niño processes. Their locations are shown in Figure AAA. Researchers are increasingly focusing on environmental changes in the Niño3.4 region in order to identify the onset of an El Niño event. Each region provides different kinds of information about either El Niño or the Southern Oscillation.
Figure AAA. Map depicting four regions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean identified as important locations for monitoring the wind and sea surface temperature changes associated with the El Niño process. Source: Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (2011).
Niño1 is the region of coastal upwelling off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador. It is sensitive to changes in the ocean and the atmosphere, both seasonally and especially during El Niño episodes. Coastal upwelling processes in Niño1 are particularly sensitive to changes in air-sea interaction in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.
Niño2 represents the Galapagos Islands region of the equatorial Pacific. Equatorial upwelling processes in this area are also sensitive to seasonal, as well as El Niño-induced, changes in the marine environment. Niño2 is a transition zone between the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, sensitive to changes in either Niño1 and Niño3, or both.
Niño3 is in the central equatorial Pacific, where there is a large El Niño signal but not much sensitivity to seasonal changes in air-sea interaction. It is in this region where information on changes in surface wind has been used by Mark Cane and Stephen Zebiak to project the likely onset to El Niño events. According to Cane (1991), "a warming in this region is thought to influence the global atmosphere strongly. It is probably the best single indicator of an ENSO episode likely to affect global climate".
Niño3.4 is relatively new region in the tropical Pacific increasingly used by more researchers to correlate changes in sea surface temperatures and surface winds there to climatic anomalies around the globe. Many researchers now use changes in Niño3.4 instead of Niño3 in their El Niño forecast modeling activities. It overlaps the Niño3 and Niño4 regions, as shown in Figure AAA.
Niño4 encompasses part of the western equatorial Pacific known as the warm pool. Here, sea surface temperatures are the highest in the Pacific. During an El Niño event, there is a relatively small change in sea surface temperatures (cooling). However, that small change is important, because the warmest water at the ocean's surface and the cloud producing processes that tend to follow it move away from the western Pacific toward the central and eastern Pacific. Hence during El Niño there are dry conditions in several countries in the western Pacific and very wet conditions in northern Peru and southern Ecuador.
Australia has suffered severe droughts in its northern and eastern regions during many El Niño years. These droughts have reduced crop yields, killed livestock, eroded soils and encouraged destructive bush fires.
El Niño event of 1982-83 coincided with a drought that may have been the worst for 100 years. The 1982 winter rains (June - September) failed over the south-eastern grain and pasture areas of Australia. In northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, the summer rains (December 1982 - February 1983) also failed.
The American Heritage dictionary defines an anomaly as a deviation from the normal order and as something unusual or irregular. El Niño is an anomaly in terms of changes in sea surface temperatures and in sea level pressure. The 1982-83 El Niño can, therefore, be described as an anomalous anomaly. In addition to being unusual, it is considered by the scientific community to be the most extreme this century.
The sea surface temperatures associated with this El Niño were way above normal in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (reaching 4 degree Celsius or more above normal in some areas). Those concerned about natural disasters and their socioeconomic impacts also considered it to have been a very extreme event, because of numerous destructive climate anomalies that occurred around the world at the time. In the wake of this particular El Niño event, many world leaders, the public, and the media, for the first time, were forced to pay more consistent attention to this phenomenon.
In 1982, several months prior to the onset of the 1982-83 El Niño, some researchers published an article on what they considered the "typical" El Niño. The canonical El Nino, as they called it, was in fact a composite of the features of several El Niño events that took place from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. Until then, it appeared that El Niño events had generally followed a similar pattern of growth and development from onset to decay. In less than a year, however, that notion was challenged with the occurrence of an unexpected out of phase onset of the 1982-83 event. According to Harrison and Cane,
"The warm event in the Pacific in 1982-83 was unusual in many respects. Rather than exhibiting surface warming first along the northeast coast of South America in the spring, sea surface temperatures first significantly exceeded climatological values along the equator in the eastern central Pacific during late summer."
(Harrison and Cane, 1984, p.21)
In addition, Rasmusson and Arkin (1985), in reviewing what had happened in 1982-83, wrote that the timing of the warming of water in the central Pacific was typical and that the warming along the Peruvian coast followed instead of preceded that warming. In any event, the coastal warming occurred at the normal time of the year.
The 1982-83 El Niño differed in both timing and location from the set of post-World War II events used to compile the characteristics of a "typical" event. For example, anomalously warm sea surface temperatures appeared first in the central Pacific instead of off the coast of Peru. The warm sea surface temperatures moved eastward toward the South American coast, instead of first appearing along the coast and then moving in a westward direction away from it. It emerged later in the year (between June and August) than the expected typical El Niño. The winds along the Peruvian coast did not weaken as expected when the El Niño began, even though a weakening of the westward flowing winds was considered to be a necessary, although not sufficient, condition to spark El Niño's
Impacts associated with the 1982-83 El Niño
Most of the major weather anomalies occurring in 1982 and 1983 around the world, especially droughts and floods in the tropics, were linked by one observer or another to the occurrence of an El Niño. Several articles, maps, and charts relating to El Niño appeared in the popular press, suggesting the extent of the worldwide, continent-wide, national, and local impacts of this El Niño. Caution must be used, however, in attributing any particular anomaly or impact to a specific El Niño. Furthermore, the severity of societal impacts will vary according to the level of societal vulnerability to such extremes. Climate-related anomalies can also result from a variety of local and regional conditions, even in the absence of El Niño events. The following examples of the alleged societal impacts of the 1982-83 El Niño are taken from newspaper reports:
Indonesia was plagued with severe drought, resulting in reduced agricultural output (especially rice), famine, malnutrition, disease, and hundreds of deaths. This drought came at a bad time, in the sense that this country had been making great strides toward self-sufficiency in food production. In the few years immediately preceding the 1982-83 El Niño, Indonesia had begun to emerge as a rice exporter. This drought, however, coupled with worldwide recession, huge foreign debts, and declining oil revenues, set back Indonesia's economic development goals for the near term.
In 1982-83, Australia was in the midst of its worst drought this century up to that time. Agricultural and livestock losses, along with widespread bush fires mainly in the southeastern part of the country, resulted in billions of dollars of lost revenue. The El Niño exacerbated this situation. An Australian journalist wrote that the drought was not just a rural catastrophes, it was a national disaster.
The eastern part of the USA was favorably affected by its warmest winter in 25 years and the fewest hurricanes of the century up to this date. According to an estimate by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, energy savings were on the order of US $500 million. (The opposite was the case, however, during the cold winter that accompanied the 1976-77 El Niño.) Also in 1982-83, the USA was adversely affected by devastating coastal storms and mudslides along the southern California coast, flooding in the states, reducing corn and soybean production. Salmon harvests along the United States Pacific Northwest coast were also down sharply due to reduced coastal upwelling and a general warming of the ocean's water, which pushed salmon populations further north into Canadian waters and into the hands of Canadian fishermen.
South America experienced many and varied impacts. In addition to the highly publicized damage to infrastructure such as roads, railroads, and bridges, and agricultural production in Peru and Ecuador as a result of heavy flooding during the 1982-83 El Niño, there were severe droughts in southern Peru and Bolivia. A major drought continued in Northeast Brazil, adversely affecting food production, human health, and the environment. The drought prompted migration out of the region into the Amazon and into the already crowded cities along the coast and to the south. There were also destructive floods in southern Brazil, northern Argentina, and Paraguay.
Large expanses of Africa were affected by drought. For example, the West African Sahel was, once again, plagued by a major drought. Although the human and livestock deaths resulting from this drought appeared to be lower than those that occurred during the 1972-73 El Niño, the situation with food production was considered extremely poor. The view that the Sahel was in the midst of a long term trend of below average rainfall that began in 1968 gained some credibility.
Southern Africa has witnessed some of its worst droughts, including that of 1982-83, during this century. For example, in 1983 the Republic of South Africa, a major grain producer in the region, was forced to import about 1.5 million tonnes of corn from the USA to replace what was lost in their drought. Zimbabwe, a regional supplier of food, was also devastated by drought and was forced to appeal for food assistance from the international community. Likewise Botswana, Mozambique, Angola, Lesotho, and Zambia, and the so-called Black National Homelands in the Republic of South Africa had their economies devastated by the drought of 1982-83.
In addition to these impacts, the El Niño of 1982-83 was blamed for droughts in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, southern India, Mexico, and even Hawaii, along with severe, unseasonal typhoons in French Polynesia and Hawaii. It was also credited with having a role in suppressing hurricane activity along the Atlantic seaboard. In 1983, many of these events were record-setting extremes: the worst typhoon, the most intense rainfall, the warmest winter, the longest drought, and the fewest hurricanes making landfall on the eastern USA, all occurred in this year.
El Niño has also been associated with indirect societal and environmental effects. However, indirect effects are even more difficult to attribute to an El Niño, as they could be the result of other causes. In 1982-83, these effects tool the form of dust storms and bush fires in Australia, the Côte d'lvoire, and Ghana. In the USA, the 1982-83 event was blamed for such health effects as encephalitis outbreaks in the East (the result of a warm, wet spring providing the proper environment for mosquitos), and increase in rattle-snake bites in Montana (hot, dry conditions at higher elevations caused mice to search for food and water at more densely populated lower elevations; the rattlesnakes followed the mice), a record increase in the number of bubonic plague cases in New Mexico (as a result of a cool, wet spring that created favorable conditions for flea-bearing rodents), an increase in shark attacks off the coast of Oregon (because they followed the unseasonably warm sea temperatures). Even an increase in the incidence of spinal injuries along California's coast was blamed on El Niño (as a result of swimmers and surfers being unaware that the floor of the ocean along the coast gad bee changed as a result of the violent wave action that accompanied coastal storms).
There has been an overwhelming tendency to focus on the adverse impacts of El Niño on human activities. However, with regional shifts in temperature and precipitation, one can expect that some regions as well as some human activities will benefit from those shifts. | <urn:uuid:adb2e326-1826-43dd-aa46-2215c0aa955b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.ukessays.com/essays/biology/el-nino-and-the-walker-circulation-biology-essay.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00419-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957066 | 5,837 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Harper Lee Sues Agent Over Royalties From ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’
Harper Lee, who mostly retired from public life after publishing her classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is suing her former agent alleging that he deceived her out of royalties from the sale of the book:
Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, has sued her literary agent for allegedly duping her into assigning him the copyright on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan, Lee says Samuel Pinkus, the son-in-law of Lee’s long-time agent, Eugene Winick, took advantage of her failing hearing and eyesight to transfer the rights on the book, which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and became an Oscar-winning film.
The 87-year-old says she has no memory of agreeing to relinquish her rights or signing the agreement that cements the purported transfer.
Winick had represented Lee for more than 40 years. When he became ill in 2002, Pinkus diverted several of his father-in-law’s clients to his own company, the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, in 2007 Pinkus “engaged in a scheme to dupe” Lee into assigning the novel’s copyright without any payment and had since failed to respond to licence requests.
To Kill a Mockingbird is the only published book by the author, who lives in Monroeville, Alabama, and is rarely seen in public.
It is also alleged that Pinkus failed to respond to offers on e-book rights and a request for assistance related to the book’s 50th anniversary.
The lawsuit asks the court to assign any rights in the book owned by Pinkus to Lee and requests that he hand over any commission he took from 2007 onwards.
I’m not able to comment about the legal merit’s of Lee’s claims without knowing more about the case, but from the way the allegations are described in news reports it seems that there may be a fairly good case of fraud here. Pincus better get himself a good lawyer. | <urn:uuid:9db3c28c-20e5-4dcb-99e4-b91ecce48bfd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/harper-lee-sues-agent-over-royalties-from-to-kill-a-mockingbird/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00519-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980014 | 453 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Facts about Phobias & Fear Factors
Many people fearpublic speaking. Most adjust. They apply extra deodorant, takedeep breaths and get through their presentations just fine.
For some, however, the fear feeds itself. They blush, tremble,sweat profusely, stammer and stutter, perhaps even lose theability to speak. They have a social phobia about publicspeaking, and they're far from alone.
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates at least 5.3million Americans (almost 4 percent) suffer from a social phobia,an overwhelming anxiety and self-consciousness in social settings.The Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health issued at the endof 1999 puts the number of people affected by social phobias ashigh as 7 percent.
But social phobias are only one type of fear. More than one in 10Americans have one or more specific phobias, the instituteestimates, and an additional 2 percent suffer from panic disordereach year.
These numbers are not far from those reported in a telephonestudy of 1,000 adults done recently by Penn, Schoen & BerlandAssociates, Inc. for Discovery Health. While the poll showed 7percent of Americans say they suffer from a phobia, nearly 40percent confess an extreme fear of an object or situation, themost common being fear of snakes and fear of being buried alive.
One in five Americans 24 percent of women and 17 percent ofmensay they have some degree of fear of being in crowded orwide-open places.
Almost a third of Americans say they've suffered a panic attack.
One in four say they've experienced intense fear and trembling insocial situations. Many more say they've felt nervousness,blushing, a racing heart or dry mouth and throat, some of thesymptoms of social phobia.
Women ranked snakes as their top fear. Men were most afraid ofbeing buried alive. Both genders also included fear of heights,fear of drowning and fear of public speaking high in theirrankings. One big disparity: While women ranked being bound ortied up as their second-highest fear, men ranked it 36th.
Researchers found broad agreement in fear of:
the Internal Revenue Service (57 percent) more than God (30percent);
dentists (58 percent) more than doctors (22 percent); and
rats (58 percent) more than cockroaches (23 percent.)
While the level of fear in our society is high, only a few of thefearful seek treatment. Among those Americans who say they have aphobia or extreme fear, just 11 percent told pollsters they havesought professional help.
More than one-third of those who sought treatment receivedprescription drugs. About one-third were treated withpsychotherapy. A quarter received training in relaxation, andanother quarter went through behavioral therapy, which involvesgradual exposure to their fears. About 10 percent made use ofhypnosis in their therapy. (Some patients take advantage of morethan one type of therapy.)
Phobias seem to run in families.
"I have often noted that parents bring in children who haveanxieties and phobias, and they admit that they too suffer fromthe same problem," says Roger Burket, M.D., associateprofessor and director of residency training at the University ofFlorida's Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
He says children may hear words of caution from their parentsabout the feared object or situation, or children may witness aparent's reaction. "It is possible that some childhoodphobias may be learned in this way, in prone children,"Burket says. "Still, I think many or most children in thissituation do not develop the same phobia as their parents."
Most of the phobias people develop have a basis for creating somelevel of fear, says Cary Savage, Ph.D., an assistant professorand director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Group in theDepartment of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital andHarvard Medical School. Enclosed spaces could lead tosuffocation, for instance, and people could fall from high places.Phobias develop when people's fear responses become exaggerated.
What's unclear in children of parents with specific phobias, saysSavage, is how much of their response is biological, and how muchcomes from early learning. They may physically inherit thetendency for hyper-responsiveness or they may learn itbehaviorally. "It's really hard to tease apart," hesays.
Therapists break phobias into three general categories:
More than one in 10 Americans is thought to have a phobia aboutsomething specific, and it usually appears first in adolescenceor adulthood. Most specific phobias in adults do not go away ontheir own - in contrast to those suffered by children thatgenerally disappear over time. Specific phobias often developafter traumatic events.
The Surgeon General's report says about 8 percent of adultssuffer from one or more specific phobias, the most common beinganimals, insects, heights, elevators, flying, automobile driving,water, storms and blood or injections.
People with specific phobias usually recognize that their intensefear of certain objects or situations is irrational. Theygenerally "treat" their phobia by avoiding theirtrigger, and seek professional help only if the phobia begins toimpair their life. Maybe they're up for a job promotion thatwould require air travel. Or maybe they have scheduled surgerythat requires lots of advance blood work.
Social phobias are thought to be almost twice as prevalent inwomen as in men, though a higher portion of men seek help,according to the National Mental Health Association. The disorderrarely develops after age 25.
Research shows a small structure in the brain, the amygdala, maybe responsible for fear responses. Studies funded by the NationalInstitute of Mental Health suggest social phobias may beinherited, while other scientists are investigating biochemicalroots of the disorder.
Up to half of social phobics may suffer from a simultaneouspsychiatric problem such as panic disorder, substance abuse ordepression.
Some people have "generalized social phobia" in whichthey fear any situation where they may be under the scrutiny ofothers. Others have a fear of only certain social situations,such as public speaking, and therefore have "nongeneralizedsocial phobia."
Dr. Herbert Ward of the University of Florida Brain Institute'sDepartment of Psychiatry, cautions that some people exhibitsymptoms of social phobia, though their fears may be tied tomedical or physical conditions, such as Parkinson's disease,obesity or disfigurement.
Some people with social phobia become so anxious they developpanic disorder.
Panic disorder is characterized by unexpected and repeatedepisodes of intense fear (panic attacks) which are oftenaccompanied by chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness ofbreath, dizziness or abdominal distress.
Panic attacks can accompany social phobia, generalized anxietydisorder or major depression. However, they sometimes affectotherwise healthy individuals.
It is not unusual for a person with panic disorder to developphobias about certain places or situations where panic attackshave occurred, such as in supermarkets or other everydaysituations. As the frequency of panic attacks increases, theperson often begins to avoid situations where they fear anotherattack may occur or where help would not be immediately available.This avoidance may eventually develop into agoraphobia, aninability to go beyond known and safe surroundings because ofintense fear and anxiety.
Regardless of the type of phobia, it's important to remember thata variety of treatments are available and usually very effective. | <urn:uuid:8d01b108-d02e-4d03-9245-eb5910e76c04> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.saviodsilva.net/ph/13.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00223-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94869 | 1,603 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Discovery is the debut studio album by American R&B/pop singer Shanice Wilson, released October 21, 1987 by A&M Records. Shanice at the time was fourteen years old with a very mature singing voice. Singer Teena Marie originally produced the majority of the album, but A&M Records felt the songs were too mature for her age. Bryan Loren was then chosen by A&M Records to produce new tracks that were used for the album. The singles "(Baby Tell Me) Can You Dance," and "No 1/2 Steppin'" were top 10 R&B hits. "The Way You Love Me," and "I'll Bet She's Got A Boyfriend" were the final singles from the album.
Anagnorisis (/ˌænəɡˈnɒrᵻsᵻs/; Ancient Greek: ἀναγνώρισις) is a moment in a play or other work when a character makes a critical discovery. Anagnorisis originally meant recognition in its Greek context, not only of a person but also of what that person stood for. Anagnorisis was the hero's sudden awareness of a real situation, the realisation of things as they stood, and finally, the hero's insight into a relationship with an often antagonisticcharacter in Aristoteliantragedy.
In his Poetics, as part of his discussion of peripeteia, Aristotle defined anagnorisis as "a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined by the poet for good or bad fortune" (1452a). It is often discussed along with Aristotle's concept of catharsis.
In the Aristotelian definition of tragedy, it was the discovery of one's own identity or true character (e.g. Cordelia, Edgar, Edmund, etc. in Shakespeare's King Lear) or of someone else's identity or true nature (e.g. Lear's children, Gloucester's children) by the tragic hero.
Discovery was first introduced to the market by the Suffolk nurseryman Jack Matthews. In around 1949, George Dummer, a fruit farm worker from Blacksmiths Corner, Langham, Essex, raised several apple seedlings from an open-pollinated Worcester Pearmain. He decided to transplant the best of the apples into his front garden, although the young tree was left unplanted and exposed to frost, wrapped only in sacking, for several months due to a family accident.
The tree survived and later came to the attention of Matthews, who took grafts and developed it (initially under the names 'Dummer's Pippin' and 'Thurston August') before releasing it to commerce under the name 'Discovery' in 1962. By the 1980s it had become the main early variety in the UK, though became rarer in later years as imports supplanted early apples in the market. | <urn:uuid:8a187ce8-ecba-4b37-b336-d97124db4000> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://hooverdiscovery.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571911.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813081639-20220813111639-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.973573 | 616 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Harrison Assessments' offers the most detailed and informative talent development reports in the industry. Our reports are specific to each person and each position. The reports are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here to download Adobe Acrobat.
Click on the hyperlinks below to download the report.
• Development For Position (PDF 102kb)
Provides a development plan for each of two traits that would most improve performance for a specific person related to a specified job. A guideline for coaching oneself or others to further develop specific traits, enhancing the coaching expertise.
• Manage, Develop, Retain (PDF 85kb)
Provides managers with an easy way to understand how to manage their individual employees in order to utilize strengths, identify challenges and prevent problems.
• Job Success Analysis (PDF 161kb)
Compares a person against all behavioral requirements of a job showing the potential positive and negative impact of each trait on job performance.
• Main Graph Report (PDF 99kb)
Shows the most important traits on one page allowing for effective analysis of the relationship between traits, so an overview of trait relationships. Requires expert training to interpret (optionally highlights traits related to a job).
• Paradox Graph and Paradox Narrative Reports (PDF 285kb)
Shows the dynamic relationships between the two traits of each of the 12 main paradox pairs. Enables the analysis of paradoxical behaviors (optionally highlights traits related to a job).
• Summary Keywords (PDF 86kb)
Provides a summary and key word description overview of the person's traits and suitability related issues. It is not job specific.
• Traits and Definitions (PDF 103kb)
Shows all the traits and trait definitions in order of the applicant's score in to each category. Listed in order of the highest score (optionally highlights traits related to a job).
• Engagement and Retention Analysis (PDF 104kb)
Analyzes organizational behavior related to employee expectations. The report provides insight to further employee engagement, increase performance, and improve business outcomes. | <urn:uuid:0eecae94-66b7-44be-b754-33034006c9c9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.harrisonassessments.com/talent-development-sample-reports.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00013-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.845984 | 438 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Agricultural commodity prices have been very volatile since the early 2000s, peaking in 2008, then declining sharply until 2010 before starting to rise again (i). In 2012, prices reached a new peak caused by a historic drought in the United States, but then remained low over 2015–2019, a period that also saw a restocking of inventories of soybean, wheat, and corn.
In stark contrast to the previous five years, there was a considerable increase in commodity prices in 2020 caused by a decline in the inventories of main commodities and interruptions in the global supply chain due to COVID-19. During the 2021–2022 harvest, drought in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay created upward pressure on agricultural prices, and the current war between Russia and Ukraine has put additional upward pressure on certain food prices that have reached levels not seen since the 2008 crisis. Certain commodity prices, such as those for soybeans and wheat, have reached all-time highs (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Trends in Selected Commodity Prices (U.S. dollars per metric ton)
The war in Ukraine has also had a direct effect on Latin America and the Caribbean. Several countries in the region largely rely on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine, which together account for 25 percent of world wheat exports (Figure 2). For example, Nicaragua imports 80 percent of its wheat from those two countries.
Figure 2. Russian and Ukrainian Wheat Exports to Selected Latin American and Caribbean Countries, 2013–2019 (Thousands of U.S. dollars)
Besides the impact on commodity prices, the war has affected the supply of fertilizers, unleashing potential medium- and long-term worldwide consequences. Both Russia and Ukraine are important exporters of fertilizers such as urea, anhydrous ammonia, potassium, phosphates, and nitrogenated fertilizers. They also supply the inputs for fertilizer production (e.g., natural gas). Russia alone provides 15 percent of global fertilizer exports and 10 percent of global oil exports.
Figure 3 shows that fertilizer and food prices were on an upward trend even before the war broke out. During January and February 2022, fertilizer prices increased by 82 percent compared to the same months in 2021, while food products increased by 24 percent over the same period. At the same time, the price of natural gas – the primary input for certain fertilizers – skyrocketed. This creates adverse conditions for fertilizer production in other countries and poses a difficult choice for farmers entering the next planting season: use less fertilizer and bear the risk of lower yields, or pay historically high input prices, which might generate further upward pressure on food prices. Maybe the most critical question for farmers is: Even if they are willing to pay the price, will they even be able to access fertilizer supplies?
Figure 3. Fertilizer and Food Indices (2016 = 100)
Figure 4 shows the share of imports of Russian fertilizers in total fertilizers imports in the Latin American and Caribbean countries. On average, the region imports 15 percent of its fertilizer from Russia, although for some countries such as Peru, Ecuador, and Suriname the share is more than 30 percent. The case of Brazil (23 percent) warrants particular attention, given that it is the world’s largest importer of fertilizers and largest producer of soybeans. Russia’s partial suspension from the international banking system (SWIFT) could affect access to fertilizers by certain countries that might face difficulties making payments to purchase these inputs. This could, in turn, hinder agricultural production and food security. In this complex context, the challenge is for other leading fertilizer exporters to compensate for this deficit (for example, China accounts for 11.6 percent of world fertilizer exports, Canada, 9.1 percent, and the United States, 6.5 percent). Those most affected by this situation will probably be small and medium-sized farmers, who face severe liquidity constraints, and the most vulnerable groups, who already have high levels of food insecurity.
Figure 4. Share of Fertilizer Imported from Russia by Latin American and Caribbean Countries in 2019 (Percent of total fertilizer imports)
Food Prices in Latin America and the Caribbean
Higher agricultural prices and the recent spike in energy costs that is adding upward pressure on food price inflation have raised food security concerns in several Latin American and Caribbean countries. Figure 5 shows an upward trend in consumer prices for food and beverages. It is worth noting that while the upward trend began in early 2020 and accelerated in January and February 2022, the data do not include the latest price spike in March 2022, which was expected to be significant.
Figure 5. Food and Beverages Prices for Selected Latin American and Caribbean Countries
(December 2019 = 100)
The impact of higher food prices on poverty and food security indicators in different countries will depend on their typical consumption basket, the structure of their economy, the composition of their agri-food trade, the magnitude of the price increases, and the diversification of input supplies, among other factors (ii). Most studies find a short-term relationship between higher food prices and poverty (iii), with direct adverse implications for accessing food in terms of quantity and quality (iv). This is especially relevant today in Latin America and the Caribbean, where poverty affects more than 200 million people (32 percent of the population). Low-income families might be the most affected because they allocate a larger proportion of their income to food consumption.
Public Policy Responses
The current situation in Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of food prices and food insecurity is worrisome. The war between Russia and Ukraine has the potential to further deepen poverty and increase food insecurity in the region, particularly in a context where vulnerable groups are still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To ease the detrimental consequences that the conflict could inflict on poverty and food security both in the region and worldwide, a sixfold strategy should be considered that aims to (i) maintain trade, (ii) increase diversification of fertilizer suppliers, (iii) alleviate poverty, (iv) adapt policy interventions with up-to-date information, (v) improve the efficiency of fertilizer use, and (vi) ease farmers’ liquidity constraints.
- First, trade restrictions such as temporary export bans, which can distort international markets and further increase global food insecurity, should be avoided (v). While these trade-restrictive policies may produce some short-term benefits by lowering domestic prices, they tend to have adverse medium- and long-term effects on farmers’ incentives to invest and increase productivity. In addition, these measures endanger global food security and, specifically, hurt consumers in food-importing countries.
- Second, the supply of food and agricultural inputs should be diversified in order to improve resilience to shocks and reduce dependency. This is pivotal to ameliorate the impact of price increases and input shortages.
- Third, it is necessary to closely monitor the situation of low-income households and vulnerable groups close to the poverty line in order to expand and deepen social protection programs that target those who are food-insecure.
- Fourth, an information system should be established to monitor the prices of food and agricultural inputs. This would allow for expedited identification, design, and modification of public policy interventions that could alleviate the effects of price changes on affected groups (consumers and/or farmers).
- Fifth, it is essential to use fertilizers more efficiently, reduce their excessive use, and decrease dependence on chemical fertilizers. This can be achieved by providing technical assistance and promoting the adoption of digital tools such as precision agriculture and other sustainable agricultural technologies that maximize yields.
- Sixth, liquidity constraints of farmers need to be eased so that they can maintain adequate access to production inputs. This requires coordinating with the private sector and establishing mechanisms that do not destabilize market dynamics, and specifically targeting small and medium-size farmers (e.g., through the use of input vouchers). This is critical to maintain an adequate domestic food supply and reduce the vulnerability of rural populations.
Finally, investments in agriculture must be viewed as long-term public stabilization policies instead of as emergency policies to address a crisis. Investing in agricultural innovation, research, and adaptation to climate change are key strategies to improve the resilience of the food system and maintain long-term food security. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is committed to achieving this goal in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- United Nations. 2011. Price Formation in Financialized Commodity Markets: The Role of Information. New York and Geneva: United Nations.
- Hertel, T., and L.A. Winters (eds.). 2006. Poverty and the WTO: Impacts of the Doha Development Agenda. Basingstoke, UK, and Washington, DC: Palgrave-Macmillan and the World Bank.
- Barrett, C., and P. Dorosh. 1996. Farmers’ Welfare and Changing Food Prices: Nonparametric Evidence from Rice in Madagascar. American Journal of Agricultural Economics78(3): 656–69.
- Minot, N., and F. Goletti. 2000. Rice Market Liberalization and Poverty in Vietnam. Research Report No. 114. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC.
- Martin, W., and K. Anderson. 2012. Export Restrictions and Price Insulation during Commodity Price Booms. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 94(2): 422–27
If you liked this blog, we invite you to register here to receive the blogs, courses, and publications of the Division of Environment, Rural Development and Disaster Risk Management of the IDB. | <urn:uuid:eca85eb7-b152-4c31-aa9e-90fd12933820> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://blogs.iadb.org/sostenibilidad/en/how-the-conflict-between-ukraine-and-russia-might-affect-your-dinner-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/?utm_term=OZY&utm_campaign=daily-dose&utm_content=Friday_08.05.22&utm_source=Campaigner&utm_medium=email | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573163.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818033705-20220818063705-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.919699 | 1,973 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Part two of the three-part series, “Emerging Innovations from the Front Lines of Urban Development”, explores how cities are developing innovative models for tackling complex urban issues and strengthening their local economies. This series is produced in partnership with Next American City.
By Nancy Scola
Right now, Kansas City, on both sides of the Kansas-Missouri line, is serving as a test bed for Google’s groundbreaking experiment in bringing ultra-high-speed Internet to homes at an affordable price.
The Internet at such robust upload and download speeds offers up the possibility of immersive education (say, interactive Chinese instruction beamed throughout a school district), health care applications (checking the vital signs of severely ill patients remotely), explorations in arts and culture (historian David McCullough, of Truman, delivering a lecture on the history of Jackson County), wired homes (smart energy meters tied to every appliance), collaborative research (genomic databases shared by scientists the world over), improved municipal services (firefighters equipped with tablets displaying 3D renderings of burning buildings), and much more yet to be imagined. The one gigabit, low-cost, high-speed, ubiquitous connections of the sort offered by the Google Fiber project are, potentially, transformative.
Broadband: High-speed, always-on Internet connectivity.
Fiber-optic communications: The use of glass or, less commonly, plastic fibers to transmit data; fiber lacks the bandwidth limitations of copper, the material traditionally used to connect homes and businesses to the Internet.
Gigabit City: A city where residents have access to Internet connections operating at ultra-robust speeds measured at one gigabit per second or greater.
Kansas City hopes to harness Google’s gig opportunity to bring home jobs and innovation. “The way we take advantage of this,” says Mike Burke, co-chair of the Mayors’ Bistate Innovation Team, “is to not just be Google’s beta tester, but the beta tester of everyone who’s got an app or a device.”
For both Google and the region to benefit from the project, they’ll need Kansas Citians to embrace the possibility of being at the leading edge of Internet, partnered with its leading company.
In February 2010, Google challenged U.S. cities to compete to be the site of its first attempt at fiber-to-the-home; fiber optics (read: glass) lacks the bandwidth limits of copper.
The company said it was looking to pull off a small-scale, city-based project that would connect somewhere between 50,000 and half a million people, saying “we hope to learn lessons from this experiment that will help improve Internet access everywhere.” The subtext: that Internet access in the United States is often slow, expensive and, where available, limited to a few providers.
More than 1,100 cities applied. In March 2011, after site visits, data-crunching and closed-door discussions, Google chose Kansas City, Kan. (KCK, population 146,000) and, shortly after, Kansas City, Mo. (KCMO, 463,000).
For many months after the choice was made, Google said little in depth about the project. Mayor Joe Reardon of KCK and Mayor Sly James of KCMO appointed the Mayors’ Bistate Innovation Team (MBIT) of local leaders and charged it with creating a “playbook” for how Kansas City can make the most of the opportunity. For months, MBIT held brainstorming sessions with representatives from the business world, community groups, the educational realm, the arts, the health care sector and elsewhere.
Unburdened by details from Google, says Burke, “we’ve had a year of conversations that I think ever city in the county should have in some way, shape or form.”
One lesson locals took away from that time was that making the most of Google Fiber wasn’t simply about hardware or software, but about a shared reimagining of what it means to be a city of nearly limitless broadband.
The team’s resulting report, called Playing to Win in America’s Digital Crossroads, concluded that “a successful Internet economy is 90 percent sociology and 10 percent technology.
“In short,” argued the leadership team, “we need people to behave like the Internet — navigating a new ecosystem of innovation, collaborating across new networks, building on each other’s ideas, and growing organically.”
Google’s first public step was to determine where, exactly, in the Kansas City area Google Fiber would be deployed. “Usually when a provider comes into a community,” says Google Fiber spokesperson Jenna Wandres, “they decide where to build and when to build. With Google Fiber, we’re letting Kansas City decide.”
Google carved the cities into “fiberhoods” and set a quota of $10 pre-registrations — 5, 10 or 25 percent, based largely on geography and population — that would need to be met to turn a fiberhood “green,” a.k.a. make it eligible for Google Fiber service.
Details emerged on the three tiers of service the company was offering. The first package: For $70 a month, Kansas Citians get one gigabit of broadband, a tremendous amount of bandwidth for the price. (To compare, Time Warner Cable’s “Ultimate” Internet package in Kansas City runs $79.99 for 50 Mbps — or 1/200th of a gigabit.) The second package: For $120, Google Fiber customers get cable television service as well. There are other included goodies, like a two-terabyte storage box for saving movies and more.
Importantly, there was a third package: for a $300 installation fee — what Google says it actually costs to run fiber to a home, on average — there is a “Free Internet” option. Customers opting for that connection receive seven years of no-cost broadband service at speeds comparable to today’s high-speed connections. The choice, says Google, was “future proof,” given that the hook-up is upgradeable to one gig service at any time.
Rallying fiberhoods to turn green became much like a political campaign. Dozens of Google canvassers, many hired via Craigslist, set up shop outside schools, libraries and stores. Some drove trucks from which they handed out ice cream sandwiches.
The drive’s slogan was “Let’s Do This For _______,” and one central rallying point was the more than four hundred government buildings, including schools, libraries, police stations and fire houses, that Google would, in “green” fiberhoods, connect to Fiber under its agreement with the cities.
Google’s fiberhood conversion push found help in many quarters. City institutions, public officials, community groups and individual activists all rallied. One Google-produced advertisement highlighted cross-border support. “Let’s do this for Kansas City, Missouri,” said Joe Reardon, mayor of KCK. “Let’s do this for Kansas City, Kansas,” said Sly James, mayor of KCMO.
“It was absolutely genius marketing because they have the communities doing much of their advertising,” says Burke of the mayors’ bistate team.
Google’s approach to deploying Fiber has had its critics.
For one thing, there’s simple logistics. Pre-registration required going online and having both a credit card and a Google Wallet account. The mere six-week registration period led to the critique that Google was ginning up a sense of urgency. More fundamental is the argument that by having neighborhoods self-select, they avoided charges of cherry-picking only the most desirable customers.
As Google sees it, its untraditional demand-driven model — that is, building only where locals have concretely said they want Fiber — is what makes it possible to offer a gigabit connection at rates comparable to existing broadband.
Meanwhile, the Social Media Club of Kansas City, which had gathered local leaders to discuss “Building the Gigabit City,” organized a drive called “Paint the Town Green.” The club, led by president Aaron Deacon, found that some in the city lacked the funds or the means to pay the $10 registration fee, or at least to do it before payday.
Using a Kansas City-made crowd-funding platform called Neighbor.ly, Deacon and the club raised more than $11,000 from both inside and outside the city. The money was put on prepaid debit cards and passed to community groups for pre-registration.
As Deacon sees it, with Google willing to build and deploy a fiber network, it’s reasonable to ask citizens to participate in selling their neighbors on the project. “Is it a little weird?” says Deacon. “Sure. But the fact is that there’s an opportunity to develop something here that doesn’t exist anyplace else.”
As the six-week pre-registration rally moved along, what became clear is that Google and its allies were really engaged in pitching Kansas Citians on two different things.
The first was aimed at those who lacked an Internet connection at all: You live in a broadband world, and need to get online. The second is to those who already had high-speed Internet: It’s worth switching from your existing Internet service provider to tap into the power of the gigabit.
Google conducted a 23-page digital divide study and found, among other things, that 22 percent of Kansas Citians who weren’t using the Internet simply had no interest in getting online. That’s nine points lower than the national average.
But the map on the wall of the Fiber Space revealed that a divide did exist. Many of the neighborhoods to the west of Troost Avenue, traditionally KCMO’s racial dividing line, were green. But many of those east of Troost remained yellow.
The worry was that by providing Internet that is 100 times the speed of today’s broadband, Google might make it even more disadvantageous to be disconnected. For example, under a program called Laptops for Learning, KCK equips high-school students with computers. Those students without a gig connection at home, or broadband at all, might be left further behind. “We don’t want the digital divide to get 100 times wider,” says Michael Liimatta of the community group Connecting for Good.
Added to the mix was the concern that the cities might, by focusing so much attention on Fiber’s potential boons, take their eyes off the more tangible immediate needs of the city’s more challenged areas: Jobs, community services and traditional infrastructure.
Google has had to wrestle with an expectation that its Google Fiber products were meant to be free, akin to the free public WiFi network it offers in its hometown of Mountain View.
Some argue that, spread out over the course of a year at $25 a month, the $300 installation fee isn’t the barrier that it might appear. But there are critical nuances.
Connecting for Good has chosen as a project getting a complex called Rosedale Ridge connected. Apartment renters must rely upon landlords choosing to pay the connection fee for each of their units, a cost that for Rosedale Ridge would run $75,000. The group came up with a plan for connecting the site’s buildings via wireless repeater, but Google decided that that would constitute an unacceptable reselling of its product.
The pre-registration taught Google much, says Wandres. Early on, for example, it structured marketing around certain expected types of humors. But as it saw the Troost divide emerge, the company refocused on targeting neighborhoods and detailing the quality-of-life upgrades that come with having an always-on connection. Google also scrambled to fix a data problem that made it difficult for some living in apartments to register and recalculated quotas to better reflect the housing stock.
“They’re the smartest guys in the world,” Burke says he concluded, “and they’re making it up as they go along.”
The Social Media Club’s Deacon argues that tackling the digital divide question, while enormously important, shouldn’t preclude also figuring out how to make the most of the fact that tens of thousands of homes, and hundreds of libraries, schools, police stations and fire stations, could be connected to a one gigabit fiber network. “That’s the real differentiator,” he says, “the thing that you can’t do anyplace else.”
The rally period wrapped in early September. Thanks, in part, to last-minute pushes, 180 of 202, or nearly 90 percent, of fiberhoods across Kansas City had turned green. The fiberhood map shows far less of a divide than it had even a week earlier. Google says that it is thrilled with that result.
A truth running through the Google Fiber project is that, at the moment, there’s a limit to what a gigabit of Internet connectivity is good for. Kansas City is no digital island; it’s dependent on an Internet that hasn’t yet been optimized for gigabit speeds.
Google opened up something called the Fiber Space on Stateline Road to demo possibilities. Giant monitors loop sports programming and, through a service called OnLive, video games. At one station, a young staffer shows how quickly you can download YouTube videos, navigate Street View, explore museums via Google Art Project, all on one device. At a telepresence station, a beamed-in nutritionist from the University of Kansas Medical Center offers advice.
Elsewhere in town, a Google billboard brags that “Buffering is so broadband ago.” But the LEGO Harry Potter video game via playing in the Fiber Space is severely pixilated, and the health care display lags before the KU nutritionist begins speaking.
This is the gigabit Catch-22: You need very-demanding technologies to make the most of a gigabit, but you need a gigabit connection to inspire the creation of those same technologies.
It’s what makes Google Fiber-to-the-home look to some like a bet on the future but be derided by others as a gimmick.
Relatedly, and significantly, Google Fiber is not offering commercial service at launch. The company says that its interest has always been in learning how to better connect homes, but leaving Kansas City’s businesses off Fiber may be a major limitation to growing the cities’ Internet economy.
In its early going, the project’s emphasis on cable television and video-streaming have led to criticisms that Google and the cities have failed to show the imagination a gig demands.
“There’s a disappointment,” says Crosby Kemper, chair of the Kansas City (MO) Public Library, “that essentially what you have on offer on day one is essentially what you can get from Time Warner. Downloading movies faster is nice, but there’s nothing particularly transformative about it.”
After visiting the Fiber Space, as well as attending demonstrations and conversations at KU Medical Center’s telemedicine program, Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai praises Kansas City’s willingness to create streamlined, broadband-friendly “rights-of-way” policies for running broadband cables through public lands.
“We need,” writes Pai, “to eliminate regulatory barriers to innovation and investment at all levels of government.”
Pai’s statement speaks to a major debate in the broadband world. Is government standing in the way of broadband? Should it get out of the way completely? Should it seize the mantle itself in the form of municipal networks?
But the facts on the ground in Kansas City suggest that what Mayor Reardon touts in his official biography as “a partnership and new adventure” with Google is something far more complex than the broadband debate generally allows for.
Google has praised Kansas City’s willingness to use its resources to bring fiber to the city, such as lowering some of its infrastructure access fees and streamlining its permit approval process. (By contrast, Google has said that the “regulatory complexity” of California makes Fiber-type projects there extremely difficult.)
KCK and KCMO’s willingness has led to charges that Google is, perhaps unfairly, getting too many concessions from the cities.
Other things attracted Google to Kansas City. Appealing to Google about Kansas City was the chance to work in a variety of environments: Older subdivisions, newer developments, routes that required going underground, routes that required going above ground, some routes where the best path wasn’t obvious.
Additionally, Google was also offered the chance to work in, and learn from, two unique municipal environments. In KCMO, its partner would be a private company, Kansas City Power & Light, a.k.a. KCP&L. On the Kansas side, the utility was the publicly-owned, the Board of Public Utilities.
And for all three players, the gigabit hook-up offers a chance to explore something else: Smart grid technologies, or using high-speed networks to monitor and manage electrical systems — in this case the cities’ energy platforms.
But the facts are that Google’s relationship with KCK and KCMO is unique.
For example, on the Kansas side, Google’s agreement provides for an executive sponsor “at the most senior level of the City” and an in-city team dedicated to the project that is able to provide “on-the-spot exception management” when permits and the like might slow down progress.
And Google won the right to connect, for free, to the electrical portion of utility poles, the same as a public agency would — though it chose to connect to the utility portion used by its competitors. That said, even the $10 connection fee is nearly half the reported rate paid by existing broadband providers.
The local governments aren’t unaware that details of those negotiated packages might raise eyebrows in the offices of the area’s incumbent broadband providers.
“The thing we have to make sure about,” says Mike Taylor, spokesperson for the unified government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., “is that we’re not creating an unfair playing field for Time Warner and AT&T, especially when you seen two mayors coming out and being advocates for Google.”
It’s an argument echoed by the incumbent providers themselves: “We’re not afraid of competition,” says Justin Venech, spokesperson for Time Warner Cable. “We’re willing and happy to compete with anyone at any time, and that includes Kansas City. We want to make sure that we’re competing on a level playing field.”
Indeed, those incumbent providers are said to have requested so-called “parity agreements,” or terms comparable to those of Google’s agreements. Those negotiations that are going well, KCK officials say.
But, from the municipal standpoint, Google has in its Kansas City experiment offered the cities something no provider has before. That Google got a friendly package to innovate and build infrastructure and that its competitors are now seeking the same are both positive developments.
“They’ve come into our community and are providing access for our schools and government buildings, for free,” says KCK public affairs officer Edwin Birch. “They’ve been treated like a development project. For us, that’s just a little bit different.”
Bringing Google Fiber to Kansas City isn’t about Google, says Birch, but about a chance to improve the area’s quality of live through innovation. “Google came to us. They selected us. We see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect our community.”
Time Warner Cable and AT&T, he says, hadn’t approached local government before Google arrived to explore how it might partner to benefit the city. “Google being here is good for all of us,” says KCK’s Birch. “They’re creating a dialogue like we’ve never had before.”
As part of that dialogue, Kansas City has been talking with other gigabit cities, like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Moscow, Singapore and Toronto. But given the attention paid to Google Fiber it might be surprising that there’s a city closer to home with lessons to share.
Chattanooga offers its residents a gigabit to the home via EPB, its community-owned electric company, though it sells a gig hook-ups for $299 a month, more for business customers.
The Tennessee city is aggressive in trying to tap the potential of its asset. A summer project called Gig Tank brings “wickedly smart kids to town to play on it,” says Ken Hays, a community liaison on Chattanooga Gig.
Hays says that Chattanooga is “fired up about Kansas City ultimately getting deployed,” as it draws attention to and increases the value of every gigabit connection in the U.S.
With the Google Fiber project, the hope of many is that the low price point — and, frankly, Google’s branding and bravado — open hearts and minds to the possibility of a country that isn’t limited, but empowered, by the broadband available to its people.
Google Fiber has always been an experiment in reengineering how broadband is deployed, and while Google hasn’t hidden its interest in possibly expanding the project to other areas, “we’re really focused on Kansas City,” says Wandres. Already, three small neighboring communities have, after approval by their city councils, been added to the list for future fiberhood qualifications.
The concrete next steps for Google Fiber is to see who converts from a $10 indication of interest to a paying package, and to actually complete the build-out of the fiber connections to homes. Two neighborhoods are scheduled to come online before the end of 2012. The remainder of the construction scheduled stretches through 2013.
The Google Fiber project is no doubt ambitious, and scores of questions remain. Will the economics truly work? Will the fiber networks prove a worthwhile investment for Google and for the people of Kansas City? Will Kansas City make the most of its moment as America’s best-known gig city? Will there be significant innovation around the gig’s potential? Is the Google Fiber model replicable and scalable in other cities?
There’s little doubt, though, that the Google Fiber experiment will expand the universe of thinking about how the cities, towns and rural areas of the United States connect to the Internet of the future. It already has. Google knows a great deal more than it did three years ago about what it means to be a gigabit city. So does Kansas City. | <urn:uuid:835f0127-246f-49a9-b1f4-29edbe5fe0a8> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.nlc.org/find-city-solutions/city-solutions-and-applied-research/infrastructure/gig-city-usa-bringing-google-fiber-to-kansas-city | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720845.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00085-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950988 | 4,860 | 2.734375 | 3 |
I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts. ~John Locke
Every action starts with a thought but not all thoughts lead to action. How many times have you thought of a great idea but didn’t follow through with it?
What are your thoughts? What is it that you truly desire?
You’ve probably heard a lot about the Law of Attraction and Positive Thinking. I wholeheartedly believe in these techniques – however many people are led to believe that all they need to do is think and visualize to make their dreams come true.
It’s important that you know that Your thoughts, dreams and words will not magically give you the things you long for.
The only way you can create the life you desire is to TAKE ACTION.
For example if you visualize yourself in your dream job making a 6 figure income, and every day you affirm this by stating “I work at my dream job making a 6 figure income” – but don’t take action by acquiring the knowledge, skills and training you need for that job … You are just daydreaming.
In our example above, you may not know what skills and training you need …
That’s the beauty of the “Law of Attraction” is that by visualizing and affirming what you want, the answers will come to you on how to obtain it. You need to take action as soon as possible after you receive the answer.
Start a success journal. Every day write down the actions you took that will bring you one step closer to reaching your goal. You’ll be amazed at how all the little things add up.
Stop procrastinating and just do it. How many times have you dreaded doing certain task – and then after you’ve started you really get into it? It also usually takes a lot less time to achieve the task than you originally thought it would. And, you feel so much better once it’s done!
As you continue to use The Law of Attraction you’ll be surprised at how motivated you become to do whatever it takes to succeed.
You need to find the balance between positive thinking, visualizing and taking action. By utilizing the “Law of Attraction” and taking action when the answers come to you – you will achieve your goals quicker than you ever thought possible.
COMMITTED TO LIFE-LONG LEARNING AND POSITIVE CHANGE?
Instantly create your own personal and spiritual growth library with 18 self help workbooks and email programs to master basic skills, empower your personality and grow spiritually. | <urn:uuid:6f9c638f-30e5-4396-a2a0-12395b9a6bab> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://cindysense.com/thoughts-and-visualization-are-they-enough | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00026-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95973 | 545 | 1.671875 | 2 |
According to the May 26th update from the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), 17.5% of Colorado is in an extreme drought, 26.3% is in a severe drought, 21.4% is in a moderate drought and 11.6% of the state is abnormally dry.
Collectively, over 60% of Colorado is officially considered to be in a drought. This time last year, the state was virtually drought free. The map featured above shows the drought conditions on May 26th.
As of June 1st, cumulative precipitation in the Colorado River Watershed was tracking at 94% and cumulative precipitation in the South Platte River Watershed was tracking at 96% of average.
Based on NRCS data from June 1st, statewide snowpack is at 56% of average. Snowpack in the Colorado River Valley is tracking at 66% of average and the South Platte River Valley is tracking at 55% of average.
Reservoir storage remains just above average for most major basins except the southwest reservoirs (95% avg), the Upper Rio Grande (78%), and Arkansas (91%). Statewide, reservoirs are at 104% of average and 61% capacity.
The district will continue to work with Denver Water on monitoring the watersheds and will provide updates to our customers through our website and social media channels.
The District would like to remind our customers that Outdoor Watering Rules are in effect as of May 1st and will continue until October 1st.
Following these rules can help preserve reservoir levels thus reducing risks of future water restrictions while leaving your landscape healthy and nourished. The following rules are especially important to follow given our current drought situation.
- Water during cooler times of the day — lawn watering is not allowed between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- Water no more than three days per week.
- Do not allow water to pool in gutters, streets and alleys.
- Do not waste water by letting it spray on concrete and asphalt.
- Repair leaking sprinkler systems within 10 days.
- Do not irrigate while it is raining or during high winds.
- Use a hose nozzle with a shut-off valve when washing your car.
Visit Denver Water for more information on Summer Watering Rules and Watering Tips. | <urn:uuid:718f44e0-a435-4be3-a300-238ff7823c70> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://plattecanyon.org/news-arts/drought-status-5/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.951548 | 476 | 2.375 | 2 |
File(s) not publicly available
Community-oriented health services in low resource settings
chapterposted on 06.12.2017, 00:00 authored by Susan WilliamsSusan Williams, Kevin RonanKevin Ronan
The global gap between the ‘haves and the have-nots’ and the contrasting issues of under-nutrition among the poor, and over-nutrition among the wealthy, have been recognised for more than a decade (WHO, 2002). Health and health needs differ markedly between high and low-resource settings and whilst most health risks cluster around the poor or most disadvantaged, no risk occurs in isolation and each may have one or more causes. Health care systems have the potential to reduce health risks and achieve ‘good’ outcomes and efficiency when their four core functions (financing, resource generation, service delivery and stewardship) are organised and carried out in a systematic manner. Although healthcare spending (as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), varies widely across the world, merely allocating more funds/resources to health care by a country does not mean the health care system will be more effective or efficient. As an example total expenditure on health (as a percentage of GDP) in the United States is 17.7% and in Japan 9.6%, however health status (reflected by chronic disease rates and life expectancy) is better for those living in Japan than those in the United States (OECD, 2013). | <urn:uuid:c87a6890-b319-42b8-90a6-b92a1e379979> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://acquire.cqu.edu.au/articles/chapter/Community-oriented_health_services_in_low_resource_settings/13433468/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571989.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813232744-20220814022744-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.941702 | 293 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Showing Collections: 1 - 1 of 1
Identifier: Mss 1065-043
The collection consists of newspaper clippings and a videotaped interview of Mike Prayzer, a Jewish native of Bendzin, Poland, who survived imprisonment in ten concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Dachau. Prayzer immigrated to the United States in 1949.
- Subject: Holocaust survivors
- Subject: World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Germany
- Subject: Holocaust survivors -- Poland
- Subject: World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Poland
- Names: Auschwitz (Concentration camp) | <urn:uuid:03dea276-79a5-4dbf-a460-ea2489e8ec34> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://findingaids.library.cofc.edu/repositories/resources?q%5B%5D=%2A&op%5B%5D=&field%5B%5D=title&from_year%5B%5D=&to_year%5B%5D=&limit=resource&filter_fields%5B%5D=subjects&filter_values%5B%5D=Holocaust+survivors&filter_fields%5B%5D=subjects&filter_values%5B%5D=World+War%2C+1939-1945+--+Concentration+camps+--+Germany&filter_fields%5B%5D=published_agents&filter_values%5B%5D=Auschwitz+%28Concentration+camp%29&filter_fields%5B%5D=subjects&filter_values%5B%5D=Holocaust+survivors+--+Poland&sort=title_sort%20asc&filter_fields%5B%5D=subjects&filter_values%5B%5D=World+War%2C+1939-1945+--+Concentration+camps+--+Poland | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00678.warc.gz | en | 0.70213 | 158 | 2.671875 | 3 |
by Jonathan Miltimore
Opponents of minimum wage laws tend to focus their criticism on one particular adverse consequence: by artificially raising the price of labor, they reduce employment, particularly for the most vulnerable in society.
“Minimum wage laws tragically generate unemployment, especially so among the poorest and least skilled or educated workers,” economist Murray Rothbard wrote in 1978. “Because a minimum wage, of course, does not guarantee any worker’s employment; it only prohibits, by force of law, anyone from being hired at the wage which would pay his employer to hire him.
Though some economists, such as Paul Krugman, reject Rothbard’s claim, a recent study found the overwhelming body of academic research supports the idea that minimum wage laws increase unemployment.
New research, however, shows this is not the only adverse outcome of wage floors.
On Thursday the Harvard Business Review published an article under the headline, “Research: When a Higher Minimum Wage Leads to Lower Compensation.”
The article explores research conducted by Qiuping Yu (Georgia Tech), Shawn Mankad (Cornell University), and Masha Shunko (University of Washington), which leveraged a highly granular set of scheduling data to measure how changes in the minimum wage affected workers’ schedules.
“Specifically, we looked at worker schedule and wage data from 2015 to 2018 for more than 5,000 employees at 45 stores in California — where the minimum wage was $9 in 2015, and has increased every year since then — and at 17 stores in Texas, where the minimum wage was $7.25 for the duration of our study,” the researchers said.
The analysis found minimum wage increases had no statistically significant effect on total labor hours at a given store. However, the researchers did find changes in how those hours were allocated to workers.
“For every $1 increase in the minimum wage, we found that the total number of workers scheduled to work each week increased by 27.7%, while the average number of hours each worker worked per week decreased [sic] by 20.8%,” the researchers wrote. “For an average store in California, these changes translated into four extra workers per week and five fewer hours per worker per week — which meant that the total wage compensation of an average minimum wage worker in a California store actually fell by 13.6%.”
This didn’t just result in less overall income for many workers, the authors noted. It also impacted their ability to receive non-wage benefits.
“We found that for every $1 increase in minimum wage, the percentage of workers working more than 20 hours per week (making them eligible for retirement benefits) decreased by 23.0%,” the researchers said.
These findings should come as no surprise. In a 2019 FEE article, economist John Phelan explained four ways employers typically respond to minimum wage hikes. One way was to cut the hours of workers, Phelan noted; another was to cut other forms of remuneration, including benefits like health insurance.
“Simply put, as the minimum wage rises, other elements of worker compensation fall,” Phelan wrote.
This is precisely what the new research highlighted by Harvard Business Review found.
“[Our research] suggests that as minimum wage increases, firms may strategically adjust their scheduling practices to reduce the number of workers eligible for benefits,” write Yu, Mankad, and Shunko. “Our estimates suggest that the average store in our California data set recouped approximately 27.5% of the increase in its wage costs through savings associated with reducing benefits.”
Again, this is not complicated stuff and should come as no surprise. If businesses are forced to increase compensation in one area, they’ll seek to reduce it in others to protect their bottom line.
The research also helps explain why some economists (a minority) are less certain that increases in the minimum wage will “substantially” reduce employment and provides an explanation for the few studies that don’t show unemployment increasing after minimum wage hikes. Evidence shows employers are finding more creative and productive ways to adjust to minimum wage hikes than simply laying off workers.
Proponents of increasing the minimum wage have a tendency to believe it is a win-win policy. But economics teaches us that life is always about tradeoffs.
And once again, evidence shows minimum wage hikes come with adverse consequences, which tend to fall on the most vulnerable workers—those with the fewest skills and lowest productivity.
Proponents of minimum wage laws today are making the same mistakes that proponents were making in 1966, when Milton Friedman correctly predicted that a 28 percent national minimum wage increase would negatively impact employment, particularly for teens and minorities.
“Many well-meaning people favor legal minimum-wage rates in the mistaken belief that they help the poor,” Friedman wrote. “These people confuse wage rates with wage income.”
This was true when Friedman wrote it in 1966. And it’s just as true today.
– – –
Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org. His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, and the Star Tribune. | <urn:uuid:a723d87a-3f4d-4839-b40f-1d94cdc5636e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://theohiostar.com/2021/06/13/commentary-minimum-wage-hikes-led-to-lower-worker-compensation-new-research-shows/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572215.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815235954-20220816025954-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.959416 | 1,100 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Dental Implants – New York City, NY
The Modern Gold Standard for Replacing Teeth
It probably goes without saying that losing even a few teeth can have dramatic repercussions on your oral health and your life overall. The best solution is to have your natural teeth reimplanted, but that often isn’t possible; thus, the next best thing is to find a replacement that accounts for the entire missing dental structure. That is where dental implants come in, as they offer many benefits that you would miss out on with a more traditional replacement option. Call today to set up your initial consultation with Dr. Sanchez and Dr. Shim to discuss replacing missing teeth with dental implants in New York City, NY.
Why Choose FS Dental Arts
for Dental Implants?
- Complete Implant Services In-House
- A Uniquely Welcoming Environment
- Beautiful, Long-Lasting Restorations
What Are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is a small post made from titanium. It doesn’t look much like a tooth, but that is because it’s not the part that other people are supposed to see. Instead, it is actually inserted into the jawbone via surgery. Then a crown or bridge or denture can be attached to it. That way, the restoration can fill in the empty space above the gums while the implant post acts as an artificial root, holding the new tooth or teeth in place.
The 4 Step Dental Implant Process
- Consultation: The first thing we need to determine during your initial consultation is whether you’re a good candidate for implants. Bone grafts and other treatments may be needed to prepare your mouth beforehand.
- Dental Implant Surgery: Placing implants in your jaw is a minor surgery that we can handle in-office thanks to our periodontist, Dr. Eunjung Shim.
- Osseointegration and Abutment: We will wait between three and six months for your implant to fuse with the jawbone. Then we will attach abutments to the implant posts. An abutment is a small piece of metal that connects the restoration to the implant.
- Final Restoration: After the abutment has been placed and your mouth has healed, we can take the impressions to make your final restoration.
Benefits of Dental Implants
- Versatility: Implants can be used to support basically any restoration, meaning they can replace any number of missing teeth.
- Improved Stability: Dental implants can be used to chew all kinds of foods, including those that might give traditional denture-wearers trouble.
- Improved Health: Dental implants stimulate the jawbone and keep it healthy. They also let you enjoy a varied and nutritious diet.
- Easy Maintenance: Taking care of dental implants is very similar to taking care of your natural teeth.
- Longevity: As long as you’re taking good care of them, you can expect implants to last 30 years or longer.
Who Dental Implants Can Help
Not everyone is qualified to get dental implants. You need enough jawbone density to support the posts, and your smile needs to be free of gum disease and other infections. We can perform an examination to determine whether you’re eligible for implants before you move forward with the procedure. The next steps will largely depend on how many teeth are missing, as the number of implant posts required as well as the type of restoration they support will have to be taken into account.
Missing One Tooth
The simplest dental implant process is the use of a single implant post and crown to replace a lone missing tooth. The implant is all that’s needed to hold the crown in place; there’s no need for us to make any alterations to your teeth, so the rest of your natural smile is preserved.
Missing Multiple Teeth
Thanks to the versatility of implants, there are a couple of different approaches to using them to replace multiple teeth. They can be used to support a dental bridge if you only need to fill in a single gap left by multiple consecutive teeth, but they are also useful for supporting partial dentures.
Missing All of Your Teeth
It normally takes around 4 to 6 implants to support full dentures, although the exact number may vary depending on the techniques use and the size of your jawbone. Dentures are often permanently attached to implants, but there’s also an option to make them removable if you would prefer.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
The final cost of implants may vary based on a variety of factors, which includes but is not limited to:
- Whether preliminary treatments are needed
- How many implant posts are used
- What kind of restoration is needed
We can give you an estimate to work with after your initial consultation. When considering the price, remember that dental implants can last for decades while traditional bridges and dentures are more likely to break or wear down to the point of needing to be replaced in just 10 years or so.
Dental Implant FAQs
If you’re missing one or more teeth, you know how difficult it can be to complete daily tasks, like eating, speaking clearly, and smiling with confidence. Fortunately, dental implants are available to give you your smile back, but you may still have some unanswered questions about the process. Here are the answers to some of the most common questions we receive about dental implants in New York. If you don’t see the information that you’re looking for below, don’t worry. Give us a call, and we’d be happy to answer your questions and get you started with an initial consultation.
How Long Do Dental Implants Last?
The lifespan of dental implants typically depends on the health and lifestyle choices of the patient. To ensure that dental implants last, it’s important to brush, floss, and rinse with a mouthwash on a daily basis. See your dentist regularly, and avoid chewing on anything particularly hard or sticky. With proper maintenance, dental implants can last upwards of 30 years. This is several times longer than traditional bridges and dentures.
Does Getting Dental Implants Hurt?
The jawbone doesn’t have very many nerve endings, and your mouth will be numbed with a local anesthetic before the procedure begins. You will also most likely be sedated, lowering your body’s ability to register pain. While the surgery itself shouldn’t hurt, your mouth may be sore for a few days afterward. This can be managed by taking recommended over-the-counter and prescribed pain medication as directed. Cold compresses can also help. If discomfort worsens instead of improving after two or three days, give us a call.
Are Dental Implants Safe?
For most patients who are in good health, dental implants are very successful when placed by a qualified professional. If you have low jawbone density or gum disease, these issues will need to be addressed ahead of time to make dental implant surgery safer and more successful. If you have diabetes, cancer, or another medical condition that could make surgery or healing risky, we will discuss this during your consultation. Your health is our number one priority.
Am I Too Young to Get Dental Implants?
Most dental professionals will not place implants in patients who are younger than 18. If dental implants are placed before the jaw is finished growing, it could interfere with further bone development and potentially result in complications. Most people’s jaws aren’t fully developed until young adulthood. Some people’s jaws take until their mid-20s to fully develop. In general, men’s jaws take longer to develop than women’s jaws do. During your consultation, we will discuss whether or not dental implants are the right option for you at this time. | <urn:uuid:f0c8b230-d79c-4eac-b419-582d8d5d07bd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.fsdentalarts.com/dental-implants.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571989.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813232744-20220814022744-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.930248 | 1,619 | 1.632813 | 2 |
It’s rare that you find an inviting BRB (Big Red Button) just sitting out in the world, with no warning signs, and no indication as to its purpose. Yet hidden in a shallow niche on Houston’s Preston Street Bridge is just such an enigma. Go ahead and press it.
The button is part of an ecological art installation that helps keep the bayou below the bridge from becoming a bog of eternal stench by, well… making it look like the Bog of Eternal Stench. Any passerby on the bridge is free to press the button and when they do so, the waters below will begin to bubble and churn as though they have accidentally raised some unholy bog creature. In fact they have just made the bayou a bit less evil.
In order to keep the waters of the bayou from becoming vile and stagnant, they need to be stirred up and oxygenated. To this end, the Big Bubble was created in 1998 by artist Dean Ruck as both an intentionally mysterious bit of public art, and as an environmentally helpful bit of infrastructure. When the button is pushed, a blast of oxygen is released underwater, creating a roiling bubble just off the side of the bridge. It keeps the water from becoming still and flat, as well as being pretty entertaining.
Of course not everyone is bold enough to go around pushing mystery buttons, so the Big Bubble is triggered automatically throughout the day. Passersby who wantonly press the button are simply keeping the bayou even more healthy.
Update April 2019: It is currently not accessible.
Update August 2021: The button is currently accessible, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
Know Before You Go
Look for the red button under the Preston Street Bridge. | <urn:uuid:d011dc50-cc39-4a90-b32e-eca74260c566> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-big-bubble-houston-texas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571692.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812105810-20220812135810-00070.warc.gz | en | 0.953772 | 360 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Gas Law Review Sheet
-Know the difference between a barometer and a manometer
-Know how to convert between pressure units (atm, kPa, mmHg, and torr)
-Be able to explain the Kinetic Theory of Gases. (Theory of the Ideal gas)
-Know how a real gas deviates from an ideal gas.
What is the most ideal gas?
What conditions of temperature and pressure would a real gas act ideally?
-Know what Standard Temperature and Pressure are in all the units, and where they can be found.
-Use Daltons Law of Partial pressures to calculate
total pressures given the pressure of each gas
partial pressure given a total pressure over water (vapor pressure of water)
-Be able to do mole conversions (grams, # particles, volume and moles at STP)
-Determine the molar mass of a substance given the formula
-Know how to use the ideal gas law given 3 of the 4 variables (R= will be given along with equation)
-know how to us the combined gas law to attain Boyle's, Charles' and Gay-Lussacs Law
Know the mathematical relationships of each law and be able to sketch a graph of each.
-Understand Avogadro’s Hypothesis
-understand Grahams law and be able to compare rates of effusion of different gases using atomic masses
-determine boiling points using table H (vapor pressure) in the reference tables at different atmospheric pressures | <urn:uuid:58275d5a-06bb-4cd6-995c-0d05a39e6e71> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://kentchemistry.com/Worksheets/Regents/Units/GasLaws/GasLaw%20ReviewSheet.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00559-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.824447 | 322 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Nov 10, 2021
New Year’s Resolutions: How to Stay On-Track
Ah, new year’s resolutions, we make them with the best intentions, only to break them within a few days. Why are new year’s resolutions so hard to stick to? And what can we do to actually keep our resolutions next year?
Oct 17, 2021
Self-Love: What Is It and How Do I Practice It?
Self-love or self-care is a popular term at the moment. But it’s not all face masks and candle-lit baths. Here is what self-care is actually about.
Sep 30, 2021
How to Organise Your Life
Feel like life is spinning out of control? You don’t need to feel like this. It is very easy to get your life in order with just a few small changes.
Sep 04, 2021
Practical Advice for Dealing With Grief
The death of people we know can hit us hard and in unexpected ways. It is not easy to feel the pain of their absence or know how to deal with it. Let us help you.
Jul 20, 2021
Ways of Saving Time You May Not Have Thought Of
Here are our unusual ways to save time and ways to approach time management that will improve your lifestyle. So forget about productivity, and read on.
May 05, 2021
Should I Donate My Organs?
In the UK, organ donation is handled on an opt-out system. This means that unless you register that you do not want your organs donated, it is assumed you are happy to donate your organs after death. | <urn:uuid:5c1aff3f-2a86-499b-9009-1938751452b4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://lyfeguard.com/articles/health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573104.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817183340-20220817213340-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.941024 | 356 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Egypt had twice postponed the scheduled date for the signing of a reconciliation agreement because of continuing disagreements between Fatah and Hamas, the two main Palestinian factions.
Monday's announcement comes amid new tension between Abbas's Palestinian Authority and Hamas over the PA's support for delaying the endorsement of a UN report compiled by former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, on possible war crimes committed during Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader in Gaza, accused Abbas of making an "absurd and criminal" decision to delay endorsement of the report.
"How can the two parties [Fatah and Hamas] sit at one table and sign an agreement in this situation? ... This has placed a heavy obstacle in the way of Palestinian unity," he said on Monday.
But Abul Gheit was confident that it would not halt the signing and said: "I think that the Goldstone issue is not likely to affect Palestinian reconciliation."
Hamas and Fatah have been in dispute since Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007 after 18 months of coalition government. | <urn:uuid:1db8b208-3cf9-4618-888d-1408df0bddcc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2009/10/2009105185642230742.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00420-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963087 | 217 | 1.5 | 2 |
One shattering moment can wreck a community and leave children traumatized, displaced and vulnerable to disease. Earthquakes are especially devastating, as the impacts of economic and infrastructural damage can last for multiple generations.
Natural disasters disproportionately affect children. In addition to depleting access to basic necessities such as water, food, shelter and health services, earthquakes leave children separated from their families and their educations and childhoods disrupted. In the wake of a disaster, poverty rises. Children without the protection of parents or an education face higher risks of abuse and exploitation.
When disaster strikes, UNICEF is among the first on the ground, prepositioning supplies, supporting response efforts and assisting with the recovery. UNICEF operates the largest humanitarian supply warehouse in the world. Through its network, UNICEF can deliver urgently-needed items anywhere in the world within 48 to 72 hours.
From Japan to Mexico, to the Philippines, Haiti and beyond, UNICEF has helped rebuild communities post-quake for decades. Providing both immediate and long-term assistance, UNICEF helps ensure that children can continue to learn, receive health care and psychosocial support, access adequate nutrition, safe water, sanitation and hygiene services and stay safe from harm. UNICEF also works to reunite children who have been separated from their family and provides care for those who are orphaned.
Top photo: Iker, 9, and his sister Yeimire, 6, stand outside their home which was destroyed in an earthquake in San Andrés Hueyapan, Tetela del Volcán municipality, Morelos, Mexico. ©UNICEF/UN0125939/Solís | <urn:uuid:f3db3c9a-e3af-42b8-ac1e-0192b09446f0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.unicefusa.org/mission/emergencies/earthquakes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572286.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816090541-20220816120541-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.947725 | 342 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Used in the "Amiga Dealer" demo. It was produced by Commodore to promote Amigas that were on display in shops.
This image was shown in the "Education" part.
Interestingly there was also a version of this image that was used for the "Amiga Companion" book by Rob Peck. The biggest difference between the two was the peacock on the key, that was replaced by the Amiga rainbow check logo.
The Amiga Companion version is lowres-interlaced, which leads me to think that it was created first and the Amiga Demo version was downscaled to fit with the other images. | <urn:uuid:b7665962-0ef3-4830-8104-4e4ffb31e1e3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://amiga.lychesis.net/resolution/Lowres/JimSachs_AmigaDemo7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570879.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809003642-20220809033642-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.992238 | 130 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The Full Story
When the former Ottawa Folklore Centre closed its doors in 2014, the city lost an iconic part of local music history. The upper level transformed into commercial space while the lower level continued to offer music education under the name Sunnyside Music School
When Kelly Craig (musician, educator, founder of Shine Music Academy) was approached to take over Sunnyside Music School in May 2018, he did it with a commitment to honouring the rich history of this location.
By continuing this location's tradition of quality, accessible music education.
By building a diverse team of talented, welcoming music instructors while continuing to employ many of those instructors that had been teaching at the location while it was still operating as the folklore center
And by sparking inspiration through our love of music.
At Sunnyside Music School, the future sounds good!
The First Note – We thrive on ensuring every student gets the most out of their lesson. From the very first note a student plays, our skilled teachers will tailor their lessons to fit their unique aptitudes and interests.
Teach In Harmony – Students learn best when they are comfortable with the teacher. Connecting both personally and musically makes learning music better. We are confident you will find the right fit from among our diverse team of talented, welcoming music instructors. If you feel you would benefit from lessons with another instructor or a different approach to teaching, don’t hesitate to let us know.
Sunnyside remains dedicated to the physical and mental health of our students, teachers, parents and the community. All publicly mandated health guidelines are followed as well as any extra precautions we can take to help stop the transmission of COVID-19
To makes scheduling and planning easier for busy families, Sunnyside Music School follows the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) school year calendar. So when OCDSB students are on holidays and breaks, so are ours. But to accommodate students' and families' different needs, we are open to scheduling lessons during OCDSB break periods. | <urn:uuid:c30ac1b5-4e5a-41a9-83f2-5d96d22b3fd2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.sunnysidemusicschool.com/about | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00675.warc.gz | en | 0.950234 | 442 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Trinity’s LNG technology, developed for work vessels, could take boating to a new level of green
John Dane III has a foot in two camps, one in building superyachts, the other in building workboats, which has enabled him to offer his luxury yacht clients liquefied natural gas power developed for the workboat side of his business.
“Some of the technology we have in yachts comes out of the commercial and oil field business,” says Dane, president and CEO of Trinity Yachts LLC and Trinity Offshore LLC, which share yards in Gulfport, Miss., and New Orleans. “It comes out of the commercial side and trickles into the yachts.”
Dynamic positioning, a computer-controlled system that automatically keeps a vessel’s position and heading, has been in use in the oil fields for 25 years, he says. Now many yachts have it.
On Oct. 6, Harvey Gulf International Marine, a New Orleans offshore supply and towing company, awarded Trinity Offshore a contract to build two, and possibly three, 302-foot offshore supply vessels powered by LNG. The $55 million supply boats will become the first U.S.-flagged commercial vessels running on LNG.
The LNG power plants, supplied by the Finnish company Wartsila, cost about 10 percent more than conventional diesel power, but according to a paper delivered at the 2010 meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers in Bellevue, Wash., LNG is much cleaner than diesel fuel. It reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 percent, eliminates sulfur oxide, cuts carbon dioxide 20 percent and produces no particulates. The paper, by G.W. Van Tassel, president of LNG shipper Argent Marine Operations, says LNG also enjoys a 40 percent price advantage over diesel.
The major disadvantage of LNG at this point is its availability at the dock. “The world is awash in LNG,” says W. Philip Nuss, Trinity’s vice president for engineering. The United States has plentiful supplies of it — more than 2 trillion cubic feet. “The problem is, you can’t find places everywhere to pull in and fuel up.”
Trinity now has the technology and expertise to build LNG-powered superyachts, installing LNG engines, diesel-electric drives, steerable z-pellers (they rotate on a vertical axis to assist in directional control) and firefighting systems, says Trinity Yachts vice president Billy Smith III. “We can offer this now to yachtsmen who really want to be green,” he says.
The yacht must be at least 180 feet long and ride on a displacement hull to accommodate the long, cylindrical LNG fuel tanks. Smith says the LNG-powered supply boats will be the most environmentally friendly craft of their size on the Gulf of Mexico, but is there demand for the technology in the pleasure boat industry? Maybe not much today, Dane says, but for the owner who wants to be on the cutting edge of green, this is it.
“We’ve had someone call and ask about it,” Smith says. “But, yes, it takes money (10 percent more than diesel power) and space.”
Dane says LNG makes a lot of sense to commercial vessel operators, who must meet stringent Tier 3 emission standards in the North American Emission Control Area come 2016.
The pioneering Wartsila engines are dual LNG- and diesel-powered plants with electric drives. Dane says the oil rigs these vessels service will have to meet emission standards that include all of their support vessels, so when the boats are working in support of the rig they will operate on LNG; at other times, they can burn diesel.
If the rig’s support boats produce a smaller carbon footprint, if they’re clean, it helps the rig meet the “green” standard, Dane says.
Besides offshore supply vessels, Trinity Offshore has been building tugboats and barges at the Gulfport yard since 2010. Trinity bought the Gulfport shipyard from military shipbuilder VT Halter in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina damaged Trinity’s New Orleans yard. Dane says the purchase came with a five-year no-compete clause — no military or commercial construction in Gulfport. Now Trinity can build military and commercial craft, as well as yachts, in Gulfport while also continuing to build both at its New Orleans yard.
“We’ve returned to our roots,” Dane says. Or at least to his roots.
Dane started as a shipbuilder, going to work as a program manager for Halter Marine Group in 1974. He started his own commercial shipyard, Moss Point Marine Yard, in 1987 and went on to become president of Trinity Marine Group, Moss Point’s successor; Halter Marine Group; and Fried Goldman Halter — all commercial yards. He retired from shipbuilding in 2000, buying Trinity Yachts — Halter’s pleasure boat subsidiary — from the commercial builder with Smith and Felix Sabates Jr., a Trinity client. Since the no-compete clause expired, “the phone has been ringing off the hook,” Dane says. “I used to run the largest commercial shipyard in the country. People are happy to see us come back.”
And he is happy that they are happy.
“With the slowdown in the yacht business, half our work now is commercial or military [high-speed patrol boats],” he says.
This article originally appeared in the March 2012 issue. | <urn:uuid:150f7db6-0968-41f8-b875-4ff2b0f34554> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/dealers/yachts-that-run-on-natural-gas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00071.warc.gz | en | 0.955385 | 1,184 | 1.835938 | 2 |
December 1982 | Volume 34, Issue 1
How the colossus of the “social expression industry” always manages to say it better than you do
But up close you see this is not a common factory, not the usual piecework. A woman, her adhesive machine hissing like a gosling, is pasting lacy red pages into a folded card. Next to her a worker deftly glues three tiny Styrofoam blocks to the back of a big-eyed paper moppet and sticks it to a blueflocked card emblazoned in gold: “Be my valentine.” This is a greeting-card factory. Hallmark, to be precise.
What most of the fourteen thousand employees of Hallmark Cards, Inc., are doing is mass-producing American sentiment. Their task is to make a product that will stand in for the bewildered, inarticulate, well-intentioned rest of us. Like the other workers in the four hundred-odd companies that make up the “social expression industry,” they are fabricating dazzling John Aldens for us dull Myles Standishes. Hallmark happens to be the biggest John Alden company in the world—the king of American sentiment, with a trademarked crown on every card.
When a young entrepreneur named Joyce Clyde Hall came out from the fastnesses of Norfolk, Nebraska, in 1910 to set up shop in Kansas City, he could scarcely have envisioned his effect on the sentiment industry. He was simply in the business of mailing packets of unsolicited picture postcards to druggists, hoping they’d keep them. Yet, seventy-two years and untold millions of cards later, Hallmark has estimated annual sales of a billion dollars. The exact figure is known to only a few. J. C. Hall’s son, Donald, who became president of Hallmark in 1966 (his father was chairman of the board until his death last October), rightly calls it a closely held corporation. But unquestionably Hallmark sells hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cards, gift wrap, plaques, posters, puzzles, calendars, gummed initials, party supplies, and assorted oddments. Even J. C. Hall himself may occasionally have wondered, “Whence came all this? Out of what deep need or impulse do the people buy my bunnies, flowers, Muppets, Santas, hearts—any of the thirteen thousand or so different cards produced each year in such seemingly endless categories as religious, cute, traditional, formal, juvenile, humorous, and ‘suitable for serious illness’?”
Hallmark historians like to point out that precursors of the greeting card, or at least of ritualized social expressions, date back as far as the ancient Egyptian and Roman custom of exchanging small gifts to celebrate the New Year. Valentines are said to have originated in the Roman Feast of Lupercalia, February 15, when young lovers slipped notes to each other in a sort of erotic lottery, the maidens putting their wishes into a large urn and the swains drawing out their courting assignments. Another version of the origin of valentines relates that the persecuted St. Valentine supposedly fell in love with his jailer’s blind daughter, restored her sight through his faith, and before his martyrdom sent her a farewell note signed “from your Valentine.” The earliest formal valentine dates from 1415, when another imprisoned lover, Charles, Duke of Orleans, crafted a love message and dispatched it from the Tower of London to his wife.
But these social expressions were personal, unique, and made by extraordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Hardly mass-produced, they certainly were not the product of an official governmentally designated “day.” History provided the inspiration for most of these commemorative days, the Hallmark archivists maintain. One finds, for instance, the modern Mother’s Day card anticipated in the seventeenth-century letters of greeting and affection that young tradesmen sent once a year to their mothers. However, these, too, were personal, handmade messages. The verse primers of that and the next century, called valentine writers, may have pointed the way to ready-made sentiment. They offered glib poems of love, admiration, and friendship for the hurried or speechless to copy out.
Commercial greetings flourished in the second half of the nineteenth century. By the 1860s American greeting-card makers, following the English, were producing dozens of different designs, many beautifully printed and ornamented. The publisher Louis Prang took such pains that some of his cards required twenty lithograph plates, and Esther Rowland’s handmade, silk-fringed, jeweled, laced, and beribboned messages could set an earnest Lothario back as much as thirty-five dollars. (Some examples of her work can be seen in last February’s issue.) Such quality products, though, could not compete with the flood of inexpensive cards coming off the presses by the end of the century. Customers could choose from landscapes, babies, comic Irishmen, fairies, kittens and puppies, birds, Madonnas, family scenes, just about anything imaginable. For the naughty there were “penny dreadfuls” or “rudes and crudes,” forerunners of the mildly humorous and mocking “slam cards” in the current Hallmark lines. Postal officials here and in a few other countries judged some of the “dreadfuls” so bad that they banned them. But there could be no banning those phalanxes of cheap German-made picture postcards. They ran the Prangs out of business—and they provided Joyce Hall with his stock.
Joyce Clyde Hall had been born in David City, Nebraska, in 1891. His birthright was what he later called the “gift of poverty.” His frail mother cared for her four children as best she could, often going without food or clothing so they could be nourished and warm. His father, a feckless preacher and inventor, deserted the family when Joyce was seven. Joyce got his first job at eight, doing farm chores. At nine he started selling sandwiches, then horseradish, then cosmetics in David City. At eleven he was working for his brothers, Rollie and Bill, in the Norfolk bookshop they’d bought. There, a few years later, came the fateful introduction to the German greeting cards. Before long Joyce Hall realized there could be something more to this business than riding the local freight, the “Oconee Turnaround,” drumming for card business at every whistle-stop. And so, in January of 1910, he left for Kansas City. He traveled without a high school diploma but with a suitcase full of cards and his heart full of ambition. He would do something with these cards, something profitable and not shabby. On arriving in Kansas City, Hall first lived at the YMCA, where his stockroom was the space under his bed and his distribution facility the post office. By 1915 Joyce and his brother Rollie had Hall Brothers Company firmly enough established to survive a fire that wiped out their stock of valentines. That year they acquired their own engraving plant and printed their first wholly original cards. J. C. Hall had also by then made the first of several crucial marketing discoveries: cards could be more than an easy, inexpensive form of communication. Sending them was, he decided, a deeply rooted social custom, and the carriage trade would pay for good ones. He could succeed faster by forsaking his cheaper offerings and even the popular leather postcards (one had his favorite slogan burned into it: “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on”). What was needed were tasteful cards with envelopes for private social communication of two sorts: what his company came to call the “everyday”—birthday, sympathy, getwell—and the “seasonal”—Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day.
Hall set out to provide them; and he brought to the project some other important concepts. One he learned on his very first day at Spalding’s Commercial College in Kansas City, where, to please his family, he had enrolled to learn typing, commercial law, penmanship, and spelling. George E. Spalding’s initial act was to have each of his students tack up a tin sign reading, “Time is money—save time. ” J. C. Hall was impressed but made a significant alteration when it came to his own business: “Time is everything—save time” became an enduring motto at Hall Brothers. Their business, after all, was saving time—buying a card saved the time-consuming trouble of dreaming up a sentiment.
Steadily increasing sales proved Hall’s precepts right. The company grew through the twenties, expanded while the national economy shrank in the 1930s, and flourished after World War II when prosperity and mobility created a tremendous market.
The cards in the Hallmark files mirror the concerns of seven crowded decades. A 1928 card, playing off Lindbergh, shows lovers in a cut-out monoplane, with the sentiment, “It’s PLANE to see I’m all taken up with you.” Many Depression cards keep a stiff upper lip—“in this year of readjustment.” Others flash breezy tough-guy lines: “Hi, Toots, Happy Birthday.” Or topical word play: “There ain’t no Hooey Long with this/It’s just a great big wish for Happy Birthday.” World War II cards, most of them pacific, send good wishes “to you in the Service.” A few clearly violate J. C. Hall’s belief that “good taste is good business”: a 1946 number, for instance, shows a cartoon anarchist’s round black bomb labeled ATOMIC , its sentiment reading, “The little atoms in this bomb can show you what to do/Just have yourself a BANG-UP TIME each minute all day through.” Hallmark’s efficient archivist, Sally Hopkins, smiles at the card’s naïveté. And winces at the early blackface cards in her care. “We don’t show those to people,” she says, “It was a different time.”
Born in the late 1950s as a response to a growing irreverence toward things previously held sacred, the contemporary line has, over the years, featured humorous H-bomb cards, hippie greetings, peace messages, lunar-landing missives. The archives disgorge C.B. radio cards, jogging cards, silicone-injection cards, fuel-shortage cards, streaking cards, Astro-turf cards, computer-dating cards, feminist cards, even goose-down cards. Last year there were Princess Di cards and video-game greetings. All of these, of course, merely augment the tried-and-true everyday and seasonal products.
In marketing, Hallmark is to cards what Procter & Gamble is to soap, albeit with some crucial distinctions. Faced, for example, with the unhappy fact that people don’t have to buy cards, Hallmark uses the “guilty verse” to make them think they should. Every line carries at least one card covering the message “You know I don’t write as often as I should, but here’s a card for you.” The famous Hallmark slogan, “When you care enough to send the very best,” was chosen by Mr. J.C. from a batch of 1944 promotion ideas because it simultaneously conveyed quality and a sense of obligation. The slogan is said around Hallmark to be “the world’s greatest guilt producer.”
Creating a sense of obligation has been only one ingredient in Hallmark’s marketing mix. Again the difference between card and soap is illustrative. A box of detergent needs no special occasion, no requirement of “sendability,” and it seldom reflects the temperament, personality, or affluence of the buyer. Yet a good line of greeting cards, they’ll tell you at Hallmark, must do all those things for every sort of customer. Predictably it was J. C. Hall who laid down the basic rules. Early on he began recording each card’s sales success and the possible reason for it. He then sent dealers his cards based on what he knew or strongly suspected would sell—on a “no buy back” basis. Today in Hallmark’s beige product-management offices, computer printouts are studied for, say, the 1983 “Christmas model line.” The managers scan past model lines for eighty-five coded characteristics from price to paper stock to size and subject and sentiment. “From the computer,” says Don Fletcher, corporate product director for greeting cards, “we see we need so many trees, wreaths, poinsettia, Santas, snow, and whatever. We add the vapor of experience to the computer and make sure we have no holes in the line.” Then, Fletcher says, the line is produced, and the computer sends the retailers what the machine knows is a good selection. And there is still a policy of no return of goods. If the cards don’t sell the first time, the dealer is stuck. But as Fletcher notes, the next time around he won’t buy Hallmark. As for direct orders from stores, “a retailer only has to send in a computer card,” says a Hallmark public relations man. “The computer sends the cards, maybe not what he thought he needed but what we know will move.”
Knowing what will sell is the heart of Hallmark’s creative department, where, in their cluttered warrens, the writers and the artists create the myriad cards that beckon from Hallmark’s carefully chosen and decorated retail outlets. Another of Mr. J.C.’s principles was close attention to where his cards were sold. He inaugurated the eye-level, illuminated card shelf and later directed the development of Hallmark’s color-coordinated, mood-lighted, designer-fashioned “card environments.” Hallmark cards are not sold in supermarkets or discount stores; such lowly environments fall to the company’s subsidiary line, Ambassador Cards.
The creative department is where fundamental work of the greeting-card business is done. No one at Hallmark understands it better than Jeanette Lee, a figure nearly as legendary as J. C. Hall himself. Lee, a member of the board of directors and a corporate vice-president, has been with Hallmark for decades. A trim, soft-spoken woman with a firm air, she heads the design department, the collection of four hundred or so artists who draw the wreaths, Santas, what-have-you that the computer and the vapors of experience say are needed. She knows how to put together a successful model line. First, you assign a creative team: a designer, a product planner, and an editor-writer. Their job is to create something like what is now on a rolling card rack in Lee’s office, a Thanksgiving model line. She points out some of the various “captions,” or necessary categories. There must be “general wishes” like the “endearments,” the juvenile and humorous and religious and our-house-to-your-house cards. And there must be “direct sentiments,” addressed to uncles, brothers, sisters, in-laws, parents—the whole roster of relatives. Balance is all important. In the Thanksgiving line, for example, Lee says, “They must have a turkey at every price.” Thanksgiving is a conservative holiday, it is explained, and so children motifs belong in the line. Fitting this requirement are the “charmers,” big-eyed waifs drawn for years by Betsey Clark of Amarillo, Texas. Clark is a veteran free-lancer, one of the very few whose unsolicited submission years ago charmed its way into Lee’s lines. “We get over twenty thousand mail-ins a year,” she says, “and we look them all over, but we take less than one percent.”
The creative teams evaluate the pull of the twin appeals, design and sentiment. Each has a different role, it’s believed; the design makes you pick up the card, but the sentiment sells it. Another dictum is that the eye is fickle but the ear is not, meaning that the artwork must move with the times while the sentiments can stay relatively unchanged. Sentiments are recycled through time, and skillful editors can take a Christmas sentiment and tinker it into a Mother’s Day message. Currently there appears to be a trend toward less copy, except for days like Valentine’s when, Lee says, people “seem to want more expression.”
Trend watching is a serious occupation at Hallmark. The corporate design division puts out Trends , a beige and blue newsletter that vibrates such intelligence as: “The search for self-fulfillment, self-enrichment, self-enhancement continues. ” Translated, this means more kittens than puppies should be on cards because self-f ulf illed single women find cats are easier pets to leave at home when they go out to work. Similarly, Lee says that “fewer cards today show Mommy and Daddy home together—they often aren’t.” Psychosociological currents, though, aren’t the newsletter’s staple. “Forecasts call for emphasis on the desert colors,” a recent number announced—“sand, brown, rust, and the sun colors, and the aquatics or ‘wind-surfing’ colors, in which blues dominate.” Such tips, like the fabric samples designers submit, often end up in the cards. Not long ago Lee received some smokelike poofs and strands from Paris, sweet nostalgic pastels and other bland colors that experts are pushing. They’ll go into the new lines next to reliable reds, blues, yellows, lavenders.
It’s in the planning rooms that the creative teams mix and match new colors, old colors, recycled sentiments, and still-vigorous messages. Solemn ponderings go on. This year unicorns could be big, like the recent “swine art” cards that Jeanette Lee finds “real cute and corny.” Unicorns and Miss Piggy and all the other designs stand in racks along the walls, while, with computer printouts at hand, the team makes its choices. Some are easy. Roses, for instance, belong in most lines because they connote remembrance, love, and taste. A few “concepts” (the indivisible combination of art and copy) are sure-fire and are always present in one or another line. One perennial is the floral card reading:
Not even the computer knows just how many cards this has sold, but the last estimate was more than twelve million . The author, a free-lancer, made hundreds of thousands of dollars—some say over a million—on this number. But that was back in the days when Hallmark paid free-lancers a royalty on each card. Today’s freelancers get a straight fee, normally one hundred to two hundred and fifty dollars for a drawing, and one hundred for a sentiment. The free-lancers work on a Darwinian margin: an artist can submit twenty-five cards and have perhaps two accepted, but only if another of Hallmark’s marketing tools—the consumer-choice “panel test”—shows those two have broad appeal. Focus-group interviews also probe a card’s potential, and the usual market research measurements are examined by the creative teams.
Living between high-toned aesthetics and the marketplace makes Daniel Drake, editorial director at Hallmark, acutely sensitive to the psychology of the customers. He’s detected that male buyers equate the amount they spend with the quality of the emotion. Carols appealing to them must accordingly be hot and intense, bespeaking expense. “Cooler messages are usually cheaper,” Drake says. “Cool means you’re spending less. Men don’t like that.” These insights lead planners to make sympathy cards small and cheap. They reason that people have a natural aversion to depression, illness, or death. Drake prescribes flat, spare prose for the sentiment and a simple, straightforward design. Thereby the cool “intensity” matches the sender’s subconscious reason for sending the card: to avoid the feeling evoked by a dreadful event. For happier sentiments the heart of greeting-card text is sixteen lines of rhymed iambic pentameter. “Find somebody who can write that,” Drake says, “and you can start a card business.”
Whatever the form of sentiment or design, nothing beyond the innocently naughty is ever included. What Jeanette Lee terms “jarring trends” toward salacious and smutty cards will never find expression in Hallmark’s lines. “We leave that for other manufacturers,” says George Parker. So every model line is prophylactic when it makes its journey to the “approval room.”
This conference area is distinguished by a mural of a railroad train, the engine (metaphorically the “concept”) tugging along cars filled with planning captions: whimsical, tailored, and on through the thesaurus of trends. Here final strokes are applied so that the famous Hallmark “ticket” can be written. On this production-routing document will go the card’s size, price, paper, folds, such special effects as “flitter” (flecks of colored plastic) or “hot foil” (heat-embossed metallic paper) or “flocking” (suedelike nap glued to the paper). Here are specified feathers or lace or honeycomb or raised printing or acetate overlays or any other necessary handwork.
The journey is over, the train arrived. Yet some have not enjoyed the trip. In the bars of Kansas City a few fierce-eyed Hallmarkers past and present decry synthetic emotion and artificial sweetness. But they are a tiny minority. Mr. J. C.’s benevolent policies—learned, he said, from observing R. H. Macy’s operations—keep most of the employees happy, busy, and prosperous. The company’s personnel operations are a model for any industry. Hallmarkers stay for years—longevity is a virtue—and why not? Careful screening and evaluation has guided them to congenial tasks. They’re well paid. They have free life insurance, free medical and dental care, free parking. At 9:30 A.M. and 2:30 P.M. the beige machines in the corridors dispense free coffee, soup, and soft drinks to the lines of waiting workers. Hallmarkers share in profits, keep slim with company-sponsored sports, and eat well in a bounteous cafeteria called the Crown Room. Three nurses and a physician wait for calls from the acres of offices, and advisers can be summoned for everything from car pooling to financial planning.
Tributes to the company’s personnel dot the corporate landscape. There’s a collection of Emmy statuettes garnered by The Hallmark Hall of Fame , one of television’s most honored shows. J. C. Hall liked to advertise nationally—practically unheard of for a card maker—and to do it with as much taste and style as possible. Perhaps the most impressive jewel in Hallmark’s crown is the landscape itself, the eighty-five acres, formerly in a sorry state of urban decay, on which rests the international headquarters and the shopping and living complex called Crown Center.
“Trust,” like “taste” and “very best,” is a touchstone at Hallmark. In the headquarters there is an atmosphere that all is well and will continue so. A public relations man confides: “I worked in government and had to quit because there were so many klutzes. Here everybody knows their job and does it well.” Thus, management trusts that each product line will emerge attractive enough and various enough to snare most sentiment seekers. If a card fails, the computer ensures the concept will be discarded and a new one created. The new card, in good taste and carefully focused, will come down a folding chute somewhere in a Hallmark factory, if necessary at a one-million-per-shif t rate. At the plant in Lawrence the supervisor of production stood and mused as the machines clanked, hissed, stamped, cut, silk-screened, folded. “You know,” he said, “we automate as much as we can, but you still can’t take the personal touch out of a greeting card.”
The cards whiz past, on their way to plastic bags and then to distribution centers and then to the Hallmark counters. One of them fits virtually every occasion a customer might encounter. Perhaps the time is right for Hallmark Lights, a new line of cards to allow young people to communicate lightheartedly and at a distance. Perhaps one of the new ready-made occasional cards strikes home: congratulations on a nurse capping, new job, new apartment, new pet. Or maybe what’s wanted is something for an old holiday like Halloween that’s receiving fresh emphasis (“You know,” says Daniel Drake, “we sell them in England, and they don’t even celebrate Halloween in England”). Whichever, Hallmark trusts that one or another concept will strike you, that something will articulate your particular sentiment. Something made for you, something quick, convenient, and the very best money can buy. | <urn:uuid:7c7f2681-04ad-47aa-bae0-2ca4b9bd8747> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.americanheritage.com/print/54414?page=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00345-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956516 | 5,551 | 1.546875 | 2 |
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Global Geopolitics and Political Economy Net – IDN InDepthNews
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne
SINGAPORE (IDN) – Announcement by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the Laotian capital Vientiane on April 23 that a four-point agreement has been reached with three ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) member states on the disputes over some islands, rocks and shoals in the South China Sea (SCS) ahead of a China-ASEAN summit in Singapore, has exposed divisions among the 10-member regional grouping on the issue.
The SCS dispute which first entered ASEAN forums during the 2010 ASEAN Summit in Vietnam, when the then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the issue during a speech, has increased in intensity in recent years with the U.S. and Japan along with its ally the Philippines fanning the flames, while China has responded with some aggressive moves of its own.
Philippines has taken the issue of overlapping ownership of small islands in SCS to international arbitration and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is due to give its verdict in June. China however has refused to take part in the court case and has indicated its unwillingness to accept arbitration, insisting that such disputes have to be negotiated and settled by affected countries and not by outside bodies.
The four-point consensus reached with the three ASEAN members – Brunei, Cambodia and Laos – says that the SCS dispute is “not an issue of China and ASEAN as a whole” and the territorial and maritime issues must be resolved through consultations and negotiations by the parties directly concerned.
In their consensus, the three countries and China agreed, according to China’s Xinhua news agency, that they should oppose attempts to “unilaterally impose an agenda on other countries” and agreed on rights of sovereign states to resolve their disputes between themselves under international law.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoted a Chinese foreign ministry statement that said the South China Sea problem was not a China-ASEAN dispute and the agreement “should not affect China-ASEAN relations”.
But, Singapore’s Staits Times quoting an unnamed ASEAN diplomatic source said: “China is quite worried that ASEAN will make some sort of joint statement after arbitration decision comes out” and thus they have been wooing “ASEAN’s most compliant members”.
Four members of the 10-member ASEAN – the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei – have rival claims to parts of the South China Sea with China, which claims that virtually the entire sea belongs to it. China is the biggest trade partner of many ASEAN nations and China’s maritime claims are the regional bloc’s most contentious issue, as its members struggle to balance their claims against growing economic relations with Beijing.
ASEAN said in a rare statement on the issue in February 2016 that land reclamation and escalating activity had increased tension and could undermine peace, security and stability in the region.
Zhang Jie, a Southeast Asian affairs expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has been quoted by SCMP as saying that China was facing mounting pressure to solicit diplomatic support ahead of the UN arbitration court ruling.
“With Europe and the G7 taking the side of the U.S., it is crucial to China how ASEAN takes the arbitration,” she said. “China could claim victory if ASEAN did not mention China by name, or did it in an inexplicit way in expressing its stance on the issue.”
Laos, which chairs ASEAN this year with its annual summit due to take place in Vientiane later in the year will have influence in setting the agenda, and Beijing is expected to draw support from some of the other members states such as Thailand and Cambodia, and now possibly Brunei.
Interestingly, the current front runner in the Philippines Presidential elections – taking place on May 9 – Rodrigo Duterte has hinted in the campaign trail that he would be open to direct negotiations with China.
Tension between the Philippines and China escalated when a Japanese warship sailed into the disputed waters in the area raising fears in China that the second world war foes could be getting into a military alliance to contain China.
The Hyuga-class helicopter carrier Ise docked in Subic Bay on April 26 while on a “navigational training” mission, according to the ship’s captain. It marked the second time in just over three weeks that Japanese naval vessels visited Subic Bay, a former major U.S. naval base that lies around 200km from a Chinese-controlled shoal.
“We want to deepen the relationship with the Philippines,” Ise Captain Masaki Takada told reporters, who were given a tour of the vessel.
In February this year, Japan agreed to supply the Philippines with military hardware, which officials said may include anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft and radar technology.
Earlier in April, the Philippines Ambassador to the United States, Jose Cuisia told members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Manila that the Philippines will be getting the biggest military aid package in 15 years from the U.S. to beef up its ill-equipped armed forces. He said the package will be worth $120 million.
During a visit to America’s old foe Vietnam in April, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned China’s intentions over its land reclamation project. He said on April 21 in Hanoi that China’s land reclamation project and increasing militarization of the outposts fuel regional tension and the United States will continue to sail, fly, and operate anywhere that international law allows.
China responded by cautioning the U.S. to be discreet in its words and deeds in regard to the SCS issue. The deployment of necessary defence facilities on islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands falls under China’s sovereignty and the country is exercising its rights of self-protection and self-defence granted by international law, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying reminded the U.S. at a regular news briefing in Beijing on April 22.
China has always respected and supported countries in exercising freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea in line with international law, Hua said. But, she reiterated that China firmly opposes countries that threaten and harm the sovereignty and security of coastal countries under the pretext of freedom of navigation and flight.
She described U.S. action as “freedom of intrusion by U.S. military planes and vessels” which China will not accept. “The United States has repeatedly questioned China’s intentions, but will the U.S. explain its real motive in stoking tensions and increasing military presence in the area?” asked Hua.
Hua also pointed out that the U.S. introduced the freedom of navigation plan in 1979, before signing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which she said was an attempt by Washington to safeguard its maritime military interests without signing the treaty. “That underscored Washington’s selective use of international conventions and its attitude of exceptionalism,” she said.
In recent months, China has intensified its offensive against the expected negative verdict from the UN court in The Hague. A communiqué issued after a meeting of Foreign Ministers from China, India and Russia on April 18 in Moscow stated that all disputes in the South China Sea should be addressed through negotiations and agreements between the parties concerned.
Referring to the consensus between China and the three ASEAN member states, Nanjing University analyst Zhu Fend told the Straits Times: “ASEAN members are not united on many issues, including South China Sea. What China is doing is simply showing there is more than one voice on this issue, coming even from Brunei, a claimant state.” [IDN-InDepthNews – 27 April 2016]
IDN is the flagship of International Press Syndicate.
Photo: ASEAN Flags. Credit: ASEAN
IDN-InDepthNews | Analysis That Matters. All rights reserved.
IDN inDepthNews, 2016. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:b61d529f-ab8d-4b06-8e14-1d3f49828d06> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.globalgeopolitics.net/2016/04/27/china-triggers-regional-divisions-on-south-china-sea/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00347-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960959 | 1,720 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The effect of the addition of the organic chalcogen (Py2Se2) on the micellization of Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solution was studied using spectroscopic and electrical conductivity techniques. UV-vis spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to get information regarding the interaction between the surfactant and additive aggregates and the mechanism of docking of the surfactant and the additive molecules in the system. The system has been investigated in terms of concentration and temperature variation for conductometric studies. The conductivity data were used to determine the critical micelle concentration (cmc) and degree of counter ion binding (β) in the temperature range 288.15-323.15 K. The free energy (ΔGm°), enthalpy (ΔHm°) and entropy (ΔSm°) of micellization were determined using the temperature dependence of cmc. The calculated thermodynamic parameter |TΔSm| is larger than |ΔHm|, which indicates that the micellization is entropy driven.
|Number of pages||8|
|Journal||Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects|
|Publication status||Published - Sep 1 2007|
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Surfaces and Interfaces
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Colloid and Surface Chemistry | <urn:uuid:f1efbd52-96cd-4a91-9275-2f5ae5c1e9d5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kyushu-u.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/conductometric-and-spectroscopic-studies-of-sodium-dodecyl-sulfat | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572215.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815235954-20220816025954-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.838269 | 355 | 1.875 | 2 |
This document is intended as a resource for College and University decision-makers as they determine which activities to undertake on their campuses related to understanding and preventing sexual assault and misconduct, with full recognition that each institution has a different context and that no single approach is a solution for all.
We argue that institutions aspire to a “data ecosystem” approach to collecting data about sexual misconduct and assault rather than rely too heavily on any one data collection effort. This approach emphasizes synthesis across data sources as a goal. One implication of this approach is that large-scale comparative surveys are best conducted with at least four years between iterations, and complemented by many other data collections.
In recent years, a number of higher education institutions have completed sexual assault and climate surveys to better understand the scope and nature of campus sexual misconduct (e.g., the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct, the Rutgers iSPEAK Pilot Campus Survey, the RTI instrument used in the Campus Sexual Assault Study). Now these colleges and universities are investing in organizational changes to address the results of those surveys and are in the process of making decisions about the scope and timing of the next round of surveys.
National conversations about how to assess campus culture meaningfully have focused on omnibus, large- scale campus prevalence rate surveys. We suggest here that instead of focusing solely on large-scale prevalence rate surveys, institutions may want to take a multi-faceted approach, setting as an aspirational goal the establishment of an “ecosystem” of relevant data collection efforts that incorporates the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Consistent with a public health approach, this treatment of a complex issue also would align more clearly with the intricacy of student experiences and attitudes with respect to sexual misconduct on a particular campus. This multi-faceted effort requires detailed coordination to make the best use of a campus’s resources and indeed, to make the best use of the data collected. Although each mode of data collection has strengths and limitations, a “mixed-methods” approach may be appropriate on many campuses and could maximize the understanding gained from investments in time and other resources.
As members of institutions that have undertaken climate surveys, we believe that widespread, systematic data collection is a critical part of any effort to address the pervasive and troubling occurrence of sexual assault and all forms of sexual misconduct on our campuses. We acknowledge that working toward broader and more effective data collection in this topic area presents a major challenge to our institutions. Surveys that are not based on sound evidence or tailored to individual campuses may provide institutions with insufficient information to continue the hard work of culture change.
We also offer guidance regarding the optimal interval between iterations of large-scale prevalence rate surveys, with a view toward tailoring the way that these surveys fit within the larger data collection ecosystem. An institution’s decisions about the intended uses of survey data have significant methodological, practical, and programmatic implications. These, in turn, lead to insights regarding the ideal timing of different data collection methods, including large-scale prevalence rate surveys. We provide rationale in the body of this document for three overarching considerations while making decisions about the interval between campus sexual climate surveys:
- Large-scale surveys are but one critical data collection mechanism within an ecosystem of other important, related data collection activities. Other data collection efforts that are institution- and program-specific should be undertaken in an ongoing way. Such data collection efforts are in fact taking place on most campuses already. They might include surveys, counts of incident reports, assessment of programmatic interventions, focus groups, and other projects, which complement large, comprehensive surveys.
- An interval of once every four years for large-scale, comparative surveys will provide institutions the necessary time, flexibility, and resources to conduct other important data collection efforts, including the evaluation of practices and programs related to campus climate and sexual misconduct. Further, this four-year time frame will increase the likelihood of achieving:
- Valid comparison populations (new cohorts of college students in particular);
- High response rates;
- Time to draw on initial results to make changes on campus;
- Good cost/benefit ratio for using limited institutional resources (e.g., on surveying versus other ways to address sexual assault and misconduct);
- Sufficient lead-time to plan and implement an increasingly useful large-scale comparative
- Meaningful target metrics to understand the results of interventions.
- Peer institutions should work together to plan survey strategies and coordinate the use of shared, institutionally appropriate questions. Individual institutions must retain the ability to develop and ask only the survey questions that make sense for their own communities, but campuses should explore robust partnership across institutions. This type of collaboration allows for understanding of local prevalence rates and climate metrics within a broader context, helping immeasurably to interpret and act on results. We outline ways that institutions can work together to increase the power of the data they collect on their respective campuses.
An Ecosystem of Data Collection
Although large-scale surveys of prevalence rates should be viewed as an important step toward a full assessment of campus climate, they are too often treated as endpoints in culture change. This view obscures the importance of mixed assessment methods and risks hindering the campus culture change that these surveys are meant to spur.
A campus-wide, omnibus prevalence rate and climate survey can be a major precipitating force in a cycle of in-depth, systematic campus climate assessment. This type of survey is not, however, designed to measure program effectiveness directly. Nor is it suited to measure short-term changes in prevalence rates.
To maximize campus resources and the effectiveness of large-scale prevalence rate surveys, these surveys should dovetail with other data collection activities, many of which are taking place on campuses but perhaps not examined in coordination with larger efforts. For a set of issues as complicated as sexual assault and misconduct, it makes sense to triangulate, use descriptive metrics, regression analyses, qualitative summaries, and other tools to address different aspects of these problems.
All campuses have diverse data sources that are collected regularly and could be synthesized. But many campuses find it difficult to build robust, interconnected data practices that allow for systematic and relatively automated examination of trends around important metrics. Below, we give an example of how data collection regarding campus sexual misconduct could be organized to make the best use of campus resources. There are many types of data that can be collected and used, each with different attributes and collection timelines, but drawing largely on overlapping resources.
Benefits of the Ecosystem Approach
Taking an ecosystem approach on a sustained basis encourages a campus to coordinate data collection projects and synthesize the multiple types of data that result from a mix of institutional studies. In this way, it facilitates more effective use of institution-specific campus data and resources, as compared with pursuing only one type of data, or with collecting multiple types of data but viewing each type of data in isolation. Taken alone, any one of the types of studies represented below could give useful data to a campus. Used in combination, multiple research methods provide administrators access to actionable information about their campus climate that would not be accessible by means of any single data source.
Running a large-scale quantitative survey can give administrators access to a wealth of data, but the presence of high-quality quantitative data is not enough for an institution to understand the richer context of survey responses. For example, a campus could find in their data that students are not knowledgeable about where they should go for help if they experienced sexual misconduct on campus.
This is a valuable piece of information, but does not tell administrators why students felt uninformed about the institution’s resources. As a follow-up study, the school could run a separate, more qualitative study of campus culture, such as with focus groups that target particular groups of interest, to give administrators a better understanding of how they should address the gap in student knowledge they found in the initial quantitative survey.
As a result, administrators could find that students are aware of all of their options, but unsure of which one to contact first. Alternatively, they could find that students are confused about which campus resources to contact depending on the type of sexual misconduct they have experienced. Aligning multiple research methods in this way would give administrators better insight into where additional resources would be most effective in improving student awareness of campus resources.
An ecosystem approach also embraces simultaneous campus research projects geared toward understanding separate communities that might have very different concerns, for example, undergraduate versus graduate and professional students. The AAU aggregate survey data, for example, showed that, across institutions, undergraduates experienced various types of sexual misconduct at very different rates compared to graduate and professional students. And at some participating institutions, undergraduates and graduate/professional students responded most strongly to different aspects of the survey results. For example, undergraduates emphasized concern with sexual assault rates while graduate and professional students emphasized concern with sexual harassment by faculty. Different research initiatives would be required to delve further into these different areas of concern. It would be feasible to carry out such initiatives simultaneously, provided a collective effort to tailor campus resources to smaller-scale, coordinated projects.
As we have all observed, there are tradeoffs involved in decision-making about data collection. For example, if a survey is too long, response rates tend to go down. It is typically not advisable to ask students to fill out many open-ended, qualitative survey questions in addition to a long series of closed-ended survey items. The goals of gathering rich qualitative responses and banks of quantitative surveys, therefore, are likely to be better served if not combined. When they are combined, data quality can suffer.
Similarly, either quantitative or qualitative data collected using different methods may yield contradictory results. Indeed, given the complexity of the underlying issues involved, diverse results may be expected. An ecosystem approach will aid in making tradeoffs, and in the deeper understanding demanded by ongoing data collection to get at meaningful interpretations of initially contradictory findings.
If campuses come to a better understanding of how their existing and planned data sources are connected, it will enable an increasingly systemic, and therefore powerful, approach. While aspirational for most campuses, we believe this approach has the potential to benefit additional areas of campus life.
Just as schools increasingly perform data collection to study sexual misconduct, they also pursue data regarding a variety of topics that are of great interest to our communities and other bodies. These are topics such as cultural diversity, mental health, and academic support. In light of the variety of data sources that we ask students to contribute their time and energy to populating (e.g., by filling out surveys or participating in focus groups), it is increasingly important that administrators coordinate these varying data collection efforts within a campus. This will help to limit interference among simultaneous data activities and help to maximize campus resources.
Rationale for a Four-Year Cycle
The logic for a four-year interval between large-scale prevalence rate surveys has multiple, interrelated components. Even at the most well-resourced campuses, the steps required for a successful campus-wide prevalence rate survey take time: initial design, pilot test, finalize design, advertise survey, field survey, manipulate and analyze survey results, communicate findings to all stakeholders, utilize results to inform programs and practices. At a minimum, the process of preparing a campus for this type of survey takes well over a year. Even if a campus has a survey instrument available, survey administration is a lengthy process. Experienced institutional researchers suggest it takes two years to plan, administer, and analyze the results of a large survey like this, plus an additional 1-2 years to communicate results to all corners of a campus and work with stakeholders to determine how to use those results most effectively. In addition to significant time demands, there are substantial methodological, practical, and ethical considerations that justify an interval of four or more years between iterations of a large-scale campus prevalence rate survey.
Importance of having high response rates. Findings may not be representative of the campus community unless a large fraction of sample members participate. A high response rate is critical for allowing analysts to calculate statistically reliable estimates and drill into the data set for insights about the student experience. For example, some schools had such high response rates to their campus sexual climate surveys that analysts were able to generate prevalence rate estimates for demographic groups that are not typically well-represented in smaller samples (e.g., male students).
The significant efforts required to yield high response rates to a campus-wide survey would be virtually impossible to repeat on an annual or biannual basis. One solution to reconcile this reality with a desire or compliance-based need for more frequent campus climate surveys is to consider a sampling approach, in which a representative sample of students are invited to take the survey, as opposed to a census approach, in which all students are invited to take the survey. Some sexual assault and misconduct surveys have been designed for such a sampling approach. On the other hand, students on some campuses have argued against a sampling approach and advocated strongly for the census approach, on the grounds that all students should have the opportunity to voice their views and experiences regarding sexual assault and climate. In addition, institutions may want to analyze the relative pros and cons of census versus sampling methodologies on their campuses in terms of expense and time. Regardless of whether institutions adopt a sampling or census approach, ensuring representativeness is very important for interpretation of results. When using either approach, the methodological, practical, and ethical considerations discussed below are relevant.
Survey fatigue and completion of questions. Data quality suffers with increased survey frequency, typically because response rates become lower as survey populations become inundated with surveys and tire of participating in them. Frequent surveys stretch the goodwill of the student body to volunteer for surveys, whether participants are paid or not. Colleges and universities administer many different surveys per year, in addition to efforts to measure campus sexual climate. Survey fatigue can damage data quality across multiple topics an institution wishes to measure. For example, on some campuses, the administrative focus on the survey of sexual assault and misconduct was directly associated with a marked decrease in participation in other cyclical campus surveys, which those campuses relied on heavily for other aspects of their academic mission (e.g., measuring student satisfaction with academic advising resources). At those schools, high response rates and resultant high data quality on campus sexual climate surveys came at the cost of data quality – and therefore data-driven decision-making capability – in other topic areas.
Insufficient time to measure changes in target metrics. While prevalence rates might provide indirect evidence of the progress that a campus is making toward a healthier climate, that progress is unlikely to proceed fast enough to be registered annually or even biannually. Results can be difficult to interpret if insufficient time has elapsed for the designated metrics (i.e., prevalence and incidence rates) to change prior to re-measurement. Longer intervals between surveys make better use of campus resources as they are more likely to capture evidence of change as it occurs. Difficulties inherent to short intervals between measurements of prevalence rates are compounded by the fact that the personnel dedicated to administering these surveys are also frequently tasked with implementing programmatic changes in response to the survey results. Short intervals between surveys require personnel to shift focus back to running surveys, away from the hands-on work of improving campus education and responses to sexual misconduct. Externally-mandated annual or biannual surveys therefore could have the unintended consequence of cutting down or slowing an institution’s ability to create the culture change that these surveys are meant to promote.
Omnibus surveys not suited to program evaluation. Campus-wide prevalence rate surveys can inspire changes to campus programming, but these surveys are not effective tools to evaluate the resulting programs. As campuses devote resources to trying new approaches in sexual misconduct prevention and education, campus leaders need to know which initiatives are working and which are not. Large- scale surveys on their own will not provide campus leaders the information they need to deploy effective prevention and education strategies. If prevalence rate surveys must be run annually or biannually, campuses would likely need to devote resources to running those surveys that otherwise could have been used for program evaluation.
Resource trade-offs. Time is one of the most limited resources for members of college and university campuses. Quite simply, prioritizing one activity requires the de-prioritization of other activities on our campuses. For example, student involvement in launching sexual assault and climate surveys is critical in that student leaders tend to be more effective than administrators or faculty in encouraging campus participation. However, that effectiveness is costly to the student leaders and to the university, as promoting a survey removes those students from valuable alternative campus activities.
Similarly, it is all too likely that the same administrators tasked with creating and running campus education and response to sexual misconduct are also deeply involved in survey activities. We’ve seen that successful comprehensive surveys require a coordinated “all hands on deck” approach, for example at institutions with the highest response rates to large-scale comparative omnibus surveys. The impact of this resource dedication is broad and difficult to measure given that there are many important issues surrounding campus sexual climate to be addressed, including specific areas of education and reporting that are mandated by state and federal offices.
Finally, the administration of high-quality prevalence rate surveys is expensive. A successful survey or other assessment project requires significant staffing and resource allocation. For example, monetary incentives for survey participation are often used to increase campus response rates and in turn, increase the reliability of the data. The cost of survey incentives typically ranges from $5 to $25 per student. An institution with 20,000 undergraduates might choose to survey a representative sample of 6,000 students, translating to a cost of $30,000 to $150,000. This single line item can be a major expenditure for an institution, yet does not preclude the need for additional resource allocation to ensure a project’s success. These surveys must be approached in a way that is realistic given a school’s financial resources. Such projects must also be designed to be sustainable over time if they are to change practice and programming on the ground, operating in tandem with an institution’s ongoing support for extensive statistical reporting to the internal and external entities charged with tracking campus sexual misconduct education and response. For example, increasing the frequency of large- scale prevalence rate surveys could lead to redundancies with existing campus data efforts such as annual Clery Reports.
Frequent administration increases risk of adverse impact on students. Some students have expressed how difficult it is to answer questions about sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Answering such questions can trigger emotional reactions that interfere with an individual’s academic and personal wellbeing. Although there is a clear need to collect these data, it is worth considering how to do so in a way that minimizes the potential for adverse impact on students.
During the data collection period of large-scale surveys, administrators on some campuses heard from students who felt the survey was upsetting, suggesting that surveys of this type should be administered less frequently. Administrators also heard from students who expressed a desire for more frequent opportunities to share their perspectives with leaders on their campuses. One solution may be for campuses to implement standing online survey forms available to students annually or year-round, as a supplemental data collection mechanism in the interim between campus-wide survey efforts that occur every 4-5 years. In this way, students who would like to share their experience could choose to do so, students who would prefer not to be asked to take a survey may choose not to seek out the survey forms, and administrators would have a method to seek fairly continuous campus feedback without the substantial resource burden of undertaking a full campus-wide prevalence rate survey.
Responsibility to use data collected from students. We believe that students’ trust in their institutions and in higher education administration is an important cultural value. Such trust is built up over time and our experience is that it is furthered when students see that survey results are taken seriously and utilized. Conversely, student trust is diminished when such data use is not apparent. It takes time to sufficiently analyze, discuss results, and make cogent use of those results in ways that are visible to our communities.
Maximizing the Value of Large-Scale, Comparative Surveys
We have proposed some methodological, practical, and other considerations around the timing of large-scale surveys. We now turn to the question of how to maximize the comparative power of the data gathered by these instruments. Establishing the ability to compare datasets from different institutions is difficult, but there is widespread agreement among researchers that meaningful benchmarks are crucial to addressing sexual assault and misconduct at our institutions. As outlined in the Report on the AAU Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct:
Prior studies of campus sexual assault and misconduct have been implemented for a small number of IHEs [Institutions of Higher Education] or for a national sample of students with relatively small samples for any particular IHE. To date, comparisons across surveys have been problematic because of different methodologies and different definitions. The AAU study is one of the first to implement a uniform methodology across multiple IHEs and to produce statistically reliable estimates for each IHE.
The use of common methodologies and definitions allows for much clearer interpretation of the scope of sexual assault and misconduct. For example, the estimate that “1 in 4” or “1 in 5” female undergraduates have experienced sexual assault since entering college has been much discussed. To understand what the best estimate on a campus really is, and to understand whether prevalence rates change over time, consistent methods should be employed across iterations of a survey. Some critical survey features, such as the timeframe being measured and the sub-populations being compared, should be constructed the same way each time a large-scale survey is run.
This primary guideline regarding consistency of survey methods raises questions that institutions should discuss internally and with their peers in preparation for future campus prevalence rate surveys. For example, institutions should review the implications of a survey time-frame such as “since entering the institution” to determine whether it is valid to compare data between campuses that follow different academic calendars, or to compare prevalence rates that were gathered at different times of year (e.g., a survey run in early fall compared with a survey run in the late spring). Institutions might also find that they need to be able to customize substantial portions of a large-scale survey, in cases of questions that are most valuable because of their specificity to the campus rather than comparatively across campuses or over time (e.g., measuring student awareness about policies that exist at a single university). Although institutions might find value in collaborating on survey instruments, collaboration should occur solely at the discretion of the institution, to ensure that the entirety of a survey project is tuned to the specific needs and culture of the institution.
Benchmarking also benefits institutions by helping to build an audience for analysis. Being able to point to a meaningful comparison group can give great insight about data, but it can also help to foster campus interest in a school’s own results. At some schools, it was observed that campus stakeholders such as students, faculty, or other administrators, were particularly interested in data presentations that offered side-by-side comparisons between the home school and other similar institutions. Campus-wide interest helps generate campus-wide culture change.
Finally, harmonizing survey methods across campuses can benefit schools through the opportunity to pool data across campuses. This benefit is particularly relevant regarding data collected from smaller subgroups within our communities. For example, the AAU survey gave many schools their first window into the campus sexual climate experiences of students who do not identify on the gender binary. Because multiple schools administered the same questionnaire to students of all genders on their campuses, analysts were able to construct a meaningful aggregate data set, with enough data points to generate more statistically reliable prevalence rate estimates for students who identified outside the gender binary than any one school could have generated on its own.
Despite the potential benefits of comparison and collaboration, these goals should not take precedence over an institution’s ability to customize a survey to suit their community. Even among similar campuses, consideration should be given foremost to the unique needs of an individual institution.
Institutional Case Study, Spring 2016
New external mandates have given some institutions experience with annual prevalence rate surveys. For example, one private university in the Northeast recently completed its second of three annual iterations of the same prevalence rate survey of undergraduate and graduate students. Several of the concerns described above have affected the institution’s students and administrators as a direct result of repeating a survey on an annual schedule.
Recognizing the need to maintain a reasonably high response rate in the second cycle of their survey, the university pro- actively doubled their incentive budget and greatly augmented their communication plan with a very significant social media component that was broadcast on multiple platforms. While these efforts enabled the university to achieve a very respectable response rate of 47%, their response rate for year two was 5% below the result achieved in the first survey.
Some returning students, particularly those who feel they have no direct experience with sexual misconduct, have questioned the need to answer the same questions about their experiences with campus sexual misconduct that they answered last year. These concerns are echoed in the response rate, which lagged behind that of the first survey iteration despite the campus dedicating considerable additional resources to promoting the second survey.
Perhaps most worryingly, some students who have had personal experience with sexual misconduct have found the additional promotional materials and email reminders to be sources of emotional distress. These students acknowledged the importance of the survey—and were willing to deal with the stress of completing the first survey— but found the second administration one year later to be even more “highly stressful” and “anxiety-inducing” than the first administration.
Although the second survey provided an opportunity to follow-up on questions that emerged from the first survey, administrators found it challenging to design, test, and implement changes prior to fielding the second survey, and there is growing concern that rapidly repeated omnibus surveys may not be sustainable over the longer term.
The recent emphasis on using data to help campuses prevent and respond to sexual misconduct is an important part of any effort to foster a positive and respectful campus climate. Colleges and universities are increasingly motivated to administer large-scale surveys of campus sexual climate, but often neglect alternative means of campus climate assessment. We see large-scale, comprehensive prevalence rate surveys as powerful tools to employ toward those goals. However, these surveys have limits and should be employed as part of a broader effort to engage the campus community.
An omnibus survey can be a powerful opportunity for administrators to support their community and convey shared community values to a wide audience. But for the reasons outlined above, it is critical to consider the limitations and drawbacks of these surveys. Thorough review of the practicalities associated with large-scale prevalence rate surveys shows that these surveys may be administered every four years (i.e., once per undergraduate cohort) to gain maximum benefit from the data and avoid the drawbacks of overly frequent surveying.
Supporting a systematic “ecosystem” approach to campus data collection recognizes methodological limits and embraces the strengths of multiple types of data collection mechanisms. This approach is not a new idea or unique to the topic of campus sexual misconduct. It is consistent with a public health approach where large- scale surveys are typical tools among many others in a public health response to a complex issue. On a campus, as in other community settings, over-reliance on large-scale surveys risks a mismatch between the sheer amount of data collected and the quantity of directly useful analyses that can be translated into action.
To make the best use of increasingly limited resources in an area of critical campus action, we have suggested that institutions may be better served by aspiring to long-term coordination and synthesis of multiple data sources. Most of these data sources are tailored to the particular context of their institution and some allow for direct comparisons across institutions, without over-emphasizing any one data collection method. Through this approach, an institution can maximize its resources toward ongoing efforts to end campus sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Efforts based around mixed, institution-specific methods, together with peer benchmarking, are opportunities for colleges and universities to use all of the tools at their disposal toward evidence-based culture change. | <urn:uuid:1c9ea48a-3ade-4215-aebb-0959f6a50659> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.aau.edu/key-issues/moving-toward-data-ecosystem-assess-campus-responses-sexual-assault-and-misconduct | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572870.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817062258-20220817092258-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.943016 | 5,797 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across much of North America to the Atlantic Coast; cosmopolitan.
Habitat: Quiet streams and standing fresh water.
Growth Duration: Perennial
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Monoecious, fleshy, colonial perennials without stem or leaves, the plant a free-floating or submersed, oblong-elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate body 6-12 mm. long, with an equally-long, stalk-like base, the bodies tending to remain connected and forming large mats.
Plants rarely found in flower, reproducing vegetatively; flowers usually 3, 2 staminate and 1 pistillate, together in a marginal cleft of the body, the staminate a single stamen with a 2-celled anther, the pistillate a single carpel with a 1-celled ovary.
Fruit a utricle. | <urn:uuid:a52b733d-36a5-4103-a83f-ccbb9c06f3a8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Lemna%20trisulca | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.853714 | 226 | 2.171875 | 2 |
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey and Russia
share common attitudes in their foreign policies as a result of a “strategic perspective” that has put a stamp on the two countries’ recent ties, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
said during a meeting with Russia’s president yesterday.
“This strategic vision contributes to regional peace, wealth and stability and, in this respect, we place emphasis on our relations with Russia,” Erdoğan told a press conference in Istanbul yesterday after signing an agreement with Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
“Our multi-dimensional [agreement] on the Black Sea
Basin is the best example of the strategic perspective between the two countries,” Erdoğan said.
“Our goal is to reach $100 billion dollars [in mutual trade volume]. After reaching $35 billion this year, I believe that we will reach $100 billion and even exceed it,” Erdoğan said.
Putin also said they expected the trade volume to reach $100 billion in the upcoming years.
The prime minister said trade relations with Russia
had increased seven times since his party came to power, adding that Russia
was Turkey’s second largest trade partner. “Our trade volume was $30 billion in 2011 and has been $24 billion between January and September of 2013,” he said, expressing hope that it would reach $35 billion by the end of the year.
Turkish entrepreneurs have made investments of more than $10 billion in Russia, said Erdoğan.
He also said Turkish construction companies have taken on 1,400 projects worth $40 billion in Russia. Erdoğan also praised Russia’s $700 million capital flow to Turkey for the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project, but they are hoping to increase the figure to $800 million.
As part of the third Turkey-Russia High Level Cooperation Council, the pair signed the middle-term program of the improvement perspective for the period between 2012 and 2015, as well as 11 related agreements, Erdoğan said.
Both leaders also agreed to restore cemeteries for fallen soldiers.
After the lifting of visas last year, cultural and touristic ties are also expected to increase, Erdoğan said.
Speaking of common foreign policies with Russia, Erdoğan said he appreciated Moscow’s support for Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly and added that both Moscow and Ankara
wanted to see peace and stability restored in Syria. | <urn:uuid:9640a04c-d3fd-498e-ae68-6417e09e7c7b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/strategic-perspective-boosts-russia-relations.aspx?pageID=238&nID=36062&NewsCatID=338 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00519-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959134 | 514 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Distance from Ambah to Alipur
Distance from Ambāh to Alīpur is 256 kilometers. This air travel distance is equal to 159 miles.
The air travel (bird fly) shortest distance between Ambāh and Alīpur is 256 km= 159 miles.
If you travel with an airplane (which has average speed of 560 miles) from Ambah to Alipur, It takes 0.28 hours to arrive.
Ambah is located in India.
|GPS Coordinates (DMS)||26° 42´ 19.1160'' N |
78° 13´ 37.6320'' E
Ambāh Distances to Cities
|Distance from Ambah to Agra||57 km|
|Distance from Ambah to Ahraura||517 km|
|Distance from Ambah to Achhnera||70 km|
|Distance from Ambah to Abu Road||600 km|
|Distance from Ambah to Alipur||256 km|
Alipur is located in India.
|GPS Coordinates||28° 47´ 58.5960'' N |
77° 7´ 53.4360'' E
Alīpur Distances to Cities
|Distance from Alipur to Jaigaon||1,225 km|
|Distance from Alipur to Dumjor||1,308 km|
|Distance from Alipur to Aligarh||137 km|
|Distance from Alipur to Mandideep||635 km|
|Distance from Alipur to Airoli||1,148 km| | <urn:uuid:d17b7fa3-69f0-4509-8ba8-4898a860c70e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.distancefromto.net/distance-from-ambah-in-to-alipur-in | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721141.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00415-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.79698 | 335 | 1.5625 | 2 |
And if e ach and all be aware I sit content.
One world is aware, and by the far the largest to me, and that is myself,
And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait."
— Walt Whitman
This quote is the outpouring gem of a true mystic in the highest persuasion. A category goes beyond any labeling needs. I first came across this timeless poetic grandeur at my moment of personal crisis of some sort, and was having a loss of faith. I have always taken to heart the belief that howsoever rough this test of life turns out to be, it will nonetheless finds its course at the end.
However, at times even the most ardent faith that
one subscribes to will be put on the harshest test where the beacon of
one’s navigational point gets smitten into oblivion. After all, at the
deathbed of any man’s day of reckoning, to what can he grab hold of?
His money? His family? His fame? His faith? Or his pet dog? On the
final analysis, he has no one but himself, and nothing but his being.
Religion has always been a monopoly on men’s soul from time immemorial. The boogieman’s image hiding in the closet never ceases to startle a 6 year-old child East or West. Maybe in the Eastern part, it is the Moon God who comes whooshing down from the sky and chops a poor boy’s ear off whenever he has the urge to do the finger-pointing feat.
Somehow the Chinese moon has an irreconcilable difference with a 6 year-old‘s finger, notwithstanding the boy’s merits in private domain. At least in the West, Santa Claus’ checking list keeps track of who’s been naughty or nice. And he very seldom chops off little John or Mary’s precious little ears. However, that hellfire of “the God of the Old Testament,” and his end of days wrath merits no less of fear than the Chinese Moon.
It is often said that a man’s true purpose in life lies in finding a good pair of shoes that fit. However, when any old man hits the age of 60 or 70, and the footsteps of Grim Reaper near his front porch, it is hard not to entertain the idea of Armageddon.
For some strange reason this fear came knocking on my door much earlier in my case. It was the moment which I was at my wits’ end that Whitman’s timeless poetic piece drew my attention and bestowed upon me an epiphany-like moment of the soul. A true value of one's life should be derived from the realization of his intrinsic being rather than a book from 2,000 years old Levant god, or a 50-dollar per session on a shrink’s counseling couch.
Life is not hard, at least on its most fundamental level. Birds in the sky do not try to fly they just fly, and grass on the ground do not try to grow it just grows. However, on this planet, it is men alone who would attempt to conquer earth. Who device complicated, yet self-defeating, theories of what a good life should be, and painstakingly philosophize the meaning of the most obvious words like “food” while an ignoramus chimpanzee cheerfully chews away its ripen banana.
Who knows, maybe the overgrown, yet redundancy-producing, brain of human is part of the design of the universe. Its purpose is to make us first painfully climb the steep uphill of Mount Everest so that we could enjoy the slide at the far end. After all, it is the hand which dips in the freezing river that is able to feel the indescribable warmth even in the most lukewarm water, and life is that lukewarm water. | <urn:uuid:efb9385c-6d75-4d6f-863d-5d5c444c6dbc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://accrcw75.pixnet.net/blog/post/2621491-i-exist-as-i-am---%28on-whitman%27s-wits%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00328-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948476 | 834 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The plot of Mating is much like that of an Elizabethan tragedy. An opening section, “Guilty Repose,” reveals a narrator caught in a “caesura,” as she calls it, a period of panic in the fall of 1980 when she finds herself turning thirty-two in Botswana with a dead dissertation topic on her hands. The plot thickens in the next two sections, “The Solar Democrat” and “My Expedition,” when she meets the world-famous utopian socialist Nelson Denoon and vows to track him to the colony he has established for distressed women in the Kalahari Desert. In the next three sections—“Tsau,” “Acquisitive Love,” and “Love Itself”—the narrator and Denoon act out their desert idyll before their story unravels in a final African chapter, “Strife.” In a brief commentary, “About the Foregoing,” the narrator reflects on it all from the distant vantage point of Palo Alto, California.
The narrator had hoped to show in her Stanford doctoral thesis that fertility among “remote dwellers” varies from season to season depending on what the gatherers can find, but she has learned that there are no gatherers in Botswana; people everywhere are eating canned food and breakfast cereal or handouts from the World Food Program. As a result, she retreats to the capital, Gabarone, where she socializes with the local expatriates and works her way through affairs with several men who offer her nothing permanently satisfying. From the last of these, Z, a spy for the British High Commission, she learns of Sekopololo (“The Key”), a project to create an entire new village in the north-central Kalahari Desert. What especially excites her about this project is that it is run by Nelson Denoon, a legendary social scientist.
She soon meets Denoon at a reception; the great man’s wife, Grace, approaches in some distress and guides her to a room where Denoon, the author of Development and the Death of Villages, is holding forth on his own version of socialism. Grace explains that her marriage to Denoon has soured and that she has identified the narrator as her successor. The charismatic Denoon’s dialogue with one of the local Marxist intellectuals is so spellbinding that the narrator pressures Grace into revealing the location of Tsau, the new utopian settlement. The journey to Tsau is...
(The entire section is 952 words.) | <urn:uuid:dd45dbb2-4ab0-4811-9ef2-5fd9dade9033> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.enotes.com/topics/mating | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00438-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955826 | 541 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Handa's Surprise Fruit Tasting
We tasted a range of fruits linking to our writing lessons.
In our writing lessons we have been focusing on the story 'Handa's Surprise'. We tried a range of fruits including melon, blueberries, lemon and limes. The children described the nouns using adjectives. We had such a good time! | <urn:uuid:ae135943-6a3f-4a6d-9ace-dab0a8b7c10c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.brimscombe.gloucs.sch.uk/blog/?pid=90&nid=18&storyid=926 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570692.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807181008-20220807211008-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.938434 | 73 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Using the A3 Management Process to Solve Problems, Gain Agreement, Mentor and Lead
Toyota insider John Shook invites you to be a detective, artist and business analyst with this crisp text that unfolds A3 management thinking in an illustrated narrative. Whether you regard A3 as a process, a methodology or simply the creative use of a large piece of paper, Shook pulls you into rigorous problem solving. This serious process that helps many companies shine in manufacturing excellence lets you, in part, feel like a five-year-old again as you dig deeper and keep asking “Why? Why? Why?” until you hit the “root cause” of your business problem. getAbstract recommends Shook’s easily applied (if you think about your results as you work through it) manual to all engineers, managers, mentors and total quality coaches seeking to understand problem solving through a lean-manufacturing lens.
- A3 is a process that helps you innovate, plan and solve problems.
- The A3 approach provides a template for “standardized storytelling.” First, you must find a concise way to describe your story’s problem.
- Find “the problem beneath the problem,” even if that involves investigating again.
- “Going to the gemba” means going to the physical place where you can show and specify your problem.
- Use the “Five Whys” examination practice to dig for the real “root cause” of an issue.
- Create a set of “countermeasures” rather than embrace quick-fix solutions.
- Nourish the “nemawashi” by preparing the ground before planting new ideas in your organization.
- Use the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” (PDCA) cycle to drive your A3 process.
- When assigning project timelines, consider “Just-In-Time Decision Making.”
- Throughout your A3 process, practice “hansei,” the Japanese term for “self-reflection.”
“What Is an A3?”
Consider a piece of paper 11 inches long and 17 inches wide – this is the international paper size known as A3. When lean companies like Toyota discuss A3s, they mean using an A3 sheet of paper as a tool to help them work through concrete manufacturing issues. The A3 management approach utilizes this larger-size paper format to standardize how a company innovates, plans and solves problems. An A3 is a piece of paper, a methodology and a process – all at the same time.
“A story is more than lifeless data to prove a point. It brings the facts and the total reality of the condition to life so the reader can understand and debate the true nature of the situation.”
The idea behind an A3 problem-solving process is that you can capture whatever difficulty you face in business on a single piece of paper. You can then discuss it with others as a shared problem, find a solution together, implement that solution and evaluate your success. Every A3 process follows a specific structure made up of these essential components:
- “Title”– How can you best label the problem at hand?
- “Background”– What is the problem’s context?
- “Current conditions” – What do you already know about the problem?
- “Goals” and “targets”– What outcomes do you strive for?
- “Analysis”– What led to the problem?
- “Proposed countermeasures”– What suggested activities will you pursue to reach your desired outcomes?
- “Plan”– In your view, who should do what?
- “Follow up”– When will you review your A3 process?
“The A3 is the instrument enabling the right decision at the right time.”
Designate an “owner” of the problem being investigated – perhaps you, if you are preparing the A3 – and show the dates of the A3’s creation and revisions. Note that your A3 resembles a résumé, and though every résumé includes similar elements, each one may look different in presentation. The same is true for your A3 creation, where you follow a logical process of problem identification and resolution, using your own words and the style and layout that best represent the problem at hand. Your only limit is the 11-by-17-inch, blank A3 piece of paper.
Identify the Problem
Think of your A3 as a template for “standardized storytelling.” Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end – told in that order. Start with the title and find a concise way to describe the specific problem. Make sure your story is easy to follow. If you are not clear about how to define the problem you are trying to resolve, the remainder of your A3 story will be hard to comprehend. A famous adage reveals the fundamental, driving truth of the A3 process: “A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” Think about what you, as the A3 owner, want to talk about in your story. Spend time at the beginning of the process on your title and the definition of the problem. Seeing the problem with clarity and describing it concisely are the lynchpins of a successful A3 process. If your words on paper don’t clearly state the problem, try again.
“Like any narrative tale, an A3 shares a complete story.”
Consider the problem’s background: What is its wider context, and why do you need to solve precisely this problem? Don’t just write that you have, for example, “massive technical requirements” in your business. Be specific: Quantify the scale, scope and importance of these issues. When you draft the current conditions, challenge yourself about how much you really know about the problem. If you need to learn more, do the necessary research.
“Like homicide detectives who refer to cases as ‘closed’…rather than ‘solved,’ A3 owners seek countermeasures to problems instead of permanent solutions.”
You are now in the process of discovery. To capture the situation fully, go to the problem’s main physical location, or its “gemba” in Japanese. The gemba can be the manufacturing shop floor, a colleague’s office or a hospital unit – the actual, physical locus of the problem, which might be any place in your organization where people work and create value for customers. “Going to the gemba” and asking questions helps you discover what is really going on. Exploring the gemba enables you to gather detail on your company’s work methods directly from the people who perform the jobs. Going to the gemba also helps you look beyond the “presenting problem” so you can go back and continue writing your story.
Find the “Root Cause”
As you work on the goals and analysis sections of your A3, you may risk confusing problem symptoms, root causes and possible solutions. Be wary of jumping to the fastest way to solve the problem. Instead, break it down further until you truly understand what causes the issue.
“Real improvement only can take place when there is a front-line focus based on direct observation of current conditions where work is done.”
Some problems are messier than they first seem, but even so, you can use A3 techniques and principles to structure your “investigative process.” Think of this process as a funnel. Start with your perception of the presenting problem. Next, ask what the pain points are in your organization. Find out how these pain points affect the performance of your business. Clarifying performance issues brings you closer to the “real problem.” Now that you have more direct data available from visiting the gemba, analyze the data using “Five Whys.”
Five Whys is a root-cause examination tool. Ask the simple question “why” over and over in response to every answer or procedure you discover. This helps you dig deep enough to find the source of the problem. This practice is fundamental to the Toyota Production System. It provides the scientific basis of the process of discovery. Imagine that a production machine stops running. What are the Five Whys you can ask to help discover the root cause of the problem?
- Question: Why did the production unit cease running? Answer: The machine indicated an “overload.”
- Question: Why did the machine have an overload? Answer: Some parts of the machine did not have sufficient oil.
- Question: Why did the parts not have sufficient oil? Answer: The oil pump was not working well.
- Question: Why was the pump not working well? Answer: Parts of the pump were worn and were making short, sharp knocking sounds.
- Question: Why were the pump parts making short, sharp knocking sounds? Answer: No filter was attached to the pump’s opening and some metal parts must have fallen in.
“Lean management is neither a simple top-down nor bottom-up process. Rather, it is a dynamic system in which processes are well-defined and individual responsibility is clear.”
Asking “why” five times enables you and your teams to focus on the underlying causes of a problem instead of dealing only with its symptoms. Your task is to find “the problem beneath the problem,” even if that means going back to the gemba, gathering more information and revising your A3 multiple times.
How do countermeasures and solutions differ? Countermeasures are designed to close the gap between the current state of your issue and the goals you want to achieve by solving it permanently. Solutions are “temporary responses to specific problems that will serve until a better approach is found or conditions change.”
“Once a countermeasure is in place, it will create a new situation, with its own set of problems that will require their own countermeasures.”
As an A3 owner, your goal is to find countermeasures rather than solutions. The process of finding countermeasures involves coming up with different ways your proposed actions will address the existing problem. Going through this iterative cycle between problem, root cause and countermeasures might frustrate you at first, but this is part of the philosophy of going back and modifying continually while never prematurely jumping to conclusions.
“Simply clarifying what we mean when we say ‘problem’ can be powerful.”
You can involve others in the process of proposing countermeasures. Go back to the gemba and talk to people who can help you identify the problem and find the root cause. Gathering new ideas and creating involvement is crucial for implementing countermeasures later. The Japanese term “nemawashi” describes just that, the step of “preparing the ground for planting.” Without consensus, you can’t implement countermeasures. Without nemawashi, no seed of change can sprout, develop and grow. Involve your colleagues in the A3 process so the decision to implement change will grow naturally and accelerate decision making about implementation.
Make a “Plan and Follow Up”
The “Plan, Do, Check, Act” (PDCA) cycle drives your A3 process. All four activities are important when deciding the “who,” the “what” and the “when” of your implementation plan. A “Gantt chart” helps you depict your plan by specifying deliverables, dependencies and the duration of each action. Identify who is responsible and who reviews each activity’s progress. Consider what might go wrong, and add those probabilities to your plan.
“Critical to successful implementation of the Toyota Production System is a simple tool commonly referred to as ‘Five Whys’.”
Agree on the allocation of responsibilities within your team. No one wants to take on a new assignment unexpectedly. Going back to the gemba, even at this point in the process, helps your team members contribute their insights before you finalize the plan. By now, you should be accustomed to going back and forth and revising the plan with your colleagues on the spot. This iteration is key to the A3 process and to discovering the correct countermeasures.
“In companies whose thinking is informed by the A3 process, managers at every level make the right decision only when it is exactly the right time to do so.”
When you assign timing targets, consider “Just-In-Time Decision Making” as an alternative to staggered decision deadlines. Trigger individual decision making when the time is right. Assess all decision-making options and concentrate your team discussion on the facts at hand. Your A3 template and process will help you make decisions when you should.
Develop “A3 Thinkers”
Your A3 template may be finished – but you are not. Implementing your countermeasures and putting your plan into action means continuously reviewing your PDCA cycle with your team. Reviewing your work regularly ensures that your team members have the opportunity to become familiar with A3 thinking. Developing team members is one of your main goals as an A3 owner.
“Authority is pulled to where it is needed when it is needed: on-demand, just-in-time, pull-based authority.”
Rather than exercising top-down authority, engage each team member at each level of the organization. Make sure all your team members know what they are responsible for and that they feel their sense of ownership over part of the process. Be available for two-way discussion when they ask for input. Root your interaction in “pull-based authority” – an A3 process principle. Another principle is to practice “hansei,” a Japanese word that means “self-reflection.” Set up hansei meetings when your project hits major milestones and when it is about to conclude. Regularly hold less formal hansei sessions with your team members to develop your and their capacity to reflect critically on pending actions, and to prevent repetition of the same mistakes. Hansei resembles the “After Action Review” you find in many US organizations.
“Understanding any problem is the first step to improvement and, theoretically, resolving it.”
Once you learn the A3 format and template, wipe them out of your memory. You now know and understand the philosophy. Your blank A3 sheet of paper becomes your constant companion.
Case History: A3 at “Acme Manufacturing”
Ken Sanderson is the US site manager of Acme Manufacturing, the American subsidiary of a Japanese manufacturing company. Acme plans to expand its factory to its increase output capacity. Ken assigns his direct report, Desi Porter, to manage the project using the A3 process. Porter is new to this method, so his learning develops as the project unfolds.
“Mistakes happen – celebrate finding them.”
Porter tries to get everything right the first time and, naturally, he fails. As you consider the development of his thinking, notice how he passes through “three key stages of awareness”:
- Porter starts with suggesting premature solutions– He feels pressured by the urgency of the factory expansion, Porter does not allow enough thinking time for himself or his team. He feels emotionally attached to his premature solution.
- Sanderson teaches Porter to be an “investigator” rather than a “problem solver”– Porter realizes he can learn much more about the situation if he goes to the gemba and lets the “needs and facts of the situation speak for themselves.”
- Porter discovers how to champion the implementation– Porter becomes an “entrepreneurial owner” of his A3 proposal and his project. Sanderson shows Porter how “to solve problems, gain agreement, mentor and lead” using the A3 strategy.
About the Author
An industrial anthropologist who focuses on lean production principles, John Shook is a former manager at Toyota. | <urn:uuid:70e55aef-5193-45c6-910d-2bbea9112947> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://moonz-light.com/managing-to-learn/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570692.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807181008-20220807211008-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.938626 | 3,447 | 2.78125 | 3 |
How to Create and Use Hyper-V Checkpoints in Windows 10
NoteCheckpoint is a powerful Hyper-V feature to easily undo all changes on a virtual machine. You can play with virtual machines testing apps, changing settings, editing registry and so on as if "sandboxing" and when needed, discard all changes and restore an earlier Checkpoint in a few clicks and seconds.
A standard checkpoint stores virtual machine state exactly as it is (see Part Three in this tutorial for difference between a production and a standard checkpoint). Whereas a Windows Restore Point only stores and restores the Windows system state but does not store the app state and restore or remove user files, a standard Hyper-V checkpoint stores and restores the complete system including app state and user files. A checkpoint can rather be compared with a system image than a restore point although even that comparison is not accurate.
You can create as many Checkpoints as you want to. Creating a checkpoint only takes a few seconds. Testing for instance sysprepping Windows 10 Technical Preview in Audit Mode you can create a checkpoint before entering the Audit Mode after installation has finished and Windows boots to OOBE / Welcome Mode, second checkpoint when signed in as built-in administrator in Audit Mode and third before sysprepping with your answer file. Now when something does not work as you'd expected, simply return to any of your earlier checkpoints instead of starting from scratch.
In this tutorial we will create checkpoints and apply (restore) them.
For this tutorial you will need Hyper-V enabled and setup as told in this tutorial, and at least one working virtual machine.
Part One: Create a Checkpoint
Part Two: Apply (restore) a checkpoint
Part Three: Checkpoint settings
Part OneCreate a Checkpoint
1.1) Checkpoints can be created in Hyper-V Manager from Action menu (#1) or from context (right click) menu (#2). Select a vm first, then create a checkpoint for that vm. The vm don't have to be running, you can create a checkpoint also when the vm is turned off:
A checkpoint can also be created from Action menu in Virtual Machine Connection > Action menu:
1.2) When you select Checkpoint in Action or Context menus as told in 1.1 Hyper-V asks if you want to rename the checkpoint (default name vm_name_date&time). Name the checkpoint as you wish, click Yes (No for default name):
1.3) The progress can be seen in status bar of Virtual Machine Connection:
1.4) When checkpoint is created click OK:
1.5) You can see all your checkpoints in Hyper-V Manager. Select a vm to see its checkpoints, Now is the current state:
Part 2Apply (restore) a checkpoint
2.1) To revert (restore) to last checkpoint created directly from Virtual Machine Connection, select Action > Revert:
2.2) Confirm the operation:
2.3) To apply any existing checkpoint, select your vm in Hyper-V Manager and double click a checkpoint, alternatively right click a checkpoint and select Apply:
2.4) The selected checkpoint will now be applied and vm turned off. Hyper-V notifies you of success (#1), start (boot) the vm to checkpoint you had selected by clicking the Start button (#2):
Part 3Checkpoint settings
3.1) In vm settings you can select what type of checkpoints you will use:
- Production checkpoints
- A Production Checkpoint stores the machine state but considers all apps being closed; if you have let's say an Excel workbook open but you have not saved your work, applying this checkpoint will restore the state of the vm as it was when you had saved your work last time. When a production checkpoint is applied Windows boots as in cold boot, to Welcome screen and empty desktop after sign in with no running apps.
- Standard checkpoints
- A Standard Checkpoint stores the machine state with app state; all open apps and unsaved work will be saved in checkpoint, if you have PowerPoint with an unsaved presentation open when checkpoint is created, it will be open and and your unsaved work there when the checkpoint is applied. This causes a minor security risk, though: as a standard checkpoint when applied bypasses Welcome / Sign In and enters directly to desktop as it was when checkpoint was saved, anyone having access to your vm can see your files and use your access rights.
3.2) The location of checkpoints (highlighted in above screenshot) can only be changed when the vm in question has no checkpoints. When the first checkpoint is created and saved, you can no longer change the location of checkpoints of that vm.
That's about it! Do not hesitate to post your questions and concerns in this thread.
- How to Setup and Use Hyper-V in Windows 10 for OS Virtualization
- How to Create VHD of Windows 10 Installation and Use in Hyper-V | <urn:uuid:7d91a7a9-3725-49d8-ae6c-c883e39e91f7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2229-hyper-v-checkpoints-create-use-windows-10-a.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00391-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912178 | 1,025 | 2.25 | 2 |
Doctors aren’t sure when or where a 20-year-old Temecula woman came in contact with a rare and deadly amoeba.
It wasn’t obvious at first that the parasite was responsible for Koral Reef Meister’s sudden and worsening head and neck pain, fatigue and nausea.
In June, emergency room doctors thought the symptoms might be from meningitis or a side effect of Meister going off birth control pills.
Over the next several months, Meister’s vision blurred and doubled, her right side grew weak. She turned moody and emotional.
A brain scan in September showed a mass that looked like cancer. But a biopsy revealed a lesser-known assailant: Balamuthia mandrillaris.
The parasite has been found in soil and dust and may also live in water, experts say.
“They told us there is no real treatment for this,” said Corey Pier, who had married Meister, his high school sweetheart, in July 2013, about two months before her symptoms began.
“I broke down and I was freaking out. I didn’t want to tell her. She wouldn’t remember anyway. She was there, but she wasn’t there. It was just eating away at her brain,” he said.
Meister’s family is convinced she contracted the amoeba during a May 2013 boating trip to Lake Havasu, to celebrate her birthday. She, Pier and her mother, Sybil Meister, joined friends for the weekend, jumping into the water and floating on inner tubes around London Bridge and Steamboat Cove.
The lake was the source of a different amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, that killed a teenage boy in 2007. But Lake Havasu City and Mohave County officials said there have been no known occurrences of Balamuthia mandrillaris there.
The long incubation period makes it hard to pinpoint where the amoeba came from, said Jonathan Yoder, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control.
Balamuthia mandrillaris is the same organism that killed a Murrieta fire captain in 2008. Matt Moore, 43, was thought to have come in contact with the pathogen while fighting wildfires. It took three months for doctors to diagnose his illness.
For Meister, the decline was rapid. Within weeks of her diagnosis, she was paralyzed on one side. She could no longer breathe on her own. Eventually, she stopped responding to her loved ones.
Doctors gave her an investigational drug, Miltefosine, which has shown some promise in treating infections caused by the amoeba. But it was too late.
Meister died Oct. 20.
Her husband and mother remember her as a health-conscious homebody and hardcore New England Patriots fan. She was funny and upbeat, and helped her mother every day at the family restaurant, El Burrito in Colton.
Sybil Meister is working to increase awareness of naturally occurring amoebas through her Facebook page, Team Koral Reef. She wants to make Balamuthia infections reportable to public health officials and wants signs posted around lakes to warn people of the risks.
More than 200 Balamuthia cases have been identified worldwide since 1993, according to the CDC. At least 70 of those were reported in the United States, primarily among children and those with compromised immune systems.
In California, 12 cases were reported between 1990 and 2011; all but three of them were fatal.
The amoeba was believed to be harmless to mammals until it was discovered in a mandrill – an animal similar to a baboon – that died in 1986 at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, now known as the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
The organism infects humans by entering the body through a wound or by being inhaled. It makes its way to the central nervous system, where it targets the brain.
Monitoring under a now-discontinued state encephalitis program found the amoeba in soil in a flowerpot at the home of an infected child; another victim had been motorcycling in the desert.
A disproportionate number of infections were in young Latino males, but researchers don’t know why, according to state health department documents. Infections also appear more common in warmer climates such as Southern California. The amoeba is not spread from person to person.
In the cases of Meister and Moore, the firefighter, it took brain biopsies to pinpoint the parasite. Frequently, the infection is not discovered until the person has died.
Health experts say Balamuthia infections are probably underdiagnosed because doctors often do not recognize the symptoms.
“It’s so rare, it’s nothing we can protect against or be hugely concerned about in our daily lives,” said Dr. Sharon Reed, a pathologist at UC San Diego Medical Center who worked on Meister’s case.
In 2007, the Lake Havasu City Council approved the posting of general warning signs about water safety after 14-year-old Aaron Evans died from an infection caused by Naegleria fowleri. That amoeba is commonly found in warm fresh water and soil and usually enters the body through the nose.
The boys’ family sued the city, but the lawsuit was later dropped.
A similar case occurred in 2008, when 9-year-old Josue Montes of Lake Elsinore died from a Naegleria fowleri infection. His family filed a $1.3 million claim against the city of Lake Elsinore and Riverside County because Josue swam in the lake several times before his death.
The city denied the Monteses’ claim and City Manager Grant Yates said there was no record of a lawsuit being filed. Public health officials said it was impossible to confirm the lake as the source of the amoeba.
In Lake Havasu City, eight signs were placed where there is direct public access to the lake, including the boat launch and the bathroom at London Bridge beach, said Charlie Cassens, the general manager.
The signs tell swimmers to wear nose clips, avoid inhaling water and immediately wash cuts and scrapes with soap and clean water, but they do not state that illnesses caused by water-borne amoeba are fatal.
Sybil Meister said she and her family never saw a sign during their visit. After viewing a picture of the signs later, she said they are inadequate.
“That sign makes the amoeba out to be some cute little fish that may cause a rash. Who’s going to read that sign and think the amoeba is deadly?” Sybil Meister said. “That doesn’t scream danger. That screams ‘Have fun but be careful because there may be some amoeba in the lake that may be dangerous.’ It should read ‘Swim at your own risk.”
Had Koral been warned of the risk, she never would have gone in the water because she was so cautious, her mother said.
There are no warnings at the other place Meister and her family visited on the lake, Steamboat Cove, which is controlled by Mohave County.
Cassens said the chance of fatal exposure is one in 100 million. Rather than trying to ensure that every visitor to the 30-square-mile lake sees a warning sign, it’s more effective to educate the public to potential risks through brochures that are available around the lake and city.
“To get signs up every place where people are using this entire waterway is just not practical,” he said.
Contact the writer: email@example.com or 951-368-9586 | <urn:uuid:2aaaf396-ef21-44a9-b44f-2dcd24425ad0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.pe.com/2014/12/08/health-a-tragic-death-a-medical-mystery/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572021.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814083156-20220814113156-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.974358 | 1,643 | 2.21875 | 2 |
did they get here?
Roy Caldwell (center, back
row) and the rest of the research team have different skills and
interests, and came together on this mission by following different
paths. There are many areas of biology where scientists are
making new discoveries, and there are many questions still unanswered.
Science is always building on what was learned before, by establishing
new hypotheses. Often, new hypotheses are developed after a chance
observation, and because of this, scientists must be open to novel
Back row, from left: Tom Cronin is Professor
of Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County and studies adaptations of visual systems to natural environments.
Nerina Holden graduated from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh,
Scotland, with a Master's in Marine Resources and now works for
the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. She has dived around
the world with Roy and Tom for nearly a decade. Roy Caldwell,
the principal investigator, is Professor of Integrative Biology
at UC Berkeley and has studied the behavioral ecology of stomatopods
since 1965. Pam Jutte is a marine scientist with the South
Carolina Department of Natural Resources and studied stomatopods
in graduate school with Roy. Mark Erdmann also studied stomatopods
at Berkeley with Roy, and now works to protect Indonesia's coral
Front row, from left: Alex Cheroske is a doctoral
student of Tom Cronin's studying the visual ecology of stomatopods,
including polarized signaling. Karla Heidelberg is a research
associate at the University of Maryland, College Park, and studies
coral and jellyfish feeding ecology. On this mission she evaluated
zooplankton abundance, including that of larval stomatopods. Helen
Fox is one of Roy's current graduate students and studies coral
reefs damaged by bomb fishing in Indonesia.
Read more detailed
stories about the research team in the Aquarius mission archives! | <urn:uuid:405fcfdd-feda-4868-9301-419e08aea59c> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/aquarius/scientists.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719273.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00064-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936075 | 419 | 2.796875 | 3 |
2103 » How do I crash Windows 2000 with a few key strokes?
Sometimes, a Memory.dmp is helpful.
If you want to be able to create one with a few keystrokes:
1. Put a lock on your office door.
2. Navigate to:
3. On the Edit menu, Add Value name CrashOnCtrlScroll, as a type
REG_DWORD. A data value of 1 enables this feature. A missing Value Name,
or a data value of 0, disables it.
4. Shutdown and restart your computer.
To crash your system, with:
*** STOP: 0x000000E2 (0x00000000,0x00000000,0x00000000,0x00000000)
The end-user manually generated the crashdump.
1. Hold down the right hand Ctrl key.
2. Press the ScrLk twice. | <urn:uuid:618b870a-ec8d-46f8-8f17-804dcebca555> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.style.at/contator/style/forum.asp?nid=279 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720972.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00252-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.664246 | 188 | 2.421875 | 2 |
As the age of austerity bites harder and deeper than many anticipated, it is little wonder that Ken Loach's new film The Spirit of '45, charting the great post-war social advances, strikes a powerful chord. Yet the promise of opportunity, dignity, health and work, fulfilled by Labour's welfare state after 1945, is not to be one that we can look to today's Labour party for. Yet contemporary Britain – and beyond – is precisely where such policies are needed.
Austerity is wreaking economic catastrophe on Europe, most recently on the people of Cyprus, but George Osborne is still following the same disastrous policies. Last week's budget came as no surprise: Osborne announced yet more spending cuts and extended the public sector's pay rise cap, amounting to a real terms pay cut. He's digging us even further into an economic hole, as the Office for Budget Responsibility's revised output forecast shows – from a predicted 1.2% growth down to 0.6%. That sounds like further decline, not the promised growth, and ordinary people are paying the price. The virulence of the government's economic attacks knows no bounds: Atos, workfare, council tax, the bedroom tax – punitive policies against the most vulnerable in society.
Judged by its own stated goals, government policy isn't working – borrowing will be around £61.5bn higher than planned. Of course the reality is that austerity policies are actually designed to dismantle the welfare state, bring down wages and fully marketise the economy, destroying all the social and economic gains of ordinary people since the second world war. So from the government point of view the policies are working.
Across society, there is an increasing understanding of the government's real agenda and as a result, opposition is mounting and economic alternatives are being discussed. Only last week, the Guardian published a letter from over 60 economists, warning that the worst was yet to come with 80% of the cuts still ahead of us.
Yet while economic alternatives are articulated, where can we turn politically to see these expressed as party policy? Who is on our side, to fight for an alternative? In the past many expected the Labour party to stand for us, and with us, but no longer. Workfare? Last week Labour abstained on the vote and now the government can work over quarter of a million jobseekers. Bedroom tax? Would a Labour government repeal it?
We need policies that reject Tory cuts, regenerate the economy and improve the lives of ordinary people. We are not getting this from Labour. There is no doubt that some of Labour's past achievements have been remarkable – the welfare state, the NHS; a redistributive economy making unprecedented levels of health and education possible. But such achievements are in the past. Now Labour embraces cuts and privatisation and is dismantling its own great work. Labour has failed us. Nothing shows the contrast more clearly than The Spirit of '45.
Labour is not alone in its shift rightwards and its embrace of neoliberal economic policies. Its sister parties across Europe have taken the same path over the past two decades. Yet elsewhere in Europe, new parties and coalitions – such as Syriza in Greece or Die Linke in Germany – have begun to fill the left space, offering an alternative political, social and economic vision. The anomaly which leaves Britain without a left political alternative – one defending the welfare state, investing for jobs, homes and education, transforming our economy – has to end. For this reason we are calling on people to join the discussion on forming a new party of the left – you can find out more about our appeal here. The working class cannot remain without political representation, without defence, when all its victories and advances are being destroyed. | <urn:uuid:6a2626fb-1ec7-4855-a287-916c7cf729f8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/25/labour-party-left | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.955887 | 755 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Albert Bruce Sabin (August 26, 1906 – March 3, 1993) was an American medical researcher best known for having developed an oral polio vaccine.
Sabin was born in Białystok, Russia (now Poland), to Jewish parents, Jacob and Tillie Saperstein. In 1921 he immigrated with his family to America. In 1930 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States and changed his name to Sabin.
Sabin received a medical degree from New York University in 1931. He trained in internal medicine, pathology and surgery at Bellevue Hospital in New York City from 1931-1933. In 1934 he conducted research at The Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine in England, then joined the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller University). During this time he developed an intense interest in research, especially in the area of infectious diseases. In 1939 he moved to Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. During World War II he was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and helped develop a vaccine against Japanese encephalitis. Maintaining his association with Children's Hospital, by 1946 he had also become the head of Pediatric Research at the University of Cincinnati. At Cincinnati's Children's Hospital, Sabin supervised the fellowship of Robert M. Chanock, whom he called his "star scientific son." | <urn:uuid:76b4145c-d428-475b-8d22-92edb67d4e59> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.upi.com/topic/Albert_Sabin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00309-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976608 | 276 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, tangerines, clementines – all these citrus fruits are here with us in abundance from Christmas until springtime, as if to say, “We help you survive!”
Indeed, citrus fruits are essential. They put sizzle on our taste buds, add a sparkle to recipes reminiscent of their sunny homelands and each fruit packs a powerful punch of nutrition. They are rich in vitamin C, A and fibre with no fat.
Celebrate the sensational zest of citrus at every meal with these recipes.
An ideal entertaining dish with the seductive flavours of lemon, orange, sherry and marmalade. For ease, preparation can be done in advance with the pork served hot or at room temperature. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts could substitute for the pork tenderloin.
2 12 oz (375) g pork tenderloin
2 tbsp (25 mL) each, Dijon mustard and orange marmalade
2-4 slices side bacon
1 cup (250 mL) orange juice
1/2 cup (125 mL) each, dry sherry and fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup (50 mL) orange marmalade
1 tbsp (15 mL) each, grated ginger root, grated lemon and orange rinds
1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
1 bay leaf
1 tsp (5 mL) marjoram
Trim pork tenderloins if necessary then slice them Close pork tenderloin and wrap each spiral-fashion with bacon. Arrange pork in a baking pan sprayed with baking spray and cover. Bake at 350°F (180°C) 25 to 35 minutes or until pork reaches 165°F (75°C) and is pale pink inside.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium high heat, whisk together orange juice, sherry, lemon juice, marmalade, ginger root, lemon and orange rinds, mustard, bay leaf and marjoram. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered until sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Set aside. Once pork is cooked, tent with foil five to 10 minutes, then slice on the diagonal about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Add pan juices to the sauce and bring to boil. Drizzle sauce over sliced pork; serve extra sauce in a jug. Serves four generously.
This recipe may take two guises, one sweet, the other savory. Whichever version you choose, this is the best time of year to make it simply because seedless navel oranges are at their sweet best. Be sure to save all the peels to transform into candy.
6 navel oranges
orange flower water
extra virgin olive oil
thin slices of red onion
thin slices of orange peel
Using a sharp knife, cut off both ends of the orange and remove. Placing on the flat side and working from top to bottom, cut off the peel from the orange; remove all including the white pith. Continue around the orange to remove all the skin. Slice the orange horizontally into quarter inch (6 mm) slices.
Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with orange flower water and a little olive oil. For the dessert version, garnish with orange peel. For the savory version sprinkle with sliced onions and olives. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves six.
Lime and Ginger Sweet Potato Soup
Absolutely yummy! The overtones of lime and ginger in this soup are sublime. Its rich flavour is guaranteed to make a dreary March day feel as if sunnier times are just around the corner. Although the soup has no cream the silky texture of the pureed sweet potatoes produce a luxurious finish.
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 parsnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 inch (10 cm) piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1-2 limes, grated and juice reserved
1 each, onion, sliced leek and celery stalk, coarsely chopped, garlic clove
1 bay leaf
4 cups (1 L) low salt chicken stock
Water to cover vegetables
1 can (14 oz/ 396 mL) coconut milk
1-3 tsp (15 mL) curry powder
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
¼ tsp (1 mL) fresh black pepper
sliced fresh lime
In large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine chopped sweet potatoes, parsnip, ginger-root, lime rind, onion, sliced leek, celery, garlic, bay leaf, chicken stock and enough water add to cover vegetables. Bring to boil; reduce heat and cook covered until vegetables are very tender about 35- 40 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Using a blender, puree soup in batches until smooth adding reserved lime juice, coconut milk, curry powder, salt and pepper. Serve bowls of this soup garnished with a slice of lime. Makes about 8 servings.
Taste. Add more lime juice if necessary (depends on the juiciness of the limes) and salt and pepper (depends on the seasoning of the chicken stock).
Jan Main is an author, cooking instructor and caterer – email@example.com | <urn:uuid:f386c9c6-a56c-4522-99d2-fcdfe66950b3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.beachmetro.com/2014/03/11/celebration-citrus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00307-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.850187 | 1,105 | 1.882813 | 2 |
You wear loose clothing for shiatsu, which is usually performed on a mat on the floor. No oil is used in this treatment.
Shiatsu is a therapy were using the finger pressure weak areas in the body are balanced, to relax the tension and promote well-being while also integrating mind-body-spirit awareness.
The therapy takes its origins in Japan and is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Shiatsu combines the treatment of the meridians and pressure points also stretches, rotations, and pressure applied to the body to restore the healthy flow of energy called Chi in Chinese or Ki in Japanese.
It is a holistic therapy and addresses the whole body instead of focusing on one area where symptoms are most obvious.
Thought to be restoring the right vibration to your physical organs, so body self-healing then takes place easier.
There are almost 90.000 Shiatsu therapists in Japan and the life expectancy in Japan is the highest in the world. Maybe it is connected :)
I see shiatsu as one of the most effective therapies to facilitate and support health.
History and Principles of Shiatsu
Shiatsu was formally recognised in the early 20th century, but it has roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Some sources claim that basic shiatsu has been existing in Japan from much earlier times.
The theory behind shiatsu is that the body has energy pathways, or meridians, along which the vital energy flows.
When you are healthy then energy flows freely along these pathways supplying all parts of the body with vital energy.
But when the body has been weakened by poor diet, caffeine, alcohol or emotional stress, energy no longer flows smoothly. It may be deficient in some areas and excessive in the others.
The shiatsu practitioner knows these energy pathways as well as the pressure points that are located along the meridians.
Pressure points are essentially areas of high activity and can be treated in a number of ways – finger pressure in shiatsu, needles in acupuncture or heat in moxibustion.
Restoring Energy Flow
By applying pressure to the active body points, shiatsu practitioner identifies blockages and imbalances to restore the smooth energy flow.
If the energy is deficient in some areas, then practitioner introduces energy to that area with the touch.
If some areas are painful, that means there is an excess or stagnation of energy that needs to be balanced. As with any treatment, you are in control of how much pressure you want, but the practitioner usually feels that and adjusts the pressure to your body needs.
Energy feeling and communication is the specialty of good shiatsu practitioner.
The traditional oriental model of health and wellness is very different from the western model and is oriented towards maintaining healthy balance in the body before something goes seriously wrong. It's also about preserving your Ki, which gets weaker as you age.
What To Expect from Shiatsu Treatment
Treatments can be continued to keep you in balance to guaranty your body-mind-spirit performance in life.
Shiatsu can also be done on a massage table if requested.
Shiatsu is recommended to receive through light clothing, so please wear or bring light clothing with you. Tracksuit bottoms or light cotton trousers are ideal.
Please avoid having a heavy meal or alcohol before treatment
Contact me today to reserve time for your session | <urn:uuid:fbab4811-5ef1-46fe-bc4e-fc2cdf133c76> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://mynaturaltherapies.com/shiatsu-therapy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571234.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811042804-20220811072804-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.956129 | 704 | 2.40625 | 2 |
My workflow for publishing articles
After writing & publishing articles for about two years (consistently), I’ve sort of created a system when it comes to publishing an article. From ideation to hitting the publish button.
Of course, this system is ever-evolving and over the years, I’ve tried to tweak it to suit my needs. And today, I think it has reached to a point where I can share it with you and allow you to peek into this very “system”.
A couple of years ago, when I started this blog, I was used to writing casually and back then i.e. I was only used to post articles whenever I feel like. But from the previous two years, things have changed. I’ve started to take it more seriously and started publishing articles quite frequently. Almost daily (of course, with a few exceptions).
You might be asking how I’ve started writing so much? And where do I get ideas from?
The answer to all these questions is “From teaching things to myself”. In a nutshell, whenever I’m in a situation where I don’t get certain concepts correctly, I would first try to understand the topic thoroughly. And when things get clear for me, I would try to depict the concept in my words. In a way that can make me understand whenever I look upon it next time.
That means I primarily write articles for myself only. And if anyone gets benefitted from my articles, it would be an added bonus!
Writing the Article
Next, for writing articles, I’m using VS Code because articles are written in Markdown and nothing is better than the VS Code’s built-in support for Markdown in my opinion. To get started with a brand new article, all I need to do is whip up a blank Markdown file and pour my heart out in it. It’s as simple as that.
To make this even better, I use a VS Code extension called Markdown All in One which add some essential things such as keyboard shortcuts, table of contents, auto preview, and more when it comes to Markdown. It saves tonnes of time fiddling around some Markdown quirks.
Fixing the Article
Once the article has been written, I head to grammarly.com and paste in my entire article to check for spelling and grammatical mistakes. And once it detects those errors, it can fix those in a cinch.
On top of this, it also suggests alternative words and removal of unnecessary words which can make the entire reading experience a pleasant one.
Back then, I was not very concerned regarding making my articles grammar-correct. But over time, I realised it’s important from the perspective of a reader because I’m also an avid reader myself. And so the grammar correction step entered into my workflow.
Creating Social Banner
Now is the time to create a nice social banner for the article. It looks something like so on Twitter.
A lot of content creators ignore this but in my opinion, it is a really important thing if you’re posting your articles across different social media platforms. It can make your article stand out because images can grab users’ attention more quickly than the text.
I use a service called Crello where I create social banners every time I write a new article. The banner contains nothing but the title of the article but alas! in big and attention-grabbing fonts. It’s all handmade.
Publishing the Article
At this moment, everything is in the place and the article is ready to be published. For publishing the article, all it takes is a simple
git push in my case as I’ve hosted my blog on GitHub Pages and it triggers the new build on every Git push.
Once the code is pushed, it would take 30-45 seconds to make the article live on the holy internet!
And that completes my entire workflow from ideation to publishing an article. I’ve been following this workflow from the past two years and it has suited me very well and I’m hoping the continue it for some more time! | <urn:uuid:1525c845-c886-43bd-853c-8d4e82495708> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://amitmerchant.com/my-workflow-for-publishing-articles/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572161.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815054743-20220815084743-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.93465 | 869 | 1.554688 | 2 |
This release was issued under a previous government.
“The portal is the next step we are taking down the open government road as we continue to build Alberta,” said Manmeet S. Bhullar, Minister of Service Alberta. “This government is committed to a new way of doing business - one that values the proactive sharing of information - and this portal builds on that commitment.”
The portal acts as a central access point for high quality, machine readable, raw data collected by the provincial government. All the data available through the portal is searchable and subject to an open licence. This means there are no technical or legal restrictions for using the data.
From groundwater activity to health indicators to birth statistics, the portal provides access to useful information, while ensuring privacy and proprietary information remain protected. Researchers and academics will be able to use the data for their research. Entrepreneurs can use the data to inform business decisions; developers, to build apps.
“In today’s digital landscape, data is a powerful resource - one that can unleash enormous social and economic innovation,” said Bhullar. “By opening up government data, we are helping to make this innovation possible.”
The Open Data Portal increases transparency of government business, promotes economic opportunity and increases citizen involvement in government. The portal is part of Alberta’s open government strategy that focuses on access to information and data, and better conversations between citizens and government. The government has already taken action on open government by implementing the nation leading expense disclosure website, new protections for whistleblowers, and a commitment to a comprehensive review of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
TEC Edmonton, one of Alberta’s leading business incubators, hosted the launch event for the open data portal.
"TEC Edmonton exists to support local tech entrepreneurs for whom access to resources and knowledge is vital to making strategic decisions," said Chris Lumb, CEO of TEC Edmonton. "The Government of Alberta’s new Open Data portal will be a tremendous resource to researchers, innovators and the business community, empowering them to maximize commercialization opportunities for the benefit of Alberta's economy."
The open data portal currently contains about 280 data sets. New data will be added to the site on an ongoing basis as departments identify what data is available and ensure it does not contain any personal or proprietary information. The public can also request data sets through the portal.
The portal was built by provincial government staff using open source software. A mobile app gallery has also been built to house all official Government of Alberta apps.
Our government was elected to keep building Alberta, to live within its means and to fight to open new markets for Alberta’s resources. We will continue to deliver the responsible change Albertans voted for.
- 30 -
Media inquiries may be directed to:
Dave PriscoPress Secretary
To call toll-free within Alberta dial 310-0000. | <urn:uuid:2dfa26fd-c0f2-4311-9a06-06689a7b82fc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=34228EBCE8BFB-DF9E-DB03-5A12207311B0B317 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.915084 | 635 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Because Haiti is a contracting party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, member countries such as the United States must protect the copyrights of its artistic works the same way they protect the works of their own nationals, reports the World Intellectual Property Organization. Downloading Haitian music without permission of the copyright owners is a violation of U.S. copyright law, states the U.S. Copyright Office.Continue Reading
Although consumers can purchase and download Haitian music through authorized services, downloading music from peer-to-peer networks and other unauthorized sources violates the exclusive right of the copyright owners to reproduce and distribute their creative efforts, explains the U.S. Copyright Office. As of 2016, penalties for downloading copyrighted music without permission include up to $30,000 for each piece a person downloads or up to $150,000 per piece if the copyright owners prove willful infringement. People convicted of copyright infringement may also have to pay the lawyers of the copyright owners.
Copyright protects music as soon as it is created, whether or not the creators register the works, according to the U.S. Copyright Office. Consumers should assume works are copyright protected unless clear notifications express differently. Streaming unlicensed music is generally not illegal as long as consumers make no effort to copy the material, clarifies Business Insider.Learn more about Crime | <urn:uuid:8b81e793-3cae-425f-9c3f-98596040a183> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.reference.com/government-politics/laws-downloading-haitian-music-6c061c5b7dbb3e45 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00430-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930258 | 269 | 2.21875 | 2 |
What is the hardest 4 digit password?
All 10.000 are equally hard assuming you pick one at random. 1111 is mathematically no easier to guess than 3861. Since humans have a tendency to prefer patterns, picking a sequence that isn’t a commonly used pattern is likely better though.
What are good 4 digit passwords?
The safest 4-digit PIN is ‘8068’ — or at least it was, until researchers at Data Genetics told everyone this week. The researchers there went through a set of 3.4 million four-digit personal identification numbers and found “8068” came up only 25 times.
How do you crack a 4 digit lock?
Pull the body and the latch apart as taught as possible, and continue to apply pressure. Turn the first mechanism until it clicks, and it is felt as the body and latch of the lock move. Continue to the second mechanism, and so on. After the last mechanism, the lock will be set on its combination and pop open.
How do you break a 4 digit Master Lock combination lock?
3:56Suggested clip 112 secondsHow to lock pick a 4-digit master lock – YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clip
What are all the combinations for a 4 Number Lock?
There are 10,000 possible combinations that the digits 0-9 can be arranged into to form a four-digit code. Berry analyzed those to find which are the least and most predictable.
How do you open a combination lock if you forgot the code?
There’s a way to crack the code of a combination lock when you’ve forgotten it. Hold the lock with the latch at the top and the dial facing you. The locking mechanism will be on the left-hand side.
How do you crack a 3 digit combination lock?
2:53Suggested clip 82 secondsHow to Open a 3-Dial Combination Lock Case in 6 Minutes or Less …YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clip
How do you reset a 4 digit combination lock if you forgot the code?
How do I reset my padlock?Pull up the shackle to open the lock.Rotate the shackle 90° counterclockwise and press all the way down.Hold down the shackle and set your own combination by turning dials.Turn the shackle back as normal. The setting is now complete. | <urn:uuid:18c6a81c-dadd-4642-a184-5b18c6c91d91> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://yourgametips.com/scrabble/what-is-the-hardest-4-digit-password/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570741.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808001418-20220808031418-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.884296 | 496 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Radio & Television
News editor Oliver Reed wrote in this 1955 issue about the "flattening" of
electronics - including both individual components and overall assembled
products. He described a large screen, wall-mountable television system with
built-in flat stereo electrostatic speakers. "The so-called 'picture on the
wall' television screen has also received widespread publicity although such a
screen is not yet commercially available. In this system, a flat screen is
connected to the TV receiver by means of a cable, and the picture is formed on
the screen electronically." That is a lot like a large flat LCD or LED monitor
being fed by an HDMI cable from a computer. Mr. Reed also writes of a magnetic
tape video playback system akin to what eventually became the VHS / VCR.
Evidently the concept of an optical-based storage medium like the DVD and
Blu-ray disk was too far out of the realm of possibility, or it was because the
only lasers available in the day (needed for read/write operations) were huge
gas chamber or rare earth mineral varieties costing hundreds of thousands of
dollars. It is easy to say in retrospect that anyone could have anticipated such
a system, but the reality is true technical visionaries were and are a rare
breed. It doesn't take much vision to write about anti-gravity device in a
sci-fi novel, but it does take vision to detail how one might become reality
based on scientific principles.
For the Record: The Flat Age
By The Editor, Oliver Reed
Components, for all forms of electronic instruments have undergone a great change
in recent years. The trend toward "flatness" may be readily seen by scanning the
pages of catalogues from the parts jobbers. The ceramic disc capacitor is one result
of flat design. Tubes, especially those for hearing aids, are flat and shortened
to tiny dimensions.
Even circuitry has undergone considerable change. The Motorola and Walsco TV
chassis reflect the trend toward flatness of construction that simplifies troubleshooting
and saves time since connections to components are reached without searching and
picking through a maze of wiring.
Printed-circuit techniques have become widely accepted - even by the novice.
A leading kit manufacturer now supplies compact flat boards on which is etched the
wiring for critical circuits. Mistakes are prevented and proper dressing of connecting
leads result from utilizing these flat assemblies. Another manufacturer is merchandising
a complete line of interstage coupling units, called "Couplates," which include
all of the necessary resistors and capacitors for various coupling requirements
in a single flat assembly.
We would, of course, be remiss if we did not call attention to the possibilities
opened up by transistors in the trend toward flatness. Their small size, low power
requirements, and small heat dissipation permit the design of more and more compact
electronic circuitry for hearing aids, portable radio and TV receivers, tape recorders,
and the like.
Electrostatic loudspeakers are now on the market. These flat disc-shaped reproducers
have only recently achieved popularity. Further development may lead to units capable
of good, clean bass response from small, flat assemblies which can be hung on a
wall or mounted in any convenient manner.
Magnetic tape is now flatter than ever. New base materials, having greater strength,
permit reduction of thickness and allow more tape footage per reel. Audio amplifiers
have been flattened and redesigned for shelf-type installations or for drawer dimensions.
And pocket-sized AM and FM receivers, wire and tape recorders, and other electronic
gear have been developed. All of these designs reflect the trend toward compact,
The universal acceptance of big-screen television on direct-view picture tube
phosphors has been established. Projection TV, on the other hand, has not shared
in the popularity for home methods of producing acceptable pictures. The principal
objection was the "metallic" effect produced by light-ray diffractions of the glass
At least one laboratory has recently shown great progress in further developing
projection TV for the home, Radically new viewing screens are being studied and
more economical circuitry is reviving interest in the future possibilities for large-screen
projection in the home on "movie-type" screens, The so-called "picture on the wall"
television screen has also received widespread publicity although such a screen
is not yet commercially available. In this system, a flat screen is connected to
the TV receiver by means of a cable, and the picture is formed on the screen electronically.
It is even within the realm of possibility that an electrostatic speaker can be
combined with a viewing screen to form a single, flat entertainment medium. This
will include monochrome and color TV (regular reception or from pre-recorded tapes),
slide film, and movie film.
The audio will be provided by the regular TV signals, from magnetic tape or film,
or from hi-fi record albums. Reproducers (loudspeaker systems), if not a part of
the picture screen, will be mounted within a wall or back of the screen. High fidelity
will be achieved through a "new look" in flat ,electrostatic speakers or even more
advanced types of cones.
Wide-angle viewing will simplify seating arrangements, and widely dispersed sound
will enhance the effect of audio reproduction in the living room. Stereophonic reproduction
will lend added realism and the practically complete elimination of noise and distortion
will greatly reduce listener fatigue. Remote control will permit the major components
of any system to be located out of sight, if desirable, thus contributing considerably
to better room decor.
Such a composite system for providing our home entertainment is felt, by many,
to be just around the corner. Most of the ingredients are well established. A few
need more research and development if they are to fit economically into the picture-color
TV, that is! .... O.R.
Posted July 9, 2020 | <urn:uuid:08e31c87-0e10-45eb-952a-04216c951899> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.rfcafe.com/references/radio-news/for-the-record-flat-age-radio-television-news-july-1955.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.944455 | 1,283 | 2.921875 | 3 |
ERIC Number: ED252075
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1972
Reference Count: N/A
The Use of Nicknames as Evaluators of Personal Competence in Malta. Sociolinguistic Working Paper.
Herndon, Marcia; McLeod, Norma
The pragmatic use of nicknames as clarifiers separates the Maltese usage from those so common throughout the world where the nickname is used as a means of hiding identity. The familial character of most nicknames in Malta suggests they are the vestiges of a pre-Christian naming system. The major peculiarity in Malta is in the intermingling of seven naming devices in an evaluative system. The study of evaluative methods reveals a stable set of principles and fluid usage. People are mobile in the system according to their relative ability and the Maltese play with the system and express their personal feelings about others through it, regardless of the correctness of their opinions. In the case of musicians, nicknames are applied based on the musician's competence, and factions develop based on these evaluations and change over time. Personal evaluations used as insults evoke responses that have become institutionalized in the song duel, which creates various interpretations of the evaluation system. The purpose of the duelling is to create a set of situations in which speech is used indirectly in a way that allows for several possible interpretations, representative of some aspects of Maltese society. (MSE)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Southwest Educational Development Lab., Austin, TX.
Identifiers - Location: Malta | <urn:uuid:d9d78510-9a02-4dc0-b8c4-bb87e45cb1f8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED252075 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00528-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914228 | 351 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Social Anxiety and Misdiagnosis
The biggest barrier to overcoming social anxiety disorder is to know what problem you have -- and then be able to explain (i.e., define) it.
Because social anxiety disorder is a relatively new diagnosis, most professionals in the field are not aware or have incorrect conceptions of this problem. For example, many professionals confuse panic disorder with social anxiety disorder -- please see our page on how to differentiate between the two disorders.
It is not uncommon for the socially anxious person to seek help and be misdiagnosed. At The Social Anxiety Institute, we see socially-anxious people on a regular basis that come to us after being misdiagnosed as having:
- clinical depression
- bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder)
- panic disorder
- schizophrenia, all types
- schizoid personality disorder
- schizotypal personality disorder
- attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
among others. RECEIVING AN INCORRECT DIAGNOSIS LIKE THIS, the socially-anxious person many times accepts this "label" as fact and begins taking medication that is not appropriate for them.
Even worse than this, people still do not know what really is troubling them. Thus they may spend many more years and thousands of dollars to find out...if they ever do.
If you are socially anxious, it is very important that you seek treatment from a professional who thoroughly understands your problem and the depth of pain you endure every day. It is also important that your therapy be cognitive-behavioral in nature, because research has been clear that this form of therapy is the only effective method of reducing and eliminating social anxiety once and for all.
Socially-anxious people who are misdiagnosed are often prescribed medication that is inappropriate. The appropriate medication, as a tool to reduce anxiety and continue with cognitive-behavioral therapy, is very beneficial if needed. Please be aware that medication does not change brain patterns or brain chemistry forever. That is why you need to take the medication every day. If you stop taking it, your brain reverts to its old "patterns".
Only by LEARNING and ACTING on new behaviors do your neural pathways and brain chemistry change permanently. This can only be done through therapy, not through medication. | <urn:uuid:16965027-8533-4727-9169-7bed86d48aba> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://anxietynetwork.com/content/social-anxiety-and-misdiagnosis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00098-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950548 | 476 | 3.03125 | 3 |
William Burroughs - A Life
It has been 50 years since Norman Mailer asserted, 'I think that William Burroughs is the only American novelist living today who may conceivably be possessed by genius.' This assessment holds true today. No-one since then has taken such risks in their writing, developed such individual radical political ideas, or spanned such a wide range of media - Burroughs has written novels, memoirs, technical manuals and poetry, he has painted, made collages, taken thousands of photographs, made visual scrapbooks, produced hundreds of hours of experimental tapes, acted in movies and recorded more CDs than most rock groups. Made a cult figure by the publication of NAKED LUNCH, Burroughs was a mentor to the 1960s youth culture. Underground papers referred to him as 'Uncle Bill' and he ranked alongside Bob Dylan and the Beatles, Buckminster Fuller and R.D. Laing as one of the 'gurus' of the youth movement who might just have the secret of the universe. Based upon extensive research, this biography paints a new portrait of Burroughs, making him real to the reader and showing how he was perceived by his contemporaries in all his guises - from icily distant to voluble drunk. It shows how his writing was very much influenced by his life situation and by the people he met on his travels around America and Europe. He was, beneath it all, a man torn by emotions: his guilt at not visiting his doting mother; his despair at not responding to reconciliation attempts from his father; his distance from his brother; the huge void that separated him from his son; and above all his killing of his wife, Joan Vollmer.
Authoritative biography of cult writer William Burroughs (1914-1997).
One long, strange, profoundly American literary life. Burroughs's work has had a profound if often oblique influence on the writing of his century and this one. I can scarcely imagine what it would be like to read Barry Miles's biography without being thoroughly familiar with the outline of the narrative. Truly, stranger than fiction. -- William Gibson WILLIAM BURROUGHS takes us deeply inside the magical life of the great writer. Miles's decision to tell the epic story through William Burroughs's search for his 'Ugly Spirit' makes for sensational reading. Burroughs called his life an evil river. In Miles's biography he negotiates it with courage and remarkable drive. Brilliant, tragic, controversial, and inspiring, WILLIAM BURROUGHS is a beautiful work. -- Victor Bockris author of With William Burroughs: A Report from the Bunker, Conversations with William Burroughs and Andy Warhol, and Burroughs in the Bunker WILLIAM BURROUGHS is the most intimate portrait to date of one of the twentieth century's most complicated, troubled, and influential figures. Miles's deep knowledge of the man and the work also provides a cultural history of the scene in Tangiers in the 1950s, the Beat era, and the emerging Punk scene in New York in the 1980s. The end of Burroughs's days, spent in Lawrence, Kansas, explore Burroughs's deep reckoning of what he called 'The Ugly Spirit'-the force which rendered him powerless, for most of his life over the demons that plagued him. It is a compelling biography and social history unlike any other." -- Ira Silverberg coeditor of Word Virus: The William S. Burroughs Reader WILLIAM BURROUGHS is full of energy and surprise and is a delight to read. Barry Miles combines his intimate knowledge of Burroughs with the meticulous research of Burroughs's companion James Grauerholz, to produce an extremely accurate, readable, and entertaining biography of one of the most inventive writers of the twentieth century. Reading this extraordinary book is like hanging around with Burroughs himself and is impossible to forget. -- Bill Morgan author of I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg and The Typewriter Is Holy By any standard Burroughs's was an unusual life, full of scandal, subversion, and sensitivity hidden behind a cold blue gaze. He brought elegance to the Bowery, eloquence to the language of an underworld, and an international mystique to American letters. Miles enriches this 'life of an artist' with decades of dedicated immersion in the work both published and unpublished, digging deep into archival material and manuscripts, incorporating journals of friends and acquaintances. With great authority and verve, he brings up to date the legacy of a true American original who grows, even years after his death, in fascination. -- Regina Weinreich author of Kerouac's Spontaneous Poetics and editor of Kerouac's Book of Haikus
Barry Miles knew Burroughs since 1965. He was a close friend and worked with him on a number of projects. Barry Miles lives in London. | <urn:uuid:b94d2ec2-7b96-4984-a573-d74f603d3c81> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.hares-hyenas.com.au/p/3251229?barcode=9780297867258 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00068-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959751 | 1,026 | 2 | 2 |
The living heroic legend that is Barack Obama has already broken the pop-culture record of Baghdad Bob and is now approaching that of Chuck Norris and Vladimir Putin. When even Obama's official campaign is forced to launch a fact-checking website to keep his runaway aura under control, you just know that Obama's public persona has developed a life of its own and is resisting efforts to catch it and put it on Ritalin. We thought that the best way to take control of the situation would be by using Obama's own patented method of hopeful approach to reality. So we built a radically different website: it looks like Obama's fact-checking site, only instead of chasing cowardly facts and arguing old truths that are tarnished and tedious, we invent new,sparkling-clean truths that are exciting and heroic. The beauty of this approach is that when new truths become old and tarnished, they can be easily thrown under the bus and replaced with newer and better heroic truths, ensuring Obama's glorious march towards a higher metaphysical plane of unstoppable service to humankind.
Every now and then, Obama opens his eyes and the world springs into existence.
When a tree falls in the forest, Obama hears it.
Obama can clap with one hand.
Prometheus was punished for plagiarizing Obama.
Obama can make a journey of a thousand miles without a single step.
Socks worn by Obama are used for climbing walls in Spiderman movies.
Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race when she learned Obama's true name.
"Obama" is the very first word in the English language to be
a verb, adjective, noun, pronoun, adverb, interjection, superlative and pronad.
(Pronad is a new category made specifically for the word "Obama" so its power can be fully realized).
When Obama squints dreamily into the distance, he can see next week's lottery winning numbers. But he never plays because that would mean poverty of ambition.
Obama can calculate your guilt just by looking at the numbers in your checkbook.
A microphone into which Obama has spoken, heals asbestos-related disorders and colorectal cancer by direct application.
Every time Obama talks about change, a baby diaper becomes clean and a homeless person's cup fills up with nickels.
Every time Obama talks about "hope," coma patients regain consciousness and chant "We are the ones we've been waiting for."
Obama's famous stare once converted 15 Islamic fundamentalists into secular progressives, all of whom are currently employed by Countrywide Home Loans.
Obama is 50% typical White person.
Obama's real mother was young John Kerry who reproduces asexually when coming into contact with foreign Marxists.
Obama often says "uh" in his speeches in order to irritate Bill O'Rilley who hangs onto his every word.
Obama always overpays his taxes because he believes that the government will find a better use for his money than he ever could.
When Obama rids the world of nuclear weapons, the red button in his office will control the thermostats in American homes.
Obama brings change to the world every time he closes his eyes and imagines that Twin Towers never existed.
After a hearty meal Obama has been known to send off a tiny ripple of hope.
This tiny ripple of hope in Chicago can cause change throughout the world.
When Obama relaxes at home with his family he switches to a British accent.
Obama's wife is a Klingon.
Obama's children are named Child 1 and Child 2 respectively.
Our universe is held together by the force of Michelle Obama's benevolent willpower, but her patience is running thin.
Michelle Obama has saved humanity from destruction many times and is slightly annoyed that we haven't returned the favor.
Monica Lewinsky owns "I Barack for Obama" bumper sticker.
Everything Obama touches begins to vote Democrat.
More dead people voted for Obama than for any other Democrat candidate in the history of Chicago politics.
The tingle that crawled up Chris Matthews' leg has taken control of his brain and is reporting a full preparedness to take over the world.
Obama can make things disappear just like David Copperfield can, but he hates taking things away from the community.
US Mail Service published Obama's resume on a new first class stamp.
In the movies, Obama's part is played by Robert Redford.
Obama can inflate a hot air balloon in one blow. He does it for the children.
Obama used to spell his name as Ubama but changed it to avoid confusion with Usama bin Laden.
When Obama fixes his gaze on the clouds, he is reading his next great line from the big teleprompter in the sky, which is unseen to ordinary humans.
One time the Republicans paid a voodoo priest to reprogram the teleprompter, and then Obama delivered the speech by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick instead of his own. But courageous journalist Bob Woodward uncovered the plot, forcing the Republicans to resign. As a result, Obama became even more popular with the downtrodden who didn't know that it was Gov. Patrick's speech.
Obama wrote "Stairway to Heaven" and many other songs popular among the downtrodden.
Obama's love for the downtrodden heats up the planet's atmosphere by 5.8 degrees Fahrenheit, while his loathing of George W. Bush cools it down by the same amount. That's why the scientists have been unable to detect any significant variations in average global temperatures.
The main point of Al Gore's book "Earth in the Balance" is that a disastrous climate change can be averted if we all help keep Obama emotionally balanced.
Obama visited Benjamin Franklin in a dream and told him how to live his life serving the community, but all that Franklin could remember was, how to fly a kite.
Scientists discovered that a constant repetition of the words "hope" and "change" increases the size of penis in male patients by up to three inches.
Any sentence containing the name "Obama" and ending in a question mark has been determined to be racist. The only exceptions are rhetorical sentences such as "Is there any way that Obama could be more perfect?"
Obama smokes so you don't have to.
Obama's cigarettes have been registered at the EPA as a renewable power source contributing 5,000 Megawatts of electricity to the national power grid every time he takes a draw.
The "smoke" that comes out of Obama's mouth contains rare gases that help replenish the ozone layer and neutralize the industrial pollution.
Obama once downed a Fox News satellite simply by clicking on a universal TV remote in his living room. Obama then reprogrammed the remaining satellites to broadcast reruns of Keith Olbermann's show, thus expanding the consciousness of the average American TV viewer and raising awareness by 19%.
When Obama speaks about universal healthcare, the risk of cardiovascular diseases decreases by 58 percent, and the risk of cancer decreases by 60 percent.
Obama knows that his healthcare plan is going to work because he personally tested it in a leper colony, where he healed everyone by shaking hands and kissing babies.
In Portland, Oregon, Obama fed a multitude of 75 thousand with five government subsidy forms and two rolls of red tape.
An unkind word about Obama's family serves as a passkey to the hottest rings of Hell.
When Obama smiles, somewhere in America a door opens to an abortion clinic.
When Obama claps his hands, a child is born in a Third World country.
When Obama stomps his foot, a sweatshop closes in Asia, with thousands of children in the streets demanding that the United States send them financial aid, food, and medicine.
When the people learn to vote themselves money from the public trough, Obama will appear.
Obama is not exactly what he seems, nor is he otherwise.
Obama doesn't seek the truth, he puts an end to hurtful opinions.
It takes a wise man to use own words, but an even wiser man to use words spoken by others. And then there's Obama.
The beginner's mind sees many opportunities in America. The expert's mind sees few opportunities. Then there's Obama's mind.
To those who can correctly commiserate with the downtrodden, the whole universe surrenders.
To believe that America has no hope without Obama, and to grieve that it is so difficult to communicate it to Americans - this is the life of Obama.
Only Obama can see real need for change with his third eye that sees everything and yet nothing at the same time.
Obama's economic plan: No taxes, no progress. Little taxes, little progress. Great taxes, great progress.
The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that Obama is not an illusion.
There is no beginning to Obama nor end to Barack; There is no beginning to Barack nor end to Obama.
If you wish for true love, learn to love Obama.
There is nothing that you want that is not change; there is nothing you feel that is not hope.
Obama's message of hope: when you reach rock bottom, start digging.
Big government is like a thousand foot fishing line with a hook, but efficiency is always an inch beyond the hook. Every time you realize this, Obama wants you to believe that the government must grow an inch bigger.
To seek hope for hope's sake is like stepping onto a boat that is about to sail out to sea and sink. But as an inspirational leader with a focus on the community, Barack Obama is not afraid of such challenges - which is a refreshing contrast to the current administration.
When Obama was three years old he rode his bicycle across the street and saw terrible injustices along the way. They made him want to unseat George W. Bush and become the first People's President of the United States.
When Obama was five he fixed Social Security, but George W. Bush broke it again on purpose.
In first grade Obama wrote a school essay on how to help the downtrodden. As soon as George W. Bush heard about it, he ordered to shred Obama's essay into tiny pieces before the downtrodden could read it.
In second grade Obama developed a concrete plan to save the children. When George W. Bush heard about it, he killed the children and exiled Obama's family to Hawaii because Bush hated the children.
George W. Bush deliberately added "Hussein" to Obama's name on all official records, hoping that it would traumatize young Obama psychologically and stigmatize him for life.
When Obama gained control of the Good Forces of the Universe, George W. Bush locked him in a tower with an iron mask over his head to prevent a telepathic contact with the Force. But Bill Ayers received the signal, blew up Bush's tower and liberated Obama.
In college Obama majored in hypnotism and minored in white and black arts. That's why George W. Bush couldn't catch him ever again.
Obama statues decorate all progressive capitals of the world. George W. Bush became jealous and stole one such statue, hoping to melt it and use the metal to make world's strongest cannon to kill women and children. But Obama's statue destroyed the furnace and made its way to freedom. Nobody knows where it is now, but the rumor is that it is fighting for the rights of the downtrodden all over the planet. Al Qaeda wants to capture the statue and turn it into an indestructible suicide bomber. If they ever succeed, it will be George W. Bush's fault.
Obama wrote the United States Constitution that gave all power to the downtrodden, but George W. Bush replaced it with a version that gives all power to corporations.
Bush can't destroy the original Constitution because Obama's handwriting is indestructible. That's why Bush is hiding it in a lead container at the bottom of the Potomac River. If you find and open the container, all power in the land will at once return to the downtrodden.
Obama's bathroom has two toilets. One is made of gold and the other one is made of wood. Obama only uses the wooden toilet out of solidarity with the downtrodden. The sight of the golden toilet helps him to maintain class conscience.
Obama owns an expensive Sleep Number Bed but sleeps on an off-brand mattress in the corner in order to be down with the masses.
When Obama buys caviar he always tries to get the one that is runny and tastes fishy, because that's the kind of caviar that the downtrodden eat.
When Obama's children get sick, he buys them the cheapest generic drugs. It helps him better to commiserate with the downtrodden.
Obama's bank once offered him a low 5.5% mortgage but he refused because he wanted to experience the bitterness the way all other Americans feel it.
Tony Rezko once offered Obama a sweetheart land deal, but Obama said "no" because he wanted his family to stay within the community of which he was the organizer.
Obama once had a chance to save 10% on car insurance by switching to Geico but he said "no" because that would mean a sellout to corporate interests.
Jesse Jackson's nut envy is understandable once you realize
the power and the magnitude of Obama's testicles.
The fact that the former Democratic presidential candidate and civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson wanted to cut out some of Barack Obama's nuts for himself was hardly a surprise to anyone familiar with their miraculous properties. For a long time, people from all cultures of America and beyond have sought to incorporate Obama's nuts into their lives, both as objects of beauty and as tools for the body, mind and spirit.
Every Obama's nut is unique with various properties and characteristics and has the ability to induce hope, as well as store, receive, and transmit energy. Other legendary properties include the ability to attract compassion and understanding of the media, reveal the location of other people's money, ward off unwanted inquiries, and prevent drug overdose.
Despite the common fears, Jackson's plan to collect Obama's nuts wasn't meant to hurt the presidential hopeful - it is a known fact that for every cut out Obama's nut, two more will grow in its place. For every four cut out nuts, eight more will grow, and so on. As of last month, Obama's scrotum resembled a large cluster of table grapes that experts compare to a delicious mix between Fantasy Seedless and Bluebell.
One or two Obama's nuts are occasionally found in shower drains at hotels along his campaign trail. People who find them usually obtain good fortune, boundless wisdom, and total protection from the FBI. Obama's nuts are often worn as amulets, in jewelry, or simply carried loose about the person. They may be whole or ground into powder and used as medicine, especially for expelling infections, viruses, fetuses, and other internal parasites.
As a community member in good standing, Obama frequently donates his nuts to a federal stem cell facility, which he promises to expand into National Center for Mixed Nuts Extraction after he becomes president.
According to Rev. Jessie Jackson's apology and confession, the famed fighter for human rights wanted to redistribute Obama's nuts in the hope they would help him to connect with angels, spirit guides and higher self, as well as gain invisibility. After catching Rev. Jackson red-handed, Obama didn't get mad - but instead, with dignity, he reached into his pants and gave Jackson a handful of random nuts for free. Jessie Jackson hung his head in shame and became invisible. That's why we don't see him much on TV anymore.
Properties of Obama's Nuts Sorted By Type:
Hope Nut: ends wars, establishes peace on earth, helps blondes keep their hair color longer.
Change Nut: helps with spiritual, psychological, and socioeconomic insights.
Audacity Nut: balances aura and enhances the magical properties of other nuts.
Utopia Nut: navigational aid in spiritual journeys, facilitates psychic visions. If used for the common good, gives the power of prophecy
Hegemonut: promotes oneness by eliminating otherness.
Articunut: gives eloquence and self confidence, helps to become clean and articulate.
Amazonut: brings out the inner woman and helps to fight back male oppression.
Shri Nutra: induces mental health and prevents madness
Bija Manutra: feel-good emotions, easy flow of relationships, "seeing" music.
Blue Goldnut: sets one dreaming, reminds that everyone deserves glitter and excitement in life.
Aquamanut: a good luck nut to bring feelings of peace, love, joy, and sex with dolphins.
Meteonut: success stimulator, power action nut. Join with others to realize your full potential (advance career through sex).
Mandanut: enjoy geometric patterns representing the Universe, experience oneness with any individual entity of your choice.
Communut: experience oneness with the community and all major progressive movements.
Rollonut: helps to stay in touch with useful people.
Fossilnut: connect to the past on a personal level and in a cosmic sense.
Limonut: protects limousine liberals from class envy.
Cosmonut: helps to explore un-chartered territory and to develop a map of your own consciousness.
Kryptonut: takes power away from certain opponents of progress.
Hairy Lassie: promotes self-sacrifice and service to the community.
Control Nut: stimulates communication with animals and political opponents.
Denial Nut: blocks negative thoughts and emotions, grounds energy. Prevents bad dreams and thoughtcrime.
Moon Nut: promotes hope and change, unblocks all emotions, but will lose its shine if separated from the owner.
Achilles Nut: the only nut that can be an impediment as it promotes logic, rational thinking, and understanding of objective reality.
In another distraction meant to keep American voters away from the real issues, Fox News channel announced today that the GOP is in possession of a birth certificate proving beyond doubt that Barack Obama's real birthplace is, in fact, planet Lappa IV, located in the Alpha Quadrant and inhabited by a splinter group of the Ferengi species, who have developed a highly collectivist culture based on the principles of socialist acquisition and redistribution of wealth.
According to conservative commentators, the Democrat presidential hopeful's home planet is governed by the Central Planning Committee made primarily of the State Board of Expropriators and Liquidators, who offer prayers and sacrificial offerings to a Blessed Taxperson in hopes of entering the Divine Pork Barrel upon death, and fear an afterlife spent in a Subsidized Housing For the Common Good they legislated and financed with public money.
This explains Barack Obama campaign's earlier secrecy over his birth site, especially if we consider the outdated constitutional requirement that presidents must be "natural-born" U.S. citizens.
Looking back, one can only wonder at the mainstream media's unblinking acceptance of Obama as a 100% Earthling, despite even such obvious clues as his big earlobes, a supernatural fundraising ability, and his campaign logo that resembles the emblem of the Ferengi Alliance.
Other early warning signs included Obama's ties to such known Ferengis as Rezko and Khalidi, his clearly alien speech patterns and intonation, as well as his extraterrestrial campaign slogans referencing some mysterious "hope and change" and "yes we can," which is the official motto of the State Board of Expropriators and Liquidators in Obama's homeworld. But perhaps the biggest giveaway was a glaring lack of understanding of human customs and values by both Barack Obama and his Klingon wife Michelle.
James Carville: "Don't let the rumor about Obama being a space alien distract earthlings from the real issues, such as, how to accumulate all power in the hands of the Democrats."
The news poses a major challenge to John McCain, who, according to his aid, refuses to listen, let alone react to the fact that Obama is a creature from another planet. "Senator McCain has pledged to wage a clean and positive presidential campaign, and any reference to his opponent as a space alien will look as if he is breaking that promise," the aid said. "We've been walking on eggshells like a bunch of neurotics before, and now we also have to avoid mentioning space aliens? What do I care if some nutcase from Obama's homeworld calls McCain a native speciist? I'm this close to quitting, and so are half of the people I know in McCain's staff."
A DNC spokesperson welcomed the news today, saying that anyone from a planet governed by the Rules of Socialist Acquisition is better than a Republican candidate, and that this minor anecdote shouldn't distract the voters from the real issues. Stroking his oversized earlobe, the DNC spokesperson expressed his belief that Barack Obama's ascension as a leader of Earth will bring a real change to the overly individualistic planet, improve the Earth's reputation in the Galaxy, and increase the planet's chances of joining the Ferengi Alliance.
The Lappian Rules of Socialist Acquisition are similar to the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, but are more focused on sacred collectivist rules of behavior, which, combined with the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ferengi species, uniquely qualifies them to handle Democrat Party fundraisers.
Although the history of Lappian presence on Earth is unclear, it is known that Lappian children are required to memorize Rules of Socialist Acquisition as part of their general education to become consummate Democrat Party operatives, strategists, and consultants. It is said that the earliest Rule of Socialist Acquisition was penned by Karl Marx, who was also a Ferengi from Lappa IV.
The Rules of Socialist Acquisition
(a representative sample)
To each according to his ability to work the system.
Compassion without coercion is useless.
Never ask when you can use the government to take.
The vast majority of the rich in this galaxy are undertaxed.
All we want is what's yours.
Monopoly is evil unless the government runs it.
Class envy makes a good running mate.
If a government program fails, repeat.
Every rake deserves to be stepped on twice.
It is critical that the expected "returns" on any "investment" are never defined.
Never feed the hungry on an empty stomach.
Always know who you're buying.
Exclusive knowledge is power.
Never be afraid to mislabel an opponent.
Be clean, articulate, and non-threatening.
When in doubt, throw a friend under the bus.
Never allow others' self-interest to stand in the way of your common good.
A liberal without guilt is no liberal at all.
When someone says, "I'm not a racist," he's lying.
A dead vote is just as good as a live one.
A good vote is worth casting twice.
Actual progress is not guaranteed.
Small print is the best invention since snake oil.
Entitlements and handouts will always overcome freedom and opportunity.
Integrity is no substitute for campaign cash.
A friend in need is a potential donor and land deal partner.
Never confuse powerful financial backers with luck.
Make sure your campaign cash doesn't cost you more than it is really worth.
Beware of relatives giving speeches.
There's nothing more dangerous than an honest political adviser.
The most beautiful thing about the environment is that you can turn it into an election issue.
Citing Global Warming yields more cash than pointing a gun.
Always trust a person wearing a suit better than your own.
Moral choice is a complex personal issue that is better defined by focus groups.
Morality has limits. Moral relativism has none.
Never make fun of a Democrat candidate's family. Insult something he cares about instead.
Be careful what you legislate. It may do exactly what Rush Limbaugh says it would.
Compromise means the absence of opposition to Democrats.
War is good for political activism.
People could afford housing and healthcare without the government - if it weren't for the government.
Talk is cheap. Heap it generously on the public.
There isn't a gaffe by a Democrat politician that the media won't overlook.
Never argue with a loaded Kennedy.
Labor camps are full of people who opposed someone's beautiful dream.
Entitlement is the easiest way to enslave a population.
Democracy has limits. Dictatorship has none.
Saying stupid things is often smart.
Never cross Michelle Obama.
Never let the electorate know what you're thinking.
Never admit anything that can't be later blamed on Republicans.
Only the Democrats could screw up New Orleans so badly and keep getting elected.
Knowledge is bliss, ignorance is power.
Give someone a fish, you feed him for one day. Teach him how to fish, and you lose a Democrat voter.
Pursue social justice; money and power will come later.
All voters are suckers.
Every once in a while offer a compromise; it confuses the hell out of Republicans.
There is no substitute for an unnecessary government program.
Never do something that the government can do for you.
Never spend your own money when you can spend the government's.
Money taken as profit is immoral; money taken by government is the highest form of Lightworking.
If it can get you elected, say it!
Only fools say what they believe.
Faith moves mountains of "Obama" memorabilia.
Poverty is no crime. Better yet, it's an excellent source of votes for the Democrat party.
Even in the worst of times, someone always gets elected.
Never snort cocaine and have sex in a limo with a homosexual drug user named Larry Sinclair.
Oil is a stolen product.
Practice saying it in front of the mirror: "This isn't the Almighty God that I know."
Law makes everyone equal, but presidential pardons go to the highest bidder.
There's nothing wrong with big business as long as they donate to anti-business causes.
Never buy votes if ACORN can fix it for nothing.
Friends and family are the rungs on the ladder of success - don't hesitate to step on them.
Badgered by critics whining about his unwillingness to take a clearly defined stance on issues, Barack Obama has released the following document, which explains his position on several important matters. We hope this clears things up. | <urn:uuid:a66ae116-3642-4fcf-80b0-63b5fd208901> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://bestobamafacts.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.956676 | 5,518 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Today in 1968: The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson just one week after the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
Known as the Fair Housing Act, it first outlawed discrimination in the sale, rental or financing of housing and now bans it for reasons of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap.
It’s This Weekend’s Action Calendar!
Tomorrow is Wisconsin Gourd Society’s 8th Annual Gourd Festival, a free family-friendly event to learn about gourds, gourd art and gourd growing. This is tomorrow from 9am to 4pm at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Avenue. For more info, visit wisconsingourdsociety.org.
Sunday, Teen Pride Arts presents, and Overture Center for the Arts hosts, “Teen Pride Arts 2014,” an evening of fun and creativity for rainbow-spectrum teens aged 13 and up, featuring performances by Proud Theater, teen community poets, and an art workshop by UW faculty associate Michael Velliquette. This free event is Sunday from 6 to 8pm, at Overture Center for the Arts’ Rotunda Stage, followed by an after-party at Cargo Coffee East. For more info, call Nicole at 446-2419.
Tomorrow is the Great American Meat Out of 2014! Gather at 1pm at the top of West Mifflin and State Street for free sloppy janes, potato salad, cookies and more. Eating more plant based meals is the best thing you can do for your health, the animals, and the planet, so please join us for this family friendly event. Free for all! For more info, call 608-438-2616.
Sunday, the Health Discussion Group will have it’s final meeting for the season. The topic will be “Alternative Health Care Review and Learning EFT Technique – tapping the acupuncture points for healing physical and emotional issues. There is a small donation requested. Sponsored by the Madison Free Skool,t his is Sunday from 2 to 4pm at the Wil-Mar Center, 953 Jenifer Street. For more info, call 280-9303.
Tomorrow, Madison Area Permaculture Guild hosts a ‘Wake Up the Garden’ get together. They’ll be reworking the swale, mulching, and removing and dividing plants. Extra shovels are helpful; otherwise bring gloves and water. Check out all of the swales at the property, both in the Herb Gardens and the orchard. The Herb Gardens are at the Token Creek Eco-Inn at 3919 Gray Road, DeForest – only about a 15 minute drive from the Capitol. Take highway 51 past the airport, then go past the highway 19 exit, the next exit is Windsor Road. Go East on Windsor (right) one mile, then north (left) on Portage Road. You will see the Inn sign on the corner of Gray and Portage Road. There is limited parking on the driveway, so it is best to park on the side of Gray Road. Call 608-513-0016 for more info.
Tomorrow, Four Lakes Wildlife Center hosts an Easter egg hunt with over one thousand eggs hidden in Marshall Park! Prizes include gift certificates, toys, a wildlife presentation for your child’s class and more! Egg hunting starts at noon so arrive early. There is a small suggested donation, and proceeds benefit the wildlife in rehabilitation at Four Lakes Wildlife Center. This is at noon at Marshall Park, 2101 Allen Boulevard. For more info, call 608-838-0413 ext. 187 or visit giveshelter.org/four-lakes-wildlife-center.html
Tomorrow is the Habitat Restore Earth Day Celebration, with Truly Remarkable Loon juggling at 1:30, and Richard Weigel of the Midwesterners playing his steel guitar throughout the afternoon! This is tomorrow from noon to 4pm at Habitat ReStore East, 208 Cottage Grove Road. More info at 608-712-4535. | <urn:uuid:ff689ea4-8726-487e-8e16-b18fabbb27ae> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.wortfm.org/friday-april-11-2014/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00056-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900474 | 855 | 1.625 | 2 |
Executive Summary/Management Implications
The “Great Transformation” is the current and on-going global economic transition from the “Industrial Age” (premised on physical production) to a “Knowledge/Creative/Human Economy” driven principally by globalization and technology (information/automation and the Internet). This great change is stressing an old industrial era top down/command-control leadership model with a new and emerging approach that more effectively addresses a complex and dynamic economic environment (“complexity leadership theory”) with a focus on learning, innovation and adaptability.
Companies who have responded to this economic transformation have shifted their leadership style have also recognized that it is the people who bring to work the essential traits that cannot be programmed or delivered by technology: creativity, passion, character and collaborative spirit.
These same organizations are also challenged by the fact that globally only 13% of employees are truly engaged in their business which presents a new challenge in how to dramatically improve the employee engagement function and to leverage as a force/effectiveness/competitive multiplier.
Many organizations are hiring great people and are turning them into average performers and doing so very, very fast. They are struggling to free up the potential in their people. Organizations are also giving up control to more fully leverage human talent and in doing so believe that they are gaining ability to be faster, closer to the customer, and more entrepreneurial (agile).
Three main aspects of The Knowledge Economy:
- Goal — shift from maximizing shareholder value to continuously adding value to customers
- Practices: collaboration — transition from hierarchical bureaucracy to leadership and management practices that are collaborative and which draw out the talents and capacities of the people doing the work
- Metrics: appropriate metrics — focused on solutions for human prosperity rather than narrow financial goals
How is the organization building an innovation advantage? Many new companies have an opportunity to create their own innovation culture and climate from day one, and this can also be done with brown field organizations: (1) retrofit the old management model, (2) open up a company wide conversation, (3) ask where is there evidence of bureaucratic drag and how much is this costing us, (4) what are the new principles that will help us build the new organization around, (5) if we were serious about openness what would change, and (6) what would we change in the way we create strategy? According to the CEO of Whirlpool, “…I want innovation from anyone and everyone.”
Companies typically spend only 5% of attention and resources on exploring (innovating) — companies have to change that tooling and make innovation natural and habitual versus unnatural and reactive. To build innovation proficiency there is a need for appropriate governance and funding, and a culture of intelligent failures — “how to learn.”
Key to innovation is making it intrinsic and instinctive in your organization (less than 1% of organizations do this) and then enable the organization to change as fast as markets — making them adaptable at their core.
Digital technology: (1) systematically and substantially reducing the barriers to entry and barriers to movement on a global scale — intensifying competition, (2) accelerating pace of change, (3) connectivity — tiny events cascade into extreme events and disrupt our big plans — creates mounting performance pressure.
From 1965 to today the ROA for public companies has declined 75% — that is an indicator of mounting performance pressure. There is an increasing disconnect between the world being shaped by digital technology and the mindsets, practices and institutions that we operate. And in closing the gap we may need to ask how we re-purpose our institutions — a fundamental shift that may have to happen and move from rationale, scalable efficiency to scalable learning.
For some organizations, orchestrating wholesale changes to effectively “transform” leadership style, employee engagement, innovation and technology can and may find the process to be daunting, but quite doable. Consider chunking and starting with just a single area of focus, achieving some traction and then expand — it will likely take on its own life and pace. Possibly there is a way to introduce the broader concepts and then allow some enterprising group business leader to run with it, and then drive through the organization. The key is first recognizing the need, benefits and value to these changes and allowing the management teams to determine the best courses of action.
These transformative and strategically significant focus areas can, of course, be evolutionary or revolutionary. The worst choice would be doing nothing (watching and seeing as the market passes by) likely resulting in business decline and stagnation. I believe that those early adopters will clearly experience competitive and sustainable advantage and will achieve an enterprise culture and climate of meaningful engagement, purpose, performance. | <urn:uuid:bfd11b39-2cab-4b7b-beaf-da7c3292c1ea> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.druckerforum.org/blog/6th-global-drucker-forum-2014-a-call-to-action-the-need-to-lead-differently-own-and-drive-innovation-and-embrace-leverage-digital-technology-in-a-globally-connected-economy-by-mark-w-b/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572043.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814143522-20220814173522-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.945347 | 982 | 2.015625 | 2 |
'Chagall-Malevich': Film Review
Two famous painters vie for the soul of Revolutionary Russia.
An uncomplicated film about thorny stuff like revolution, art, jealousy and betrayal, Aleksandr Mitta's Chagall-Malevich may wear two artists' names equally, but clearly identifies only with Marc Chagall — who, in the conception of Mitta and his collaborators, was defined by a childishly simple-minded optimism about the power of art. Painting in broad strokes better suited to an earlier era, the picture will play best in history classes and cultural centers.
Using flamboyant filters whose patchy hues don't always direct our eyes in useful ways, the octogenarian director works hard to make his film resemble the canvasses of Chagall, who occasionally floats off into the sky or has his head spin around on his neck as well. Young Marc is a garden-variety idealist about painting, played by Leonid Bichevin with a perpetual don't-you-see-the-possibilities?! smile. Returning to his native Vitebsk to marry the adoringly supportive Bella (co-screenwriter Kristina Schneidermann), he is made a commandant by the powerful Naum (Semyon Shkalikov), who married the Bolsheviks when Bella chose Marc over him.
He sets up an art school, and is the kind of inspirational genius who can walk up to a student's terrible painting, touch the canvas with a single brushstroke, and fix the composition. Things are great until the arrival of Kazimir Malevich (Anatoliy Belyy), who announces himself to a stranger as "a great artist who has brought together heaven and earth." Malevich preaches the power of nonrepresentational geometric forms, and his happy arrogance breathes life into the film: Suprematist blocks of color sprout up in the frame behind him as he speaks, and it isn't long before a faction of students is ready to exile their former leader.
The Marc-Bella-Baum triangle makes for shameless melodrama as revolutionary passions rise, but even the deaths of some key characters can't give the drama gravitas. Modernism may have won out in the real world, but in Chagall-Malevich, sentimental nostalgia refuses to die.
Production company: Marmot Film
Cast: Leonid Bichevin, Anatoliy Belyy, Kristina Schneidermann, Semyon Shkalikov
Director: Aleksandr Mitta
Screenwriters: Aleksandr Mittak, Kristina Schneidermann
Producers: Maksim Koroptsov, Elizaveta Lisovaya, Aleksandr Mitta
Executive producers: Anastasiya Biryukova, Elena Gorbunova
Director of photography: Sergey Machilskiy
Production designer: Eduard Galkin
Costume designer: Lyudmila Gayntseva
Editor: Yuriy Stepashkin
Music: Aleksey Aygi
No rating, 121 minutes | <urn:uuid:528f1fdb-3749-4b59-ae5e-e868ab0aa63b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/chagall-malevich-film-review-802153 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00125-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926622 | 635 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Small-scale fishing is an important source of food and livelihoods for millions of rural poor people in South-East Asia. Yet fisheries management has tended to diminish access of the rural poor to fishing grounds in favour of commercial operations. This paper describes how civil society action was instrumental in creating change in national fisheries policies in the Philippines. A system of community-based coastal resource management was adopted, with the aim of ensuring better access and influence over resource management for poor fishing communities. Although reported impacts have been modest, the changes have supported some regrowth in the small-scale fishing industry, as well as other gains, and the approach is being adopted in other countries. These gains are threatened by intense competition for fishing access, the development of export-oriented aquaculture industries, and WTO support for fisheries liberalisation. Sustained advocacy for the protection of small-scale fisher livelihoods is required at national and global levels.
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Our FAQs page has some examples of this approach. | <urn:uuid:b0879c5b-237a-4f43-b4d1-eb71817b039b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/reflections-on-community-based-coastal-resources-management-cb-crm-in-the-phili-112453/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.922285 | 280 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Social Security provides the security of survivors benefits to the spouse and children of a deceased worker. Social Security also provides survivor benefits to a divorced spouse if the marriage lasted 10 years, or if the divorced spouse cares for a natural or adopted child of the deceased who qualifies for benefits. The Social Security Administration reports that 5 million widows and widowers receive benefits based on the deceased spouse's earnings record.
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The deceased worker must meet qualifications for the survivors to collect benefits on her work history. No worker has to have more than 10 years of work history and payment into the Social Security system. Under a special rule, a deceased worker can work 1 1/2 years within the three years prior to death and the survivor can qualify for benefits.
If a deceased worker receives retirement or disability benefits at the time of death, Social Security does not require qualification, but will consider the credits already calculated as sufficient for determining survivors benefits.
Remarriage prior to age 60 can cut the survivor out of survivors benefits unless the marriage ends by divorce, death or annulment.
The age of the surviving spouse or surviving divorced spouse factors into the benefit amount. A widow or widower can collect survivors benefits as early as age 60, at a reduced amount. Full retirement age for the survivor is determined by birth date. Age 66 is full retirement age for those born between 1945 and 1954.
If the deceased spouse collected benefits before full retirement age while alive, the benefits reflect early retirement figures. The survivors benefits are limited to what the deceased would have received while alive.
The surviving spouse at age 60 can receive 71.5 per cent of the deceased spouse's benefits. A surviving spouse or divorced spouse waiting until full retirement age can receive 100 per cent of the deceased spouse's benefits.
Employment income can affect your survivor benefits if you take benefits before your full retirement age. Employment income in 2010 is limited to £9,204 before imposition of a penalty of 60p for every £1.30 earned over that amount.
If you collect survivors benefits at age 60 and have a work history that qualifies for your own Social Security retirement benefits, you can change over to your own benefits at age 62 or wait until full retirement age and allow your benefits to accrue. Talk with a Social Security representative at the local office or by telephone to get the most out of the Social Security system.
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- Social Security Online: Survivors Benefits for Your Widow or Widower | <urn:uuid:2b946c53-1bb4-4ec6-b605-2e48d03a75f1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_7339170_calculate-widow_s-benefits-social-security.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00319-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941262 | 613 | 2.078125 | 2 |
A common group of blood pressure drugs may slightly increase the risk of cancer, new research suggests.
Scientists at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, US, found that angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were associated with a 'modestly' increased risk of being diagnosed with cancer.
In one study, they looked at deaths among 93,515 patients who had taken part in eight clinical trials.
They found that 7.2 per cent of those taking an ARB called telmisartan had been diagnosed with a new cancer during the four-year study period, compared with just six per cent of those who had not used the drug.
However, their report in the Lancet Oncology medical journal noted that the 1.2 per cent increase in cancer risk 'needs to be interpreted in view of the estimated 41 per cent background lifetime cancer risk'.
Judy O'Sullivan, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said that the findings were inconclusive.
She advised: 'Anyone taking ARBs to treat their heart disease, or risk of developing it, shouldn't stop based on this alone.' | <urn:uuid:00b28dd6-fa74-4838-9fdc-77512e6e55ee> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a19666/blood-pressure-drugs-may-raise-cancer-risk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00326-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979118 | 229 | 2.65625 | 3 |
5 mM Ca2 just prior to the experiment, the buffer is referred to as HEPES with Ca2. Salt receptors are mainly stimulated by ionized inorganic _______________________.Shapiro, D.
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No Valentines or romantic weekends shared between spouses to be found in this chunk of time. Marriages continued to be arranged affairs, particularly useful for solidifying status, wealth and power. Men of one family would present a potential bride to another family, and then they'd negotiate a dowry, or bride price. When the deal was struck, the men presented the bride-to-be with a ring to celebrate the successful transaction; of course, giving rings to celebrate betrothal has become much more romantic (and expensive) in recent times.
During this time, Christian churches began to take a more active role in the marriage process, a development we'll explore in the next element of our timeline. | <urn:uuid:f5ba1d19-05db-4b91-9cb3-89faa574d114> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://people.howstuffworks.com/marriage-timeline2.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00067-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964066 | 142 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Geiger counters are devices to detect and measure ionizing radiation, as emitted by radioactive sources. The heart of a geiger counter is the Geiger-Mueller-Tube. This is a gas filled tube, to which a voltage of several 100V is applied. Normally, the gas insulates and no current is drawn. When a radiation particle or quantum passes the tube, it triggers a gas discharge, i.e. gas becomes conducting. The resulting current impulse can be amplified and made visible or hearable ("clicking").
This was a very basic explanation. For a more detailed and advanced treatment, see this article which was copied from Caltech.
There are two main kinds of tubes:
- Glas mantle tubes are only suitable for beta and gamma rays, as any alphas are absorbed in the glass. They can be used for quantitatively measuring gamma dose-rate. Glas mantle tubes are comparatively cheap, they can be bought from electronic shops from about 100DM.
- Window tubes have a window (usually at one end), which is sealed with a very thin foil or mica. Alphas can penetrate this window, and thus be detected, as well as betas and gammas. As the window is very thin, it is extremely prone to puncture. Window tubes are more expensive and less common, they can be bought from about 150DM.
A typical Geiger counter circuit looks like this:
Variant b) has the advantage of proper grounding, so that the tube is electrically shielded by its cylindrical cathode.
Geiger counters can be bought complete or as kits from many electronic and surplus stores, but can also be self-designed. The following plans will give you some clues.
[Back to Index] | <urn:uuid:bf85c461-64ea-402d-811d-eec526a7acdd> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.kronjaeger.com/hv-old/radio/geiger/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988725470.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183845-00076-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95389 | 357 | 4.125 | 4 |
I have several places in my application where I bind decimals to textbox controls. I have UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged so that my buttons attached to commands enable when a valid value is entered so the user does not have to click out of the textbox to enable the save button.
Problem 1: Lets say you have the value 24.05 in the text. Now place the cursor between the 4 and the decimal place holder. Backspace 2 times and type in the number 8. Instead of 8.05 you get 80.05. Our users are used to being able to type without looking and expect what they type to be correct.
Problem 2: Type in the value .234. Instead of .234 you get 0.342.
I know I could solve the problem by changing UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged to UpdateSourceTrigger=LostFocus but this will cause the user to have to tab out of the control or click inside of another control to enable the save button which defeats the purpose of Commanding.
Can I use the MaskedInput Control to fix this? I tried it with the example from your Sample Project under Masked TextBox -> NumericMask labeled: "5 Digits after the decimal point" but that does not handle problem #1. If you don't have a control to handle this, do you know of a workaround for this? | <urn:uuid:04f87197-69ae-4291-a7a4-83f1d152850f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.telerik.com/forums/databinding-decimal-problem | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00476-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903292 | 280 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Ask a Doctor
My doctor just diagnosed me with arthritis in my right hand. I’m a pianist and I also use a computer for a living (I’m only 45). My rheumatologist said arthritis is progressive, but you can slow its progression with medication and lifestyle changes. Is there really no cure for arthritis? Will I have arthritis for the rest of my life? Is arthritis permanent?
In general, arthritis cannot be cured and it is a chronic condition. There are many different types of arthritis, and some respond well to treatment while others can be disabling. The two main types of arthritis are inflammatory (such as rheumatoid arthritis, infectious arthritis, and gout) and noninflammatory (such as osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis).
There are numerous causes for arthritis including age-related wear and tear, autoimmune conditions, infections, and injuries. Treatments for arthritis depend on the cause and may include pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications, medications that suppress the immune system, and physical or occupational therapy.
It is the ultimate goal of scientific arthritis research that optimal treatment programs are designed for each of the many form of arthritis. This field will continue to evolve as improvements develop in the diagnosis and treatment of arthritis and related conditions.
In the future, medications may be available that can protect the cartilage from the deteriorating consequences of osteoarthritis. New treatments, such as antiinflammatory lotion and patches (diclofenac [Flector]) are becoming available for relief of joint pain symptoms. Innovative cartilage research will open the door for new approaches to an old problem. Investigators are evaluating the effectiveness of over-the-counter food supplements. Better treatment options are being developed as we understand more about our immune system and genetics.
Scientists throughout the world are studying many promising areas of new treatment approaches for inflammatory forms of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis. These areas include more biologic treatments that block the action of the special inflammation factors, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNFalpha) and interleukin-1 (IL-6). Many other drugs are being developed that act against certain critical white blood cells involved in rheumatoid inflammation. Also, new NSAIDs with mechanisms of action that are different from current drugs are on the horizon.
Better methods are becoming available to more accurately define which patients are more likely to develop more aggressive disease. Gene profiling, also known as gene array analysis, is being identified as a helpful method of defining which people will respond to which medications. Studies are underway that are using gene array analysis methods to determine which patients will be at more risk for more aggressive disease. Finally, genetic research and engineering is likely to bring forth many new avenues for earlier diagnosis and accurate treatment in the near future. This is all occurring because of technology improvements. We are at the threshold of tremendous improvements in the way rheumatoid arthritis is managed.
For more information, read our full medical article on arthritis.
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What do you do when you find the roots of your historic city? If you are Montreal, Canada, you excavate carefully then build a museum around it that attracts thousands to your city each year.
If you are Albany, you might allow the building of a crude oil boiling facility on top of it.
That is the choice facing Albany right now.
When Montreal archeologists located the original birthplace of their city in the 1980s, they spent the next decade carefully excavating the site. Not only did it represent the history of Montreal’s founding but also over 1000 years of Native occupation before that. They uncovered buildings, streets, defensive walls, and thousands of artifacts and built a museum over the site which opened in 1992.
Today Pointe-à-Callière, a recognized national historical and archaeological site, leads visitors through centuries of history, from the times when Natives camped here to the present day. You literally walk down the streets of 17th century Montreal. They have guided tours, an archeology field school, and the local businesses benefit as well.
According to the museums Web site:
“On May 17, 1642, on a point of land at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and another, smaller river, Father Vimont held a mass celebrating the founding of Montréal, attended by Sieur de Maisonneuve, Jeanne Mance and their companions. On May 17, 1992, on the very same site, Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, opened its doors.
Until the Museum opened, only historians knew about the “Pointe à Callière,” so named because it was here that Chevalier Louis Hector de Callière, third governor of Montréal, had a home built in 1688. Today, the point has actually become part of the shoreline of the Island of Montréal, but its name lives on and is better known than ever, thanks to the Museum.
The Museum was founded as part of celebrations to mark Montréal’s 350th birthday, and owes its existence largely to the significant archaeological discoveries made on the site during the 1980s. In fact, the Museum and its site are inextricably linked. Rising above evidence of more than 1,000 years of human activity, it houses remarkable architectural remains, displayed in situ with absolute respect for their integrity. Pointe-à-Callière is the only sizeable archaeology museum in Canada. The hundreds of artifacts it houses are grouped into six main sections: the Éperon, a modern building that has won many architectural awards; the archaeological crypt on the lower level; the renovated Ancienne-Douane building (Montréal’s first Custom House), the Youville Pumping Station, the Archaeological Field School and the Mariners’ House. The museum of a site, a history and a city, Pointe-à-Callière delves into the past to foster a debate on urban issues both local and global, and to encourage visitors to reflect on the future.”
Ironic, 2014 is the 400th anniversary of the founding of Albany with the building of Fort Nassau, on Castle island, now Port of Albany.
Instead of Duplicating Montreal’s success, Fort Nassau may end up having an crude oil boiling facility on top of it.
Global Companies, a unit of Global Partners, based in Waltham, Mass., plans to build a 2,600-square-foot facility at the port’s rail yard to heat crude as it is pumped out of rail cars and into storage tanks. The oil will then be shipped out on barges headed downriver toward refineries on the east coast. Global’s application does not specify what kind oil would be heated, but many worry it will be volatile tar sands from Canada.
The proposed boiler plant will have to be reviewed by the Albany Planning Board. The next planning board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20, but so far the proposed boiler plant does not yet appear on the agenda. That means there’s still time for the City of Albany to advocate for the best possible outcome. Comments on Global’s project can be made to DEC through Karen M. Gaidasz, 1130 N. Westcott Road, Schenectady, NY 12306, or firstname.lastname@example.org. DEC is taking comments up to April 2nd and there will be a DEC public hearing at Giffen Elementary on February 12, Wednesday at 6 PM.
And before the naysayers say something like this cannot happen in the United States, let me point them to Underground Seattle.
The Seattle Underground is a network of underground passageways and basements in downtown Seattle, Washington, that was ground level at the city’s origin in the mid-19th century. After the streets were elevated these spaces fell into disuse, but have become a tourist attraction in recent decades.
I also point you to the following:
The Albany Plan (of Preservation)
Welcome to the Albany Historium!
Such Promise But No Vision | <urn:uuid:6115a3c7-c092-4da6-9976-81d1de538791> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.timesunion.com/rittner/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-the-beginning-of-your-history/4545/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00465-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948016 | 1,074 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Rhyming, hardcover picture books all ages will treasure! Introduce young children to the exciting true stories of Christian heroes!
As a young boy David Livingstone (1813-1873) read every science book he could find and dreamed of exploring unknown lands. Later he followed his dreams, becoming a missionary doctor in Africa. There he ventured bravely into places no other white man had been, healing people's bodies with his medical skills and reaching their hearts with the gospel.
Children, parents, and teachers love the adventurous Christian Heroes Then & Now biographies and unit study curriculum guides. Now Heroes for Young Readers introduces younger children to the lives of Christian heroes!
Whether reading for themselves or being read to, children love the captivating rhyming poems and unforgettable color illustrations of the Heroes for Young Readers series.
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The health department calls arrests 'unfortunate' after senior officials spend night trying to get workers out of cells.
In SA, HIV infection is no longer a death sentence but in countries like the Democratic Republic Congo, it's as if treatment never happened.
Some pharmacists will be doing their community service at private pharmacies amid a shortage of posts.
Larvae may not be to everyone's taste but they could be key to easing food shortages and boosting farmers' incomes.
The pain of bereavement is supposed to ease with time. When it doesn't, psychiatrists call it 'complicated grief' and it can be treated.
We speak to a young, black woman who is infertile about the stigma she faces in her community.
Find out which departments need to step up to make free pads a reality for people who menstruate.
South Africa is one of just 23 countries globally that supports HIV self-testing. Find out how to take an HIV test at home.
Want to know how our new Vimba Helpline works? Watch this video.
For more multimedia click here
Jacket would detect symptoms up to four times faster than a doctor.
Not up to the daily dilemma of what to pack your little ones for lunch? Beef up your children’s lunch boxes with these quick tips.
The US remains one of the leading funders of global health but will this change on president-elect Donald Trump’s watch?
More than 200 newly qualified doctors may be left with worthless degrees if provinces can't raise funds for internship positions
Bhekisisa means "to scrutinise" in Zulu
In South Africa, Zulu patients who would like to be thoroughly assessed by a doctor, would ask the physician to "bhekisisa" them. | <urn:uuid:17988201-18bc-4b5a-968a-dfb7f042f7a3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://bhekisisa.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00143-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944685 | 369 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Are you wondering why the carpet is appearing to turn gray or black along the edges of the room?
Have you noticed black lines forming along the walls, under doors, around air vents, or along the edge of the stairs? If so, it is likely that an issue called filtration soiling is occurring.
Filtration soiling occurs when the air is being forced into the room at a higher rate than it can escape through the ventilation system. When air pressure and currents encounter a restriction, the air will seek alternative escape routes. These routes typically include porous surfaces such as carpet, flooring, ceilings and walls.
When the air passes through a surface such as the carpet, the carpet acts as a filter to the air. Any pollutants in the air are trapped by the carpet and cause the carpet to turn gray or black in that area. The lighter the carpet, the more visible this will be. Common pollutants that contribute to filtration soil include: cigarette smoke, candle smoke, cooking oils, fireplace ash, dust, etc.
Discoloration of the carpet caused by filtration soiling can be very difficult to remove. If this type of soiling has occurred, it is best to let the professionals at SERVPRO of Licking County handle it. In some extreme cases, it may not be possible to fully remove all traces of the soiling.
One way to prevent filtration soiling is to regularly inspect the duct work in your property. As the air is forced through the ventilation system, it picks up whatever dirt is in the ducts, and carries it throughout the building. Also, be sure to change the filter on a regular basis, as recommended by the type of filter used. The filter traps a good portion of airborne pollutants, preventing them from traveling through the duct system and out into the building.
Benefits of servicing your HVAC unit include:
- Helps to restore peak energy efficiency.
- May help to eliminate offensive odors.
- Helps reduce the potential for mold growth.
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Q: Is there any specific injunction in the Quraan or Hadith that it is prefable to make mashura regarding affairs of daughters with the wife than the husband?
A: The Hadith teaches that before embarking on any important work, one should consult with one’s elders. Since the father is the most senior and the head of the family, he should be consulted and he should take the decision. It is a great misfortune that the father be left out and the decisions are made by the mother. The wife is also instructed in Deen to refer to the husband and not independently decide in any affair. Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an:
الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللَّـهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ (النساء : 34)
Men are the caretakers of women on account of the virtue Allah has given some over the others.
Hence we understand from this Aayat that the wife and children all should respect the father and refer to him in all matters.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach) | <urn:uuid:71170aa8-4f89-453e-b830-be983934777c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://islamqa.org/hanafi/muftionline/98709/consulting-the-father/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572221.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816060335-20220816090335-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.925447 | 356 | 1.84375 | 2 |
My parents adopted a cat from their local OSPCA shelter the other day. He’s an adult cat (maybe named by now, but not at last report) and he came:
- vaccinated against the typical group of feline diseases
- dewormed with fenbendazole
- treated with metronidazole (an antibiotic – it wasn’t clear whether this was because he had diarrhea at some point or was diagnosed with something, or whether it was just a routine practice)
- treated with Revolution for flea control
The one thing that’s missing from the list is vaccinated against rabies, which I find amazing. Apparently, the cat was given everything they can give at the shelter without the need for a veterinarian. (Presumably the cat came in neutered, because that would hopefully fall under the "need a veterinarian to do it" category. Prescribing an antibiotic would also be something I’d hope would involve a veterinarian.)
Sending cats to new homes without vaccinating them for rabies is bad practice. Rabies is a rare but extremely serious disease. Vaccination is critical, safe and easy. The OSPCA website says that not all shelters vaccinate against rabies. Some shelters have veterinary staff in the facility, so rabies vaccination would be standard there. Other shelters work with local vets to do this, but that’s not universal, apparently. I don’t see why this isn’t a mandatory policy for the OSPCA. Yes, there is a cost to it, but that should be a cost of doing business. Rabies vaccines aren’t expensive and many vets would work with groups like this to keep the costs down. Adopting an animal from a shelter isn’t cheap, and recovering the small added cost of the vaccine should be possible. I’m not sure whether it really is a question of cost, accessibility or simply not bothering. Getting a veterinarian involved also has benefits beyond just giving the vaccine. Potential health problems can be identified, including diseases that could be transmitted to people that adopt the animals.
It’s true that lack of vaccination of adopted pets can be addressed by getting them vaccinated right after adoption. Any pet that has been adopted (or purchased, or otherwise obtained) should be promptly examined by a veterinarian to identify any potential problems, and to make sure the pet is on a proper preventive medicine program. Realistically though, not everyone does this. While you don’t like to set policies according to the lowest common denominator, you need to for a deadly disease like rabies when the consequences to people and pets are so high. I find it hard to justify sending any animal out of a shelter without rabies vaccination.
Image source: www.ontariospca.ca | <urn:uuid:36602864-996f-4af6-93fc-d5717b869412> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2010/04/articles/animals/cats/rabies-vaccination-of-adopted-cats-why-not/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00271.warc.gz | en | 0.961073 | 586 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Pilot commercial algae to biofuel plant announced in Israel
These microalgae were developed a process that they call "algae CO2 sequestering" in which the strains were fed with exhaust fumes from their power generator's fumes, giving important yields in algae rich in carbohydrates and fatty acids. The carbs can be used to produce ethanol while the fatty acids can be made into biodiesel. This allows Seambiotic to state that their process not only produces biofuels but also can help coal-fired power generators to meet CO2 reduction mandates. This method could potentially use the self-generated biofuel to make these generators work, closing the loop.
- Most and least efficient car companies
- Fastest-depreciating cars in the United States
- Find and compare 2017 Models | <urn:uuid:dcceb985-2bf4-4511-b127-ccfd34e3bbe8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/19/pilot-commercial-algae-to-biofuel-plant-announced-in-israel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00507-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950509 | 160 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The Rhode Island Tax Administrator is authorized by state law to publish lists of the top delinquent taxpayers – those who owe the largest amount of state tax and whose taxes have been unpaid for a period in excess of 90 days following the date their tax was due
The law authorizes the Tax Administrator to publish two such lists on the Rhode Island Division of Taxation’s website:
Like all states, Rhode Island relies on tax revenue to provide vital public services – from public safety and transportation to health care and education. When someone fails to pay the tax that is owed by law, everyone suffers, and honest taxpayers must shoulder an extra burden.
More than 23 states nationwide – including Connecticut and Massachusetts – use Internet lists to help collect unpaid taxes.
Posting the lists is a way to encourage tax delinquents to pay what they owe, come back into compliance with the law, and ease the burden on the overwhelming majority of taxpayers who pay what they owe and pay it on time.
David M. Sullivan | <urn:uuid:cd30ef62-75e8-4642-82a7-efbf31b6eb72> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.tax.ri.gov/misc/top100.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00198-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956922 | 202 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Disable automatic interning
andrew at acooke.org
Wed Mar 18 21:50:48 CET 2009
George Sakkis wrote:
> I'm working on some graph generation problem where the node identity
> is significant (e.g. "if node1 is node2: # do something) but ideally I
> wouldn't want to impose any constraint on what a node is (i.e. require
> a base Node class). It's not a show stopper, but it would be
> problematic if something broke when nodes happen to be (small)
> integers or strings.
this is completely normal (i do exactly this all the time), BUT you should
use "==", not "is". then you can define your own equality by providing
the __eq__ method (sometimes it can be very useful for nodes to be
considered equal even when they are separate instances - for example in
generating cyclic graphs).
More information about the Python-list | <urn:uuid:da9ad222-d8b5-4393-bf0e-a47c8ef94f3a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/2009-March/529396.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00083-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.880706 | 209 | 1.625 | 2 |
Have you ever tried saying something in Greek to the waiter only
to be totally embarrassed when he, instead of smilingly show his
appreciation, corrects you: "it's kalimEEEra, not kalIIIImera".
Or when you finally pick up the courage to say that horrible
word for thank you, and the Greek person opposite you goes "NA
EISTE KALA" and you have no idea what to reply.
Well, these pages will not give you proper lessons just yet. But
there is quite a bit to learn here. The Greek language is the
mother of almost all Western languages, and the roots haven't
gone away. Many names we use are originally Greek (Philip,
Catherine) and if you click on "Common Words" you will find a
list of words we use today that are actually Greek. | <urn:uuid:841d0314-f718-46b2-a1e4-5c3683c98c7f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.in2greece.com/english/language/greek_language.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00374-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920541 | 183 | 2.390625 | 2 |
John Henry Bonham was born in the town of Redditch on the 31st of May 1948. Naturally rhythmic from a young age, at five years old he was building makeshift drumkits out of empty coffee pots and kitchen containers. Graduating to the real thing at 10, though only a single drum, his father would eventually supply him with a complete kit later on.
Growing up in Birmingham, Bonham would depart his studies in 1964, halfway through his teenage years. He would work at his brother’s construction company for a time, though once the young Bonham began playing in bands, his musical talents wouldn’t go unnoticed for long.
John Bonham was a true superstar drummer. One of the most invaluable percussionists of the 60s and 70s, his work as part of Led Zeppelin has imprinted him into the minds of Rock fanatics everywhere.
Playing for many bands, largely around the Birmingham area, Bonham’s first group went by the name of Terry Web and the Spiders. Another band, Blue Stars and the Senators, would birth a hit track with ‘She’s a Mod’, and soon enough, the raw force of Bonham’s drumming was beginning to precede him.
Forming his own act A Way of Life with future Jethro Tull member Dave Pegg, Bonham would soon leave to join the Blues act Crawling King Snakes, fronted by Robert Plant. Later switching with Plant to the group Band of Joy, the band would split after poor demo response, but Bonham would quickly be snapped up by Folk & Blues artist Tim Rose for his band.
Meanwhile, the guitarist Jimmy Page was recruiting for a new group after his previous group, The Yardbirds, fell apart. After recruiting Robert Plant, the vocalist would recommend Bonham to Page, who eventually accepted the invitation.
Now united with Page and Plant, the New Yardbirds would rebrand to Led Zeppelin in 1968, sign to Atlantic Records, and begin recording an album. With Led Zeppelin landing at the dawn of 1969, the band brought intensity above any of Bonham’s previous work, honing their previous influences into a lethal sonic weapon. With their debut topping the charts, Led Zeppelin II from that same year would hog the top spot for almost two months.
1970’s Led Zeppelin III would struggle commercially despite featuring the elemental ‘Immigrant Song’, but by this point, Zeppelin were Rock royalty. Spearheading the Heavy Metal sound throughout the 70s, Zeppelin were propelled by Bonham’s drumming expertise. As he incorporated more advanced forms of percussion into their music, they only climbed to ever greater heights.
However, Bonham’s brilliance had a cost. His relentless performance style sadly translated into a heavy drinking habit. On the 24th of September in 1980, he died in his sleep after consuming around 40 shots of vodka that day alone. Within three months, Led Zeppelin disbanded, acknowledging that they could never recapture their perfect alchemy with another drummer.
Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, John Bonham left a legacy without comparison as one of the greatest Rock drummers of all time.
Did You Know?
John Bonham’s nickname was ‘Bonzo’, although he was also known simply as ‘The Beast’. True to his name, he would select incredibly long and heavy drumsticks to help with his brutal playstyle, and liked to refer to them as ‘trees’!
FREE REPORT REVEALS...
Top 10 Tricks
To Playing The | <urn:uuid:130c8f20-2c2a-4954-bedb-8b22e76fb1f3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://teds-list.com/artist/john-bonham/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.976922 | 783 | 1.945313 | 2 |
A: Ama Ata Aidoo Pf: 1964, Legon, Ghana Pb: 1965 G: Drama in 5 acts and a prelude; prose and free verse S: Courtyard of the Odumna Clan house, rural Ghana, 1960s C: 2m, 8f, 2 children (1m, 1f), 1 birdThe Wayside Bird tells of Ato Yawson, who has gone to the USA to study and is now returning to his ancestral home in Ghana. While at college, he meets and marries an African-American graduate Eulalie. His family are shocked that their oldest son has married a ‘woman who has no tribe’ and ‘the daughter of slaves’. Eulalie is excited by being in Africa but fearful of being thought a witch. She would like to have children, but Ato urges her to wait. Ato dreams of a traditional song about a ghost who did not know in which direction to travel. His mother Esi Kom gives Eulalie some snails to cook, and she horrifies Esi by throwing them away. Esi complains to Ato that, after all the sacrifices made to pay for his education, he now shows no gratitude or respect towards the family. Ato blames Eulalie for his troubles. About a year after her arrival, Eulalie is the subject of malicious gossip, because she has borne no children and insists on spending money on household appliances. The relatives come with magic herbs to make Eulalie fertile, but Ato lacks the courage to admit they are using birth control. Eulalie smokes and drinks too much and finally has an angry confrontation with Ato, who slaps her. That evening, Ato explains to his mother about birth control, and she is sorry that her family has been made fools of. Eulalie arrives unhappily, and Esi gently leads her off, while Ato hears again the ‘dilemma of the ghost’.
A: Ama Ata Aidoo Pf: 1964, Legon, Ghana Pb: 1965 G: Drama in 5 acts and a prelude; prose and free verse S: Courtyard of the Odumna Clan house, rural Ghana, 1960s C: 2m, 8f, 2 children (1m, 1f), 1 bird
Together with Sutherland, Aidoo is one of Ghana's leading playwrights, and this is her best-known play. It deals, as does Soyinka's Death and the King's Horsemen, with the problematic relationship with traditional tribal customs experienced by Africans educated abroad, facing the dilemma of not knowing in which direction to travel. It is the generous warmth of the women, the tenderness of the mother towards her daughter-in-law, that may solve the dilemma. | <urn:uuid:6bf79ee2-0c86-44b9-925d-db18dfb453bc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095718691 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281424.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00333-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974942 | 586 | 1.734375 | 2 |
We live in a world of schemes, swindles and shady deals. I know. I’ve been navigating its dark waters most of my career. The average consumer is slammed with fraudulent offers every day, from “You may already be a winner” sweepstakes to impostors trying to steal your hard-earned cash.
It’s easy to fall for these scams, despite the fact that most of us know better. Or should know better.
You probably realize, for example, that there’s no such thing as a “free” product, that if an offer looks too good to be true, it usually is, and to always, always, shop around.
“But this one will be different,” you say to yourself before wiring money to Nigeria.
No, it won’t.
The Federal Trade Commission compiled a list of its top 10 consumer complaints. They are:
1. Identity theft
2. Debt collection
3. Internet services
4. Prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries
5. Shop-at-home and catalog sales
6. Imposter scams
7. Internet auctions
8. Foreign money/counterfeit check scams
9. Telephone and mobile services
10. Credit cards
Let’s take a closer look at the three biggest offenders, since that’s where most of the action takes place. (For example, identity theft accounted for 19 percent of the complaints received by the government. It’s also been the number-one category for more than a decade.)
What it is: Someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The government estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year.
Example: One of the largest cases of ID theft to date was the theft of millions of credit and debit card numbers from such retailers as TJX, BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, and Sports Authority. In 2009, a computer hacker who was once a federal informant pleaded guilty to the break-in.
How to avoid it: Mostly by monitoring your credit cards for suspicious activity and taking some common-sense approaches to online purchasing. The FTC has a list of helpful tips.
What it is: We’re a nation of debtors. But there’s a right way, and a fraudulent way to collect a debt. Here’s a helpful list of common questions on debt collection that outlines the unethical methods. They include threats of violence, giving false credit information about you or using a false company name to collect a debt.
Example: In 2010, Pennsylvania authorities sued a company called Unicredit for using civil court subpoenas to summon consumers to fake court hearings that were used to intimidate consumers into providing access to bank accounts, making immediate payments or surrendering vehicle titles and other assets. The fake courtroom was said to contain furniture and decorations similar to those used in actual court offices, including a raised bench area where a judge would be seated.
How to avoid it: Besides not getting into debt? Know your rights. You can sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills, according to the government.
What it is: The FTC definition of Internet services is somewhat amorphous, but it generally includes any product or service fraudulently offered online. The mischief can range from phishing scams, where your password is fraudulently obtained through a website, to schemes that persuade you to wire money to criminals.
Example: So-called “spam king” Sanford Wallace is reportedly facing federal fraud charges for allegedly breaking into Facebook accounts and sending 27 million spam messages in 2008 and 2009. Wallace is said to have used a phishing scheme to steal usernames and passwords from victims and then used stolen credentials to post spam to victims walls, the U.S. Department of Justice said. He reportedly made money through online affiliate programs.
How to avoid it: Although there are many online scams, there are a few proven ways to keep them at bay. Don’t send money to strangers, ignore messages that ask you for personal information and make sure you know who you’re dealing with. Here’s another handy list of tips from the FTC.
The balance of these complaint categories account for just a few percent of complaints and can be avoided by taking similar precautions. I would add one final tip: Make sure you deal with a known company, not some fly-by-night operation. It lessens the chance you’ll be scammed.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic-bullet tip that can keep you out of harm’s way as a consumer. You need to carefully evaluate every single offer and run it through your own scam filter.
Otherwise, you could become another statistic. Here’s hoping you won’t. | <urn:uuid:ac07157f-1527-482c-a3c1-30565f4378c9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://elliott.org/oys/the-smarter-consumer-the-10-worst-scams-in-america/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00034-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936454 | 1,066 | 2.25 | 2 |
kstats are data structures maintained by various kernel subsystems and drivers. They provide
a mechanism for exporting data from the kernel to user programs without requiring
that the program read kernel memory or have superuser privilege. For more information,
see kstat(1M) or kstat(3KSTAT).
Note - kstat data structures with system_pages name in the unix module do not report
statistics for cachefree. cachefree is not supported, starting in the Solaris 9 release. | <urn:uuid:30414eb4-3ca3-45f6-a19a-5f14e8987836> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.linuxtopia.org/online_books/opensolaris_2008/SOLTUNEPARAMREF/html/chapter1-25.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573104.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817183340-20220817213340-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.76735 | 108 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Aerospace Masterclass: Aircraft Design
Become an Aircraft Designed by Building Business Jet From Scratch
Note: 4.5/5 (197 notes) 21,679 students
Instructor(s): Martin Yanev
Last update: 2022-07-30
What you’ll learn
- Aerospace Engineering
- Aircraft Design
- Aircraft Types and Missions
- Apply Statistics to Engineering
- Estimating Aircraft Masses
- Design and Positioning of Vehicle Components
- Solving Aircraft Balancing Characteristics
- Knowledge of basic high school math
- Basic physics
- Motivation to become Aerospace Engineer
- Desire to learn how to design aircrafts from scratch
The Aircraft Design course focuses on teaching you the key skills needed to build fully operational aircraft from scratch. Here I will provide you with a complete workbook which describes every small detail for designing a vehicle from statistical analysis to final estimation of balancing characteristics of the aircraft.
You will start by learning the basics of Aerospace engineering by focusing on Aircraft classes and the main physics describing the forces applied to any flying vehicle. Then you will be introduces to your aircraft design project which is a business jet that you will learn how to build throughout the course. You will be solving the following project:
Design a civil transport aircraft for business needs. The type of the aircraft is airplane also called Business Jet. The airplane shall be allowed increased cabin space for its passengers. The only class available shall be business class standard.
The aircraft should meet the following requirements:
Be able to transport at least 12 passengers excluding the cabin crew.
Hs maximum wing span of 20 meters.
Be transonic aircraft to meet the noise standards. Its cruise speed should not exceed 980 km/h.
Maximum flight level should not exceed F500 or 15000 meters.
The aircraft shall allow overflying a range of at least 3000 kilometers with a single fuel tank.
The engines shall allow take-off distance of no more than 2000 meters.
Who this course is for
- Aerospace Engineers
- Mechanical Engineers
- Everyone willing to learn Aircraft Design
- Engineering Students
- Employees in Aerospace Companies
- Employees in Engineering Companies
- Why Learning Aircraft Design?
- Important Notes and Course Navigation
- Aircraft Types and Purpose
- Flying Principals and Aerostatic Principle
- Aerodynamic and Inertial Flying Principle
- Aircraft Components and Usage
- Aerodynamic Schemes
- Aircraft Statistical Analysis
- Aircraft Design Project Review and Discussion
- Statistical Analysis Tables
- Using Statistical Data for Parameter Prediction
- Requirements for the New Aircraft
- Applying the Statistical Analysis to Our Project
- Determination of the Main Aircraft Parameters
- Flight Mission Types
- Choosing the Main Aircraft Parameters
- Aircraft Mass Estimation
- Empty Plane Mass
- Fuel Mass
- Cabin Crew and Luggage Mass
- Loading, Traction and Qualities
- Wing Loading
- Aircraft Traction and Qualities
- Aerodynamic Scheme and Geometry
- Types of Aerodynamic Scheme
- Choosing Aerodynamic Scheme
- Wing Airfoil and Geometry
- Horizontal Surface Geometry
- Vertical Surface Geometry
- Elevator and Rudder Design
- Cabin Design
- Estimating Fuselage Width
- Estimating Cabin Length
- Height and Length of the Body
- Re-Estimating the True Aircraft Masses
- Re-estimating Aircraft Masses – Wing Mass
- Fuselage, Surfaces and Landing Gear Mass
- Powerplant, Equipment and Fuel Mass
- Balancing Characteristics
- Aircraft Balance Characteristics Overview
- Estimating the Real Mass of Aircraft Components
- Balancing Aircraft Construction
- Balancing Additional Aircraft Components
- Estimating the Final Center of Masses
- Aircraft Design Excercise and Conclusions
- Project 2: Transport Aircraft
- What Next in the Aerospace Engineering Field?
Time remaining or 83 enrolls left
|Don’t miss any coupons by joining our Telegram group| | <urn:uuid:9610457b-71c8-4ca9-bd51-4a15843d3966> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://coursemetry.com/aerospace-masterclass-aircraft-design/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572063.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814173832-20220814203832-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.830257 | 840 | 3.015625 | 3 |
The Dominican Republic is a relatively safe place as long as you use caution. Crimes of opportunity occur here often, because it is a poor country. So, what lessons can be learned from this crime and other like it? Well, here is my take below:
- You MUST use the safe in your hotel, if you are going to be bringing someone to your room. I know this is a pessimistic view, but you can't trust ANYONE!!! Yes, no one. If you don't want something stolen from your room make sure it is in the safe. That means camera, cell phone, IPOD, cologne, or anything else that will fit that you value. From the response of the hotel, which is a major chain in the U.S., you can see that you are basically on your own if you get robbed in your hotel room.
- Follow your instinct, if you meet someone on the street or in a bar, act just like you would act if you are in NYC, D.C., or Norfolk. You would be very careful. Many people visit here and leave ALL their common sense in the States. You want to be equally careful here, especially if you don't speak the language.
With that, you can come and have a good time. | <urn:uuid:257141bd-f51b-4ae9-a916-b43712ce0b50> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://monaga.blogspot.com/2005/08/update.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00171-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980129 | 261 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Enough with the boring and too basic
materials for learning Portuguese!
WHAT IS REALLY LEARN PORTUGUESE
Back in 2015, We created Really Learn Portuguese (RLP) to help people learn Brazilian Portuguese in some innovative and effective ways.
What’s in for you
We make Podcasts, Blog Posts, Online lessons and also what we call “Real Brazilian Conversations” (RBC) – to make your listening comprehension and pronunciation really get better like you don’t imagine.
Our mission is to help you achieve that with simple, to-the-point materials that will always teach you something new and meaningful. RLP is all about avoid boring materials, repel basic unrealistic Portuguese language teaching and not being pushy on our Marketing approaches.
Here’s our purpose with RLP: to provide really useful content in an interesting and fun way, to be aware of what you need and wish in learning Portuguese, so we can create valuable resources for you.
who's behind RLP
André is the founder of RLP. He teached Portuguese for foreigners from 2006 to 2019.André had been struggling with health problems for many years. We hope from the bottom of our heart that he has found the peace he sought so much and we will do everything to honor his legacy.
One of the things he enjoys the most is interacting with different people in different places.
"I fell in love with studying English 5 years ago and 2 have accepted Andre's invitation to help other people around the world learn a foreign language, which by the way, is one of the best sensations there are."
"Hello! My name is Emilio! I have a diploma in Business, and currently,
I am a Supply Chain and Operations Student in Canada. I am passionate about watching series and learning different languages. I like to talk about various subjects, from entertainment to politics. I have always wanted to help people developing their skills in Portuguese, so I am in the right place and at the right time!" | <urn:uuid:bc6dac93-e2af-467d-9302-ee74954f99e6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://reallylearnportuguese.com/about/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.956787 | 444 | 1.625 | 2 |
May Wettest In Oklahoma History
KSCB News - June 1, 2015 10:16 am
The month of May has gone down as the wettest month in Oklahoma’s history.
Oklahoma media outlets report the final statewide average rainfall for May was 14.41 inches. State climatologist Gary McManus said that is 9.59 inches above normal.
According to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, the previous record was 10.75 inches, set in October 1941. The previous record for the month of May was 10.54 in 1957. The agency has kept records since the late 1890s.
The U.S. Drought Monitor says the rainfall has alleviated most of Oklahoma’s drought conditions.
Recent storms, heavy rainfall and floods led to multiple fatalities and widespread damage throughout the state. | <urn:uuid:b474fba4-a94a-4360-89f2-01463f27f044> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.kscbnews.net/may-wettest-in-oklahoma-history/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571536.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811224716-20220812014716-00272.warc.gz | en | 0.959533 | 172 | 2.25 | 2 |
While we have succeeded in bringing down our death rate we have not been able to control the birth rate in our country. Come reasons are listed here.
1. Early marriages are one of the major cause for the high birth rate. According to the law it is not permissible for girls to get married before the age of eighteen years and boys before twenty-one years. But in many rural and backward areas people are married early and even child marriages are prevalent. This generally leads to a larger number of children being born. Increase in social awareness is the only way to solve this problem.
2. Poverty and illiteracy are two other factors. Children are seen as additional working hands in poorer families. It is felt that they can contribute to the family’s income and also support their parents in their old age. In reality, in a larger family it is harder to provide proper food, nutrition, and education for all the children. Thus, more children are condemned to being illiterate. Illiteracy, especially amongst women again leads to a larger number of children.
3. The preference of a male child is still very strong in our country because of religious beliefs and social conditioning. Even educated people keep on having children, as they want a male child.
As we have seen earlier, our country has made remarkable progress in the field of agriculture and industry. However, the unmanageable growth in population has prevented the benefits of this development from reaching all the people. This leads to scarcity of food, shelter, and employment among the people of our country. Thus, the biggest challenge before our country today is to check the population growth. | <urn:uuid:b020d73d-9256-408f-bf27-36e743cc3831> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.preservearticles.com/201012271785/causes-of-high-birth-rate.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00035-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977099 | 331 | 2.578125 | 3 |
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|Tested species reactivity||Human, Mouse, Rat|
|Host / Isotype||Rabbit / IgG|
|Immunogen||Recombinant fragment corresponding to a region within amino acids 83 and 303 of Human Sodium Potassium ATPase Beta 1|
|Purification||Antigen affinity chromatography|
|Storage buffer||0.1M tris glycine, pH 7, with 10% glycerol|
|Storage Conditions||-20° C, Avoid Freeze/Thaw Cycles|
|Tested Applications||Dilution *|
|Immunohistochemistry (Paraffin) (IHC (P))||1:100-1:1000|
|Western Blot (WB)||1:1000-1:10,000|
* Suggested working dilutions are given as a guide only. It is recommended that the user titrate the product for use in their own experiment using appropriate negative and positive controls.
PA5-29719 targets Sodium Potassium ATPase Beta 1 in IHC (P) and WB applications and shows reactivity with Human, mouse, and Rat samples.
The PA5-29719 immunogen is recombinant fragment corresponding to a region within amino acids 83 and 303 of Human Sodium Potassium ATPase Beta 1.
The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the family of Na+/K+ and H+/K+ ATPases beta chain proteins, and to the subfamily of Na+/K+ -ATPases. Na+/K+ -ATPase is an integral membrane protein responsible for establishing and maintaining the electrochemical gradients of Na and K ions across the plasma membrane. These gradients are essential for osmoregulation, for sodium-coupled transport of a variety of organic and inorganic molecules, and for electrical excitability of nerve and muscle. This enzyme is composed of two subunits, a large catalytic subunit (alpha) and a smaller glycoprotein subunit (beta). The beta subunit regulates, through assembly of alpha/beta heterodimers, the number of sodium pumps transported to the plasma membrane. The glycoprotein subunit of Na+/K+ -ATPase is encoded by multiple genes. This gene encodes a beta 1 subunit. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been identified.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Not for resale without express authorization.
adenosinetriphosphatase; ATP1B; ATPase, Na+/K+ transporting, beta 1 polypeptide; Beta 1-subunit of Na(+); Beta 1-subunit of Na(+),K(+)-ATPase; K(+)-ATPase; K-ATPase beta-1 polypeptide; Na; Na, K-ATPase beta-1 polypeptide; Na,K-ATPase beta 1 subunit; sodium pump subunit beta-1; sodium-potassium ATPase subunit beta 1 (non-catalytic); sodium/potassium ATPase beta subunit; sodium/potassium-dependent ATPase beta-1 subunit; sodium/potassium-dependent ATPase subunit beta-1; sodium/potassium-transporting ATPase beta-1 chain; sodium/potassium-transporting ATPase subunit beta-1
ATP1B; ATP1B1; Atp4b; Atpb; Atpb-1; ATPBS; NKbeta1 | <urn:uuid:bc97cb61-f4cb-4dab-9ad8-0d19571f0840> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.thermofisher.com/antibody/product/Sodium-Potassium-ATPase-Beta-1-Antibody-Polyclonal/PA5-29719 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284405.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00042-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.740757 | 765 | 1.742188 | 2 |
This survey was conducted for ABC News, the BBC and NHK by D3 Systems of Vienna, Va., and KA Research Ltd. of Istanbul, Turkey. Interviews were conducted in person, in Arabic or Kurdish, among a random national sample of 2,228 Iraqis aged 18 and up from Feb. 17-25, 2009.
Four-hundred-forty-six sampling points were distributed proportionate to population size in each of Iraq's 18 provinces, then in 102 districts within the provinces, then by simple random sampling among Iraq's nearly 11,000 villages or neighborhoods, with urban/rural stratification at each stage. Four sampling points were substituted for security reasons.
Maps or grids were used to select random starting points within each sampling point, with household selection by random route/random interval and within-household selection by the "next-birthday" method. An average of five interviews were conducted per sampling point.
Interviews were conducted by 133 trained Iraqi interviewers with management from 26 supervisors and quality control personnel. Fifty-four percent of the interviews were subject to quality control: Thirty-three percent by direct observation by supervisors and control team members, 11 percent by in-person back-checks by supervisors and 11 percent by regional field managers and central office control staff.
In addition to the national sample, oversamples were drawn in Anbar province, Sadr City, Basra city, Kirkuk city and Mosul to allow for more reliable analysis in those areas. Population data came from 2005 estimates by the Iraq Ministry of Planning. The sample was weighted by sex, age, education, urban/rural status and population of province.
The survey had a contact rate of 93 percent and a cooperation rate of 67 percent for a net response rate of 62 percent. Including an estimated design effect of 1.49, the results have a margin of sampling error of 2.5 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
SUNNI/SHIITE – Given the attitudinal differences between Shiite and Sunni Arabs in Iraq, there's interest in the relative sizes of these two groups. We find no official Iraqi estimate of the country's Sunni vs. Shiite Arab populations and no authoritative source of empirical data on the subject.
The most commonly cited estimate is an unsourced reference in the CIA World Factbook saying that 60-65 percent of Iraqis are Shiite Muslims, 15-20 percent Kurds and 3 percent non-Muslims. Though not explicitly stated, that leaves room for 12 to 22 percent Sunni Arabs.
This estimate may be derived from a 1988 book, "Iraq: a Country Study" produced by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. This book (pp. 80-81) characterizes data on ethnicity and religious doctrine in Iraq as "not absolutely reliable." It says, "Officially the government sets the number of Shias at 55 percent. In the 1980s knowledgeable observers began to question this figure, regarding it as low. …a more reasonable estimate of their number would seem to be between 60 and 65 percent." It adds, "…the Sunni Arabs… constitute a decided minority of only about 13 percent..."
These data also are unsourced. The 60-65 percent Shiite estimate matches that in the CIA World Factbook; the 13 percent Sunni Arab estimate compares to the World Factbook's unstated range of 12 to 22 percent.
Data from recent random-sample surveys, including the last four sponsored by ABC News with media partners, contrast with these unsourced estimates. This survey puts Iraq's population at 51 percent Shiite, 29 percent Sunni Arab, 16 percent Kurdish and 4 percent other; the four, in aggregate, are 49 percent Shiite, 32 percent Sunni Arab, 16 percent Kurdish and 4 percent other.
These four surveys comprise more than 8,800 interviews from 1,822 sampling points, a large sample with an unusual level of geographical coverage.
Iraq surveys from other sources are difficult to compare, particularly because some weight their results to a predetermined assumption of distribution by religious doctrine. In the absence of persuasive empirical data from any other source, this and previous polls for ABC News and its media partners do not weight Iraqis' religious or ethnic doctrine to any assumed target. | <urn:uuid:ffb5c406-48eb-4446-b6f6-b5fbf259a5bd> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/story?id=7067400&page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721027.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00551-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943498 | 853 | 2.140625 | 2 |
The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, it compares the performance of various panel data models in estimating technical efficiency in production. Second, it applies various stochastic frontier panel data models to estimate the technical efficiency of Iran's cotton production and to provide empirical evidence on the sources of technical inefficiency of cotton producing provinces. The results indicate that labor and seeds are determinants of cotton production and inorganic fertilizers result in reducing technical efficiency. The mean technical efficiency of the models is around 80 percent. Variations in the distribution of estimated efficiency amongst the different models is large.
technical efficiency labor use panel data modeling time-variant persistent inefficiency individual heterogeneity model comparison cotton production Iran | <urn:uuid:68c47672-2fe0-4f07-b708-aa6ebe606ead> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/141566 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00311-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.881602 | 140 | 2.140625 | 2 |
This MSc will equip you with state-of-the-art knowledge of biomaterials, bioengineering, tissue engineering, medical engineering and related management topics. Delivered by experts from across UCL and eminent visiting lecturers from industry and medical charities, this interdisciplinary programme attracts physical sciences, engineering and life sciences graduates, including those with qualifications in medicine.
You will develop an advanced knowledge of topics in biomaterials and tissue engineering alongside an awareness of the context in which healthcare engineering operates, in terms of safety, environmental, social and economic aspects. You will also gain a wide range of intellectual, practical and transferable skills necessary for a career in this field.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme consists of eight core modules (120 credits) and a research dissertation (60 credits). There are no optional modules for this programme.
Core modules -Biomaterials -Tissue Engineering -Biofluids and Medical Devices -Biomechanics and Biostructures -Applications of Biomedical Engineering -Bioengineering -Medical Imaging (ionising and non-ionising) -Evaluation and Planning of Business Opportunities
Dissertation/report Culminating in a substantial dissertation and oral presentation, the research project focuses your research interests and develops high-level presentation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The project can be based in any relevant UCL department.
Teaching and learning This dynamic programme is delivered through lectures, tutorials, individual and group projects, and practical laboratory work. Assessment is through written, oral and viva voce examinations, the dissertation and coursework (including the evaluation of laboratory reports, technical and project reports, problem-solving exercises, assessment of computational and modelling skills, and oral presentations).
There are many career opportunities and the programme is suitable for students wishing to become academics, researchers or professionals and for those pursuing senior management careers, in manufacturing or healthcare engineering.
Top career destinations for this degree: -Clinical Fellow Plastic Surgeon, Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust -MRes in Synthetic Biology, UCL -PhD in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, UCL -Transcranial Ultrasonic Stimulation, UCL -Chief Research and Technology Officer, eSpin NanoTech
Employability Delivered by leading researchers from across UCL, as well as industrial experts, you will have plenty of opportunities to network and keep abreast of emerging ideas in biomaterials and tissue engineering. Collaborating with companies and bodies such as the NHS, JRI Orthopaedics and Orthopaedics Research (UK) is key to our success and you will be encouraged to develop networks through the programme itself and through the department’s careers programme which includes employer-led events and individual coaching. We equip our graduates with the skills and confidence needed to play a creative and leading role in the professional and research community.
Why study this degree at UCL?
There are internationally renowned research groups in biomaterials and bioengineering in UCL Engineering and you will have access to a state-of-the-art research portfolio.
In recent years, UCL Mechanical Engineering has seen unprecedented activity in refurbishing and re-equipping our laboratories. For example, six new biomaterials and bioengineering laboratories have been set up with funding from the Royal Society and Wolfson Foundation. A new biomaterials processing and forming laboratory is also available in the Materials Hub in the Engineering Building.
The programme is also delivered by leading researchers across UCL's Division of Medicine, Eastman Dental Institute, the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and visiting experts from other UK organisations.
Selection criteria: The bursary will be awarded based on financial need only as determined by the Student Funding Office.Value, Benefits and Duration: - The value of the bursary is £15,000. The payment is to be applied to tuition fees in the first instance, with any remainder being paid to the successful applicant towards maintenance in termly instalments. - The bursary is tenable for one year only. - The bursary may not be held alongside other tuition fee only awards.
Value of Scholarship(s)
- prospective full-time UK Master's students who are undertaking a one-year programme of study in the Faculties of the Built Environment, Engineering Sciences or Mathematical & Physical Sciences (BEAMS) in 2015/16 - currently holding a first-class Bachelor's degree; and - in financial need. | <urn:uuid:882a63f0-b0c7-4d10-ae06-7a25194e48b6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.findamasters.com/search/masters-degree/i274d1829c20038/biomaterials-and-tissue-engineering-msc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00121-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927653 | 927 | 1.78125 | 2 |
She died 11,500 years ago at the tender age of six weeks in what is now the interior of Alaska. Dubbed “Sunrise Girl-child” by the local indigenous people, the remains of the Ice Age infant—uncovered at an archaeological dig in 2013—contained traces of DNA, allowing scientists to perform a full genomic analysis. Incredibly, this baby girl belonged to a previously unknown population of ancient Native Americans—a discovery that’s changing what we know about the continent’s first people.
Genetic evidence published today in Nature is the first to show that all Native Americans can trace their ancestry back to a single migration event that happened at the tail-end of the last Ice Age. The evidence—gleaned from the full genomic profile of the six-week-old girl and the partial genomic remains of another infant—suggests the continent’s first settlers arrived in a single migratory wave around 20,900 years ago. But this population then split into two groups—one group that would go on to become the ancestors of all Native North Americans, and another that would venture no further than Alaska—a previously unknown population of ancient North Americans now dubbed the “Ancient Beringians.”
It’s well established that North America’s first settlers migrated from Siberia into Alaska prior to the end of the last Ice Age via an ancient land bridge known as Beringia (actually, the term “bridge” is a bit of a misnomer as Beringia was a sizeable landmass measuring 620 miles (1,000 km) at its widest extent and encompassing an area as large as the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta combined; those humans living and venturing across this landmass would hardly think of it as a “bridge”). But scientists aren’t sure if there was a single founding group or several, or when the migration actually happened.
The remains of two human infants, found at the Upward Sun River (USR) site in the Alaskan interior, are changing what we know of this important period in human history. The researchers who conducted the genetic analysis, which involved teams from the University of Cambridge, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, were fully expecting the USR DNA to match the genetic profiles of other northern Native American people—but it matched no other known ancient population, not even the two recognized branches of early indigenous peoples, known as Northern and Southern. It also didn’t match any contemporary human populations.
“We didn’t know this population existed,” said Ben Potter, professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a lead author of the new study, in a statement. “These data also provide the first direct evidence of the initial founding Native American population, which sheds new light on how these early populations were migrating and settling throughout North America.”
Genetic analysis showed that these Ancient Beringians were more closely related to early Native Americans than their Asian and Eurasian ancestors. Even though the DNA extracted from the second infant wasn’t able to produce a full genome for analysis, the researchers were able to determine that the two girls belonged to the same population. The genetic analysis, combined with computer-based population modeling, allowed the researchers to conclude that a single founding ancestral indigenous American group split from East Asians around 35,000 years ago. Then, around 20,000 years ago, this group split into two groups: the ancestors of all Native Americans, and the Ancient Beringians.
“The Ancient Beringians diversified from other Native Americans before any ancient or living Native American population sequenced to date. It’s basically a relict population of an ancestral group which was common to all Native Americans, so the sequenced genetic data gave us enormous potential in terms of answering questions relating to the early peopling of the Americas,” said lead author Eske Willerslev, who holds positions at both the University of Cambridge and the University of Copenhagen. “We were able to show that people probably entered Alaska before 20,000 years ago. It’s the first time that we have had direct genomic evidence that all Native Americans can be traced back to one source population, via a single, founding migration event.”
The discovery suggests two possible scenarios for the peopling of the Americas. Either two distinct groups of people crossed over Beringia prior to 15,700 years ago, or one group of people crossed over the land bridge and then split in Beringia into two groups, namely the Ancient Beringians and the Native Americans (where the latter moved south of the ice sheets 15,700 years ago). The study also reaffirms a pre-existing theory known as the “Standstill Model”—the possibility that the descendents of this single-source population were living in Beringia until about 11,500 years ago.
Regardless, it now appears that the Ancient Beringians stayed in the far North for thousands of years, while the ancestors of other Native American peoples spread throughout the rest of North America. The new genetic analysis, along with previous archaeological work, also lends credence to the idea that an offshoot of these migrants, known as the Athabascans, made their way back into the northern regions of North America again, possibly around 6,000 years ago (a process known as back migration), eventually absorbing or replacing the Ancient Beringians. More research will be required to bear this theory out.
“The differences between the genomes of the Upward Sun River infants and the genomes of other ancient Native Americans sets the Alaskan infants apart,” Gary Haynes, an anthropologist at the University of Nevada, told Gizmodo, “But there are also similarities which suggest that all the studied individuals are descendants of a single ancestral founding population. The USR population split after 20,900 years from the population that gave rise to all modern northern and southern Native Americans. The critical importance of this conclusion, if it is correct, is that it provides support for the view that a single founding population from Northeast Asia gave rise to all the native peoples of the Americas. This is a significant finding which establishes that all the pre-Columbian native peoples of the New World are members of one family tree.”
Haynes, who isn’t affiliated with the new study, says it’s important to keep in mind that the paper’s conclusions are based heavily on genetic analysis and that the authors weren’t able to provide empirical support in the form of archaeological evidence with firm dates.
“The suggested dating of population movements and genetic divergences in the paper relies on estimates of genetic rates of change, with tacit support from paleogeographic data (the existence of ice sheets at certain times, for example, blocking human movement), and the implication that archeological claims are correct about human presence [more than 15,000 years ago] in the Americas south of Beringia,” he said.
David Lambert, a professor at Griffith University’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, says the study was “carefully conducted, and employed generally well understood laboratory… methods,” and that the research was of “a very high standard.” Lambert, who wasn’t involved in the new study, says the authors presented strong genomic evidence for a previously unknown but distinct early North American population.
“The conclusions are sound and it is clear that the results represent a significant new chapter in our understanding of the settlement of North America,” Lambert told Gizmodo. “The authors present evidence for a complex history of late Pleistocene genomic evolution that includes evidence for introversion [the spawning of new populations who keep to themselves], back migrations, and evidence of a single founding population that split from East Asians.”
Lambert is particularly stoked about the way ancient DNA is able to produce new and unexpected findings. “This study shows that even a single ancient genome sequenced to a good coverage can potentially make major contributions to our understanding of ancient complex histories,” he said.
Indeed, this study is dependent on a single—albeit really good—sample of DNA. It’s possible the infant could be some kind of a genetic outlier (an unlikely scenario given the similarities observed between the two USR infants). More genetic evidence of these Ancient Beringians, along with more archaeological evidence, will be required to affirm these findings and push this research forward. But it’s an exciting result nonetheless—one that paints more a more complex picture of how North America was settled.
source: Gizmodo.com by George Dvorsky | <urn:uuid:cd72fb14-822c-4779-8a40-bfbf941e206b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thafcc.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/discovery-of-unknown-ancient-population-changes-our-understanding-of-how-north-america-was-settled/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572127.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815024523-20220815054523-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.949852 | 1,812 | 3.96875 | 4 |
What if we mapped the world, not by political boundaries, but by its own people? The city of Geneva, Switzerland, asked this question. Ville Vivante, or "City Living," is the result.
It’s a project by Interactive Things, along with Lift and Near Future Laboratory, which traced cell phones to visualize the daily flow of people across Geneva. With the goal of capturing the "living rhythm of the city," a week’s worth of anonymized cell-phone data was provided by Swisscom. To put that much information in perspective, the phones of Swisscom subscribers make 15 million connections and 2 million phone calls a day. The data was then analyzed and visualized, so you can watch the city’s inhabitants migrate like wind, or even see the congestion at various public transit stations by hour.
"There are more cellular phones in Switzerland than inhabitants," Patricia Crousaz Pantet, executive consultant, Department of Urban Environment and Security for the City of Geneva, tells Co.Design. "The main goal of this project was to launch the debate about the digital traces, the opportunities of this data for a community, and to give more awareness to the population that this data will become an important source of information for public and private sectors."
In an era when many of us are concerned about our iPhones tracking our every move, Geneva has not just grabbed the issue of privacy by the horns, they’ve dished out a portion of meat and leather to every one of their citizens. They’ve shown how many of us, in our personal paranoia about our digital thumbprints, can actually forgo a bit of our privacy to offer something extremely useful to our neighbors.
Then again, maybe most of us actually care more about our own privacy than being neighborly.
[Hat tip: Infosthetics] | <urn:uuid:befa0444-9455-4ab9-ada2-d3a12bb00811> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669185/a-city-visualizes-its-own-inner-workings-with-infographics-powered-by-cellular-data | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280266.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00498-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962898 | 377 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Proposals & Solicitations
A working understanding of contract development best practices and access to standardized solar contract templates and request for proposals (RFPs) will help reduce the time and cost associated with this process by improving project transparency and accountability while accelerating solar deployment by reducing time and cost of the contract development process.
Below are some resources to help your organization effectively navigate the solar contract development process with the goal of RFP and contract transparency, completeness, and accountability of all involved parties. But first a few key definitions:
- A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal bid document to ask vendors to provide proposals for desired projects, as required by many public agencies (federal, state, local). A solar RFP outlines the photovoltaic (PV) product or service requirements, the contract terms, and bidding process. RFPs are frequently issued as a means to receive competitive bids on a power purchase agreement (PPA).
- A solar power purchase agreement (PPA) is a financial contract in which a third-party developer owns, operates, and maintains the photovoltic system, and a customer agrees to purchase the system's electric output from the solar services provider for an agreed-upon price and for a predetermined period. The systems may be hosted on-site, such as the customer’s roof, or at an off-site location.
|Solar RFP Issuance Checklist for Facilities Managers||EPA developed a solar RFP document checklist to keep track of key components, such as scope and deliverables, specific requirements, and RFP submission process and key dates.|
|Solar Powering Your Community: Key Elements of Solar Requests for Proposals (pdf)||This presentation, developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, covers the key elements of a solar RFP, including the solar project procurement and implementation process, how to submit a successful solar RFP, common pitfalls, a case study, and resources/sample RFPs.|
|Solar Request for Proposals & Procurement Guidance (docx)||The purpose of this RFP template is to provide guidance for the procurement of solar PV. This template contains information on project background, scope of work, proposal requirements, evaluation criteria, and recommended information to provide to respondents. Users are encouraged to modify the template to suit project needs.|
|Writing Solar Requests for Proposals (RFPs): Lessons from NREL’s University PV Implementation Assistance Program (pdf)||Typically, universities issue RFPs as a way to get competitive bids on solar PPAs. However, RFPs could also be used for university-owned systems. While providing assistance to universities issuing RFPs, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has developed a list of common issues to consider when writing an RFP for solar PV.|
|Procuring and Implementing Solar Projects on Public Buildings||This presentation outlines good practices and guidance for solar PV and solar water heating (SWH) RFP processes, describes how to avoid five common PV and SWH pitfalls, and illustrates practices and pitfalls with a case study.|
|Steps to a Successful Solar Request for Proposal (pdf)||This publication is designed for individuals overseeing procurement for the local government they serve with the goal of helping them develop successful RFPs for solar energy systems. Learn about the essential elements of a solar RFP; receive introductory guidance on how to evaluate any proposals received; and be directed towards tools, resources, and sample documents that can help maximize the effectiveness of your solar procurement efforts.|
|A Best Practice for Developing Availability Guarantee Language in Photovoltaic (PV) O&M Agreements||This report identifies both best-practice elements and gaps that must be addressed to improve communication of equipment operational states and failure modes in PV operations and maintenance (O&M) services contracts. These best-practice elements and gaps can benefit both a PV system or plant owner and an O&M services provider or operator.|
|Solar Power Purchase Agreement Template||This solar PPA template document was developed by a group of solar developers, law firms, and other interested parties in the solar energy space. It represents a consensus around one possible approach to solar finance, with a particular emphasis on access to the broader capital markets. To use this content, you should review it in the context of your personal business strategy.| | <urn:uuid:1d25d523-dc41-4798-bba1-55fb3962980e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/proposals-solicitations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571745.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812170436-20220812200436-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.912518 | 919 | 1.78125 | 2 |
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