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Buxton Highton is centrally located within the prestigious and rapidly growing 3216 postcode district in Geelong's outer west – a leafy, up-market enclave of predominantly large family homes.
Located by the southern banks of the beautiful Barwon River, the highly desirable 3216 district is often compared to the coveted Melbourne suburbs of Armadale and Malvern.
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\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:intro}
Mobile ad-hoc networking has presented many challenges to the research community,
especially in designing suitable, efficient, and well performing protocols.
The practical analysis and validation of such protocols often depends on
synthetic data, generated by some mobility model. The model has the goal of
simulating real life scenarios~\cite{camp02wcmc} that can be used to tune
networking protocols and to evaluate their performance. A lot of work has been
done in designing realistic mobility models. Till a few years ago, the model of
choice in academic research was the random way point mobility model
(RWP)~\cite{rwp}, simple and very efficient to use in simulations.
Recently, with the aim of understanding human mobility~\cite{toronto, hui05,
hui06, milan07, UCAM-CL-TR-617}, many researchers have performed
real-life experiments by distributing wireless devices to people. From the data
gathered during the experiments, they have observed the typical distribution of
metrics such as inter-contact time (time interval between two successive
contacts of the same people) and contact duration. Inter-contact time, which
corresponds to how often people see each other, characterizes the opportunities
of packet forwarding between nodes. Contact duration, which limits the duration
of each meeting between people in mobile networks, limits the amount of data
that can be transferred.
In~\cite{hui05, hui06}, the authors show that the distribution of
inter-contact time is a power-law. Later, in~\cite{milan07}, it has been
observed that the distribution of inter-contact time is best described as a
power law in a first interval on the time scale (12 hours, in the experiments
under analysis), then truncated by an exponential cut-off. Conversely,
\cite{cai07mobicom} proves that RWP yields exponential inter-contact time
distribution. Therefore, it has been established clearly that models like RWP
are not good to simulate human mobility, raising the need of new, more realistic
mobility models for mobile ad-hoc networking.
In this paper we present small world in motion (SWIM), a simple mobility model that generates small worlds. The model is very simple to implement and very efficient in simulations. The mobility pattern of the nodes is based on a simple intuition on human mobility: People go more often to places not very far from their home and where they can meet a lot of other people. By implementing this simple rule, SWIM is able to raise social behavior among nodes, which we believe to be the base of human mobility in real life.
We validate our model using real traces and compare the distribution of inter-contact time, contact duration and number of contact distributions between nodes, showing that synthetic data that we generate match very well real data traces.
Furthermore, we show that SWIM can predict well the performance of forwarding protocols. We compare the performance of two forwarding protocols---epidemic forwarding~\cite{vahdat00epidemic} and (a simplified version of) delegation forwarding~\cite{dfw08}---on both real traces and synthetic traces generated with SWIM. The performance of the two protocols on the synthetic traces accurately approximates their performance on real traces, supporting the claim that SWIM is an excellent model for human mobility.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section~\ref{sec:relatedwork} briefly reports on current work in the field; in Section~\ref{sec:solution} we present the details of SWIM and we prove theoretically that the distribution of inter-contact time in SWIM has an exponential tail, as recently observed in real life experiments; Section~\ref{sec:experiments} compares synthetic data traces to real traces and shows that the distribution of inter-contact time has a head that decays as a power law, again like in real experiments;
in Section~\ref{sec:forwarding} we show our experimental results on the behavior of two forwarding protocols on both synthetic and real traces; lastly, Section~\ref{sec:conclusions} present some concluding remarks.
\section{Related work}
\label{sec:relatedwork}
The mobility model recently presented in~\cite{levy} generates movement traces
using a model which is similar to a random walk, except that the flight lengths
and the pause times in destinations are generated based on Levy Walks, so with
power law distribution. In the past, Levy Walks have been shown to approximate
well the movements of animals. The model produces inter-contact time
distributions similar to real world traces. However, since every node moves
independently, the model does not capture any social behavior between nodes.
In~\cite{musolesi07}, the authors present a mobility model based on social
network theory which takes in input a social network and discuss the community
patterns and groups distribution in geographical terms. They validate their
synthetic data with real traces and show a good matching between them.
The work in \cite{LCA-CONF-2008-049} presents a new mobility model for clustered networks. Moreover, a closed-form expression for the stationary distribution of node position is given. The model captures the phenomenon of emerging clusters, observed in real partitioned networks, and correlation between the spatial speed distribution and the cluster formation.
In~\cite{workingDay}, the authors present a mobility model that simulates the every day life of people that go to their work-places in the morning, spend their day at work and go back to their homes at evenings. Each one of this scenarios is a simulation per se. The synthetic data they generate match well the distribution of inter-contact time and contact durations of real traces.
In a very recent work, Barabasi et al.~\cite{barabasi08} study the trajectory of
a very large (100,000) number of anonymized mobile phone users whose position is
tracked for a six-months period. They observe that human trajectories show a
high degree of temporal and spatial regularity, each individual being
characterized by a time independent characteristic travel distance and a
significant probability to return to a few highly frequented locations. They
also show that the probability density function of individual travel distances
are heavy tailed and also are different for different groups of users and
similar inside each group. Furthermore, they plot also the frequency of visiting
different locations and show that it is well approximated by a power law. All
these observations are in contrast with the random trajectories predicted by
Levy flight and random walk models, and support the intuition behind SWIM.
\section{Small World in Motion}
\label{sec:solution}
We believe that a good mobility model should
\begin{enumerate}
\item be simple; and
\item predict well the performance of networking protocols on real mobile
networks.
\end{enumerate}
We can't overestimate the importance of having a \emph{simple} model. A simple
model is easier to understand, can be useful to distill the fundamental
ingredients of ``human'' mobility, can be easier to implement, easier to tune
(just one or few parameters), and can be useful to support theoretical work. We
are also looking for a model that generates traces with the same statistical
properties that real traces have. Statistical distribution of inter-contact time
and number of contacts, among others, are useful to characterize the behavior of
a mobile network. A model that generates traces with statistical properties that
are far from those of real traces is probably useless. Lastly, and most
importantly, a model should be accurate in predicting the performance of network
protocols on real networks. If a protocol performs well (or bad) in the model,
it should also perform well (or bad) in a real network. As accurately as
possible.
None of the mobility models in the literature meets all of these properties. The random way-point mobility model is simple, but its traces do not look real at all (and has a few other problems). Some of the other protocols we reviewed in the related work section can indeed produce traces that look real, at least with respect to some of the possible metrics, but are far from being simple. And, as far as we know, no model has been shown to predict real world performance of protocols accurately.
Here, we propose \emph{small world in motion} (SWIM), a very simple mobility
model that meets all of the above requirements. Our model is based on a couple
of simple rules that are enough to make the typical properties of real traces
emerge, just naturally. We will also show that this model can predict the
performance of networking protocols on real mobile networks extremely well.
\subsection{The intuition}
When deciding where to move, humans usually trade-off. The best supermarket or the most popular restaurant that are also not far from where they live, for example. It is unlikely (though not impossible) that we go to a place that is far from home, or that is not so popular, or interesting. Not only that, usually there are just a few places where a person spends a long period of time (for example home and work office or school), whereas there are lots of places where she stays less, like for example post office, bank, cafeteria, etc. These are the basic intuitions SWIM is built upon. Of course, trade-offs humans face in their everyday life are usually much more complicated, and there are plenty of unknown factors that influence mobility. However, we will see that simple rules---trading-off proximity and popularity, and distribution of waiting time---are enough to get a mobility model with a number of desirable properties and an excellent capability of predicting the performance of forwarding protocols.
\subsection{The model in details}
More in detail, to each node is assigned a so called \emph{home}, which is a
randomly and uniformly chosen point over the network area. Then, the node itself
assigns to each possible destination a \emph{weight} that grows with the
popularity of the place and decreases with the distance from home. The weight
represents the probability for the node to chose that place as its next
destination.
At the beginning, no node has been anywhere. Therefore, nodes do not know how
popular destinations are. The number of other nodes seen in each destination is
zero and this information is updated each time a node reaches a destination.
Since the domain is continuous, we divided the network area into many small
contiguous cells that represent possible destinations. Each cell has a squared
area, and its size depends on the transmitting range of the nodes. Once a node
reaches a cell, it should be able to communicate with every other node that is
in the same cell at the same time. Hence, the size of the cell is such that its
diagonal is equal to the transmitting radius of the nodes. Based on this, each
node can easily build a \emph{map} of the network area, and can also calculate
the weight for each cell in the map. These information will be used to
determine the next destination: The node chooses its cell
destination randomly and proportionally with its weight, whereas the exact
destination point (remind that the network area is continuous) is taken
uniformly at random over the cell's area. Note that,
according to our experiments, it is not really necessary that the node has a
\emph{full} map of the domain. It can remember just the most popular cells it
has visited and assume that everywhere else there is nobody (until, by chance,
it chooses one of these places as destination and learn that they are indeed
popular). The general properties of SWIM holds as well.
Once a node has chosen its next destination, it starts moving towards it
following a straight line and with a speed that is proportional to the distance
between the starting point and the destination. To keep things simple, in the
simulator the node chooses as its speed value exactly the distance between these
two points. The speed remains constant till the node reaches the destination. In
particular, that means that nodes finish each leg of their movements in constant
time. This can seem quite an oversimplification, however, it is useful and also
not far from reality. Useful to simplify the model; not far from reality since
we are used to move slowly (maybe walking) when the destination is nearby,
faster when it is farther, and extremely fast (maybe by car) when the
destination is far-off.
More specifically, let $A$ be one of the nodes and $h_A$ its home. Let also $C$
be one of the possible destination cells. We will denote with $\textit{seen}(C)$
the number of nodes that node~$A$ encountered in $C$ the last time it reached
$C$. As we already mentioned, this number is $0$ at the beginning of the
simulation and it is updated each time node~$A$ reaches a destination in
cell~$C$. Since $h_A$ is a point, whereas $C$ is a cell, when calculating the
distance of $C$ from its home $h_A$, node~$A$ refers to the center of the cell's
area. In our case, being the cell a square, its center is the mid diagonal
point. The weight that node~$A$ assigns to cell $C$ is as follows:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq:weight}
w(C) = \alpha\cdot\textit{distance}(h_A, C) + (1-\alpha)\cdot\textit{seen}(C).
\end{equation}
where $\textit{distance}(h_A, C)$ is a function that decays as a power law as
the distance between node~$A$ and cell~$C$ increases.
In the above equation $\alpha$ is a constant in $[0;1]$. Since the weight that a
node assigns to a place represents the probability that the node chooses it as
its next destination, the value of $\alpha$ has a strong effect on the node's
decisions---the larger is $\alpha$, the more the node will tend to go to places
near its home. The smaller is $\alpha$, the more the node will tend to go to
``popular'' places. Even if it goes beyond our scope in this paper, we strongly
believe that would be interesting to exploit consequences of using different
values for $\alpha$. We do think that both small and big values for $\alpha$
rise clustering effect of the nodes. In the first case, the clustering effect
is based on the neighborhood locality of the nodes, and is more related to a
social type: Nodes that ``live'' near each other should tend to frequent the
same places, and therefore tend to be ``friends''. In the second case, instead,
the clustering effect should raise as a consequence of the popularity of the
places.
When reaching destination the node decides how long to remain there. One of the
key observations is that in real life a person usually stays for a long time
only in a few places, whereas there are many places where he spends a short
period of time. Therefore, the distribution of the waiting time should follow a
power law. However, this is in contrast with the experimental evidence that
inter-contact time has an exponential cut-off, and with the intuition that, in
many practical scenarios, we won't spend more than a few hours standing at the
same place (our goal is to model day time mobility). So, SWIM uses an upper
bounded power law distribution for waiting time, that is, a truncated power law.
Experimentally, this seems to be the correct choice.
\subsection{Power law and exponential decay dichotomy}
In a recent work~\cite{milan07}, it is observed that the distribution of
inter-contact time in real life experiments shows a so called dichotomy: First
a power law until a certain point in time, then an exponential cut-off.
In~\cite{cai07mobicom}, the authors suggest that the exponential cut-off is due
to the bounded domain where nodes move. In SWIM, inter-contact time distribution
shows exactly the same dichotomy. More than that, our experiments show that, if
the model is properly tuned, the distribution is strikingly similar to that of
real life experiments.
We show here, with a mathematically rigorous proof, that the distribution of
inter-contact time of nodes in SWIM has an exponential
tail. Later, we will see experimentally that the same distribution has indeed
a head distributed as a power law. Note that the proof has to cope with a
difficulty due to the social nature of SWIM---every decision taken in SWIM by a
node \emph{not} only depends on its own previous decisions, but also depends on
other nodes' decisions: Where a node goes now, strongly affects where it
will choose to go in the future, and, it will affect also where other
nodes will chose to go in the future. So, in SWIM there are no renewal
intervals, decisions influence future decisions of other nodes, and nodes never
``forget'' their past.
In the following, we will consider two nodes $A$ and $B$. Let $A(t)$, $t\ge0$,
be the position of node~$A$ at time~$t$. Similarly, $B(t)$ is the position of
node~$B$ at time~$t$. We assume that at time~$0$ the two nodes are leaving
visibility after meeting. That is, $||A(0)-B(0)||=r$, $||A(t)-B(t)||<r$ for
$t\in 0^-$, and $||A(t)-B(t)||>r$ for $t\in 0^+$. Here, $||\cdot||$ is the
euclidean distance in the square. The inter-contact time of nodes $A$ and $B$
is defined as:
\begin{equation*}
T_I=\inf_{t>0} \{t:||A(t)-B(t)||\le r\}
\end{equation*}
\begin{assumption}
\label{ass:lower}
For all nodes~$A$ and for all cells~$C$, the distance function $distance(A,C)$
returns at least $\mu>0$.
\end{assumption}
\begin{theorem}
If $\alpha>0$ and under Assumption~\ref{ass:lower}, \emph{the tail} of the
inter-contact time distribution between nodes~$A$ and~$B$ in SWIM has an
exponential decay.
\end{theorem}
\begin{IEEEproof}
To prove the presence of the exponential cut-off, we will show that there exists
constant $c>0$ such that
\begin{equation*}
\mathbb{P}\{T_I>t\}\le e^{-ct}
\end{equation*}
for all sufficiently large $t$. Let $t_i=i\lambda$, $i=1,2,\dotsc$, be
a sequence of times. Constant $\lambda$ is large enough that each node has
to make a way point decision in the interval between $t_i$ and $t_{i+1}$
and that each node has enough time to finish a leg. Recall that this is of
course possible since waiting time at way points is bounded above and since
nodes complete each leg of movement in constant time. The idea is to take
snapshots of nodes $A$ and $B$ and see whether they see each other at each
snapshot. However, in the following, we also need that at least one of the two
nodes is not moving at each snapshot. So, let
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
\delta_i=\text{min}\{ & \delta\ge 0 : \text{either $A$ or $B$ is}\\
& \text{at a way point at time $t_i+\delta$}\}.
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
Clearly, $t_i+\delta_i<t_{i+1}$, for all $i=1,2,\dotsc$.
We take the sequence of snapshots $\{t_i+\delta_i\}_{i>0}$. Let $\epsilon_i=\{||A(t_i+\delta_i)-B(t_i+\delta_i)||>r\}$ be the event that nodes $A$ and $B$ are not in visibility range at time $t_i+\delta_i$. We have that
\begin{equation*}
\mathbb{P}\{T_I>t\}\le \mathbb{P}\left\{\bigcap_{i=1}^{\lfloor t/\lambda\rfloor
-1}
\epsilon_i\right\}=\prod_{i=1}^{\lfloor t/\lambda\rfloor -1}
\mathbb{P}\{ \epsilon_i| \epsilon_{i-1}\cdots\epsilon_1\}.
\end{equation*}
Consider $\mathbb{P}\{ \epsilon_i| \epsilon_{i-1}\cdots\epsilon_1\}$. At
time~$t_i+\delta_i$, at least one of the two nodes is at a way point, by
definition of $\delta_i$. Say node~$A$, without loss of generality. Assume that
node~$B$ is in cell $C$ (either moving or at a way point). During its last way
point decision, node~$A$ has chosen cell $C$ as its next way point with
probability at least $\alpha\mu>0$, thanks to Assumption~\ref{ass:lower}. If
this is the case, the two nodes~$A$ and~$B$ are now in visibility. Note that the
decision has been made after the previous snapshot, and that it is not
independent of previous decisions taken by node~$A$, and it is not even
independent of previous decisions taken by node~$B$ (since the social nature of
decisions in SWIM). Nonetheless, with probability at least $\alpha\mu$ the two
nodes are now in visibility. Therefore,
\begin{equation*}
\mathbb{P}\{ \epsilon_i| \epsilon_{i-1}\cdots\epsilon_1\}\le 1-\alpha\mu.
\end{equation*}
So,
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
\mathbb{P}\{T_I>t\} & \le \mathbb{P}\left\{\bigcap_{i=1}^{\lfloor
t/\lambda\rfloor -1}
\epsilon_i\right\}=\prod_{i=1}^{\lfloor t/\lambda\rfloor -1}
\mathbb{P}\{ \epsilon_i| \epsilon_{i-1}\cdots\epsilon_1\}\\
& \le (1-\alpha\mu)^{\lfloor t/\lambda\rfloor -1}\sim e^{-ct},
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
for sufficiently large $t$.
\end{IEEEproof}
\section{Real traces}
\begin{table*}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
Experimental data set \T \B & Cambridge~05 & Cambridge~06 & Infocom~05\\ \hline
Device \T & iMote & iMote & iMote\\
Network type & Bluetooth & Bluetooth & Bluetooth\\
Duration (days)& 5 & 11 & 3\\
Granularity (sec)& 120 & 600 & 120\\
Devices number & 12 & 54 (36 mobile) & 41\\
Internal contacts number& 4,229 & 10,873 & 22,459\\
Average Contacts/pair/day & 6.4 & 0.345 & 4.6\\[1mm] \hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{The three experimental data sets}
\label{tab:realtraces}
\end{center}
\end{table*}
In order to show the accuracy of SWIM in simulating real life scenarios, we will
compare SWIM with three traces gathered during experiments done with real
devices carried by people. We will refer to these traces as \emph{Infocom~05},
\emph{Cambridge~05} and \emph{Cambridge~06}. Characteristics of these data sets
such as inter-contact and contact distribution have been observed in several
previous works~\cite{hui05, leguay06,hui06}.
\begin{itemize}
\item In \emph{Cambridge 05}~\cite{cambridge05} the authors used Intel iMotes to
collect the data. The iMotes were distributed to students of the University of
Cambridge and were programmed to log contacts of all visible mobile devices. The
number of devices that were used for this experiment is 12. This data set covers
5 days.
\item In \emph{Cambridge 06}~\cite{upmcCambridgeData} the authors repeated the
experiment using more devices. Also, a number of stationary nodes were deployed
in various locations around the city of Cambridge UK. The data of the stationary
iMotes will not be used in this paper. The number of mobile devices used is 36
(plus 18 stationary devices). This data set covers 11 days.
\item In \emph{Infocom~05} ~\cite{cambridgeInfocomData} the same devices as in
\emph{Cambridge} were distributed to students attending the Infocom 2005 student
workshop. The number of devices is 41. This experiment covers approximately 3
days.
\end{itemize}
Further details on the real traces we use in this paper are shown in
Table~\ref{tab:realtraces}.
\section{SWIM vs Real traces}
\label{sec:experiments}
\subsection{The simulation environment}
In order to evaluate SWIM, we built a discrete even simulator of the model.
The simulator takes as input
\begin{itemize}
\item $n$: the number of nodes in the network;
\item $r$: the transmitting radius of the nodes;
\item the simulation time in seconds;
\item coefficient $\alpha$ that appears in Equation~\ref{eq:weight};
\item the distribution of the waiting time at destination.
\end{itemize}
The output of the simulator is a text file containing records on each main event
occurrence. The main events of the system and the related outputs are:
\begin{itemize}
\item \emph{Meet} event: When two nodes are in range with each other. The
output line contains the ids of the two nodes involved and the time of
occurrence.
\item \emph{Depart} event: When two nodes that were in range of each other are
not anymore. The output line contains the ids of the two nodes involved and the
time of occurrence.
\item \emph{Start} event: When a node leaves its current location and starts
moving towards destination. The output line contains the id of the location, the
id of the node and the time of occurrence.
\item \emph{Finish} event: When a node reaches its destination. The output line
contains the id of the destination, the id of the node and the time of
occurrence.
\end{itemize}
In the output, we don't really need information on the geographical position of
the nodes when the event occurs. However, it is just straightforward to extend
the format of the output file to include this information. In this form, the
output file contains enough information to compute correctly inter-contact
intervals, number of contacts, duration of contacts, and to implement state of
the art forwarding protocols.
During the simulation, the simulator keeps a vector $\textit{seen}(C)$ updated
for each sensor. Note that the nodes do not necessarily agree on what is the
popularity of each cell. As mentioned earlier, it is not necessary to keep in
memory the whole vector, without changing the qualitative behavior of the mobile
system. However, the three scenarios Infocom~05, Cambridge~05, and Cambridge~06
are not large enough to cause any real memory problem. Vector~$\textit{seen}(C)$
is updated at each \emph{Finish} and \emph{Start} event, and is not changed
during movements.
\subsection{The experimental results}
In this section we will present some experimental results in order to show that
SWIM is a simple and good way to generate synthetic traces with the same
statistical properties of real life mobile scenarios.
\begin{figure}[!ht]
\centering
\subfigure[Distribution of the inter-contact time in Infocom~05 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Infocom/InterContacts}
\label{fig:ICT infocom}}
\qquad
\subfigure[Distribution of the contact duration for each pair of nodes in
Infocom~05 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Infocom/Contacts}
\label{fig:CONT infocom}}
\qquad
\subfigure[Distribution of the number of contacts for each pair of nodes in
Infocom~05 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Infocom/ContactsNumber}
\label{fig:CONT-NR infocom}}
\caption{SWIM and Infocom~05}
\label{fig:infocom}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\subfigure[Distribution of the inter-contact time in Cambridge~05 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Cambridge05/InterContacts}
\label{fig:ICT cambridge05}}
\qquad
\subfigure[Distribution of the contact duration for each pair of nodes in
Cambridge~05 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Cambridge05/Contacts}
\label{fig:CONT cambridge05}}
\qquad
\subfigure[Distribution of the number of contacts for each pair of nodes in
Cambridge~05 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Cambridge05/ContactsNumber}
\label{fig:CONT-NR cambridge05}}
\caption{SWIM and Cambridge~05}
\label{fig:cambridge05}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\subfigure[Distribution of the inter-contact time in Cambridge~06 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Cambridge06/InterContacts}
\label{fig:ICT cambridge}}
\qquad
\subfigure[Distribution of the contact duration for each pair of nodes in
Cambridge~06 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Cambridge06/Contacts}
\label{fig:CONT cambridge}}
\qquad
\subfigure[Distribution of the number of contacts for each pair of nodes in
Cambridge~06 and in SWIM]{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.4\textwidth]{graphics/Cambridge06/ContactsNumber}
\label{fig:CONT-NR cambridge}}
\caption{SWIM and Cambridge~06}
\label{fig:cambridge06}
\end{figure}
The idea is to tune the few parameters used by SWIM in order to simulate
Infocom~05, Cambridge~05, and Cambridge~06. For each of the experiments we
consider the following metrics: inter-contact time CCD function, contact
distribution per pair of nodes, and number of contacts per pair of nodes. The
inter-contact time distribution is important in mobile networking since it
characterizes the frequency with which information can be transferred between
people in real life. It has been widely studied for real traces in a large
number of previous papers~\cite{hui05, hui06, leguay06, cai07mobicom,
milan07, musolesi07, cai08mobihoc}. The contact distribution per pair
of nodes and the number of contacts per pair of nodes are also important. Indeed
they represent a way to measure relationship between people. As it was also
discussed in~\cite{hui07community, hui07socio, hui08mobihoc} it's natural to
think that if a couple of people spend more time together and meet each other
frequently they are familiar to each other. Familiarity is important in
detecting communities, which may help improve significantly the design and
performance of forwarding protocols in mobile environments such as
DNTs~\cite{hui08mobihoc}. Let's now present the experimental results obtained
with SWIM when simulating each of the real scenarios of data sets.
Since the scenarios we consider use iMotes, we model our network node according
to iMotes properties (outdoor range $30\textrm{m}$). We initially distribute the
nodes over a network area of size $300\times300~\textrm{m}^2$. In the following,
we assume for the sake of simplicity that the network area is a square of side
1, and that the node transmission range is 0.1. In all the three experiments we
use a power law with slope $a=1.45$ in order to generate waiting time values of
nodes when arriving to destination, with an upper bound of 4 hours. We use as
$\textit{seen}(C)$ function the fraction of the nodes seen in cell~$C$, and as
$\textit{distance}(x,C)$ the following
\begin{equation*}
\textit{distance}(x,C)=\frac{1}{\left(1+k||x-y||\right)^2},
\end{equation*}
where $x$ is the position of the home of the current node, and $y$ is the
position of the center of cell~$C$. Positions are coordinates in the square of
size 1. Constant $k$ is a scaling factor, set to $0.05$, which accounts for the
small size of the experiment area. Note that function $\textit{distance}(x,C)$
decays as a power law. We come up with this choice after a large set of
experiments, and the choice is heavily influenced by scaling factors.
We start with Infocom~05. The number of nodes $n$ and the simulation time are
the same as in the real data set, hence 41 and 3 days respectively. Since the
area of the real experiment was quite small (a large hotel), we deem that
$300\times300~m^2$ can be a good approximation of the real scenario. In
Infocom~05, there were many parallel sessions. Typically, in such a case one
chooses to follow what is more interesting to him. Hence, people with the same
interests are more likely to meet each other. In this experiment, the parameter
$\alpha$ such that the output fit best the real traces is $\alpha=0.75$. The
results of this experiment are shown in Figure~\ref{fig:infocom}.
We continue with the Cambridge scenario. The number of nodes and the simulation
time are the same as in the real data set, hence 11 and 5 days respectively. In
the Cambridge data set, the iMotes were distributed to two groups of students,
mainly undergrad year~1 and~ 2, and also to some PhD and Master students.
Obviously, students of the same year are more likely to see each other more
often. In this case, the parameter $\alpha$ which best fits the real traces is
$\alpha=0.95$. This choice proves to be fine for both Cambridge~05 and
Cambridge~06. The results of this experiment are shown in
Figure~\ref{fig:cambridge05} and~\ref{fig:cambridge06}.
In all of the three experiments, SWIM proves to be an excellent way to generate
synthetic traces that approximate real traces. It is particularly interesting
that the same choice of parameters gets goods results for all the metrics under
consideration at the same time.
\section{Comparative performance of forwarding protocols}
\label{sec:forwarding}
\begin{figure*}
\label{fig:forwarding}
\centering
\subfigure{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.31\textwidth]{graphics/Infocom/PerformanceInfocom}
\label{fig:perf infocom}}
\subfigure{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.31\textwidth]{graphics/Cambridge05/PerformanceCambridge05}
\label{fig:perf cambridge05}}
\subfigure{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.31\textwidth]{graphics/Cambridge06/PerformanceCambridge06}
\label{fig:perf cambridge 06}}
\caption{Performance of both forwarding protocols on real traces and SWIM
traces. EFw denotes Epidemic Forwarding while DFwd Delegation Forwarding.}
\label{fig:performance}
\end{figure*}
In this section we show other experimental results of SWIM, related to
evaluation of two simple forwarding protocols for DNTs such as Epidemic
Forwarding~\cite{vahdat00epidemic} and simplified version of Delegation
Forwarding\cite{dfw08} in which each node has a random constant as its quality.
Of course, this simplified version of delegation forwarding is not very
interesting and surely non particularly efficient. However, we use it just as a
worst case benchmark against epidemic forwarding, with the understanding that
our goal is just to validate the quality of SWIM, and not the quality of the
forwarding protocol.
In the following experiments, we use for each experiment the same tuning used
in the previous section. That is, the parameters input to SWIM are not
``optimized'' for each of the forwarding protocols, they are just the same that
has been used to fit real traces with synthetic traces.
For the evaluation of the two forwarding protocols we use the same assumptions
and the same way of generating traffic to be routed as in~\cite{dfw08}.
For each trace and forwarding protocol a set of messages is generated with
sources and destinations chosen uniformly at random, and generation times form a
Poisson process averaging one message per 4 seconds.
The nodes are assumed to have infinite buffers and carry all message replicas
they receive until the end of the simulation. The metrics we are concerned with
are: \emph{cost}, which is the number of replicas per generated message;
\emph{success rate} which is the fraction of generated messages for which at
least one replica is delivered; \emph{average delay} which is the average
duration per delivered message from its generation time to the first arrival of
one of its replicas.
As in \cite{dfw08} we isolated 3-hour periods for each data trace (real and
synthetic) for our study. Each simulation runs therefore 3 hours. to avoid
end-effects no messages were generated in the last hour of each trace.
In the two forwarding protocols, upon contact with node $A$, node $B$ decides
which message from its message queue to forward in the following way:
\begin{trivlist}
\item
\textbf{Epidemic Forwarding:} Node $A$ forwards message~$m$ to node $B$ unless
$B$ already has a replica of $m$. This protocol achieves the best possible
performance, so it yields upper bounds on success rate and average delay.
However, it does also have a high cost.
\item
\textbf{(Simplified) Delegation Forwarding:} To each node is initially given a
quality, distributed uniformly in $(0;1]$. To each message is given a rate,
which, in every instant corresponds to the quality of the node with the best
quality that message have seen so far. When generated the message inherits the
rate from the node that generates it (that would be the sender for that
message). Node $A$ forwards message $m$ to node $B$ if the quality of node $B$
is greater than the rate of the copy of $m$ that $A$ holds. If $m$ is forwarded
to $B$, both nodes $A$ and $B$ update the rate of their copy of $m$ to the
quality of $B$.
\end{trivlist}
Figure~\ref{fig:forwarding} shows how the two forwarding protocols perform in
both real and synthetic traces, generated with SWIM.
As you can see, the results are excellent---SWIM predicts very accurately the
performance of both protocols. Most importantly, this is not due to a customized
tuning that has been optimized for these forwarding protocols, it is just the
same output that SWIM has generated with the tuning of the previous section.
This can be important methodologically: To tune SWIM on a particular scenario,
you can concentrate on a few well known and important statistical properties
like inter-contact time, number of contacts, and duration of contacts. Then, you
can have a good confidence that the model is properly tuned and usable to get
meaningful estimation of the performance of a forwarding protocol.
\section{Conclusions}
\label{sec:conclusions}
In this paper we present SWIM, a new mobility model for ad hoc networking. SWIM
is simple, proves to generate traces that look real, and provides an accurate
estimation of forwarding protocols in real mobile networks. SWIM can be used to
improve our understanding of human mobility, and it can support theoretical work
and it can be very useful to evaluate the performance of networking protocols in
scenarios that scales up to very large mobile systems, for which we don't have
real traces.
\IEEEtriggeratref{7}
\bibliographystyle{ieeetr}
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Georgia May Jagger Signs With CAA Fashion
The Hollywood agency's fashion division has also signed Marquita Pring, the Dominican-American model and activist.
By Booth Moore on January 12, 2021
Georgia May Jagger on the cover of Elle.
Courtesy/Russell James
CAA Fashion is continuing to expand in 2021.
The Hollywood agency's burgeoning fashion division has signed Georgia May Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and model Jerry Hall.
Known for her signature Jagger pout and gap teeth, she has appeared on the covers of Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar, and appeared in campaigns for Chanel, Versace and Miu Miu. Jagger has been the face of the Just Cavalli and Angel by Thierry Mugler fragrances, and is the muse for the jewelry company Pandora. She's managed by Tess Management in London.
CAA has also signed Marquita Pring, the Dominican-American model and activist who made waves in 2010 when she appeared in the "Curves Ahead" V Magazine spread, one of the first size-inclusive fashion editorials.
Later that year, Pring walked the Jean Paul Gaultier spring 2011 runway in Paris, and in 2012, she covered Italian Vogue, a milestone for curvy women in the fashion industry.
Pring has appeared in ads for Levi Strauss & Co., Polo Ralph Lauren, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Lane Bryant, Marks & Spencer, Talbots, L'Oréal and Olay; in magazines including Vogue, Glamour and Cosmopolitan, and on the runways for Christian Siriano, Tommy Hilfiger, Tadashi Shoji and Prabal Gurung.
A model in the 2020 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, she is a champion for body positivity and racial diversity, focusing on issues affecting biracial people.
CAA Fashion was founded last year by Christian Carino with the goal of changing the industry by elevating models to the realm of Hollywood talent in pay and personal branding attention. The group's roster includes Claudia Schiffer, Alessandra Ambrosio, Elsa Hosk, Winnie Harlow, Indya Moore, Kate Upton, Leomie Anderson, Dilone, Duckie Thot, Jillian Mercado, Lourdes Leon and more.
|
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I was making this bag for a sandwich lunch I made for my husband to take to work on a special occasion (he usually just carries a regular lunch bag because I'm not making this for every single lunch! Are you kidding me…).
It's really simple to make .. I'm not one for elaborate projects that mere mortals like myself can only drool on.
Cut 2 rectangle piece of patterned paper approx. larger than the front and center die, stitch a panel of cardstock down the middle and die cut both panels (this will make the front and the bag of the bag).
Adhere a ribbon down the front center panel.
Trim a lunch bag down to size and adhere the stitched panel to the front and bag of lunch bag.
Make a bow from the same ribbon and add tag and bow to the bag. Embellish with a button.
There you have it … and there are so many cute images on the set that I'm planning to use the muffin image for my son's school lunch next. Here is the cutest kitchen set I've laid my eyes on.
I hope your New Year has been going well. For me, most of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and the clean up after that is done and some sense of normalcy and routine is coming back to our lives. Just at a right time for me, Crafter's Companion has just released a new collection of Kanji stamps – lots of unique and meaningful Asian sentiment and images.
This collection intimidated me at first – I didn't recognize any of those Asian characters and I have never done any Asian art – even if I am Asian! But as I was working through my supplies looking for Asian embellishments and papers to use (I have few of those too), my creative juices started perculating. I found in my supplies some mulberry papers, flowers and leaves looking like Cherry Blossoms and willow, bamboo skewers and chopsticks (those were extras from some takeout I ate at my desk), Asian images on Western papers like a trendy fusion mix (this I found in Basic Grey and Kaiser Craft paper collections), I even though of stamping these Asian characters as my background paper!
The unexpected can surprise you. I hope you will have as much fun with this set as I did.
Here's wishing you tranquility for the New Year ahead.
I just noticed that I have been posting quite a bit the last couple of weeks. Well well, that's because I have been in crafty heaven these days with the huge box of goodies Stampendous sent me that I totally forgot about one of my closest friend's birthday.
Tsk tsk – what a terrible friend I am and I'm very ashamed to admit this. But the crafter in me yearns to share the card I made for her – she loves these pretty girly things in pastel colors so I hope she likes all the scalloped edges, the twirly whirlies, the sparkle and soft colors I included in her card. And I also hope she forgives me too.
I played with alot of Stampendous products on this card. First of all, I created the colorful background with Distressed Ink (Fired Brick, Wild Honey, Tumbled Glass) and a stippling brush. Scalloped punch top edge and round bottom edge. Then I stamp the flourish from the Stampendous Cling Jumbo Dahlia stamp set with Distressed Ink (Pumice Stone). I randomly emboss the colored background with Frantage Embossing Enamel (Shabby White), Stampendous Vintage Glitter (multi crystal mix) and Frantage mica fragments (Pearlized Mica). The finished background was adhere to card base and top edge stitch twice. American Craft Ribbon was attached. The sentiment I used is from the Stampendous Birthday Assortment Perfectly Clear Stamps and stamped on vellum and diecut with PTI doily die. Finish card by attaching sentiment and Kaiser Craft flower blossom.
I used The Pixie Cottage stamp "To You from Us" from Michelle's Scrapbooking and More. They are just too adorable these 2 little kittens. DP is from Authentique Papers. Flowers are from Kaiser Craft. So now it's your turn to go and create and come back and share with us. The randomly picked winner of their choice of two fabulous Pixie Cottage stamps.
By now, you would have figured out that I am a huge fan of Crissy Armstrong's images – they are so achingly adorable, I think. I am extremely proud to be guest designing for her today.
Her challenge this month is "anything goes" – make any card you like and go to her challenge blog, Sundays with Crissy, to play along.
Ain't Rupert the cutest – I left the card without a sentiment so I could use it for any occasion as it crops up. DP is from Basic Grey (green) and I apologize I cannot remember the manufacturer of the yellow dot paper (it's from my stash). The butterfly pin is from Jillibean Soup – I have the hardest time finding hat pins so if you know of a place to get them, let me know.
This little cutie (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) is one of Crissy's newer releases … even the name is cute. I love that she has these pencil drawing too – make the whole images so much softer. DP is from October Afternoon (black menu) and Lily Bee Designs (yellow dots). Ribbon is from Fancy Pants Designs. Flower is from Kaiser Craft.
There is your dose of cuteness for the day. All of these Crissy's images that I have used can be found at Whimsy Stamps.
Have a fun kind of day!
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If you only had four things in your fridge, what could you cook?
Of course, it would depend on the four things.
But after a while it would get pretty boring.
Suppose you only had four DVD's.
If you were stuck on an island, which four DVD's would you bring?
Any way you slice it, whatever "category" you put those four things in, the answer would always be very limited.
Four cities to live in and travel to.
Four kinds of food. (That would at least give you some variety).
Cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine.
These are the four nucleotides.
Only these four make up EVERYTHING about you.
The difference is precisely HOW they are arranged.
Put them in one order, and you're dead before you've got a chance.
Put them in another order, and you have super human skills of X-men proportions.
Nobody knows WHEN or IF we'll be able understand what order matches what trait.
Or even if there's more going on than we can measure.
After all, take two similar people and they can create VASTLY different things.
These DNA nucleotides create the structure of your brain.
But who or what creates the thoughts that you think?
Most people are content to think thoughts that others think.
Some people think different thoughts, but they still do the same things.
The precious few who make a huge difference are those who THINK differently as well as ACT differently.
Because without actions, thoughts are just a hobby.
But how do you KNOW what to think?
How do you know HOW to think?
You can make them up as you go along.
Keep trying different "thoughts" in different orders, until you hit on a winning combination that will forever change your life, and the world around you.
Posted in Appreciation, Confidence, Conversation Skills and tagged Evolution, Happiness, Hypnosis on January 22, 2018 by george.
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Africa Has Not Been A Priority Region For The Trump Administration-CFA President Mel Foote
By Ajong Mbapndah L
President Trump really has not had any discernible agenda for Africa, says Mel Foote
Very little has been done by President Trump in articulating and fostering a concise African policy, says Mel Foote, President of the Washington DC, based Constituency for Africa. In addition to not paying a visit to Africa in his first term, the President's utterances and actions have not been helpful in forging stronger ties with Africa, says Mr. Foote, a highly respected veteran of African Affairs in the Washington, DC circuit.
Fielding questions from PAV, Mr. Foote says the upcoming Presidential elections will have profound implications on how the U.S interacts with Africa and the rest of the world.
"Should Trump win re-election, we certainly should not expect anything of significance for Africa, and certainly no new initiatives. On the other hand, should Vice-President Biden win, we can certainly expect a stronger hand of friendship coming from the U.S., although the attention of President Biden will most certainly be on responding to the COVID-19 impact in the U.S," says Mr. Foote.
"While clearly President Trump has not engaged much with African-Americans during these four years , African-Americans have not done well with the Democratic Party either as both sides routinely promise things in exchange for votes, but deliver little," Mel Foote charged.
Still, the CFA leader believes that the African American vote could be decisive in swaying the election either way and for this to happen, their turnout must mirror 2008 levels when President Obama won the elections, Mr. Foote says.
Thanks for accepting to grant this interview, can we start with your assessment of the state of US-African relations?
Since assuming the Presidency of the United States, President Donald Trump has done very little to advance any significant U.S. – Africa policy agenda. He started off on the wrong foot, by insulting African countries, calling them "shithole countries", and followed this up by putting African countries, including Nigeria on a list to restrict U.S. visas! The first lady Melania Trump visited Africa last year, but did not focus on any real substantive agenda, and there has been little or no follow-up.
What was the Trump agenda for Africa and what impact did it have on the traditional ties that the US has had with Africa?
President Trump really does not have any discernable agenda for Africa. The U.S. is only peripherally involved in major movements on the continent, i.e., the Continental Free Trade Agreement; efforts to respond to climate change on the continent; and efforts to respond to COVID-19. Having said that, the U.S. State Department has been helpful in the peaceful transition to democracy in Sudan. The US played a role in the peaceful elections in the DRC. The US seems to be on the right side in pressing for democratic reform and leadership change in Cameroon.
President Trump is wrapping up his first term of office with Africa been the only region he has not visited, what message does it send to the seriousness with which the US takes its ties with Africa?
Given all of the challenges the Trump administration is facing as it wraps up its first term, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, no one can expect President Trump to make a trip to Africa any time soon. In fact, for security reasons, the President is not able to travel to Europe, Canada, Asia or anywhere else, until such a time that a vaccine would be available! Most of the Africa-watchers in Washington, would have questioned his motives for making a trip to Africa anyways, given some of his rhetoric, and his abhorrent disregard and treatment of black people in Africa and here in the United States.
An operational concept of unification, that allows African Americans, African
immigrants, Afro Latinos, and Afro Europeans, to cooperate is still needed, says Mel
Foote pictured here with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya
Elections are around the corner, what could be at stake for US-Africa relations come November?
The US Presidential Elections in November will certainly be important for Americans and for the entire world! Should Trump win re-election, we certainly should not expect anything of significance for Africa, and certainly no new initiatives. On the other hand, should Vice-President Biden win, we can certainly expect a stronger hand of friendship coming from the U.S., although the attention of President Biden will most certainly be on responding to the COVID-19 impact in the U.S.; putting Americans back to work; and getting the U.S. economy going again.
What guarding principles or recommendations do you have for African Americans in making their choice of who to vote in November?
African-Americans certainly are in position to determine the outcome of the elections, if we turn out to vote at the level of 2008, when Barack Obama won the election. The Trump re-election team is working hard to make it difficult for Black people to vote, and clearly want to limit the potential! While clearly President Trump has not engaged much with African Americans during these four years — African Americans have not done well with the Democratic Party either! Both sides routinely promise things in exchange for votes, but deliver little! Unfortunately, we can expect little to achieve for Africa and for African people, regardless of who is elected!
What do you make of the way Africa reacted to the recent murder of George Floyd?
With the advent of social media, the entire world witnessed to murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis, Minnesota police! While thousands of blacks have been systematically murdered by police across the United States, it has always been covered up, with police claiming that they were defending themselves and had to use lethal force! African immigrants have generally stayed out of the issue of police brutality, but increasingly are being caught up as the police are only seeing them as black people, and not as Ethiopians, Guineans, Nigerians, etc. The George Floyd murder reverberated across the world including across Africa! The African immigrant community also has been caught up in the global protest, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
The emotional responses from Africa during the George Floyd included calls from the Minister of Culture for aggrieved African Americans to come back "home," what is it that African countries could do to build bridges to its diaspora?
Africa and African people are certainly coming to realize the potential of the African Diaspora, for remittances, for trade promotion, for tourism, etc.
Thus, the African Union's launching of the Diaspora as the "Sixth Region", in 2012! However, much work remains to be done in Africa and here in the Diaspora, to make this Sixth Region a functional reality. The biggest challenge is to how we can develop an "operational concept of unification", that allows African-Americans, African immigrants, Afro-Latinos, Afro-Europeans, etc., to cooperate!
While most of the Africa-focused organizations in the U.S. have disappeared, the CFA under the leadership of Mr Foote continues to respond to the call of Africa
As we speak, the African Union Mission in Washington DC has gone without an Ambassador since October 2019 when Ambassador Arikana was recalled, what do you make of this?
We all applaud the tremendous effort of Ambassador Arikana Chihombori to engage the Diaspora, during her three years as the Permanent Representative to Washington. She was tireless in her approach, and did much to wake the Diaspora up to the possibilities in Africa! On the other hand, Ambassador Chihombori was clearly functioning as a part of the African Union Commission and operated under their organizational policies and procedures! She served at the pleasure of the AU Chairperson, and like all Ambassadors, was subject to recall for any reason as determined by the Chairperson. The African Union has an "Acting" Representative in place here in Washington, and given the COVID-19 pandemic, the AU is certainly suspending efforts for the time being, to formally fill Ambassadorships around the world! I do expect that the way Ambassador Chihombori departed the position, unfortunately will hurt efforts in the future for the AU to focus on African Diaspora issues and engagement. They will likely focus on bilateral issues with the U.S. government, and with institutions like the World Bank and IMF!
What plans does the Constituency For Africa that you lead have for the 2020 annual Ron Brown African Affairs Series?
The CFA 2020 Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series will take place virtually, between September 12 – 19. The theme for the Series this year is, "Advocating for Africa in the Mist of the Pandemic"! While most of the Africa-focused organizations in the U.S. have disappeared, or have severely reduced their programming during the Coronavirus pandemic, CFA has clearly adjusted, and continues to respond to the call of Africa, albeit with minimum resources. In some respect the programming is even better today in that we have much better access with the use of ZOOM and other information technologies, to reach leaders across Africa, and throughout the Diaspora around the world! We are planning to release the agenda for the 2020 RHB Series next week.
Mel, we like to end with a last question on what is been done by you and other veterans of African advocacy in Washington ,DC, to ensure that there is continuity in the great work you have done for decades?
I am pleased to say that CFA has always prioritized preparing the next generation of leadership to support Africa. I recall my own experience in coming up, how the Black leaders at that time were not attuned to helping me or any of the up and coming folks, to prepare for leadership. One of my bosses told once told me when I went to him about career advice, "You must pull yourself up by your own bootstraps"! In other words, he was not going to do anything to help me to advance my career! I decided then and there that if I am ever in the position, I would take a much different approach to the next generation!
I am extremely proud of my role in the formulation of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), that was launched by President Barack Obama, after he became President. President Obama sent an aide to see me late in 2008, and asked me to offer my thoughts on what approach the President could take in regards to Africa, in that when he arrived in office, the U.S. economy was in total freefall, we were fully engaged in fighting two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan), and he needed to spend his first year or so in fixing the economy and getting Americans back to work! He also followed George W. Bush in office. President Bush, despite his limited knowledge and interest in Africa, ended up being perhaps the most successful U.S. President in history in relationship to Africa, allocating $15 billion to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and $5 billion to launch the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which provided new development support for Africa.
President Obama wanted to show Africa that he, as a son of the continent, was indeed very much interested in the affairs of Africa, but he needed to spend his first year or so, fixing the monumental problems in the U.S. I wrote a paper for the President Obama, and suggested that he not spend his political capital trying to get African old tyrants to do the right thing, but focus his attention on the young, the up and coming generation, and preparing them for leadership! President Obama loved the idea, and went on to structure YALI!
*Culled from August Issue for PAV Magazine
Friends In Need, Friends Indeed:Q & A With Dr Rasha Kalej On The Merck Foundation Response To COVID 19 in Africa
The COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed its agenda, but the Merck Foundation under the leadership of its CEO Rasha Kelej remains a dependable development partner for Africa. From continuous engagement with African first Ladies, to raising awareness and showing appreciation to frontline actors, Dr Rasha Kelej sheds light on the response of the Merck Foundation to Covid 19 in Africa in the following Q &A
With the first ladies that you work with, what initiatives have been embarked on in response to COVID 19?
Merck Foundation has raced to respond to the Coronavirus pandemic in partnership with 18 African First Ladies, Ministries of Health, Information and Education focusing on four main areas: community support , training doctors and community awareness through our "stay at home " media recognition awards and children storybook. To give a brief ;
1) Community donations: the lockdown imposed in most countries had hit the daily workers and women the most, making it very difficult for them to survive. Therefore, we partnered with the African First Ladies of Liberia, Ghana, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, Niger, Sierra Leone, Malawi (Former) and Burkina Faso to support livelihood of thousands of women and families of casual and daily workers who are most affected by the Coronavirus (COVID -19) lockdown. The relief contribution was also undertaken in Egypt with the aim to support 500 families.
2) Coronavirus Healthcare Capacity Building: We strongly believe that building professional healthcare capacity is the right strategy to improve access to quality and equitable healthcare specially during this vicious pandemic, therefore, Merck Foundation will strongly continue their current capacity advancement programs and will specially focus on building Coronavirus healthcare capacity through providing African and Asian medical postgraduates with one-year online diploma and two-year online Master degree in both Respiratory Medicines and Acute Medicines at one of the UK Universities. This program is in partnership with African First Ladies, Ministers of Health and Academia across the two continents.
As part of our strategy of responding to coronavirus lockdown, we scaled up to more African and Asian medical postgraduates to provide online medical specialization scholarships. We will now focus more on online scholarships which will be for one-year diploma and two year master degree in several specialties such as: Diabetes, Cardiovascular Preventive Medicines, Endocrinology and Sexual and Reproductive Medicines. We invite Medical Graduates to apply for these courses by email us on submit@merckfoundation.com
3) Community Awareness: We also launched 'Stay at Home' Media Recognition Awards in partnership with First Ladies of Ghana, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi (Former), Namibia, Niger, Guinea Conakry, Burundi (Former), Central African Republic (C.A.R.), Chad, Zimbabwe, Zambia, The Gambia, Liberia and Congo Brazzaville, Angola, Mali, Mozambique for English, French, Portuguese and Arabic Speaking African countries. The awards have been also announced for Middle Eastern, Asian countries and in Spanish for Latin American Countries. The theme of the awards is 'Raising Awareness on how to Stay Safe, Keep Physically and Mentally Healthy during Coronavirus Lockdown with the aim to separate facts from myths and misconceptions'. The winners of the awards will be announced soon.
4) Community awareness for Children and Youth: We also launched an inspiring storybook called 'Making the Right Choice' in partnership with 18 African First Ladies. The story aims to raise awareness about coronavirus prevention amongst children and youth as it provides facts about the pandemic and how to stay safe and healthy during the outbreak. It also promotes honesty, hard-work and the ability to make the right choices even during the most challenging times. The story has been released in three languages: English, French and Portuguese.
Dr Kelej and the Merck Foundation have partnered with African First Ladies on diverse projects to mitigate the effects of Covid 19
There is also a song out -My White Army song from a group of 11 artists from 11 African countries in three languages ; for ur first time in Arabic , French and English. on the pandemic, how did you come about this initiative?
I started this song as an idea of creating an inspiring pan African song which aims to thank the doctors and nurses fighting on the front lines of the coronavirus battle, who are risking exposure to the virus so everyone else can stay home and stay healthy.
I strongly believe, it is important for the people on the front line; doctors, nurses and health workers to know how grateful we are. I did not want this to be a one-off thank you, but one that becomes a regular act of gratitude across our communities. I have heard stories of horrible behavior against our health workers, such as, landlords are forcefully evicting them due to paranoia that they might spread COVID -19. It is shocking, illegal and inhuman behavior".
Through the My White Army song, singers representing Africa are expressing our love, respect and gratitude for doctors, nurses and health workers, the frontliners in the coronavirus battle. It is their messages of support for those braving the outbreak to help others.
This is the first time in Africa and may be in the world that 11 singers from 11 African countries in three languages have participated in one song, to support the medical staff during this difficult time.
The title of the song- 'My White Army' simply refers to the team of health workers who wear white uniforms to save and defend us against the coronavirus pandemic which seem like a battel to the world.
What criteria was used in picking the 11 artists that were used for the song and what is the feedback you have received since the song was released?
The criteria I used was to approach singers from Arabic, English and French speaking countries with a representation from East, West, North and South Africa. Of course, I approached many singers, but I selected the ones who showed passion and great interest and were willing to work under this difficult times and restrictions.
I must say am happy with the team of singers that could come on board, but this is the beginning of series of projects and songs to be done from different countries including Portuguese speaking countries. Singers from all countries will be contacted and represented in the future to create songs to address different sensitive topics in Africa.
The 6th edition of Merck Africa Asia Luminary took place in Ghana last year , what souvenirs did you take out the forum and with COVID 19, what plans for the next one?
Of course this year we will not be able to conduct the luminary in Zambia in October like it was originally planned due to coronavirus pandemic new regulations. We will conduct our forums online this year and we will postpone the luminary to 2021. Hopefully by then everything will be under control.
The Merck Foundation rallied a group of top African artists to use music in thanking frontline actors and sharing safety tips
You were listed last year amongst the top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine; how did you receive this news?
I am very proud to be listed among the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2019. This recognition is very important for me and for Merck foundation as it acknowledges my efforts, my team's efforts for empowering infertile women and extensively working on eliminating stigma associated with infertility through our historic campaign 'Merck More Than a Mother' that aims to empower infertile women through access to information, education and change of mind-sets. I am very passionate about this cause and I love my work and my achievements as an African woman.
Through this movement, we have succeeded to initiate a cultural shift to de-stigmatize infertility at all levels: By improving awareness, training local experts in the fields of fertility care and media, building advocacy in cooperation with 18 African First Ladies who are the ambassadors of this movement, I love to work with them. And also, by supporting childless women in starting their own small businesses. It's all about giving every woman the respect and the help she deserves to live a fulfilling life, with or without a child.
May we have an idea of any other initiatives or projects that the Merck Foundation will be working on in the course of the year?
In addition to the four areas we are focusing on to respond to COVID 19. We will focus online speciality education like as mentioned earlier. And of course all our awards which can be conducted remotely. The full focus will be on our community awareness through our social media channel. I am very prod that we reached 3 m followers on all our channels including my private channels @Rasha Kelej . I am still thanks to all technology platforms , in close contact with all our partners , as our Alumni and new candidates to ensure that Merck foundation is on the right track to realize our vision.
*Culled from August Issue of PAV Magazine
Conversation with Marieme Esther Dassanou, Coordinator of the African Development Bank's Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa programme
Marieme Esther Dassanou
She previously led IFC's Gender Secretariat's work on advancing women's inclusion in the insurance and financial sectors.
Marieme Esther Dassanou is the Coordinator of Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) the African Development Bank's flagship pan-African initiative, which aims to bridge the $42 billion financing gap facing women entrepreneurs in Africa.
In this interview, she outlines progress made with the AFAWA initiative and its future plans.
You recently joined the African Development Bank as AFAWA coordinator. Can you tell us more about the initiative?
AFAWA is a pan-African initiative launched by the African Development Bank at its Annual Meeting in Lusaka, Zambia in May 2016 to promote gender-inclusive financing and unlock the women entrepreneurship potential in Africa. Through AFAWA, the Bank seeks to bridge the $42 billion financing gap faced by women-empowered businesses (WEBs) by deploying financing instruments better suited to addressing their finance needs for the growth of their businesses.
These financial instruments are coupled with technical assistance to financial institutions to better address the needs of WEBs as well as capacity building for women entrepreneurs to increase their profitability and bankability. AFAWA also includes a business-enabling environment component to ensure regulation is conducive to enhancing the ability of financial institutions to lend to women. Through AFAWA the Bank aims to unlock up to $ 5 billion in the next five to six years.
Why is it important for the Bank to have such a vehicle or mechanism in place?
The development and growth of women-owned businesses on the continent is a priority for the African Development Bank. The continent's women entrepreneurs start businesses faster than anywhere else in the world, and in most countries represent at least 30% of formally registered businesses. Taking into account the informal economy, one could comfortably say that women represent the largest part of the SME sector. Thus, aiming to develop our continent without them would not make economic sense. They are fundamental and key drivers of sustainable economic growth and widespread and inclusive prosperity.
It is important to support these businesses to grow by ensuring they have the financial and business tools they need. AFAWA, through its Guarantee for Growth programme, supported by the G7, the Netherlands, Sweden and Rwanda, is a good starting point. Implemented together with the Africa Guarantee Fund, the programme reduces the guarantee requirements for women when they need a loan. AGF is a pan-African financial institution that provides financial institutions with guarantees and other products specifically intended to support small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa. Together, we will work with financial institutions to enhance their understanding of women entrepreneurs and their different risks, which should be considered in the development of financial services for women.
The Bank is also further leveraging its lines of credit, trade finance lines and investment in equity funds to increase access to finance for WEBs of a certain size even more. The partnership signed with the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative (We-Fi) supports the Bank in increasing it financial coverage for women entrepreneurs through these traditional instruments, as well as increase trading opportunities for women entrepreneurs and grow the fashion and creative industries.
What are the commitments so far?
The program has so far received commitments from G7 members, including France, the UK, Canada, Italy and Germany, as well as the Netherlands, Sweden and Rwanda. AFAWA has also received its first tranche of funding from We-Fi , a portion of which will go towards enhancing to the capacity of women-owned businesses to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
We invite other governments, especially our regional member countries, to partner with us in helping to bridge the finance gap for women-run businesses in Africa.
On the implementation front, what ground has been covered?
We've made great progress since the G7 Biarritz Summit last year. On 31 March 2020, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank approved the two mechanisms that will enable us to de-risk women-led businesses and increase their ability to access to loans with lighter collateral requirements. We've been slightly delayed by COVID-19, but we expect that the Guarantee for Growth Programme will be operational before the end of 2020.
In the meantime, we are leveraging the Bank's lines of credit, trade finance and equity funds to enable women to access funds and grow their businesses. The Bank is also ensuring that the SME component of its COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility (CRF) package, has a part specifically dedicated to women businesses. The Bank is also exploring opportunities to work with equity funds in enhancing the ability of women enterprises to further participate in the COVID-19 response to increase their operations and production.
Who is eligible to borrow?
It's not only about borrowing. The access to finance gap is in part due to the inability of women-owned and led businesses to access funding, their lack of skills in presenting financially viable businesses, and an environment that is not always conducive to increasing women's access to financial services. The AFAWA approach addresses all these areas. Thus, depending on their needs, women entrepreneurs will be eligible at different levels including access to finance for those with viable and bankable projects and also access to training and capacity building for those who may not yet be eligible to borrow but could improve their financial management skills, record keeping, marketing and any other area to enhance their bankability.
*AFDB
African Economic Outlook Supplement: Here is how African countries can deal with COVID-19, reopen economies and accelerate recovery.
Charles Lufumpa, the African Development Bank's Acting Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management speaks on the recent release of the African Economic Outlook 2020 Supplement. He shares policy recommendations to cushion the shock of COVID-19 on countries.
Charles Lufumpa is the African Development Bank's Acting Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management
How has Africa's economic trajectory changed since the 2020 African Economic Outlook launched in January?
Almost everything has changed since January. The outbreak COVID-19 pandemic has distressed the global economy, particularly African economies. At the time the projections for Africa's economic growth and prospects were prepared in January 2020, no one anticipated the magnitude of disruptions that COVID-19 would cause.
Both the pandemic and the containment measures put in place by governments to limit its spread have had important economic implications. International travel restrictions, school and workplace closures, cancellation of public events, restrictions on public gatherings and closures of national borders and non-essential businesses have had an unprecedented impact on Africa's economic, health and political landscape.
The direct and indirect consequences of the outbreak have upended the strong upward trajectory of many African countries through 2019. Our analyses, projections and forecasts in the AEO 2020 Supplement reflect this sharply changed landscape.
Why is the African Economic Outlook 2020 Supplement necessary at this time?
The pandemic has reversed the strong growth projections reported earlier in our 2020 African Economic Outlook due to the significant economic and health-related disruptions it is causing African countries.
To account for the impact of the pandemic on Africa's socio-economic landscape, it was necessary to reassess the situation and revise our growth projections and outlook for 2020 and 2021.
The AEO 2020 Supplement presents revised projections for Africa's economic growth and outlook for 2020 and 2021, assesses the impact of COVID-19, and offers policy prescriptions on safe strategies to reopen economies and accelerate recovery after the pandemic.
What are the main policy recommendations to spur 3.0 percent growth in 2021?
It is important to first underscore that projections of a 3-percent growth recovery in 2021 are subject to major downside risks arising from both external and domestic factors. For instance, there remains a non-negligible risk of a second wave of COVID-19 infection, which could necessitate that African countries reimpose physical distancing, lockdowns, and quarantines.
We should also not forget other natural catastrophes such as the locusts swarms in parts of East Africa that are hurting farmers' yields and livelihoods. Other exacerbating factors such as subdued commodity prices, high debt burdens, and tightening global financing conditions are likely to increase the uncertainty of Africa's projected economic recovery.
The AEO 2020 Supplement emphasizes a multi-pronged policy approach to addressing the pandemic that involves: a public health response to contain the spread of the virus and minimize fatalities; a monetary policy response to ease liquidity constraints and solvency risks, a fiscal response to cushion the impacts on livelihoods and to assist businesses; a labour-market response to protect workers and their jobs; and structural policies to enable African economies to rebuild and enhance their resilience to future shocks.
Actionable details on how to implement these policy responses are presented in Section 3 of the Supplement.
How can African countries build economies that are more resilient against future shocks?
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is certainly not the last major shock the continent will face. In the AEO Supplement, we emphasized the need to accelerate structural reforms to help African countries build more resilient economies and become better prepared to face future shocks.
By increasing productivity and addressing obstacles to the business environment, African countries could revive their productive base and increase levels of industrialization. These resilience-boosting reforms would require investment in human capital to build a workforce with the right skills for high-productivity sectors and bridging the infrastructure deficit to advance Africa's industrial development.
Moreover, promoting economic diversification will help countries adapt to an increasingly volatile global economy and better shield their economies from future shocks. This will require targeted policies that boost agricultural productivity and move labor from low-productivity to high-productivity sectors as well as supporting competitive sectors such as agro-processing, digital technologies, or information and communication technology-based services, which have proved critical during the pandemic.
Other challenges that will need to be addressed in order to achieve faster-growing and more resilient African economies include: formalizing the informal sector; ensuring political stability, good governance and transparency, and stronger protections for property rights.
*AFDB.
Nigerian Actress / Screen Writer Pens Coronavirus hit African lockdown series
Tunde Aladese
Tunde Aladese is an African film actress and screen writer, she won an Africa Academy Award in 2018, she has recently been a studying BA in Filmmaking at MetFilm School .As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, a popular series called, Shuga went into a mini-series nightly show titled MTV Shuga Alone Together highlighting the problems of Coronavirus on 20 April 2020. Tunde is the screenwriter.
The show was originally to be broadcast for 60 nights, but it's now been increased to 65 nights and its backers include the United Nations. The series is based in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Cote D'Ivoire and the story is told through with on-line conversations between the main characters. In the Q and A below she discusses the series and her career plans
Do you remember how you fell in love with films and writing? Was there a particular film/ script? Did it make to feel a particular way? Anything growing up that pushed you in this particular direction?
This is a difficult one because it's never really just one thing. It's the gradual growth of a lifelong romance. My love for writing started with prose, making sorry imitations of any book I enjoyed in order to somehow prolong the experience that the book had given me. Cinemas weren't much of a thing in Nigeria at the time when I was growing up but VCR was big business and watching movies was a big family pastime.
It's hard to pick just one film because the exposure was constant, and the genres were varied. It was the eighties so there was a lot of that B movie style action. Also, a lot of the glam mini-series type content, usually centred around a woman who succeeded against all odds. There was 'The Sound of Music' which my siblings and I could quote in its entirety. Arthouse came later, as options widened. I didn't have a proper understanding of how films came to be for quite a while and a couple of appearances on kids' variety shows were a surreal experience.
I guess primary school drama club was my first proper sense of trying to create a narrative out of thin air and get other people to help bring it to life. But I can say that I fell in love with the film business, this idea of actors and directors and storytellers on screen after reading biographies of some old Hollywood movie stars between the ages of 10 and 13.
I think that was when I began to understand the process of how all that came to the screen. The possibility of anything like that being a tangible and viable career plan, came much later.
Please expand on the origins of when and why you decided that career in the screen industry was for you.
I'm not quite sure I decided. I think the timing was fortunate for me. My first job after university led to an introduction between my boss and a producer who was about to make a radio drama series for the BBC in Nigeria. My boss showed him some ideas I had put down and I got invited to be part of a writers' room, something I'd never heard of. I couldn't believe someone paid me that much money (not a huge amount but at the time I was making almost nothing) to do something I'd been doing for fun all my life. I figured 'I could get used to this…' Success was not immediate but over the next couple of years, enough opportunities came my way that when an international cable company became interested in producing Nigerian series, I actually had a little experience under my belt and could pitch myself for some writing opportunities.
Tunde Aladese won an Africa Academy Award in 2018
Why did you choose Metfilm school? What's unique about it? What were you experiences there? What were your education experiences beforehand? Where did you grow up and where did you go to college / university… what did you study before?
My first degree was in English Literature, from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. After almost 10 years working professionally as a screenwriter, mostly in television, I wanted new challenges and a wider canvas. I thought learning formally about all aspects of film production would help me with that. Choosing Metfilm was a combination of timing, location (Berlin had been popping up a lot in my timeline in the months preceding), language and investigating their alumni and the things they had gone on to do since leaving the school. It's a great way to study the European arthouse film aesthetic, which I was very interested in, without having to take the time to learn a whole new language. And because it's an English speaking school in a very European city, you get to study with students from a wide variety of countries from all over the world.
Tell me about MTV Shuga – how did the project come about about? 60 episodes – it's quite an ask… how did you manage to complete it?
We're still trying to! And I'm not going to deny that it is a challenge. I just take it one block at a time, and fortunately I don't have to do it all on my own. There's a co-head writer and co-director who alternates blocks with me and of course, the SAF team. I had worked on 2 previous seasons of the series, including one season as Head Writer and had therefore had some contact with some members of the team. They reached out within the first couple of weeks of lockdown in Germany and told me about this idea they were throwing around, and asked whether it was something I would be interested in coming on board for. I'd been sitting home for 2 weeks, reading about everything going on all around the world, from news headlines to social media posts sharing people's emotions, so I knew as soon as they asked that there was potential here. I didn't imagine at the time that it would be 65 episodes (yeah, it's 65 now)! We're recording 41-50 this week and then my co-head takes over again for the next batch.
What's the response been like? From the audience and the industry?
To be honest? I don't know. I usually try to stay away from comments because you get drawn in by the good stuff and then one negative comment and you might spend the rest of the day overthinking. I do understand that reactions and feedback from the first few episodes was quite exciting. It's been challenging trying to find ways to maintain and increase the momentum and interest. But I did say I was looking for challenges, right?
Tunde is the screenwriter of the mini-series nightly show titled MTV Shuga Alone Together highlighting the problems of Coronavirus
What are you working on now, what are your plans for the future?
I'm almost done with this season of Shuga and there are a couple of things lined up for me to switch over to from next month. But nothing that I am at liberty to talk about right now.
What advice would you give to anyone thinking about becoming a screen writer / considering a career in the screen industries?
Read a lot of books, watch a lot of movies. Figure out what you like, what excites and moves you and why. And then try to put it into your own work. Write, write, write. Even when you hate it, keep at it. I had a period of about 6 years from secondary school into university where, everything I wrote, I hated soon after. But that made me question why I hated it and what I needed to do differently. The trick is to keep writing so that when an opportunity comes your way, you have something to show of your ability that will make them at least consider you. Don't wait for someone to find you and make you a writer. And then of course, seek out those opportunities. I know this is a bit glib, and won't work out for everyone, but it will for some. Oh, and I should mention this magic trick. The first time I went to a writers' workshop, everyone there introduced themselves as a writer except me. I didn't think I had the right to claim that about my hobby. The people present in the room made me say it 'I'm a writer'. When I returned to my life, I started introducing myself that way. And people remembered. And the calls started coming.
*Q & A facilitated by Ruth Sparkes and MetFilm School
From Kenya To East Africa, African Made SUV Mobius Eyes Continental Market
Joel Jackson is the Founder and CEO of Mobius Motors specialized in the building of vehicles in Africa for Africa
In the hugely competitive world of cars, Mobius, a Kenyan based company manufacturing luxury SUVs, has carved a niche for itself, and is set for expansion into the East African market.
Designed specifically to handle the rugged African terrain with consideration for income levels, business needs, vehicle loading and more, Mobius vehicles are a strong combination of very high level durability, and very high levels of affordability, says Joel Jackson, its Founder and CEO. Speaking in a skype interview with Pan African Visions, Joel Jackson who was pushed into car manufacturing because of the transportation challenges he faced in Kenya while working with a forestry NGO, says Mobius is developing cars specifically for the local market.
"To get the combination of high durability, and affordability with a free one-year warranty covered, and authorized servicing in a way that has not been offered before is a truly unique proposition from Mobius," says Joel Jackson.
With roots firmly established in Kenya, Jackson says the next phase involves expansion into other countries in East Africa and eventually across the rest of the continent.
PAV: Good morning and thanks for granting this interview to talk about Mobius cars. Can we start with an introduction of the company and its products?
Joel Jackson: Mobius is a new car company in Kenya, and we design, manufacture, and sell vehicles suited specifically for the African markets. We launched our first generation vehicle in 2015, and we are preparing to launch our next generation vehicle now, and the vehicle is built in Nairobi factory in Kenya.
PAV: When you say the cars are designed for the African market what do you mean by that, and how different are your cars from Japanese, American, French or even German cars?
Joel Jackson: Firstly, they are very durable; they offer the same type of performance as an SUV in the Kenyan market, but they are also very affordable as well. Our position in price is just over $13,000 for a brand new SUV which is unparalleled in price offering in the market. So, it is a combination of very high-level durability, and very high levels of affordability but offered in a very attractive package which consumers find very appealing.
PAV: You are from Britain, what prompted you to get into the car business, and why the choice of Africa, and why Kenya out of 54 African countries?
Joel Jackson: My first experience in Kenya was working with a forestry NGO on the coast of Kenya, and it was quite an eye-opening experience. I spent a lot of time moving around in the rural areas of the country and I really had first-hand experience of the kinds of transportation challenges the people in those communities were facing so that was the original inspiration for Mobius to develop a car that was durable enough to handle the kinds of roads, terrains I saw in those areas. Although I planned to be in Kenya for a relative short stint, and move back to the UK and continue my career as a management consultant, I ended up staying in Kenya and founded Mobius, and I have done that since.
PAV: Let's talk about the work force of Mobius, how many workers do you have and are there Kenyans or Africans who actually participate in the production process of your cars?
Joel Jackson: Yes. So today we have about 55 people on the team, and that continues to grow. We have been fortunate to hire some incredible people from all around the world with very deep automotive experience. The vast majority of our team are Kenyans, and that includes Kenyans who have been educated abroad, worked in different car companies for a while and decided to move back to Kenya and join Mobius.
PAV: With regards to the models that you currently have, could you tell us the kinds of cars you have in the market at the moment?
Joel Jackson: Our next generation Mobius 2 vehicle is currently available for pre-order, and our customers can log into our website and pre-order the vehicle. It is an SUV offering which gives customers specifically developed rugged performance for rough road driving environments. It has many of the key features customers will expect in a vehicle, power steering, air conditioning, an optional Wi-Fi enabled tablet entertainment system in the vehicle as well. But it is specifically developed for high durability, drive performance, and a very low price rate.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta had a special test drive of a Mobius car in 2014
PAV: We believe there are many car companies in Kenya, how is Mobius copping with the competition from Japanese, French, Italian, and German cars?
Joel Jackson: The vast majority of cars in Kenya are mostly imported from countries like Japan. Those vehicles tend to experience high import duty when they arrive, so in many cases cars are mostly doubling in price. We are one of the few car companies operating on the continent which means we do not experience the same taxation as imported vehicles. What Mobius is doing is developing a car specifically for the local market which is highly differentiated regarding its combined durability, and affordability and that is a unique offering in the market.
To find an SUV at this price rate; we are the only one offering. Even when you compare Mobius to a five, six-year-old SUV import from Japan, our vehicle is lower in price, brand new with a free one-year warranty offer, assembled, and authorized servicing. So, it is a genuine, exceptional proposition to the consumer.
PAV: What has the response been from the consumers regarding sales, how excited are Kenyans about using your products?
Joel Jackson: Kenyans are really excited about the introduction of Mobius. We have already generated hundreds of pre-orders with minimal marketing to date and that is largely based out of the positive experience customers in Kenya have already received for our first generation vehicle we launched a few years ago. There is a huge anticipation in Kenya for the launch of our next generation car, and again our brand is well perceived in the local market.
PAV: With regards to expansion, do you plan to limit yourself to just the Kenyan market or what plans do you have in place to expand production to other African countries?
Joel Jackson: So, we plan to expand to other countries in Africa very quickly. We will be starting expansion out of Kenya initially within East Africa, and the focus there is stabilizing the production and distribution systems. One of the unique elements to Mobius that we are pioneering is a new model of sales and service for the customers, so beyond offering fantastic products in the market we are also looking to offer a better sales and service experience as well.
We have built in Mombasa a new sales and service centre that we will be launching later this year and that centre is quite different from traditional dealerships, you find in East Africa. It will be run by Mobius and has quite a distinctive architecture, it combines service operations alongside a show room facility, and we will be building such facilities across East Africa in the coming years. We will be expanding the Mobius brand presence in the Region, and we will also be offering customers much closer touch points for servicing their vehicles outside the major cities alone in East Africa. This is the big focus of the company in the coming years to scale up our distribution to reach many customers not just in Kenya, but across East Africa. Long-term as that system is stable, we will look to replicate in the other regions of Africa.
PAV: With regards to challenges, what are some issues that you have face?
Joel Jackson: The first challenge is setting up global supply chain for a product such as a vehicle, there are thousands of components going into it and each of those components have different suppliers, sometimes, the same suppliers. In our case, our primary sourcing, and has been in Asia and one of the things we have heavily been investing is building a body chain in Kenya, building that ecosystem of suppliers in Kenya in the coming years for the contents of our cars. We have a view of driving industrial change in Kenya and across East Africa and to create more jobs, and the increase in skilled levels across countries. So there has been a lot of investments in so far as working with our existing suppliers to improve the production capacity. We will be doing more work in the coming years as we drive up local content in our cars even higher from where we are today. That's certainly been one of the big focus areas of the business.
The second challenge has been in setting up the right talent base in the business to do what we do. Obviously as I have mentioned earlier, developing a vehicle in an African context is new. We are really pioneering the development launch of vehicles specifically suited for the African market. Finding the right kind of skills sometimes can be challenging particularly when you are talking about specific engineering kind of skills. But again, we have been fortunate to hire a really strong team over the previous years and develop our in house capabilities in those areas. But again, when you are starting on a baseline where sought of expertise does not exist, you have to progress as you build that over time.
PAV: Is there any kind of support or partnership that you have received from the Kenyan government as you go about business in Kenya?
Joel Jackson: Yes, we are already working according to the existing incentive scheme that the Kenyan government offer, and we are in discussion with the Kenyan government about how we can work more closely with them over time to improve the incentives that are offered in industry. We are also in discussion with the government about potential purchase of our vehicles, clearly these vehicles are well suited to the African context, and this extends to various government ministries and different parastatals which may want to buy products suited for their needs. There is also in Kenya a buy Kenya, build Kenya initiative that we are a big supporter of, and we see a kind of natural synergy in Mobius supplying Kenyan made vehicles to Kenyan government.
PAV: What impact has COVID-19 had on your activities?
Joel Jackson: At the moment as we finalize the preparation of the vehicle ready for launch, there is a lower degree of impact on Mobius than it will be on other car markers around the world who are actively in production and revenue generation. Clearly, COVID has had a major impact around the world and across all sectors. Majority of our team are working at home at the moment for obvious health reason and exercising social distancing for those who do need to be in the office, and at the factory. The first sign of this situation as we look forward to post COVID-19 world is that Mobius really has unique potential in the Kenyan and East African context to be a real proponent of change and recovery in the economy by driving job creation, and skill creation in the country, as our local content increases, and the supply chain in Kenya, increases. As our production increases, we need to be hiring more people on the production line, there is a knock-on effect to the economic potential. We also need to expand the knowledge of the workers to expand their knowledge of automotive processes.
These are value-added skills that will benefit the economy more generally, and ultimately the intention of Mobius as we drive our production volume is that we are starting to export content from Kenya to other countries in East Africa and as you export contents you drive up GDP. There is huge development potential of Mobius particularly in post COVID-19 world where there is even more need for stable manufacturing operations as a backbone for economic recovery
PAV: There is a lot of talk on the continent about the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, are you looking forward to that?
Joel Jackson: We are. We welcome any news that will make the trade of goods easier, quicker, and cheaper. We think the African Union has a huge potential long-term to benefit from the same type of trade or regulation that we see in the EU for example. We think our vehicles are well suited to a broader Pan-African market, and we see clear potentials in other markets beyond East Africa, so, we are all in favour or encouraging the free movement of goods. We think also on the supply chain as well as we invest in greater self-reliance in Africa to boost local industrialization. In Africa, we need to encourage more suppliers to come on board. There are many benefits, and we think everyone can win by increasing the movement of goods long-term.
PAV: How does your company give back to the community?
Joel Jackson: There are a number of ways as I have already referenced regarding industrialization, job creation, skills creation, all of these things can make a big difference to many people's lives as they get jobs they enjoy doing, get a good salary, and get a good environment that their skills can develop. Also, one of the unique characteristics of Mobius is that we are positioning our vehicles as enablers of mobility. So really there is a two-prong social impact potential of Mobius; one is in driving industrialization, and two is driving access to mobility.
So not only in the SUV offering that I was describing earlier, but also with a feature configuration of that platform that is currently under development that will enable owners to physically plug in different modules for different businesses with. It could be a public transport business, delivery service, and a wide range of applications. Those are the kinds of businesses that these entrepreneurs can run to generate income with and crucially the kinds of services that enable users in their communities to benefit from transportation. So, for everyone one entrepreneur owner of a Mobius vehicle there can be hundreds of more beneficiaries.
We hope that when people buy Mobius to run public transport businesses with, in turn we will see more people in communities in rural parts of Africa benefiting from all the kinds of services that the transportation system literary provides. So, industrialization, and mobility are two really important elements to what Mobius is doing.
Designed specifically with the rugged African terrain in mind, brand new Mobius cars sell cheaper than used foreign cars in Kenya
PAV: Looking at the economic conditions of Kenyans and Africans, how affordable are the cars with regards to the economic realities you see?
Joel Jackson: Relative to the incumbents in the market they are really affordable. As I mention earlier, if you buy a five or six-year-old SUV in Kenyan today imported you are paying well over $20,000. For a brand-new Mobius SUV you are paying a price starting from around $13,000. So, it is truly exceptional in that respect. But equally, many customers when they buy, they buy the vehicle with vehicle financing, and we have already work with a number of customers, and their banks to help to set up vehicle financing lines that they can purchase their vehicles with. Obviously, vehicle financing is something that we will be placing more and more emphases on over time as we expand our market, and we hope long-term with more vehicle financing products available many more customers in East Africa will be able to buy these vehicles.
PAV: We end with an opportunity for you to make a direct pitch to Kenyans and Africans out there on your business, why should they go for a Mobius made car as opposed to a Toyota ,Honda or some other brand ?
Joel Jackson: To get the combination of high durability, and affordability with a free one-year warranty covered and authorized servicing in a way that has not been offered to date, is a truly unique proposition, and it's a very attractive vehicle that is a lot of fun to drive in, and we will encourage customers to come visit our showroom and see for themselves
PAV: Mr. Joel Jackson thank you for talking to Pan African Visions.
Joel Jackson: Likewise, it was great to be with you and thanks for taking the time.
* The full interview is featured in the upcoming July issue of Pan African Visions Magazine.For more information on Mobius cars click here
Second Term For Adesina At AFDB Will Deepen Ties Between Brazil and Africa- IBRAF President João Bosco Monte
Prof. Joao Bosco Monte says he looks forward to stronger and more diverse cooperation between Brazil and Africa during Dr. Adesina's second AFDB Term.
The re-election of Dr Akinwumi Adesina to second term of office as the President of the African Development Bank-AFDB will greatly deepen and broaden ties between Brazil and Africa says Prof João Bosco Monte ,President of the Brazil African Institute- IBRAF .
In an interview with Pan African Visions, Prof João Bosco Monte lauded the great achievements of Dr Adesina including his whole hearted endorsement of partnership with the IBRAF on hugely successful exchange programs on Agriculture that have benefited many African countries.
"I am optimistic about the possibility of Adesina being re-elected to the presidency of the African Development Bank, especially when we see Brazil as a country that can work very closely with Africa, not only at the government level, but also with the private sector," says Prof João Bosco Monte in the interview which also discusses the IBRAF, racism , and the future of relations between Brazil and Africa.
Prof Joao Monte thanks for granting this interview, could we start this interview with an introduction of the Brazil -Africa Institute that you lead?
The Brazil Africa Institute, when was founded, I had the idea to put together Brazilians and Africans from many perspectives. The collaboration and the partnership that we can see between Brazil and some African countries are very obvious. But Brazil doesn't know much about Africa, on the other hand, Africa doesn't know everything about Brazil. So, the genesis of the Brazil Africa Institute, when we created it, was to put together both sides of the Atlantic and have mutual and respectful Knowledge and understanding about each other.
And now, after ten years of the conception of IBRAF we can see many opportunities that we can put together between the two sides, African and Brazilian. Not only the government, and I could say mainly the private sector can understand the potential of collaboration and opportunities that we can see from both regions.
The agenda of the Brazil Africa Institute brings many possibilities for interactions. One of the activities that we have annually is the Brazil Africa Forum, which brings leaders, Heads of States, Ministers, diplomats, private sector, the civil society, in order to discuss one important topic for Brazil, Africa, and for other regions. And this gives me the opportunity to emphasize that when we talk about Brazil and Africa, we should include all the latitudes on the agenda.
Could you also shed some light or put historical perspective on relations between Brazil and Africa, how important are the ties between your country and Africa?
Since 2006, when I started to visit Africa, I saw clearly, a very important connection between Brazil and some African countries. Actually, when I visit Africa, in many countries I feel just as I am in Brazil. On the other hand, whenever I see Africans in Brazil they say "Well, this is just like home. This is just like Africa". In this regard, there is a very particular relationship between the two sides of the Atlantic.
And it's important to emphasize the historical ties that Brazil has with Africa. Not because of slavery, and I can say, very sadly, Brazil is one of the places that had many slaves from Africa. But besides this, Brazil has a historical connection with Africa, and now we can see the roots of Africa in Brazil, in the gastronomy, in the music, in the clothes and the way that we dress, and I can see that Brazil is very connected with the continent.
We are doing this interview at a time when racism has also taken centre stage with world protests following the killing of Floyd Georges in the USA…what are race relations like in Brazil?
The killing of George Floyd in the US brought to the international arena a discussion about racism and how countries, how organizations, how governments, how people are acting about this theme. It's a bit very unique. We can see demonstrations in many parts of the world, not only in the US, against racism, that are asking the governments to bring the new policies to eradicate racism from the face of the world.
In Brazil, we do have problems with racism, and some demonstrations, some protests, also came to this discussion here essentially to highlight that historical inequalities are behind the great disparities faced by black people in the labor market. Less access to education is one of them, as well as more precarious living conditions. The governments of Brazil, I'm talking about Federal and State governments, should start to discuss what kind of argument we can bring to the table, to bring to poor people, and also black people as well, the possibility to have a better life. So, the agenda that we have to include now in Brazil, and also in some parts of the world, should include the discussion about racism, but also how can we bring dignity to people who don't have the eyes of the state.
Under Prof João Bosco Monte IBRAF has been a vital link between Brazil and Africa
One of the partner institutions that the Brazil -Africa Institute works with is the African Development Bank, what do you make of the recent standoff between with external partners notably the USA? How has it been like working with current AFDB President Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and what do you think a second term for him is deserved?
We have many partners around the world. One of the key partners of the Brazil Africa Institute is, indeed, the African Development Bank, and this was emphasized in the last years, and I'm very proud to say that this partnership is because of the confidence and the vision of President Adesina. I had the opportunity to discuss with him, in many occasions the potential of collaboration between African countries and Brazil, and he's very familiar with the possibilities of collaboration. Now, when we see countries like the US bringing issues about the leadership of President Adesina, we should understand what, specifically, are the reasons that the bank is being attacked by the US Government. We need to see the details, but we also need to see a concrete reason and the objective that the government of the US is bringing to damage the reputation of president Adesina. My personal opinion is that he's doing a very good job, and this is important for the bank and for Africa.
Watching the situation from outside I can see that many African leaders, many former Head of States, are now supporting Adesina and what he's doing at the bank. This is important to emphasize because the leaders who are dealing with him, who had the opportunity to deal with him, are bringing to the table a very strong message that he's doing the job very well. And this emphasized that he needs to have the opportunity to have a second turn. My feeling is that, in five years, is not possible to change the whole situation, and what he was doing in the last five years was bringing a discussion, a dialogue, among many people, many organizations, and bringing the flag of the bank, and the demands of the continent to partners around the world, including Brazil. That's why I emphasize and defend the possibility of President Adesina to be reelected.
What did you make of the allegations levied against him and were you satisfied with the defense he put up to deny any wrongdoing?
It is very relevant to mention that the Ethics Committee of the African Development Bank received the response from President Adesina in a very positive way. So, I don't think we need to go any further to make this clear and I particularly feel very satisfied with the answers given by him.
In 2017 the AFDB and the Brazil Africa Institute launched the Youth Technical Training Program to train young African professionals in research and technology, how is the program working out?
Three years ago, the Brazil Africa Institute started a very important program, bringing young Africans to Brazil to receive training in areas that the country achieve great results. And the African Development Bank actually was the first door that we knocked to start the talks, to show the evidence, and the possibilities of bringing these young Africans boys and girls to Brazil. This was a valuable moment for us, and the Bank received it very well, and the voice of President Adesina, followed by his team, was very helpful and proactive. And we started with agriculture, which is related to the mind of President Adesina. This was in 2017, and after this activity that we have launched with the bank, we started to develop other initiatives with some other international organizations. I'm sure that the beginning of this program, with the African Development Bank, was a crucial moment for us to reach other areas, other activities and to amplify our partnerships around the world.
I am sure that the start of the Youth Technical Training Program in partnership with the African Development Bank, was a crucial moment for us to reach other areas, other activities and expand our connections around the world.
After 3 years of the program, we are very pleased to identify that many young Africans – now with more knowledge and skills – are applying some successful Brazilian experiences in many parts of the African continent, which clearly demonstrates the importance of south-south cooperation.
After 3 years of the Youth Technical Training Program in partnership with the AFDB we are very pleased to identify that many young Africans applying some successful Brazilian experiences in many parts of the African continent ,says Prof João Bosco Monte
What expectation would you have for a second Adesina term at the AFDB especially with regards to prospects of more projects and partnerships with IBRAF and Brazil as a whole?
I am optimistic about the possibility of Adesina being re-elected to the presidency of the African Development Bank, especially when we see Brazil as a country that can work very close to Africa, not only at the government level, but also with the private sector. And I see President Adesina's vision as something that we can have coincidences with the activities of the Brazil Africa Institute.
How is the agenda of IBRAF going to look like for the rest of the year especially with the challenges posed by COVID-19? We will like to end this interview with your perspective on the future of ties between Brazil and Africa, in what areas or sectors do you see potential for additional cooperation and what needs to be done on both sides to make the bonds stronger?
Like all organizations in the world, we are adapting to this situation of isolation and remote work, which of course is not an easy task. As an international organization, it is very necessary to be close to people in many parts of the world, participating in meetings or activities organized by us or our partners.
I think the Brazil-Africa agenda for next year is very positive and I am very optimistic about the future of these relations. Many areas can be addressed, and Brazil is already doing things with Africa in various activities, in many fields. I see agriculture, again, as a possibility for Brazil to become more and more involved with Africa, especially in the context of transfer of technology. But it is important to emphasize that Africa must know more about Brazil and African leaders must be open to seeing Brazil as a potential partner. On the other hand, Brazilians must look for the possibilities to get involved with Africans, and we need to understand more and more the potential that we have before us.
The role of the Brazil Africa Institute is to emphasize that the moment that we have now is very appropriate for Brazil and for Africa. Not only because we see the market potential to sell and buy things, but also because the partnership we see between the two sides is very unique and can last for a long time.
For the second half of 2020, we are still planning some activities, such as the YTTP, with an edition in September and the other in October. We are bringing Africans, from West Africa, to receive training in Brazil, as we have done in the last 3 years. In addition, we are starting the IBRAF Fellowship Program for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, with the objective of facilitating the dialogue between African researchers and local professionals, enabling the exchange of knowledge in various fields, through a platform for expanding contact with the top sustainable development practices in Brazil.
Certainly, our desire is that the result of all the activities that we are developing can somehow contribute so that Brazil and Africa are better prepared for the post-COVID era.
From Lost Boy To Beacon Of Hope For Global Refugees- Manyang Reath Kher On The Sharing Award
734 Coffee exists to level the playing field for the often-forgotten refugee population that hails from East Africa, says Manyang Reath Kher
From the wreckage of the South Sudan civil, a new generation has emerged with fresh hope on how to better the lot of refugees across the globe. One of the perfect epitomes of this new generation is Manyang Reath Kher who was part of the 4,000 Lost Boys who was fortunate enough to land a ticket to the United States in 2001.
A University Lecturer at George Mason University today, Manyang Reath Kher is better known for using the social enterprise 734 Coffee to advocate and conscientize the American population on the plight of refugees. Working with others under the aegis of the NGO Humanity Helping Sudan, Manyang Reath Kher has partnered with some other organizations to come up with the Sharing Award to understand and support the most vulnerable in society-refugees.
In an interview with Pan African Visions, Manyang says the Awards are intended to support individuals and organizations that work on sustainability, social inclusion, and diversity to recognize the humanity and hard work of refugees.
"My advice to successful citizens and especially those considered lost boys, is to invest in South Sudan. The country will not move forward if those of us who have learned and excelled in our respective professions or ventures do not return to invest our time and financial resources," Manyang says.
Thanks for granting this interview to talk about 734 Coffee and the Sharing Awards, first could we start with an introduction and your journey from South Sudan where you hail from to the United States?
I currently teach Human Rights at the George Mason University (Virginia). I also steer the social enterprise 734 Coffee, as we take the lead on human rights advocacy for refugees and distribute conscious consumer goods to educate the broader American population. When I, Manyang Reath Kher, was three years old, my village was attacked and destroyed by unspeakable violence. My uncle was killed while trying to help me escape. I managed to survive and lived in three different refugee camps for the next 13 years. Blessed by the hands of parishioners, I am one of the 4,000 Lost Boys who was fortunate enough to land a ticket to the United States.
How was the adaptation process like for you and what motivated you to come up with 734 Coffee and how long has it been running now?
I have a burning desire to help my fellow refugees who are forced to make their new homes in a foreign land. During my senior year in high school, I began working to develop my nonprofit, the Humanity Helping Sudan Project, and recruited others to help me with this effort. Founded in 2008 in Richmond, Virginia, my award-winning NGO seeks to provide aid and assistance to the Sudanese Diaspora in the Gambella region of Ethiopia. HHSP's mission is to create sustainable solutions to help alleviate suffering in the region by providing over 40,000 displaced people in refugee camps with materials and resources to battle famine, agricultural training and cultivation of indigenous crops, and clean drinking water through expansion of water wells and springs. Within the past 8 years we have gained national recognition and top sponsor dollars to do just this as well as further enriching thousands around the world with my story, and the plight of the Sudanese refugees.
Manyang says the Awards are intended to support individuals and organizations that work on sustainability, social inclusion, and diversity to recognize the humanity and hard work of refugees
There is coffee from so many countries, what makes 734 coffee unique and how has it fared in the USA market?
In the world today, racial injustice continues to be prevalent, however, when we couple that injustice with another factor, it becomes a heightened situation that needs immediate attention. Refugees already experience unimaginable social injustices and human rights violations, especially during the current political climate in the United States, that impacts the entire world. However, when refugees (especially those of African descent) do make their way to the United States, they are met with yet another desperate circumstance, that is the racial divide in America that systemically leads to racial injustice.
734 Coffee exists to level the playing field for the often-forgotten refugee population that hails from East Africa. 734 Coffee uses America's most popular beverage as a gateway to introduce Americans to the world refugee crisis and how the U.S government's actions play a part. The 734 Coffee project distributes Arabica coffee from the Ethiopian and South Sudan region of Gambela; it caters to over 250,000 refugees, many of whom historically have been relocated to the United States. New policies in the U.S have not allowed for many refugees to find refuge here in America, this puts a burden on neighboring countries that already struggle to maintain an economy.
Coffee is Ethiopia's number one source of export revenue generating about 30% of the country's total export earnings yearly. Using Fair Trade coffee, to create opportunities, educate and build the local economy.
In terms of distribution, how wide is your network in the USA and considering that it has become a brand of its own, are there plans for expansion beyond American shores?
734 Coffee currently distributes coffee to commercial and residential complexes including Hosteling International, The WhyHotel (Tysons Corner and Arlington Campus), The Warner Building (D.C) and The Louis at 14th by Greystar (D.C); specialty coffee shops, TimGad Cafe (Reagan Center and F. st., D.C), Porter's House (D.C) and Z-Zoul Cafe (San Francisco, CA) ; retail stores, Takoma Park Co-op (Takoma, MD).
Commercial and residential complexes and specialty coffee shops:
Commercial and residential complexes, specialty coffee shops and retail stores currently make up 70% of revenue. These accounts were obtained primarily through in-person events. To retain these existing accounts and compete for new accounts, 734 Coffee will invest in equipment for them. Providing equipment for these accounts guarantees a minimum of a year-long contract and consistent and reliable purchasing of coffee beans from 734. These investments will be secured through contracts that detail the terms of use, including machine maintenance and exclusivity. This will be the most cash intensive investment that 734 Coffee makes in 2020.
734 Coffee plans to expand distribution to South America, Europe, the middle east and Asian in the future, but the next couple of years are focused on North America.
What are some of the challenges that you faced in the course of taking 734 coffee to where it is today?
Of the many challenges that 734 Coffee has faced on its journey to where it now stands, we have noticed two developing trends. The first, the bigger players in the space are undoubtedly ready to defend their market-share like any business would, regardless of our mission and the positive output that we have on the world. Second, establishing partnerships and deals at the intersection of social good and profit has been a daunting task.
We understand you are working on a very important project dubbed the Sharing Award, could you shed some light on this?
The Sharing Award is the result of a partnership between Humanity Helping Sudan, 734 Coffee, The Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship and One Journey Festival. It was inspired by the generosity of The Tides Foundation following the spotlight placed on HHSP by the refugee-focused film THE GOOD LIE, and the advocacy of its award-winning producers, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Karen Kehela Sherwood and Molly Smith. The purpose of the award is to support innovative individuals and organizations that work on refugee sustainability, social inclusion and diversity in order to build communities that welcome refugees, recognize their humanity, value their hard work, offer them a path to dignified work and have respect for their cultural differences, religious ideals and political beliefs.
The Sharing Award was launched earlier in June — World Refugee Month — to shed as much light as possible on the many organizations that are moving the needle on refugee issues.
With 734 coffee, the creative genius of Manyang Reath Kher is not just bringing dignity and hope to refugees but also contributing to the economic growth his host country and region of origin
Who is eligible to benefit from the awards, what is the application process, what exactly will you be looking for in successful applicants?
The Sharing Award Winner (individual or organization) will be awarded our prestigious Vision Development Package:
A cash prize of US $5,000,
Acceptance to the world-renowned Atlas Corps Fellowship,
Invitation to attend the exclusive 2021 Nexus Youth Summit, a global community founded to bridge communities of wealth and social entrepreneurship, where the most innovative social entrepreneurs gather to discover new ideas and collaborate on world changing projects (choose to attend in New York City or Washington, DC – virtually or in person).
Applications will be reviewed by a select committee from Ashoka. Ashoka is known for its transformative program that supports the world's leading social entrepreneurs.
1st Runner Up will be awarded:
3 Months of business mentoring support through the highly regarded Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship Jumpstart accelerator program.
Invitation to attend the exclusive 2021 Nexus Youth Summit.
Applications will be reviewed by a select committee from Ashoka.
2nd Runner Up will be awarded:
All Finalists (top 20):
Thanks to an innovative co-review partnership with Unfunded List, all of the Finalist applications will also be independently reviewed by an experienced evaluation committee. Each finalist will receive helpful and candid feedback regardless of whether or not they win.
Special Nomination(7):
Additionally, 7 applicants will also be nominated to receive an Ashoka review.
Individuals and organizations that submit an application for The Sharing Award must fulfill each and every one of the following criteria to be deemed eligible:
Individuals and organizations must have fully developed conceptual ideas or existing projects that focus on tackling challenges faced by migrants and refugees. Examples include projects in the areas of: entrepreneurship, job opportunity, education, leadership development, capacity building, interfaith dialogue, integration, developing welcoming communities and civic engagement.
Applicants must have a valid mailing address where postal mail can be shipped.
Applicants must have a bank account (eligible financial institution account) in the name of the organization or individual (special circumstances will be considered).
A worthy Ambassador for Refugees at United Nations Foundation event with Senior Officials. Manyang says the lost boys must continue to contribute their quota towards the emergence of a better Southern Sudan
What do you make of the political and economic developments in South Sudan, and what is it "lost boys" who have eventually turned out to be amazing success stories could do to help build or contribute your home country forward?
The political and economic landscape in South Sudan is an ever improving one with the people's voice slowly but surely making a dent in actions taken by the government. With new appointees that have fresh ideas, I think that there is a lot of hope that we can look forward to.
My advice to successful citizens and especially those considered lost boys, is to invest in South Sudan. The country will not move forward if those of us who have learned and excelled in our respective professions or ventures do not return to invest our time, financial resources and key partners.
Yours has been a tale of resilience in the face of great odds, what message can you send the millions of refugees across Africa and the world going through experiences similar to what you went through?
Accept that Life is NOT "Supposed to be Fair": Know that there is no single way that life is "supposed" to be. Demanding that life meet our expectations is a sure fire recipe for a miserable existence. Life is a game with no rules. Life just happens to us regardless of our best intentions. Our only path to happiness lies in being open to receiving whatever life throws at us with Gratitude.
*For more information on the awards and how to apply visit here
AFDB: Supporting Adesina for second term in US Interest-Former U.S Exec Dir to the AFDB Mima Nedelcovych
June 8, 2020 | 0 Comments
I am fully convinced with the responses provided by Dr Adesina to the accusations of the whistleblowers , says Dr Mima Nedelcovych Former U.S. Exec Dir to the AFDB.
Unless the US government is holding some secret that the American public is not aware of, I see absolutely no reason why it should not wholeheartedly support the re-election of President Akinwumi Adesina for a second term at the helm of the African Development Bank, says Dr Mima Nedelcovych Former U.S. Exec Dir to the AFDB.
In an exclusive interview with Pan African Visions, Dr Nedelcovych says "If competing with the Chinese in Africa is primordial to the US, then supporting the position of our African fellow shareholders in the AFDB and supporting President Adesina is in our own interests."
Adesina has established the framework for furthering the critically important role that the AfDB is playing in the development and inclusive growth of the continent, says Dr Nedelcovych. With his vision and execution of the "High 5s" for Africa, Dr Adesina has contributed tremendously to the development of the continent, and President Obasanjo and other former African Presidents have every reason to come out in public support of the champion that the current AFDB President is, Dr Nedelcovych says.
On the whistleblower allegations that triggered the current tensions between AFDB partners, Dr Mima Nedelcovych says the internal inquiry did its job fully in line with statutory guidelines. " For me, those accusations that were made public and investigated by the Ethics Committee, have been responded to in great detail by President Adesina to my full satisfaction," says Dr Nedelcovych
Dr Adesina and the AfDB have stepped up when most needed for an African institution to lead the way in the responses to the Covid-19 pandemic ,says Dr Nedelcovych who also shares his take on expectations for a second Adesina term, and how U.S -African relations have fared under the first term of President Donald Trump.
Dr Mima Nedelcovych served as the 1989 to 1993 as the U.S. Executive Director to the African Development Bank (AfDB) may we start this interview with some historical context on the relationship between the USA and the African Development Bank?
The US is the largest non-regional shareholder of the AfDB, and one of the major contributors to the African Development Fund, the concessional window. The AfDB has always had strong support from the US and that continues to be the case.
What was your working relationship like with the AFDB leadership at the time, what are some of the pleasant and less pleasant experiences or souvenirs that come to mind?
The pleasant experiences were seeing the AfDB take up its role as the major development institution on the continent under the visionary guidance of then President, the late Babacar Ndiaye. It was during the time I sat on the Board that the Private Sector Department was officially set up (previously the bank did not make non-sovereign loans) the African Export Import Bank was established, the African Business Roundtable was formed, and generally speaking the realization that the private sector was going to be the engine of growth was finally accepted. On the unpleasant side are memories of certain African countries falling in arrears to the very bank they should have been championing while keeping current on other MDB engagements.
In a recent letter, USA Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin expressed misgivings about the outcome of an internal inquiry that cleared AFDB President Akinwumi Adesina of any wrong doing and called for the appointment of an outside investigator, what did you make of the letter and the US position?
The US Governor, as does every shareholder, has the right to question management's application of policies and guidelines as established by the shareholders themselves. Upon receiving the letter from the US Governor, the Ivoirian Governor, as the Chair of the Governing Board this year, in my mind did the exactly right thing. She took into consideration the supposition made by the US Treasury Secretary, reviewed it in the light of the formal procedures and guidelines, and concluded that the policies were followed and that the Ethics Committee cleared the President beyond any doubt.
Furthermore, she has asked that the whole whistleblowers statute be formally reviewed, so that it may remain effective, but not become abusive to the proper conduct of the bank. She has asked that an external well-respected individual be recruited to provide an outside unbiased perspective within the next six weeks, so that this matter is cleared up and does not smear the Annual Meetings and the election of the President. The full review of the whistleblower statues and its applications will take a longer period and should not impede the normal functioning of the bank. It is at this point that the shareholders should come to agreement as how to treat similar accusations in the future, balancing the need for such a statute for proper governance with the assurances that serious charges can be properly documented and not be issued lightly or frivolously.
President Adesina, in his vision and execution of the "High 5s" for Africa, has contributed an awful lot to the development of the African continent, says Dr Nedelcovych
Beyond your stint at the Bank, we know you continue to monitor developments closely, have frictions of this nature or such stark contrast in positions been common between the USA and the AFDB?
Frictions are always to be found in international organizations; it is the nature of the beast as every shareholder has the right to their own opinion. Having said that, I must admit that this "disagreement" is the starkest of any I have seen in the past between the US and the AfDB.
What were your impressions after reading the whistleblower report, were you convinced with the responses from Dr Adesina and do you think the internal inquiry did its job in line with statutory provisions that guide the resolutions of incidents of that nature at the AFDB?
I have known President Adesina for quite some time, including in his previous positions as Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria and at the Rockefeller Foundation, and I am fully convinced with the responses provided by him to the accusations of the whistleblowers. And yes, the internal inquiry did its job fully in line with the statutory guidelines. If there is something that the USG or other shareholders know and/or that the whistleblowers know, then that should be presented to the external individual that will be appointed to conduct the review. For me, those accusations that were made public and investigated by the Ethics Committee, have been responded to in great detail by President Adesina to my full satisfaction.
Considering that Dr Adesina was literally endorsed by all African countries and was on course to get a second term since there was no challenger, some see in the U.S position a form of opposition to Dr Adesina, what information are you getting from your networks, does the US have an issue with a second term for Dr Adesina?
That question is better posed to representatives of the USG. I have been out of government for over 25 years now and happily since in the private sector, where the African continent is finally and truly becoming a very promising market for investors.
What do you make of reactions from people like former President Obasanjo, the Nigerian Minister of Finance and others who have come out forcefully to speak in support of Adesina?
President Adesina, in his vision and execution of the "High 5s" for Africa, has contributed an awful lot to the development of the African continent. He and the AfDB have stepped up also when most needed for an African institution to lead the way in the responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. So, President Obasanjo and the large number of former African Presidents that came out in support of President Adesina have every reason and right to come forward and publicly support their champion.
In a recent open letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Ambassador Harold E. Doley, Jr, the first ever U.S Representative to the AFDB called on the US to support Adesina, may we have your views on the letter, and do you share his call for the US to back Adesina?
I am in total alignment with my good friend Harold Doley, Jr's accolades for all that President Adesina has achieved to date, and I would add that Adesina has established the framework for furthering the critically important role that the AfDB is playing in the development and inclusive growth of the continent. As for the US backing Adesina, unless the USG is holding some secret that the American public is not aware of, I see absolutely no reason for the US to not wholeheartedly support the re-election of President Adesina.
What is your assessment of the way Dr Adesina has managed the AFDB in his first term, in what areas have you seen progress and what would you like to see from him in a second term?
President Adesina came in with a very big vision and mission embodied in the High 5s that I very much supported from day 1. This was and is the necessary vision to bring the African continent into the mainstream of the world economy. The basic tenets of the high 5s that I certainly experience every day as a business person in Africa, those being that farming is a business and a growth sector, that without power you cannot industrialize, that without industry you cannot create inclusive growth and wealth, that without integration you cannot scale and be competitive, and that without those 4 you cannot achieve the 5th of improving the quality of life of Africa's people are at the core of that mission.
Big visions take time to implement and are often not easy to execute. They required structural changes in the body of the bank, which included both the reorganization and the strengthening of the professional cadre and morale in the bank. As an outside observer, champion and client of the bank, I see these changes taking root and the results beginning to give fruit. What I would like to see in his second term is to give him and the AfDB the time to ripen those fruits to full fruition and in consonance with the fruition I see of the African continent as a whole in today's world economy.
To Mima Nedelcovych ,If competing with the Chinese in Africa is primordial to the US, then supporting the position of its African fellow shareholders in the African Development Bank and supporting President Adesina is critical .
When we last interviewed you in December 2016, you opined that the Trump Administration will discover the reality of good deals in a rapidly changing Africa, what changes have you seen in US-African relations in the first term of President Trump?
The best thing that has happened is the passing of the US Build Act that has created the US Development Finance Corporation with all it new tools and authorities that could make it a major player on the continent. Furthermore, the Prosper Africa Initiative that recognized that prosperity is a two-way street, is good for American business as it is good for African business and the uplifting of the African population. The reauthorization of the US EXIM Bank is another very important element. Taken as a whole, and especially as evidenced by the goal of having "Deal Teams" at each US Embassy, coordinating all the arms and tools of the USG, will be a big boon for US businesses entering or already operating in Africa.
What do you make of the fact that President Trump has not visited Africa in his first term, does this not send the wrong message to the kind of US-African relations that people like you and many others have been advocating for?
As an American doing business in Africa, whether President Trump visits Africa or not is of no particular concern to me. What is of concern is to get the full-blown support of the USG through the Deal Teams and that those teams and the vision of that support is effectively executed. And that is why all those new instruments are important.
A very astute African business colleague once remarked that the African business train is leaving the station. The Chinese have clearly gotten on board, now it is up to Americans to decide whether to board and participate in that economic growth or not. I would add that simply bashing the Chinese is not the answer, the answer for our mutual benefit is providing our African colleagues an alternative option, a solution to their problems and turning them into opportunities.
We end with a last word from you on how you see this standoff between the U.S and the AFDB eventually playing out and if you do not mind a word on your company Africa Global Partners as well.
The way I look at it, the African Development Bank is the continent's most prominent and influential multilateral player and is one of the few such institutions that the US has a commanding say over the Chinese. If competing with the Chinese in Africa is primordial to the US, then supporting the position of our African fellow shareholders in the African Development Bank and supporting President Adesina is in our own interests.
Two years ago, I turned over my mantle as President of the Initiative for Global Development, and returned to Chairing the two companies I have been associated with since departing the AfDB in 1993, AfricaGlobal Partners in DC and Schaffer International in Louisiana. We are both advisers and developers of projects, and our sweet spot is the nexus of agro-industry, clean energy and infrastructure. I also proudly sit on the Boards of the US owned Vista Bank Group (focused on SME lending) in West Africa, Fayus International, a Sacramento, CA based food processor and distributor operating throughout Africa, and the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative in Nigeria.
Cameroon: Collective Efforts Needed For Efficient Results in COVID-19 Fight — Dr Martin Mokake
By Boris Esono Nwenfor
Dr Martin Mokake, Director of the Buea Regional Hospital say for them (medical personnel) to put their lives in danger is not much of a problem, but putting their lives without the necessary protective equipment is uncalled for. The Director was speaking to PAV's Cameroon Reporter in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
The Director has stated that it is impossible for you to suffocate to death while wearing a mask, while also detailing the psychological difficulties the health personnel go through taking care of COVID-19 patients.
" Together if we organize ourselves individually, and respect the measures put in place by the government, and the Ministry of Health we will be able to fight this deadly virus and win," says Dr Mokake
Dr Martin Mokake, Director of the Buea Regional Hospital
PAV: Some Cameroonians still do not believe that coronavirus exists. What do you say to them?
Dr Martin Mokake: Coronavirus is here; it is ravaging the society, killing people, and making others very sick, and yet, I do not understand why someone would not believe it exists. Sometimes I have heard a lot of postulates; some people say it is a way for hospitals and governments to make money. The question I ask myself is that all governments will come together from Europe, Asia, America, Africa to formulate something that deceives the whole world, I think it is far fetched.
Coronavirus has come to kill us, to make our lives difficult, it has come to destroy economies of many countries, and I think the earlier we start believing and seeing that coronavirus is not our friend, then that is the first step to defeating coronavirus. If someone does not believe then he will not take the measures lay down by the government, and WHO. When they do not do that the infection rate climbs.
PAV: There is the call from the government for everyone to wear face masks, how long should an individual wear these masks, and what are the potential health risks of wearing the masks?
Dr Martin Mokake: Recently, I have read a lot about masks choking people to death, which is completely false. I will employ you to do a little exercise, cover your nose, and mouth tight and do not breath; you will found out that you cannot do that because your brain will not even allow you to do that. A mask cannot suffocate you to death, it is impossible.
Looking into wearing the masks, normally we can wear a surgical mask for approximately 3 hours, and it needs to be changed. However, surgical masks are not for everybody. First, they are rare to come by and definitely we cannot have that for everybody. What we use in the society are masks that are made up of fabrics, and sometimes people factually complain that they do not breath well with those masks, it is a possibility. I will advise that if you are not in a position, in an area where there are many people, or if you are alone, why would you want to wear a mask?
The standardized masks have been made in such a way there are filters (the air you are breathing goes through the masks, and the air you are breathing is not the air in the mask — air without the masks). I have heard theories of carbonmonoxide poisoning because of masks, and factually it is impossible. However, there is always a nasty feeling when you put on the masks for long hours; the air you exhale usually comes out with the body temperature and so, it is hot. Without the masks, you do not feel that but with it, you feel the hot air. We need to make a decision here, wear the masks and save lives with its inconveniences or not to wear the masks and be exposed.
PAV: As a doctor, you work with nurses, especially in the COVID ward, what are some challenges you and the nurses go through on a daily basis?
Dr Martin Mokake: Our challenges are enormous. I want to salute the medical personnel that are risking their lives to save human lives. We have been victims of slander, victims of molestation, people have beaten up medical personnel, people have spat on them, and people have abused them and accused them wrongly. Yet, those are people who never come to the media, or social media to justify themselves.
Many people think since we are medical personnel we do not have feelings, or we do not have, "heart" or we do not have families. Putting our lives in danger is not much of a problem, but putting our lives without the necessary protective equipment is uncalled for. We have been having a lot of challenges fighting against the COVID-19 with the limited resources we have, blaming nobody as we all know that no government was prepared to fight the virus. Fighting the coronavirus comes with various psychological difficulties; when you think how medical personnel are completely exposed. If you have a little fever or headache you think you are down as well. It is not a secret that we have had a lot of medical personnel with the South West Region tested positive for COVID-19. We are trying within the Regional Hospital in Buea to put mental health nurses and clinical psychologists at the disposition of our medical staff and our patients to make sure that we can boost their psychology.
We will continue the fighting because even when we are tired we cannot stop fighting because our primary aim is the community, and our patients
PAV: Many people in the society have accused hospital staff of tagging anyone as COVID patients. Does the hospital do that?
Dr Martin Mokake: I think they may have a point, and they may also have to listen. Sometimes people want to see what they want to see. We in the hospital have advised that if you do not have something pertinent to do in the hospital please do not come. It does not mean if you come we will catch you and lock you up, it simply means the hospital is a high risks area where people can get infected. We do not have the logistics to keep people, so there is no point coming to the hospital and say you have flu, someone is going to quarantine you for any reason. Nobody tags anybody a COVID-19 patient.
Not every cough or flu or fever is COVID-19. How do we know it is not COVID-19, we have to examine you are take some simple steps. So do we assume that this flu is not COVID-19 and send you home to die? Our society is always about accusation, and yet, the reality needs to be handled. We are not going to tag anybody, we have strict rules in this hospital that do not disclose the identity of anybody's test death or alive. Families have the results in their pocket, but they do not belief it is COVID-19 because they feel that it is a stigma. It is not and nobody goes to buy it in the market.
PAV: Does the hospital burry COVID-19 patients?
Dr Martin Mokake: We should know that the hospital does not burry patients. We have heard rumours that when people die the hospital takes them away and burry. It is unethical, and the hospital is never going to do anything that goes against medical ethics. It is responsibility of the council to do the burial. When a COVID patient dies in the hospital it is there the hospital's responsibility ends, the council comes to the hospital, disinfect it for burial. We do not even disinfect graves, nobody does that. So if you slammed the hospital for not coming to disinfect the grave we will forgive you for ignorance but it is our responsibility to educate you on what it is supposed to be.
PAV: There is a situation now in Buea where people who may have symptoms to call instead for the call to be picked in Buea it is done so in Yaounde wasting so much time. What is being done to decentralize the call centres?
Dr Martin Mokake: Yes, the national numbers that have been given (1510) is still a centralized call system. This is one of the things we have been discussing in meetings, and they are working on, to decentralize. We understand that every society has its peculiarities. For example, a mother in Ekona wants to call because she has symptoms and knows how to speak just Pidgin English, and she calls and someone respond to her in English or French, and she cannot really understand they become frustrated. We have tabled this problem, and we have told them (Officials in Yaounde) that this is something that the population is not happy about. The national call centre should be decentralized why not even at the level of the sub divisional level that within Buea you have a call centre in Buea, Limbe, Tiko, and Muyuka and there we will be able to serve the population even better.
PAV: How equipped is the Buea Regional Hospital to take care of COVID-19 patients?
Dr Martin Mokake: It is equipped to a certain level; we do not have ventilators here to put people on artificial ventilation. We have been working with other partners to try to equip the ward (COVID ward). What we have is a 20 bed facility (refurbished with the help of MSF, and the government of Cameroon). We have 10 beds for the confirmed cases, and 10 for the suspected cases. We are working with the protocols from the WHO as stipulated from the time of the Ebola virus. We are also constructing a 24 VIP area whereby we are going to use for isolation as it is in the roofing stage. An ambulance has been set aside for the transportation of COVID patients. The hospital spends a lot to take care of its patients and staff.
Dr Mokake says people should wear the surgical masks at least 3 hours a day
PAV: How long should someone wait for the results of their test?
Dr Martin Mokake: Testing has evolved recently because we had a problem whereby we will send the tests to Yaounde it will take one week before we get the results and it caused a lot of psychological problems to the patients. Now, the testing centre in the University of Buea is fully functional, and we have our results 24 hours or 48 hours maximum. In this case it has help in the management of patients. The workers including myself have routines times when we see that we should be tested to make sure that we are ok and not also serving as a source of contamination to our patients who are not suspects.
PAV: Any Message to the Population?
Dr Martin Mokake: We just want to encourage the population and thank them for their understanding. If you have any symptoms please try to contact any health personnel around your vicinity, and they will advise you on what to do. Together if we organize ourselves individually, and respect the measures put in place by the government, and the Ministry of Health we will be able to fight this deadly virus and win. We will continue the fighting because even when we are tired we cannot stop fighting because our primary aim is the community, and our patients.
The picture now shows a rising level of infections within the South West Region. As at May 27, the South West Region has a total of 97 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Region. The major areas include: Mamfe, Kumba, Buea, and Limbe.
COVID 19 & Beyond:Time For Africa To Look Inward For Solutions-Former Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
Dr Ameenah Gurib was the first female President of Mauritius. Photo credit Forbes Africa
As Africa grapples with adequate measures to cushion the ravages of COVID-19, Dr Ammenah Gurib-Fakim says it is time for the continent to take ownership and leadership in solving its own problems.
Speaking in a skype interview from Port Louis, the Biodiversity Scientist who served as the first Woman and 6th President of Mauritius, says it is time that Africa digs deep in its pockets, bring out all the philanthropists , business community, governments , and all the full resources available to power the continent forward.
"Africa has resources, and should be able to change the narrative, work with the international community but more importantly should start investing in ourselves. Up until we start doing this, we will always be in the narrative of waiting for other people to come and help us," says Dr Ameenah Fakim as she urges the continent to invest in institutions, and training human capital.
Addressing concerns about testing vaccines in Africa, Dr Ameenah Gurib Fakim says using Africans as guinea pigs should be out of the question.
"Whenever a trial is done on the continent it must be done in the right way, with the consent of the person, we do not talk about "guinea pigs" but volunteers, so the person who is participating in the clinical trial must have given his/her consent," she said.
PAV: Madam President Good afternoon, and thanks for accepting to grant this interview.
Dr Ameenah Fakim: Good afternoon and you are welcome.
PAV: Let us start with the situation in your home country. How is Mauritius fairing with regards to the coronavirus pandemic?
Dr Ameenah Fakim: We have been in lockdown for the past two weeks, and as of today we are counting over two hundred and fifty (250) infected cases and seven (7) deaths.
PAV: There are concerns about the capabilities of healthcare infrastructures across Africa to handle the pandemic, how equipped, and prepared are health facilities in Mauritius?
Dr Ameenah Fakim: In Mauritius ever since we got independence, we have systematically invested in the health sector; the health service is free in Mauritius. We have also invested in the past fifty-plus years on social security nets. This has been one of the pillars in Mauritius, and right now I am very pleased that our founding fathers of this country had this vision to set up a social security net especially the wealth gap.
We are going to be stretched a bit. We keep getting a lot of infections, and what we are encouraging people to do is to stay home so that the pressure does not build on the health services in this country. Having said this, I am concerned about what is going to happen in the African continent because unfortunately, the infrastructure is going to be pushed a great deal but more importantly, if we look at the advice of the WHO they are talking about social distancing, washing hands properly, and in many places, unfortunately, these are still luxuries.
Many people are leaving in cramped conditions in one room, social distancing is out of the question, access to water is an issue, social security net in many of the fragile states is out of the question, and even food is an issue. We talk about people staying home, those operating in the informal sector they are going to be challenged because if they do not work, they do not eat. So unfortunately, in many of these places, the concerns are there that the COVID may not get them, but hunger will.
PAV: Let us talk a little more about the pandemic, what should Africa brace itself for, just how bad could this be and what impact do you see socially, politically and economically for the continent?
Dr Ameenah Fakim: The interesting thing about what is happening in Europe, and what we are observing in many parts of West Africa is that it has not hit so badly so far. I am not going to be controversial here, but could this be because Africa has been hit by so many of these pandemics they have developed somehow a little bit of resistance but already we are seeing that South Africa has enacted all the measures of social distancing, and all that so they are taking it very seriously. Whether we get the true picture of what is going on in Africa depends on the capacity to test. Now, do they have the means to do all the testing? That is the issue
We are just praying that the right measures will be taken on board in the African countries so that more importantly people stay away from those who are infected, and those who are infected have their tests, and have the appropriate care that they need.
In terms of political impact, one thing we have to address is what the COVID has done which has revealed the state of our institutions in the continent. When we talk about the state of our institutions, first is the healthcare system which we find will not be able to cope that much. The second issue which I have always been talking about is the exodus of our competence from the continent, and right now we need all the capacity we can have to be able to handle this and you know the ratio of Doctors to population is very weak on the continent. So, I fear that we may not have the appropriate human capacity to be able to tackle this pandemic. In terms of the pressure politically, time will tell but I think many governments will be under a lot of pressure to be able to address this crisis which the health sector is facing.
Africa must start invest in itself and do more in building its institutions says Dr Ameenah Fakim Photo credit: James Duncan Davidson/TED
PAV: Leaders like Mohamadou Issoufou of Niger say the world needs to consider a Marshal Plan for Africa to help cushion the impact of the pandemic, is this something that you subscribe to?
Ameenah Fakim: I have signed a letter which we sent to the G20 in terms of the measures. We have a plea that people come together, governments come together, institutions come together to capitalise the institutions to help provide the social security net, provide medication all these. These are all our wishes that we will like to put to governments, and institutions. When we talk about the Marshal plan that was of course in 1948, it was done for a particular purpose, for reconstruction immediately after World War II. Right now we are talking about a global pandemic and this calls for countries to come together.
The scenario now is not the same as it was then. My narrative all the time has been African countries have got fifty plus years of post-independence history. It is time that we look at the continent, start digging in our pockets, bringing all the philanthropists, business communities, government because Africa is a very rich continent.
Africa has resources and should be able to change the narratives, work with the international community but more importantly should start investing in ourselves. Up until we start doing this, we will always be in the narrative of waiting for other people to come and help us. The international community has been going a great job of helping us. Beyond the solidarity, we need to start looking at ourselves and I mean this very seriously beyond the health crisis, we have a young population and we need to start investing in them.
We need to start investing in our institutions, training our human capital is our responsibility, keeping the population is our responsibility, so let us all come together to use our resources for the betterment of our institutions, and, of course, our human capital.
PAV: The African Development Bank is setting aside big sums to help African countries fight the pandemic. Considering the poor track records of managing resources across the African continent, is there a message you have for African leaders on how to manage these resources?
Dr Ameenah Fakim: If you look at a country like Rwanda, Paul Kagame after the genocide turned things around. This country does not have many resources, but I think it is leadership. We need to start looking at our leadership as I said invest in our institutions because this is something that will go beyond the lifetime of the leader. We need to start building our institutions, and it comes with investment, with investment in human capital, and in our people and institutions. We need to start building, it should have started yesterday, as we are here with COVID-19, we can start immediately after the pandemic is over but go and invest in our institutions.
Next thing I will also like to point out is that Africa has just signed up to the Continental Free Trade Agreement, there is nothing to prevent West or East Africa trading together, bringing the necessary goods and services and encouraging the movement of people so that we can promote brain circulation so that we can promote human capital, trade, goods and services across the continent. So, this is something we need to start looking at very seriously.
PAV: There has been a lot of controversy in recent times about the vaccine and testing that are needed in Africa coming from two French doctors who said Africa should be the centre for some of these testing. Being a scientist and a former leader, do you think Africans should be concerned about participating in trial runs for any potential vaccines?
Dr Ameenah Fakim: Clinical trial is an inevitable step in drug development and vaccine development. Now, do we need to incorporate Africans in clinical trials? Yes, we need to incorporate Africans. We need to do it in the right way, the same way we do it in the United States, Europe, Asia, and other areas. We need more Africans in these clinical trials. The reason why we need more Africans in these clinical trials is that genetics matter. Whenever a drug is developed in the North it is tested with Caucasians, in Asians, unfortunately, we do not see many Africans being part of the clinical trial panel. Genetics matter because whatever dosage is being developed for a Caucasia or Asian person may not be the right dosage.
Whenever a trial is done on the continent it must be done in the right way, with the consent of the person, we do not talk about "guinea pigs" but volunteers, so the person who is participating in the clinical trial must have given his/her consent. Coming back to the issue on whether we should use Africans as "guinea pigs", certainly not. Everything must be done appropriately but we need more Africans in these clinical trials so that the dosage and the drug whenever we are prescribing to African genotype it makes a big difference to his or her health.
PAV : Let us talk about leadership from former Presidents like you, former Prime Ministers, across the continent, what role do you think they can play in addressing such a pandemic and generally trying to make sure that Africa stays on the right path to progress?
Dr Ameenah Fakim: I think past leaders have the responsibility of mentoring and this is what I have given myself the task of mentoring girls in science because of my background. We need to educate our girls and to bring them there we need to be a role model for the girl who is growing up in a village in Africa to know that it is possible to reach a certain position through hard work. In the current pandemic, we have the responsibility of advocating, speaking to governments, addressing, and seeing how we can provide best practices. I feel that at this moment in time, we need to be able to know what are the best practices and how do we also speak to the people so that they can adopt best practices so that we can get this pandemic behind us.
Having said this, getting the pandemic behind us is short term, what we have to ensure is that the conversation and the communication still go on because a second or third wave is not impossible as it is already happening in some countries as we have seen in China, Singapore. We have to make sure that when we address this issue on the continent, the conversation remains alive so that we do not get this issue again and again, and I can assure you that we have not seen the last of the COVID. We have not seen the last of any pandemic because climate change will be the next pandemic we have to settle.
Dr Ameenah Gurib believes that any clinical trials for vaccines in Africa must follow standard protocols
PAV: Let us end this interview with an opportunity again for you to make a direct statement to everyday hardworking Africans on safety ad survival measures. How can they walk their way around this troubling time and with all the wave of panic across the continent can you also give a positive message on the way forward?
Dr Ameenah Fakim: I think what we have to do in this incident is to communicate, communicate to the people, encourage governments to do tests, tests and more tests. Hopefully, with the necessary financial measures that are been put in place, we will be able to provide the safety nets for those who are desperately in need for it. It also calls for a time of solidarity and I know that at the level of the African Union, there is an effort to get people to contribute to a fund so that they can then use that to help those people who are in desperate need. Here I have a special thought to those children because I am also working with Save the Children in Africa and I know that they have huge needs as well.
PAV: Madam President thank you so much for talking to Pan African Visions
Dr Ameenah Fakim: Thank you for having me. It has been a pleasure and as I said let us work towards getting rid of this COVID virus fast so we can start building ourselves again.
*Interview conducted earlier this month for Pan African Visions Magazine. To get Copies contact pav@panafricanvisions.com, and marketing@panafricanvisions.com
Cameroon:Law On Official Languages Will Yield Results If Embraced By All-George Ngwane
Following the promulgation into law on the promotion of Official Languages (English and French) on the 24th December 2019 by the President of the Republic, the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism is heralding a nation-wide mission aimed at exchanging views with targeted professionals on the merits of this law on Bilingualism. The Sun newspaper's Managing Editor Wasso Norbert Binde caught up with a scholar on Language Commissions, prolific writer and conflict management panAfricanist Mwalimu George Ngwane to shed some light in an interview on some of the black and white provisions found in the law.
The added value is that this law now transforms our official languages from a state policy to a citizen policy action instrument, says Mwalimu Ngwane
Mwalimu, first of all thank you for accepting to grant us an interview on the law of Official Languages in Cameroon. As a scholar on Language Acts and Commissions,What is the novelty in this law?
Thanks for inviting me to engage your readers about this law. As you may know this is the first time in the life of our country to have a law on bilingualism. Granted that Article 1 sub 3 of our constitution stipulates that English and French are of equal status and granted as well that there exist a plethora of legal instruments that make bilingualism in Cameroon a state policy. I must also add here that barely in its two and a half years of existence the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism has been associated with the conception of such a law. So for me the added value is that this law now transforms our official languages from a state policy to a citizen policy action instrument. In other words the law on bilingualism can be seen as an important step on the journey to upscaling the language rights of Cameroonians especially those from the minority official language community. It is now the responsibility of all public entities to make bilingualism a more robust user-centered and citizen-friendly activity.
But certain sections of the law have come under criticism right from the time the bill was sent to Parliament
That is true and I am sure you are referring especially to Section 19 and Section 26 which on the surface are controversial with regard to those of us who come from the Anglophone regions of the North West and South West. Just to refresh the minds of your readers Section 19 says Official correspondences between public entities shall be written in either of the two languages while Section 26 says English and French shall be used indiscriminately in ordinary law and special courts. Now these two Sections can be examined through the Language Commission prism of Inference and Interpretation. By Inference we may jump into the conclusion that correspondences or court communication in the Anglophone region may be rendered in French even though the language community is predominantly English-speaking- something which the Anglophone lawyers fought against as from 2015. But by Interpretation, at least from the perspective of any language body it must be made clear that laws on Official Languages focus on the principles of proportionality and specificity. Proportionality means Official language used is reflected by the proportion of language users in that community while the principle of specificity is informed by the historical and linguistic specificity of the language community. More so Section 26 sub 2 says court decisions shall be done following the language choice of the litigant. One can replace the legal term "litigant" with the global term "user" to mean that oral or written communication in any situation must respect the language choice of the user. This is what is called the principle of active offer. However with regard to official written correspondences served in either of the two languages it would have also been ideal to write both languages side by side as it is the case between Welsh and English in the United Kingdom or one language above the other as it is with some other bilingual communities.
While there are still some grey areas, Mwalimu Ngwane believes that the law marks significant progress
Let us take the case of our courts, what do you do if the Magistrate or Legal personnel does not speak or understand the language of the litigant?
I am told that the courts normally have Interpreters even though complaints have been made about some of them in relation to their mastery of oral translation. But this is an area to be examined seriously so that our courts and other public entities have Interpreters whose integrity and performance cannot be questioned. Secondly there is a need for public servants at a certain level and in this case Magistrates and others of their rank to be sufficiently bilingual. So the recommendation to your specific question is that bilingualism is something which all professional schools must henceforth take more seriously. Our government and I am sure this is within the purview of the Commission on Bilingualism should be working on what Canadians call the Public Service Official Languages Appointment Regulation or what we may simply call the Bilingualism Proficiency Appointment Charter. This is a Charter that places premium on appointment to certain positions in the public service based on the individual's bilingual capacity. Third, team spirit is very important in the dispensation of bilingual communication so having less bilingual and more bilingual personnel or two from different language communities working side by side is an option to also consider. And this should be from the front desk workers like mail officers, secretaries, janitors, security guards etc to the highest working level.
You just talked of translation and we find poor translation in some of our official documents, billboards and public notices; what is the problem?
I am happy you said some of… because frankly the bulk of our translation is fantastic. Cameroon has about the most talented professional Translators and Interpreters in the world. They are found in most continental and world bodies, ample testimony that our Schools of Translators and Interpreters meet up with global standards. When the Commission on Bilingualism visited the various Ministries and parapublic institutions they discovered that most of them have Translation units. So the problem with some of the poor translation you are referring to cannot be due to a lack of professional Translators. Could it be that some of the Translators are not functionally empowered, could this arise from the erroneous notion that a minimum knowledge of the two languages can just qualify you as a Translator or could it just be a neglect of the fundamental role professional Translators play in our society? I am sure members of the Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters can best answer your question.
Now, let us come back again to the law proper, what do you consider as some of the strong sections in this law?
I am sorry I cannot quote all of the positive sections by heart. However I know of one that stipulates the right of every citizen to freely communicate in the language of their choice so expressions like "je ne comprend pas ton Anglais la" or " you are even speaking Mbouda French" should now be stigmas or pejoratives of the past. Another section also talks of the state providing incentives for greater proficiency or what is called bilingualism bonus. I also have in mind I think it is Section 16 that encourages code switching which means using both languages alternately in the same official speech.
And which are the dark areas or sections?
I prefer to call them the grey areas because they are a little loose ended and open to subjective implementation. We have already talked of Sections 19 and 26 although I must add that other public entities like the health sector where diagnosis and prescriptions are made by the medical practitioner to a patient in a language the patient does not master. How about the notion of bilingual colleges today/ How about the monolingual medium of instruction in some professional schools including those in the Anglophone region? Yet and on a very personal assessment I feel much has been covered in our bilingualism journey from the time I was arrested and locked up in March 1990 just for writing and questioning the validity of our bilingualism state policy to today where state officials use both languages effortlessly. Thirty years after it is both a personal vindication for me and a linguistic paradigm shift for the government. Of course we have not yet arrived but we are on track.
A key proposal from Mwalimu Ngwane is the government working on the creation of Bilingualism Proficiency Appointment Charter similar to what the Canadians call the Public Service Official Languages Appointment Regulation
Finally what sanctions are written in the law for those who violate these provisions?
Well, sanctions have not been implicitly built into the law. We all wish they were because implementation is a problem with especially state officials. But my take is that first those who do not implement the law expose themselves to self-sanctions because they limit their chances on career upward mobility. Second I think it must be Section 27 of this law that says the state shall ensure the monitoring and evaluation of the law through an Advisory body. That Advisory body I am certain is the Commission on Bilingualism which has the role of receiving complaints or petitions from the public on the violation of their linguistic freedom or abuse of their language rights. It has already been doing this through its webpage and telephone hotline 1518. Most language commissions prefer the tongue rather than the teeth approach to sanctions. By this they carry out investigations, send reports to other state bodies like Human Rights or Parliament, call the violator to order through oral or written means or sometimes do a kind of name and shame report on the violator.
Any final word Mwalimu?
No law is static and when it comes to law on languages it is always prone to revisions and amendments based on public feedback and contestations. The Welsh Language Act of 1993 has been revised so many times and already in 2015 they have a new language law called the Wales Measure. I was privileged thanks to the Commonwealth Professional Fellowship offered me in 2016 to have understudied the Welsh Language Commissioner in Wales. Other Official Language Acts in Northern Canada, Belgium, Spain and Ireland have been subjected to revisions and amendments after being tested on the field. It is therefore advisable for governments to be sensitive to citizen response to the law on languages. But before then let us give the language law a chance to be tested on the field for like it is said in French "le macon sera connu au pied du mur".
Thanks Mwalimu
My pleasure Sir
*Culled from The Sun Newspaper. Photo Illustrations by PAV
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Q: Drupal6: In theme_preprocess_page(&$vars), where do $vars come from? (How to manipulate breadcrumb) I want to remove the breadcrumb when it's just one entry ("Home"). I'm in my theme's theme_preprocess_page(&$vars) function. $vars['breadcrumb'] is available, but it's just HTML. This is a bit to clumsy to work with. I'd rather get it as an array of items in the breadcrumb list, and do something like this:
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A: A $vars array is passed on between all preprocess functions. In case of the _preprocess_page functions, most of the values in $vars are created in template_preprocess_page (see http://api.drupal.org/api/function/template_preprocess_page/6). In that function, you'll see:
$variables['breadcrumb'] = theme('breadcrumb', drupal_get_breadcrumb());
Here, drupal_get_breacrumb returns an array of breadcrumb elements, which is then themed by the theme_breadcrumb() function (or its override).
The easiest way to get what you want is to override the theme_breadcrumb function. To do that, you take the original theme_breadcrumb function (http://api.drupal.org/api/function/theme_breadcrumb/6), copy it to your template.php, replace 'theme' in the function name with the name of your theme and alter the code so it looks like this:
function THEMENAME_breadcrumb($breadcrumb) {
if (count($breadcrumb) > 1) { // This was: if (!empty($breadcrumb))
return '<div class="breadcrumb">'. implode(' » ', $breadcrumb) .'</div>';
}
}
For a better understanding of Drupal theme overrides and preprocess functions, see About overriding themable output and Setting up variables for use in a template (preprocess functions).
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Farm Campus
Jackie Milne, the President of NFTI, is a local Hay River Métis woman with over 20 years of successful market gardening. Her business started as a way to safely provide for her family, but soon Jackie noticed how interested other people were in what she was doing. When she was hired to run workshops and travel to 13 communities around the Northwest Territories, she truly discovered the depth and breadth of learning that Northerners needed. People wanted to know 'How can we feed ourselves?' and this is not a question easily answered in a short 2 hour workshop without a demonstration garden!
NFTI grew out of this grassroots need for authentic northern food production education for our isolated communities. When Jackie Milne came up with the concept and laid out a detailed and ambitious long-term plan for truly empowering people of the north to restore our local food systems, it was a labour of love. NFTI was born, and instead of sending experts into communities, the idea was to invest in local people who will become the experts for their community by building their capacity through indepth hands-on learning experiences in 'living classrooms'. Throughout the first season of workshops, we were overwhelmed with the response from students to this strategy; they not only understood more about food production in the North, they actually had the skills and tools needed to begin businesses they are passionate about, learn about healthy and nutritional food, start alleviating the anxiety of food insecurity in their communities.
In September of 2013, the United Nations published their Trade and Environment Review 2013 "Wake Up Before it is Too Late: Make Agriculture Truly Sustainable for Food Security in a Changing Climate". This report recommends a rapid and significant shift in agriculture and the practical ways to accomplish this align with the Northern Farm Training Institute:
"The transition from an energy-intensive form of agriculture […] to a system that builds productive ecosystem services to sustain multifunctional, suitable, resilient, viable and equitable agriculture requires major new investments in institutions and infrastructure. This inevitably requires the creation of new research centres and initiatives, which should be dedicated to research, education and extension under a fully participatory system that will also favour women and cover ecosystem services, organic farming, agroecology and agroforestry. The ultimate aim of those centres and initiatives should be the transformation of the present agricultural research system at national, regional and international levels to cater to the needs of a new agricultural paradigm." – page 175 United Nations, March 2013
In March 2014, Jackie was asked to present at the Agriculture Canada AgriRisk Conference in Ottawa where she had a chance to share the NFTI dream of building a dedicated permanent farm campus based on the recommendations from the United Nations report.
Later in March, the Council of Canadian Academies published their report "Aboriginal Food Security in Northern Canada: An Assessment of the State of Knowledge." NFTI is mentioned in this very important report as one of the current 'Promising Practices to Build Food Security, Food Sovereignty, Health and Wellness with a Multidisciplinary Approach'.
NFTI began conversations with the Town of Hay River Economic Development Officer in the summer of 2013 to discuss the concept of the NFTI working farm and a potential site for the farm campus. In February 2014 the Town of Hay River completed their "Hay River Sustainable Agriculture Plan" which recommends actively supporting the development of a centre for agriculture incubation along with other recommendations to support education and communication of agriculture in Hay River.
The atmosphere was right for this type of a project in Hay River and with some dedicated work, we also secured the financial support needed to make the development of the farm campus a reality! In August 2014 during his Northern Tour, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency funding of $2 million over 2 years for NFTI. We had the opportunity to show him and his accompanying ministers around our students' garden plots in the Fort Smith Community Gardens and explain the long-term benefits of investing in sustainable agriculture and ongoing educational support for new farmers.
With this support, and a partnership with the Town of Hay River to lease an abandoned property previously owned by Northern Pork, NFTI began our ambitious task: transform an abandoned industrial pig barn site with 20 years of debris and neglect into a training and research centre which could support our vision. We repaired roads, restored power to the site, removed derelict buildings and cleaned up industrial waste. We recovered and recycled thousands of dollars worth of materials and infrastructure and moved forward in building accommodations, classrooms, offices, a store, industrial kitchen, greenhouses and barn. At the same time, we trained northerners through intensive experiential courses. We now have a complete campus with all the facilities required and are continuing to develop more and grow to meet the needs of our local community and northern farmers.
In November of 2016, Jackie was honoured with the Meritorious Service Medal. This award is given by the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen to recognize her outstanding contributions to our country. She will be traveling with her family to Ottawa to formally receive this medal in June. Jackie also has recently been sponsored by a private foundation to attend the Global Food Summit "Sequestering Carbon in Soil: Addressing the Climate Threat" in Paris, France in May.
NFTI in the News
https://nnsl.com/hayriverhub/mlas-gather-feedback-on-bills-in-hay-river/
https://nnsl.com/hayriverhub/five-organizations-in-hay-river-and-area-supported-by-anti-poverty-fund-of-the-gnwt/
https://inhabitat.com/the-organic-farm-teaching-sustainable-growing-techniques-in-canadas-cold-dark-north/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/hay-river-shredded-paper-1.4907968
https://www.farms.com/ag-industry-news/n-w-t-family-wants-to-farm-potatoes-215.aspx
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/indoor-growing-damages-north-food-security-1.4099389
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/zak-the-yak-1.4070850
https://www.myyellowknifenow.com/26556/agriculture-laws-arent-enough-says-nwt-farming-expert/
https://www.myyellowknifenow.com/26379/nwt-making-shift-agriculture/
https://www.greenhousecanada.com/structures-equipment/greenhouses/the-true-north-strong-and-free-and-fed-31805
https://this.org/2017/07/25/whats-behind-the-high-cost-of-food-in-canadas-north/
https://norj.ca/2016/01/a-nifty-year-of-transformation-for-the-northern-farm-training-institute/
https://norj.ca/2016/02/adventures-in-flerding-the-nfti-goats-just-kept-coming/
https://norj.ca/2016/03/how-nfti-will-save-27000-lbs-of-food/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/goats-hay-river-northern-farm-training-institute-1.3401995
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/northern-farming-hay-river-nwt-1.3670220
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/prof-nwt-led-greenhouse-funding-government-1.3572614
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/sudbury-food-forest-1.3773842
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/plenty-of-local-eggs-in-gameti-1.3874789
https://www.myyellowknifenow.com/18200/hay-rivers-jackie-milne-receives-meritorious-service-medal/
https://www.myyellowknifenow.com/11508/hay-river-farm-animals-sort-of-get-taste-of-yellowknife-beer/
https://www.myyellowknifenow.com/10820/no-kidding-surprise-goat-pregnancies-stun-hay-river-farm/
https://www.myyellowknifenow.com/10993/hay-rivers-newborn-goats-need-baby-monitors/
https://uphere.ca/articles/can-north-feed-itself
https://edgenorth.ca/article/farm-in-a-can
https://edgenorth.ca/article/rethinking-northern-meat
https://www.foodincanada.com/features/growing-in-the-north/
https://www.macleans.ca/education/birds-bees-and-drones-the-new-face-of-canadian-agriculture/
https://www.prlog.org/12508341-savory-institute-announces-northern-farm-training-institute-nfti-as-an-accredited-savory-hub.html
http://media.wix.com/ugd/e31b91_cc5291121e3147d0a28b6faaead84e28.pdf
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/wd7e9w/northerners-fight-food-insecurity-with-first-farm-school
https://norj.ca/2015/09/working-to-restore-our-local-food-systems-wild-harvest-complemented-by-domestic-animals/
https://norj.ca/2015/11/chasing-food-sovereignty-fighting-climate-change/
https://norj.ca/2015/11/time-for-a-revolution-on-paris-soil-and-young-farmers/
https://norj.ca/2015/10/new-wave-nwt-farming-hits-golden-horseshoe/
https://norj.ca/2015/09/bombs-away-after-30-years-of-seeding-lakes-and-ponds-nwt-wild-rice-yields-a-bumper-crop/
https://www.myyellowknifenow.com/9357/nfti-to-become-local-hub-for-major-international-non-profit/
https://www.myyellowknifenow.com/1679/farming-hay-river-become-big-industry/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/gameti-s-garden-grows-adds-goats-and-chickens-1.3109818
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/ndp-candidate-dennis-bevington-1.3256374
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/agriculture-dominates-second-day-of-harper-s-northern-tour-1.1972227
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/farmed-caribou-will-be-safe-from-pollution-dene-man-1.2602942
http://norj.ca/2013/02/northern-farm-training -institute-takes-root
http://norj.ca/2013/05/northern-farm-training -school-already-bearing-fruit
http:www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2013-05/may6_13dig.html
http:www.mmsl.com/frames/newspapers/2013-03/mar18_13gr.html
http:www.cbcc.ca/player/News/Canada/North/ID/2382419719
(around the 45min mark)
http:www.cbcc.ca/player/News/Canada/North/ID/2408409514/?page=2
(around the 6min mark)
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Michigan State tops rival Michigan for Big Ten Tournament title
Dylan Buell / Getty Images Sport / Getty
CHICAGO (AP) Matt McQuaid scored a career-high 27 points, Cassius Winston converted the go-ahead layup in the closing minute, and No. 6 Michigan State rallied to beat No. 10 Michigan 65-60 for its sixth Big Ten Tournament championship on Sunday.
The top-seeded Spartans (28-6) rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half and scored the game's final 10 points to capture their first championship since 2016. No other program has won the tournament as many times as Michigan State, and this one was particularly sweet.
After all, the Spartans prevented a championship three-peat by Michigan (28-6) and beat their rivals for the third time this season.
McQuaid nailed a personal-best seven 3-pointers. Winston, the Big Ten Player of the Year, had 14 points and 11 assists as Michigan State won for the 10th time in 11 games. The Spartans were awarded a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will face Bradley in the second round on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa.
Ignas Brazdeikas led Michigan with 19 points. Jordan Poole scored 13. Jon Teske had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Zavier Simpson added 10 assists.
But the third-seeded Wolverines fell again to Michigan State after blowing their chance to win the league by losing to their rivals twice in the final four regular-season games.
Michigan led by 13 early in the second half, but Michigan State went on a 13-4 run to tie it at 48 with just over seven minutes remaining.
The Wolverines were up 60-55 after Livers hit a 3 with 2:29 left. But McQuaid answered with one of his own to start the game-ending run and Xavier Tillman made a tying layup for Michigan State.
After Simpson missed a 3 for Michigan, Winston drove to his left for a layup to put the Spartans on top 62-60 with 28 seconds left.
Brazdeikas then missed a pull-up jumper that got tipped by Aaron Henry with 14 seconds to play. Teske and Tillman went up for the rebound, the ball got tipped out of bounds and the referees gave possession to Michigan State after a review as Michigan coach John Beilein screamed on the sideline.
Henry made a free throw and missed hit the second, making it a three-point game. Poole then appeared to get bumped by Winston - Michigan State had a foul to give - as he launched a long 3 off the dribble, but there was no call.
The Spartans' Kenny Goins hit two free throws to make it 65-60 with two seconds left.
Michigan State forward Kyle Ahrens was taken from the court on a stretcher with a left leg injury in the first half.
Michigan: The Wolverines have their sights set on another big NCAA run after losing to Villanova in the championship game last year.
Michigan State: The Spartans head to the tournament with high hopes, though their rotation figures to be a little thinner after Ahrens went down.
Michigan: NCAA Tournament.
Michigan State: NCAA Tournament.
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25
Coach K: Zion not in 'playing shape or mental shape'
North Carolina will return to old home at Carmichael for 1 game
Iowa lands Valparaiso grad transfer Evelyn
Ty Jerome celebrates Virginia's redemption with altered UMBC shirt
Virginia lands top-30 recruit Abdur-Rahim
NCAA issues notice of allegations to NC State over corruptio...
5-star recruit Jalen Johnson commits to Duke
NCAA gives Kevin Ollie three-year show-cause, UConn put on t...
Celtics assistant, former Penn HC gets probation in bribery ...
Teen driver charged in deaths of Auburn broadcaster, wife
Calipari's son transferring to Detroit Mercy
Hurley says recruiting getting a bump from Big East move
Title IX report clears MSU players of sex assault
UConn's return to Big East a win for college basketball, and...
Kansas' Grimes transferring to Houston
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Scroll down to read about the frequently asked questions from our customers in the past. Or for further information, feel free to call us directly on +971 4 380 5077 to learn more about our services.
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The adventures of tintin 1991
Welcome to The Adventures of Tintin guide at TV
Les Aventures De Tintin aka The Adventures of Tintin (1991) Sezona 2 Epizoda 10 [S2E10&11] Land of Black Gold (wizzcameron) fps: 25 Prevod postavio: bojan969 18The Unicorn (French: La Licorne) is a fictional 17th-century three-masted armed French Royal Navy vessel appearing in The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by
Tintin, a young Belgian reporter, gets involved in various mysteries and adventures with his dog Watch full series The Adventures of Tintin (1991) Putlocker123, downloadThe adventures of the young
Tintin kalandjai (The Adventures of Tintin) Műfaj: kaland, rejtély, komédia, dráma The Adventures of Tintin - 1991 The Crab with the Golden Claws Part 1 1-1 was released on: Canada: 2 October 1991 USA: 4 November 1991 France: 12 May 1992 Netherlands: 11While shopping at an outdoor market, young reporter Tintin, accompanied by his faithful dog, Snowy, buys a model of an old ship called the Unicorn
You are currently watching The Adventures Of Tintin - Season 1 1991 now, stars are : Colin O'Meara, Thierry Wermuth, Christian Pellissier
The Adventures Of Tintin Season 1 (1991) Oct 02, 1991 8
It was only published in English in 1991 but the racism row was rekindled last year following the release of Steven Spielberg's film The Adventures of Tintin, when itThe Adventures Of Tintin COMPLETE 1991 1992 720p BluRay x264 BiRDHOUSE Torrent Download Torrent Files list:
Read Common Sense Media's The Adventures of Tintin review, age rating, and parents guide
1 ENG FR H4S5S) Tintin 01 Cigars of the Pharaoh [1080p BluRay 10Bit x265 HEVC DD5
The Adventures of Tintin The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th centuryPirates of Dark Water
The Adventures of Tintin (disambiguation) The Adventures of Tintin is a series of comic albums by HergéThe Adventures of Tintin/The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) - Affinities forTintin, earlier Spielberg and film will decide your experience of this
Watch online and download cartoon The Adventures of Tintin (1991) Season 03 Episode 013 in high quality
com, Nonton Layarkaca21 The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Sub Indo diAudience Reviews for The Adventures of Tintin It is a delight to see Spielberg play with the possibilities of the 3D animation - impossible camera movements, fabulous
The Adventures of Tintin, known as The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn outside North America, is a 2011 American 3D motion capture computer-animated epic
In Red Rackham's Treasure, sequel to The Secret of the Unicorn, Tintin and the Thom(p)sons accompany Captain Haddock on a journey in the footstepsThe Adventures of Tintin (disambiguation) The Adventures of Tintin is a series of comic albums by Hergé
WEB/HDRip Stream The Adventures of Tintin (Jino Remix) [FREE download] by Jino from desktop or your mobile device
com: The Adventures of Tintin, VolO longa é dirigido por Steven
From Academy Award winning filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson comes the epic adventures of TintinThe Adventures of Tintin The Adventures of Tintin (French: Les Aventures de Tintin; [lez‿avɑ̃tyʁ də tɛ̃tɛ̃]) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgian cartoonist
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She's been facing bullies her whole damn career.
Hillary Clinton knows how to handle boy bullies and all the sexist mess they bring to the table.
So expect her to keep her chill on Monday night, when she faces off with Donald Trump, the most blatant misogynist to ever grace the presidential debate stage.
The gender dynamics going into this first widely anticipated debate are so loaded and unsubtle, it's almost comical. But, essentially, Clinton's been prepping for this moment for the entirety of her career ― from at least the time she had to face down hostile comments when she was taking the bar exam to some infamously charged moments in debates during her Senate run in 2000 and her failed presidential bid in 2008.
Like any woman who's spent her entire career navigating through male-dominated corridors, Clinton's become fairly adept at turning blatant and subtle sexism to her advantage.
In a 2008 debate with Barack Obama ahead of the New Hampshire primaries, Clinton was asked to comment on why voters liked her opponent more than her.
Clinton smiled. "Well, that hurts my feelings," she said. "But I'll go on." Her eyes reflected only amusement. When a few seconds later Obama went on to interrupt her and say "you're likable enough Hillary," she did a kind of cute little chair dance. But he comes off as more than a little patronizing and the moment is considered one of Obama's stumbles during that campaign.
The moment also likely helped to propel Clinton to win the New Hampshire primary.
The "likability" issue is at this point widely acknowledged to be a question no male candidate would face. Did anyone question John McCain's personality in 2008? Did anyone ask about Trump's likability in the 2016 GOP primaries?
Deflecting or calling out sexist treatment is Clinton's special talent in debates, a provocative piece argues on Quartz. Instead of shrinking away from sexism, she's tended to respond in a highly sympathetic and, yes, likable way.
There's the now legendary moment in her 2000 run for the Senate, (around 1 minute into the above video) when her opponent, Congressman Rick Lazio, made the mistake of crossing the debate stage, urging Clinton to sign a pledge on soft money and even wagging his finger at her. Played endlessly afterward, Lazio was portrayed as a sexist bully, as this piece in Mother Jones notes. Lazio now says that the moment doomed him. He lost to Clinton by a wide margin.
I don't think it's so obvious to these guys ― remember they play almost constantly with other men. Politics in the U.S. is a boys club. Men occupy more than 80 percent of the seats in Congress. Men hold the majority of governorships. There's never been a woman president. Clinton is one of only 46 women to have been a senator since the founding of the U.S.
Male politicians simply aren't very practiced when it comes to working with women. Clinton on the other hand has spent essentially her entire life navigating male spheres.
Her decision to not change her name from Rodham to Clinton is considered a major factor in her husband losing his bid for governor of Arkansas in 1980. Bill Clinton's opponent Frank White made pointed references to his wife, Mrs. Frank White, throughout the race, as Lisa Lerer writes for the AP. Two years later, when her husband ran for office again, Hillary changed her last name.
She's been beat up in a host of other gendered ways since then ― for daring to work and raise a kid, for possibly disparaging cookie making, for her husband's infidelity. And even, for not looking presidential.
If you go back and look at interviews with Clinton, she is asked questions that no man would have to stomach.
Of course, we can't predict with any certainty that Clinton will best Trump on Monday night. He's a total wild card. And though he lacks political experience, he knows his way around the TV screen.
Besides, sexism isn't the only play the reality TV star has up his sleeve. Clinton is vulnerable on other issues, of course. She hasn't always handled questions about, say, her email so gracefully.
But when it comes to the sexist tropes Trump likes to trade in ― calling women fat pigs, or breastfeeding disgusting, or saying they're better off at home ― Trump isn't actually offering up anything new to Clinton. He's perhaps the purest distillation of decades of piling on.
Clinton's gender radar is a finely honed instrument ― and her mettle has been repeatedly tested. So it's no surprise she's got a track record of turning insults and casual, unconscious sexism to her advantage. If she wasn't able to do that ― she'd be at home in Chappaqua baking cookies.
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Shafston International College
University Type Private
University Motto "Friendship and Learning"
President Cameron Lloyd
Address 46 Thorn St, Kangaroo Point QLD 4169
City Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Shafston International College is a private education institution for international students located in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It offers certificate, diploma and English language programs.
Shafston was established in 1996 and has grown rapidly with over 70,000 students having attended since its inception. Shafston has a diverse student population with over 36 different nationalities on campus at any given time.
Shafston features three campuses, two in the heart of Brisbane and the other in Southport on the Gold Coast. The original Kangaroo Point Campus, which is centred on Shafston House, a heritage-listed building constructed in 1851, is located on the banks of the Brisbane River and covers an area of five-acres.
Shafston has been operating for 24 years, educating students in both English language and Vocational Courses. There have been in excess of 120,000 students educated at Shafston, from over 100 countries since its foundation in 1996. The school has received numerous accolades including being rated the number 1 English school in Australia in 2013, 2014 and 2019 by Ryugaku Journal.
The Shafston International College is a Private university located in Kalgoorlie.
The Shafston International College was founded in 1996.
The current president of Shafston International College is Cameron Lloyd.
Location of Shafston International College
James Cook University Townsville, Queensland
South Australia Institute of Business and Technology Adelaide, South Australia
University of Notre Dame Australia Fremantle, Western Australia
MEGT Institute Melbourne, Victoria
University of Tasmania Hobart, Tasmania
Engineering Institute of Technology Perth, Western Australia
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we make happy the dogs!
Your little furry delight is given a walk of her life with much care, tons of love, and fun!
Walks can be of 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 1 hour length. We will work with you to tailor a dog walking program suitable to your dog's needs. Whether it is a relief walk or a long walk to exercise your energetic furry child.
We do not pack walk! A maximum of 3 dogs are grouped according their temperament, and age. Although,your dog might be walked with just one other dog, or he'll have a solo walk upon request.
Additional charge for weekends, early morning, holiday walks and evening walks after 6:30 P.M.
Cancellations: a 24-hour notice of dog walking cancellation is required. Less than 24-hour will result in not refund/credit of booked services.
Pet sitting on Major Holidays: Booking must be done in a minimum of a month before the Holidays , especially Thanksgiving*, Christmas* and New Year's*.
A 8 days notice of cancellation is required for Holidays. Less than 8 days notice will incur in a charge of 50% of services rate for your holiday booked appointment.
Emergency key lockout $25- if you lock yourself out we can come by to let you in.
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Pharma is part of the Unichem group of pharmacies based in NZ. We ship locally and internationally.
Our online pharmacy stocks a large range of everything you would expect to find in your local chemist, just at reduced prices. Thanks for stopping by.
2 Mayfair Place, Glen Innes, Auckland.
Copyright © 2017 Pharma.co.nz All rights reserved.
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Art Therapy Coloring Page Music Treble Clef 6 images that posted in this website was uploaded by Stocktwitsfx.com. Art Therapy Coloring Page Music Treble Clef 6equipped with aHD resolution x .You can save Art Therapy Coloring Page Music Treble Clef 6 for free to your devices.
If you want to Save Art Therapy Coloring Page Music Treble Clef 6with original size you can click theDownload link.
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The Energeia Museum opened on the premises of the power station in 1986. In this museum one could see preserved steam engines and steam turbines, along with many documents and books from 1900-1960. The museum was completely open to the public and very popular in its early years.
In 1990 there were talks between the three Belgian suppliers, from which a large merger between Ebes, Intercom and Unerg arose. Electrabel was born. While Intercom and Ebes were fully integrated into the new company, Unerg maintained a few more plants in its own name. It later changed its name to Powerfin, in order to continue expanding its activities abroad.
After changes in the agreements on public relations, the management of Electrabel decided in 2000 to close the Museum Energeia. In 2001, no less than 180 running meters (or 3584 records) were moved to archives to ensure safe storage.
But the end of the electricity production in Langerbrugge, apparently got a painful outcome when in 2012 the demolition of the plant started. The older buildings were completely destroyed, including all installations and the more modern buildings are currently being dismantled. Nothing of its historical value was retained. Despite the fact that a large part of the archive in the Energeia museum had already been moved to another location, a whole bunch of paperwork and machines remained behind. Unfortunately, (copper) thieves already got their chance to strike their battle, so that all exhibited machines, including a 1912 compound steam engine that was previously in perfect condition, had been destroyed on their search for copper and other useful materials. The Brown Boveri turbines were completely disassembled and copper was removed. Measuring equipment and control panels were stolen. Almost all museum pieces, including a whole section classified as monument – transformers, control switches, alternators – have been completely destroyed. The remaining documents from the former Ebes archive from 1900-1960 were destroyed.
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{
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Copyright batte over 'unauthorized' Catcher in the Rye commentary
Jim Lindgren has an interesting post over at Volokh.com concerning the legal battle over a book that may or may not be characterized by some as an unauthorized sequel to "Catcher in the Rye".
Be sure to read it here.
This case brings up a number of issues:
First, it exposes the lie that is perpetuated in the legal community that copyright laws don't protect "ideas", but rather only the "concrete expression" of ideas. In practicality, this statement is pure nonsense as evidenced by the fact that a copyrighted work seals in monopoly protections of "characters" and "derivative works" - even if such derivative works don't include any actual "copying" of cloned material from the underlying work.
For instance, if I feel that I have a far better script or storyline that utilizes the character of James Bond, but without utilizing any previous cloned image from a Bond film and without copying previously used dialogue beyond a minimal instance of "My name is Bond...James Bond." or "Shaken...not stirred.", I still would not be able to create it, because Ian Flemming's estate and/or Sony Pictures, etc. has a monopoly over the IDEA of James Bond.
I would argue that by protecting "derivative" works, copyright effectively asserts control over ideas - except for those envisioned at the most abstract levels.
Second, this case also illustrates just how slippery (and I would argue, unsustainable) current fair use concepts are that try to differentiate between "criticism", "parody" and academic explorations of previous literary works versus competing concepts such as "satire" and unauthorized "derivative works" that may contain some vestiges of the previously mentioned fair use categories.
How will "Coming Through The Rye" be classified if it functions as both a "derivative work" of "Catcher in the Rye" as well as literary criticism and history concerning the creation of the same?
Third, this case seems to be another instance of where the judiciary throws out their usual rules regarding prior restraints against free speech when it comes to mere (unproven) allegations of IP infringement. Courts will not allow prior restraints in libel cases. They didn't even allow it in the famed Pentagon Papers case which involved allegations of breaches of national security. But when it comes to protecting IP whenever somebody shouts "copyright" - judges too often seem to ignore free speech concerns.
Eugene Volokh wrote a great law paper on this issue. I'd advise checking it out here:
http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/copyinj.htm
I remember once being lucky enough to come across a copy of "The Wind Done Gone" during a time when a federal judge had enjoined its publication through a temporary restraining order - essentially declaring it unlawful to own and distribute due to copyright complaints from the Margaret Mitchell estate. I purchased it, and secretly horded it away as though I was living through some twisted version of "Fahrenheit 451". I thought it might remain on the list of "banned books" in the U.S. As it turned out however, the copyright case over it was settled, and the book was eventually "allowed" to published.
Perhaps the proper solution is the same one utilized in "Fahrenheit 451". When a rebellious populous was faced with a nation of "firemen" whose job it was to burn all books, each person was given the task of committing a book to memory in order to orally recite it later to others, thus circumventing the state by placing the books in the one area it could not reach - the human mind.
On second thought, that won't work. Current copyright laws prevent the unauthorized "performance" of copyrighted works - including recitals.
Beware the current crop of "firemen" looking to set the nation's Rye fields ablaze....
[Posted at 06/22/2009 12:08 AM by Justin Levine on Against Monopoly comments(15)]
UnoZeroSevenSeven:
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
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OSHKOSH — Flight Design announced at AirVenture that it has chosen Garmin avionics for its new C4 all-carbon composite four-seat light aircraft.
The actual avionics suite will be unveiled at next year's SUN 'n FUN, Betsch said at AirVenture Tuesday.
The Flight Design C4 is an all carbon composite four-place light aircraft based upon the design of the Flight Design CT series of aircraft. Key features are the new Continental IO-360AF alternate fuels engine, conceived to "future proof" the C4, according to company officials, as well as an advanced glass panel cockpit and an integrated, full airplane parachute system.
The C4 is planned to have up to a 1,200 nautical mile range and a useful load of 1,320 pounds.
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Designed to relieve you from the cutting edges and circulation problems associated with safety and tool belts. Won't cut into your side or restrict circulation.
Adjustable straps secure safety and tool belts up to 3" wide. Requires 1-2" extra belt length.
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
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The US supports the construction of a gas pipeline providing the transportation of Azerbaijani gas from the Shah Deniz field to Europe, the US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said at a briefing, according to TASS.
Perry added that the United States stands for competition. He confirmed that the US supports another pipeline delivering Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to Europe.
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
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CrowdOptic's patented technology (U.S. Patent No. 8,527,340) offers a revolutionary way of determining what people are looking at and what they find interesting. It works in real time by collecting sensor data from mobile devices and using that data to construct the device user's line of sight. When the user's line of sigh intersects with another user's line of sight that intersection is noted by the system. Clusters of sight line intersections are then computed to determine where the crowd is looking.
At the heart of the system is the per second update. This is a mechanism where the device reports the needed sensor data to CrowdOptic and in return CrowdOptic sends cluster data. Additionally users can interact with clusters by attaching comments, tags, photos and videos that will travel with the cluster.
To start using CrowdOptic you must first obtain a partner ID and an API key from CrowdOptic. To obtain your ID and key please please fill out this form.
Once you have your partner package, you may also utilize our data visualization tool Live Map. It will show you in real time where users are aiming their devices, where clusters are being formed, and the media that associated with them. To use live map log in with the email and password that were given to you by CrowdOptic and a link will appear in the top menu.
|
{
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
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The Next Step for UAE/China
Following President Xi's visit to the UAE last week, the two countries have an opportunity to leverage their shared interests in emerging technologies
By Xische Editorial, July 25, 2018
Source: Vectorpouch/Shutterstock
President Xi arrived in Abu Dhabi last Thursday for a state visit—the first by a Chinese head of state in almost 30 years—designed to reinforce the already hefty economic and cultural ties between China and the UAE. However, his visit may have missed a broader opportunity to leverage the two countries' shared interest in emerging technologies—namely artificial intelligence, blockchain, and ICT infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, energy investment and the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) featured heavily during President Xi's three-day trip. The flurry of announcements included a partnership and investment agreement in the world's largest solar energy project, two memorandums of understanding to enhance e-commerce ties and greater cooperation at the China International Import Expo, and several extensive energy agreements.
The UAE stands to profit from translating China's ever-expanding trade interests in the region to those grounded in emerging technology. Indeed, the two countries already have a strong track record of collaboration on technology initiatives, including the YVOLV data centre, a project by Meeras and Alibaba, along with the MBR Solar Park, which is run by DEWA and the Silk Road Fund. Pairing Chinese talent with UAE test environments would support the development of everything from AI technology and blockchain to telecoms in both countries and accelerate global development.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai lit up in the colours of the Chinese flag to mark President Xi's visit last week. Source: The National (CC)
AI systems are heavily dependent on data. China's ability to harness the large volume of data emanating from its billion-plus citizens is one of its natural advantages in the field. The BRI's trade networks across the emerging world present a valuable data proposition for China. Not only can Beijing expand its influence through the creation of analogue infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels, and railroads, but the country can also expand its technology footprint.
China is betting big on becoming a leader in high tech innovation. In July 2017, China announced a development plan to become the global leader in artificial intelligence, including a $2.1bn technology park in Beijing dedicated to AI research. With homegrown mega-companies such as Baidu and Tencent already leading the global AI race, China is well-positioned to achieve this goal. The UAE is a slightly different case. While the UAE announced its strategy for AI in October 2017, coupled with investment in AI projected to surpass $8bn by the end of 2017, the country is still in the process of developing or recruiting the right talent to deliver on the UAE's AI goals. By leveraging Chinese technological expertise, the UAE can rapidly grow its AI expertise. Meanwhile, the Chinese will benefit from the optimal testing ground for AI solutions that the UAE provides with access to high-quality engagement points of over 200 nationalities that call the UAE home.
On ICT infrastructure, particularly high-speed and broadband internet, the UAE could - and should - step in. China has been successful in selling smartphones outside of the mainland with companies such as Transsion and Huawei dominating smartphone sales across African and Asian markets. Meanwhile, through telecoms companies such as Etisalat, the UAE has experience in several markets along the BRI.
The conditions are ripe for a UAE-China partnership on blockchain development, an area that certainly warrants further investigation. The UAE has an established track record on blockchain with the Dubai government taking the lead and pushing for blockchain to be used in the public sector. Likewise, China has expressed interest in using blockchain to improve governance.
Working together with Chinese researchers and companies, the UAE could build on its alliance with China to expand blockchain research around the world. As Xische's strategy advisor, Mary Ames, recently argued in Gulf News, "Analysts predict that Chinese officials are setting the stage for a new blockchain strategy. If so, then China will soon join the UAE in shifting all applicable government transactions to local and federal blockchains. Given China's influence on the blockchain industry, such a move is likely to have a profound impact on the trajectory of the evolving technology."
Technological innovation requires the ability to quickly draw on the best talent from across the globe. The UAE has an opportunity to translate its strategic relationship with China on the BRI to an important partnership on emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and ICT infrastructure. President Xi's visit to the UAE is proof positive that both countries have much to gain from such a strategic bilateral relationship. Now is the time to take it to the next level.
Opinion, Artificial IntelligenceWisam Amid July 25, 2018 UAE, AI, China, machine learning, technology, innovation, Bitcoin, Blockchain, artificial intelligence, ICT, telecoms
We Can Stop Tech Giants from Becoming New Banana Republics
Opinion, DataWisam Amid July 30, 2018 technology, data, diplomacy, governance, social media, Facebook
Betting on a Blockchain Future
Opinion, Published, BlockchainWisam Amid July 23, 2018 UAE, China, technology, innovation, ICO, Blockchain, Bitcoin
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|
Travel inspires, it rejuvenates, and it educates. There's an adventure awaiting you, so browse our destination guide to find out where you could go and what you could do.
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2022 Mazda RX 7 Changes, Interior, HP
Posted on April 23, 2022 by Al Connie R. Mitchell
2022 Mazda RX 7 Changes, Interior, HP – Mazda did not state once the generation automobile will get to showrooms. Still, it appears that the subsequent-gen RX-7's progress is determined by how fast the technical engineers can think of a dependable and energy-successful Wankel powerplant. More information ought to grow to be offered in 2016. However, right up until you're doing, we made an offering in the manufacturing automobile, together with a thoughtful inspection regarding what the subsequent-gen RX-7 may well provide the kitchen table.
2022 Mazda RX 7 Changes
2022 Mazda RX 7 Engine
2022 Mazda RX 7 Price and Release Date
Just like most concept cars, the RX-Sight goes via some adjustments before it will become a generation automobile. Our supplying depicts a somewhat well developed directly down variation in the Tokyo examine, provided with various creation-pleasant capabilities.
Our designer started away by supplying the RX-Eyesight a higher roof structure. While the idea is hostile having its very low roofline, the function isn't likely, therefore it will be around the production automobile, mainly because it would influence both mind and arm distance. Luckily, the concept does not seem to eliminate a lot of its attractive dimensions using a bigger roofing, a significantly less raked entrance windscreen, an apparent B-pillar, and stainless windows encompass. Other changes towards the car's user profile include fabricating entry care of, a rather larger grille from the front side fender, along with brand new multiple-spoke rims.
At the beginning, we rely on typically the 2022 Mazda RX 7 Changes, Interior, HP to obtain an adjusted grille and fender in addition to a new sort of headlamps. While the total size and shape in the production grille need to keep comparable, the apparatus will most likely be given a stainless encompass and additionally the side to side panels observed on all current Mazdas. Listed under, the fender area intakes are a bit bigger on your creating, as the splitter together with the middle segment continued to be unaffected. The headlamps ought to make the most changes as the concept's slim apparatus are far too amazing for any generation engine car. Buthowever, the reduction area will probably rely on Mazda's present headlamp layout; the top, curved Directed strip may find its way around the generation automobile. Finally , we rounded out your creation providing using a standard hood as well as a Mazda logo in the nasal space, while removing the one from the grille.
Considering the rear end from the RX-Perspective isn't specifically wilderness, Mazda will probably maintain many of the features in the creation of coupe. The specific RX-7, however, might find an improved tailgate, somewhat re-designed taillights without a"hovering" spoiler, along with various diffusers.
Compared to a lot of concept autos, the RX-Eyesight got a neat and basic interior that may go into generation these days. Nevertheless, Mazda will, in all likelihood, alter a couple of things sometimes, for example, device group, the entranceway panels, along with the center unit. The next will probably get the maximum changes since the 2022 Mazda RX 7 Changes, Interior, HP will get a typical middle pile with different control keys along with knobs. A good infotainment system, as well as a big screen, also need to be additional. However, it actually remains to be noted if the screen will be fitted in addition to the dashboard – like found in several present-day Mazda automobiles – or contained in the middle bunch. Additionally, search for multiple-work controls together with a lot more comprehensive tool cluster powering it.
In terms of the larger quantities of leather-based and lightweight aluminum inserts observed in typically the notion goes, assume that these folks to be around on increased trims. Similar to the MX-5, the specific RX-7 should be a little bit more cost-effective when compared with its rivals, which means the entrance-stage layout will function much less or no leather material at all. Nonetheless, the cottage should consider looking athletic and are offered in only two-sculpt combos across the bottom variation at exactly the same time.
Typically the drivetrain is certainly the RX-7's main secret to date, as Mazda has absolutely nothing to say regarding the engine apart from the proven fact that it will probably be a Wankel and also referred to as the SkyActiv-R. A company agent, even so, suggested that this would use turbocharging, and this the sport vehicle will probably be geared towards the particular Porsche Cayman. Considering the German coupe comes combined with at minimum 275 horsepower in basic toned, the 2022 Mazda RX 7 Changes, Interior, HP, which is less heavy when compared with the Cayman approximately 2,700 pounds, would want no less than 250 horses to make an impact in this particular region of interest. Assume 0 -to-60 miles per hour run of about 5 moments in addition to a top-rated velocity of a minimum of 150 miles per hour.
It is absolutely too soon to talk about cost ranges, but it is secure to believe that this RX-7 can become Mazda's priciest thing in the present collection. The previous decal label is set by a lot of aspects. On the other hand, the sport vehicle will likely cost more when compared to $35,000 from the basic clip.
2022 Mazda Rx 7 AWD, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Colors, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Cost, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Coupe, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Electric, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Engine, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Horsepower, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Hot Wheels, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Interior, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Manual, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 MPG, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Price, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Release Date, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Review, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Rumors, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Specs, 2022 Mazda Rx 7 Top Speed
When Will The 2022 Mazda 6 Be Released
2022 Mazda CX 9 USA Specs, Price, Release
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|
According to LITRA, the Swiss covered more distance by train than anyone else in the world in 2014. An average Swiss resident covered 2,288 km by train, more than twice the distance of an average Brit (1,056 km). Even the French with their world-class high-speed TGV train network were well behind the Swiss with only 1,271 km of train travel for the year. Japan was a reasonably close second with an average of 2,042 km, probably not surprising to anyone who has travelled on Japan's space age high-speed Shinkansen trains with their aircraft-like interiors and serpentine features.
Swiss residents also made frequent trips, 59 being the 2014 average. On this measure the Swiss came in behind the Japanese with 72 trips annually. It seems the Japanese take more but shorter trips than the Swiss.
Other European countries sit well behind Switzerland on both measures. Austria is in second place in Europe on average per capita distance with 1,378 km, well behind Switzerland's 2,288 km. On frequency Luxembourg is second in Europe with 40 train journeys per resident per annum, only a little over two thirds the number for Switzerland. On this measure Britain achieves less than half the Swiss number with an average of 26 trips over the year.
Both Swiss and Japanese trains have a reputation for running on time. Could there be a connection?
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|
/*global describe, it */
'use strict';
var promisory = require('..');
var assert = require('assert');
var fs = require('fs');
var promisify = promisory.promisify;
describe('promissory.promisify(fn)', function() {
it('should be aliased for backward compatibility', function() {
assert(promisory == promisify, 'Exports are incorrect');
});
it('should work when sync', function() {
function read(file, fn) {
fn(null, 'file: ' + file);
}
var readPromissory = promisify(read);
return readPromissory('foo.txt').then(function(res) {
assert('file: foo.txt' == res);
});
});
it('should work when async', function() {
function read(file, fn) {
setTimeout(function() {
fn(null, 'file: ' + file);
}, 5);
}
var readPromissory = promisify(read);
readPromissory('foo.txt').then(function(res) {
assert('file: foo.txt' == res);
});
});
it('should maintain the receiver', function() {
function load(fn) {
/*jshint validthis: true */
fn(null, this.name);
}
var user = {
name: 'tobi',
loadPromissory: promisify(load)
};
user.loadPromissory().then(function(name) {
assert('tobi' == name);
});
});
it('should catch errors', function() {
function load(fn) {
throw new Error('boom');
}
var loadPromissory = promisify(load);
return loadPromissory().catch(function(err) {
assert('boom' == err.message);
});
});
it('should ignore multiple callbacks', function() {
function load(fn) {
fn(null, 1);
fn(null, 2);
fn(null, 3);
}
var loadPromissory = promisify(load);
return loadPromissory();
});
it('should pass no results', function() {
function connect(fn) {
setTimeout(function() {
fn(null);
}, 5);
}
var connectPromissory = promisify(connect);
return connectPromissory().then(function(vals) {
assert(!vals);
});
});
it('should pass all results', function() {
function read(file, fn) {
setTimeout(function() {
fn(null, file[0], file[1]);
}, 5);
}
var readPromissory = promisify(read);
return readPromissory('foo.txt').then(function(vals) {
assert('f' == vals[0]);
assert('o' == vals[1]);
});
});
it('should work with node methods', function() {
fs.readFilePromissory = promisify(fs.readFile);
return fs.readFilePromissory('package.json').then(function(buf) {
assert(Buffer.isBuffer(buf));
return fs.readFilePromissory('package.json', 'utf8').then(function(str) {
assert(typeof str == 'string');
});
});
});
});
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
}
|
Miami, FL – March 19, 2019 – The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the foremost gathering of international leaders in the $4.2 trillion global wellness economy, today announced that Irene Forte, wellness director for Rocco Forte Hotels and daughter of Sir Rocco Forte, British hotelier and philanthropist, will join its Advisory Board. Forte oversees the wellness strategy and offerings for the 14 Rocco Forte Hotels, has just launched Irene Forte Skincare, and has won awards for her achievements as a rising young entrepreneur. And she will be instrumental in helping the GWS address the powerhouse demographic in the wellness industry: millennials.
Forte oversees the wellness proposition for the Rocco Forte Hotels group, which operates award-winning luxury hotels across Europe and has had recent openings in Saudi Arabia and China. Founded by her father Sir Rocco Forte, knighted for services to the UK tourism industry and a recipient of the highest Italian accolade, the Gran Croce dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, the success of their hotel group demonstrates how intergenerational collaboration and management can be a unique force in helping businesses embrace new generations of consumers. Her new skin-care line, Irene Forte Skincare, has been described by Tatler as "beauty with a conscience… as kind to your skin as it is to the planet." Handmade in Italy with ingredients from the family's organic farm in Sicily, the entire range is vegetarian, free from artificial colors and fragrances, and sustainably packaged with recycled materials.
In 2015, Irene Forte was awarded government funding to create a careers app (Map My Future) designed to attract and retain a younger, more tech-savvy workforce—which has been available at the hotel group since 2016. She was awarded the 2016 Rising Star Shine Award and an Acorn "30 under 30" award (given to the brightest prospects in the hospitality industry) in 2017. A very popular keynote speaker at the Summits in 2016 and 2018, her talk "Millennials: Spoiled for Choice and Very Stressed—How to Attract this New Generation of Traveler" is one of the most downloaded in the conference's history.
The Global Wellness Summit is a conference for senior executives and wellness thought leaders; first-time delegates should apply to attend soon, as it's always a sellout event.
For sponsorship information, contact Michelle Gamble:michelle.gamble@www.globalwellnesssummit.com.
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
We are delighted to be able to offer our guests what we hope is a culinary experience in the luxury of our Guest Dining Room, for up to 10 people. We request a minimum of 48 hours notice as all our ingredients are ordered in fresh and would ask you advise us of any allergies or specific dietary requirements.
The sample menu below is just to give you an idea of the dishes we produce but if you have any particular favourites please do just let us know.
Bookings for 6 or more people, please choose from 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts. For bookings of less than 5, it would be helpful if you could select from 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 desserts. Bookings for two people, we request you choose the same dishes.
Please note we do not cater for children under the age of 16 years in the main house.
We have lovingly created this extensive menu for your Ruthven House dining experience, we would be delighted to chat to you about your requirements.
Please feel free to download our menu to share with your guests.
To book or to discuss further simply contact us, we would love to hear from you.
|
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}
|
Prep Athlete of the Week: Cook critical to…
Prep Athlete of the Week: Cook critical to Durham High volleyball team
Durham High volleyball player Bethany Cook is the Prep Athlete of the Week.
By Joseph Shufelberger |
PUBLISHED: November 12, 2014 at 12:00 am | UPDATED: September 8, 2018 at 12:00 am
DURHAM >> Sometimes, statistics don"t tell the entire story, or even most of it.
The Durham High volleyball team was going to a fifth set at Hamilton in a Nov. 4 Sacramento Valley League match, and Trojans coach Noelle Keese decided to go against her standard move of subbing for Bethany Cook after the senior serves.
"I said, "We need her heart,"" Keese recalled telling her assistant. "/I"m going to leave Bethany on because I think her heart is going to make us win this game." We were just in a kind of funk that whole game. I really thought Bethany"s heart and leadership was going to make us win that game."
The Trojans won that fifth game and the match 21-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13. Now, Durham (30-3) has time off this week as the No. 1 seed in the Northern Section Division V postseason field and awaits its next opponent for a contest at home Tuesday.
Keese said deviating from the norm was easy when it kept Cook where she was needed.
"Bethany has been our biggest leader this year," the Trojans" coach said. "She"s so vocal on the court and off the court, whether she"s playing or if she"s not playing. She is the loudest person. She"s constantly talking, encouraging. She"s always positive."
Cook is also among the team"s leaders in several statistical categories for Durham, which has not lost a match against divisional foes.
"I"ve been really surprised how people have stepped up," Cook said, as the Trojans have gotten even better after reaching the section final last year but lost some of their top players due to graduation. "We have confidence in each other. It"s all a team effort."
While Cook has been playing volleyball since she was 8 years old and wants to keep doing so if she can, she"s focused on extending this season as much as she can.
"If I can play somewhere, I"m definitely going to go there first," said Cook, who has a 3.6 GPA and is involved with Future Farmers of America in addition to playing softball. "I"m just really trying to make sure every practice counts. It"s my last year before maybe playing college, maybe not. I wanted to lay everything out on the court."
Connect with Sports Writer Joseph Shufelberger at 896-7774.
Joseph Shufelberger
Bob Myers explains Kevin Durant's decision to leave Warriors
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}
|
A collaborative project between the Design Institute for Health, Fisterra Studio, the Thinkery, ThinkEAST, and Johnson & Johnson - to develop new approaches to improving health in a community. This project uses a creative process to combine visual arts, learning and exhibit design, and new approaches to data visualization to create new health capabilities in a planned community for East Austin. This studio tour will feature proposed solutions to change the context in which people engage with their health - to raise their health consciousness and literacy, to empower and enable them to act on their own behalf, to develop new insights into the priorities and behaviors of community members, and ultimately to create offerings that have significant impact on their collective health.
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
Vero News > All News > News > Sebastian Police investigating car-bike crash
Sebastian Police investigating car-bike crash
Written by: Admin November 04 2010
SEBASTIAN – The Sebastian Police Department is investigating the cause for a crash that sent a bicyclist to a hospital in critical condition.
The crash happened Wednesday around 12:32 p.m. at the 1200 block of Main Street. A 2008 Toyota collided with a bicycle. The bicyclist, identified as James Shaw, was transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center where he is listed in critical condition.
The driver, Tammy Carnohan, was not injured.
Charges have yet to be filed, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Anyone with information pertaining to the crash is encouraged to call the Sebastian Police Department at (772) 589-5233.
bicyclistcarnohancentercharges:conditioncrashcriticaldepartmentdriverencouragedholmesinjuredinvestigationlistedmedicalpoliceregionalsebastianstaff reporttammythe
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin id ullamcorper urna, non placerat diam. Praesent nulla ma. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin id ullamcorper urna, non placerat diam.
GoLine hub gets the boot from Vero City Council
Authorities nab Melbourne man accused of robbing Vero Beach TD Bank
Man charged in July crash that left woman seriously injured
SEBASTIAN — A 25-year-old man is waiting to go before a judge on several charges from a July crash that left a woman seriously injured. The woman suffered a broken shoulder blade and had to undergo surgery, reports show. "(Dillon) Wright was under the influence of an alcoholic beverage while operating a motor vehicle at the time of the crash and fled the scene on foot, failing to render aid to the victim or provide information to her," reports show. "Inside of the vehicle operated by Wright was a safe containing 407.5 grams of suspected cannabis in multiple different packages." Sheriff's officials said Wright's blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. Wright, of the 800 block ...
1 hurt after two tractor trailers collide on I-95
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A driver was injured after a tractor-trailer slammed into the back of another tractor-trailer on Interstate 95 on Tuesday morning, fire rescue crews said. The crash happened at 8:15 a.m. on I-95 southbound near the 142 mile-marker, officials said. The tractor-trailer that struck the other vehicle had significant damage, Indian River County Fire Rescue Bureau Chief of Emergency Medical Services Steve Greer said. The driver of the heavily damaged tractor-trailer was flown to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, Greer said. The condition of the driver, a man, was not immediately known. The driver of the other tractor-trailer refused treatment, Greer said. Photos provided by Indian River County Sheriff's Office and Rick Kulmann
Woman hurt in overnight rollover crash
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A woman suffered traumatic injuries after her car rolled over into a grassy area in an overnight crash Monday, authorities said. The single-vehicle wreck happened about 12:15 a.m. in the 6200 block of County Road 510 in West Wabasso, fire rescue crews and Indian River County sheriff's officials said. The woman, who was driving a light-colored sedan, was taken by ambulance to Health First's Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Indian River County Fire Rescue Bureau Chief Bill Herrington said. Deputies briefly closed the roadway in the area of the crash. The sheriff's office continues to investigate the wreck. Photos contributed by Indian River County Sheriff's Office
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
}
|
Communication Arts Design Competition 2023
Image source: Communication Arts
2023 GCSP Prize for Transformative Futures in Peace and Security
Image source: Geneva Centre for Security Policy
27 March 2023 [ 2+ months remaining ]
Christine Garnier Simon
The GCSP Prize for Transformative Future seeks to reward groundbreaking concepts that offer exceptional promise in addressing peace and security challenges. The inaugural edition of the prize will be awarded in 2023.
Applications may come from any country, but the potential impact of the concepts submitted should extend beyond national borders in their scope or thinking.
The prize for the application coming in the first position is a fully funded 2-month incubation programme within the GCSP's Creative Spark in Geneva (worth CHF 15,000) and a certificate of excellence. The two other finalist applications will receive a certificate of recognition.
Concepts from a wide variety of fields may be eligible for consideration, including, but not restricted to, transformative technologies, pandemics, biothreats, autonomous weapons, climate change, human rights, cybersecurity, education, or disarmament, for example.
The prize is intended to encourage and recognize excellence in contributing to new approaches to enhancing sustainable global peace and security.
The winners (first, second and third place) will be announced publicly during an event to be held in late May 2023.
Please visit the official website for further details.
No Entry Fee!
It's free to enter.
Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Annual / Free / Multiple Disciplines / Open / Residency
SEGD Global Design Awards 2023
The TDC 69th Annual Competition
Image source: Type Directors Club (TDC)
Curtas Vila do Conde 2023 – International Film Festival
Image source: Curtas Vila do Conde
Contests Expiring on 27th March 2023
2023 Student Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition
"E-Bike Loft" by Nicholas Hollister (from Purdue University in West Lafayette) the winner of the First Place Student Scholarship of $5,000 in the 2022 Student Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition
Image source: Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD)
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
}
|
Ta-dah! Hell and Styx #13, where you get to see a snippet of Heaven's past and how he ended up as who he is today. The flashback story will take a few more posts to finish, but this one introduces the plot line.
Maybe that made things a little clearer. Or not. It might be better explained in the actual story. So I'll shut up and you should go read it already!
Likes and comments are always open. Also, check out Hell and Styx's new Pinterest board.
Heaven let himself vanish from purgatory, drifting back to the human world, his atoms breaking apart and then calmly reassembling themselves in front of a yellowing yard. He ran his hand through his hair and opened the gate, pacing through the dying grass to stand on the front porch.
He took a deep breath and held it, reminding himself that Hell was right. He didn't need to breathe. No one could see him. He was fake.
He wasn't corporal, so he couldn't knock. So he waited.
He remembered a thin girl with blonde hair with a stubborn chin and a freckled, upturned nose. He remembered the sweatshirt with her high school's mascot and the skinny jeans.
Back when his obsession with the human world was simply habit, a part of himself he had forgotten to erase when he stopped being human.
He liked being invisible. He would walk empty streets, leaving no trace, touching nothing, completely unable to screw anything up.
It was 10:00 p.m. and Heaven was walking aimlessly down residential streets, turning onto a street of shops that all closed at five, lost in his thoughts. Yesterday, he went to purgatory to sort a soul, but he knew he wouldn't need to go back for weeks. A nagging in his mind would alert him to the next soul of his, but they were rare.
Neither Hell nor Styx had seen him. That was by design. He didn't want the responsibility of being friends, of having to wait around for a person to die on him while they tirelessly did their individual missions.
The little girl had gone with him with no complaint. She was intrigued but not particularly scared, as were most of his dead. Her soul was blinding and clean, and Heaven caught himself lingering, not willing to release his drug of choice when he wouldn't get another hit for weeks.
Heaven was still remembering the pure rush of joy from the girl's soul, wishing the world had more good people, and that they'd have shorter life spans, jealous of his counterparts, with their cornucopias of dead, when he saw her. She was alone, hair blown across her face by a vanished breeze, hands in her pockets, not afraid, not lonely. Heaven paused to watch her walk toward him, taking in the beauty of her simplicity. She stopped to look in the window of an ice cream shop, pressing her face against the glass, then laughed to herself, free to be happy in the silence.
Then she turned to keep walking, and froze.
That was Heaven's first thought.
"Hey," Heaven said, more taken aback by her beauty than the obvious fact that she could see him.
She giggled, pausing beside him, waiting for him to fall into step with her.
His mind stuck somewhere between noticing her exact shade of lip gloss—light pink—and the fact that she could see him, did the only thing it could think off. It followed her.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked, looking at his collared shirt and dress pants.
A breeze whipped by and Heaven realized—it was cold. Like, really cold. How had he never noticed before?
Heaven was watching her face as they walked, but even if he had seen the sign outside the restaurant—declaring ALL ENTRES HALF PRICE ON TUESDAYS 3:00-6:00—he wouldn't have avoided it.
But today, he should have. Because today, he crashed into it.
The sign collapsed against itself and clattered into the ground. Heaven jerked to the right, trying not to step on it, bumping into the girl's sweatshirt. It was soft.
Heaven laughed, and wondered if he could eat now that he was solid.
Did this mean his duty was over?
Nostalgia swept through him like a draft, leaving him with the bitter taste of loneliness in his mouth.
"You okay?" she asked, noticing the change in his mood.
"Just reminded of something," Heaven said, shaking his head to get the thoughts out.
They turned onto the same street Heaven had come from, and the girl slowed her pace. Heaven let her, understanding her need to preserve the night.
They walked in silence, until the girl stopped in front of a lawn. Even in the dark, Heaven could tell it was lush and green.
"This is my stop," the girl said.
It looked human, was what Heaven wanted to say. It was normal, just like this girl, and tonight.
"Are we going to see each other again?" she asked.
"We're going to need to get you a nickname," Lilith promised.
And Lilith let herself into her house and Heaven left, walking straight through her trashcan left out on the street.
That was his first night with her.
Now, a year and a half later, Heaven stared at the door in front of him. He wasn't in the mood.
Not while he was remembering a different yard, and a different girl.
There were houses all across the continent, all across the world, that Heaven could visit. Where he had friendships. Where he could live.
But tonight, he knew the truth: he was never more than a ghost.
And the only person he wanted to see was already gone.
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
Yup that's right a tea cocktail! I heard about the idea when perusing the Adagio Tea website. It's my new favorite in Chicago. The store just off of the Mag Mile has probably 100 different teas which can be completely intimidating. However, the staff is fabulous! They walk you through and help you find the perfect tea. And let you try it! They will make any tea you want to try and for me it was several. I typically like an earthy, complex black tea and found a great keenum. But I also picked up some Wild Strawberry herbal tea. Which technically has no tea leaves in it but flowers, apples and berries. It's light and not overly sweet. A perfect base for a summer cocktail!
Easy, tasty and very refreshing. A Strawberry Tea-tail!
Easy tea cocktail that screams summer!
Prep tea by steeping in hot water for 5 minutes.
Cool tea in the fridge or freezer.
Put vodka and tea in the glass.
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
Brophy P. 2005. The academic library. :233p..
Matthews JR. 2002. The bottom line : determining and communicating the value of the special library. :186p..
Rubin R J, Public Library Association. 2006. Demonstrating results : using outcome measurement in your library.
Wilson D D, Del Tufo T, Norman AEC. 2008. The Measure of Library Excellence: Linking the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria and Balanced Scorecard Methods to Assess Service Quality.
Matthews JR. 2004. Measuring for results : the dimensions of public library effectiveness. :240p..
Elliott D. 2007. Measuring your library's value : how to do a cost-benefit analysis for your public library. :181p..
Koenig MED. 1992. The information environment and the productivity of research. Recent Advances in Chemical Information. :133-143.
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
WBSC Softball Americas Qualifier Down To Final Six
(Photo courtesy of WBSC Americas)
The WBSC Softball Americas Qualifier is down to its final six teams with the Super Round beginning on Friday afternoon.
Puerto Rico and Mexico will open Super Round play when they go head-to-head in what should be the highlight of the Super Round.
Mexico won Group B with a perfect record, while Puerto Rico finished second in Group A after suffering a 3-0 loss to Canada.
Canada, Cuba, Brazil and Venezuela also moved through to the Super Round, while the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru and the Bahamas were all eliminated.
The top-two teams after the Super Round will earn an Olympic berth, which is why the first game is so crucial for Puerto Rico. Mexico's undefeated record through pool play earned it a slight advantage, as the two berths are determined by the best record and not an elimination format.
Mexico's Tori Vidales, Nicole Mendes and Brittany Cervantes have three of the top batting averages in the tournament, while Puerto Rico leads in the power game with Jena Cozza and Alyssa Rivera each leading the tournament in home runs with two each.
It wouldn't be a surprise if Puerto Rico uses Kamalani Dung, Aleshia Ocasio and Taran Alvelo in the circle, while Mexico may go with Dallas Escobedo.
Canada continues to roll through the tournament and is headed towards one of the two berths. The Canadians will face Venezuela on Friday before playing Mexico on Saturday and closing out the tournament on Sunday against Brazil.
3:30 p.m. Puerto Rico vs Mexico
6:00 p.m. Venezuela vs Canada
8:30 p.m. Cuba vs Brazil
5:00 p.m. Bahamas vs Dominican Republic
7:30 p.m. Peru vs Guatemala
2:00 p.m. Canada vs Mexico
3:30 p.m. Venezuela vs Cuba
6:00 p.m. Puerto Rico vs Brazil
10:30 p.m. Cuba vs Mexico
1:00 p.m. Venezuela vs Puerto Rico
3:30 p.m. Brazil vs Canada
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
}
|
Great space for this – on the wharf at Walsh Bay.
Art and wine. Wine and music. Music and art. All three share synergies, parallels, artistic ideals, the lot. Obviously wine is just a bit more cut and dried than the other two (arguably), yet the commonalities are unmissable (or at least I think so).
Given these commonalities then it's probably quite surprising that we don't see more art inspired by wine, especially given that the stereotypical artist drinks plenty of the stuff (particularly at gallery openings) and is probably particularly inspired when influenced by wine. Yet we rarely see much in the way of art dedicated to wine.
Penfolds, however, have attempted to address that gap with this latest project. Called 'The Blocks', said project is a collaboration between London designers Studio Twogood and Penfolds, with the art-installation-meets-wine-bar-concept focused particularly on a set of large wooden totems – essentially large wooden sculptures – that are then prepared by a perfumer to showcase some of the scents you might find in (Penfolds) wine.
That's someone famous in the background too.
The way this 'multi sensory environment' then works is that you wander around the exhibit – which is housed in a pretty cool wharf warehouse space in Sydney's Walsh Bay – accompanied by a 'sommelier' who guides you through the art installation with a selection from the Penfolds Bin/Luxury range to taste as you go.
You thus enjoy a glass or two of wine, accompanied by a tasting menu prepared by Magill Estate Executive Chef Jock Monfrillo, and spend plenty of time smelling wood and loitering around looking at art.
I was one of said loiterers at the launch a week or so ago, largely to see what Penfolds – whom have a history of toying with art and wine – had managed to bring together, but also to see what this intriguing wood scented totems shenanigans was all about.
Now I'm the first to admit that I'm not much of an art critic. I like quite my art classical really (with exceptions), so I'm not probably not very well placed to comment on the quality of the works themselves. Moreso, as one of the few 'wine' people at the launch party I think I stood out as one of the least arty types there – with my distinct lack of rolled up jeans, boat shoes and carefully coiffed hair (for guys). For girls it was one-piece jumpsuits (which apparently are 'so hot right now') and more big hair. Or such.
Regardless of such fashion comments, I still liked the exhibtion and thought that the execution was good. The whole operation has an air of professionalism to it, the work clearly created by talented artists. It didn't move me (the art at least) but I was entertained by attempts to pick up scent 'interpretations' from big pieces of wood. Suffice to say that anyone who is used to playing with Le Nuz De Vin or other professional scent kits might be a little baffled too..
As for the wines, there was one particular new release from the Penfolds range that stood out (for me at least). That was the 2010 Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz, which I think might be the best 128 I've seen in years..
What makes the 128 work is all about simplicity – it's a thoroughly medium bodied Shiraz (as Coonawarra Shiraz should be), with trademark Penfoldian richness but also with a hint of leaf and grainy tannins. Medium weight, understated yet also bold enough to carry the red Penfolds cap. Everything in it's right place. Perhaps a little bit 'airbrushed' but no questioning the appeal. Considering that it's a relatively affordable part of the Penfolds range, it's not hard to give it a big thumbs up. I went back for seconds.
Another block. A phallic one.
On another tack, they were serving a particularly interesting cocktail on the night too (an expensive one to replicate perhaps) that mixed Bombay Sapphire gin, Lillet and Penfolds Grandfather tawny to make a thoroughly boozy, if quite intriguing (the richness of the old fortified worked great against the straight spirits), mixed drink of choice. Liked that too. Seconds again.
Besides the drinks (I saw so little food that I can't comment on what was served. There was 'things on spoons') the whole experience then was a good one. The verdict then on 'The Blocks' is pretty simple – hardly a serious wine tasting experience, but well worth a look, particularly given that it's free (to wander around at least).
It's free to wander, but $35 for a four wine tasting it seems a bit on the steep side. The food was also quite pricey – enough so that we split without checking it out.
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
Jerry Preisendorf
Soccer Coach Hired
October 23, 2015–Lehi, Utah
Jerry Preisendorf has been hired as the men's and women's soccer coach for Skyridge High School, currently under construction in Lehi, Utah. The school will open in August 2016.
Coach Preisendorf has a USSF "D" Coaching License and has coached soccer for the last 15 years at the club and high school levels. He has been the head coach of the Lehi High School boys' team since 2010 and started coaching the girls' soccer program in 2015.
Under Coach Preisendorf, the boys' program at Lehi High School has collected two state titles, the first in 2010 (4A), and the second in 2013 (5A). The team advanced to the semifinal game last season. During his tenure, the Pioneers have been Region champions four times, and have qualified for the state playoffs every year. The overall record for the boys' team is at Lehi High is 82-24-7.
During Preisendorf's first year as the girls' head coach at Lehi High School, the team finished the season as the 4th seed in Region 4 and earned a berth in the state playoffs. Their first round victory over a #1 seed allowed them to make it to the quarterfinals, where they lost to an eventual finalist in the 5A division.
Skyridge principal Joel Perkins says, "Jerry is an outstanding individual. He has cultivated a tradition of excellence at Lehi High School, and we are confident that he will create outstanding men's and women's soccer programs. He cares deeply for his student athletes, and he is known for his ability to hone their individual potential to achieve success as a cohesive team. His teams excel, and parents and students love him."
Skyridge Athletic Director Mark Clinton says, "Jerry has the ability to understand and demonstrate the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship and will instill in Skyridge athletes a burning desire to win while playing within the rules."
On leaving his current position, Preisendorf says, "I have a lot of memories and many good friends at Lehi High School. All of my sons graduated from Lehi, and I have a great relationship with the administration there. I look forward to creating a great program and to the opportunities that come with starting a program at a new school."
Coach Preisendorf says the best thing in his life is being married to his wife of over 30 years, Michele. The Preisendorfs have four boys and one grandchild, and they have lived in Lehi for the past 23 years. He will continue to coach at Lehi High through the end of the school year.
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
}
|
Halloween is a time for elaborate costumes, collecting sweet treats, bobbing for apples, telling ghost stories by the light of a jack-o-lantern and watching a scary movie or two. In recent years, Halloween has become even more of an event as people decorate their homes and neighborhoods for the annual fall celebration.
Coming just before the onset of winter weather in many parts of North America, Halloween is also a great time for a cruise vacation. The good news is that you won't necessarily miss out on your favorite traditional Halloween activities.
Some cruise ships celebrate Halloween with costume contests, treats and activities for all ages. For example, Royal Caribbean ships decorate for the holiday and host costume contests, parades and dance parties. Halloween-themed movies are shown and families can enjoy "scary story time" together. Passengers are welcome to bring their own costumes, but if you forget to pack yours, you can also make one on board.
Royal Caribbean ships also have some Halloween activities just for kids, such as making Halloween crafts, trick-or-treating around the ship and exploring a spooky haunted house.
In the past, some cruise lines have even offered murder-mystery cruises that coincide with Halloween.
For more information on how you can enjoy a spooky good Halloween on a cruise ship, talk with Cruise Holidays.
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
package nl.nn.adapterframework.webcontrol.api;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.util.Iterator;
import javax.annotation.security.RolesAllowed;
import javax.ws.rs.DefaultValue;
import javax.ws.rs.GET;
import javax.ws.rs.Path;
import javax.ws.rs.PathParam;
import javax.ws.rs.Produces;
import javax.ws.rs.QueryParam;
import javax.ws.rs.WebApplicationException;
import javax.ws.rs.core.MediaType;
import javax.ws.rs.core.Response;
import javax.ws.rs.core.Response.ResponseBuilder;
import javax.ws.rs.core.StreamingOutput;
import javax.xml.stream.XMLStreamException;
import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
import nl.nn.adapterframework.configuration.ConfigurationException;
import nl.nn.adapterframework.core.IAdapter;
import nl.nn.adapterframework.core.IListener;
import nl.nn.adapterframework.http.WebServiceListener;
import nl.nn.adapterframework.management.bus.BusTopic;
import nl.nn.adapterframework.management.bus.RequestMessageBuilder;
import nl.nn.adapterframework.receivers.Receiver;
import nl.nn.adapterframework.soap.WsdlGenerator;
/**
* Shows all monitors.
*
* @since 7.0-B1
* @author Niels Meijer
*/
@Path("/")
public final class Webservices extends Base {
@GET
@RolesAllowed({"IbisObserver", "IbisDataAdmin", "IbisAdmin", "IbisTester"})
@Path("/webservices")
@Relation("webservices")
@Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
public Response getWebServices() throws ApiException {
return callSyncGateway(RequestMessageBuilder.create(this, BusTopic.WEBSERVICES));
}
@GET
@RolesAllowed({"IbisObserver", "IbisDataAdmin", "IbisAdmin", "IbisTester"})
@Path("/webservices/{resourceName}")
@Relation("webservices")
@Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_XML)
public Response getWsdl(
@PathParam("resourceName") String resourceName,
@DefaultValue("true") @QueryParam("indent") boolean indent,
@DefaultValue("false") @QueryParam("useIncludes") boolean useIncludes) throws ApiException {
String adapterName;
boolean zip;
int dotPos=resourceName.lastIndexOf('.');
if (dotPos>=0) {
adapterName=resourceName.substring(0,dotPos);
zip=resourceName.substring(dotPos).equals(".zip");
} else {
adapterName=resourceName;
zip=false;
}
if (StringUtils.isEmpty(adapterName)) {
return Response.status(Response.Status.BAD_REQUEST).entity("<error>no adapter specified</error>").build();
}
IAdapter adapter = getIbisManager().getRegisteredAdapter(adapterName);
if (adapter == null) {
return Response.status(Response.Status.BAD_REQUEST).entity("<error>adapter not found</error>").build();
}
try {
String servletName = getServiceEndpoint(adapter);
String generationInfo = "by FrankConsole";
WsdlGenerator wsdl = new WsdlGenerator(adapter.getPipeLine(), generationInfo);
wsdl.setIndent(indent);
wsdl.setUseIncludes(useIncludes||zip);
wsdl.init();
StreamingOutput stream = new StreamingOutput() {
@Override
public void write(OutputStream out) throws IOException, WebApplicationException {
try {
if (zip) {
wsdl.zip(out, servletName);
} else {
wsdl.wsdl(out, servletName);
}
} catch (ConfigurationException | XMLStreamException e) {
throw new WebApplicationException(e);
}
}
};
ResponseBuilder responseBuilder = Response.ok(stream);
if (zip) {
responseBuilder.type(MediaType.APPLICATION_OCTET_STREAM);
responseBuilder.header("Content-Disposition", "attachment; filename=\""+adapterName+".zip\"");
}
return responseBuilder.build();
} catch (Exception e) {
throw new ApiException("exception on retrieving wsdl", e);
}
}
private String getServiceEndpoint(IAdapter adapter) {
String endpoint = "external address of ibis";
Iterator it = adapter.getReceivers().iterator();
while(it.hasNext()) {
IListener listener = ((Receiver) it.next()).getListener();
if(listener instanceof WebServiceListener) {
String address = ((WebServiceListener) listener).getAddress();
if(StringUtils.isNotEmpty(address)) {
endpoint = address;
} else {
endpoint = "rpcrouter";
}
String protocol = servletRequest.isSecure() ? "https://" : "http://";
int port = servletRequest.getServerPort();
String restBaseUrl = protocol + servletRequest.getServerName() + (port != 0 ? ":" + port : "") + servletRequest.getContextPath() + "/services/";
endpoint = restBaseUrl + endpoint;
break; //what if there are more than 1 WebServiceListener
}
}
return endpoint;
}
private String getWsdlExtension() {
return ".wsdl";
}
}
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
}
|
Crowdsourcing Competitive Innovation
Posted by Epi Ludvik | Feb 8, 2017 | Citizen Engagement, Collective Intelligence, Crowdsourcing, Mass Collaboration, Open Innovation | 0
Peter Diamandis is saying: 99.999% of people don't understand or appreciate the ramifications of what is coming and I agree 100% here.
Innovation is the essential component when we are considering how to solve the world's biggest challenges, and the best place to source revolutionary ideas is from the crowd. This is something XPRIZE has been doing for over two decades, and is now making a big difference in many areas that matter, not least the field of energy and sustainability with. They are, for example, running a $20m carbon competition which addresses global CO2 emissions by incentivizing innovative solutions to convert CO2 from a liability into an asset, such as fertilizers, concrete and even toothpaste.
XPRIZE started out about 20 years ago by offering a prize of $10m to the first privately financed team that could fly a passenger vehicle into space. 26 teams from around the world competed for this, with the first rocket taking off in 2004. The competition was set up to help realise a personal dream of its founder, Peter Diamandis, to be an astronaut. After lift off he realised there was an opportunity to keep going as there was clearly an appetite from the crowd to take on big planetary scale challenges. As their platform says "XPRIZE is a facilitator of exponential change. A catalyst for the benefit of humanity" which utilises the innate competitiveness of humanity to bring about breakthroughs which seemed impossible.
The prizes focus on bold, audacious yet achievable goals which target market failure and are winnable by a small team. They are designed to drive investment in the target field and provide vision and hope. Past XPRIZES have included Ocean Health and Oil Clean-Up, with potential future competitions being in Road Electrification and Revolutionary Battery. In addition to the Carbon prize there are another 8 competitions currently running, such as Water Abundance which challenges teams to alleviate the global water crisis with energy-efficient technologies that harvest fresh water from the atmosphere.
The Carbon challenge they have set is certainly fits the criteria as a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal); creating valuable products of essentially thin air and is targeting a considerable market failure: fossil fuels causing climate change. The International Energy Agency estimates 82 percent of the world's energy supply is derived from fossil fuels. Currently virtually all the CO2 this produces instantly becomes a waste product which is dumped into the atmosphere. While cleaner energy sources are on the rise, overall energy demand is expected to grow 37 percent by 2040, making immediate carbon mitigation solutions even more urgent.
Teams are challenged to develop breakthrough technologies that convert the most CO2 into one or more products with the highest net value. In October, the judges narrowed down the 47 Round 1 entries down to 27 teams for Round 2 'semi finals' with these remaining teams coming from around the world and pursuing an incredible diversity of approaches.
Carbon Capture Machine, who are based at Aberdeen University in Scotland, has a method of producing CO2 based minerals for concrete and other building materials; "The technology we have developed here in Aberdeen offers a bridge to a solution that can prevent damage caused by CO2 emissions and create materials to build the homes and offices of the future." says their team leader Dr Mohammed Imbabi.
"The competition is an exciting way to validate our objectives and show we can compete against other outstanding teams" comments Thomas Digby, the CEO of Swiss based start-up company Aljadix. They unquestionably fit the criteria of being an entrant with a small team, having only seven staff comprised of academics and start-up entrepreneurs who are aiming to produce carbon negative biofuel which permanently removes carbon from the atmosphere.
Some of the entrants are certainly gaining themselves a high profile. Protein Power from the US are producing high-protein fish food, and their CEO, Lisa Dyson, has a TED talk which has been viewed over one million times. In this she describes how a technology which was developed in the 60s by NASA to enable long distance space travel by using a clever carbon cycle has been adapted to make crops grow incredibly fast. Using this technique, they can grow in the dark, in any season, geography and location. This is pretty useful is space, but also means as Dyson observes in her TED: "At a large scale, you can actually make 10,000 times more output per land area than you could if you used soybeans."
By sourcing from the crowd, XPRIZE is enabling a future in which many of the currently seemingly intractable problems we face are solved by innovative enterprises. Climate change is arguably the biggest problem of our time and by creating a future where purified CO2 is, instead of being seen as a criminal waste, is known as the source of our buildings, food and many other essentials to life.
As they say at XPRIZE: "Call us crazy, but we believe."
Join me at Crowdsourcing Week Summit Arctic Circle, March 15-19th in Lulea & Vuollerim Sweden, to find out more about the crowd-driven solutions that are revolutionizing our transition toward sustainable energy, reducing resource consumption, and bettering our citizen services and the environment.
PreviousCSW Summit in Sweden's Arctic Circle, March 15-19
NextCrowdfunding in Italy: all the numbers and platforms
Epi Ludvik
Epi Ludvik is the Founder & CEO of Crowdsourcing Week and BOLD Awards. In 2008, he created Ludvik + Partners - one of New York's hottest boutique virtual ad agencies built on a 100% crowdsourcing model. Epi is one of the pioneers in the crowdsourcing ad space, an industry expert and thought leader in entertainment advertising - including public relations, event production, experiential marketing, consumer advertising and digital marketing. Epi earned a BS in Advertising & Marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and has been a serial entrepreneur since graduation. His varied and global experiences throughout his career have taken him across the US and Asia, where he honed his skills in advertising and media with high-profile clients and power brands.
Crowdsourcing Creative Solutions from Freelance Designers is Thriving
A Thousand Eyes Are Better Than Two
What Can Crowds do Against Manipulation of and by Governments?
CSW Summit DC hit exciting new highs
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¶ During his campaign for the presidency and since, Obama repeatedly assured us that he would protect Medicare against cuts; but he now presses for passage of bills that include savage cuts in Medicare.
¶ To obtain passage of his first stimulus bill, Obama assured us that 90% of the jobs created would be in the private sector; but as he well knew, most of them were to be in the public sector.
¶ Early in the health care debate, Obama assured us that he had not said that he favored a single payer system; but he was on record as having said exactly that.
¶ Obama gave primary voters a firm assurance that if he became the nominee of the Democratic party he would (unlike Hillary Clinton) abide by the campaign finance limits of public funding; but as soon as he became the party's nominee, he reneged on that pledge.
¶ During the presidential campaign Obama criticized the presence of former lobbyists in the Bush administration and solemnly assured us that he would appoint no lobbyists to his administration; but once elected he proceeded to appoint even more lobbyists than his predecessors.
¶ Obama criticized the size of George Bush's deficit and promised to stop deficit spending if elected; but he has already quadrupled the size of the deficit he objected to and recklessly continues new federal spending in the trillions.
¶ When campaigning Obama criticized bills before the congress that were too long for anyone to be able to read and promised to stop that; but the bills he has been backing throughout his first year are infinitely longer (2000+ pages) than the ones he criticized.
¶ Candidate Obama promised an end to the corruption of earmarks and pork, but in the bills he has supported this year there have been more and bigger earmarks than ever before.
¶ Candidate Obama promised us that CIA personnel involved in the interrogation of terrorists would not be prosecuted; but his administration is now doing exactly that.
¶ Obama assured a joint session of Congress that the health bill he supported (pre-Stupak) would not provide public funding for abortions; but bitter resistance on the part of House Democrats to inclusion of language to that effect soon proved that it did.
¶ Candidate Obama promised that he would make sure that there was always enough time for the public to read legislation before it was enacted; but he has done exactly the opposite, repeatedly pressing for even faster passage of even longer bills.
¶ Candidate Obama met fears that he would be a tax and spend liberal by promising, emphatically and repeatedly, that those earning under $200,000 would see no increase in their taxes of any kind; but he now urges passage of a healthcare bill that breaks that pledge in many different ways, and his unrestrained increase in federal spending makes more tax increases inevitable.
¶ Candidate Obama promised bipartisanship and an end to partisan bickering; but in a display of especially ruthless partisanship his allies have shut Republicans out of all key meetings on his health care initiative, with the unprecedented result that domestic legislation of historic importance garnered not a single Republican vote in the Senate.
¶ Candidate Obama criticized his opponent's plan to tax employer paid healthcare benefits, and promised he would not tax them; but the bill he now backs will do just that.
¶ Obama had promised that he would not sign a healthcare bill that would add one dime to the federal deficit; but the bill he now backs adds trillions in new federal spending, offset only by new sources of revenue that are both uncertain and more properly seen as offsetting the already existing deficit.
¶ Obama coerced congress into passing his stimulus bill by promising that if it were passed unemployment could go no higher then 8%; but unemployment is now at 10%, and he could not possibly have had good reason to exclude that possibility.
¶ Obama promised that his cap and trade legislation will create jobs; but its massive tax increases will certainly hobble the economy and destroy jobs, while green jobs in significant numbers can at best be hoped for, but never promised.
¶ Obama has repeatedly assured the American people that if they like their current health plan they can keep it; but the House bill which he supported created huge incentives for employers to drop their coverage and shift their members to a public option.
¶ Obama has just as often assured the public that under his health plan everyone will be able to keep their current doctor; but many are certain to lose their doctors when ObamaCare's large cuts in Medicare funding induce more doctors to withdraw from Medicare coverage, as they also would were employers to transfer patients to a public option to save money.
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Heart pounding. Unblinking eyes glued to the court that bears Lou Henson's name. Sweat pouring like rain drops.
It was pretty much everything you would expect from a small town kid making his debut in front of a couple thousand University of Illinois basketball fans.
Family selfie at Grace's first-ever college basketball game!
And I'm not for sure, but I think Dylan Miller might have been nervous too.
As soon as the University of Illinois released their schedule, I had Nov. 15 circled on my calendar. With the exception of it being on a Sunday, a busy day here at the paper, it was the perfect storm for a Hillsboro sportswriter.
Just an hour away from Topper Country, Miller would be returning "home" with his new teammates from North Dakota State to take on the University of Illinois at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, the Illini's home away from home while the State Farm Center is being redone.
The biggest name in Hillsboro High School basketball over the last three years and the first D1 men's basketball player from HHS since 1974, against the biggest college basketball program in the state made me almost have to pinch myself to make sure it was real.
Kyle had a blast shooting from courtside!
In reality, I knew there was a chance that Dylan might not play that much, if at all, but I held out hope that he would at least see the court.
Mary and I bought tickets the day they went on sale, knowing that even if I wasn't able to procure media credentials, we wanted to take Grace to the game. Just a few short months after Grace was diagnosed with Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy, the Hillsboro boys basketball team provided one of our most memorable moments as Dylan helped Grace "dunk" or as close as she will ever come to it (way closer than her daddy ever will).
Dylan talking with some teammates at the game.
With a guarantee to get into the game already taken care of, I reached out to Wes Offerman, the media contact for the North Dakota State men's basketball team, and he was kind enough to point me in the right direction to get credentials through the University of Illinois.
In addition to my request, I also sent Wes a link to the blog Mary did about Grace's experience with Dylan. We have made it our goal to give Grace every experience possible for as long as we have her on this Earth and to spread awareness about INAD to anyone who would listen. And thankfully, Wes listened.
We enjoyed getting to meet Coach Richman too!
Saturday morning, I received an email from him asking if we could be at the game about 45 minutes early, so we could take Grace down to meet the players and coaches. This remarkable invitation is something that Mary and I may have hoped for, but never would have asked for or expected from a group of complete strangers.
As we got to the game, the nerves hit me pretty hard. The familiar orange and blue of the Illini hardwood and watching some of the best players in the country warm-up brought on a little bit of stage fright. Hence the aforementioned sweating and near cardiac arrest that occurred even before the game started.
We managed to meet up with Wes, despite some cell phone technical difficulties, and he brought us downstairs to the team's locker room.
Grace and mommy cheered from the stands.
Coach David Richman was kind enough to take a few moments to meet Grace, Mary and I before the game. He's in his second year as the head coach of the Bison, where he has been a member of the coaching staff in some capacity since 2003, but looks like he could still play for them.
As it often does, the conversation turned quickly to kids. Coach Richman has four girls, including a pair of four-year-old twins that reminded me a lot of my own little blond haired sprite.
After the quick conversation, we made our way into the locker room, where Coach Richman introduced us and Grace went around and gave out high-fives to all of the players, with an assist from Mary.
We realized later that neither of us had bothered to take a photo of the meet and greet, but ultimately you don't always need a picture to remember something unforgettable.
The game itself was fun, with North Dakota State leading for most of the game before Illinois got hot late and ended up winning 80-74. Dylan did get to play about two minutes toward the end of the first half, to the joy of the pockets of yellow clad "Miller #42" fans throughout the arena.
Grace and I posed for a photo before the game too!
He didn't play badly, nor did he set the world on fire, but he played and that's something that only a handful of people can say has happened to them and no one from Hillsboro in the last four decades.
The coolest part of the watching the game from the floor for me was seeing senior guard Kory Brown call Miller over after he was taken out and talk to the true freshman. I have no idea what Brown said, but you could see his leadership in that brief conversation and he quickly became my second favorite player on the NDSU roster.
The opportunity to see that conversation and to photograph a University of Illinois game from the floor are bucket list items for me normally, but they were just icing on the cake on Sunday.
The really special moment was meeting Coach Richman and the team. I know that Grace may not have gotten a lot out of it (she slept through about 75 percent of the game), but the opportunity for her to do something like that is forever etched in my memory.
Grace slept through more than half the game, but I certainly didn't mind the snuggles!
INAD is awful. I wouldn't wish it on the child of my worst enemy. But it's through this traumatic disease that we have been able to give Grace life experiences that most kids can only dream of.
Sometimes God brings special people into our lives that help make the hard times a little easier to manage by giving us good times that are beyond measure. Thanks to Wes Offerman, Coach Richman, Dylan Miller and the entire Bison Family for being those people.
Once a Bison Always a Bison! Welcome to Bison Nation and the Bison Family. Go Bison!
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Q: WAN security and port forwarding for IoT I have an esp8266 board that I've set up as a little server. To access it over the web (first forays into making a smart home and IoT) I've used no-ip to deal with dynamic DNS and opened up WAN access with port forwarding (80) on my home router. My question is how secure is this? I've tried only allowing a certain IP address but smart phones use dynamic IPs.
A: When dealing with TCP/IP connections, there are 65535 ports available to listen on.
Generally, port 80 is used for standard HTTP connections, while port 443 is used for HTTPS.
If you need to open up a common port to the world, be ready to server any request that is made to it.
Another option would to be changing the port you are listening on, this should be a number between 5000 and 65535. By randomizing this port, only you will know how to connect. ( you will need admin access to bind to any port < 1024 )
If you wtill want to server standard HTTP data, the URL would simply be
http://my.no-iphost.com:55933/my_script
Where 55933 is my secret port.
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BlackPearl Announces Onion Lake Construction Update, Provides Q4 Production Data and 2017 Year-End Reserves and Contingent Resource Estimates
January 30, 2018 3:00 PM Marketwired
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Jan. 30, 2018) – BlackPearl Resources Inc. ("we", "our", "us", "BlackPearl" or the "Company") (TSX:PXX) (OMX:PXXS) is pleased to provide a construction update on its Onion Lake thermal expansion project and Q4 2017 production information, as well as, announce the results of its 2017 independent year-end oil and gas reserve and resource evaluation.
Highlights and accomplishments included:
Construction of the Phase 2 expansion of the Onion Lake thermal project is ahead of schedule and within budget. Commissioning of the facilities has begun and steam injection is expected to begin in February.
Q4 2017 production averaged 10,600 boe/day; full year production averaged 10,199 boe/day.
24% year over year increase in total proved (1P) reserves to 94.4 mmbbls. The increase primarily reflects positive technical revisions due to the performance from Phase 1 of the Onion Lake thermal project as well as an increase in the Onion Lake thermal development area to which reserves were assigned.
48% increase in net present value, before tax, discounted at 10% of our 1P reserves to $1.1 billion, or $3.23 per common share.
1P reserve additions replaced 583% of 2017 production.
Net present value, before tax, discounted at 10% of our proved plus probable (2P) reserves was $2 billion, or $6.00 per common share. This value is comparable to 2016 despite a 48% drop in 2P reserve volumes. The decrease in 2P reserve volumes was due to the previously announced reclassification of the probable reserves to resources associated with the first phase of the Blackrod SAGD project. This reclassification is the result of a change in the Company's strategic plan to accelerate the expansion of the Onion Lake thermal project before we commence development of the first phase of the Blackrod SAGD project. The reclassification does not impact management's positive assessment of or its commitment to develop the Blackrod project.
28% increase in 2P reserve volumes at Onion Lake.
Risked contingent resources (best estimate) for our three core properties totaled 640 million barrels of oil equivalent, a 28% increase compared to year-end 2016 resource estimates. The increase reflects the reclassification of the Blackrod reserves discussed above.
John Festival, President of BlackPearl, indicated that "we are very pleased with the progress of the Onion Lake expansion project. Due to our committed operations staff and favourable weather conditions we are going to complete the project well ahead of schedule. We expect to commence steam injection in February.
We are also pleased with the significant increase in proved reserves, which reflects the positive results of our Onion Lake thermal project. These results were one of the primary reasons we made a change in our strategic plan to accelerate the next expansion of Onion Lake before we tackle development of our Blackrod SAGD project. Full cycle economics of our Onion Lake thermal project are best in class compared to North American oil projects. The increased cash flow generated from an expanded Onion Lake project will put us in a better financial position to develop the large Blackrod project. The consequence of this shift in strategy is that regulatory rules necessitate the reclassification of the Blackrod reserves to resources, but we are still very committed to development of this large resource."
Onion Lake Construction Update
We have made excellent progress over the last two months on the construction of the 6,000 barrel per day phase 2 thermal expansion at Onion Lake and construction is nearing completion, approximately five months ahead of our original estimate. Capital costs are trending toward the low end of our original estimates of $180- 185 million. We have started the commissioning of the central processing facilities and steam is expected to be delivered to the first pad of wells in February. Steam injection to the second pad of wells will occur approximately one month later. First oil is expected before the end of Q2 2018. We anticipate reaching peak production approximately 12 months after initial steam injection, a similar timeline to that achieved for phase 1.
Production Update
BlackPearl's Q4 2017 oil and gas sales volumes were 10,600 boe per day, a 17% increase over production during the third quarter. The increase in fourth quarter production is mainly attributable to the successful restart of the Onion Lake thermal facilities after completion of a facility turnaround during the third quarter.
December 31 Year ended
Production by Area (boe/d) 2017 2016 2017 2016
Onion Lake – thermal 6,204 6,119 5,686 5,520
Onion Lake – primary 1,917 2,011 2,022 2,135
Mooney 1,178 785 1,096 801
John Lake 699 837 770 863
Blackrod 481 523 490 556
Other 121 204 135 202
Total production 10,600 10,479 10,199 10,077
Oil and Gas Reserves
The following tables summarize certain information contained in the independent reserves report prepared by Sproule Associates Limited ("Sproule") as of December 31, 2017. The report was prepared in accordance with definitions, standards and procedures contained in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook ("COGE Handbook") and National Instrument 51-101, Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51-101"). Additional reserve information as required under NI 51-101 will be included in the Company's Annual Information Form which is expected to be filed on SEDAR on February 22, 2018. It should not be assumed that the net present value of reserves estimated by Sproule represents the fair market value of these reserves.
Summary of Oil and Gas Reserves
(Company interest, before royalties) Heavy
Crude Oil Bitumen Natural
Gas 2017
(Mbbl) (Mbbl) (MMcf) (MBoe) (MBoe)
Proved developed producing 18,378 426 – 18,804 19,125
Proved developed non-producing 13,247 – 5 13,248 3,428
Proved undeveloped 62,321 – 3 62,322 53,840
Total proved 93,946 426 8 94,374 76,393
Probable 68,038 21 7 68,060 235,186
Total proved plus probable 161,984 447 15 162,434 311,579
(1) BOE's may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. In accordance with NI 51-101, a BOE conversion ratio of 6 Mcf: 1 barrel is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.
Net Present Value of Reserves
Net Present Value of Future Net Revenue Discounted at %/year
($000s) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
Before Tax
Developed producing 455,399 402,162 354,620 314,838 282,110
Developed non-producing 272,154 239,688 208,828 181,899 159,021
Undeveloped 1,516,483 868,783 521,732 327,678 213,734
Total proved 2,244,035 1,510,633 1,085,180 824,416 654,865
Probable 3,143,580 1,619,000 932,438 588,985 399,242
Total proved plus probable 5,387,615 3,129,634 2,017,618 1,413,400 1,054,106
After Tax
Total proved 1,989,914 1,347,801 976,134 748,657 600,589
Total proved plus probable 4,584,823 2,642,967 1,701,269 1,196,212 898,461
(1) Based on Sproule's December 31, 2017 forecast prices.
(2) Columns may not add due to rounding.
Estimated Future Development Capital
The following table summarizes the future development capital ("FDC") Sproule estimates is required to bring total proved and total proved plus probable reserves on production.
($ Millions) Total Proved Total Proved + Probable
Remainder 537.1 651.4
Total FDC undiscounted 755.5 960.1
Total FDC discounted at 10% 376.6 450.5
Reconciliation of Changes in Reserves
The following table summarizes the changes in Sproule's evaluation of the Company's share of oil and natural gas reserves (before royalties) from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2017.
Gas BOE
(Mbbl) (Mbbl) (MMcf) (MBOE)
Balance, Dec 31, 2016 75,260 1,057 456 76,393
Extensions and improved recovery 18,284 8 18,285
Technical revisions 3,931 (452) (247) 3,438
Economic factors (20) (20)
Production (3,509) (179) (209) (3,723)
Balance, Dec 31, 2017 93,946 426 8 94,374
Balance, Dec 31, 2016 56,374 178,742 421 235,186
Technical revisions (3,348) (178,721) (2) (421) (182,139)
Economic factors 108 108
Balance, Dec 31, 2017 68,038 21 7 68,061
Proved plus Probable
Balance, Dec 31, 2016 131,634 179,799 877 311,579
Extensions and improved recovery 33,188 15 33,191
Technical revisions 583 (179,173) (668) (178,700)
Economic factors 88 88
Balance, Dec 31, 2017 161,984 447 15 162,434
(1) Columns may not add due to rounding
(2) Includes technical revisions of bitumen associated with the Blackrod SAGD project that were reclassified to contingent resources
Pricing Assumptions
The pricing assumptions used in the Sproule evaluation are summarized below.
Year WTI
40° API Canadian Light Sweet Crude
40° API Western
Canadian Select
20.5° API Alberta
AECO-C
Spot Inflation rate Exchange rate
(US$/bbl) (CDN$/bbl) (CDN$/bbl) (CDN$/MMBtu) (%/yr) (US$/Cdn$)
2018 55.00 65.44 51.05 2.85 0.0 0.790
Escalation rate of 2.0% thereafter
(1) The pricing assumptions were provided by Sproule.
(2) None of the Company's future production is subject to a fixed or contractually committed price.
"Proved" reserves are those reserves that can be estimated with a high degree of certainty to be recoverable. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the estimated proved reserves.
"Probable" reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the sum of the estimated proved plus probable reserves.
"Developed" reserves are those reserves that are expected to be recovered from existing wells and installed facilities or, if facilities have not been installed, that would involve a low expenditure (e.g. when compared to the cost of drilling a well) to put the reserves on production.
"Developed Producing" reserves are those reserves that are expected to be recovered from completion intervals open at the time of the estimate. These reserves may be currently producing or, if shut-in, they must have previously been on production, and the date of resumption of production must be known with reasonable certainty.
"Developed Non-Producing" reserves are those reserves that either have not been on production, or have previously been on production, but are shut in, and the date of resumption of production is unknown.
"Undeveloped" reserves are those reserves expected to be recovered from known accumulations where a significant expenditure (for example, when compared to the cost of drilling a well) is required to render them capable of production. They must fully meet the requirements of the reserves classification (proved, probable, possible) to which they are assigned.
The Net Present Value (NPV) is based on Sproule forecast pricing and costs. The estimated NPV does not necessarily represent the fair market value of our reserves. There is no assurance that forecast prices and costs assumed in the Sproule evaluations will be attained, and variances could be material.
Contingent Resources
In addition to the reserve evaluation discussed above, the Company also requested Sproule prepare resource evaluations for each of its core properties: Blackrod, Onion Lake and Mooney. The following tables summarize certain information contained in the contingent resource evaluations prepared by Sproule as of December 31, 2017. The reports were independently prepared in accordance with definitions, standards and procedures contained in the COGE Handbook.
It should not be assumed that the estimates of recovery, production, and net revenue presented in the tables below represent the fair market value of the Company's contingent resources. There are certain contingencies which currently prevent the classification of these contingent resources as reserves. Information on these contingencies is provided in the footnotes to the tables below. There is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the contingent resources. Please refer to our Annual Information Form (to be filed on February 22, 2018) for a more detailed discussion of our contingent resources.
Summary of Best Estimate Contingent Resource Volumes – By Property (1)(2)
Unrisked Volumes Risked Volumes(4)
Heavy Crude Oil Bitumen Heavy Crude Oil Bitumen
Project Maturity
Subclass(3) Chance of Development(4) Gross(5) Net (5) Gross(5) Net (5) Gross(5) Net Gross(5) Net (5)
Blackrod (6) (Mbbl) (Mbbl) (Mbbl) (Mbbl)
First phase Development/ pending 94% 179,294 141,971 168,536 133,453
Future phases Development/ on hold 77% 566,135 461,358 435,924 355,246
Onion Lake (7)
Thermal Development/ pending 85% 27,035 21,356 22,980 18,153
Primary Development/ pending 90% 1,154 851 1,038 766
Mooney (8) Development/ on hold 71% 15,904 13,791 11,292 9,792
Summary of Net Present Value of Future Net Revenue of Development Pending Contingent Resources
The following table sets forth the net present value of BlackPearl's best estimate risked contingent resources in the development pending project maturity sub-class at December 31, 2017.
An estimate of risked net present value of future net revenues of the "development pending" contingent resources subclass is preliminary in nature and is provided to assist the reader in reaching an opinion on the merit and likelihood of the Company proceeding with the required investment. It includes contingent resources that are considered too uncertain with respect to the chance of development to be classified as reserves. There is uncertainty that the risked net present value of future net revenue will be realized. The other subclass of resources (development on hold) is not included in this net present value amount, and therefore, this is not reflective of the value of the resources base.
Net Present Values of Future Net Revenue Before Income Taxes
Discounted at (%/year)
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
Project ($M)
Blackrod (6) (first phase) 4,110,612 1,470,349 554,602 200,879 53,197
Onion Lake (7) (thermal) 746,710 322,153 151,364 76,040 39,853
Onion Lake (7) (primary) 13,247 9,349 6,643 4,762 3,446
(1) Contingent Resources are defined in the COGE Handbook as those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations using established technology or technology under development, but are not currently considered to be commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies. Contingencies may include factors such as economic, legal, environmental, political and regulatory matters or a lack of markets. It is also appropriate to classify as Contingent Resources the estimated discovered recoverable quantities associated with a project in the early evaluation stage.
(2) There are three classifications of contingent resources: Low Estimate, Best Estimate and High Estimate. Best estimate is a classification of estimated resources described in the COGE Handbook as being considered to be the best estimate of the quantity that will be actually recovered. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the best estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 50% probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the best estimate.
(3) Contingent resources are further classified based on project maturity. The project maturity subclasses include development pending, development on hold, development unclarified and development not viable. All of the Company's contingent resources are classified as either development pending or development on hold:
(a) Development pending is where resolution of the final conditions of development are being actively pursued, indicating there is a high chance of development.
(b) Development on hold is where there is a reasonable chance of development, but there are major non-technical contingencies to be resolved that are usually beyond the control of the operator.
(4) Chance of Development is defined as the probability of a project being commercially viable. Sproule's estimate of unrisked contingent resources have been adjusted for risk based on the chance of development (risked amounts represent unrisked values multiplied by the Chance of Development).
(5) "Gross" means the Company's working interest share in the contingent resources before deducting royalties. "Net" means the Company's working interest share after the deduction of royalty obligations. The Company has a 100% working interest at Blackrod and Mooney and the Onion Lake thermal project, and a 50 to 100% working interest at Onion Lake Primary.
(6) The established recovery technology to be used to recover the contingent resources of the Blackrod project is the SAGD process, the same process that is being used in the successful pilot that is currently being conducted within the Blackrod reservoir.
• The contingencies in the Sproule Report associated with the Company's contingent resources for the first phase of the Blackrod project are due to (a) the absence of corporate commitment related to the final investment decision and endorsement from the Board of Directors of the Company to move forward with commercial development and a final investment decision will not likely occur for several years and (b) the estimated timing of production and development may commence beyond the reasonable time periods described in the COGE Handbook to be classified as reserves. For the contingent resources associated with the first phase of the Blackrod project, the estimated timing of first commercial production is 2024 and the estimated capital to reach first commercial production is $0.8 billion (unrisked and escalated for inflation).
• The contingencies in the Sproule Report associated with the Company's contingent resources for the future phases of the Blackrod project are due to the following: (a) the requirement for more evaluation drilling, as required by the regulatory process, to define the reservoir characteristics to assist in the implementation and operation of the SAGD process; (b) the absence of submission of an application to expand the commercial SAGD development beyond the phase 1 project area; (c) the absence of corporate commitment related to the final investment decision and endorsement from the Board of Directors of the Company to move forward with commercial development of future phases of the Blackrod project and a final investment decision will not likely occur for several years; and (d) the uncertainty of timing of production and development of future phases of the Blackrod project. For the contingent resources associated with future phases of the Blackrod project, the estimated timing of first commercial production is 2028 and the estimated capital to reach first commercial production is $1.2 billion (unrisked and escalated for inflation).
(7) The recovery of the Company's Onion Lake contingent resources will use a combination of production processes: the established modified SAGD process for future phases of the Onion Lake thermal project, the same process that is already utilized commercially in phase 1 of the Onion Lake thermal project; and the established cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) process to extend the primary development area, the same CHOPS process that has already been extensively deployed throughout the field.
• For the Onion Lake thermal project, the contingencies in the Sproule Report associated with the Company's Onion Lake contingent resources are due to the following: (a) the requirement for more evaluation drilling to define the reservoir characteristics to assist in the implementation and operation of the modified SAGD recovery process; and (b) approvals between the Company and OLCN/OLE and Saskatchewan Energy and Resources (SER) for thermal EOR development in the lands currently leased by the Company but outside the thermal EOR development area; and (c) the estimated timing of production and development is beyond the reasonable time periods described in the COGE Handbook to be classified as reserves. For the Onion Lake thermal project contingent resources, the estimated timing of first commercial production is 2022, while the estimated capital to reach first commercial production is $61.2 million (unrisked and escalated for inflation).
• For the extension of the primary development area, the contingencies in the Sproule Report associated with the Company's Onion Lake contingent resources are due to the following: (a) the requirement for more evaluation drilling to confirm the geological continuity of the reservoir and reduce the distance from proven productivity; and (b) the potential for the current agreements with the Onion Lake Cree Nation (OLCN), which are subject to policies and approvals by Indian Oil and Gas Canada (IOGC), required to be renegotiated due to changes imposed by IOGC. First commercial production for the primary development area has already been achieved and, as a result, estimated capital to reach first commercial production is nil.
(8) The established recovery technology to be used for phases 3 and 4 of the Mooney project is the established ASP flood process, the same process that is already deployed commercially in phase 1 of the Mooney field. The contingencies in the Sproule Report associated with the Company's Mooney contingent resources are due to the following: (a) the requirement for more evaluation wells to confirm the reservoir characteristics needed for the ASP process; (b) the absence of regulatory approvals to expand the ASP development area beyond the phase 1 and phase 2 project areas; (c) the absence of a final investment decision from the Board of Directors of the Company to move forward with the ASP flood expansion to phases 3 and 4 of the Mooney project and (d) the uncertainty of timing of production and development of phases 3 and 4 of the Mooney project. First commercial production for the Mooney ASP flood has already been achieved and, as a result, estimated capital to reach first commercial production at the Mooney ASP flood is nil.
(9) The pricing assumptions used by Sroule in the determination of the NPV of the "development pending" contingent resources were the same as those used to determine the NPV of the oil and gas reserves.
The Company is planning to release its 2017 year-end financial and operating results on February 22, 2018.
At December 31, 2017, the Company had 336,267,235 common shares outstanding.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of historic fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by such words as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" or similar words suggesting future events or future performance. In particular, this release contains the following forward-looking statements:
The estimated volumes and net present values of BlackPearl's proved and probable reserves and contingent resources as well as the estimated future development capital to bring the reserves on production.
The estimate that initial steam injection will occur in February 2018 on phase 2 of the Onion Lake thermal project and that peak production rates should occur within 12 months after initial steam injection
The estimated capital costs to construct phase 2 of the Onion Lake thermal project of between $180 to $185 million.
The forward-looking information is based on, among other things, expectations and assumptions by management regarding its future growth, future production levels, future oil and natural gas prices, continuation of existing tax, royalty and regulatory regimes, foreign exchange rates, estimates of future operating costs, timing and amount of capital expenditures, performance of existing and future wells, recoverability of the Company's reserves and contingent resources, the ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms, availability of skilled labour and drilling and related equipment on a timely and cost efficient basis, continuance of current general economic and financial market conditions, environment matters and the ability to market oil and natural gas successfully to current and new customers. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that actual results will differ from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these risk factors may be found under "Risk Factors" in the Annual Information Form, which can be accessed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which forward-looking statements are based will be realized. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material and adverse to the Company and its shareholders. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company does not undertake any obligation, except as required by applicable securities legislation, to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
This is information that BlackPearl Resources Inc. is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication at 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time on January 30, 2018.
John Festival
Robert Eriksson
Investor Relations Sweden
BlackPearl Resources
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's response to the United State's decision on Keystone XL
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the United States' decision on the Keystone XL project
Tourmaline Oil Corp. announces inaugural issuance of senior unsecured notes
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. Announces 2021 Capital Program and Updated Five Year Plan
Biden to revoke Keystone XL pipeline permit after swearing-in-aides
|
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|
Induction of apoptosis by pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) hull extract and its molecular mechanisms of action in human hepatoma cell line HepG2.
Several important Pistacia species such as P. vera have been traditionally used for treating a wide range of diseases (for instance, liver-related disorders). There is a relative lack of research into pharmacological aspects of pistachio hull. Hence, this study was aimed at investigating whether pistachio rosy hull (PRH) extract exerts apoptotic impacts on HepG2 liver cancer cell line. In order to evaluate cell viability and apoptosis in response to treatment with the extract, MTT assay and Annexin-V-fluorescein/propidium iodide (PI) double staining were performed, respectively. Moreover, molecular mechanism of apoptosis induced by the extract was determined using human apoptosis PCR array. Our findings showed that PRH extract treatment reduced cell viability (IC50 ~ 0.3 mg/ml) in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the extract significantly induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells. In addition, quantitative PCR array results demonstrated the regulation of a considerable number of apoptosis-related genes belonging to the TNF, BCL2, IAP, TRAF, and caspase families. We observed altered expression of both pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes associated with the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis signaling pathways. These results suggest that the aqueous extract of PRH possesses apoptotic activity through cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing effects on HepG2 cells.
|
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namespace Raz {
VertexArray::VertexArray() {
Logger::debug("[VertexArray] Creating...");
Renderer::generateVertexArray(m_index);
Logger::debug("[VertexArray] Created (ID: " + std::to_string(m_index) + ')');
}
void VertexArray::bind() const {
Renderer::bindVertexArray(m_index);
}
void VertexArray::unbind() const {
Renderer::unbindVertexArray();
}
VertexArray::~VertexArray() {
if (!m_index.isValid())
return;
Logger::debug("[VertexArray] Destroying (ID: " + std::to_string(m_index) + ")...");
Renderer::deleteVertexArray(m_index);
Logger::debug("[VertexArray] Destroyed");
}
VertexBuffer::VertexBuffer() {
Logger::debug("[VertexBuffer] Creating...");
Renderer::generateBuffer(m_index);
Logger::debug("[VertexBuffer] Created (ID: " + std::to_string(m_index) + ')');
}
void VertexBuffer::bind() const {
Renderer::bindBuffer(BufferType::ARRAY_BUFFER, m_index);
}
void VertexBuffer::unbind() const {
Renderer::unbindBuffer(BufferType::ARRAY_BUFFER);
}
VertexBuffer::~VertexBuffer() {
if (!m_index.isValid())
return;
Logger::debug("[VertexBuffer] Destroying (ID: " + std::to_string(m_index) + ")...");
Renderer::deleteBuffer(m_index);
Logger::debug("[VertexBuffer] Destroyed");
}
IndexBuffer::IndexBuffer() {
Logger::debug("[IndexBuffer] Creating...");
Renderer::generateBuffer(m_index);
Logger::debug("[IndexBuffer] Created (ID: " + std::to_string(m_index) + ')');
}
void IndexBuffer::bind() const {
Renderer::bindBuffer(BufferType::ELEMENT_BUFFER, m_index);
}
void IndexBuffer::unbind() const {
Renderer::unbindBuffer(BufferType::ELEMENT_BUFFER);
}
IndexBuffer::~IndexBuffer() {
if (!m_index.isValid())
return;
Logger::debug("[IndexBuffer] Destroying (ID: " + std::to_string(m_index) + ")...");
Renderer::deleteBuffer(m_index);
Logger::debug("[IndexBuffer] Destroyed");
}
} // namespace Raz
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
}
|
on 16 Dec 2016
The Trump Administration
Inside Higher Ed asks what might happen to Title IX and investigations into campus sexual assaults under the Trump Administration.
Via The Washington Post: "Democratic senators press Trump's education pick Betsy DeVos to pay years-old $5.3 million fine."
Via The Detroit Free Press: "Betsy DeVos' trouble with data."
Via Education Week: "Who Is Part of Ed. Sec. Nominee Betsy DeVos' Policy Circle?"
Via The New York Times: "Betsy DeVos and God's Plan for Schools."
Jennifer Berkshire looks at Betsy DeVos and her connection to the fringes of the Christian Right: "Culture Warrior Princess."
Via The New York Times: "How Trump's Education Nominee Bent Detroit to Her Will on Charter Schools."
Via Politico: "DeVos' Michigan schools experiment gets poor grades."
Via The New Yorker: "Betsy DeVos and the Plan to Break Public Schools."
Via the AP: "Fearing Trump crackdown, 'dreamers' advised to end travel."
"Trump launches war on unions," according to Politico.
Via The Intercept: "Transition Adviser Peter Thiel Could Directly Profit From Mass Deportations."
"Elon Musk and the chief executive of Uber are now advising Donald Trump," The Washington Post reports.
"As Trumplethinskin lets down his hair for tech, shame on Silicon Valley for climbing the Tower in silence," Recode Kara Swisher writes.
Lots of folks in ed-tech seem super excited about Trump too, including Knewton's Jose Ferreira, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Harold O. Levy, and KnowledgeWorks' Lillian Pace.
Meanwhile, here's a list of people in tech who are stating publicly that they will not build a Muslim registry, something that Trump has proposed. Bill Fitzgerald on "Why I Signed neveragain.tech."
When Donald met Kanye:
These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016
On Wednesday, the fourth anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre, the Hanover School District 28 school board in Colorado voted to allow its teachers to carry concealed handguns in school.
Elsewhere in guns on campus, this via The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Campus Concealed-Carry Bill Awaits Ohio Governor's Approval."
Via Edsurge: "Minnesota Higher Ed Office Says Udacity's Nanodegrees Might Violate State Law."
"Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler will step down next month, leaving a significant legacy on issues of concern to K–12 educators and creating uncertainty about what direction the commission might take under new Republican leadership," Education Week reports. Wheeler supported e-Rate reform and "net neutrality." The Trump administration? Not so much.
Via Education Week: "GOP Lawmakers Put ESSA Accountability, Teacher-Prep Regulations on Hit List."
Via The New York Times: "Google Effect Rubs Off on Schools in One Rural Oklahoma Town."
"The Education of Barack Obama," by The Nation's Dana Goldstein.
Via The Hechinger Report: "Mississippi's early ed shakeup: State reorganizes key child care services, launches new family tracking system."
"Having unexpectedly found itself handing off the baton to a Republican administration in January, the U.S. Department of Education is racing to finish a slate of Obama administration priorities. But few of the department's remaining tasks are as daunting as processing thousands of debt-relief claims filed by former students of closed for-profit colleges," writes Inside Higher Ed. The Department of Education has also announced "an experiment to find the best loan counseling services for student borrowers," Inside Higher Ed reports, as well as the names of new loan collector contracts.
Via Reuters: "College Board faces rocky path after CEO pushes new vision for SAT."
"Students with disabilities will soon have an easier time requesting test accommodations from the College Board," Education Week reports.
"What countries can learn from PISA tests" – at least, according to The Economist.
Online Education and the Once and Future "MOOC"
"A judge will allow Ohio's education department to review attendance records that could force Ohio's largest online charter to return millions of its funding," says the AP.
Via Chalkbeat: "The broken promise of Indiana's online schools."
"Some shareholders in K12 Inc., the largest for-profit operator of online schools in the country, are calling on the company to disclose how much it spends on lobbying and advertising," Education Week reports.
edX lists its most popular courses of the year.
"UT Austin and SMOCs: What do we know about whether they work?" asks Mindwire Consulting's Phil Hill.
"Online Education Pioneer Boots Up a Jobs Program for the Tech Industry," the MIT Technology Review reports. That "online education pioneer" is Sebastian Thrun. More on the possible legal troubles this program faces in the politics section above.
Coding Bootcamps and the "New" "For-Profit Higher Ed")
Via The Chronicle of Higher Education: "DeVry University and its parent company will pay $100 million to settle a lawsuit, brought by the Federal Trade Commission, that claimed the for-profit institution had misled prospective students. A news release from the commission says the settlement 'secures significant financial redress for tens of thousands of students harmed by DeVry's conduct.'" More via The New York Times and from the FTC.
Via The Huffington Post: "Two former high-ranking executives of Trump University are now two of the top executives at a Florida-based career college, Ultimate Medical Academy, that has 13,000 students enrolled, has been receiving more than $150 million annually in federal student aid, and is accredited by the imperiled agency ACICS."
More on possible debt relief for students of for-profit colleges in the politics section above.
"There Have Been Over 200 School Shooting Incidents Since The Sandy Hook Massacre," The Huffington Post reminds us. This week marked the fourth anniversary of the shootings at the Newton elementary school.
Via The New York Times: "On Campus, Trump Fans Say They Need 'Safe Spaces'."
Via New York Magazine: "Alt-Right Troll Milo Yiannopoulos Uses Campus Visit to Openly Mock a Transgender Student."
"CCSF can't prove it taught 16,000 students, must pay $39 million," The San Francisco Chronicle reports. Mindwires Consulting's Phil Hill says this is the "price of faculty not using LMS." Rather, it's the price of deciding that "proof" of online education requires the LMS.
Via The New York Times: "Success Academy Buys Space in Manhattan Tower for 2 New Schools." (It's not Trump Tower, don't worry, Eva Moskowitz fans.)
Also via The New York Times: "New York Charters Enroll Fewer Homeless Pupils Than City Schools."
Via The Times-Picayune: "Last 5 New Orleans public schools expected to become charter operations."
Via The Houston Chronicle: "Facing pressure to cut special education, Texas schools shut out English Language Learners."
"Are Colleges Engines of Inequality?" – a new report from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Via KQED: "Homeless U: First Shelter Just for College Students Opens Its Doors."
Via Inside Higher Ed: "Colby-Sawyer College, a private college in New Hampshire, has announced cuts in staff positions and is also eliminating some majors." One of the majors cut: English. Can you be a SLAC if you don't offer a degree in English?
The War on Xmas Will Be Fought in Schools
A school in Texas made a teacher take down a decoration that read "For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord … That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown." WWJD: she sued. A federal judge issued an injunction and so the decoration can remain.
Accreditation and Credentialing
Via The Chronicle of Higher Education: "John B. King Jr., the secretary of education, on Monday upheld the U.S. Department of Education's decision to revoke the federal recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, an agency that had accredited for-profit colleges that suffered recent high-profile collapses."
Barbara Beno, the president of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior College, has been placed on leave, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
"What does a high school diploma prove?" asks The Connecticut Mirror.
More on MOOC "degrees" and possible legal troubles in the politics section above.
Via IndyStar: "A 20-year toll: 368 gymnasts allege sexual exploitation."
Via The Chronicle of Higher Education: "The University of Minnesota's football players announced on Thursday that the entire team would boycott practices and other team activities – even a December 27 appearance in the Holiday Bowl, if need be – to protest the university's suspension of 10 players from the team in connection with a campus investigation of a sexual-assault complaint."
Via Inside Higher Ed: "Following similar scandals involving sexist, racist and homophobic online communication among some male athletes at Harvard and Columbia Universities and Amherst College, Princeton University on Thursday announced that it was suspending its men's swimming and diving team."
Via The Casper Star Tribune: "University of Wyoming athletics director Tom Burman said Wednesday he's confident the university can cover the recent contract extension for football coach Craig Bohl without any additional financial aid from the state. Bohl is getting a pay raise to $1.4 million a year, starting next year. He is currently guaranteed $850,000 a year." The University of Wyoming has lost some $41 million in funding from the state over the past two years, and as a result it has slashed departments and staff. But the football team is a priority, clearly.
Via Inside Higher Ed: "Citing high-profile cases of academic fraud at some of the country's most visible universities, the American Council on Education released a report today urging colleges and universities to better align their athletics departments with their academic mission and to 'ensure a culture of integrity.'"
Heather Hiles, formerly the CEO of portfolio company Pathbrite (which was sold to Cengage Learning in 2015) will be the new "deputy director of postsecondary success" at the Gates Foundation.
The Sacramento Bee reports that former UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi is being considered to lead the school's Feminist Research Institute. Maybe she can do for the online reputation of white feminism what she did to obscure the university's pepper-spray incident.
Via The New York Times: "Columbia Graduate Students Vote Overwhelmingly to Unionize."
Via The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Most Colleges Will Change Overtime Policies Despite Judge's Blocking of New Rule."
"A Gadsden City Schools principal has been suspended after coming under fire for a social media post he made following Trump's election," the AP reports. His Facebook post: "All I can say is, Trump was elected two days ago and we already have actual white flour American rolls in the lunchroom instead of the Communist wheat bread that's been served for the past few years."
Via Backchannel: "Inside Peter Thiel's Genius Factory."
Also via Backchannel: "A Secret Ops AI Aims to Save Education." Oh goody. Secret ops and AI.
The BBC reports that "Cuba signs deal for faster internet access to Google content." Think again if you believe Google supports "net neutrality."
In other "don't believe 'don't be evil'" news: "Google Won't Alter the Holocaust-Denying Results For 'Did the Holocaust Happen'," says Gizmodo. Google search is fundamentally broken if this is the first result you get. Broken.
"Google Tackles Graduation with Two New Features," according to Edsurge. That is, you can get emails about what's going on in Google Classroom. Google's gonna "fix" graduation problems but you can't even search for "Is Elvis still alive" without getting a wrong answer.
Via CNBC: "Pearson's marketing chief on the company's virtual tutors and digital education transformation."
Via the press release: "Pearson Releases Research-Based Learning Design Principles for Public Use."
The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at how 50 years of technology "transformed education forever." What's so great about technology is that it has "transformed education forever" and yet you still hear ed-tech advocates insisting that education has not changed in hundreds of years. Both/and, I guess.
Campus Technology reports that "Elsevier Debuts Metrics Tracking Journal Performance." Meanwhile, "Germany-wide consortium of research libraries announce boycott of Elsevier journals over open access," according to BoingBoing.
Via Techcrunch: "Family friendly streaming service VidAngel found to be in violation of law, ordered to shut down."
Via NPR: "Kids In Spain Rebel Against Homework, And Parents Are Their Biggest Boosters."
The latest from Stanford history professor on Larry Cuban on "personalized learning" in Silicon Valley area schools.
Augmented reality startup Magic Leap is unbelievable. (Because it's "smoke and mirrors.")
The Business of Ed-Tech
Podotree has raised $107 million from Anchor Equity Partners and GIC. The Korean educational app-maker has raised $116.93 million total.
Pluralsight has raised $30 million "En Route to IPO," says Edsurge, rewriting CNBC's reporting and not even bothering to add value. Like, say, remind folks that former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined the skills-training company's board this summer. Pluralsight has raised $192.5 million total. This latest round came from investors Insight Venture Partners and Iconiq Capital.
Inkling probably doesn't "count" as ed-tech any longer since it's pivoted away from the digital textbook business. But it's raised $25 million from Sapphire Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Tenaya Capital. The startup has raised $102.12 million total.
Curriculum maker XSEED Education has raised $10 million from Verlinvest.
MasteryConnect has raised $4.5 million "to refocus on core product and profits." Investors in this round include Catamount Ventures, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Dell Foundation, Pelion Ventures, and Trinity Ventures. The testing company has raised $33.63 million.
Codementor has raised $1.6 million "to become elite marketplace for freelance developers." Investors include WI Harper. The company has raised $3.4 million total.
Knowledgehook has raised $902,810 from Sayan Navaratnam, Steve Case, and John Abele. The startup uses "real-time student data to improve teacher instruction."
Math education startup Math Buddy has raised $438,000 from Menterra Venture Advisors.
Next Education has acquired Xolvr.
"Investors See Promise in Ed-Tech Sector Despite Challenges," says Education Week. Of course they do.
You know what's cooler than a million hacked Yahoo accounts?
Via NBC Washington: "Public Schools Data Breach Affects 1,000 Former Frederick County Students."
When Evernote updated its privacy policy, the new terms said that the company's employees would be able to read people's notes in order to improve its "machine learning." Needless to say, folks were upset, and despite insisting it wasn't a big deal at first, the company has now changed its mind. You'll have to opt-in to having your notes perused.
Inside Higher Ed reports that a student filmed a psychology instructor at Orange Coast College as she made comments in class about Donald Trump and posted the video to the College Republicans' Facebook page. She's had to flee the state because of threats.
And I guess that's why I'm a little skeptical about professors clamoring to be on "the watchlist." A better tactic, I'd argue, is to make sure your department and institution have concrete steps they'll take in order to protect academic freedom and – quite literally – protect academics' lives when these sorts of threats occur.
The Washington Post asks, "When every moment of childhood can be recorded and shared, what happens to childhood?"
Via Slate: "Wrongful Arrest by Software." No, it isn't about education directly, but predictive analytics are supposedly "the next big thing," and let's be honest about how discriminatory and flawed this software is.
Via The Telegraph: "Test predicts which children will grow up to be drain on society – when they are just three years old." "A drain on society."
There's more on surveillance and predictive analytics in the research section below.
Via Edsurge: "New Research From Civitas Learning Asks, 'Who's Likely to Succeed in College?'"
Via Inside Higher Ed: "Language education is dwindling at every level, from K–12 to postsecondary, and a diminishing share of U.S. residents speak languages other than English, according to a new report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences."
"Cuts in Spending for Research Worldwide May Threaten Innovation," the OECD contends.
Via Inside Higher Ed: "Recent college graduates were more likely than those in prior decades to visit a career center while in college but are less likely to view their interactions as 'very helpful,' according to the newest data from an annual Gallup-Purdue University study of college graduates."
Via The Guardian: "Gendered toys could deter girls from career in engineering, report says."
"Older Americans Went Back To School During The Recession. Did It Pay Off?" FiveThirtyEight asks.
Via NPR: "After 50 Years, Head Start Struggles With Uneven Quality."
The Hechinger Report looks at campus policing: "Data shows that just having a school-based police officer makes it more likely that a child will be referred to law enforcement for even minor infractions — potentially pushing kids into the justice system for misdeeds like vandalism, more generally known as the school-to-prison pipeline."
Via The Awl: "America's Worst Schools, Ranked." (By tweets.)
Published 16 Dec 2016
|
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|
Planning your trip is certainly a pleasant chore. Here, we make some suggestions on the best ways to travel to Koh Samui. These trips normally consist of a flight to Bangkok followed by an additional leg to the island of Samui.
As of today, direct flights are available to Samui from various cities overseas, such as Hong Kong (Bangkok Airways), Singapore (Bangkok Airways) and Kuala Lumpur (Berjaya Air and Firefly). Also keep in mind that Bangkok Airways and Thai Airways can take you to Samui from Bangkok as well as other Thai cities, giving you a chance to get to know the mainland before you plunge into the crystal-clear waters near your vacation home on the island.
Getting to the Thai capital is fairly straightforward. Dozens of airlines offer regular flights to Bangkok from cities in Europe, America, Asia and Oceania. Often, you can save money by flying via an indirect route, and chances are low that you will have to endure a long grueling changeover. Carriers like Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways provide excellent service overall and make sure that your transfer process is as comfortable as possible.
Having tried the services of many carriers, Samuiland recommends that travelers fly with Thai Airways, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Thailand. On its direct flights to Bangkok, the company offers a truly unrivalled level of service and attention to detail. Families vacationing with kids are sure to appreciate the comfort provided by the staff on Thai Airways.
We also recommend planning your trip in advance. This is because last minute tickets purchased during high season, i.e. in December, January or August, are always much more expensive than tickets purchased months beforehand.
An hour long roundtrip flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui costs approximately US$300 per adult passenger. The carriers offering this service are Bangkok Airways and Thai Airways which depart every hour from 6 am to 10 pm.
A budget traveler can also get to Koh Samui through a combination of different routes (plane, train and bus). Taking a ferry from the mainland to the island is necessary as part of such a travel plan. Getting to Samui in this way is tiresome and we do not recommend it. Besides, there is always the danger of a ferry service delay due to stormy weather.
|
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Kilroy Realty's Second Quarter 2016 Earnings Conference Call
Published Tue, Jul 5 2016 2:00 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES, July 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE:KRC) has scheduled its quarterly conference call to discuss its second quarter 2016 financial results on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time). The phone number for the call is (888) 680-0878, passcode: 80256205.
This call is being Webcast by Thomson/CCBN and can be accessed at Kilroy Realty Corporation's Website at www.kilroyrealty.com.
The Webcast is also being distributed through the Thomson StreetEvents Network. Institutional investors can access the call via Thomson StreetEvents (www.streetevents.com), a password-protected event management site.
A webcast replay will be available in the Investor Relations, Shareholder Information - Conference Calls section of the company's Website at www.kilroyrealty.com. A replay will also be available from July 26, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time until August 2, 2016, by dialing (888) 286-8010, passcode: 85935244.
About Kilroy Realty Corporation. With almost 70 years' experience owning, developing, acquiring and managing real estate assets in West Coast real estate markets, Kilroy Realty Corporation (KRC), a publicly traded real estate investment trust and member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index, is one of the region's premier landlords. The company provides physical work environments that foster creativity and productivity and serves a broad roster of dynamic, innovation-driven tenants, including technology, entertainment, digital media and health care companies.
At March 31, 2016, the company's stabilized portfolio totaled 13.7 million square feet of office properties, all located in the coastal regions of greater Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. The company is recognized by GRESB as the North American leader in sustainability, ranking first among 155 North American participants across all asset types. At the end of the first quarter, the company's properties were 46% LEED certified and 66% of eligible properties were ENERGY STAR certified. In addition, KRC had approximately 905,000 square feet of office and residential projects under construction with a total estimated investment of approximately $645.0 million. More information is available at http://www.kilroyrealty.com.
Contact Information:Tyler Rose(310) 481-8484trose@kilroyrealty.com
Source:Kilroy Realty
|
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Entertaining Resume; I also have a full life business resume as Executive Secretary, Quality Movement, etc.
258 self-made/designed costumes, impersonations, and characters, hair designer, make-up artist. Sings about 9,000 songs in 8 languages: English, Polish, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, and Latin.
Singer, dancer, crowd Energizer Bunny, TV & Radio Personality, movies, star in plays, widow US Marine Purple Heart Veteran, Mother, devoted daughter. Human Resource Director for Employee Development, Singing Chef, Jewell Catering, the Caterer to the Stars of Chicago, Legal Assistant, Executive Secretary, Sales, Assistant to manager at Federal Reserve Bank, Artist, Gourmet Cook & Baker, Raised pedigreed, champion German Shepherds, Organic Gardener, Computer Whiz, Transportation Specialist, Home Rehab Specialist, Ancestry specialist, Writer, Spirituality, metaphysician and healer.
Excalibur Casino, Lynryd Skynyrd's BBQ & Beer Restaurant, Mandalay Bay, House of Blues: Rockstar Karaoke with Rockband, Bill's Gambling Hall/Harrahs owned, Caesar's, TV, 40th Anniversary, Harrah's, Greek Islands, M Resort, Fiesta, Gold Coast, Fitzgerald's, Imperial Palace, Boulder Station, Fremont Street, Downtown Las Vegas.
Singing Chef at Linens and Things where I taught gourmet cooking and karaoke at the same station!
Wild Chicago, Jenny Jones Show as "Queen of Karaoke" which turned into "American Idol", VH1, MTV, Glamour Productions, Models on Parade, TV series, "Early Editions," background actress many movies.
Polish Constitution Parade, St. Patrick's Day - Chicago and Las Vegas, German Festival, Italian Festival, marched in first Vietnam Veteran parade 40 years after the war. I crusaded and was victorious for veteran's rights.
Interviews and singing: WJMK-FM, WPKG, brought in the Millennium, New Year's Eve, 2000, WSCR Interview.
La Vegas Viet Nam Veteran Parade, VFW, U.S. Marine Club. Most all my entertaining in costumed karaoke was out of love not for money. I'd change costumes as many as eight times in one karaoke evening. Fairy Godmother event at Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago.
Chicago Makeup and Hair Convention, Rosemont Convention Center, McCormick Place, Sales, Set up; break down, female Elvis tribute artist.
Singing my heart out with the White Blues on Karaoke TV, Chicago. This is tearsheet from Chicago Reader Newspaper.
Hope to see you there! Bring your friends and family. I impersonate 249 characters with self-made and designed costumes. Only person in world!
I'll be performing first as Dolly Parton with famous self-made umbrella. A famous designer in Vegas said this costume was worth $6,000! Second costumed entertainment will be Scarlett O'Hara, in one of "6" costumes I sewed. See others on this website "Costume Pix, Gone with the Wind" tab on left. Third costumed performance will be Tina Turner, with famous fringed dress and rocken songs. Last, and best, is Patriotic for our dear Veterans. Since I'm widow of US Marine, Purple Heart Hall of Honor, I've crusaded for Veterans and changed history.
TODAY: 3-9-14 Moved to Branson Missouri and loving it. Practicing a few new songs by printing out lyrics, adding google images to help me remember and emphasize.
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In the tutorial, How to create a Wiki Page I create a page called "Site Upgrade". In this tutorial, I will demonstrate how to edit the "Site Upgrade" page. Some things in SharePoint aren't always straightforward and if you're new to SharePoint 2013 or SharePoint in general, this can be more difficult than you would think.
2. Under Lists, Libraries and other Apps click Site Pages.
3. From the list of pages, click Site Upgrade.
4. To start editing the page, in the upper-left click Page.
5. In the edit section of the ribbon click Edit.
7. In the Styles section of the ribbon click Heading 1.
9. Type the following "The SharePoint upgrade is scheduled for January 2nd, 2015".
10. In the upper-left click Save.
11. Check out the updated page!
You have successfully edited a SharePoint Wiki page! Now you can go back in and make additional changes to best fit your needs.
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Q: DAX Query to get average of a column within the same table We have a table named MetricsTable which has columns A1 and Group simply.
We want to add a calculated column AvgA1 to this table which calculates the average of column A1 filtered by the value of Group . What should be our DAX query? The point is that we want to claculate the average from the values within the same table.
| id | A1| Group | AvgA1
| -- | --- | --- ------| ----
| 1 | 20 | Group1| 20
| 2 | 10 | Group2| 30
| 3 | 50 | Group2| 30
| 4 | 30 | Group2| 30
| 5 | 35 | Group3| 35
Regards
A: Likely you should use a measure and put that measure into a pivot table's 'Values' section:
AverageA1:=
AVERAGE( Metrics[A1] )
Then it will be updated based on filter and slicer selections in the pivot table, and subtotaled appropriately across various dimension categories.
If it strictly needs to be a column in the table for reasons not enumerated in your question, then the following will work:
AverageA1 =
CALCULATE(
AVERAGE( Metrics[A1] )
,ALLEXCEPT( Metrics, Metrics[Group] )
)
CALCULATE() takes an expression and a list of 0-N arguments to modify the filter context in which that expression is evaluated.
ALLEXCEPT() takes a table, and a list of 1-N fields from which to preserve context. The current (row) context in the evaluation of this column definition is the value of every field on that row. We remove the context from ALL fields EXCEPT those named in arguments 2-N of ALLEXCEPT(). Thus we preserve the row context of [Group], and calculate an average across the table where that [Group] is the same as in the current context.
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}
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When you think of Enterprise E-commerce software, the two names that are bound to come to your mind are Shopify Plus and Big Commerce. Among the top enterprise E-commerce platforms, these two are the major contenders for the throne.
So, how do you decide which to choose when faced with Big Commerce vs. Shopify Plus? Well, you can't pick either without knowing where the two platforms stand in different measures. You must first conduct an Enterprise E-commerce platform comparison. We are here to help you out. Here is an Enterprise E-commerce comparison between Shopify Plus vs. Big Commerce Enterprise based on two major measures.
The first measure for any user should be ease of use. Think about it. Are you willing to spend time trying to figure out a platform? Probably now. Therefore, opting for platforms that are highly easy to use is the objective of many users.
Big Commerce is excellent when it comes to delivering ease of use. This stems from Big Commerce's ability to take risks. Its approach to user experience is unique. Some might find it inconvenient as it is different than what users are used to. However, when you give it a chance, you realize that Big Commerce gives you much better control of your store than any other platform does.
Shopify is very easy to use as well. Those who are familiar with the working of WordPress, you would find it very easy to navigate through the interface of Shopify. However, this familiarity and ease don't extend to second level navigation. After the first level, the navigation and the various processes can feel annoying.
When it comes to ease of use, Big Commerce wins the run in the long-run, even though at first glance you might prefer Shopify.
How do platforms deliver plug-ins and add-ons? They do so via their app store. So, it is a given that you should assess the app stores offered by Big Commerce vs. Shopify.
The app store offered by Big Commerce works smoothly and is full of various advantageous plugins and add-ons. You will find the masses raving about the app store.
Shopify's app store is packed with advanced tools, features, plug-ins, and add-ons. According to reviews about the store, users have found it to be convenient to use.
Both Shopify and Big commerce are equally good as far as their app stores are concerned.
Both Shopify and Big Commerce have their merits. You have to decide what weight to give to each.
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Life in Research
Apply for training grants for early career researchers
By: Guest contributor, Tue Oct 6 2020
Author: Guest contributor
With international travel harder than ever, and most scientific – and personal – interactions moving online, the Nature Communications journals have adapted our grant scheme for Early Career Researchers to fit these challenging times.
Written by Joe Aslin, Associate Editor for Communications Earth & Environment, Nature
The Communications journals (Communications Biology, Communications Chemistry, Communications Earth & Environment, Communications Materials and Communications Physics) have, for the past two years, offered travel grants for promising early career researchers to attend conferences for which they would otherwise lack the funding. Of course, the current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions on international travel have seen scientific meetings and workshops around the world re-organise as online-only events.
With travel grants now effectively useless, but support for the careers of young researchers more important than ever, the Communications journals have re-thought our early career grants scheme for 2020. We are now accepting applications for training grants to help early career researchers attend online training courses or workshops. If the event is actually being held in a physical location then these grants can of course still be used for that.
Unlike previous years, where a single grant of €1,500 was awarded per journal, this year each title will be awarding multiple grants of up to €500 to cover the cost of registration on a training course, workshop or meeting of the applicant's choice happening anytime during 2021.
To apply you must be:
a PhD student or a postdoc within 5 years of completion of your PhD
conducting research in one of the fields covered by the Communications journals and
able to demonstrate that you have no other funds available to attend the course or workshop.
Full eligibility criteria can be found on our guidelines for applicants.
The deadline for applications is 26th October 2020 and the winners will be announced in early December. If you think you could make use of this grant, we encourage you to apply. If you know of someone else who may be eligible then please let them know and spread the word!
This is a very tough time for early career researchers but we hope these grants can go some way to helping keep the next wave of promising scientists learning their trade, developing their skills and interacting with their communities.
About Joe Aslin:
Joe joined Communications Earth & Environment in January 2020 and has a background in tectonics and structural geology.
His doctoral research at the University of Liverpool focused on the physical and chemical processes which influence deformation in mid-crustal fault and shear zones using a combination of field and laboratory techniques. Prior to that, Joe used U-Pb geochronology to investigate the uplift and tectonic history of the central Andes during his MSci research at the University of Bristol. Joe is based in the London office.
Guest Contributors include Springer Nature staff and authors, industry experts, society partners, and many others. If you are interested in being a Guest Contributor, please contact us via email: thesource@springernature.com.
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How Is The NHS Going To Apply AI?
AI is going to play a huge role in the future of healthcare, which is why the UK government recently pledged £250 million to develop AI in the NHS. They intend to use this to improve treatments of conditions including cancer, dementia and heart disease. So where is this money actually going to go?
The Department of Health will use the investment for a cutting-edge National Artificial Intelligence Lab. The main goal of the lab will be to use AI to detect and diagnose life-threatening diseases like cancer and dementia at an early stage. Early detection is one of the most important factors in developing an effective, and often life-saving treatment. This technology can also improve cancer screening: AI algorithms can use big data to speed up the delivery of test results of mammograms, brain scans, eye scans playing a crucial role in conditions affecting millions every year.
One of the most exciting new proposals of the AI lab is to develop technology which can use DNA tests to identify which patients have the highest genetic risk of certain diseases, making way for early diagnosis and effective treatment. By pre-empting risks, healthcare professionals can act earlier and save patients from diseases which would otherwise be life threatening.
Of course, all of this will be a waste if the NHS aren't ready to adopt the innovations available with AI. This is why part of the program includes training and upskilling for AI staff to develop the use of state-of-the-art AI within our existing healthcare system. Once the staff are ready, and a secure AI system is developed, everything from surgery to routine paperwork has the potential to be improved through automation. This doesn't mean AI is coming to replace jobs in the NHS, but that it will enable clinicians to spend more time on the important aspects of medical imaging, like patient care. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the funding is set to 'boost the frontline by automating admin tasks and freeing up staff to care for patients'.
Investment in AI will keep growing over the coming years, and this funding boost will improve healthcare through AI's ability to automate processes, analyse scans, and even develop new methods of diagnosis. Stay at the forefront of this critical medical area, sign up for the AI and Machine Learning Convention to see some of the world's most exciting AI technology, which will be crucial to the future of healthcare over the next few years.
The AI and Machine Learning Convention is part of Mediweek 2020, the UK's largest healthcare event showcasing over 50 expert speakers and 50 innovative exhibitors across Oncology, AI and Medical Imaging. Over 500 AI professionals will be attending the AI and ML convention, as part of the 5000 medical imaging and oncology professionals attending Mediweek 2020. To gain some of the most exciting and unmissable medical expertise in Europe, sign up for free here.
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Officials at 4 Factories Accused Of Violating Wage, Safety Laws
a Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter
Sept. 4, 1996 12:04 am ET
NEW YORK -- Officials from four garment factories, including one making apparel for Kmart Corp. under the Kathy Ireland label, were charged with violating minimum-wage laws and creating hazardous workplace conditions.
The Kings County District Attorney's Office said workers at one location were being paid as little as $2.67 an hour, compared with the state's legal minimum wage of $4.25. Workers at the other three factories were being paid by the piece, which is also against state law. Investigators also found various safety violations, including locked exits at three factories.
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Babur, Founder Mughal Dynasty India
Mughals
Timurid
Babur, Founder Mughal Dynasty India >
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of India. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother. Babur identified his lineage as Timurid and Chaghatay-Turkic, while his origin, milieu, training, and culture were steeped in Persian culture and so he was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, and for the expansion of Persian cultural influence in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results.
More on this Website
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babur
Related Links • Add URL
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of India. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother. Babur identified his lineage as Timurid and Chaghatay-Turkic, while his origin, milieu, training, and culture were steeped in Persian culture and so he was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, and for the expansion of Persian cultural influence in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results. More...
Related > Conquerors • Founders • Muslims • Royalty • Statesmen • Aquarius • February 14 • India • Mongols • Mughals • Renaissance • Rulers • Timurid • 15th Century • 16th Century • Icons • People
Genghis Khan, Unified the Mongols
Genghis Khan was the founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his demise. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. After founding the Mongol...
Tamerlane (Timur) the Great
Timur meaning "iron" or Tamerlane in English, was a 14th-century conqueror of much of western and central Asia, founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty (1370–1405) in Central Asia, and great great grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mu...
Akbar the Great, Greatest Mughal Emperor
Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar also known as Akbar the Great was the son of Nasiruddin Humayun whom he succeeded as ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1605, and the grandson of Babur who founded the Mughal dynasty. On the eve of his death in 1605, th...
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Now offering SOTF tuning using Hp Tuners.
Working directly with the owner to build a one-off tune specific to your vehicle and needs. From simple fuel economy and towing to max effort race tunes. Currently supporting 03-07 Cummins & 01-04 LB7 Duramax.
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It is no longer the rare chef who decides to take a step back from meat and focus on vegetables. Over the last few years, vegetables have become the new hot kid, welcomed and sought after, be it in chef Alain Passard's famed halls of L'Arpège in Paris, or the uncomplicated Greenwich Village dining room of Nix in New York that has been all the rage since it opened earlier this year.
Few restaurants, however, have turned their attention to seafood. The most notable exception is chef Eric Ripert's three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin in New York, but even Chef Ripert allows a place or two for meat on his menu. There are probably few other restaurants in the world that dedicate their attention as unwaveringly to seafood as chef Kotaro Meguro's Abysse in Tokyo. The 30-year-old chef, who previously trained at Le Petit Nice in Marseilles and Quintessence in Tokyo, forgoes meat dishes entirely on his menu, turning an unwavering focus to the fruits of the ocean.
The menu started with a chilled ginkgo soup cradling some soft-shell turtle jelly, swirling together into a bright and refreshing blend of umami and bitterness.
The bread was accompanied by an exceptionally fruity olive oil from Provence.
The first course was a vibrantly colored plate of botan shrimps from Hokkaido and octopus from Ehime. The botan shrimps were strikingly sweet and gelatinous, while the octopus were tender but didn't add too much in terms of flavor. These were adorned with little bundles of sea grapes that exploded in tiny bursts of brininess and umami, as well as some chicory and figs. A drizzle of sweet beetroot juice and a quenelle of mascarpone mousse tinged with a hint of wasabi completed the dish.
In a shocking contrast against the bright colors of the previous plate, the pan-fried hamo was served in a stark ocean of blackness. But the dish possessed more dimension than the colors would let you believe – salty with a purée of eggplant and squid ink, sweet with a crumble of eggplant skin, and dark with some charred trumpet mushrooms.
A signature at Abysse, the soupe de poisson was made with lobster and no less than seven kinds of fish, daringly spiced with cayenne, anise, saffron and, in an inspired touch, orange. The complex and powerful flavors lingered persistently, carrying a memory of the profound ocean depth after which the restaurant was named.
After the intensity of the soup, the delicate flavors of the silver pomfret felt a bit too timid and subdued, but built slowly in umami. Variations of pistachio crowded the fish, the verdant blend of oil and purée studded with roasted whole pistachios, while plump little parcels of butternut squash added pops of color and sweetness.
For dessert, a delicious dacquoise was crowned with Nagano grapes and sheathed beneath a canopy of vanilla jelly, sat on a bed of cream cheese powder. A light and elegant dessert that showcased the amazing flavor of Nagano grapes.
Chef Meguro's dedication to seafood showed in his understanding of the ingredients. My meal gave the impression of a kitchen that knows its way around what the ocean has to offer, delivering flavors that were uncomplicated but delightful all the same. If my lunch was anything to go by – and if the fully booked dining room on a Monday afternoon was any sign – Abysse's decision to focus on the great ocean depth certainly paid off.
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May 2017 – The Business Development Training group-work presentation with the Abuloma Women.
Initial selection meeting with the Abuloma Women Cooperative members for the Agro-Skills training.
Project Title: Self Development, Literacy and Interactive Programme @ Remand Home Port Harcourt.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project version="4">
<component name="ProjectCodeStyleSettingsManager">
<option name="PER_PROJECT_SETTINGS">
<value>
<TypeScriptCodeStyleSettings>
<option name="SPACE_AFTER_TYPE_COLON" value="true" />
</TypeScriptCodeStyleSettings>
<XML>
<option name="XML_LEGACY_SETTINGS_IMPORTED" value="true" />
</XML>
<codeStyleSettings language="JSON">
<indentOptions>
<option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
<option name="USE_TAB_CHARACTER" value="true" />
<option name="SMART_TABS" value="true" />
</indentOptions>
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<codeStyleSettings language="TypeScript">
<option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_IN_CODE" value="1" />
<option name="CALL_PARAMETERS_LPAREN_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
<option name="CALL_PARAMETERS_RPAREN_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
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iStyles Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus Clip Case design of Illustration, Fractal art, Art, Cg artwork, Sky, Organism, Psychedelic art, Graphic design, Graphics, Octopus with black, gray, blue, green, red colors. Model SGS8PCC-FTDEEP.
Added From the Deep Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus Clip Case to your shopping cart.
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Magnolia was once known as Mink's Prairie (in the 1840s). The name was shortened to Mink in 1850, but it wasn't until 1885 when the town was granted a post office under the name of Mink.
By 1900, the population of the Montgomery County town had swollen to 25 people and two years later, with the arrival of the International-Great Northern Railroad, tiny Mink moved to the tracks, creating a new town.
The railroad wanted the town to be named Melton, which was too close (in spelling) to Milton, Texas. So to keep things simple, the town was named after the abundant Magnolia trees – and the new post office was so designated in 1903.
reprinted from Texas Escapes | photo by photomajik
Residents pronounce the name of the town, Tow, as if it rhymed with "cow," rather than "toe" as might be expected. Tow is...
Medina is an unincorporated community in Bandera County, Texas. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Medina is famous for its...
Fulton is a town in Aransas County. As of the 2010 census, this South Texas coastal fishing community had a population of 1,358. The town is named...
Located in Gillespie County, Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. Old-time German residents often referred...
New Braunfels is situated in Comal and Guadalupe counties. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in...
Hempstead is in Waller County, Texas. The community, located at the junctions of U.S. Highway 290, Texas State Highway 6, and Texas State Highway...
East Texas • Trips • Videos
East Texas Road Trip with Mary and Mac
I had to get out of the city, and discover a bit of East Texas...
The Twisted Sisters aka The Three Sisters
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Sterling Silver 17x23.6mm 19 gauge Large Flower Earwire, 15.1mm Hibiscus with 2mm Open Ring ID. Order 2pcs to get one pair of earrings.
I was surprised how pretty these are in person and by the size. Once I made the finished product with them I was very pleased. They are big but I find them to be a real statement piece. I don't use them often but with special items.
The pictures online of this ear wire don't even begin to compare to show how pretty this ear wire is in real life. The flower is large so it may not be suitable for all. It will be the focus of any earring made. The only thing I would change about this ear wire is to make the leg of the actual ear wire just a bit longer.
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THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has recommended to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) the narrowing down of lane width along EDSA to give way to an additional one as part of its traffic solution scheme.
"There was already a discussion with DPWH… The existing lanes will be narrowed to accommodate one more lane. So probably next year, if there will be a program and be included in the budget of DPWH," EDSA Special Traffic and Transport Zone chief Edison Nebrija, speaking in mixed English and Filipino, said in a phone interview with BusinessWorld on Thursday, Dec. 27.
Highway lane width around the world vary from 2.5 meters to 3.7 meters. According to a study by World Resources Institute in 2016, cities with travel lane widths from 2.8 to 3.25 meters have the lowest crash fatality rates per 100,000 residents.
The MMDA official said the additional lane is eyed to be for private motor vehicles only.
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Plant a Tree for Leilani
Leilani M (Booska) Norman
September 9, 1941 ~ January 12, 2022 (age 80)
Monson-Leilani May Norman, 80, beloved wife of 62 years of Harold Richard Norman passed away on January 12, 2022. Leilani was born September 9, 1941 in Montague, MA to the late Alfred F. Booska and Mary L. (Sawyer) Keller. It is hard to summarize a life well lived in a few paragraphs. Leilani and the love of her life, Harold, were married in 1959 and the adventure began. She started knitting at the age of 6 and never stopped. You could always tell that she was feeling good when you saw her knitting, or doing any of her other crochet, needlework, or sewing projects. She always had multiple projects going and often was making things for family or charity projects, including the military.
Leilani was an avid enthusiast of life, and a lifelong learner. She always wanted to be better at whatever she was doing, and was a great example that a woman could do anything that she set her mind to. This made her a powerful role model to her children and grandchildren and made them all strive to be better and make her proud.
Leilani and Harold built a house in Montgomery, Ma, started a family, and moved to Monson, Ma in 1969. After Harold took a lapidary course, he taught her, and she went from there to become an experienced stone cutter, gemstone faceter, silversmith, goldsmith, and lost wax caster. They formed the Aloha Rock Shop aka/ Aloha Gems and Minerals. They were members of the CT Valley Mineral Club, and collected and sold at gem and mineral shows for many years. Following back surgery, that limited her mobility, her interests expanded to orchids. Harold had made the "mistake" of giving her a couple of orchids, and so started her obsession with growing them. They were members of the CT Orchid Society and joined the Amherst Orchid Society in 1987. The American Orchid Society was later joined and they traveled to attend conferences, meetings, and events connected to orchids. Their business became Aloha Enterprises, when they added orchids to their sales. They became exhibitors and vendors at the Amherst Orchid Society Spring shows, winning many awards for their exceptional plants and having many returning customers, this continued until Feb. of 2020, which was their final show. They were vendors at the Brimfield Farmers Market in the summers and had added perennials to their other offerings. She always asked people who purchased her plants to call her if they had questions or if their plant did not thrive, as she wanted to make sure that they were successful at their growing. She always felt that you could never have too much education and strived to learn something new every day.
She leaves her loving and devoted husband of 62 years, Harold R. Norman; their children; Tracy A. Norman and her husband Edward Shearer of Northfield, MA, Richard F. Norman and his wife Rosa of Goldsboro, NC, and Renee M. Lagacy and her husband John of Tehachapi, CA; a brother Steven Booska and his wife Amanda of CA; a sister Betty Moore and her husband Larry of CA; twelve grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Leilani had always requested that she receive flowers when she was alive, and not after she had passed. She wanted to be able to enjoy them. Please honor her wishes. In her memory, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, 516 Carew St. Springfield, MA 01104.
All services are private.
To send sympathy gifts to the family or plant a tree in memory of Leilani M (Booska) Norman, please visit our tribute store.
Services are to be announced
|
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Family from Holland
Originally from Spain
"...[they] settled in Amsterdam after the expulsion."
"As far as I can tell from the genealogy records, [my mother's] family came from Holland in the mid-1850s and settled in the central London area in the Jewish district. My [maternal] grandfather was a cigar maker and also worked with stained glass, so he was an artisan. He did spend time in the Merchant Marines during World War I, but the family name, Decker, is most likely Dutch, and it was, I believe, originally Dukker, d-u-k-k-e-r, until they spelled it the English way.
I don't have any direct evidence, but from what my grandmother shared from her knowledge, it's believed that they were originally from Spain and settled in Amsterdam after the expulsion in the late – excuse me—in the early 1490s."
Painting of an Ashkenazi Synagogue in Amsterdam ~ Source: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-of-jews-in-amsterdam ~ Date: 17th century
David Jacobi, "Family from Holland," Georgia Journeys, accessed January 29, 2022, https://georgiajourneys.kennesaw.edu/items/show/189.
|
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Welcome to Castle Lock Self Storage! Castle Lock Self Storage is a locally owned and family operated storage facility offering the best accommodations for storage in Castle Rock. We have two new storage facilities conveniently located in the center of Castle Rock, CO which offer new and clean storage units at competitive rates. We are located directly across Interstate 25 from Douglas County High School right next to historic Scott Ranch. We offer a wide array of storage unit sizes as well as outdoor parking spaces for RVs, boats, and trailers. Our goal is to help our customers find the right storage unit to meet their needs and give our tenants the best self storage experience. We look forward to serving you.
Great storage facility, easy to use, good customer service and the best part for me is that they keep the place very clean.
This place is great! Nice fellow up front and great access!
I concur with other's that said the staff is great. Place is clean and easy access.
Kyle and Mike are very easy to work with and great at communicating with their customers.
We were so impressed by Castle Lock Self Storage. The staff was very friendly and the facility was secure and extremely clean. Everything was in like-new condition, aisles were always clear, and it was easy to enter/exit. Such a pleasant experience! We will definitely use them again for any future storage needs. Highly recommended!
I can't tell you how wonderful the staff is!!! They went out of the way to show me around. When my sister had trouble getting into the unit, they were very patient and helpful! The BEST experience!!!!
Awesome place. I went in workout an appointment and still was able to get everything I needed same day . I got to meet the openers and their dad-super nice, funny family.
Great location in Castle Rock and the price is fair. We sleep better at night knowing that my personal and household items are in a secured and clean storage facility. The staff are very friendly and very helpful. I give them five stars, keep up the good work.
Excellent new facility that is family-owned and operated. Service-oriented and super nice.
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Sixth Annual PBS Online Film Festival
Posted on: Monday, July 10, 2017
The Festival Returns to All PBS Digital Platforms July 17 – July 28
PBS announced that the Webby Award-nominated PBS Online Film Festival will return for a sixth year July 17 – July 28, 2017, featuring 25 short-form independent films from POV and a broad spectrum of public media stations and partners. The PBS Online Film Festival is part of a multi-platform initiative to increase the reach and visibility of independent film on PBS and its member stations, and to promote unique, diverse content on the web. The PBS Online Film Festival showcases powerful and engaging stories from filmmakers across the country. The festival has become a popular annual online event, attracting more than 4.5 million views since the first festival in 2012.
Beginning July 17, the Festival will be available via PBS and station digital platforms including PBS.org, YouTube and PBS social media channels. The films will also be available via the PBS app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku and FireTV devices.
This year's lineup features films from the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), National Black Programming Consortium, Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC), POV, and Vision Maker Media, as well as PBS local member stations including Alaska Public Media, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, South Florida PBS, WHRO, ITVS, Detroit Public TV WTVS, KTTZ Texas PBS, WPT Wisconsin, KLRU-TV Austin PBS, KQED (San Francisco), Louisiana Public Broadcasting, Twin Cities Public Television, and Vermont PBS. Promotional partners for the PBS Online Film Festival include Independent Lens and World Channel.
Viewers are encouraged to vote for their favorite film to win the "Most Popular" award. And, for the first time ever, a distinguished panel of eight jury members will select their favorite film of the festival for the "Juried Prize". For updates on the festival, follow #PBSFilmFest on Twitter.
"PBS and its member stations are thrilled to kick off another year of excellent independent films," said Ira Rubenstein, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, PBS. "The PBS Online Film Festival provides PBS and its member stations the opportunity to provide a diverse group of independent filmmakers a chance to share their stories with a highly engaged audience. This year brings another impressive lineup of powerful and moving films that will transform perspectives and encourage important conversations."
Short films featured in the PBS Online Film Festival include:
Digging deep into family history for answers to questions about his identity, Cyrus finds some things might be better off left in the past.
Detroit Public TV WTVS
A woman gets a new lease on life when she meets someone less fortunate.
ITVS
"Guns on Campus"
Fifty years after the first recorded mass shooting in U.S. history took place at the University of Texas in Austin, a new "campus carry" law allows people to carry concealed handguns on all public university campuses in Texas.
KLRU
"The Secession"
A story about two Texas boys, a secession, and egg rolls.
"U R a Dial Tone"
A sign language interpreter is emotionally and physically sucked into her clients' lives.
KTTZ
A girl receives a mysterious gift that will unravel secrets from the past.
Latino Public Broadcasting
"Amigas with Benefits"
Amigas with Benefits is a short dramedy about an elderly bride-to-be who nearly has her wedding day ruined by an uninvited guest.
Louisiana Public Broadcasting
On the verge of her mother's death, Addie returns home to shed light on her dark past.
Si, a temperamental six-year-old, gets a goldfish after begging for a puppy.
NALIP
In the course of a difficult day, Maria, a creative young girl, and her hardworking father must discover a way to mend love and memories while confronting loss.
NBPC
A short profile piece that showcases the charismatic and talented drummer Kojo Odu Roney. In this exclusive interview Kojo offers his thoughts on Jazz, being home-schooled, traveling and his biggest influence, his father Antoine Roney.
"You Can Go"
A high school administrator talks down a troubled student.
When a family crisis strikes, an ailing Polynesian matriarch must find the strength to lead her family one last time.
"Our Voices Are Rarely Heard"
A visceral snapshot of how inmates survive solitary confinement.
"A Thousand Midnights"
Chronicles the contemporary manifestation of the economic and social histories of Black Americans who came to the north during the Great Migration in search of economic opportunities. The implications of their migration, and the lack of economic opportunity they encountered, has far reaching consequences for Black America today.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting
"Black Hills Canyon Skating"
While the Black Hills of South Dakota may lack the elevation and snow that makes for skiing, they make up for it with ice-providing intrepid winter explorers with miles of canyon streams on which to ice skate.
South Florida PBS
"SunGhosts"
A mini-documentary about SunGhosts, an up and coming indie rock band from Miami.
Twin Cities PBS
"Rogue Taxidermy Artist Sarina Brewer"
From goats with fishtails to cats with wings, Sarina Brewer celebrates animals in her art.
"Syrian Photographer Osama Esid"
Photographer Osama Esid seeks connection from his American neighbors to Syrian Refugees.
"The Collinwood Fire"
A news reporter and a filmmaker turn a 1908 elementary school fire into a media sensation.
A prisoner acts out his guilt, anger, and fear through dance.
Vision Makers Media
Nikki Lowe's journey of being a mother, daughter, sister, and Native warrior.
WHRO
An African-American boy in Norfolk, VA in 1915 confronts racism in The Birth of a Nation.
An animated spoken-word piece that tells Steven Rodriguez's experiences of being an elder brother, son of a drug addicted mother and struggling but dedicated college student.
"Finding America: The Fresh Prince of Anacostia"
Kymone Freeman keeps his D.C. neighbors strong by helping them tell their stories.
PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 100 million people through television and nearly 28 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS' premier children's media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a new 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter.
Eighth Annual PBS Online Film Festival Showcases The "Power of Community" Seventh Annual PBS Online Film Festival College Town Film Festival Fosters Relationship Between Filmmakers, Students Film Festival To Showcase Developmental Disabilities
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Carla Grima
Founder of Carla Grima Atelier
Carla Grima specialises in the creation of prints, using an experimental practice of watercolours, photography and digital technology. She chooses to work with natural fabrics in the strong belief that there is unique beauty in natural imperfection. Her vision is threefold: exploration, the Mediterranean and the cosmic harmony of shapes.
She graduated in Fashion Innovation and Management from UCA Rochester, and spent a year in Paris, building her knowledge of textiles, fibres and cloth cutting through exposure to French couture techniques. After receiving an invitation to exhibit at London's Graduate Fashion Week, she went on to work for Marc Jacobs and gained further experience working for London based brand's; Aminaka Wilmont and Junky Styling, as well as collaborations with independent stylists and photographers. She then became a pattern cutter for Jonathan Saunders and a mentor for BA fashion design students at UCA.
Carla set up her own label in 2014 and maintains an international network of suppliers and collaborators. She has chosen to base her studio and her practice in Malta because there is nowhere else like it. An island of enchanting colour and light that serves as her primary inspiration.
Website and E-boutique: Carla Grima Atelier
Instagram: Carla Grima
Facebook: Carla Grima
Rossella E. Frigerio
Founder of One Blue Dot
With both Italian and Maltese heritage and a childhood spent living and travelling across the Far East, Rossella has been a third culture wild child since she first stepped on a plane at age four.
A graduate of University College of London and the London School of Economics, her inquisitive spirit has led her down diverse professional paths that have taken her everywhere from London to Bali and Milan, all whilst picking up languages as varied as French and Mandarin Chinese.
Formerly one of Dame Vivienne Westwood's legal advisors and co-founder of luxury niche accessory brand Sofia Capri, Rossella is currently based on the Mediterranean isle of Malta. A strong believer in positive, genuine collaboration, Rossella is also a member of the UWC Malta Committee and a world curator for creative platform Ballpitmag.
Website: One Blue Dot
Instagram: One Blue Dot
Established in 2014, A Collective is a Malta-based architecture studio founded by Steven Risiott and Patricia Grech. The duo crossed paths in 2012 with a common love for architecture, design and the Mediterranean. The collaboration was a natural consequence. With varying experiences both locally and internationally, Steve and Patty's approach to design and architecture compliments each other in a seamless manner.
The studio is growing into a collective group of creatives and passionate individuals with a love for design. The architectural team seeks to create spatial experiences moulded by fundamental architectural parameters such as space, proportions, light and materials through the disregard of stylistic materiality. The studio roots itself in contextual design, hoping to enrich the local architecture scene and enhance the quality of life of the end user. The approach is purely architectural, concerned with the infiltration of natural light and its resulting play of shadows, shaping spaces through an eclectic palette inspired by honesty, purity and nature.
Website: A Collective
Instagram: A Collective
Facebook: A Collective
Hangar challenges what a creative agency can do and be. It doesn't just promote brands — it works collaboratively with clients to improve brands, because the people at Hangar know from experience that the long-haul matters.
Hangar's vision has always been clear: it is an agency that focuses on quality rather than quantity. It is selective by design, right down to its name. A hangar is a place where engineers and designers meet to attain a high level of precision. It's a place where big things happen and ambitions are high; where it takes skill and craftsmanship to survive. That is Hangar.
Originally launched in 2012, the agency has grown to embrace an experienced and diverse team of Maltese and international talent that collaborates alongside both niche and global brands such as Lavazza, Onvoy and the Valletta Design Cluster.
Website: Hangar
Instagram: Hangar
Facebook: Hangar
Craig Macdonald & Andrew Farrugia
Co-Founders of Te fit-Tazza
Te fit-Tazza was founded in 2015 by Andrew Farrugia and Craig Macdonald, two bosom buddies with a penchant for design and all things beautiful.
The Maltese islands boast a wealth of identity, evident to the eye in how we act and we interact and, to an extent, how we present ourselves both socially and visually. It would be fair to state that this abundance of distinction may be rooted in a strong sense of tradition, pride and patriotism.
The studio began as a project aimed at showcasing Malta, her culture, her aesthetic and her beautiful landscape through minimalist illustrated prints. In 2018, Te fit-Tazza acquired the souvenir brand, Souvenirs That Don't Suck, with a store situated in Sliema. The aim is to further widen the spectrum of creative avenues that the studio can explore, whilst still celebrating the Maltese Islands and their beauty.
Websites: Te fit-Tazza and Souvenirs That Don't Suck
Instagram: Te fit-Tazza and Souvenirs That Don't Suck
Facebook: Te fit-Tazza and Souvenirs That Don't Suck
Natalie Rose Vella
Founder of Natalie R Vella
Natalie has been tutored at both the Academy of Freelance Makeup – one of the industries' most recognised fashion and bridal makeup academies in London and New York – as well as at The London Hair Academy for Professional Hair Styling.
What type of beauty does she pursue through her art? The effortless, raw and unrefined kind. Even dramatic looks under her makeup brushes will hold slightly natural and 'rough around the edges' qualities. For Natalie, natural can still mean bold and striking as ultimately, it's all about balance.
In 2012, Natalie relocated to London to launch her career, where she had the opportunity to work with the some of the most talented creatives and brands in the field, including London Fashion Week, NET-A-PORTER Magazine, Estée Lauder, ELLE, and Harper's Bazaar.
Natalie has recently returned to the sunny isles of Malta, where she is continuing to do what she loves through collaborations with key brands and spreading her grounded, genuine and balanced beauty aesthetic through her Instagram and YouTube channels.
Read Natalie's interview as part of MCC*'s Creativity Chronicles series headed by collective member Lorinda Mamo here.
Website: Natalie Rose Vella
Instagram: Natalie Rose Vella
Facebook: Natalie Rose Vella
YouTube: Natalie Rose Vella
Inigo Taylor
Founder at Inigo Taylor Photography
Inigo is an English photographer based in Malta who has been working on a long-term social documentary project on Malta since 2007. This continuing body of work looks at contemporary Malta and Maltese identity through colour photographs that have until now been an initial survey into Maltese society. As the project evolves, new approaches are being utilised to take the project further and look closer at the changing social landscape of the country.
Inigo graduated in 2010 from the University of Lincoln with a BA in Photographic Studies. He has photographed in countries around the world, but Malta is still his favourite subject. His main influences are British social documentary photographers including Chris Killip, Martin Parr and Paul Graham, whose unique approaches have helped guide his exploration of Malta. He is currently looking to show his work so far in an exhibition.
Website: Inigo Taylor
Instagram: Inigo Taylor
Faceboook: Inigo Taylor
Gulja Holland
Ġulja Holland is a local contemporary artist notable for her psychologically-charged paintings. Her work drives through experimental styles that push through conventional aesthetic boundaries and which are themed around self-identification and socio-political issues.
In her recent portraiture series, photography and paint are combined to create what the artist refers to as 'photo-paintings'. In fusing together a realist and abstract style, the artist seeks to represent the identity as a tangible extension of one's outward appearance. Here, the influences of Neo-Expressionism and Pop Art are most evident in her work; in her use of colour, gestural style as well as in the repetition of photographic imagery; radically altered in each work in order to convey an ever-shifting stream of consciousness within her subjects.
Following her graduation from Leeds College of Art with Honors, she has recently exhibited at several international shows, including the Paragon Europe Art Exhibition at the Press Club Brussels Europe, the London Free Range show and the International Art festival Chrom-art Exhibition, London. Holland currently lives in Malta where she continues to participate in both local and international exhibitions.
Website: Gulja Holland
Instagram: Gulja Holland
Facebook: Gulja Holland
Maria Shebets
Founder of Maria Shebets and My Maltese Kitchen
Travel, Photography and Cuisine
Maria Shebets was born in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – Saint Petersburg, Russia. After high school, she continued her studies at the Academy of Applied Arts in the field of antiques, after which she began dedicating time working in this very field of expertise.
Although she had always loved cooking, Maria began to realise that it was a deep-rooted passion during her numerous journeys across the world. She enjoyed tasting new ingredients, local dishes and learning how differing cultures influenced various cuisines.
It has been over seven years since Maria and her husband left their country and settled in Malta after traveling for a year in Europe. Maria had two children here whilst she continued her gastronomical journey exploring local culinary products and the Maltese food scene. This inspired her to launch a blog that is dedicated to food and life in Malta, in which she shares her recipes and local restaurant reviews with food-lovers both in Malta and beyond.
Over time, she has become even more interested in ways she could use what home-grown ingredients Malta has to offer for creating dishes she truly loves. Such dishes are not as heavy as the traditional ones but "contemporary Maltese" as Maria loves to call them. Her latest venture – My Maltese Kitchen – is a website and a book-in-the-making which aims to pay tribute to the local produce, explore the local food traditions and create new recipes.
Website: Maria Shebets
Instagram: Maria Shebets and My Maltese Kitchen
Facebook: Maria Shebets
Francesca Pace
Founder of Gaia and Nina
Ethical kidswear
Francesca Pace began her career in the Tourism Industry after graduating with a B.A. Hons in Geography in 2002. She explored a number of different roles and her creativity, coupled with her entrepreneurial flair, led her to head a very successful team as business development manager in the holiday ownership industry.
In 2012 she married fellow local entrepreneur Sharlon Pace; in 2013 she became a mother for the first time, to Gaia, and is now a mother of two with the arrival of Nina in 2015. She launched the blog Gaia and Nina in December 2015, and has since garnered an international following in the world of children's fashion with photos from her blog shared by numerous brands across the four corners of the globe. She then launched Flatlay Photography in November 2016, after noticing a lack of professional flatlay photography on the market.
In June 2018, Francesca launched her ethical label of childrenswear, Gaia and Nina, which draws inspiration from the Mediterranean.
Website and e-boutique: Gaia and Nina
Instagram: Gaia and Nina
Facebook: Gaia and Nina
Eliza Costabel
Creative Director at The Garden Studio
After an upbringing in North and East Africa, the Far East, Europe and the US, Eliza returned to her birth country of Malta 4 years ago and set up The Garden Studio in an effort to combine her love of nature and outdoor spaces, and her background in interior architecture.
A graduate in Interior Architectural Design from California State University, Eliza lived 15 years in Los Angeles starting her professional career in corporate interiors and later setting up her studio dedicated to smaller scale projects in residential and commercial design. This is when she discovered her passion for designing outdoor spaces as she delighted in the pleasure and speed (compared to architecture and interiors) it takes to create a beautiful green oasis
The last 7 years in Kenya further cemented her passion for nature and environmental consciousness and upon moving to Malta she saw the opportunity to set up a professional all-round design/build studio dedicated to outdoor and landscape design "the idea was not to merely plant anything green and place some outdoor furniture, but to come up with clever, innovative design solutions, styling and landscape designs to really maximise any outdoor or interior space".
Since its setup in 2015, The Garden Studio has been steadily growing its team of landscape designers, horticulturalists and builders as well as enlarging the scope of its projects and services to encompass the supply of plants and everything that is needed to create a professionally designed green space, from furniture to pots and everything in-between. Eliza and her team are regular contributors to the gardening section on local media and attend all the prominent landscaping seminars and tradeshows to keep abreast with the latest trends in the field.
Website: The Garden Studio
Instagram: The Garden Studio
Mark Pace
Founder of Saint Paul Valletta
Design & Hospitality
Mark holds a distinct eye for design that is at once both rooted in his Maltese heritage and immersed in visual elements influenced by Dutch form. A purveyor of authenticity, Mark's design vision looks to beautify through the natural and balanced. In this spirit and through Saint Paul, Mark brings to light Valletta's genuine, lesser-known soul to share with urban explorers from across the continents.
Recognised as a leading figure of the Maltese design scene, Mark's portfolio of work reflect a grounded spirit of harmony that bridges the contemporary with the authentic.
Website: Saint Paul Valletta
Instagram: Saint Paul Valletta
Robbie Mazzaro
Founder of RO Art Ceramics
Artistic Ceramics
Robbie was born in Venezuela – where she spent her childhood – and moved to Italy at the age of 18. Everywhere she went, she would take her with her her love for nature and for local artisanal crafts, seeking to develop these influences in her work later in life.
As a child, Robbie's mother would call her Ro, hence how the name Ro Art came to be. Robbie's passion for art started at a young age, and over the years, she has found it essential to keep her artistic passion alive. Following years working in the corporate sphere, a Ceramics Masterclass in Rome re-ignited her creative spirit, and it was then that everything clicked into place. She decided to leave her career and immerse herself solely in the world of ceramics, falling in love once again with the versatility of the clay and the entire creative process.
Robbie's inspirations are drawn from nature itself. She is fascinated by the complex and beautiful natural structures and textures found in plants, bark, seed pods, corals and shells. She loves the contrast between the rough texture, clay colour and the glossy shades of blue that speak of sea water on white sand and rocks.
Each of her pieces are hand-built with the technique of coiling or slabs in a range of different kinds of clay. Each coil is melded into the coil below, pinched, squeezed, moulded and scraped into shape. Robbie has exhibited her ceramics at trade events and contemporary ceramic and craft fairs throughout Europe, and since moving to Malta in 2014, the natural beauty of this Mediterranean island has been an additional source of inspiration for her work.
Website: RO Art Ceramics
Instagram: RO Art Ceramics
Facebook: RO Art Ceramics
Gioia Clavenzani & Ivano Ghinelli
Co-Founders of JAD Jewellery
Hailing from different work experiences – one as a psychologist and psychotherapist, the other as a stone setter and goldsmith – Gioia and Ivano first met in Città della Pieve, Italy. In the quiet countryside between Umbria and Tuscany, with a common love for jewelelry, design and contemporary art, they opened their first Italian studio in 2011: La Fonderia dell'Oro – a big, bright workshop with fittings made from old pallets, barrel hoops and paper.
In 2015, Gioia and Ivano moved to Malta. Today, these two countries' art and nature are infinite sources of inspiration. Art and design are their "fuel", whilst the sense of nature is also part of their jewels through their rough and dull surfaces and irregular edges.
Gioia and Ivano believe art and beauty have to be easy and present in people's lives; approachable and available for the ones who search for them. Working with their hands – with art, beauty and nature always on their minds – they seek to make their lives better and to try and give back through crafting beautiful jewellery, not common but easy to use, enjoy and wear.
Website: JAD Jewellery
Instagram: JAD Jewellery
Facebook: JAD Jewellery
The Authentic Brief
Founded by Rebecca Barbaro Sant, The Authentic Brief (tAB) is an innovative concept creative partner which offers clients a unique edge through its pragmatic and wholly authentic strategic processes, doing away with the more traditional approach to marketing and PR. A hands-on approach as well as the vital emotional connection with clients, is key to its success.
Effective communication has become quite a cliché, but is still the most valuable link for companies and brands to gain maximum exposure and generate sales. tAB communicates a client's particular story and gauges the needs of the audience to translate into a resonating response.
Website: The Authentic Brief
Instagram: The Authentic Brief
Facebook: The Authentic Brief
Julia Barker
Founder of Zen With Julia
Julia is Malta's first and only KonMari consultant in training.
A recent arrival from London, where she worked in the education sector, Julia was inspired to make decluttering and organisation her career after successfully completing the KonMari process in her own family home. A long-running love of good interior design and a deep interest in the sustainability of our home and creative spaces complemented this move perfectly.
When starting out in her career as a tidying consultant, Julia was inspired by the positive aesthetic changes that were sparked in her and her clients' personal spaces. As her practice has developed, she's found the most wonderful part of her work to be seeing the confidence of her clients increase after even one tidying lesson.
Julia's tidying lessons involve working first with clients on their vision for the ideal life, home and creative space. After using a welcoming ritual to open the space to being tidied, Julia then coaches her clients to hone their sense of personal style and joy as they work through each item in their space. Identifying creative ways to store and style possessions with her clients means that they quickly find increased mental and physical space to pursue their own creative interests more fully.
Read Julia's interview as part of MCC*'s Creativity Chronicles series headed by collective member Lorinda Mamo here.
Website: Zen With Julia
Instagram: Zen With Julia
Facebook: Zen With Julia
Sergio Muscat
Founder of Sergio Muscat and L'Orrse
Art, Photography and Fashion
Sergio Muscat's art is one that looks closely – that approaches, associates, combines and recombines. As inspiration for his works, he creates an ever growing digital photographic archive of the world he encounters (everyday objects, artworks, architecture, technology, nature). Sergio's archive bears testimony to the way he appropriates the world: His camera registers a subject, looks at it closely, distorts it, changes viewpoint or swirls around it. That work is then combined into his final artworks, which themselves are re-introduced into the archive as source for future work. He renders the result into both traditional fine art prints and everyday objects such as silk scarves and architectural elements, reminding us that the world is something every individual constructs from exposure, experience, memories and interests, as well as preconceptions, biases and worldviews.
Apart from, and in complement to his art, Sergio has also had an extensive career within the technology industry, which he has partly put aside to explore his own path, by founding L'Orrse, a fashion brand creating silk scarves and accessories, and recently also moving to Gozo to run Tan-Neputi Bed and Breakfast with his life partner Anna.
Website: Sergio Muscat and L'Orrse
Facebook: Tan Neputi
Olivia Levelt
Founder of Marquis De Vissac
In 2014, Olivia Levelt arrived on the island of Malta along with her partner, and opened a concept boutique in the capital city Valletta dedicated to selling quality, hand-made espadrilles. Over time, they have expanded their range of accessories to include the products of talented designers from Malta and across the world.
Olivia is a true lover of fashion that is all about quality and comfort.
Website: Marquis De Vissac
Instagram: Marquis De Vissac
Facebook: Marquis De Vissac
Youtube: Marquis De Vissac
Lorinda Mamo
Founder of A Bird With A French Fry
Co-Founder of Belle & Beau Handmade
Creative writer, Designer and Maker
Lorinda Mamo was born and brought up in Toronto, Canada. While her formal education was based in the sciences, her heart and passion was always in art and design. She taught herself graphic and web design over the years and in 2010 she took a leap and opened a creative advertising studio (Design Chronicle Studios) with her husband. Two years later she was pregnant with her son and when she found a lack of local mothers sharing their experiences, she started her blog A Bird with a French Fry to share her journey of pregnancy and things for kids. When she found out that there was a problem with her baby, her posts started to dwindle as it was a difficult time and nothing like she expected.
One day she took the plunge to continue sharing her story, despite it not being the ideal situation. The positive and encouraging feedback she received gave her the courage to continue writing. This was even more so when she was diagnosed with cancer when her son was 10 months old. Her writing was her therapy but the lack of creativity was still lacking in her life. While waiting for her son to have his kidney transplant in London she needed to occupy her mind and began designing and creating cute accessories, gifts and home decor for little ones within the brand of her blog. Returning happiness and joy back into the world from an otherwise scary time, helped her cope with the difficult times as well as bring creativity back into her life.
In 2018, she co-founded and launched Belle & Beau with her friend Emma Diacono. This collaboration has allowed Lorinda to design and create their own line of designer bows, bow ties and other fine accessories and apparel for children. Fueled by her design and sewing skills this has continued to fulfil her love of building her own children's brands.
Lorinda continues to design and create items for both brands, manages and writes for her blog, works on freelance design jobs while taking care of her medically complex son. She is inspired by all things happy and spreads positivity through her designs, creations and written word every day.
A Bird with a French Fry Blog and Shop: A Bird with a French Fry
Facebook: A Bird with a French Fry
Instagram: A Bird with a French Fry
Belle & Beau Handmade: Shop
Facebook: Belle & Beau Handmade
Instagram: Belle & Beau Handmade
Emma Fsadni
Illustration, Printing, and Painting
Emma Fsadni was born in Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium and educated in Australia, the Netherlands and Malta where she recently received her B.A. Honours in Fine Arts from the MCAST Institute for Creative Arts, (First Class).
As an adolescent, Fsadni was absorbed in all things materialistic, however, with age came awareness, recognizing the frivolousness that such a lifestyle brings. As a result, her work addresses contemporary ideas and conflicts concentrated around society's superficiality and constructed realities.
Developed from self-reflective experiences, which are then applied in a social context, she addresses contemporary observations and conflicts surrounding themes such as idealization, habits, and perception. Fsadni translates the complexity of her concepts through means of minimal aesthetics; condensing her ideas visually, while maintaining levels of intricacy in process. Fsadni tends to gravitate towards two-dimensional media, namely illustration, printing, and painting. She finds that such mediums allow a level of sensitivity in execution to be maintained. This element of sensitivity often goes beyond this aesthetic value and extends into her works' concepts.
Following her studies, Fsadni has already taken part in a selection of collective exhibitions. She is currently working towards materializing an ongoing series of illustrative editioned gilcée prints titled REPOSE.
Read Emma's interview as part of MCC*'s Creativity Chronicles series headed by collective member Lorinda Mamo here.
Website: Emma Fsadni
Instagram: Emma Fsadni
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When you visit friends or go shopping in our villages it is often possible to take a much shorter route on foot then would be possible when driving, if you use the extensive network of public footpaths and snickets that provide short-cuts between streets.
See the map in the Civic Society newsletter for more information about these routes. Whilst we believe the snickets marked on this map are of long standing use by residents, we are not claiming a public right of way. Thank you to all the members who contributed their local knowledge to this project.
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That is the question on everyone's mind about the upcoming weekend. Though we're dead smack in the middle of winter, there is no lack of festivities to keep you entertained. From group activities to hanging solo, there is an answer to that dreadful question leaving no excuses for your state of boredom.
3) If you are a busy body and lucky enough to have snow in your area, you can't go wrong with winter activities such as sledding, skiing, snowboarding, or snowmobiling. A favorite of is to pack the kids in the car and drive up to them hills, have a snow ball fight, drop down and make snow angels, and then build a huge snowman.
4) Last but not least; www.eventful.com is a great resource to find out what is happening in your area. The website lists concerts, performing arts, movies, family activities, great places to eat, and nightlife.
Next End the Cycle NOW!
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}
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Learn about the unique ecosystem that is the Long Island Pine Barrens during this guided hike at Quogue Wildlife Refuge. A walk in the beautiful Quogue Wildlife Refuge is a short course in Pine Barrens ecology. You'll see wetlands, creeks, ponds, tall lowland pitch pines, and dwarf pines. Tour is guided by naturalist and Pine Barrens Society board member, Tom Casey. Inclement weather cancels this hike, registrants will be notified by email. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children.
|
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(Fundació CatDem) As matters currently stand and pending the discussion of some outstanding issues, the referendum for the independence of Scotland is likely to take place at some point in autumn 2014. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, a historic moment, not just for Scotland and the UK, but also for the European Union. A positive outcome would lead to a process of negotiation between the UK and the Scottish governments which, ultimately, would result in the first truly internal enlargement in the history of the European Union –not taking into account the reunification of Germany back in 1990-.
It is true that polls currently indicate that there is not a clear majority for independence in Scotland. However, it is also true that neither in 2007 nor in 2011 polls ever indicated the extension of the victories that the Scottish National Party (SNP) achieved in the respective Scottish Parliament elections. In light of the SNP's past results, we should not underestimate the Scots' capacity of medium / short-term reaction. This is more so if we take into account the long distance that the Scots have walked in just 13 years of self-government and we compare it against the distance that the Catalans have walked since the second restoration of the Catalan Generalitat, 35 years ago.
The movement for self determination is supported by Scottish Greens and Scottish Socialist Party in addition to the SNP. There is sufficient time for YesScotland campaign to gain a majority.
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Are Pollen Allergies as a Kid Linked to Adult-Onset Food Allergies?
What Can I Do to Ensure the School Bus Ride is Safe for My Allergic Child?
How Do I Recognize an Allergic Reaction in a Baby?
How Do You Figure Out if a Rash is Actually a Sign of Food Allergy?
How do I Help a Young Child Understand and Tell About Food Allergies?
Why Does Eating Raw Fruit Cause an Allergic Reaction?
|
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Auto body shop HR attorney: Employers can require COVID-19 vaccines — but tread carefully
By John Huetter on May 13, 2021
Announcements | Associations | Business Practices | Education | Legal | Repair Operations
Collision industry human resources attorney Cory King last month said body shops and other companies can demand workers receive COVID-19 coronavirus vaccinations. However, the business could find itself in a "pack of trouble" without first educating itself and seeking assistance on the topic, he said.
Which is a good time to bring up our usual caveat: None of the comments and analysis presented here are intended as legal advice; they're for informational purposes only. Seek qualified counsel licensed in the relevant jurisdiction before taking any action.
"The short answer is: Yes, you can," King, an attorney at FordHarrison, said of workplace vaccination requirements. But it's more complicated than that, he told the April 21 Collision Industry Conference. King said they've seen "a lot of employers screwing up."
One of the potential pitfalls lies in the prequalification questioning prior to the vaccination. It's possible these inquiries could trigger an Americans with Disabilities Act violation — particularly if the employer hosts a vaccination clinic in-house, King warned. The employee is answering a question for the employer, and it's assumed the employer has access to the answers, he explained.
If the vaccine is strongly encouraged by the business but ultimately voluntary and the questions voluntary, the business might be on safer ground, according to King.
"Pre-vaccination medical screening questions are likely to elicit information about a disability," the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission wrote in December 2020." This means that such questions, if asked by the employer or a contractor on the employer's behalf, are 'disability-related' under the ADA. Thus, if the employer requires an employee to receive the vaccination, administered by the employer, the employer must show that these disability-related screening inquiries are 'job-related and consistent with business necessity.' To meet this standard, an employer would need to have a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that an employee who does not answer the questions and, therefore, does not receive a vaccination, will pose a direct threat to the health or safety of her or himself or others."
This ADA-question issue isn't a concern if employees arrange their work-mandated vaccines themselves at third-party locations, such as local drugstores, rather than through an employer-hosted clinic, according to King.
"By contrast, there are two circumstances in which disability-related screening questions can be asked without needing to satisfy the 'job-related and consistent with business necessity' requirement," the EEOC wrote in December 2020. "First, if an employer has offered a vaccination to employees on a voluntary basis (i.e. employees choose whether to be vaccinated), the ADA requires that the employee's decision to answer pre-screening, disability-related questions also must be voluntary. 42 U.S.C. 12112(d)(4)(B); 29 C.F.R. 1630.14(d). If an employee chooses not to answer these questions, the employer may decline to administer the vaccine but may not retaliate against, intimidate, or threaten the employee for refusing to answer any questions. Second, if an employee receives an employer-required vaccination from a third party that does not have a contract with the employer, such as a pharmacy or other health care provider, the ADA 'job-related and consistent with business necessity' restrictions on disability-related inquiries would not apply to the pre-vaccination medical screening questions."
However, should the employee go out to a third-party location and decline to answer the prescreening questions or are denied the vaccine because of their answers, "you cannot ask them why they did not get vaccinated," King said. Your inquiry could run afoul of the ADA and have "crossed the line into a place that you do not want to be," he said.
The company might need to accommodate the worker or give them another opportunity to pursue the vaccine, he said.
A shop might also need to be cognizant of the chance a worker might claim a religious or "sincerely held" belief exemption, something protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. An employer might have to provide reasonable accommodation in such a circumstance.
King said the law is very broad, and employers aren't allowed to ask the employee whether they sincerely hold a belief. If the employee tells you to "'go pound sand'" on Title VII grounds, "that is not the time to pick the fight," King said.
King said he's encountered numerous instances of employers who recount having told an employee, "'I don't care what the religion says'" and not to come back to work. The company felt public health trumped religion.
"Not quite," King said. In fact, the employee was "probably right," he said.
Instead, be polite, tell an employee citing a Title VII exemption that you'll look into it, and call an employment lawyer, King said. The employer could be on "very dangerous ground," but "you can make it through," King said.
It's possible the workplace can claim that accommodating a client would place an undue hardship on an employer, according to King. The EEOC as of Wednesday said the Supreme Court has defined an "undue hardship" worthy of an employer exemption as "more than a de minimis cost." The agency calls this a lower bar for employers to meet for an accommodation exemption than the "an action requiring significant difficulty or expense" definition within the ADA.
What about other reasons cited by an employee for refusing to be vaccinated, such as caution over side effects or a conspiracy theory?
Fear of the vaccine, for example, "is not going to be a protected category," King said. But an employer should contact an employment lawyer before firing such an employee or overruling their objection and ordering a vaccine, he indicated.
If the worker's argument wanders into a protected category, "you must be very, very careful," King said.
"Social, political, or economic philosophies, as well as mere personal preferences, are not religious beliefs protected by Title VII," the EEOC states. "However, overlap between a religious and political view does not place it outside the scope of Title VII's religion protections."
Many other issues might arise with employers requiring vaccinations besides the ones featured here, according to King. Potential considerations could include organized labor, OSHA regulations and wage and hour policies. We repeat: Consult with a qualified expert before taking action.
As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, 46.2 percent of the population and 58.5 percent of adult Americans (18 years or older) have received at least one vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC said 35.1 percent of Americans and 44.7 percent of adults are considered fully vaccinated.
"What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws"
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Dec. 16, 2020
EEOC COVID-19 webpage
Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 vaccine website
Featured images: FordHarrison attorney Cory King at the April 21, 2021, Collision Industry Conference discussed considerations for employers desiring to require COVID-19 vaccines. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
|
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|
Q: Python like Slicing operation in c++ I have following code, where 'Snap.JPG' is a RGB format type.
import cv2
img = cv2.imread("./Snap.JPG")
img[:,:,:2] = 255
cv2.imshow("Img", img)
cv2.waitKey(0)
cv2.destroyAllWindows()
I want to convert this code into c++. What is the fastest way to implement img[:,:,:2] = 255 part of the code? Channel splitting and merging is one of the options i know, but is there any smarter way to do slicing in c++?
Edit:
Apologies, i should have mentioned what i want in the output. I need a fading effect, because i wanted to overlay a drawing on top of it.
A: This is an example of how to change pixels:
#include <opencv2/core.hpp>
#include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
#include <opencv2/highgui.hpp>
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
cv::Mat src_image = cv::imread("image.jpg", CV_LOAD_IMAGE_COLOR);
if(!src_image.data) {
std::cout << "Error: the image wasn't correctly loaded." << std::endl;
return -1;
}
cv::Mat image = src_image.clone();
// We iterate over all pixels of the image
for(int r = 0; r < image.rows; r++) {
// We obtain a pointer to the beginning of row r
cv::Vec3b* ptr = image.ptr<cv::Vec3b>(r);
for(int c = 0; c < image.cols; c++) {
ptr[c] = cv::Vec3b(255, 255, ptr[c][2]);
}
}
cv::imshow("Inverted Image", image);
cv::waitKey();
return 0;
}
A: Thanks for @Manuel's reply, it works quite well. but i could achieve the same result with faster speeds. I have added my code snippets inline your code.
#include <opencv2/core.hpp>
#include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
#include <opencv2/highgui.hpp>
#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
clock_t start, end;
cv::Mat src_image = cv::imread("Snap.JPG", CV_LOAD_IMAGE_COLOR);
if(!src_image.data) {
std::cout << "Error: the image wasn't correctly loaded." << std::endl;
return -1;
}
/* 1st method */
cv::Mat image = src_image.clone();
start = clock();
// We iterate over all pixels of the image
for(int r = 0; r < image.rows; r++) {
// We obtain a pointer to the beginning of row r
cv::Vec3b* ptr = image.ptr<cv::Vec3b>(r);
for(int c = 0; c < image.cols; c++) {
ptr[c] = cv::Vec3b(255, 255, ptr[c][2]);
}
}
end = clock();
double time_taken = double(end - start) / double(CLOCKS_PER_SEC);
std::cout << "Time taken by 1st method : " << std::fixed << time_taken << std::setprecision(5);
std::cout << " sec " << std::endl;
/* 2nd Method */
start = clock();
src_image = src_image | cv::Scalar(255, 255, 0);
end = clock();
time_taken = double(end - start) / double(CLOCKS_PER_SEC);
std::cout << "Time taken by 2nd method : " << std::fixed << time_taken << std::setprecision(5);
std::cout << " sec " << std::endl;
bool isEqual = (sum(src_image != image) == cv::Scalar(0,0,0,0));
if (isEqual)
{
std::cout << "\nIdentical Mats !" << std::endl;
}
cv::imshow("Inverted Image", image);
cv::waitKey();
return 0;
}
output is following:
Time taken by 1st method : 0.001765 sec
Time taken by 2nd method : 0.00011 sec
Identical Mats !
|
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
}
|
The Use of a Representative Form [IMM ]. Purpose: For appointing a representative for doing business on behalf of the applicant and the. Help! We dont have representative/agency.. But im confused. Do i (applicant) need to accomplish imm and put my spouse (sponsor) as my. Today I received an email from cic to submit form IMM Use of representative. There is one field in the form which says: "If you have.
Only the principal applicant. One of the biggest hurdles facing both temporary and permanent immigrants to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's online system at cic. So how do you know if you can submit your visitor visa, study permit or work permit application online? To declare basic personal details and contact information for the principal applicant and their dependents. Application for a temporary resident visa to visit. For citizenship applications, if the application satisfies all the conditions as outlined in the C itizenship Act and its regulations, the application should be processed as per section 13 of the Citizenship Act.
Use of a representative disponible en francais imm f this form is made available by citizenship and immigration canada and is not to be sold to applicants.
I can't find what I'm looking for. Though it may feel like it, this isn't actually the application.
Also, you cannot backdate the date fields. To designate a representative who can enquire about the file on behalf of the refugee. Form imm application for a temporary resident visa. A single mistake on an application form can delay The Future of Immigration in Canada.
First, you need to complete the "Come to Canada" online questionnaire. Skip down to the section on validating forms. If this message is not imk replaced by the proper contents of the document, your pdf viewer may not be able to display this type of document. In fact, it's 54476 a relative luxury to be able to submit forms online, because the government has only recently caught up with the private sector in terms of providing service online.
Your PDF program should prompt you when printing the form if applicable what section s you missed, but the first thing you should check if you cannot validate the form is whether or not you have completed all the mandatory fields.
You shouldn't even be able to see the form if you are using an older version than Reader X. Fill online application temporary visa and save your time. For example, if you are completing a TRV application, you cannot make the date earlier than the day you are completing the form.
inm If you do have to print your application, make sure the bar code is clear when your validated documents print off. Ask Questions Do you have questions? My Service Canada Account. How do I apply to Schedule A Schedule 2. If validating is not working, check the following information:. This questionnaire just evaluates whether or not you are eligible for applying online and whether or not you are eligible to stay in Canada as a visitor, student or worker at all.
You want 4576 get your immigration process right. But if the check-boxes are for a mandatory question, and you haven't filled them out, you won't be able to validate your form. If the information is incomplete, the application will be returned as per R This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Common Errors and Mistakes. Even if you are mailing your application to a IRCC office in Canada, some of your forms will have to be "validated," which means they cannot be printed until they are complete.
Imm use of a representative imm document checklist imm 2 visiting canada contact information web site for more information on the programs. The child is under 18 years and so they do not have any forms of their own. Which immigration forms should each family member complete? The table below specifies which forms are only for the principal applicant, and which are for dependent family members. Your representatives contact information page 2 of 2 name of firm or organization if applicable mailing address postal codezip.
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Fortunately, Reader is easy to update.
Imm citoyennete et immigration canada pdf imm citoyennete et immigration canada cic gc ca francais pdf trousses form immf pdf download.
But somehow it always seems to go wrong. For information about limits and restrictions applying inincluding the suspension of new applications in Quebec, see Private sponsorship of refugees in You press the button on the top of the form.
Returned applications are discussed later in this section. As a result, if.
All applicants who use a representative compensated or uncompensated must submit a Use of a Representative form IMM which discloses the name and contact information of any representative providing representation or advice at any stage of an application under the Citizenship Act or Immigration and Refugee Protection Act IRPA.
Canadian Council for Refugees. Download a blank fillable imm e document checklist visitor in canada applicant in pdf format just by clicking the download pdf button.
Use of a Representative Optional. Generic Application Form for Canada.
|
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
By Alan Gold and Mike Jones
LIST PRICE: AU$ 9.99
Two families . . . One bloodline . . . and a city named Jerusalem
When Bilal, a radicalised Palestinian youth, is shot during a botched terrorist attack, his life is saved by a young Jewish surgeon, Yael Cohen. But when Yael makes the startling discovery that her DNA is identical with Bilal's, they become caught up in a high-stakes conspiracy – a disturbing plot that will blow the region to pieces and stun the world with its audacity.
But unknown to Bilal and Yael, theirs is the last and bloody chapter in a story that crosses millennia. Century after century, two ancient families – bloodline ancestors of Yael and Bilal – defied the corrupt power of kings and conquerors, and their struggles forged a fiercely proud people and an enduring hope for peace. But through war and atrocity, kinships were shattered, forcing dynasties apart and allowing evil to gain a foothold.
And in modern Israel, confronted with exposure, those sinister forces will do anything to take control of the Holy Land and silence Yael and Bilal, who must run for their lives. Through imprisonment, assassination attempts and political machinations, they must ultimately confront the truth of who they are.
But is blood enough?
www.bloodlinetrilogy.com
Alan Gold
Alan Gold is an internationally published and translated author of fifteen novels. He speaks regularly to national and international conferences on a range of subjects, most notably the recent growth of anti-Semitism.
@Mike Jones
Mike Jones is an award-winning writer and creative producer who works across a variety mediums including books, screen, digital & interactive media.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia (October 23, 2013)
Book Cover Image (jpg): Bloodline
Author Photo (jpg): Alan Gold
Author Photo (jpg): Mike Jones
|
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}
|
Summer sweat pays off for Student Engagement
From left, Brittney Calton, Kaitlin Runion, Cody Dumas, Pablo Ciscomani and Jeremy Mack, Director of Student Engagement, discuss plans for the upcoming school year all designed to welcome and engage GCU students.
Story by Theresa Smith
Photos by David Kadlubowski
"Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.''
The classic summer lyric by Seals and Crofts evokes a laid-back aura, yet the atmosphere in Grand Canyon University's Student Engagement offices on a late June day kindle a decidedly different feeling. With hundreds of events to plan for the 2018-19 school year, it is not the time for the Student Engagement staff to relax.
Jeremy Mack, Director of Student Engagement, oversees 13 staffers who lead Associated Students of GCU (ASGCU), Canyon Activities Board (CAB), Clubs and Organizations, Commuters, Diversity Office, ROTC, Veteran's Center and Thunderground. Each Student Engagement staff member oversees dozens of student leaders.
In the 2017-18 academic year, 583 activities fell under the umbrella of Student Engagement, not including hundreds of events planned and executed by the 126 clubs on campus. Although the number of events is staggering, it is not critical, according to Mack.
"It's not the volume (of events) but the engagement,'' Mack said. "We want to make students feel welcome on campus while making friends. We want to help students engage with other students, from the largest club, AZ HOSA (Arizona HOSA-Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America), one of the largest nursing clubs in the nation with more than 400 members, to small and large events, from Mr. GCU, to Winter Fest, to the Hanging of the Greens.''
Brittney Calton, Associated Students program coordinator, oversees three teams within ASGCU: Freshmen Class Council, Diversity Council and Volunteer GCU.
Her work with students over the summer began on June 25, when the four ASGCU executives arrived on campus to begin their preparations, including helping plan approximately 50 events during Welcome Week. The week involves more than 1,000 student volunteers, including approximately 50 in ASGCU leadership roles.
"ASGCU are scholarship student leaders who were selected for their roles,'' Calton said. "They applied, they were interviewed and were selected. They serve the student body — that's their purpose, to give either a service or a program for the student body.''
While gaining leadership experience is often emphasized in preparation for college, Calton and other Student Engagement staff members do not require applicants to be experienced leaders.
"One thing that we really appreciate about our students is that they have diverse backgrounds and interests,'' Calton said. "Some of them, maybe they weren't involved in high school, and they regretted it, and they are just looking for a way to get involved. So they go out on a limb and they apply, and we see something in them that we want to invest in, so we offer them a position. Many of them are returning from last year, and now they've moved up, and they have more of a supervisory role."
Four criterion are critical: being teachable, being available, being responsible and having a good attitude, according to Calton.
Fitting the criterion is the 2018-19 student executive team: president Noah Wolfe, executive vice president Stephen Steininger, chief of staff Aly Halbakken and administrative vice president Tim McGill. They arrived on campus on June 25 to prepare for the fall semester.
"They hit the ground running and we started cranking on the planning, the goals and the outcomes for the entire year for their team,'' Calton said. "Because it is student government and it is their administration, we guide them, but we let them be very creative in the campaigns they choose to run, and the initiatives they want to pursue.''
For 25 hours per week, in exchange for summer housing and a summer meal plan, the student executive team works with Mack; Calton; Pablo Ciscomani, clubs and commuter coordinator; Cody Dumas, student government coordinator; and Kaitlin Runion, clubs and organizations coordinator.
"We'll show them the shared access to the drive where all the files are stored from previous years and the current year. That's where a bulk of the planning happens,'' Calton said. "We'll go over budget procedures, we'll go over corrective action, which is discipline process, we'll go over public speaking, and we'll go over relational communication — so how do you talk to a new student who comes to your event, how do you befriend them and make them feel comfortable?''
The training, known as summer intensives, occur twice per week for two hours each.
Planning events for Welcome Week is among the most time-sensitive matters. Ignite, for example, is one of the most spiritual events, as students gather in the darkness on the quad, light a candle, say a prayer and dedicate the new school year in a positive and profound way. Wolfe will make a speech and Pastor Tim Griffin, Dean of Students, will offer a blessing.
"It is a very special event,'' Calton said.
Calton and Runion talk about upcoming activities at GCU.
Ciscomani guides the clubs as they plan events and seek ways to add members. Among the most unique clubs is Medieval Combat Club, which grew from a group of students casually meeting to official club status in 2017.
"It involves larping (Live Action Role Play), where a bunch of students get together and use rope swords, cardboard armor and engage in live action role play fights and battles,'' Ciscomani said.
"That's always fun. I love that club, in particular, because it provides an area of community for students who might not have found it in any other club, like HOSA, or academic clubs, or even the social clubs, like Lopes Outdoors. This is a very unique population of students who have found a sense of belonging in the Medieval Combat Club
"That's why I love doing what I do; it's not because, 'Oh, we have all these clubs.' I look at all these clubs as an opportunity for a student coming into school to say, 'Oh where do I fit in?' We have over 100 different clubs you can fit into, or we have all these different events, through ASGCU, HOSA or the CAB or spiritual life; there is always something for students to find their niche in.''
Several clubs are applying for grants this summer for Welcome Week, including the Forensics Science Club, which plans a mock crime scene designed to teach students how to fingerprint, like CSI (Crime Scene Investigation). The computing club seeks funds to develop a new chip, and the Modern Board Gamers Guild is using funds to buy numerous board games for a board game night. The Hip Hop Club and Lindy Lopes are planning events while eSports strategizes to attract even more club members at the Fall Club Fair on Aug. 27.
As campus enrollment continues to grow, Ciscomani strives to meet new needs.
"With more students, there are more passions, which leads to creating a club we do not have or joining a club we already have and making that bigger,'' he said.
Club collaboration is also part of summer planning as the Black Student Union, Latino Student Union, Hui Aloha and Filipino-American Student Association are working together to organize a celebration during Welcome Week.
"It will be a time for different dishes to be shared, and different performances,'' Ciscomani said. "I love it when our clubs collaborate and do something bigger than they could do individually. "
The bottom line is engaging students, and if it requires summer sweat instead of summer chill, then Seals and Crofts will have to wait.
Contact Theresa Smith at (602) 639-7457 or theresa.smith@gcu.edu.
Encourage one another, though it might get messy »
« Hotel an at-home sanctuary for doctoral learners
Tags: ASGCUBlack Student UnionBrittney CaltonCanyon Activities BoardForensics Science ClubgcuJeremy MackLatino Student UnionMedieval Combat ClubNoah WolfeStudent EngagementWelcome Week
Theresa Smith :
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Moving experiences at GCU are close at hand
Six weeks from now, thousands of student volunteers for Move-In will arrive, followed shortly thereafter…
|
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}
|
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a really great weekend! I spent the weekend in Temecula wine country with Mr. BFT and his parents. It was my first time visiting and I'm really kicking myself for waiting so long! It was absolutely lovely and relaxing, and I can't wait to go back and do some more exploring. I will have a quick recap up the blog soon.
The sweepstakes will run from April 17 at noon EDT to April 20 at noon EDT. To enter, go to my Instagram and follow the rules under the image that matches the one below. Please also be sure to read and understand the terms and conditions.
Void where prohibited by state or federal law. Not open to participants under the age of 18, residents of Canada, or the employees, contractors, or immediate family members of any of the sponsoring blogs. Multiple entries are permitted, but are limited to one (1) entry on each participating wedding blogger's individual Instagram account for a maximum total of 15 entries.
Chances of winning are based on total number of entries received. Winners will be notified by Instagram. Instagram is the sole method of entry. The winner must have an active Instagram account at the time of drawing, and be able to be contacted by the giveaway administrators. The selected winner will be given 48 hours from time of notification to claim the prize before another winner is chosen.
By entering, you agree to these terms and agree to completely release and hold harmless the bloggers and their business entities participating via their Instagram accounts to sponsor this giveaway. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or associated with Instagram, PayPal,or its subsidiaries. By entering or participating you signify your complete release of Instagram. Following accounts, tagging, submitting multiple entries, or any action, which could be deemed a special consideration of the contest, are not required for entry.
|
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|
Ex-negotiator: China may be signaling it's going hard-line — but it still wants a trade deal
Former top White House trade negotiator Clete Willems
China may have just signaled it's going more hard-line on trade, but it could actually be a good thing, former top White House trade negotiator Clete Willems, told CNBC on Wednesday.
Beijing added a new member to its negotiating team last week: Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, who's seen by many officials in Washington as a hard-liner. It could be a sign that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is standing firm on trade, analysts say.
The Chinese minister was present at last month's G20 summit. He also participated in a phone conversation with US trade representatives last week.
By adding Zhong to the negotiating team, it shows that Xi is trying to win over the hard-liners, said Willems, who left his role as deputy director of the National Economic Council (NEC) in March.
"China has now elevated its commerce minister Zhong Shan and made him a part of the core negotiating team along with (Vice Premier) Liu He. A lot of people are nervous — he's seen as a hard-liner," Willems told CNBC's 'Squawk Box'.
But he's not overly concerned.
"I actually think it's a good thing because what it shows is that President Xi is trying to get buy-in from both the hard-line within China and the reformers, which is going to be necessary ingredients for a deal," Willems said.
"President Xi is only going to be able to get a deal if the hard-liners are bought in," he added.
Flexibility needed
Willems has served as the lead trade negotiator for the US at summits like the G7 and G20, and also participated in trade talks in Washington and Beijing. He was a right-hand man to NEC Director Larry Kudlow on trade with China.
According to Willems, the Chinese team did try to 'show flexibility' during the talks, but things turned around after they returned to Beijing.
"What ended up happening is that when Liu He brought the deal back to President Xi and to the entire political class in China, there was a bit of a rebellion from hard-liners who didn't think the deal was good from China's standpoint," Willems said.
"So there's going to need to be flexibility, but I think China has shown they're willing to put these things on the table," added Willems, who's now a partner at international law firm Akin Gump.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there's still a long way to go to reach a deal with China. He also threatened to slap tariffs on another $325 billion of Chinese goods.
But Willems told CNBC that a deal will ultimately be reached.
"My inclination is that we will get a deal, I think that a lot of really good work was done. I think it's in both sides' interest to harvest that work," he said.
"I think China's economy — whether or not they want to admit it — is in a little bit of a difficult situation, and it's in their interest to get a deal."
The prolonged trade battle seems to be taking a toll on the Chinese economy. Data on Monday showed its economic growth slowed to 6.2 percent in the second quarter — the weakest rate in at least 27 years.
Ex-negotiator
hard-line
Iran Daily
Resource: CNBC
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China will keep buying our palm oil, Malaysia's trade chief says
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Pelosi to Trump: 'You are impeached forever'
|
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|
The location is flexible and home-working will also be considered. Organisation based in London.
£35,000 to £38,000 depending on experience.
We invite applications to undertake this role on either a full time or part time basis.
|
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}
|
Student Experiences & Engagement »
Diversity & Cultural Engagement
sjretreat_background.png
There are several retreats that support social change offered at Oregon State: Racial Aikido, Multiracial Aikido, International Student Social Justice Retreat, and Examining White Identity in a Multicultural World. As a partnership between Community Engagement & Leadership (CEL), Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS), Diversity & Cultural Engagement (DCE), Office of Institutional Diversity, and University Housing & Dining Services (UHDS), these weekend long retreats promote a campus dialogue about race and racism. Each of the retreats engage in the active exploration of the concept of race and how race influences our lived experiences and interactions.
Racial Aikido Retreat
Racial Aikido explores the experiences of Students of Color (SOC) at OSU and beyond. Our focus for the 2021 experience is on community-building, the recognition of identity and racism, and response and replenishment to these realities. Our goal is to build a supportive network to learn and thrive at OSU and beyond.
For more information or any accommodations related to disabilities, please contact: [email protected]
Multiracial Aikido
Multiracial Aikido (MRA) is founded on the principles and history of the Racial Aikido retreat. MRA explores systems of racial oppression and centers experiences of multiracial, multiethnic, transracial, and mixed heritage individuals.
We offer a supportive learning environment for participants to unpack racial and ethnic identity through storytelling and to build a community of peers and mentors who support their growth. We hope that by the end of the retreat participants will have found commonality in their various experiences and identify tools to navigate, heal, and make meaning as racialized beings in a U.S. context.
International Student Social Justice Retreat
The International Students' Social Justice Retreat was launched at OSU in February 2016 in the spirit of initiating dialogue on issues of diversity, ethnicity, race, and nationality in the U.S., this retreat helps international students understand the socio-historical American narrative on race and ethnicity, and provides international students with skills to manage and disrupt discrimination based on their perceived identities.
Examining White Identity
This 3 part series is designed for White-identified students to deepen their understanding of and commitment to racial justice work and anti-racism practice. Participants will engage in storytelling, dialogue, embodiment exercises, and more in order to gain strategies and tools for engaging in racial justice conversations, disrupting racism, and identifying next steps on their personal journeys. Together, we will explore how anchoring this work to love increases our ability to develop authentic relationships and sustain engagement over the long term. This offering is a part of a movement to grow a community of White-identified students committed to racial justice at OSU. Join us!
Student Affairs is dedicated to principles of equity and social justice, and as such, all of our events and programs are inclusive to all who are committed to transformative learning.
If you have questions, please visit our FAQs page or email [email protected]
Social Justice Retreats FAQs ›
|
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|
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{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
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Enjoyable little app for basic photo enhancements.
XnRetro is the little sibling of the more comprehensive XnView. The app is pretty much hassle-free and user-friendly, but it offers limited tools. XnRetro is an okay photo companion for users who need all the essential features that make a photography app usable, from processing to sharing, without sophistications and convoluted controls.
Open photos in other apps.
XnRetro is a very straightforward app with basic features for simple and quick photo enhancements. It comes with a reasonable collection of retro looking filters and frames ready to use. It includes several light textures (leaks, bokeh, and other effects) with adjustable opacity, vignette styles, and the possibility to add grain and to edit brightness, contrast and saturation of images. Edited photos can be posted to Facebook and Twitter, can be uploaded to Dropbox or can be sent via email, also as PDF files. Moreover, photos can be opened in other apps for further editing.
Unfortunately, the app doesn't allow full resolution saving (the maximum I managed to save is 1536 x 1560); apparently, from the in-app settings you can select an option for exporting original sized images to the device's photo library, but I couldn't get it to work. Even with its limitations, XnRetro does a bit of everything average users will need for their pictures. Casual shooters and people willing to share photos after applying slight modifications, attractive retro looking filters, and fancy borders will definitely have fun with this app.
XnRetro works both on iPhone and iPad. The app is currently free in the App Store (previously it was $0.99). If you are curious, give it a try now.
|
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Andresen H, Aasland OG. Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2008; 128: 2823-7.
Isaksson Rø KE, Gude T, Tyssen R, Aasland OG. BMJ 2008; 337: 1146-9.
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Tyssen R, Hem E, Gude T, Grønvold NT, Ekeberg O, Vaglum P. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2008 Jul 19.
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Aasland OG, Røvik JO / Rovik, Wiers-Jenssen J. Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2008; 128: 1833-7.
Finsen V, Storeheier AH, Aasland OG. Birth 2008 Jun;35(2):117-20.
Aasland OG. I: Larsen Ø, Alvik A, Hagestad K, Nylenna M, red. Samfunnsmedisin. Oslo: Gyldendal Akademisk, 2008: 213-9.
Bringedal B, Aasland OG. Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning 2008; nr. 2: 96-104.
Førde R / Forde R, Aasland OG. Journal of Medical Ethics 2008; 34: 521-5.
Aasland OG. Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2008; 128: 1512-4.
Innstrand ST, Langballe EM, Espnes GA, Falkum E, Aasland OG. Work & Stress 2008; 22 (1): 1-15.
Jannecke Wiers-Jenssen: Doctoral thesis at Department of Sociology and Human Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, 2008.
Langballe EM. Burnout in modern work life: Concept and consequences. Examined in different occupational gruops in Norway. Oslo: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, 2008.
Førde R / Forde R, Pedersen R, Akre V. Med Health Care Philos. 2008; 11(1): 17-25.
Hurst SA, Reiter-Theil S, Slowther A-M, Pegoraro R, Forde R / Førde R, Danis M. Journal of Medical Ethics 2008;34: 241-6.
Hva får vi igjen for de obligatoriske kurs i spesialistutdanningen?
Münter Sellevold OF, Stenseth RM, Aadahl P, Bjørngaard M, Dragsund S, Aasland OG. NAForum 2008; nr. 1: 32-7.
Aasland OG, Johannessen A. Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift (NAT, Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs) 2008; 25: 515-21.
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
package org.apache.activemq.openwire.v1;
import org.apache.activemq.command.JournalTrace;
import org.apache.activemq.openwire.DataFileGeneratorTestSupport;
/**
* Test case for the OpenWire marshalling for JournalTrace
*
*
* NOTE!: This file is auto generated - do not modify! if you need to make a
* change, please see the modify the groovy scripts in the under src/gram/script
* and then use maven openwire:generate to regenerate this file.
*/
public class JournalTraceTest extends DataFileGeneratorTestSupport {
public static final JournalTraceTest SINGLETON = new JournalTraceTest();
public Object createObject() throws Exception {
JournalTrace info = new JournalTrace();
populateObject(info);
return info;
}
protected void populateObject(Object object) throws Exception {
super.populateObject(object);
JournalTrace info = (JournalTrace) object;
info.setMessage("Message:1");
}
}
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
}
|
Professional > Technical > Luncheons > January 23rd, 2013
Post-earthquake seismic reflection survey, Christchurch, New Zealand, with some new insights into faults
Dr. Don Lawton
Dept.of Geoscience, U of C
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013 – 10:30 AM MST
On September 4, 2010, an earthquake struck the Christchurch region in New Zealand. The Mw 7.1 quake was centered about 40 km west of the city of Christchurch and caused significant damage but no loss of life. A key manifestation of the earthquake was a fault (Greendale Fault) that ruptured to the ground surface with a maximum dextral displacement of 5.1 m and a vertical displacement of 1.5 m, upthrown to the south. On February 22, 2011, a Mw 6.2 aftershock struck with a shallow hypocenter very close to Christchurch. This earthquake resulted in the loss of 182 lives and devastating damage (|$23B) to the city infrastructure. Since September, 2010, the region has experienced over 10,500 aftershocks, with 42 of these being greater than 5M.
Approximately 45 line-km of high-fold reflection seismic data were recorded in and around Christchurch following the February 22, 2011 aftershock. The goal of the seismic program was to map previously unknown shallow faults in and around the city for hazard assessment and to assist in the post-earthquake recovery effort. Reflection seismic data were collected along six 2D lines, two of which were within the Christchurch metropolitan area and four were in rural areas west of the city. Recording conditions were challenging within the city, but good quality images were obtained along all of the seismic lines, with events interpretable to a depth of approximately 1.5 km. Numerous faults were imaged along the lines and these were interpreted in two groups - older faults that showed clear offsets in deep (> 1 km) reflections and younger faults that showed displacement in shallow reflections. Some faults in the latter group were interpreted to be directly associated with hypocentres of the earthquake and aftershocks.
Don Lawton is a Professor of Geophysics and Chair in Exploration Geophysics in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Calgary. His research interests include acquisition, processing and interpretation of multicomponent seismic data, seismic anisotropy, integrated geophysical and geological studies in complex geological settings, and geological storage of CO2. He is an Associate Director of the Consortium for Research in Elastic Wave Exploration Seismology (CREWES) and is Theme Lead in Secure Carbon Storage for Carbon Management Canada, a Network of Centres of Excellence. In 2011 he led a team from the University of Calgary and CREWES to New Zealand for seismic imaging below the City of Christchurch following a devastating earthquake there. He is a past Editor of the Canadian Journal of Exploration Geophysics, and was a recipient of a Meritorious Service Award from the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (CSEG) in 1996 and the CSEG Medal in 2000. He is a member of SEG, AAPG, EAGE, CSEG, CSPG, ASEG, and APEGA.
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
}
|
Read Next Former Straitjacket Fits Guitarist Andrew Brough Has Passed Away
July 6, 2016 1:50PM
Inside Neil Young's Nature-Themed Opus
After a divorce, he's back in L.A. with a new band and a new love. But he's still got plenty to be pissed off about.
By Patrick Doyle
You can hear him from the hallway. Neil Young is kicked back on a couch in the centre of his suite at New York's Carlyle Hotel one recent morning, stabbing away at the strings of his acoustic guitar. His wet hair is combed back and he's wearing a T-shirt that says "Earth," with jeans and sandals. He places his beat-up 1940s Martin – previous owner: Hank Williams – next to him on the couch. "Sit down, make yourself at home," he says. Just then, his Samsung phone rings; the ringtone is his own voice shouting "Hello?!" He picks up – a wrong number. "I'll just turn it off, that'll solve it."
Young is in the middle of a quick New York trip, and, as is typical for him, his schedule is ever-shifting. He just decided to do a sketch on The Tonight Show, forcing his team to cancel several interviews today. In front of Young are lyrics to the comedy bit, a song called "Two Neil Youngs Sitting on a Tree Stump," sent to him by Jimmy Fallon. Young doesn't like singing his own name, so he's been tweaking the words with help from his manager, Elliot Roberts. "You're gonna get a credit on this one," Young says to Roberts with a smile.
Roberts, 73, has worked with Young since the late Sixties, and the two still speak several times a day. "I've never seen him happier," Roberts says. That's a recent development, however. In the past few years, several of Young's close pals died, including longtime film collaborator Larry Johnson and guitarist Ben Keith – losses that Young took hard. Then, in 2014, he parted ways with Pegi Young, his wife of 36 years, and moved out of Broken Arrow Ranch, the property in Redwood City, California, he had since 1970. "I got a divorce, and I gave my wife the ranch," he says matter-of-factly. (His son Ben, who has cerebral palsy, still lives at the ranch: "All his support systems are there.")
Agostino Fabio/GC Images/Getty
Young is dating actress Daryl Hannah, who said a big hello as she stepped into the hotel elevator just now. The couple live in L.A., putting Young in the city "for the first time since Zuma." The move has allowed Young to reconnect with several old friends. "I was so remote for so long," he says. "All my old friends are now just a few miles away." One is Stephen Stills, who's been making music with Young lately. Stills and other friends, including Graham Nash and the members of Crazy Horse, celebrated Young's 70th birthday in November at L.A.'s Roxy. "Daryl put together a great party," Young says. "I felt really loved."
Hannah has helped Young focus on his health, with an organic diet, regular Pilates and a lot of walking. "I like to listen to the animals," he says. "I like to track the beauty of what's going on. I enjoy being with the plants and stuff." Young aimed to capture that beauty on Earth, a new live album featuring his most environmentally conscious songs, from "After the Gold Rush" to tracks from last year's The Monsanto Years, on which he attacked the agrochemical giant as a jumping-off point to sound the alarm on the planet's decline. Young spent months enhancing Earth with animal and nature sounds – bees, roosters, crashing waves – that he recorded himself near his house. "There's a lot going on in the world that isn't all lovey-dovey and cool beach songs," he says. "I've done all of that." A week after Earth's release, Young put out a new version of Human Highway, a 1982 film comedy that he co-directed, about a nuclear disaster that ends the world.
"I arrived in L.A. and joined Buffalo Springfield in 1966," Young continues. "Since then, we've lost 90 percent of the fish we eat from the ocean. There's only 10 percent of them left, and there's three times as many of us." He shakes his head. "It's math."
Even for Young, the past decade has been full of left turns. He finally agreed to a Buffalo Springfield reunion tour in 2011, but canceled it after seven shows because he was disappointed with their playing, according to a representative for Young. He's ramped up his output, releasing theme albums like Fork in the Road, a love letter to his custom electric Lincoln Continental, and A Letter Home, cut in a 1947 recording booth at Third Man Records in Nashville. "This is the age where you should have freedom to do whatever you want and put it out."
"They're much better players than I am," Young says of his Promise of the Real bandmates. Jay Blakesberg
The only problem, according to Young, is getting that music heard. His music is not available on streaming services aside from Tidal, which supports high-quality audio. He spent several years developing his high-resolution Pono music player, which has struggled to catch on. "Technology has done a disservice to music," he says. "I think there's a place for rebel radio, with special receivers, where jocks play what they want: vinyl, new stuff, old stuff, and it's all analog. Because there's no variety. It's all, like, GMO music."
But Young has plowed ahead anyway. "Just because everything else is broken doesn't mean I have to be broken," he says. On Earth, he's backed by Promise of the Real, a band featuring Willie Nelson's sons Lukas, 27, and Micah, 26. Young first played with them at Farm Aid in 2014, and they have been with him since. They usually join Young onstage after his acoustic set, and roadies in hazmat suits pretend to spray the stage with chemicals. "They have no fear," says Young, who loves the three-guitar attack he forms with the Nelsons. "They're much better players than I am. Lukas is like a gunslinger, and Micah is very ethereal and spaced. So they're completely different, and I'm somewhere in between." Where Crazy Horse attack Young's songs with a garage-y simplicity, Promise of the Real add virtuosity and youthful energy. They grew up on Young's songs (their band name is inspired by a lyric from "Walk On"), and they've learned more than 100 of them, playing three-hour sets including rarities like 1974's "Vampire Blues." "I've always wanted to do this, but no one has ever been able to follow it," Young says.
Recording The Monsanto Years, Young and the band drank lots of Amazonian yerba maté tea and smoked homegrown pot in the studio. "He seems like he's 25," says Micah. "He gets deeper with age. And danker."
After he wraps his current tour in October, Young will continue work on Archives II, the follow-up to 2009's Archives, which collected unreleased material up to 1972. Young says the project will include Dume, an album of songs from the Zuma era, and Hitchhiker, an acoustic LP from the mid-Seventies. The major holdup has been developing technology for presenting the ambitious project: "We're gonna have a website that's, like, 60 years of music in chronological order, with links so you can look at my archives and play the music off the high-res source at the same time." So what's it like to reflect on all he's accomplished over the years? "I don't," he says. "I need to take a break and go to the bathroom."
In October, Young and Promise of the Real will play California's Desert Trip, with Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, the Who, the Rolling Stones and Roger Waters. "I was amazed that I was asked to be in it," Young says. But don't expect him to cater to the audience with a set full of hits. "I don't give a shit," he says. "I don't care what people want to hear – that's not why I'm playing. I'm not an entertainer in the classic sense. I play what I feel like playing, and I hope the people like it."
In This Article: Neil Young
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
}
|
All US politicians should be pro-sex education in post-Roe world
By Teresa Blackmon On Jul 2, 2022
I'm not here to take a stance on abortion. Debates are raging on both sides, but it doesn't change the fact our Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, and now millions of women in more than a dozen states who previously had access to abortion soon no longer will.
Now that we've got here, the question is: how we can minimize the number of women who experience unwanted pregnancy in the first place — particularly in states where access to abortion is now restricted? It's a utilitarian question of harm reduction, and the glaring answer is sexual education.
Although concrete statistics are difficult to come by, it is estimated that about half of women who get abortions are using no form of birth control whatsoever at the time of conception, and a further 41 percent are doing so inconsistently. This status quo — where birth control usage is lax and one in five pregnancies is terminated — needs to change.
This past week the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade leaving the abortion issue to individual states.
Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File
It's also an indictment of our education system. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than half of high schools and less than a fifth of middle schools cover the 20 recommended components of sexual education. And, according to surveys of students, the situation is only getting worse. The share of girls who say they received information about where to get birth control before they had sex for the first time has fallen from 87 percent to 64 percent since 1995.
It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that America experiences higher rates of teen pregnancy than most other developed nations. Comprehensive sexual education is associated with a lower risk of teen pregnancy — and lifelong empowerment to take control of one's reproductive destiny.
America experiences higher rates of teen pregnancy than most other developed nations. Sexual education has been shown to lower these rates.
Much of this comes down to state and local legislation. Today, only 30 states and the District of Columbia mandate sexual education, just 22 require that instruction be medically and factually accurate, and a mere 19 require that methods of contraception be covered at all.
Ironically, many of the states now restricting access to abortion either don't require sexual education or stress abstinence in their instruction. That must change. More than half of American teens will engage in intercourse by the time they graduate. Human beings have sex, and pretending otherwise is foolish. Teaching them to do so responsibly is the only realistic path forward.
Education must be used to change the status quo where one in five pregnancies are terminated.
REUTERS/Shannon VanRaes
Every single US lawmaker — and particularly every pro-life lawmaker — should be proposing bills to shore-up sexual education in schools. Empowering the post-Roe generation to engage in responsible sex is the least we can do, and legislators would find it's a vote winner, too. A whopping 89 percent of likely voters say sex education is important in middle school, and an overwhelming 98 percent think it's important in high school.
Now that abortion is no longer legal in many states, we should encourage teenagers to avoid getting pregnant — by teaching them about contraception via sexual education in school.
Meanwhile, American parents should also be demanding better reproductive education for their kids. In many areas, sexual education policy falls to local school boards. Just as hordes of concerned parents recently protested the politicization of their kid's curricula at school board meetings, they should call for comprehensive sexual education from their local officials now, too.
The bottom line: sex education is more important than ever in a post-Roe world. We must empower the next generation of women with the knowledge to help them take charge of their reproductive freedom.
Rikki Schlott is a 22-year-old student, journalist and activist.
iPhone 14 cutback rumors questioned by analyst ahead of launch
How to create speaker groups for HomePod using Shortcuts
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
}
|
The University of Ibadan (UI) Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka has met with student leaders across the faculties on June 5, 2018 where he declared that he was not against student unionism, but he would not allow the students to overstay in school in the name of unionism while their mates in private universities graduate on record time.
The student representatives including Hall Chairmen and Secretaries, Faculty Presidents as well as other interested students met with the ice chancellor at the Senate Chamber to raise various issues with the management as solutions and suggestions were proffered.
The vice chancellor, who was meeting the broad spectrum of student representatives for the first time after the suspension of unionism, remarked that he had always wanted a forum where he could regularly get students' input into the running of the university.
The vice chancellor explained the management's positions on some of the contentious issues when the forum became more lively as student representatives began to engaged him on various matters of interest including the restoration of student union.
"I want you to convince me on what you are missing with the suspension of unionism by the Senate. Your primary reason of coming to this university is to get a degree. It is our responsibility to ensure that you achieve that goal and move on to become successful in life. I am not against unionism, but you will agree with me that this thing has been counterproductive." Prof. Olayinka said.
"Do you know how much of time we have lost to needless crises occasioned by unionisms of various nature? I think we should reason over the one we have control over and be realistic. During Prof. Falase and Prof. Bamiro's tenure, student union was suspended for 10 years. I don't think those students who passed through UI during that period are inferior in any way! Please, let us think about how you can get your degree on time because I know that union Presidency is not a degree", he stated.
Prof. Olayinka announced, on water and other municipal services that the university had hired a contractor to rehabilitate and dig more boreholes in order to ensure that water flows in all the hostels and toilets.
A student from Queen Idia hall attested to the improved availability of light and water, therefore commending the Management for the relentless effort to ensure that the learning environment is conducive.
The Vice Chancellor summoned the Director of Information Technology and Media Services (ITeMs), Mrs. Abiodun Alao who explained the issue of identity card that contrary to insinuation that the Cards were not smart ones, "the fact that the chips were not feasible didn't make the cards ordinary", adding that students will soon begin to see the functionality of the card when the second phase of the project is launched very soon.
She stated that the money being paid for the identity card each session was for revalidation and not that the university was cheating the students by repeated payment for the same product.
On the money being charged on unionism when the union has been suspended, the vice chancellor asked the Bursar to refund the money, urging the students to write to the student affairs on any matter of interest, just as he freely gave out his e-mail address and phone number to the students.
The Dean of student affairs, Prof. Ajuwape in his own words also attested that the vice chancellor had approved purchase of various needs towards making water available all the time through water tankers.
Present at the meeting are the Vice chancellor, Professor Idowu Olayinka, Deputy Vice Chancellor (academic), Prof. Adeyinka Aderinto, the Registrar, Mrs. Olubunmi Faluyi, University Bursar, Dr. Micheal Alatise, Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. A.T.P. Ajuwape and his Deputy, Prof. A. Abiona, hall and faculty student leaders.
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
Heat oil in a pan and saute chicken for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Just brown the ingredients to seal off the flavours but don't cook completely - this is done in the oven. Add garlic, spring onions, corn and capsicum and cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables have heated through. Reduce heat and stir through the asparagus, then stir through remaining ingredients to coat well. Stir the sauce through the sauteed chicken and vegetables and allow to cool. Never add hot filling to raw pastry.
Melt the butter over a medium heat and add the flour, stirring constantly. Gradually pour in the chicken stock stirring to avoid lumps. Continue stirring until a thickish sauce consistency is achieved.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and rub through the flour until a breadcrumb appearance is reached. Add the cold water gradually and incorporate until a soft dough consistency is formed. Turn out and knead on a floured surface until smooth.
Line a 22cm pie dish with half the prepared pastry. Trim the pastry around the edges of the tin. Add the pie filling, push down well and cover with remaining pastry (or you may prefer to use puff pastry for the top). Tuck edges into the side of pie tin to neatly seal the top. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with cornmeal and make 2-3 small cuts in top of pastry to allow steam to escape.
Bake in preheated 190C oven for 30 minutes, or until pastry is cooked through and filling is hot. Serves 6.
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
Ursula was born in Yorkshire and developed a keen interest in photography aged 10. Since then she has combined her love of nature and passion for photography and this clearly shines through in her images. Ursula moved to Somerset in 2009 and now pursues her interest on Exmoor and surrounding area as well as further afield. When not photographing nature, Ursula works as a leadership development consultant.
Ursula also combines her images with quotes to make truly inspirational wall-hangings suitable for both business and home.
on 07770 648169 or email: info@f4inspirationalimages.co.uk.
|
{
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
}
|
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