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In probability theory and statistics, covariance is a measure of how much two variables change together (variance is a special case of the covariance when the two variables are identical).
If two variables tend to vary together (that is, when one of them is above its expected value, then the other variable tends to be above its expected value too), then the covariance between the two variables will be positive. On the other hand, if one of them tends to be above its expected value when the other variable is below its expected value, then the covariance between the two variables will be negative.
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Contents
Definition
The covariance between two real-valued random variables X and Y, with expected values and is defined as
where E is the expected value operator. This can also be written:
Random variables whose covariance is zero are called uncorrelated.
If X and Y are independent, then their covariance is zero. This follows because under independence,
Recalling the final form of the covariance derivation given above, and substituting, we get
The converse, however, is generally not true: Some pairs of random variables have covariance zero although they are not independent. Under some additional assumptions, covariance zero sometimes does entail independence, as for example in the case of multivariate normal distributions.
The units of measurement of the covariance Cov(X, Y) are those of X times those of Y. By contrast, correlation, which depends on the covariance, is a dimensionless measure of linear dependence.
Properties
If X, Y, W, and V are real-valued random variables and a, b, c, d are constant ("constant" in this context means non-random), then the following facts are a consequence of the definition of covariance:
For sequences X1, ..., Xn and Y1, ..., Ym of random variables, we have
For a sequence X1, ..., Xn of random variables, and constants a1, ..., an, we have
Incremental computation
Covariance can be computed efficiently from incrementally available values using a generalization of the computational formula for the variance:
Relationship to inner products
Many of the properties of covariance can be extracted elegantly by observing that it satisfies similar properties to those of an inner product:
- (1) bilinear: for constants a and b and random variables X, Y, and U, Cov(aX + bY, U) = a Cov(X, U) + b Cov(Y, U)
- (2) symmetric: Cov(X, Y) = Cov(Y, X)
- (3) positive semi-definite: Var(X) = Cov(X, X) ≥ 0, and Cov(X, X) = 0 implies that X is a constant random variable (K).
It can be shown that the covariance is an inner product over some subspace of the vector space of random variables with finite second moment.
Covariance matrix, operator, bilinear form, and function
For column-vector valued random variables X and Y with respective expected values μ and ν, and respective scalar components m and n, the covariance is defined to be the m×n matrix called the covariance matrix:
For vector-valued random variables, Cov(X, Y) and Cov(Y, X) are each other's transposes.
More generally, for a probability measure P on a Hilbert space H with inner product , the covariance of P is the bilinear form Cov: H × H → H given by
for all x and y in H. The covariance operator C is then defined by
(from the Riesz representation theorem, such operator exists if Cov is bounded). Since Cov is symmetric in its arguments, the covariance operator is self-adjoint (the infinite-dimensional analogy of the transposition symmetry in the finite-dimensional case). When P is a centred Gaussian measure, C is also a nuclear operator. In particular, it is a compact operator of trace class, that is, it has finite trace.
Even more generally, for a probability measure P on a Banach space B, the covariance of P is the bilinear form on the algebraic dual , defined by
where is now the value of the linear functional x on the element z.
Quite similarly, the covariance function of a function-valued random element (in special cases called random process or random field) z is
where z(x) is now the value of the function z at the point x, i.e., the value of the linear functional evaluated at z.
Comments
The covariance is sometimes called a measure of "linear dependence" between the two random variables. That does not mean the same thing as in the context of linear algebra (see linear dependence). When the covariance is normalized, one obtains the correlation matrix. From it, one can obtain the Pearson coefficient, which gives us the goodness of the fit for the best possible linear function describing the relation between the variables. In this sense covariance is a linear gauge of dependence.
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http://taggedwiki.zubiaga.org/new_content/18d9d89eed375b6352f0f41903a276d4
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If you are looking for what is the square root of 17 ? Then, this is the place where you can find some sources that provide detailed information.
what is the square root of 17
Square Root Symbol √ (Copy & Paste, Keyboard, In Word & Mac)
23/9/2021 · What is square root sign in Algebra. The definition of the arithmetic square root does not add clarity, but it is worth memorizing it: The arithmetic square root of a non-negative number “m” is a non-negative number whose square is equal to a. The definition of the square root can also be represented in the form of formulas: √m = x x 2 = m
How Do I Calculate Square Root In Python? - Stack Overflow
20/1/2022 · Most simple and accurate way to compute square root is Newton's method. You have a number which you want to compute its square root (num) and you have a guess of its square root (estimate). Estimate can be any number bigger than 0, but a number that makes sense shortens the recursive call depth significantly.
Fast Inverse Square Root - Wikipedia
Fast inverse square root, sometimes referred to as Fast InvSqrt() or by the hexadecimal constant 0x5F3759DF, is an algorithm that estimates , the reciprocal (or multiplicative inverse) of the square root of a 32-bit floating-point number in IEEE 754 floating-point format.This operation is used in digital signal processing to normalize a vector, such as scaling it to length 1.
Square Root Calculator. Find The Square Root In One Easy Step
6/4/2022 · square root of 17: √17 ≈ 4.12, square root of 19: √19 ≈ 4.34, etc. Let's try and find the square root of 52 again. You can simplify it to √52 = 2√13 (you will learn how to simplify square root in the next section) and then substitute √13 ≈ 3.61. Finally, make a multiplication √52 ≈ 2 * 3.61 = 7.22. The result is the same as ...
Square Root - Formula, Examples | How To Find Square Root?
The square root of a number is the value of power 1/2 of that number. In other words, it is the number whose product by itself gives the original number. It is represented using the symbol '√ '. The square root symbol is called a radical, whereas the number under the square root symbol is called the radicand.
Square Root - Wikipedia
In mathematics, a square root of a number x is a number y such that y 2 = x; in other words, a number y whose square (the result of multiplying the number by itself, or y ⋅ y) is x. For example, 4 and −4 are square roots of 16, because 4 2 = (−4) 2 = 16.. Every nonnegative real number x has a unique nonnegative square root, called the principal square root, which is denoted by , …
Square Root In C - Javatpoint
The square root of 289 is: 17 The square root of 12.25 is: 3.50 The square root of 144.00 is: 12.00 Example 2: Program to take a number from user and to get the square root Let's consider an example to print the square root of a number by taking an input from the user and then use the sqrt() function in C.
Square Root Of 289 (Value And Simplification) - BYJUS
Clearly, 289 is a perfect square, such as; 289 = 17 x 17. Therefore, if we take the square root on both the sides, we get; √289 = √(17 x 17) √289 = 17. By Long Division method. We can also find square root using long division method. This method is very useful not only to find the root of imperfect squares but also to find the root of ...
Root Mean Square Or RMS Value Of AC - Electrical Concepts
17/9/2018 · From the above expression of rms value, it is clear that rms value of AC current is equal to the square root of mean of the squares of the instantaneous current values. Though the above formula has been derived for AC current, it is well applicable for AC voltage too. The only difference will arise that, instead of taking instantaneous current values, instantaneous voltage …
Methods Of Computing Square Roots - Wikipedia
Initial estimate. Many iterative square root algorithms require an initial seed value.The seed must be a non-zero positive number; it should be between 1 and , the number whose square root is desired, because the square root must be in that range.If the seed is far away from the root, the algorithm will require more iterations.
I hope the above sources help you with the information related to what is the square root of 17 . If not, reach through the comment section.
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https://digitalairwaves.net/what-is-the-square-root-of-17-18/
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A fundamental task in many statistical analyses is to characterize the location and variability of a data set. A further characterization of the data includes data distribution, skewness and kurtosis.
What is Normal Distribution and why is it important in training our data models in Machine learning? The normal distributions are very important class of statistical distributions. All normal distributions are symmetric and have bell-shaped curves with a single peak (aka Gaussian Distribution). Creating a histogram on variable (variable values on Xaxis and its frequency on Yaxis) would get you a normal distribution.
When the distribution is normal then it obeys 68-95-99.7% rule. Which means
- 68% of data points/observations fall within +1*(Standard Deviation) to -1*(Standard Deviation) of mean
- 95% of data points/observations fall within +2*(Standard Deviation) to -2*(Standard Deviation) of mean
- 7% of data points/observations fall within +13*(Standard Deviation) to -3*(Standard Deviation) of mean
If the data distribution is not normal then it can be skewed to the left or right or completely random. Some of these cases are addressed through skewness and kurtosis.
Skewness: The coefficient of Skewness is a measure for the degree of symmetry in the variable distribution. There are different formulae for calculating this skewness coefficient. Karl Pearson gave couple of formula
Kurtosis: Kurtosis is a measure of whether the data are peaked or flat relative to a normal distribution. That is, data sets with high kurtosis tend to have a distinct peak near the mean, decline rather rapidly, and have heavy tails. Data sets with low kurtosis tend to have a flat top near the mean.
Some basics to recollect to go through the distribution (mean, median and std dev)
Mean: It is the sum of all observations divided by number of observations
Median: When all the observations are sorted in the ascending order, the median is exactly the middle value.
– Median is equal to 50th percentile.
– If the distribution of the data is Normal, then the median is equal to the arithmetic mean (which also equals Mode).
– The median is not sensitive to extreme values/outliers/noise, and therefore it may be a better measure of central tendency than the arithmetic mean.
Standard Deviation: It gives the measure of the spread of the data. Average of squared differences from the mean is variance and square root of variance is std dev.
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https://tekmarathon.com/2015/11/13/importance-of-data-distribution-in-training-machine-learning-models/
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Standard error is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of a statistic. It can be abbreviated as S.E.
Standard error plays a very crucial role in the large sample theory. It also may form the basis for the testing of a hypothesis. The statistical inference involved in the construction of the confidence interval is mainly based on standard error.
The magnitude of the standard error gives an index of the precision of the estimate of the parameter. It is inversely proportional to the sample size, meaning that smaller samples tend to produce greater standard errors.
The standard deviation of a sample is generally designated by the Greek letter sigma (σ). It can also be defined as the square root of the variance present in the sample.
Statistics Solutions can assist with determining the sample size / power analysis for your research study. To learn more, visit our webpage on sample size / power analysis, or contact us today.
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https://www.statisticssolutions.com/standard-error/
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When calculating the covariance of two stocks, should you convert the return to a decimal first? eg. return = 5%, do you use 5 or .05 in the formula? Does it matter as long as you stay consistent? In the CFAI end of chapter questions, sometimes they convert it to decimal sometimes they don’t. In Q12B reading 8: they use covariance calculated from the decimal notation. However in Q14: they do not convert return to decimal notation first. The problem I have with this is, the answer to Q12B is 0.121346(variance of portfolio). In Q12C they ask you to calculate standard deviation of portfolio, which should be the square root of variance. The answer they give is square root of 0.121346, which is 0.348348. Why is the standard deviation of portfolio bigger than the variance of the portfolio? It doesn’t make much sense if the variance of the portfolio is 12.13% and the standard deviation is 34.83%. I think it should be square root of 12.1346, which would end up with 3.48348 as the standard deviation. So I guess I have 2 questions. 1. As long as you stay consistent with your % or decimal notation, will everything work out ok? 2. When calculating standard deviation from variance in a portfolio context. Should the variance be converted to % notation first before taking the square root?
I like to keep everything in decimal when working with % returns. Yes, a little cumbersome but it doesn’t go wrong. I ignore % signs only when I am taking ratios and know for sure that there is a denominator with a % too so that the 100s will get canceled.
Ah I figured it out after working through a whole problem for both cases. From covariance -> variance -> standard deviation. I can answer my own question now. 1. Yes stay consistent and all will work out. 2. No, do not change conventions during the calculation. Just take the root.
If you calculate standard deviation either approach is going to give you the same answer if you stay consistent. If you calculate variance, you would be better off using decimals to avoid possible mistakes similar to 1%*1% = 1%. Using decimals, you will clearly see that 0.01*0.01 = 0.0001.
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https://www.analystforum.com/t/calculating-variance-standard-deviation-of-portfolio/62780
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In Chatter: Basic Manual Project Management – Part 1: Cost Evaluation we looked at some of the basic cost evaluation techniques when dealing with a number of projects and having to decide which will be the right one … not from a “technical having fun” perspective, but from a cost effectiveness.
In this post we will briefly look at risk planning, in particular the PERT techniques.
Before we start, we should cover the four basic ways we can deal with project risks, namely acceptance, avoidance, reduction and transfer.
- “acceptance” … we literally accept the risk, which is a feasible option when the cost of taking any action is likely going to be more than any probable damage … although I personally do not like this option and had a hard time in one of my assignments trying to justify it.
- “avoidance” … we avoid everything that is a risk, which is probably why I will never jump out of a fully functional aircraft and hope that the parachute opens.
- “reduction” … we take proactive and preventative measures to actively reduce the probability of risk, such as packing a safety parachute if you are insane enough to jump out of a fully functional aircraft.
- “transfer” … we transfer the risk to another person or organisation, which typically involves outsourcing and/or calling the cavalry.
PERT
PERT stands for program evaluation and review technique and based on literature I read, it was developed for the fleet ballistic missile program. It requires us to define three estimates for every activity including most likely, optimistic and pessimistic.
PERT expected duration formula = (optimistic + (4 x most likely) + pessimistic)/6
Before we look at an example, we need to cover the formula for calculating the standard deviation of an activity time, which is (pessimistic – optimistic)/6
Example
The table shows 6 tasks, with the optimistic likely and pessimistic estimates. The figures in bold indicate the calculated expected duration and standard deviation. The figures in red are the estimates done using the formula I have been given by my mentor in the early 80’s and have used ever since … pretty close and therefore the PERT technique gives me a good warm fuzzy feeling.
PERT uses the following activity template to visualize the above as events:
If we draw the five activities using this template, we get:
When we calculate the standard deviation for event “4”, we have to first calculate the square root of the sum of squares of the individual standard deviations using tasks A and C, as well as B and D as shown. The resultant standard deviation of A & C, shown as standard deviation 4 using 1 & 2, is the greater of the two and therefore the one we use for event 4.
If there is any interest, we can chat about the significance of the standard deviation in the next blog post, to calculate the probability of completing the project on time … assuming we have to complete within 17 days.
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https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/willy-peter_schaub/2009/11/16/chatter-basic-manual-project-management-part-2-pert-techniques/
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An online course I've been taking recently brushed up on some basic topics in Statistics, and one subject that caught my interest was the formula for standard deviation. The reason being the concept explained to us during our high school years was not quite correct compared to how it was elucidated in college. Anyone who is Maths-savvy knows standard deviation is simply the square root of the variance (which is the residual sum of squares divided by degrees of freedom). Intuitively, it is a figure that characterizes how each sample in the data set strays from the mean. So what could have gone wrong in explaining such a simple and basic concept between high-schoolers and engineering undergraduates?
I still remember our High School Statistics teacher on that fateful afternoon (around 3:30 p.m. or 4:00 p.m.) describing what standard deviation was to us. After writing the formula on the chalkboard and elaborating it's use, a student asked why the denominator was 'N-1' for sample standard deviation. There was a slight pause I think, before the teacher proceeded to reason that the total 'N' sample size counted the '0th' element of the sample - which supposedly justifies the subtraction of a unit. I believed this dubious explanation for some time until I stepped onto college.
The straightforward method of calculating sample and population SD:
We had a probability and statistics course on our 3rd year, where we revisited standard deviation. This time, it was in the evening (around 6:00 p.m.) and our professor who strongly believed in lighting a fire in students rather than spoon-feeding information to them. He explained that standard deviation had a changing denominator because it was based on the degrees of freedom of the data involved.
Below is a video from Khan Academy that gives a similar explanation:
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-statistics/summarizing-quantitative-data-ap/more-standard-deviation/v/review-and-intuition-why-we-divide-by-n-1-for-the-unbiased-sample-variance
Now, degrees of freedom is a really hard concept to explain through theory, and is best grasped by example - which is probably why our high school teacher wasn't audacious enough to mention it back then as she would've been bombarded with even more questions that involved a higher level of Mathematics (we were still high-schoolers).
Fast forward a few more years and here I am again reviewing the same thing for the 3rd time in an Econometrics course. This time, the standard deviation is for regression analysis. Hence, the degrees of freedom involved for error estimation becomes the total sample size minus 1 MINUS the number of explanatory variables (in the course, the explanatory variables were grouped together with the '-1' which makes it +1, I find this less intuitive to remember so I memorized the degrees of freedom as N-k-1 instead of N-(k+1)).
Maybe a reader might also find this approach easier to imbibe in one's mind. Thank you for reading!
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https://www.eememes.com/2018/12/standard-deviation-sample-vs-population.html
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2. Now, calculate the average of these numbers which is simply adding up all the returns and dividing by the number of years in question. The sum of returns is 48 and if you divide by 8 (the number of years) you end up with an average of 6. Remember this number.
3. Now you need to find the sum of the squared deviations. This just means that for every year you subtract the calendar year return from the average you found earlier and then square it. In other words: (Average return – return for that year)2. So for example for 2000 the squared deviation is (6-8)2 which equals -22 which equals 4. The squared deviation for 2001 is just (6-(-6))2 which equals 144. You continue to do this until you have all the squared deviations for all eight years. Then you add up all these numbers together which gives you 804.
5. Finally, take the square root of this number. In our example this leaves us with 10.71714. And that’s your final answer.
Therefore, this portfolio has an average return of 6.00% and an annual standard deviation of 10.72%.
Note – don’t include the quotes. Just type everything as shown from the equals sign to the closing parenthesis. You can take the numbers from this example and see if you come up with the same answer.
A seemingly simple statement but in the messy-real-world is there a consensus on the right way to do that calculation?
Anyone else have any links to some good calculators?
“So for example for 2000 the squared deviation is (6-8)2 which equals -22 which equals 4. The squared deviation for 2001 is just (6-(-12))2 which equals 324”.
Fixed – good eye Sarah!
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https://bondsareforlosers.com/calculate-your-own-portfolios-standard-deviation/
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Chapter : 2
What Are Data Processing ?
Mean
The mean is the value obtained by adding all of the values together and dividing by the number of observations.
Median
The median is the point at which the organised series is divided into two equal halves. It is not affected by the actual value.
Mode
The most common value in a distribution is called the mode.
Dispersion
The scattering of scores around the measure of central tendency is referred to as dispersion. It’s a metric for determining how much individual items or numerical data fluctuate or spread around an average value.
Range
The gap between the highest and minimum values in a series of distributions is known as a range (R). This simply indicates the distance between the lowest and highest score in a series. It’s also known as the sum of the top and lowest scores.
Quartile Deviation (Q.d)
It measures absolute dispersion slightly better than the range. However, it overlooks the tail observation. The results are almost always sufficiently diverse when we compute the quartile deviations of multiple samples from a population. The term for this is sampling fluctuation. It is not a widely used dispersion metric. The quartile deviation obtained from sample data does not allow us to draw any conclusions about the population’s quartile deviation.
Mean Deviation
The average of the absolute difference between the elements of a data set and the mean (average deviation) or the median element is the absolute deviation for that data set (median absolute deviation). The mean deviation, also known as the average deviation, is the sum of the absolute departures of observations from an appropriate average, such as the arithmetic mean, median, or mode.
Standard Deviation
The most often used metric of dispersion is the standard deviation (SD). The square root of the average of squares of deviations. It’s always measured as a percentage of the mean. The root mean square deviation is the standard deviation.
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https://oswalpublishers.com/notes/cbse-class-12-geography-notes/data-processing/
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In chemistry, transactinide elements (also, transactinides, or super-heavy elements) are the chemical elements with atomic numbers from 104 to 120. Their atomic numbers are immediately greater than those of the actinides, the heaviest of which is lawrencium (atomic number 103).
Chemistry gentleman Glenn T. Seaborg first proposed the actinide concept, which led to the acceptance of the actinide series. He also proposed the transactinide series ranging from element 104 to 121 and the superactinide series approximately spanning elements 122 to 153. The transactinide seaborgium was named in his honor.
By definition, transactinide elements are also transuranic elements, i.e. have an atomic number greater than uranium (92).
The transactinide elements all have electrons in the 6d subshell in their ground state. Except for rutherfordium and dubnium, even the longest-lasting isotopes of transactinide elements have extremely short half-lives, measured in seconds, or smaller units. The element naming controversy involved the first five or six transactinide elements. These elements thus used systematic names for many years after their discovery had been confirmed. (Usually the systematic names are replaced with permanent names proposed by the discoverers relatively shortly after a discovery has been confirmed.)
Transactinides are radioactive and have only been obtained synthetically in laboratories. None of these elements has ever been collected in a macroscopic sample. Transactinide elements are all named after physicists and chemists or important locations involved in the synthesis of the elements.
IUPAC defines an element to exist if its lifetime is longer than 10−14 seconds, which is the time it takes for the nucleus to form an electron cloud.
List of the known transactinide elements
- 104 Rutherfordium, Rf
- 105 Dubnium, Db
- 106 Seaborgium, Sg
- 107 Bohrium, Bh
- 108 Hassium, Hs
- 109 Meitnerium, Mt
- 110 Darmstadtium, Ds
- 111 Roentgenium, Rg
- 112 Copernicium, Cn
- 113 Nihonium, Nh
- 114 Flerovium, Fl
- 115 Moscovium, Mc
- 116 Livermorium, Lv
- 117 Tennessine, Ts
- 118 Oganesson, Og
Work performed from 1964 to 2013 at four laboratories – the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the USA, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in the USSR (later Russia), the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany, and RIKEN in Japan – identified and confirmed the elements from rutherfordium to oganesson according to the criteria of the IUPAC–IUPAP Transfermium Working Group and subsequent Joint Working Parties. These discoveries complete the seventh row of the periodic table.
The remaining two transactinides, ununennium (element 119) and unbinilium (element 120), have not yet been synthesized: they would begin an eighth period.
Characteristics
Due to their short half-lives (for example, the most stable isotope of rutherfordium has a half-life of 11 minutes, and half-lives decrease gradually going to the right of the group) and the low yield of the nuclear reactions that produce them, new methods have had to be created to determine their gas-phase and solution chemistry based on very small samples of a few atoms each. Relativistic effects become very important in this region of the periodic table, causing the filled 7s orbitals, empty 7p orbitals, and filling 6d orbitals to all contract inwards toward the atomic nucleus. This causes a relativistic stabilization of the 7s electrons and makes the 7p orbitals accessible in low excitation states.
Elements 104 to 112, rutherfordium through copernicium, form the 6d series of transition elements: for elements 104–108 and 112, experimental evidence shows them to behave as expected for their position in the periodic table. They are expected to have ionic radii between those of their 5d transition metal homologs and their actinide pseudohomologs: for example, Rf4+ is calculated to have ionic radius 76 pm, between the values for Hf4+ (71 pm) and Th4+ (94 pm). Their ions should also be less polarizable than those of their 5d homologs. Relativistic effects are expected to reach a maximum at the end of this series, at roentgenium (element 111) and copernicium (element 112). Nevertheless, many important properties of the transactinides are still not yet known experimentally, though theoretical calculations have been performed.
Elements 113 to 118, nihonium through oganesson, should form a 7p series, completing the seventh period in the periodic table. Their chemistry will be greatly influenced by the very strong relativistic stabilization of the 7s electrons and a strong spin-orbit coupling effect "tearing" the 7p subshell apart into two sections, one more stabilized (7p1/2, holding two electrons) and one more destabilized (7p3/2, holding four electrons). Additionally, the 6d electrons are still destabilized in this region and hence may be able to contribute some transition metal character to the first few 7p elements. Lower oxidation states should be stabilized here, continuing group trends, as both the 7s and 7p1/2 electrons exhibit the inert pair effect. These elements are expected to largely continue to follow group trends, though with relativistic effects playing an increasingly larger role. In particular, the large 7p splitting results in an effective shell closure at flerovium (element 114) and a hence much higher than expected chemical activity for oganesson (element 118).
Element 118 is the last element that has been claimed to have been synthesized. The next two elements, elements 119 and 120, should form an 8s series and be an alkali and alkaline earth metal respectively. The 8s electrons are expected to be relativistically stabilized, so that the trend towards higher reactivity down these groups will reverse direction and the elements will behave more like their period 5 homologs, rubidium and strontium. Nevertheless, the 7p3/2 orbital is still relativistically destabilized, potentially giving these elements larger ionic radii and perhaps even being able to participate chemically. In this region, the 8p electrons are also relativistically stabilized, resulting in a ground-state 8s28p1 valence electron configuration for element 121. Large changes are expected to occur in the subshell structure in going from element 120 to element 121: for example, the radius of the 5g orbitals should drop drastically, from 25 Bohr units in element 120 in the excited [Og]5g18s1 configuration to 0.8 Bohr units in element 121 in the excited [Og]5g17d18s1 configuration, in a phenomenon called "radial collapse" that occurs at element 125. Element 122 should add a further 7d electron to element 121's electron configuration. Elements 121 and 122 should be homologs of actinium and thorium, respectively.
Beyond element 121, the superactinide series is expected to begin, when the 8s electrons and the filling 8p1/2, 7d3/2, 6f5/2, and 5g7/2 subshells determine the chemistry of these elements. Complete and accurate CCSD calculations are not available for elements beyond 122 because of the extreme complexity of the situation: the 5g, 6f, and 7d orbitals should have about the same energy level, and in the region of element 160 the 9s, 8p3/2, and 9p1/2 orbitals should also be about equal in energy. This will cause the electron shells to mix so that the block concept no longer applies very well, and will also result in novel chemical properties that will make positioning these elements in a periodic table very difficult. For example, element 164 is expected to mix characteristics of the elements of group 10, 12, and 18.
See also
- Transuranium element
- Bose–Einstein condensate (also known as Superatom)
- Island of stability
References
- IUPAC Provisional Recommendations for the Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry (2004) (online draft of an updated version of the "Red Book" IR 3-6) Archived October 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
- Morss, Lester R.; Edelstein, Norman M.; Fuger, Jean, eds. (2006). The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements (3rd ed.). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-3555-5.
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http://library.kiwix.org/wikipedia_en_chemistry_nopic_2018-10/A/Transactinide_element.html
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The goal of our experimental and theoretical research program is to understand the nuclear processes that shape the cosmos. To that end, we take advantage of the capabilities of NSCL and other laboratories to produce the same exotic isotopes that are created in extreme astrophysical environments such as supernovae, hydrogen explosions on neutron stars and white dwarfs, or the crusts of neutron stars. By measuring the properties of these very short lived isotopes we can address questions such as: What is the origin of the heavy elements in nature? What role do neutron star mergers and supernovae play? What powers the frequently observed x-ray bursts and what do observations tell us about neutron stars? What are the processes in the crusts of neutron stars that convert ordinary nuclei into exotic isotopes beyond the limits of neutron stability? Why do these processes generate not enough heat to explain observations?
These questions are addressed by carrying out different types of experiments using a broad range of detector systems, including NERO, GRETINA, and SuN to detect decay and reaction products, and measurements of the masses of very neutron rich nuclei using the S800 spectrometer and a set of specially developed micro channel plate and fast plastic detectors. A more recent direction are experiments using the unique low energy beams provided by the NSCL ReA3 facility to address questions in nuclear astrophysics. Our group uses and continues to develop the high density gas jet target JENSA, and employs the new neutron detector HABANERO to measure reactions that create elements in supernova explosions. Our group also plays a leading role in the construction and commissioning of the SECAR recoil separator, a new instrument that will enable the direct measurement of very slow astrophysical reactions. SECAR is being commissioned, and experiments are planned starting 2020. Thesis projects are available in all these areas.
Our experiments are not performed in isolation but are embedded into a network of astrophysical model calculations and astronomical observations supported by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA-CEE) a multi institutional NSF Physics Frontiers Center. Graduate students in our group become part of JINA-CEE and participate in all stages of this process. The goal of JINA- CEE is to provide a fully interdisciplinary education that is a pre-requisite for a successful career in this field.
While students go through the complete nuclear physics graduate course sequence, their education is complemented by participation in JINA-CEE schools (often held internationally), through research stays at JINA-CEE collaborating institutions in the US and abroad, and by carrying out astrophysical model calculations as part of their research, for example, to motivate their experiments, or to interpret their experimental results. Our group has a suite of astrophysical models that are available for use and further development at MSU. Alternatively collaborations with JINA-CEE partners in theoretical astrophysics can be used to carry out more sophisticated model calculations, such as multi-zone X-ray burst or multi-dimensional supernova simulations. In addition, students will develop collaborative connections with other JINA-CEE graduate students and postdocs at other institutions, as well with established researchers in nuclear physics, astrophysics, and astronomy.
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https://www.nscl.msu.edu/directory/schatz.html
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Thermoluminescence dating methods
Radiometric dates, like all measurements in science, are close statistical approximations rather than absolutes.This will always be true due to the finite limits of measuring equipment.
This allows the dating of much older and smaller samples but at a far higher cost.
In the example below, the bone must date to sometime between 1.75 and 1.5 million years ago.
For instance, a date of 100,000 5,000 years ago means that there is a high probability the date is in the range of 95,000 and 105,000 years ago and most likely is around 100,000.
decay or the rate of other cumulative changes in atoms resulting from radioactivity. The various isotopes of the same element differ in terms of atomic mass but have the same atomic number..
One half-life is the amount of time required for of the original atoms in a sample to decay.
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https://apple-ideal.ru/thermoluminescence-dating-methods-3100.html
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Oganesson (Og) is the heaviest chemical element in the periodic table, but its properties have proved difficult to measure since it was first synthesised in 2002.
Now an advanced computer simulation has filled in some of the gaps, and it turns out the element is even weirder than many expected.
At the atomic level, oganesson behaves remarkably differently to lighter elements in several key ways – and that could provide some fundamental insights into the basics of how these superheavy elements work.
The simulations run by the international team of scientists show that oganesson's electrons, protons, and neutrons don't follow the same rules as the other noble gases that the element is grouped with, and that could have a big impact on how we understand this section of the periodic table.
"The superheavy elements represent the limit of nuclear mass and charge," says one of the researchers, Witek Nazarewicz from Michigan State University. "They inhabit the remote corner of the nuclear landscape whose extent is unknown."
"The questions pertaining to superheavy systems are in the forefront of nuclear and atomic physics, and chemistry research."
In lighter elements in the same noble gas family as oganesson, according to the Bohr model of the atom, electrons take up certain orbits or positions around the nucleus, forming shell-like groups around the centre.
Calculations known as fermion localisation functions are used to work out where these electron shells are, but such are the large electrostatic forces produced by an oganesson atom, the rules of special relativity come into play.
With that in mind, the researchers used adapted fermion localisation functions called electron localisation functions to calculate where the electrons would be in oganesson. Turns out, the electron shells become almost indistinguishable, creating a kind of electron gas around the nucleus.
In other words, at the most fundamental level, it's not like other noble gases such as xenon or neon at all.
"On paper, we thought that it would have the same rare gas structure as the others in this family," says one of the researchers, Peter Schwerdtfeger from Massey University in New Zealand.
"In our calculations however, we predict that oganesson more or less loses its shell structure and becomes a smear of electrons."
That same smear or special gas state also applies to the neutrons inside the superheavy nucleus, according to the researchers' calculations, though the protons were shown to retain some kind of shell-like status.
We're talking some deep-level quantum physics here, but what it all means is that oganesson doesn't seem to be like the other elements it's grouped with. The special blob formation of its electrons could mean it's much more chemically reactive than the other noble gases, for example.
Another possible consequence is that oganesson atoms would clump together in a solid at room temperature, rather than bouncing off one another as they would usually in a gas.
Now bear in mind these are just computer simulations, albeit very complex ones – they aren't studies of oganesson itself. The element is too hard to produce and lasts for such a short time that we can't really examine it in the usual ways.
But now we have these predictions about the structure and properties of element 118, scientists can put together experiments to try and put these hypotheses to the test. That's the next stage in the research.
Further down the line, these insights could even help us work out how to produce an oganesson atom that lasts for more than a millisecond.
"Calculations are the only way to get at [oganesson's] behaviour with the tools that we currently have, and they have certainly provided some interesting findings," says Schwerdtfeger.
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https://www.sciencealert.com/detailed-simulation-of-worlds-heaviest-oganesson-atom-show-its-weirdness
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INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
About six gigatons — roughly 12 times the mass of all living humans — of carbon appears to be emitted over land every year, according to data from the Chinese Global Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Scientific Experimental Satellite (TanSat).
Using data on how carbon mixes with dry air collected from May 2017 to April 2018, researchers developed the first global carbon flux dataset and map. They published their results in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.
The map was developed by applying TanSat’s satellite observations to models of how greenhouse gasses are exchanged among Earth’s atmosphere, land, water and living organisms. During this process, more than a hundred of gigatons of carbon are exchanged, but the increase in carbon emissions has resulted in net carbon added to the atmosphere — now at about six gigatons a year — which is a serious issue that contributes to climate change, according to Dongxu Yang, first author and a researcher in the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAP CAS).
“In this paper, we introduce the first implementation of TanSat carbon dioxide data on carbon flux estimations,” Yang said. “We also demonstrate that China’s first carbon-monitoring satellite can investigate the distribution of carbon flux across the globe.”
While satellite measurements are not as accurate as ground-based measurements, said co-author Jing Wang, a researcher in IAP CAS, satellite measurements provide continuous global observation coverage that provides additional information not available from limited or varied surface monitoring stations. For example, a monitoring station in a city may report very different observations compared to a station in a remote village, especially if they are in drastically different climates.
“The sparseness and spatial inhomogeneity of the existing ground-based network limits our ability to infer consistent global- and regional-scale carbon sources and sinks,” said co-author Liang Feng, researcher with the National Centre for Earth Observation at the University of Edinburgh. “To improve observation coverage, tailor-made satellites, for example TanSat, have been developed to provide accurate atmospheric greenhouse gas measurements.”
The data from these satellites, which includes TanSat, Japan’s GOSAT and the United States’ OCO-2, and future missions, will be used to independently verify national emission inventories across the globe. According to the Yang, this process will be overseen by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and begin in 2023, in support of the Paris Agreement. TanSat’s measurements generally match with data from the other satellites.
“This verification method will be helpful to better understand carbon emissions in real time, and to help ensure transparency across the inventories,” said co-author Yi Liu, researcher in IAP CAS.
The process will be bolstered by the next generation of satellites, known as TanSat-2, which is currently in the design phase. The goal, Yang said, will be to obtain measurements that help elucidate the carbon budget from the global scale down to individual cities.
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TanSat, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the China Meteorological Administration, was launched in December 2016.
Link to full non-paywalled paper.
Abstract.
Space-borne measurements of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations provide global observation constraints for top-down estimates of surface carbon flux. Here, the first estimates of the global distribution of carbon surface fluxes inferred from dry-air CO2 column (XCO2) measurements by the Chinese Global Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Scientific Experimental Satellite (TanSat) are presented. An ensemble transform Kalman filter (ETKF) data assimilation system coupled with the GEOS-Chem global chemistry transport model is used to optimally fit model simulations with the TanSat XCO2 observations, which were retrieved using the Institute of Atmospheric Physics Carbon dioxide retrieval Algorithm for Satellite remote sensing (IAPCAS). High posterior error reduction (30%–50%) compared with a priori fluxes indicates that assimilating satellite XCO2 measurements provides highly effective constraints on global carbon flux estimation. Their impacts are also highlighted by significant spatiotemporal shifts in flux patterns over regions critical to the global carbon budget, such as tropical South America and China. An integrated global land carbon net flux of 6.71 ± 0.76 Gt C yr−1 over 12 months (May 2017–April 2018) is estimated from the TanSat XCO2 data, which is generally consistent with other inversions based on satellite data, such as the JAXA GOSAT and NASA OCO-2 XCO2 retrievals. However, discrepancies were found in some regional flux estimates, particularly over the Southern Hemisphere, where there may still be uncorrected bias between satellite measurements due to the lack of independent reference observations. The results of this study provide the groundwork for further studies using current or future TanSat XCO2 data together with other surface-based and space-borne measurements to quantify biosphere-atmosphere carbon exchange.
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https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/07/24/chinas-carbon-monitoring-satellite-reports-global-carbon-net-of-six-gigatons/
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AMS measurements of long-lived radionuclides can make significant contributions to the understanding of the temporal evolution of our early solar system. Samarium-146 has a half-life in the order of 100 Myr and decays via emission of α-particles into stable ¹⁴²Nd. Due to different geochemical behaviour and the radioactive decay of ¹⁴⁶Sm, the Sm-Nd isotopic system can serve as a chronometer for the early solar system and planetary formation processes. The half-life of ¹⁴⁶Sm, which provides the time scale for this clock, is in dispute. The most recent and notably precise measurements for the half-life are (103±5) Myr (adopted from [1,2]) and (68±7) Myr and differ by more than 5 standard deviations. In addition to potentially resolving this discrepancy, developing AMS for ¹⁴⁶Sm might provide the means to study stellar nucleosynthesis on the proton rich side of the chart of nuclei and serve as radiometric tracer for geosciences.
Due to the extremely challenging task of separating ¹⁴⁶Sm from its stable isobar ¹⁴⁶Nd, to date the only AMS measurement of ¹⁴⁶Sm was performed at Argonne National Laboratory with energies in the order of ~880 MeV. At the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility at ANU, the possibility to measure ¹⁴⁶Sm at energies of 200-250 MeV is being explored. Different sample materials, molecular negative ion beams and detector setups are investigated. So far, the lowest Nd backgrounds, from commercially available sample material without additional Nd separation were achieved using SmO₂- beams extracted from Sm₂O₃ samples.
In order to explore the limits of the Sm detection capabilities, Sm₂O₃ samples were irradiated with thermal neutrons in the reactor at ANSTO to produce the shorter lived ¹⁴⁵Sm (t1/2 = (340±3) d ) via ¹⁴⁴Sm(n,γ)¹⁴⁵Sm. The production of ¹⁴⁵Sm is easier and faster and the challenges in measuring ¹⁴⁵Sm via AMS are very similar to those measuring ¹⁴⁶Sm. In addition, ¹⁴⁵Sm has the potential to serve as a tracer for future reference materials for AMS measurements of Sm.
A. M. Friedman et al., Radiochim. Acta 5, 192 (1966).
F. Meissner et al., Z. Phys. A 327, 171 (1987).
N. Kinoshita et al., Science 335, 1614 (2012).
A. R. Brosi et al., Phys. Rev. 113, 239 (1959).
Biography:
Stefan Pavetich studied Physics at the University of Vienna. He received his PhD in Physics from the Technical University of Dresden in 2015. His PhD work focused on ion source development for AMS and was conducted at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. Currently, he is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Nuclear Physics at the ANU investigating neutron -, and alpha capture reactions relevant for nucleosynthesis in stellar environments and developing AMS for non-routine radionuclides (Zr-93, Fe-60). He participated in interdisciplinary studies using AMS, including reconstruction of irradiation histories of meteorites and groundwater modelling in arid regions in Israel and Oman.
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http://www.ams15sydney.com/events/sm-146-feasibility-studies-to-re-date-the-chronology-of-the-early-solar-system/
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The meteorological observations in Mukhrino were started in 2008. An automatic meteorological complex which includes major part of the equipment was installed in 2010. The equipment is partially updated according to needs of current research projects.
The station’s staff is responsible for maintenance of the equipment, making basic preprocessing of the data and depositing the data online.
All data have open access (the policy of data sharing is currently under development) and will be uploaded in an international database in future (e.g. NordGIS, Nordicana D or others).
Russian version on YuSU website
METADATA INFORMATION:
There are about 50 meteorological parameters and about 370 series of observations in the METADATA CATALOG (.xls file) of the weather station. The measurements are provided by 20 types of sensors. There are three automatic complexes which integrate the sensors:
- Central automatic weather complex that integrate 19 sensors, has three controllers and a central computer that transmits the data to the Yugra university server via Internet (equipped with solar panels)
- Weather complex of OTC experimental site unites 32 sensors, the data stored in a central computer memory (equipped with solar panels)
- An autonomous soil measurements complexes (5 pc.) integrates several sensors, data stored in the device memory.
Besides the automatic complexes, some devices working automatically separately or maintained manually.
DATA STORAGE:
THE DATA AVAILABLE FROM GOOGLE DRIVE DIRECTORY
(last update 25.02.2020)
In this folder, each series of measurements is stored in a separate .csv file, the file numbers correspond to the numbers in the table with the description of the series: __Meteo-Mukhrino_METADATA.xlsx. Additionally, the observations from the Campbell station are collected in one common table, for the convenience of unloading them as a single file: _Campbell meteocomplex TOTALLY.xlsx
The primary goal of the weather station in Mukhrino is to record meteorological parameters of local ecosystems: mainly the raised bog and less – coniferous forest ecosystem (in taiga zone of West Siberia). It would be important to provide the data for the research projects conducted at the station and to obtain long-term series of climate parameters.
Presently, the station is working with the following objectives:
- Creating a collection of equipment to ensure the long-term observations of major meteo parameters
- Providing the good work of the equipment (to make inspection and data collection on regular basis, to calibrate the loggers)
- Providing good work of the supporting equipment (to improve energy supply system, work of central computers and Internet connection)
- Programming the system of data preprocessing and database for data storage on YuSU server
- Providing an access to data (online storage, import to international databases, scientific publications)
Major parameters of long-term observations include:
- Air temperature (bog, forest)
- Air humidity (bog)
- Atmospheric pressure
- Precipitation (bog, forest)
- Wind speed and direction (bog)
- Solar radiation balance (bog)
- Incoming and outcoming PAR (bog)
- Soil heat flux (bog)
- Soil profile temperature (bog, forest)
- Soil profile humidity (bog)
Some of parameters were measured in local conditions for short time periods during different projects (the data series are nevertheless stored in the database), for example:
- Temperature in and out OTC chambers
- Temperature of soil and air in Macromycetes monitoring plots
- Temperature of soil in TeaComposition plots, and others.
Some pictures of the weather station in photo album:
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https://mukhrinostation.com/research/weather-station/
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Lab C is an obligatory year-long (for physics students) or a single semester course (for double major and other combined programs). The experiments in Lab C are performed by students in pairs, with as little help from tutors as possible. Each pair of students performs 3 experiments per semester.
The experiments available in the advanced laboratory are:
Mossbauer effect, Compton effect, Gamma-Gamma correlations, Particles simulation, Muon half-life, Neutrino mass, Nuclear fission, Atomic spectroscopy, Molecular spectroscopy, Molecular fluorescence, Electron 2D gas, Low temperatures, Spin-dependent transport, Nuclear magnetic resonance, Optical fibers, Laser resonators, Photometry of a pulsating star, Analysis of gravitational microlensing events.
Each experiment takes 4 weeks: the first week is dedicated to preparation, 2 weeks for performing the measurements and the last week for finalizing the data analysis and writing the report. To accommodate all students, there are two cycles (A and B) shifted by two weeks. Due to the extended length of the measurements, the intensive use of experimental systems and the number of students, following the schedule is very important.
The main location of the laboratory is in the Shenkar (physics) building, ground floor, rooms 101 and 107. Some of the experiments are located in other rooms in the Shenkar and Kaplun buildings.
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https://en-exact-sciences.tau.ac.il/labc/syllabus
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The current generation of climate models are able to faithfully represent may aspects of the climate in a reliable way. However, because the full global climate system is very complex and involves processes at many spatial and temporal scales all climate models will by necessity have to include simplifications. And these simplifications will lead to uncertainties in the projections of future climate.
Measurements of the atmosphere and the ocean — or weather observations for short — are made at manual or automatic stations, with satellites or balloons, and by means of other technical systems. These observations, which represent weather parameters at a specific point in time at a specific place, are collected and combined to provide an integrated picture of the weather. Despite the wealth of data there are limitations to this picture because not all weather parameters are measured at every point in time and space.
In a similar way, climate models cannot represent every point in the atmosphere and the oceans, but make use of a grid and simulate mean values of weather parameters in each grid box. Most global climate models have resolutions of 100-300 km. This means it is difficult to compare model results directly with observations. For example one station might observe a heavy rainfall, when nearby stations observe just small amounts or nothing at all. If the climate model simulates the same amount of precipitation it will distribute the precipitation equally within the current grid box. The precipitations amount is the same in the model as in reality, but the intensity is much lower in the model. The topography is also described as a mean value inside a grid box of a climate model.
Climate change simulations gives 'scenarios' and not 'forecasts' (read more about the differences here), partly because of simulations is based on assumptions of how the world will develop and partly because of the temporal resolution of climate models. A climate model gives a probable realization of the weather, with realistic characteristics, but cannot be implemented as a forecast. A weather forecast gives information on a specific place at a specific time. The non-linearity of the climate system limits the length of a useful weather forecast but makes it possible to calculate the development of a climate system over a long period of time. 30 years is often used as a minimum period to use when analyzing climate.
In the same way as we cannot expect the model to be in phase with reality we cannot expect two different models to be in phase with each other. This is called natural natural variability and is a result of the non-linearity of the climate system. A way of sampling the uncertainties is by using an ensemble approach.
To better understand the uncertainties that are related to the climate models it is useful to divide them into different categories.
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https://climate4impact.eu/impactportal/documentation/backgroundandtopics.jsp?q=uncertainties_climate_models
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Relevance: Poor financial decisions, such as falling for a scam, may in part result from a person’s inability to accurately forecast what will make them happy. If we first understand what causes faulty emotional predictions, and then encourage a more accurate analysis, we may be able to facilitate safer and more appropriate decision making.
Summary: “[P]eople routinely mispredict how much pleasure or displeasure future events will bring and, as a result, sometimes work to bring about events that do not maximize their happiness” (p. 131). This tendency is explained in part by impact bias, or an inability to infer the severity or duration of the emotional consequences of an event – positive or negative, partly due to:
- focalism, or the tendency to disregard all but one aspect of the future when predicting it, and
- immune neglect, or the tendency to ignore how we explain away negative experiences
These tendencies may in part explain why people:
- attribute their own resiliency to a higher power
- prefer reversible decisions to irreversible ones (though the latter usually make them happier),
- may be impacted more significantly by minor events than major ones, and
- mistakenly predict that losing something will have a greater impact than gaining its equivalent.
Encouraging the following behaviors may help create a more informed perspective and facilitate more balanced decision making:
- Considering a range of things that make one happy and unhappy (“Many different things, not just the one thing I’m worried about, will influence how I feel in the future.”)
- Improving one’s awareness of natural coping mechanisms (“Positive events won’t be as good and negative ones won’t be as bad as I anticipate thanks to my psychological immune system.”)
Author Abstract: People base many decisions on affective forecasts, predictions about their emotional reactions to future events. They often display an impact bias, overestimating the intensity and duration of their emotional reactions to such events. One cause of the impact bias is focalism, the tendency to underestimate the extent to which other events will influence our thoughts and feelings. Another is people’s failure to anticipate how quickly they will make sense of things that happen to them in a way that speeds emotional recovery. This is especially true when predicting reactions to negative events: People fail to anticipate how quickly they will cope psychologically with such events in ways that speed their recovery from them. Several implications are discussed, such as the tendency for people to attribute their unexpected resilience to external agents.
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http://fraudresearchcenter.org/affective-forecasting-knowing-what-to-want/
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(EDGAR Online via COMTEX) -- ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains certain statements that are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). The words "may," "hope," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," and other expressions, which are predictions of or indicate future events and trends and which do not relate to historical matters, identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements are accompanied by such words. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our stockholders, and we, therefore, make forward-looking statements in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of the Act. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and our actual results may differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, including statements about outlook for the second quarter, the expected and potential direct or indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, the realization of cost reductions from restructuring activities and expected synergies, the number of new product launches and future cash flows from operating activities, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy; changes in the price of and demand for oil and gas in both domestic and international markets; any adverse changes in governmental policies; variability of raw material and component pricing; changes in our suppliers' performance; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; changes in tariffs or other taxes related to doing business internationally; our ability to hire and retain key personnel; our ability to operate our manufacturing facilities at efficient levels including our ability to prevent cost overruns and reduce costs; our ability to generate increased cash by reducing our working capital; our prevention of the accumulation of excess inventory; our ability to successfully implement our divestiture; restructuring or simplification strategies; fluctuations in interest rates; our ability to successfully defend product liability actions; as well as the uncertainty associated with the current worldwide economic conditions and the continuing impact on economic and financial conditions in the United States and around the world, including as a result of COVID-19, natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other similar matters. We advise you to read further about these and other risk factors set forth in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Company Overview
CIRCOR is one of the world's leading providers of mission critical flow control products and services for the Industrial and Aerospace & Defense markets. The Company has a product portfolio of market-leading brands serving its customers' most demanding applications. CIRCOR markets its solutions directly and through various sales and distribution partners to more than 14,000 customers in approximately 100 countries. The Company has a global presence with approximately 3,100 employees and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.
We organize our reporting structure into two segments: Aerospace & Defense and Industrial. Both the current and prior periods are reported under these two segments.
COVID-19
The Company's Aerospace & Defense segment has been and continues to be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily in our Commercial Aerospace business. We expect that the commercial aerospace end markets will improve in 2021 compared to 2020, but that a recovery to pre-pandemic levels of demand will depend on air framer production rates and could take several years. Our Defense business has been less impacted by the pandemic, and we expect continued growth in this end market driven by our positions on key U.S. defense programs, including the Joint Strike Fighter and Columbia class submarines, and new product introductions. We continue to focus on increasing growth in our global aftermarket.
The Company's Industrial reporting segment has been and continues to be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, we expect modest growth in the General Industrial sector led by chemical and machinery applications with a weaker recovery in construction and mining. While our commercial marine sector continues to be constrained, we do expect to experience growth as the regulatory environment could cause demand for our products. We expect that our mid-stream and downstream oil and gas customers will continue to prioritize spending on critical safety and maintenance, but we expect that larger capital expenditures will continue to be delayed. We expect to experience higher demand for our products that serve the power generation markets with particular strength in Asia and in our global aftermarket.
Basis of Presentation
All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
We operate and report financial information using a fiscal year ending December 31. The data periods contained within our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q reflect the results of operations for the 13-week, 26-week and 39-week periods which generally end on the Sunday nearest the calendar quarter-end date.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to negatively impact the Company's results of operations, cash flows and financial position. The Company's condensed consolidated financial statements presented herein reflect management's estimates and assumptions regarding the effects of COVID-19 as of the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements.
Critical Accounting Policies
Critical accounting policies are those that are both important to the accurate portrayal of a company's financial condition and results and require subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. There have been no significant changes from the methodology applied by management for critical accounting policies and estimates previously disclosed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, except as updated by Note 2 to the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q with respect to newly adopted accounting standards. The expenses and accrued liabilities or allowances related to certain of our accounting policies are initially based on our best estimates at the time of original entry in our accounting records. Adjustments are recorded when our actual experience, or new information concerning our expected experience, differs from underlying initial estimates. These adjustments could be material if our actual or expected experience were to change significantly in a short period of time. We make frequent comparisons of actual experience and expected experience in an effort to mitigate the likelihood of material adjustments.
The preparation of these financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying disclosures.
May 12, 2021
COMTEX_386451895/2041/2021-05-12T16:13:33
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https://www.sec.marketwatch.com/press-release/10-q-circor-international-inc-2021-05-12
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This website has my observations and predictions about political and related topics. It is in the general format of a blog with periodic posting of articles.
My background is that I am now retired after a diverse career that included working for private companies, publicly traded companies, government, nonprofit organizations, and universities. This diverse background allowed me to directly observe many different political perspectives.
Most of the work I did involved data analysis and applied science. Scientists test their understanding of something by making predictions about the outcomes of future events, such as experiments. In politics and economics, like science, the ability to make accurate predictions shows whether a person truly understands something. Do those advocating certain political and economic ideas accurately predict future events? My perspective is that the validity of political and economic ideas should be evaluated based on the accuracy of predictions, not the personality or political ideology of the advocates.
Political and economic discussions and writings typically rehash and reinterpret past events, without testing the validity of a person’s insights by making predictions and then checking the accuracy of the predictions. The diverse explanations for the causes of the financial crisis of 2008 are a good example. Many so-called experts have pontificated about the causes of the crisis. However, virtually none of these “experts” actually predicted that the crisis would occur. Their pontifications are primarily ideological speculations rather than useful, practical insights about economics. The key question for these experts is: “If you are so knowledgeable, why did you fail to foresee the crisis?” In the absence of accurate predictions, their pontifications likely reflect incompetence.
Given my perspectives on the value of predictions, the postings here often contain tangible predictions about future events. The validity of the ideas expressed here should be evaluated based on the accuracy of the predictions, not on alternative opinions and retrospective interpretations by those who do not make verifieable predictions.
My voting registration is as an independent. National election outcomes are increasingly determined by the growing number of independent voters. The postings here provide insights as to how at least some independent voters view political issues.
Jim Kennedy
(Initially posted September 22, 2015. Last revision September 26, 2015)
Copyright notice.
The author, James E. Kennedy, authorizes and grants license that the contents
of this posting may be freely reproduced, distributed, and used by anyone for
any purpose in any media worldwide for the duration of the copyright.
Compensation or attribution to the author is not required.
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http://blog.jeksite.org/politics/index.htm
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Articles in the national press telling the reader how Brexit will cause chaos to companies based in the UK are a common occurrence.
One article from June based on a statement from the Institute for Chartered Accountants for England and Wales suggested that a no-deal Brexit could cause a “flurry of profit warnings” from publicly listed companies.
This was of interest to Red Flag Alert, due to our history of accurately predicting the financial health of companies in the UK.
The Institute for Chartered Accountants for England and Wales is certainly in a good position to make predictions. It has around 100,000 members, including those that provide services for the UK’s biggest companies.
The article makes for sober reading for UK business owners; especially those that rely on larger companies for much of their trade. However, it’s important to remember that the article is just speculation based on events that may or may not happen.
The reality of what will happen following a no-deal Brexit, if there even is a no-deal Brexit, is likely to be much more nuanced. Different sectors will be affected in different ways based on a multitude of potential factors.
Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
The predictions we have seen about what will happen after Brexit reminds me of the book Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction, by Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner.
In the book, the authors looked at the possible reasons why some people can accurately predict future events and others can’t.
The book begins by claiming that expert predictions are often inaccurate. The authors point to several reasons why this is the case:
- Predictions are often covered in the media because of the expert’s ability to entertain, to tell a story, or to conform to a viewpoint consistent with the media outlet’s way of thinking.
- The expert’s past accuracy is rarely taken into consideration when predicting the likelihood of their suggestions.
- People often make predictions based on their existing viewpoint to support their ‘big idea’; this means the prediction isn’t entirely impartial.
- There is often ambiguity about what the expert thinks the likeliness is of their prediction happening. For example, in the Brexit story above we don’t know whether the word ‘likely’ means there is a 60% chance, an 80% chance, or a 99% chance.
- There is often a lack of timeframe or other context. If someone predicts a global recession, are they predicting it will happen within the next year, or within the next five years? This is a crucial detail for businesses that want to use the prediction to make decisions.
The book then identifies a group of people who consistently make accurate predictions. It found these ‘Superforecasters’ take a different approach to making predictions. Some of the things they do are:
- Look at all the information available.
- Stay impartial by identifying any existing assumptions.
- Not simply make a prediction and move on. They consistently update the prediction as new information becomes available. However, they do this all while avoiding over or underreacting to new information.
- Constantly looking at their predictions to see what they got right and what they got wrong; doing this allows them to improve their decision-making process.
This is exactly the approach we take at Red Flag Alert.
Red Flag Alert Makes Predictions Based on Data
Red Flag Alert provides a financial health rating that predicts how likely it is a company will go out of business. There are several similarities in the way Red Flag Alert makes predictions and the way that Superforecasters make predictions.
First, Red Flag Alert makes predictions using all the available data; this includes over 100 data points from ten top sources of data.
Second, Red Flag Alert updates its predictions in real-time. This data is updated over 100,000 times a day, and all these changes feed into the Red Flag Alert algorithm.
Like Superforecasters, Red Flag Alert is always making improvements to the way it makes predictions. The algorithm used to make the predictions has been developed over 13 years.
The predictions come with the context business owners need to assess risk. For example, those with access to our data know that 56% of companies with a three Red Flag rating fail within seven days.
Red Flag Alert Can’t Predict What Will Happen After Brexit, But it Can Accurately Tell the Financial Health of Individual Companies
Like the rest of the world, Red Flag Alert doesn’t know what will happen after Brexit. However, our tool can accurately tell users the financial health of individual companies in their current state. Businesses can use this data on individual companies to make decisions that can help them avoid risk or spot opportunity.
Red Flag Alert’s Greg Connell had this to say about how Red Flag Alert is the perfect tool in an uncertain environment:
“There are too many imponderables to predict what might happen as a consequence of Brexit and identify the sectors most likely to become distressed, but we can react to what happens and respond accordingly. If profit warnings increase, we will know because we track them; if business failures start to edge upwards, we are checking; if earnings in particular sectors start to fall, we’ll have picked up on it.”
To find out more about how Red Flag Alert can help your business avoid risk in this uncertain time, get in touch with Richard West on [email protected] or 0344 412 6699.
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https://www.redflagalert.com/articles/risk/in-an-uncertain-world-let-red-flag-alert-guide-you
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Day 036 - The purpose of memory
If the mind is a control system directed towards the purpose of deciding what to do next, then all components of mind, including memory, must in some way support this goal. Pentti Kanerva, currently a Research Affiliate at the Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, put forward a theory of memory in 1988 1 consonant with this view, stating that the function of memory is to make available information relevant to the current state of the outside world rapidly enough to allow the organism to predict events in the world, including the consequences of its own actions.
The ability to predict the consequences of actions, however fuzzily, has clear evolutionary benefits. The best way to make predictions is to look at the most recent past, and to compare current events with previously encountered similar situations. Subsequently, there is clear evolutionary advantage in a system which can retrieve earlier situations and their consequences, and match them to the various modes of sensory stimulus which constitute the organism's 'present'.
In this model of memory, the present situation as represented by the current pattern of sensory input acts as a retrieval cue for memories of earlier events, which are used to predict the next sensory input. In a continual process of retrieval and comparison, the organism's internal model of the world is created and updated, comparing and strengthening memories of sequences of events which accurately predict real-world consequences, and modifying those that do not. The system learns by this corrective process of comparison, encoding and integrating information into a predictive model of the world, aiding the individual in deciding what to do next.
- 1. Kanerva, Pentti. Sparse Distributed Memory. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1988. Print.
This text, Day 036 - The purpose of memory, by Sam Haskell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.
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https://samhaskell.co.uk/blog/day-036-purpose-memory.html
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2023 Google Analytics Benchmarks for Higher Education Websites
We reviewed key analytics metrics for higher education websites throughout 2022 to paint a picture of what to expect in 2023.
At the start of each year, we review website analytics reported through Google Analytics data from a variety of colleges and universities to paint a broad picture of higher education website traffic trends. The data we reviewed spans from January 1, 2022 to December 1, 2022 and includes graduate programs, law schools, liberal arts colleges, universities, and programs for adult learners. Whenever possible, we exclude internal traffic data to ensure the insights accurately convey the behaviors of prospective students, alumni, parents, and any other external visitors.
Another Year of Benchmark Stability
In last year’s analysis, as well as in our analysis in 2020, we saw an undeniable flattening in nearly all of the metrics we track — bounce rates, pages per session, session duration, and devices. Which left us asking a very reasonable question: was the COVID-19 pandemic shifting higher ed website user behavior?
While it’s certainly possible that some data may have been impacted by the pandemic in 2020 (e.g., an increase in desktop traffic from users browsing from home), that possibility became less likely in 2021 as much of the world began to return to a relative state of normalcy. And looking at the data from 2022, a year where the vast majority of Americans felt comfortable returning to pre-pandemic activities, it’s becoming even more clear that the recent stability in the metrics we track has little to do with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mobile and Desktop Remain Locked
While desktop traffic still makes up the majority of all higher ed website traffic (55.2%), this year saw the highest percentage of mobile visitors (43.2%) since we started tracking all the way back in 2014. However, that’s still only a modest increase from its previous high of 41.8% in both 2019 and 2021. There may be a time in the not too distant future where mobile eclipses desktop use, but even if it does, it certainly looks like there will be a relatively even split between mobile and desktop for many years to come.
Meanwhile, tablet use continued to fade into obscurity, accounting for just 1.6% of all higher ed website visits in 2022.
With mobile and desktop traffic making up such an even split of website traffic, the ability to provide users with a site experience that’s as seamless on mobile as it is on desktop has never been more important.
User Engagement Dips Slightly
We look at three factors to gauge visitor engagement, although that will change next year due to Google’s transition from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) (more on that later):
- session duration
- pages per session
- bounce rate
Google Analytics Benchmark: Session Duration 2:01 Minutes
At just a hair over two minutes, session duration dipped to its lowest level since we started tracking back in 2014 — a 9% drop from 2021. It’s an engagement metric that has dropped significantly since higher ed site visitors were averaging more than three minutes per session eight years ago, but also one that’s meandered up and down a bit in the 2:01 to 2:22 range in recent years.
While we generally like to see users spending more time on site, this drop isn’t necessarily anything to be alarmed about.
Google Analytics Benchmark: Bounce Rate 55.19%
In a year where metrics remained shockingly stable, bounce rate somehow managed to stand out in regards to just how little it changed. Bounce rates dropped just .5% between 2021 and 2022, and haven’t really seen any significant movement since 2017 when they jumped from 43.20% to 51%.
Google Analytics Benchmark: Average Pages Per Session 2.3
Pages per session ended 2022 on the low end of the 2.3 to 2.6 range that it’s remained within since 2016. Similar to session duration, it’s a metric that would ideally be trending up year over year, but the modest 4% drop from 2021 isn’t anything to panic over.
Google Analytics Trends for 2023
Next year is going to be a very exciting year for higher ed Google Analytics benchmarks. Not because we’re expecting any major shifts when it comes to visitor behavior though. Quite the contrary; device usage and user engagement are unlikely to make any dramatic shifts in the coming year. What’s changing instead will be the way we measure visitor behavior with Google’s transition from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4.
Some of the metrics we track will still be relevant, but for others, we may not be able to provide an apples to apples comparison year over year. For example, in Universal Analytics, bounce rate is defined as the “percentage of single page sessions in which there was no interaction with the page.” GA4, however, measures bounce rate as the “percentage of sessions that were not engaged sessions (e.g. someone visited and viewed content on your homepage for less than 10 seconds, and then left without triggering any events or visiting any other pages or screens).”
GA4 will provide exciting opportunities for how higher education marketers measure visitor engagement, and how we determine which data points are most valuable when setting benchmarks. The deadline to transition to GA4 is currently set for July 1, 2023. However, the sooner you can start the transition process the better. If you think you may need help making the switch, OHO’s talented team of strategists can help guide you through the process.
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https://www.oho.com/blog/2023-google-analytics-benchmarks-higher-education-websites
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The Implications of COVID-19 on Business Financial Reports
The COVID-19 pandemic has touched almost every aspect of life. From our personal lives to our businesses and everything in between, society has had to make very significant changes over the last several months. Unfortunately, many businesses have been negatively affected by the COVID-10 pandemic and the measures taken to slow the spread.
Business operations, cashflow, sales forecasts, financial results, and various other business aspects have all been significantly impacted. This has left many businesses wondering how they will complete their financial reports this year and how they will make plans and predictions for the year to come.
Timely and Meaningful Disclosure
One of the most important aspects of business financial reports is transparency. While many things today are incredibly unpredictable, being honest and transparent in your reporting remains critical. Reliable and consistent reporting will help establish trust in your business during these difficult times.
Accurately disclosing your organization’s financial position, viability, and the measures you have taken to manage risks are all a crucial part of the communication between your business and its stakeholders.
Liquidity and Cashflow Concerns
A major concern for many organizations currently is cashflow. We are at a time where many businesses are struggling or seeing a significant downturn in business. When preparing financial reports, management will need to assess the company’s ability to continue operating despite a significant slowdown in business. Liquidity is a large part of this. Identifying how much cash the organization has along with your liquidity position can help your business recognize opportunities to improve and protect your position.
The unpredictability of the situation can make it difficult to accurately determine the likelihood of a company’s ability to continue operating, Certain assumptions (taking into account potential uncertainties in terms of sales volumes, prices, margins, etc.) may need to be made. These assumptions should be disclosed in your reporting.
It may be helpful to base forecasts on external sources such as economic projections by respected central banks due to the high degree of uncertainty in today’s world.
Impairment Assessments
An asset is considered impaired when the business cannot recover its carrying value, either by selling it or using it. Travel restrictions, health and safety closures, and many other factors can lead to assets being impaired during the pandemic. Businesses must determine the recoverable amounts in these assets, but this can be very difficult to do during these times. Things can change very quickly and that can make accurate forecasts very tough. Engaging valuation experts to assist can be a significant help.
The Affect of Government Assistance on Income Taxes
Depending on an organization’s location and its industry, there may have been government support available at various stages of the pandemic. These measures could include subsidies, tax credits, tax exemptions, rent deferrals, low-interest loans, and various other measures.
Many of these measures will have a significant affect on an organization’s income tax filing. Determining the extent of the impact and how to account for any government subsidies is critical. Experienced tax experts can help your business accurately file income taxes.
How We Can Help
This is a turbulent time for most, and it is especially difficult for many businesses. The team of exceptionally skilled professional Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) and financial advisors at Ralevic & Ralevic LLP can help. Our team specializes in providing accounting services, business valuations, audits, financial statement reviews, financial advisory services, tax preparation services, and more.
We can help your business get through these difficult times by preparing accurate financial reports, analyzing the market and your organization’s financial position, and helping your business recognize and take advantage of opportunities. For more information, please contact us.
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https://ralevic.com/business-financial-reporting-and-covid-19/
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Plan of activities:
The Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown (CCU) is looking for an AV Technical Coordinator of Events. We need someone who is hard working, proactive, organised and has an eye for detail.
As the AV Technical Coordinator of Events, you will manage and operate all of Champalimaud Foundation’s audiovisual equipment and provide support to all events taking place at the CCU: institutional, scientific and external. The right candidate will have meticulous attention to detail, be highly proficient in all technical aspects of audiovisual equipment, and experienced in managing all AV-related aspects of events, while bringing positivity and enthusiasm to the work environment.
Candidate Profile/Essential Requirements:
~ Set-up, assist and oversee successful events. Responsible for the set up, operation, programming, storage, maintenance (cleaning and repair), management, upgrade, inventory, documentation and deployment of all audio, video, lighting and broadcast equipment at the CCU;
~ Provide onsite support to the events, communication and facility management teams;
~ Procurement of new audiovisual equipment and maintenance services for existing equipment;
~ Financial management of operations;
~ Suppliers management, from quotation requests, negotiation and monitoring during all stages of event production;
~ Direct customer service experience dealing with external clients (events), namely budgeting, contracts, schedules and financial control;
~ Experience of at least 5 years in events operation and management, in the audiovisual field;
~ Experience in negotiation and sales;
~ Excellent organization and management skills;
~ Fluent in English;
~ Positive, problem solving attitude and ability to work under pressure;
~ Strong communication skills;
~ Ability to help projects run smoothly, being aware of timings, deliverables and workflow;
~ Ability to coordinate the schedule and work of different teams, including technicians.
Duration and place of work:
This working contract will have a duration of 12 months, with the possibility of renewal for additional periods, depending on positive evaluation. Activities will take place at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Monthly Stipend:
Salary will be commensurate with skills and experience.
Coordination:
The Audio Visual Technical Coordinator of Events will work directly with the Events Unit and the Communication Team.
Application Documents:
Motivation letter and Curriculum Vitae (in English) and contacts of previous supervisors/employees should be sent by e-mail with the subject: “AV Tech Coordinator NAME” to [email protected] or handed at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, addressed to Teresa Carona.
Application Period:
Applications will be accepted until October 31st 2019.
About Us:
The mission of the Champalimaud Foundation is to develop programmes of advanced biomedical research and provide clinical care of excellence, with a focus on translating pioneering scientific discoveries into solutions which can improve the quality of life of individuals around the world. By its actions the Foundation strives to be a world leader in scientific and technological innovation with the ultimate objective of preventing, diagnosing and treating disease; bringing the benefits of biomedical science to those most in need. The Champalimaud Foundation endeavours to keep audiences informed of relevant research findings and discoveries in the fields of neuroscience and cancer research, diagnosis and treatment, promoting science literacy through education, dialogue and the dissemination of new ideas and practices. To effectively and accurately communicate the work being carried out at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, both internally and with the public at large, a collaborative and interdisciplinary team of communication professionals works close together with all Champalimaud Foundation’s research groups and medical professionals.
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https://www.fchampalimaud.org/recrutamento/single/0f3a741d-27d7-3257-8ee3-a79fb2945ae8
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The Harvard Business School (HBS) carried out an experiment several years ago. I call it the case of the Invisible Gorilla. The participants are asked to watch a short video in which six people—three in white shirts and three in black shirts—pass basketballs around. While you watch, you are asked to focus on counting accurately the number of passes made by the people in white shirts. At some point, a gorilla strolls into the middle of the action, faces the camera, thumps its chest and then leaves spending nine seconds on the screen. Did you see the gorilla?
How can you miss an 800 pound beast? In a classroom setting when we watched the video in HBS we discovered that half of the people who watched the video and accurately counted the passes missed the gorilla. I must confess that I was amongst the half that missed the gorilla. In my obsession to count the passes accurately I was oblivious of what else was happening.
With all the sophisticated forecasting models at our disposal and tons of data that we analyse each day, we missed signals of an impending global economic meltdown. Why? Despite so much wisdom and information, the experts we relied on let us down badly.
We blame the meteorologists for not predicting hurricanes and storms with exact precision. But we do not hold to account, experts who publish forecasts that prove to be precisely wrong. They fail to predict big events like the global economic meltdowns. They cannot foresee or predict the impact of the European chill and contagion that is spreading in the Club Med countries in the wake of the Greek economic situation.
How do they miss the gorillas every time? Nassim Taleb has an interesting theory. He believes that those who try to predict what is essentially unpredictable are actually not experts and should never be relied upon. According to Taleb : “Certain professionals ,while believing they are experts, are in fact not. Based on their empirical record, they do not know more about the subject matter than the general population but are much better at narrating –or worse, at smoking you with complicated mathematical models. They are also more likely to wear a tie.” Taleb researched empirical records of “ experts” to verify their predictions and matched them against actual results and outcomes. He found that their track records were abysmal over , say, a five year period.
In a branch of knowledge where events are unpredictable, variables imponderable and uncertainties the norm rather than the exception---- you are unlikely to find an expert. What you will find are various forms of “unexperts” “quacks” or “voodoo” professionals. An old Chinese proverb reminds us : “He who knows not and knows not he knows not is a fool, avoid him”. I would embellish the Chinese proverb in a modern day context thus:“ He who knows not and knows not he knows not and pretends he knows –is a fraud, expose him”.
The rain maker, the astrologer, the palmist, the punter are examples of “unexperts” who cannot alter, influence or accurately predict outcomes. All of them claim to use rules, tacit knowledge and even science for their predictions. Most of their predictions are a shot in the dark. The rain maker in Africa may be familiar with how the weather behaves, the astrologer may claim to have access to many ways of reading the horoscope and the influence of stars and stones. The punter may have done a vast study of the family tree of the horses running a race But in the end, if you plot and track their predictions over a period of time they are unlikely to be accurate on a consistent basis.
More often than not, they have the right answer by fluke. They do not have scientific methods like the ones we use to forecast weather. If we asked a number of portfolio managers to predict whether the Sensex will be 40,000, 20,000 or 10,000 on December 31, 2011 –some will get the answer right and some will get it wrong. Those who get it right may be hailed as financial wizards. But my bet would be that most of these very same wizards will get it wrong if we asked them to predict the Sensex for each year-end from 2011 through 2015. The reason: there cannot be an expert in this branch of “knowledge”.
Much of these “unexperts” have acquired a skill that Winston Churchill attributed to politicians. A politician –he said- needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen.
In planning for the future it is important to avoid the advice of people who are not and cannot be “experts”. These financial prophets belong to a category , in Andre Gide’s immortal description, of people who cease to perceive their own deception, the ones who lie with sincerity.
Instead of spending all our energies on predicting the unpredictable, it is better to focus on the trends and become agile to adapt. If we know that we cannot accurately forecast everything in the future, then we have a valuable insight. And guess what? Your competitors are in no better position either!
In today’s world, it is not what you see or know that matters most. The power is often not in what you do see or know but what you don't see and do not know. Darwin discovered that “it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” In today’s world the ability to live with ambiguity and adapt to uncertainty are critical to survival. It is a given that we should not miss the gorilla in our pre-occupation of counting. When we wade through the forest we will not know if the gorilla is lurking around the corner and is invisible in the mist. Can we deal with the gorilla if he decides to appear through the blurred mist. Can we craft strategies in an environment that is filled with uncertainties , surprises and shocks without relying on oracles and soothsayers?
(Roopen Roy is the Managing Director of Deloitte Consulting. Views expressed are personal).
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http://www.roopenroy.com/home/missing-gorillas-in-the-mist
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Predictions for the Coming Year
I can hear the cold winds of winter blowing outside my office window as I sit here typing. The weatherman had predicted continuing artic-cold temperature and a slight dusting of snow. We have received both. Heavy snowfalls were being predicted but the prognostication was that the winds would blow the blizzard conditions further to the East Coast. The child in me was hopeful for the winter wonderland to drop in my back yard. However, the adult in me fully comprehends all the hazards and inconveniences associated with the heavens dumping their snowy payload, so I was somewhat relieved when we missed the storm.
The meteorologists use sophisticated and highly advanced technical equipment to make predictions, but no man can fully foresee the future. We can make our most educated prognostication and do our best to prepare; but not until an event has passed, the moment has vanished, or the experience has become history can we truly know what shall be. Then, we live with what time has providentially deemed our portion.
This last year held surprises for the world in which we live. The completing of an election cycle resulted a new party sitting in the White House in 2017. Politically, this past year has been tumultuous and divisive. A stormy year! Financial hardship due to unemployment numbers and low GDP seem to be on a turnaround, and the stock market is setting never-before reached records. Storms averted! One group touts those fiscal gains while their opponents point fingers and warn of the nation’s crippling debt. Whose forecast will accurately foretell our future? Hurricanes and floods on our coasts, threats from foreign nations who are arming their forces with nuclear capabilities, and the opioid epidemic among the youth: these harsh and stormy events have dumped their payload of fear and pain on our land. In these and so many other ways, national history has been written.
Last year unfolded unforeseen events in the world of my family. One daughter’s family faced several medical crises. One son made a big career change. Another daughter’s loss of job required the family to move and forced them to adapt to a new home, a new city, and new schools. My husband recovered from a life-threatening condition. Three new nations opened to me for the advancement of my ministry. Grandbaby number fifteen and a new foster child were added to the family. In these and so many other ways, personal history has been written.
Now, we face 2018. What surprises are waiting for us; what storm clouds will gather to bring either a direct hit or a near miss; and what blessings will dawn on the horizon to deliver the joys for which all of us hope? The answer to these and a myriad of other such questions is only found in the living of one day at a time. Providence rests in the hand of One much greater and wiser than we.
Our portion is faith, hope, and love: faith that God shall divinely impose His infinite wisdom into the affairs of our families and our nation; hope of a future in harmony with God’s eternal purposes and the deepest longings of the human soul; and love for God and our fellowman that empowers us to live in life’s surprises without skepticism or bitterness.
All our best assumptions about this coming year are like the predictions of the meteorologist – they are subject to the winds. May we prepare to the best of our ability for that which we plan to be our future, and may we respond with courage and grace to that which the prevailing winds determine to actually be our future. Let 2018 write the history of a people who faced adversity with courage, received promotion with humility, shared their plenty with the impoverished, and found eternal purpose in each day’s unexpected events.
May God Bless you and yours in 2018!
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http://pattiamsden.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=518:predictions-for-the-coming-year&catid=52:general&Itemid=97
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Background: Interval timing, the ability to judge the duration of short events, has been shown to be compromised in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Timing abilities are ubiquitous and underlie behaviours as varied as sensory integration, motor coordination or communication. It has been suggested that atypical temporal processing in ASD could contribute to some of the disorder's symptoms, in particular motor clumsiness and difficulties in social interaction and communication. Recent behavioural investigations have suggested that interval timing in ASD is characterised by intact sensitivity but reduced precision in duration judgements.
Methods: In this study we investigated the processing of duration as compared to pitch in a group of high-functioning individuals with ASD using magnetoencephalography (MEG). 18 adolescents and adults with ASD and 18 age- and IQ-matched typically-developing control (TDC) individuals compared two consecutive tones according to their duration or pitch in separate experimental blocks. The analysis was carried out exclusively on physically identical stimuli (500 Hz tones lasting 600 ms), which served, according to instruction, as standard or probe in a Duration or Pitch task respectively.
Results: Our results suggest that compared to TDC individuals, individuals with ASD are less able to predict the duration of the standard tone accurately, affecting the sensitivity of the comparison process. In addition, contrary to TDC individuals who allocate resources at different times depending on the nature of the task (pitch or duration discrimination), individuals with ASD seem to engage less resources for the Duration task than for the Pitch task regardless of the context. Although individuals with ASD showed top-down adaptation to the context of the task, this neuronal strategy reflects a bias in the readiness to perform different types of tasks, and in particular a diminished allocation of resources to duration processing which could have cascading effect on learning and development of other cognitive
|Publication Type:||Article|
|Additional Information:||© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).|
|Publisher Keywords:||Autism Spectrum Disorders; Interval timing; Duration perception; Pitch perception; Magnetoencephalography|
|Subjects:||B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
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R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
|Departments:||School of Arts & Social Sciences > Psychology|
|URI:||https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/22114|
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Text
- Published Version
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Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.
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https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/22114/
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WASHINGTON, January 25, 2013 – Data-sharing in a broadband-enabled world enables greater productivity for the government and the private sector, said officials at the first annual “Data Innovation Day” hosted Thursday by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Representatives from Amazon Web Services and the U.S. Department of Education touched on a common thread that broadband technology enables the government and private sector are able to transmit larger and more varied data than ever before.
The panel was just one of several events around the country designed to inform the public on the state of data sharing. The panel on “Data Information in Government” expressed how organizations “use data to make government work more effectively and efficiently.” It touched on how government and private sector agencies have powerfully embraced “big data.” combined with broadband.
Using algorithms and “big data” style analysis, Lockheed Martin has even been able to accurately predict events as trivial as the National Basketball Association’s All Star Game roster, and important as the plight of the Arab Spring.
James M. O' Connor of Lockheed Martin said that his company “had social scientists and linguists as our core teams. [They] look at these data-sets on how you make solid concrete and defensible situations. Within days, the team made predictions that ultimately were very accurate in reference to the tumultuous nations.”
Further, by accessing web outlets such as social media to gauge the general mindset of a nation’s people, Lockheed was able to predict which nations would be prone to violence and protest, said O’Connor.
Richard Culatta, Deputy Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, used the analogy of comparing a student’s path to learning to that of a global positioning system. If the student takes a wrong turn, or goes on an alternate route, divisions should be in place that can guide the student back to his successful academic destination, he said.
“It was clear to us that we needed much more data infused into the system to make sure that teacher and students have access to more information,” said Culatta. By having access to as much information as possible, Culatta ultimately envisions a network where all libraries, schools and information agencies share their material that any student can access.
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http://broadbandbreakfast.com/2013/01/big-data-plus-big-broadband-equals-better-government-and-private-sector-services-say-itif-panelists/
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Aid experts at the Department for International Development (DFID) have teamed up with the Met Office, NASA and US scientists to use for the first time a world-leading approach to accurately predict where and when cholera will spread.
US scientists, working with NASA satellite data, have developed a model to predict where cholera is most at risk of spreading with an impressive 92 per cent accuracy in Yemen. UK aid is turning this from theory to reality, using these predictions and Met Office forecasting to give aid workers on the ground in Yemen the information they need to respond to cholera outbreaks quicker than ever before.
providing medical equipment for hospitals and clinics, such as cholera beds.
“The conflict in Yemen is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with millions of people at risk of deadly but preventable diseases such as cholera.
“By connecting science and international expertise with the humanitarian response on the ground, we have for the very first time used sophisticated predictions of where the risk of cholera is highest to help aid workers save lives and prevent needless suffering for thousands of Yemenis before it’s too late.
“Through our collaboration with DFID we are able to be part of this ground breaking approach to take early action against cholera, a waterborne disease, contracted through consuming contaminated water.
Aid experts at DFID began using this data to work with UNICEF to prevent the spread of the disease in March 2018, ahead of the rainy season. Last year, Yemen suffered the worst cholera outbreak in living memory with more than 1 million suspected cases.
There has not been a significant outbreak in cholera so far this year, with the number of suspected cholera cases significantly lower than last year. For example, during the last week of June this year there were 2,597 suspected cases and 3 deaths, down from 50,825 suspected cases and 179 deaths at the same time last year.
Despite the predicted risk of cholera in Ibb – a governorate on the frontline of the conflict – being just as high this year as last year, there were only 672 suspected cases of cholera in July 2018 compared to 13,659 in July 2017.
There are a number of other factors that could have contributed to a lower number of suspected cholera cases this year, including a later rainy season, greater immunity against cholera and a change in national guidance for the recording of suspected cholera cases. However, the new actions taken as a result of the predictions are helping to save lives and reduce suffering.
This new approach is all the more important as the new guidance for recording suspected cholera cases in Yemen may make it more difficult to detect early outbreaks of cholera. Acting early and being able to target high-risk areas is critical.
“The information on rainfall assessments supports the early warning on high risk areas for cholera outbreak. This enables UNICEF and partners to refine and focus our efforts on preparedness and timely response to cholera which has affected the lives of many children in Yemen.
The Met Office’s supercomputer in Exeter makes 14 thousand trillion calculations per second allowing it to take in 215 billion weather observations from across the world every day, which are used as a starting point for UK and global weather forecasts. In Yemen, high-resolution models are used to forecast out to six days, providing UNICEF accurate and critical intelligence as they identify areas most at risk.
These forecasts have been used to improve a predictive model that was developed by scientists at two universities in the United States – West Virginia University and the University of Maryland.
The forecast produced by the Met Office and the predictions produced by the US scientists are then shared with UNICEF and other aid so they can see which neighbourhoods, schools and hospitals will be at greatest risk, helping them to target their response to where support is needed most.
This breakthrough of accurately predicting where and when the disease will spread has meant that aid workers can take action before an outbreak occurs.
It is DFID’s ambition to combine the NASA data and Met Office forecasts in order to predict outbreaks eight weeks in advance – twice the current capability. This would help aid agencies plan major vaccinations campaigns ahead of outbreaks, protecting hundreds of thousands of individuals.
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https://skemnews.com/news/world-first-as-uk-aid-brings-together-experts-to-predict-where-cholera-will-strike-next/
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Dealing with indirect evidence: Can children imagine unseen causes or do they learn associations?
This study aims to investigate how children develop the ability for causal reasoning. Extracting causal information that are present in the world is one of the cognitive capacities humans have evolved to better adapt to their changing environments. It endows us with the ability not only to make predictions but also to intervene for novel and desirable outcomes. Children are highly motivated to observe and explore their surroundings; they track regularities and are curious about the underlying mechanisms. However, the causal relations between events are not always obvious. Children have to infer these relations to solve problems. This research explores whether children can extract causal information using auditory cues or instead rely on associations between events to locate rewards.
Research project investigating how our ability to remember the past develops. This ability appears to develop relatively late in humans, and undergoes interesting changes during early childhood that we are looking to better understand.
This research project examines young children’s ability to form memories, imagine future experiences and understand what other people are thinking. It investigates how children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders develop the ability to think about other times and other minds. It has been suggested that these abilities are linked, and examining how they hang together in both typical and atypical development can give us a really useful insight into the nature of these abilities and the connections between them.
Research has shown that between 2 and 3 years of age, children’s physical problem solving is fragile. For example, we have found that children in this age group struggle in physical problem solving of tasks if they have to use a tool but can successfully solve the same task if they can use their hands. We are trying to find out how children learn to use tools to solve problems. Specifically, we are comparing learning from personal experience and learning from others’ demonstrations.
This research aims to investigate how children develop accurate memories for new actions learned when working with people. As a social species, interacting with others is critical to everyday life. Especially early in life, interactions with others are rich with opportunities for learning and are particularly salient events in early memories. Given the universality of social interactions in childhood, it is important to identify what children learn and remember from these interactions throughout development.
Understanding how memory for actions develops in pre-schoolers and how this memory relates to other ongoing development in motor and social learning gives us important insights into the nature of the human mind. The knowledge and understanding gained may also be useful for designing educational strategies in the future.
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http://developmentlab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/current-developmental-research/
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The Australian Academy of Science’s new report, The risks to Australia of a 3°C warmer world, has grim predictions for the nation’s future under current carbon emissions policy and action. All of these predictions are based on climate models.
Among the now-familiar predictions of ecological and economic damage, the report points out that Alice Springs could see a 213% increase in energy demand by the end of the century (page 57), Hobart could see a 45% increase in Ross River virus cases by 2079 (p 64), and one in every 19 property owners could be facing unaffordable insurance premiums by 2030 (p 59).
How do climate researchers come up with numbers like this? What’s involved in climate modelling? How are climate models applied?
Unsurprisingly, this varies hugely with what you’re trying to predict. But there are a few key things that researchers need to predict the effects of climate change.
Expertise from different areas
Climate predictions demand expertise from a range of different scientific and economic fields.
“The more connections you have, and the greater the range of perspectives that are participating, the more robust your models are,” says Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, chair on the report and a professor of marine studies at the University of Queensland.
One researcher may have a close understanding of how warmer temperatures affect certain crops, but it takes a different field of study – and thus a different researcher – to understand how their yields might differ at a large scale.
Hoegh-Guldberg’s work on coral reefs in the 1980s suggested that they were vulnerable to warmer ocean temperatures, but it required work from global systems scientists and modellers to reveal the extent of the risk to coral reefs.
“When it comes to global models, I’m a user, not a builder,” he says.
Predicting the climate
Before we understand how we’ll be affected, we need to understand how the climate will change. And that can be difficult to do precisely.
“The ability to predict the future changes in climate is a fine art,” says Hoegh-Guldberg.
“There are uncertainties in terms of emissions and that’s a function of population and technology and policies and consumption patterns,” says Mark Howden, a member of the report’s expert panel and director of the Australian National University’s Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions.
“For any given sort of level of greenhouse gas emissions there’s scientific uncertainty about how that will translate to temperature increases. And then there’s uncertainties about how well we will adapt to those increases, say, in health outcomes.”
This is why predictions vary so much, and why they’ll often be reported with large error bars.
That said, climate models are tested against past events, and can prove to be more accurate.
“In many cases, it can be useful to see how well models can hindcast,” says Hoegh-Guldberg. “Essentially going back in time to see how well your model explained what actually happened.”
If the models are able to accurately guess how the Earth responded to volcanic eruptions, for instance, then they’re probably going to be effective at predicting the temperature rise in the next century.
There are myriad climate models and simulations that can be used to predict variations in temperature. The more that are used, the better: multiple simulations can produce a more accurate result between them.
One popular tool is General Circulation Models, or GCMs. The website CoastAdapt, which can predict sea level and temperature rise for individual council areas under different emissions scenarios, uses these models. It stresses that they’re not neat predictions, and a number of models should be used to explore plausible futures for your suburb.
Human activity also needs to be taken into account. A simple example is energy use – for instance, if Australian cities are experiencing more heatwaves, they’ll also be consuming more energy and producing more emissions to mitigate these heatwaves. That’s just one among many more complicated feedback loops.
Predicting human outcomes with models
It can be even more complicated to use these models to predict economic and health effects on people – but there are also a lot of resources poured into this field. Insurance companies, governments and commercial enterprises have a vested interest in knowing what’s going to happen in their area over the next few decades.
“Essentially what we’re doing is creating devices which allow us to make decisions and operate complex systems,” says Hoegh-Guldberg.
Economic costs are assessed via complex computer models, using a variety of software packages. A couple of common models used for predicting climate are computable general equilibrium models, or CGEs, and integrated assessment models, or IAMs. CGEs provide detailed pictures of the economies of countries and regions, while IAMs are more focussed on the interactions between the economy and the environment, and how they both affect one another.
There are a few other methods to assign a price tag to losses from climate change. One estimate might assess the value of all of the infrastructure in a certain area, while another might examine the cost of an insurance payout if the area was affected by a natural disaster.
Similarly, health outcomes can be judged in a few different ways – from predicting incidence of a particular disease, to changes to population-wide life expectancy. Again, it needs medical specialists, public health experts and climate modellers working together to make predictions.
A thoughtful way of reporting predictions
It’s one thing to make predictions about climate futures, and quite another to report them. Uncertainty, in particular, can be a very difficult thing to communicate.
In scientific reports, predictions will be listed with error bars. For instance, one study (described on page 53 of the report) suggests that given 3°C of warming, by 2090 Darwin could be experiencing 180–322 days each year with temperatures over 35°C, with the mean estimate at 265 days.
So how do you tell people what you found? Do you lead with the (relatively) optimistic 180 days, the worst-case 322 days, or the most likely value of 265?
“I think all of the above,” says Hoegh-Guldberg.
“Understanding the range in the number of days affected provides important insights, as does the mean.”
These grim predictions are very carefully developed, but there is always going to be some inaccuracy. It’s perhaps better to focus on events that have already happened to gauge the seriousness of the climate crisis.
Understanding current losses and disasters, like the Black Summer bushfires, is enough to realise how swiftly emissions need to fall, says Howden.
“The urgency of the situation, I think, is very apparent to anyone who wants to look at what’s already going on,” he says. “Then we can draw the dots to the future.”
See more:
- Reef-wrecking numbers: what will Australia look like at 3° of global warming?
- The Australia our children could inherit
- Sombre state of our climate
- How hot will it get this century?
Originally published by Cosmos as How to use climate models
Ellen Phiddian
Ellen Phiddian is a science journalist at Cosmos. She has a BSc (Honours) in chemistry and science communication, and an MSc in science communication, both from the Australian National University.
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https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/how-to-use-a-climate-model/
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Hi, during the time when schools are closed, we will use a distance learning platform, Google classrooms. This can be accessed using the student desktop and is found under the Google Apps tab. Please make sure child is using their own email account when attempting to log into Google classroom. Then, the student can join using class code hokaijo.All assignments can be found under assignments tab on this site.
I would also like to encourage parents to install Remind app on their phones, which will make communication easier. Our class code is f68b7cg
Our specials is Music this week, March 30th-April 3rd. Please visit Ms. Dee's website for specific assignment.
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Report Card Guidelines
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Grades are taken for:
- Mathematics
- Science
Within each of these subjects grades are broken down into categories and have weighted percentages.
Mathematics is comprised of:
Assessments (50%) are chapter tests from our textbook series Go Math and districtcreated assessments.
Classwork/Practice (30%) are the problems we work on together in small group and independently at math centers. These are sometimes taken from the workbook pages, math journals or checkpoint quizzes.
Science is comprised of:
Assessments (40%) These assessments can be in the form of a paper and pencil test with multiple choice questions or a performance task grade with a rubric.
Science Notebooks (40%) are kept in the classroom. These notebooks contain lab write ups, observations, diagrams, data records, vocabulary, labeled drawing, etc.
Classwork/Participation (20%) is daily assignments, quizzes and lab participation.
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https://www.marionschools.net/Page/51405
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Professional mental health risk assessment template doc example. Assessment, including multiple-choice, reasoning, memory, and focus tests, is one of the most common techniques teachers evaluate student performance in the classroom. While teachers may use different kinds of assessments to evaluate pupils, the four commonly used types are emotional evaluation, academic evaluations, parental-order-of-asks, and teacher rating. Psychological assessment is the structured process of using empirical details regarding the individual, specific knowledge, skills, beliefs, and behaviours to revise and improve student learning. Academic testing, by comparison, is primarily utilised to offer feedback on a student’s previous academic performance and to diagnose issues in a specific region of research. Parental-order-of-asks (POAs) assesses just how much parents know about a student’s behavior, assisting teachers to build a foundation for improved understanding and motivation.
It is essential for teachers to know their assessment procedures and the processes that go behind them. The fundamental elements of assessment are individual and group factors, which come into play throughout assessment. A few of them include the kinds of students being evaluated, identification of learning goals, evaluation tools as well as the procedures of appraisal. Some colleges use a combined approach by assessing both academic and non-academic aspects of student performance. These types of assessments also involve teachers and parents as partners in the process.
Most colleges follow an appraisal procedure that entails the processes of organizing, planning, delivering, evaluating, and adjusting instruction and coursework. The shipping phase of the learning evaluation is made up of instruction preparation, teaching tasks, and tests of educational plans. During the test phase, parents and teachers work together with the pupil, wanting to develop individualized education plans. The growth of individualized instruction plans is dependent upon the specific nature of this assignment, the complexity of the task, the pupil’s performance in the prior evaluation, feedback from other students, and teacher ideas. For some assignments, group and individual assessments may be run.
A free assessment template is simply a tool that is used in a technique, which is called as procedure of analysis, which intends to rectify current business requirements and to get business from various things. It’s a kind of tool that helps to gather qualitative data and assess the present problems. The process might consist of data collection from various sources like info surveys, interviews, case studies, or even from case histories. Data is usually analyzed so as to provide insights and essential management on business practices that will need to be changed. Free Assessment Templates can be obtained online through selection of websites and you’ll be able to choose any of them so as to improve your company.
The picture above uploaded by admin from June, 18 2021. This awesome gallery listed under Assessment Templates category. I really hope you may enjoy it. If you would like to download the image to your hdd in best quality, the simplest way is by right click on the image and choose “Save As” or you can download it by clicking on the share button (Twitter, Facebook or Google+) to show the download button right below the picture.
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http://kelitbanganwonogiri.org/post/professional-mental-health-risk-assessment-template-doc-example/
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In a student’s educational career, they will experience various approaches and forms of appraisal, especially those of writing assignments (Source # 6). Assessment tends to be most helpful when it can demonstrate the difference between what the student produced and what was desired (Source # 2). Therefore, it is vital for assessors to understand that simply underlining aspects of a student’s writing assignment is inadequate feedback that is unable to develop a student’s writing abilities (Source # 10). Valuable assessments are also largely influenced by how a student perceives the assignment, their own abilities to produce the work and their personal goals for learning (Source #2).
Often students are provided with a rubric that may include the assignments categories, standards for assessment and or the expectations for presenting and evaluating the learning (Source #9). While rubrics structurally precursor a writing assignments expectations and a final assessment basis, it is not as influential as the assessment style of detailed written feedback, for the future development of a student writer.
Method
Prior to the consideration of assessments of writing assignments, a general understanding was established from the provided sources about various forms, opinions and analysis of effective assessments. From this research, the central focus on the use of detailed written feedback became focal because it is utilized by both professor and student, but also because development of assessment and feedback could be most effective in advancing student maturity in the area of writing. Information to precursor and support this claim was taken from seven provided sources with valuable information on all aspects of the assessment of writing assignments.
Results
As stated, the assessment style of detailed written feedback may be most influential for the future development of a student writer. A study provided that 75.3% of students surveyed confirmed that they look at the...
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https://brightkite.com/essay-on/the-key-to-developing-a-pupil-writer
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Looking across the findings from the self-study conducted by the Multiple Subject, Bilingual Authorization, Single Subject, Agriculture Specialist, and Education Specialist programs highlights that, based on the available data sources, overall, completers of our programs are prepared to perform as professional educators with the capacity to support access for all learners.
Areas of Strength:
As program faculty engaged in self-study in response to the AAQEP standards, they did so with a long history of successful accreditation from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Many of the findings from Standard 1 confirmed that the strengths of the programs aligned with our School’s mission and goals. In particular, given the high percentage of students in our region who are emergent bilinguals and the diverse range of cultural backgrounds they represent, as an educational unit, our mission is to prepare educators to be leaders in diverse communities.
Findings from across the QAR highlighted the ways in which all of our programs emphasize the development of culturally sustaining pedagogy, yet this self-study led to findings of additional program strengths. In particular, Multiple Subject, Single Subject, and Education Specialist program completers who responded to the CSU Educator Quality Center items related to working with culturally and linguistically diverse students overwhelmingly highlighted their preparation to do so. It is worth noting that these results do incorporate those candidates who also earned a Bilingual Authorization or Agriculture Specialist credential.
Another important finding when looking across the program responses is the way in which our preliminary credential programs prepared candidates to use assessment to inform their instruction. While programs used a variety of data sources to examine candidates’ development of their ability to use assessment--including FAST scores, field placement evaluations, and scores on signature assignments--they all also examined responses to the CSU Educator Quality Center completer survey. Across the Multiple Subject, Single Subject, and Educational Specialist programs, completers overwhelmingly reported that the programs’ focus on using assessment to plan and adapt instruction helped them feel confident in their abilities to do just that as they enter into the teaching profession. This both highlights the work our programs do while candidates are enrolled, but it also demonstrates the value of gathering multiple perspectives when examining data sources in order to gather a complete picture. Similarly, the BAP program did not have access to the CSU completer survey because their candidates are also enrolled in the Multiple Subject program, and data are not disaggregated for this added authorization. Consequently, the program developed its own internal survey which, coupled with findings from a key assignment, demonstrated how the program prepares candidates to use assessments to inform their instruction.
The results of the Agriculture Specialist Program’s analysis provided another unique finding by demonstrating how the program provides extensive opportunities for candidates to gain expertise in the unique skill sets required of agriculture teachers. From the beginning of their field placements, candidates become involved in the workings of an agriculture program and learn the ins and outs of organizing and maintaining a successful FFA program. Additionally, as the findings for Standard 1A highlighted, the experience required of all program candidates before they even begin the program guarantees they enter with a solid foundation on which specific pedagogical knowledge can be built.
Finally, as highlighted throughout, in preparing their responses to the standard aspects, programs overwhelmingly drew upon the resources provided to us by the CSU Educator Quality Center and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, in addition to the more localized data sources such as students’ scores on the FAST. While program faculty were aware of each of these data sources, the results were not used on a regular basis to inform program practices. Engaging in the self-study afforded programs the opportunity to see both the value of these data and how they might use the data moving forward.
Areas for Growth:
While the findings of our analyses did highlight the success of the work our programs do to prepare our completers for their future roles, we also discovered several areas for improvement. In particular, as stated above, this process helped programs to realize the rich data we have access to from the FAST and the Educator Quality Center. However, prior to engaging in this self-study, not all programs have engaged in regular, systematic analysis of data, though, as a unit, we have begun to take steps in this area with the implementation of our regular Data Summits in Fall 2020. Still, the Multiple Subject program provides a wonderful model for using data to reflect on our work and set goals for continuous improvement. Seeing the power of the work they are doing inspired us to consider how we can develop a unit-wide approach to collecting data from all stakeholders, making it available and a topic of exploration in our stakeholder meetings, and working towards reflective unit-wide goal setting.
Related to this, another important take-away we had is that we do not have a unit-wide systematic approach to collecting data from any of our key stakeholder groups--completers, K-12 partners, employers. This pertains to our findings from both Standard 1 and Standard 2. Although between the CSU Educator Quality Center and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, surveys are administered to program completers, employers, and year-out professionals, we discovered that their measures do not always align with the analysis we were trying to do in response to the Standard 1 aspects. Another challenge is that, particularly in the case of the CCTC Employer data, we were unable to disaggregate the data in a way that made the findings meaningful to us. While we do plan to advocate for revision both with the CSU survey and the CCTC survey, we also realize that we need to develop a systematic, unit-wide approach to collecting and analyzing data related to our programs. But the result was that, for this QAR, we were not always able to capture the perspectives of each key stakeholder group. More often than not, we relied on the perspectives of our faculty and our candidates.
Moving forward, we intend to develop unit-wide surveys that can be administered annually to each stakeholder group that will include both general programs about the work our institution does as a whole and program-specific questions. The hope is that this will allow us to collect data that will be useful at both levels but that will not lead to survey-fatigue from administering too many surveys, which is already a concern given the administration of both the CCTC and CSU Educator Quality Center surveys.
On the individual program level, as highlighted in the responses and in the table below, we plan to begin holding annual focus group discussions with key stakeholders as a way to gather additional data. Ideally, these will occur after the administration of the surveys so that survey responses can inform what gets asked in the focus group discussions. We see these discussions as a way to both gather valuable information about how we can improve our program and a way to continue to build relationships with our completers, P12 partners, and employers of our alumni.
Additionally, in order to then make the necessary changes to program practices, program faculty plan to spend time examining current coursework, assessments, and evaluation tools to ensure that coursework aligns with expected outcomes, that assessments provide a valid way for candidates to demonstrate mastery of those outcomes, and to ensure that the tools used for evaluation actually measure what they are intended to measure. As they do so, faculty will also engage in inquiry, examining student work across courses to ensure the validity and reliability of both the assignments used and the tools used to evaluate those assignments. We envision that this work will take time and be ongoing as program faculty will need to try new approaches, examine their effectiveness, make revisions, and then implement those revisions.
To support faculty in their efforts, as a unit, we will continue holding our Data Summits to further conversations about how to effectively use data to inform program practices.
Standard 1: Candidate and Completer Performance Program Next Steps
|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Collaborate with the CSU Educator Quality Center (EdQ) to accurately disaggregate the program completer survey by pathways (i.e., Traditional, Residency, Internship).||Inaccuracies were identified in the CSU EdQ dataset that prevented data quality assurance in using that data to look at completer perceptions of preparedness by pathway experience. The program will benefit from understanding the ways in which the pathways prepare candidates and strengthen our data interpretations across all aspects of Standard 1.||
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|Address program completers’ perceptions of lack of preparation in the areas of a) critical-creative thinking; b) knowledge of child development and human learning to inform instruction; c) classroom management and discipline and support teacher candidates in developing the skills needed to handle a range of classroom management or discipline situations; d) use of research-based instructional strategies for emergent bilingual students.||Data for Standards 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1e, such as from the CSU EdQ program completer
survey and formative rubric items, indicate that these are areas in which the program
can improve.
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Standard 2e data from the program completers one year out from the program parallel the findings from the CSU completer survey completed at the end of the program, providing additional evidence that this is a worthy action to take.
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|Examine, select, and/or develop various representative measures/data sources that are more directly connected to the signature assignments in the program.||Data from Standards 1a-f often rely on mostly program-level collected data such as completer surveys, formative rubrics, and performance assessments that are primarily quantitative in nature. There are signature assignments aligned to TPEs with rubric data such as in Standard 1b and 1f that provide insights into the quality of the core curriculum of the program. These classroom assessments would add a qualitative aspect to evaluating our program that is currently missing. A mixed method approach to data collection and analysis would be more informative and authentic in looking at the way we prepare teachers for the classrooms of the future.||
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|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Create system to workshop and reflect course content||Data findings in several standard 1 responses indicated issues with this. Given that new coursework went into effect Fall 2021, it is important to begin this process and maintain it moving forward||
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|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Create a centralized key signature assignment timeline for evaluating Standards 1A-1F within the Single Subject Program.||The data from the FAST, the EdQ Completer Survey and the key signature assignments for Standards 1A-1F indicate that there are areas in which the program can improve. However, there is no internal system for aligning the key signature assignments with Standard 1.||
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|Increase the number of qualitative measures present in our current Single Subject data collection system to address Standards 1A-1F.||Most of the data used to evaluate Standards 1A-F were quantitative.||
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|Develop and administer an internal Single Subject completer survey that is inclusive of AAQEP Standards 1A-1F.||No internal measure exists to gather the perspective of program completers. CSU Educator Quality Center survey items do not always capture the necessary information.||
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|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Explore options for collecting more data that is specific to the Agriculture Specialist Credential. Create a data entry system for the three Ag. Specialist evaluation forms to allow students, mentor teachers and university supervisors to input data.||Currently there are three evaluation forms mentor teachers complete for the agriculture specialist candidates that are not included in an electronic database.||
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|Examine and update the EHD 154A and the AGRI 280 Seminar curricula to provide more instructional time focused on improving student performance on the Site Visitation and Teaching Sample assignments.||The two seminars allow for time to assist students with the Site Visitation and Teaching Sample Projects; however, in order to improve scores on these projects more seminar time will be devoted to assisting students in completing these projects.||
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|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Explore and develop measurement tools that provide a more specific breakdown of signature assignments to measure candidates’ competence in meeting the standards.||In Standard 1d, data was collected on the signature assignments from SPED 136 (UDL
Instruction Unit) and SPED 125, (Functional Behavior Assessment and the Behavior Intervention
Plan).
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After reviewing the available data on these assignments, we found that measurement tools did not break down assignments into individual, measurable parts for data collection and analysis. Having measurable tools that address the program standards and TPEs as well as consistent reporting of scores on signature assignments would provide a clearer picture of candidates’ competence, application and retention of skills needed to meet the TPEs and program standards.
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|More purposeful data collection and analysis from program completers to inform program practices||The surveys sent to program completers were only recently implemented to help inform program practices||Annually each fall:
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https://kremen.fresnostate.edu/about/aaqep/qar1-standard1/steps.html
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Looking across the findings from the self-study conducted by the preliminary administrative services, reading/literacy specialist, school counseling, and school nursing programs highlights that, based on the available data sources, overall, completers of our programs are prepared to perform as professional educators with the capacity to support access for all learners.
Areas of Strength:
As program faculty engaged in self-study in response to the AAQEP standards, they did so with a long history of successful accreditation from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Many of the findings from Standard 1 confirmed that the strengths of the programs aligned with our School’s mission and goals. In particular, given the high percentage of students in our region who are emergent bilinguals and the diverse range of cultural backgrounds they represent, as an educational unit, our mission is to prepare educators to be leaders in diverse communities. Findings from across the QAR highlighted the ways in which all of our programs emphasize the development of culturally sustaining pedagogy. The self-study programs engaged in led to findings of additional program strengths.
For the Preliminary Administrative Services Credential program, the findings from the faculty’s analysis of three cycles of California Administrative Professionals’ Assessment (CalAPA) in response to 1c show just how well the way the program prepares future administrators to engage in culturally responsive practices--and to support the teachers they work with in doing the same. As the results showed, while in the program, candidates develop the ability to have detailed conversations with teachers about the classroom context, student assets and learning needs, as well as content-specific learning goals and student work to collect as they plan for the teaching and learning observation. These kinds of productive conversations are exactly what we hope our future administrators will be able to facilitate in order to support the learning of students in our region.
In a similar way, the Reading/Literacy Program’s findings in response to 1c highlighted the ways that program prepares its candidates to use culturally responsive practices when working with students on their literacy development, along with the impact of language acquisition and literacy development on learning. Seeing that emphasis play out in the findings from the data analysis helps us to know that our unit-wide goals are being realized.
The findings of the School Counseling program in response to Standard 1d highlight that program’s emphasis on service and support. When analyzing data from the comprehensive exam essays, faculty found that students’ responses demonstrated their ability to set specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound goals based on the data provided within the vignette, which also closely aligns with the particulars of Aspect D. Students’ responses included plans of specific data that they could collect and analyze while engaging in individual and systemic level interventions to support their clients to meet their goals, demonstrating the ways in which the program prepares its candidates to engage in meaningful continuous improvement to support their transition into professional school counselors.
The results of the School Nursing Program’s analysis demonstrated how the program provides a smooth and meaningful route towards earning a school nursing credential for candidates all over California. The data revealed how effectively we are doing that and how the program’s flexibility allows it to serve geographical areas across the state. As highlighted in the response to Standard 1a, findings from the midterm and final field-based evaluation demonstrated that, upon program completion, candidates demonstrated significant growth in all areas, meaning the School Nurse Credential Program content was effective in meeting the SNSC Program goals and objectives. Given that students enrolled in the program are non-matriculated students who are currently employed full-time as school nurses while taking online classes in the program, we find this to be particularly impressive.
Areas for Growth:
While the findings of our analyses did highlight the success of the work our programs do to prepare our completers for their future roles, we also discovered several areas for improvement, particularly in terms of how we collect data on the work we do.
As we engaged in this self-study, one of the biggest take-aways we had is that we do not have a unit-wide systematic approach to collecting data from any of our key stakeholder groups--completers, K-12 partners, employers. This pertains to our findings from both Standard 1 and Standard 2. Although between the CSU Educator Quality Center and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, surveys are administered to program completers, employers, and year-out professionals, we discovered that their measures do not always align with the analysis we were trying to do in response to the Standard 1 aspects. Another challenge is that, in many cases, we were unable to disaggregate the data in a way that made the findings meaningful to us. While we do plan to advocate for revision both with the CSU survey and the CCTC survey, we also realize that we need to develop a systematic, unit-wide approach to collecting and analyzing data related to our programs. But the result was that, for this QAR, we were not always able to capture the perspectives of each key stakeholder group. More often than not, we relied on the perspectives of our faculty and our candidates.
Moving forward, we intend to develop unit-wide surveys that can be administered annually to each stakeholder group that will include both general programs about the work our institution does as a whole and program-specific questions. The hope is that this will allow us to collect data that will be useful at both levels but that will not lead to survey-fatigue from administering too many surveys, which is already a concern given the administration of both the CCTC and CSU Educator Quality Center surveys.
On the individual program level, as highlighted in the responses and in the table below, we plan to begin holding annual focus group discussions with key stakeholders as a way to gather additional data. Ideally, these will occur after the administration of the surveys so that survey responses can inform what gets asked in the focus group discussions. We see these discussions as a way to both gather valuable information about how we can improve our program and a way to continue to build relationships with our completers, P12 partners, and employers of our alumni.
Additionally, in order to then make the necessary changes to program practices, program faculty plan to spend time examining current coursework, assessments, and evaluation tools to ensure that coursework aligns with expected outcomes, that assessments provide a valid way for candidates to demonstrate mastery of those outcomes, and to ensure that the tools used for evaluation actually measure what they are intended to measure. As they do so, faculty will also engage in inquiry, examining student work across courses to ensure the validity and reliability of both the assignments used and the tools used to evaluate those assignments. We envision that this work will take time and be ongoing as program faculty will need to try new approaches, examine their effectiveness, make revisions, and then implement those revisions. Related to this work, each of the programs highlighted here is part of a graduate program within the university, which means it also goes through a Program Review that includes designing a Student Outcome Assessment Plan (SOAP) and analyzing student performance on key assignments. Moving forward, we will work with programs to ensure that assignments selected as part of their SOAP also align with AAQEP aspects. For some programs, such as the Reading/Literacy Specialist, this alignment already exists. But for others, this is another way to strengthen the continuous improvement process.
To support faculty in their efforts, as a unit, we will continue holding our Data Summits to further conversations about how to effectively use data to inform program practices.
Standard 1: Candidate and Completer Performance Program Next Steps
|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Establish and convene faculty learning community||Data from Standard 1 indicate a need for faculty to engage in reflection through rubric analysis, analysis of instructional best practices, and reviewing resources/practices/ materials for increasing candidate mastery on the CalAPA.||By end of 22-23 academic year:
|
|Ongoing realignment of the program re-design using data to inform faculty instructional decisions.||Findings from Standard 1 highlight candidates need continued support on using data to inform leadership decision-making and school improvement focus.||By end of 22-23 academic year:
|
|Intentional opportunities for rubric centered peer to peer feedback embedded into the courses||Data from Standard 1 show that students would benefit from a rubric centered approach to CalAPA cycles which can be done following CTC-appropriate support guidelines through peer-to-peer feedback.||By end of 22-23 academic year:
|
|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Examine existing coursework content, and assignments to make sure content aligns with the theoretical goals for the program and assessment tools allow for critical analysis of candidate knowledge||In looking at the content currently taught in courses, we discovered that not all aligns with theoretical goals of program||As a program faculty, engage in program-wide syllabus review to ensure course content
and assignments represent theoretical goals of program
|
|Revise assessments to better align with course content||Many of the assessments currently in place are not specific to the content of the course, making it difficult to determine where candidates have challenges||2021-2022:
|
|More purposeful data collection and analysis from program completers to inform program practices||The surveys sent to program completers were only recently implemented to help
||Annually each fall:
|
|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Strengthen counseling interns’ knowledge and understanding of application of learning theories in all three domains: academic success, socio-emotional wellbeing, and career development||Analysis of site supervisors’ evaluations on areas of students proficiency in learning theories showed that, though our students score “very satisfactory” in terms of their knowledge about learning theories, we aspire to further strengthen their capacity to use these theories to effect a positive change in all three dimensions of academic success, socio-emotional wellbeing, and career development.||Fall 2021:
|
|Ensure that techniques to improve learning and working environment beyond counseling skills and group activities will be discussed in the internship course, Coun 249, and other relevant courses (ex. Coun 242 Consultation).||Looking across findings from the three data sources of Case Study, Lesson Plan, and Candidate Disposition tool, we realize we are not specifically asking candidates to focus on creating and developing a positive learning and working environment.||Fall 2021:
|
|Fall 2021:
|
|Action to Take||Rationale for Action||Steps w/Proposed Timeline|
|Move all course and preceptor evaluations into Qualtrics.||Evaluation is calculated manually/ not allowing full utilization of data.||2021-2022:
|
|Revise Employer/Supervisor Survey to be sent out after candidate completion||Administrative turnover is high and candidates work full time during the time of program participation||Fall-Winter 2021-2022:
|
https://kremen.fresnostate.edu/about/aaqep/qar2-standard1/steps.html
|
"With the Using Data Process, (teachers) were able to take the data and talk about it. It was about 'this is where our students are, so what do we need to do to help them bridge the achievement gap? And what changes do we have to make in instructional practice to get there?"
Data Tip #1: "Every member of a school community can act as a data leader."
(Love, Nancy et al., The Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students, 2008, p.7)
Schools are working hard to provide data that works for teachers and students. In fact, your school may have invested in a powerful data warehouse that provides you with access to reports that may include state test scores, benchmark assessment scores, and other assessment data. You may see aggregate and disaggregated scores for your state, district, school, and class, as well as scores for your individual students. You may wonder, “How can I use all these numbers to help me? How can they help my students?”
Using data effectively starts with teachers who understand that the benefits of data are not all on the data dashboard. Access to well-organized data is just the beginning of an ongoing and collaborative process that investigates the current status of student learning and instructional practice. In this process, any member of the school community can act as a leader by celebrating accomplishments, challenging current practices, encouraging learning communities, staying focused on goals, communicating ideas, and actively engaging others in decision making and instructional improvement. So, lead the way—take steps to work together with your colleagues to use your data to find:
- successes to celebrate;
- learning problems to address;
- teaching practices to change.
Action Steps
To get started,
- Request a meeting with grade-level or subject-area colleagues to discuss the data sets provided by your school or district.
- Referring to your data, ask yourselves,What am I doing well? How can I amplify what I'm doing well?
- Who isn't learning? Are there student groups not being served?
- What, specifically, aren’t some students learning?
- What in my practice could be causing this?
- How can I be sure my assumptions are correct?
- What can I do to improve? How do I know that it worked?
- What do I do if the students still don't learn?
- Work in pairs to pinpoint one or two priority learning challenges you feel need to be addressed.
- Identify whether specific student groups are struggling with the identified challenges more than others.
- Present your findings to the larger group to discover similarities and differences.
- Together, make inferences about what might be the causes for these learning challenges.
- From here, develop a plan for how you can continue to analyze multiple data sources (including test scores, attendance records, student work, and student observation) to confirm or refute your inferences about possible causes.
Now, you have taken the first steps as a data leader by making meaning of your data and beginning the discussion, “What can we do differently, and how will we know if it works?” Great teaching begins with using data!
Written by:
Diana Nunnaley, Using Data Director
Mary Anne Mather, Using Data Facilitator
Data Tip #2: "Making predictions beforeanalyzing new data raises awareness about existing assumptions that can influence accurate interpretation of that data."
(Love, Nancy et al., The Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students, 2008)
School administrators have made a commitment to data-informed decision making. Often this means that periodically you will see reports that probably include state test results, benchmark assessment scores, and more. Your first impulse might be to scan the results and draw conclusions: who is doing well, who needs help, and what you can do about it. But before your 'take action' impulse kicks in, STOP!
Before you even take a peek at the new data you have in hand, predict what you expect the data to tell you. This first-step strategy can help guide your analysis of the data and contribute to a bigger pay-off down the road by helping you to more clearly pinpoint student learning problems, their causes, and next steps.
As educators, we know that making predictions is an effective strategy for teaching new concepts to students. It activates prior knowledge and uncovers understandings and misconceptions—anchoring new learning to familiar concepts. In much the same way, making predictions about student achievement data offers a starting point for navigating new data and engaging in dialogue about what it tells you. In fact, predicting is the first step in a four-phase data-discovery process called Data-Driven Dialogue (Wellman & Lipton, 2004). This structured process enables a Data Team to explore predictions, present a visual representation of the date, make observations, and generate inferences and questions before forming solutions.
If you are ready to make some predictions, here’s how:
Action Steps
- Reflect back on the content and skills represented in your new data set.
- Think about how, when, and for how long that material was taught. Were all students in attendance? Were they engaged with the material? Did they complete assignments? Did you need to provide remedial opportunities?
- Now, make predictions about what the data is going to tell you. Record each prediction as a list on chart paper or in a journal.
- Organize your predictions in categories. For example:
--Overall results you expect to see for all students,
--Results for specific student groups, such as your third period class or your English language learners,
--Results for specific standards or skills,
--Results compared to previous years,
--Results related to attendance records.
- Once you have a complete list, review your predictions and look for patterns in your thinking or assumptions about students as individuals or as groups.
- Stay in tune with your assumptions. When you look at your data, you will gain insights by comparing what you see with what you thought it would report.
Using data in a meaningful way starts with teachers who understand that data are just the beginning. And to predict is the first step on the pathway to making data-informed instructional decisions that can lead to results. The next step is “go visual”—making graphic representations of the data at hand. We’ll talk more about that in our next Using Data Tip from TERC!
Written by:
Diana Nunnaley, Using Data Director
Mary Anne Mather, Using Data Facilitator
Data Tip #3: "Go Visual"
(Love, Nancy et al., The Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students, 2008, p.7)
Teachers have access to rich and varied student data, often provided in a variety of computer-generated documents with lots of numbers. Where does a data team begin their dialogue about what the numbers show? How can the team integrate multiple sources of data to tell a coherent story? How can a data team bring to life pages of numbers, so that the data can paint a picture about student learning? One way to illuminate the stories within the data is for data teams to create their own visual display of the data. We call it "Go Visual!"
"Go Visual!" is the second stage in a four-phase process that guides data teams through deep discussion about data and helps them derive meaning from the data.
Data teams work together to create large, visually vibrant displays of data that combine information from multiple sources, make comparisons across student demographic groups, or capture several timeframes. These visuals can illuminate subtle changes in achievement over time. They can pinpoint achievement gaps that may, or may not, reinforce assumptions about who is doing well and why. Most importantly, by creating visual data and then making observations about this data, the team gains ownership of the story the data tells. The shared understanding among the data team that results from Going Visualcan lead to a culture of group responsibility for improvement.
If your team is ready to Go Visual with your data, these steps will get you started:
Action Steps
- Identify several data sources that relate to one another (demographics, state test scores in a selected subject area, district benchmark test scores in a particular subject area, etc.).
- First, make predictions. On chart paper, list your team's ideas about what you think that this data will tell you. (To learn more about predicting click here.) Based on the team's predictions, select data that will help illuminate your assumptions. Include aggregate and disaggregate data from multiple sources and across 2-3 years.
- Discuss what format or organization will best illustrate the data you have selected. Consider these and other similar questions:
- Do you want to compare students that represent various demographics, i.e, special needs, free and reduced lunch, gender groups, attendance groups?
- Are you interested in how your students compare with other students in the district or state?
- Would it be useful to show multiple years of data on one chart?
- What format will best display the data story —bar graph, pie chart, line graph?
- Together, using large sheets of paper and colorful markers, create a set of posters or graphic illustrations that capture your data.
- Post the data posters next to your list of predictions and begin the discussion about whether the data confirm your predictions.
- These visuals can form the beginning of a data wall, which will be a source of ongoing dialogue about using data for meaningful change.
Going Visual is a powerful step in helping a data team make sense of data. Creating visual data as a collaborative team contributes to greater understanding and ownership of the story the data convey. And Going Visual paves the way for deep and rich observations about the data, and then discussions about inferences, causes and effects, and solutions that will greatly impact improvement.
Written by:
Diana Nunnaley, Director
Mary Anne Mather, Facilitator
Data Tip #4: "Make Data Observations: Before Identifying Solutions, Get All the Facts on the Table."
(Love, Nancy et al., The Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All Students, 2008)
Teachers are natural problem solvers. When we see evidence in our data that groups of students are underachieving, we are anxious to find solutions. But data analysis is most effective if a team takes the time to observe and record as many details as possible about what the data reveal. The Using Data process advocates a 'hold your horses' mindset that can help teachers to better pinpoint a student learning problem before jumping to explanations, interpretations, and quick-fix solutions.
Observe is the third stage in a four-phase dialogue process* that guides deep discussion toward uncovering accurate meaning from the data. (See more information about Step 1: Predict and Step 2: Capture Predictions.)
The Observation phase of the four-phase dialogue process requires strong discipline! Assign a group dialogue monitor to avoid moving the discussion too quickly to 'because' and 'we should'.
Observations might start with phrases such as, “I notice that…, I see that…, I’m struck by..., I’m surprised that…”
Sample Observations
What makes a good observation statement? Here are some questions to guide you to make refined and specific data observation statements:
- Does each statement communicate a single idea about student performance?
- Is the statement short and clear?
- Does the statement incorporate numbers (the data)?
- Does the statement focus just on those direct and observable facts contained in the data, without explanation or inference?
- Does the statement use relevant data concepts such as mean, median, mode, range, or distribution?
Depending on the type of data you are looking at, the observations might resemble the examples below.
Sample aggregate data observation:
I notice that at the school level, student performance in math increased from Year 1 to Year 2 (44 percent to 47 percent) and then declined in Year 3 (to 33 percent).
Sample disaggregate data observation:
I see that in the most recent year of data at the school level, 44 percent of sixth-grade African American students performed at the lowest performance level in English language arts, compared with 36 percent of Hispanics and 35 percent of white students.
Sample student work data observation:
I’m surprised that our regular education and special education students had the same difficulty with the vocabulary used in this open response science question.
Follow these action steps to discover all the facts your data can reveal as your data team makes observations.
Action Steps
- First, gather your data team members. They might be a grade-level or vertical team, a subject-area department, or your school leadership team.
- Together, study a visual representation of the data you want to analyze. Allow some quiet 'think time' to allow members to digest and make sense of what they see. Provide some think-time prompts, such as:
--What important points seem to pop out?
--What are some patterns and trends that are emerging?
--What seems surprising or unexpected?
- Share observations about the data. Stick to 'just the facts'. A round robin brainstorming strategy works well when making data observations. It encourages all data team members to look closely at the data and have a voice at the table.
- Capture each observation on chart paper. Continue the process until all possible observations have surfaced and are captured.
After capturing a complete set of observations, now the team is ready to generate possible explanations for what they observed. Our next Data Tip will discuss Step 4 in the four-phase dialogue process: Making Inferences.
Written by:
Diana Nunnaley, Director
Mary Anne Mather, Facilitator
Data Tip #5: "Make Inferences and Question Your Data's Story"
“Make data observations. Then generate possible explanations that inform next steps to finding the best teaching and learning solutions.”
(Love, Nancy et al., The Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students, 2008.)
Before generating solutions, be certain that you fully understand the problem. As a data team, take the time to verify what learning problems are revealed in your data—and why—before suggesting solutions. After making observations about the data and listing details about what you see in it, draw inferences about why these observations are revealed. Ask yourselves, “Why are we seeing this result?” and/or “What else do we need to know to be sure of this observation?” Making inferences and asking questions before finding solutions is a classic example of the 'go slow to go fast' strategy. It gets you on track for making sure the problem you are solving is one you actually have!
Infer/Question is the fourth stage in a collaborative four-phase dialogue process* that guides deep discussion toward deriving accurate meaning from your students’ learning data. (See more information about Step 1: Predict , Step 2: Go Visual, and Step 3: Make Observations.)
The following action steps will help you and your data team share inferences about the story your data are telling. These inferences will inform important next steps toward pinpointing a valid student learning problem and its true cause.
Action Steps
- After capturing observations about your data, make inferences and question your data’s story. Begin to generate possible explanations for what you observe by considering these questions:
--What inferences and explanations can we draw about our observations?
--What questions do we need to consider?
--What tentative conclusions might we draw?
--What additional data might we explore to verify our explanations?
Begin your inferences with phrases such as: “I wonder if…, Might this situation exist because…, I would like to know if…, We really should explore…, A question I have is…”
Inference statements link back to the observations you made about your data, and might look like the following:
“We really should explore whether district scores improved more than our school scores because some schools are on a year-round schedule.”
“I wonder if mathematical reasoning is not emphasized enough in our curriculum.”
“I’m surprised that our regular education and special education students had the same difficulty with the vocabulary used in this open response science question.”
“Our observations of disaggregate data indicate a high mobility rate. Do we have programs for kids who come to our school in the middle of the year to help them catch up?”
- Next, work to find the answers to your questions or to confirm your inferences by identifying additional data and indicators you can collect. For example, drill down and look at disaggregate, strand, or item data. Or consider analyzing common grade-level assessments, student work, or even survey data. Does the new data confirm your inferences? Does it change your thinking?
- Lastly, as your team completes the four-phase dialogue process for analyzing data, consider these three questions to help you define next steps:
--What are the implications of what we just learned?
--What actions do we need to take next?
--Who needs to know?
Now that your data team has clarified inferences about your data, you can focus on using this information to pinpoint very specific student learning problems and generating solutions that can truly impact your students’ achievement.
Written by:
Diana Nunnaley, Director
Mary Anne Mather, Facilitator
Data Tip #6: When Analyzing Causes, Ask "Why? Why? Why?"
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Albert Einstein
Once a data team has analyzed several data sources to pinpoint a student learning problem, they often feel ready to leap into action and solve it. But the data team should first engage in a collaborative process of causal analysis to identify the 'root' cause of the problem, to ensure that the solution they propose addresses the true problem and produces the desired results.
One tool data teams can use to support a root-cause analysis is called “Why? Why? Why?”—a questioning technique used to explore cause-and-effect relationships. “Why? Why? Why?” helps a group look deeply, beyond the symptoms of a problem, to find underlying causes by asking “Why?” at least three times. Each time the question is asked, the team is probing more deeply into the root cause.
For example, suppose your team learns that math scores on the state test noticeably improved for all students except those in the bottom quartile. On the first round of “Why?” team members respond that many of the bottom-quartile students are special education students. Asking “Why?” a second time, they speculate that the new math curriculum, which is closely aligned with the state test, is just too hard for some students. When asking “Why?” a third time, they consider that often the special needs students are pulled out of class for individual instruction and may not be getting access to the new curriculum. This lack of access could be the root cause!
Are you ready to give “Why? Why? Why?” a try?
Action Steps
- Define a student learning problem. Be sure to analyze at least three data sources to accurately pinpoint the problem.
- Clearly state the student learning problem in writing on chart paper (or use the Why? Why? Why? form)
- Engage in collaborative dialogue with your data team. Ask “Why” do we have this problem? Then record one response beginning with “Because…”
- IMPORTANT: Next, discuss whether your cause needs confirmation. What other data can be consulted?
- Continue this process by repeating Steps 3 and 4 three or more times.
- Discuss the data-confirmed causes of your learning problem. Which one seems to be the 'root' cause—the one that, if changed, will yield results? Now your team is ready to start generating solutions. But be careful—the “Why? Why? Why?” process has some limitations.
Limitations
The “Why? Why? Why?” process is not scientific. Different groups might identify different root causes based on only their current knowledge or experiences, which have inherent limitations. That’s why Step 4 is important. Think of “Why? Why? Why?” as a good starting point for launching the dialogue that will move your team toward a better understanding of the problem, before you target a solution.
Written by:
Diana Nunnaley, Director
Mary Anne Mather, Facilitator
Data Tip #7: Finding Time For Data Inquiry
“Time for teacher collaboration is not a luxury... It is a necessity for schools that want to improve.” (Love, N., Ed.,Using Data to Improve Learning for All, 2009)
Recently, teams of teachers in a Florida school district learned TERC’s Using Data process of collaborative inquiry. After their professional development sessions, these data teams returned to their schools to apply the process they had learned and dig deeper into their own data with colleagues. As this work progressed, one teacher expressed an epiphany: “I thought we were learning a quick way to 'fix' things. I now realize that this a process that takes time!”
Meaningful data analysis requires that data teams study multiple data sources to pinpoint student learning problems, find root causes for emerging problems, and launch a plan to tackle these problems. Data teams understand that there is not a 'quick fix' approach to understanding and closing learning gaps—this work takes time.
For most schools, finding time to build a culture of data inquiry requires rethinking how time is allocated during the school day and the school year. Some ideas include creative use of specialists, block scheduling, reallocation of teacher contract time, quarterly release-time for data teams, and summer data retreats. Following are some ideas and strategies for maximizing time for data use:
Take Action to Find Time*
Freed-up time. This strategy entails freeing teachers from their regular instructional time to participate in data-focused professional development or data-analysis activities. It is achieved by hiring substitute teachers or by recruiting administrators, parents, or other volunteers to serve as subs. Volunteers can also cover teachers’ recess and lunch duties.
Restructured or rescheduled time. This solution requires a formal alteration of the instructional time—the school day, the school year, or teaching schedules. For example, strategies for creating time include switching to a team teaching approach, a year-round school schedule, or a revised weekly schedule that allows for early student-release days.
Common time. Many schools encourage common teacher-preparation and planning time, rather than individual prep time. This enables teachers to meet as grade-level or subject-area teams. When coupled with a lunch break, for example, common meeting time can result in as much as 90 minutes of uninterrupted time.
Better-used time. Many schools require teachers to meet for regular staff, department, and/or grade-level meetings. By choosing to use electronic formats, schools can communicate about administrative issues more efficiently, saving face-to-face meeting time for teachers to engage in data inquiry. In addition, by reassessing existing professional development plans, leaders may find ways to allocate more time to data analysis and collaborative problem-solving, which can lead to great professional gains overall.
Purchased time. Some schools and districts are able to reallocate existing funds and occasionally provide stipends for teachers to engage in improvement planning activities outside the school day.
Where there is a will…
Educational leaders have begun to recognize the power of collaborative inquiry around data to improve learning. They understand that changing the school schedule to make time for teacher collaboration is a requirement for collaborative inquiry, and they work hard to find creative solutions to the time crunch. The growing number of schools that now schedule time for teacher collaboration during the school day proves that where there is a will, there is a way!
Written by:
Diana Nunnaley, Director
Mary Anne Mather, Senior Facilitator
Data Tip #8: "Triangulate, Triangulate, Triangulate"
“When we looked at our state criterion-referenced tests (CRT) for sixth grade, life science was our weakest strand. We couldn’t believe that. We thought we had a pretty strong life science program. It wasn’t until we looked at our own local assessments and saw the same weakness that we became convinced that we had to take a closer look at what we were teaching and how.” (Love, Nancy, Ed., Using Data to Improve Learning for All, p.9)
All too often state test results may be the only source consulted when targeting specific areas for improvement. However, decisions about instructional changes that reflect only this single data source might lead to errors in your decision-making.
If you want your data to lead you toward making meaningful changes, an important principle to follow is triangulation. Triangulation means using three independent data sources to examine apparent issues or problems. You might ask, “Why bother with the extra work of triangulating?” Consider this analogy:
A third-grade teacher asks Mary to look through the front panel of the classroom terrarium and list everything she sees. Mary diligently makes a thorough list and begins to return to her seat when the teacher asks her to take a second look through the side panel of the terrarium. She immediately sees several plants and animals obscured in the front panel view by rocks and shrubs. By using this second “window,” Mary now has a more complete picture. Then the teacher asks Mary to peer through the top of the terrarium to see if there is anything else. Mary is able to add to her list before she sits down. Her three-window analysis reveals a far more comprehensive picture than any one window alone.*
The notion of using multiple windows or perspectives also applies to understanding and applying information from student achievement data.
Action Steps
Since state test data are the most widely publicized and tend to attract the most attention, this is a good starting point. It’s beneficial to thoroughly examine aggregate and disaggregate state data, including digging down into strand and item data, if available.
Carefully note specific weak achievement areas. Is this weakness across-the-board or for specific demographic groups? Be sure to note achievement gaps between demographics groups.
When district benchmark or performance assessment data become available, similarly analyze this data and compare results to your state data observations. Do these assessments show similar gaps? For the same populations?
Now carefully examine student work samples that focus on concepts noted as weak areas in the other tests. What are specific things students can and cannot do/explain? If these samples are common grade-level assessments, they can reveal even more insights.
Based on your comparisons of findings across data sources, you are ready to consider action. You may realize you need to adjust alignment between your curriculum and assessments, or provide re-teaching of some skills, or address needs for professional development. Or you may find that looking at additional data is required.
Although we have suggested three types of data to consult during the triangulation process, consider all the data sources available to you. End-of-unit tests, informal formative assessments, classroom observations, and teacher and student surveys each offer unique perspectives. A variety of data sources can support or contradict previous data findings and clarify insights about problems and their causes. Use all the rich resources available to you to help understand what changes will offer the most gain.
Triangulation has the following benefits:
• It can compensate for the imperfections of some assessments.
• When multiple measures yield the same results, it can increase your confidence in the results and assure that you know where to focus reteaching or curriculum adjustment.
• When multiple measures fail to yield the same results, it will raise important follow-up questions.
Written by:
Diana Nunnaley, Director
Mary Anne Mather, Facilitator
Data Tip #9: "Disaggregate Your Data to Make the Invisible Visible"
“Disaggregation is a practical, hands-on process that allows a school’s faculty to answer the two critical questions: ‘Effective at what? Effective for whom?’ It is not a problem-solving (process), but a problem-finding process.” (Lezotte and Jacoby, Sustainable School Reform, 1992)
If you want to tap one of the most powerful uses of data, disaggregate! Disaggregation means looking at how specific subgroups perform. Typically, formal student achievementdata is aggregated, or reported for the population as a whole—the whole state, school, grade level, or class. Disaggregating can bring to light critical problems and issues that might otherwise remain invisible.
For example, one district’s state test data showed that eighth-grade math scores steadily improved over three years. When the data team disaggregated those data, they discovered that the math scores for boys improved, while the scores for girls actually declined. Another school noticed increased enrollment in their after-school science club. However, disaggregated data indicated that minority students, even those in advanced classes, weren’t participating.
Here are some examples of questions that disaggregated data can help to answer:
• Is there an achievement gap among different demographic groups? Is the gap getting bigger or smaller?
• Are minority or female students enrolling in higher-level mathematics and science courses at the same rate as other students?
• Are poor or minority students over-represented in special education or under-represented in gifted and talented programs?
• Are students at certain grade levels doing better in core subjects?
• Are students whose teachers participate in ongoing professional development
in reading, math, or science doing better in these subjects than students whose teachers do not participate?
• Are the school’s most recent curriculum and instruction adjustments improving the performance of students in the lowest quartile?
To answer these or other questions, carefully consider what disaggregated data is available and what additional data you need. Develop a data collection plan that includes a wide variety of data that can be disaggregated, such as state and local performance assessments, samples of student work, enrollment data for advanced courses, special programs, and professional development, as well as student and teacher survey results.
Action Steps
Following are tips to help you get started with disaggregating test data:
Thoroughly understand your school's demographics in order to select the relevant variables for disaggregation. NOTE: Some schools benefit from disaggregating data within demographic groups, such as Hispanic students born in the continental U.S. compared to those who are foreign-born.
Request state and district test data reports that are disaggregated relevant to your student population.
Explore technology tools that will help collect, analyze, and report disaggregated data more easily.
Note relevant demographic data as you collect other information about student learning.
Ask for support from district data experts or the companies that provide your data system. Let them know the types of disaggregated reports that will best serve your needs.
Drill down — dive into the data using the four-phase data-driven dialogue process described in TERC's previous tips (see tips #2 through #6).
As noted by Lawrence Lezotte and Barbara Jacoby in their publication, Sustainable School Reform, “Disaggregation . . . is not a problem-solving but a problem-finding process.” Once you have a clear understanding of who knows what and the learning problems that exist, you can make changes to programs and instruction to target these specific learning gaps.
*Segments excerpted from Love, N. Using Date/Getting Results: A Practical Guide for
School Improvement in Mathematics and Science. (2002). Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc., p.39-42.
Edited by:
Mary Anne Mather, Facilitator
To learn more about TERC's Using Data professional development, please fill contact us.
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https://external-wiki.terc.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=47940176
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(Bonus) Mistake #6: Ignoring student data when designing lessons
How do we know if students are ready to learn what we want to teach them? How do we know how to teach them?
The answers lie in continually assessing and addressing what students know, what they are confused about, and what they are able or unable to do.
We cannot effectively instruct our students unless we take a careful account of their knowledge base and skill level on an ongoing basis.
Every teacher struggles with the question of how to assess students accurately, fairly, and efficiently. When the purpose of instruction is understanding, ongoing assessment is vital for providing the information that both teachers and students need to make subsequent teaching, learning, and understanding possible.
Teachers need to be mindful of both formal and informal assessments of their students in order to reach and teach them in the most effective way possible. The best teachers are good “kid watchers.” They see how students are responding to what they are doing and adjust their teaching based on student responses. Often it is just a handful of students who are willing to speak and share ideas in class. For others, it is important to ascertain everything from body language, to student conversation, to one-on-one chats with students, in order to teach effectively. It’s important to keep careful notes on students as they progress. If you see that students are becoming confused or frustrated, you may need to re-explain assignments, modify them, or change gears.
Students also need clear and continual feedback if they are to overcome any confusion that might prevent them from forming deep understandings. They need to know when they are on track and when they are not. Appropriate feedback can help students deepen their knowledge base and skill level, make appropriate connections, and apply what they are learning to novel situations. It can help them transform the quality of their thought and of their work.
The question is how can this be done effectively and efficiently? One thing is certain. To get an accurate and complete picture of what your students know and are able to do, you will need a multi-faceted approach to data collection:
Informal Assessment: A One Time Snapshot is Never Enough
Getting a clear picture of what a student can and cannot do requires different types of assessments. Not all assessments need to be formal, and not all of them need to be pencil and paper. Some just require thoughtful observation of a student’s words or actions. However, a one-time snapshot is never enough.
Students Change and Grow
Students constantly grow and change. Teachers need ongoing information in order to tailor instruction in a meaningful way. Without taking continual stock of what your students know and are able to do, your instruction will likely become hit or miss.
Give Students Options to “Show What They Know”
Teachers need to provide students with a variety of ways to demonstrate their understanding, and they need to give students clear and specific feedback about what it would take to improve their next performance. Teachers must figure out what evidence will give them the most specific information about how well their students are meeting the learning targets. Teachers also need to determine how this data can help guide their instruction.
There are several key issues here:
- First think about the goals of your unit of study. What are your students’ learning targets?
- Then determine how to best assess each of those learning targets. Think about what data you can glean through written assessments, performance-based assessments, and through careful observations of what your students say and do. It is important to carefully match each assessment with your purpose for giving it.
- Finally, determine how you will use the data you collect to adjust and target your instruction to your students’ needs. If the information you collect gives you a clear and specific picture of what your students know and can do and what confusions they have, it will help you differentiate instruction. The data will enable you to develop both effective intervention strategies for students who do not meet the objectives, and enrichment and acceleration strategies for those who exceed them.
In order to teach students effectively we must be able to assess what they do accurately, fairly, and efficiently. Once we can see where the students are “at” it is easier to instruct them and clear up any confusions. This not only requires some formal, pen and paper assessments but also requires teachers to be good “kid watchers.” Effective evaluation is not just a momentary snapshot of a student’s work. By observing students and listening carefully to what they say and do, a teacher can a much deeper understanding of what each students understands and when additional assistance is needed.
Thank you for participating in this mini-course. If you have any questions or would like additional information, then please feel free to contact us.
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https://homeschool.readorium.com/2015/06/bonus-mistake-6-ignoring-student-data-when-designing-lessons/
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Learning outcomesOn successful completion of this unit, students will be able to: use a range of computing packages for specific purposes; access, retrieve and manipulate data; design documents to meet organisational requirements; follow OH &S procedures to ensure a safe working environment; use Internet and email as required.
Graduate attributes1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
|Year||Location||Teaching period||Teaching start date||Delivery mode||Unit convener|
Required texts
The following notes will be available on Canvas. Word, Excel and PowerPoint Workbooks will be provided to the students as pdf documents which they may print themselves.
- Occupational Health & Safety Workbook (online only)
- Word Workbook (online only)
- Excel Workbook (online only)
- PowerPoint Workbook (online only)
It is each student's responsibility to make sure they have all the notes provided.
Students who miss a computer lab and so do not collect the Workbooks on time in their designated Group should contact the tutor or the unit convenor as soon as possible to collect them.
Submission of assessment items
Special assessment requirements
To pass this unit, you MUST:
- Attempt all the assesment items
- Achieve overall 50% or above combined from all the assessments
For all tests:
A student who does not attend any Test will fail the Unit, unless a request for Special Consideration is approved by the College. The student must contact the Unit Convenor as soon as possible to explain their absence. If they have been sick, they must fill in a form at College Reception, present their approved medical certificate and apply for Special Consideration as soon as possible. If Special Consideration is granted they may then do an alternative assessment item as arranged by the College.
Academic integrity
Students have a responsibility to uphold University standards on ethical scholarship. Good scholarship involves building on the work of others and use of others' work must be acknowledged with proper attribution made. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are dishonest practices that contravene academic values. Refer to the University's Student Charter for more information.
To enhance understanding of academic integrity, all students are expected to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) at least once during their course of study. You can access this module within UCLearn (Canvas) through the 'Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism' link in the Study Help site.
Use of Text-Matching Software
The University of Canberra uses text-matching software to help students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understanding of academic integrity. The software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.
Participation requirements
All students are expected to attend all the computer labs in their designated Group. As a guideline, students with less than 80% attendance (more than 3 absences) are placing their studies at risk, as students with poor attendance will find it difficult to keep up with the workload.
Students are expected to be on time for all the computer labs and attend with the correct materials. A student who arrives late at, or misses, a computer lab must make up the work in their own time.
Required IT skills
None.
Work placement, internships or practicums
None.
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https://www.canberra.edu.au/unit/7790/1/2020
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Ph.D.
Degree Granting Department
Second Language Acquisition and Instructional Technology
Major Professor
Wei Zhu, Ph.D.
Keywords
Discourse community, Disciplinary knowledge, Intertextuality, Scaffolding, Writing
Abstract
Research shows that academic literacy is discipline specific. Students have to learning the ways of communication in order to gain access to the discourse community of the selected discipline through understanding and performing required genres and learning necessary disciplinary knowledge. Scaffolding is important in the process to help students internalize the disciplinary knowledge and improve students' performance on academic papers. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) provides good chances of scaffolding and mediation especially for non-native graduate students who may have lost many opportunities of class participation due to their limited language proficiency or other cultural issues. In this dissertation, the researcher investigated how a group of L2 students tried to acquire academic literacy in applied linguistics by completing a series of teacher preparation classes. CMC was built naturally into the classes where students kept online discussions on various
components of applied linguistics and were engaged in some online peer review activity on draft papers. Data were gathered from 8 sources: observations, questionnaire, online discussion entries, online peer feedback, students' major assignments, source materials, interviews and discourse-based interviews. The various sources of data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively using different methods and schemes to present how L2 graduate students negotiate their academic literacy in CMC environment in terms of language functions and focus; how CMC influences both the process and the product of student's academic writing; and how students perceive CMC in the academic literacy acquisition process. Analysis of data indicated that non-native English speaking students used various language functions in their negotiation of academic literacy with their peers in the online discussion. They tended to apply a wider range of language function as they became more familiar with the discourse
community. Students in this study also applied multiple intertextual techniques in the online discussion, whereas only a few were used in face-to-face class discussions. Results also indicated that computer-mediated communication facilitated students' understanding of tasks, performance of writing activities and applying citation conventions correctly. The scaffolding among students enabled them to effectively learn disciplinary knowledge and develop their academic literacy. Analysis of the students draft and final papers in the online peer review activities indicated that students incorporated peers' feedback into their revisions and benefited from such activities although they claimed high quality feedback was still not enough. Finally, although the students considered that computer-mediated communication had some drawbacks, it did facilitate their acquisition of academic literacy in the field of applied linguistics.
Scholar Commons Citation
Cheng, Rui, "The role of computer-mediated communication in non-native speakers' acquisition of academic literacy" (2007). Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
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https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/667/
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Microscopy and precise observation are essential skills that are challenging to teach effectively to large numbers of undergraduate biology students. We implemented student-driven digital imaging assignments for microscopy in a large-enrollment laboratory for organismal biology. We detail how we promoted student engagement with the material and how we assessed student learning in both formative and summative formats using digital images. Students worked in pairs to collect over 60 digital images of their microscopic observations over the semester and then individually created electronic portfolios, which were submitted for a grade.
Much has been written over the past decade about the pedagogical value of digital imaging for enhancing student learning in biology. As the costs of this technology have declined and placed this tool within reach of many faculty and their students, digital imaging has been used to augment a range of courses, from field biology (Jenkins et al., 2003) to biotechnology (Norflus, 2012). However, published case studies in which students must generate their own digital images and teachers must assess them tend to focus on only low-enrollment courses that permit greater time for individualized instruction (Watson & Lom, 2008; DiBartolomeis, 2011; Jackson et al., 2012; Modery et al., 2012). At George Mason University, we have successfully transitioned from using student-driven digital imaging in such low-enrollment courses to high enrollment core courses (>160 students) in order to provide more effective and engaging laboratory experiences for a greater number of students (National Research Council, 2003; AAAS, 2011). Specifically, we use digital imaging to improve our students’ understanding of the structure and function of organisms through microscopic observation.
Microscopy and precise scientific observation are essential skills that are difficult for students to develop and even harder for their teachers to assess both efficiently and effectively. Yet students must have these skills in order to succeed in most organismal biology laboratories. This conflict commonly creates two student-learning challenges that teachers must confront. Hurried or frustrated students may glance through the microscope with little critical consideration of their observations. More deliberate students may have difficulty articulating questions about their perceptions, and teachers may not be able to adequately assist them. In our experience, hand-drawings produced by both types of students may be unintelligible, proving that they received little benefit from their observations, and may also be challenging to critique well.
Incorporating student-driven digital imaging in microscopy improves the learning outcomes of both types of students in several ways. It builds all students’ technical skills by requiring them to produce incontrovertible proof of their ability to refine image quality (i.e., the digital image), to determine magnification levels, and to consider the section and preparation type of the material in view. These ancillary data can be included along with the image in written reports, and this requirement can compel students to be more deliberate. The process of working with digital images in written reports builds other essential skills, such as the ability to edit images in word-processing software, to follow formatting conventions for standardized scientific communication, and to formally acknowledge others’ intellectual contributions in the form of photo credits. Digital imaging also promotes student engagement and communication, and viewing large color images on computer screens allows students to share, explain, and question their observations with each other and the teacher. Furthermore, digital imaging is an immediate and exacting assessment tool for microscopy. During labs, teachers can assist students with their ongoing microscopic observations by viewing images together. Later, the precise written records of each student’s observations can be graded objectively and the images can be used in reviews and examinations.
Here, we describe how we implemented digital imaging assignments for microscopy for BIOL 310–Biodiversity, an undergraduate laboratory core course in organismal biology; how we promoted student engagement with the material; and how we assessed student learning though digital imaging. The course is required of all our biology majors at the sophomore to senior levels and comprises multiple laboratory sections each semester (8–10 sections of 22 students taught by 4–5 instructors). During twelve 2.75-hour laboratory meetings, students work in pairs to collect 63 digital images of their microscopic observations. Students then individually create electronic portfolios of their work, which they submit for a grade. Our teaching methods are broadly transferable to other institutions, such as high schools. Most importantly, our teaching methods are not necessarily dependent on the type of digital imaging equipment used by the students, although we list our materials in detail below for convenience.
Materials
Compound or dissecting microscopes with removable oculars or C-mount.
Tucsen 3.0 MP CMOS TCA-3.0C digital camera, model C30; image resolution: 2048 × 1536 pixels; video streaming 8–30 frames per second; USB 2.0 computer interface; includes C-mount and ocular-insert adaptors; cost, $230 (price quote February 2013; http://www.onfocuslaboratories.com).
TSView software (version 6.2.3.3) and driver, included with camera.
PC computer (Windows 2000, XP or Vista OS; Intel Pentium 4, 2.6 GHz processors) with at least 512 MB RAM, 10GB HD, and one USB 2.0 connection.
Student & Teacher Procedures
Digital imaging is introduced to students during the second laboratory, as microscope training occurs during the first session. Each pair of students shares a Tucsen digital microscope camera, which is transferable between compound and dissecting microscopes and is controlled via a USB 2.0 computer interface and the TSView software program. Students are given the option of using them with the desktop computers in the lab or with their personal PC laptops. Students who use their laptops are given a copy of the software and drivers and coached through the correct installation procedures. Instructors then walk students through the process of configuring the software, controlling image quality, and managing the electronic image files using prepared whole-mount slides of diatoms. Students are prompted to take an image of diatoms, and of all other items over the course of the semester, by bold italicized text in the lab manual, for example, “DIGITAL IMAGE 1. Image of a diatom with 4X obj., labeling a silicon dioxide test.” The step-by-step imaging directions adapted from the software manual (available from author upon request) are also are provided in the lab manual.
Once the instructor has verified that all students have collected the diatom image successfully, he or she trains students in how to prepare the digital image portfolio. Students download an MS Word document template from the course’s Blackboard site. They then learn how to insert their diatom image into the Word document, how to reduce the image height to 2.5 inches, and how to use the drawing tools to insert arrows and text boxes to label the structures required by the directions in the lab manual. The teacher also reviews the written guidelines and the accompanying checklist for constructing the portfolio, which are provided as appendices in the lab manual. The training takes a total of 30–45 minutes.
Engagement Strategies
We have found that after the initial camera training, most students are able to collect high-quality digital images of their microscopic observations (Figure 1). Our students readily consult each other to resolve hardware or software problems that may arise and, more importantly, discuss the content of their microscopic images at length. Students are required to purchase a biological photo atlas (Van De Graaff & Crawley, 2009) and use this reference extensively in class. However, constructive student–teacher interaction is far greater than it was before the introduction of digital imaging. Not only do students ask questions about their observations, but instructors can ask students to explain the image on the computer screen.
Not surprisingly, many students develop a strong sense of pride over the aesthetic quality of their images. Holding a contest among students for the best pictures can encourage this level of engagement. For example, in a previous course, we held a competition at the end of the semester to create a course calendar (Figure 2). Students were invited to submit their two favorite images and then voted to select the top 12, one image for each month. The winning digital images were submitted to an online photo-printing service, and students were able to purchase a photo calendar of their work as a memento.
Assessment of Student Learning
Student-driven digital imaging allows instructors to use both formative and summative assessment strategies to improve student learning via microscopy. As students are engaged in lab activities, instructors ask students to take them on a tour of the current image to locate and describe the functions of specified structures. Quick formative assessments like these low-stakes explanations give the instructors immediate feedback about student comprehension. Instructors can then identify knowledge gaps and modify teaching strategies to increase understanding. After students have completed each lab, they take a formal exit quiz. These summative assessments, which are worth half of the lab course grade, test student mastery of the cumulative lab unit and usually include questions that require students to label and define structures from images taken during lab. Including images on the quizzes not only tests student comprehension of the material, but also encourages students to carefully and thoroughly examine each slide and the specified structures while working through the lab.
Collecting, processing, and assessing the images for the digital image portfolios does take time, and we have learned how to avoid making these exercises burdensome. First, we limit the number of required images per laboratory in BIOL310 to less than 10 in consideration of the time that it takes students to collect high-quality images. Second, portfolios are submitted only at the middle and end of the semester but carry a significant graded weight to make their necessary effort worthwhile. They account for 20% of the lab course grade. Lastly, although students collect 63 images over the course of the semester, we require students to include only eight images in each digital image portfolio – seven of the teacher’s choice and one of the student’s. This strategy increases the quality of assignments, reduces the grading load, and preserves the pedagogical value of creating all of the images during laboratory, because students are not told which images will be required for their portfolios until after the laboratory has ended. Each laboratory section is assigned a different set of images as well, which reduces the opportunity for plagiarism. Students then format each required image with clearly labeled structures, a descriptive legend with ancillary data about the image including photo credits (Figure 2), and textual definitions of the labeled structures below the legend. Students upload their completed portfolio to Blackboard, and instructors grade them using a rubric (Table 1) that evaluates each student’s skills of microscopy, scientific observation, and understanding of the material in view.
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https://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article/75/8/578/18585/Making-Microscopy-Motivating-Memorable-amp
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Special Education Teacher
Under general supervision of the House Manager, the incumbent is responsible for teaching and supervising a class of special needs students utilizing various techniques to promote learning.
Duties include planning, organizing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating class activities, developing Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and working with assigned staff, therapists and students to achieve the IEP goals and objectives. The incumbent is responsible for supervising assigned students and classroom staff insuring that students and staff are compliant with all school policies and procedures. This position requires close supervision of students. The ability to keep up with running children and/or to lift or assist with lifting students is essential to perform this task. An important aspect of the job is gaining knowledge of and implementing the assigned student’s Individual Education Plan goals and objectives as well as ensuring accurate data collection and documentation of same.
In accordance with the federal wage-hour laws, this is a salaried position and is not subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
Other Performance Measures
Successful performance on the job requires following safety guidelines and policies to reduce accident or injury to self or students, school dress standards, proper attendance and leave policies, and compliance with other policies set forth in the Employee Handbook. Creativity, initiative and effective problem solving is also important to the success of the incumbent.
Examples of Essential Functions
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- Supervise and evaluate classroom staff, providing training, instruction and support.
- Assume primary responsibility for every student in the class and their total programming needs.
- Supervise students during emergency drills, assemblies, play periods and community-based instruction; the ability to keep up with running children and or to lift or assist with lifting students is essential to perform this task.
- Accept responsibility for all policies and procedures.
- Develop and implement an IEP for each child, assessing both formally and informally, areas of strength and areas of need.
- Develop functional behavior assessments, behavior intervention plans, or other reports (ESY, justification for one-to-one, etc.) as needed.
- Deliver appropriate instruction.
- Provide written plans and activities for classroom staff.
- Prepare quarterly progress reports.
- Collect data using a variety of methods including charts, videos, photographs, language samples, observation, task analysis, student portfolios, theme and project-based performance.
- Utilize all in-house resources to complement the classroom.
- Make appropriate referrals for additional services or evaluations as needed.
- Write incident reports as needed and review for accuracy incident reports written by support staff.
- Ensure that support staff complete necessary incident reports.
- Lead weekly team meetings to develop theme-based plans and activities, individualizing for each student as appropriate to their needs. Complete weekly team meeting notes that reflect therapists’ participation and assignments for assistants.
- Coordinate with other teachers and staff during team meetings.
- Provide and have available daily written plans (lesson plan books).
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- Take primary responsibility for medications when the nurse is absent or while on Community Based outings.
- Actively participates in the school swimming program, which includes wearing appropriate swimwear and assisting students while in the water.
- Attend all weekly staff meetings, read staff meeting notes and accept responsibility for information presented.
- Attend and participate in all staff development meetings.
- Lead and schedule student staffing with House Manager or Assistant Principal and other staff as needed.
- Attend up to four meetings per year outside the school day to include “Back To School Night†and the mid-year parent conference.
- Establish and maintain professional, caring, cooperative relationships with parents, guardians, outside specialists and agencies.
- Foster a cooperative classroom atmosphere.
- Assist in maintenance of the physical environment of the school.
- Actively lead a committee.
- The essential functions of this position as described herein require the ability to exert moderate physical effort in light work, typically involving some combination of bending, stooping, squatting, reaching, kneeling, crouching, crawling and brisk walking, and which may involve lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of moderate weight (40 lbs.).
- Most tasks require oral communication, visual and hearing perception, and the ability to get around the classrooms, cafeteria, gym, campus, etc.
- The ability to keep up with running children and or to lift or assist with lifting students is essential.
- Clearly communicate the mission of the school to the community.
- Support overall school mission through volunteer opportunities.
- Maintain confidentiality of parent, student and staff personal identifiable information.
- Other duties as assigned.
Essential Duties Specific to TEACHERS OF STUDENTS AGES 14 AND OLDER
- Place typed evidence of job sampling awareness in individual student transition portfolios (e.g., Community-based trips to work places, lesson plans to increase student awareness of community workers, etc.) for students ages 14 and 15.
- Complete Employability Inventories (Brigance) and/or Life Skills Assessments (in addition to functional academic or vocational assessments) for students ages 16 and older.
- Document attempts, significant supports needed or why even with support a work program may not be appropriate. Place typed documentation in transition portfolios (for students 16 and older who need extensive supports to work or cannot go to work).
- Work with vocational coordinator regarding data gathered at job sampling work sites (for students 16 and older).
- Use all data from formal and informal measures to write vocational assessments.
- Complete transition portfolios as directed by the Vocational Coordinator and Assistant Principal.
Required Qualifications
- Knowledge and understanding of students with intellectual disabilities, autism and multiple disabilities.
- Ability to evaluate problems and progress of assigned students.
- Ability to work with parents, aides and specialists in developing a constructive and healthful learning environment.
- Ability to learn and adapt new methods and techniques.
- Ability to supervise, train and discipline assigned staff.
- Requires strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate verbally and in writing.
- Successful completion of the required training courses within a specified period of time.
- Tuberculosis screening to assure no significant risk to the health and safety of others.
- Successfully passing a criminal background investigation and pre-employment and random drug screenings.
Examples of Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Knowledge of the principles and practices of teaching.
- Knowledge of instructional methods applicable to the field of special education.
- Knowledge of current literature, trends and sources of information in the field of special education.
- Skill in assessing and evaluating students with special needs.
- Ability to evaluate critically the achievements of students and to give assignments according to their interests and ability.
- Ability to prepare lesson plans and organize a meaningful instructional program.
- Ability to maintain records, and prepare reports and correspondence related to the work.
- Ability to communicate effectively with others.
- Ability to write routine reports and correspondence using English grammar and spelling.
Sensory Requirements
Most tasks require visual perception and discrimination. Some tasks require oral communications ability. Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds.
Minimum Acceptable Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree in special education, and holds or is eligible for District of Columbia teaching certification with appropriate endorsement. Prior teaching/instructional experience with individuals with special needs is preferred
Location
Washington, DC
Program
School
Employment Availability
7:50 AM to 3:10 PM – Monday
7:50 AM to 4:00 PM – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Questions?
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https://www.stcoletta.org/special-education-teacher/
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Administration of learning and development programs. Design, develop, coordinate and evaluate organizational learning & development programs, tools and processes to improve and enhance organizational performance and achieve strategic goals and objectives. Implement and oversee training and development programs that increase efficiency, strengthen employee knowledge and skills and improve leadership. Work with management to identify training & development opportunities.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Plan, schedule, create, communicate, execute and assess training & development activities for all departments within the Company that, strengthen employee’s knowledge and skills and develop leadership.
- In collaboration with executives, management and staff, assess, design and develop training curriculum and materials, tools & resources for multiple areas of learning and development to include: on-boarding, leadership development, professional and skill development.
- Conduct, facilitate and/or coordinate learning & development training classes and workshops.
- Select or develop training aids such as course materials, training handbooks, demonstration models, multimedia visual aids and reference documents and manuals. Select, recommend and coordinate outside vendors to complete required trainings. Administer communications, scheduling, ordering of supplies, assembly of program materials, room set-up, vendor logistics, etc.
- Conduct organization wide needs assessments to identify skill and knowledge gaps that need to be enhanced or addressed.
- Administration of the Learning Management System: Manage/Create content, assignments, curriculum, and programs in the LMS; provide reporting and analytics insights; manage all third-party learning vendor relationships.
- Support the performance management process and the ADP Talent module; Work with managers, supervisors and employees to create professional development plans and career-pathing.
- Provide coaching, facilitation, team/staff development, systems analysis, process reengineering and organizational development in consultation with executive leaders and senior management to implement organizational improvement initiatives and assure alignment with the organizations strategic plans and succession plan.
- Maintain electronic employee training records.
- Oversee the Vermont Mutual Test Center.
- Maintain a database of training vendors and resources.
- Design and implement methods to collect data related to learning & development programs; analyze data and metrics from various sources such as employee assessments, attendance records, and participant feedback; prepare training reports.
- Collaborate with and train management and employees to help adjust to new procedures and IT systems during times of organizational change.
- Assist in developing the annual training & development budget.
- Continuously review training and development opportunities to ensure effectiveness. Research best practices and industry benchmarks for effective and innovative training methods; make recommendations.
- Performs other duties or special projects as required or as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Organizational Development, Education, Training or other appropriate discipline plus 3 to 4 years of relevant work experience, with some industry experience desirable, or a combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills are acquired.
- General knowledge of the property/casualty insurance industry is desirable.
- Experience developing and delivering training.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships at all levels throughout the organization.
- Ability to effectively provide coaching & constructive feedback.
- Strong project management and organizational skills with attention to detail.
- Ability to read and interpret documents such as technical data, procedural manuals and insurance instructional material.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Ability to effectively develop and deliver professional reports, correspondence and presentations.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to handle multiple projects/assignments and competing deadlines.
- Partnering and negotiation skills for working with internal & external business partners (vendors on purchasing products/programs, arranging guest presenters, etc.)
- Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
- Excellent interpersonal/customer service skills, work/interact courteously and objectively with a wide variety of company personnel/personalities, as well as outside vendors/contacts; Ability to effectively represent the company.
- Experience with Learning Management Systems (Docebo) preferred.
Deadline:
To Apply:
To apply, please click here to submit your resume and cover letter in strict confidence.
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https://vbsr.org/job/learning-development-specialist/
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Medici.tv gift cards do not have expiration dates unless they are purchased during a special offer that clearly specifies one (for example: “you will have 3 months to redeem your gift card”). In that case, if the gift card is not activated within the specified timeframe, the code will no longer be valid and the gift card will be lost.
Do gift cards from medici.tv have expiration dates?
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https://medicitv.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009304778-Do-gift-cards-from-medici-tv-have-expiration-dates-
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The exceptionally high turnover at iHerb ensures that our inventory is among the freshest in the industry. We do list expiration dates for the products on the website if they are available. Most products use the American Date Format (MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY) for expiration date which you can see from the product page. Some products may only show the manufacturing date that is indicated often by abbreviations as (MFD, MFG, PROD). You can view the expiration date on the product page, next to the picture, in the details with the shipping weight and product code.
Regarding Cosmetics
The shelf life of cosmetics depends on a 'period after opening' and 'production date'.
- Period After Opening (PAO): Some cosmetics should be used within a specified period of time after opening due to oxidation and microbiological factors. Their packaging has a drawing of an open jar and, inside it, there is a number representing the number of months. In the example below, the product expires 6 months after opening:
- Production Date: Unused cosmetics lose freshness and become dry. According to EU law, the manufacturer has to put the expiration date only on cosmetics whose shelf life is less than 30 months. The most common periods of suitability for use from the date of manufacture are:
- Skin Care: Minimum 3 years
- Makeup: Minimum 3 years for mascara type products to more than 5 years for powders.
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https://information.iherb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360031491191-When-will-the-product-I-purchased-expire-
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3. When the Hold window comes up, you will need to indicate hold expiration date/time and click the Hold button.
The case will be moved to your On Hold inbox until the case is manually resumed, or the indicated expiration date is met, at which point it will be moved to the Current inbox.
Resume a Case:
When you place a case On Hold, the Resume option will be available. If you decide to continue working on the case prior to it meeting the On Hold timeframe specified, or simply need to add a document or make a note, you can click on Resume to move the case back to your Current inbox. This will activate the case again and will allow you to update the case content.
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https://www.followit.com/quick-guides-case-hold/
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Councillor vacancy procedure
Vacancies for a parish or town councillor can occur between scheduled elections either through resignation, disqualification, failure to take office or death. This step-by-step guidance has been produced to assist clerks and navigate the various steps that need to be followed in such instances.
- More than 6 months to the next scheduled parish and town council elections
The vacancy should be advertised as soon as practicable following the vacancy occurring. If there are more than 6 months between the vacancy and the next scheduled parish and town elections, you should continue to step 2.
- Less than 6 months to the next scheduled parish and town council elections
If there are less than 6 months to the next scheduled parish and town elections, the vacancy remains unfilled. You should inform Electoral Services of the vacancy and not continue with this guidance. Electoral Services will offer you further information and guidance in this instance.
Maintaining a Parish Quorum
If the vacancy brings you below your quorum, or close to it, you must inform the Proper Officer and Monitoring Officer by email to [email protected].
- The parish/town clerk advertises the Public Notice of Vacancy as soon as practicable, using the template and following the accompanying guidance notes. The template and additional notes are available within the resource library.
- If the vacancy has occurred due to the death of a serving councillor, there is no prescribed period of time between the death occurring and vacancy being advertised. However, it is common practice for clerks to observe a respectful period before advertising the post. In most cases this is until after the funeral of the deceased councillor has taken place.
- Once the Public Notice is completed and before advertisement of the vacancy, the parish or town clerk should email a copy of the completed Public Notice to [email protected].
- Electoral Services will write to the parish or town clerk acknowledging receipt of the notice. Electoral Services will also make note of the expiration date of the notice. The completed notice can be typed or handwritten.
- Parish and town clerks may be asked by electors to provide a signatory form to complete. There is no legal form and Electoral Services will accept any document that clearly states the signatories are requesting an election for the vacancy. However, we have produced a pro-forma that can be utilised in such circumstances. The form is available in the resource library.
- If a clerk is aware that signatories are being collected, please advise [email protected] so that we can prepare to receive the completed document or answer any enquires relating to its accurate completion. Continue to step 4.
Upon the conclusion of the 14-day period, one of two possible scenarios will occur:
- Scenario 1 - No valid requests received to hold an election within the specified 14-day timeframe
The parish or town clerk will be informed in writing that they may proceed to co-option by the Proper Officer or a member of the team. The parish clerk provides the co-opted councillor with the appropriate paperwork and sends completed Declaration of Members Interest forms to [email protected]. The appropriate forms for completion can be found on the NCALC website within the ’documents’ section.
If there is no immediate suitable candidate proposed for co-option, parish/town clerks should contact NCALC for further advice on the process regarding re-advertisement of the post. Parish/town clerk’s should also inform Democratic Services that the vacancy has not been filled through co-option and remains vacant. In cases of scenario 1 applying, you do not need to continue further with this guide.
- Scenario 2 – A valid request to hold an election is received by the Proper Officer
If within the 14-day advisement period, a valid request for an election is received, Electoral Services will write to inform the parish/town clerk. Continue to step 5.
- Following confirmation that a valid request for an election has been received, an arranged date for an election which is preferable to the Returning Officer, will be decided. The date must be within 60 calendar days of the Notice of Vacancy.
- Once the date has been agreed, the clerk will be sent a Notice of Election which should be displayed within the parish or town (for example, notice boards, website, newsletter/magazine publications). The Notice of Election will also be displayed at West Northamptonshire Council Offices. The notice will detail the final date, time and relevant office for the completion of nomination papers.
- Potential candidates may approach parish or town clerks for a nomination pack. Further guidance and templates are available within the resource library. Templates and comprehensive guidance is also available on the Electoral Commission website. The nomination process is covered in greater detail on the relevant webpage page. Continue to Step 6.
Following the Nomination period, one of two possible scenarios are possible:
1. The Returning Officer receives more valid nominations than the total number of vacancies available within the parish council; Poll held to determine successful candidate(s).
Or
2. The Returning Officer receives less nominations than number of vacancies available – Candidate(s) elected uncontested. Parish and town clerk’s should then revisit the guidance detailed in Step 3 regarding completion of appropriate paperwork for the new Councillor.
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https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/resources-parish-and-town-clerks/councillor-vacancy-procedure
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On January 25, 1994, I wrote to both parties regarding whether it would be necessary to have a hearing on the question of whether Mr. Barone's permit could be extended or if he would need to apply for a new permit. In response to my letter, Mr. Saragoussi, on behalf of Mr. Barone, sent me copies of three letters which had not been included with the hearing referral. He also inquired about the regulations which were in effect regarding renewals and extensions of tidal wetlands permits on September 1, 1987.
September 1, 1987 is the date of one of the three letters which Mr. Saragoussi sent to me. On that date, and October 8, 1987 (the effective date of the permit), the section of 6 NYCRR Part 621 regarding renewals of permits did not state that the application for a renewal needed to be submitted any specified number of days prior to the permit's expiration date. Part 661, however, as it read on both September 1 and October 8, 1987, contained a provision identical to that in the current tidal wetlands regulation. Former 661.22(b) and the current 661.13(b) both state that, "The expiration date of any permit issued pursuant to this Part may be extended by the chief permit administrator for good cause shown upon a written request to him filed prior to the expiration date. Any such extension may not exceed one year in duration."
In addition, the permit itself contained a general condition which provided that the permittee is responsible for keeping the permit active by submitting a renewal application no later than 30 days prior to the expiration date.
There does not appear to be any dispute that the permit has expired and that the permittee did not request an extension until over two years after the permit expired. Thus, the permit could not be extended at this time and Mr. Barone will need to submit a new application for the project.
This conclusion is essentially a ruling that, with respect to the request for an extension of the permit, no issues exist which would require adjudication in a hearing. The request for an extension of the permit is denied, unless this ruling is reversed or modified by the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation. I would emphasize that this conclusion does not relate to the merits of the project itself and that I am not making any findings or conclusions at this time regarding whether the project complies with the tidal wetlands regulations nor whether a permit should be issued in response to a new application.
This issues ruling may be appealed to the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation pursuant to 6 NYCRR 624.6(d). I am extending the deadline for any such appeals to February 11, 1994. Any appeals must be mailed by February 11, 1994 and are to be sent to the following address: Commissioner Thomas C. Jorling, c/o Robert H. Feller, Assistant Commissioner for Hearings, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, 50 Wolf Road, Albany, New York 12233-1550.
For the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation
/s/
By: Susan J. DuBois
Administrative Law Judge
Dated: Albany, New York
February 3, 1994
TO: Maurice Saragoussi
Steven Goverman, Esq.
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https://www.dec.ny.gov/hearings/10986.html
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This is useful for constructing a cooperative distributed system such as sharing public data between Web API servers.
If we specify true, we can use the cache until the deadline set by the Web API service.
If true is specified for each request, the cache expiration date should be updated for each request.
If false is specified, the saved cache should be deleted.
This is useful if you want to cache non-public data of an authenticated Web API client in the Web API server.
The expiration date of the cache depends on the setting value of the Web API service.
If the next query is not executed within a certain time by the Web API client, the rollback process MUST be performed automatically.
At the start of the transaction, the Auto Commit function MUST be deactivated by the Web API service.
The “read” means shared lock, and the “write” means exclusive lock.
Resource locks MUST be released if “commit” or “rollback” of “Transaction-Head” is called by the Web API client.
Element Parameters is the result element or object data itself.
“Key-Element” extracts the element of the specified key from the original element.
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https://warp-wg.org/en/reference/v0.2/warp_query
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Provided by: Jennifer Kirschenbaum, Esq.
September 10, 2019
Question:
Hi Michael,
I recently received an offer for employment but have concerns about the termination clause. It is a 3 year term and I only have the ability to terminate upon a breach by the Employer. Can I still sign?
Thanks,
Dr. O
Answer:
While increasingly rare, there are still some archaic agreements which do not give an employee the ability to terminate the agreement “without cause.” Without cause termination means you have the ability the terminate the agreement at any time, for any reason, generally upon some notice period. The notice period depends on the length of the agreement but is usually 30/60/90 days prior written notice. I would almost never counsel a healthcare professional to sign an agreement without the ability to terminate without cause. This is for several reasons but most importantly, situations often change and you may need the ability to get out.
Whether your boss is completely intolerable, you fall in love and want to move across the country or need to take care of a family member, situations often change and without the ability to terminate for any reason, you may be stuck in a situation where you are unhappy for several years. Under this scenario if you do terminate, you can be sued for breach of contract by your Employer. While you may believe you are signing on for your dream job, you would be surprised at how often circumstances can change and you can find yourself in a bad situation. This is why having an attorney review your employment contract prior to signing is crucial, as you must have the ability to get out upon some specified notice period, prior to the expiration of the term of the agreement.
WEBINAR SIGN UP
JOIN JENNIFER AND MICHAEL FOR A CONVERSATION ABOUT EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTING
When: September 10 - 12-12:30
Where: Your Computer
How: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8116648012989507073
Description: Join Jennifer and Michael to discuss employment contracting - how to best position yourself for a successful negotiation and start to employment.
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http://kirschenbaumesq.com/article/can-a-sign-an-employment-agreement-i-dont-have-a-right-to-terminate
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IEG Holdings (IEGH) announced the commencement of a tender offer to purchase up to all of the outstanding shares of common stock of OneMain Holdings, Inc. in an S-4 filing with the SEC on Thursday. A signal from Trade Ideas alerted CNA Finance to the Form S-4 filing.
IEGH Terms Of The Deal
As specified in its S-4 filing, IEGH is making an offer to exchange IEG Holdings common stock (IEGH) for OneMain shares. In the offer, IEGH is seeking to acquire as many shares of OneMain as possible, up to 100% of OneMain’s outstanding common shares, and is willing to accept any number of shares of OneMain stock, even if the shares, in aggregate, constitute less than a majority of OneMain’s common stock.
IEGH is offering two shares of its own common stock for each validly tendered share of OneMain common stock.
The offer is scheduled to expire at 12:00 a.m. (midnight), New York City time, on February 6, 2017, unless extended by IEG Holdings. Any extension, delay, termination, waiver, or amendment of the offer will be followed as promptly as practicable by public announcement thereof to be made no later than 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the next business day after the previously scheduled expiration date. During any such extension, all OneMain shares previously tendered and not properly withdrawn will remain subject to the offer, subject to the rights of a tendering stockholder to withdraw such stockholder’s shares. “Expiration date” means February 6, 2017, unless and until IEG Holdings has extended the period during which the offer is open, in which event the term “expiration date” means the latest time and date at which the offer, as so extended by IEG Holdings, will expire.
Any decision to extend the offer will be made public by an announcement regarding such extension as described under “The Offer—Extension, Termination and Amendment.”
About IEGH
IEGH provides online, unsecured consumer loans under its Mr. Amazing Loans brand in 19 states, offering consumer loans of between $5,000 and $10,000 dollars over a fixed term at interest rates between 19.9% and 29.9%. IEGH plans to expand business into a total of 25 states by mid-2017, offering online loans that are typically funded on the same day an application is filed.
In December of 2016, IEGH reported financial results that demonstrated that its commitment to aggressive cost cutting measures and strategy to target credit-worthy consumers is working. IEGH reiterated its expectation to deliver a profitable Q1 in 2017, recording record loan volumes for the period.
Since January of 2015, IEGH’s loan portfolio has grown from $5.5 million dollars to over $14 million dollars, representing growth in excess of 154% as of December 2016.
Additionally, IEGH has launched a private offering of up to $10 million dollars in aggregate principal amount for its 12% senior unsecured notes due December 31, 2026. IEG Holdings is underwriting the offering on its own and intends to utilize the net funds to increase the size of its loan book.
CNA Finance followers will be kept appraised of any further developments of this proposed offering.
Never Miss The News Again
Do you want real-time, actionable news delivered to your inbox? Join the CNA Finance mailing list below!
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https://cnafinance.com/ieg-holdingsiegh-stock-commences-tender-offer-for-onemain-holdings-inc/
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Understanding your legacy system is the first step toward successful modernisation. In just a few weeks we present a clear picture of the main legacy issues and outline the actions required to address these problems.
The Assessment Phase consists of the following activities: surveying the system from all aspects of software engineering; defining the levels of expected services; and determining what needs to be done to deliver those services. Because the Assessment Phase is the foundation of our full service definition, perfect execution is of paramount importance. The Assessment Phase extends the scope previously defined in System Assessment, the cornerstone of Profinit’s Legacy Systems Modernisation solution.
In our experience, the Assessment Phase typically results in three possible evaluations:
- Low technical debt – system considered technically stable – transition phase commences.
- Medium technical debt – debt can be reduced with reasonable effort – transition phase commences with an emphasis on reducing technical debt.
- High technical debt – reducing debt likely to incur major costs – recommendation for a partial or complete redesign of the system – discussion regarding future steps advised.
Timeframe of the whole takeover process:
Activities and Deliverables
Effort
The effort needed for the Assessment Phase is specified based on the size of the system and the predicted Time & Material (T&M) model.
Expected Collaboration
The Assessment Phase depends on collaboration with the client, specifically team members with knowledge of the system; priority is given to defining system-based requirements.
— Other Services —
Profinit Modernisation Framework
We apply a proven framework of best practices to modernise your legacy system enterprise-wide.Explore
Legacy Systems Assessment
We identify the friction points to help you take the informed approach to legacy systems modernisation.Explore
Looking for a Custom Solution?
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https://systemsmodernization.com/legacy-systems-takeover/assessment-phase/
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In Tracker, an SLA is a set of rules that defines a timeframe for processing issues in the queue. For example, you can specify the time allowed for the assignee to respond or resolve the issue. If the assignee doesn't react within this amount of time, Tracker will send you a notification.
Click and enter a name for the rule.
Select a work schedule. The schedule defines the time when the rule is active. The timer will be paused automatically during non-work hours.
The rule can be applied to all issues in the queue, or to specific groups of issues. To add a new group of issues, click Create a new filter and set the criteria for selecting issues.
To change an existing group, click .
Warning (optional) — When this time expires, Tracker sends a warning that time is running out for the issue.
Expiration — The time limit for processing the issue. At the end of this time, Tracker sends out a notification that time is up.
Start — The timer starts if any of the listed conditions are met. If the timer was paused, timing will continue from where it left off.
Pause — The timer pauses if any of the listed conditions is met. The timer will start when a condition from the Start list is met.
Attention. If the pause condition is set to "Issue has the status", the timer will start as soon as the issue is switched to any other status.
Stop — The timer will stop if any of the listed conditions is met.
The condition is met when the issue's assignee is changed.
This condition is considered met if a user who is not on the queue team added a comment to the issue.
This condition can only be applied to Start. The timer will start immediately after the issue is created.
The condition is met when the issue is switched to one of the specified statuses.
The condition is met when a previously set resolution is removed from the issue.
This condition can only be selected for Pause. The timer will be paused while the task is in one of the specified statuses. After the status changes, the timer will start automatically.
This condition is met when the one of the resolutions in the issue is set.
In the Notifications section, specify how and who to notify of overdue issues.
Under Timeframes for issues, set the maximum reaction time for an issue.
Leave the Warning field empty.
In the Expiration field, enter the maximum reaction time (for example, 15m).
Stop — The issue is switched to the status “In progress”.
Leave the Pause section empty.
Recipients — Your login name in Yandex.Connect.
The timer for this rule will start as soon as the issue has been assigned, and will stop when the assignee starts working on it. If the assignee does not react to the issue within 15 minutes, you will receive an email notification.
The schedule defines the time when the rule is active. The timer will be paused automatically during non-work hours.
Who gets notified of overdue issues and how Tracker sends notifications.
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https://yandex.com/support/connect-tracker/manager/sla.html?lang=en
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FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) (“Staples” or the “Company”) announced today that it has extended (i) the consent time (the “Consent Time”) for its previously announced solicitation of consents (the “consent solicitation”) to the adoption of certain proposed amendments (the “Proposed Amendments”) to the terms of the Company’s 4.375% Senior Notes due 2023 (the “Notes”) and (ii) the expiration date (the “Expiration Date”) for its previously announced tender offer (the “tender offer”) to purchase for cash any and all of the outstanding Notes.
According to information provided by the information agent for tender offer, the aggregate principal amount of the Notes listed below were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or before 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on August 11, 2017 (the “Withdrawal Deadline”).
The Withdrawal Deadline for the tender offer has expired.
The Consent Time has been extended to 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on August 18, 2017. Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and Consents validly delivered (and not validly revoked) as of the Withdrawal Deadline may not be withdrawn or revoked. The Expiration Date has been extended to 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on September 1, 2017. Except for the extension of the Consent Time and the Expiration Date, all of the other terms and conditions of the tender offer and the consent solicitation remain unchanged.
Holders of Notes that validly tendered (and did not validly withdraw) their Notes and validly delivered (and did not validly revoke) their corresponding consents at or prior to the Consent Time (as extended) are eligible to receive $1,012.50 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes tendered (the “Total Consideration”), which includes a consent payment of $30.00 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes tendered (the “Consent Payment”). Holders who tender their Notes after the Consent Time (as extended) and on or prior to the Expiration Date (as extended) will be eligible to receive $982.50 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes tendered (the “Purchase Price”), but not the Consent Payment. In addition to the Total Consideration or Purchase Price, as applicable, holders who validly tender Notes will receive accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the Settlement Date (as defined below), which we expect to coincide with the closing of the Merger as described below.
The Company will, promptly following the Expiration Date, accept for purchase all Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) on or prior to the Expiration Date (the “Acceptance Date”). Payment of the Total Consideration or the Purchase Price, as applicable, for Notes so accepted for purchase will be made by the Company promptly after the Acceptance Date (the “Settlement Date”). The Company retains the right to extend the Expiration Date and, consequently, the Acceptance Date and the Settlement Date, for any reason at its option (subject to applicable law), and expects to extend the Expiration Date so that the Settlement Date coincides with the closing of the Merger (as defined below).
The tender offer and the consent solicitation are made in connection with the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of June 28, 2017, by and among Staples, Arch Parent Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), and Arch Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which Merger Sub will be merged with and into Staples with Staples continuing as the surviving corporation (such transaction, the “Merger”). The tender offer and the consent solicitation are subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the consummation of the Merger. The Company anticipates that the Merger will be completed in the third fiscal quarter of 2017 but there can be no assurance that the Merger will be completed in a timely manner, or at all. Please refer to the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement and the related Letter of Transmittal and Consent for more information regarding the Proposed Amendments.
BofA Merrill Lunch and Deutsche Bank Securities are acting as dealer managers and solicitation agents in connection with the tender offer and the consent solicitation. Questions regarding the tender offer may be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch at (888) 292-0070 (toll-free) or (980) 388-3646 (collect) or Deutsche Bank Securities at (866) 627-0391 (toll-free) or (212) 250-2955 (collect). D.F. King & Co., Inc. is acting as the information agent and tender agent in connection with the tender offer. Documents relating to the tender offer and the consent solicitation may be obtained by contacting D.F. King & Co., Inc. at (800) 870-0126 (toll-free) or by email at [email protected].
None of the Company, the dealer managers and solicitation agents, the information agent and tender agent or any of their respective affiliates, is making any recommendation as to whether holders should tender any Notes in response to the tender offer or provide the related consents in the consent solicitation. Holders of Notes must make their own decision as to whether to tender any of their Notes and, if so, the principal amount of Notes to tender, or to provide the related consents in the consent solicitation. This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offering, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The tender offer is being made solely by means of the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement and the related Letter of Transmittal and Consent. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require any tender offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the tender offer will be deemed to be made on behalf of the Company by the dealer managers or one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction.
Staples brings technology and people together in innovative ways to consistently deliver products, services and expertise that elevate and delight customers. Staples is in business with businesses and is passionate about empowering people to become true professionals at work. Headquartered outside of Boston, Mass., Staples, Inc. operates primarily in North America.
Statements in this news release regarding the tender offer and consent solicitation, the proposed Merger, the expected timetable for completing the Merger, future financial and operating results, future opportunities for the combined company and any other statements about Parent’s and our management’s future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” estimates and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company’s actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, some of which the Company may not be able to predict and may not be within the Company’s control. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, (i) the risk that the proposed Merger may not be completed in a timely manner, or at all, which may adversely affect the Company’s business, (ii) the failure to satisfy all of the closing conditions of the proposed Merger, including the adoption of the Merger Agreement by the Company’s stockholders and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals in the U.S. and in foreign jurisdictions, (iii) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement, (iv) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed Merger on the Company’s business, operating results, and relationships with customers, suppliers, competitors and others, (v) risks that the proposed Merger may disrupt the Company’s current plans and business operations, (vi) potential difficulties retaining employees as a result of the proposed Merger, (vii) risks related to the diverting of management’s attention from the Company’s ongoing business operations, and (viii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company related to the Merger Agreement or the proposed Merger. There are a number of important, additional factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including the factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 28, 2017 and its most recent quarterly report filed with the SEC. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date hereof.
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https://news.staples.com/press-release/corporate/staples-inc-announces-extension-cash-tender-offer-and-consent-solicitation-i
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This Alert only applies to employers who pay employees to opt out of health plan coverage. Although not yet finalized, under proposed IRS rules, certain payments to employees for opting out of health plan coverage would count towards determining whether an employer-sponsored group health plan is affordable for purposes of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed rule, scheduled to apply for taxable years beginning after December 31, 20161, is at this link. This Alert summarizes the provisions of the proposed rule relating to the treatment of opt-out payments.
Action Needed Now: Employers with unconditional payments for employees opting out of the health plan should consider requiring evidence of other coverage if they want to exclude the value of the opt-out payments in determining affordability for the 2017 plan year.
Background
Under the ACA, an employer-sponsored health plan is "affordable" if the amount the employee must pay for self-only coverage does not exceed a specified percentage of the employee's household income. This percentage is 9.66% for plan years beginning in 2016, and 9.69% for plan years beginning in 2017. Employers who do not offer affordable coverage are at risk for penalties for each employee who received subsidized coverage through the Marketplace.
In Notice 2015-87 (see questions 8 & 9) the IRS stated that payments under an unconditional opt-out arrangement (i.e., an arrangement providing for a payment solely for an employee declining coverage under an employer's health plan) are treated in the same manner as a salary reduction arrangement for purposes of determining the employee's required cost of coverage. The IRS reasoned that if an employer makes an opt-out payment available to an employee, the choice between cash and health coverage presented by the opt-out arrangement is analogous to the cash or coverage choice presented by the option to pay for coverage by salary reduction. In both cases, the employee may purchase the employer-sponsored coverage only at the price of forgoing a specified amount of cash compensation that the employee would otherwise receive--salary, in the case of a salary reduction, or an equal amount of other compensation, in the case of an opt-out payment.
For example, if an employer offers employees group health coverage, requiring employees who elect self-only coverage to contribute $200 per month toward the cost of that coverage, and offers an additional $100 per month in taxable wages to each employee who declines coverage, the offer of $100 of additional compensation has the economic effect of increasing the employee's contribution for the coverage. In this case, the employee contribution for the group health plan effectively would be $300 ($200 + $100) per month because an employee electing coverage under the health plan must forgo $100 per month in compensation in addition to the $200 per month in salary reduction.
Opt-Out Arrangements under the Proposed Regulations
In response to comments received, the proposed regulations issued on July 8, 2016, modify the rule set forth in Notice 2015-87 for unconditional opt-outs to provide a workable rule for "conditional opt-out arrangements," i.e., where availability of the opt-out payment depends on whether the employee has other group health coverage. Under the proposed regulations, an opt-out payment can be disregarded in determining affordability if it is conditioned on:
For example, if an employee's family consists of the employee, spouse, and two children, the employee would meet this requirement by providing reasonable evidence that the employee, the spouse, and the two children, will have coverage under the group health plan of the spouse's employer for the period to which the opt-out payment applies. Using the previous example, the $100 for opting out would not then count towards the cost of coverage.
An eligible opt-out arrangement must require reasonable evidence (such as an attestation or other documentation) of alternative coverage no less frequently than every plan year to which the eligible opt-out arrangement applies. Evidence cannot be provided earlier than a reasonable period before the start of the plan year. Generally, if an employer requires the attestation or documentation during its regular annual open enrollment period, the employer will meet the reasonable period requirement. Alternatively, the eligible opt-out arrangement may require evidence of alternative coverage after the start of the next plan year.
Once the reasonable evidence requirement is met, the amount of the opt-out payment continues to be excluded from affordability calculations regardless of whether: (i) the alternative coverage subsequently terminates for the employee or for any other family member, (ii) the opt-out payment is required to be adjusted or terminated due to the loss of alternative coverage, or (iii) the employee is required to provide notice of the loss of alternative coverage to the employer. However, the arrangement must state that the opt-out payment will not be made (and the payment must not in fact be made) if the employer knows or has reason to know that the employee or any other family member does not have (or will not have) the required alternative coverage.
CHEIRON OBSERVATION
Although the proposed regulations provide a workable rule for excluding the value of payments under eligible opt-out arrangements, sponsors of such eligible arrangements will have additional administrative and record-keeping requirements with respect to reasonable evidence. Plan sponsors may want to look at whether the additional amount taken into account as employee cost would actually cause the coverage to be unaffordable.
Cheiron consultants can assist you in developing comments or analyzing the impact of the proposed regulations on your plan design and compliance with the ACA's affordability requirement.
Cheiron is an actuarial consulting firm that provides actuarial and consulting advice. However, we are neither attorneys nor accountants. Accordingly, we do not provide legal services or tax advice.
1 However, per special transition relief, participating employers will not be required to include payments for an unconditional opt-out arrangement that is required under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in effect before December 16, 2015 until the beginning of the first plan year that begins following the expiration of the CBA in effect before December 16, 2015 (disregarding any extensions on or after December 16, 2015), if that is later than December 31, 2016. This relief also applies to any successor employer adopting the opt-out arrangement before the expiration of the CBA in effect before December 16, 2015 (disregarding any extensions on or after December 16, 2015).
2 Coverage in the individual market, whether or not obtained through the Marketplace, is disregarded for this purpose.
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https://cheiron.us/cheironHome/viewArtAction.do?artID=183
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1 - Number of goalies in NHL history with more wins than Braden Holtby through his first 300 NHL regular-season games (a milestone the Caps goaltender will reach upon assuming the cage tonight against Calgary, as is expected). Through 299 games, Holtby has posted a 185-71-31 record, a win total that will trail only legendary Habs’ netminder Ken Dryden (193) through 300.
Here are tonight’s Game Notes with more:
Braden Holtby is scheduled to play in his 300th NHL/Capitals game on Tuesday against Calgary. Holtby has posted a 185-71-31 record in 299 career NHL games with 31 shutouts, a 2.31 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Ken Dryden (193) is the only player in NHL history to earn more wins through his first 300 NHL games than Holtby (185). In addition, Holtby will become the second goaltender in franchise history to play 300 games with the Capitals, joining Olie Kolzig (711). Holtby ranks first in franchise history (min. 65 GP) in career goals-against average (2.31) and save percentage (.922) and ranks second in shutouts (31), wins (185) and games played (299). Holtby, who was drafted by the Capitals in the fourth round, 93rd overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft and was the 10th goaltender selected, will become the first goaltender from the 2008 NHL draft class to reach 300 NHL games played.
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https://www.japersrink.com/2017/3/21/14999328/the-noon-number-this-is-sparta-err-holtby
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. Find schools, get student / teacher ratios & counts, demographics and other facts.
Webster Parish Public School Statistics / Demographics
Number of schools
20
• Elementary schools
8
• Middle schools
2
• High schools
2
• Other
8
Number of school districts
1
Full-time teachers
473
Average Student / Teacher ratio
15.10
Total Number of Students
7,143
American Indian/Alaska Native
8
Asian
27
Hispanic
69
Black
2,410
White
2,569
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander
0
2 or more races
0
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Louisiana Department of Education
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Public
Private
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Middle schools in Webster Parish, Louisiana.
High Schools
|
Middle Schools
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Elementary Schools
15.8
J. A. Phillips Middle School
-
Details
(WEBSTER PARISH SCHOOL DISTRICT)
811 Durwood Dr, Minden, LA
299 Students; 18.9 Full-time Teachers; Grades offered: 06 - 06
14.4
Webster Junior High School
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Details
(WEBSTER PARISH SCHOOL DISTRICT)
700 East Union, Minden, LA
459 Students; 31.8 Full-time Teachers; Grades offered: 07 - 08
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Data for School Year 2009-2010
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The information found on publicschoolsk12.com was provided in part by the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics & various other external sources. We do not verify the contents of the information provided and therefore, cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information displayed on this website.
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http://publicschoolsk12.com/middle-schools/la/webster-parish/
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Courses numbered from 101–299 are lower-division courses, primarily for freshmen and sophomores; those numbered from 300–499 are upper-division courses, primarily for juniors and seniors. The numbers 296, 396, 496, and 596 designate individual study courses and are available for registration by prior arrangement with the course instructor and approval of the department chair.
The number in parentheses following the course title indicates the amount of credit each course carries. Variable credit courses include the minimum and maximum number of the credits within parentheses.
Not all of the courses are offered every quarter. Final confirmation of courses to be offered, information on new courses and programs, as well as a list of hours, instructor, titles of courses and places of class meetings, is available online in My CWU which can be accessed through the the CWU home page, and go to www.cwu.edu/registrar/course-information.
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https://catalog.acalog.cwu.edu/content.php?catoid=64&catoid=64&navoid=4106&filter%5Bitem_type%5D=3&filter%5Bonly_active%5D=1&filter%5B3%5D=1&filter%5Bcpage%5D=10
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. Find schools, get student / teacher ratios & counts, demographics and other facts.
Texas County Public School Statistics / Demographics
Number of schools
23
• Elementary schools
13
• Middle schools
3
• High schools
7
• Other
0
Number of school districts
9
Full-time teachers
299
Average Student / Teacher ratio
14.37
Total Number of Students
4,298
American Indian/Alaska Native
21
Asian
82
Hispanic
2,371
Black
63
White
1,761
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander
0
2 or more races
0
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Middle schools in Texas County, Oklahoma.
High Schools
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Middle Schools
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Elementary Schools
13.0
Central Junior High School
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Details
(GUYMON SCHOOL DISTRICT)
712 North James, Guymon, OK
352 Students; 27.1 Full-time Teachers; Grades offered: 07 - 08
17.1
North Park Elementary School
-
Details
(GUYMON SCHOOL DISTRICT)
1400 North Crumley, Guymon, OK
416 Students; 24.3 Full-time Teachers; Grades offered: 05 - 06
14.5
Texhoma Elementary School
-
Details
(TEXHOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT)
418 West Elm, Texhoma, OK
106 Students; 7.3 Full-time Teachers; Grades offered: 05 - 08
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Data for School Year 2009-2010
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The information found on publicschoolsk12.com was provided in part by the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics & various other external sources. We do not verify the contents of the information provided and therefore, cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information displayed on this website.
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https://publicschoolsk12.com/middle-schools/ok/texas-county/
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The rue21.com domain was registered 1 decade 7 years ago on 1999-04-16. It has an AlexaTM rank of #17,055 in the world. This website has a .com domain extension. This domain name has a Google PageRank of 5/10, which determines how Google ranks the page. It has an estimated worth of $624,240.00 with an estimated daily income of approximately $867.00 based on our algorithm's fair market KPIs. As there are no active threats currently reported, rue21.com is SAFE to browse.
Below is the basic domain information for rue21.com, the primary source of this information is the whois records fetched from the domain registrar and confirmed from ICANN. The report show when rue21.com was first registered, who registered rue21.com as well as the domain registrar who registered rue21.com. Where applicable the adsense ID or related domains are linked from this report. Some domains have whois privary protection at the time of purchase as such you need to use a combination of factors to retrieve the entire whois information.
Below is the basic search engine report and metrics for rue21.com. The metrics below are aggregated by scanning Google, Yahoo! and Bing and counting how many pages have been indexed by the search engine. Additionally, we scan these top search engines to see how many backlinks are indexed for rue21.com
|Google Indexed Pages:||N/A|
|Yahoo Indexed Pages:||N/A|
|Bing Indexed Pages:||21|
|Google Backlinks:||N/A|
|Bing Backlinks:||N/A|
|Alexa BackLinks:||N/A|
We gather metrics and ratings from third parties domain safety providers including Google and Web of Trust (WOT) to determine the safety information for rue21.com. WOT is a browser plugin that allows users around the world to rate domains for their safe browser, child safety and malware exploits if any. Google uses a proprietary method to determine the safeness of rue21.com. If you are concerned about the safety of a website, this safety report is a good first step indicating how safet rue21.com is.
|Google Safe Browsing:||No Risk Issues|
|Siteadvisor Rating:||No Risk Issues|
|WOT Trustworthiness:||Excellent|
|WOT Privacy:||Excellent|
|WOT Child Safety:||Excellent|
The web server information report below for rue21.com provides where the physical and geographical information of the server. We are able to extract the hosted ip address, the hosted country, location latitude, location longitude and even the city, state and zip/postal code of the server. This report can be very useful to determine page latency issues, trust worthiness and help block regions if your site is being accessed maliciously
The social media engagement report below for rue21.com includes the amount of social engagement of various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Delicious. According to updates from Google and Bing as part of the search engine algorithm, social engagement is considered to be a strong signal that validates real people are engaging with a site, thus making it a more valuable result to show in the search engine results page for rue21.com. Social media continues to be an important source not only of backlinks and search engine signals for rue21.com, but of traffic through viral and engaging content.
|Facebook Shares:||634|
|Facebook Likes:||806|
|Facebook Comments:||324|
|Twitter Count (Tweets):||58|
|Linkedin Shares:||N/A|
|Delicious Shares:||N/A|
|Google+:||357|
The resources breakdown report for rue21.com provides an insight into the entire page composition. This metric affects page load times. Pages that have more images tend to load faster whereas pages with less images and more text load faster.
The inpage analysis report for rue21.com provides the high-level view of all the html attributes on the page.
|H1 Headings:||1||H2 Headings:||1|
|H3 Headings:||45||H4 Headings:||N/A|
|H5 Headings:||N/A||H6 Headings:||N/A|
|Total IFRAMEs:||N/A||Total Images:||64|
|Google Adsense:||N/A||Google Analytics:||N/A|
The backlinks score is calculated by looking at a combination of link signals. This includes the overall number of backlinks together with the number of linking domains, as well as rating the overall quality of the backlinks pointing to a website. The quality assessment is based on the linking pages.
When a browser sends an HTTP request to rue21.com, and a server hosting that URL sends back an HTTP response. Like many Internet services, the protocol uses a simple, plaintext format. The types of requests are GET, POST, HEAD, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS, and TRACE. A GET request includes a URL followed by headers. The HTTP response contains a status code, headers and a body. Here is the request details for rue21.com
The Domain Name Servers, popularly known as DNS are essentially the Internet's equivalent of a phone book or directory. They maintain a directory of domain names like rue21.com and translate them to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. This is necessary because, although domain names are easy for people to remember, computers or machines, access websites based on IP addresses. Below is the DNS record for rue21.com
Information from all the domain name servers across the Internet are gathered together and housed at the Central Registry. Host companies and Internet Service Providers interact with the Central Registry on a regular schedule to get updated DNS information. Below is the DNS record for rue21.com
|Host||Type||TTL||Extra|
|rue21.com||A||2899||
IP: 75.126.131.180
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|rue21.com||NS||299||
Target: dns02.consolidated.net
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|rue21.com||NS||299||
Target: dns01.consolidated.net
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|rue21.com||SOA||299||
MNAME: dns01.consolidated.net
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RNAME: please_set_email.absolutely.nowhere
Serial: 2008112102
Refresh: 300
Retry: 300
Expire: 300
|rue21.com||MX||6218||
Priority: 30
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Target: smtp03-pix.nauticom.net
|rue21.com||MX||6218||
Priority: 20
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Target: relaydr.rue21.com
|rue21.com||MX||6218||
Priority: 10
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Target: relay.rue21.com
|rue21.com||TXT||299||
TXT:
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Eovw3iFcUb5gf0f+fn0fpurye8tOE5DCnxioL89W
mienXOzbTW4RkwVXpDrY4jrouU9NwsaONsOGcQN5
80is5A==
|rue21.com||TXT||299||
TXT: MS=ms53243555
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|rue21.com||TXT||299||
TXT: v=DKIM1;
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p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQ
DH/ofq11kdhpIMlbq+svSyyGTBK+5NProUROQWTJ
u/Ce+22RSTdmBXjagOtUOJu4B6Mn/z/ZNrg7G2LH
gEHonmrviyRg6NBLmdYqncvJrdo2DvXJzbbKDLWX
iMWZTk5Ocgj7ngIIVhqu8WpmDAsK0MaOpt4w174U
dqhz/msa6AxwIDAQAB;
Below are the websites and domains names that have a similar ranking as rue21.com
The Alexa record below for rue21.com provides information on the web traffic regarding this domain as well as millions of websites. Alexa collects information from users who have installed the "Alexa Toolbar," allowing them to provide statistics on web site traffic, popularity and lists of related sites. Since Alexa's user base is a fair statistical sample of the internet users. The lower the Alexa ranking number the more heavily visited the domain is visited.
Below is the complete current WHOIS record for rue21.com. The whois record for rue21.com includes information such as domain ownership, where and when rue21.com was registered, rue21.com expiration date, and the nameservers assigned.
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https://www.domaintally.com/www/rue21.com
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Samsung's Gear S2 is a Tizen-based that sports a 1.2" 360x360 (302 PPI) circular Super AMOLED display. Other features include a dual-core 1 Ghz CPU, 4GB of internal memory, several sensor and a 250 mAh battery (300 mAh on the 3G model). The Gear S2 is offered in two models, the regular and the "classic" which has a black finish and is smaller and lighter.
The Gear S2 is now shipping for $299 (black or silver) or $349 (classic).
OLED type:
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https://www.oled-info.com/samsung-gear-s2
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Lowell Hawthorne used the flavors of his native Jamaica to build a fast-food empire from scratch in the United States. But after 28 years as the president and chief executive of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, Mr. Lowell fatally shot himself on Saturday, the police said.
The entrepreneur’s death sent shock waves through the Caribbean community in New York, where he was seen as an immigrant success story, and in Jamaica. And it stunned his family, friends and customers.
The Bronx-based company, where Mr. Hawthorne had worked with his wife and four children, offered thanks to supporters, and said funeral arrangements would be announced at a later date.
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http://www.kolumnmagazine.com/2017/12/04/golden-krust-caribbean-bakery-grill-founder-ceo-commits-suicide-in-bronx-factory-new-york-daily-news/
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As reported last week, Cheshire East Council offered first preference places for 95 per cent of secondary school applicants this year.
This is 10 per cent better than last year's national average of 84 per cent and a slight increase on the Borough's first preference offers for 2015.
However, of the total number who requested Wilmslow High School as their first choice only 78.2% were successful, with 83 students losing out.
Wilmslow High School has 300 places to allocate for the academic year beginning September 2016 but the total number of applications for places at the school was 652.
Of the 300 places allocated, 298 went to those who made Wilmslow High their first choice. The remaining two allocations went to second-choice preferences.
Therefore 99.3 per cent of those offered a place were those who had requested Wilmslow High as their first choice preference.
A total of 134 second preference requests were made for the school and 80 third choice requests.
The school borders other local authorities and in addition there were 57 lower ranked preferences of fourth, fifth and sixth from outside Cheshire East.
The 83 students who put Wilmslow School as their first preference but were not successful came from a wide area with 20 being Wilmslow residents, 17 from Cheadle, 9 from Manchester, 7 from Handforth, 6 from Knutsford, 5 from Alderley Edge and 4 from Stockport.
There was also two unsuccessful applicants from Altrincham, Macclesfield and Poynton and one each from Ashley, Chelford, Hale, Marthall, Mobberley, Nether Alderley, Newton, Prestbury and Styal.
Of these students twelve received their second choice preference and four their third choice preference.
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http://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/13343/over-20-miss-out-on-their-first-choice-of-wilmslow-high-school
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A grand total of 299 people enjoyed tasty luncheons and took home pottery creations as reminders when the 2018 Empty Bowls event was hosted by UHS and Compass Group last week.
The number of tickets sold has increased from 122 in 2005, the first year of the annual fundraiser, to 299 this year. This year's total also exceeded every previous year's, including 2017's, which was 225.
A mashed potato bar featured freshly smashed red-skin potatoes and your choice of Texas chili, chicken Mediterranean, crisp bacon strips, chicken spiedies or beef stroganoff, and cheese or butter toppings.
Attendees also could dine on Thai food, offered at a station that included Pad Thai rice noodles, eggs, chicken breast, scallions and chilis, tossed with a Pad Thai sauce. Another selection from Thailand was red curried tofu and broccoli served over jasmine rice.
There were also four soups to choose from, plus a salad station, a beverage station and a variety of fresh fruits.
Most folks didn't pass up the dessert bar, which included cookies, cupcakes, yogurt parfaits and triple-berry pound cake.
The event was held April 4 at UHS Wilson and April 5 at UHS Binghamton General.
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https://www.nyuhs.org/about-us/whats-new/2018/record-299-empty-bowls-sold-at-2-day-feast/
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Click on a link to be taken to the entry below.
This section outlines general information about courses offered at Ohio University. The courses listed in the Course Description section are all courses as approved by the University Curriculum Council. Please check the quarterly Schedule of Classes to determine if a course is being offered.
The catalog number indicates the student classification for which the course is primarily intended:
001–099
100–299
300–499
The alphabetical catalog–number suffixes I, O, and X generally are not used.
Other alphabetical suffixes have specific meanings:
H
J
T
Course prerequisties indicate minimum requirements for the course. If you have any doubts about whether you have fulfilled prerequisites due to changes in the numbering system over the past several years, check the course titles and consult with your advisor and the student services office of the dean. If you have not met the prerequisites, you may petition departments/schools or instructors offering the course to obtain permission to override the prerequisite. If permission is obtained then a class permission slip must be completed by the instructor/department/school and processed accordingly. Once you have completed an advanced course, you may not subsequently enroll in a prerequisite course for credit. The following information will assist you in reading prerequisites:
Credit is indicated for each course in quarter hours. A course with one quarter hour of credit (1) is the equivalent of one recitation or two or more laboratory periods per week throughout a quarter. In a course carrying variable credit, the credit may be expressed “1 to 4”, indicating that one hour is the minimum and four hours the maximum amount of credit allowed for the class in one quarter.
^TOP
Code
Lecture, laboratory, and recitation hours are respectively abbreviated “lec,” “lab,” and “rec.”
Repeating a course. A repeatable course is defined as a course taken for additional hours of credit toward graduation requirements (i.e., MUS 340, PSY 490). Some departments place limits on the total number of credits that may be earned in repeatable courses. The maximum number of hours permitted to be earned is identified if there is a limit.
Retaking a course. A regular undergraduate course with fixed content can be retaken to affect your accumulative grade point average. Undergraduate courses that are retaken to improve a grade will be automatically identified at the time you register. Retaking the course removes the hours and the effect of the earlier grade from the calculation of the grade point average. However, all grades are printed on the student’s academic record (transcript). Please note that the later grade is the one calculated in the grade point average even if it is lower than the first and that the course credit hours duplicated by retaking coursework are not accepted toward the credit–hour requirement for graduation. The maximum number of times a course may be retaken is identified if there is a limit.
Graduate courses cannot be retaken to improve a low grade on the first attempt. All grades received are calculated into the graduate grade point average.
As a rule, a course designated as a prerequisite may not be retaken to affect the grade point average after you have completed higher–level coursework in the same subject area. Also, courses taken at Ohio University and retaken at another University are not eligible for grade point adjustment under this policy. You should be aware that some departments place limits on the number of times a course may be retaken, so check with the student services office in your college regarding restrictions.
Please note that retaking a course after graduation will not change your graduation grade point average, honors status, or rank in class. Some graduate and professional schools include all grades in their calculations of grade point averages while determining eligibility for admission even though Ohio University calculates only the last grade in a retaken course.
Some departments/schools identify in the catalog the quarter in which the course is typically offered. To determine if a course is being offered check the online quarterly Schedule of Classes. Some courses may not be offered during the quarter which you intend to take them. Students should contact the department/school offering the course for more specific scheduling information. The fall quarter Schedule of Classes does include a tentative listing of courses being planned for the upcoming winter and spring quarters.
Some courses require fees in addition to the instructional and general fees. The online quarterly Schedule of Classes identifies sections of courses that require additional fees. Ohio University reserves the right to make, without prior notice, any fee adjustments that may become necessary.
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https://www.catalogs.ohio.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=118&print
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Villarreal reaches 300 victories after 739 games
A victory that has cost it to reach a total of 739 First matches, which means having won 40% of the matches played.
The yellows reached their 100th victory in the 06-07 campaign and with Manuel Pellegrini on the bench, winning on day 18 in San Mamés at the Athletic Club for zero goals to one
Victory number 200 was achieved in season 13-14, in which with Marcelino on the bench he won by two goals to one against Espanyol at the Ceramics Stadium on the sixth day of the championship.
And now comes this victory 300 which is the one that has been done the most to beg, since from the 99 to 100 victory we had to wait four games, since after winning the Nàstic on the thirteenth day of the championship, the 100 victory was achieved on day 18. While from 199 to 200 it took only two games, since after winning on day three, he won again on the sixth day. Something that has now cost 6 days to reach that 300 victory. And since the team was able to certify the 299 victory by winning at Alavés on day 9, the team has gone through a six-day streak without winning until this day 16 Championship.
A 300 victory for which the team has needed to score 1028 goals, for the 917 goals received in this period of time.
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https://www.lalasport.com/2019/12/villarreal-reaches-300-victories-after.html
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Affectionately known as the “All Ords”, it is the basic index for measuring the overall performance of the Australian sharemarket.
The All Ordinaries was first introduced in 1979 where it was intended to cover at least 80% of the market capitalisation of each market sector, however it had generally accounted for more than 90% of total market capitalisation. The number of stocks in this index was not fixed, and was anywhere from 299 to 330 companies. The All Ords could be divided into an All Industrials index and All Resources index, and from the latter is was derived an All Mining index.
In 1998, the ASX modified the All Ords to reduce the number of companies that formed the index. However, this was not entirely satisfactory, and in April 2000, the ASX revamped it to include 500 companies, which comprises 99% of the total market value.
In addition to the new All Ords, six other benchmark indices were created. They are the ASX 20, the ASX 50, the ASX 100, the ASX 200, and the ASX 300 and the Small Ordinaries. These indices are complied by Standard and Poor,
an international financial data research company and a leading provider of equity indices around the world.
Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.
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https://everything2.com/title/All+Ordinaries+Index
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Round number bias is the human tendency to pay special attention to numbers that are "round" in some way. For example, in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of Economic Psychology (vol. 36, pp. 96-102) ,Michael Lynn, Sean Masaki Flynn, and Chelsea Helion ask "Do consumers prefer round prices? Evidence from pay-what-you-want decisions and self-pumped gasoline purchases." They find, for example, that at a gas station where you pump your own, 56% of f sales ended in .00, and an additional 7% ended in .01--which probably means that the person tried to stop at .00 and missed. They also find evidence of round-number bias in patterns of restaurant tipping and other contexts.
Another set of examples of round number bias come from Devin Pope and Uri Simonsohn in a 2011 paper that appeared in Psychological Science (22: 1, pp. 71-79): "Round Numbers as Goals: Evidence from Baseball, SAT Takers, and the Lab." They find, for example, that if you look at the batting averages of baseball players five days before the end of the season, you will see that the distribution over .298, .299, .300, and .301 is essentially even--as one would expect it to be by chance. However, at the end of the season, the share of players who hit .300 or .301 was more than double the proportion who hit .299 or .298. What happens in those last five days? They argue that batters already hitting .300 or .301 are more likely to get a day off, or to be pinch-hit for, rather than risk dropping below the round number. Conversely, those just below .300 may get some extra at-bats, or be matched against a pitcher where they are more likely to have success. Pope and Simonsohn also find that those who take the SAT test and end up with a score just below a round number--like 990 or 1090 on what used to be a 1600-point scale--are much more likely to retake the test than those who score a round number or just above. They find no evidence that this behavior makes any difference at all in actual college admissions.
CONTD @ LINK
He goes on to discuss its role in finance. I thought it was an interesting discussion on research on the topic so I figured I would share it. The econ board hasn't seen as much life lately.
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http://www.rationalskepticism.org/economics/round-number-bias-t42143.html
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What is a compliance officer?
A compliance officer is an employee that ensures a company, organization, as well as individuals, adheres and complies with outside contractual obligations, government regulations, and laws, as well as internal obligations and bylaws. Healthcare compliance officers (also known by their acronym, HCOs) have become increasingly important as there is a consistent increase of policies and regulations being passed that healthcare entities must comply and adhere to.
The duty of a compliance officer is to their employer; they must work to manage regulatory risk. The compliance officer is the bridge between a practitioner and daily operations and government regulation. If there is an occurrence where a regulatory breach occurs, the compliance officer is the one who has to engage in disciplinary measures and have regulations in place for avoiding or future occurrences.
Compliance officers may need to mitigate the risk of breaches by updating internal policies to decrease the healthcare entity’s risk of breaching a law or contract.
A compliance officer is very important in reducing a company’s financial crime and preventing risks. These risks could result in:
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Hefty fines
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Damaging of reputation
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Legal repercussions and responsibilities
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Breach patient privacy
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Potentially compromise patient safety
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What are the responsibilities of a compliance officer?
A compliance officer is responsible for:
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Reviewing practices
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Maintaining regulatory knowledge
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Educating staff
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Reviewing and updating internal policies
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Filing and preparing documents
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Identifying potential risk
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Understanding healthcare legal risk
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The job title of a healthcare compliance officer has become an integral part of the healthcare system; they are an objective voice in handling any grievances patients might have. This means compliance officers handle complaints, hold other employees accountable, and safeguard whistleblowers.
There are certain skills that are beneficial to HCOs to help with their daily routine and duties.
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Communication skills
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An HCO is the bridge between many different branches and they need to be able to communicate across many platforms.
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Organization and attention to detail
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HCOs create and organize policies for healthcare entities. The policies must be thorough and cover overlapping responsibilities within the organization which leads to cohesive and productive regulation.
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Problem-solving
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With the steady increase in governmental regulations, continually updating internal bylaws, entities failing to comply, and patient issues, an HCO must be able to think on their feet and come up with detailed solutions to satisfy the party that has failed to uphold a regulation.
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Leadership
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Strong leadership skills are required to head up grievances or issues in an entity or individual not complying with regulations.
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High ethics
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A sense of right and wrong is needed to discern the issue and the solution to a breach or any other issues that are thrown an HCOs way.
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Reading comprehension
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Handling policies and regulations involves numerous comprehensive duties to really understand all the ways that a law or regulation could affect the individual or the healthcare entity.
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HCOs also engage in fostering and promoting an environment that creates organization and helps with trust, increasing communication, and prioritizes the safety of patients. An HCO serves to benefit the organization, employees, and patients.
MedTrainer is an all-in-one healthcare compliance software solution for Learning, Credentialing, Compliance, and much more. Package together your perfect custom solution. Visit the MedTrainer Compliance Corner to learn more about how MedTrainer makes compliance easy.
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https://medtrainer.com/compliance-corner/compliance-officer/
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Job Description:
-- Assist the organization in achieving responsible and effective corporate (risk management) and compliance programs
-- Formulates an organization-wide integrated and holistic approach to governance, risk and compliance including strategy, processes, technology and people
-- Proactively identify major risk events
-- Perform risk assessments and compliance investigations
-- Coordinates Ethics & Compliance hotline
-- Monitors key compliance risk areas and may engage outside services for compliance audits
-- Ensure that improvement opportunities and problems identified through auditing and monitoring have been addressed through effective follow up mechanisms including management accountability and remedial action
-- Maintain current knowledge of laws and regulations
-- Establish policies and procedures to maintain compliance
-- Educate on compliance program, policies & procedures and communicate awareness
-- Monitor compliance with laws, regulations, policies and procedures
-- Responds to all concerns reported to compliance functions and hotline
-- Recruit and develop key staff
-- Serves as Chair, Compliance Committee and Vice Chair, ERM Committee
-- Serves as HIPAA Privacy Officer
-- Ensure effective staff compliance training program
-- Responsible for CIA, IRO, OIG, investigations hotline and training (including 7 elements)
Key Decision Rights
-- Development of compliance policies and procedures
-- Annual risk and compliance plan
-- Hiring of Staff
Cross Functional Interactions
-- Interact with internal departments, such as Government Affairs, Legal, IT, Finance, Quality, EPM, Markets
Accountability
-- Perform duties as established in Board approved program or charter
-- Effectiveness and efficiency of operations
-- Reliability of financial reporting
-- Compliance with applicable laws and regulations
-- Ensures auditing and monitoring of key compliance risk area
-- Provides necessary compliance controls relative to IT system implementations and controls
-- Ensures proper HIPAA privacy and security controls
Working Conditions
RequirementsEducation / Experience
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Bachelor of science degree in business administration, healthcare administration or related discipline is or equivalent work experience is required
required
Required Competencies / Knowledge / Skills
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Strong working knowledge of compliance theory, practices, laws, regulations, guidelines and professional standards
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Depth in governmental product design and experience working with underserved populations
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Understanding of Medicare/Medicaid regulatory requirements
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Strong understanding of healthcare finances
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Knowledgeable of HCCA, AHIA, COSO
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Commitment to the mission and values of the CareSource Family of Companies
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Strong collaborative skills, working with cross-functional stakeholders and external partners including state and federal regulators
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Effective communication and presentation skills
Licensure / Certifications
The statements contained herein describe the essential functions of this position. This description is
not an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned, subject to reasonable accommodation.
CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY
Keywords: CareSource, Dayton , VP Corporate Compliance Officer, Executive , Dayton, Ohio
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Understanding the importance of healthcare policy and procedures
Healthcare policies and procedures refer to a set of standards that are in place to ensure that patient data and information is being handled properly, and that your organization is not breaching any legal, ethical or professional responsibilities. Whilst the necessity of implementing standardized policies is universal for all healthcare organizations, different practices will have their own way of managing these procedures. Establishing compliance guidelines in the medical environment protects patients, but it is also an effective way to communicate to employees exactly what is expected of them. However, the reality of managing compliance policies is generally a lot more complicated than originally anticipated. Regulations dictated by state and federal law are continuously changing, and whilst this is an important aspect of keeping patients safe, it can make it extremely challenging for healthcare organizations to keep up. Nevertheless, given that compliance mistakes make up almost 60% of healthcare errors, it has become more important now than ever to ensure that you are maintaining adherence to the latest medical regulations. There are different strategies that healthcare organizations have adopted to elevate their adherence, the most effective likely being the implementation of compliance software. These systems update you and your staff on changes in rules and regulations, allowing you to guarantee that you are protecting not only your patients, but also your practice.
5 important regulations in United States healthcare
The first step to improving medical compliance within your practice is understanding the different policies you need to adhere to. Although your practice will have its own set of rules that manage compliance, the following are 5 important regulations that are dictated by United States law:
HIPAA: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is concerned with the protection of patient information. HIPAA presents guidelines that organizations are required to follow in relation to the use and release of all patient records. Additionally, as we are seeing an increase in healthcare organizations using EHR systems, HIPAA ensures that the software complies with healthcare regulations.
The HITECH Act: The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act is the enforcement aspect of HIPAA. It conducts audits of healthcare organizations and any breaches that are discovered can result in negative consequences ranging from a fine to losing your medical license.
MACRA: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act is concerned with the payment of doctors. It facilitates the healthcare industry’s shift to value-based care, and acknowledges the increased use of EHR systems.
Chain of Custody: Chain of Custody dictates that there must be a document trail for any type of human specimen test, including drug testing and DNA testing. The Chain of Custody is a legal document and tampering or failure to properly handle the test can lead to invalid results.
Medical Necessity: Medical necessity states that any treatment that is not medically necessary will not be covered by the payer. Understanding how medical necessity works will help you process your bills successfully and minimize the chance of denied claims.
List of regional links and resources for official health regulations
Knowing the overarching Acts that dictate regulations is only the first step to understanding and adhering to medical compliance. The rules and policies that are governed by law change extremely frequently, particularly given the widespread adoption of new technologies into the healthcare industry. Although it can be daunting thinking about how you can maintain compliance, there are a massive amount of resources designed to enable adherence. Additionally, the development of medical compliance software can allow you to keep up with the continuous changes in regulations. Compliance software tracks, monitors and audits the various processes within your practice to ensure that they are adhering to the most recent medical compliance regulations.
To help you ensure that you are following regulations appropriately, we have compiled a list of resources that provide information regarding compliance regulations:
- Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information: This is a basic overview of HIPAA guidelines. The website has links to training games and risk assessment tools.
- State Attorneys General: A more comprehensive overview of what HIPAA and HITECH entail.
- CMS HIPAA Basics for Providers: Details of the role that providers play in adhering to HIPAA compliance, with additional information on how the breach notification rules and possible consequences of non-compliance.
- World Health Organization: Catalog of resources to support health services delivery transformations.
The World Health Organization Catalog separates its resources into four domains; populations and individuals, services delivery processes, system enablers, and change management. Depending on the services offered by your healthcare organization and the different methods you employ, you will be able to utilize the resources on offer and elevate your medical compliance. We understand that maintaining adherence to changing regulations is both stressful and difficult, and hopefully, this list of resources can help ease your concerns. The other important thing to be aware of is the actual consequences of non-compliance. Each instance of non-compliance will vary, and although the intent is taken into consideration, there are still severe consequences for accidental breaches. Given the importance of compliance for both your practice and your patients, it is in your best interest to utilize the above resources and ensure you are staying on top of your compliance.
Final thoughts
Understanding medical compliance is a necessary aspect of ensuring patient privacy. In the healthcare industry, practitioners handle a significant amount of confidential information, ranging from personal details to compromising medical history. Knowing how to safely produce, store and access this type of data will help keep patients safe and improve health outcomes. One of the best ways to adhere to these rules and regulations is by implementing compliance software into your practice. These systems are designed to track, monitor and audit all of your business processes to ensure that you are adhering to the most recent regulations. If this is something you are interested in, we recommend having a look at Carepatron. Carepatron provides a HIPAA-compliant platform that is guaranteed to optimize your medical compliance and help reach target business goals.
One app for healthcare businesses and their clients: Try Carepatron for free today!
Further Reading:
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https://www.carepatron.com/blog/list-of-regional-links-and-resources-for-official-health-regulations
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Under the direction of the CEO and Board of Directors, the Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer (VP Compliance) will collaborate with the Executive Team, senior leadership team, and external consultants as needed to implement and facilitate the organization’s Compliance Program.
The VP Compliance is a key leadership role that acts as the Chief Compliance Officer and is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership pertaining to compliance and regulatory issues as well as oversight of the enterprise wide comprehensive compliance program that includes both Medi-Cal and Medicare Compliance Programs that meet and exceed the OIG’s compliance guidance components and elements of an effective program. The VP Compliance also oversees the development of a compliance risk management program to assess, prioritize, and manage regulatory and legal compliance risks based on state and federal guidelines and requirements through the systematic assessment and management of compliance risks.
The VP Compliance is also responsible for enterprise-wide confidential reporting systems allowing employees, customers, contractors, and other stakeholders to disclose violations of the corporation's ethical standards, violations of law, or corporate policy relating to such matters without fear of retaliation
The VP Compliance will ensure alignment with the mission, core values, policies, and strategies of IEHP. The VP Compliance will ensure accountability and compliance with applicable legal, governmental, and regulatory requirements.
Major Functions (Duties and Responsibilities)
The VP Compliance acts as the Chief Compliance Officer for IEHP and is responsible for the overall strategic direction and implementation of the Compliance Program. Duties include, but are not limited to:
1. Provides executive strategic leadership to Compliance operations including the development and distribution of written standards of conduct, policies and procedures that promote the organization's commitment to compliance.
2. Reviews the content and performance of the Enterprise wide Compliance Program, including compliance policies and procedures and code of conduct on a routine basis and takes appropriate steps to ensure its effectiveness to prevent, detect, and correct illegal, unethical, or improper conduct with the organization.
3. Develops, implements, and presents regular compliance and risk management training and education to executive staff and the Board of Directors at least annually and as needed. Such training includes introductory compliance training, as well as ongoing training on compliance related topics as needed.
4. Provides executive oversight and maintenance of the compliance hotline and processes to receive and resolve complaints and concerns; development and management of policies and processes to respond to allegation of improper or illegal activities; auditing and monitoring to ensure compliance with applicable regulations, policies and OIG elements of an effective compliance program.
5. Establishes development and strategic oversight of processes to ensure non-employment/engagement of individuals or entities excluded from participation in federal health care programs (sanction checking).
6. Ensures appropriate enterprise wide policy development, staff education, investigations of alleged regulatory and policy violations, compliance monitoring, and auditing.
7. Serves as the Chair for the Compliance Committee and serves in an advisory capacity to keep executive leadership and senior management informed on the operation and progress of the organization’s compliance efforts.
8. Oversees the development, implementation and maintenance of an effective compliance communication by partnering with various departments such as Legal, Human Resources, Operations and other departments as required.
9. Provides real-time guidance to business unit leadership related to the translation of regulatory requirements and changes.
10. Budgets, recruits, manages, develops and retains the necessary resources to successfully perform the Compliance function.
Supervisory Responsibilities
Experience Qualifications
Total experience should include a required minimum of 10 years of compliance experience in managed care with at least 5 years of senior management experience.
Education Qualifications
Master’s Degree, such as but not limited to MPH, MPA, or MHA from an accredited institution required.
Professional Certification
Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) on hire or within 6 months of hire date.
Knowledge Requirement
Subject matter expertise level knowledge of federal and state health care compliance laws and regulations, OIG enforcement methods, and other applicable federal and state compliance guidance, as well as industry best practices in compliance. Ability to understand, interpret, and apply complex state and federal health care compliance laws, rules, regulations and guidelines; perform research analysis of health care laws, regulations, and policies. Extensive knowledge of Medi-Cal and Medicare rules and regulations, and managed care in California. Demonstrated understanding and sensitivity to diverse and multi-cultural environment and community.
Skills Requirement
Excellent writing, interpersonal communication and organizational skills in a variety of situations. Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) to effectively track and manage deliverables. Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver comprehensive compliance training and education to all levels of staff, including members of the Board of Directors.
Abilities Requirement
Ability to understand, interpret and apply complex state and federal healthcare compliance laws, rules, regulations and guidelines; perform research and analysis of healthcare laws, regulations and policies. Develops high levels of credibility and accountability. Leads by influence with transparency and develops direct reports. Ability to establish and maintain collaborative, credible, trusting partnerships with individuals across a broad range of people and groups, both internal and external. Works well under pressure, producing high quality results.
Commitment to Team Culture
The IEHP Team environment requires a Team Member to participate in the IEHP Team Culture. A Team Member demonstrates support of the Culture by developing professional and effective working relationships that include elements of respect and cooperation with Team Members, Members and associates outside of our organization.
Working Conditions
General office environment; word processing and data entry involving computer keyboard, mouse, and screens; automobile travel within California.
Morgan Consulting Resources, Inc. (MCR) has been retained by IEHP to manage the search for our Vice President, Compliance (Chief Compliance Officer).
Starting Salary: $227,052.80 - $312,187.20
Pay rate will commensurate with experience
Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is the largest not-for-profit Medi-Cal and Medicare health plan in the Inland Empire. We are also one of the largest employers in the region. With a provider network of more than 6,000 and a team of more than 2,000 employees, IEHP provides quality, accessible healthcare services to more than 1.2 million members. And our mission and core values help guide us in the development of innovative programs and the creation of an award winning workplace. As the healthcare landscape is transformed, we’re ready to make a difference today and in the years to come. Join our Team and Make a Difference with us! IEHP offers a Competitive salary and a benefit package with a value estimated at 35% of the annual salary, including medical, dental, vision, team bonus, and retirement plan.
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https://careers.iehp.org/job/Rancho-Cucamonga-Vice-President%2C-Compliance-%28Chief-Compliance-Officer%29-CA-91701/695105500/?locale=en_US
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Privacy and Data Protection
Working on matters across the EU and globally, our team of specialists advises domestic and international clients on privacy and data protection matters.
With increasingly complex national and international privacy and data protection regulations, we are always on hand to assist our clients in all their legal challenges. We have built up strong expertise in advisory and transactional work, communication with regulators, and the drafting of all types of contracts and policies, as well as in litigation. We differentiate ourselves by our combination of top legal knowledge, a good understanding of technology, and a pragmatic approach that focuses on high-quality and practical deliverables.
Services
We advise clients on the full range of privacy and data protection issues, including regulatory compliance, data processing and retention, data security, potential data risks, international data transfers, impact assessments, data breaches exchanges with applicable regulators, and cyber security risks and insurance. We also have experience in preparing privacy or data related legislation, as well as handling data and privacy aspects in transactions and providing support to in-house DPOs.
In addition to our advisory and transactional work, we have a proven track record in privacy and data related litigation before the courts and data protection authorities. We act as a trusted advisor to our clients in investigations by and enforcement proceedings before data protection authorities. Our close working relationships with other leading law firms in jurisdictions around the world ensure that we can deal with any cross-border matter in a coordinated and efficient way.
Our expertise covers a wide range of sectors, such as IT, pharma, life sciences, healthcare, mobility, telecom, utilities, transport, financial services and the public sector.
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https://www.stibbe.com/expertise/privacy-and-data-protection/services-experience
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At Getinge we are dedicated and passionate about helping our customers save lives and ensure excellent care. A career at Getinge provides career opportunities that both inspire and challenge. Here, you can make a difference every day.
Job Overview
The Assistant General Counsel is responsible for providing transactional support and legal advice to US medical device product development, management and manufacturing entities within Getinge’s Acute Care Therapies and Surgical Workflow business areas and to Getinge’s sales, service and marketing organizations located in the US, a market accounting for approximately $1B/year in annual revenue for Getinge.
Preferred location for candidates would be the East Coast.
Job Responsibilities and Essential Duties
- Draft, review and provide legal advice regarding a variety of commercial agreements between Getinge and customers, suppliers, institutions, consultants and partners, such as clinical study agreements, investigator-initiated research agreements, healthcare professional consulting agreements, facility use agreements, nondisclosure agreements, supply agreements and sales agreements.
- Review and provide legal advice regarding promotional materials about Getinge’s medical device and other products consistent with applicable US laws and regulations.
- Support projects related to the development of commercial programs, policies and procedures consistent with US healthcare fraud and abuse requirements and industry best practices.
- Work closely with internal stakeholders (e.g., sales, marketing, finance, compliance, regulatory and operations) regarding transactions and projects.
- Provide legal advice to Getinge personnel with respect to the Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, and other material laws and regulations impacting Getinge’s US businesses.
- Contribute to the Legal function’s expertise, best practices and cross-functional processes to help consistently manage global legal and enterprise risk.
- Support development of contract templates and other frequently used documents.
- Maintain Getinge’s high standards for ethical behavior and compliance with laws and regulations in all activities.
- Exercise good judgment to escalate issues to the appropriate level and propose solutions.
- Maintains cross-functional relations and contacts with local and global Getinge management, as well as with vendors, consultants, and customers.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Law degree from accredited legal program and admitted to at least one US state bar.
- A minimum of 5 years of relevant legal experience, which includes in-house experience of at least 2 years in the medical device industry, or healthcare company preferred.
- Relatable experience in the Pharmaceutical industry would be considered.
- Hands-on experience advising clients on US healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations.
- Hands-on experience reviewing promotional materials for medical devices or other healthcare products.
- Prior experience working on matters directly involving regulatory bodies and/or other authorities preferred.
- Working knowledge of the Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, and Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act as they relate to the promotion and sale of medical products
- Skilled at reviewing contracts to identify, explain and address issues raised by common provisions
- Ability to communicate effectively with a sense of humility and curiosity to ensure mutual respect and understanding of problems and solutions.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) is essential.
#LI-NM1
Getinge is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, genetic information, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
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https://careers.getinge.com/job/Wayne-Assistant-General-Counsel-NJ-07470/791768801/
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Boehringer Ingelheim is an equal opportunity global employer who takes pride in maintaining a diverse and inclusive culture. We embrace diversity of perspectives and strive for an inclusive environment which benefits our employees, patients, and communities.
Purpose of the job:
Medical Director is the senior medical executive on the management team for the organization. The primary responsibility is to steer the local medical organisation and provide governance for all functions related to Medicine (Medical Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Regulatory Affairs). Medical Director ensures that medical and regulatory functions are aligned with local business priorities and needs, local laws, and regulations as well as with regional and global strategies, and in compliance with Good Clinical Practice, corporate policies and guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures.
Main responsibilities:
- Lead the organizational development in Medicine on the local organization level. Identifies, develops and promotes talents within the organization. Drive organizational development in and beyond Medicine and attracts talents to the organization.
- Effectively manages and develops the medical department within the Baltics organization. Support an effective and cross-functional management/development of medical department.
- Provide ongoing medical expertise and input to the local strategies, business reviews and Management committees.
- With local Therapeutic area specialists, develop an integrated strategy for optimal launch readiness and Market Access initiatives. Ensure that medical input is maximized during the strategy planning.
- Ensure that appropriate procedures for release of local promotional materials and publications are in place and adhered to be in compliance with local health care laws and regulations.
- Ensure qualified and appropriately trained personnel and appropriate processes and procedures are in place in all areas of the Baltics organization to ensure adherence with all corporate policies and local laws/regulations related to Health Care Compliance, Good Clinical Practice, and other related regulations.
- Support implementation and management of the local Healthcare Compliance Program in alignment with region, based on the established company standards. Also following local legal and regulatory requirements.
- Aligned with the Corporate functions, ensure an integrated Medical Affairs/Regulatory Affairs/Quality Medicine strategy ensuring adequate Pharmacovigilance and risk minimization activities, timely drug registration and market access.
- Relationship management of local Medical, Health Authority, reimbursement authorities (where relevant), Ethics committees, Medical associations, patient associations, media and others as appropriate.
- Cost containment and productivity initiatives. Development of and adherence to respective capacity and budget targets.
Required qualification & background:
- Medical Degree strongly recommended; otherwise, Professional Health Care Degree, e.g., PharmD, PhD
- Significant experience in leading positions within medical departments of the pharmaceutical industry.
- Strong knowledge of Baltics market.
- Regional / international and cross-cultural experience.
- Effective leadership, to set direction for the organization.
- External focus, sense of urgency, high ability to prioritize.
- The ability to show and maintain strong leadership in uncertain situations.
- The ability to lead and manage change, lead innovation in Healthcare.
- Driven by discovering new opportunities for customer interactions by deeply understanding the product and our customers.
- Full command of English language.
- Affinity for new technologies and new communication channels (e.g., digital).
- Accountability, Agility, Intrapreneurship capabilities.
- High ethical standards and strict compliance to internal and external regulations is essential.
The best candidate will be offered
- Competitive remuneration package consisting of motivating gross salary (depending on experience and country residence) and annual bonus depending on company results, as well as other valuable elements of remuneration (incl. company car, health insurance, accident insurance, life insurance, travel insurance).
- Challenging international work environment, with great opportunity to collaborate and explore intercultural relations on Baltic and regional level, expand knowledge and further growth in career.
- Excellent working conditions (annual holidays, shorter working days during summer period and other benefits).
- No preferred residence (Baltics organization offices are located in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius).
Who we are
At Boehringer Ingelheim we create value through innovation with one clear goal: to improve the lives of patients. We develop breakthrough therapies and innovative healthcare solutions in areas of unmet medical need for both humans and animals. As a family-owned company, we focus on long term performance. We are powered by 50.000 employees globally who nurture a diverse, collaborative, and inclusive culture. Learning and development for all employees is key because your growth is our growth
Want to learn more? Visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com and join us in our effort to make more health.
Contact
If you want to join our great company, please apply by sending us your CV (in English) Application deadline is July 14, 2022.
Thank you for your interest!
NB! Please note that we will contact only second round candidates who meet the requirements as set above. Provided personal information will be used only for recruitment project and purposes within “Boehringer Ingelheim RCV GmbH & Co KG Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania branch". After the particular recruitment project, disclosed data will be deleted.
Tev varētu interesēt arī:
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https://cv.lv/lv/vacancy/832285/boehringer-ingelheim/medical-director-baltics
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Department: Corporate Ethics and Compliance (CEC) delivers a compliance risk framework that enables the businesses and functions to comply with applicable internal and external rules and regulations and maintain risk levels within MetLife’s risk appetite. CEC provides constructive challenge to the businesses and functions, partnering closely with them to implement strong processes and effective controls, as well as to foster and embed a culture of compliance.
The Role: The Head of Compliance will be responsible for leading the CEC program for MetLife’s Retirement and Income Solutions business (RIS). This CEC officer will be a member of the Senior Leadership Team of the EVP and Head of RIS. In this capacity, he/she will be responsible for offering credible challenge, identifying compliance issues and reporting, as appropriate. This role will work closely with the RIS business and operations implementing controls and guidelines to ensure compliance with MetLife global and regional policies, procedures and standards as well as laws and regulations at the state and federal level. This role entails working closely and collaborating with RIS leadership and functional partners, including Legal and Risk, on strategic initiatives and emerging issues. He/she will lead a team of Compliance officers who conduct second line testing and monitoring, report on metrics and key risks, execute on risk assessments, and provide day-to-day support to RIS on all compliance-related matters.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop strategic relationships with RIS leaders and inform them of significant compliance matters that require their attention or action. Proactively anticipate or help RIS plan for changes in the compliance and regulatory environment.
- Provide support to RIS on policy interpretation and “gray area” exposures.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with other functional leads, including Legal Affairs, Internal Audit, and Risk Management to create a supportive and seamless compliance and ethical control culture with an appropriate risk environment.
- Maintain staffing levels in support of business strategy with resources of requisite experience and skillset, and actively create and update succession plans, providing opportunity for talent to develop.
- Review the team organization structure and create opportunities to build team effectiveness, and drive efficiencies
- Work with management to ensure continued improvement in self-identification of issues, and appropriate escalation and monitoring processes to ensure timely and effective remediation to mitigate compliance risk.
- Be a transformation leader for CEC to strengthen CECs and MetLife’s compliance risk management by being forward looking, embracing and leading change, collaborating on compliance best practices, and ensuring the team is organized appropriately to provide meaningful compliance coverage to RIS.
- Advise on and provide credible challenge to RIS’ compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and compliance policies.
- Advise on compliance policy interpretation and work with the Business to resolve significant breaches and violations of such policies, and external reporting when required.
- Participate in meetings with key stakeholders to stay informed of new product ideas, business strategies and initiatives, and emerging risks.
- Stay abreast of changes in the U.S. regulatory environment and analyze the business impact of regulatory changes. Ensure that pertinent new laws and regulations are included in the inventory of applicable laws and regulations maintained, and that business operations are educated appropriately and changes implemented accordingly.
- Oversee the ongoing monitoring and testing of the control environment related to key compliance risks identified and recommend and/or implement control enhancements when control deficiencies are identified.
- Maintain and update compliance policies and procedures. Ensure revisions are communicated to relevant associates.
- Oversee and conduct ongoing training to reinforce the importance of the CEC program and the applicability of compliance policies and procedures, and the three lines of defense model for managing compliance risk.
- Support RIS in driving the non-financial risk self-assessment to identify and measure inherent and residual risk
- Identify and communicate results of compliance risk assessments, compliance-identified issues, and control concerns to appropriate senior management
- Stay abreast of all regulatory examination findings to ensure control weaknesses identified by regulators are addressed.
- Partner with Internal Audit, Risk Management, Government Relations, and Legal Affairs to understand any identified weaknesses in controls, areas of concern, and top emerging risks. Assisting in developing new controls and/or processes to improve the control environment.
- Act as a key contact to RIS associates for all compliance-related questions or concerns.
Key Relationships:
- Reports to: Senior Vice President, U.S. and Latin America Compliance
- Direct Reports: Three compliance officers
- Key Stakeholders: Executive Vice President (EVP), Retirement and Income Solutions, Senior Leadership Team, RIS
Candidate Qualifications:
Essential Business Experience and Technical Skills:
- 10+ years of experience in the insurance and/or employee benefits industry with a legal and/or compliance mindset;
- Deep knowledge of insurance industry, and principles of insurance sales and back-office operations essential;
- Knowledge of rules and regulations applicable to MetLife and RIS, including state insurance laws, federal securities laws, and other applicable regulatory regimes.
- Educational background – minimum bachelor’s degree; JD and/or MBA preferred;
- Excellent analytical and research skills. Ability to apply critical thinking is essential;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare and conduct presentations and communications with senior and executive management;
- Ability to identify and assess risk and communicate results to management. Ability to analyze risks and controls and determine when controls are not operating effectively;
- Strong interpersonal, management, leadership, and motivational skills;
- Must be a dedicated, self-motivated individual with an ability to work independently and in a team environment;
- Must be a results-oriented, performance-based leader who will produce results based on stated goals and objectives and must be able to ensure that individuals in the organization produce results based on their respective performance plans
- Experiment with Confidence – Courageously learn and test new ideas without fear of failure
- Act with Urgency – Demonstrate speed to action with agility and determination
- Seek Diverse Perspectives – Source ideas and feedback to expand thinking and make informed decisions
- Seize Opportunity – Drive responsible growth and identify areas for continuous improvement
- Champion Inclusion – Foster an environment where everyone is valued, heard, and can speak up
- Create Alignment – Partner with others across the organization with candor and transparency
- Take Responsibility – Be accountable and act in pursuit of the right outcomes
- Enable Solutions – Anticipate and address obstacles while managing risk
- Deliver What Matters – Execute meaningful priorities and follow through on commitments
MetLife:
MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
We are one of the largest institutional investors in the U.S. with $642.4 billion of total assets under management as of March 31, 2021. We are ranked #46 on the Fortune 500 list for 2021. In 2020, we were named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the fifth year in a row. DJSI is a global index to track the leading sustainability-driven companies. We are proud to have been named to Fortune magazine’s 2021 list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies.”
MetLife is committed to building a purpose-driven and inclusive culture that energizes our people. Our employees work every day to help build a more confident future for people around the world.
We want to make it simple for all interested and qualified candidates to apply for employment opportunities with MetLife. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to [email protected] or call our Employee Relations Department at 1-877-843-3711.
MetLife is a proud Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer dedicated to attracting, retaining, and developing a diverse and inclusive workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment at MetLife without regards to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status, uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.
For immediate consideration, click the Apply Now button. You will be directed to complete an on-line profile. Upon completion, you will receive an automated confirmation email verifying you have successfully applied to the job.
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https://jobs.metlife.com/job/New-York-AVP%2C-U_S_-Business-Compliance-NY-10166/712341600/
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POSITION DESCRIPTION:The Senior Healthcare Transactional/Regulatory Attorney will be an integral part of our busy legal team.
Working alongside the Chief Legal Officer, this role will assist with healthcare and technology-related contracting, transactional and regulatory matters.
As a member of the legal team, this person will provide legal guidance and counselling, both strategic and tactical, to all areas of the organization.
Potential candidates must have a minimum of 7 years of healthcare, business and transactional experience. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & JOB FUNCTION:Comply with HIPAA Compliance and Security Policies and ProceduresDraft, review and negotiate commercial contracts, with an emphasis on complex agreements including technology and data use agreements, mergers and acquisitions, loan transactions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, sales, software licensing and vendor agreements.Perform legal research and interpret federal and state laws, regulations, interpretive guidelines, advisory opinions and court cases on various healthcare-related statutory and regulatory topics, particularly related to health insurance, health insurance reimbursement, managed healthcare, Medicaid, Medicare and HIPAAProvide legal advice, opinions and solutions regarding issues and risks in the areas of intellectual property protection and licensing.Assist with HIPAA and cybersecurity compliance in coordination with company privacy and security officersSupporting business teams in various legal and corporate projects to drive business growth and developmentAppropriately manage a heavy workflow, setting priorities with internal clients and meeting deliverable timelinesAdvising business groups on strategy and execution of all aspects of the organization.Required SkillsSignificant experience in healthcare, technology and intellectual property issues and commercial transactions. Strong proficiency in drafting and negotiating commercial agreements related to mergers and acquisitions, loan transactions, joint ventures and strategic alliancesStrong understanding of technology law and intellectual property law and significant experience negotiating software and services agreements with a demonstrated ability to recognize and weigh business and legal risks, think strategically and advance practical solutionsIn depth understanding of software licensing issues, IT, health care, and data privacyStrong understanding of regulatory and compliance matters related to Medicare, Medicaid and HIPAA.Ability to provide sound and practical advice on legal and business matters in a complex, fast-paced environment to a broad range of business teamsSuperior drafting skills, especially the ability to draft contract language that is clear, concise, and easily understood, creating templates and processes to improve efficiency of the contract review processSuperior communication skills in both written and verbal presentation, including all aspects of legal writing technique and procedure, and the ability to convey complex legal concepts to non-lawyers.Ability to function effectively and complete projects in a timely manner in a fast-paced and changing environment with multiple priorities and objectives. Required ExperienceEducation:Minimum – Juris Doctorate or equivalent law degree from an accredited college or university.Work Experience: Minimum – Seven (7) years of experience advising on matters of healthcare, technology and intellectual property issues and commercial transactions. License and Certifications: Minimum – Admission to the Illinois or other State Bar.Desired personal attributesHighly motivated self-starter with demonstrated ability to work efficiently, meet demanding deadlines and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision”Team player” who enjoys partnering with cross-functional teams to solve complex issuesService-oriented individual who addresses business requests for legal advice promptly and crisplyDemonstrates sound judgment in ambiguous situationsUnderstands business issues and has a pragmatic, commercial orientationInquisitive and curious enjoys learning new technical concepts, tackling cutting-edge legal issues and thrives on changePossesses impeccable oral and written communication skills We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.
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https://www.healthcarejob.co/healthcare/attorney-transactional-healthcare-7bd0b2/
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WESTPOLE is looking for a Compliance Officer who will work closely with the Managing Director to ensure the effective operation of key elements of the corporate governance risk and compliance. The Compliance Officer provides the vision and strategies necessary to manage the overall risks of the company, of the information assets and the information they carry.
The Compliance Officer is responsible for the implementation of the chosen strategy.
This role includes duties, roles and responsibilities distinctive of the DPO, CISO, Quality Officer among others, it ensures compliance with regulatory and standards requirements. The Compliance Officer have a transversal role in a matrix organization, reports directly to the Country Director of WESTPOLE Luxembourg (in a solid line), but also to the Managing Director of WESTPOLE Belux(in a dotted line).
Responsible for building substantial relationships with other WESTPOLE entities regarding Governance Risk and Compliance.
To support these activities, the Governance & Compliance Officer deploys relevant Program, coordinates activities with other departments, Business Units, Functions and conducts awareness, regular assessments and audits in the organization. In the event of identified risks of regulatory breach and non-conformities he will, via/through/under mandate of the Managing Director, enforce the respect of policies with adequate measures to avoid future recurrence.
Function
- •Assists in the identification of potential compliance/security exposures that currently exist or may pose potential threats related to the ISO 27001 certifications;
- Responsible for reporting to Authorities/Regulators/official Auditors;
- Responsible for Informing and Advising the company/employees of the compliance obligations;
- Monitoring the compliance with the internal requirements and relevant legislations;
- Support and work closely with the Business Units and Functions;
- First point of contact resolving compliance issues;
- Delegated to implement new compliance regulations;
- Implementing awareness and training for the staff regarding regulatory and group compliance.
- Support and work closely with the CISO on the information security requirements;
- Responsible for making WESTPOLE respect environmental laws and regulations;
- Identifying compliance risks and Management obligations, follow up and provide the internal stakeholders with advice on how to mitigate them;
- Creation, follow up and update of WESTPOLE’s policies and procedures;
- In charge to drive, manager the internal/external audits within the auditors for all WESTPOLE’s certifications.
Requirements
University degree required (Master’s Degree minimum) or 5 years of relevant experience;
- Master’s in management in Information Security System/other relevant Governance & compliance domains or 2 years of expertise;
- Knowledge of the IT Industry, digital Architectures associated with IT Service Providers and Cloud Service Providers;
- Deep knowledge of Luxembourg laws and regulations;
- Fluent in English and French both oral and written.
- Strong Knowledge and experience of local, International standards and legal requirements and controls for ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 14001, BCP, CSSF, Anti-Money laundering, GDPR, Electronic Legal Archiving, Cyber Security;
- Demonstrable expertise in the definition, compliance implementation, and adherence to GRC frameworks, policies and procedures;
- Experience in a fast-moving dynamic team, good handling of solutions required in Information Management, Cloud Computing and Security governance;
- Integrity and professional ethics, Teamwork skills;
- Ability to work on an international scope;
Offer
Working at WESTPOLE, you will receive:
- An open-ended contract
- A competitive salary (including meal vouchers, hospital insurance, etc.)
- A smartphone + phone subscription
- A company car + fuel card
- Real career possibilities with a possibility to follow trainings
- A good work-life balance
- A team of supportive colleagues who’ll make you feel at home
- The opportunity to turn these colleagues into friends during our numerous events, Friday drinks etc.
Information
Application
Do you look what you just read? Please apply via [email protected]!
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https://careers.westpole.eu/compliance-officer-windhof/
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ICG Chief Sanctions Officer
Serves as a senior compliance risk manager for Independent Compliance Risk Management (ICRM) responsible for establishing internal strategies, policies, procedures, processes related to monitoring and fostering awareness of sanctions regulatory requirements that Citi must comply with; assessing related sanctions risk exposure, overseeing the quality of sanctions control processes and setting global standards to manage and mitigate those sanctions risks and protect the franchise. In addition, provides support for the collation of potential breaches of sanctions from across the firm and work with contacts in the Business and Compliance to ensure consistent and effective application and implementation of, and controls to evidence adherence to, relevant sanctions related global standards, policies and procedures.
Responsibilities:
- Overseeing the design, development, delivery, and maintenance of best-in-class compliance programs, policies and practices for Sanctions. Ensures Citi’s sanctions framework meets global regulatory requirements and is commensurate with the size, complexity, and risk profile of Citi.
- Leading and managing a staff of Compliance professionals, with direct accountability for hiring and organizational structure. Direct oversight for compensation, performance appraisals, staff development, training, etc. Provides input on performance and compensation recommendations for Anti-Bribery and Sanctions officers and utilities that provide Anti- Bribery and Sanctions related services on a matrix basis.
- Managing the identification and assessment of sanctions risks. Ensures Sanctions compliance risks within Citi are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled, consistent with the bank’s risk appetite statement and all policies and processes established within the risk governance framework
- Directing the development and establishment of Anti-Bribery and Sanctions policies and procedures to mitigate risks. Overseeing compliance risk monitoring and measurement through a control framework and ensuring that reviews are conducted consistently across each entity on a regular basis to confirm that Anti-Bribery and Sanctions controls are identified operating effectively.
- Overseeing the review, research and investigation of transaction activity for regulatory compliance with respect to Trade, Economic and Financial Sanctions including sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, United Nations, European Union and HM Treasury's Financial Sanctions, (collectively referred to herein as "Sanctions"), to meet legislative and regulatory requirements for Citi.
- Remaining up-to-date and abreast of regulatory changes, enforcement trends, emerging risks, industry best practices, and business changes that may impact the Anti-Bribery and Sanctions programs, and provide strategic direction for continuous improvement of the programs through the Anti-Bribery and Sanctions Executive Management Team.
- Establishing professional relationships with relevant regulatory bodies and represent Citi and the businesses supported on regulatory matters as required. Serves as liaison with regulatory examiners, Internal Audit, and external auditors on critical Anti-Bribery and Sanctions issues and oversees the implementation of related remediation.
- Additional duties as assigned.
- Appropriately assess risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating particular consideration for the firm's reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients and assets, by driving compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, adhering to Policy, applying sound ethical judgment regarding personal behavior, conduct and business practices, and escalating, managing and reporting control issues with transparency, as well as effectively supervise the activity of others and create accountability with those who fail to maintain these standards.
Qualifications:
- Highly motivated, strong attention to detail, team oriented, organized
- Strong presentation skills with the ability to articulate complex problems and solutions through concise and clear messaging
- Demonstrated ability to assess complex issues through root cause analysis and other analytical techniques, structure potential solutions, and drive to resolution with senior stakeholders
- Ability to influence and lead people across cultures at a senior level using sound judgment and successful execution, understanding how to operate effectively across diverse businesses
- Experience managing diverse teams, and comfort navigating complex, highly-matrixed organizations
- Comfortable acting as an agent for positive change with agility and flexibility
- Effective negotiation skills, a proactive and 'no surprises' approach in communicating issues and strength in sustaining independent views. Strong presentation and relationship management skills are essential
- Articulate and effective communicator, both orally and in writing, with an energetic, charismatic and approachable style. Candidates must have effective persuasion skills, the ability to work effectively at the highest levels of the organization, and will display highly effective networking and influencing skills
- Executive presence and a reputation for building strong relationships with stakeholders and leading teams, both direct reports and in peer/influence models
- Advanced knowledge of banking products/services and processes, U.S. regulatory framework (OCC, FRB)
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree; experience in compliance, legal or other control-related function in the financial services firm, regulatory organization, or legal/consulting firm, or a combination thereof; Subject matter expertise in Anti-Bribery and Sanctions; experience managing a diverse staff; Advanced degree preferred
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Job Family Group:Compliance and Control
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Job Family:Sanctions
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Time Type:Full time
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Citi is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.
Citigroup Inc. and its subsidiaries ("Citi”) invite all qualified interested applicants to apply for career opportunities. If you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to use our search tools and/or apply for a career opportunity review Accessibility at Citi.
View the "EEO is the Law" poster. View the EEO is the Law Supplement.
View the EEO Policy Statement.
View the Pay Transparency Posting
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Join our team
of 200,000+
strong diverse employees
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Socially minded employees volunteering in communities across 90 countries
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Meaningful career opportunities thanks to a physical presence in over 98 markets
We foster a culture that embraces all individuals and encourages diverse perspectives, where you can make an impact and grow your career. At Citi, we value colleagues that demonstrate high professional standards, a strong sense of integrity and generosity, intellectual curiosity, and rigor. We recognize the importance of owning your career, with the commitment that if you do, we promise to meet you more than half way.
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https://jobs.citi.com/job/miami/icg-chief-sanctions-officer/287/8951716384
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Envision Healthcare is a multispecialty physician group and practice management company. Established in 1953, our organization provides anesthesia, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, radiology, primary/urgent care, surgical services, and women’s and children’s health services to hospitals and health systems nationwide. Sheridan Healthcare, EmCare, Reimbursement Technologies and Emergency Medical Associates have recently joined forces to form Envision Healthcare. As one organization, we now provide a greater scope of service than any other national physician group. Our collective experience from hundreds of local, customized engagements, culture of continuous lean process improvement, and team of experts in the business of healthcare enable us to better solve complex problems and consistently give healthcare organizations confidence in our execution. Our combined organization serves more than 780 healthcare facilities in 48 states and the District of Columbia.
If you are looking for a stable, fast-paced, growing Company in the healthcare industry that is committed to innovation, excellence and integrity, then this may be a great next step in the advancement of your career.
We currently have an exciting opportunity for an Associate General Counsel, Regulatory Affairs. The ideal candidate is the lead attorney for the regulatory practice group and serves as the subject matter expert, educational resource, and strategic advisor to Envision business leaders and colleagues on all aspects of regulatory compliance.
*This role has the option to be fully remote*
Responsibilities
- Promotes and maintains a culture of compliance and services as a resource on complex issues, operational goals, and regulatory matters.
- Acts as a strategic advisor to the business on a variety of state and federal laws, regulations and standards.
- Advises on investigations, regulatory submissions, and other documentation in coordination with the Compliance Department.
- Researches, monitors and advises on changes and trends in federal/state healthcare laws, regulations and programs impacting the organization.
- Facilitates compliance with regulatory and industry changes by working collaboratively with the affected business areas to develop impactful and compliant solutions.
- Develops a communications plan when appropriate to ensure new requirements are appropriately communicated to the impacted business areas.
- Actively engages with, facilitates and maintains relationships on policy issues with regulatory agencies and government officials.
- Serves as member of the General Counsel’s senior leadership team and participates in strategic planning for the Legal Department.
- Manages the Regulatory practice group (including budget accountability) for the Legal Department.
- Reads and abides by the company’s code of conduct, ethics statements, employee handbook(s), policies and procedures and other corporate mandates, including participation in mandatory training programs
- Reports any real or suspected violation of the corporate compliance program, company policies and procedures, harassment or other prohibited activities in accordance with the reporting policies of the company
- Obtains clarification of policy whenever necessary and may use the resources available through the Compliance, Human Resources or Legal Department to do so.
- Responsible for adhering to Information Security Policies and ensuring Envision is as secure as possible.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Education/Experience:
Licensed attorney holding a J.D. from a top-tier law school with a minimum of ten (10) years’ experience in the field of healthcare law with established expertise in healthcare regulatory matters. A combination of law firm and in-house experience preferred.
Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
- Demonstrated leadership experience in a firm or large healthcare organization, including budget responsibilities.
- Subject matter expertise on major federal healthcare laws and regulations (and their state law equivalents) including, but not limited to: Stark law, Anti-Kickback Statute, Civil Monetary Penalties Law, HIPAA, ACA, MACRA.
- Strong working knowledge on billing and coding issues as well as laws and regulations applicable to telehealth / virtual health.
- Experience advising on issues related to physician compensation and FMV analyses.
- Experience partnering with a Compliance department on regulatory matters, policy development, audits, risk assessments, and responding to government agency inquiries.
- Experience providing advice to senior business leaders.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with all levels of employees, including executive leadership.
- Excellent written communication and drafting skills.
Additional Preferred Qualifications:
- Ability to prioritize and manage competing demands.
- Ability to thrive in fast paced, dynamic environment.
- A spirit of continuous learning.
- Openness to feedback and desire for professional growth.
Computer Skills
To perform this job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of:
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Legal Research Tools (i.e. LexisNexis)
- Matter Management/eBilling Software
Certificates and Licenses (if applicable)
- Licensed to practice law and in good standing in at least one U.S. state
If you are ready to join an exciting, progressive company and have a strong work ethic, join our team of experts! We offer a highly competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package.
Envision Healthcare uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
Envision Healthcare is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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https://www.miracleworkers.com/jobs/ASSOCIATE-GENERAL-COUNSEL--REGULATORY-AFFAIRS--WFH-/J3W5F464TQRFSPZNNGZ
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70735Fundamental Components:
- Independently researches and translates organizational policy into intelligent and logically written and/or verbal responses to media relations, regulators, government agencies, or cases that come through the executive complaint line, for all products and issues pertaining to members or providers.
- Manages inventories to ensure state guidelines are met. Responsible for making sure workflows are kept up to date with most current regulations and legislation.
- Creates and communicates appeal policies, procedures, and outcomes with all levels of the organization.
- Educates analysts and business units of identified issues and potential risk.Initiates and encourages open and frequent communication between constituents.
- Dissects policies, trends, and workflows which in turn identify areas in need of improvement throughout various departments.
- Successfully works across functions, segments, and teams to create, populate, and trend reports to find resolution to escalated cases.
- Independently takes complete ownership of responses as findings may result in mitigating negative publicity or stopping the trigger of an external audit or fine.
- Identify potential risks and cost implications to avoid incorrect or inaccurate responses and/or decisions which may result in additional rework, confusion to the constituents, or legal ramifications.
- Demonstrates strong letter writing skills; drafts individual letters based on current findings, regulations and legislation
- Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in a Grievance and Appeals Analyst role
- At least 5 years of claim research knowledge or claim processing experience
- Knowledge of tools associated with appeals and claim processing (i.e. CATS, ECHS, ASD, EPDB, SCM, WEB CCI, Plan Sponsor Tool, AST, Claims X-ten, E-policy, IOP)
- Strong knowledge of the external review process related to DOL and state regulations
- Knowledge of ICD-9 and CPT codes desired
- Expert knowledge of the healthcare industry
- Experience as an assistant Team Lead, Team Lead or Project Manager preferred
- Bachelor's degree desired or equivalent work experience
- Independently and accurately able to multi-task projects
- Ability to be self-sufficient while researching
- Performing analysis and applying resources necessary to complete a final assessment of the required and appropriate action (verbal and/or written)Negotiation skills
- Strong analytical skills
- Attention to detail
- Autonomously makes decisions based upon current policies/guidelines
- Acts decisively to ensure business continuity and with awareness of all possible implications and impact
- Expert knowledge of clinical terminology, regulatory and accreditation requirements
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https://www.aetnacareers.com/job/chicago/grievance-and-appeal-consultant/41/16034694
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Posted in Other 16 days ago.
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Medical Science Liaison Dir - weekdays
Look for more than answers. Patients and Physicians rely on our diagnostic testing, information and services to help them make better healthcare decisions. These are often serious decisions with far reaching consequences, and require sensitivity, tact and a clear dedication to service. It's about providing clarity and hope.
You will work for the world leader in the industry, with a career where you can expand your skills and knowledge. You'll have a role where you can act with professionalism, you can inspire colleagues, and you can care about the work we do and the people we serve.
At Quest, we are on a continuous journey of discovery and development. It's this attitude that has made us an industry leader and the #1 Diagnostic Lab in the US. For those joining us, we offer exciting and fast moving career opportunities where you can affect change at a rate unheard of in many organizations of our size and scope. While we invest in and develop technology to drive our innovations, our ongoing success relies on our people.
Job Description
The Medical Science Liaison (MSL) is responsible for identifying and supporting clinical franchise/disease and diagnostic insight related medical needs in a defined geography. Primary responsibilities include establishing frequent and timely interactions with Thought Leaders (TL), payers and other Health Care Providers (HCP) aligned with medical strategies to discuss safe and appropriate use of approved diagnostic insights and pharmaco-economic data. MSLs also respond to unsolicited questions on current medical and scientific issues, healthcare advances, treatment trends, and health outcomes measures. TLs may include nationally, regionally and locally recognized scientific and clinical leaders, medical advisors to managed care providers and committees, payers and HCPs
active in addressing patient advocacy issues.
Expected Areas of CompetencyMSL must demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the Women's Health and Oncology therapeutic area. MSL posses the ability to translate this information and data into high quality medical dialogue. MSL must possess a sophisticated understanding of the pharmaceutical, diagnostic and healthcare industry including commercial, and government payer strategies, and the evolving healthcare delivery models.MSL delivers presentations to health care decision makers responding to unsolicited questions using relevant and approved materials as per legal guidelinesMSL may support company initiated trials by interacting with primary investigators, assisting in site identification and screenings, and delivering disease education using approved resources. MSLs may also support data generation activities including participating in reviews of Investigator initiated proposals.Other activities may include identification and training of contracted speakers or internal team members if alignment with medical plan and test life cycle needs.MSL will identify, collect and communicate insights to address competitive medical information in addition to insights on trends and changes affecting the regulatory and payer environment used to develop medical strategies.Contributes to the development of Medical Brand Plans and Strategies by communicating his or her medical insight and knowledge derived from Expert Physicians, other Healthcare providers or scientific publications about the product or disease area, in particular with reference to patients' needs and treatment trends.Fully understands and complies with Quest Diagnostics medical and corporate SOP's.Identifies potential investigators for Quest Diagnostics initiated clinical trials utilizing approved resources. Provides support to the Clinical Site Manager, as requested and approved by the appropriate clinical oversight committees, for site support activities relating to the conduct of a Quest Daignostics initiated clinical trial (e.g. recruitment support). Facilitates the submission process of investigators' proposals for clinical trials if support is requested, in accordance with Company Policies, and applicable laws, regulations and ethical standards.Adheres to the US "Compliance Code of Conduct". Certifies against all required compliance training. Conveys a clear message on laws, regulations, and ethical standards to both internal and external customers. Develops an understanding of and complies with all GMA SOPs, the OIG Guidance, the CLIA requirements, ICH, GCP, and relevant FDA laws and regulations (certify completion where required). Alerts management to possible compliance issues.MSLs fully comply with all company policies and applicable laws, regulations and ethical standards
Position Requirements:Terminal doctorial degree, MD, PharmD, or PhDIn depth knowledge of Women's Health and Oncology disease area , including key scientific publications.Clinical experience in Women's Health and Oncology or with a broad medical background.Minimum of 4 years working in a clinical, diagnostics or pharmaceutical environment (excludes post doc education).Understanding of clinical research principlesUnderstanding of the US Healthcare system, the diagnostics/pharmaceutical industry and clinical and health economic practices in the US.Ability to work independently- experience working across a matrix organization and commercial teams.Travel required, varies by geographyPosition is field based; MSL will be required to live in the territory which they manage or within 50 miles of the territory borders.
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https://www.jofdav.com/jobs/30072020-medical-science-liaison-dir
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The article below was Published November 6, 2013 in Energy Manager Today.
An ambitious domestic energy plan is being pursued by German Chancellor Angela Merkel following the Fukushima Nuclear Plant fall out in 2011: phase-out nuclear and coal-powered energy plants for a complete shift to renewable energy sources. The plan, titled Energiewende, sets the deadline for nuclear phase-out by 2022 and aims for a complete transition to renewable energy sources by 2050. Though the energy plan has been met with widespread political support and a mostly favorable population, the growing threat of organized opposition to a changing German landscape could prevent the project from reaching its full potential. Despite this possibility, the energy revolution in Germany seeks to make the country the first industrial nation in the world to complete a full transition to renewable energy sources.
The immediate the results of the Energiewende have showed positive progress for the nation. According to the BBC, in 2012, 22 percent of Germany’s energy production came from renewable sources. The government seeks to increase these production levels to 35 percent by 2020 and at least 80 percent by 2050. This initial growth has already allowed for renewable energy sources to outweigh nuclear energy in total output. A positive push for wind turbines along the northern coast has allowed for the installation of numerous wind farms, which supply the northern coast with clean, reliable energy. Now, the challenge is to spread this positive progress to the central and southern parts of Germany, where local opposition groups have begun protesting new renewable developments. These groups oppose the expansion of a renewable network that has already seen successful growth and production in the northern part of the country.
The growing opposition to renewable expansion in central and southern Germany has adopted strong “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) attitudes towards the new developments. Opponents to wind turbines in particular argue that the turbines will vastly change the landscape of Germany, threatening picturesque scenery popular among locals and tourists. Additionally, concerns over property values have become a key argument for opponents. Without a strategically targeted public affairs campaign, NIMBY opposition is all too likely to stress the costs of renewable technology and often times, create misinformation about the proposal that could begin to raise concerns among undecided or even supportive residents if left unaddressed.
Though the green revolution in Germany comes at a cost of $735 billion, it brings the potential for huge benefits to the nation and the greater continent of Europe. Between 2004 and 2012, jobs in the renewable energy sector tripled in Germany, with approximately 378,000 employed by 2012. This job growth is expected to continue with the increase in renewable technology throughout the nation as a result of Energiewende. For the rest of Europe, early plans have been discussed to create a renewable energy network amongst European Union nations, allowing for the spread of technology and energy. This network would work to increase the efficiency and access to energy created through renewable sources, wherein nations in short supply of solar or wind energy could tap into other nations excess energy reserves. However, these benefits that the German energy would bring could be threatened should NIMBY opposition increase in organization and strength.
In past instances, NIMBY opponents have used famous sites across Germany to attempt to stall renewable technology development. In southern municipality of Jachenua, Bavaria, an important energy storage facility’s development has been threatened by national organizations. The facility, which is an integral part of the complete transition to renewable energy sources, would transfer water from Lake Walcheness through an underground tunnel to a reservoir atop a local highland when wind and solar energy is produced in excess. When these sources are limited, water would be pumped back down through turbines in the tunnel, thus allowing continuous energy production for the region. Opponents of the facility argue that a change in the landscape, increased noise levels, and dust from the initial construction of the project will all have a negative effect on nearby residents. While the majority favors this proposal, the voices of the few vocal opponents are making a bigger commotion that has a greater likelihood of garnering the attention of local officials.
Though NIMBY opponents have become more vocal in Germany, they remain a small portion of the population. There is an understanding amongst the general public that this revolution has substantial environmental and economic benefits that vastly outweigh the costs of the developments. The clean, renewable energy sources can benefit more than just the German people, allowing the nation to set a precedent for a green revolution. Couple the increase in renewable energy sources with an aggressive plan to reduce carbon dioxide output levels over the same time period, and it becomes more than clear that Germany seeks to be a leader in sustainability to benefit the global community.
For Germany, the Energiewende has the potential to become a major success and the first revolution of its kind for an industrialized nation. The complete transition to renewable energy production indicates the willingness of the German people to go green and showcase the benefits, both domestically and globally, of an energy network produced through entirely renewable sources. For the success this initiative, renewable developments must successfully spread from the northern coast to central and southern Germany, allowing for more households to access this clean network. While NIMBY opponents will continue to attempt to stall the revolution, the widespread political and public support throughout Germany has the potential to become the force that drives a cleaner, more reliable energy future for the world.
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https://publicstrategygroup.com/2013/11/07/renewable-energy-revolution-in-germany-threatened/
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29th July 2021
The problems with fossil fuel as a source of energy have become more prominent in the past decade. It has encouraged various governments in the world to take a step towards sustainable energy production. It is achieved by replacing fossil fuel plants with renewable energy plants. However, the question remains, what are the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy?
In this article, as we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy, we focus only on the popular renewable energy resources. This includes solar, hydro, geothermal, and wind.
One of the biggest advantages of renewable energy sources like hydrothermal, solar, and the wind is that they produce almost no carbon footprint. The electricity is generated through mechanical energy, and therefore, no chemical reaction is required. This ensures the process has low carbon and greenhouse emission.
The second-largest advantage of renewable energy sources is that they are infinite. We won’t run out of these sources of energy until the sun or the water runs out. Furthermore, since energy generation is often dependent on mechanical energy production, the water is returned to the environment and can once again be used to generate electricity.
The disadvantage of relying on non-renewable sources is that no one can accurately estimate when they will run out. Since this estimation cannot be made, no country can rely on this type of energy generation model.
On the other hand, renewable sources of energy are unlikely to run out. The Earth is unlikely to stop its rotation, and therefore we will always have wind, waves, and sunlight. This allows countries to build an energy generation model that can be relied upon to provide power in the long run.
Solar panels are a primary example of renewable energy with high ROI. The installation of a solar panel is more expensive than that of non-renewable sources. But, the solar panel can last longer. An average solar panel has a lifespan of 20-25 years.
Furthermore, it requires low maintenance and helps save money. This means the solar panel can easily pay for itself within 4-5 years, while the remaining 20 years can save money that would otherwise go under ‘electrical expenditure’.
The disadvantage of relying on non-renewable sources of energy like fossil fuel is that countries have to rely on each other. Similarly, the average individual is required to depend on the city’s power grid. This is difficult for households in rural areas with no power lines.
However, with the installation of solar panels or wind turbines, any household in the rural area can become independent. Similarly, countries will no longer need to import petrol, diesel, and CNG. With a renewable energy plant, they can become independent.
These are only some of the advantages. Let’s look at the disadvantages of renewable energy.
Read further: What is a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) in India?
Projects like solar power grid installation or windmill farm development are often turned into political agendas. This makes it impossible for the average man to take advantage of these resources. The political party further taints the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy in the light that suits their party the most. This ensures the average man cannot gain accurate information, and the project is further stalled or ignored.
Renewable energy harvesting plants can't be installed in any location. In places like the Arctic and Alaska, where sunlight is limit during the winter season, solar power plants cannot be installed. Similarly, to install hydropower plants, the land is required to build a dam. These can only be done around rivers.
This goes to show that renewable energy harvesting is dependent on the location the plant is installed in. Countries with a budget but don’t have a favorable landscape cannot depend upon renewable energy sources.
While solar panels and other renewable energy power plants can generate profit, they do require a higher investment. Therefore to install a renewable energy power plant, the responsible authority has to save, collect and budget money for several years before installing.
This upfront cost can be worthless if the project isn’t completed swiftly. Instead, the expenses increase, and the project is delayed further.
To power, a small community with a renewable energy power plant, at least thirty solar panels would be required. To fulfil this requirement, there are various challenges and barriers. Furthermore, if the plant faces any technical issue, the entire community will face the problem.
This problem is only compounded on a national scale. A country cannot depend only on one source of energy. A change in weather, climate, or environment can cause a serious issue for the energy requirement of the entire nation.
While renewable energy has very high potential, most of them are left unexplored. The modern technology we use to harvest this renewable energy, including solar panels and wind farms, are highly inefficient. They cannot compete with fuel sources like petrol.
The best example for this is an electric car vs a car run on petrol. A car that runs on petrol can travel for a week without needing a refill. On the other hand, the batteries in an electric car require frequent charging. This goes to show that while these sources can be used, modern technology has yet to devise efficient harvesting methods.
These are the top advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy. As it can be seen from the list, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Governments around the world have taken the initiative to uptake this conversion.
Among these is India which has pledged to reach the capacity of 175GW renewable energy by 2022. This goes to show that with the right financial investment, it is easy to convert from non-renewable sources of energy to renewable sources of energy.
Start going green by switching to solar panels as a renewable source of energy. Waaree Energies being one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels, offers high-quality sustainable energy solutions. Contact us via call at 1800-2121-321 or mail us at [email protected].
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Between rising costs of energy consumption and federal regulations to rein in underperforming data centers, there’s been an increased appetite for alternative energy sources. Here, we examine wind, solar, geothermal and other non-traditional ways to power your data center.
Wind, Solar and Geothermal … Oh, My!
The world hungers for data continues at a staggering rate as well as from technologies including devices, applications, storage systems, transit systems and the Internet of Things (IoT). To keep pace with this appetite, data centers must be constructed using the latest building codes and materials, maximizing space, energy, lighting and operating environments.
By 2014, it was estimated that 70 billion kilo-Watt hours (kWh) or 1.8 percent of the total U.S. energy consumption went to supporting data centers – a linear rate until 2008 before leveling off due to the global economy tanking and reduction in investments. A 2016 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report had shown that the country’s datacenter energy consumption was maintained at 4 percent between 2010 and 2014 which counters previous estimates of a 24 percent rise between 2005 and 2010.
During the same year, The U.S. Government’s newest initiative, Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI), was announced to supersede the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) of 2010. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-16-19 applies to all government agencies with a focus on:
- Energy metering
- Power usage effectiveness (PUE)
- Virtualization
- Server utilization and automated monitoring
- Facility utilization
By the end of fiscal year 2018, government data centers are required to meet PUE targets of 1.5 or below and to use data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software. If a facility fails to do so, it may be closed or consolidated. However, energy consumption can be further reduced by implementing alternative energy sources and technologies.
The top 5 alternative energy sources for data centers are listed along with the pros and cons:
Solar – This form of energy relies on the nuclear fusion power from the core of the Sun. This energy can be collected and converted in a few different ways. Although there are some inefficiencies, the overall photovoltaic (PV) costs have plummeted.
- Pro:
- Renewable
- Environmentally friendly
- Cost reduction
- Con:
- Requires expensive initial costs
- Storage can be expensive
- Requires real estate
Wind Power – Temperature differences at the Earth’s surface along with sunlight help to vary the speed and intensity of wind. Wind is a diffuse source that requires large numbers of wind generators to produce useful amounts of heat or electricity and many locations do not have enough wind energy.
- Pro:
- Renewable
- Non-polluting
- Low operating costs
- Con:
- Wind reliance
- Noisy
- Can threaten flying wildlife
Hydroelectric energy – This form uses the gravitational potential of elevated water that was lifted from the oceans by sunlight and is one of oldest forms of creating energy and not just relegated to building dams. Most of the available locations for hydroelectric dams are already used in the developed world.
- Pro:
- Renewable resource
- Low failure rates
- Water may be stored in reservoir for meeting higher energy demands
- Con:
- Expensive
- Limited sources
- Water quality can be affected
Biomass – Biomass simply refers to the use of organic materials and converting them into other forms of energy that can be used such as a fuel cell. Many types of biomass release large amounts of carbon dioxide gases into the atmosphere which affect our health. A Rand study provides useful concerning introducing biomass into the U.S. energy markets.
- Pro:
- Renewable
- Fossil fuel reduction
- High availability
- Con:
- Expensive to harvest and store
- Inefficient
- Requires lots of operational space
Geothermal power – Energy left over from the original accretion of the planet and augmented by heat from radioactive decay seeps out slowly everywhere, everyday. The upper 10 feet of the Earth’s surface considered shallow ground maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50° and 60°F.
- Pro:
- Renewable – never runs out
- Small real estate investment
- Almost 100 percent emission free
- Con:
- Requires at least 350 degrees Fahrenheit to be efficient
- Maintenance requires high costs and safety
- Requires a bore field to tap into the earth
Whatever you ultimately choose for your alternative energy sources, the build-out specialists at Instor can help.
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https://instor.com/blog/top-5-alternative-energy-sources-for-data-centers/
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Electricity is easily produced, transported, and transformed. However, it has not been possible to store it in a practical, easy, and cost-effective manner until now. This means that electricity must be generated continuously in response to demand, and as a result, renewable energies require supporting storage systems for integration, to avoid drops in clean energy during supply troughs, and to improve the electrical grid’s efficiency and security.
According to an analysis conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory, incorporating energy efficiency measures can reduce the amount of storage required to power the nation’s buildings entirely with renewable energy (NREL). As more communities plan to transition to 100 percent renewable energy, the researchers propose a strategy that could help them get there: moving away from long-duration storage.
“Minimizing long-duration storage is a critical component in attempting to achieve the target cost-effectively,” said Sammy Houssainy, co-author with William Livingood of a new paper outlining a path to 100 percent renewables. The study, “Optimal Strategies for a Cost-Effective and Reliable 100% Renewable Electrical Grid,” was published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.
Minimizing long-duration storage is a critical component in attempting to achieve the target cost-effectively. This process is applicable to both large and small cities.Sammy Houssainy
The researchers considered solar and wind as renewable energy sources because most plans for meeting the 100 percent target include them. They also used the Department of Energy’s EnergyPlus and OpenStudio building energy modeling tools to simulate energy demand while taking building size, age, and occupancy type into account. Data from the United States Energy Information Administration informed the scientists about the existing building stock’s characteristics and energy load.
Furthermore, the researchers divided the country into five climate zones, ranging from hot and humid (Tampa, Florida) to very cold (Washington, DC) (International Falls, Minnesota). The cities of New York, El Paso, and Denver were included in the other zones. Knowing the extremes of heating and cooling demands in each zone allowed the researchers to choose the best mix of renewable energy sources to minimize storage requirements.
While different definitions exist in the literature, the researchers define long-duration storage for the purposes of this study as energy storage systems that meet electricity demands for more than 48 hours. Long-duration energy storage, as a result, provides power days or months after the electricity is generated. However, most long-term storage technologies are either in their infancy or are not widely available. The two NREL researchers calculated that achieving the remaining 75 to 100 percent renewable energy would result in significant increases in the costs associated with long-duration energy storage.
Instead of emphasizing storage, the researchers emphasized the optimal mix of renewable resources, excess generation capacity, and energy efficiency investments. The researchers acknowledge that there are multiple pathways to becoming 100 percent renewable and that as the costs and performance of technologies change, new pathways will emerge, but they identified a key pathway that is currently achievable.
They also discovered that increasing renewable capacity by a factor of 1.4 to 3.2 and aiming for 52 percent to 68 percent energy savings through building energy-efficiency measures leads to cost-effective paths depending on the region of the country. Making homes and offices more energy efficient, according to Houssainy, reduces the amount of renewable resources required, decreases the amount of storage required, and lowers transmission costs, ultimately supporting the implementation of a carbon-free energy system.
“What’s in the paper is a multistep process to follow,” Livingood explained. “This process is applicable to both large and small cities. Now, the end result will vary from city to city as this multistep process is followed to achieve the target at the lowest possible cost.”
The researchers calculated that Tampa would generate all of its electricity from solar panels, while International Falls would receive all of its electricity from wind turbines, in order to have the least reliance on storage.
In a world transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as wind and solar energy, improved electrical energy storage is critical to support these technologies, ensuring that electrical grids can be balanced and that every green megawatt generated is maximized.
Electricity cannot be stored in its pure form, so it must be converted into another type of energy, such as mechanical or chemical energy. Storage systems can add value at any point in the supply chain. Energy storage systems are classified based on their capacity as follows: large-scale storage, which is used in places where GW scale is required; storage in the grid and in power generation assets, which uses the MW scale; and storage at the end-user level, which applies to the residential level and works with kW.
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摘要 : Renewable energy sources hold tremendous potential for transformation of how societies generate energy, and integration of these sources is now being driven by government and utility organizations. Following generation, measurement and efficient conversion to grid-compliant AC are critical for smoothly integrating renewable energy sources. Communication of that available energy is also required. This article reviews technologies available for integration of large-scale and small-scale energy sources.
A similar version of this article appeared in the March/April 2012 issue of Power Systems Design magazine and in German in the June 2012 issue of Elektronik Industrie magazine.
Introduction
Imagine a world in which all electricity comes from renewable sources. Now, consider that the 2011 European Commission Energy Roadmap 2050¹ proposed a future scenario in which 97% of consumed electricity would actually be generated from renewable sources. Yes, the goal is 97%. What would such a world look like? Close your eyes and see the images of clean air, blue skies, and green pastures. Wonderful, yes, but not before considerable work is done. For us engineers, the vision and dream of a "green" new world quickly gets replaced by a difficult, ultra-large-scale engineering project. Can we harvest, aggregate, and deliver enough renewable energy to reach the point where renewables essentially deliver all necessary electrical energy? That is most definitely the challenge.
Harnessing the Main Sources of Renewable Energy
Renewable sources are certainly very attractive options for generating energy. The sun and wind are free, prolific, and permanent. After an initial setup investment, they can be made to produce clean, inexpensive, reliable energy for years. Concurrently, new chemistries such as copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and nanoparticles have transformed photovoltaics, allowing for lower production costs and flexible form factors. In addition, high-volume production continues to drive down the cost of conventional silicon and polysilicon panels.
But there is yet another step in the integration of renewable energy sources. After creating electricity from photovoltaic cells, that energy needs to be converted to AC power for use on the grid. To be cost effective, this inversion step must be efficient. In complete photovoltaic systems today, the "balance of the system" (i.e., all components except the panels) now accounts for 44.8% of the system cost. That percentage will increase in 2012.² Consequently, there is no argument that these electronics must work efficiently and reliably.
If a utility wants to generate a large majority of energy from renewable sources, then massive installations for solar, wind, and hydroelectric generation must occur. In addition, the distribution grid must be capable of transporting, and likely also storing, these large distributed and intermittent energy sources. Furthermore, conservation and efficiency must also play a significant role. Technologies like LED lighting would require mass adoption.
Scale Down to Energy Harvesting as Another Option
There is another intriguing alternative energy story worthy of discussion: energy harvesting. Here the task is to think beyond different
sources of energy and consider the scale of these sources. A large wind farm or an acre-sized solar farm in the desert provides a tremendous amount of electricity. But what about the breeze that blows leaves across the ground or the ray of sunlight shining through the window? If you consider the scale of these sources, you open up a new range of applications and ideas. You can, in fact, greatly increase the reach of renewable energy.
It takes some creativity. Imagine a cell phone that charges itself from radio waves in the air; road sensors, powered solely by the weight of wheels running over them, that report traffic conditions; solar-coated windows that allow specific amounts of sunlight to illuminate and heat a building and then use the remaining sunlight to produce electricity. These small-scale applications, called energy harvesting, are not only possible, but they are closer than you think. These renewable sources require intelligent handling of energy to make the smallest amount of wind, vibration, or sunlight useful.
Achieving the Significant Power
Small-Scale Energy Generation
Renewable sources and scale of resources—this is really what we are talking about. Up to this point I have spoken about what some consider "the obvious." Now we can talk about what is already happening. Maxim Integrated is offering many products that span the breadth of alternative energy solutions, from small-scale energy harvesting to large-scale solar implementations. For ultra-small energy generation, the MAX17710 (Figure 1) provides intelligent conversion of any source that generates more than 1µW of energy. The IC is considered to be "energy-source agnostic" because it harvests energy from heat, light, vibration, and magnetic sources. The result is a usable voltage that can charge a microcell battery while simultaneously running a sensor.
In a world relying almost entirely on renewable energy, these microsources of power will be a necessary part of the energy portfolio. This is also why energy harvesting tools like the MAX17710 will be so necessary in the future.
Figure 1. A block diagram of the MAX17710 energy-harvesting charger along with potential energy sources and storage elements or loads.
Medium- and Large-Scale Energy Generation
In medium- and large-scale solar installations, measuring the produced energy provides insight into the status of system operation. The 78M6613 energy-measurement chip accurately measures DC or AC energy to 0.5% across a dynamic range of 2000:1. Actual data is shown in Figure 2. This accuracy and range let power producers monitor and gauge the system performance of their rooftop solar panels that are producing energy in the morning and evening, even in the weakest sunshine.
Figure 2. Actual data for energy measurement with a calibrated 78M6613.
The 78M6613 also uses four-quadrant measurement to provide an accurate power factor, which determines both the efficiency of transmission and the readiness of the power to go out on the grid. With 8 channels, the 78M6618 energy measurement IC provides similar functionality for applications requiring multiple points of measurement. The 78M6631 thus works in large-scale 3-phase commercial systems. As renewable power becomes a greater percentage of power on grids, utilities will rely on the accuracy and speed of these energy measurements to maintain power delivery while smoothly integrating variable sources.
Measuring, Metering, and Communicating the Power
Renewable energy sources are generally intermittent—the wind is not always blowing nor is the sun always shining brightly. Consequently, to ensure an adequate energy supply when users want it, high quantities of renewable generation will be required. Energy storage on the grid will also be required to buffer the variability of source and demand. Moreover, many of these systems will operate entirely "off grid."
When you speak of generating power from renewables, you do not normally think about battery management. But when you consider the issues of energy storage, battery-management techniques become critically important. Battery chemistries evolve based on application and technology, but safety and continuous battery operation remain the primary requirements. To meet these performance requirements, Maxim offers a variety of 12-cell battery-management products. The MAX11068 manages the energy of up to 12 battery cells, providing integrated cell balancing and over-/undervoltage (OV/UV) detection. For high-voltage applications, the part can also be connected in a daisy-chain configuration of up to 31 modules to manage up to 372 cells. Because it is designed to operate in the -40°C to +105°C temperature range, the harshest winter and summer conditions will not interrupt battery operation.
Power from solar panels must also be converted from DC to AC. This requires a series of frequency switching. Robust and reliable MOSFET drivers, such as the MAX15024 and MAX5048, provide efficient signals to drive the MOSFETs that invert the power.
Once the inverter converts the power to grid-compliant AC, that inverter must also communicate over the grid. This communication tells the utility that it can route the energy for the most efficient performance. Maxim's G3-PLC™ chipset, the MAX2991 and MAX2992, communicates across powerlines, even in high-noise situations. Figure 3 schematically shows that G3-PLC also communicates across transformers from low-voltage to medium-voltage powerlines, thereby reducing the number of access points necessary in a powerline network. This communication method is already used in multiple smart meter trials, including the Electricité Réseau Distribution France (ERDF) trial in France.³ In addition, G3-PLC works effectively for communication within the photovoltaic system. Other forms of communication within a photovoltaic system and from a solar system-to-grid include RS-485, CAN bus, and RF. Maxim provides solutions for all these interfaces.
Figure 3. Schematic of G3-PLC communications. Crossing transformers from low-voltage to medium-voltage powerlines reduces the number of access points required in a utility's network.
The Situation Today
Data indicates that we can achieve significant power with renewables. No one is debating the environmental benefits that will come with renewable integration and conservation. One thing is clear, however. These benefits cannot be achieved without carefully managed renewable resources and a well-engineered grid.
The European Commission Energy Roadmap 2050 scenario of 97% renewable energy is clearly ambitious. Achieving something close to that would be a tremendous engineering achievement and likely require the next 50 years. Achieving significant power from renewables must merge engineering creativity, ambitious utility companies, and circuits optimized for the conversion, measurement, and communication of energy sources. When that happens, we will all win.
References
- European Commission, "Energy Roadmap 2050," December 15, 2011 (http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy2020/roadmap/index_en.htm).
- Greentech Media, "Solar PV Balance-of-System Costs to Surpass Modules by 2012, According to GTM Research," GreenTechMedia, June 30, 2011 (www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/solar-pv-balance-of-system-costs-to-surpass-modules-by-2012-according-to-gt/).
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https://www.maximintegrated.com/cn/design/technical-documents/app-notes/5/5330.html
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Rajvikram Madurai Elavarasan 1 *
European Journal of Sustainable Development Research, Volume 3, Issue 1, Article No: em0076.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejosdr/4005
OPEN ACCESS
Download Full Text (PDF)
Cite this article
Energy is the backbone of the evolution of humanity, it has assisted mankind to endeavor through various ages of history. The quest to obtain energy with minimal expenditure and pollution is still being worked on and will continue on in the future. Even in this modern age, energy production in several developing countries often falls short of energy requirements which results in frequent power cuts. As the world economy continues to grow, energy consumption is expected to continue to grow. Fossil fuel is limited, so it is important to consider other sources of energy e.g. renewables especially solar to meet the energy demands in the future. The world has diverse solar energy sources which are not yet fully explored. This review sheds light on the solar renewable energy and other non-renewable sources of energy available in the world and a comparative analysis of both the energy resources across the world is also included as a separate section titled ‘Comparative analysis’. It also gives a brief overview of the various techniques employed by different countries to overcome the energy crisis through and also a framework for employing such techniques in countries which are lagging in energy production in order to fully avail the benefits of energy sources, which are abundant in the world.
energy, power cuts, energy demand, renewable sources, non-renewable resources
World’s total installed grid-connected power generation capacity stands at over 343,898.39MW as of 31 May 2018 where the power generation is mostly dominated by coal and oil reserves which holds a major share at 66.73% whereas renewable energy from large dam based hydro, biomass, solar and wind contribute 33.27% to the total energy generation. World’s geographical attribute is ideal for renewable energy generation. The world has a total installed of about 114,425.81MW as of 31 May 2018. Further, the potential for solar energy installed is estimated to be 69,022MW as of 31 May 2018 (Renewable energy in India, 2017).
It is estimated that the global barrel of crude oil reserves is at 1.688 trillion by the end of 2013, this reserve will last only 53.3 years with the current rate of extraction. Also, there are about 1.1 trillion tons of proven coal reserves worldwide, which will last around 150 years. The gas reserves will last up to 52 years. There is a question that one should ask - what is to be done once all the fossil fuel reserves depleted? Compared to fossil fuels, not much renewable energy sources are used for power generation, as renewables require higher operating costs and efficiency is not high when compared to fossil fuels. The worlds energy resources are represented in the form of a pie chart (Figure 1).
Technological advancements made on renewable energy resources shows that the efficiency of renewable energy resources has been increased and they can serve as a replacement for the non-renewable energy resources in the future. Also, these renewable energy resources are friendly to the environment and they do not pollute the surroundings. Thus, apart from serving as alternative energy resources, these energy resources are also environmental friendly in nature. This work clearly shows the importance of renewable energy resources and also suggests countries which are lagging in energy production to use renewable energy resources to satisfy their energy demand.
This work first illustrates the classification of energy resources and the various kinds of available energy resources across the world. Also, the research progresses on solar and wind energy resources along with their technological advancements are highlighted. A comparative analysis of non-renewable energy resources and renewable energy resources is also included as a separate section.
This paper mainly focuses on the comparison of the renewable and non-renewable sources of energy. This study was done in order to gather the information and to conclude the importance of renewable energy sources than non-renewable sources of energy. The study was not restricted to a particular state or a particular country rather made with a wider focus including all the countries across the globe. In order to get reliable data, a literature review was performed in various steps. A countries major energy production and the availability of the resources in various other countries were discussed. The number of articles that have met the search criteria was around 150. The search narrowed down to 94 taking into account only the major producers of renewable and non-renewable resources. Most of these articles were dated between 2006 and 2018.
In the first step, the abstract was constructed and the details about various non-renewable energy resources were assessed. Various developed techniques and recent advancements in this stream were described. 25 articles included concern about non-renewable sources of energy. Similar details about renewable energy resources were the core of the second step of the study. 59 articles included provides details on the renewable sources of energy.
The third step deals with the recent progress of these energy resources and the main focus was attributed to the solar energy and the wind energy. The materials collected were screened thoroughly and a comparative analysis has been made on the solar energy and the non-renewable energy resources. This comparison plotted has been included in a separate section to emphasize the use of solar energy. Real-time data for the solar energy source were included dated between 2011 and 2018.
The world has a wide selection of energy resources i.e. (both renewable and non - renewable) which can be readily benefited for power generation and consumption (Energy classification, 2018). Energy is broadly classified into two types i.e. renewable and non – renewable. Non- renewable energy is again divided into four types as coal, crude oil, natural gas and nuclear. Renewable sources are also classified as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biogas. A flow graph of the proposed review work is also added (Figure 2).
Non–renewable energy sources refer to the energy source whose economic value cannot be replaced by other natural means on an equal level of consumption i.e. energy sources which are used cannot be used again. Generally, the formation of such non–renewable sources takes billions of years. Their use is generally not sustainable. Generally, most researches were based on obtaining maximum energy output, while using as minimum energy source required (Ming et al., 2018). The impact of consumption of renewable and non-renewable energy on economic growth have also been compared. A research was done on long-run relationship exists between energy utilization and commercial improvement in 30 sub–Saharan African countries, it could be seen that a 10% hike in non-renewable energy utilization leads to a hike of about 2.11% in economic growth rate (Samuel et al., 2018). The world’s energy consumption is presented as a figure (Figure 3).
Coal is the most widely used fossil fuel all over the world. Coal is mainly used as a fuel because of its readily available nature. In order to develop the efficiency of coal production, the National Coal Development Corporation was set up (Quing and Guihuan, 2017). For about the last three decades China stands first in the coal production globally (Coal production, 2018). Several kinds of researches were done in order to improve coal quality in recent times. One such research focused on fine-tuning of various combustion parameters of boilers in order to get best-optimized combustion possible (Quing and Guihuan, 2017). Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels often leads to NOX emission which is a crucial atmospheric pollutant, so in order to reduce NOX emission special prediction and optimization algorithms have been developed. Other such research focused on determining the coal quality by the use of a multivariable data analysis algorithm (Ming et al., 2018; Binzhong and Graham, 2016). This method is superior to the traditional methods of determining coal constituents such as ash, moisture, fixed carbon content etc., which is determined via lab samples from various expedition holes.
Petroleum is a dark colored liquid (oil) found deep in the earth’s crust it is generally separated into various components by a fractional distillation which separates out various components of petroleum at the various boiling point. The fractionating column consists of tall cylindrical vessels with a number of levels where different components are separated. Various researches are carried out in order to mitigate the effect of petroleum pollutants by physical, chemical and biological methods (Qaderi and Azizi, 2018). One such biological process is the moving bed biofilm reactor. It is observed that under optimal conditions the efficiency of the reactor was high and can be used for petroleum wastewater treatment (Qaderi and Azizi, 2018).
Also, till date, it has been quite challenging to understand the energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the refineries because of their complexity and different variables within the refineries (Jeongwoo and Vincent, 2015). The categories of refineries were simplified and were broadly classified based on crude density (API gravity) and heavy product (HP) yields. The results show the effect of (GHG) emissions on refineries.
Natural gas is a fossil fuel handled as a source of heating, cooking and electricity generation. It could also be benefited as a source of fuel for vehicles. It is a naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbon in the form of a gas primarily subsist of CH4 and some fluctuating number of other higher alkanes and small amounts of CO2, N2, H2S or He (Saurabh et al., 2011). It is set up due to the decomposition of plant and animal matter under intense heat and pressure over millions of years. The energy obtained from sunlight in plants is stored as chemical bonds in the gas. Switching from coal burnt to natural gas burnt energy generators are considered to be a step towards emission reduction. It could be seen that Natural gas can also be used for energy production (Saurabh et al., 2011).
Global warming is currently considered as one of the greatest threat in which the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission is the leading problem today (Charikleia et al., 2013). With the demand to satisfy energy needs and to reduce GHG emission has encouraged the usage of Nuclear energy. It is seen that without Nuclear power the European countries CO2 emission would be one-third time higher (Charikleia et al., 2013). Figure 4 shows the contribution of nuclear energy to the world’s energy consumption. The top three countries in nuclear production are the USA, Germany and Japan with the production of 24.34%, 11.04%, and 10.87% respectively (Zhang et al., 2017; Parinya and Somchai, 2013; Qiang et al., 2018).
Lithuania is currently focussing on constructing a Nuclear power plant in order to reduce CO2 emission (Dalia, 2012; Dalia and Asta, 2010). Recent researchers in China has now been focussed on nuclear H2 generation through iodine-sulfur for the past 10 years (Chuan et al., 2016). Also, the Chinese government has started to promote nuclear irrespective of public opinion to reduce the environmental pollution after the Fukushima disaster (Xiaopeng and Xiaodan, 2016; Ming et al., 2016). Table 1 shows the three major nuclear accidents.
Nuclear power is mostly not preferred due to the risk factor and an example of it is the accidents that have happened in Fukushima. The nuclear plant was damaged by a tsunami after an earthquake (Qiang et al., 2013). Also, countries like Germany and other’s energy policy has been influenced by the Fukushima disaster (Mariangela and Renato, 2016). But some countries generate their maximum electricity from nuclear. Countries like France derives about 75% of its electricity from Nuclear. Thus, nuclear energy has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Table 1. Three major nuclear accidents (Ming et al., 2016)
Nuclear accidents
INES levels
1979-Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear accident
INES 5
2011-Fukushima nuclear accident
INES 7
INES 4+
Renewable energy resources are now replacing non-renewable energy resource as they are environmentally clean and found abundant in nature (Iñaki et al., 2018; Claudia and Cinzia, 2017). In order to reduce the greenhouse gas effect, countries are now focussing on renewable energy resources (João and Victor, 2016). Also, hybrid systems such as the combination of two systems are also made for better output (Shaopeng et al., 2018).
Solar Energy is an emerging technology trend in the world and the leading countries in solar production are presented as Table 2 (Jessica et al., 2018). Its installation increased from 1790MW in 2001 to 1, 37,000 MW in 2013, which is an average increase of 40% every year (Yawen et al., 2018). The energy conversion efficiency is about 15%-20% on an average. Though there are some fluctuations in the output power developed technological advancements show that stable and reliable power can be developed. Various researchers have been processing in this field as it is environmentally friendly and the cost of production is also being reduced (Stephen et al., 2018; Alexandre and Dorel, 2018). The development of solar power in recent years is presented as a bar chart in Figure 5. The United States has set up a National Solar Radiation Database to record the regions consisting of solar radiation and meteorological data for the last 23 years (Manjit et al., 2018). This data has been given open access for researchers and it hopes to be a promising technology.
Table 2. Top 10 Solar Producing Countries in the world (Top solar energy producing countries, 2018)
Rank
Country
Total Capacity GW, 2016
1
China
78.07
2
Japan
42.75
3
Germany
41.22
4
United States
40.3
5
Italy
19.28
6
United Kingdom
11.63
7
India
9.01
8
France
7.13
9
Australia
5.9
10
Spain
5.49
Roof Top is a specific approach to receive solar energy and it is an emerging technique in Queensland, Australia (Shafiullah et al., 2014). Low voltage network in the place of Rockhampton and Yeppoon are now replaced by roof-top in-order to cut down fossil fuel and greenhouse gas emission. Since the last 23 years, the United States has set up a National Solar Radiation Database to record the regions consisting of solar radiation and meteorological data (Manjit et al., 2018). This data has been given open access for researchers and it hopes to be a promising technology.
Solar energy is very much essential to avoid climatic change due to global warming. A survey conducted shows that the desert in Western Iraq has the extreme solar electricity generation of about 1776 MJ/m2. Also, it shows that the sites with 7200 MJ/m2/year for CSP and 7400 MJ/m2/year for PV are equivalent to 1-2 barrels of fuel oil/m2 annually (Douri and Fayadh, 2016). Some of the recent developments in solar are thin film solar cell technology and Hafnium and Tantalum Carbides as solar receivers (Viresh, 2012; Elisa et al., 2011). Hafnium and Tantalum has very poor optical properties so they are used in high-temperature appliances. They also have good optical properties, highest melting point, highest strength and high thermal and electrical conductivities. Hence, they can be used as receivers to absorb sun rays (Mahdis et al., 2016).
Roof Top is a specific approach to receive solar energy and it is an emerging technique in Queensland, Australia (Shafiullah et al., 2014). Low voltage network in the place of Rockhampton and Yeppoon are now replaced by roof-top in-order to cut down fossil fuel and greenhouse gas emission. Another advancement is the direct solar thermal power generation. The demand on military and deep-space exploration for system stableness, high-maintenance and quietness have opened the path for direct solar thermal power generation (Yue and Jing, 2009).
Wind energy is one of the promising technology that is developing and promising to satisfy our future energy needs (Changzheng et al., 2013; Benjamin, 2017). China ranks 1st in the production of wind energy across the world, with the capacity of wind power 68.7GW which reports for 34.7% of globally equipped capacity at the end of 2016 (Lingyue et al., 2018; Bikash, 2017). Nowadays renewable energy resources play a major role in power production and so numerous researches are being carried out for the better usage of such resources (Farah and Eltamaly, 2013). Wind Turbine play the major role in deciding the power produced, efficiency, output etc. The renewable resources provide 8.4% of the world’s power requirement. Now India is much focusing on a huge growth in wind energy utilization and production as well.
Greenhouse gas emission has been reduced by using renewable energy resources which in-turn reduces global warming (Jensen et al., 2013). The wind farms for large-scale production are situated at Jaisalmer wind park, Rajasthan and Brahmanvel wind farm, Maharastra and Muppandal windfarm, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. These are the major wind farms in India.
Apart from India, about 200GW power has been produced and utilized by 83 countries around the world in 2011 (Dewei et al., 2013). In Lithuania according to the report at 2016 shows that the capacity of the installed wind power plant is about 507MW (Audrius et al., 2018). Since the requirement for renewable energy resources increases, the progress on renewable resources gets increased every year (Erik, 2017). At the end of 2016, 467GW has generated and of it, 16GW was produced as offshore. Other advancements in wind are using a fuzzy logic controller for managing the capacity of a hybrid system and the system satisfied the peak power demands (Mahdi et al., 2013). High-efficiency values can be obtained by using this hybrid system. For better output windmills are placed offshore than on land. A remote monitoring system is designed based on ZigBee WSN and GPRS which resulted in less maintenance and construction cost (Yongduan et al., 2013).
Hydropower designated to the transformation of energy from flowing water i.e., kinetic energy, into Electricity. It contributes about 16% of electricity generation worldwide (Gláucia et al., 2018). The Hydropower plant in early ages was used in mechanical milling such as grinding grains. At present, hydro plants generate electricity using Turbines and Generators, thus mechanical energy is produced by the steady flow of water which spins the rotor on the Turbine. This turbine is in turn linked to an Electromagnetic Generator, producing electricity on rotation of the rotor in the turbine (Vineet and Singal, 2017; Jawahar and Prawin, 2017). Since it gives low output, hybrid combinations can also be made to satisfy the power needs. In Bangladesh, a hybrid system of micro-hydro and diesel is installed (Himadry et al., 2016). Hydropower plants are categorized into three main types, they are
In this technology, dams are used to build a large reservoir of water. Electricity is produced when water flows through the turbines in the dam.
This type has a second reservoir beneath the Dam, where water is moved from the lower Reservoir to the upper reservoir, thus energy is gathered for future needs.
This depends further on flow rates of natural water by diverting only a fraction of river water through the turbines, in some cases even without the usage of a dam or reservoirs. Since this type is subjected to availability of natural water and also is affected by its variability, thus electricity production in this method is more intermittent compared to the dammed hydropower plant.
Hydropower presently is the largest renewable energy resource that has been deployed in the world. In the year 2009, hydro energy based electricity production was 3,329 TWh accounting to an interest of around 16.5 % of the world’s electricity production (Dolf, 2012). It is the greatest sources of energy to produce power which is being utilized in many countries. According to the World Energy Council 2010 Report, around 160 countries in the world use hydropower in their national electricity production. However, actual global utilization of hydropower is focused in the following ten countries (sharing about 70% of total electricity production) (Jain, 2010). The top four countries, being China, Brazil, Canada, and the USA, use hydropower to produce half of their total electricity generation, as shown in Table 3.
Table 3. World’s electricity share (Hindawi, 2018)
Electricity production (TWh)
The share of the world total electricity generation (%)
615
18.4
Brazil
390
11.6
Canada
366
10.8
USA
297
9.1
Russia
175
5.5
Norway
129
3.7
106
3.1
Venezuela
93
2.8
81
2.4
Sweden
65
2.1
Rest of the world
1011
30.5
World
3,329
100
Though this power is utilized in copious countries, hydropower contribution is naturally less compared to the worldwide total primary energy supply. In 2009, it shared only 2.3% of the total 12,150 Mote of primary energy supply worldwide. Even with sharing nearly lesser energy compared to the other nonrenewable sources of energy production, the average global hydropower potential in future is relatively huge. In 2009, the World Commission on Dams predicted that the total worldwide confirmed technical potential for ordinary hydropower was 14,576 TWh/yr, as shown in Table 3. If hydropower potential from small-scale hydropower sites and from nonconventional sources are considered, the world’s hydropower potential is huge considering the availability of numerous small hydropower potential sites in many countries and their potential of water current from rivers and canals. From Figure 6, it can be shown that Asia has the highest contribution (over 53%) of hydropower global potential, followed by Latin America (20%) and North America (11%). Asia has the largest contribution (43%) of the worldwide equipped quantity. Africa, even though having relatively the same technical potential (installed capacity) with Europe, the rearmost i.e., Africa has a higher contribution (19%) of the total worldwide equipped quantity than the aforesaid i.e., Europe (only 3%). It is also essential to note from Table 4 that greatest contribution of the world’s determined technical generation potential is still undeveloped (76%). Africa has the highest underdeveloped potential (92%) followed by Asia and Australasia /Oceania (80% for both regions). In India, Jammu and Kashmir have the best resources for the operation of hydropower plant (Ameesh and Thakur, 2017). Therefore, hydropower fits very well in the context of providing sustainable electricity for development in Africa where most of the rural regions are deprived of it. Challenges faced are lack of financing for renewable power generation which is stated to be one of the main reason for the undeveloped of hydropower in that regions. Table 4 represents the regional capacity factor of different regions.
Table 4. The Regional capacity factor of different regions (Hindawi, 2018)
World region
Technical potential-annual generation (TWh/yr)
Technical potential-installed capacity (GW)
2009, Total generation (TWh/yr)
2009, installed capacity (GW)
Undeveloped potential (%)
Average regional capacity factor (%)
North America
1,658
387
627
154
61
46
Latin America
2,855
607
731
155
73
53
Europe
1,020
337
541
178
34
Africa
1,173
282
97
22
91
Asia
7,680
2,036
1,513
402
42
Australasia/Oceania
184
36
12
30
14,575
3,721
3,550
925
75
43
The top ten hydropower producing countries as of 2010 are listed in Table 5 along with their present equipped quantity. It is viewed that some of the advanced and upcoming countries namely Norway, Canada, Sweden, and Brazil rely mostly on hydropower as their source of electricity production. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that the foremost logic for these advanced countries to massively spend in hydropower energy systems is to concentrate their electricity supply base so as to establish energy security and trade. The actual capacity of renewable energy (hydropower) to be used for substantial industrial applications and for that of energy security is demonstrated through the overdependence on hydropower for generation of electricity in these nations. This results also highlight the fact that hydropower is a mature and determined technology.
Further, it is also seen that China and USA, despite being on the first and third positions in the list of countries with greatest hydropower equipped quantity, hydropower does not even supply up to 10% of their national production capacity (Hindawi, 2018). In Africa, though they have small levels of equipped quantity, utmost all the countries in the region have hydropower in their electricity generation mix. Hydropower constituted for about 70% of the total electricity produced in the sub-Saharan African region, ignoring South Africa in the year 2008. In 2010, 32% of Africa’s electricity generation needs were supplied from hydropower.
Also, advancement in this Technology is achievable, though most of the countries have previously advanced profitable spots. Although the high upfront building costs, hydropower is a copious low-cost source of power (where applicable). It is also a malleable and dependable source of electricity related to other renewable sources, as its energy may be saved and utilized for use at a later time. Dammed reservoirs also provide flood control, in addition to it being a dependable water supply, and be used for recreation purposes. However, there are many concerns with hydropower, particularly for setting up large dam facilities. In addition, dam failures can be disastrous, further disturbing Landscapes and insists on the lives of people and animals living downstream.
In addition to it, hydropower plants are not perfectly free of greenhouse gas emissions. As with most forms of energy, carbon dioxide emissions occur at times of development, especially as a result of the usage of large quantities of cement. Also, the loss of vegetation’s in the flooded areas produces methane, another greenhouse gas as matter decays underwater.
Tidal power is a form of hydropower where electrical energy is obtained from the potential of tides. The first extensive-scale tidal power plant (the Rance Tidal Power Station) started its operation in the year 1966. Though it is not yet extensively benefitted, tidal power has a great impact on future electricity production. Tides are more certain compared to that of other sources such as wind energy and solar power. Tidal power suffers from high capital cost compared to availability of other renewable sources of energy. Various technological improvements in the case of design and turbine technology indicate that the total possibility of tidal power may be much more than the presently assumed potential and that the commercial and environmental costs could be brought down to a competitive level. Tidal power involves the cost of erecting a dam across the opening of a tidal basin. The dam has channel included in its structure that is opened to allow the flow of tide into the basin; the sluice is then closed, and when sea level drops, traditional hydropower technologies can be benefitted for generation of electricity from the high water level in the basin (Joao, 2007).
Tidal power can be classified into three generating methods based on the generating methods (Michael, 2003; Anna, 2015) they are:
Tidal stream generator,
Tidal barrage,
Dynamic tidal power.
Tidal stream generators make use of energy from moving masses of water or tides. Its function is similar to wind turbines deployed underwater and also referred to as tidal turbines. Among the three main forms of tidal power generation, tidal stream generators are the cost-effective and the least ecologically damaging one. Tidal stream generator is an immature technology, but researchers now focus on it and some of them are very close to large-scale deployment. Many companies are making bold claims regarding their designs, which are not yet independently verified, where they have not been managed economically for a considerable long period to determine its performances and rates of recurrence on expenses. Figure 7 represents the tidal steam generator.
The energy from masses of water moving in and out of a bay or river due to tidal forces are captured using a dam-like structure called a Tidal Barrage. Though a tidal barrage initially grants water to flow into the bay or river at the same time as a high tide and are released back all along at low tide due to damming of water on one side. Measuring the tidal flow and governing the channel gates at key times of the tidal cycle are done to execute this process. The energy due to water flow in and out is captured using turbines provided at the sluices. Figure 8 represents a tidal barrage.
A different and unproven technique of tidal power generation is DTP (Dynamic Tidal Power). Coast-parallel oscillating tidal waves which rush along the coasts of continental shelves interfere with this long T-dam, which contains powerful hydraulic current enough to produce a considerable amount of energy to produce electricity.
Geothermal energy is a renewable energy which is independent of the sun. It is produced due to the heat generated under the earth surface (Morton, 1974; Yong and Wen, 2018). It also promises on reducing the greenhouse gas emission (Diego et al., 2018; Eagri, 2018).
As Indonesia’s oil production decreased, other alternative resources were considered. Indonesia lies on the “ring of fire” and has many volcanos surrounding it. It has the largest source of geothermal energy in the world and provides 40% of the world geothermal energy resources (Saeid et al., 2018; Eddy, 2013). Another geothermal energy-rich region is the Java Island consisting of more than 20 geothermal sites (Bella and Sintia, 2013). Bulgaria is a place prosperous in thermal water with the temperature in the range of 20°C-100°C (Klara et al., 2013). Another thermal site is Ciudad Constitution to Los Cabos in Baja California Sur (Cristina and Rosa, 2014). The recent developments in California by using geothermal power for reducing CO2 emission resulted in some difference in the emission levels. The CO2 emission is reduced to about 20% by using geothermal power (Sullivan and Wang, 2013). Now Egypt and Poland are also focusing on promoting geothermal energy (Anna, 2017; Elbarbar, 2018).
The waste heat from the geothermal power plant can be used as a source of electrical energy. With this system shown in Figure 9, about 75% of the original power is converted into electrical energy (Cukup et al., 2016).
To know the effect of temperature on the lifetime of the plant a test was conducted at Lahendong geothermal area. The brine temperature dropped from 180.02°C to 154.92°C on the 30th of the operated organic Rankine cycle. Also, it produced a power output of 1.3MW (Didit et al., 2016).
The fundamental source of biomass energy is the sun. Biomass is the major source of energy in many households for cooking and water heating (Wasajja and Daniel, 2017). A systematic diagram of biomass energy (Figure 10) and its applications is accompanied.
Chile is focusing on developing biomass for electricity generation as a replacement for non-renewable resources (Carlos et al., 2018). Bangladesh is the prominent producer of biomass energy and it has used this resource to solve its energy crisis problem. It is the largest producer of biomass energy as it has a large amount of cattle dung (Jitu and Adharaa, 2017).
A Cogeneration plant for generation of electricity and heat in wool drying facility is first present in Slovenia. Though the cogeneration plant consumes 245kW of power for its use, it is the first plant in the world to produce 1.5MW power (Simon and Milan, 2017). The biomass boiler is situated around Alaska and these boilers are installed domestically. The Capital cost and maintenance cost varies with the type of boiler. The boilers have a lifetime of 20-30yrs (Erin et al., 2017). The biomass conversion technique based on application is given in Figure 11.
Another advantage of Biomass is that it can be used as a fuel. Acetic acid can be obtained from organic waste such as cellulose and lignocellulose with a yield of 11-13% using a direct oxidation method. Also, formic acid is obtained from the hydrothermal oxidation of glucose (Fangming et al., 2010). The steps involved in the conversion of biomass to biogas is shown in Figure 12.
Another system developed using biomass energy is the Combined Cooling and Heating Power (CCHP). The CCHP is usually adopted in agriculturally rich countries. As China is an agriculturally rich country it opted to develop CCHP with biomass energy (Harbin et al., 1864). The biomass generation at different locations of the world is shown in Table 5.
Table 5. Biomass power production across the world (Sadrul and Ahiduzzaman, 2012)
Type of biomass
Electricity generation and capacity
Year
MW
TWh
Solid biomass
41
2007
15
13
3150
2009
30050
by 2020
Bagasse
1300
1700
by 2012
4900
35
2008
OECD countries
Biogas
50
Developing countries
270
14
UK
The main focus of Spain is the renewable energy resources of which their main concern is solar. Researchers review that the large grid-connected PV system is less cost-effective as it is static. The research also reveals that the maintenance and operation cost is 0.5% of the capital investment. There has been a serious hike in the installation of the solar panel after 2005. Annual Spain’s national renewable energy plan is shown in Table 6 (Sana and Syed, 2012).
Table 6. Spain’s National Energy Action Plan 2011-2020 (Sana and Syed, 2012)
2005
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Renewable energy sources –
Heating and cooling
8.8%
11.3%
11.7%
12.0%
12.5%
13.2%
14.0%
14.9%
15.9%
17.0%
18.1%
18.9%
Renewable energy sources – Electricity
18.2%
28.7%
29.5%
31.1%
31.8%
32.8%
33.7%
34.2%
35.6%
36.8%
38.1%
40.2%
Renewable energy sources – Transport
1.2%
6.1%
6.2%
6.3%
6.4%
8.1%
9.1%
10.3%
11.2%
12.2%
12.6%
13.5%
Overall renewable energy resource share
8.3%
13.6%
14.2%
14.8%
15.4%
16.5%
17.4%
18.3%
19.4%
20.4%
21.5%
22.7%
A survey was conducted on the salt possibility in Turkey and its potential use in solar ponds (Tasdemiroglu, 1987). In Turkey sunshine, land, water and salt are abundant. Salt is the utmost significant and overpriced element, it constitutes about 15-20% of the initial investment in setting up a solar pond. During operation of the system, the salt needs to be continuously replenished as it is regarded as an equivalent fuel for a solar pond.
For the past decades, China is the biggest energy consumer with industry covering about 70% of its total energy utilization (Teng et al., 2018). To meet this demands and to have favorable conditions for solar, China has turned its side towards using solar energy. Statistical data shows that by 2020, 39.40 million of coal and 98.22 million of CO2 emission is planned to be reduced.
A large wind power station is situated on Shark El-Ouinat City in Egypt. Researchers show that if 60 wind turbines of ''Fuhrländer FL2500–104'' arranged in a 150 MW could be built at Shark El-Ouinat City, then an annual gain of 730,791 MWh/year could be found with a high capacity of 56% (Kuldeep and Kalpesh, 2018).
Recently, Nigeria has shifted its interest towards solar and has started to develop it to satisfy the power demands (Ahmed, 2018). At the end of 2016, it was observed that the total installed operational CSPs (Concentrated Solar Panel) has reached 4,926 MW. Also, an additional power of 2,056MW is expected after the constructions are completed in the upcoming years (Olumide and Edmund, 2018).
Another advancement made in the solar field is the usage of pyramid solar still instead of conventional solar still (Ayodele et al., 2018). The performance of pyramid solar is better than the conventional solar and its efficiency under different conditions is presented as Figure 13.
Another emerging technology in solar is the perovskite solar cell (Khalaji et al., 2017). This resulted in better efficiency compared to conventional silicon solar cell and the various tests conducted using different perovskite cells. The highest efficiency was obtained by using LBSO (Lanthanum (La)–doped BaSnO3) and methylammonium lead diode and the power conversion efficiency was recorded to be 21.2%. With high efficiency and low working temperature, resulting in a significant reduction in the price of the photovoltaic panel.
The consumption of current and future energy sources across the world is presented in the form of Figure 14. The figure shows that the production of coal is high compared to the production of solar as of 2010-2016. It is also evident that the total consumption of non-renewable energy resources is more compared to the production of renewable energy up to 2016. After 2016, the focus shifted to renewable energy as non-renewable energy sources are highly polluting. The figure also shows that the production of solar is increasing and its production has doubled the production of coal after 2017. This shows that the renewable energy focus on the future is more, of it solar is given more importance. The progress of solar energy production from 2011-2017 across the world is presented as a Table 7.
Table 7. Solar energy generation across the world (Energy economics, 2018)
Terawatt-hours
Share 2017
US
4.7
9.0
16.0
29.2
39.4
55.4
77.9
17.6%
0.6
0.9
1.5
2.9
3.2
0.7%
Argentina
†
◆
–
0.1
0.7
0.2%
Chile
0.5
1.3
2.6
4.0
0.9%
Other Caribbean
0.2
0.3
0.4
1.0
0.3%
Other South America
0.1%
Austria
0.8
1.1
Belgium
1.2
3.0
Bulgaria
1.4
7.3
8.2
9.2
2.1%
19.6
26.4
31.0
36.1
38.7
38.1
39.9
9.0%
18.9
21.6
22.3
22.9
22.1
25.2
5.7%
Netherlands
1.6
1.9
0.4%
8.7
12.0
13.1
13.7
13.9
13.6
14.4
3.2%
Switzerland
Turkey
2.7
0.6%
2.0
4.1
7.5
10.4
11.5
2.6%
Total Europe
46.7
71.5
86.4
98.4
109.3
113.3
124.1
28.0%
Total Middle East
1.8
1.1%
South Africa
3.3
0.8%
Total Africa
5.0
1.3%
3.8
6.0
8.8
2.0%
3.6
8.4
23.5
43.6
61.7
108.2
24.4%
3.4
4.9
6.6
21.5
4.9%
5.4
7.4
12.9
34.5
48.5
62.3
14.1%
Malaysia
South Korea
5.1
6.4
1.4%
Total World
65.2
100.9
139.0
197.7
260.0
328.2
442.6
100.0%
*-Based on the gross generation and not accounting for cross-border electricity supply.
†-Less than 0.05.
-Less than 0.05%.
With the emerging technology trends in the energy production, it is obvious that our reliance on non-renewable sources is going to be mitigated over the years and renewable energy sources are going to share the major share in the energy production of which solar is predominant among other renewable energy resources. So it is more important than ever before to get an insight into the scope of solar energy sources and its production. It could be seen that in the upcoming time’s global energy consumption is going to increase at a drastic rate, so there is a need of new and smart technologies to produce energy in the most efficient ways possible. The aforementioned text gives a clear portrait of the countries which are pioneering in renewable energy production especially solar by employing such methods and encourages research on advanced solar energy generation techniques which are comparatively efficient to the traditional production method. Countries which are lagging in energy production must consider alternative renewable energy solutions like solar to solve their energy crisis, investments must be made on innovative production techniques by such countries. Though non-renewable sources are widely used because of its lower investment and high energy output, using it ultimately pollutes global domain, so in order to make the world a better place non-renewable energy must be replaced with renewable energy sources especially solar.
The corresponding author expresses gratefulness to the management of Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur, Chennai, India for the comprehensive facilities and buttress provided to carry out this research. A noteworthy gratitude to all the authors mentioned in the reference section who have contributed the ideas on different energy sourced. Some data presented in the form of tables and figures are cited and copyrights are provided.
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http://www.ejosdr.com/article/the-motivation-for-renewable-energy-and-its-comparison-with-other-energy-sources-a-review-4005
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Providing access to clean, reliable and affordable energy by adopting microgrid (MG) power systems is important for countries looking to achieve their sustainable development goals as the extension of the grid is time and capital expenditure. These MGs are small electrical power systems that connect several electricity users to some distributed power generators and energy storage systems, which are mainly interconnected by power converters and can be made of renewable energy sources or hybridized with fossil fuel generators. One of such important problem associated with a microgrid is the issue of selecting the appropriate size configuration. Microgrid consisting of various energy mix including renewable and non-renewable energy resources like PV, Wind, diesel and battery storage, has to be optimally sized, to determine the right amount of each of the energy source required to meet the energy demand, considering the intermittent nature of the renewable energy resources. Improper sizing would lead to huge investment cost which could have been avoided, it could also lead to inefficient (under) utilization of energy sources and reduced reliability of power would be suffered by the community in which the microgrid is meant to have supplied. In addition to sizing. This work aims to address this problem by using a meta-heuristic optimization technique known as Cultural Algorithm (CA) to determine the optimal size configuration of the hybrid energy sources which the objectives of the reduced cost of energy and maximize the reliability. To determine the optimal size of each hybrid energy source to meet the load demand considering the Loss of Power Supply Probability (LPSP) constraint using Cultural Algorithm.Three different cases are considered in this work using Matlab simulation.Case:1 Stand-alone Hybrid Energy System, consisting of Solar PV, Wind Power System (WPS), battery storage and converters.Case:2: Grid-connected Hybrid energy system, consisting of Grid Power, Solar PV, Wind Power system (WPS), battery storage and converters. Case:3: Un-reliable Grid-connected Hybrid energy system, consisting of Grid Power, Solar PV, Wind Power system (WPS), battery storage and converters. In this case, the grid power is not available all the time.Reference Paper-1: Optimal Sizing of Solar/Wind Hybrid Off-Grid Microgrids Using an Enhanced Genetic AlgorithmAuthor’s Name: Abdrahamane Traore, Hatem Elgothamy and, Mohamed A. ZohdySource: Journal of Power and Energy EngineeringYear:2018Reference Paper-2: Modeling and Optimum Capacity Allocation of Micro-Grids Considering Economy and ReliabilityAuthor’s Name: M. S. Okundamiya, J. O. Emagbetere, and E. A. OgujorSource: Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer EngineeringYear:2018
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Paragraph on Importance of Renewable Energy - ImportantIndia.com Paragraph on Importance of Renewable Energy Category: Essays and Paragraphs , Power and Energy On February 13, 2017 By Teamwork Renewable energy refers to energy obtained from sources that are naturally replenished. Renewable Energy free essay sample - New York Essays Renewable energy is an environmental concern because it affects environment. It affect the environment by give some benefits to it. The benefits are it keeps the environment clean because the renewable sources produce little or no pollutions. Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources Essay Example Renewable energy sources may rely on irregular or less frequent conditions, such as sunlight to generate solar power or wind to turn turbines. One long-term concern with the use of nonrenewable resources is their lack of sustainability. Why is renewable energy important?
Renewable resources essay - Academic Writing Help – An…
Some of the important renewable energy sources can be listed in two main categories. The first system which may be called 'Grid Connected System may involve wind power, small hydro power, Biomass/cogeneration power, urban and industrial waste power and solar photovoltaic power. Short Paragraph on Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources Here is your short paragraph on Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources! Natural resources are the components of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere which are useful and necessary for life. These include energy, air, water, mineral, plants, animals and soil. What is Renewable Energy? Sources of Renewable Energy. Renewable energy resources are always available to be tapped, and will not run out. This is why some people call it Green Energy. TIP Approximately 20% of electricity produced globally in 2009 came from renewable sources. Out of this, hydro-power accounted for about 16%. In 2012, 9% of the energy consumed in the USA came from renewable sources. Introduction to renewable energy | Types of renewable energy Renewable Energy Resources by John Twidell and Tony Weir. Routledge, 2015. A comprehensive guide to all the different kinds of renewable energy with lots of suggestions for further reading. Renewable Energy by Godfrey Boyle. OUP, 2012. A good, solid text for undergraduates and others studying energy topics. Practical guides
Energy resources, Growing energy needs, Renewable and non ...
11 Different Sources of Alternative Energy | Renewable ... In contrast to biomass energy sources, biofuels make use of animal and plant life to create energy. In essence they are fuels that can be obtained from some form of organic matter. They are renewable in cases where plants are used , as these can be regrown on a yearly basis. Alternative energy sources - Conclusion - Energy facts Alternative energy sources - Conclusion As you can see there are number of different alternative energy sources that are more than capable to replace currently dominant fossil fuels, of course given enough money for their further development.
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES - Essay Example
Electricity, which is a secondary source, is neither nonrenewable nor renewable. Renewable energy is sources that are continuously being replaced (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). The only source of renewable energy this household is using is solar. Renewable energy sources assist in the preservation of natural resources individuals presently consume ... renewable energy sources, Essay Writing Sample
Types of Renewable Energy
Renewable resource - Simple English Wikipedia, the free ... A renewable resource is a resource which can be used repeatedly and replaced naturally. Renewable energy almost never runs out, for example: solar energy is powered by heat from the sun and never runs out. Examples include oxygen, fresh water, solar energy and biomass. New resources may include goods or commodities such as paper and leather. Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Technologies ... All energy sources have some impact on our environment. Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—do substantially more harm than renewable energy sources by most measures, including air and water pollution, damage to public health, wildlife and habitat loss, water use, land use, and global warming emissions.
FREE A Call for Renewable Energy Sources Essay Oil, gas, coal and nuclear fuels are all sources of non-renewable energy. These sources are used in everyday life to produce the energy that powers our machines and anything else that requires fuel consumption for our personal use. Research paper on renewable energy sources pdf Nov 30 scientific american literature on renewable energy essay topics will make the discussion paper on the main source. Mwh of energy policy', essex papers in the quantity of supporting the breadth,. Renewable Energy Essays - ManyEssays.com Essay text: The first principal I found was #2 The Cost of Something is What You Give Up To Get It. The cost of using renewable energy is more expensive than fossil-fuel energy. What is Renewable Energy? Types of Renewable Energy Sources ...
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Fuel cells are devices converting the chemical energy into the electrical energy and heat as result of the electrochemical reaction between gaseous fuel and a gas oxidant in flameless combustion process. Because of omission of thermo-mechanical steps that are present in any traditional energy conversion technology (e.g. gas turbine) fuel cells show increased efficiency in comparison. Compact sizes and modular scalability predestines this technology for distributed energy generation including but not limited to renewable energy sources (e.g. wind, solar). Fuel cells technology also addresses other very important part of distributed renewable energy generation. Because of the unreliable energy production rates and the usual for renewable energy sources mismatch between energy supply and demand, some sort of energy storage is needed to store surplus of produced energy and release it when needed. Reversible fuel cells, that generate hydrogen from available surplus of energy and then generate energy from that stored fuel when needed are cheaper and more ecologically friendly alternative to usually used batteries. This technology is still under development, including research at IEn OC CEREL. In the early development of reversible fuel cells, new types of nickel oxide and porosity forming carbon was evaluated for this task. This work compares the electrical and mechanical parameters of SOFC manufactured with JT Backer NiO and Carbon Polska carbon with cells made from other commercially available materials. Based on evaluated quality, purity, availability and cost, following materials were selected for comparison: Novamet NiO, 99,9 % pure, grain size 1-2 µm and Aldrich carbon with parameters similar to graphite used previously. Preliminary tests show clear changes in the microstructural, mechanical and electrical parameters.
1st degree connections
Frontiers in Energy Research 2017 (https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2017.00010)
Urban energy system planning (UESP) is a topic of growing concern for cities in deregulated energy markets, which plan to decrease energy demand, reduce their dependency on fossil fuels, and increase the share of renewable energy sources. UESP being ...
1st degree connections
Numeracy 2016 (https://doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.9.2.9)
David MacKay. Sustainable Energy: Without the hot air. (Cambridge, England: UIT Cambridge Ltd., 2009). 384 pp. ISBN 978-0954452933 (also available as a free e-book). Physicist David MacKay transforms what has historically been a debate fraught wit...
1st degree connections
Energetic Communities: Planning support for sustainable energy transition in small- and medium-sized communities
A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment 2016 (https://doi.org/10.7480/abe.2016.5)
The necessity for transition in the energy sector is beyond dispute and high on the political agendas. Climate change, the depletion of fossil fuels and the vulnerability of economies to resource speculation and unreliable political systems in the pr...
3rd degree connections
Resources 2016 (https://doi.org/10.3390/resources5030024)
The increasing rate of energy consumption, the depletion of conventional energy sources and the environmental degradation caused has led to thorough research on Renewable Energy Sources (RES), which have been seen as a sustainable solution to climati...
1st degree connections
International Journal of Electrochemistry 2017 (https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6453420)
Environmental concerns and energy security uncertainties associated with fossil fuels have driven the world to shift to renewable energy sources. However, most renewable energy sources with exception of hydropower are intermittent in nature and thus ...
1st degree connections
Control Scheme of a Concentration Photovoltaic Plant with a Hybrid Energy Storage System Connected to the Grid
Energies 2018 (https://doi.org/10.3390/en11020301)
In the last few decades, renewable energy sources (RESs) have been integrated into the electrical grid in order to curb the deficiency of energy owing to, among other factors, the depletion of fossil fuels and the increasing awareness of climate chan...
Energies 2016 (https://doi.org/10.3390/en9121054)
Supplying power to remote areas may be a challenge, even for those communities already connected to the main grid. Power is often transmitted from long distances, under adverse weather conditions, and with aged equipment. As a rule, modernizing grid ...
Adaptive Procurement Guidelines for Automatic Selection of Renewable Forest Energy Sources within a Sustainable Energy Production System
Energies 2016 (https://doi.org/10.3390/en9030155)
An automatic forest-stand selection method was developed that integrates the procurement of profitable energy sources within a sustainable energy production system. We tested the method using a forest harvester simulator. We found that site-specific ...
Journal of Process Management. New Technologies 2017 (https://doi.org/10.5937/jouproman5-12730)
In terms of ensuring national security and the security of energy supply and energy sources, such as liquid fuels and gas, as well as energy independence from energy imports and energy, the focus of our strategy to shift towards renewable energy...
Economic and Environmental Study of Wineries Powered by Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems in Spain
Energies 2017 (https://doi.org/10.3390/en10020222)
This research developed a system that can make factories more independent from the grid. The system enhances efficiency since factory operation is powered by the renewable energy generated during the production process. Winemaking is a key sector tha...
Energies 2017 (https://doi.org/10.3390/en10070957)
“Linking the power and transport sectors—Part 1” describes the general principle of “sector coupling” (SC), develops a working definition intended of the concept to be of utility to the international scientific community, contains a literature review...
Energies 2018 (https://doi.org/10.3390/en11030650)
Power Grids face significant variability in their operation, especially where there are high proportions of non-programmable renewable energy sources constituting the electricity mix. An accurate and up-to-date knowledge of operational data is essent...
Evaluation of Excess Heat Utilization in District Heating Systems by Implementing Levelized Cost of Excess Heat
Energies 2018 (https://doi.org/10.3390/en11030575)
District heating plays a key role in achieving high primary energy savings and the reduction of the overall environmental impact of the energy sector. This was recently recognized by the European Commission, which emphasizes the importance of these s...
3rd degree connections
Energies 2016 (https://doi.org/10.3390/en9120990)
Renewable energy sources are vital to achieving Europe’s 2030 energy transition goals. Technological innovation, driven by public expenditures on research and development, is a major driver for this change. Thus, an extensive dataset on these expendi...
1st degree connections
Development of an operation strategy for hydrogen production using solar PV energy based on fluid dynamic aspects
Open Engineering 2017 (https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2017-0020)
Alkaline water electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources is one of the most promising strategies for environmentally friendly hydrogen production. However, wind and solar energy sources are highly dependent on weather conditions. As a result, ...
Assessing Energy Efficiency of Compression Heat Pumps in Drying Processes when Zeotropic Hydrocarbon Mixtures are Used as Working Agents
MATEC Web of Conferences 2016 (https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/20167302015)
Presents the results of studies of innovative materials in the field of renewable energy.The paper proposes a design and a formula for assessing energy efficiency of the heat pump air dryer, which uses zeotropic hydrocarbon mixtures of saturated hydr...
Tehnika 2017 (https://doi.org/10.5937/tehnika1701061T)
Sustainable development, energy efficiency, renewable energy and environmental protection are the most pressing questions at the beginning of a new, 21st, century. The most important role of renewable energy in reducing greenhouse gases, increasing e...
0th degree connections
Sustainability 2017 (https://doi.org/10.3390/su9020276)
Electrifying transportation is a promising approach to alleviate climate change issues arising from increased emissions. This study examines a system for the production of hydrogen using renewable energy sources as well as its use in buses. The elect...
1st degree connections
Sustainability 2016 (https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080702)
The basis for implementing demands for a green city is the use of, among other things, innovative “clean” technologies. However, it is mostly and directly connected to the increased use of electric energy. Green transport is an appropriate example of...
1st degree connections
Techno-economic analysis of stand-alone photovoltaic/wind/battery/hydrogen systems for very small-scale applications
Thermal Science 2016 (https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI150308195S)
The paper presents the results of a technical and economic analysis of three stand-alone hybrid power systems based on renewable energy sources which supply a specific group of low-power consumers. This particular case includes measuring sen...
1st degree connections
Optimal Operation of Micro-grids Considering the Uncertainties of Demand and Renewable Energy Resources Generation
International Journal of Renewable Energy Development 2016 (https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.5.3.233-248)
Nowadays, due to technical and economic reasons, the distributed generation (DG) units are widely connected to the low and medium voltage network and created a new structure called micro-grid. Renewable energies (especially wind and solar) based DGs ...
1st degree connections
Journal of Energy 2016 (https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/5837154)
The study analyzes the economics of renewable energy sources into electricity generation in Tanzania. Business as usual (BAU) scenario and renewable energy (RE) scenario which enforce a mandatory penetration of renewable energy sources shares into el...
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The Black Swan Blog posts have covered a wide variety of topics related to renewable energy. Many of those posts have focused on the need to develop reliable and affordable energy storage options so that wind and solar power generation can be time-shifted to match demand. No such energy storage technology is viable today but I am convinced that a number of technologies will become mainstream within 20-30 years – possibly more quickly than that.
Without in any way minimizing the challenges that lay ahead with energy storage (which I think should get vastly more R&D funding than is the case today) I thought it would be interesting to imagine what the world would be like when electricity is being generated primarily from renewable sources.
Renewables, whether they be always available such as hydro, hydro-kinetics, or geothermal, or whether they need support in the form of energy storage (wind and solar) all have very low long-term operating costs. Because they do not require any input fuel the only ongoing costs are operations and maintenance which are, in most cases, quite low. So what would be the impact of abundant and cheap electricity that has minimal negative environmental impacts?
Food Production:
About half of the world’s population live north of 27 degrees latitude. That means that there are a lot of people living in areas where crops cannot grow for 1/3 of the year or more. As a result many large population centers are completely dependent upon agricultural production from areas farther south.
The transportation of these agricultural products requires large amounts of energy and inevitably results in a great deal of spoilage. In a world where electricity is abundant and inexpensive there would likely be a significant shift of food production to greenhouses in more northern areas. The result would be fresher produce and lower carbon emissions from the transportation sector.
Water through Desalination
Throughout human history there have been areas of the world experiencing drought. From the dust-bowels of the 1930’s in North America to the more recent dry spells in Australia and California a lack of fresh water can severely reduce food production as well as causing a variety of other problems.
Because transportation and trade via ocean-going vessels has been important to human settlements for millenia many large cities are located on the coastline. For those populations desalination would provide all the fresh water needed. Although such plants have been deployed quite extensively, notably in the Middle East, the cost of energy required for these plants has been a significant deterrent. It should be noted that more than 1% of the world’s daily oil production is burnt in the Middle East to desalinate sea water. In a world where electricity is abundant and inexpensive desalination would become a viable option everywhere.
Areas such as North Africa could possibly be transformed to conditions similar to those experienced during the last “Green Sahara” period which ended about 5,500 years ago. The result would be greater self-sufficiency and improved living conditions for the millions of people suffering through the repeated droughts that have afflicted Sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade.
The Al Khafji Solar-powered desalination plant in Saudi Arabia may be a “postcard from the future”. Using the power of the intense solar radiation common in the area this plant will replace the burning of oil to produce 60,000 cubic metres of water a day.
Inexpensive electricity could be used to power vastly expanded mass transit systems as well as the factories that will manufacture the trolleys and trains that will be used in those systems. Inexpensive electricity will reduce the costs of heating and cooling homes and offices with the result that families and businesses will have more disposable income. It is a fact that inexpensive electricity will transform human society in ways as significant and unimaginable as any technological innovation that has been experienced to date.
And that does raise a concern.
On ancient maps and globes uncharted territory was annotated with warnings such as “here be dragons” or “here be lions”, the intention being to discourage potential explorers or at least advise them to be well armed! A world of abundant and inexpensive energy may also have dragons that we need to guard against. As far as I am concerned the largest and most deadly of these would be the concentration of ownership of this energy by organizations that were not acting in the public good.
In most jurisdictions in the world electricity production is either publicly owned or managed by organizations that are monitored and controlled by public utility commissions or similar bodies. This system, although it suffers from inertia in some cases, has by and large worked quite effectively. As long as the new renewable energy sources continue to be part of this type of structure there is no real danger.
Considering all the positive consequences that could be realized in a world fueled by renewable energy it is reasonable to try and map out the path to get us to that blissful state as quickly as possible.
In my postings here at the Black Swan Blog I have identified numerous technologies that can be used today to store energy. I have also identified the problems associated with each of them. The bottom line, which few green energy advocates are honest enough to admit, is that energy storage on the scale required to transition to 100% wind and solar is not even close to being a reality. Euan Mearns has conducted detailed technical analyses on several real world scenarios. His summary post is a worthwhile read.
As daunting as the technical challenges are the real problem with energy storage is political will and funding. Politicians, with the best of intentions, continue to chase energy mirages such as roof-top solar and wind without storage under the entirely false theory that those approaches can achieve the desired result – a world powered by renewable energy sources.
They cannot.
The intermittent and unpredictable nature of those sources causes escalating problems when implemented to any significant degree. Denmark, Germany, and Hawaii represent well documented case studies that prove without any doubt that every step forward in the development of renewables increases the difficulty of taking the next step.
Having said that, one or more viable and economical energy storage systems would make all the problems go away. A large portion of the solar energy received at mid-day could be shifted to the evening and night. The huge variability of wind energy could be reshaped to better match demand curves. Regulation of electricity flowing into regional grids would mean that costly upgrades would not be necessary.
But in today’s world it is impossible to make a business case for a utility-scale energy storage solution.
In almost every jurisdiction there is little or no support for energy storage solutions. Instead, energy storage developers are faced with having to purchase electricity from local utilities, including paying a grid transmission fee, then store the electricity using some hugely expensive and largely unproven technology, then try and resell the electricity back into the grid in competition with other sources including cheap coal and natural gas-fired plants. Just as in the 1951 cartoon “Cheese Chasers” this scenario just don’t add up!.
Substantially increased R&D funding and operational support for energy storage are essential. A Feed-In-Tarriff for energy retrieved from storage should be provided.
In the short term, as energy storage solutions mature, more support should be provided for existing dispatchable energy sources such as geothermal and hydro-kinetics. These are sources that, despite very compelling attributes, also continue to suffer from a lack of R&D funding and direct financial support.
A sustainable energy future is possible with all the positive benefits that come with it. We just need to want it badly enough to make the best investments possible to achieve the desired result. There are more ideas discussed in my Sustainable Energy Manifesto.
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# Distributed generation
Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to as distributed energy resources (DER).
Conventional power stations, such as coal-fired, gas, and nuclear powered plants, as well as hydroelectric dams and large-scale solar power stations, are centralized and often require electric energy to be transmitted over long distances. By contrast, DER systems are decentralized, modular, and more flexible technologies that are located close to the load they serve, albeit having capacities of only 10 megawatts (MW) or less. These systems can comprise multiple generation and storage components; in this instance, they are referred to as hybrid power systems.
DER systems typically use renewable energy sources, including small hydro, biomass, biogas, solar power, wind power, and geothermal power, and increasingly play an important role for the electric power distribution system. A grid-connected device for electricity storage can also be classified as a DER system and is often called a distributed energy storage system (DESS). By means of an interface, DER systems can be managed and coordinated within a smart grid. Distributed generation and storage enables the collection of energy from many sources and may lower environmental impacts and improve the security of supply.
One of the major issues with the integration of the DER such as solar power, wind power, etc. is the uncertain nature of such electricity resources. This uncertainty can cause a few problems in the distribution system: (i) it makes the supply-demand relationships extremely complex, and requires complicated optimization tools to balance the network, and (ii) it puts higher pressure on the transmission network, and (iii) it may cause reverse power flow from the distribution system to transmission system.
Microgrids are modern, localized, small-scale grids, contrary to the traditional, centralized electricity grid (macrogrid). Microgrids can disconnect from the centralized grid and operate autonomously, strengthen grid resilience, and help mitigate grid disturbances. They are typically low-voltage AC grids, often use diesel generators, and are installed by the community they serve. Microgrids increasingly employ a mixture of different distributed energy resources, such as solar hybrid power systems, which significantly reduce the amount of carbon emitted.
## Overview
Historically, central plants have been an integral part of the electric grid, in which large generating facilities are specifically located either close to resources or otherwise located far from populated load centers. These, in turn, supply the traditional transmission and distribution (T&D) grid that distributes bulk power to load centers and from there to consumers. These were developed when the costs of transporting fuel and integrating generating technologies into populated areas far exceeded the cost of developing T&D facilities and tariffs. Central plants are usually designed to take advantage of available economies of scale in a site-specific manner, and are built as "one-off," custom projects.
These economies of scale began to fail in the late 1960s and, by the start of the 21st century, Central Plants could arguably no longer deliver competitively cheap and reliable electricity to more remote customers through the grid, because the plants had come to cost less than the grid and had become so reliable that nearly all power failures originated in the grid. Thus, the grid had become the main driver of remote customers’ power costs and power quality problems, which became more acute as digital equipment required extremely reliable electricity. Efficiency gains no longer come from increasing generating capacity, but from smaller units located closer to sites of demand.
For example, coal power plants are built away from cities to prevent their heavy air pollution from affecting the populace. In addition, such plants are often built near collieries to minimize the cost of transporting coal. Hydroelectric plants are by their nature limited to operating at sites with sufficient water flow.
Low pollution is a crucial advantage of combined cycle plants that burn natural gas. The low pollution permits the plants to be near enough to a city to provide district heating and cooling.
Distributed energy resources are mass-produced, small, and less site-specific. Their development arose out of:
concerns over perceived externalized costs of central plant generation, particularly environmental concerns; the increasing age, deterioration, and capacity constraints upon T&D for bulk power; the increasing relative economy of mass production of smaller appliances over heavy manufacturing of larger units and on-site construction; Along with higher relative prices for energy, higher overall complexity and total costs for regulatory oversight, tariff administration, and metering and billing.
Capital markets have come to realize that right-sized resources, for individual customers, distribution substations, or microgrids, are able to offer important but little-known economic advantages over central plants. Smaller units offered greater economies from mass-production than big ones could gain through unit size. These increased value—due to improvements in financial risk, engineering flexibility, security, and environmental quality—of these resources can often more than offset their apparent cost disadvantages. Distributed generation (DG), vis-à-vis central plants, must be justified on a life-cycle basis. Unfortunately, many of the direct, and virtually all of the indirect, benefits of DG are not captured within traditional utility cash-flow accounting.
While the levelized cost of DG is typically more expensive than conventional, centralized sources on a kilowatt-hour basis, this does not consider negative aspects of conventional fuels. The additional premium for DG is rapidly declining as demand increases and technology progresses, and sufficient and reliable demand may bring economies of scale, innovation, competition, and more flexible financing, that could make DG clean energy part of a more diversified future.
DG reduces the amount of energy lost in transmitting electricity because the electricity is generated very near where it is used, perhaps even in the same building. This also reduces the size and number of power lines that must be constructed.
Typical DER systems in a feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme have low maintenance, low pollution and high efficiencies. In the past, these traits required dedicated operating engineers and large complex plants to reduce pollution. However, modern embedded systems can provide these traits with automated operation and renewable energy, such as solar, wind and geothermal. This reduces the size of power plant that can show a profit.
### Grid parity
Grid parity occurs when an alternative energy source can generate electricity at a levelized cost (LCOE) that is less than or equal to the end consumer's retail price. Reaching grid parity is considered to be the point at which an energy source becomes a contender for widespread development without subsidies or government support. Since the 2010s, grid parity for solar and wind has become a reality in a growing number of markets, including Australia, several European countries, and some states in the U.S.
## Technologies
Distributed energy resource (DER) systems are small-scale power generation or storage technologies (typically in the range of 1 kW to 10,000 kW) used to provide an alternative to or an enhancement of the traditional electric power system. DER systems typically are characterized by high initial capital costs per kilowatt. DER systems also serve as storage device and are often called Distributed energy storage systems (DESS).
DER systems may include the following devices/technologies:
Combined heat power (CHP), also known as cogeneration or trigeneration Fuel cells Hybrid power systems (solar hybrid and wind hybrid systems) Micro combined heat and power (MicroCHP) Microturbines Photovoltaic systems (typically rooftop solar PV) Reciprocating engines Small wind power systems Stirling engines or a combination of the above. For example, hybrid photovoltaic, CHP and battery systems can provide full electric power for single family residences without extreme storage expenses.
### Cogeneration
Distributed cogeneration sources use steam turbines, natural gas-fired fuel cells, microturbines or reciprocating engines to turn generators. The hot exhaust is then used for space or water heating, or to drive an absorptive chiller for cooling such as air-conditioning. In addition to natural gas-based schemes, distributed energy projects can also include other renewable or low carbon fuels including biofuels, biogas, landfill gas, sewage gas, coal bed methane, syngas and associated petroleum gas.
Delta-ee consultants stated in 2013 that with 64% of global sales, the fuel cell micro combined heat and power passed the conventional systems in sales in 2012. 20.000 units were sold in Japan in 2012 overall within the Ene Farm project. With a Lifetime of around 60,000 hours for PEM fuel cell units, which shut down at night, this equates to an estimated lifetime of between ten and fifteen years. For a price of $22,600 before installation. For 2013 a state subsidy for 50,000 units is in place.
In addition, molten carbonate fuel cell and solid oxide fuel cells using natural gas, such as the ones from FuelCell Energy and the Bloom energy server, or waste-to-energy processes such as the Gate 5 Energy System are used as a distributed energy resource.
### Solar power
Photovoltaics, by far the most important solar technology for distributed generation of solar power, uses solar cells assembled into solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. It is a fast-growing technology doubling its worldwide installed capacity every couple of years. PV systems range from distributed, residential, and commercial rooftop or building integrated installations, to large, centralized utility-scale photovoltaic power stations.
The predominant PV technology is crystalline silicon, while thin-film solar cell technology accounts for about 10 percent of global photovoltaic deployment.: 18, 19 In recent years, PV technology has improved its sunlight to electricity conversion efficiency, reduced the installation cost per watt as well as its energy payback time (EPBT) and levelised cost of electricity (LCOE), and has reached grid parity in at least 19 different markets in 2014.
As most renewable energy sources and unlike coal and nuclear, solar PV is variable and non-dispatchable, but has no fuel costs, operating pollution, as well as greatly reduced mining-safety and operating-safety issues. It produces peak power around local noon each day and its capacity factor is around 20 percent.
### Wind power
Wind turbines can be distributed energy resources or they can be built at utility scale. These have low maintenance and low pollution, but distributed wind unlike utility-scale wind has much higher costs than other sources of energy. As with solar, wind energy is variable and non-dispatchable. Wind towers and generators have substantial insurable liabilities caused by high winds, but good operating safety. Distributed generation from wind hybrid power systems combines wind power with other DER systems. One such example is the integration of wind turbines into solar hybrid power systems, as wind tends to complement solar because the peak operating times for each system occur at different times of the day and year.
### Hydro power
Hydroelectricity is the most widely used form of renewable energy and its potential has already been explored to a large extent or is compromised due to issues such as environmental impacts on fisheries, and increased demand for recreational access. However, using modern 21st century technology, such as wave power, can make large amounts of new hydropower capacity available, with minor environmental impact.
Modular and scalable Next generation kinetic energy turbines can be deployed in arrays to serve the needs on a residential, commercial, industrial, municipal or even regional scale. Microhydro kinetic generators neither require dams nor impoundments, as they utilize the kinetic energy of water motion, either waves or flow. No construction is needed on the shoreline or sea bed, which minimizes environmental impacts to habitats and simplifies the permitting process. Such power generation also has minimal environmental impact and non-traditional microhydro applications can be tethered to existing construction such as docks, piers, bridge abutments, or similar structures.
### Waste-to-energy
Municipal solid waste (MSW) and natural waste, such as sewage sludge, food waste and animal manure will decompose and discharge methane-containing gas that can be collected and used as fuel in gas turbines or micro turbines to produce electricity as a distributed energy resource. Additionally, a California-based company, Gate 5 Energy Partners, Inc. has developed a process that transforms natural waste materials, such as sewage sludge, into biofuel that can be combusted to power a steam turbine that produces power. This power can be used in lieu of grid-power at the waste source (such as a treatment plant, farm or dairy).
### Energy storage
A distributed energy resource is not limited to the generation of electricity but may also include a device to store distributed energy (DE). Distributed energy storage systems (DESS) applications include several types of battery, pumped hydro, compressed air, and thermal energy storage.: 42 Access to energy storage for commercial applications is easily accessible through programs such as energy storage as a service (ESaaS).
## Integration with the grid
For reasons of reliability, distributed generation resources would be interconnected to the same transmission grid as central stations. Various technical and economic issues occur in the integration of these resources into a grid. Technical problems arise in the areas of power quality, voltage stability, harmonics, reliability, protection, and control. Behavior of protective devices on the grid must be examined for all combinations of distributed and central station generation. A large scale deployment of distributed generation may affect grid-wide functions such as frequency control and allocation of reserves. As a result, smart grid functions, virtual power plants and grid energy storage such as power to gas stations are added to the grid. Conflicts occur between utilities and resource managing organizations.
Each distributed generation resource has its own integration issues. Solar PV and wind power both have intermittent and unpredictable generation, so they create many stability issues for voltage and frequency. These voltage issues affect mechanical grid equipment, such as load tap changers, which respond too often and wear out much more quickly than utilities anticipated. Also, without any form of energy storage during times of high solar generation, companies must rapidly increase generation around the time of sunset to compensate for the loss of solar generation. This high ramp rate produces what the industry terms the duck curve that is a major concern for grid operators in the future. Storage can fix these issues if it can be implemented. Flywheels have shown to provide excellent frequency regulation. Also, flywheels are highly cyclable compared to batteries, meaning they maintain the same energy and power after a significant amount of cycles( on the order of 10,000 cycles). Short term use batteries, at a large enough scale of use, can help to flatten the duck curve and prevent generator use fluctuation and can help to maintain voltage profile. However, cost is a major limiting factor for energy storage as each technique is prohibitively expensive to produce at scale and comparatively not energy dense compared to liquid fossil fuels. Finally, another necessary method of aiding in integration of photovoltaics for proper distributed generation is in the use of intelligent hybrid inverters. Intelligent hybrid inverters store energy when there is more energy production than consumption. When consumption is high, these inverters provide power relieving the distribution system.
Another approach does not demand grid integration: stand alone hybrid systems.
## Mitigating Voltage and Frequency Issues of DG integration
There have been some efforts to mitigate voltage and frequency issues due to increased implementation of DG. Most notably, IEEE 1547 sets the standard for interconnection and interoperability of distributed energy resources. IEEE 1547 sets specific curves signaling when to clear a fault as a function of the time after the disturbance and the magnitude of the voltage irregularity or frequency irregularity. Voltage issues also give legacy equipment the opportunity to perform new operations. Notably, inverters can regulate the voltage output of DGs. Changing inverter impedances can change voltage fluctuations of DG, meaning inverters have the ability to control DG voltage output. To reduce the effect of DG integration on mechanical grid equipment, transformers and load tap changers have the potential to implement specific tap operation vs. voltage operation curves mitigating the effect of voltage irregularities due to DG. That is, load tap changers respond to voltage fluctuations that last for a longer period than voltage fluctuations created from DG equipment.
## Stand alone hybrid systems
It is now possible to combine technologies such as photovoltaics, batteries and cogen to make stand alone distributed generation systems.
Recent work has shown that such systems have a low levelized cost of electricity.
Many authors now think that these technologies may enable a mass-scale grid defection because consumers can produce electricity using off grid systems primarily made up of solar photovoltaic technology. For example, the Rocky Mountain Institute has proposed that there may wide scale grid defection. This is backed up by studies in the Midwest.
## Cost factors
Cogenerators are also more expensive per watt than central generators. They find favor because most buildings already burn fuels, and the cogeneration can extract more value from the fuel . Local production has no electricity transmission losses on long distance power lines or energy losses from the Joule effect in transformers where in general 8-15% of the energy is lost (see also cost of electricity by source).
Some larger installations utilize combined cycle generation. Usually this consists of a gas turbine whose exhaust boils water for a steam turbine in a Rankine cycle. The condenser of the steam cycle provides the heat for space heating or an absorptive chiller. Combined cycle plants with cogeneration have the highest known thermal efficiencies, often exceeding 85%.
In countries with high pressure gas distribution, small turbines can be used to bring the gas pressure to domestic levels whilst extracting useful energy. If the UK were to implement this countrywide an additional 2-4 GWe would become available. (Note that the energy is already being generated elsewhere to provide the high initial gas pressure - this method simply distributes the energy via a different route.)
## Microgrid
A microgrid is a localized grouping of electricity generation, energy storage, and loads that normally operates connected to a traditional centralized grid (macrogrid). This single point of common coupling with the macrogrid can be disconnected. The microgrid can then function autonomously. Generation and loads in a microgrid are usually interconnected at low voltage and it can operate in DC, AC, or the combination of both. From the point of view of the grid operator, a connected microgrid can be controlled as if it were one entity.
Microgrid generation resources can include stationary batteries, fuel cells, solar, wind, or other energy sources. The multiple dispersed generation sources and ability to isolate the microgrid from a larger network would provide highly reliable electric power. Produced heat from generation sources such as microturbines could be used for local process heating or space heating, allowing flexible trade off between the needs for heat and electric power.
Micro-grids were proposed in the wake of the July 2012 India blackout:
Small micro-grids covering 30–50 km radius Small power stations of 5–10 MW to serve the micro-grids Generate power locally to reduce dependence on long distance transmission lines and cut transmission losses.
Micro-grids have seen implementation in a number of communities over the world. For example, Tesla has implemented a solar micro-grid in the Samoan island of Ta'u, powering the entire island with solar energy. This localized production system has helped save over 380 cubic metres (100,000 US gal) of diesel fuel. It is also able to sustain the island for three whole days if the sun were not to shine at all during that period. This is a great example of how micro-grid systems can be implemented in communities to encourage renewable resource usage and localized production.
To plan and install Microgrids correctly, engineering modelling is needed. Multiple simulation tools and optimization tools exist to model the economic and electric effects of Microgrids. A widely used economic optimization tool is the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Another frequently used commercial economic modelling tool is Homer Energy, originally designed by the National Renewable Laboratory. There are also some power flow and electrical design tools guiding the Microgrid developers. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory designed the public available GridLAB-D tool and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) designed OpenDSS to simulate the distribution system (for Microgrids). A professional integrated DER-CAM and OpenDSS version is available via BankableEnergy. A European tool that can be used for electrical, cooling, heating, and process heat demand simulation is EnergyPLAN from the Aalborg University, Denmark.
## Communication in DER systems
IEC 61850-7-420 is published by IEC TC 57: Power systems management and associated information exchange. It is one of the IEC 61850 standards, some of which are core Standards required for implementing smart grids. It uses communication services mapped to MMS as per IEC 61850-8-1 standard. OPC is also used for the communication between different entities of DER system. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE 2030.7 microgrid controller standard. That concept relies on 4 blocks: a) Device Level control (e.g. Voltage and Frequency Control), b) Local Area Control (e.g. data communication), c) Supervisory (software) controller (e.g. forward looking dispatch optimization of generation and load resources), and d) Grid Layer (e.g. communication with utility). A wide variety of complex control algorithms exist, making it difficult for small and residential Distributed Energy Resource (DER) users to implement energy management and control systems. Especially, communication upgrades and data information systems can make it expensive. Thus, some projects try to simplify the control of DER via off-the shelf products and make it usable for the mainstream (e.g. using a Raspberry Pi).
## Legal requirements for distributed generation
In 2010 Colorado enacted a law requiring that by 2020 that 3% of the power generated in Colorado utilize distributed generation of some sort.
On 11 October 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill, SB 338, that makes utility companies plan "carbon-free alternatives to gas generation" in order to meet peak demand. The law requires utilities to evaluate issues such as energy storage, efficiency, and distributed energy resources.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_generation
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This last article of our energy series focuses on the need to upgrade America’s electric power grid.
Fossil fuels are non-renewable, that is they draw on finite resources that are becoming increasingly expensive as they make their way toward eventual depletion. In contrast, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, ocean, biomass, hydro, etc., can be replenished at a generally predicable rate. To accommodate our necessary transition toward higher penetration levels of these types of variable generation, the electric power grid must be transformed.
Building a smarter and stronger electrical energy infrastructure requires advancement in three areas: 1) transforming the network into a “smart grid,” 2) expanding the transmission system and, 3) developing large-scale electricity storage systems. This is the fourth recommendation by the IEEE-USA national energy policy committee.
Adding intelligence such as sensors, advanced communications and coordinated control systems, and computers to our electrical grid infrastructure can substantially improve efficiency and reliability through enhanced situational awareness, reduced outages, and improved response to disturbances. It also enables flexible electricity pricing that will allow consumers to monitor and control their own energy usage and costs.
Much of the renewable generation potential is located in areas remote from population centers and which are not connected to our bulk power transmission infrastructure. We must invest in additional transmission capacity to link these renewable generating sources with homes and businesses as well as to facilitate our transition from oil-based to electricity-based transportation.
Generation supply variability is reduced through aggregation and diversity. Interconnecting a large and geographically dispersed number of intermittent generating sources creates large “energy-balancing’’ areas. These energy-balancing areas smooth out power supply variability the same way a dispersed portfolio of stocks and bonds smoothes out investment returns. (See graphic) This can be a very effective way to increase the penetration of renewable energy into the grid while also reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gases.
Germany, for example, has achieved over 20 percent penetration of renewables and plans to achieve 35 to 40 percent renewable energy penetration by 2020.
Unlike many other types of energy resources, electricity is generated and consumed instantly. If intermittent generating resources are to reach their full potential in contributing to our nation’s power supply requirements we must also incorporate large scale energy storage. This will allow renewable energy to be transformed into other forms of energy, stored and then later converted back to electricity when needed. This storage system can act as a load leveler, to facilitate more efficient grid utilization, and it can be used in responding to system disturbances. Michigan’s Ludington pumped storage facility is a prime example of this type of asset.
As Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV’s) become a significant part of our transportation system they may also be utilized for energy storage. Used EV batteries are expected to have more than 80 percent of their useful life remaining even though they may no longer be suited for transportation purposes. These recycled batteries may be aggregated in nodes located throughout the grid and used to help supply some of this energy storage. In the future, it may even be possible to supply energy from parked BEV’s that are plugged-in to smart charging stations.
Jim MacInnes worked as a power engineer for the company that designed and construction managed the Ludington Pumped Storage facility, in addition to coal-fired and nuclear power plants. He is a licensed professional engineer in Michigan, a member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society and the International Society for Ecological Economics. He served on the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Council and was named as a Michigan Green Leader by the Detroit Free Press. He holds BSEE and MBA degrees from the University of California.
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https://www.manisteenews.com/columns/article/MACINNES-Building-a-smarter-and-stronger-14221792.php
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Traffic congestion, dominated by single-occupancy vehicles, reflects not only transportation system inefficiency and negative externalities, but also a sociological state of human isolation. Advances in information and communication technology are enabling the growth of real-time ridesharing to improve system efficiency. While ridesharing algorithms optimize passenger matching based on efficiency criteria (maximum number of paired trips, minimum total vehicle-time or vehicle-distance traveled), they do not explicitly consider passengers' preference for each other as the matching objective. We propose a preference-based passenger matching model, formulating ridesharing as a maximum stable matching problem. We illustrate the model by pairing 301,430 taxi trips in Manhattan in two scenarios: one considering 1,000 randomly generated preference orders, and the other considering five sets of group-based preference orders. In both scenarios, compared with efficiency-based matching models, preference-based matching improves the average ranking of paired fellow passenger to the near-top position of people's preference orders with only a small efficiency loss at the individual level, and a moderate loss at the aggregate level. The near-top-ranking results fall in a narrow range even with the random variance of passenger preference as inputs.
Cite as: Zhang, Hongmou, and Jinhua Zhao. 2018. “Mobility Sharing as a Preference Matching Problem.” IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
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https://mobility.mit.edu/publications/9999/mobility-sharing-preference-matching-problem
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Posts marked as Determining Fault After an Accident:
Whether you're a techie or not, you probably know that artificial intelligence (AI) is likely the wave of the future. From self-driving vehicles to surgeries performed by machines and robots in the workplace, AI has been heavily invested in, and the progress is astounding. In fact, many believe that in the future, robots will be everywhere,...
The month of September means many things: the end of summer, the much-welcomed cooler weather, and of course, back-to-school season. Back to school doesn't just mean busier schedules for the majority of families, nights filled with homework, and transportation between after-school activities and home, but also more children and traffic on...
On March 18, 2018, a self-driving car owned and operated by Uber struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona. The incident is the first of its kind, and the first reported death of a pedestrian caused by an autonomous vehicle. Not only is the incident tragic, but it also raises a number of questions about why the accident occurred and the...
Driverless cars are expected to hit the roads and be available for consumer purchase in just a few years' time, with prototypes and test vehicles already being driven throughout the country. As driverless cars, or autonomous vehicles (AVs) have advanced, so have more questions about ethics, legality, and liability surfaced. Indeed, there...
Ridesharing is an alternative to driving to work alone. It can include carpooling, vanpooling, walking, riding your bike, or public transit. The obvious benefit to people who rideshare is that it saves in gasoline. Certain companies sponsor ridesharing or give employee incentives to carpool. There are even businesses that work to connect people...
In general, all car accidents have a discernible cause, whether the result of human actions, negligence, or even factors of nature. For example, a car accident may be the result of driver distraction, which the federal government reports led to 421,000 injuries in 2011 alone. Or, a wreck may be caused by a driver who is intoxicated by alcohol or...
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https://www.andersonhemmat.com/colorado-personal-injury-blog/tags/determining-fault-after-an-accident
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Information about carpooling in Albuquerque.
As an alternative to using a single-occupancy vehicle, carpooling involves two to five commuters sharing an employee-owned vehicle.
The more people in a carpool, the greater the savings.
Register to Carpool
It is fast, easy and convenient. The more people who sign up, the better the chance for a match.
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https://www.cabq.gov/getting-around-abq/transportation-options/carpooling/carpooling
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The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are still having an impact on the world’s economy, and things are looking bleak and uncertain. Rising inflation and issues regarding an economic recovery are being exacerbated by this. It has increased the possibility of stagflation, which might have negative effects on both middle- and low-income economies. Oil demand fell precipitously in 2020 due to the pandemic and lockdowns. Caused a significant decline in economic activity, which caused the price to drop below zero for the first time in history.
Following a solid economic rebound following the lockdowns in 2021, oil prices have since increased significantly. End of February 2022 saw Russia invade Ukraine, shattering the already shaky energy sector. As prices for all goods and services have reached decades-high levels, energy costs are a big factor.
Being an oil-importing nation, Pakistan’s economy has also been impacted by the global rise in fuel prices, which has compelled the government to drastically raise fuel prices for consumers in order to satisfy the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) requirements for the revival of the loan program Pakistan signed with the organization to stabilize the economy.
Widespread public criticism was leveled at the unusual and significant increase in fuel costs and energy tariffs since it will only make people’s miseries, which are already being exacerbated by galloping inflation, much worse.
The cost of basic products has increased due to growing inflation, which has already put pressure on many people’s incomes. Along with lawmakers, traders, farmers, businesspeople, and others from all walks of life raised concerns about the government action on social media, saying it would cause a new wave of inflation in the nation and make it difficult for the middle and working classes to exist.
Many people had to reconsider their travel plans and change their purchasing habits as a result of the substantial increase in fuel prices. As fuel prices increased to record levels, many Pakistani commuters who are struggling with inflation are switching to cheaper options like public transportation, buses, rickshaws, and even bicycles.
It goes without saying that the public transportation and infrastructure network in Pakistan is still very underdeveloped, which has done little to ease the burden on commuters.
The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), the representative body of Pakistan’s downstream oil industry, took a very timely step during these trying circumstances while also developing a creative solution and persuasive message.
As a social cause for the countrymen, OCAC started a campaign to encourage the culture of carpooling and ridesharing, boost savings by splitting gasoline costs with friends and coworkers, and fight the ongoing economic hardship each family is currently experiencing.
Ridesharing and carpooling have long been promoted as ways to cut costs on gasoline, ease traffic, and advance environmental sustainability.
The appealing slogan of the OCAC campaign, “The more passengers, the more savings” (Ek Gaari Zyada Sawari, Behtreen Kifayatsha’ari), is in accordance with the campaign’s goal of raising public awareness and people’s savings.
In order to spread awareness of the idea and inform a large audience about how to save money and protect the environment through carpooling/ridesharing, the group used both traditional and digital venues.
Also Read: Carpooling App Launched by Pakistani Graduate to Help in Rising Inflation
After the advertising was successful, many people quickly adopted the travel behavior, showing that people are proactively looking into new travel possibilities. The tech-enabled mass transportation firms in Pakistan may have a tone of chances as a result of this market gap.
Due to rising gasoline prices, people in industrialized nations are also changing their commute habits and utilizing carpooling and ridesharing. The desire for time and money-saving transportation has led to impressive growth in the worldwide ridesharing business over the past several years.
Azfar Rahman, a social media influencer, supported the idea given by OCAC and claimed that gasoline had become the lifeblood of our economy in his message. However, due to the abrupt changes in the global market, petrol prices have surged drastically worldwide, including in Pakistan.
To share fuel costs and save money, OCAC offered the novel advice of carpooling and ridesharing. The more people, the greater the savings, therefore I’m confident you’ll embrace the OCAC’s suggested travel pattern, then another social media influencer Anoushay Ashraf said in a video message while sitting in her car, “I hope you will accept the OCAC idea and will also tell your friends, colleagues, and family members to adopt Carpooling and save money.
Dr. Nazir Abbas Zaidi, the general secretary of OCAC, insisted in a video message that if everyone contributed the cost of only one liter of fuel, it would gradually reduce the burden of $1 on the government resources. Carpooling and ridesharing can help people save a lot of money because the more passengers, the more money can be saved.
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https://thepakistanaffairs.com/carpooling-a-hope-to-offset-soaring-fuel-costs-for-middle-class/
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