Swisscom: ‘Customer trust is something we should not compromise in any way’

Swisscom’s architecture leads discuss how the changing telecom industry must think twice before opening hugely profitable data assets to external developers

The telecoms firm is using APIs to boost new revenue streams across Internet of Things (IoT) and M2M businesses to deflect dropping voice revenues.

As the leading provider in Switzerland and with international reach, Swisscom has over 20,000 employees and generated CHF 2.82 billion (£1.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2014. It offers mobile communications, fixed networks, internet and digital TV to enterprise and residential customers. It is one of Switzerland’s largest IT providers.

But like many enterprises, Swisscom is in a state of flux. Not only is it currently migrating legacy IT systems to the cloud, while offering its own customers cloud services, but its entire business focus is shifting.

“From a strategic and technology point of view we are moving from old legacy structures," said Frank Fitzlaff, head of Swisscom’s API programme.

The company is “cloud-enabled” but Fitzlaff estimates it will be between five and eight years until it has finished migrating from legacy telecom systems to software based networks.

“We are following that migration all the way through to become a completely cloud enabled business but we also need certain technologies like Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs) as they are an important foundation,” Fitzlaff adds.

APIs merge the data silos

APIs allow companies to stream data assets between backend systems so they can be used to pool data and combine silos. They can be opened internally or externally so that developers can use the data to create applications of their choice.

Some of Swisscom’s APIs make its cloud possible and provide a way to easily access its 120 other ports from virtual machines (VMs).

These APIs have become a key part of Swisscom’s reinvention; a necessary move to keep afloat in the changing communications market.

“Revenue streams are declining in core areas like voice and messaging,” Fitzlaff admitted.

“We need to find new fields of expertise to do this and we will not find big areas like voice and messaging anymore, but a lot of smaller items in the healthcare or energy solutions.

“In all of these small areas we will compete with lots of internet companies and that means that we have to be capable to be competitive with them - not only in terms of the offering but in terms of speed, trialling and incorporating feedback and being faster. And that is why we needed APIs."

APIs as new revenue streams

Companies are opening API programmes for different reasons. Some are purely for charging developers for data assets so they can build their own apps, some are to get developers to create apps the company can use itself, and some are for branding, like in Coca-Cola’s case.

But since opening its API programme in 2012, Swisscom has started to realise that sometimes APIs give back data too good to give away.

“Our current revenue streams don’t currently come from APIs”, says John de Keijzer, Swisscom's head of enterprise architecture & technical strategy.

“We just released an API that converts your IP address into your zip [post] code which is a very useful API for target marketing.

“The departments that are responsible for revenue in marketing saw a great opportunity, however we are just launching some new key services for residential customers and actually in that context we see more value to keep it to ourselves than actually giving it away.

“It’s a new paradigm where you have to make a trade-off between where does the API give you a better return on investment? Is this for new or existing services you provide yourselves or is it something that you provide as an enabling technology to market?”

The latter will form Swisscom’s armour in the battle of the M2M, TV and healthcare race that will consume all telecom providers.  Swisscom will hold onto any API that will help them to become market leaders in those fields.

Telcos take the upper-hand in the big data stakes

“You need real industry knowledge for the healthcare field, but it needs secure channels to transfer customer, or patient, information. It needs secure stores to secure this data and it needs identity checks to make sure that someone cannot access this data. These are examples of capabilities that we have that we want to offer the market as APIs” de Keijzer tells ComputerworldUK excitedly.

But another trade-off needs to be taken into account – the customer. Public perception and treatment of sensitive information is intrinsic to how Swisscom operates, de Keizjer adds.

“In our case we care about our customers. We will probably never provide some [identity] APIs [externally] even though it could be very profitable."

We can't compromise trust

“We are more on the cautious side because of the brand. It [Swisscom] is a company associated with a lot of trust. That is something we should not compromise in any way."

Like many companies who are just realising the importance of their big data, but set against the backdrop of Snowden’s disclosures and Wikileaks’ cables, de Keijzer admits that, “there is a real opportunity but that balance is something that we have to learn.”

He says: “API technology is pretty simple but the whole mindset and cultural change is what makes it so exciting.”

Some of Swisscom’s APIs to be available by 2015 include:

Each developer gets 100 SMS per month for free, after that there will be a usage charge. Swisscom said that SMS is hugely important for developers still, with barely any apps being created without it.

Carrier billing API:

Developers can create cross-operator apps. Every transaction requires the explicit consent of the end-user with an authentication/authorisation feature.

All customer and partner records will be put on a meta-identity system for six million customers “very soon”.

Age check:

This will ensure external partners' customers are older than sixteen or eighteen years old to sell them specific products. This will allow developers to create apps for alcoholic beverage purchases, for example.

Customer information

This API will use end-user authentication to see all of its information across Swisscom and its partners in one place.

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Swiss Bank cautious over Swiss Franc

Discussion and Analysis by Charles Porter:

This morning, Switzerland’s National Bank (SNB) issued a press release detailing their latest monetary policy assessment. Their report detailed that the SNB is “maintaining its expansionary monetary policy”. Because the Bank had previously adopted negative exchange rates, this has interesting implications for macroeconomic thought as well as the Swiss macroeconomy.

The decision to adopt negative interest rates in Switzerland was a surprising event in itself. Naturally, therefore, the decision to retain negative interest rates once again qualifies this decision and leads us to continually re-evaluate our macroeconomic thinking. To explain this and frame the analysis upon currency markets, I will briefly discuss why negative interest rates are a problem. Following this, I will discuss why a consideration of our macroeconomic assumptions is advisable.

Interest rates should never and can never fall further than zero; at least that’s what a lot of people thought before it happened. The logical underpinnings of this longstanding macroeconomic assumption are mostly theoretical. This theoretical truth thereby became an empirical truth by the unwillingness of central bankers to challenge the hypothesis.

However, in the wake of the financial crisis, hyper-low interest rates simply weren’t enough to stimulate the economy. The spill-overs associated with Quantitative Easing, hyper-inflation, asset-scarcity and crowding-out, and the unpredictable and slow nature of expansionary fiscal policy, provided the impetus to plunge through the Zero Lower Bound.

It is theoretically upheld that interest rate policy cannot break the zero-lower bound, i.e. interest rates cannot become negative. The theoretical underpinnings of this claim are coherent and pervasive. The central mechanism preventing negative interest rates is derived primarily from the effect upon savers. Rational individuals who hold money, even for a short period of time, within a bank account will, in theory, choose to withdraw their money from bank accounts and hold it in non-interest-bearing cash instead. Therefore, the cash deposits that banks create leverage upon in order to extend credit to consumers and investors alike will be eliminated entirely. There will, therefore, be a liquidity trap assuming that the private banks’ reserve requirements are not equal to zero.

Given that the Swiss National Bank has not only delved into negative interest rate territory but stayed there for another month, the zero-lower bound hypothesis may, after all, be a fallacy. The reassurance given by the considerable longevity of negative interest rates in Switzerland may, perhaps, be due to a public unwillingness to assume the risk of withdrawal and perceived lack of security.

Therefore, because the ‘under the mattress’ alternative has considerable costs of its own, a moderately negative reward to holding liquid currency is still seen as a worthwhile quasi-expense. Therefore, after all, because the ultimate purpose of negative interest rates is to prevent individuals from holding idle money and instead increase consumption and investment, it is possible that the velocity of money circulation within the economy has risen.

During the National Bank announcement, the value of the Swiss Franc was highly volatile. However, the direction of change was almost imperceptible, with high amplitude movements around the pre-announcement rate. After several minutes, markets reacted to the news as well as global macroeconomic environment and political risk by devaluing the Swiss Franc considerably.


Breaking News

Kanu: Authoritative ambiguities and dilemma of powerless

AS a development professional with some international exposure, the anomic social order in Nigeria is heart-rending. The social situations in the country occasioned by endemic corruption, bad governance and lack of responsiveness to civic duties among the general population has for long reached a critical level.

Besides my concerns for the state of worsening deprivations of the common people, the utter decay in social values is more worrisome as the entrenchment of materialism and moral decadence has reach an epic dimension, with common criminals enjoying social accolades. The traditional institutions of society are so decimated, and the holy places such as the church are not even spared as some of those who  are supposed to be the custodian of morality and social ethics are all engrossed in the macabre dance of indiscipline.

Given the ethical travesty that has become a threat to the Nigerian social fabric, like many other well-meaning Nigerians, I have longed for a change both in governance and the general way of life among the populace. Thus, when the duo of Buhari and Osinbajo were chosen as candidates of the main opposition party in the last presidential election, I was really glad, and most of us abroad campaigned for them in our own unique ways. My strong support for Buhari and Osinbajo was based on their personality and antecedents. To me, Buhari represents the opposite of most of our past leaders in terms of indiscipline and corruption as he had earlier demonstrated during his short term as Nigerian military head of state. For Osinbajo, my belief is that with his character as a clergyman, he would provide a good support in steering the nation out of moral deficit and towards good governance. The uniqueness in characteristics of these two reputable Nigerians raised the hope in me that the time for change has come.

Although my belief in Buhari and his deputy is still intact, there are certain developments that are being witnessed at the moment, which are raising some concerns regarding the focus and priority in achieving our expectations from the Buhari administration. One of the main issues at the moment is the detention of Nnamdi Kanu. There is a proverbial adage that says “you don’t carry an elephant on your head and at the same time seek  for an ant on the ground.” Our expectations and existing need for change at the moment, makes the focus on Nnamdi Kanu a distraction. What I have read from the press is that this man operates a Radio station in the UK, which campaigns for the Biafra. Before now, most of us who live in Europe do not know this Kanu nor have heard about his Radio station, likewise other Nigerians at home. Freedom of speech is one of the unique attributes of democracy. Emphasis on freedom of speech is based on its usefulness for achieving good governance and keeping the government of the day on track. Though moderation and constructive opinion is necessary. I am not a supporter of Nnamdi Kanu as I believe in the oneness of Nigeria. However, the manner in which this young man is being handled is raising questions over the priority of the government on the real issues. The question is: does the suffering of this young man, who is continuously detained and paraded with handcuffs really worth it? There are situations in the Nigerian political sphere and social development that is fuelling the present agitations, which needs to be looked into, if promoting fairness and maintaining the oneness of the Nigerian agenda is in the heart of the present regime. The treatment that is being meted to Kanu and also the killing of those unarmed people, who were protesting for Kanu’s release, indicates the fate of the powerless, which may also make the narrative of ethnic antagonism and humiliation attractive.

Kanu’s situation presents an analogy of using a sledge hammer to kill a fly. The irony of the matter for most people who are watching as events unfold is that the weight of punishment being given to Kanu, who is dragged around in handcuffs, is what we expect to see of many of those celebrated criminals in previous administrations, who have created and nurtured the social woes that Nigerians are facing at the moment. Rather, those enemies of the Nigerian progress are enjoying freedom, which is raising questions whether the government is losing focus. Nnamdi Kanu did not take arms against Nigeria, neither did he  kill anybody, and his activities were even done abroad. Meanwhile, even with the weight of evidence against politicians, who plundered the treasury and caused the death of many Nigerians, only but a few are being tried. Even those who are being brought to book are not facing the kind of situation that Kanu is going through. They are even granted bail while Kanu remains in detention. This is the situation of the powerless. Many of those politicians and their accomplices, who diverted public funds and aggravated the suffering of the common people are the ones who should by now be languishing in jail and paraded for Nigerians to see their real enemies. Many of those eminent criminals are walking freely and enjoying their loots. Some of them and their accomplices even have the guts to  challenge the government and frame the criticism of being persecuted by the government. These persecutors of the common people, who should be languishing in detention, are now the ones turning the table against Nigerians. Ironically, while those untouchables are  enjoying the luxuries gained by short-changing Nigerians, Kanu and other unarmed protesters are the ones facing the full weight of state power. This is a loss of focus and the dilemma of the powerless.

I still believe in Buhari’s government, and for this reason, let me remind him that the world, and indeed most Nigerians in diaspora who trust in the Buhari personality and character, are expecting something better.

There is a concern among the international community at the moment, especially regarding the detention of Kanu, and for Buhari’s capacity to fight corruption. There is need for the president to take advantage of the international support at the moment to get things right before the table turns against him.

If the government loses the present support by failing to do the right things, the continuity of the APC as the ruling party will be jeopardised, which may also reverse situations to a status quo.

The continuity of APC as a ruling party rests upon what is achieved by the present administration. Let the APC government be reminded that the main trust of the Nigerians on the party lies in the yawning to eradicating corruption. Therefore, no matter the criticisms of selective treatment being peddled by the cronies of the past regime, and those who misappropriated public funds, the global community expects the Buhari led government to be focused and to leave a legacy in dealing with corruption. A clear conscience they say, fears no accusation. Given the severity of the threat posed by the phenomenon of corruption to national progress and sustainability, those who have no skeleton in their cupboard, and those who have the interest of Nigeria at heart would not raise any objection in the efforts to eradicate this epidemic. Nigeria is more than any individual, and those that have colluded in one way or the other to short-change the common people should be brought to book, no matter who they are. This is what the Buhari’s government should be pursuing in order to maintain credibility and to retain the trust of the people.

At the onset of Kanu’s detention, I read in one of the dailies, the discourse that was put forward by Dele Momodu. What makes Dele Momodu’s article very interesting and useful is the manner in which he navigated from defining the means and also the ends on the issues that Kanu represent. In so doing, he tried to identify appropriate ways of engaging with the issues at hand, as well as raising our consciousness to the implications of faltering in this regard. The government should have tapped from the analysis and advice that Dele Momodu has offered free of charge through that article. One of the major concerns of the Buhari’s government should be to address the kind of issues that people like Kanu has raised but not to suffer and detain him. If there is one important thing that Buhari should do, it is to make the common people his primary constituency. The present government need to be friendly with the common people by devoting more time to looking for strategies that would salvage their situation. This is necessary because they have for so long endured suffering in the hands of leadership mismatch and manipulators, who should not have any business in places of authority.

To a biased mind, Kanu may have gone too far, but objectively thinking, the salient issues that are raised in the Kanu saga should be given a serious attention, and not to be treated in a manner that would aggravate the ordeals of victims of deprivation and exclusion. Kanu is not the problem of Nigeria, Kanu is only a child of circumstances, and we expect the Buhari’s government to address those circumstances that is projecting people like Kanu and his adherents. For those of us who are ardent supporters of Buhari, the continuous detention of Kanu is an embarrassment because those are not the strategies and battles we expect at the moment. The government cannot win this kind of war, rather it may lose confident of its supporter – the common people.

Mr. Austin Eweroke, Social and Institutional Professional Research Scholar, University of Bath,  wrote from UK.


Entry Level Jobs Near Me

What Are Entry-Level Jobs?

Entry-level jobs are jobs that do not require any previous experience in the role. Most entry-level jobs are aimed at high school or college graduates as a starting point for a future career goal. A college student may have majored in their ideal career field, but will still need to start in an entry-level position to train in a real-world environment. Some students move from internships into entry-level jobs, but most entry-level jobs do not expect a candidate to have any prior employment or on-site training. 1

What Is Entry Level?

Entry level jobs are your way to get a foot in the door to your career path. Unlike trade jobs that may have apprenticeships, prior hands-on experience is not needed to start at entry level. A person with dreams of working in IT can start at an entry level position and gain knowledge through their job. Some entry-level jobs are part-time, and allow candidates to move up to full-time when they have learned the ropes.

What Are Some Entry Level Job Examples?

There is an entry level job in most industries and careers. In food service, an entry level job may be a cashier or a busboy. In engineering, entry level is usually a software engineer or a health and safety engineer. For those looking to move into finance, tellers, accountants, and payroll clerks are examples of entry level jobs. Whatever you have an interest in, there is potentially a job out there for you. 2

What Are the Best Entry-Level Jobs?

The best entry-level job will be the one that speaks to you. Nothing can replace passion and drive in your chosen career field. But the best entry-level jobs are categorized as the ones that pay well, allow for growth, and are available. A collection of jobs was recently showcased on Forbes, and the best entry-level jobs with the highest salary and satisfaction were software engineers, sales representatives, business analysts, financial analysts, and physical therapists. 3

Where Can I Find Entry Level Jobs Near Me?

Finding the right entry level jobs near you is easier than ever with ZipRecruiter . Thousands of entry level jobs are available in every state, and hundreds are uploaded daily by industry Visit ZipRecruiter.com to start your entry level job search.

What Is an Entry Level Salary?

The salary of entry level work depends of the industry. The national average across all industries for entry level work is $28,000. However there are fields that have higher earning potential even at the entry level. A good example is entry level IT work.

Entry-level IT jobs make a good amount of money. Depending on the title, an entry-level IT salary can range from $45,000 to $65,000 a year. Choosing a broad path like IT Specialist will allow you to earn more in the long-run as you have the ability to gain skills in data management, customer support, operating systems, and security. 4

  1. 1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entry-level_job
  2. 2https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathryndill/2016/04/26/the-10-best-entry-level-jobs/
  3. 3https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2011/06/01/best-entry-level-jobs/
  4. 4http://www.businessinsider.com/5-entry-level-tech-jobs-that-pay-well-2012-2


Training manager

10 Yanvar 2017

Training manager ə/h qeyd olunmayıb

Əmək haqqı: ə/h qeyd olunmayıb
Təklif edən şəxs: Hüquqi şəxs
Şirkət: Company
Şəhər Bakı
Kateqoriya: Müdiriyyət, idarəetmə

İş barədə məlumat:

Training Manager

The main duty of Training Manager will be to travel different regions of Azerbaijan and conduct trainings.

Minimum 3-5 years work experience as a Training Manager
Track record in designing and executing successful training programs
Excellent communication and leadership skills
Ability to plan, multi-task and manage time effectively
Strong report writing and record keeping ability
Good computer and database skills
BS degree in education, human resources or relevant field

Draw an overall or individualized training and development plan that addresses needs and expectations
Deploy a wide variety of training methods
Conduct effective induction and orientation sessions
Monitor and evaluate training program’s effectiveness, success and report on them
Manage training budget
Provide opportunities for ongoing development
Resolve any specific problems and tailor programs as necessary
Maintain a keen understanding of training trends, developments and best practices

Interested Candidates please send your CV to  r*********[email protected]***.az indicating the title of position in the subject line of your message.
Otherwise your candidacy will not be considered.

Açar sözlər:

#manager   #company   #training

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Yeni vakansiyalar


Monday, March 30, 2015

Promissory Note

What is a promissory note?

Referred to as a note payable in accounting, or commonly as just a “note”, it is internationally regulated by the Convention providing a uniform law for bills of exchange and promissory notes. Bank note is frequently referred to as a promissory note: a promissory note made by a bank and payable to bearer on demand.

Historically, promissory notes have acted as a form of privately issued currency. The first evidence of a promissory note being issued is that which Ginaldo Giovanni Battista Stroxxi issued in Medina del Campo (Spain), against the city of Besançon in 1553. However, there exists notice of promissory notes being in used in the Mediterranean commerce well before that date. Tradition has it that the first one ever was signed in Milan in 1325.

The terms of a note usually include the principal amount, the interest rate if any, the parties, the date, the terms of repayment (which could include interest) and the maturity date. Sometimes, provisions are included concerning the payee’s rights in the event of a default, which may include foreclosure of the maker’s assets.

Demand promissory notes are notes that do not carry a specific maturity date, but are due on demand of the lender. Usually the lender will only give the borrower a few days notice before the payment is due. For loans between individuals, writing and signing a promissory note are often instrumental for tax and record keeping.

Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

Promissory note defined
             (1)  A promissory note is an unconditional promise in writing made by one person to another, signed by the maker, engaging to pay, on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time, a sum certain in money, to or to the order of a specified person, or to bearer

             (2)  An instrument in the form of a note payable to maker's order is not a note within the meaning of this section unless and until it is indorsed by the maker.

             (3)  A note is not invalid by reason only that it contains also a pledge of collateral security with authority to sell or dispose thereof.

             (4)  A note which is, or on the face of it purports to be, both made and payable within Australasia is an inland note. Any other note is a foreign note.

Sample of a Promissory Note:

No comments:


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The Warning

Episode 13

A Thickening Brew

After a raucous evening with Sahm’El, the party goes their separate ways. During the night, Variel meets an alarmingly-amnesiac spirit that tells him he must find a woman named Loraina somewhere in Port of Isles. The following morning, the party heads to the University of Tryna to seek out anyone named Loraina who might know something about ancient Kenora.

They don’t find her, but hey find her boss, Professor Erik Kolmin. It only takes a few minutes before their conversation with him turns sour. He mistakes them for mercenaries working for local crime lord Murdock and ends up imprisoning Deldund in some kind of cursed brick. In an effort to enlist local aide, Variel ties to summon an Imp to incriminate Kolmin. That plan backfires as Cuthbertian clerics rush the room and arrest both Kolmin and Variel.

While Ishrana takes the brick back to the Cathedral of the Fallen Knight for help getting Deldund out of his newest hell, Hobbes Spizzlecog goes behind her back and stages a jail break, freeing Variel. The two of them fly, thanks to Variel, back to Sahm’El’s tent in Callilly Jetty. Sahm’El packs up the wagon, in which he and Variel then begin driving about the city to keep ahead of the guard and the Cuthbertians, who now think they have a devil-summoning villain at large in the city.

By the time Hobbes gets back to the Cathedral, the elven council has just finished a ritual to free Deldund. Hobbes makes and impactful entrance, and the brick explodes. Deldund is thrown back into reality and left splayed out on the lawn…along with a couple of new friends. It seems they’ve found the Loraina they’ve been looking for, and an ancient slave…

Full Synopsis

Experience: 2000 XP to each character
Treasure: None
Awesome Points: 5 points to Hobbes Spizzlecog for bringing Donovan back, if only for a brief time before turning him back into a pumpkin.
Pity Points: 5 points to Deldund Stonefist for being a dwarf trapped in a rock


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USA: Louisville, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Fresno, Santa Ana, Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, Newark, San Francisco, Riverside, Henderson, Portland, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Plano, Tucson.


The 2016 Effect

29th November 2016
P2P, Peer to Peer Lending

2016, what a year it’s been so far. The world lost Bowie, Alan Rickman and Prince at first.[1] Then as the year has moved on, Britain has left the EU and Donald Trump has become the President of the United States, defying all expectations in the process.[2]

If there was a word to sum up 2016 in economics so far, it would probably be uncertain. As you’ll no doubt be aware, the economy isn’t a living, breathing entity. It’s merely a set of beliefs in an idea, a concept if you will.[3]

This concept however is completely open to outside interference such as social, political and environmental factors.[4] And with 2016 being the social and political year that it has been thus far, how have these events effected the world economy and what can we expect in the future?

Let’s take a look.

Brexit – what this means for investors

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, everything was a bit up in the air, and some would argue that it still is.

Though the economy showed some level of defiance in the months following the referendum, as GDP growth remained a steady 0.5% despite predictions of 0.3%,[5] the pound still sits at a record low and it doesn’t seem to be budging any time soon.[6]

What this means for investors is that your money is simply worth less in the worldwide market. If you were saving to go on holiday or buy a foreign property, you could find the price has increased significantly.[7]

Bank of England Base Rate

In a bid to reduce the chances of Britain going into recession post-Brexit, The Bank of England cut the base rate of interest to 0.25% on August 4, the lowest it’s ever been.[8]

For borrowers, mortgages and purchases, the interest rate cut was designed to make it easier to spend and repay debt in order to prevent recession.

What this means for investors however, is that returns from savings accounts may be as low as 0.25%. So, if you invest £1000, you may only get £2.50 back on your investment per year. Not great for your rainy-day fund.

Inflation has increased

As with the reduction in the value of the pound, inflation has also risen with the prices of raw materials and imports increasing.[9]

What this means for investors is that your purchasing power with your savings will be less than it was previously. That is, if the savings product you’ve invested in has rates of return lower than the rate of inflation. In order to protect your investment from returning a negative interest rate, you may wish to invest in savings products where the return is equal to, or greater than, the rate of inflation in future.[10]

Uncertainty in the market

On October 11, 2016, a memo leaked to The Times highlighted the speculated fears of many – that the UK Government has no plan for Brexit and industry is kicking off big time.[11]

As previously discussed, uncertainty in the market is one of the key elements which may result in recession. A government without a plan is not one that promotes solidity for outside investors. So, in order to counteract this, the UK Government needs to make a decision as to what it’s doing soon before foreign investment shies away.

The French Elections

Brexit isn’t just affecting the British Isles. The tide of unrest within Europe is now spreading across the EU which is seemingly leaning increasingly more to the right.[12] Marine Le Pen, of the French National Front, has been voicing a sharp anti-EU stance in the lead up to the 2017 French Elections and looks poised to make some form of bid for a ‘Frexit’ if the party gets any grasp of power. Though the French ‘Frexiteers’, have been basing their stance mainly on immigration rather than clouding their politics in economics. If the French were to leave, the chances of other nations such as Italy and Austria following suit could increase substantially. The effect that this would have on the economy as a whole would be massive. How each former EU country would negotiate trade within the EU, and the rest of the world, would obviously have a knock-on effect on the world economy. [13]

That said, until anything happens it would be impossible to say and inappropriate to speculate.

The U.S. Elections

In case you’ve had your head in the sand for the past month or so, Donald Trump is now the Leader of The Free World. It’s hard to concede, isn’t it? The American Alan Sugar being President, Commander-in-Chief of one of the world’s largest nuclear arsenals.[14]

That said, Trump has promised to return jobs to the American people, cancel trade agreements that he says have hurt the American economy and even help pro-Brexiter Nigel Farage[15] to ensure that Britains Brexit actually goes ahead. That said, he’s also changed his mind back and forth on just about every policy which he’s suggested, which isn’t exactly great for faith in the market.[16]

What he wants to do

Trump’s stance on immigration may cost him more than the minority vote. Not least will mass deportations cost a lot of money but loss of work force could have a huge impact on the economy also. Edwards and Ortega forecast that if all undocumented workers (of which there are about eight million) were deported as Trump desires, U.S agricultural production will decline by 9% and construction and leisure and hospitality by 8% over the long term. As for manufacturing, it’s estimated that the decline could cost $74 billion.[17]

And whether Trump can actually reimburse the middle-American working classes of their jobs as he’s promised is also up for debate. If he does manage to close the $540 billion trade gap, he could potentially increase the economic growth of the country. And, with all these free jobs due to deportation, Trump’s long-term goal would no doubt be to reemploy middle-America. Whether he can actually do any this however, is up for debate as some economists are unsure if closing trade deals will actually have an overall effect on jobs in the first place.[18]

What’s happened so far?

As previously discussed, the first big issue is uncertainty. The U.S markets opened to a drop on the immediate days after the election[19] and mortgage rates shot up to 4%[20] showing that, at least in the immediacy, the stock market wasn’t that keen on Donald J. Trump being President.

In the week following the election however, interest rates shot to an all-time high, a move that’s largely seen to be a direct response to Trump’s much hyped deregulation of the stock market.[21][22]

This means that for investors in stocks and shares, at least at the moment, is that the forecast is rather good. That said, with bond rates dropping to the lowest ever, if you’re an American saver with your money sat in a bond, things aren’t looking great and sadly, the same goes for mortgage repayments.[23]

What does the future hold?

Perhaps the biggest potential setbacks to the U.S economy, sit with Trump’s somewhat ambitious plans to tackle immigration and increase defence. With a campaign based, arguably largely on fear, Trump’s big plans to Make America Great Again, including the Mexican Wall, the attempts to defeat ISIS and even the reduction of taxes for the super-rich, could put undue pressure on the working classes which Donald is allegedly trying to help.[24]

It’s argued that the Rust Belt States that voted Trump most likely did so as a direct stab against Hilary Clinton, the wife of the President who set up many of the trade deals that caused factory jobs to leave the US in the first place.[25] That said, with the US now using advanced manufacturing techniques that require highly educated middle-class workers, it’s disputed as to whether Trump will be able to bring back the working-class jobs that he stated he could.[26]

And despite the stock market and DOW being at a record high a week following the election, savings bonds have dropped significantly with the knock-on effect said be leaving the country staring down the barrel of a gun at inflation. The end result of which may be an increase in credit card rates, loan repayment rates and, as previously highlighted, could send the mortgage markets past the 4% barrier.[27]

What this means for investors thus far is pretty unclear. As with Brexit, it really is far too early to tell exactly what’s going to happen long term for Trump’s America. Most of the country’s continued prosperity lies in whether he can actually bring jobs back to the American people or not, something that is hotly debated by economists.[28]

One of the principles of a successful market is faith in the economic and political prosperity of the country, or set of countries that are involved. And with Europe, nay, the world in such a state of uncertainty, it’s nigh impossible to predict just what may happen over the coming months or years.[29]

Watch this space.

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Your capital is at risk if you lend to businesses. Peer to peer lending is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Please read our full risk warning here.


Physics and astronomy

Programming in C++

Module code: 898F3
Level 7 (Masters)
15 credits in autumn teaching
Teaching method: Practical, Lecture
Assessment modes: Coursework, Computer based exam

After a review of the basic concepts of the C++ language, you are introduced to object oriented programming in C++ and its application to scientific computing. This includes writing and using classes and templates, operator overloading, inheritance, exceptions and error handling. In addition, Eigen, a powerful library for linear algebra is introduced. The results of programs are displayed using the graphics interface dislin.

Module learning outcomes

  • Understanding of the basics of computer architecture and ability to compile, run and debug C++ programs under linux.
  • Understanding of the concept of classes and be ability to implement them in a C++ program.
  • Familiarity with the C++ standard template library and its application to container classes.
  • Ability to implement solutions to common problems in numerical computing and graphical representation of results.


Many studies have been conducted analyzing the economic impact of golf courses on the local communities. These studies examine economic impacts of tournaments, endorsements, and vacation expenses of the major golf courses in the United States. However, there is little research conducted on the environmental impact of Golf courses, specifically in Maine. This paper performs a hedonic pricing analysis using housing prices in proximity to golf courses and compares it to the valuation of various land types in Maine. Housing prices were collected in the towns of Auburn, and North Yarmouth both near and distant from the local golf course. A contingent valuation method using data from similar land areas is used to estimate the per acre value of all land types in Maine.

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The rupture process of the 1983 Japan Sea earthquake (MJMA = 7.7) is determined by applying waveform inversion of displacement-type, strong motion records based on the Bayesian method. The synthesis of the seismic motions from the main shock is made using the records from the two aftershocks (MJMA = 7.1 and MJMA = 6.1) as empirical Green's functions. The main shock fault consists of two subfaults. The aftershock (M = 6.1) occurring south of the main shock fault is used for the southern subfault empirical Green's function and the aftershock (M = 7.1) occurring north of the main shock fault is used for the northern subfault. In this synthesis, it is not necessary to calculate propagation path and local site effects. Therefore, the information about the source process can be extracted from the comparison between observed seismic motions and the synthetic ones without detailed information on the velocity structure along the whole path from the source to each station. The inversion for the rupture process is attempted for both a line source model and an area source model. In both models, the main shock fault surface is divided into several elements whose sizes are determined from the scaling relations between the main shock and its aftershocks. The slip displacement and the rupture starting time on each element are estimated as model parameters in the inversion. A good convergence is obtained after about 10 iteration steps for the line source case and after 5 iteration steps for the area source case. The results are summarized: (1) the average rupture velocity is approximately 2.5 km/sec for the southern subfault and 2.0 km/sec for the northern subfault, and (2) there is a large slip displacement near the rupture initiation point and the north edge of the fault. Thus, there is considerable heterogeneity in rupture propagation and slip distribution over the fault plane.

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The video below is about the Kimyal people,  a tribe in Papua, receiving the bible in their language for the very first time.

Before this day they could only memorize sections of the bible and then recite it to one another.

But on this day they are going to be receiving God’s word in their own language.

May I realize anew how precious it is to have the bible in my own language. I have the very heart and passion of God so readily available to me! Let me treasure such a gift by using it.


Two years ago, rapper/actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges partnered with Chris Yeo, famed chef and veteran of Asian cuisine, to open Straits restaurant in Atlanta. Yeo’s restaurants are centered throughout California, and Ludacris seemed like the perfect liaison to reach the Southeast. Straits is located on Juniper Street in Midtown, where an enormous billboard displaying Ludacris’ face mirrors the restaurant from the parking lot next door.

The Straits billboard in Midtown, featuring co-owner Ludacris.

The restaurant has a modern, swanky vibe and doesn’t match the general perception of Ludacris’ “dirty South” roots. This is about as far from hip-hop as you can get. Ornate designs and rich textures mix with romantic reds and edgy blacks, a perfect spot for a first date. Our server promptly greeted my guest and me, and guided us through the menu. Straits specializes in Singaporean food, a colorful mixture of Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Nyonya cuisine.

We ordered a small plate of crispy calamari served with a side of kaffir lime aioli and galanga cocktail sauce. Galangal is similar to ginger root, but has its own distinct taste, and is very popular in Southeast Asian cooking. No stranger to calamari, I was surprised at how delicious the dish was. My guest and I couldn’t figure out if the seasonings were just that good, or if we were just that hungry.

The menu was full of options from soup and salads, to elaborate entrees. Choose from spicy basil chicken, lemongrass beef, fresh herb salads, and lobster tail dishes. Prices range from $8-$40, but there are plenty of great choices on the less expensive end. No Asian restaurant would be complete without a broad selection of rice and noodle dishes, and Straits has a tempting selection.

I finally decided on the Sumatra Ayam, a wonderful curry dish with a spicy yet not overpowering flavor. My guest ordered a shrimp and rice dish, and the huge prawns were delightful.

Things were going smoothly until my dinner guest noticed something in her food. At first this looked like a piece of hair, but upon further investigation we realized it was something hard and metallic. After flagging down our server, we were told the mystery object was a piece of the cleaning utensil for the wok. My friend was immediately given a new plate, but we were shocked that she could have choked on something.

Despite my guest’s unpleasant encounter with a foreign object in her dish, overall we had a great experience. The food was amazing, and I have to applaud Ludacris for providing Atlanta with something so tastefully stylish.

For more information on Straits click here.


Digital technology and the economy of your business

Does your business have a website? It should. Between computers, smart devices, and social networks, people are online more frequently than ever, and having a website is a vital and expected connection between your company and your consumers.

But it isn’t as simple as establishing the page and walking away. Digital technologies are changing the ways that customers interact with businesses, and also how businesses organise themselves. Digital technologies are an important source of productivity, and have the potential to increase competitive value, improve business efficiency, drive sales of products and service, and save money. The digital economy is growing in significance; in 2013-14, it contributed $79 billion to GDP, and predictions state this could increase to a worth of $139 billion by 2020.

Digital technology is transforming the Australian economy. Is your business prepared to take advantage of these changes?

What is the digital economy?

the digital economy contributed $79 billion to GDP in 2014

The digital economy refers to a global economy based on digital, online, and communications technology. This encompasses the role of digital technologies — the internet, social networks, online marketing and so forth — in business. Digital technologies are increasingly impacting upon the ways we, as individuals and as a society, communicate and conduct business.
So what precisely can digital technologies do for your company?

Online contribution to economy

Digital technologies are undeniably playing an important role in Australia’s economy. The internet is becoming increasingly integrated within business marketing. It is constantly evolving and thus is no longer a service used by some, but rather a presence used by nearly everyone in nearly all places.

Overall, the internet and digital technologies contribute anything between $45 and $92 billion to the Australian economy per year, and this number is on the rise.
The reason for this lies with the benefits that online technologies offer to consumers. The internet allows people to access products and services that are not locally available. Studies have shown that approximately 40% of consumers’ online purchases could not be made without the internet, and these purchases have a value of $9.5 billion in the economy.
Moreover, potential customers use digital technologies to quickly and easily search for information. The value of online searching is estimated at over $7 billion as a result of specialised search facilities directing people to find homes, careers, cars, and the best prices for products and services.
Online technologies impact upon economic activities with both short- and long-term results. Have you ensured that your business is ready to benefit from the digital economy?

Transforming your business’s productivity

The greatest businesses in Australia are constantly evolving and responding to new internet trends and technologies. Digital technologies are a central factor in the dealings and identity of all successful businesses, as they have a clear potential to support transformation, growth and productivity.

Productivity is the measure of how effectively input is transformed into output — how successfully a company satisfies customer demand. An online presence means that consumers are able to communicate demand to your business anywhere and at any time. As such, it is necessary for businesses to undergo a digital transformation in order to respond to and benefit from these changes.

More people are making use of online services than ever before. Over the past five years, the number of customers who pay bills online has increased by more than 10%; there has also been a 20% rise in the number of consumers who access a range of business and government services.

Maintaining effective digital technologies can allow your customers to obtain information, remain current with your business, and make valuable and timely purchases.

Having the right digital technology is a must for businesses’ survival. When businesses draw on people’s willingness to use online services, they have the potential to reach a much wider audience and to perform their services more productively.

Digital technology and employment

Digital technologies are creating new employment opportunities, transforming the ways that old jobs are undertaken, and influencing how businesses conduct their services.

The digital economy and its impact upon employment can be observed in two ways. The first is through measuring how many jobs exist within the field of online technologies. E-commerce, IT software, website design, advertising, data processing — digital jobs encompass many related roles, with approximately 200,000 Australians filling them.
However, employees outside of these careers are also benefiting from digital technology in the workplace.
Research has found that employees with access to online technologies are generally happier, more satisfied, and more engaged with their jobs; 9% of employees without flexible technology services intend to leave their role within twelve months, compared to only 6% of employees with ready access to technology. Moreover, 83% of employees who worked for businesses with active digital technologies reported high levels of job satisfaction, while only 62% of workers said the same when they lacked online services.
Essentially, the digital economy creates jobs for many Australian workers, but also has a positive impact on all employees, increasing productivity, vindication, and retention in the workplace.

The future of the digital economy

So where does the future of digital technology lie?

The internet and online technologies are playing a significant and expanding role in the Australian economy. This can only continue in the coming years; broadband speeds are becoming faster, connections are becoming readily available in public and private locations, technologies such as smart devices, social media platforms, and websites are improving, and businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the need to grow and develop alongside the digital economy.

Technological developments appear at a rapid and constant pace, supplying potential for growth, but also creating new challenges. Creativity, innovations and digital collaboration are critical for business success. Creating a website isn’t the end; it is the first of many steps into the digital enabled economy.

The future is coming — is your business ready?

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Memory problems are among the most common complaints as people grow older. Using structural equation modeling of commensurate scores of anterograde memory from a large (N = 315), population-derived sample (www.cam-can.org), we provide evidence for three memory factors that are supported by distinct brain regions and show differential sensitivity to age.(More)
I examine the effect of marriage penalties in the US income tax system on marital status. I construct a simulated instrument that exploits variation in the tax code over time and between US states to deal with potential endogeneity between the marriage penalty a couple faces and their marital status. I find that a $1000 increase in the marriage penalty(More)
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There is extensive evidence that married people are, on average, healthier than their unmarried counterparts. It is unclear how much this positive correlation can be explained by the selection of healthier people into marriage. In this paper, I estimate the effect of marriage relative to cohabitation on health and disability. I control for selection into(More)
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Raffaella Mastrocola

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Agonists of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) exert protective effects in several models of ischemia/reperfusion injury, but their role in stroke is less clear. The study investigates the effects of two PPAR-gamma agonists, rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, on oxidative stress and inflammatory response induced by(More)
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Shocks and Structure Functions of Burgers and KPZ Equations

In this paper we calculate the structure functions of one dimensional Burgers and KPZ equations with and without noise, and we interpret our findings using shocks. Most of our results are based on direct numerical simulation of the KPZ equation. Using the solution of noiseless Burgers equation we show that the exponent cq (< |h(x+r)−h(x)| q >∝ rqcq ) of the structure function of noiseless KPZ is 1. For KPZ equation with white noise, using the well known asymptotic solution and using lattice gas model of KPZ equation, we show that cq is 1/2. The exponent for the corresponding Burgers equation is zero. Regarding the Burgers equation with colored noise with ρ > 3/2, where ρ is the exponent of noise f of the corresponding KPZ equation, 〈|f(k)|2〉 ∝ k−2ρ, we find that < |u(x + r) − u(x)|q >∝ r, indicating presence of large shocks. The corresponding KPZ equation has cq = 1. For small ρ(ρ < 1/2), the structure function exponent for Burgers equation is close to zero and cq is close to 1/2. However, in the range 1/2 < ρ < 3/2, cq increases from 1/2 to 1 as we increase ρ. Our numercal results show that for ρ 6= 0, c2 differs from α, where < h(x + r)h(x) >∝ rα. Our α is close to that of Medina et al. for 0 < ρ < 1/2, but differs significantly from Medina et al.’s in the

4 Figures and Tables

Cite this paper

@inproceedings{Verma1997ShocksAS, title={Shocks and Structure Functions of Burgers and KPZ Equations}, author={Mahendra K. Verma}, year={1997} }


What is object-oriented programming (OOP) Language?

Explain about C# Language.

C# is a OOPs language, .net framework use to compiled it, to generate machine code.

Types of comments in C#?

Single line comments
// for single line comments

Multiple line comments
/* for multi line comments */

XML tags comments

/// XML tags displayed in a code comment

Top reason to use C# language?

Modern, general-purpose programming language
Object oriented.
Component oriented.
Easy to learn.
Structured language.
It produces efficient programs.
It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms.
Part of .Net Framework.

Different between method overriding and method overloading?

In Overriding methods it will create two or more methods with same name and same parameter in different classes.

while Overloading it will create more then one method with same name but different parameter in same class.

Explain use of Abstract and Sealed Classes in C#?
The abstract keyword enables you to create classes and class members that are incomplete and must be implemented in a derived class.

The sealed keyword enables you to prevent the inheritance of a class or certain class members that were previously marked virtual.

What is Static Classes?

In other words, you cannot use the new keyword to create a variable of the class type. Because there is no instance variable, you access the members of a static class by using the class name itself.

Explain Static Class Members.
A non-static class can contain static methods, fields, properties, or events.

The static member is callable on a class even when no instance of the class has been created. The static member is always accessed by the class name, not the instance name. Only one copy of a static member exists, regardless of how many instances of the class are created.

Static methods and properties cannot access non-static fields and events in their containing type, and they cannot access an instance variable of any object unless it is explicitly passed in a method parameter.

Which are Access Modifiers available in C#?

All types and type members have an accessibility level, which controls whether they can be used from other code in your assembly or other assemblies.

You can use the following access modifiers to specify the accessibility of a type or member when you declare it:
private: The type or member can be accessed only by code in the same class or struct.
protected: The type or member can be accessed only by code in the same class or struct, or in a class that is derived from that class.

C#.Net was last modified: October 1st, 2017 by Justin Antony

How to create a Batch file ?

Batch file

The batch files are very powerful can able to control the system. The following method tells how to create a batch script

Open a Notepad

Type your Batch Script

Save as .bat and change saving option to All files.

The batch file is created now.

How to create a Batch file ? was last modified: October 1st, 2017 by Justin Antony


Aries Daily Horoscope August 7 2016

Aries Daily Horoscope today

You are counting a lot on your communication abilities but at the same time, certain misunderstandings may change the way you perceive things.

So don't be too fast to judge when you don't know all the details. This will help you to stay out of trouble this Sunday and will ensure you remain in good relations with everyone.

Get daily your Aries Horoscope here on The Horoscope!

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Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus, Vol 77, No 2 (2012)

Perception on Urban Greenery of Children Attending Tennis Schools in Zagreb

Pages: 109-112

Today, more and more children spend their leisure time in front of TV sets, playing computer games or surfing the Internet. Less and less conscious parents send their children off to play, play sports or do extra-curricular activities in the urban landscape spaces.
Apart form parks, which are the green oasis in the expanded urban surroundings there are also sport and recreational centers that are of immense importance for the cityscape as well. In the city of Zagreb users of sports and recreational centers in the outdoors are comprised by athletes of all ages regardless whether they are professionals or amateurs.
A pilot research has been carried out using an anonymous questionnaire specially designed for the purposes of this research on the sample of attendants of a children tennis school in Zagreb. The purpose of the questionnaire is to determine how children attending the tennis school experience the surrounding landscapes. Preferences on greenery in sports and recreation centers were measured with question “Do you like green areas in the sports center?” and the answer that was distinctively significant in relation to other two answers was answer 1. Yes, there is an extreme statistical difference X2 = 42,515. Remaining goals concern acquiring information about children’s perception and personal experience of the space around them that has an urban horticultural and landscape character.
Response analysis shows that tennis school attendants are more interested in sports programs held in nature and sport centers than in school yard. A higher number of respondents noticed green areas next to the tennis courts and perceived the beauty of the surrounding landscape.

urban greenery; landscape influence; children

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Mesnier Hero Training Academy

This week, all Mesnier students went through the Hero Training Academy.  They learned what is expected at school in areas such as the cafeteria, the classroom, the playground, the restroom, the bus, and the hallways.  They also heard about the Mesnier Manners.

A hero is someone who is admired for their achievements and good character.  Upon completion, all heroes will be expected to do their best and encourage others to do the same.

At Mesnier school, we are cooperative, respectful, responsible, peaceful, and positive.  We have “Started Strong!”


 Palace Complex Sri Lanka - Things to do in Palace Complex best places to visit in sri lanka Palace Complex map

Palace Complex

Facilitate Agents:

King Parakramabahu , the great Polonnaruwa monarch who built the Parakrama Samudra, had a magnificent seven storey palace, called the Vijayanta Prasada . Although much of it is now in completely devastation, one can imagine how grand it once used to be. The remaining walls show grooves where vertical timber columns and wooden floors rose up like a step pyramid, reducing in area as with each floor. The palace consists of one main wall surrounded by 40 interconnecting rooms. The palace and its courtyard are protected by walls, which were then bordered with another outer wall.

Parakramabahu(1123-1186) was king of Sri Lanka from 1153 to 1186. During his reign from his capital Polonnaruwa, he combined the three sub kingdoms of the island, becoming one of the last monarchs in Sri Lankan history to do so. He oversaw the expansion and beautification of his capital, constructed extensive irrigation systems, reorganized the country's army, reformed Buddhist practices, encouraged the arts and undertook military campaigns in southern India and in Myanmar. The adage "not even a little water that comes from the rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to man" is one of his most famous utterances.

The sea of Prakramabahu

Although without any religious significance, this reservoir is possibly Polonnaruwa's most impressive feature. It was constructed during the reign of King Parakramabahu 1 in the late 12th century and served both as a supply of water for both the city and for irrigation. Reservoirs in Sri Lanka are somewhat incongruously called "Tanks" and some of them like the Sea of Parakrama, are so big they are actually more like inland seas.

Activities to do :


Inauguration Word Clouds with tf-idf

- 3 mins

Trump’s inauguration was yesterday, and we’re all coping with it in different ways. Instead of watching yesterday’s events, I decided to download a bunch of inaugural addresses and make some word clouds (jump ahead a little bit if you’re curious about the more technical details).

These word clouds aren’t meant to show the most frequent words of each address – rather, the words depicted are both frequent in a given speech and rare compared to every other inaugural address, based on the metric tf-idf (more on that later). Thus, if a word appears large in a president’s cloud, it means that the word was used more by that president than in the typical inaugural address.

Donald Trump (2017)

Trump Word Cloud

Barack Obama (2009)

Obama Word Cloud

George Bush (2005)

Bush Word Cloud

A few trends stand out off the bat. Trump’s address is focused on jobs and success, as the words “jobs”, “workers”, “factories”, and “winning” all appear large. Additionally, “politicians” received a lot of Trump’s attention, largely in a negative context. Note “carnage” in the lower right corner, which for me was the most notable word of the speech.

In comparison, Obama’s address is more policy-driven – note the words “healthcare”, “warming”, and “women”. There is an additional focus on storytelling and optimism, as demonstrated by the words “father”, “journey”, “generation”, and “ambitions”. Taking place during the Great Recession, the speech also highlights “crisis”, “winter”, and “icy”. The top words in Bush’s address highlight the nationalistic mood of post-9/11 America, with “tyranny”, “defended”, and “freedom” prominently featured.

Finally, note that Trump’s word cloud has a mix of very large and small words, while Obama’s lexicon is more uniformly distributed. This suggests two things: 1) Trump repeated himself and 2) he used certain words and phrases that were very atypical for an inaugural address.

Technical Details

First, I want to thank Andreas Muller for making the “word_cloud” library for Python publicly available; the only reason these graphics exist is because the library is straightforward to use and incredibly well-documented.

To gather the data, I downloaded most of the addresses from The Avalon Project at Yale. Some speeches were missing, so I found them in various online resources.

I preprocessed the data by removing stop-words I found from a standard list. I added the names of all former presidents to the list of stop-words – since the new president typically thanks the former president in his speech, I did not think they would be informative in the diagrams.

I used tf-idf to find the most important words for each speech, which is essentially the product of how common a word is for a certain speech (tf, or term frequency), and how rare that word is in comparison to the other speeches (idf, or inverse document frequency). We have a score for each speech and word (with total words), given by where

Thus, words in a speech with a high are used frequently in that speech yet rarely mentioned in other speeches. I used an off-the-shelf implementation of tf-idf from gensim.

Finally, I used the “word_cloud” library to make the graphics. I found these examples incredibly helpful, and the library is very straightforward to use with basic Python experience. I used these images of Trump, Obama, and Bush as masks.

All my code is available here.

Keyon Vafa

Keyon Vafa

Statistics PhD student focusing on machine learning


Greetings to the Workers of Iraq and the World on May Day

5-02-09, 10:51 am

Hundreds of millions of workers and people around the world and also in Iraq will celebrate International Workers' Day, the1st of May, which has been associated with the revolutionary and democratic movement and the struggle to end all forms of exploitation and subjugation by the classes that control wealth and dominate political power and society. It is an occasion to highlight the pioneering role played the workers, since the dawn of history, as the main force in building human civilization and as the real creators of material wealth.

The 1st of May entered the annals of the history of international class and political struggle after the strike organised by trade unions in Chicago on 1st May 1886, when protesters clashed with the police that were acting on behalf of big business, resulting in large numbers of casualties among the workers, with many arrested and several of them sentenced to death.

Since that day, the1st of May has become a symbol of the struggle against poverty, hunger, unemployment, social injustice and marginalization in all its forms, and to raise the standard of living, improve working conditions, reduce working hours, regulate wages and enjoy social security.

In Iraq, the workers celebrated this glorious day openly for the first time after the 14th July 1958 Revolution, when the 1st of May was declared a national holiday. Baghdad still remembers, to this day, that million-strong demonstration organized by the Iraqi workers and their trade unions, supported and backed by the Iraqi Communist Party, on the 1st of May 1959. That historic event was echoed in towns and provinces all over Iraq with carnivals and celebrations unparalleled in the history of our country.

Before the 14th July 1958, Iraqi workers used to celebrate this occasion, dear to their hearts, in clandestine conditions, away from the eyes of the secret police of the monarchic regime. Since the formation of the first trade union organizations and the birth of the Iraqi Communist Party in 1934, the emerging Iraqi working class led the struggles of the people and their strikes, economic, social, political and class battles and courageous uprisings. These struggles have become shining landmarks in Iraq's contemporary history and a memory that haunts dictatorial rulers, parasitic elements and the enemies of freedom, democracy and social justice. The role played by the Iraqi Communist Party in those demonstrations and uprisings, by coordinating with the patriotic and democratic forces, was instrumental in deepening the content of those battles and giving them a broad national and democratic character.

Under Saddam's dictatorial regime, the Iraqi working class was subjected to various forms of exploitation, political repression and the falsification of its will. Trade unions and professional associations were turned into 'yellow' organizations and empty fronts for the ruling Baath party and its security and intelligence organs. In the aftermath of the war and collapse of the dictatorship on 9th April 2003, despite the extremely difficult and complex conditions that existed under occupation, trade union work and other forms of political and social activity began to emerge and develop. But exceptional circumstances, especially the vicious terrorist campaign waged against our country and the presence of occupation forces, curtailed that promising start and prevented the Iraqi working class and people from reaping its fruits on the level of organization and in the broad arena of labor.

In addition, government interference in the affairs of the General Federation of Trade Unions in Iraq, and other associations and unions, played a negative role that hampered its activities in defense of the rights of workers. For example, successive governments have continued to give a deaf ear to persistent workers' demands for abolishing Decree No. 150 (1987) that was issued by the so-called 'Revolution Command Council' under Saddam's dictatorship, which turned state sector workers into government employees, prohibiting them from setting up their own trade unions.

Decree No. 45 (2003), issued by Bremer's occupation authority, which suspended the election activities of trade unions and put them under the mercy of a ministerial committee, is still in force. Furthermore, the government is still insisting, till this day, on its unjust Decree No. 8750 (2005) that called for freezing the movable and immovable assets of the unions, in a blatant manifestation of interference in their affairs that resulted in paralysing unions' work and activities. The position of the government has regrettably remained unchanged in spite of many appeals and several meetings between the representatives of the General Federation of Trade Unions in Iraq and key government officials, and despite the many promises given by these officials to find quick solutions to these outstanding issues.

Iraqi workers and our people in general have been following closely the positive steps witnessed by our country in terms of pursuing the networks of terrorism and acts of sabotage and tightening the noose around criminal elements and outlaws. They are also aware of increased stability, the acceptance of the peaceful political process, and Iraq's expanding regional and international relations. While expressing support for these developments, they also look forward to practical, quick solutions to the problems of unemployment, high prices, health and education, providing protection for national products, restoring the status of industry and agriculture in Iraq, finding solutions to the crisis of housing, transport, water and electricity, developing social welfare programs and the laws of retirement and health insurance, and addressing the disparity between the salaries of senior officials and those of government employees.

In addition, millions of workers are looking forward to bold steps to be taken by the government in order to strike with an iron fist at the corrupt, big and small, who are stealing people's food and wealth, and who are hostile to the aspirations of the poor, the widows and orphans, and the families of martyrs and the 'disappeared.'

Today, as the specter of unemployment creeps and the gains made by broad strata of the population in advanced capitalist societies are eroded because of the nature of the capitalist system and its mechanisms, and as a result of the new global financial and economic crisis, the struggle of workers' unions and professional associations in the developed capitalist countries is intensifying. This struggle enjoys broad support and active participation of all the forces that are opposed to savage capitalist globalization and are calling for a truly humanitarian globalization. There is an escalation of struggles to preserve the gains that the workers, those with low income and wage-earners in general, had achieved through struggles for more than a century, particularly the gains made in the areas of reducing working hours, increasing wages, obtaining health and social security and to strive to enrich these achievements in line with the development of society and the requirements of modern life. We have great confidence that the workers and toilers of our country, Iraq, will spare no effort to contribute to these struggles, for a better future for themselves and for all mankind.

We salute, once again, the Iraqi working class people, as well as the workers of the world, on their International Day ... the 1st of May.

--From Tareeq Al-Shab, the newspaper of the Iraqi Communist Party.


Nowadays, there is a need for proper cybersecurity protection. A person or company may lose confidential, sensitive, or proprietary information (e.g., customer information, trade secrets) if they do not implement proper cybersecurity measures. The internet is interconnected, and as such, certain complications may become insurmountable. A problem in one area can quickly cause problems in others. For example, a gap in security for a smart device due to an un-updated driver may cause leaks elsewhere due to backdoor access to your computer network. Essentially, a smaller mistake due to a technical gap could cause a larger issue as data is put at risk through programs such as a key logger, Trojan horse, or worm.

In general, cybersecurity as a term captures most aspects associated with “safe computing” as well as methods to secure and protect information. Combined, these measures should help keep your information safe from bad actors (e.g., hackers). A cybersecurity lawyer who is familiar with the relevant issues can help enforce your legal rights in case of events such as cybersecurity breaches.

Protecting Yourself Online

Important to cybersecurity is the idea that you as a person or entity can safeguard your information whether it is confidential, sensitive, or proprietary information. In general, most people think their computers are safe. If you are the only person to use your device, and the only person that is on your password protected network, you may think you are relatively safe. However, malicious individuals, like hackers or script kiddies, can still break into the electronic devices. This can be done through things as benign as a smart device, flash drive, or email sent to your electronic device. While some of these may require a user’s mistake, however, it is important to remind ourselves that our computers are only as protected as we make them. While certain operating systems may be deemed as safer, they have been historically safer due to the prevalence of other systems. Essentially, if everyone has a Windows 7 computer, hackers will produce more tools and make more efforts to break into a Windows 7 device. Therefore, it is important to implement both protective and reactive measures to decrease the risk.

In general, you should speak to a qualified information technology consult in order to implement the necessary measures (e.g., encryption, firewall, multi-factor authentication) which will require strong password to access your electronic devices. Furthermore, it is important to use those consultants to help train employees and yourself regarding “safe computing” to avoid basic mistakes like phishing scams and suspicious attachments to emails. Also, better cybersecurity can be achieved through consulting with security professionals and experienced cybersecurity lawyers to develop policies for you, your employees, and your business when managing electronic information.

Without proper security, you may be opening yourself to liability especially if you trust another entity with your information whether it comprises of your address, telephone, email address, credit card information, or social security number. This situation has occurred on a large scale with larger companies, and if proper data security is in place, those breaches may be avoided in the future.

Finally, it is best to remember that the internet is always changing, and you may need to consult with a knowledgeable attorney who is familiar with cybersecurity issues. In order to speak with a cybersecurity attorney, you may contact us online or call 310-694-3034 for an initial consultation.


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On November 17, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit published a precedential order denying a petition for a writ of mandamus to overturn a district court’s determination. In In re: Rearden LLC, Rearden MOVA LLC, MO2, LLC, MOVA, LLC, the defendants in the underlying case had petitioned for a writ of mandamus to challenge the district court’s order compelling them to produce allegedly privileged documents.

The underlying dispute in the case surrounded ownership of visual effects technology secured by trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and patents. A newly formed entity acquired the technology and related assets but the two parties disputed the nature and control of the new entity. In February 2015, the plaintiffs filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that the defendants made false or misleading representations regarding ownership of the technology and seeking a declaration that it owned the technology in question. The defendants counterclaimed, seeking their own declaration that they owned the technology in question and damages for patent infringements.

During discovery, the plaintiffs moved to compel the defendants to produce documents exchanged between a corporate attorney and the entity that had originally acquired the patented technology. The magistrate judge disagreed with the defendants’ assertion of attorney-client privilege protection and granted the request to compel. Further, the district court affirmed the magistrate court’s order, while declining to consider an additional declaration from the defendants that had not been presented to the magistrate judge. In turn, the defendants petitioned for a writ of mandamus. The Federal Circuit answered three core questions in a short precedential order.

First, the Federal Circuit concluded that it had jurisdiction to decide this petition. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1), the Federal Circuit has appellate jurisdiction in any civil action arising under or with a compulsory counterclaim arising under any Act of Congress relating to patents. The Court found that here, the claims and counterclaims involve the same patents and share overlapping legal and factual issues and logical relation. Also, substantially the same evidence could refute both the claims of ownership and counterclaims of infringement. Moreover, unlike a case where a counterclaim of infringement may mature after the filing of the complaint, the defendants in this case counterclaimed that the plaintiff infringed the same patents in question and the alleged infringing activity was known by the defendants at the time of filing. Therefore, the counterclaim was found compulsory, establishing appellate jurisdiction for the Federal Circuit.

Appellate Review for a Writ of Mandamus

Second, a relief by writ of mandamus calls for a deferential review and requires a showing of a “clear and indisputable” right to relief and that no adequate alternative legal channels exist through which the petitioners may obtain the same relief. Kerr v. U.S. Dist. Court. The Federal Circuit held that the petitioners failed to meet this high standard.

The petitioners argued that the district court erred by not accepting a supplemental declaration and not holding an evidentiary hearing on the issue. However, this did not establish a clear and indisputable right to relief, according to the Federal Circuit; an evidentiary hearing or supplementation is one of discretion—not a requirement—of a district court. Also, the petitioners did not establish that the district court abused its discretion because they failed to explain why they could not have submitted any additional information to the magistrate judge or explain why an additional hearing was necessary.

Privilege or Disclosure

Third, the Federal Circuit disagreed with the petitioners’ argument that the district court and the magistrate judge should have deferred ruling on the privilege issue until the control over the disputed entity was conclusively determined. Rather, the Court showed deference to the district court and magistrate judge’s preliminary factual determinations.

The Federal Circuit further declined to consider extra-record declaration regarding the entity’s control and denied a mandamus relief on the preliminary factual findings regarding privilege. Lastly, the Court noted that the petitioners have an alternative avenue to obtain meaningful review of these arguments, citing a U.S. Supreme Court case which held that appellate courts can effectively remedy the improper disclosure of privileged material post-judgment by vacating an adverse judgment and remanding for a new trial in which the protected material and its fruits are excluded from evidence. See Mohawk Indus., Inc. v. Carpenter.

As noted (and cited by the petitioners) in United States v. Mett, “hard cases should be resolved in favor of the privilege, not in favor of disclosure.” However, a mandated disclosure of alleged privileged material does not necessarily mean that a collateral appeal is the best strategic decision. Moreover, parties considering to petition for a writ for mandamus should be prepared to meet the high burden of proof.