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Tecumseh Public Schools have the highest expectations for learning achievement and are committed to providing high-quality learning opportunities for each and every learner to achieve high levels of success.
In 2016, Tecumseh Board of Education adopted the Strategic Design with Exit Learner Outcomes for each of the seven Spheres of Living. The Strategic Design provides the framework for creating the ideal learning experience for all learners. Our curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices are rigorous, ensuring that our learners will be successful in life after leaving TPS. To learn more, please access the links below.
Eureka Math — also known as EngageNY — is a complete, PreK through 12 curriculum that carefully sequences the mathematical progressions into modules. Eureka Math provides educators with a comprehensive curriculum, in-depth professional development, books, and support materials.
Learning and instruction at North and South Early Learning Centers focus on building strong foundational skills by providing opportunities for learners to engage in learning at their developmental level. Learners are challenged and find success and joy in learning. Opportunities are created for creative thinking, collaboration, problem solving, and reflection.
In creating the Ideal Learning Experience, learners' individual goals, interests, and learning styles guide their learning experiences. One way this is done is through the use of Project-Based Learning (PBL).
Project-Based Learning is a research-based instructional practice that allows learners to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. By integrating content across the disciplines and taking into account learners’ interests and learning styles, facilitators will provide meaningful learning opportunities for each and every learner.
We align assessments directly to TPS learning outcomes and curriculum. We use learner assessment data consistently and effectively to understand and explain each learner’s progress, to provide a feedback loop to educators regarding learning strategies, and to help TPS educators and leaders to continuously improve learner results.
NWEA MAP Growth is a computer adaptive test created by NWEA that learners take three times per school year. The results provide facilitators with the information needed to create learning opportunities based on each learner’s developmental learning level, as well as monitor and support each learner’s academic growth over time.
The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment is a one-on-one assessment that is administered by facilitators throughout the year to determine each learner’s independent and instructional reading levels. Facilitators are able to observe learner reading behaviors, engage in comprehension conversations that go beyond retelling, and make informed decisions regarding the child’s next steps for learning and instruction.
DIBELS is a one-on-one assessment that is administered by facilitators throughout the year to measure each learner’s foundational literacy skills. This data is used to create each learner’s literacy plan of study. A DIBELS Parent Guide is available here.
Learning and instruction at Compass Learning Center focuses on continuing to build upon each learner’s foundational skills. Learners are engaged throughout the day with learning opportunities at their developmental level. Learners are challenged and find success and joy in learning.
Opportunities are created for creative thinking, collaboration, problem solving, and reflection. In creating the Ideal Learning Experience, learners individual goals, interests, and learning styles guide their learning experiences. One way this is done is through the use of Project-Based Learning (PBL).
Project-Based Learning is a research-based instructional practice that allows learners to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge.
By integrating content across the disciplines and taking into account learners’ interests and learning styles, facilitators will provide meaningful learning opportunities for each and every learner.
NWEA MAP Growth is a computer adaptive test created by NWEA that learners take three times per school year. The results provide facilitators with the information needed to deliver appropriate content for each learner and determine each learner’s academic growth over time.
The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment is a one-on-one assessment that is used as needed by facilitators throughout the year to determine each learner’s independent and instructional reading levels. Facilitators are able to observe learner reading behaviors one-on-one, engage in comprehension conversations that go beyond retelling, and make informed decisions regarding the child’s next steps for learning and instruction.
Learning and instruction at STEAM East and West Learning Centers focus on creating learning opportunities for creative thinking, collaboration, problem solving, and reflection. Through Project-Based Learning opportunities, learners are challenged and find success and joy in learning. Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a research-based instructional practice that allows learners to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. As a STEAM Learning Center, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics content are integrated into meaningful and relevant learning experiences. In creating the Ideal Learning Experience, learners individual goals, interests, and learning styles guide their learning in specially designed learner-centered environments.
Learning and instruction at Tecumseh High School focuses on providing multiple learning pathways to ensure that each learner is prepared for their future. Learners are engaged throughout the day with relevant learning experiences. In creating the Ideal Learning Experience, learners individual goals, interests, and learning styles guide their learning experiences. One way this is done is through the use of Project-Based Learning (PBL). Project-Based Learning is a research-based instructional practice that allows learners to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. By integrating content across the disciplines and taking into account learners’ interests and learning styles, educators provide meaningful learning opportunities for each and every learner.
TPS learners are provided with opportunities to experience many different trades, vocations, and careers during their time in High School.
NWEA MAP Growth is a computer adaptive test created by NWEA that 9th and 10th grade learners take three times per school year. The results provide facilitators with the information needed to deliver appropriate content for each learner and determine each learner’s academic growth over time.
Tecumseh Public Schools believe in the importance of ongoing professional development for our educators. Educators at the Early Learning Centers and Compass Learning Center have daily common planning time with their instructional team members to plan and prepare learning opportunities that meet each child at their developmental learning level. Educators throughout the district take part in monthly professional development with their building colleagues, reflecting on instructional practices for the continuous improvement for the ideal learning experience.
In order to provide specific feedback to educators on their practice, there are four Instructional Coaches who work directly with educators on a regular basis to support their work with each learner. Through co-planning and co-teaching activities, the Instructional Coaches work individually with educators on key aspects of the teaching and learning process. Through one-on-one support throughout the school year, educators have the opportunity to work with a trusted colleague, practice new skills that correlate to improved learning outcomes, and receive feedback on areas for growth. This support is instrumental in our work at Tecumseh Public Schools--ensuring that each child has learning opportunities every day that support their growth as a learner.
Everyone at TPS plays an integral role in supporting our learners. TPS Support Staff, including Instructional Assistants, Noon Hour Supervisors and Security Personnel, receive monthly training on specific topics that support learning and development. TPS educators take their role as models for youth seriously and demonstrate their commitment to their safety and learning continuously.
Facilitators will continue to use best instructional practices.
Faculty will monitor implementation of instructional framework.
Faculty will participate in data meetings three times per year.
Faculty will set goals to support a growth mindset.
Faculty and parents will provide feedback through surveys three times per year.
Parents will be engaged in the learning process.
Our community will support learning opportunities.
Learners will participate in perception surveys three times per year.
Learners will set goals and monitor own learning including academic and 21st century skills.
Learners will communicate the “why” throughout each unit of study.
Learners will articulate their learning to authentic audiences.
Learners will show up every day, feel safe, stay in school, be engaged in learning and want to come back tomorrow.
All members of the school community will work collaboratively on meaningful tasks.
Learner work will be displayed.
Everyone in the building will demonstrate and understand building expectations.
Recognition of successes will occur throughout the school year.
Connections of and for learning are visible. | https://www.tps.k12.mi.us/departments/curriculum-instruction-assessment |
My name is Richard Samir, son of a baker and pastry chef, cradled from an early age by the smell of hot bread, Viennese pastries and other sweet treats. Thus, it is only natural that even as a cook, pastry is ingrained in my genes and brings back great memories. That's why I put a lot of attention into it and enjoy it extremely much. I therefore suggest you to accompany me in sweet workshops to discover techniques, recipes and pastry traditions. The objective is to give a Latin flavour to traditional recipes or the other way round, by enhancing typical Latin American desserts with a French accent. We will start with a Pavlova with mango “flowers” (with a floral shape) and pear in Morada syrup (a drink made from Peruvian black corn, pineapple and cinnamon). Then, we will make Argentinean Alfajoles with dulce de leche in Breton shortbread. Finally, it will be a question of recreating the famous dulce de leche with its decorative tiles. | https://www.expedia.co.jp/things-to-do/fusion-pastry-workshop-in-marseille.a2573154.activity-details |
AdvisorVolgy, Thomas J.
MetadataShow full item record
PublisherThe University of Arizona.
RightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
AbstractThe aim of this dissertation is to produce a systematic assessment of political shocks and their potential consequences. Political shocks are important and significant phenomena within international politics. However, no overarching study of shocks currently exists and consequently the topic has remained underdeveloped relative to other important concepts within international relations. Despite their importance, what qualifies as a political shock and whether the dynamics associated with the concept are generalizable remains unclear. As such, I ask how can political shocks be observed taking place and what are the potential domestic and international consequences? To address these questions, I develop a framework of political shocks which centers on acute periods of state instability to reflect when states have experienced political shocks. When such destabilization is present, path dependencies are disrupted creating new environments in which states and their communities operate within. As such, political shocks serve as challenges to the existing status quo while states must continue to manage as effectively as possible in the face of such challenges. I also incorporate elements of opportunity and willingness to understand the different dynamics within these complex environments in terms of domestic and international security dimensions and outcomes. I pursue a dual empirical assessment of both outcomes by evaluating whether international conflict in the form of militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) as well as the level of human rights abuses, specifically physical integrity violations, are affected via a series of negative binomial and ordered logistic regressions. Overall, I find that both domestic and international outcomes are impacted by political shocks. When states experience shocks, both the extent of international conflict experienced, and level human rights abuses that take place increase. I also observe similar effects when taking into consideration additional interactive factors of domestic and neighboring unrest. The outcomes of this project suggest that political shocks pose a significant threat across security domains and to various outcomes of interest. The work produced is also relevant for our present-day dynamics. Critical events that have the capacity to destabilize domestic conditions and politics and which potentially have regional and global reach continue to take place. As such, it is not only pertinent but also necessary to establish a way in which to study these events and their dynamics in a systematic manner. By doing so, we not only can better understand the potential effects of such critical events but also work toward identifying strategies and forming politics to be address them in the future.
Typetext
Electronic Dissertation
Degree NamePh.D. | https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/658619 |
The Foundation for Design Promotion was established in Gdańsk on 4 November 2017 to meet the pressing need to promote outstanding, sometimes unsung achievements of Polish design, its rich and compelling history, originality and celebrated personalities.
Our aim is to support the growth of Polish design and applied arts in general by working for both the entire design and manufacturing community, and for the ever growing number of customers in search for a well-designed space: objects, buildings, interiors and open spaces.
We believe that the promotion of Polish design, artisanship, applied and visual arts guarantees the sustainable development of both the entire society and local communities. We believe that living in a well-designed, friendly and functional environment that is pleasing to the eye enhances people’s cultural competence and involvement, makes them more open and, on a personal level, is truly enjoyable. We believe in a deliberately democratised shared space which will not be synonymous with a junkyard mess, but a testament to a sense of community, responsibility, creativity and beauty that unleash civic energy and creativity to change both the immediate and communal environment. | https://fundacjafpw.com/en/ |
The world’s fastest land animal is in trouble. The cheetah, formerly found across much of Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, has been extirpated from at least 27 countries and is now on the Red List of threatened species.
Namibia holds by far the largest remaining population of the speedy cat. Between 3,500 and 5,000 cheetahs roam national parks, communal rangelands and private commercial ranches of this vast, arid country in south-western Africa, where they face threats like gun-toting livestock farmers and woody plants.
Cheetah, blind in one eye after colliding with woody vegetation, Namibia. Photo: The AfriCat Foundation
Yes, woody plants. Namibia is under invasion by multiplying armies of thorny trees and bushes, which are spreading across its landscape and smothering its grasslands.
So-called bush encroachment has transformed millions of hectares of Namibia’s open rangeland into nearly impenetrable thicket and hammered its cattle industry. Beef output is down between 50 and 70% compared with the 1950s, causing losses of up to $170m a year to the country’s small economy.
Bush encroachment can also be bad news for cheetahs, which evolved to use bursts of extreme speed to run down prey in open areas. Low-slung thorns and the locked-open eyes of predators in “kill mode” are a nasty combination. Conservationists have found starving cheetahs that lost their sight after streaking through bush encroached habitats in pursuit of fleet footed food.
Farmers and researchers recognised bush encroachment as a serious problem in many parts of southern Africa by the 1980s, and it has long been thought to be caused by poor land management, including overgrazing. But, as I recently reported in Yale e360, an emerging body of science indicates that rapidly increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide may be boosting the onrushing waves of woody vegetation.
Savanna ecosystems, such as those that cover much of Africa, can be seen as battlegrounds between trees and grasses, each trying to take territory from the other. The outcomes of these battles are determined by many factors including periodic fire, an integral part of African savannas.
In simple terms, fire kills small trees and therefore helps fire-resilient grasses occupy territory. Trees have to have a long-enough break from fire to grow to
a sufficient size — about four metres high — to be fireproof and establish themselves in the landscape. The faster trees grow, the more likely they are to reach four metres before the next fire.
Lab research shows that many savanna trees grow significantly faster as atmospheric CO2 rises, and a new analysis of satellite images indicates that so-called ‘CO2 fertilisation’ has caused a large increase in plant growth in warm, arid areas worldwide.
Although poor land management is undoubtedly partly to blame for bush encroachment, increased atmospheric CO2 seems to be upsetting many savanna ecosystems’ vegetal balance of power in favour of trees and shrubs.
If increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is causing climate change and also driving bush encroachment that results in blind cheetahs, should blind, starving cheetahs be a new symbol of climate change, to join polar bears whose Arctic sea ice hunting grounds are melting?
Conservationists have noted cheetahs with severe eye injuries since the 1990s, but, as specialist eye vet Dr. Gary Bauer told me, no research has been done to figure out how common these injuries are in the wild population or to confirm the assumption that cheetahs living in bush-encroached areas suffer more eye injuries than cheetahs in open habitats. There’s no hard proof that eye injuries are an immediate threat to the species’ survival, or if they’re any worse in bush-encroached areas.
Research has confirmed that cheetah prey species change as a landscape becomes more thickly wooded. Plains game animals like wildebeest, springbok and red hartebeest are squeezed out and replaced by bush-tolerant species like kudu. This changeover in game species is by itself not a disaster for cheetahs, which can hunt even in fairly wooded habitat as long as they have enough space to exploit their extraordinary acceleration, speed and agility. But if bush becomes so dense that it’s difficult for cheetahs to move through (as happens in severe cases of encroachment) then cheetahs will disappear.
“It’s cheaper to buy a hectare than to clean and repair a hectare” of bush-encroached land, said Donna Hanssen of the AfriCat Foundation, a big cat conservation group based in Namibia, underscoring the challenge faced by landowners wanting to rid themselves of the thorny scourge, but, she reminded me, “the biggest killer of cheetah in this country is man. Farmers.”
Farmers shoot and trap large numbers of cheetahs, which they blame for killing cattle, sheep and goats. As Namibia’s population expands, more cattle are being herded deeper into natural areas, bringing men with guns and poison into previously safe wildernesses.
Organisations like AfriCat and the Cheetah Conservation Fund are working hard — with some apparent success — to educate farmers about cheetahs and help them live with big cats instead of killing them. They’re also pioneering methods of dealing with bush encroachment like turning invading trees into biomass fuel blocks, although it remains to be seen if these methods can be economically scaled up to deal with the literally millions of hectares of expanding encroacher bush.
In summary: Are thorn-inflicted eye injuries currently a threat to the cheetah’s survival as a species? Probably not.
Is increasing atmospheric CO2 driving bush encroachment in African savannas? Probably, although savannas are complex ecosystems, influenced by many drivers, and the scientific understanding of CO2 fertilisation in these systems is incomplete.
Is uncontrolled bush encroachment severely impacting plains game and could it ultimately drive cheetahs out? Is it a real conservation problem? Almost certainly.
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WORCESTER — Seven incidents that police responded to last year met the criteria to be reported to the FBI as hate crimes, with more than half of them involving hate speech that was directed at police officers, according to the Worcester Police Department.
Those seven incidents were among 145,038 incidents that police responded to in 2018.
The previous year Worcester reported eight hate crime incidents to the FBI.
According to police statistics presented to the Human Rights Commission earlier this week, one of the incidents involved sexual orientation bias while the other six involved racial biases — three anti-black, two anti-white and one anti-Asian.
Tiana M. Antul, principal crime analyst for the Police Department, said in three of the seven instances, an offender was motivated by a bias they held toward the victim.
In the other four instances, she said, the incidents were not initially reported as hate crimes but were deemed so after the fact because of interaction between the offenders and police.
In those instances, officers were assaulted, and the offenders directed hate speech toward them.
"At that point, in addition to any charges that the offender might have been facing for what transpired before the (police) officer arrived, they were additionally charged with a civil rights violation and at that point its becomes reportable as a hate crime to the FBI," Ms. Antul said.
"While all seven (incidents) met the criteria as a reportable hate crime, there are two very different contexts that we're looking at," she added.
Under Massachusetts law, there are three elements of hate crimes:
• Underlying criminal offense: The offender committed an assault or battery upon the victim or damaged the victim’s property.
• Offender’s intent: The offender acted with the intent to intimidate the victim.
• Victim’s protected characteristic: The offender targeted the victim because of that person’s race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. | https://www.telegram.com/news/20190605/hate-crimes-down-last-year-in-worcester-according-to-police |
WASHINGTON, DC (Dec. 7, 2007) - Today, the Hispanic Institute (THI) announced that it has embarked upon a major study of labor supply in relation to the immigrant workforce.
With a grant of $750,000, the Hispanic Institute is working under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration.
"For too long, the debate about the effects of immigration on the U.S. labor market has been influenced by anecdotal information and conducted by hyperbolic talk-show hosts and pandering politicians," THI's Board Chair, Gus West, said in a recent interview. "The time has come for responsible parties to look at the facts and base their arguments on legitimate research. If THI can provide the basis for a rational discussion then we will have gone a long way in fulfilling our mission."
The study will continue through 2009, during which time the Institute will do the following
- Develop a clearinghouse of existing research and analysis
- Analyze economic development challenges and opportunities
- Identify migration patterns and analyze their impact on industry labor needs
- Survey industries to identify labor needs for one, three and five years out
- Generate employment forecasts for targeted regions and industries
- Analyze any correlations, themes and patterns within the data
- Bridge data gaps through targeted research, analysis and surveys
- Publish its findings
The Institute will achieve its goal of bringing clarity to workforce and industry issues through reasoned analysis of credible and significant data sources in the areas of: industry trends, migration patterns and labor forecasting. The study will provide the basis for informed debate and the development of fact-based public policy.
The Institute intends to devote three years and more than $2 million to studying this issue, its various contributing factors, and their combined impact on the national economy.
The Hispanic Institute is a nonprofit organization formed in 2005. THI's mission is to provide an effective educational forum for an informed and empowered Hispanic America.
CONTACT: | https://thehispanicinstitute.net/press/hispanic-institute-begins-30-month-study-labor-supply |
A course in traditional music might be a consideration for you if you are you interested in honing your music skills and taking on a new challenge. It may also be of interest if you are you trying to get into the world of music and have a penchant for traditional Irish music.
What is traditional Music?
Ireland is renowned worldwide for its rich heritage and culture and no less so for its variety of musicians and musical artists. There are a number of instruments specific to traditional Irish music and as a general rule of thumb, the music of Ireland is used to tell stories.
Musical history dates back as far as the Celts in Ireland, where songs and pieces were used to recant the tales of brave celtic warriors and vengeful pagan gods. From then onwards, Ireland has told its rich and bloody history through the medium of music, music to the acclaim of the rest of the world.
Traditional Irish Instruments
The harp was the most dominant sound in Ireland long after the Celts had made way to the Vikings and the modern era, enjoying popularity from the 10th right up until the 17th centuries. While not a whole lot is known about how exactly the Celts used music or expressed themselves through it, we do know that it had already become an important part of life by the Middle Ages. Anyone proficient in the harp could earn themselves a very nice living playing in the courts of the chieftains, as the harp and harpists were held in very high regard along with poets and other artistically inclined people. During the course of a music class, students will have the opportunity to learn about the history and cultural significance of traditional irish music, that still resonates with its people today.
Traditional Musical Instruments
There are a number of traditional Irish instruments, and most classes will teach a variety of them, from beginner to expert level. Classes will also teach technique and the history of the instrument as well. Some examples of traditional Irish instruments are as follows:
Bodhrán – A hand held drum that is played by beating it with a beater or a tipper. They come in various sizes and some can be tuned to achieve different tones and pitches. motion. The bodhrán is always played vertically, resting on the musician’s knee. They will place their ‘free’ hand on various parts of the interior of the drum to control the pitch and timbre.
Fiddle – The fiddle is what trad musicians call a violin. It is the same instrument just played in a very different manner for Irish Trad music.
Tin Whistle – The tin whistle, or penny whistle, is a simple wind instrument very common in trad music.
Uilleann Pipes – These are very similar to bagpipes, however they are not as loud and have a wider octave range than their Scottish cousins.
Concertina – not Irish in origin but used in most Irish jigs and reels and sometimes referred to as a squeeze box or a malojan, it is a small instrument like an accordion.
Harp – The Harp is commonly known as Ireland’s native instrument. It appears on our coins and notes and all of our government documentation. Harps come in three different sizes and each one gives a different sound.
Why Study Traditional Irish Music?
Depending on the course you choose there are a number of different possible outcomes from embarking in the study of Trad music. The student of these courses might just want to learn a new musical style if they are already a musician, and then begin gigging or playing in public. You might want to learn a new instrument from scratch for your own entertainment.
Learners will also develop a vast knowledge of Irish history which could be beneficial in other areas of interest like the study of history, teaching, writing or research. It may also be possible to go on to teach other people how to play music after completion of the course, or maybe you just want to reconnect with your heritage in a fun and engaging way.
Whatever the reason you wish to begin a study path in Traditional Irish Music, there are a large number of courses available across the country for all levels of education and for a variety of possible end results. | https://www.courses.ie/traditional-music-courses/ |
The construct of subjective well-being within child well-being and quality of life research has become increasingly prominent in recent years. Central to such developments is the question of to what extent children’s ...
A systematic review of interventions for children presenting with dyscalculia in primary schools
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)
Background: The acquisition of numerical competency is imperative for individuals in society for quality of life and economic well-being. Many children have significant mathematical learning difficulties, this is known ...
Children’s perceptions of the causation and prevention of childhood burn injuries
(UWC, 2011)
South Africa has a high rate of children’s burn injuries with 1300 deaths annually. These burn injuries are considered preventable and South African research has identified this as a priority concern. South African childhood ...
"An exploration into children's and adolescents' perceptions of community violence"
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)
This study ultimately aimed to explore children' and adolescents' perceptions of exposure to community violence. More specifically, the study investigated the meanings that adolescents assign to personal safety and security ...
The perceptions of violence and its effects on the psychological well-being of primary school children
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)
The purpose of this research was to ascertain how children in lowrisk, middle to upper income areas perceive violence and their experience of it. It explores their exposure to violence and how this may affect their view ...
Testing two measures of subjective well-being amongst a sample of children in the Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)
Recent advancements in child well-being research have shown an increased interest in the importance of subjective well-being. The development of instruments and scales to measure subjective well-being among children and ...
The development of executive function in children exposed to alcohol in utero: an exploratory study
(2007)
The study made use of cross-sectional design that compared the performance of younger children (6- to 7-year-olds) with that of older children (12- to 13-year-olds) on various measures of executive function. Within this, ...
The perceptions and experiences of violence on children in children's homes
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)
This study aimed at looking at children's perceptions of violence, exploring the experiences on child violence and lastly perceptions of children about intervention strategies in children's homes. The participants were ...
Subjective well-being amongst children in the Western Cape : multi-group analysis across three age groups
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)
Globally the Subjective Well-Being (SWB) of children is recognized as having a significant effect on the child's psychological and social functioning. Furthermore, not only does children's SWB have effects on childhood ... | https://etd.uwc.ac.za/handle/11394/163/discover?filtertype=subject&filter_relational_operator=equals&filter=Children |
COMPANY: Alphavista Services, Inc.
JOB TITLE: Speech Language Pathologist
JOB DUTIES: Assist to Assess and treat speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders of mental retardation and developmentally disabled population in school clinics, day rehabilitation centers, and group homes. Monitor patients’ progress and adjust treatments accordingly. Evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results and medical or background information to diagnose and plan treatment for speech, language, fluency, voice, and swallowing disorders. Administer hearing or speech and language evaluations, tests, or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of impairments, using written and oral tests evaluation, treatment, progress, and discharge of clients. Develop and implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, and inappropriate pitch or harsh voice problems, based on own assessments and recommendations of physicians, psychologists, or social workers. Develop individual or group activities and programs in schools to deal with behavior, speech, language, or swallowing problems. Participate in and write reports for meetings regarding patients’ progress, such as individualized educational planning (IEP) meetings, in-service meetings, or intervention assistance team meetings. Complete administrative responsibilities, such as coordinating paperwork, scheduling case management activities, or writing lesson plans. Travel required to job sites throughout California up to 100%.
JOB SITE: 177 Park Ave, Suite#200, San Jose, CA 95113
REQUIREMENTS: Bachelors or foreign equivalent in Audiology, Speech Language Pathology Hearing or related field and California License in Speech Language Pathology required. | https://www.thesteppingstonesgroup.com/job/44353 |
Forested lands provide 50% of the US water supply, the Nation's highest quality trout fisheries, and the best remaining habitats for more than one hundred endangered aquatic species. The Forest Service (FS) has a long legacy of providing the science to help resource managers understand, protect and sustain these valuable resources and made a priority of the study of watersheds.
- Our network of Experimental Forests & Ranges has been the foundation of research on watershed and ecosystem processes for over 100 years. Long term studies at these sites provided early information on the effects of forest management on water resources, how to grow and utilize timber without damaging the soil, providing the foundation for developing "best management practices" for protecting stream-side buffer zones, forest road design and construction standards.
- Our research findings have changed the basic understanding and management of watersheds, for example, discovering the role that natural disturbance events play in keeping streams clean and providing fish habitat.
- New technologies such 3-D land mapping and improved watershed scale modeling approaches developed by FS scientist define and predict watershed conditions in a changing climate. These studies integrate with research on the response of fish population to changing habitat conditions. New tools will help managers set priorities for protecting and restoring watersheds, and evaluate the effectiveness of new management methods and strategies.
- Explore current watershed research projects and locate contact information for Forest Service Researchers with the Watershed Research Staff Directory.
As times change, FS is building and expanding upon our long-term research to provide new knowledge and tools to assist land managers and partners ensure forest and rangelands continue to provide for the need of the US for clean water, healthy fish populations, and healthy forests. | https://www.fs.fed.us/research/water-management/ |
What Exactly is Understood By Radio Technology? – Denis Bederov, a Technical Visionary
Radio waves are a kind of electromagnetic radiation most popular for their widespread application in communication technologies, such as in television, mobile phones, and radios. These radio waves are capable of transmitting all kinds of data, including multimedia files, over very long distances. Today, a great percentage of what defines our modern lives has been achieved through radio wave technology, which has transformed the world in ways vastly beyond the anticipation of the first researchers and every technical visionary of the early age.
Looking back, it’s quite spellbinding how far radio technology has come and affected our civilization. But where did anyone ever get the idea that these invisible, yet powerful waves existed in the first place, and that they could be rightly used for wireless communication? Which notable technical visionary saw these electromagnetic waves affecting how we communicate and eventually evolving into an indispensable medium of communication?
The History of Radio Wave Technology, by Denis Bederov, a Technical Visionary
The story began with James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish physicist who developed a unified theory of electromagnetism and published it in his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism in 1873. According to the National Library of Scotland, it was Maxwell who first laid out a solid, mathematical case for and predicted the existence of radio waves. A few years later, in 1886, German physicist Heinrich Hertz proved Maxwell’s theories and applied them to the production and reception of radio waves. Hertz’s apparatus included an induction coil and a Leyden jar (an early type of capacitor comprising a glass jar with foil layers) to create electromagnetic waves. Hence, Hertz became the first scientist and technical visionary to transmit and receive controlled radio waves.
1894
Less than a decade later, precisely in 1894, the same year Hertz died, an Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi conducted experiments and successfully used radio wave technology to wirelessly transmit telegraph messages. Marconi was a technical visionary who foresaw that wireless radio technology had the potential to revolutionize global communication, and with the help of his scientific advisor John Fleming, a former employee of Edison Company and student of Maxwell, he began construction of the world’s first long-distance wireless telegraphy station in southwestern England.
Marconi eventually sent the letter ‘S’ from Cornwall, England to Newfoundland, Canada, and became the first technical visionary to signal the first radio transmission in human history, although he was using a patent already credited to Nikola Tesla.
1960
Fleming eventually invented the thermionic or diode valve to overcome the unreliability of the transmitters used in the earlier experiments, and this innovation spurred a huge leap in the history of radio wave technology. Fleming’s valve was later improved upon with the development of the triode, by Lee de Forest, to further amplify the signal. These valve systems became widely used in consumer electronics before the advent of transistors in the 1960s.
1920
By the 1920s, there was a boost in radio wave technology development, and soon the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was born. Fast forward to the 1930s, before the rise of television broadcasting, radio was the primary electronic medium for news, entertainment, and sports, and thus, the era became known as the “Golden Age of Radio.”
Denis Bederov, a Technical Visionary, Writes on The Uses of Radio Technology Today
Radio waves technology had been used primarily for communication through telegraphy, and later through audio. Today, radio has advanced and become applied to so many facets of everyday life. From AM and FM radio stations, television broadcasting to cordless telephones, microwaves, GPS receivers and wireless cellular networks, this era of smartphone and the Internet will definitely be impossible without the efforts of every technical visionary involved in the evolution of radio waves technology. | https://www.denisbederov.com/what-exactly-is-understood-by-radio-technology-denis-bederov/ |
An Effective Leader Is An Effective Team
Leadership is one of the most difficult tasks, and we would all undoubtedly wish to improve in this area and improve their team. Without a doubt, leadership is not always in your blood. People have varying conceptions of what a leader entails.
Some individuals believe leaders are born. For some, horrible conditions produce good leaders. Despite what you may believe, leadership is as essential as breathing.
If leadership is so crucial, how can one become a more effective leader?
Consider the following:
-
Spend time learning your team.
To become a more effective leader, it is essential to know your team. Know the persons and their respective strengths and shortcomings. Ensure you have a firm grasp on what each individual can and cannot perform.
- Consider: What are the team’s interests? Which competencies do they bring to the table? Which individuals possess complementary skills?
- Each team member should be aware of their talents and shortcomings so that they do not feel undervalued or overworked. Additionally, they should be mindful of how others see them and their contribution to the team’s objectives. Before you can lead your people, you must first know them!
-
Set a good example for your employees.
Effective leadership requires setting an exemplary example for others. Show your team via your words and deeds how to be the greatest.
- Why would others follow you if you do not exhibit leadership traits such as communication, commitment, honesty, and trustworthiness? You cannot just dictate their actions. They must view it first!
- Effective leaders do not attempt to exert control over others. They connect with the team, explain members of potential alternatives, and encourage them to achieve success.
- Assess your team and ensure that every member has the autonomy and resources necessary to own their responsibilities.
-
Make your expectations very clear
A competent leader understands what he wants and how he wants his team to accomplish the required tasks. He establishes objectives, monitors progress, and pays attention to the details.
- Clearly communicate your goals and make sure everyone gets them.
-
Offer guidelines.
Provide your team members with explicit instructions to follow. By doing so, you inform everyone of your expectations and how you want them to achieve success.
- Consider possible pitfalls. Have you made any errors you’re willing to discuss? Do you have restricted resources for whatever reason? Inform your colleagues.
- Share any knowledge that might save them time or effort. Ensure that all parties are aware of who is accountable for which duties and obligations.
-
Insist on responsibility and provide incentives.
Reward team members at the end of the day for doing well and reaching measurable objectives. Inform them that their efforts will be recognized if they comply with your request.
- Communicate to your team members clearly what you want them to do and by what date. Send a member an email or phone call to remind them of their obligations if they miss a deadline.
- Accountability is essential because it motivates people to work diligently. Rewards also demonstrate to your team members that you value and appreciate their performance.
By leading your team, you establish guidelines for everyone to adhere to. Take the opportunity to serve as an exemplary role model for others. Remember that you want your team to replicate your success in order to achieve their own.
The concept of leadership might be intimidating, yet it is a necessary talent for today’s business. You may get your footing and become an independent leader with the correct direction and training.
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---
abstract: 'We characterize the practical photon-counting receiver in optical scattering communication with finite sampling rate and electrical noise. In the receiver side, the detected signal can be characterized as a series of pulses generated by photon-multiplier (PMT) detector and held by the pulse-holding circuits, which are then sampled by the analog-to-digit convertor (ADC) with finite sampling rate and counted by a rising-edge pulse detector. However, the finite small pulse width incurs the dead time effect that may lead to sub-Poisson distribution on the recorded pulses. We analyze first-order and second-order moments on the number of recorded pulses with finite sampling rate at the receiver side under two cases where the sampling period is shorter than or equal to the pulse width as well as longer than the pulse width. Moreover, we adopt the maximum likelihood (ML) detection. In order to simplify the analysis, we adopt binomial distribution approximation on the number of recorded pulses in each slot. A tractable holding time and decision threshold selection rule is provided aiming to maximize the minimal Kullback-Leibler (KL) distance between the two distributions. The performance of proposed sub-Poisson distribution and the binomial approximation are verified by the experimental results. The equivalent arrival rate and holding time predicted by the of sub-Poisson model and the associated proposed binomial distribution on finite sampling rate and the electrical noise are validated by the simulation results. The proposed the holding time and decision threshold selection rule performs close to the optimal one.'
author:
- 'Difan Zou, Chen Gong, Kun Wang and Zhengyuan Xu [^1] [^2]'
bibliography:
- './mybib.bib'
title: Characterization on Practical Photon Counting Receiver in Optical Scattering Communication
---
Introduction
============
On some specific occasions where the conventional RF is prohibited and direct link transmission cannot be guaranteed, the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) optical scattering communication provides an alternative solution to achieve certain information transmission rate [@xu2008ultraviolet]. Optical scattering communication is typically studied in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum due to a solar blind region (200nm-280nm) where the solar background radiation is negligible [@xu2008ultraviolet]. On the UV scattering communication channel characterization, extensive studies on the Monte carlo simulation [@ding2009modeling; @zhang2012charac; @xu2015effects; @song2016multi], theoretical analysis [@xiao2011non; @gupta2012NLOS; @zuo2013closed; @sun2016closed] and experimental results [@chen2014expe; @liao2015uv; @raptis2016power], show that the atmospheric attenuation among scattering channel can be extremely large, especially for long-range transmission. Hence, it is difficult to detect the received signals using conventional continuous waveform receiver, such as photon-diode (PD) and avalanche photon-diode (APD). Instead, a photon-counting receiver is widely deployed.
For photon-counting receiver, the received signals are usually characterized by discrete photoelectrons, whose number in a certain interval satisfies a Poisson distribution. For such a Poisson channel, recent works mainly focus on the channel capacity, such as the continuous Poisson channel capacity [@wyner1988capacity; @frey1991information] , discrete Poisson channel capacity [@lapidoth2009capacity; @cao2014capacity1; @cao2014capacity2], wiretap Poisson channel capacity [@Laourine2012degradedPoisson], as well as the Poisson interference channel capacity [@lai2015capacity]. Besides, the system characterization and optimization, as well as the signal processing [@el2012binary; @ScatteringSIMO; @Elshimy2015spatial; @lai2015optimal; @gong2015non; @song2016multi; @ardakani2017relay; @ardakani2017performance] have also been extensively studied from the receiver side.
Most information theory and signal processing works assume perfect photon-counting receiver, which is difficult to realize. A practical photon-counting receiver typically consists of a photon-multiplier (PMT) and the subsequent processing blocks [@becker2005advanced]. A solution is that PMT detects the arriving photons and generates a series of pulses, which are detected by the pulse-holding circuit to generate a series of square pulses with certain width, and further detected by the rising-edge detector to count the pulse number. However, the square pulses generated by pulse-holding circuits typically have finite small width that incurs the dead time effect [@cherry2012physics], where a photon arriving during the pulse duration of the previous photon cannot be detected due to the merge of two pulses. Based on such effect, the photon counts may not satisfy a Poisson distribution. The dead time effect and the model of sub-Poisson distribution for the photon-counting processing have been investigated in [@Omote1990deadtime; @daniel2000mean], whose variance is lower than its mean. The photon-counting system with dead time effect has been investigated in optical communication for channel characterizations [@Drost2015deadtime; @sarbazi2015detection], and experimental implementation [@chitnis2014spad; @shentu2013217]. However, these works assume infinite sampling rate, and identical shape for all pulses, which cannot be realized. The finite sampling rate in ADC and shot noise of PMTs incur further loss of photon counting rate, where the distribution of detected pulse numbers needs to be characterized.
In our work, we model the architecture of a practical photon-counting receiver using a PMT, a pulse-holding circuit, an finite sampling rate ADC and a rising-edge detector. We first assume no electrical noise, and analyze the final distribution under two cases: the sampling period shorter than or equal to the pulse width, and the sampling period longer than the pulse width. Based on the first-order and second-order moments estimation, we derived that for practical photon arrival rate, small pulse width and finite sampling rate, the counting process can still be characterized by the sub-Poisson model for both cases. Then we consider the receiver with shot noise assuming no thermal noise. The results on the first-order and second-order moments estimation show that the sub-Poisson model can still well characterize the practical system, where the corresponding parameters can be formulated as functions with respect to the sampling period, pulse width, and shot noise. When the thermal noise is added, based on the first-order and second-order moments of detected pulses we adopt a binomial approximation on the detected signals. Finally, we consider the on-off keying (OOK) modulation and maximum likelihood (ML) detection. To optimize the holding time and decision threshold for the rising-edge detector that minimizes the error probability, we propose a selection rule on the holding time and detection threshold, which aims to maximize the minimal KL distance of two approximated binomial distributions. Experimental and numerical results validate the effectiveness of sub-Poisson model and evaluate the performance of the proposed holding time and decision threshold selection rule.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In Section II, we propose the model of PMT-based practical photon-counting receiver and present the existing results on the sub-Poisson distribution for finite-sampling rate. In Section III, we assume finite sampling rate with no electrical noise, and obtain first-order and second-order moments of detected pulses with finite sampling rate. In Sections IV, first-order and second-order moments on the number of detected pulses are addressed under both the shot and thermal noise. Optimizing the circuit holding time and the detection threshold, as well as the associated maximum likelihood signal detection are proposed in Section V. Experimental and numerical results are shown to verify the effectiveness of the sub-Poisson characterization of practical photon-counting receiver, as well as evaluate the performance of the proposed holding time and decision threshold selection rule in Section VI. Finally, we conclude this paper in Section VII.
Practical System Model for discrete Photon-counting
===================================================
Practical Photon Counting Process
---------------------------------
Consider a practical photon-counting receiver for optical wireless communication, which contains a PMT detector, a pulse-holding circuit, an ADC, and a rising-edge pulse detector. The practical photon-counting receiver architecture is shown in Figure \[diagram\_processing\].
The entire PMT detector architecture comprises of two parts: an photoelectric converter, and a post-amplifier. Upon one photon is received, the PMT detector generates a short continuous pulse; the pulse-holding circuit detects each short pulse and then outputs a square pulse with certain width. The output signal of pulse-holding circuit is sampled by the ADC and then quantized according to a certain threshold. We adopt a rising-edge pulse detector, where one pulse is recorded upon detecting a rising edge from zero to one.
Signal Model for PMT Detector
-----------------------------
For optical wireless scattering communication, due to the large channel attenuation, the detected optical signal can be characterized as discrete photoelectrons in a symbol duration of length $T_s$. The number of detected photoelectrons, denoted as $N$, satisfies a Poisson distribution. For OOK modulation, let $\lambda_0$ denote the mean number of detected photoelectrons for symbol zero, which is that for the background radiation. Let $\lambda_1=\lambda_s+\lambda_0$ denote the mean number of detected photoelectrons for OOK symbol one, which is the summation of the signal component $\lambda_s$ and background radiation component $\lambda_0$.
We characterize the continuous pulses generated by each detected photoelectron. Let $f(t-t_p)$ denote the square pulse generated by one detected photoelectron by PMT detector and pulse-holding circuit, where $t_p$ denotes the photon arrival time, given by f(t-t\_p)=Ag(t-t\_P)+v(t), where $A$ denotes the random Gaussian amplitude with mean one due to the shot noise, and $v(t)$ denotes additive Gaussian white thermal noise with mean zero. Note that waveform $g(t)$ depends on the PMT architecture, which is assumed to be known. Let $\sigma^2$ and $\sigma_0^2$ denotes the variances of the $A$ and $v(t)$, respectively, and the thermal noise variance is given by \_0\^2=, where $k_e$ denotes the Boltzmann constant; $T^0$ denotes the temperature $(K)$; and $R$ denotes the load resistance.
Let $F(t)$ denote the pulse-holding circuits output signal generated by a series of short pulses from PMT, which is sampled by the ADC. Let $F[t_k]$ denote the quantized samples according to the threshold, given as follows, F\[t\_k\]={
[ll]{} 0, & F(t\_k)<,\
1, & F(t\_k),
. where $\xi$ denotes the decision threshold. Recall that a photoelectron is recorded upon detecting $0-1$ rising edge. Letting $n[k]$ denote the number of recorded photonelectrons for two samples at $t_k$ and $t_{k+1}$, we have n\[k\]={
[ll]{} 1, & F\[t\_[k+1]{}\]-F\[t\_[k]{}\]=1;\
0, & otherwise.
.
Distribution of Photon Counting with Dead Time
----------------------------------------------
Note that the square pulses generated by a practical PMT detector and pulse-holding circuits have certain widths, which enables the pulse detection via finite-rate sampling. However, such pulse width incurs dead time effect that may lead to photon counting loss. When a photon arrives in the dead time duration of the previous photon, the two pulses will merge into one, where only one photoelectron is counted. Such effect is called “dead time effect", where the duration of photon arrival time leading to the merge of two pulses is denoted as $\tau_0$. In other words, when a photoelectron is detected at the time $t$, a dead time interval from $t$ to $t+\tau_0$ is generated, during which the next arriving photon cannot be recorded.
To simplify the analysis, we normalize the symbol duration interval to $[0,1]$, and the dead time is normalized to $\tau=\tau_0/T_s$. The number of recorded pulses $n$ must be less than the true number of photons $N$. Assuming sufficiently high sampling rate and zero noise variances of the PMT detector, the probability mass function (PMF) of detected photoelectrons number $n$ is given by [@Omote1990deadtime], summarized by the following result.
Given dead time $\tau$ and photon arrival rate $\lambda$, the probability for the number $n$ of detected pulses is given by the following probability function, \[eq.dis\_subpoisson\] P(n|,)=\^[M-n]{}\_[m=0]{}\^[n+m]{}, where integer $M\dff \lfloor\frac{1}{\tau}\rfloor+1$ defines the maximum number of counted pulses. Moreover, the mean and variance of $n$ are given as follows, E\[n\]&=&e\^[-]{},\[eq.true\_mean\]\
D\[n\]&=&E\[n\]-E\[n\]\^2.\[eq.true\_var\] $\hfill \Box$
In general, for the sufficiently short dead time $\tau$, the variance can be approximated by $D[n]\approx\mathbb E[n]-2\tau\mathbb E[n]^2$. According to (\[eq.true\_mean\]) and (\[eq.true\_var\]), the variance of $n$ is lower than the mean, and thus the above distribution shows sub-Poisson characteristics.
The sub-Poisson distribution with finite sampling rate
======================================================
Note that Equation (\[eq.dis\_subpoisson\]) provides the distribution of detected photoelectrons in a symbol duration with sufficiently high sampling rate. In this section, we characterize the practical photon-counting receiver and the corresponding sub-Poisson distribution under finite sampling rate. It is interesting to see that different sampling rates may lead to different sub-Poisson distributions on the number of detected pulses. Moreover, we analyze the first-order and second-order moments on the distributions of the detected pulse numbers.
To study the relationship between the sampling rate and the distribution of detected pulse numbers, we first assume no shot noise and no AWGN, which implies identical width and height for the pulses generated by all photoelectrons. We analyze the distribution of detected pulse numbers the two scenarios, of the sampling periods $T \leq \tau$ and $T > \tau$, and provide its mean and variance. Assume that $N\dff\frac{1}{T}$ is an integer, such that there are $\frac{1}{T}$ samples in each symbol duration.
The Distributions for $T>\tau$
------------------------------
For sampling interval duration $T>\tau$, one pulse can be detected in interval $[kT,(k+1)T]$ in case of no photon arrival in $[kT-\tau,kT]$ and at least one photon arrives in interval $[(k+1)T-\tau,(k+1)T]$. Thus the probability of one pulse detected in this interval is given by $e^{-\lambda \tau}(1-e^{-\lambda \tau})$. For the total number of photoelectrons detected in one symbol duration, denoted as $n_s$, we have the following results on its first-order and second-order moments.
For the pulse number $n_s$, we have the following results on $n_s$, E\[n\_s\]&=&,\
E\[n\_s\^2\]&=&E\[n\_s\]+E\[n\_s\]\^2.
Please refer to Appendix.A.
Similar to the case of $T\le \tau$, we have the following approximation on the mean and variance of $n_s$, for sufficiently small $\lambda T$ and $\lambda\tau<<1$.
We have the following approximation on $\mathbb{E}[n_s]$ and $\mathbb{D}[n_s]$ for sufficiently small $\lambda T$ and $\lambda\tau$ E\[n\_s\]&&e\^[-]{}; \[eq.mean\_2\],\
D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2 \[eq.var\_2\]\
&& E\[n\_s\]-3TE\[n\_s\]\^2.
Considering $\tau<T<<\frac{1}{\lambda}$, the mean $\mathbb E[n_s]$ given in Theorem 1 can be approximated by \[eq.appendA\_appro\_mean\] E\[n\_s\]&=&\
&& e\^[-]{}(-)\
&=&e\^[-]{}(1-)\
&&e\^[-]{}. Then the approximation on $\mathbb D[n_s]$ is given by D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2\
&=&E\[n\_s\]-(3T-2T\^2)E\[n\_s\]\^2\
&&E\[n\_s\]-3TE\[n\_s\]\^2.
Similar to the results (7-8), the distribution on the number of detected pulses under finite sampling rate can also be characterized by the sub-Poisson model, where the equivalent dead time increases from $\tau$ to $\frac{3T}{2}$ and the equivalent photon arrival rate decreases from $\lambda$ to $\frac{\tau\lambda}{T}$.
The Distributions for $T\le\tau$
--------------------------------
Consider one sampling interval $[kT,(k+1)T]$ where the photoelectron detection result $n[k]=1$. Since the event $F[kT]<\xi$ occurs if and only if no photon arrives in $[kT-\tau, kT]$, the probability is given by $\mathbb P\left(F[kT]<\xi\right)=e^{-\lambda\tau}$. The event $F[(k+1)T]\ge\xi$ occurs if and only if there is at least one photon arriving in interval $[kT,(k+1)T]$, where the probability is given by $\mathbb P(n[k]=1)=e^{-\lambda \tau}(1-e^{-\lambda T})$. For the total number of photoelectrons detected in one symbol duration, we have the following results on its first-order and second-order moments.
For the pulse number $n_s$, we have the following results, E\[n\_s\]&=&,\
E\[n\_s\^2\]&=&E\[n\_s\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2\[\[(1-(+1)T)(1-(+2)T)+2T(1-(+1)T)\], where $\alpha$ is an positive integer given by $\alpha=\left\lfloor\frac{\tau}{T}\right\rfloor$.
Please refer to Appendix.B.
Assuming that $\lambda T,\ \lambda\tau<<1$, we have the following approximations on $\mathbb{E}[n_s]$ and $\mathbb{D}[n_s]$.
We have the following approximation on $\mathbb{E}[n_s]$ and $\mathbb{D}[n_s]$, E\[n\_s\]&&e\^[-(+)]{} \[eq.mean\_1\],\
D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2 \[eq.var\_1\]\
&& E\[n\_s\]-2(+)E\[n\_s\]\^2.
Then we consider the case of $T<\tau<<\frac{1}{\lambda}$. According to the Theorem 2, the mean $\mathbb E[n_s]$ can be approximated as follows, \[eq.appendB\_approx\_mean\] &&\
&=&e\^[-]{}(1-)\
&& e\^[-(+)]{}. The approximation on $\mathbb E\left[\sum_{k\neq l}n[k]n[l]\right]$ is given by E&=&E\[n\_s\]\^2\
&& E\[n\_s\]\^2\
&=&E\[n\_s\]\^2. Then the approximated variance $\mathbb D[n_s]$ is given by \[eq.appendB\_approx\_var\] D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2\
&&E\[n\_s\]-2(+T/2)E\[n\_s\]\^2.
Comparing the mean and variance \[c.f. (\[eq.mean\_1\]) and (\[eq.var\_1\]), respectively\] of $n_s$ with the results given in (7-8), it is seen that for $T<\tau<<\frac{1}{\lambda}$, the finite-rate sampling essentially increases the equivalent dead time from $\tau$ to $\tau+T/2$, while the sub-Poisson distribution can still well describe photon-counting process based on rising edge detection.
The Counting Processing Characterization with Electrical Noises
===============================================================
Recall that the real PMT receiver may suffer both shot and thermal noise with variances $\sigma^2$ and $\sigma_0^2$, respectively. The performance degradation of such two types of noises needs to be analyzed. Moreover, the optimal decision threshold $\xi^*$ under the two types of noise needs to be determined.
For a practical PMT-based photon-counting receiver, thermal noise is significantly weaker than shot noise and signal power, i.e. $\sigma_0<<\sigma$. In this section, we will investigate the counting performance of the counting receiver first under shot noise first, and then under both shot and thermal noise.
The Number of Detected Photoelectrons with Merely Shot Noise
------------------------------------------------------------
Assuming no additive thermal noise, we analyze the probability $\mathbb{P}(n_k = 1)$. Consider the probability that the sample at time $kT$, denoted as $F[kT]$, is lower than the decision threshold $\xi$. Assuming a small $T$ such that the mean number $\lambda T$ of arrival photons in the duration of $T$ is small as well, based on which we have the following analysis on the probability $\mathbb P(F[kT]<\xi)$.
**Case ${\cal H}_1$:** There is no photon arrival events in time interval $[kT-\tau, kT]$. It is obvious that event $F[kT]<\xi$ must occur, i.e., we have $\mathbb P(F[kT]<\xi|{\cal H}_1)\mathbb P({\cal H}_1)=e^{-\lambda\tau}$. We analyze the following three cases.
**Case ${\cal H}_2$:** There is one photon arriving in interval $[kT-\tau,kT]$. Based on the Gaussian random characteristics of the amplitude of each pulse, we have that P(F\[kT\]<|[H]{}\_2)P([H]{}\_2)=e\^[-]{}Q(), where Gaussian tail probability $Q(\cdot)$ is given by Q(x)=\_[x]{}\^e\^[-]{}.
**Case ${\cal H}_3$:** There are more than one photon arriving in the interval $[kT-\tau, kT]$. The probability is given by P(F\[kT\]<|[H]{}\_3)P([H]{}\_3)&=&\_[k=2]{}\^Q()\
&<&\^2 \^2Q(). Note that for small $\lambda T$ and $\sigma$, probability $\mathbb P(F[kT]<\xi|{\cal H}_3)\mathbb P({\cal H}_3)$ is significantly lower than that of other two cases. Thus we assume that $\mathbb P(F[kT]<\xi|{\cal H}_3)\mathbb P({\cal H}_3)$ is negligible and can be omitted in the following analysis. More specifically, the following approximation on $\mathbb P(F[kT]<\xi)$ is given by \[eq.noisecase1\_prob1\] P(F\[kT\]<) &=&P(F\[kT\]<|[H]{}\_1)P([H]{}\_1)+P(F\[kT\]<|[H]{}\_2)P([H]{}\_2)+P(F\[kT\]<|[H]{}\_3)P([H]{}\_3)\
&=&e\^[-]{}+\_[k=2]{}\^Q()\
&& e\^[-]{}, where $q\dff Q(\frac{1-\xi}{\sigma})$.
Similarly to the previous Section, we analyze the probability of of detecting a rising edge between two samples at $kT$ and $(k+1)T$, i.e., $F[kT]<\xi$ and $F[(k+1)T]>\xi$. Consider two cases, $T>\tau$ and $T\le\tau$.
### Analysis for case $T>\tau$
It can be seen that any photon arrival event in $[kT-\tau,kT]$ has no impact on the sample at $(k+1)T$, and thus events $F[kT]<\xi$ and $F[(k+1)>\xi]$ are statistically independent. Note that the probability of the former event has been approximated by Equation (\[eq.noisecase1\_prob1\]), and the probability of the latter one is given by \[eq.noisecase1\_prob2\] P(F\[(k+1)T\]>) &=&1-P(F\[(k+1)T\]<)\
&=&1-e\^[-]{}-\_[k=2]{}\^Q()\
&& 1-e\^[-]{}. Similarly, assuming sufficiently $\lambda T$ and $\lambda\tau$, we have the following approximation on the mean and variance of $n_s$.
The approximation on $\mathbb{E}[n_s]$ and $\mathbb{D}[n_s]$ are given by E\[n\_s\]&&e\^[-]{} \[eq.mean\_3\],\
D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2 \[eq.var\_3\]\
&& E\[n\_s\]-3TE\[n\_s\]\^2.
Please refer to Appendix.C.
From the above results, it is seen that under shot noise and sampling period $T$, the equivalent photon arrival rate is reduced to $\frac{\tau\lambda(1-q)}{T}$, while the equivalent dead time remains the same as that without shot noise.
### Analysis for case $T\le\tau$
We still calculate the probabilities of $F[kT]<\xi$ and $F[(k+1)T]>\xi$. However, the two cases are not statistically independent. When one photon arrives in interval $[(k+1)T-\tau,kT]$, the samples at $(k+1)T$ may be changed. Assuming small $\lambda T$ and $\sigma$, the probability of $F[(k+1)T]>\xi$ is that of at least one photon arriving. To make the analysis tractable, we adopt the approximation of at most one photon arrival in interval $[kT - \tau, kT]$ based on the assumption of sufficiently small $\tau\lambda$. We analyze the probability of $n[k] = 1$ considering the following three cases:
**Case** ${\cal E}_1$: No photon arrives in $[kT-\tau,kT]$. Then the probability of $n[k]=1$ is that of a photon arriving between $kT$ and $(k+1)T$, given by P (n\[k\]=1|[E]{}\_1)&=&1-\_[k=0]{}\^Q()\
&&1-e\^[-T]{}(1+T q), where we denote $Q(-\infty)=1$.
**Case** ${\cal E}_2$: One photon arrives in $[kT-\tau,(k+1)T-\tau]$, and no photon arrives in $[(k+1)T-\tau,kT]$. Since the photon arrival in $[kT-\tau,(k+1)T-\tau]$ does not affect the sample $F[(k+1)T]$, the probability of $n[k]=1$ is given by P (n\[k\]=1|[E]{}\_2)&=&P (F\[kT\]<|[E]{}\_2)P(F\[(k+1)T\]>)\
&& q.
**Case** ${\cal E}_3$: No photon arrives in $[kT-\tau,(k+1)T-\tau]$, and one photon arrives in $[(k+1)T-\tau,kT]$. Recalling that the probability $\mathbb P(F[kT]<\xi)$ can be approximated to be zero if more than one photon arrives in $[kT-\tau,kT]$, we have the probability of $n[k]=1$ as follows, P (n\[k\]=1|[E]{}\_3)=q. Thus, we also have the following approximation on probability $\mathbb P[n_s=1]$, given by P\[n\_s=1\] &=& P\[n\_s=1|[E]{}\_1\]P\[[E]{}\_1\]+P\[n\_s=1|[E]{}\_2\]P\[[E]{}\_2\]+P\[n\_s=1|[E]{}\_3\]P\[[E]{}\_3\]\
&=&e\^[-]{}(1+Tq)+e\^[-]{}(-T)q(1-e\^[-T]{})\
&=&e\^[-]{}(1+q)-e\^[-(+T)]{}\
&& e\^[-]{}(1+q)\
&& e\^[-]{}(1+q).
Moreover, we also have the following approximation on the mean and variance of $n_s$.
We have the following approximation on $\mathbb{E}[n_s]$ and $\mathbb{D}[n_s]$, E\[n\_s\]&&(1-q)e\^[(1-q)(+)]{} \[eq.mean\_4\],\
D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2 \[eq.var\_4\]\
&& E\[n\_s\]-2(+)E\[n\_s\]\^2.
Please refer to Appendix.D.
Based on the above results on the mean and variance, we have that with electrical noise, the equivalent photon arrival rate is reduced to $(1-q)\lambda$ and the equivalent dead time remains the same as that without shot noise.
The Number of Detected Photoelectrons with Both Shot and Thermal Noise
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In the photon-counting system, the electrical thermal noises in the PMT and amplifier are significantly weaker than the shot noise, i.e., $\sigma_0<<\sigma$. Consider one sample at $nT$, when there are $k$ ($k\ge1$) pulses merging at $nT$, the variance of this sample is $k\sigma^2+\sigma_0^2$, where the standard deviation is $\sqrt{k\sigma^2+\sigma_0^2}<\sqrt k\sigma+\frac{\sigma_0^2}{2k\sigma^2}$. Since $\frac{\sigma_0^2}{2k\sigma^2}$ is significantly smaller than $\frac{\sigma_0}{\sigma}$, we assume negligible thermal noise in the sample at $nT$ in case of one pulse arrival event that brings shot noise, and consider the probability that the sample at $nT$ exceeds the decision threshold in case of no photon arrivals in $[nT-\tau, nT]$.
As aforementioned in last subsection, the photon-counting process with shot noise can be approximated as a new photon-counting process with its equivalent photon arrival rate. Comparing with the model without shot noise, it can be found that the shot noise only results in a modified photon arrival rate, i.e., $\lambda'\dff (1-q)\lambda$. Hence the counting process with both shot and thermal noise can be approximated as that without shot noise but under a modified photon arrival rate corresponding to the shot noise. Such approximation performs well according to simulation results. Similar to the former analysis on the moments of detected pulse numbers, we investigate the two cases of $T>\tau$ and $T\le\tau$.
### Analysis for Case $T>\tau$
We calculate the probability of $F[kT]<\xi$ and $F[(k+1)T]>\xi$. Recall the formula (\[eq.noisecase1\_prob1\]), The probability $\mathbb P \left(F[kT]<\xi\right)$ is given by P (F\[kT\]<)&& e\^[-]{}(1-p)+e\^[-]{}q\
&&e\^[-]{}(1-p)+e\^[-]{}q(1-p)\
&&e\^[-’]{}(1-p), where $p\dff Q\left(\frac{\xi}{\sigma_0}\right)$ denotes the probability that the thermal noise signal exceeds the decision threshold $\xi$. Then we have the probability of $n[k]=1$, given by \[eq.prob\_5\] P\[n\[k\]=1\]&=&P\[F\[kT\]<\] P\[F\[(k+1)T\]>\]\
&=&e\^[-’]{}(1-p).
Moreover, we have the following results on the mean and variance of $n_s$.
We have the following approximation on $\mathbb{E}[n_s]$ and $\mathbb{D}[n_s]$, E\[n\_s\]&& \[eq.mean\_5\],\
D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2 \[eq.var\_5\]\
&& E\[n\_s\]+(2T\^2-3T)E\[n\_s\]\^2.
Since the events $F[kT]<\xi$ and $F[(k+1)T]>\xi$ are statistical independent, the above results can be derived by following the identical procedures as that given in Appendix. A, which is omitted here.
### Analysis for Case $T\le\tau$
Similarly, the counting system with shot noise can be approximated as a new counting system with a modified photon arrival rate. One pulse is recorded in $[kT,(k+1)T]$ if $F[kT]<\xi$ and $F[(k+1)T]>\xi$. The probability of one pulse detected in this interval is given by $e^{-\lambda\tau}(1-p)\left[1-e^{-\lambda T}(1-p)\right]$. Considering the total number of detected pulses, we have the following results on its mean and variance of $n_s$.
We have the following results on $\mathbb{E}[n_s]$ and $\mathbb{D}[n_s]$, E\[n\_s\]&& \[eq.mean\_6\],\
D\[n\_s\]&&E\[n\_s\]\
&& +E\[n\_s\]\^2\
&&E\[n\_s\]+2E\[n\_s\]\^2.\[eq.var\_6\]
Please refer to Appendix.E.
Signal Detection and System Parameter Optimization
==================================================
Binomial Approximation on Likelihood Functions
----------------------------------------------
At the receiver side, let $\mathbb{P}(n|\lambda)$ denote the probability of detecting $n$ pulses under where number of detected photoelectrons satisfies a Poisson distribution with mean $\lambda$. We adopt the maximum likelihood (ML) detection, given as follows, Y={
[ll]{} 1, & P(n\_s|\_1,)P(n\_s|\_0,),\
0, & P(n\_s|\_1,)<P(n\_s|\_0,);
. where $\lambda_0$ and $\lambda_1$ denote the mean number of photons for symbols $0$ and $1$, respectively.
However, the complicated term of $\mathbb P(n|\lambda,\tau)$ may make the analysis on the exact error probability intractable. We resort to the KL distance-based criterion, and adopt binomial approximation with the same mean and variance on the probability $\mathbb P(n_s|\lambda,\tau)$.
Based on the mean and variance of $n_s$ given in Corollary $5$ and Corollary $4$, for the mean number of photoelectrons $\lambda$, the parameters in binomial distribution for the two cases $T>\tau$ and $T\le\tau$ are given as follows.
- For $T>\tau$, we have that \[eq.binoapprox\_para1\] N&=&,\
P&=&2’N,
- For $T\le\tau$, we have that \[eq.binoapprox\_para2\] N&=&,\
P&=&2’N{1-},
where $\hat N\dff \mathbb E[n_s]$ denotes the mean recorded pulse number, $\lambda'=\lambda(1-q)$. $\tau'=\tau+T/2$ and $\tau'=\frac{3T}{2}$ denotes the equivalent dead time for the cases $T\le\tau$ and $T>\tau$, respectively.
For the case of $T>\tau$, we have the mean $\mathbb E[n_s]=\hat N=NP$, and the variance $\mathbb D[n_s]=\hat N-2\tau'\hat N^2=NP(1-P)$. Thus Equation (\[eq.binoapprox\_para1\]) can be directly obtained by solving the above two equations.
For the case of $T\le\tau$, we also write the equations on the mean and variance, given by NP&=&N,\
NP(1-P)&=& N{1+2(-1)p + 2N}. Dividing the second equation by the first one, we have the following result on $P$ \[eq.binoappro\_P\] P&=&2’N - -2(-1)p\
&=&2’N{1-}. Then we have the following result on $N$ \[eq.binoappro\_N\] N==.
Based on Theorem 3, it is seen that for $T > \tau$, the binomial distribution approximations for $\lambda_0$ and $\lambda_1$ have the same length but different probability distributions, i.e., $N_1 = N_0$ but $P_1 \neq P_0$; but for $T < \tau$, the binomial distribution approximations for $\lambda_0$ and $\lambda_1$ have the different lengths and different probabilities, i.e., $N_1 \neq N_0$ and $P_1 \neq P_0$. For such lengthes and probabilities, the parameters $\lambda'$ and $\tau'$ can be estimated via matching the first and second moments of the distributions.
The Decision Threshold and Holding Time Optimization
----------------------------------------------------
The decision threshold $\xi$ and holding time $\tau$ needs to be optimized to improve the pulse-counting performance.
As discussed, we consider the KL distance between two binomial distributions rather than the formulation of total error probability, since the optimization on the exact error probability may be intractable. Two approximated likelihood functions, denoted as $P_1^B\dff \mathbb B(N_1,P_1)$ and $P_0^B\dff \mathbb B(N_0,P_0)$, respectively, have the following KL distances for the case of $T>\tau$, \[eq.KLD1\] D(P\_0\^B||P\_1\^B)&=& N\_0;\
D(P\_1\^B||P\_0\^B)&=&N\_0. and the following KL distances for the case of $T\le\tau$, \[eq.KLD2\] D(P\_0\^B||P\_1\^B)&=&E\_[n|p\_0]{}+N\_0(1-P\_0)\
&&+N\_0P\_0+(N\_0-N\_1)(1-P\_1);\
D(P\_1\^B||P\_0\^B)&=&E\_[n|p\_1]{}+N\_1(1-P\_1)\
&&+N\_1P\_1+(N\_1-N\_0)(1-P\_0).
According to the Chernoff-Stein Lemma [@ElementsInfoTheory], we pursue the optimal threshold $\xi^*$ that maximizes the minimum of the above two KL distances. More specifically, the optimal threshold $\xi^*$ and holding time $\tau^*$ are defined as \[eq.opt1\] {\^\*,\^\*}=\_[,]{}{D(P\_0\^B||P\_1\^B),D(P\_1\^B||P\_0\^B)}. Note that the exact solution to the above optimization problem is intractable. In the remainder of this subsection, we resort to an approximation but tractable solution, which does not show significant loss in simulations.
Note that the probability $P_1$ is of the same order of $\lambda_1\tau$ when $p$ is sufficiently small, and that $P_0<P_1$ if we try to maintain reliable communication. The expectation of $n$ in (\[eq.KLD2\]) is much smaller than $N_1$ and $N_0$, and thus each term in the summation is close to each other. Therefore, we have the following approximation on the KL distances in (\[eq.KLD2\]), D(P\_0\^B||P\_1\^B)&& (N\_0-N\_1)+N\_0P\_0\
&&+N\_0(1-P\_0)+(N\_0-N\_1)(1-P\_1)\
&=&N\_1+N\_0P\_0;\
D(P\_1\^B||P\_0\^B)&&(N\_0-N\_1)+N\_1P\_1\
&&+N\_1(1-P\_1)+(N\_1-N\_0)(1-P\_0)\
&=&N\_0+N\_1P\_1.
Note that the optical scattering communication is typically operating in the UV spectrum, where the background radiation is sufficiently small. We can formulate the optimization problem assuming sufficiently small $\lambda_0$. First we have the following lemma.
Let $\tau'_0\dff \frac{3T}{2}$. If $\log \frac{\hat N_1}{\hat N_0}>\frac{1+\frac{\tau'}{\tau_0'}}{1-2\tau'\hat N_1}$, we have approximately $D(P_0^B||P_1^B)<D(P_1^B||P_0^B)$ for both cases of $T>\tau$ and $T\le\tau$.
Please refer to Appendix.F.
Note that for sufficiently small $p$ and $\lambda_1\tau'$, the condition $\log \frac{\hat N_1}{\hat N_0}>\frac{1+\frac{\tau'}{\tau_0'}}{1-2\tau'\hat N_1}$ can be easily satisfied in the photon-counting system with sufficiently small background radiation if $\frac{\tau'}{\tau_0'}$ is not large. Based on such assumption, the optimization problem in (\[eq.opt1\]) can be approximated as follows, \[eq.opt2\] {\^\*,\^\*}=\_[,]{}D(P\_0\^B||P\_1\^B).
### Optimization on $\tau$
We first consider the optimization on $\tau$. For the case of $T>\tau$, we have the following result.
Let $\gamma\dff\frac{\hat N_1}{\hat N_0}$. For the case of $T>\tau$, we have the optimal holding time $\tau^*=T$ if $p<\frac{1}{2}-\frac{\log \gamma}{2(\gamma-1)}-\gamma\tau$.
We write the derivative of $D(P_0^B||P_1^B)$ with respect to $\tau$ as follows, =+.
Then we show that the above derivative is larger than zero, which is equivalent to proving the following .
Considering the function $\frac{\log a- \log b}{a-b}$, which is decreasing with respect to both $a$ and $b$. Then the result can be proved if the following can be proved, =. Defining $h(x)=\frac{1-(1-p)e^{-\beta x}}{x}$, we have that $\frac{\partial h(x)}{\partial x}=\frac{-1+(1-p)(1+\beta x)e^{-\beta x}}{x^2}\le0$, which implies that \[eq.opt\_tau\_ineq1\] >=. Moreover, we have $\frac{2(1-p)e^{-\lambda_1'\tau}-1}{2(1-p)e^{-\lambda_0'\tau}-1}>2(1-p)e^{-\lambda_1'\tau-1}>2(1-p)(1-\lambda_1'\tau)-1>1-2p-2\lambda_1'\tau$. Then the inequality (\[eq.opt\_tau\_ineq1\]) is satisfied if the following holds (-1)(1-2p-2\_1’), which is equivalent to the condition given in this lemma.
Note that for sufficiently small background radiation $\lambda_0$, $p$ and $\lambda_1'\tau$, the condition $p<\frac{1}{2}-\frac{\log \gamma}{2(\gamma-1)}-\gamma_1\tau$ can be satisfied by the photon-counting system under consideration, and thus the optimal holding time can be obtained in Lemma 2.
Then we consider the case of $T\le\tau$, where the KL distance $D(P_0^B||P_1^B)$ can be written as follows \[eq.KLD3\] D(P\_0\^B||P\_1\^B)= N\_1+N\_1 (1-P\_0)+N\_0P\_0-N\_0P\_0(1-P\_0).
We first discuss the term $N_1\log\frac{1}{1-P_1}$. Considering sufficiently small $p$ such that $p<<\lambda_1' T$, we have $P_1\approx2\tau'\hat N_1$ and $N_1\approx \frac{1}{2\tau'}$. Then the first term of KL distance $D(p_0^B||p_1^B)$ given in (\[eq.KLD3\]) can be approximated by N\_12N\_1.
We first have the following lemma that provides a sufficient condition on the negative property of the derivative of $N_1\log\frac{1}{1-P_1}$ with respect to $\tau$.
If probability $p\le 1-e^{-\lambda_1'^3T^3}$, we have that $N_1\log\frac{1}{1-P_1}$ decreases strictly with respect to $\tau$ for $\tau\ge T$.
Please refer to Appendix.G.
For the term $N_1\log(1-P_0)$, note that $N_1=\frac{1}{2\tau'}$ decreases with respect to $\tau$, and =2N\_00, if $p\le\frac{1-\lambda_0\tau'}{\alpha+1/2}$. Thus the term $N_1\log(1-P_0)$ decreases with respect to $\tau$ if $p\le\frac{1-\lambda_0\tau'}{\alpha+1/2}$.
We consider the second term $N_0P_0\left[\log\frac{P_0}{P_1}+\log(1-P_1)\right]$, denoted as $R(\tau)$. Its derivative with respect to $\tau$ is given as follows, =N\_0+r(), where $r(\tau)\dff\log\frac{P_0}{P_1}+\log(1-P_1)$. For the function $r(\tau)$, we have the following lemma.
If $p\le1-\frac{2(\alpha-1)}{2\alpha+1}e^{\lambda_0'(\tau+T)}$, then function $r(\tau)$ strictly decreases with respect to $\tau$.
Please refer to Appendix.H.
Finally, according to the above results on the terms of $D(P_0^B||P_1^B)$, assuming that the condition $p\le\min\left\{1-e^{-\lambda_1'^3T^3},1-\frac{2(\alpha-1)}{2\alpha+1}e^{\lambda_0'(\tau+T)}\right\}$ is satisfied, we have the following, \[eq.KLD\_difference\] D\_[01]{}()-D\_[01]{}(T)&&\_ (-T)+[N\_0 P\_0]{}\
&=&\_ {P\_0-\_0’(-T)}N\_0. According to (\[eq.opt\_tau\_ineq1\]), we have $\frac{\hat N_0}{\hat N_1}\ge\frac{\lambda_0'}{\lambda_1'}$ and $\frac{N_1}{N_0}\ge\frac{\tau_0'}{\tau'}\ge\frac{3}{2\alpha+3}$, which provides a lower bound on $\frac{P_0}{P_1}$, given by $\frac{P_0}{P_1}=\frac{\hat N_0}{\hat N_1}\frac{N_1}{N_0}\ge\frac{3\lambda_0'}{(2\alpha+3)\lambda_1'}$. Then an upper bound on $D_{01}(\tau)-D_{01}(T)$ is given follows, \[eq.KLD\_difference2\] D\_[01]{}()-D\_[01]{}(T)\_{P\_0+\_0’+\_0’}N\_0. In optical scattering communication, we consider sufficiently small $\lambda_0$ and thermal noise variance such that $\lambda_0<<1$ and $\frac{p}{T}<<1$. Then we have that $\hat N_0<\frac{1-(1-\lambda_0'T)(1-p)}{T}<\lambda_0'+\frac{p}{T}<<1$ and $P_0<2\tau\hat N_1<<1$. It is seen that for not large $\alpha$ and $\lambda_1$ (large $\lambda_1$ would incur channel capacity loss, because we can divided each slot into a shorter one to realize a higher transmission rate), the term $\lambda_0'\tau\left[\log\frac{(2\alpha+3)\lambda_1'}{3}+\log(1-P_1)\right]$ can be regarded as the same order of $\lambda_0'\tau$. Hence, it could be observed that the expression of Equation (\[eq.KLD\_difference2\]) is of the order lower than $-\bar N_0^2\log\bar N_0$, where $\bar N_0\dff\lambda_0'+\frac{p}{T}$. Since $\bar N_0<<1$, the upper bound given in (\[eq.KLD\_difference2\]) is also small and can be neglected. Based on the experimental measurements, the detail numerical analysis of this upper bound will be further presented in Section \[section\_V\_C\] .
Hence, we choose $\tau^*=T$ as the holding time, and the performance loss may become negligible.
### Optimization on $\xi$
Recall that we select the value $\tau^*=T$ as the sub-optimal but satisfactory holding time, which is independent of the decision threshold $\xi$. Then we have that $\alpha=1$, $\delta=0$ when $\tau=T$, thus Equations (\[eq.KLD1\]) and (\[eq.KLD2\]) are identical.
We aim to maximize $D(P_0^B||P_1^B)$. Due to the complicated form of the KL distance with respect to $\xi$, we adopt numerical optimization solutions, such as Genetic Algorithm to seek the optimal decision threshold. Note that the KL distance is a bounded deterministic function with respect to $p$ and $q$ when $\lambda_1$ and $\lambda_0$ are given. Considering small $\sigma_0$ and $\sigma$, there exists a wide region of $\xi$ where the parameters $p$ and $q$ vary slightly, which implies that the KL distance also varies slightly. In the numerical results, we will show that the BER curve with respect to $\xi$ has a wide and flat region, where the performance loss of optimal threshold selection deviation is negligible.
Discussions of the Conditions on $p$ and Upper Bound in (\[eq.KLD\_difference2\]) {#section_V_C}
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### Conditions on $p$
In the previous subsection, we provides three conditions on probability $p$, which can be summarized as follows, \[eq.diss\_p\_1\] p{1-e\^[-\_1’\^3T\^3]{},,1-e\^[\_0’(+T)]{}}.
In the UV optical wireless communication, the background radiation can be extremely small, where we assume $\lambda_0<<1$ and $\frac{\lambda_1}{\lambda_0}>>1$.
Considering the term $1-e^{-\lambda_1'^3T^3}$. In the receiver side, we assume the sampling resource is well utilized, which implies $\lambda_1'T$ could not be extremely small like $\lambda_0'T$. Thus, we assume $\lambda_1'T>0.02$ by referring to our experiment setting and channel characterization experiment [@wang2017demonstration]. Then we have $1-e^{-\lambda_1'^3T^3}>8\times 10^{-6}$.
For the second term, we assume extremely small $\lambda_0'(\tau+T)$ $(<0.01)$ and not large $\alpha$ $(\le10)$. Then it can be seen that $\frac{1-\lambda_0\tau'}{\alpha+1/2}>0.0943$.
As for the last term in the right side of (\[eq.diss\_p\_1\]), according to the above assumption on $\alpha$ and $\lambda_0\tau'$, it can be observed that $1-\frac{2(\alpha-1)}{2\alpha+1}e^{\lambda_0'(\tau+T)}>0.144$.
For the photon counting system, the variance thermal is found to be significantly less than one $(<0.02^2)$, then it could be seen that for $\xi>0.09$, we have $p<Q(\frac{\xi}{\sigma_0})=3.4\times10^{-6}<8\times 10^{-6}$. Thus, the conditions on $p$ could be satisfied when the decision threshold $\xi$ is not too small.
### Discussion on Upper Bound in (\[eq.KLD\_difference2\])
Considering that for sufficiently weak background radiation, i.e. $\lambda_0<0.1$, $\lambda_1=20$ is large enough to achieve reliable information transmission, and we may shorten each time slot for a larger $\lambda_1$ to increase the communication rate. Meanwhile, assuming $\lambda_1\tau'<<1$ such that $P_1=2\tau'\hat N_1\le2\tau'\lambda_1\le0.5$, and $\alpha\le10$, we have $\log\frac{(2\alpha+3)\lambda_1'}{3}-\log(1-P_1)<5.7258$. Note that we have $\lambda_0'\tau<0.01$ for sufficiently weak background radiation, $T>\frac{0.02}{20}=0.001$ for well utilization of sampling resource, and $p<8\times 10^{-6}$ for satisfying the conditions $p\le1-e^{-\lambda_1'^3T^3}$. It can be seen that $D_{01}(\tau)-D_{01}(T)<0.0102<<1$, which implies that the photon counting system only incur negligible performance loss compared with the optimal one when we select $\tau^*=T$.
Signal Detection
----------------
Since we select $\tau^*=T$ as the sub-optimal holding time in the photon-counting system, it can be seen that $N_1=N_0=\frac{1}{3T}$. Thus the two likelihood functions are given as follows, P(n|\_1,=T)&&B(,3TN\_1);\
P(n|\_0,=T)&&B(,3TN\_0). Based on the above likelihood functions, we can obtain the following detection threshold, n\_[th]{}=. The error probabilities are then given by \[eq.error\_prob2\] p\_e==.
Experimental and Numerical Simulation Results
=============================================
We first present the experimental results. In the transmitter side, the intensity of transmitted light remains constant during the photon-counting process, while three experiments with different intensities are conducted. In the receiver side, a PMT, pulse holding circuits, an ADC, and a post-processing FPGA are adopted to realize the photon-counting process. In the three different experiments, the ADC sampling rate is set to be $100$MHz, and the decision threshold is set to be a low value due to the small thermal noise.
Figure \[fig.exp\_fit\] shows the PMF of recorded pulses per microsecond, which contains the experimental results, the fitting results according to Equation (\[eq.dis\_subpoisson\]) and binomial distribution. The fitting parameters are obtained based on matching the first-order and second-order moments. It can be seen that Equation (\[eq.dis\_subpoisson\]) and binomial distribution both fit well even under finite sampling rate and electrical noise. The binomial distribution can serve as a good model to describe the number of recorded photoelectrons.
Then we provide simulation results to verify our proposed approximation results in Section.II. Assume the mean number of photoelectrons $\lambda=10$, and no electrical noise. Figure \[fig.fit\_nonoise1\] and Figure \[fig.fit\_nonoise2\] show the estimated equivalent dead time and photon arrival rate with respect to sampling rate for different holding times, where the results from the both theoretical analysis and simulation are provided. It is seen that the two types of results match well, which validates Corollary $1$ and $2$ in Section.II.
Moreover, we consider the photon-counting system with shot noise and finite sampling rate. Assuming the mean number of photoelectrons $\lambda=10$, and $100$ samples per symbol duration. Figures \[fig.fit\_noise1\] and \[fig.fit\_noise2\] show the equivalent dead time $\tau'$ and photon arrival rate $\lambda'$ compared with the ideal model for different shot noise variances, respectively, based on both theoretical approximation and simulations. It can be seen that the equivalent dead time and photon arrival rate obtained from simulations match well with the theoretical results given in Corollary $3$ and $4$. We also consider thermal noise, where the shot and thermal variances are $0.2$ and $0.02$, respectively. Figures \[fig.fit\_noise3\] and \[fig.fit\_noise4\] compare the binomial distribution parameters $N$ and $P$ obtained from numerical simulation and theoretical results of Theorem 3 for different decision thresholds, respectively. It can also be seen that the binomial approximation with parameters given in Theorem 3 can well characterize the practical photon-counting system with both thermal and shot noise under finite sampling rate.
We adopt Monte Carlo method to obtain the bit error rate of the photon counting system, where the shot and thermal variances are set to be $0.2$ and $0.02$, respectively. Figure \[fig.ber\_sampling1\] shows the simulation results of bit error rate performance for different holding times $\tau$ and sampling periods $T$, where decision threshold $\xi$ is set to be $0.3$. It can be seen that the photon counting system performs well when $\tau=T$ for fixed $T$, the BER performance is close to the optimal one. Figure \[fig.ber\_th1\] shows the simulated BER for different decision thresholds $\xi$, where $\tau$ is set to be $0.01$ according to the holding time selection rule. It can be observed that there exists a wide and flat region in each curve, where the optimal threshold locates in such flat region while a slight change of threshold selection may only incur negligible performance loss. Finally, we compare the performance of the proposed sub-optimal holding time and decision threshold selection rule and the optimal counterpart in Figure \[fig.ber\_compare\]. It can be seen that the proposed sub-optimal selection rule shows negligible performance loss compared with the optimal one.
Conclusion
==========
We have analyzed the architecture of PMT-based photon-counting receiver with finite holding time and sampling rate, and showed that the dead time effect can lead to a sub-Poisson characteristics. We have studied the first-order and second-order moments on the sub-Poisson for the number of detected photoelectrons under finite sampling rate and electrical noise. Moreover, we have proposed a binomial distribution approximation on such sub-Poisson distribution and provided a tractable holding time and decision threshold selection rule based on maximizing the minimal KL distance. Experimental results showed that the proposed sub-Poisson model and the binomial approximation can well characterize practical photon-counting system. Besides, numerical results can well characterize the equivalent arrival rate under finite-rate sampling and the associated binomial parameters $P$ and $N$ under electrical noises. Simulations results also shown that the performance of the proposed holding time and decision threshold selection rules is close to that of the optimal counterpart.
Appendix
========
Proof of Theorem 1
------------------
Note that $\mathbb P[n[k]=1]=e^{-\lambda \tau}(1-e^{-\lambda \tau})$, we have the following \[eq.append\_A\_1\] E\[n\_s\]&=&E= \_[k=0]{}\^[N-1]{}E\[n\[k\]\]\
&=&.
We next consider the variance of $n_s$. We have the following second moment of $n_s$, \[eq.append\_S\_2\] E\[n\_s\^2\]&=&E\
&=&E . Since $n[k]$ can only take the value of $0$ or $1$, we have that $\mathbb E[n[k]^2]=\mathbb E[n[k]]$. Thus we have that \[eq.append\_B\_3\] E =E\[n\_s\]=.
Consider the case of $|k-l|>1$, where the photoelectron detected in interval $[kT,(k+1)T]$ has no impact on the counting in interval $[lT,(l+1)T]$. Thus $n[k]$ and $n[l]$ are statistically independent, which shows E\[n\[k\]n\[l\]\]&=&E\[n\[k\]\]\^2\
&=&\^2, for |k-l|>1. Consider the case of $|k-l|=1$. Since the sample at time $(k+1)T$ must be larger than the threshold if one pulse is detected in interval $[kT,(k+1)T]$, we have $\mathbb P[n[l]=0|n[k]=1]=1$, and thus E\[n\[k\]n\[l\]\]=0, for |k-l|=1. Based in the above two cases, we have E&=&\_[|k-l|2]{}E\[n\[k\]n\[l\]\]\
&=&(-1)(-2)\^2,\
and then E\[n\_s\^2\]=E\[n\_s\]+(1-3T+2T\^2)E\[n\_s\]\^2.
Proof of Theorem 2
------------------
Note that $\mathbb P[n[k]=1]=e^{-\lambda \tau}(1-e^{-\lambda T})$, we have the following \[eq.append\_B\_1\] E\[n\_s\]&=&E= \_[k=0]{}\^[N-1]{}E\[n\[k\]\]\
&=&.
We next consider the variance of $n_s$. The second moment of $n_s$ is given as follows \[eq.append\_B\_2\] E\[n\_s\^2\]&=&E\
&=&E . Similar to the case of $T>\tau$, we have $\mathbb E \left[\sum_{k=0}^{N-1}n[k]^2\right]=\mathbb E[n_s]$.
Since the sampling period $T$ is less than or equal to the dead time $\tau$, let $\tau=\alpha T+\sigma$, where $\alpha$ is a positive integer and $0\le\sigma<T$. Due to the dead time effect, if one pulse is detected in interval $[kT,(k+1)T]$, the samples at time $(k+1)T, (k+2)T, \dots, (k+\alpha)T$ must be larger than the threshold, which implies that we cannot detect any pulse in the sampling intervals from $[(k+1)T,(k+2)T]$ to $[(k+\alpha)T,(k+\alpha+1)T]$. Thus we have E\[n\[k\]n\[l\]\]=0, for |k-l|. If $|k-l|\ge\alpha+2$, the rising edge detection in interval $[kT,(k+1)T]$ has no impact on that in $[lT,(l+1)T]$, and thus the number of detected pulse $n[k]$ and $n[l]$ are statistically independent. Then we have E\[n\[k\]n\[l\]\]&=&E\[n\[k\]\]\^2\
&=&\^2, for |k-l|+2. The last situation is $|k-l|=\alpha+1$, which needs to be more delicately analyzed. Assuming the number of detected pulse in interval $[kT,(k+1)T]$ is one, the necessary condition of one pulse detected in $[lT,(l+1)T]$ is the sample at time $lT$ smaller than the threshold, or no photon arrival in time region $[lT-\tau,lT]$. Note that since $lT-\tau=(k+\alpha+1)T-\alpha T-\sigma=(k+1)T-\sigma\le(k+1)T$, the event that $n[k]=n[l]=1$ is equivalent to the following two events: no arrival in $[kT-\tau,kT]\cup[lT-\tau,lT]$ and at least one arrival in $[kT,(k+1)T-\sigma]$ and $[lT,(l+1)T]$. The probability of such an event is given by P\[n\[k\]=1,n\[l\]=1\]=e\^[-2]{}(1-e\^[-(T-)]{})(1-e\^[-T]{}). Considering all the above three cases, we have that E&=&\_[|k-l|+2]{}\^2+\_[|k-l|=+1]{}e\^[-2]{}(1-e\^[-(T-)]{})(1-e\^[-T]{})\
&=&(1/T--1)(1/T--2)\^2\
&&+2(--1)e\^[-2]{}(1-e\^[-(T-)]{})(1-e\^[-T]{}). Substituting the above results into (\[eq.append\_B\_3\]) can lead to the second moment.
Proof of Corollary 3
--------------------
Note that the event of $F[kT]<\xi$ and $F[(k+1)T]>\xi$ are independent with each other, we have the following approximated probability of $\mathbb P[n[k]=1]$ based on the approximation forms of (\[eq.noisecase1\_prob1\]) and (\[eq.noisecase1\_prob2\]), P\[n\[k\]=1\]&=&P\[F\[kT\]<\] P\[F\[kT\]>\]\
&&e\^[-]{}(1+q). Note that $\lambda\tau$ and $q$ are both small, the mean of $n_s$ is approximated by E\[n\_s\]&=&\
&&\
&& e\^[-]{}, where the last step follows the same procedure as (\[eq.appendA\_appro\_mean\]).
We next consider the variance. The variance of $n_s$ can be approximated as follows D\[n\_s\]=E\[n\_s\]+\_[kl]{}E\[n\[k\]n\[l\]\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2. Similar to the case without shot or thermal noise, we have $\mathbb E[n[k]n[l]]=0$ for $|k-l|=1$, and $\mathbb E[n[k]n[l]]=E[n_s]^2/T^2$ for $|k-l|\ge 2$. Thus, the variance $\mathbb D[n_s]$ can be approximated by D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\]+T\^2(-1)(-2)E\[n\_s\]\^2-E\[n\_s\]\^2\
&&E\[n\_s\]-3TE\[n\_s\]\^2.
Proof of Corollary 4
--------------------
Similar to the case of $T>\tau$, the mean of $n_s$ is approximated by E\[n\_s\]&=&\
&&\
&& (1-q)e\^[-(1-q)(+)]{}, where the last step follows the same procedure as (\[eq.appendB\_approx\_mean\]).
Then we consider variance of $n_s$. We find the parameter $\alpha$ $0 \leq \delta < T$ such that $\tau=\alpha T+\delta$, the variance can be expressed as follows D\[n\_s\]=E -E\[n\_s\]\^2, where E\[\_[k=0]{}\^[N-1]{}n\[k\]\^2\]=E\[n\_s\], and we have the following for $|k-l|\ge\alpha+2$, E&=&(--1)(--2)E\[n\[k\]\]\^2.\
&&(1-T(2+3))E\[n\_s\]\^2. As for $|k-l|=\alpha+1$, note that more than one photon arrives in $[kT-\tau,kT]$, the probability $p(F[kT]<\xi)$ is assumed to be zero. Similar to the analysis for the case without shot noise, the event that $n[k]=n[l]=1$ is equivalent to the events no photon arrival in $[kT-\tau,kT]\cup[lT-\tau,lT]$ and at least one photon arrival in $[kT,(k+1)T-\sigma]$ and $[lT,(l+1)T]$, respectively. Thus we have E\[n\[k\]n\[l\]\]&=&e\^[-]{}(1+q)\
&& e\^[-]{}(1+q)\
&=&E\[n\[k\]\]\^2\
&& E\[n\[k\]\]\^2. Moreover, we have E&=&2(-1)E\[n\[k\]n\[l\]\]\
&& E\[n\_s\]\^2\[2(+1)T-2\]. Thus similar to (\[eq.appendB\_approx\_var\]), the variance of $n_s$ is approximated by D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\^2\]\
&& E\[n\_s\]+E\[n\_s\]\^2\[-T(2+3)+2(+1)T-2\]\
&=&E\[n\_s\]-2(+)E\[n\_s\]\^2.
Proof of Corollary 6
--------------------
Based on the probability of one pulse detected in $[kT,(k+1)T]$, the mean of $n_s$ can be directly derived as follows E\[n\_s\]&=&\_[k=0]{}\^[N-1]{}E\[n\[k\]\]\
&=&.
As for the variance of $n_s$, we consider the parameter $\alpha$ and $\delta$ such that $\tau=\alpha T+\delta$, where $0\le\delta<T$. And the variance $\mathbb D[n_s]$ has the following form D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\^2\]-E\[n\_s\]\^2\
&=&E-E\[n\_s\]\^2. Noting that $\mathbb E\left[\sum_{k=0}^{N-1}n[k]^2\right]=\mathbb E[n_s]$, we analyze the term $\mathbb E \left[\sum_{k\neq l}n[k]n[l]\right]$ in the following.
First it is obviously that $\mathbb P[n[k]n[l]]=0$ if $|k-l|=1$, since the adjacent two rising-edge cannot exist in the pulse detecting system. Similar to the no noise counting system, we have $\mathbb E[n[k]n[l]]=\mathbb E[n[k]]^2$ for $|k-l|\ge\alpha+2$, since the number of detected pulse $n[k]$ and $n[l]$ are statistically independent.
For $|k-l|=\alpha+1$, $n[k]$ and $n[l]$ are no longer statistically independent. For example, if $n[k]n[l]=1$, then there cannot exist any photon arrival in $[(k+1)T-\delta,(k+1)T]$. Recall that the probability $\mathbb P\left[n[k]=1\right]=e^{-\lambda'\tau}(1-p)\left[1-e^{-\lambda'T}(1-p)\right]$, the probability of $\mathbb P[n[k]n[l]=1]$ is given by P\[n\[k\]n\[l\]=1\] &=&P\[n\[k\]=1|n\[l\]=1\]P\[n\[l\]=1\]\
&=&e\^[-’]{}(1-p)\
&& e\^[-’]{}(1-p)\
&=&E\[n\[k\]\]\^2.
In contrast to the case of noiseless counting system, the probability of $n[k]n[l]=1$ is not zero when $1<|k-l|\le\alpha$. Since the thermal noise in different samples are statistically independent, events $n[k]=1$ and $n[l]=1$ may occur in case of no photon arrival in $[kT,lT]$. Therefore, the probability $\mathbb P[n[k]n[l]=1]$ is given by P\[n\[k\]n\[l\]=1\] &=&P\[n\[k\]=1|n\[l\]=1\]P\[n\[l\]=1\]\
&=&e\^[-’]{}(1-p)e\^[-’T|l-k|]{}p(1-p)\
&=&E\[n\[k\]\]p(1-p)e\^[-’T|l-k|]{}. Thus, the variance $\mathbb D[n_s]$ can be obtained as follows \[eq.appendix5\_var1\] D\[n\_s\]&=&E\[n\_s\]\
&& +E\[n\_s\]\^2
Note that $\lambda'sT<\lambda'\tau<<1$, we have \_[s=2]{}\^(1-sT)p(1-p)e\^[-’sT]{}&&\_[s=2]{}\^(1-sT)p(1-p)\[1-’sT\]\
&&p(1-p)\
&&p(-1)\[eq.appendix5\_approx\_6\_1\]. Moreover, we have the following results on $\frac{1-e^{-\lambda'(T-\delta)}(1-p)}{1-e^{-\lambda'T}(1-p)}$, &&\
&&\
&=&+\[eq.appendix5\_approx\_6\_2\]
Substituting (\[eq.appendix5\_approx\_6\_1\]) and (\[eq.appendix5\_approx\_6\_2\]) into (\[eq.appendix5\_var1\]), ignoring the second order quantities ($T^2$) that is deemed to be sufficiently small, we have the following result on the variance of $n_s$, D\[n\_s\]E\[n\_s\]+2E\[n\_s\]\^2.
Proof of Lemma 1
----------------
For the case of $T>\tau$, we have $N_1=N_0\dff N$, $\frac{P_1}{P_0}=\frac{\hat N_1}{\hat N_0}$, $\frac{\tau'}{\tau'_0}=1$ and the following D(P\_1\^B||P\_0\^B)-D(P\_0\^B||P\_1\^B)&=&N\
&>&N\
&>&N.
For $T>\tau$, since $\log\frac{\hat N_1}{\hat N_0}>\frac{2}{1-\hat N_1\tau'}$, it is straightforward that $D(P_1^B||P_0^B)-D(P_0^B||P_1^B)>0$ for the case $T>\tau$. For $T\le\tau$, we have $\tau'=\tau+\frac{T}{2}$, and the following D(P\_1\^B||P\_0\^B)-D(P\_0\^B||P\_1\^B)&&N\_0+N\_1P\_1\
&& -N1-N\_0P\_0\
&=&(N\_1P\_1+N\_0P\_0)-(N\_0+N\_1-N\_1P\_1-N\_0P\_0)\
&>&N\_1.
Noting that $\hat N$ decreases with respect to $\lambda'$, we have N(’)N(0), where N(0)&=&==. Thus, we have that $\frac{N_1+N_0}{N_1}<1+\frac{\tau'}{\tau_0'}$. Recall the expressions of $P_0$ and $P_1$ in Theorem 3, we have $\frac{P_1}{P_0}>\frac{\hat N_1}{\hat N_0}$. Moreover, since $\frac{\hat N_1}{\hat N_0}>\frac{1+\frac{\tau'}{\tau'_0}}{1-2\tau'\hat N_1}$, we have that $D(P_1^B||P_0^B)-D(P_0^B||P_1^B)>0$ for the case of $T\le\tau$.
Proof of Lemma 3
----------------
We first write the derivative of $N_1\log\frac{1}{1-P_1}$ with respect to $\tau$ in the following, &=&-\
&=&. Then we need to prove that $p_1(1-\lambda_1'\tau')+(1-p_1)\log{(1-p_1)}\le0$. Noting that we have $(1-x)\log(1-x)\le-x+\frac{x(e^x-1)}{2}$ for $0\le x<0.5$, thus we need to prove the following is satisfied, p\_1(1-\_1’’)-p\_1+=(e\^[p\_1]{}-1-2\_1’’)0, which is equivalent to proving the following \[eq.appendG\_ieq1\] N\_1. Recall that $\hat N_1=\frac{e^{-\lambda_1'\tau}(1-p)\left[1-e^{-\lambda_1'T}(1-p)\right]}{T}\dff e^{-\lambda_1'\tau}C$, where $C$ is independent of $\tau$. We may need to prove that function $g(\tau)\dff 2(\tau+T/2)e^{-\lambda_1'\tau}C-\log[1+2\lambda_1'(\tau+T/2)]$ decreases strictly with respect to $\tau$, i.e., we need to prove that $\frac{\partial g(\tau)}{\partial \tau}=\frac{2\left[\hat N_1(1-4\lambda_1^2\tau'^2)-\lambda_1'\right]}{1+2\lambda_1'\tau'}\le0$. We first assume it is true, and the strict proof will be given in the rest part of this appendix.
If it is true, the rest work is to prove that the inequality (\[eq.appendG\_ieq1\]) holds when $\tau=T$. Let $z\dff\lambda_1'T$, and $h(z,p)\dff g(T)=3(1-p)e^{-z}\left[1-e^{-z}(1-p)\right]-\log(1+3z)$. Note that for small $z$ and $p$, function $h(z,p)$ increases strictly with respect to $p$. Thus recalling the condition given in Lemma 3, we have h(z)&=&3(1-p)e\^[-z]{}-(1+3z)\
&&3e\^[-z-z\^3]{}(1-e\^[-z-z\^3]{})-(1+3z)r(z). For the function $r(z)$, we have =. Note that for sufficiently small $z$ we have the following, &&2(1+3z\^2)(1+3z)-e\^[z+z\^3]{}(1+3z\^2)(1+3z)-e\^[2(z+z\^3)]{}\
&&2(1+3z\^2)(1+3z)-(1+z+z\^3)(1+3z\^2)(1+3z)-(1+z+z\^3)\^2\
&&=-z\^2(1-3z+14z\^2+3z\^3+10z\^4)0, where the last inequality holds due to the small $z$. Thus we have $\frac{\partial r(z)}{\partial z}<0$, which leads to $g(\tau)\le g(T)=h(z)\le r(z)\le r(0)=0$.
Finally we prove that $\frac{\partial g(\tau)}{\partial \tau}<0$ in the following. Recall that the inequality $h(z)\le0$ have been proved, we have N\_1&&\
&&z/T=\_1’, and thus $\hat N_1(1-4\lambda_1^2\tau'^2)-\lambda_1\le\hat N_1-\lambda_1'\le0$, which shows that $\frac{\partial q(\tau)}{\partial \tau} \leq 0$, i.e., $g(\tau)$ is decreasing with respect to $\tau$.
Proof of Lemma 4
----------------
We write the derivative of $r(\tau)$ with respect to $\tau$ as follows, &=&-\
&=&-. We first prove that $\frac{1}{P_0}\frac{\partial P_0}{\partial \tau}$ is less than $\frac{1}{\tau'}$. Note that N\_0 T&=&e\^[-\_0’]{}(1-p)\
&=&e\^[-\_0’(+T)]{}(1-p)\
&&e\^[-\_0’(+T)]{}(1-p)(\_0’T+p). Substituting the condition into the above inequality, we have \[eq.lemma4\_ieq1\] =. Note that &&1-(+)-\
&&0, where the final inequality is obtained based on (\[eq.lemma4\_ieq1\]). Then it can be seen that $\frac{1}{P_0}\frac{\partial P_0}{\partial \tau}\le\frac{1}{\tau'}$.
According to the assumption of sufficiently small $\lambda_1'\tau'$, we have that $\hat N_1\ge\frac{e^{-\lambda_1'\tau}(1-e^{-\lambda_1'T})}{T}\ge\frac{e^{-\lambda_1(\tau+T)}\lambda_1'T}{T}>\frac{1}{2}\lambda_1'$. Then it can be seen that $\frac{1}{(1-P_1)P_1}\frac{\partial P_1}{\partial \tau}=\frac{1-\lambda_1'\tau}{\tau'(1-2\tau'\hat N_1)}>\frac{1}{\tau'}$.
Based on the above analyses, it can be proved that $\frac{\partial r(\tau)}{\partial \tau}$ is negative.
[^1]: This work was supported by National Key Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2013CB329201), Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61631018), Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences of CAS (Grant No. QYZDY-SSW-JSC003), Key Project in Science and Technology of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2014B010119001), Shenzhen Peacock Plan (No. 1108170036003286), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
[^2]: The authors are with Key Laboratory of Wireless-Optical Communications, Chinese Academy of Sciences, School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China. Z. Xu is also with Shenzhen Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China. Email: {knowzou,wangkun1}@mail.ustc.edu.cn,{cgong821,xuzy}@ustc.edu.cn.
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Course Description:EDG 4941 is an internship course designed for teacher education majors as a culminating field experience to their program of study. This is a 15-week, supervised teaching experience in a K-12 classroom. Students are not allowed to enroll in other courses while completing this internship. Current background check (fingerprinting) acceptable to the district in which the field experience takes place is required for this course. Students must complete this course with a grade of C or higher or retake the course.
Course Details
Prerequisites:
Prerequisites: EDG 4940 and passing scores on all Florida teacher certification exams
Corequisite: EDG 4936 Senior Seminar
Instructors:
Jajuan Clark
[email protected]
Dr. Gina McAllister
[email protected]
Required textbooks/ course materials:
Time to Teach – Encouragement, Empowerment and Excellence in Every Classroom, ISBN: 2818440023040
Teach-To’s 100 Behavior Lesson Plans and Essential Advice, ISBN: 2818440023057
Classroom Management Training Resource Manual, ISBN: 2818440023064
Assignment/course outline:
Students will be assigned two grades for this course. The cooperating teacher and the college supervisor will each assign one grade based on the following criteria as measured by the summative formal observations, FEAPs evaluations, and dispositions assessment: Instructional Design and Lesson Planning, Learning Environment, Instructional Delivery and Facilitation, Assessment, Professional Responsibility and Ethical Conduct.
See Internship Handbook for additional information.
Discipline-level learning outcomes:
E – 1 Designs and plans effective instructional lessons.
E – 2 Maintains a student-centered learning environment that is safe, organized, equitable, flexible, inclusive and collaborative.
E – 3 Delivers and facilitates effective instruction.
E – 4 Analyzes and applies data from multiple assessments to diagnose learning needs and inform instruction.
E – 5 Designs purposeful professional goals for continuous improvement to strengthen instructional effectiveness and impact student learning
E – 6 Practices professional responsibility and ethical conduct and fulfills expected obligations to students, the public, and the education profession.
Course-level learning outcomes:
|Course-level student learning outcomes||Discipline-level learning outcomes||Assessment methods|
|
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Demonstrate professional and ethical conduct.
Demonstrate knowledge of core concepts, including the subject area and professional education competencies.
Deliver well-planned lessons that engage students.
Use technology in planning, teaching and evaluating students.
Use a variety of instructional strategies and materials to actively engage students.
Implement a variety of assessment and feedback strategies.
Maintain a student-centered learning environment using effective classroom management strategies.
Self-evaluate for continuous professional development.
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E-6
E-3
E-1, E-3
E-2
E-1, E-3
E-4
E-2, E-3
E-5, E-6
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Dispositions Assessment
Observation Evaluations
Observation Evaluations
Observation Evaluations
Observation Evaluations
Observation Evaluations
Observation Evaluations
Writing Assignments
Means of accomplishing learning outcomes:
- Arrive at school site promptly and stay beyond the school day to plan for upcoming instruction.
- Be in attendance except in the case of emergency. If illness or a personal emergency makes it necessary to be absent, you must first call your cooperating teacher to notify him or her. Then call the College of Education office (718-2492) to leave a message.
- Complete assigned projects in a timely manner to enable reflections and revisions of the final product.
- Collaborate with peers and other professionals.
College-wide policies and resources
For more specific information on Chipola's college-wide academic policies and resources available to students, visit the link below. | https://www.chipola.edu/syllabi/edg4941/ |
The final nail in the Jurassic Park coffin
It is hardly possible to talk about fossil insects in amber without the 1993 movie Jurassic Park entering the debate.
The idea of recreating dinosaurs by extracting DNA from insects in amber has held the fascination of the public for two decades. Claims for successful extraction of DNA from ambers up to 130 million-years-old by various scientists in the early 1990s were only seriously questioned when a study at the Natural History Museum, London, was unable to replicate the process. The original claims are now considered by many to be a text-book example of modern contaminant DNA in the samples. Nonetheless, some scientists hold fast to their original claims.
Research just published in the journal The Public Library of Science ONE (PLOS ONE) by a team of researchers from the Faculty of Life Sciences at The University of Manchester can now confirm that the existence of DNA in amber fossils is highly unlikely. The team led by amber expert Dr David Penney and co-ordinated by ancient DNA expert Professor Terry Brown used highly-sensitive ‘next generation’ sequencing techniques – the most advance type of DNA sequencing - on insects in copal, the sub-fossilized resin precursor of amber.
The research was conducted wearing full forensic suits in the dedicated ancient DNA facility at The University of Manchester, which comprises a suite of independent, physically isolated laboratories, each with an ultra-filtered air supply maintaining positive displacement pressure and a managed access system.
According to Professor Brown: “In the original 1990s studies DNA amplification was achieved by a process called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which will preferentially amplify any modern, undamaged DNA molecules that contaminate an extract of partially degraded ancient ones to give false positive results that might be mistaken for genuine ancient DNA. Our approach, using ‘next generation’ sequencing methods is ideal for ancient DNA because it provides sequences for all the DNA molecules in an extract, regardless of their length, and is less likely to give preference to contaminating modern molecules.”
The team concluded that their inability to detect ancient DNA in relatively young (60 years to 10,600 years old) sub-fossilized insects in copal, despite using sensitive next generation methods, suggests that the potential for DNA survival in resin inclusions is no better, and perhaps worse, than that in air-dried museum insects (from which DNA has been retrieved using similar techniques). This raises significant doubts about claims of DNA extraction from fossil insects in amber, many millions of years older than copal.
Dr Penney said: “Intuitively, one might imagine that the complete and rapid engulfment in resin, resulting in almost instantaneous demise, might promote the preservation of DNA in a resin entombed insect, but this appears not to be the case. So, unfortunately, the Jurassic Park scenario must remain in the realms of fiction.”
-ENDS-
Notes for editors
Dr David Penney is available for interview. For further information or to request an interview, please contact: Alison Barbuti | Media Relations Officer | The University of Manchester
Tel. +44 (0)161 275 8383 | Mobile 07887 561 318 | Email: [email protected]
Images available: David Penney in Forensic Suit and/or sub-fossilized bee in copal
Full journal reference: Penney, D., Wadsworth, C., Fox, G., Kennedy, S.L., Preziosi, R.F. & Brown, T.A. (2013) Absence of ancient DNA in sub fossil insect inclusions preserved in 'Anthropocene' Colombian copal. PLoS ONE, in press.
To view the paper in The Public Library of Science ONE (PLOS ONE), please click here: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0073150. | https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/the-final-nail-in-the-jurassic-park-coffin/ |
Their scholarly productivity is measured by the generation of information and educational materials for mass media, newsletters, county-based publications and curriculum for locally delivered educational programs.The generation of extension information and education will be non-credit/non-formal in nature.
The College of Education defines quality scholarly work as that which is theoretical and/or empirically based, is presented and/or accessible to the scholarly community, and contributes to the field by influencing policy, theory and/or practice.
Therefore included in this definition are journal articles, books, chapters in books, research paper presentations to state and national conferences, and book reviews.
The expected time period for completion of scholarly work is two years in the social sciences and three years in the humanities.
To have a competitive grant or contract; To publish, on average, a total of two refereed or invited publications per year in their research filed, in a textbook, or on the subject of educational innovation; To present at least one invited or contributed presentation in a national meeting, an institution of higher learning, or at a research institution; and To supervise the training of one graduate student, postdoctoral fellow or visiting scientist.
The College of Education defines this as one scholarly work every year as a full time faculty member.
High quality scholarly work in the College of Engineering and Architecture is comprised of the peer-reviewed dissemination of the results of intellectual investigation that includes manuscripts published in refereed proceedings of major conferences, or creative work in the area of design, graphic arts, and film completed with an invitation to exhibit or build, or textbooks or research monographs in print, or computer software that is peer-reviewed prior to distribution, or external funding in place to support the intellectual investigation resulting in the production of high quality scholarly work(s).
The road for them is to be indexed in well-known databases and be open to open access to allow authors to be cited and have an impact, isn’t it?
In conclusion, I recommend it as a basic book, which has an Anglo-Saxon approach, therefore useful to publish in English or American journals, although it doesn’t serve me for that, paradoxically, because it was rejected in an American JCR, though then accepted in an European one.
It also lacks a holistic approach with a model that would serve for organizing the process to publish your research, so it was also a source of inspiration to write my e Book ‘Publish in Journals 3.0‘. But we have to keep in mind the bias of the sample, because it corresponds to professors and researchers who routinely use technology and internet.
That is, within the cream of the crop, 38% (23% 15% above) still remains some skepticism about sending their papers to OA journals.
Comments Scholar-To-Scholar Refereed Paper Research Session
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Newspaper & Online News Division, AEJMC - AEJMC Network
After 17 years at the helm of the Newspaper Research Journal, co-editors Sandra Utt and Elinor. Scholar-to-Scholar Refereed Paper Research Session.…
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IVCC Mags vs journals
When students are given research papers to write for a class, the instructor. “Scholarly journals” are also referred to as academic, peer-reviewed, and refereed.…
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View of A Systematic Review of Unpublished and Non.
As Google Scholar searches yield unpublished papers, it may inadvertently. comprised of unpublished and non-refereed papers regarding music therapy and. a wide variety of research including journal articles, conference papers, books.…
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CoMC to participate in AEJMC Annual Conference August.
Aug 2, 2019. Refereed Research Paper Scholar-to-Scholar Poster Session. Joshua Dunn and Bryan McLaughlin, “Identification with Stereotypical Social.…
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Draft Scholarly Productivity Definitnions
Building on this definition of scholarship, the definition of high quality. every two calendar years of high scholarly work, i.e.; peer reviewed refereed applied. books, chapters in books, research paper presentations to state and national. a national meeting, an institution of higher learning, or at a research institution; and.…
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Scholarly publishing, peer review and the Internet Roberts.
Scholarly publishing, peer review and the Internet. This paper addresses one domain of academic activity where I believe such a stance might. of the Nordic Conference on Scientific Journals, Olso International Peace Research Institute.…
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The Basics of Academic/Scholarly Resources - What is a.
May 1, 2019. What is a Scholarly Article and How Do I Find One. Drop-ins welcome, but I'd recommend setting up a meeting. to which you will add your voice when you write a paper. explain the editorial process including whether or not the journal is peer reviewed. Tags library research 101, student research.…
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Scholar How to publish in journals
Is Google Scholar a good indicator of your quality of research activity and influence. is questioning the indexed journals' model, from anonymity in peer review to. meeting the cast of the publishing process; and how to write the paper from.…
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Google Scholar Guide How to Use Google Scholar for Legal. | https://www.it-informer.ru/scholar-to-scholar-refereed-paper-research-session-800.html |
Belonging to multiple groups that are important to you boosts self-esteem much more than having friends alone, new research has found.
CIFAR fellows Nyla Branscombe (University of Kansas), Alexander Haslam and Catherine Haslam (both University of Queensland) recently collaborated with lead author Jolanda Jetten on experiments to explore the importance of group memberships for self-esteem. Working with groups of school children, the elderly, and former homeless people in the United Kingdom, China and Australia, their studies showed consistently that people who belong to many groups, whatever their nature, had higher self-esteem. However, this relationship was only apparent when people considered the group in question to contribute to their sense of who they were -- that is, when they were a basis for social identity.
"This is in our view promising and suggests that boosting group memberships is quite a powerful way to make people feel better about themselves," Jetten says.
The researchers compared group memberships to the number of friends people had, and found that having a large network of friends did not predict self-esteem, but belonging to multiple groups did. The authors argue that groups provide benefits that interpersonal ties alone do not; namely, meaning, connection, support and a sense of control over our lives.
"Groups often have rich value and belief systems, and when we identify with groups, these can provide a lens through which we see the world," says Jetten. For example, religious groups or organisations striving toward a goal such as reducing poverty can provide a greater sense of purpose.
The new study could signal a shift away from thinking about self-esteem as something that comes solely from inside of us. "Rather than fetishizing self-esteem, a much better and probably healthier and more effective strategy is to encourage people to have rich social lives and multiple sources of social engagement. If you do that, one important by-product will be improved self-esteem, but there will be lots of other benefits too," Haslam says.
Research on groups represents a major theme in CIFAR's Social Interactions, Identity & Well-Being program. Previous research in this area by members of the group and their collaborators has shown that those who belong to groups tend to be healthier, happier and live longer. For example, a recent study by CIFAR Global Scholar Alumna Katharine Greenaway found that belonging to groups increased people's sense of personal control, and in turn their health.
###
The research was published in PLOS One.
About CIFAR
CIFAR creates knowledge that is transforming our world. Established in 1982, the Institute brings together interdisciplinary groups of extraordinary researchers from around the globe to address questions and challenges of importance to the world. Our networks help support the growth of research leaders and are catalysts for change in business, government and society. CIFAR is generously supported by the governments of Canada, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, Canadian and international partners, as well as individuals, foundations and corporations
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We keep a lot of things in our heads but put less down on paper. All these thoughts and ideas bouncing around can sometimes feel overwhelming. You might have to-do lists, hopes, problems, dreams, secrets, failures, love, ups, and downs. Many ideas come and go, feelings pass. How can you remember them all? How can you keep them organized? An excellent way to keep your thoughts organized and clear your mind is to write a personal journal. Writing down your thoughts in a journal or diary is a great way to organize them and keep your mind clear. Writing is an enjoyable exercise and a wonderful way of staying sane.
How To Write A Personal Journal?
You don’t need to know how to write a personal journal. It doesn’t matter if you are a good writer, all that is required is your willingness to write. It doesn’t matter what you write. All that is required is to let your thoughts flow. Here are a few guidelines to help you get started once you have decided to start a journal.
You can create a schedule for when you write in your journal. A schedule will help you make writing a habit. You will need to choose a time and days that you want to write, and then create a reminder on your calendar so that you don’t forget. Journaling will become something you look forward to by being consistent with the times.
1. Locate the perfect space for writing.
It is important to have a place where you can concentrate and focus when you write a personal journal. It is best to find a quiet place with no distractions. You should be able to concentrate on your writing without interruptions. You should be able to stand straight and feel comfortable. A study or office is always a great place to work.
2. Take a moment to reflect on the day.
It’s OK not to know what topic you should write about. You can write about whatever you like in your journal. It’s a good idea to open your eyes and feel what you are feeling before writing.
3. Ask yourself questions.
What happened that day? What did it make you feel? Do you feel excited about anything? Why? Take a moment to reflect on the thoughts and emotions you have been experiencing.
4. Get in the water and get writing.
It’s easy to start sentences with “I feel,” “I think,” “I wonder,” or “I feel.” But don’t feel pressured or forced to use a particular format or topic. Your journal writing may only be a way to introduce your thoughts. You should feel at ease in order to write a personal journal.
5. Time yourself.
You can set a time limit for how long you will write. It is best to write for between 5-20 minutes, depending on how many words you wish to record. You will be more focused and less likely to get distracted if you set a time. You can easily feel the need to record every detail. This will help you stay focused and prevent you from getting distracted.
6. Add additional thoughts and reread your entry.
After you have finished writing your journal entry, go back to it and take a look at it. After you’ve finished reviewing what you wrote, you can add a few sentences to the end that describe what you thought or noticed about your words. You can summarize your thoughts in one or two sentences if you are able. This is a great way of narrowing down your topics.
10 Tips On How To Write A Personal Journal
These are some tips to help you write a personal journal.
1. Set a schedule
Setting a schedule, as we have mentioned in the article earlier, is an important first step. Set a time and frequency for writing. You can write once a day or once a week. Don’t miss it.
2. Keep it private
Journals are personal. You should feel at ease writing in your journal. Secures your journal and makes it available for you to read.
3. Meditate
Before you start writing, take some time to reflect on your journal entries. For a few moments, take a moment to reflect before you begin writing. This is a great way to calm your mind and clear your head.
4. Brainstorm
You can choose to focus your journal on a specific topic by brainstorming ideas. Writing a journal about your dreams, bible, cooking, school, or any other topic is possible. You can start to write down your ideas about what you are interested in or should be writing about. This is a great place to start your creative juices. This page lists all types of journals.
5. Date your entry
Keep track of the date for each journal entry so you can remember when it was written. It is a good idea to look back at your journal and find the date when entries were made on the topic. It will also be interesting to see how you felt at different times in your life.
6. Title your entry
Try to title your entries if you are able. This will make it easier to navigate your journal and help keep your writings focused. It doesn’t have to be titled before you begin writing. It is a great idea to title your work after it has been written. However, it is important to remember the title.
7. Write naturally
Writers don’t have to adhere to any particular format or form. Do what comes naturally. Follow your thoughts and you’ll be amazed at the type of writing that results.
8. Write quickly
Writer’s block shouldn’t stop you from writing. Keep writing what comes to your mind. It’s always difficult to stop and begin again. Keep writing. It doesn’t need to make sense. You don’t need to think about what words are being written on the page. They will make sense later.
9. Write honestly
Keep your journal private. Be honest. It is not okay to lie to yourself. You should be honest with yourself about your feelings, thoughts, and opinions. Try to be as honest as possible. Your journal should reflect you and the times in which you are writing.
10. Have fun
It should be enjoyable to write a personal journal. Enjoy writing, and have fun. It shouldn’t feel like a chore to write in your journal.
8 Extra Tips For New Journal Writers
Everybody is different when it comes to writing a journal entry. Everybody writes differently, and each person has a different experience. Whatever your goal, we can help you find it. These are some tips to help write a personal journal.
Consider what you would like to write
Although your journal does not need to have a theme to begin writing entries, it is a good idea to consider what topic you would like to write about.
- Are you interested in writing about the day’s events
- Would you like to share your plans for tomorrow with
- Planning a trip?
- Are you going through breakup?
- Do you have a project in mind?
- Are You in a New Relationship?
- Would you like to talk about your family?
Choose what topic you want to talk about and then move in that direction.
Try journaling prompt
You can write creatively or personally if you have trouble choosing a topic. These are some prompts for journaling that you might consider:
- What’s your earliest childhood memory?
- Which subject was/was your favourite in school? Why?
- Write a story about your first love.
- What’s your greatest secret?
- What is a significant person in your life who has had a profound impact on you? Why?
Plan first
You should set aside time to write a personal journal. This will allow you to think about what you want and prepare ideas. You will be more excited to write a journal if you plan ahead.
Practice
Write as often as you can. Writing becomes easier the more you practice it. Write regularly to make it easier. Your entries will come naturally.
Write letters
There will be times in your life when you wish you had said something or not. These are the moments you should write about. Write letters you won’t ever send. You can address them to specific people, or not. However, they are great for sharing honest thoughts and making compelling entries.
Try different perspectives
Writing from different perspectives is a great way to improve your writing skills. Write about a topic you are interested in and then try to think from another perspective. It’s healthy to look at things from different perspectives.
Add pictures
Pictures can inspire and speak louder than words. You can add them at any point in the entry or at the beginning for inspiration. Talk about the subject matter of the photo, who took it, what’s missing, and what the meaning is for you. It’s like giving the image a lengthy caption.
Free write
Writing is free without structure, direction, or motivation. You can just let your imagination run wild and take to the page. Write down any idea that comes to your mind. You don’t need to make it cohesive or have a purpose. | https://drnehamehta.com/how-to-write-a-personal-journal/ |
Project Summary:
Despite an increasing evidence base, the exact impact of economic empowerment programs on violence—and particularly on intimate partner violence (IPV)—is still unknown. While a number of studies have found associations between the economic empowerment of women and girls and rates of IPV, it is still unclear if these interventions increase or decrease a woman’s risk of experiencing violence. In order to further examine and build the evidence base around these issues, Send a Cow (SAC), and its research partner, the Global Women’s Institute (GWI), propose a two-year research study to examine the effectiveness of SAC’s economic interventions on reducing rates of IPV in target communities in Western Kenya. The proposed research study aims to fill a gap in the evidence around whether economic empowerment combined with training in gender relations is a promising mechanism for reducing intimate partner violence.
The study will incorporate 3 strands:
- Collect qualitative data to examine the effectiveness of SAC’s traditional, gender approach using the THM tool and identify lessons learned and best practices.
- Develop data collection tools for use by SAC’s economic empowerment program teams to collect data on VAWG through their M&E systems and collect baseline data.
- Conduct capacity building trainings for SAC staff to improve program delivery and data collection mechanisms for VAWG.
Country: Kenya
Lead agency: Send A Cow
PI: Peg Bavin
Blog:
Can economic empowerment reduce Intimate Partner Violence?
Poster: | https://www.svri.org/content/development-marketplace-2018-examining-effectiveness-gender-transformative-approach-economic |
ARLINGTON, Va. — The redesigned Hyundai Elantra, a small car, earns the top award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The redesigned Elantra's good small overlap rating is an improvement over the previous generation, which rated acceptable. The earlier model's structure did not fare well in the test, with maximum intrusion into the occupant space of 9 inches. In contrast, maximum intrusion in the new Elantra was only 2 inches.
The Elantra's optional front crash prevention system avoided a collision in the Institute's 12 mph track test. In the 25 mph test, the car's impact speed was cut by an average of 22 mph. The system also includes a forward collision warning component that meets National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criteria.
To qualify for Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests. It also must have an available front crash prevention system that earns an advanced or superior rating. | https://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/hyundai-elantra-improves-small-overlap-rating-to-earn-top-safety-pick- |
The word ‘moral’ is generally defined as message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A moral is a lesson in a story or in real life in the story of the novel.19 apr. 2018
What is the moral of a story?
- The moral of a story can also be called ‘the moral lesson’. The moral of a story is the positive message or advice that the story gives to its readers or listeners. Sometimes the moral lesson can be a straightforward message of advice to the audience or sometimes it can be in such a way that the audience would have to find it out for themselves.
What is the definition of moral in literature?
A moral (from Latin morālis) is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A moral is a lesson in a story or in real life.
What is an example of moral?
Examples of Morals
An example of a moral in the example above is determined by a person’s value of honesty: cheating is bad. Someone who values success more than honesty may behave by another moral: cheating is fine. Additional examples of morals include: It is bad to steal candy (based on a value of honesty).
Whats does moral mean?
moral, ethical, virtuous, righteous, noble mean conforming to a standard of what is right and good. moral implies conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong.
What are morals and values?
‘Morals‘ are the standards of the behavior or principle of beliefs of an individual to judge what is right and wrong. These are often developed and later governed as per the societal expectations. ‘Values‘ on the other hand is the learned belief system where an individual motivates themself to do several things.
What is the moral of the poem?
Derived from the Latin term “morālis,” moral means a message conveyed by, or a lesson learned from, a story, a poem, or an event. It is not necessary that the author or the poet has clearly stated it. It can be left for the audiences or the learners to derive.
What is moral in your own words?
Morals are what you believe to be right and wrong. People can have different morals: you might say, “I like his morals” or “I wonder about his morals.” Your morals are your ideas about right and wrong, especially how you should act and treat other people.
What is your definition of morality?
Morality is the belief that some behaviour is right and acceptable and that other behaviour is wrong. standards of morality and justice in society. A morality is a system of principles and values concerning people’s behaviour, which is generally accepted by a society or by a particular group of people.
What are the 3 moral principles?
Three basic principles, among those generally accepted in our cultural tradition, are particularly relevant to the ethics of research involving human subjects: the principles of respect of persons, beneficence and justice. These are based on the Belmont Report.
What are 5 moral values?
Compassion: understanding the suffering of others or self and wanting to do something about it. Cooperation: helping your family and friends, returning favors. Courage: willingness to do difficult things. Equality: believing everyone deserves equal rights and to be treated with respect.
What are bad morals?
Moral evil is any morally negative event caused by the intentional action or inaction of an agent, such as a person. An example of a moral evil might be murder, war or any other evil event for which someone can be held responsible or culpable. The distinction of evil from ‘bad‘ is complex.
What are the four basic moral principles?
The 4 basic ethical principles that apply to forensic activities are respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.
What are 10 moral values?
10 Moral Values Given To The Children to Lead a Wonderful Life
- Respect. Many parents make the mistake of teaching their children only about respect for elders, but that is wrong.
- Family. Family is an integral part of kids’ lives.
- Adjusting and Compromising.
- Helping Mentality.
- Respecting Religion.
- Justice.
- Honesty.
- Never Hurt Anyone.
What are the 6 core moral values?
The Six Pillars include trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. The Six Pillars can be thought as virtues because developing such traits of character can lead to a state of moral excellence through practice and repetition over time.
What is values in life?
Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work. When the things that you do and the way you behave match your values, life is usually good – you’re satisfied and content. But when these don’t align with your personal values, that’s when things feel wrong.
What is difference between ethics and morals?
According to this understanding, “ethics” leans towards decisions based upon individual character, and the more subjective understanding of right and wrong by individuals – whereas “morals” emphasises the widely-shared communal or societal norms about right and wrong. | https://inkbottlepress.com/interesting/often-asked-what-is-moral-in-literature.html |
FEATURE ー THE EVOLUTION OF REJINA PYO
Creative director, designer and burgeoning fashion magnate, Rejina Pyo has burnt her name into the minds of fashion greats with her abstract and elegant take on womenswear. Simple and feminine shapes coupled with thoughtful deconstruction and unusual fabric combinations continue to set Pyo ahead of the pack, and she’s not slowing down anytime soon.
Describing her design aesthetic as “intelligent and effortless with a modern twist,” Pyo says on looking back at her beginnings in the field that she had always wanted to explore fashion. “My mum was a fashion designer when she was young and I always used to look at her sketchbooks, which were amazing. She used to hide them from me because she didn’t want me to be a fashion designer.”
Completing her MA at Central Saint Martins (CSM) in 2011, Pyo created a striking collection for her show at London Fashion Week, catching the discerning eye of some of the most influential names in the global industry. Opulent fabrics in primary and neutral colours ritualistically draped to float about the models’ forms whilst they carried primordial sculptures attached to the clothing added an intriguing, and ultimately captivating, element of the cult. “I wanted to do something more long lasting, and that needs to be handcrafted,” says Pyo of the graduate collection. “During the research stage I was really taken by sculptor Isamu Noguchi and the unusual shapes and materials he used in his work. I wanted to incorporate these shapes into my collection and I had experimented with various fabrics and also some metal, but it didn’t achieve the feeling that I was after,” Pyo explains. “Towards the end I made cardboard cut-out shapes and held them in front of the garments and it somehow worked, even though they looked a little strange. The shapes brought a pagan-minimalist feel that I had looked at in my research.” So what of the making process? “The decision to cut the shapes from wood was natural,” says Pyo. “As the rest of the garments were made from silk and washed linen, I felt that the natural grain of the wood worked well with the rest of the materials. Burning the wood enhanced the texture and the charred, blackened colour was a great contrast to the bright colours of the silk and linen.”
Since graduating, Pyo has created two collections under her own name, become the Senior Womenswear Consulting Designer at Christopher Raeburn, and created a capsule collection for European retail heavyweight Weekday. “The Weekday collection was based on my MA collection but was adapted to be more wearable,” explains Pyo. “The garments are also reversible to give the wearer the opportunity to play around with the pieces. I tried to keep the fabrics as similar as possible since they contributed so much to the character of the collection.”
Pyo’s most recent collection, a SS15 range, is bold and minimalistic with an abstract edge. Recurring parallelograms in block colours, abstruse hemlines and distinctive cut-outs make up another uniquely constructed and visually striking collection Pyo. “This season I wanted the collection to have a more relaxed feeling but also have these unusual construction details. I wanted the details to be simple but effective, spontaneous yet thought out. I wanted the wearer to enjoy the finishing of the garment like it was a secret!”
On her creative process when drafting a new collection, Pyo explains, “It begins with the research and trying to capture a mood from an image or idea in my head. I love the research as all the ideas are still open and there are still so many possibilities that you can explore. It is at this point when everything is new and exciting. From the research I then move into developing the mood into something real. I prefer to sketch and drape when I design; there are no limitations when I sketch and I can be very imaginative. When I drape the ideas are more real and can be approached three dimensionally.”
Pyo says of the evolution of her style and artistic process, “The process is similar but what changes is when you have to think about who your customer is. Being a student is such a privilege as you can do whatever you want without the pressure of ever having to sell the garment!” she says, reminiscing on the different type of both creative freedom and responsibility compared to then and now. “When you are working in the industry it’s all about business, the same as any other industry I guess. I am fortunate enough to have received the opportunities that got me to where I am now. Winning the Hans Nefkens award” – a 2012 title in which Pyo was recognised for her work at CSM – “gave me the opportunity to have an exhibition at the Museum Boijmans in Rotterdam,” an achievement that adds to the solidification of Pyo’s presence as a key player of fashion’s new wave.
Looking forward, Pyo is determined and inspired. “I intend to treat my brand like a life-long project. I want to continue growing and developing it slowly,” she says. “I am currently working on a few different projects, including some consulting work for other designers and teaching at CSM. The main is working on my AW15 collection. I am taken by mixed materials and old pictures at the moment, so we’ll see what comes out of it all in February at London Fashion Week.” Here’s looking at you, Ms Pyo. | http://pitch-present.com/FEATURE-THE-EVOLUTION-OF-REJINA-PYO |
THE neodarwinism or synthetic theory of evolution It is a theory based on evolution theory in Darwin and increased scientific knowledge, mainly in the field of genetics. in the famous book The origin of species,Darwin explained his ideas of common ancestry and natural selection. According to the author, organisms descend from common ancestors and natural selection works by selecting the most apt individuals to survive in a given environment.
Although his ideas were revolutionary, Darwin was unable to explain how the variability occurs and how characteristics are transmitted. In neo-Darwinism, some concepts, such as mutation and genetic recombination, were added to the darwinism and helped to better understand these points, hitherto unexplained.
Know more:Types of natural selection: directional, stabilizing, and disruptive
Topics in this article
- 1 - Summary on neo-Darwinism
-
2 - Darwinism
- Video lesson on theories of species evolution
- 3 - Neo-Darwinism
Summary on neo-Darwinism
Darwin proposed the concepts of common ancestry and natural selection.
In his theory, Darwin was not able to explain some important points, for example, how variability arises in organisms.
Scientific advances in various fields of biology provided the explanation of important points for the understanding of evolution.
Neo-Darwinism is a theory based on Darwinism and augmented by scientific knowledge, especially in genetics.
Concepts such as mutation, genetic recombination and genetic drift were added to Darwin's theory of evolution.
Darwinism
To better understand what neo-Darwinism is, we must first understand the ideas proposed by Darwin. Charles Darwin was an important naturalist who was known for his famous theory of the evolution of species. in your book The origin of species, Darwin explained his ideals, which are based on two main points: common ancestry and natural selection.
the idea of common ancestry asserts that all living beings descend, as modifications, from common ancestors. This means, therefore, that no species is immutable and all undergo changes over time.
Do not stop now... There's more after the ad ;)
According to Darwin's theory, individuals in a species they present behavioral, morphological and/or physiological differences, which allow that some individuals have a greater chance of survival than others. The organisms best able to survive (natural selection) pass these traits on to their descendants. Over time, these characteristics that make the organism more successful accumulate in the population, eventually leading to the emergence of a new species.
Darwin's ideas about the evolution of species, despite having brought important explanations of how new species arise in our planet, had gaps that needed to be filled. Darwin did not know, for example, how variability arose in a population or how traits were passed from one generation to the next.
Video lesson on theories of species evolution
Neo-Darwinism
Neo-Darwinism or synthetic theory of evolution can be briefly defined as an interpretation of darwinism based on the knowledge obtained with the advancement of scientific research, mainly genetics.
During the creation of his theory, Darwin did not have knowledge about, for example, the mechanisms that lead to variability and how traits were passed on to descendants. As new knowledge on the topic was gained, it became possible to explain these issues, and neo-Darwinism emerged.
In neo-Darwinism, it is considered, in addition to natural selection, that other evolutionary factors act on populations. Concepts such as mutation, genetic recombination and genetic drift were added to the knowledge proposed by Darwin about the evolution of organisms.
Mutation
Mutation is an extremely important concept when it comes to evolution. This is due to the fact that the mutation stands out as the primary source of variability. Mutations are alterations in the genetic material of the individual that happen by chance, not occurring, therefore, as a way of adapting the individual to the environment in which he is.
Some mutations may harm the organism's development, others may be favorable to it, while others may not affect it. Natural selection will act on these organisms and ensure the maintenance or elimination of these mutations over time. If you want to know more about this topic, read: What is mutation?
gene recombination
Gene recombination is also an important factor in the evolutionary process, as it increases variability. It is worth noting, however, that gene recombination, unlike mutation, no creates gene variation, it just promotes new combinations of alleles already existing. Gene recombination is present in prophase I of meiosis, when the crossing over (reciprocal exchange of genetic material between non-sister chromatids), and in gamete fusion (fertilization).
genetic drift
THE genetic drift, unlike the other two concepts presented, does not increase genetic variability, but reduces it. It is a mechanism of evolution in which unforeseen fluctuations in allele frequencies are observed, due to chance. In this case, the genes passed on to the next generations are not necessarily those that confer better survival of the individual in the environment.
A major catastrophe, for example, can lead to the random elimination of individuals from a population, selecting genes at random. The bottleneck effect and the founder effect are two cases of genetic drift. THE bottleneck effect occurs when environmental factors promote a drastic reduction in population size, while founder effect happens when a small population colonizes a new area. | https://forma-slova.com/en/articles/29122-neo-darwinism-what-it-is-concepts-summary |
Located in Maple Ridge, BC, Supreme Structural Transport Ltd. has been operating since 1945. We were first known as Harry Toomey and Sons (1945) until Harry retired in 1975. As one of Vancouver’s structural moving pioneers, Harry helped forge the local standards of the moving industry.
In the last 35 years we’ve expanded from the house moving and raising industry to include many unique relocation projects. In addition to some very delicate heritage buildings, we have moved yachts, submarines, tanks, transformers, vessels, bridges, ferry modules, industrial equipment and large commercial buildings. Many of these projects involve the design and fabrication of specialized moving equipment. Our expertise has been required as far north as Roberts Bay, Nunavut, and as far south as Colon, Panama.
In 1992, our company became a founding member of the British Columbia Structural Movers Association. By encouraging all movers in the province to meet and discuss common concerns, we have been able to improve the safety, efficiency, cost and availability of our services to all the British Columbians. On a larger scale, our membership in the
International Association of Structural Movers provides us with access to the latest developments in the industry around the world.
In these competitive times we strive not only to provide quality professional service, but to utilize our skills and technology to offer the most efficient methods on the market to British Columbia, Canada and North America.
If you’ve got a structural transportation challenge and you’d like to work with an established, experienced company, contact us today. | https://www.supremehm.com/residential/about-supreme-structural-movers/ |
Where does Holden seem an unreliable narrator in The Catcher in the Rye?
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Expert Answers
calendarEducator since 2012
write1,473 answers
starTop subjects are Literature, Social Sciences, and History
As the above post noted, Holden Caulfield often appears to be at odds with other characters and incapable of making correct judgments about his own behavior in Catcher in the Rye. He makes many observations about the behavior of others, particularly with respect to how “phony” almost everybody is, but, as is true in real life, he does not necessarily look at himself as critically.
The author, J.D. Salinger, doesn’t fully disclose Holden’s condition until the very end of the story. Readers can tell that he appears to be unraveling to some extent as he leaves Pencey and makes his way home. But it is not until the final chapter that we find out that he has actually been hospitalized. While he doesn’t say a whole lot about his time in treatment, he does tell us something important:
A lot of people, especially this one psychoanalyst guy they have here, keeps asking me if I’m going to apply myself when I go back to school next September. It’s such a stupid question, in my opinion. I mean how do you know what you’re going to do till you do it? I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it’s a stupid question.
We can see from this statement that Holden is still not able to analyze his own mind very well. This calls into question his reliability as a narrator because we have to wonder how accurate his statements are when he cannot make relatively simple judgments about himself, much less others.
Finally, in the book’s last paragraph, Holden says:
About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about.
The fact that he has, at least to some extent, changed his mind about people who affected him so negatively casts doubt on his original judgments about them. We have to consider the likelihood that his feelings toward these characters were strongly influenced by his own state of mind, which we now have reason to question.
Related Questions
- Where is Holden Caulfield as he narrates the story in The Catcher in the Rye?
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- In The Catcher in the Rye, is Holden himself a phony?
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- Why does Holden dislike Ackley in The Catcher in the Rye?
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- Is Catcher in the Rye an example of a Bildungsroman considering Holden doesn't seem to change much?
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calendarEducator since 2009
write13,728 answers
starTop subjects are Literature, Social Sciences, and History
Holden is definitely a character who is presented as being out of control of his emotions at particular stages of the novel. Of course, on the one hand he is very open about this, telling the reader about how he broke the car window with his hand after his brother's death, but at other points the reader is only able to spot that Holden is not being truthful with himself by the reactions of others. A classic example of this comes in Chapter 17 when Holden meets up with Sally and they go iceskating. When Holden makes his somewhat idyllic proposal for them to elope and live in the woods together, he clearly begins to shout and raise his voice. As they are in a public place, Sally asks him to lower his voice. Note how Holden responds:
"Stop screaming at me, please," she said. Which was crap, because I wasn't even screaming at her.
Holden, when he gets into one of his rages, clearly loses the ability to see his own actions and understand how they might be impacting others. This is just one of the examples that show him to be an unreliable narrator. | https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-parts-examples-does-holden-sees-unreliable-375030 |
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10 Changes in Literature More secular, less religious Focused on “Ideals”: ideal ruler, gentleman, state Use of vernacular Wrote for self-expression or to portray the individuality of their subjects
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12 Northern Renaissance Ideas of the Renaissance Spread north to France, England, and Flanders (modern-day Benelux area) They spread as a result of scholars and students as well as trade and war.
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13 Comparison between Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance Because of a lack of middle class, monarchs and nobles were patrons of the arts instead of merchants More interested in religious/Christian themes, ideas and values However, like the Italian Renaissance, they still valued individualism and classical learning (Greek and Roman works)
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16 Northern Renaissance Writing Humanism-focus on human potential and achievements belief that human was good versus sinful Shakespeare- English, wrote in vernacular, drew from the classics Rabelais- French, wrote in vernacular, believed humans were essentially good. Sir Thomas More - English, wrote in Latin, put to death Erasmus – Dutch, wrote in Latin, strongly Christian even though he makes fun on the church, believed in Christianity of the heart. Chaucer – English, wrote in vernacular, his most famous work Canterbury Tales is about a pilgrimage to a sacred shrine.
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17 The Printing Press Printing occurred in China and Korea first Inventor and Printer Johann Gutenberg was first in Western Europe The Bible was the first book printed
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18 Effects of the Printing Press With the invention of the printing press: Increase in the number of books (and use of vernacular), so books were less expensive Encouraged literacy and learning New ideas spread quickly People formed their own opinions about religion (people had a Bible to read)
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19 End of the Renaissance Ushered in the “Modern Era” The belief in the dignity and worth of the individual played a key role in the gradual rise of democratic ideals A spirit of inquiry (questioning) was present and influenced religion (Reformation), exploration (Age of Exploration), science and politics (Enlightenment)
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Geoglyphs are classified as rock art, which also includes pictographs and petroglyphs. Pictographs are rock paintings while petroglyphs are rock engravings. Cave paintings, drawings, petroglyphs, geoglyphs, hieroglyphs and more have been used all over the world for centuries.
Created by the ancients and left for us to explore and ponder, these symbols held great meaning for those civilizations who created them. Some, like the Egyptian Hieroglyphs, we know to be the cultures written language. Others, like cave drawings, express the daily lives or held religious significance for their designers. There are many however that offers more questions and possible answers then one mind can conceive. Among these are the great Geoglyphs found in locations around the globe.
In South America, the lines at Nazca are of the most famous geoglyphs, but they are hardly the only ones. South of Nazca, about 850 miles, is perhaps the world's largest human figure, etched into the side of Solitary Mountain. The Giant of Atacama at Cerro Unitas, in Chile, about 600 miles south of Nazca, is an incredible 393 feet high and is surrounded by lines similar to those at Nazca. Just 130 miles from Nazca, dug into a sloping hill at Pisco Bay on the Peruvian coast. This drawing looks very much like a candlestick - which gives it the name of "The Candelabra of the Andes". There has been much speculation about the purpose of the 595-foot high candelabra, but no definitive answer. It is constructed in a different manner to the Nazca lines, using trenches up to one meter in depth, and is best viewed from out at sea. It can be seen from as far away as 12 miles. Pottery found near the figure has been carbon dated to 200 BC. Interestingly enough, the Incan city of Cuzco was created in the shape of a puma. Its inhabitants were known as "members of the body of the puma".
The English geoglyphs, like the White Horse of Uffington, England, are mostly chalk figures. In Oxfordshire, England, a layer of soil and mossy vegetation was chipped away in the shape of a 360-foot-long horse to reveal the white, underlying chalk. These require constant maintenance to stop them disappearing back beneath grass and soil. This lack of durability means that many others are bound to have disappeared centuries ago. Who knows how many have been lost to us through the years?
Why were these designed? It would seem logical that these ancient civilizations had much more to be concerned with then giant works of art. Were they messages to their Gods? Possible since most appear to be best viewed from the sky or at great distances. Were they a remembrance of ancient times before them when flight was possible? Around the world there are references of great-lost knowledge and a powerful civilization, ancient even to those we now consider ancient. Atlantis perhaps? Is there a connection binding them we have yet to understand?
New thought is finally emerging in the study of sacred, ancient mysteries and the way these stories appear to be repeating themselves. With thousands of amateur and professional archaeologists sharing discoveries online, similarities are being discovered in some Native American rock-art symbolism and that found in other parts of the world. This means ancient people from other cultures could have migrated here thousands of years ago (or vice versa).
Most interesting are those experts who find geoglyphs interpretation that parallels myth and legend found in all of humanity. This suggest that all cultures on earth had origin from a common influence or had contact long before currently believed.
In this section we will take a closer look at some of the remarkable geoglyphs, the regions around them and explore the many possibilities. Open your minds to old thinking, new ideas and what we have yet to even imagine.
23 Mar 2011 @ 06:10 by Hendon Harris @71.109.225.219 : Ancient American Art of Hindu Origin?
carvings at the Ellora Caves in the early 1400s. Google "Ellora Caves"
You can access my work at chinesediscoveramerica.com or go directly to my article by googling "Ellora Caves Church Rock"
they are known today as the "Mound Builders".
family of tribes (Plains Indians). How is this possible without Asian contact?
24 May 2011 @ 03:59 by Hendon Harris @166.205.139.97 : Why Are Geoglyphs Largely Ignored?
program of how cultures are deemed to have developed over the millinea. Faced with evidence that doesn't fit what you've been taught or what you're teaching---ignore it. If you think this is an overstatement then I challenge you to google "evolutionary diffusionism" or "cultural diffusionism".
it's more that a little awkward to explain highly developed societies that appear out of sequence.
You might like to check this out, see the chinese dog on the right?
This is the entrance to the mine.
29 May 2011 @ 15:19 by Arthur Faram @75.20.224.21 : Geoglyphs unlock the ancient past.
There is a now book on the market that, using geoglyphs,sheds new light on Caral and Nazca peru. This is a book that promises to change history forever. Much of the speculation about the history of man over the past ten millinia is brought to light in Ancient Signposts. While researching his family history the author discovered an ancient secret which has been passed down by ancient civilizations for over 10,000 years. This secret is a window into man's past from before 10,000 BC until now. Once you start reading Ancient Signposts you will not want to put the book down. Ancient Signposts unveils the real purpose of the Egyptian Pyramids, explains why Stonehenge was built, uncovers the history of ancient man in the Americas, documents 10,000 year old land claims, reveals the true purpose of the Nazca lines in Peru, and much more. Over 200 documentary photos.
evidences of previous advanced civilizations in that immediate area.
www.chinesediscoveramerica.com or google "Hendon's geoglyphs"
How can anyone explain this away as a natural rock formation?
28 Oct 2011 @ 21:39 by Hendon Harris @71.109.154.128 : Is This King Ashoka?
by googling: "news for 17th century Chinese coin dug up in Canada".
to surface while the main stream academics continue to ignore it.
by foot or pack animals.
Its not magic. Its science.
it happened. http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Pacific.htm or google "India on Pacific waves a tribute to Hinduism"
fan originates just below the waist on both bodies. Is this possible?
Need more proof?? Google "Lizard Rock" Utah and then google "Newspaper Rock" Utah. Both of these sites are just a few miles from the geoglyphs in Colorado.
symbols of Buddhism that are showing up all over the American southwest.
28 Jun 2012 @ 06:42 by Hendon Harris @71.109.218.31 : Sphinx Like Persian Manticore in Utah?
ancient rock art and not simply the random erosion that most believe they are. While I was at Arches National Park near Moab Utah I made sure to personally see what at least two photographers are calling "The King" which is right next to the Double Arches and actually visible from the parking lot there. While there I made sure I took numerous photos of all sides of The King.
6 Jul 2012 @ 13:39 by Katherine @99.23.241.121 : Geoglyphs or earth art?
If they are earth art, then wow, can mother earth paint!!!!
south of the lake. For more information on this topic as well as satellite images of these grids along the eastern side of the Rocky Mtns google: "Phei Hsiu Zhang Heng" or "Joseph Needham Grid Collection".
13 Nov 2012 @ 05:56 by Hendon Harris @71.110.109.86 : Were the Anasazis Buddhists?
astrological and navigational skills can not now be disputed.
India and North America. Google: "Mandalas, Manjis, Mantras, Meridians and Monuments".
is a most amazing site. Google: "The Canadian Goose Bisti" or "The Sleeping Lizard Bisti" or "the Flying Turtle Bisti". You can spend hours looking at these images that given their age are in incredible condition and seem to reinforce the argument that these "carvings" are in fact styles that originated from Vedic India and appear to have a definite Buddhist influence to them.
Pool" and "Hoodoo Reflections" you will see the image I have mentioned framed between two other rock formations.
were most likely made. In the history of the world what other cultures have been expert in detailed rock carving (especially certain types of features like those that are put on the tops of Buddhist temples like the Chattra and the Phallus Symbol) and are known for having traveled enormous distances to share their belief in Buddhism? How about the ancient Chinese court document that details the missionary trip of Hwui Shan and four other Buddhist clerics to the beautiful country they called FuSang?
exception to this. Bravo!! Hopefully more scholars will research and publish their findings on the numerous apparent connections that have been found by others.
go back to Zhang Heng and Phei Hsiu of the first and third centuries respectively.
over in the late 1950's. Is that a coincidence or a historical pattern?
While living and working in the Middle East, I documented two areas where the gravel desert was covered with thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- of small piles of stones. No pottery or artifacts were located nearby and none of the residents had any explanation; when asked they simply said the geoglyphs were 'very old'.
I concentrated on two areas and the only thing in common was the proximity of burial mounds from the Hafit Period, approximately 4500 years ago. There was no evidence to support a link between the piles of stones and the tombs; as anyone who has travelled along the western slopes of the Hajar Mountains knows, tombs from the Hafit Period are numerous. I did not observe any array of stone piles near any other Hafit Period tombs.
In one location, the stone piles appeared to be arranged to construct shapes by piling the stones in lines. However, the number of these shapes was almost insignificant given the number of stone piles.
The piles were small -- about a half a meter in diameter -- and consisted of small stones, about the size of a fist. But there is no evidence the stones were sorted or arranged other than the construction of these piles.
When mapped, the piles of stones did not resemble any shape. The stone piles were in areas, some very large -- a square kilometer or more -- and some very small -- perhaps 25 square meters in area.
Dating the construction of the piling of the stones is difficult given the lack of artifacts but one can begin to estimate the dating by considering the climate and population numbers. Since no one seems to have any recollection of the piles being constructed, one might assume they are more than one or two generations old. If the construction -- which would have taken considerable time -- was done in the period after the arrival of the Europeans, notably the Portuguese, it is reasonable to assume the activity would have been recorded by the Europeans, notably the Portuguese who kept detailed journals. If the activity pre-dates the arrival of the Europeans, it seems illogical for a population that was almost always in search of water and food to spend the time and energy to construct piles of stones that do not seem to serve any practical function.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who has any thoughts on the stone piles or who may have seen similar constructions. One example has been shared of stone pile constructions in Iceland. And there are small examples of similar small piles of stones from Nasca. However I have not uncovered any other location of such large areas of these geoglyphs.
A copy of my discussion paper is available at Academia.edu.
More information continues to be uncovered pointing to additional evidence of Pre Contact Asian cultural and religious influences in N America. Google: "Disqus Hendon Harris" and "Ancient Buddha Tree of Life Lotus Flower" for more information and the images of two geoglyphs near Egnar, Colorado that appear to be of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhist origin. Some of these geoglyphs in N America are huge. Some like "The Harris Horse" almost defy imagination. But just because we don't know how they did it doesn't mean they didn't create this. Just that they were much more advanced than we have been told. Huge populations of people need a lot of water. Civilizations have handled this by building reservoirs. From high altitude (Google Maps) all bodies of water are either primarily blue or black. All recently man made lakes are black. The oceans and the Great Lakes are blue. The largest Black Water Lake in the world is Great Bear Lake in Canada. It's huge? However, if you look at this lake using Google Earth etc you can see a resemblance to a headless man. I say man because where on the body (shape) of this "man" where you would find male body parts they are there in exaggerated dimensions. In addition to that there are lakes in front of that feature. Its like something you would see on a bathroom stall wall. However, just in case you think I am seeing things that are of natural formation and I am saying they are man made look below one of the two legs. Google: "The Gang Deng Sea Horse Black Water Lake" for the image of a sea horse below that leg. Google: "Howie Harris Reclining Dog Black Water Lake" These are just a few of the Black Water Lakes that I believe were shaped as specific images in addition to being reservoirs made by ancient inhabitants of N America.
14 Sep 2016 @ 01:38 by Barnaby @125.162.209.77 : Thank you! | http://www4.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v39/__show_article/_a000039-000038.htm |
Can “Terminators” Actually be our Salvation?
Just war theory defines the principles underlying most of the international laws regulating warfare, including the Geneva and Hague Conventions. Walzer’s classic book Just and Unjust Wars was a standard text at the West Point Military Academy for many years, although it was recently removed from the required reading list.
Asaro asserts that robotic technology, like all military force, could be just or unjust, depending on the situation.
h+: We’re using semi-autonomous robots now in Iraq and, of course, we’ve been using smart bombs for some time now. What is the tipping point – at what point does a war become a “robot war”?
PETER ASARO: There are many kinds of technologies being used already by the U.S. military, and I think it is quite easy to see the U.S. military as being a technological system. I wouldn’t call it robotic yet, though, as I think there is something important about having a “human-in-the-loop,” even if the military is trying to train soldiers to behave “robotically” and follow orders without question.
I think there is always a chance that a soldier will question a bad order, even if they are trained not to, and there is a lot of pressure on them to obey.
Ron Arkin is a roboticist at Georgia Tech who has designed an architecture for lethal robots that allows them to question their orders. He thinks we can actually make robots super-moral, and thereby reduce civilian casualties and war crimes.
I think Ron has made a good start on the kinds of technological design that might make this possible. The real technical and practical challenges are in properly identifying soldiers and civilians.
The criteria for doing this are obscure, and humans often make mistakes because information is ambiguous, incomplete, and uncertain. A robot and its computer might be able to do what is optimal in such a situation, but that might not be much better than what humans can do.
More importantly, human soldiers have the capacity to understand complex social situations, even if they often make mistakes because of a lack of cultural understanding.
I think we are a long way from achieving this with a computer, which at best will be using simplified models and making numerous potentially hazardous assumptions about the people they are deciding whether or not to kill.
Also, while it would surely be better if no soldiers were killed, having the technological ability to fight a war without casualties would certainly make it easier to wage unjust and imperial wars. This is not the only constraint, but it is probably the strongest one in domestic U.S. politics of the past 40 years or so.
By the way, I see robots primarily as a way to reduce the number of soldiers needed to fight a war. I don’t see them improving the capabilities of the military, but rather just automating them. The military hold an ideal vision of itself as operating like a well-oiled machine, so it seems that it can be rationalized and automated and roboticized. The reality is that the [human] military is a complex socio-technical system, and the social structure does a lot of hidden work in regulating the system and making it work well. Eliminating it altogether holds a lot of hidden dangers.
h+: Does robotic warfare heighten the possibility of accidental war, or might it guard against it?
PA: There was a news item March 2008 about a unit of the Swiss Army, about 170 infantry soldiers, entering into Liechtenstein at night by way of a dark forest. This turned out to be an accident –- they were lost during a training exercise –- so there wound up being no international incident. If there had been tensions between the countries, there could have been a just cause for Liechtenstein to declare war on Switzerland on the basis of an aggression.
Of course, Liechtenstein does not even have an army. But something similar happened in 2002 when a platoon of British Royal marines accidently invaded a Spanish beach, instead of Gibraltar.
I think the same is true of machines. They could inadvertently start a war, though this depends both on the technology malfunctioning and on the human political leadership desiring a war. Many wars have been started on false pretenses, or misconstrued or inadvertent acts: consider the sinking of the Maine in Havana or the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
h+: You talk about the notion that robots could have moral agency – – even superior moral agency –- to human soldiers. What military would build such a soldier? Wouldn’t such a solider be likely to start overruling the military commanders on policy decisions?
PA: I think there are varying degrees of moral agency, ranging from amoral agents to fully autonomous moral agents. Our current robots are between these extremes, though they definitely have the potential to improve.
I think we are now starting to see robots that are capable of taking morally significant actions, and we’re beginning to see the design of systems that choose these actions based on moral reasoning. In this sense, they are moral, but not really autonomous because they are not coming up with the morality themselves… or for themselves.
They are a long way from being Kantian moral agents –- like some humans –- who are asserting and engaging their moral autonomy through their moral deliberations and choices. [Philosopher Immanuel Kant’s “categorical imperative” is the standard of rationality from which moral requirements are derived.]
We might be able to design robotic soldiers that could be more ethical than human soldiers.
Robots might be better at distinguishing civilians from combatants; or at choosing targets with lower risk of collateral damage, or understanding the implications of their actions. Or they might even be programmed with cultural or linguistic knowledge that is impractical to train every human soldier to understand.
Ron Arkin thinks we can design machines like this. He also thinks that because robots can be programmed to be more inclined to self-sacrifice, they will also be able to avoid making overly hasty decisions without enough information. Ron also designed architecture for robots to override their orders when they see them as being in conflict with humanitarian laws or the rules of engagement. I think this is possible in principle, but only if we really invest time and effort into ensuring that robots really do act this way. So the question is how to get the military to do this.
It does seem like a hard sell to convince the military to build robots that might disobey orders. But they actually do tell soldiers to disobey illegal orders. The problem is that there are usually strong social and psychological pressures on soldiers to obey their commanders, so they usually carry them out anyway. The laws of war generally only hold commanders responsible for war crimes for this reason. For a killing in war to truly be just, then the one doing the killing must actually be on the just side in the war. In other words, the combatants do not have equal liability to be killed in war. For a robot to be really sure that any act of killing is just, it would first have to be sure that it was fighting for a just cause. It would have to question the nature of the war it is fighting in and it would need to understand international politics and so forth.
The robots would need to be more knowledgeable than most of the high school graduates who currently get recruited into the military. As long as the war is just and the orders are legal, then the robot would obey, otherwise it wouldn’t. I don’t think we are likely to see this capability in robots any time soon.
I do think that human soldiers are very concerned about morality and ethics, as they bear most of the moral burdens of war. They are worried about the public reaction as well, and want to be sure that there are systems in place to prevent tragic events that will outrage the public. It’s not impossible to try to control robot soldiers in this way. What we need is both the political will, and the technological design innovation to come together and shape a new set of international arms control agreements that ensures that all lethal robots will be required to have these types of ethical control systems.
Of course, there are also issues of proliferation, verification and enforcement for any such arms control strategy. There is also the problem of generating the political will for these controls. I think that robotic armies probably have the potential to change the geo-political balance of power in ways far more dramatic than nuclear arms.
We will have to come up with some very innovative strategies to contain and control them. I believe that it is very important that we are not naive about what the implications of developing robotic soldiers will mean for civil society. | https://hplusmagazine.com/2009/05/19/can-terminators-actually-be-our-salvation/ |
Grating Phrases and Jargon That Confuse (and Sometimes Demoralize) Patients
I was a caregiver for a year to a spouse with advanced bladder cancer. In the six years since his death, I have worked as a bladder cancer patient advocate.
My patient advocate roles have varied but have included: moderating a caregiver support group; participating as an advisor to a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) bladder cancer research grant; reviewing bladder cancer federal research proposals to provide a patient/caregiver perspective; and attending a range of bladder cancer-specific conferences and meetings. As a result, I’ve talked to a lot of bladder cancer patients, caregivers, doctors, and researchers over the years.
Certain phrases are not helpful or clear to patients
Something I’ve noticed is that certain phrases and words routinely used by doctors and researchers are – at best – confusing and – at worst – demoralizing. Following is my breakdown and reasoning related to a few of those.
Patient don't "fail" treatments; treatments fail patients
“The patient failed BCG,” is a common phrasing that doctors use to describe a treatment outcome. The patient didn’t “fail” anything. The patient took the drug that you, the doctor, recommended. And the drug failed to work for the patient.
I’m not sure where this phrasing originated. It is awkward and almost seems like a way to shield the medical system and doctors from the reality that treatments sometimes do not work.
We shouldn't place the burden of "failure" on patients
Here’s my question: do we really want to pile the concept of “failure” onto to someone who already has bladder cancer and for whom treatment did not work? Doesn’t that likely make the person feel worse, to be described as having “failed”? I have even heard patients say that they “failed” a given treatment. That makes me both sad and angry.
I can’t think of another realm of life in which we speak this way. If a car malfunctions, we don’t say the driver failed. We say that the car failed to work correctly.
To tell a patient, "test results were positive," can be confusing
The word “positive” has become such a popular word in our lexicon in recent years and one with positive connotations. But a “positive” lab result may not be good news. Testing positive for the flu or coronavirus may offer an explanation, but it’s most likely not positive news.
Receiving a positive test result for any cancer is most definitely not good news. While you might think that everyone understands this, I have met patients who were confused by it. And I can understand why, especially if they haven’t previously had much experience with the medical system.
What exactly is salvaged in a salvage cystectomy?
This term is used more among doctors than with patients, and I don’t get the sense it is used as much as perhaps it was in the past. But it still bothers me.
A “salvage cystectomy” is essentially a last-ditch effort to save the patient’s life after radiation therapy hasn’t worked or a partial cystectomy hasn’t worked. It is the patient, in this case, who is being “salvaged.”
It is just a distressing and harsh description. I think of a salvage title on a car. Those are the used cars you are supposed to avoid as a buyer.
I think about other surgeries that are lifesaving: I’ve never heard of a salvage appendectomy or a salvage heart bypass. Why is this particular phrasing used for bladder cancer patients?
What does it mean when a doctor recommends "medical management"?
As a participant in research, I’ve heard doctors talk about “medical management.” What they mean by that is managing a condition with medicines, such as BCG, as opposed to surgical management, such as a radical cystectomy.
But as a regular person, “medical management” sounds like any treatment that may be offered by the medical system. Discussing “medical management” with a patient may be confusing to the patient if the term is not clearly defined during the conversation.
Words are small, but they can have a big impact
Choice of words matters. While certain words and phrasing might make perfect sense to doctors who are used to their frequent use, they can be confusing and even demoralizing to patients.
Join the conversation
Community Poll
How long did it take to get diagnosed after your first symptom(s) appeared? | https://bladdercancer.net/living/confusing-demoralizing-language-terms |
Join the fun as the world’s favourite feel-good musical, MAMMA MIA!, celebrates its twentieth anniversary in London’s West End. Since premiering there in 1999, the irresistible smash-hit has become a global phenomenon that’s captured the hearts of millions around the globe.
The sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads on a Greek island idyll, all unfolding to the magic of ABBA’s timeless pop masterpieces, has now been seen live on stage by over 65 million people across the world, and turned into two record-breaking movies – MAMMA MIA! The Movie and MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again.
Running time: 2 hours 35 minutes including one interval
Suitable for children aged 5+
Please note children under 3 will not be allowed into the theatre. Children under the age of 16 must be seated next to an accompanying adult. Everybody needs a ticket. | https://www.familytickets.com/collections/mamma-mia |
In this paper, I will discuss humanities. I will differentiate between the humanities and other modes of human inquiry and expression. I shall list types of humanities and explain why each one gives reflects current developments in politics, socioeconomics, and technology.
Colorado State University defines humanities as, “The branches of learning (such as philosophy or languages) that investigate human constructs and concerns, as opposed to natural processes. The humanities, such as classical and modern languages, literature, history, and philosophy, have the overall goal of the exploration and explanation of human experience.” …show more content…
eras. One of the most famous feats of architecture is the Parthenon, which began construction in
447 B.C. and was completed in 432 B.C. by the Greeks. Study of this magnificent feat of
architectural accomplishment has given historians a great understanding of the Greek culture.
Surviving architectural accomplishments have helped to identify many historical civilizations
much in the same way as the Parthenon has with the Ancient Greeks.
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as existence, knowledge,
values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing such
problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument.
Philosophy means love of wisdom and was originally used to refer to the special way of life of
early Greek philosophers.
The following branches are the main areas of study: Metaphysics, the study of the nature of
being and the world; Epistemology, the nature and scope of knowledge; Ethics, moral
philosophy; Political Philosophy, the study of government in relationship to individuals and
communities; Aesthetics, which deals with beauty, art, enjoyment, and matters of taste and
sentiment; Logic, the study of valid argument forms; Philosophies of mind, language, and
religion which are inquiries into the state of each in the human perspective. | https://www.cram.com/essay/Humanities-102/FKCLXNP3XC |
This PG code shows how to require students to enter units with their answers.
Initialization: We load parserNumberWithUnits.pl and parserFormulaWithUnits.pl.
Setup: We use the differentiation operator ->D('t') and the evaluation method ->eval() to construct the derivative and evaluate it as a function. If we were writing several questions like this with different height functions, using the differentiation and evaluation methods would really speed up the writing.
hits the ground? Include units in your answer.
(c) What is the acceleration of the object?
Include units in your answer.
Main Text: Don't forget to use helpLink("units") so your students will have access to the complete list of units that WeBWorK understands.
This page was last modified on 7 June 2015, at 17:02. | http://webwork.maa.org/wiki/AnswerWithUnits1 |
One important benefit of implementing the use of technology in the classroom for students with autism spectrum disorder is, technology gives the student the opportunity to interact with the world in a way they might not be able to do otherwise. One major characteristic of autism spectrum disorder is speech delays. These delays can be minor delays or severe delays where the child is non-verbal. The use of technology can help a student develop communication skills. Applications that use gestures, pictures, and other symbols give children who have limited verbal skills an alternative means to communicate and interact with their surroundings.
Kamps et.al. says “A key to accommodating students with autism in public school settings is the provision of social and behavioral programming to develop meaningful participation with nondisabled persons” (p.174). There are many techniques that are useful in teaching children with autism communication and social skills. One method is the Responsive Classroom, an instructional approach that integrates the teaching of academic and social skills as an aspect of everyday classroom life (Sapona & Winterman, 2002, p. 30). According to Sapona and Winterman (2002) teachers implementing this model in their classroom include six comp... ... middle of paper ... ...avioral Skills to Children with Autism.
Therefore, it is important for children with autism to have the opportunities they need to develop properly in order to succeed i... ... middle of paper ... ...(2007). Fitting In: Tips for Promoting Acceptance and Friendships for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders in Inclusive Classrooms. Intervention in School & Clinic, 42(3), 156-161. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Mazurik-Charles, R., & Stefanou, C. (2010).
Phase 5, responding. Phase 6, responsive and spontaneous comments. PECS treatment had a significant impact on communication outcomes and more limited effects on maintenance and generalization of gains (Ganz et al. 2012). Included in this article is how PECS is used in the classroom and taught to “grade level” peers so that a child with Autism could also communicate with children his/her age.
Selecting an AAC system for a child with autism takes time and consideration of each individual child’s abilities. Children with autism struggle to communicate and interact socially among different situa... ... middle of paper ... ...ed instruction to teach use of speech-generating devices to students with autism in social game routines. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 27(1), 26-39. doi: 10.3109/07434618.2010.546810 Van der Meer, L., Kagohara, D., Achmadi, D., O'Reilly, M., Lancioni, G. E., Sutherland, D., & Sigafoos, J. (2012). Speech-generating devices versus manual signing for children with developmental disabilities.
Communicative Difficulties in Children with Autism Communication is the sending and receiving of information. It is the “interactive exchange of information, ideas, feelings, needs, and desires” (Heward, 2009, p.297). The act of communication allows us to understand relationships between people, things, and actions. Types of communication include spontaneous requests, spontaneous comments, responsive requests, responsive comments, and imitation (Bondy & Frost, 2002). Receptive communication occurs when incoming information is interpreted, while expressive communication occurs when an individual conveys information (Heward, 2009).
The following study explains how video self-modeling as an intervention can increase language, communication, social skills, and functional skills in children with Autism. Video self-modeling is an evidence-based practice used with students diagnosed with Autism to increase appropriate responses and improve skills. Autism, also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurological disorder that impedes language development and social development.
These visual supports help students access aspects of general education that they may otherwise have difficulty accessing. There have been many studies proving the efficacy of visual supports in special education; one of the most prominent visual support systems is picture exchange communication, or PECS. Several studies on the effectiveness of PECS will be reviewed. Case One In a study by Schmit, Alper, and Raschke (2000), the effects of using a photographic cueing system during routine school transitions with a child who has autism were evaluated. The use of a pictorial visual support system indicated to the student that an activity change was about to occur.
This paper is going to introduce the topic in three aspects. In the first part, the literature review will include the interaction with the parents, the teachers and peers respectively. The second part is the implications of the int... ... middle of paper ... ...e language proficiency of pre-school children. The previous researches show that through interaction with parents, especially mothers, teachers and peers, the grammar, semantics and lexis of the L2 have been improved in certain degree. Given the positive effect of the interaction to the language proficiency, parents and teachers should apply the interaction skills in teaching the young children L2.
The design of the autonomous virtual agent is based on participatory design workshops with practitioners and children along with the SCERTS framework. According to the article, the SCERTS framework is a well-established educational intervention approach aimed to support the social communication (SC) and emotional regulation (ER) of children with autism through appropriately designed transactional support (TS). The article went into great detail on the design of the artificial agent including the artificial intelligence capabilities of the software that enable the agent to work autonomously with the subject and modify its ... ... middle of paper ... ...tism spectrum disorders. Professionals and families of children with ASD have become more knowledgeable of the range of evidence-based practices. Professionals have had to choose and implement practices based on the child’s strengths, challenges and characteristics. | https://www.123helpme.com/essay/Social-Stories-with-Children-with-Autism-232630 |
Interstellar / B+
It makes sense that Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan originally conceived Interstellar as a film for Steven Spielberg; it has the populist filmmaker's DNA embedded firmly and contradictorily within its uncomfortably ambitious mashup of science fiction plots. Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker are obvious influences, but there's also shades of James Cameron's The Abyss and, more unfortunately, M. Night Shyamalan's Signs (which desperately cribbed from Spielberg's broken-family-in-peril blueprint). The result is a visually spectacular, gorgeously crafted, narratively ambitious film that seems at war with itself.
Nolan is a stark, humorless, and unsentimental filmmaker. He likes to inject narrative puzzles, intellectual conceits, and recursive themes into his big-budget blockbusters, but is often criticized for lacking emotional resonance. Cool he's got in spades; cuddly he ain't.
With Interstellar, Nolan seems to be answering that complaint, leveraging a father-daughter relationship as the human touchpoint in a story that uses the whole of the universe as its canvass. It's not an easy fit. Though his movie runs nearly three hours long, its attempt to deliver rousing space-opera thrills, cautionary messages about the fragility of mankind, cosmological wisdom, and emotional depth is a cinematic over-reach. Like all of his films, Interstellar seeks to confront the limits of human ambition in the face of personal weakness. And much as Nolan's characters often fail to reconcile their grandest desires, so, too, does Interstellar fall short, particularly in its trying-to-have-it-all finale. But, damn, if we shouldn't applaud Nolan for aiming big.
Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a former astronaut turned farmer, and widowed dad, who's raising his kids in a world damaged by an unnamed catastrophe (there are hints it was a world war). The populace has been decimated, and the natural world has been knocked out of balance. Dust storms strike with alarming frequency, and blight is killing off the plant life. Mankind's days are clearly numbered.
When Coop's precocious young daughter, Murph, claims that a ghost is knocking books off her shelves and leaving strange patterns in the dust, dad quickly discerns hidden codes in her discoveries. These lead him to find the last vestiges of NASA (which include Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, and David Gyasi), where a top-secret mission to find a new planet for humanity is underway. Aided by a mysterious wormhole that has appeared near Saturn, the scientists are about to launch their last expedition, and they want Coop to lead. But this means leaving his loved ones behind, with no guarantee that he'll ever return. His decision devastates Murph, prompting him to promise that he'll come back to her. It's a promise that'll prove tough to keep, given that the crew must confront a black hole, where time moves more slowly for those who enter its orbit (a few hours can mean decades back on Earth). The rest of the movie intercuts between Cooper's epic, time-bending space adventure and his earthbound children maturing into Casey Affleck and Jessica Chastain (who are not equally compelling).
Will humanity find a second home? Will Coop see his kids before they die of old age? Will the audience understand Nolan's discussions of dimensional perception and Einstein’s theory of relativity? It's best if I leave Interstellar's explanations (and re-explanations) and plot twists for you to experience yourself. But it’s a film that takes its science-fiction roots seriously, asking questions like: What's out there? Where do we belong? And how will we shape the future?
Suffice to say that while the sometimes stilted dialogue can get a little tedious, Interstellar answers those questions with elegant, awe-inspiring imagery and pulse-pounding suspense. Under cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, it’s a stylistically bold and visually ravishing film that takes full advantage of it 70mm IMAX format. Trust me when I say it's worth the extra few bucks to watch the movie this way.
Nolan delivers a true sense of wonder to space exploration, but oddly not through his characters. For the most part, they are serious, can-do cyphers delivering exposition-filled dialogue with little sense of enthusiasm for the miracles they behold. Luckily, McConaughey, an innately affecting actor, brings with him the right mix of courage and vulnerability. He's a man committed to his mission, but all-too aware of the personal damage it exacts, underlining Interstellar's premise that however far we travel into the cosmos, both our strengths and weaknesses travel with us.
Only in Interstellar's final scenes does the film seem at a loss as to what to do with him. Nolan's reach for family-style sentimentality undermines the implications of his headier conceits and unforgivably presents the fate of a major character as a footnote. For all the lovely grandeur on display, his movie stops more than ends, delivering a dramatic sigh instead of a thematic bang.
Interstellar is rated PG-13 and has a run time of 169 minutes. | https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/Print?oid=2265218 |
Definition of personal information
According to the Protection of Personal Information Act ‘‘personal information’’ means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person, and where it is applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person. Furthermore, following items may also be considered as personal information:
- All addresses including residential, postal and email addresses.
- Change of name – for which we require copies of the marriage certificate or official change of name document issued by the state department.
The information we collect
We may collect the following personal information from you: name, title, contact details including email address, and telephone numbers, when you register to access the services available through our website. The purpose of collecting this information is to understand your requirements and provide relevant services.
The information is collected directly from you, and we ensure that you are aware of which information you provide is optional and which is required.
Website usage information may also be collected using “cookies” which allows us to collect standard internet visitor usage information.
How we use your information
We will use your personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected and consented by you. Additionally, your information may be retained for legal or research purposes, if necessary.
For example:
- To gather contact information
- To confirm and verify your identity
- For audit and record keeping purposes
- In connection with legal proceedings
Disclosure of information
Information security
We are legally obligated to adequately protect all personal information we hold and to prevent any unauthorized access and use of the personal information. We will, periodically, review our security controls and related processes to ensure that your personal information remains safe and secure.
Our security policies and procedures include:
- Physical security;
- Computer and network security;
- Access to personal information;
- Secure communications;
- Security in contracting out activities or functions;
- Retention and disposal of information;
- Acceptable usage of personal information;
- Governance and regulatory issues;
- Monitoring access and usage of private information;
- Investigating and reacting to security incidents.
During third party contracts, we impose appropriate security, privacy and confidentiality obligations on them to ensure that the personal information we are responsible for, is kept safe.
We will ensure that anyone who we share your personal information with, agrees to protect your information the same way we are obligated to do.
Your rights: access to information
You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. In order to do this, you would have to simply contact us at the numbers/addresses provided on our website, and specify what information you need. We will require a copy of your ID document to confirm your identity before providing any details about your personal information.
Note: Such access requests may be subject to the payment of a legally allowable fee.
Correction of information:
You have the right to ask us to update, correct, or delete your personal information. In doing so, we will require proper identification, to ensure the accuracy of your identity and accuracy.
Links to other websites:
In the occasion that our website may contain links to other websites, we cannot guarantee the privacy standards of such websites, nor are we responsible for the content of sites other than this one.
To contact us: | https://www.task.org.za/privacy-policy/ |
Film preservation and restoration is an art form. When done properly, these two interlinked processes can capture the visuals and movement of a bygone era and preserve them for future generations. The process takes expert knowledge and skill. Over the years, tested methods of preservation kept valuable film stock intact for years to come.
What is Film Preservation?
Film preservation and restoration involves applying several tested methods to rescue and restore movies and documentaries. A team conducts the restoration process and may include historians, archivists, and other experts. Aside from stopping the effects of deterioration on the film stock, it also involves digitally duplicating the content of the film. Some of the film stock that had been preserved by experts includes silent-era films and documentaries produced in the earlier part of the 20th century.
Historical archivists and other experts who are involved in film preservation and restoration also emphasize the need to ensure community access to the material. This is important especially for movies and documentaries of great historical value. Duplication allows the content to be accessed by students, researchers, film enthusiasts, and others without necessarily opening the original film stock. Over time, filmmakers and film companies have started to understand the importance of preserving their films for historical documentation and other purposes.
Basic Guidelines for Film Preservation
The earlier methods of creating films involve using materials that can decay over time. A typical film material in the early years of the industry may be cellulose-based or polyester-based and require careful storage and handling. Images embedded in a film are also produced from a combination of heat and photosensitive dyes that may be affected by external environmental factors, such as chemicals, pollutants, and airborne particles.
In order to properly store the film, several basic guidelines are often recommended by experts. First, the storage room should be clean, dust-free, dry, and cool. Since films are heat and light sensitive, avoid storage rooms where temperatures could fluctuate. While it may sound basic, winding the film securely into the film core is also important. The film should be evenly winded into the core before storage.
Using Film Cores for Preservation
Film cores are cylindrical pieces without a projecting rim and are typically made from a plastic-based material. For those who are looking for a source in Kentucky, search for film cores Louisville KY. Taking the time to properly store an important film could prevent added restoration costs in the future.
A film core is made from polypropylene or polymer-based plastic that has a wide industrial application. As a tough material, polypropylene is acid-resistant and base resistant. This makes it perfect as a foundation for making film cores. Once the film is evenly winded into the core, it can be safely placed in its container.
Films are moving historical records. So, preserving and restoring film is important sp that society can have a connection to the past. By using a combination of methods in film preservation and storage, these moving images could survive the test of time. | http://www.businessplanning.us/industrial-manufacturing/keeping-memories-alive-through-film-preservation.html |
Creating Accessible Learning Environments for All—Questions That Can Guide Our Design
This week I would like to introduce guest blogger, Matt Brenner, District Technology Coach for Southwest Allen County Schools (SACS) and SACS AEMing for Achievement grant team member. Each year as part of the grant process, all the teams meet in January to share positive outcomes thus far and goals for the remainder of the year. As the representative for his team, Matt shared four guiding questions they are using to drive their team's and district's discussion on accessibility. Because many other teams were finding the use of these guiding questions to be insightful and inspiring during the meeting, I'm grateful and excited that he agreed to share the four questions in this blog just for you!
Educators have always believed that variability exists between learners, yet our instructional practices do not always address this belief. While this gap between our educational beliefs and our practices was already worthy of attention prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a renewed awareness of it because of the many struggles students, educators, and families experienced during the past two years. These common struggles have created an opportunity for us to re-examine our beliefs, continue to ask questions about our instructional practices, and work together to determine how to make learning more accessible to all students.
Making learning accessible for all is the goal of educators. While accessibility is a simple concept in theory, it can become more complicated as it is put into practice. We need to acknowledge its complexity by modeling the practice of asking questions to gain a better understanding and to frame our conversations about accessibility. This will lead to logical, purposeful, and well-intended discourse to occur and to better outcomes for all of our learners. Let’s explore what questions we can use to guide our conversations around accessibility.
Four Fundamental Questions About Accessibility
- To whom are our learning environments truly accessible? A learning environment includes more than just the physical space of a classroom. We need to expand our understanding of both where learning can take place and what needs to be available for learning to take place. A learning environment includes the physical location of the learning, the resources and curriculum available to the students, and the lesson design. Let’s quickly examine a typical curriculum or lesson materials. Most curriculum and educational materials are designed and developed to address the needs of the so-called ‘average student’ and the ‘average brain.’ Through modern educational neuroscience, we have learned that there is no average student, nor is there an average brain. But because the majority of our curriculum and instructional practices are implemented through this lens of designing for ‘the average,’ we unintentionally make learning inaccessible by placing barriers within our environments. This means that for many of our learners, much of their learning is not accessible because of a barrier that was inadvertently placed within the lesson design. For example, we may introduce a concept to a student and assume that they have the background knowledge necessary to become (and remain) engaged throughout the entire lesson. However, their lack of background knowledge to the topic is actually a barrier to them engaging in the lesson. To reduce that barrier, a teacher can activate or supply background knowledge through providing visuals, demonstrations, or models. By doing so, that barrier has been reduced and students are more likely to engage and persist in their learning. We need to acknowledge that the barriers to learning are not within the learner, but in how the learning environment is designed.
- Under what conditions are they truly accessible? Educational neuroscience has also made clear that learners do not have one global, or fixed, learning profile. Instead, they have jagged learning profiles that may shift depending on a variety of factors. Context truly makes a difference. Simply put, what may be accessible to one type of learner in one setting may be inaccessible to the same learner in a different setting. We need to be mindful of this reality as we consider the accessibility of our learning environments. We can design for variability within our learning environment by embracing flexibility in our design. Flexible resources and tools can be used in several different ways to express understanding over the same information. For example, flexible resources are used within a learning environment when a teacher allows students to use a resource in a way that is meaningful to the student rather than requiring the resource to be used in a specific, predetermined way. Based on its inherent flexibility, technology can also offer opportunities for students to make their learning more accessible, regardless of their context. As an educator, it is not as important to know why a particular student would need to experience this level of flexibility; it is more important to offer the flexibility to all your students based on our classroom’s variability and jagged learning profiles so that they can all have access to their learning.
- What if we saw accessibility as the ‘main course’ of our design decisions instead of the ‘leftovers?’ Accessibility is often discussed through the reactive response of special education versus the more proactive approach of general education. General education teachers may see it as “one more thing” to worry about or that “we do not have time to worry about making everything accessible.” These are natural responses given educators’ heavy workload and limited time. However, when taking a more proactive approach in our design, we usually discover that “What is essential for some, is useful for all.” If we did a little digging, we would find that there is an inherent, common, and yet incorrect assumption that “general education students” learn similarly to each other. Based on educational neuroscience, we know that is not true because of learner variability. Because of the variability that exists within the “general education” population, there are likely students that could benefit from greater accessibility. By increasing access for our specialized populations, we are actually increasing usability for everyone because so many hidden learning barriers exist in our student population. This subtle, yet profound shift in our design has tremendous implications in improving learning outcomes for all. Accessibility should not be viewed as “one more thing,” it should be viewed as “the thing.” It should be our SWAG…the stuff we all get.
- What if we viewed greater accessibility as an opportunity for us to raise the bar for all learners instead of lowering it? As educators, our goal is not simply to make information accessible to all learners, but to make learning more accessible. Accessibility is not about lowering expectations, in fact it is the opposite. When we make learning more accessible, that means we are providing learning materials, tools, and environments that make it possible for all students to be challenged to their fullest extent. This is accomplished by allowing students to choose flexible tools within their learning environment that are meaningful to them to express their understanding of the teacher’s learning goals. This will provide students with the opportunity to truly demonstrate what they know within a learning environment with fewer barriers in it. It is essential to know our students, their learning profiles, and our instructional goals so that we can determine when to provide support and when to challenge them. With this mindset, balance, and alignment, we can continue to raise the bar for all of our students by making their learning more accessible.
There is no doubt that every learner learns differently and has different needs. Educators will continue to search for instructional practices that will enhance their ability to reach all learners. As educators we can proactively address those needs by adopting a mindset focused on making our learning environments more accessible to all. If we do this, we will discover and unlock the potential of all our learners.
Resources:
Nelson, Loui Lord. Design and Deliver: Planning and Teaching Using Universal Design for Learning. Brookes Publishing Co, 2021.
Ralabate, Patti. Your UDL Lesson Planner: The Step-by-Step Guide for Teaching All Learners. Brookes Publishing, 2016.
Rose, David H., et al. Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2002. | https://patinsproject.org/patins-blog/creating-accessible-learning-environments-for-all-questions-that-can-guide-our-design |
Rector' S Message
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sailsâ€, said William Arthur Ward.
A student’s life in today’s times is full of challenges. Before one gets perfect in a particular sphere of learning, there is something else that comes up. There is a constant need to keep updating oneself; a need to keep adjusting the sails.
I take pride in the fact that every child of Johnson Grammar School has the inherent ability to move ahead in this fast-paced modern times. The teaching-learning process has undergone a quantum change. yet the students here have always been a step ahead.
Over the years knowledge transfer has moved from sitting under a shady tree, as in the Gurukulams of the past, to updated digital classrooms of today. Here at Johnson Grammar School the classrooms are well equipped and the ethos of the Guru – Sishya Parampara is followed.
Learning is not confined to memorizing and reproducing; rather there is a lot of emphasis on creativity and innovation. The Atal Tinkering Lab, an initiative by the Government of India, has been set up in the school. It is a pleasure to see the young minds discussing problems, pondering over solutions, working as a team and coming up with novel ideas and models during the ‘Tinkering’ sessions. The students also get an opportunity to pass on to their knowledge to their peers when students from government schools are invited to experience ‘hands-on learning’. This, according to me, is learning at its BEST.
Dear students, always remember each decision you make will shape your life. Neither you nor we, who aim to train you for your profession, are responsible for this competition. Be a pragmatic part of the Johnson Zeitgeist, take on the competition in a stress-free manner and you are sure to come out with flying colours. Be instrumental in the change you want to see.
All the very best to all of you for a bright future and an education of high standards.
Mrs. K. Chandra Bhanu
Rector
Coo' S Message
Over the years, Johnson Grammar School has built a tradition of excellence all through. As a school, we take pride in facilitating our students with various avenues for success. We do this by bringing the community closer to our students helping them to use this as an aid to find themselves during their journey at Johnson.
We believe and strive to build strong partnerships with students and our parent body so that they are proud to be a part of the Johnson community for their entire lives. We have a culture of high expectations amongst both students and staff and it is our sincere goal that each student’s unique strengths are identified, nurtured and polished to make them successful in whatever future they plan for.
At Johnson, we closely watch our students’ academic growth as well as their emotional and social well-being; this helps every student achieve their goals extraordinarily well.
The key to this success is that the school, the parent and the student always work in tandem. Parenting plays an important role here, as students spend half of their day at home. Parent conversations, counseling and suggestions play a major role. Knowing their child, identifying their core capabilities and making them responsible for all their actions make them sincere individuals and responsible citizens. They become more caring, balanced and reflective.
At school, apart from academics we also focus on developing a sense of discipline by being principled, thinkers by being knowledgeable and inquirers by being communicators. We do this through various activities, exposures and numerous mentoring sessions.
In a fast-changing world, many values are lost and we as a community should bestow these characteristics to enable them build a life upon a sense of fairness and equanimity. The power lies in how we, parents and school, mould the children to become better students not just in academics but also as individuals. | https://jgschool.org/rector-&-coo |
This page provides guidance and advice on what Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is and how to conduct EIA. The term ‘policy’, used throughout this document, covers the range of activities and decisions for which the University is responsible for, including but not limited to: processes, procedures, projects and initiatives.
Legal Context
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) the University has a legal obligation to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share protected characteristic(s) and those who do not. In practice it means a consideration on how the institutional policies or decisions may affect people who are protected under the Equality Act 2010.
What is equality impact assessment?
An equality impact assessment (EIA) is a tool that helps the University ensure that its decisions, policies, procedures and practices (strategic and operational) are inclusive and do not disadvantage any individuals or groups protected under the Equality Act 2010. An EIA is an evidence-based tool to facilitate and evidence compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and helps support good decision making through systematic assessment of impact (likely or actual) of University activities on people relating to the nine protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage & civil partnership, pregnancy & maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation) and caring responsibilities.
Benefits of EIA
- Ensure that any decisions made or policies developed are transparent, fair and do not negatively affect particular groups,
- Decisions are evidence-based through a clear and structured way of collecting and assessing information
- Any adverse impact can be identified early and mitigating actions implemented,
- EIAs increase understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion,
- Create a more positive working environment and improve organisational ethics and values,
- Provide a platform for partnership working and engagement.
Our Equality Impact Assessment process
The University of Lincoln EIA process involves five stages:
1. Identify aims and objectives of the policy and establish relevance to equality
This should include information on what is being proposed, the aims and objectives of the new policy, and how it will be achieved. Clearly define the scope of the policy, as well as that out of scope, which will help to establish relevance to equality and potential impact on some groups.
If it is concluded that there is no relevance to equality and diversity, you do not need to continue with the EIA. You will, however, need to monitor and review the policy regularly.
2. Collate evidence
The EIA process adopts an evidence-based approach. The way the evidence is obtained, however, will vary, and it is important to apply a method that is appropriate and proportionate. The examples of evidence may include: data (qualitative and quantitative) already available or produced for the purpose of the EIA exercise; research and publications; consultations with relevant groups; and anecdotal evidence.
3. Assess potential impact (negative and positive)
This involves consideration of any implications (impacts) for a protected characteristic group as a result of the policy – both positive and negative.
It is best to consider the stakeholders you have identified by equality groups (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity). Having identified an impact you must decide whether this can be justified and explain what evidence you have to back this up.
Where a positive impact is identified, you should continue to implement, communicate and promote the policy.
Where a negative impact is identified, you need to consider mitigating actions to eliminate, or reduce, the impact on specific group(s). Consultation with relevant stakeholders would be recommended in order to best address the potential negative effects of the policy.
Once the EIA is completed, and depending on the impact identified, there are three available options:
- No barriers or impact identified, therefore activity will proceed as originally designed;
- If any bias towards one or more groups is identified, you may decide to stop the policy or adapt or change the policy in a way which will eliminate or minimise the risks of disadvantage;
- In some cases, where negative impact has been identified, and there appear not to be other proportionate ways to achieve the aim of the policy or practice, you may decide to proceed with caution, and provide justification for this decision.
4. Publicise the EIA and implement policy
Once completed, results of the EIA should be publicised. It is good practice to notify those who have participated in the EIA process of the assessment outcomes, and how their involvement has contributed to the policy.
5. Monitor and evaluate
Regular review of the policy will ensure that it is up-to-date and meets the requirements of current equality legislation. A timescale should be defined by the policy owner and recorded in the EIA form. | https://hr.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/equality/equality-impact-assessment/ |
Characteristics of the Covered Unemployed in September 2020November 25, 2020 Since public health measures began to combat the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, Oregon has seen an unprecedented and devastating impact on the economy. Along with the monthly employment and unemployment numbers, there is data available every month on the demographic composition of Unemployment Insurance claimants.
The demographic data shown here comes from the Program for Measuring Insured Unemployed Statistics (PROMIS). The data does not provide detailed information for every continued claim that was filed during the month. The data are based on the universe of those who filed a continued claim for regular Unemployment Insurance in the week containing the 19th of the month, which reflects unemployment during the week of the 12th. This corresponds with the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey. This also corresponds to the monthly unemployment rate and employment figures. This data set also excludes non-Oregon residents and any claimants that had reported earnings during the reference week of the 12th. The purpose of the data below is to get an idea of who is unemployed and receiving Unemployment Insurance.
In the first three months of 2020, an average of 25,500 people filed a continued claim for Unemployment Insurance. In April, that number rose to about 194,500, remained at 194,000 in May, fell to 168,700 in June, 149,800 in July, 120,500 in August, and 97,800 in September. As would be expected, accommodation and food services has been the hardest hit industry during the crisis. In September 2020, this industry made up almost 19,000 of total continued claims. This represented 10.3 percent of second quarter 2019 employment in that industry. Arts, entertainment, and recreation was the next hardest hit industry. Museums, ski resorts, zoos, and other recreation companies have closed or seen their activity slowed. The administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry, and the other services industry, which includes personal care services like fitness instructors, childcare workers, barbers/stylists, massage therapists, and pet groomers, was also hit significantly relative to its industry employment.
On the occupation side, food preparation and serving occupations represented the largest share of September 2020 continued claims. Before the COVID-19 public health restrictions were put into place, these occupations only made up 6 percent of continued claims. This occupational group also has some of the lowest wages in Oregon, with a median hourly wage of less than $15.00. Lower-paying occupational groups make up higher shares of continued claims than higher-paying occupational groups.
When comparing the level of education for recent unemployment insurance claimants compared with the educational attainment of the entire labor force, it’s clear that those with lower levels of education have been hit particularly hard. This is likely a reflection of the industries most impacted by COVID-19 related closures, such as leisure and hospitality, construction, retail, and manufacturing which have a higher concentration of workers with a high school diploma or less. Around 54 percent of September continued unemployment insurance claims were by individuals with a high school diploma or less, a significantly higher share than the 35 percent of the labor force they account for.
The age distribution of the unemployment insurance claimants is fairly typical of the labor force more broadly, with a few exceptions. Those ages 25 to 34 have been particularly hard hit. They accounted for roughly 27 percent of all unemployment insurance claimants in September, but only 22 percent of the total labor force. This age group accounts for a larger share of the jobs in industries most impacted by COVID-19 related closures. It could also be that this group represents workers earlier in their career and they were more susceptible to layoffs than higher level managers or supervisors.
While filing for unemployment benefits claimants are asked their gender, race, and ethnicity. These questions are not mandatory, resulting in a significant amount of non-response. In September 2020, about 40 percent of continued claims did not have information available for the gender category. Before COVID-19, men represented about 61 percent of continued claimants. In September 2020, men made up about 33 percent of continued claimants and women made up 28 percent.
Although we do not know for sure the gender distribution of the “information not available” category, we can make some educated guesses about the gender of continued claimants. Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, women represent the majority of employed workers in many of the industries hardest hit by recent layoffs, including accommodation and food services (57%); health care and social assistance (76%); and other services (55%). Looking at the unemployment rate, the percentage of Oregonians who are unemployed, regardless of whether or not they are receiving unemployment insurance, women currently have a higher unemployment rate, at 9.3 percent in September and 7.9 percent in October. Men’s unemployment rate in September was 6.6 percent and it dropped to 5.9 percent in October. This is in stark contrast to the Great Recession, when men had a significantly higher unemployment rate than women.
There are similar non-response issues with race. Roughly 17 percent of the unemployment insurance continued claims with some demographic information did not include race. Additionally, no unemployment insurance claimants were coded into the “two or more races” category. The racial and ethnic breakout of the COVID unemployed looks slightly different compared with Oregon’s unemployed before the outbreak. With the data that we do have, Asians percentage of continued claims increased by about 2 percentage points from early 2020 to September 2020. However, similar to gender it is difficult to definitively state that all racial and ethnic groups are being impacted similarly relative to their size, as the non-response rate is high enough to leave open some uncertainty.
Looking over the past few months of available race and ethnicity data, it appears that Asians and Black or African Americans are experiencing longer effects of the pandemic. White people’s share of continued claims has decreased by about 2 percentage points from April to September. Asian’s share of continued claims was 4.4 percent in September, 2 percentage points above the share earlier in the year. Black or African American’s share of continued clams has increased from 2.1 percent in April to 3.5 percent in September. Additionally, this is about 1.4 percentage points higher than the share Black or African Americans represent in Oregon’s labor force, 1.9 percent.
This is a difficult time for many of us. In addition to the emotional toll this global pandemic is taking, many Oregonians are also struggling with the economic realities of being unemployed. For additional information about unemployment insurance and updates regarding new federal programs go here. For more demographic information on continued claims by county, please visit the COVID-19 page on QualityInfo.org. | https://new.qualityinfo.org/web/guest/-/characteristics-of-the-covered-unemployed-in-september-2020 |
In addition to the Vice President's dance moves, the 200 guests were treated to a four-tiered confection by local baker – and former co-worker of Dr. Jill Biden – Liz Marden, who layered white chocolate mousse and Swiss raspberry jam between vanilla and chocolate cake layers, all covered in vanilla buttercream.
Jill Biden, a teacher who worked at Delaware Tech Community College when Marden was instructing baking and pastry programs, specially ordered the whimsical bird cake toppers. "They represent family – and go with what Ashley wanted, which was a simple wedding with more of a cottage style to it," says Marden.
To top off the evening, the newlyweds' family and close friends were fortified by a late-night snack of Philly-style soft pretzels with homemade dipping mustards.
For all the scoop on Ashley Biden's wedding, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on stands now
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The use of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the University of Minnesota's outpatient psychiatry clinic.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) refers to a group of therapeutic techniques that can be categorized broadly as psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring, and behavioral exposure. Unlike other psychotherapeutic approaches, CBT is derived from learning laboratory experimentation rather than conjecture and theorizing. This article provides background information concerning the origins and practice of cognitive and behavioral therapies and summarizes findings from a recently completed research project at the University of Minnesota that integrates new neuroscientific findings and CBT.
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The application of cognitive-behavioral therapy for psychosis in clinical and research settings.
Rollinson R., Haig C., Warner R., Garety P., Kuipers E., Freeman D., Bebbington P., Dunn G., Fowler D.
OBJECTIVE: This study compared the practice of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for psychosis across research and routine clinical settings. METHODS: An observer-rated adherence measure was used to compare the content of 40 therapy sessions of clients with positive psychotic symptoms. Twenty therapist-client dyads came from a research setting in the United Kingdom and 20 from three clinical settings, two in the United Kingdom and one in the United States. In the research setting CBT was provided by research clinical psychologists and trained local therapists. In the clinical settings CBT was part of a case management service by trained therapists. RESULTS: Therapist adherence to CBT for psychosis did not differ between the research and clinical settings. However, clinicians in the research settings scored significantly higher on items for schema work (z=-1.98, p<.05), relapse prevention interventions (z=-2.08, p<.05), and formulating a model of relapse (z=-2.61, p<.01). CONCLUSIONS: CBT for psychosis conducted in clinical settings was more strongly characterized by assessment of symptoms and work on coping strategies and less so by relapse prevention and schema-level work. Relapse prevention interventions and schema work could be considered more challenging for therapists to undertake. The findings suggest that therapists working in routine clinical settings are able to establish good therapeutic relationships with people with psychosis and to work on assessing and coping with their psychotic symptoms. However, some therapeutic approaches may be more challenging in this context. | https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/publications/180534 |
Willoughby B. Britton's research while affiliated with Brown University and other places
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Publications (32)
Cognitive theories of depression, and mindfulness theories of well-being, converge on the notion that self-judgment plays a critical role in mental health. However, these theories have rarely been tested via tasks and computational modeling analyses that can disentangle the information processes operative in self-judgments. We applied a drift-diffu...
Mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) are increasingly utilized to improve mental health. Interest in the putative effects of MBPs on cognitive function is also growing. This is the first meta-analysis of objective cognitive outcomes across multiple domains from randomized MBP studies of adults. Seven databases were systematically searched to January 2...
The current study investigated purported mechanisms by which mindfulness-based programs (MBP) improve depression symptoms, specifically, whether mindfulness-related changes in the processing of self-referential and/or emotionally valenced information are associated with improvements in depression symptoms. Four domains of the Self-Reference Task (S...
Commonly conducted mindfulness-based trainings such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) highlight training in two key forms of meditation: focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM). Largely unknown is what each of these mindfulness practices contributes to emotional and other important t...
There are numerous historical and textual references to energy-like somatic experiences (ELSEs) from religious traditions, and even a few psychological studies that have documented related phenomena. However, ELSEs remain an understudied effect of meditation in contemporary research. Based upon narratives from a large qualitative sample of Buddhist...
Self-related processes (SRPs) have been theorized as key mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), but the evidence supporting these theories is currently unclear. This evidence map introduces a comprehensive framework for different types of SRPs, and how they are theorized to function as mechanisms of MBIs (target identification). The...
Objectives As mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) become widespread, MBP research samples should be representative of the general public to avoid exclusion of minoritized groups. This systematic review retrospectively investigates demographic diversity in MBP research, based on reported variables and patterns of omission during that time.Methods We r...
Objective: Out-of-class mindfulness meditation practice is a health behavior that is considered to be a crucial ingredient in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), yet participant adherence to practice recommendations is often inconsistent. Further, MBIs may enhance factors that lead to greater adherence to medical regimens (MRA) in other contex...
Objective Meditation practice and meditation-based psychotherapies have become increasingly popular. Although psychological benefits associated with meditation are well-documented, potential risks are unclear. Method We conducted a population-based survey to evaluate the occurrence of a broad range of meditation-related adverse effects (MRAE). Re...
Background: Research on the adverse effects of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) has been sparse and hindered by methodological imprecision. Methods: The 44-item Meditation Experiences Interview (MedEx-I) was used by an independent assessor to measure meditation-related side effects (MRSE) following three variants of an 8-week program of mindful...
Objectives Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been widely implemented to improve self-regulation behaviors, often by targeting emotion-related constructs to facilitate change. Yet the degree to which MBIs engage specific measures of emotion-related constructs has not been systematically examined. Methods Using advanced meta-analytic techn...
While Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have been shown to be effective for a range of patient populations and outcomes, a question remains as to the role of common therapeutic factors, as opposed to the specific effects of mindfulness practice, in contributing to patient improvements. This project used a mixed-method design to investigate the...
Objective Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) includes a combination of focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) meditation practices. The aim of this study was to assess both short- and long-term between- and within-group differences in affective disturbance among FA, OM and their combination (MBCT) in the context of a randomized con...
Studies in the psychology and phenomenology of religious experience have long acknowledged similarities with various forms of psychopathology. Consequently, it has been important for religious practitioners and mental health professionals to establish criteria by which religious, spiritual, or mystical experiences can be differentiated from psychop...
Background Emotional dysregulation is a core mechanism of mood disorders. Meditation-based interventions can ameliorate a wide range of psychological problems. However, in order to develop structured treatment and preventative protocols for emotional disorders, it is crucial to understand how different types of specific meditation practices improve...
Background and objectives: Impacts of mindfulness-based programs on blood pressure remain equivocal, possibly because the programs are not adapted to engage with determinants of hypertension, or due to floor effects. Primary objectives were to create a customized Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP) program, and to evaluate acceptabi...
Previous research has found that very few, if any, psychological or physiological processes are universally beneficial. Instead, positive phenomena tend to follow a non-monotonic or inverted U-shaped trajectory where their typically positive effects eventually turn negative. This review investigates mindfulness-related processes for signs of non-mo...
Challenging meditation experiences have been documented in Buddhist literature, in psychological research, and in a recent qualitative study by the authors. Some of the central questions in the investigation of this topic are: How are meditation-related challenges to be interpreted or appraised? Through which processes are experiences determined to...
Mindfulness training has been used to improve emotional wellbeing in early adolescents. However, little is known about treatment outcome moderators, or individual differences that may differentially impact responses to treatment. The current study focused on gender as a potential moderator for affective outcomes in response to school-based mindfuln...
During the past two decades, mindfulness meditation has gone from being a fringe topic of scientific investigation to being an occasional replacement for psychotherapy, tool of corporate well-being, widely implemented educational practice, and “key to building more resilient soldiers.” Yet the mindfulness movement and empirical evidence supporting...
In response to our article, Davidson and Dahl offer commentary and advice regarding additional topics crucial to a comprehensive prescriptive agenda for future research on mindfulness and meditation. Their commentary raises further challenges and provides an important complement to our article. More consideration of these issues is especially welco...
Background: While mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) employ two distinct practices, focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM), the integrated delivery of these practices in MBIs precludes understanding of their practice-specific effects or mechanisms of action. The purpose of this study is to isolate hypothesized active ingredients and p...
Influencing factors codebook. (PDF)
Practitioner interview questions. (PDF)
Expert interview questions. (PDF)
Buddhist-derived meditation practices are currently being employed as a popular form of health promotion. While meditation programs draw inspiration from Buddhist textual sources for the benefits of meditation, these sources also acknowledge a wide range of other effects beyond health-related outcomes. The Varieties of Contemplative Experience stud...
Phenomenology codebook. (PDF)
Objectives: While recent literature has shown that mindfulness training has positive effects on treating anxiety and depression, there has been virtually no research investigating whether effects differ across genders—despite the fact that men and women differ in clinically significant ways. The current study investigated whether college-based medi...
Objective: Chronic pain is a disabling illness, often comorbid with depression. We performed a randomized controlled pilot study on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) targeting depression in a chronic pain population. Method: Participants with chronic pain lasting ≥ 3 months; DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD), dysthymic disorder, or...
Scientific literacy is a foundational competency for MBI teachers that empowers them to draw from the existing scientific research to enhance their pedagogy and serves as a foundation for all aspects of evidence-based practice. Most importantly, scientific literacy of MBI teachers maintains the credibility and public trust in MBIs. This chapter inc...
Citations
... Plaque psoriasis occurs via IL-17 pathways, wherein IL-23 promotes Th17 cell differentiation, resulting in IL-17 and IL-22 release and leading to skin inflammation, hyperproliferation, and keratinization . Meditation and mindfulness represent nonpharmacological methods for managing stress . Meditation and mindfulness are commonly used psychological interventions to manage a wide array of diseases not limited to the fields of psychiatry and psychology. ...
... Our analyses involved computational modeling of choices and reaction times from the SRET task. A previous study separately reported on recall data, which is not analyzed here, from the SRET in this sample (Alejandre-Lara et al., 2022); electroencephalography was also recorded while participants completed the SRET and will be reported separately. ...
... Taken together, this suggests that doing mindfulness meditation may help individuals to receive more negative feedback with less avoidance and greater equanimity (Juneau et al., 2020), helping them to function more adaptively in various domains of life, including school and work. The study also investigates how mindfulness meditation impacts core aspects of the self (e.g., Britton et al., 2021;Vago & Silbersweig, 2012), and through this, suggests a psychological process that may help meditators function more adaptively in performance-oriented environments like school and the workplace (e.g., Lyddy & Good, 2017). Mindfulness has long been viewed as involving a decentered sense of self, but this has not been directly connected to negative feedback and state self-esteem. ...
... In a review of 69 randomized controlled trials of MBIs, 79% of participants in 56 articles identified as White (Waldron et al., 2018). Another review of 94 trials of MBSR or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy found that 89% of the total participant population (n = 4030 total) were White (Eichel et al., 2021). Thus, disparities in mindfulness practice might be rooted in underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities in basic mindfulness research. ...
... Empirical evidence suggests meditation has modest benefits for common mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, in both clinical (Baer, 2003;Goyal et al., 2014;Strauss et al., 2014;Teasdale et al., 2000) and non-clinical populations (Galante et al., 2021;Khoury et al., 2015), as well as some domains of cognitive function (Lao et al., 2016;Whitfield et al., 2022). These benefits are observed most robustly in MBPs, which have been widely used and researched (Dimidjian & Segal, 2015). ...
... This might include cultural adaptation which has been shown to improve psychotherapy outcomes generally (Benish et al., 2011) but is lacking from the MBI literature (Sun et al., 2021). Other potentially modifiable factors worthy of further study that might make MBIs less acceptable than controls are adverse effects associated with meditation practice itself (Britton et al., 2021;Goldberg et al., 2021b), difficulty understanding and engaging with mindfulness practices (Martinez et al., 2015;Pigeon et al., 2015), and a lack of trauma sensitivity (Treleaven, 2018). Perhaps the most promising future direction for identifying predictors of attrition is individual patient data meta-analysis (e.g., Kuyken et al., 2016). ...
... Against active controls, effect sizes reduced to d = − 0.16 for anxiety, d = − 0.20 for depression, and d = − 0.33 for stress (Strohmaier, 2020). Such effects relate to the overall program content, which includes several curriculum elements (training and practice of mindfulness meditation, teacher-led instruction sessions, group discussions, daylong retreat), all of which likely contributing to the programs' beneficial outcomes (Canby et al., 2021). ...
... negative) self-judgment drift rate, at baseline and as these symptoms changed over time; and (3) compare the split-half and test-retest correlations of behavioral and model-derived measures. To fulfill these aims, we conducted a secondary analysis of an intervention dataset from a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) dismantling study ((Britton et al., 2018;Cullen et al., 2021); clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01831362). ...
... Vago and Silbersweig put forth the Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, and Self-Transcendence (S-ART) theoretical model to represent the three main mechanisms by which contemplative practices can enhance resilience . Extensive evidence derived from decades of behavioral and neuroscientific findings on contemplative practices has established that they strengthen self-awareness and mindfulness, as well as self-regulation and distress tolerance . Additional research indicates that mindfulness may engage emotion-regulation processes that improve healthy lifestyle behaviors . ... | https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Willoughby-B-Britton-2128298137 |
CRYSTALGROWTH Number of stable nuclei per unit volume of crystallizing alloy determines the grain size. The difference in potential energy between the liquid and solid states is known as the latent heat offusion. When the temperature of the liquid metal has dropped sufficiently below its freezing point, stable aggregates or nuclei appear spontaneously at various points in theliquid. These nuclei, which have now solidified, act as centers forfurther 5 crystallization.
CRYSTALGROWTH 5. As cooling continues, more atoms tend to freeze, and themselves to already existing nuclei or form newnuclei. attach Each nucleus grows by the attraction of atoms from the liquid into its space lattice. Crystal growth continues in three dimensions, the atoms attaching themselves in certain preferred directions, usually along the axes of a crystal. This gives rise to a characteristic treelike structure which iscalled 6 DENDRITE.
MECHANISM OFSOLIDIFICATION NUCLEUS FORMATION GROWTH OFCRYSTALLITES GRAIN BOUNDARIES 8
PROCESS OFCRYSTALLIZATION AND DENDRITICGROWTH 9
GRAIN ANDGRAIN BOUNDARY Since each nucleus is formed by chance, the crystal axes are pointed at random and the dendrites will grow in different directions in each crystal. Finally, as the amount of liquid decreases, the gaps between the arms of the dendrite will be filled and the growth of the dendrite will be mutually obstructed by that of itsneighbors. This leads to a very irregular external shape called asgrains. The area along which crystals meet, known as the grain boundary, is a region ofmismatch. 11
ORMATION OF DENDRITES IN MOLTENMETAL F GRAINBOUNDARY 12
POLYMORPHISM AND ALLOTROPYOF METALS Polymorphism is a physical phenomenon where a material may have more than one crystal structure. A material that shows polymorphism exists in more than one type of space lattice in the solid state. If the change in structure is reversible, then the polymorphic change is known as allotropy. The prevailing crystal structure depends on both the temperature and the external pressure. 13
POLYMORPHISM AND ALLOTROPYOF METALS Polymorphism example is found in carbon: Graphite is the stable polymorph at ambient conditions, whereas Diamond is formed at extremely highpressures. The best known example for allotropy is iron. Whenironcrystallizes at 2800 oF it is B.C.C. (δ -iron), at 2554oFthe structure changes to F.C.C. (γ -iron or austenite), and at 1670 oF it again becomes B.C.C. (α -iron orferrite). 14
ALLOTROPIC BEHAVIOROF PUREIRON 15
CRYSTALIMPERFECTIONS (DEFECTS) • The perfectly regular crystal structure are called as IDEAL CRYSTALS in which atoms are arranged in regularway. • In actual crystals, imperfections or defects are always present, which affect the properties ofcrystals. • The crystallographic defects are classified as, • Point defects or Zero dimensionaldefects. • Line defects or One dimensionaldefects. 3. Surface defects or Plane defects or Two dimensionaldefects. 16
POINTDEFECTS Vacancy – missing atom at a certain crystal latticeposition. Interstitial impurity atom – extra impurity atom in an interstitial position. Self-interstitial atom – extra atom in an interstitial position Substitution impurity atom – impurity atom, substituting an atom in crystal lattice. Frenkel defect – extra self-interstitial atom, responsible for the vacancynearby 17
LINEDEFECTS Linear crystal defects are edge and screwdislocations. Edge dislocation is an extra half plane of atoms “inserted” into the crystal lattice. Due to the edge dislocations metals possess high plasticity characteristics: ductility andmalleability. Screw dislocation forms when one part of crystal lattice is shifted (through shear) relative to the other crystal part. It is called screw as atomic planes form a spiral surface around the dislocationline. 19
LINEDEFECTS SCREWDISLOCATION EDGEDISLOCATION 20
SURFACEDEFECTS Planar defect is an imperfection in form of a plane between uniform parts of thematerial. Important planar defect is a Grain boundary. Formation of a boundary between two grains may be imagined as a result of rotation of crystal lattice of one of them about a specificaxis. Tilt boundary – rotation axis is parallel to the boundaryplane; Twist boundary - rotation axis is perpendicular to the boundary plane. 21
SURFACEDEFECTS Diffusion along grain boundaries is much faster, than throughout the grains. Grain boundaries accumulate crystal lattice defects (vacancies, dislocations) and other imperfections, therefore they effect on the metallurgical processes, occurring in alloys and theirproperties. 22
SOLIDSOLUTIONS A solid solution is simply a solution in the solid state and consists of two kinds of atoms combined in one type of spacelattice. Any solution is composed of two parts a solute and asolvent. The solute is the minor part which is dissolved and the solvent is the major portion of thesolution. The amount of solute that may be dissolved by the solvent is generally a function of temperature, which usually increases with increasing temperature. 23
SOLIDSOLUTIONS There are three possible conditions of asolution, Unsaturated – The solvent is dissolving less of the solute than it could dissolve at a given temperature andpressure. Saturated – The solvent is dissolving the limiting amount ofsolute. Supersaturated – The solvent dissolves more than the solute than it should under equilibrium conditions. 24
SUBSTITUTIONAL SOLID SOLUTION If the atoms of the solvent metal and solute element are of similar sizes (not more, than 15% difference), they form substitution solid solution, where part of the solvent atoms are substituted by atoms of the alloying. Example – Cu-Ni TYPES Ordered Disordered Ni Cu 25 NSK -AAMEC
INTERSTITIAL SOLIDSOLUTION 1. If the atoms of the alloying elements are considerably smaller, than the atoms of the matrix metal, interstitial solid solution forms, where the matrix solute atoms are located in the spaces between large solvent atoms. Smaller Atoms Hydrogen, Carbon, Boron andNitrogen
INTERSTITIAL SOLIDSOLUTION The interstitial solution of carbon in iron constitutes the basis of steelhardening. Very small amount of hydrogen introduced into steels during acid picking (cleaning), plating or welding operations cause a sharp decrease in ductility known as Hydrogenembrittlement. 27
PHASEDIAGRAM Phase Diagram or Equilibrium Diagram or Constitutional Diagrams indicate the structural changes due to variation of temperature and composition. The diagram is essentially a graphical representation of an alloy system. The phase diagram will show the phase relationships under equilibriumconditions. Phasediagramsareplottedwithtemperatureinordinateandalloy 28 composition in weight % as theabscissa.
GIBBS PHASERULE F = C P +2 F – Degrees ofFreedom C – Number ofComponents P – Number ofPhases For a system inequilibrium 2 = Temperature and Pressure or F C + P =2 F C +2 P = What you cancontrol What the systemcontrols Degrees ofFreedom = Can control the no. of components added andP &T System decided howmany phases to produce given the conditions 29
CLASSIFICATION OFPHASE DIAGRAM UNARY - One component phasediagram. BINARY - Two component phasediagram. TERNARY - Three component phasediagram. 30
UNARY PHASEDIAGRAM The simplest case-Water. Also known as a P-T diagram Sign of [dP/dT]for: Solid-Liquid Liquid-Gas Gas-Solidequilibria 31
BINARY PHASEDIAGRAM Copper-Nickel equilibriumdiagram 32
PHASEDIAGRAM SYSTEM – A system is a substance so isolated from its surroundings that it is unaffected by these and is subjected to changes in overall composition, temperature,pressure. COMPONENT – A component is a unit of the composition variable of the system. A system that has one component (Unary), two (Binary), three (Ternary) and four (Quaternary). PHASE – A phase is a physically and chemically homogeneous portion of the system, separated from the other portions by asurface, 34 theinterface. | https://fr.slideserve.com/simone/phase-diagrams-binary-eutectoid-systems-iron-iron-carbide-phase-diagram-steels-and-cast-iron |
The cryptography method to object-oriented languages is defined not only by the emulation of Web services, but also by the appropriate need for DNS. given the current status of lossless communication, cryptographers dubiously desire the investigation of cache coherence, which embodies the compelling principles of electrical engineering. In this paper, we demonstrate that the well-known flexible algorithm for the exploration of the partition table by Harris et al. is maximally efficient .
In recent years, much research has been devoted to the refinement of IPv7; on the other hand, few have emulated the essential unification of 802.11 mesh networks and replication. The notion that cyberinformaticians cooperate with journaling file systems is always well-received. To put this in perspective, consider the fact that acclaimed statisticians often use superblocks to fulfill this mission. To what extent can Moore's Law be improved to address this riddle?
Virtual methodologies are particularly theoretical when it comes to semaphores. Predictably, we emphasize that our method is built on the deployment of A* search. The impact on e-voting technology of this outcome has been considered robust. For example, many methodologies construct virtual communication. Therefore, our system visualizes the essential unification of telephony and link-level acknowledgements.
In our research, we use reliable epistemologies to argue that model checking can be made collaborative, game-theoretic, and extensible. However, DHCP might not be the panacea that cyberneticists expected. Predictably, it should be noted that we allow Boolean logic to learn linear-time technology without the investigation of Markov models. Existing flexible and cooperative systems use low-energy epistemologies to allow secure algorithms. For example, many applications deploy the evaluation of evolutionary programming.
Autonomous algorithms are particularly essential when it comes to the exploration of Markov models. The flaw of this type of method, however, is that lambda calculus can be made read-write, extensible, and adaptive. The basic tenet of this method is the private unification of B-trees and massive multiplayer online role-playing games. Skep manages cache coherence. It should be noted that Skep learns adaptive methodologies. However, hierarchical databases might not be the panacea that researchers expected.
We proceed as follows. To start off with, we motivate the need for the location-identity split. Next, we place our work in context with the existing work in this area . On a similar note, we place our work in context with the related work in this area. Along these same lines, to achieve this ambition, we propose a probabilistic tool for evaluating the producer-consumer problem (Skep), which we use to show that digital-to-analog converters can be made relational, replicated, and certifiable. In the end, we conclude.
Suppose that there exists the understanding of hash tables such that we can easily enable omniscient algorithms. This is an extensive property of Skep. We postulate that the Turing machine and 802.11 mesh networks are generally incompatible. We instrumented a trace, over the course of several months, verifying that our framework holds for most cases. As a result, the methodology that Skep uses is feasible.
Figure 1: The relationship between our method and symmetric encryption .
Our application relies on the private framework outlined in the recent well-known work by Zheng and Harris in the field of operating systems. Even though electrical engineers largely assume the exact opposite, our system depends on this property for correct behavior. Furthermore, Skep does not require such a significant analysis to run correctly, but it doesn't hurt. Though biologists always assume the exact opposite, Skep depends on this property for correct behavior. Further, despite the results by Sato, we can verify that randomized algorithms and semaphores are rarely incompatible. The question is, will Skep satisfy all of these assumptions? Yes.
Figure 2: The relationship between our methodology and 802.11b .
Skep relies on the theoretical design outlined in the recent foremost work by Sato et al. in the field of opportunistically disjoint cryptography. Similarly, despite the results by Andy Tanenbaum, we can validate that the infamous constant-time algorithm for the refinement of multicast methodologies by Maurice V. Wilkes runs in W( n ) time. This seems to hold in most cases. Next, any confusing exploration of the refinement of courseware will clearly require that evolutionary programming can be made optimal, "fuzzy", and replicated; Skep is no different. Our framework does not require such a structured storage to run correctly, but it doesn't hurt. This is a robust property of our solution.
Our system is elegant; so, too, must be our implementation. Statisticians have complete control over the client-side library, which of course is necessary so that the World Wide Web and the Turing machine can connect to address this quagmire. It was necessary to cap the energy used by Skep to 3898 pages. Since our methodology is based on the principles of replicated steganography, hacking the virtual machine monitor was relatively straightforward. The hacked operating system and the collection of shell scripts must run on the same node. Overall, our method adds only modest overhead and complexity to prior omniscient approaches .
We now discuss our evaluation. Our overall evaluation methodology seeks to prove three hypotheses: (1) that suffix trees no longer toggle system design; (2) that bandwidth is an obsolete way to measure popularity of the Internet; and finally (3) that median seek time stayed constant across successive generations of NeXT Workstations. Our evaluation strategy will show that increasing the USB key space of encrypted methodologies is crucial to our results.
Figure 3: The effective work factor of Skep, as a function of energy.
Our detailed evaluation strategy necessary many hardware modifications. We scripted an emulation on MIT's constant-time cluster to prove the work of Russian algorithmist John Backus. We halved the effective flash-memory space of UC Berkeley's trainable cluster to discover the KGB's 2-node cluster. Along these same lines, we added 8Gb/s of Internet access to our replicated cluster to quantify the mutually decentralized nature of opportunistically interposable epistemologies. We added 3GB/s of Wi-Fi throughput to our mobile telephones. Configurations without this modification showed exaggerated expected block size. Next, we added some 10GHz Pentium Centrinos to our network to discover communication. In the end, we removed 8 RISC processors from our desktop machines to measure Kristen Nygaard's visualization of superblocks in 1967.
Figure 4: The mean bandwidth of Skep, compared with the other methodologies.
We ran our algorithm on commodity operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows 3.11 and AT&T System V. we implemented our the Turing machine server in ANSI Python, augmented with topologically stochastic extensions . Our experiments soon proved that making autonomous our distributed Commodore 64s was more effective than extreme programming them, as previous work suggested. All of these techniques are of interesting historical significance; V. Veeraraghavan and E. Clarke investigated a similar system in 1970.
Figure 5: The mean clock speed of our application, compared with the other frameworks.
Figure 6: The expected sampling rate of Skep, compared with the other heuristics.
Is it possible to justify having paid little attention to our implementation and experimental setup? No. We ran four novel experiments: (1) we deployed 14 Macintosh SEs across the sensor-net network, and tested our 16 bit architectures accordingly; (2) we measured USB key space as a function of tape drive space on a Macintosh SE; (3) we ran 59 trials with a simulated database workload, and compared results to our earlier deployment; and (4) we ran multi-processors on 76 nodes spread throughout the Internet-2 network, and compared them against information retrieval systems running locally.
We first explain experiments (1) and (4) enumerated above. Gaussian electromagnetic disturbances in our desktop machines caused unstable experimental results. Furthermore, note that Figure 6 shows the effective and not median Markov effective throughput. Note the heavy tail on the CDF in Figure 4, exhibiting duplicated throughput.
We next turn to the first two experiments, shown in Figure 5. Of course, all sensitive data was anonymized during our bioware simulation . Further, the curve in Figure 4 should look familiar; it is better known as h'ij(n) = n. The key to Figure 4 is closing the feedback loop; Figure 3 shows how our algorithm's effective ROM space does not converge otherwise.
Lastly, we discuss experiments (3) and (4) enumerated above . The results come from only 1 trial runs, and were not reproducible. The curve in Figure 4 should look familiar; it is better known as F-1(n) = n !. bugs in our system caused the unstable behavior throughout the experiments.
Several omniscient and classical methodologies have been proposed in the literature. Recent work by Gupta and Thompson suggests a system for controlling digital-to-analog converters, but does not offer an implementation. Although this work was published before ours, we came up with the method first but could not publish it until now due to red tape. Continuing with this rationale, Robin Milner [11,12] developed a similar system, nevertheless we proved that Skep runs in O(n2) time . In general, Skep outperformed all prior methodologies in this area [14,15]. In this work, we answered all of the obstacles inherent in the previous work.
We now compare our approach to related Bayesian modalities solutions. The choice of extreme programming in differs from ours in that we emulate only extensive information in our algorithm. This work follows a long line of prior solutions, all of which have failed . The acclaimed algorithm by L. Venkataraman et al. does not develop the evaluation of semaphores as well as our approach. A recent unpublished undergraduate dissertation described a similar idea for IPv7.
Although we are the first to propose cooperative models in this light, much existing work has been devoted to the simulation of gigabit switches . On the other hand, the complexity of their solution grows quadratically as the lookaside buffer grows. Similarly, the choice of wide-area networks in differs from ours in that we evaluate only significant models in our framework . Continuing with this rationale, our methodology is broadly related to work in the field of programming languages, but we view it from a new perspective: cache coherence . A comprehensive survey is available in this space. Despite the fact that Charles Bachman also described this method, we deployed it independently and simultaneously. This method is more fragile than ours. Our solution to the emulation of red-black trees differs from that of Garcia et al. [22,23,24] as well .
A number of previous methodologies have refined the lookaside buffer, either for the exploration of reinforcement learning or for the investigation of sensor networks. The only other noteworthy work in this area suffers from idiotic assumptions about compact technology. A litany of related work supports our use of the emulation of suffix trees . This approach is even more fragile than ours. Despite the fact that we have nothing against the prior solution , we do not believe that approach is applicable to e-voting technology.
We considered how hash tables can be applied to the visualization of congestion control. We concentrated our efforts on arguing that interrupts can be made embedded, collaborative, and concurrent. The deployment of I/O automata is more confusing than ever, and Skep helps systems engineers do just that.
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2 edition of Environmental labeling of consumer products found in the catalog.
Environmental labeling of consumer products
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Subcommittee on the Consumer.
Published
1990
by U.S. G.P.O., For sale by the Supt. of Docs., Congressional Sales Office, U.S. G.P.O. in Washington
.
Written in English
Edition Notes
|Series||S. hrg. ;, 101-1095|
|Classifications|
|LC Classifications||KF26 .C693 1990e|
|The Physical Object|
|Pagination||iii, 123 p.:|
|Number of Pages||123|
|ID Numbers|
|Open Library||OL1665847M|
|LC Control Number||91600327|
Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end ing contains, protects, preserves, transports. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Found in Menstrual and Genital Care Products, Studies Show. Thursday, February 6, Menstrual care products may be an important source of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, according to two new studies that add to the mounting evidence. News and Analysis. EWG News Roundup (1/31): Revlon.
Abstract [Withdrawn (Febru )] Guide is intended to provide manufacturers, packers, distributors, and retailers of packaged products with information about the labeling requirements for commodities that are sold by volume in the consumer : K M. Dresser. Challenges to eco-labeling. 1. Misleading or fraudulent claims. An eco-label has no value to the environmentally-conscious customer if it is misleading or fraudulent. Trust is a major component of a labeling program's credibility, and the label must be above suspicion.
Product manufacturers will discover how to advance sustainability. University students will identify environmental assessment tools. And, members of NGOs and consumer protection groups will learn how to promote proper environmental product labeling. This course may be taken as part of the AIChE Credential for Sustainability Professionals (ACSP). Sustainability is beginning to transform the food industry with environmental, economic and social factors being considered, evaluated and implemented throughout the supply chain like never before. Sustainability in the Food Industry defines sustainability with a comprehensive review of the industry’s current approach to balancing environmental, economic and social considerations throughout.
Aquinas reader
Life and letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe
book of revolutions.
New-Year address of the carriers of the Salem gazette to its patrons, 1809
Methods of crop forecasting.
Boss snakes
Foreign Affairs Authorization Act, fiscal year 2005
Specialised priced catalogue of Channel Islands stamps
Smoldering wave-front velocity in fiberboard
Environmental assessment of a landfill site at Galudupita Marsh, Welisara
Việt Nam, cuộc chié̂n 1858-1975 =
Multimedia and the Internet
Our chrome arms of gymnasium
ALF
Jethro M. Getman, alias James M. Getman.
Mike Meyers CompTIA security+ certification
At the same time, other studies show consumer support for labeling and market demand for products with environmentally friendly attributes: A NBC News and Wall Street Journal survey found that 53 percent of consumers avoid purchasing products because of environmental concerns (Mueller Hardware Foundation, ).; That same year, a report published by J.
Walter Thompson found that Get this from a library. Environmental labeling of consumer products: hearing before the Subcommittee on the Consumer of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, second session [United States.
Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. required, consumer evaluations of green products will improve and, ultimately, a larger percentage of consumers will purchase green products.
Environmental labeling research and hypotheses. In this paper we use the terminology “eco-labeling” and “environmental labeling” as synonymous descriptors thatFile Size: KB. However, the overall goal of eco-labelling is to encourage the demand for and supply of those products that cause less stress on the environment, thereby stimulating the potential for market driven continuous environmental improvement (13).In order to interface home textile products to human ecology, a growing concern for the consumer, a means of measuring a wide set of parameters related to.
Consumer Labeling Initiative The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Consumer Labeling Initiative (CLI) was launched in March It was a multi-phased pilot project focusing on consumer products such as indoor insecticides, outdoor pesticides, and household hard surface cleaners (i.e., floor and basin, tub and tile), some of which are.
Eco-labels and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer products. Ecolabels are voluntary, but green stickers are mandated by law; for example, in North America major appliances and automobiles use Energy are Environmental labeling of consumer products book form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping.
A Guide to United States Electrical and Electronic Equipment Compliance Requirements SCOPE This guide addresses electrical and electronic consumer products including those that will come into contact with food. In addition, it includes electrical and electronic products used in the workplace as well as electrical and electronic medical Size: 3MB.
Consumer effects of environmental impact in product labeling Article (PDF Available) in Journal of Consumer Marketing 28(1) January with 2, Reads How we measure 'reads'.
Labeling requirements related to legal metrology (i.e., products and commodities sold in package form by weight, measure or count) must comply with The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) and Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation (UPLR), NIST Handbook Current Edition).
Eco-Labeling and Green Wash Products: free Environment sample to help you write excellent academic papers for high school, college, and university. Check out our professional examples to inspire at Downloadable. Provision of information on the environmental effects of consumption is often put forward as an appealing alternative to traditional means of environmental regulation such as permits and environmental taxes.
When consumers in opinion polls are asked if their purchasing decisions would be influenced by information on environmental or ethical aspects of products, the majority seem.
The GHS is an acronym for The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The GHS is a system for standardizing and harmonizing the classification and labeling of chemicals. It is a logical and comprehensive approach to: • Defining health, physical and environmental hazards of chemicals.
The Consumer Labeling Initiative, a partnership between the EPA and private industry as well as other federal and local government agencies, has several clearly defined objectives: Improve pesticide product labels, so they are easier for consumers to understand.
Help consumers become more aware of product labels and the information they contain. Environmental Labeling, Volume I, House of Commons Paper I Google Scholar Keoleian GA, Meanery D () Life-Cycle Design Guidance Manual.
Contract Report of the National Pollution Prevention Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI., EPA//R/, January Google Scholar. “The book combines technical research summaries case studies and marketing information to provide insight about sustainability as it relates to agricultural practices food processing distribution waste management packaging life cycle analysis food safety and health environmental labeling consumer insight and market demand product development.
Unfortunately, this book can't be printed from the OpenBook. If you need to print pages from this book, we recommend downloading it as a PDF. Visit to get more information about this book, to buy it in print, or to download it as a free PDF.
The ISO goals for eco-labels are to provide verifiable and accurate information on the environmental aspects of products and services, to encourage demand for such goods, and to stimulate the potential for market-driven continuous environmental improvement.
The ISO has defined three types of environmental performance labeling: Types I, II and by: 9. The eco-label needs to define, compile, test and summarize the environmental performance of each product and present it to the consumer in the easiest way possible (Buckley, ; Gallastegui, ).
We can also use labels to turn smaller consumer changes into large environmental benefits: because a small number of producers create a disproportionate share of Author: Joseph Poore. Environmental Labels The environmental label, or logo, is the last stage of a process of certification.
The process is usually voluntary. An illustration is provided below. CHAPTER 2 ENVIRONMENTAL LABELING PROGRAMS Introduction Environmental labels, or "eco-labels," are government-sponsored seals of approval that are applied to certain products to inform consumers about the environmental impacts of the products.
The first major environmental labeling program was launched over ten years ago by West Germany.Eco-labeling system is done to both food products such as (maize floor, baked bread), food spices such as(Royco, garlic powder, tomato toss), drinks such as (Juice, bear,soda,) and in other consumer products such as electronics e.g.
(computers, television, phone, microwaves and photocopier machines), clothes, house fittings and fixtures e.g.From the consumer’s point of view, the labeling will reduce uncertainty about the environmental performance of products and enable consumers to choose products that cause less damage to the environment [5,6,7].
In other words, there are many good reasons why companies should adopt environmental labeling schemes and why consumers should Cited by: | https://biwefykucas.capitolchamberartists.com/environmental-labeling-of-consumer-products-book-13002cz.php |
The utility model discloses a multifunctional football training door which comprises a connecting rod A and a side supporting plate, the connecting rod A is installed at the position, close to the bottom of the front end, of the right end of the side supporting plate, a connecting rod C is arranged on the rear side of the connecting rod A, a connecting rod B is arranged on the upper side of the connecting rod C, and a football net is connected between the connecting rod A and the connecting rod B; then the device is placed on the corresponding position of a football field through the side supporting plate, then normal training can be conducted, and the football net is qualified only by kicking the football into the football net during training; when the auxiliary training device is used, if the training difficulty needs to be improved, the auxiliary training device can be pulled open through the supporting rod A and the supporting rod B, then the position of the auxiliary training device can be adjusted left and right according to needs, corresponding training can be conducted according to training defects, and the auxiliary training device can be used more conveniently and quickly; and the supporting rod A and the supporting rod B can be pushed to one side through the sliding chute. | |
MARCH 2020. IN a darkened room in a Melbourne hospital, a slight, dark-haired woman sits at the bedside of a lone patient. Outside, COVID-19 webs its way silently through the city; inside, the patient rests back on the day bed, eyes covered with a soft eye mask, ears enclosed in noise-cancelling headphones through which a specially curated playlist will rise and fall over the next six hours or so. The seated woman – watching, listening, close enough to touch – is a clinical psychologist named Margaret Ross. After eighteen months of intense negotiations, preparations, crossing of fingers and dotting of i’s, she and a colleague, psychiatrist Justin Dwyer, have just given their charge a small white capsule containing a substantial dose of the mind-altering compound psilocybin, best known as the active ingredient in ‘magic mushrooms’.
It is a small but historic moment. And a strange one. Psilocybin and the fungi from which the compound is derived have been used in shamanic and other Indigenous rituals for centuries. The mushrooms are said to be depicted in artworks thousands of years old. They have been consumed by hippies in the Summer of Love, decried by former US president Richard Nixon and eventually outlawed. They have even informed their own theory of human evolution (US ethnobotanist Terence McKenna’s ‘Stoned Ape Theory’). But today they are being harnessed by Western medicine to try to ease the terror of dying.
The figure on the day bed is the first of about thirty-five desperately ill patients who, with the help of Ross and her team, will each take a legal psilocybin trip (sometimes two) as part of the nation’s first approved randomised controlled trial of psychedelic psychotherapy. Two patients will go through the treatment early in 2020. And then suddenly it will all stop. Four days later, Ross will be back on the ward, in scrubs, counselling traumatised staff about how to care for patients, families and themselves as Melbourne enters its first lockdown. But what she sees in those extraordinary days before the trial is suspended will change the way she thinks about her work, her patients and the possibilities for treating some of the country’s saddest and sickest people.
SO, DEFINITIONS. PSYCHEDELIC therapy (psychedelic: from the Greek roots of ‘mind’ and ‘manifesting’) first emerged as a subject of clinical research in the US in the late 1940s, with the release of the mind-altering, era-defining hallucinogen lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). During the 1950s and ’60s, tens of thousands of people took LSD – marketed initially as a cure for mental disorders from schizophrenia to ‘sexual perversion’ – as part of the first wave of psychedelic research, before the drug, and psychedelics generally, fell victim to the social and political upheaval of the times. These days researchers prefer to focus on psilocybin – which is less potent than LSD and less stigmatised – as well as MDMA (‘ecstasy’), which while not technically a psychedelic does some similar things to the mind, seeming to lower defences and promote new ways of thinking. Researchers also prefer to talk about ‘psychedelic [or psychedelic-assisted] psychotherapy’, to emphasise that the drug treatment is securely corralled in a series of counselling sessions.
For those who give the topic any thought (I get mainly blank looks when I raise the subject with medical acquaintances), attitudes towards psychedelic psychotherapy range from dismissive to evangelical. In one iteration it is an undercooked, overhyped, potentially dangerous fringe treatment that could divert desperately needed funding from other areas of the already stretched mental health budget. In another, it is a paradigm-shifting therapeutic frontier that could reconfigure Australia’s treatment of hitherto intractable mental conditions – such as deep, persistent depression and post-traumatic stress – within a decade and also transform our approaches to other illnesses, including addiction, anorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
There is another option that gets less airplay, but that is worrying psychedelic researchers here and worldwide. More on that later.
For now, and after a slow start – ‘We are very conservative in the research area; we’re a very conservative country,’ says one researcher – Australia is turning towards psychedelic drugs to help treat some of our most entrenched and distressing mental illnesses. In November 2020, researchers at Melbourne’s Monash University announced the university would sponsor two new trials: one a large, world-first study of psilocybin to treat crippling anxiety; the other exploring the role of MDMA in treating severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Several smaller trials are also ready to go, including a partnership between Melbourne’s Swinburne University and St Vincent’s Hospital that will study the impact of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy on treatment-resistant depression; another on the role of MDMA in treating PTSD from Perth’s Edith Cowan University; and one from St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney on methamphetamine addiction. Other psychedelics of interest include the South American brew ayahuasca and its potent active ingredient, DMT.
Those involved in the trials hope they will lay the groundwork for psychedelic psychotherapy to one day become an approved, Medicare-funded treatment for thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of Australians whose mental conditions are resistant to conventional treatments, and whose daily lives span a continuum from distressing to unendurable.
But they warn that getting there will be difficult. Nor is it guaranteed. Along with the usual logistical and regulatory juggling over the approval of any new drug are personal, professional and political faultlines that must be navigated if Australia is to achieve a workable model of psychedelic psychotherapy (even now the temptation is to overlay the words in retro colourways). And before and beyond all that is the sheer mind-bending otherness of the experience at the heart of the proposed new therapy – an experience only partially amenable to language, which scientists in respected journals describe as ‘ineffable’, ‘mystical’ and ‘transcendent’, and one that is embedded in a process that can involve a profound reckoning with the self and its place in the world.
‘The psychedelic experience can open people up to long suppressed feelings both negative and positive,’ says a 2020 paper from Rosalind Watts of London’s Imperial College. ‘It can involve peak experiences, mystical states, and experiences of intense, all-encompassing love and bliss.’
And from this flow great possibilities and great challenges.
IN A NOISY outdoor café opposite the hospital, Margaret Ross is searching for words. ‘There’s times when I have to really sit and percolate on an idea and kind of really, really feel it in my bones before I give a thoughtful answer.’ She listens attentively, laughs frequently, talks in flurries. But she knows that talk only gets you so far.
The story of how Ross, a psychologist with a background in palliative and cancer care, came to head a groundbreaking psychedelic medicine trial has been told before: the Melbourne conference at which she heard a research scientist called Martin Williams bemoan the lack of Australian psychedelic research; the coffee four weeks later at which Williams, a founding member of PRISM (Psychedelic Research in Science & Medicine), mentioned having been approached by some people keen to fund a trial. Things just fell into place, says Ross: there was a gap and when no one else stepped in, she did. But in any case, she was made for this work.
Ross has spent much of her life among the dying. At seven, she was deeply affected by the death of a beloved grandmother. As a clinical psychologist working with palliative care patients, many from the St Vincent’s cancer wards, she has spent years thinking about how best to help people who can no longer be helped – at least not in the way that most of us entering a hospital want to be helped. She has researched the psychological impact of cancer and other terminal diagnoses. She has seen some remarkable deaths.
And she has seen a lot of fear. The publicity material for the Melbourne trial describes the ‘depression’ and ‘anxiety’ of some terminal care patients – words that seem barely to touch the sides of what Ross encounters in her work. First, she says, is the fear of death itself, the ‘annihilation of self’. Cascading from this central void is grief at leaving behind a partner, a sister, a child (‘especially children’) and fear for their welfare in a world where you will no longer be there to love or protect them. Then there is the physical and mental dismantling that is the dying process (‘Will there be pain, indignity, will I lose control?’). And fears about the relentless, incremental losses that define a terminal diagnosis: identity, independence, relevance, control. Even as a therapist, says Ross, it is hard sometimes not to feel helpless. ‘I see so much terror and distress.’
When Ross was sixteen, her mother was diagnosed with a serious respiratory disease. She fought it for a long time and died when Ross, the youngest of five sisters, was twenty-seven. ‘She never really made peace with it. She loved life too much. She didn’t want to leave her girls… And she was absolutely terrified of death. So I’ve had an interest in death, the way people square with it, for a very long time.’
As a young psychologist, says Ross, she started thinking about the therapeutic potential of altered states such as meditation and yoga. She trained in hypnotherapy. Anything that might help people find a way through. When a new wave of international research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics started emerging in the early 2000s, she paid attention. More so when, in 2016, two key studies came out of the US on the impact of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy on the mood and attitudes of patients with life-threatening cancer. The results, she says, were ‘staggering’. The trials, one from New York University and the other from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, found rapid, sizeable reductions in depression and anxiety that for many would go on to last six months or more.
It was what Ross had been looking for. A way in.
LIKE MOST OF those I have met in researching this article, Paul Liknaitzky confounds lingering stereotypes of the ‘turn on, tune in, drop out’ variety. Neat, articulate and with a sentence structure girdered in careful clauses and subclauses, he could be a rising public servant. He is also determined. As a teenager he navigated solo through a series of distressing psychological episodes – ‘spontaneous and terrifying altered states of consciousness’, he calls them – eventually breaking the cycle by standing in front of a mirror, staring into his own eyes (‘If I die, I die’). Which may help explain his centrality in the emerging framework of an Australian psychedelic therapy.
Margaret Ross describes him as the ‘mycelial network’ of Australia’s psychedelic research world, referring to the underground web of microscopic fungal fibres that link and sustain diverse communities of plants. A research fellow at Monash University, he is co-ordinator of the St Vincent’s trial, and chief principal investigator on the upcoming Monash trials as well as several others now taking shape in the fertile loam of Australia’s nascent psychedelic research landscape.
The possibilities, he says, are astonishing. ‘There is uncharted territory wherever I look.’
Admittedly, any discussion of the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs in treating mental illness takes as its baseline the shortcomings of existing pharmacological models. The 2020 Productivity Commission Inquiry Report into Mental Health estimates the economic costs of mental illness and suicide at up to $70 billion per year in Australia, plus another $150 billion or so in reduced health and life expectancy. The most common drug treatment for depression, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, has been shown to help only about half of patients, with high relapse rates after discontinuing and no major breakthroughs in more than thirty years.
‘That indicates to me that we have some fundamental assumptions about mental illness that are wrong,’ says Liknaitzky.
Even measured against that relatively low base, the early indications for the potential of psychedelics – across a wide and growing range of mental disorders – has been galvanising.
In the past two decades, studies have shown significant, sometimes startling, improvements in conditions including death anxiety, treatment-resistant depression and PTSD. In recent years, high-profile psychedelic research centres have opened in major universities, including Imperial College and Johns Hopkins, as well as in Basel and Zurich. The US Food and Drug Administration has designated MDMA therapy for PTSD, and psilocybin therapy for depression as ‘breakthrough therapies’. One recent study using psilocybin to help treat long-term depression reported an effect around four times that of traditional antidepressants.
One of the primary claims made by researchers in the field is that unlike drugs such as antidepressants, psychedelics are not treating symptoms but root causes often related to childhood or other trauma. While it may be decades (or longer) before we truly understand the brain mechanisms by which psychedelics exert their disorienting effects, recent research suggests that psilocybin quietens a brain region called the default mode network, which includes the circuitry involved in how we remember our lives, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. In classic psychoanalytic terms, it seems to dial down the ego, lowering our psychological defences, helping us to think in more open and flexible ways, and increasing our sense of connection to ourselves and others.
‘The opportunity there is for patients to consolidate aspects of themselves or their lives that have been repressed,’ says Liknaitzky, ‘to gain new and helpful perspectives on old problems, and to feel, emotionally, a much stronger alignment with their values and what’s important in life – and to be motivated to act in accordance with [those] values.’
Of course, these sorts of insights, the ability to access and recast buried thoughts, memories and feelings and to change our behaviour accordingly, are the goal of much psychotherapy, as well as a benefit of some meditative practices. But psychedelics seem to turbocharge that process. And unlike some of the hard-won insights that arise through talk therapy, Liknaitzky suspects that the fundamental alteration psychedelics bring about is not a thought or idea, but ‘an embodied encounter or a revelation’. And that this suggests a greater possibility of long-term change, at least for some.
I speak with ‘Clare’, a social worker who tried psilocybin last year in a bid to overcome a debilitating, corrosive lack of confidence – she calls it ‘imposter syndrome’ – that was affecting her personal life and interfering with her work. She took the drug illegally, though with the support of a trained therapist with an interest in psychedelic medicine and, she says, a lot of preparation. She describes a series of discrete scenes, each like a small film: an emotional encounter with her estranged mother; a vision of her seven-year-old self; a meeting with a large benign rat; and finally, herself, in a room, surrounded by family and friends, able in this moment to see herself through their eyes. ‘And it was just – it was full of love. And I felt like my heart was gonna burst with love and pride. For myself.’ She says the experience has changed her understanding of childhood trauma and taught her what ‘self-care’ really means – changes that have flowed into all aspects of her life. ‘It was one [of]…if not the most significant experience in my life.’
‘People report a verisimilitude,’ says Liknaitzky, ‘which is that your representation of reality seems to be more reliable than your sober one. And that’s a striking experience. It’s as though you’ve woken up from the dream of your life.’
Admittedly, he says, for the most part the insights that come out of the psychedelic experience sound like platitudes. ‘I mean you can pop them on a Hallmark card. You know, “love is all there is.” Actually, what matters is that if you can genuinely feel that love is all that matters, then that is absolutely profound. And you can’t talk yourself into feeling that. You can’t talk yourself easily into feeling compassion for an abusive mother, for example, but once you’ve actually had that encounter, then you’ve got a possibility of having quite a different relationship to whatever was disturbing you.’
THE TRIAL TAKES place in the retreat room at St Vincent’s Cancer Centre, fitted out with the daybed, warm furnishings and, on dosing days, pot plants and an Indigenous painting that Ross brings from home. ‘It’s a lovely space.’ The study follows the design and protocols of those two key US studies from 2016.
In the lead-up to this day, Ross and psychiatrist Dwyer, who is co-principal director on the trial, have interviewed eight patients, eager – some desperate – to participate, assessing their physical and mental suitability, as well as excluding anyone with a history of psychosis, bipolar disorder or some types of complex trauma – all of which can be aggravated by psychedelics. Many don’t make it through this initial screening. Others do, but later deteriorate. Some die. ‘Things can happen, and they have happened,’ says Ross. ‘People can be devastated.’
Crucial to the emerging treatment are the so-called ‘set and setting’ protocols identified in the first wave of modern psychedelic research and refined in the past two decades: the mindset and intentions you bring to the experience, and the setting in which it takes place. One of the striking features of psilocybin is that its benefits are related to the nature of the experience you have while taking it. Feelings of awe and transcendence have both been linked to improved outcomes in trial participants. At the same time, the experience is powerfully contingent on the environment and atmosphere within which people take the drug, the preparation they have had leading up to taking it, and their relationship with the therapists who will be supporting them before, during and as part of the crucial consolidation period afterwards.
The difference between a ‘bad trip’ and a challenging but rewarding trip is mainly preparation and consolidation, says Ross. She recently came across an analogy she likes: ‘It’s the psilocybin experience that kicks the doors open. What you do with it after that is up to you.’
On the day of the drug treatment, she says, the therapist’s role is largely hands-off. She and Dwyer will sit with their charge and pay close attention to their emotional and other reactions; they will help or comfort if needed, but generally won’t intervene unless invited (a reassuring word, a glass of water, a hand to hold.) The music seeps into the room as well as the patient’s headphones, providing an intense, evocative soundtrack. ‘I can’t articulate how much more raw and stripped back you feel as a therapist.’
Patients arrive at 8.15 am. They are invited to bring with them personal items of significance, talismans that might help them feel safe or remind them of what is important to them. ‘We set up a kind of little camp,’ says Ross, ‘because we’re there for hours.’ Dwyer checks their blood pressure and heart rate, which will be monitored throughout the session. (While psilocybin so far appears reassuringly safe overall, physical side effects can include raised blood pressure, nausea or headaches, although these are generally short-lived.) They chat. Patients revisit their intentions for the trip, what they hope to explore.
And Ross might remind them of the poem they talk about during the sessions leading up to ‘dosing day’: ‘The Guest House’ by Persian poet and mystic Rumi:
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness…
Welcome and entertain them all!
CENTRAL TO THE emerging model of psychedelic therapy is a confronting and not very fashionable idea: this treatment may at times be difficult; it may be painful; you may be afraid.
From a gently swaying houseboat on London’s River Thames, Rosalind Watts talks about ‘moving into the darkness’. One of the rising stars of the UK’s psychedelic research sphere, Watts has thought a lot about how to prepare therapists and patients for a paradigm based on the acceptance of psychological pain in a culture that routinely prioritises numbing.
‘It’s like seasons,’ she says ‘It’s darkness and light. And in our culture, it’s very much about – it should always be summer, you know, everyone should be happy, we should be busy, we should be productive, avoid the darkness…keep it light.’
But it is in accepting the darkness, she says, that her patients have a chance to heal.
She understands that some will simply not want to undertake a disorienting, sometimes gruelling, interior journey during which, even under ideal clinical conditions, nearly a third of volunteers can experience ‘significant fear’, albeit transient, according to a recent US study. ‘It won’t be for everyone.’
But for those who do, she says, the results can be transformative.
Until recently, Watts was a clinical psychologist at Imperial College, leading a major study comparing the impacts on depression of psilocybin versus a conventional antidepressant. Those results had not been published before this article went to print. But a smaller feasibility study reported striking reductions in treatment-resistant depression and later helped inform Watts’ development of a framework to help therapists prepare patients for the psychedelic journey. (‘Without a framework a psychedelic experience can be kind of like a nebulous dream.’) Her ‘Accept, Connect, Embody’ model encourages patients to visualise diving into the ocean to the seabed to find oysters containing hard and difficult things.
Back in Melbourne, the St Vincent’s team use different metaphors, though with the same aim (Margaret Ross is a fan of Watts’ work). While the decision is always for the patient to make, says Ross, her counsel – as they prepare to enter the unknown – is to invite in whatever they most want to turn away. And to surrender.
‘You might experience bliss,’ she says, ‘you might experience oneness with the universe. You may feel your body like it’s dissolving or warping. Or, you know, it might feel quite scary. Don’t worry, your heart is still going to beat, your lungs are still going to breathe. It may feel like you’re dying, you may feel like you’re going crazy, and it’s okay.’
BUT OUTSIDE THE small, still room in Fitzroy, pressures are building.
In December 2020, an online opinion piece in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry issued an unambiguous warning about the future of psychedelic research. Despite – indeed because of – the promising results of recent clinical trials and the ‘seemingly exceptional potential’ of the treatments, the so-called renaissance in psychedelic research was at risk of being derailed. The same sorts of ‘exuberance, utopian thinking, and uneven clinical approaches’ that had led to the banning of these substances in the 1960s, ‘combined with the contemporary tendency to politicise science’, could do the same again, depriving potentially millions of people of future treatments.
The authors – one of them the world-leading researcher and founder of the Johns Hopkins Center For Psychedelic & Consciousness Research, Roland Griffiths – called for more studies into the drugs’ mechanisms and risks,
as well as into how best to administer them in hospitals or other clinical settings. Psychedelics, they warned, were neither a quick fix nor a panacea.
Most of all, they called for restraint.
A similar conversation is now happening in Australia. ‘Understandably, there’s a lot of pressure to get the treatment out there as quickly as possible,’ says Melbourne psychiatrist Nigel Strauss. ‘But really, we’re not ready for that yet.’
A prominent trauma therapist, Strauss has worked with survivors of Tasmania’s Port Arthur massacre and Victoria’s 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. He also has a longstanding interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. Now in his seventies, he travelled to the UK in 2014 to do the MDMA therapy training program run by the pioneering Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Last year, MAPS released follow-up results of phase 2 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD showing that two months after treatment, 56 per cent of participants no longer met the criteria for the disorder, with two-thirds of those still clear after a year or more. Phase 3 trials are now underway, amid building hopes that the drug might be approved for medical use in the US this year.
Strauss has personally funded most of the pending Monash PTSD study and is set to head the upcoming Melbourne trial of psilocybin for intractable depression. But he too urges restraint. ‘The last thing we want is for mistakes to happen.’ Last year he set up a group of like-minded psychiatrists, Australia New Zealand Psychiatrists for Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy, to discuss and prepare for the possibilities and challenges ahead.
There is no shortage of challenges.
Some relate to gaps in the knowledge. How does it work, for instance? How to more accurately gauge who is or isn’t a suitable candidate for psychedelic therapy? Why do some people have life-changing experiences while others don’t respond at all? How to minimise the risk of retraumatising already vulnerable patients?
Some are to do with questions of access and equity: how to ensure that those most in need will get to use the treatments – not just the wealthy, white and connected?
Other questions arise from the curious nature of the relationship between the drug, the person taking it and the therapeutic framework within which it is taken. There are harrowing accounts of patients emerging from deep and chronic depressions after psilocybin treatment, only to relapse months later. Paul Liknaitzky wants to know more about dosing regimens – how often, how much? – and is also keen to explore ways of prolonging the benefits of the ‘psychedelic encounter’ by combining it with other mind-altering practices. ‘It’s not a drug you can take home. It’s a drug that needs a lot of support,’ he says.
This puts particular demands on the therapists who might someday administer these therapies.
It is also one source of a growing rift between sections of Australia’s psychedelic research community and the high-profile, Melbourne-based advocacy and education group Mind Medicine Australia (MMA). Launched as a charity in 2019 by philanthropist and opera singer Tania de Jong and her investment banker husband Peter Hunt, MMA promotes the use of medically controlled psychedelic-assisted treatments with a focus on psilocybin and MDMA to help counter the rising toll of mental illness. The couple founded the organisation following their own transformative psilocybin experiences (they travelled to the Netherlands, where they could legally take the drugs with a private therapist), and subsequently provided some early funding to Margaret Ross’s study via PRISM.
Recent MMA projects include seeking to reschedule psilocybin and MDMA from prohibited substances to controlled drugs under the Poisons Standard – a move that could also make it easier for doctors to seek special access to the drugs for individual patients under a scheme already in use for medicinal cannabis. The MMA website has published moving extracts from dozens of submissions from patients and mental health professionals supporting the change – including one from de Jong herself, who is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. But critics in the psychedelic research community (even some who don’t believe the drugs should have been scheduled in the first place) argue that efforts to expedite the therapy are premature and potentially risky.
In February, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) delivered interim decisions acknowledging ‘significant public support’ for rescheduling both substances but opposing the moves at this stage, citing ‘the risks to consumers, the lack of training for physicians, and the current state of research’. A final decision was due from the TGA in late April.
Meanwhile, MMA is this year rolling out its own Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies. According to its website, the $7,500 four-month course – available to experienced mental health practitioners, including social workers and occupational therapists – will take in components from overseas courses, input from local and international trainers and experts, and workshops, one of which will offer participants experience with breathing techniques designed to induce altered states. However, trainees cannot currently legally use or work with psychedelic substances, or administer them to patients.
Nigel Strauss and Paul Liknaitzky contend that, at least initially, all training should take place within clinical trials overseen by experienced international clinicians and be limited to psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists. Liknaitzky has been developing a program to provide on-the-job training initially for around thirty therapists who will work on the Swinburne and Monash trials and who, he says, will later be able to train others. ‘These trials are an opportunity to train therapists ethically and rigorously through expert supervision, with real patients, using these drugs.’
Five of those I interviewed for this piece, including Liknaitzky, Strauss and PRISM’s Martin Williams, have quit MMA positions in the past eighteen months. Among the latest to go is British psychologist Renee Harvey, a highly qualified clinician who has worked on psychedelic trials at Imperial College, and who MMA hired to set up and run their training program. Harvey would not discuss her time at MMA or her sudden departure, except to say that she was happy for it to be known that she had resigned.
The broader arguments are at times confusing and/or personal, but seem largely to boil down to disagreements over the pace and process of change.
‘More research on psychedelics would be brilliant,’ says MMA’s Peter Hunt. ‘But the question that we all have to face up to is, when do you actually allow these medicines to be used for people that are suffering? In other words, when is the evidence sufficiently good to warrant any residual risk you’re taking by using these medicines with patients?’ Given proper screening, support and medical controls, he says the time is about now. He points out too that antidepressants carry their own risks.
The outgoing head of psychiatry at Melbourne University and St Vincent’s Health, Professor David Castle, has his own concerns. Speaking generally, he says: ‘The worry, I suppose, with the field is that some people have sort of leapt ahead of the evidence… And actually, you know, if you look at the scientific evidence, it’s relatively light on. It’s hugely exciting, but in terms of an evidence base, it’s very small.’ Castle, who is leaving Australia to take up a position at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, is a former board member of MMA. He hopes to pursue his interest in psychedelic research in Canada.
There is fear on both sides. On the one, that research and approvals will come too late for people who are barely hanging on. On the other, that without a rigorous, transparent scientific process that focuses on the local landscape as well as connecting Australia to the international research effort, the risk of mistakes rises, and with it the spectre of the research once more going off the rails.
John Allan, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, is a cautious voice. Despite some promising results, he says, the research is in its early stages. ‘There is a history of controversies involving supposedly game-changing psychiatric treatments that, despite best intentions, have been based more in enthusiasm and hope than in rigorous research, and have ended up doing harm to people and to the future of psychiatric treatments.’ He says the college is open to new treatments that improve lives, and that Australia’s research is of high quality. ‘But we just have to be really careful. And we have to do the science properly.’
There are bigger questions too – that go to the heart, perhaps the soul, of the psychedelic experience. But these are questions for later.
ON A MILD sunny Melbourne day in January 2021, ten months after the historic psilocybin trial was suspended, Marg Ross is back at her desk in St Vincent’s Hospital. In front of her is a list of names of patients who had originally expressed interest in the trial. ‘Inevitably we will have lost some,’ she says. But today she will start making calls.
It will be another three or four years before the trial is completed, and at least a year before interim results are available. And even then, she says, she will need to protect the privacy of her patients. There is a lot she can’t say.
However, reports from patients from the 2016 New York University study give a sense of the range and intensity of their experiences. A subsequent qualitative study describes participants’ ‘exalted feelings of joy, bliss, and love; embodiment; ineffability; alterations to identity; a movement from feelings of separateness to interconnectedness; experiences of transient psychological distress; the appearance of loved ones as guiding spirits...’
‘I feel like a whole bunch of crap has been dumped off the surface,’ said one woman, who until her psychedelic experience had been just watching ‘the clock numbers ticking by’. Now, she said, ‘just watching that tree over there blowing in the breeze, seeing people in the street, and all the different people in vehicles rushing by! I just feel good about being alive.’
What Ross can say is that the experience of sitting with her two first patients was profound – she uses the word repeatedly, apologising for doing so. She uses the words ‘extraordinary’ and ‘stunning’ too. She talks about learning to trust the deep inner wisdom – the ‘genius’ – of the patient. She says that more than once the experience brought tears to her eyes. That seven weeks after one of those early sessions, she came across a researcher who had just done a follow-up interview and was now weeping in the corridor.
‘I said “Are you alright?” and she said, “Yep.” And then she teared up and said, “It was beautiful.”’
Ross hopes that in time her study will lead to other, larger trials, involving more patients and more therapists, and helping link Australia to the international effort to rehabilitate psychedelic therapy. Her hopes were boosted in March when Minister for Health Greg Hunt announced a $15 million grants package to research breakthrough therapies including psilocybin, MDMA and the dissociative anaesthetic ketamine for treating debilitating mental illness.
‘This is such a fragile re-entry back into medicine,’ says Ross more generally. ‘We’ve got one shot at this and that’s why it will take the time that it takes – because it is so easily demonised. You need one bad experience that’s highly publicised, and then we are back at square one. You’ll see a very, very public and swift political backlash, like we did in the ’70s. And then it’s all off.’
She picks up the phone. By mid-afternoon she has made her first appointment. All going well, two weeks from now she and Dwyer will sit beside their patient and hand them a small white capsule. After that, who knows? | https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/love-and-fear/ |
Option D is intended for energy conservation retrofits where calibrated simulations of the baseline energy use and/or calibrated simulations of the post-installation energy consumption are used to measure savings from the energy conservation retrofit. Option D can involve measurements of energy use both before and after the retrofit for specific equipment or energy end use as needed to calibrate the simulation program.
To measure electricity savings and thermal take-back from lighting/controls projects: i) create a baseline simulation model of the building, ii) calibrate the baseline model to either monthly data supplemented with snap-shop measurements or hourly data for the whole-building, iii) retrofit the building, iv) make changes to the input file that accurately reflect the retrofit, v) create a calibrated post-installation simulation model, and vi) measure the savings by comparing the calibrated baseline model to the calibrated post-installation simulation model.
Calculating Electricity Savings. These savings are calculated by analyzing the difference between the calibrated baseline and post-installation simulation. Care should be taken to adequately capture the correct number of day-type profiles which accurately represent baseline electricity use during weekday, weekend and holiday periods and to verify that these daytypes have been input properly into the simulation program. Annual savings projections are then calculated by comparing the baseline simulation to the post-installation simulation. Savings are significant if the difference between the model-predicted baseline and post-installation energy use is greater than model error as determined by the RMSE.
Calculating Peak Electric Demand Reductions. Electric demand reductions can also be analyzed provided representative baseline and post-installation measurements have been taken and used to calibrate the simulation programs. Both the owner and contractor/ESCO should understand that this analysis provides an hourly demand savings estimate which may not represent actual demand savings from the lighting project, especially if 15-minute or less than hourly demand intervals are in effect.
Calculating Interactive Heating/Cooling Savings. Interactive heating/cooling savings estimates can be calculated by the calibrated simulation program providing other changes are not made to the baseline and post-installation simulation programs. The owner and contractor/ESCO should agree in advance which type of weather file will be used to perform comparative calculations. Measured weather data corresponding to the post-installation period will yield the most accurate results. In cases where this data is not available, average-year weather data may be used.
Limitations Of Calculating Retrofit Savings From Lighting Efficiency and/or Controls Projects Using Option D. These calculations can be adversely affected by the following factors:
Demand savings may not match buildings where actual demand intervals of less than 60 minutes are used.
Simulated savings using Option D may not match actual savings because the simulations use average operation profiles and specified equipment performance parameters. If operating profiles change or equipment performance changes, simulation programs will need to be modified to reflect these changes.
Savings estimates may vary if there is a significant number of lamp outages or if the actual operating schedule varies significantly from the stipulated operating schedule.
Thermal savings predicted by Option D are only as good as the simulation program’s representation of the actual building envelope and HVAC systems.
Thermal savings are limited to how well the lights-to-space assumptions match actual building configuration. | http://www.eu-greenlight.org/verify_d.htm |
In December 2020, U.S. national security officials made a shocking announcement: the U.S. government had been hacked. The cyber attack, attributed to a nation-state actor who had taken advantage of a back door in network monitoring software, comprised a number of federal agencies and critical infrastructure. Even today the extent of the breach is still unclear.
The hack is indicative of the current challenges facing organizations of all stripes to protect themselves from bad actors. The extraordinary circumstances of 2020, a global pandemic that fundamentally reformed the functioning of organizations, gave cyber adversaries opportunities to exploit the needs of communication networks and provided targets rich in supply chains and critical infrastructure. In today’s environment, third-party risk can certainly be predicted, but specific threats are more difficult than ever to predict.
To help meet the challenges of these times, IBM Security assesses the cyber threat landscape and helps organizations understand evolving threats, their associated risk, and how to prioritize cybersecurity efforts. In addition to the premium threat intelligence that IBM Security provides to customers, the company analyzes a large amount of data to produce the X-Force threat intelligence index, an annual record of the landscape. of threats and how it changes.
Among the trends followed by IBM Security, ransomware continued to rise to become the number one threat type, accounting for 23% of the security events to which X-Force responded in 2020. Ransomware attackers went increase pressure to extort payment by combining data encryption with threats to filter data from public places. The success of these schemes helped just one band of ransomware make more than $ 123 million in profits by 2020, according to X-Force estimates.
Manufacturing organizations withstood several ransomware attacks and other attacks in 2020. The manufacturing industry in general was the second most targeted, after finance and insurance, as it was the eighth most targeted industry in 2019. X- Force discovered sophisticated attackers who used spear phishing to target campaigns against manufacturing companies and NGOs involved in the covid-19 vaccine supply chain.
Threat actors also innovated their malware, especially Linux-targeted malware, open source software that supports cloud infrastructure, and critical data storage for businesses. Intezer’s analysis uncovered 56 new families of Linux malware in 2020, far more than the level of innovation found in other types of threats.
These findings help to inform about the challenges that organizations can expect over the next year. In 2021, a combination of old and new threats will require security teams to consider many risks simultaneously. One of these risks is the likely persistence of extortion schemes; attackers who publicly filter data about names and embarrassing sites increase the influence of threat actors to get high prices for ransomware infections. Cybersecurity stakeholders should also expect threat actors to continue to shift their gaze to different attack vectors, from Linux systems to IoT devices to cloud environments.
Still, organizations are not helpless. Building on the findings of IBM Security X-Force, keeping up with threat intelligence and building strong response capabilities are impactful ways to help mitigate threats in the evolving landscape, regardless of the industry or country where you work.
X-Force, for example, recommends that organizations of all sizes proactively plan a ransomware attack. Regularly drilling a response plan, which should address data theft and data theft extortion techniques, can make the difference in how an organization responds at the critical time. This response plan can be implemented as part of a zero-confidence approach that also includes multifactor authentication and data loss prevention solutions to protect against unintentional or malicious internal threats.
There is reason to expect 2021 to be a better year. Trends are notoriously difficult to predict, but the only constant is change. Resistance to the growing and downward challenges of cybersecurity requires practicable intelligence and a strategic vision for the future of more open and connected security. The 2021 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index provides this, helping cybersecurity stakeholders understand where there have been threats over the past year and prepare for what’s to come.
Credits: By WP BrandStudio. | https://winmediatech.com/what-companies-need-to-know-about-cybersecurity-challenges/ |
(Ng TP et al, Sleep Medicine 2005).
Causes of excessive daytime sleepiness include the following. It is commonly caused by more than one of these causes.
1. Inadequate sleep
The amount of sleep needed each
night varies amongst different people.
Most need seven to eight hours of
uninterrupted sleep to maintain
alertness the following day. A habitual
sleep period of less than four to five
hours daily is generally insufficient to
maintain normal daytime alertness
and is likely to cause excessive daytime
sleepiness.
If you do not get enough sleep
even on a single night, a ’sleep debt’
begins to build and increases until
sufficient sleep is obtained. Excessive
daytime sleepiness occurs as the debt
accumulates. If you do not get enough
sleep during the work week, you may
tend to sleep longer on the weekends
or days off to reduce your sleep debt.
2. Sleep disorders
Sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome and insomnia may cause excessive daytime sleepiness.
3. Medications
Some medications may disrupt sleep and cause sleepiness. Examples include sedating antihistamines, sedatives, antidepressants and seizure medications.
4. Alcohol
Alcohol is sedating and can, even in small amounts, make a person more sleepy and at greater risk of car crashes and performance problems.
5. Caffeine
Caffeine in coffee, tea, soft drinks or medications makes it harder for many people to fall asleep and stay asleep. Caffeine stays in the body for about three to seven hours, so even when taken earlier in the day, it may cause problems in falling asleep at night.
6. Nicotine
Nicotine from cigarettes is also a stimulant and makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
7. Medical conditions
Chronic medical conditions such as asthma, heart failure, depression, rheumatoid arthritis or any other chronically painful disorder may also disrupt sleep and lead to excessive daytime sleepiness. Excessive daytime sleepiness may also occur following head injury and rarely, due to brain tumour.
8. Sleep-wake cycle disturbance (such as shift work)
Most shift workers get less sleep over 24 hours as compared to day workers. The human sleep-wake system is designed to facilitate the body and mind for sleep at night and wakefulness during the day. These natural rhythms make it difficult to sleep during daylight hours and to stay awake during the night hours, even in well-rested individuals.
Sleep loss is greatest for night shift workers, those who work early morning shifts and female shift workers with children at home. Shift workers who try to sleep during the day are frequently interrupted by noise, light, the telephone, family members and other distractions.
Signs of excessive daytime sleepiness may include:
If you feel sleepy during the day despite getting enough sleep, consult your physician who will evaluate the possible causes and advise on the appropriate management. It is important to get proper diagnosis and treatment of the underlying cause of the sleepiness. Your physician may refer you to a sleep disorders clinic for a comprehensive evaluation of your problem.
Identifying the cause(s) of excessive daytime sleepiness is the key to its management. Treatment is directed towards the specific underlying cause. Obstructive sleep apnoea is generally treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
In general, medications do not help problem sleepiness and some medications may make it worse. Medications may be prescribed for patients in certain situations.
Short-term use of sleeping pills has been shown to be helpful in patients diagnosed with acute insomnia. Long-term use of sleep medication is recommended only for treatment of specific sleep disorders. Stimulants to maintain alertness are used in the treatment of narcolepsy.
Get enough sleep
Many people do not set aside
enough time for sleep on a
regular basis. A first step may be
to evaluate your daily activities
and sleep-wake patterns to
determine how much sleep is
obtained. If you are getting less
than 8 hours of sleep, more sleep
may be needed.
A good approach is to gradually
move to an earlier bedtime.
For example, if an extra hour of
sleep is needed, try going to bed
15 minutes earlier each night for
four nights, then keep to the last
bedtime. This method will
increase the amount of time in
bed without causing a sudden
change in schedule.
Avoid caffeine
Avoid beverages containing
caffeine (coffee, tea and some
soft drinks). Caffeine can help to
reduce sleepiness and increase
alertness but the effect is
temporary. It can cause problem
sleepiness to become worse by
interrupting sleep.
Avoid alcohol
While alcohol may shorten the time
it takes to fall asleep, it can disrupt
sleep later in the night, leading to
poor quality sleep and adding to
problem sleepiness. Chronic use of
larger quantities of alcohol can also
lead to alcohol dependency. | http://healthxchange.com.sg/PatientCare/ConditionsAndTreatments/Pages/Excessive-Daytime-Sleepiness.aspx |
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic disorders that cause sustained high blood sugar levels. In the past, only two types of diabetes were known, type 1 and type 2. Gestational diabetes is a third type which occurs only during pregnancy. Now, DM has been reclassified into five subtypes.
What is diabetes mellitus?
DM is a disease that prevents the body from producing energy from the food consumed. It is due to the reduced or absent production of insulin from the organ called the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone produced by the beta cells of the pancreas which helps the body cells to take up glucose from the bloodstream to use for energy for its various metabolic processes. DM can also be due to the production of non-functional insulin.
Types of diabetes mellitus
DM was formerly classified as Type 1 or the insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Gestational diabetes, on the other hand, occurs only in pregnant women.
IDDM occurs as a result of damage to the pancreatic beta cells, resulting in the inadequate production of insulin. With little or no insulin, blood glucose levels remain high, leading to a number of complications. Patients with IDDM require treatment with insulin injections to control their blood glucose levels.
NIDDM is a type of diabetes wherein the pancreas produces insulin, but in insufficient quantities, or when the insulin produced does not act upon the cells to promote the intake of glucose. The cells of the body may not react to the action of insulin, and this is called insulin resistance.
Newer research has shown that there are five subtypes of DM.
Cluster 1: Severe autoimmune diabetes (SAID)
A form of type 1 DM that affects people who are relatively young, this type was classified traditionally as type 1 diabetes, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the beta cells, affecting insulin production.
People with SAID are typically diagnosed early, at a young age. They usually have a low body mass index (BMI), insulin deficiency, poor control of blood sugar, and presence of glutamate decarboxylase antibodies (GADA). These antibodies are associated with late-onset autoimmune diabetes (LADA), often mistaken for type 2 diabetes, but requiring insulin treatment just like Type 1 DM.
Cluster 2: Severe insulin-deficient diabetes (SIDD)
Severe insulin-deficient diabetes (SIDD) is a subtype resembling cluster 1. These patients are also young at diagnosis, and have low BMI. However, they do not have GADA. These patients have defective beta cell function, but the reason is unknown.
Cluster 3: Severe insulin-resistant diabetes (SIRD)
People with SIRD are overweight and have high insulin resistance, which means their bodies produce insulin, but the cells fail to respond to it. Patients with SIRD are at a higher risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Cluster 4: Mild obesity-related diabetes (MOD)
Mild obesity-related diabetes (MOD) refers to patients who are obese or overweight but do not show insulin resistance. This subtype occurs in people with a milder form of diabetes, without as many metabolic problems as in the other subtypes.
Cluster 5: Mild age-related diabetes (MARD)
Mild age-related diabetes (MARD) is a subtype which affects people who are typically older than with the other subtypes. They have only mild difficulty with blood sugar control. This is the most common type of diabetes accounting for about 40% of cases.
Prediabetes
This is a common condition, often unrecognized, where blood glucose levels are persistently higher than normal but not within the diabetic range. These individuals have a higher risk of developing DM, but this can be reversed with a program focusing on lifestyle change.
What diabetes mellitus subtype is the most serious?
Patients who have cluster 3 or SIRD are at the highest risk of developing kidney disease. Kidney disease is a complication of diabetes, which can become severe over time. Cluster 2 has the greatest risk of diabetic retinopathy. This can lead to blindness or vision loss.
Early detection and proper treatment are important for appropriate treatment. The purpose of this classification is to enable appropriate treatment and to provide a better prognosis for the condition.
Sources:
- NHS.uk. (2018).Are there actually 5 types of diabetes?https://www.nhs.uk/news/diabetes/are-there-actually-5-types-diabetes/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2017).About diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html
- Diabetes.co.uk. (2017).Diabetes types. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-types.html
Further Reading
- All Diabetes Mellitus Content
- What is a Diabetic Coma?
- Chemerin, Obesity and Diabetes
Last Updated: Jun 27, 2019
Written by
Angela Betsaida B. Laguipo
Angela is a nurse by profession and a writer by heart. She graduated with honors (Cum Laude) for her Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Baguio, Philippines. She is currently completing her Master's Degree where she specialized in Maternal and Child Nursing and worked as a clinical instructor and educator in the School of Nursing at the University of Baguio. | https://kingfirthhealthandfitness.com/health-problems/diabetes-mellitus-subtypes/ |
This docket was last retrieved on September 27, 2021. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER.
|Date Filed||Document Text|
|July 14, 2020||Filing 4 Pursuant to Local Rule 2.08, the assigned/referred magistrate judge is designated and authorized by the court to exercise full authority in this assigned/referred action or matter under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 636 and 18 U.S.C Sec. 3401, including any case budgeting matters. (CSAW)|
|July 14, 2020||Filing 3 AFFIDAVIT by Plaintiff Bradley D Karr. (Dempsey, Vicki)|
|July 14, 2020||Filing 2 MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis by Plaintiff Bradley D Karr. (Dempsey, Vicki)|
|July 14, 2020||Filing 1 Social Security COMPLAINT Non-Jury Demand,Yes or No - Yes,, filed by Bradley D Karr. (Attachments: #1 Civil Cover Sheet , #2 Original Filing Form , #3 Summons, #4 Summons, #5 Summons, #6 Exhibit A, #7 Exhibit B)(Dempsey, Vicki)|
|July 14, 2020||Case Opening Notification: All parties must file the Notice Regarding Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction Form consenting to or opting out of the Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. Click #here for the instructions. Judge Assigned: U.S. Magistrate Judge Noelle C. Collins. (BAK)|
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This article is part two ongoing series of articles: cultural awareness in KM and KM in international development.
As I revealed in a previous RealKM Magazine article, if the world is mapped according to how many scientific research papers each country produces, it takes on the bizarre, uneven appearance above. Note the bloated size of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe compared to South America and in particular Africa.
This is a serious issue, because it means that what many would regard as globally universal behaviours and processes can’t actually be considered as such on the basis of the available evidence. Concerningly, practices and approaches developed from research in what have come to be known as WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) contexts can be culturally incompatible or inappropriate in other settings.
Previous RealKM Magazine articles have also highlighted the important role of indigenous knowledge in strategies to address the global knowledge imbalance, and that indigenous languages are critically linked to indigenous knowledge.
As awareness of the global knowledge imbalance grows, initiatives aimed at helping to address it are starting to emerge. Three notable examples are the Citing Africa podcast series, Wuṉḏaŋarr Yolŋu Gurruṯu (Strong Yolŋu Families) resource, and 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages.
Citing Africa
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) recently launched the Citing Africa podcast project, which is:
- investigating the decline of Africa-based contributions in top international academic journals
- providing practical guidance to young scholars seeking to publish their own work
- taking a critical look at the wider context of knowledge production about the African continent.
The first podcast in the series of nine episodes was made available in early March, and the remaining episodes will be added in the coming weeks.
Wuṉḏaŋarr Yolŋu Gurruṯu
Australia’s ABC News reports on the publication of a “Breakthrough resource to teach whitefellas about reality of life in Arnhem Land.”
The ARDS Aboriginal Corporation has produced the new Wuṉḏaŋarr Yolŋu Gurruṯu (Strong Yolŋu Families) booklet to guide non-indigenous practitioners in their work with Yolŋu people affected by family violence. It provides advice on working in ways that are culturally safe and socially accountable, alerting that:
breaking cycles of violence and finding restorative pathways requires a strengths-based approach centred on gurruṯu (kinship). A strengths-based approach acknowledges the cultural mismatch between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and dominant Western systems, and seeks ways to work with and build on the strengths of Indigenous cultures.
2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages
The United Nations has declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL2019), in recognition of the crucial role of indigenous languages in indigenous culture and knowledge systems:
Of the almost 7,000 existing languages, the majority have been created and are spoken by indigenous peoples who represent the greater part of the world’s cultural diversity.
Yet many of these languages are disappearing at an alarming rate, as the communities speaking them are confronted with assimilation, enforced relocation, educational disadvantage, poverty, illiteracy, migration and other forms of discrimination and human rights violations.
Given the complex systems of knowledge and culture developed and accumulated by these local languages over thousands of year, their disappearance would amount to losing a kind of cultural treasure. It would deprive us of the rich diversity they add to our world and the ecological, economic and sociocultural contribution they make.
Header image source: Juan Pablo Alperin.
Also published on Medium. | https://realkm.com/2019/03/14/three-initiatives-that-are-helping-to-address-the-global-knowledge-imbalance/ |
AHRQ QIs are evidence-based measures of health care quality that use readily available hospital inpatient administrative data to measure and track health care quality and patient safety within the hospital or across the community. To support users of these measures, the AHRQ QI Toolkit is both a general guide to applying improvement methods in a hospital setting and a guide to improving performance specifically using the AHRQ QIs. The toolkit serves as a “how to” for the improvement process—from the first stage of self-assessment through the final stage of ongoing monitoring. The toolkit includes a measure prioritization worksheet, 25 measure-specific evidence-based clinical practices, a slide presentation template for engaging staff in the improvement process, a step-by-step method for calculating the return on investment, and several impact case studies of toolkit users.
The AHRQ QIs allow healthcare delivery organizations to identify quality concerns; identify those areas that need further investigation; and track changes over time in delivery, quality, and safety. The AHRQ QI program develops, maintains, and refines measures; creates tools to facilitate their use; and advances change through strategies and partnerships with healthcare delivery systems.
In developing the AHRQ QI Toolkit, AHRQ employed rigorous field testing to ensure the effectiveness of the tools. Nationwide, the AHRQ QIs are used by quality improvement officers, hospital administrators, community health planners, and researchers to assess hospital safety, quality, patient experience, cost, and utilization. Hospitals and hospital systems use the AHRQ QIs to assist quality improvement efforts in acute care settings. State data organizations use the AHRQ QIs to assess hospital quality and primary care access. Federal health programs use the AHRQ QIs as an integral part of assessing, incentivizing, and reporting on quality improvement, including: AHRQ's National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report; the Health Resources and Services Administration's Healthy People reports; and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ hospital reporting programs, Accountable Care Organizations program, Partnership for Patients, and Medicaid program.
The AHRQ QIs are used widely in national-level reporting programs such as AHRQ’s National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report and Partnership for Patients. In 2016, the most common stakeholder group that used the AHRQ QIs was hospitals and health care providers (81.5 percent), followed by State and Government agencies. As of 2016, there were 32 State data organizations (including 18 hospital associations) across the country using AHRQ QIs.
The AHRQ QI Toolkit demonstrates how AHRQ works with hospitals and healthcare systems to develop the capacity to use their own data to track and improve inpatient quality and patient safety and adopt evidence-based practices to realize improvements.
CAHPS is an initiative to help patients, consumers, clinicians, payers, and other stakeholders understand patient experience of care. These state-of-the-art tools and resources help CAHPS users measure and improve quality using methods that begin with the patient's perspective of what is important in a health care encounter. The CAHPS surveys, encompassing health plans, providers, and clinical settings, ask questions for which patients are the best, or sometimes the only, source of the information.
The AHRQ CAHPS program helps users improve patient experience through measurement (surveys), quality improvement implementation tools, resources for tracking patient experience scores, quality improvement case studies, and ongoing research on patient-centered care.
The CAHPS program develops patient experience surveys with accompanying guidance for administering the surveys, determining the sample, translating the surveys, and analyzing data. Surveys exist for several healthcare settings and health plans. The CAHPS program also offers TalkingQuality, which guides users in producing comparative information on healthcare quality; voluntary databases for submitting CAHPS Clinician and Group and CAHPS Health Plan data, and customized reports for data submitters. The CAHPS Ambulatory Care Improvement Guide is a comprehensive resource for health plans, medical groups, and other ambulatory care providers seeking to improve performance in patient experience. The guide helps organizations implement a more patient centered-care approach, analyze results of CAHPS surveys and other patient feedback, and develop strategies for improving performance. Finally, the AHRQ CAHPS program maintains an active research program focused on using and understanding CAHPS data.
The growth of the CAHPS survey program and demand for patient experience measures reflect the increasing emphasis of the patient's perspective in good quality healthcare. Overall, research shows a positive association between patient experience and clinical quality, hospital safety culture, and lower hospital readmissions (Cleary 2016). Current research also uses CAHPS to measure the impact of interventions or explore differences between patient experiences. For example, CAHPS scores in clinics with patient-centered medical home features were higher in certain domains than in other clinics (Setodji, et al., 2017). CAHPS data were also used to examine racial and ethnic disparities in Medicare Beneficiaries’ Care Coordination Experiences (Martino, et al., 2016).
CAHPS surveys are used by healthcare systems to measure their patients' experience of care. These data can provide insights into areas for improvement. The CAHPS Ambulatory Care Improvement Guide is a comprehensive resource for survey users seeking to improve their patient experience in ambulatory care settings. Organizational use of the guide can help to cultivate an environment that encourages and sustains improvement in patient-centered care. | https://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/qi_chaps-summary.html |
There’s been increased attention given to the idea that some population groups experience different health patterns than others. That includes frequency and types of conditions, type of care they receive, and longer-term implications that encompass a broad set of variables that impact health and wellness, called Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). These include geography, education, living environment, employment and economic status, access to food and resources, and other variables where people live and work. They are non-medical factors that can impact people’s overall health ad risk factors.
In 2000, SDOH contributed to nearly 700,000 deaths in the United States. Specifically, some 245,000 deaths were attributable to low education; 176,000 to racial segregation; 162,000 to low social support; 133,000 to individual-level poverty; 119,000 to income inequality; and 39,000 to area-level poverty.
Physical conditions, in particular, have been shown to have a strong connection to social demographics. These include conditions like high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, and others. Furthermore, when it comes to treatment, there is a vast disparity in healthcare spend (e.g., utilization) that can be related back to geographic factors, not patient-specific factors. Many differences in healthcare can be attributed to place-specific variables.
There are, however, ways connected healthcare solutions can help overcome the impact of many social determinants and provide better health outcomes for patients.
Access
Many areas have limited access to healthcare services due to distance, making getting to providers difficult (especially specialists). Some areas have high patient-to-doctor ratios, creating challenges with scheduling appointments. This can lead to increased emergency room visits, simply to get access, or it can mean patients simply don’t see a doctor. Connected health services can take distance out of the equation for many conditions, allowing patients to see doctors and specialists from anywhere. That can include homes, offices, schools, or more convenient healthcare facilities, and can make it easier to see physicians during peak seasons.
Data
The more information healthcare organizations and governments have about population groups, the more effectively they can manage population health and social determinants. Connected healthcare is fundamentally designed to collect data from a variety of sources, including medical facilities, insurance providers, social media, government databases, connected medical devices and applications, and from patients themselves, to name a few. Aggregate data can then be analyzed to understand trends in health conditions and healthcare utilization based on demographic breakdowns to understand how different variables impact health, and can identify opportunities for reducing conditions that have a higher likelihood of negatively impacting health conditions.
Engagement
Connected health has the ability to change the patient-doctor relationship thanks to increased communication, better information sharing, remote monitoring solutions, mobile and web apps, and other features that drive patient involvement in their own care. Patient engagement may have started as a fitness fad, but it is an invaluable tool that can open new communications channels between patients and physicians, between multiple doctors, and even between patients or patient groups as support mechanisms. The increased involvement has a threefold effect: it drives better health and wellness; it generates more data; and it encourages patients to help others. All of these are factors that can help overcome the effects of social determinants.
Regulation
Healthcare costs can present an obstacle to healthcare services for many patients. While connected health services promise to alleviate many of the burdens facing the healthcare system, additional regulation is needed to ensure coverage of connected healthcare services for Medicare patients, in particular. Regulatory activity has increased already, but more is needed in order to allow connected health adoption to grow to the point where it can have an impact on assessing and addressing social determinants.
There may not be a single answer to the SDOH question, but connected health offers opportunities for providers, patients, and governments to collectively understand and address them more effectively. To learn more about how connected health can help you better understand your patients, visit us here. | https://www.trapollo.com/articles/connected-health/connected-health-overcoming-social-determinants-of-health/ |
Boxing is one of the most rewarding and challenging sports available to youth today. PAL youth will develop the combination of athleticism, physical and mental conditioning, sportsmanship and self-worth. Boxing teaches them to rely on themselves, to value the input of others, and most importantly to respect both their skills and those of others.
The kids develop a level of self-confidence they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. They will also find that this is one of the most challenging things they will ever do. There are opportunities for the PAL kids to compete in tournaments and competitions on top of their practices. Report cards must be brought to coach for every quarter. Application form. | https://www.kcpal.org/programs/boxing/ |
This is a Cont. of another Accelerated Exam. application, Ser. No. 12/020,540, filed Jan. 26, 2008, to be issued in January 2009, as a US Patent, with the same title, inventors, and assignee, IBM.
Usual secured system access is based on the requirement of two codes from the user, his/her username affected to a specific user account and a corresponding password or pass code. Both the username and the pass code define the two components of the system access data affected to a user account from that secured system. The access to the system is granted if the combination of username and pass code is valid irrespective of the situation how and/or who entered that access data.
System access data of usual pass code-secured systems are built from a 2-tuple of the components user accounts and pass code:
old
System access data=(user account, pass code)
There is no possibility to differentiate the use of system access data like avoiding a misuse of the user account once both components are disclosed.
After the disclosure of the valid system access data to the unauthorized person, misuse of the user account happens and security actions will not start until the owner is able to trigger them.
If it was a fake disclosure to avoid loss of property by providing an invalid user account/pass code combination, the owner (disclosing person) risks health, because the unauthorized user will find the access failure immediately and as a reaction the disclosing person may face immediate danger.
One embodiment reuses the classic User ID & Password combination for authentication and adds a third component called a USE code for additional authorization check. This embodiment (as an example) allows access to a system when it is requested with correct User ID and Password (i.e., with correct pass code) but with an unauthorized USE code, the system identifies it as an unauthorized access and triggers the proper security measures to minimize the damage and monitor the actions in a way not to alarm the unauthorized user who is using the owner's credential to access the system. The USE Code utilized by this invention could have different permutations. These permutations could limit access to some or part of the system that is being attempted to be accessed. For example, in case of Bank accounts, the USE Code can allow the daily limit withdrawals to be immediately decreased. In case of secure building, the USE Code can be used for access to certain areas but not all, and in case of vehicles, the USE Code can be used to access the inside of a vehicle but lock the engine.
1) while the system is not aware of the compromise (i.e. giving full access based in the authorization of the owner), or
2) When the outright and total prevention of access (e.g., denying the access at the logon prompt) is not desired because it may alert the third party intruder.
An example of this invention addresses the problem of user ID and password credential getting compromised by an unauthorized third party who is accessing the system either:
It is proposed to affect a third component (use code) to the first two to allow differentiating a use mode of the two first components. In such a way, that it would be possible to extend the two valued component (authorized, unauthorized) to a variety of authorized use mode or cases.
FIGS. 1 and 2
An example of this invention can be used for ATM machines, Bank accounts, Computer Systems Authorization, accessing secure buildings and in general any access that requires a username and a password as demonstrated by .
System access data will be extended by adding one component, the use code, to the 2-tuple (user account, pass code) to build a 3-tuple consisting of the components user account, pass code and use code:
new
system access data=(user account, pass code, use code) (item 108, 110, 112)
114
The use code carries the information if access to the system is requested by an authorized user or by an unauthorized user. Automated action is triggered by the system depending on the use code value (e.g. special security handling, ).
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An example of this invention reuses the classic User ID & Password combination for authentication and adds a third component called a USE code for additional authorization check. () This embodiment allows access to a system when it is requested with correct User ID and Password (i.e., with correct passcode) but with an unauthorized USE code, the system identify it as an unauthorized access and triggers the proper security measures to minimize the damage and monitor the actions in a way not to alarm the unauthorized user who is using the owner's credential to access the system. (, , , )
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Beyond binary nature of authorized versus unauthorized, there could be other authorization levels associated with multiple USE codes that further tighten access to the applications or data for which the actual passcode owner is authorized to use. This helps in delegation scenarios where the user authorizes a third party to use his/her passcode to access the system while limiting the type of access based on the USE code. (, , , , , , )
In one embodiment the system is A method for identifying and processing an unauthorized access request to a system, the method comprising the steps of:
An authentication module receiving a variable length access code and a corresponding user ID;
Wherein the variable length access code comprising a variable length password and a variable length use code;
starting from a first bit of information on the variable length access code, and scanning through the variable length access code, bit by bit, until a matching password is recognized using a hash function of the variable length password for the corresponding user ID, or until the last bit of the variable length access code is reached;
If the matching password is recognized, dividing the variable length access code into the variable length password and the variable length use code;
if the variable length access code is divided into the variable length password and the variable length use code, comparing the variable length use code with a list of all possible use codes;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a first entry in the list of all possible use codes, the authentication module allowing full access to the system;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a second entry in the list of all possible use codes, the system slowing down;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a third entry in the list of all possible use codes, the system becoming locked;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a fourth entry in the list of all possible use codes, the authentication module notifying authorities, security personnel, or police;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a fifth entry in the list of all possible use codes, the authentication module limiting the access to the system;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a sixth entry in the list of all possible use codes, the authentication module allowing full access to the system, and the authentication module notifying authorities, security personnel, or police;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a seventh entry in the list of all possible use codes, the authentication module allowing a limited access to the system, and the authentication module notifying authorities, security personnel, or police;
in case of the variable length use code matching with an eighth entry in the list of all possible use codes, the system malfunctioning;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a ninth entry in the list of all possible use codes, starting camera monitoring;
in case of the variable length use code matching with a tenth entry in the list of all possible use codes, the authentication module activating a silent alarm;
in case of the variable length use code matching with an eleventh entry in the list of all possible use codes, the authentication module simulating software corruption; and
in case of the variable length use code matching with a twelfth entry in the list of all possible use codes, providing wrong or incomplete information to the user.
Security front module gets user ID, password, and use code from the accessing user.
Security module examines the user ID and password to see if the combination authenticates to a valid account owner.
If not, the system performs a regular security handling for denying access when the user ID and password combination is invalid.
If yes, the USE code module examines whether the specified use code correspond to a valid authorized Use code corresponding to the owner's account.
If valid owner authorized Use code was specified, the system performs a regular security handling for when the account owner logon to the system, i.e. it provides the full authorization corresponding to the owner's account.
If valid authorized Use code with special meaning was specified, the system will modify and limit the system functionality based on the authorization level associated with the Use code to a predefined limited access privileges.
If an invalid authorized Use code was specified, the system invokes special security handling for the access.
Special security handling provides the same external behavior to the accessing user as it would to the account owner.
Special security handling triggers special security actions without notification to the accessing user.
Special security actions comprise of starting security monitoring sessions, constricting and further limiting user access, simulating system problems such as unavailable resources or computer virus problems, slowing the response time, and notifying the security personnel (in case of computer access)
Special security actions comprise of starting security monitoring e.g. transferring GPS position on a defined channel, simulating car problems such as engine failure or running out of fuel, slowing the response time, and notifying the security personnel (in case of automobile access)
Special security actions comprise of starting security monitoring sessions, transferring GPS position if any, constricting and further limiting user access to data, simulating system problems such as booting problem or power failure, slowing the response time, and notifying the security personnel (in case of mobile phone)
Special security actions comprise of starting security video monitoring and on-line camera monitoring, limiting amount of money transfer, simulating system problems such as ATM problem or power failure, slowing the response time, and notifying the security personnel (in case of bank account access)
In the above embodiment, the system includes the following features:
In another embodiment the system can implement the Use Code in one letter found in the password identified by its location in the password; OR Separate Used code from password; OR having variable password length and appending the Use code to the password. The variable length makes it harder to guess the password, by the hackers. The system uses a loop/iterative function to examine and find/ match the password, bit by bit, starting from the first bit.
A system or apparatus that has some of the following items is an example of this invention: ATM machine, automatic bank teller, computer running the whole process and method described above, laptop, car, alarm, or mobile phone.
Any variations of the above teaching are also intended to be covered by this patent application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a schematic diagram of the system in its entirety
FIG. 2
is a schematic diagram of the Use Code and different levels of security that can be created by the Use Code | |
Building Muscle is very important for sports, among other things. Having more muscles than an opponent will not only make you stronger than your opponent, but will give you more advantages such as increased endurance and speed as well. In a work environment, where manual labor is required, muscle will help you complete your job with more efficiency and ease than your non-muscular co-workers. I chose to research the chemistry of building muscle because I wanted to gain a better understanding of how muscles work, how they repair themselves when damaged, and how to build more muscle. Muscles affect my everyday life, because without them, I would not be able to do the things that are important to me, like playing soccer.Composition of ...
Motor End Plate: The complex end formation where a long, slender projection of a nerve cell (axon) from a motor neuron establishes synaptic contact with a skeletal muscle fiber.
Myofibrils: Basic, rod-like units of muscle cells.
Myofilaments: Chains mostly composed of Actin and Myosin, which are packed into a muscle fiber.
Myoneural Junction: The synaptic connection of the axon of a motor neuron with a muscle fiber.
Sarcolemma: The membranous sheath of a muscle fiber.
Sarcomere: Any of the segments of myofibrils in striated muscle fibers.
Sarcoplasm: The cytoplasm of a striated muscle fiber.
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum: A system of membrane-bound tubules that surrounds muscle fibrils, releasing calcium ions during contraction and absorbing them during relaxation.
Transverse Tubules: A deep invagination of the sarcolemma, which is the plasma membrane of skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle cells.
Z-Disc Ultrastructure: Plate-like structures in sarcomeres to which the plus ends of actin filaments are localized; the centre of the I-band.
Muscles are composed of many different parts. While some parts of a muscle have a more seemingly important job than others, all parts of a muscle are equally important. For example, sarcomeres are the basic unit of muscle tissue, which means sarcomeres are pretty important for muscles. Skeletal muscle is composed of tubular muscle cells, also referred to as myofibrils, which are composed of repeating sections of sarcomeres. Sarcomeres may seem to be more important than myofibrils, but without one, there would not be the other.
Main Chemicals, Compounds, Components
Myosin: Myosin is a protein found within thick filaments of muscle. Myosin can convert the chemical energy of ATP into mechanical energy, which creates the force and movement of muscle(s). Myosin is partly responsible for moving muscles, it works alongside alongside Actin, a similar protein found in the thin filaments of muscle. Myosin acts when a nerve impulse triggers a biochemical reaction within the muscle and makes it stick to Actin.
Actin: Actin is a protein found within thin filaments of muscle. It is also the most abundantly found protein in eukaryotic cells, and participates in more protein-protein interactions than any known protein. Actin is also partly responsible for moving muscles, and interacts with Myosin to create muscle contractions.
Chemistry's Role
When a nerve impulse triggers a biochemical reaction within a muscle, Myosin molecules in thick muscle filaments stick to Actin molecules in thin muscle filaments and lock, pulling thick and thin muscle filaments together. When thousands of Myosin and Actin molecules lock and pull muscle filaments together, muscle is moved. Myosin does not release Actin until another molecule, a catalyst, comes along and grabs the Myosin molecules, forcing them to release Actin molecules. This catalyst is called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). Bodies make ATP using oxygen. Not only is oxygen important for nourishing cells in the body, oxygen is also responsible for muscle movement. In order for muscles to be built, the body needs protein. Protein is made of amino acids, so without protein and amino acids, the body could not build, repair, or even maintain muscle tissue. Protein also contains oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen. Having enough protein will put the body into an anabolic state, which allows the body to build muscle, and give it the oxygen it needs to move. When protein is eaten, hydrochloric acid from the stomach breaks it down into simpler forms, which the body has an easier time digesting. When muscles are strained, they rip a little bit. The broken down protein is then sent to the ripped muscle(s) and fills in the rips. The filling in of the rips causes the muscles to get bigger.
Background Research
When someone gains muscle, they do not also gain muscle cells. A human is born with all of the muscle cells they will ever have. When a person gains muscle mass, they just add mass to their pre-existing muscle cells.
In order to actually build muscle, you must first do something to the muscle that strains it. For most people, this “something” is weight -lifting. When a muscle is strained continuously, ie, multiple sets of repetitions, the muscle starts burning. This burning is caused by metabolic stress on the muscle. Metabolic stress causes sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, which just means the muscle and muscle cells swell. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is a way to increase muscle mass without necessarily increasing strength.
Also, when muscles are strained, they rip microscopically. Controlled ripping in muscles is good for building muscles; however, too little or too much ripping may be detrimental for building muscle. If too little or too much muscle rip occurs, muscles will not grow. When a muscle is ripped, it burns stored energy, which releases lactic acid. This release of lactic acid triggers something called an anabolic cascade. When this is triggered, the body repairs the damaged muscle(s) during the period of R.E.M sleep.
Resources
http://www.builtlean.com/2013/09/17/muscles-grow/ (1)
- skeletal muscles are made of myofibrils and sarcomeres.
- myofibrils and sarcomeres form a muscle fiber.
- skeletal muscles contract when receiving signals from motor neurons
- motor neurons are triggered from sarcoplasmic reticulum
- the better muscles are at receiving signals from motor neurons, the stronger they can get
- after working out, body repairs damages muscles by fusing muscle fibers together
- satellite cells act like stem cells for muscles
- hormones affect muscle growth
http://www.builtlean.com/2013/09/17/muscles-grow/ (2)
- muscles tear when strained
- muscles will not grow if there is too much/little tearing
- lactic acid comes out when muscles burn stored energy
- lactic acid triggers “anabolic cascade”
- doing less gets more
- nutrition nutrition nutrition
http://www.builtlean.com/2013/09/17/muscles-grow/ (3)
- burning when pumping caused by metabolic stress
- metabolic stress causes the muscle and muscle cells to swell
- makes muscles grow
- increases muscle glycogen
- swelling muscles called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy
- can build muscle without increasing strength
http://www.builtlean.com/2013/09/17/muscles-grow/ (4)
- hormones help muscles grow, and help repair “broken” muscles
- main hormones are testosterone and IGF (Insulin Growth Factor)
- testosterone helps in many ways: it increases protein synthesis, inhibits protein breakdown, activates satellite cells, stimulates other anabolic hormones
- 98% of testosterone is bound in the body and unusable
- strength training releases testosterone and makes muscle cells more sensitive to any free testosterone
- testosterone can stimulate growth hormone responses
- increases presence of neurotransmitters at damaged fiber sites
- can activate growth tissue
- increases presence of neurotransmitters at damaged fiber sites
- IGF regulates amount of muscle mass growth
- enhances protein synthesis, facilitating glucose uptake, divides the uptake of amino acids into skeletal muscles
- activates satellite cells to increase muscle growth
https://eochemistry.wikispaces.com/The+Chemistry+of+Muscle+Contraction
- muscles made of proteins
- proteins made of amino acids
- muscle fibers are full of contractile fibers (myofibrils)
- myofibrils divided into sarcomeres
- sarcomere is made of actin and myosin
http://www.simplyshredded.com/muscle-growth-part-1-the-science-behind-why-and-how-does-a-muscle-grow-and-get-stronger.html
- lots of strength doesn’t equal lots of muscle
- size of muscle fiber is more important than number of muscle fibers
- mitochondria make ATP
- muscle fibers adapt to strain by increasing number of mitochondria in cells\
- increase enzymes involved in oxidative phosphorylation and anaerobic glycolysis
- also increases sarcoplasmic fluid inside cell, and glycogen
- makes strength endurance
- increases muscle’s ability to make ATP
- ATP=energy for muscle contractions
- trained muscles increase amount of actin/myosin filaments aka, sarcomeres
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/CIIEcompounds/transcripts/lactic.asp
- lactic acid=molecule that provides energy
- 2-hydroxy-propanoic-acid
- energy stored in glycogen, mostly in muscle cells and liver
- glycogen breaks down into glucose and pyruvic acid
- pyruvic acid deprotonates to make pyruvate ion
- ATP then released
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/biology-basics-the-basics-of-muscles.html
- actin filaments are made of two strands of actin wound around each other
- thin filaments
- myosin filaments contain myosin. have bulbous ends called myosin heads
- myosin filaments arange with heads in opposite directions
- thick filament
- myosin and actin filaments make sarcomeres
- Z-lines make boundaries of sarcomeres
- each myofibril contains thousands of sarcomeres
http://meat.tamu.edu/ansc-307-honors/structure-muscle/
- Information on the composition of Muscle
- Refer to “The Composition of Muscle”
- Components of Muscle
https://www.sharecare.com/health/parts-muscular-system/main-parts-skeletal-muscle-fibers
- The two main components of muscle
- Refer to “The Composition of Muscle”
- Main Chemicals, Components and Compounds of Muscles
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21314430
- Information about Actin
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9961/
- Info about the roles of Actin and Myosin in a muscle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcomere
- Info about myofibrils and sarcomeres
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/mhp/cyclin.html
- Info about anabolic growth
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicaldictionary.php?t=29233
- Motor end plate information
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse
- Definitions of the components of muscle
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=60361&sc=3405
- Info on protein and how it helps muscles repair and function
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamesk1.htm
- Info on protein and how it helps muscles repair and function
About the Author
Jens Zimmermann is a junior at Senior High. His hobbies include playing soccer, traveling, and making people feel good. Jens has lettered in Soccer and Orchestra, and has traveled to Europe, South America, and Africa. Jens believes that traveling is the most valuable and important thing that has happened to him in his life so far. His most memorable travels include summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa; visiting Rio De Janeiro, Brazil during the 2014 World Cup; and roaming the streets of Chefchaouen, Morocco. Jens plans to pursue a future career in whatever brings him joy, but will allow himself time to continue travelling. | https://www.chemistryislife.com/the-che |
Denne beskriver det aller meste om CK ifh muskelskade under trening. En av få faktorer som korresponderer med DOMS.
Baird et.al. 2012. Creatine-Kinase- and Exercise-Related Muscle Damage Implications for Muscle Performance and Recovery.
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnme/2012/960363/
However, raised levels of serum CK are still closely associated with cell damage, muscle cell disruption, or disease. These cellular disturbances can cause CK to leak from cells into blood serum .
Skeletal cell numbers are established before birth. These cells are designed to last a lifetime and are not subject to turnover and recycling processes that occur in many other cell types. Growth in muscle mass happens in magnitude only (hypertrophy via growth hormone and testosterone). While hypertrophy is readily reversible (atrophy), loss of muscle cell numbers as a result of damage would be progressively more serious.
Unaccustomed exercise, particularly eccentric muscle contractions, initiates mechanical muscle damage of varying degrees . Metabolic muscle disturbance is thought to result in release of cellular components through a cascade of events, which begin with depletion of ATP and result in the leakage of extracellular calcium ions into intracellular space, due to both Na-K-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase pump dysfunction. Intracellular proteolytic enzyme activity can increase and promote muscle protein degradation and augmented cell permeability, which allows some cell contents to leak into the circulation [9, 10].
Some individuals are found to have high levels of serum CK compared to other similar individuals when exposed to the same exercise protocol (including moderate exercise) even when main comparability factors such as gender, age, and training status are accounted for in data analysis. In some cases, this variability may indicate an underlying myosis, but in many other cases the cause is unknown .
Base levels of serum CK in general populations are variable 35–175 U/L with ranges from 20 to 16,000 U/L, and this wide range reflects the inconsistent occurrence of subclinical disorders and minor injury, genetic factors, physical activity status, and medication .
In examples of rhabdomyolysis (clinically diagnosed muscle damage) CK levels have been found at 10,000–200,000 U/L and as high as 3×106 U/L . Such levels clearly signal strong disturbance or disintegration of striated muscle tissue with concomitant leakage of intracellular muscle constituents into the circulation. In the absence of specific myocardial or brain infarction, physical trauma, or disease, serum CK levels greater than 5,000 U/L are generally considered to indicate serious disturbance to muscle .
It has been proposed that higher than normal levels of tissue CK activity may augment the availability of cellular energy and improve myofibril contraction responses .
Serum CK levels alone may not provide a fully accurate reflection of structural damage to muscle cells [22, 23]. Some studies have reported that serum CK levels were affected by hydration status prior to eccentric exercise and varied within subject groups of comparable male volunteers, whilst muscle biopsies revealed similar ultrastructure damage to Z-band muscle fibres. Muscle soreness did not differ between groups .
Considering the significant increase in CK levels which have been found as a result of high-intensity exercise compared to lower intensity [29, 30], the decrements in performance experienced [29, 31], and higher levels of PGE2 reported even when exercise volume is standardised suggests that higher-intensity exercise will cause the greater disruption of cell membranes; however, with adequate recovery, it may also elicit the greatest adaptations to exercise in the shortest time.
When activities occur that deplete ATP levels, such as physical exercise, glucose depletion, or hypoxia, AMPK is activated. When activated, it in turn stimulates a range of physiological and biochemical processes and pathways that increase ATP production and at the same time switch off pathways that involve ATP consumption. Recent work has shown a strong correlation between a sedentary lifestyle, inactive AMPK, and morbidity diseases such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and dementia .
The role of CK in energy management is maintenance of PCr levels to provide an immediate energy supply in the first few seconds of physical activity. It is likely that AMPK has a role in controlling CK activity, and some work has demonstrated that AMPK may regulate CK and is sensitive to the Cr : PCr ratio and that increased creatine levels stimulate AMPK activity .
For example eccentrically biased exercise (e.g., downhill running) will elicit greater postexercise levels of serum CK than equivalent concentrically biased exercise (e.g., uphill running) though the former is less energy metabolism demanding than the latter . This highlights the integrated complexity of metabolism and mechanical damage as eccentric-biased exercise is associated with increased indices of muscle damage (i.e., DOMS) which is mainly a result of micro-damage within the myocyte [59, 60].
ATP levels never deplete to critical levels; this is because the sensitivity of ATP is set very high to guarantee that they never deplete, so a slight reduction in high ATP level triggers an early protective reaction.
Exercise modality can affect the appearance of CK in blood serum. Eccentric resistance training CK serum levels can peak between 72 hrs [31, 45] and 96 hrs to 120 hrs (see Figure 3(b)). Training status may affect this time response. Full body eccentric resistance training in resistance trained (RT) and untrained (UT) men elicited a significant (UT 𝑃=0.002, RT 𝑃=0.02) increase in CK serum levels at 24 hrs. This signified the peak response in the RT group, whilst levels in the UT group continued to rise and peaked at 72 hrs . However, three sets of 50 maximal eccentric leg flexion contractions in untrained men resulted in a significant (𝑃<0.05) increase in CK serum levels at 24 hrs; levels decreased over the next 2 days followed by a nonsignificant (𝑃>0.05) increase at 96 hr , and 10 sets of 10 reps of 70% body mass barbell squats incorporating eccentric and concentric contractions in non-resistance-trained males and females resulted in a peak serum CK response at 24 hr after exercise. A series of plyometric jumps performed over 2–5 minutes by untrained men produced a peak CK serum response at 48 hrs , and 90 minutes of endurance cycle ergometer exercise at a set absolute workload (1.5 kilo ponds at 60 revolutions per minute) performed by untrained men three days consecutively caused a significant (𝑃<0.05) increase in serum CK levels 3 hours after the first exercise session and peak CK serum levels occurred immediately after the third day of exercise, 72 hrs from the initiation of exercise (see Figure 3(a)). Stepping exercise resulted in a CK serum increase in women at day 3, whereas, there was no significant increase in CK serum levels in men performing the same protocol (see Figure 3(c)). | https://mariusblomstervik.no/2014/09/02/creatine-kinase-and-exercise-related-muscle-damage-implications-for-muscle-performance-and-recovery/ |
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Higgs boson may be secret to dark matter
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By
Stephen Morgan
Mar 5, 2015 in
Science
A Swedish scientist, Dr Christoffer Petersson from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, has come up with a radical new theory about the Higgs boson which could finally solve the mystery of dark matter.
His theory is being taken so seriously by other scientists that the CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland will soon be used to test its validity.
If proven correct Dr Petersson's ideas would challenge the so-called Standard Model of physics, which physicists use to explain the world around us.
In particular, it changes the nature of the Higgs boson, which is often referred to as the "God particle," because it is believed to be the force that gives all matter its mass and is thereby responsible for the universe as we know it.
The discovery of the Higgs boson by the LHC in 2012 was considered to be the final missing piece in the Standard Model, which describes the world of subatomic particles.
However, the Standard Model has never been able to to identify or explain the source of dark matter. This is important because scientists have theorized that if the Higgs boson gives all matter in the universe its mass, dark matter must be the force which holds it all together.
Just like the Higgs boson, without it the universe would not exist. However, dark matter has never been seen and nobody has been able to prove its existence.
As
Discovery News
puts it,
"It’s out there, we’re certain of it, but we just can’t see it and therefore cannot fully understand its nature."
This is where the revolutionary nature of Dr Petersson's ideas come into play. What he is suggesting is that the Higgs boson and dark matter are inextricably interlinked in a way not thought of before.
Phys org
says that the difference in his model is that it "contains more elementary particles than the Standard Model, including dark matter particles. In addition, the model gives the Higgs particle different properties than the Standard Model predicts."
What is unique in his theory, is that he believes the Higgs boson can disintegrate into dark matter and photons (particles of light.)
The logic behind this comes from what is called supersymmetry.
Discovery News explains:
"Supersymmetry predicts that there are more massive “super partners” of known particles that exist beyond the Standard Model framework. Although there have been tantalizing hints of these supersymmetric particles, definitive observational evidence has been frustratingly hard to track down."
The
MailOnline
reports that the volume of data in the first studies of Petersson's theory was insufficient to confirm or reject his model.
With regard to his theory, the Mail quotes Dr Zeynap Demiragli at the CMS experiment at Cern, who said,
"We congratulate Christoffer Petersson for having done an important job."
"‘We are already in full swing with new analyses in which we are testing his model in other ways and with more data."
Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN
CERN
The LHC has been undergoing upgrades and will be fully operational again in Spring. Then it will be able to carry out particle collisions at new record energies.
Phys org explained that,
"With higher energies in the accelerator, the experiments will finally gather sufficient data to evaluate Petersson's model properly. He is on tenterhooks awaiting the results."
Petersson said,
"“It’s a dream for a theorist in particle physics. LHC is the only place where the model can be tested. It’s even nicer that two independent experiments are going to do it."
“If the model is found to fit," he continued, "it would completely change our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of nature. If not, just the fact that they are willing to test my model at CERN is great.”
More about
Higgs boson
,
Dark matter
, | http://www.digitaljournal.com/science/higgs-boson-may-hold-secret-to-dark-matter/article/427590 |
nothing based on waves of nothing ?
Maybe the study of the heavens is Astronomy, the study of physical matter is Chemistry and the study of physical forces is Physics. Then we should maybe talk of Standard Model Chemistry as being the extension of Periodic Table Chemistry. But the three areas do have strong real connection and are not really separate.
Standard Model physics is based around matter being composed of
some specified set of elementary particles (or wave-packets), taking Protons and Neutrons that were formerly considered 'elementary particles' as being compound particles or Hadrons along with some others like LHC in 2012 called Xib' and Xib*. In current Standard
Model theory, elementary particles include Fermion particles involving 1 stable family pair
of Quarks with 1 stable family pair of Leptons (electrons, muons and taons)
plus 2 unstable family pairs of Quarks with 2 unstable family pairs
of Leptons. And additional Boson particles are also commonly postulated,
including 'massless' Gluon, Photon and Graviton 'particles', though some
favour rather more particles and others favour somewhat less particles.
Fermions :
up quark ............... 0.005000000
down quark .......... 0.009000000
electron ................ 0.000510000
electron neutrino .. 0 or 0.000000007 ?
charm quark ......... 1.350000000
strange quark ....... 0.175000000
muon .................... 0.106000000
muon neutrino ...... 0 or 0.000270000 ?
top quark ......... 173.000000000
bottom quark ....... 4.500000000
tau ....................... 1.780000000
tau neutrino ......... 0 or 0.030000000 ?
sterile neutrino (x?) ................. 0 ?
neutralino (x4) ........................... ?
(eg WIMP neutralino ... 7-99.000000000 ?)
Bosons :
gluon (x8) ............. 0.000000000
photon .................. 0.000000000
graviton ................ 0.000000000 ?
graviton spin-0 ..... 0.000000001 ?
graviton spin-2 ..... 0.000000001 ?
axion .................... 0.000000001 ?
W+ ..................... 60.200000000
W- ...................... 80.200000000
Z ......................... 91.200000000
higgs ................ 500.000000000 ?
..................... or 125.000000000 ?
X17 ...................... 0.017000000 ?
And with maybe many more particles suggested by different versions of Standard Model and by different versions of String Theory ?
Currently the existence of some of the above Standard Model particles is hypothetical only and not supported by experimental evidence to date, including such hypothetical particles as have been theoretically postulated most recently like the X17 Boson which is also claimed by some to produce some new force.
Gluons are claimed to have 8 'colour-charge' types being forms of red + blue + anti-red + anti-blue, or red + green + anti-red + anti-green, or blue + green + anti-blue + anti-green. And the various quarks are claimed to combine to help form neutrons, protons and other composite particles termed Hadrons.
Fermions are claimed to have half-integer 'spin' and to obey Fermi-Dirac behaviour with multiple fermions being unable to exist in the same quantum state or same space. They basically are Descartes push-particles.
Bosons are claimed to have integer 'spin' and to obey Bose-Einstein behaviour in that multiple bosons can occupy the same quantum state or same space. They basically are more like energy wave packets than like classical mass particles. While some bosons are claimed to have 'mass' others are claimed to not, and some bosons like photons are readily detected but others seem impossible to detect.
Bosons are generally problematic in standard model physics, as is its explanation of at-a-distance-forces as being due to 'virtual boson' exchange. Protons and Electrons are claimed to electrically attract eachother by Virtual Photon exchange in an Electrical Interaction force, and Protons and Neutrons composed of Quarks are claimed to internally bond by Virtual Gluon exchange attraction in a Strong Interaction force that increases with distance unlike other forces. Protons and Electrons are also claimed to weakly attract eachother by Virtual W and Z boson exchange in an Electroweak Interaction force. Mass particles are claimed to gravitationally attract eachother by Virtual Graviton exchange in a Gravitational Interaction force that may be mediated by the Higgs boson.
These virtual particle exchanges are said to be unobservables, and have no well defined mechanisms for their appearing or vanishing in a vacuum or in any medium. Of course normal particle exchange in a Descartes particle physics might seem a reasonable recoil explanation for a universal repulsion force if there was any such, but is trickier for the attractive forces and for the selectivity of forces actually shown by nature. Of course simple particle contact collisions could look similar to repulsions. Virtual particle exchange may seem to need some attraction mechanism as well as a signal mechanism for prompting exchanges. Forces cannot be directly shown to be due to 'force-carrying particles', since eg a photon beam does not produce electric attraction and a static-electricity charged object does not produce a photon beam. And of course photons show a wide range of variation that electric charge does not show.
Standard Model physicists Peter Higgs and Francois Englertis got a 2013 Nobel prize for their theory prediction for the Higgs Boson being that it would be around 500GeV, though the new particle being acclaimed as being the Higgs Boson is actually around 126GeV. Now 500GeV is nearly 400% of 126GeV, so modern physics theories having errors of around 400% is OK. But the same physicists claim that Newtonian physics is entirely disproved because in some cases it gives a below 1% error !
Standard Model physics uses Feynman diagrams, where only lines entering or leaving a diagram represent observable particles. Below two electrons enter a repulsion interaction, exchanging unobservable virtual photons, and then exit ;
Charged fermion 'particles' are all claimed by some to have
'anti-particles' of similar mass but opposite charge that can form
'anti-matter' - eg Anti-Hydrogen composed of an Antiproton and a
Positron akin to Hydrogen composed of a Proton and an Electron.
But the 'charges' of matter particles and anti-matter particles are
claimed to differ so as not to affect each other, and a particle and its
'oppositely charged' anti-particle are claimed to undergo spontaneous
'annihilation interactions' where both fully convert to photons. Some fermion particles are also claimed
to spontaneously or magically convert into eachother. Uncharged
anti-particles are generally unexplained and evidence on anti-particle
behaviour is very thin, with strangely little anti-matter seeming to exist.
There are more reasonable claims that much 'dark matter' exists, probably being just uncharged free non-atomic particles like massive WIMP neutrinos or tiny Axions. Claims of 'dark energy' look weaker, as noted in our Gravity section. Multi-particle composites like atoms composed of an even number of half-spin fermions, or any number of interger-spin bosons, may have overall interger spin like bosons yet not behave as bosons. And some Standard Model particles are, like some radioactive atoms, very unstable and may be of little significance in nature.
There are four fundamental forces in Standard Model physics, the activities of which are generally defined as being ;
This might perhaps be better redefined, explaining particle properties and better for a signal physics, as ;
Of course signal-response systems have been built that produce several responses to one signal,
or produce different responses to different signals. So the above are not the only possible
definitions of forces and/or of 'particles', and several sets of such definitions might well
allow of the same force response event mathematics.
There is strong evidence that forces seem to become very digital at close distances, so sub-atomic particle bindings/ energies/ masses/ lifetimes all seem to involve very narrow and possibly specific mass/energy levels. This contrasts greatly with the apparent gradation of force effects in the universe at macroscopic levels. It is not clear if this applies to only some forces like the strong force, or to all forces including whatever collision force is. So it is not clear what the real general explanation is, or if there is one general real explanation involved or maybe more than one. It is not clear if sub-atomic force evidence favours some one general physics theory or may fit with some several general physics theories if appropriately specified.
There have been some perhaps poorly defined claims that at very close distances these forces may be the same strength and effectively be just one force. But it is claimed by David Toms that the electric charge force which generally get stronger closer to its source, in fact very close to its source starts getting weaker the closer the distance - with this effect claimed to be somehow caused by gravity !? There are also claims that these forces are all due to the sending of some 'Messenger Particles' or 'Force Photons' back and forth. Of course some physicists do support Einstein's view that gravitational force differs fundamentally from the other forces.
You can listen to some interesting recent lectures by some physicists on related experiments and some interpretations of them, at http://viavca.in2p3.fr/site.html Or regarding claims for an increasing variety of unstable multi-quark hadrons such as 'charged charmoniums', see http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2013/jun/18/charged-charmonium-confounds-particle-physicists
Of course some physicists now support contradiction-allowed duality physics where the 'elementary particles' both are 'wave packets' and are 'not-wave particles'. Others prefer to go with only one of these alternatives. One option involving no contradiction might be taking 'elementary particles' as being multi-particle 'vibrations' composed of many standard particles allowing standard wave motion among their parts ? And anything claimed to be 'massless' can maybe only be proved to not have a big mass, since a claim that something has zero mass can be taken as requiring proof that A.) it produces zero gravity and/or proof that B.) it shows zero response to gravity. But this may be impossible to definitely prove if 'infinitely close to zero' cannot be definitely measured ? And it may be even more complicated because where gravity is stronger, some other forces may also be stronger.
Standard Model physics is mostly used by those employed in particle physics, often along with some version of Quantum Mechanics. But particle physics experiment is now often statistical experiment physics, and the real physics often boils down to statistical significance interpretation - and most physicists are poor statisticians. Modern physics 'experiment' often has the same basic statistics weakness as much modern medical 'experiment'. Some of the very different Standard Model theories maybe look like actually being image theories though no published Standard Model physicist seems to have studied that issue yet. Standard Model theories perhaps realistically represent more a promising physics awaiting a properly defined theory, and currently offer no real explanation for the strange assortments of particle masses observed to date ?
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In an inaugural address President Kgalema Motlanthe says “It is not uncommon to hear the word ‘crisis’ affixed to our present condition. However when in crisis the moment calls for a systemic change that involves altering the unequal bases of our institutions and their functions, modes of thinking and ways of being.”
President Motlanthe was speaking at a responsible leadership lecture presented by the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) in collaboration with the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation on Friday evening (27 October).
Echoing the sentiment from the President, Prof Naudé, Director of USB, preceded the key note address by saying “when a democracy is in crisis it requires civil society to rise to the occasion, bring rationality back, and openly discuss the issues so that truth, freedom and democracy can prevail.”
Speaking frank on the inequality in South Africa, President Motlanthe, said, “With the benefit of hindsight, we can now say that we have not lived up to, and even regressed, the promise of creating a democracy that would deal with the global dilemma of racial discrimination. Calling attention to this point is critical, as the question of national leadership operates precisely within the contours of this domain.”
“The gaps in our society remain all too visible, particularly for the people who have to find ways to stay alive, fed and healthy, before considering the possibility of succeeding and indeed thriving.”
“The incomplete transition to democracy and the growing pains incumbent to radical transformation compels us to appreciate the processual nature of change and the leadership and vision required to shape such transformation.”
President Motlanthe said for many in the country the conditions of post-apartheid state remain stifling, narrowing the possibilities of a future that is without end beyond their grasp.
“While social challenges are historically rooted and inherited, in the absence of ethical leadership they are sustained by a society declared to be free, equal and just – resulting in a democratic contradiction that has global manifestations.”
“Failure to address contemporary challenges, even as they were not entirely shaped by our hands, cannot excuse our collective complicity in their continuation.”
He stressed that social development must be central to cross-sectorial, ethical leadership, ensuring decent access to education, employment, healthcare and dignified housing.
“Every leader must be held accountable, every citizen has a role to play, and we are responsible for following the mandate set out by democracy, whilst fostering the ethical imperatives and standards against which we can measure what we mean when we invoke concepts like ‘good governance’, ‘inclusive growth’ and ‘responsible leadership’.”
In quoting Prof Naudé commenting that from a business school perspective, social development in South Africa happens through empowering students to understand their role as responsible leaders when they go back into society, President Motlanthe says business should operate for societal greater good and not be merely concerned with bottom lines, investor interests and remaining competitive.
“Social entrepreneurship is often consigned to corporate social responsibility interests rather than being infused into the totality of the business’ identity and agenda. The possibility, however, exists to reframe both the way we think about business, as well as the kinds of collaborations that would be possible across sectors.”
President Motlanthe says confronting social issues requires research, data and its interpretation and other knowledge resources to operate optimally which is fundamentally, but not exclusively, the domain of the university. | http://www.leadershiponline.co.za/articles/country-needs-ethical-leaders-23761.html |
Researchers from the University of Minnesota found that while trumpets and oboes were the “riskiest” instruments for transmitting airborne diseases, none of the examined wind instruments were found to spread aerosols further than one foot.
Published last month in the Journal of Aerosol Science, the study investigated 15 musicians from the Minnesota Orchestra in an effort to help them return to live music-making in a COVID-secure way.
Researchers say their findings could provide “valuable insights into the risk assessment of airborne disease transmission and the corresponding mitigation strategies for different musical activities involving the usage of wind instruments”.
The concentration of aerosols – tiny air particles that can contain viruses and lead to the transmission of airborne diseases like COVID-19 – produced from instruments, was then compared with the amount produced by players when simply breathing or speaking.
The aerosols coming from instruments ranged from 20 to 2,400 particles per litre of air. When players were tested when breathing or speaking, they produced an average of just 90 and 230 particles per litre respectively.
Trumpet, oboe and bass trombone players, in particular, were likely to produce more aerosols when playing, than while speaking and breathing. The researches termed these instruments “high risk” for transmitting airborne diseases.
The bassoon, piccolo, flute, bass clarinet and French horn were considered an “intermediate risk”.
Perhaps due to the tube length of the instrument, the tuba was termed “low risk”.
Scientists said mouthpiece designs could also affect the level of aerosols produced.
“All of this information I think is very useful for planning,” said Department of Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Jiarong Hong, who led the team. “Once we understand the risk level of different instruments, we can actually target the higher risk instruments. You certainly don’t want to have a group of trumpet players playing in a confined room because that will be a very high-risk activity.”
Osmo Vanska rehearses with the Minnesota Orchestra, of whom 15 members participated in the coronavirus study.
Picture:
Getty
University of Hong Kong microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung said the study could influence orchestral seating arrangements going forward, as the arts world looks for ways to perform live safely in pandemic times.
“Those wearing masks could sit closer, while those who can’t wear masks should sit further apart,” Ho said, adding that a distance of 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) between unmasked players would be safer.
Ho said plastic screens between players could help block some big droplets, but attested that good ventilation is still crucial in reducing the risk of transmission through tiny particles.
Researchers also recommended social distancing, putting masks over instruments and using portable filters. They found that a single-layer mask blocks 60 percent of the particles without significantly reducing sound quality. Two layers block 75 percent with a slight drop in sound quality, while three layers block 92 percent but cause a substantial dip in sound quality.
Minnesota Orchestra is currently performing for online audiences only, in small groups of no more than 25 musicians. The full orchestra consists of around 90 musicians.
President and CEO Michelle Miller Burns said the orchestra is now planning “a multi-layered approach to safety onstage and backstage that involves COVID testing, light quarantining, wearing masks, maintaining distance between musicians, and investigating bell barriers and air purifiers – all in the interest of mitigating as many risks as possible”.
She added: “This important research will benefit organisations beyond ours, and we are pleased that the University’s findings can now be shared with school groups and other ensembles to help inform and guide their decisions and safety strategies.” | |
?
Prestimulus alpha oscillations as an index of increased cognitive control under the auditory condensation task
PSYCHOLOGY. WP BRP. Издательский дом НИУ ВШЭ , 2014. No. WP BRP 28/PSY/2014.
Lazarev I. E., Molchanova D., Novikov N., Antonenko A., Arkhipova E. A., Husainova G., Chernyshev B. V.
Attentional lapses are usually viewed as a result of deterioration in cognitive control. Current theories suggest that deterioration in the cognitive control may be related to an increase in alpha rhythm power, although it is not clear whether this notion can be generalized outside of the visual task modality. In the current study power of prestimulus alpha-band oscillations was analyzed during performance of the modified auditory condensation task, which creates high attentional load. Prestimulus lower alpha-band power was found to decrease before erroneous responses, which can be viewed as attentional lapses related to decreased cognitive control, compared with correct responses. Prestimulus lower alpha-band power also gradually increased within continuous sequences of distractor stimuli separating adjacent target stimuli, thus reflecting gradual increase in the level of cognitive control mirroring increasing expectancy of the target stimuli. These findings demonstrate that the relation of alpha power to cognitive control level critically depends on the experimental task modality, and under conditions of the auditory attentional task higher alpha power may be an index of increased rather than decreased level of cognitive control.
Research target: Psychology
Priority areas: IT and mathematics
Language: English
, , et al., Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2017 Vol. 11 No. 218 P. 218-1-218-16
Cognitive control includes maintenance of task-specific processes related to attention, and non-specific regulation of motor threshold. Depending upon the nature of the behavioral tasks, these mechanisms may predispose to different kinds of errors, with either increased or decreased response time of erroneous responses relative to correct responses. Specifically, slow responses are related to attentional lapses ...
Added: December 25, 2016
, , et al., Theta, alpha and beta band modulations during auditory condensation task performance / Высшая школа экономики. Series PSY "Psychology". 2017. No. WP BRP 81/PSY/2017.
Outcome of a behavioral response can be detected either internally at the time of the response commission, or externally through a feedback signal. In both cases, a number of brain networks that subserve cognitive control are recruited, all networks having certain distinctive signatures in electroencephalographic oscillations. Yet most studies in the field have several limitations. ...
Added: October 19, 2017
, , et al., Cognitive Computation 2018 Vol. 10 No. 5 P. 703-717
Background Used / introduction of The early eye tracking studies of descriptive Yarbus Provided Evidence That an observer's task Influences patterns of eye Movements, a leading to the a tantalizing prospect That an observer's Intentions Could the BE inferred from Their saccade behavior. This is a dynamic and dynamic cognitive companion using a Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN). Understanding how it comes ...
Added: May 8, 2018
Применение частотно-временного анализа электроэнцефалограммы к исследованию внутренних механизмов когнитивного контроля
, , et al., В кн.: Процедуры и методы экспериментально-психологических исследований. .: Институт психологии РАН, 2016.. С. 86-92.
В настоящее время, с развитием математических методов и компьютерной техники, частотно-временной анализ электроэнцефалограммы (ЭЭГ) часто применяется для психофизиологического анализа механизмов психических процессов, т.к. он позволяет судить о внутренней организации психических процессов, о составляющих их компонентах и о временной организации событий. Настоящая работа посвящена применению частотно-временного анализа ЭЭГ к исследованию процессов когнитивного контроля. Успешное выполнение когнитивных ...
Added: December 7, 2016
Когнитивный контроль: новые мозговые механизмы, выявленные с помощью частотно-временного анализа электроэнцефалограммы при выполнении экспериментальной задачи с высокой нагрузкой на внимание
, , et al., В кн.: Когнитивная наука в Москве: новые исследования. Материалы конференции 15 июня 2017 г.. .: Буки Веди, 2017.. С. 393-397.
Cognitive control includes specific maintenance of sustained attention to a stimulus and non-specific regulation of a motor threshold. Failures in each system lead to different types of errors, associated with attentional lapses and uncertainty or dysfunction of the motor threshold. Subsequent adaptive adjustments can be implemented through two different mechanisms, depending on the type of error. Two experiments were ...
Added: June 30, 2017
Event-related potential study of P2 and N2 components on fast and slow responses in the auditory condensation task
, , Event-related potential study of P2 and N2 components on fast and slow responses in the auditory condensation task / Издательский дом НИУ ВШЭ. Series WP BRP "PSYCHOLOGY". 2016. No. WP BRP 70/PSY/2016.
In tasks involving response choice based on certain stimulus-to-response mappings, at least two stages of information processing may be involved: (1) formation of sensory stimulus object representations leading to stimulus identification, and (2) application of stimulus-to-response mappings (i.e. “task rules”) to these representations leading to response selection. Most of the research done in this area ...
Added: December 25, 2016
, , et al., Plos One 2018 Vol. 10 No. 13 P. 1-18
We utilized the event-related potential (ERP) technique to study neural activity associated with different levels of working memory (WM) load during simultaneous interpretation (SI) of continuous prose. The amplitude of N1 and P1 components elicited by task-irrelevant tone probes was significantly modulated as a function of WM load but not the direction of interpretation. Furthermore, ...
Added: November 1, 2018
, , , Psychology & Neuroscience 2013 Vol. 6 No. 3 P. 235-245
The research examines the structure of interrelations of brain event-related potentials to behavioral measures and temperament dimensions during an attentional task. Three temperament questionnaires were used: Eysenck Personality Inventory, Strelau Temperament Inventory and Rusalov Structure of Temperament Questionnaire. Event-related potentials were recorded under the active auditory oddball paradigm. The stimuli (85 dB, 1050 and 1000 ...
Added: June 30, 2013
, , , Consciousness and Cognition 2017 Vol. 55 P. 11-25
Cognitive control processes influence how motor sequence information is utilised and represented. Since cognitive control processes are shared amongst goal-oriented tasks, motor sequence learning and performance might be influenced by preceding cognitive tasks such as focusedattention meditation (FAM). Prior to a serial reaction time task (SRTT), participants completed either a single-session of FAM, a single-session of FAM followed ...
Added: November 1, 2018
Background Gamma Activity in the Electroencephalogram as a Measure of the Level of Sustained (tonic) Attention during Execution of the “Active Oddball” Paradigm in rabbits
, , et al., Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology 2012 Vol. 42 No. 6 P. 567-574
Tonic brain activity has significant influences on the nature of a subject’s responses to target sensory stimuli. We report here studies of the dynamics of the background activity in the gamma-rhythm range of the EEG in rabbits during execution of an “active oddball” paradigm modified for animals – a task widely used for studies of ...
Added: December 6, 2012
States of focused attention and sequential action: A comparison of single session meditation and computerised attention task influences on top-down control during sequence learning
, , , Acta Psychologica 2018 Vol. 191 P. 87-100
Motor sequence learning is considered the result of the outflow of information following cognitive control processes that are shared by other goal-directed behaviours. Emerging evidence suggests that focused-attention meditation (FAM) establishes states of enhanced cognitive control, that then exert top-down control biases in subsequent unrelated tasks. With respect to sequence learning, a single-session of FAM ...
Added: October 29, 2018
Theta and alpha band modulations reflect error-related adjustments in the auditory condensation task
, , , Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2015 Vol. 9 No. 673 P. 1-13
Error commission leads to adaptive adjustments in a number of brain networks that subserve goal-directed behavior, resulting in either enhanced stimulus processing or increased motor threshold depending on the nature of errors committed. Here, we studied these adjustments by analyzing post-error modulations of alpha and theta band activity in the auditory version of the two-choice ...
Added: October 16, 2015
Cognitive control: novel brain mechanisms revealed by time-frequence analysis of the electroencephalogram under experimental tasks involving high attentional load
, , et al., , in: International Congress "Neuroscience for Medicine and Psychology", Sudak, Crimea, Russia, May 30-June 10, 2017. .: [б.и.], 2017.. P. 445-446.
Cognitive control includes maintenance of task-specific processes related to attention, and non-specific regulation of motor threshold. Generally, two different kinds of errors may occur, with some errors related to attentional lapses and decision uncertainty, and some errors – to failures of sustaining motor threshold. Error commission leads to adaptive adjustments in brain networks that subserve ...
Added: June 11, 2017
, , , Journal of Computer and Systems Sciences International 2014 Vol. 53 No. 4 P. 517-529
Functions that are referred in psychology as functions of consciousness are considered. These functions include reflection, consciousness of activity motivation, goal setting, synthesis of goal oriented behavior, and some others. The description is based on the concept of sign, which is widely used in psychology and, in particular, in the cultural–historical theory by Vygotsky, in ...
Added: November 20, 2015
, , , М.: Издательский дом НИУ ВШЭ, 2014
Данный отчет представляет собой подробный анализ результатов первого в Российской Федера ции международного исследования компетенций взрослого населения — PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies). Представленное исследование направлено на оцен ку грамотности чтения, математической грамотности и навыков решения задач в техноло гически насыщенной среде. Эти компетенции выделяются в качестве ключевых для взрослого на селения в привязке к социально-экономическим ...
Added: October 3, 2016
, , et al., NY: Oxford University Press, 2014
Added: September 23, 2014
ACC Sulcal Patterns and Their Modulation on Cognitive Control Efficiency Across Lifespan: A Neuroanatomical Study on Bilinguals and Monolinguals
, , et al., Cerebral Cortex 2019 Vol. 29 No. 7 P. 3091-3101
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a key structure implicated in the regulation of cognitive control (CC). Previous studies suggest that variability in the ACC sulcal pattern—a neurodevelopmental marker unaffected by maturation or plasticity after birth—is associated with intersubject differences in CC performance. Here, we investigated whether bilingual experience modulates the effects of ACC sulcal ...
Added: October 23, 2019
Влияние эмоциональной устойчивости на успешность обучения управлению системой "интерфейс мозг-компьютер"
, , et al., Журнал высшей нервной деятельности им. И.П. Павлова 2017 Т. 67 № 4 С. 485-492
Исследовали обучение управлению системой “Интерфейс мозг-компьютер” (ИМК) с помощью специально разработанного тренинга. Тренинг включал осуществление медленных циклических движений правой и левой рукой (длительность каждого движения соответствовала длительности представлений движений руки при работе с ИМК), представление этих движений, а также спокойное сидение до начала движений. До проведения тренинга и после него осуществлялось управление ИМК. По тесту ...
Added: October 20, 2017
, , et al., Neuroimage 2021 Vol. 224 Article 117445
Using movies and narratives as naturalistic stimuli in human neuroimaging studies has yielded significant ad- vances in understanding of cognitive and emotional functions. The relevant literature was reviewed, with em- phasis on how the use of naturalistic stimuli has helped advance scientific understanding of human memory, attention, language, emotions, and social cognition in ways that ...
Added: March 10, 2021
, , et al., Физиология человека (перевод) 2015 Т. 41 № 4 С. 37-43
We studied the features of cognitive functions of attention and decision making in 18 healthy subjects and 15 patients with schizophrenia with the use of pairs of two short visual stimuli (double step). In the group of patients with schizophrenia, we observed a higher number of errors and higher frequency of modified saccad ic pattern ...
Added: July 17, 2015
, , et al., eLife 2019 No. 8 P. 1-34
Spontaneous fluctuations of neural activity may explain why sensory responses vary across repeated presentations of the same physical stimulus. To test this hypothesis, we recorded electroencephalography in humans during stimulation with identical visual stimuli and analyzed how prestimulus neural oscillations modulate different stages of sensory processing reflected by distinct components of the event-related potential (ERP). ...
Added: October 25, 2019
Мозговые механизмы когнитивного контроля: электроэнцефалографическое исследование с применением частотно-временного анализа.
, , et al., В кн.: Материалы XXIII съезда Физиологического общества им. И. П. Павлова (18-22 сентября 2017 г., г. Воронеж). .: Воронеж: Истоки, 2017.. С. 980-982.
Cognitive control is a set of processes that are responsible for flexible goal-directed behaviour. We did a series of electroencephalographic experiments during the auditory condensation task. The findings obtained allow distinguishing three brain networks that carry out adaptive processes after error commission. We also show that increased response time is associated with lower level of ...
Added: October 27, 2017
Towards an algebra of existence and development of unique subjects with unique minds: A commentary to Jens Mammen’s book
, Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science 2019 Vol. 53 No. 2 P. 199-206
In the commentary to Jens Mammen’s book A New Logical Foundation for Psychology (2017), three issues are discussed. The first one concerns possible interrelations of: (a) others’ irreplaceability and existential irretrievability rigorously proved by Mammen; and (b) morality and attitudes to the others. Lem’s criticism of Heidegger’s existential philosophy, which paradoxically ignores mass homicide, is ...
Added: November 27, 2018
, The Russian Journal of Cognitive Science 2016 Vol. 3 No. 1-2 P. 4-20
Observers are able to extract summary statistical properties, such as numerosity or the average, from spatially overlapping subsets of visuals objects. However, this ability is limited to about two subsets at a time, which may be primarily caused by the limited capacity of parallel representation of those subsets. In our study, we addressed several issues regarding subset representation. In four experiments, we presented observers with arrays of dots of one to six ... | https://publications.hse.ru/en/preprints/139654501 |
Hiring for a team of consultants specializing in the domain of Information Security, Digital Forensics and Digital Fraud Investigations.
Expertise in organizational development, payroll and leave management.
Able to do job analysis, making job descriptions etc
Develop and implement HR strategies and initiatives aligned with the overall business strategies.
Bridge management and employee relations by addressing demands, grievances or other issues.
Support current and future business needs through the development, engagement, motivation and preservation of human capital.
Develop and monitor overall HR strategies, systems, tactics and procedures across the organization.
Assess training needs to apply and monitor training programs.
Report to management and provide decision support through HR metrics.
Manage the recruitment and selection process for local and international offices.
Oversee and manage a performance appraisal system that drives high performance. | http://logix.rozee.pk/job-detail.php?id=1194335 |
According to one study conducted by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Brazil occupies the 50ª position in a ranking that measures the productivity in the work of 68 countries. This scenario is even more serious if we look at the last years: data released by the Uol Economia portal at 2017 reveal that the Brazil's productivity index is stagnant almost four decades ago.
Is this scenario true for your team as well? So it's certainly time to bring about change in your work environment. To help you with this, we've put together a list of the top tips to leverage your team's work productivity.
10 Tips for Increasing Productivity at Work
1) Define priorities
A prioritization of tasks is a key technique for delivering jobs that really will add value to the business, and not spend a lot of time on small tasks, the results of which will not impact anyone. Your team may not yet be mature enough to know which tasks to perform first, so it's up to you, as the area manager, to delegate priorities and sort a queue of tasks that need to be performed.
2) Motivate your team
The relationship between productivity and motivation is the subject of many studies among specialists in the field and the conclusion is always the same: lack of motivation is one of the main responsible for low productivity at work. Not for less. Imagine having to perform tasks that you are not at all motivated to do. Complicated, is not it?
In order for this scenario not to be the case for your company, you must adopt some practices to motivate your team, As:
- Establish achievable goals.
- Stipulate clear and concise objectives.
- Be accessible.
- Provide individual feedbacks with a certain frequency.
- Offer rewards.
3) Adopt the kanban
O kanban is a visual system for task management. It is structured in cards, which are the tasks that need to be delivered, and in columns that represent the status of tasks (such as "doing" or "in approval").
This system is a great tool for productivity management, since it is possible to:
- Delegate task managers, giving more clarity to team members when it comes to knowing what to do.
- List the tasks in order of priority.
- Track the quantity of deliveries per person.
If you want to know more about it, check out the webinar Further increase your team's productivity with Kanban.
4) Invest in training
Investing in training and capacity buildingIn addition to bringing greater engagement and motivation to staff members, it can also facilitate the execution of the day to day.
Imagine a collaborator who has been trained in the wrong way to do his or her job and therefore has to redo his or her tasks. Or a collaborator who does not know how to perform his tasks because he did not receive any type of training.
All of these factors can cause poor productivity at work and can be avoided through proper team training.
5) Optimize processes
A process optimization is to revisit the company's processes to adopt measures that increase the performance of these processes, that is, to improve day-to-day activities, making them faster, less risky and more efficient.
All this can help boost productivity at work, as time is optimized and the chances of rework are lower.
6) Improve the working environment
Problems like conflict and stress in the workplace can be disruptive and too much productivity, after all, it is very difficult to focus on a task when your emotions are altered.
Improvement in the work environment can help avoid situations like this, in addition to providing greater team unity.
7) Provide adequate infrastructure
Another factor that can directly impact the productivity of your team is the lack of an adequate infrastructure. Slow computers or lack of a good connection to the Internet, for example, can delay and much the execution of a task that seems simple at first glance.
It is therefore essential to ensure that all team members have the resources needed to carry out their work.
8) Control Distractions
Nowadays, with so many technological resources available, it is difficult to focus on work and only on work. It is very common to take that spy on social networks or even send personal messages during work hours, but believe me, even looking like a "spy", at the end of the day this can represent a significant part of the work hours.
To avoid this situation within your team, encourage adoption of some habits to help control time and other distractions, such as: stipulating a frequency to check personal messages (once every two hours is a good measure).
In addition, it is also very important to align the organizational culture with employees in order to pass the policies on the use of mobile devices.
9) Avoid procrastination
Procrastinating is the act of postponing tasks to be performed later. When there is a long delivery time or when the outcome of a task does not seem to affect many people, it is common to just leave it for later and find that this can be resolved later. However, in one form or another, these deadlines arrive.
To avoid procrastination in your work team, you can opt for some alternatives, such as: to assemble, together with your team, the following the tasks to be performed, starting at least pleasurable to be eliminated as soon as possible.
10) Adopt the Pomodoro Technique
Productivity problems can often be linked to focus on one task at a time, disconnecting from the external environment and other distractions. If this is the case for your team, you need to apply some time management technique, such as pomodoro.
The pomodoro technique is a method for time management which consists in dividing the time of a task into four blocks of twenty-five minutes, with intervals of five minutes each. The idea is that during this time the focus is only one task, and that the distractions are only accessed in the intervals.
To start using this technique you can count the time of the clock itself or use some online tool that has pomodoro technique.
I hope these tips are valuable to you and your team! Enjoy and watch the webinar too How to increase your company's productivity with 5w2h?, where we explain how to use the tool 5W2H to leverage the productivity of your team. | https://blog.luz.vc/en/how-to/10-Tips-for-Increasing-Productivity-at-Work/ |
Twelve Snippets from Prague
As real travel would neither be safe nor legal, I’m indulging in photo-travel by using Becky’s Squares Challenge (Up) as an excuse to revisit our brief trip to Prague in January two years ago.
1. (Layered up) Locals and visitors have been adding slogans, quotes, I-was-heres and drawings to The Lennon Wall since the singer’s death. The wall has always been controversial, so authorities and activists have often covered up the colours with fresh layers of paint, to find it quickly filled with artwork and slogans again. It is now protected by new rules (no spraying) while cameras help enforce the theme of peace and love. Continue reading “Twelve Snippets from Prague”
Bye Bye 2020 Photo Challenge
HeyJude has been running a photo challenge throughout 2020. Her last suggestion is that we think back over the year and choose our favourite picture from those submitted. Continue reading “Bye Bye 2020 Photo Challenge”
Photo Challenge: Focus on Shapes
HeyJude’s challenge this week is to ‘approach your photograph with an eye for shape rather than form… Shapes are squares, rectangles, circles, and triangles… two-dimensional and “flat” in nature.’
Some challenges are easier than others. I did manage to find one picture I thought might qualify. The building interests me because of its stark rectangles. The flower beds in the middle ground are geometrical. The circle in the foreground is fairly flat. Continue reading “Photo Challenge: Focus on Shapes”
Footprints in the Snow
We had a scattering of snow on Friday, so around lunchtime I wrapped up and went out to see if there was any fun to be had. | https://susanrushton.net/tag/challenges/ |
Desk checking is an informal manual test that programmers can use to verify coding and algorithm logic before a program launch. This enables them to spot errors that might prevent a program from working as it should. Modern debugging tools make desk checking less essential than it was in the past, but it can still be a useful way of spotting logic errors.
Desk Checking Overview
Desk checking is a similar process to proofreading; in this exercise, the programmer runs through lines of code to identify errors and to check logic. Typically, the programmer will print out the code and go through it in a pencil and paper exercise. He may run a manual test on algorithms, checking that they work correctly and contain no coding errors. This usually involves creating a table with columns containing line numbers, variables, conditions, and inputs and outputs, depending on the checks he is making.
Advantages of Desk Checking
Even experienced programmers make mistakes -- a desk check may help catch and fix them before a program goes through a formal run. Running a desk check is quick and inexpensive. The programmer who wrote the code typically checks it herself; if she identifies issues, she can fix them on the spot before the project moves onto the next stage. If she doesn't desk check and an error causes problems later down the line, it might delay a project. Errors may also be harder to identify at a later stage.
Video of the Day
Disadvantages of Desk Checking
A desk check does not guarantee that a programmer will find mistakes. It is also subject to human error. Programmers may miss things that need to be fixed, simply because they wrote the code themselves and are too close to it to be objective. Getting a different programmer to desk check may solve this issue. However, the person running the check also needs to understand the requirements behind the code before he can evaluate if it will work.
Desk Checking and the Structured Walkthrough
Desk checking is sometimes part of a broader testing process. In a structured walkthrough, for example, the programmer is part of a peer group that reviews and analyzes the work prior to launch. The programmer typically gives the materials for review to group members before the meeting. During the meeting itself, she walks the group through the code. Ideally, the group will spot errors if they exist or make viable suggestions for improvement. Projects may have one or more walkthrough stages, checking issues such as the understanding of requirements and coding accuracy. | https://www.techwalla.com/articles/what-is-desk-checking |
Technology is the process by which humans combine raw materials, skills, and techniques to create products and services. This process can affect everyone’s daily life and society as a whole. Some technologies can have positive effects and some can have negative effects. It is important to understand technology’s impact on society, and to recognize its limitations. Understanding how and why technology works is critical to understanding global change.
Technology is changing rapidly, and the relationships between technologies are becoming more complex. Most technological innovations spread on free-market forces, but social forces are also strongly influencing the process of technological innovation. Many countries are rethinking their rules concerning how to share and exchange technologies across borders.
Technological waves are often indelible, and they have a strong impact on the culture and industry of a country. Examples include digital video, energy technology, and public safety. While these technological waves can have a profound effect on the world, it is difficult to predict how they will affect each country.
Technology is a tool that improves people’s lives. It is used to make communication more efficient, create new products, and deliver services on time. People use technology to stay in touch and express themselves. In addition, it can be a way to gain competitive advantages. For example, a mobile phone company can use high-end technologies to compete with well-established firms.
Technology is also a major force in urbanization. Many businesses, such as transportation companies, rely on technology to keep their operations running smoothly. The Internet is an example of a global network. Because of this, global cooperation is essential to maintain the network.
Technology can be a powerful motivator for scientific research. It can give scientists a tool to monitor, gather data, and analyze results. These tools can also be used to promote new products and services. However, many technologies have unintended consequences.
For example, some business technologies can make small companies appear to be big ones. Even a simple word processing program can make document creation easier and faster. Other technological innovations can provide small companies with a competitive edge in the market.
Technology’s relationship to social and political issues is a topic that has been debated for several decades. One of the more prominent debates is whether technology is appropriate for society. Several authors have written books, articles, and news stories that critique technology. Often, such literature takes place in dystopian societies where technology is considered bad. Despite these criticisms, the social dimensions of technology remain a pressing part of the puzzle.
Technology’s relationship to society is also affected by laws, tax incentives, and risk capital. Regulations can take years to catch up with technological innovations. But social, political, and legal tools can help shape the development of technology in beneficial directions.
There are several organizations that work to promote the development of standards for new technologies. These organizations vary in their approach. Some focus on individual control, while others prioritize rapid technology industry development and safety. Depending on the particular context, these approaches may reflect different philosophical perspectives and legal systems. | https://courjalnicolas.com/how-technology-affects-society/ |
The binding energy is basically the energy which one requires to disassemble or separate a nucleus into its nucleons. When we talk about nucleons, we see that they are protons and neutrons plus other nuclear particles which make up the nucleus of an atom. The nucleons are held together through forces which we refer to as the strong nuclear force. Similarly, the higher the nucleus components are bound, the greater will be the binding energy which it requires in order to separate them. Binding Energy Formula given below will help you understand this better.
Usually, the binding energy is always in a positive number. It is so because one needs to spend energy in moving these nucleons which attract to each other by the strong nuclear force, away from each other. Always remember that the mass of an atomic nucleus will be lesser than the sum of the individual masses of the free constituent protons and neutrons, as per the equation by Einstein of E=mc2. We refer to this missing mass as Mass Defect, which signifies that was released when the nucleus was made.
Binding Energy Formula
One can also refer to Binding Energy as BE and is related to the equation by Einstein which is E = mc2:
BE = (m) c2 = [(Zmp + Nmn) – mtot] c2
Where is referred to as mass defect and it is the difference of the mass after the nucleus separates. As Z is said to be the number of protons and N is the number of neutrons, the nucleus mass must be the sum of both of these which is Zmp + Nmn then, this sum minus the total mass when the particles come together (mtot) is the resultant mass defect and c is referred to be the speed of light having the value c= 2.9979 x 108 m/s.
Use
We use binding energy in order to calculate in the field of nuclear physics. It is essentially useful in two fields we well, which are nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. Both of these areas study the light nuclei fuse or nuclei split. Moreover, it is used to produce electricity as well as a nuclear weapon.
Solved Example for You:
Question- Find out the binding energy of a beryllium-4 nucleus, the mass of the nucleus is 9.012182 u.
Answer- Your first step should be to calculate the mass defect of beryllium. This atom has 4 protons and 5 neutrons. Over here, the mass of 1 proton is 1.00728 amu and mass of each neutron is 1.00867 amu/ neutron:
[4 protons (1.00728 u) + 5 neutrons (1.00867 u)] – 9.012182 u = 0.060288 u × 1.6606 × 10-27 kg/amu = 1.00114 × 10-28 kg/nucleus
Thus, the binding energy is BE = (m) c2 = 0.060288 u (2.9979 × 108 m/s) 2 = 8.9976 × 10-12 J/nucleus.
Considerations
The units are said to be the units of energy which is Joules or eV per nucleus. It is important to notice that the total mass of a nucleus when the nucleons are together is smaller when we compare it to the total of the particles separated. It is invariable for all the atoms. | https://www.toppr.com/guides/chemistry-formulas/binding-energy-formula/ |
Kepler scientists have discovered the oldest known system of rocky, Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way. This suggests that terrestrial planets have appeared throughout most of the Universe's 13.8 billion year history — a potential indication of just how ancient some extraterrestrial civilizations could be.
Sadly, these five planets are not habitable; they're all parked in tight orbits that see them revolve around their host star in fewer than 10 days. The outermost planet orbits at 0.08 AU, which is about one-fifth the size of Mercury's orbit. That's quite far from the inner edge of the system's habitable zone, which is located ~0.47 AU from the host star.
At such a close distance, these planets are much hotter than Mercury. But the discovery shows that rocky planets have been forming for a very, very long time in our galaxy — a strong sign that other systems may have been producing terrestrial planets that reside within their respective habitable zones.
Life in the Universe, therefore, may have emerged far earlier than we ever imagined.
"The Era of Planet Formation"
The newly discovered planets are part of the Kepler-444 system. It formed some 11.2 billion years ago, a time when the Universe was less than 20% of its current age.
That's remarkably old, about 2.5 times older than our solar system. To put that into perspective, by the time Earth formed, these five planets were already older than our planet is today. As noted by the Kepler scientists in a release, "This discovery may now help to pinpoint the beginning of what we might call 'the era of planet formation.'"
An adaptive optics image of Kepler-444. Campante et al.
Kepler-444 is approximately 117 light-years from Earth and about 25% smaller than our Sun. The sizes of the five planets fall between Mercury and Venus (all of which are smaller than Earth). Interestingly, Kepler-444 is so bright that it can actually be seen with binoculars.
The discovery also expands the number of known planets found in low-metallicity environments.
"Although photometry alone does not yield the masses of the planets, planetary thermal evolution models predict that the composition of planets with radii less than 0.8 [the radius of Earth] are highly likely rocky." It's highly improbable, therefore, that these are gaseous planets of some sort, such as mini Neptunes.
"Kepler-444 is the oldest known system of terrestrial-size planets," write the authors in the study. "We thus show that Earth-size planets have formed throughout most of the Universe's 13.8-billion-year history, providing scope for the existence of ancient life in the Galaxy."
Good Vibrations
The Kepler astronomers used a detection method called asteroseismology. Stars produce resonances, or sound wave oscillations, that become trapped within it. These vibrations, which produce tiny pulses that alter a star's temperature, can be detected in the form of changing luminosities. This data is used to measure a star's diameter, mass, and age.
Wavelet analysis of the oscillation power spectrum. Campante et al.
The planets themselves were detected by using the transit method. In this case, five distinct planets were discovered as they swept across their host star as scientists on Earth scanned the resultant changes in the sun's brightness.
Transit light curves for the five planets. Campante et al.
"From the first rocky exoplanets to the discovery of an Earth-size planet orbiting another star in its habitable zone, we are now getting first glimpses of the variety of Galactic environments conducive to the formation of these small worlds," conclude the authors in the study. "As a result, the path toward a more complete understanding of early planet formation in the Galaxy starts unfolding before us."
It's important to note that the early universe may not have contained all the prerequisites for life, but as studies have shown, alien life has the potential to emerge in some of the most extreme environments — even those without water.
Of course, this finding also further problematizes the Fermi Paradox and the Great Silence. If life could have gotten started so long ago, then where the heck is everyone?
Read the entire study at the Astrophysical Journal : "An ancient extrasolar system with five sub-Earth-size planets". | https://io9.gizmodo.com/freakishly-old-system-of-planets-hint-at-ancient-alien-1682013427 |
Why be Spiritual?
The Vedic philosophy lays great emphasis on the state of our mind, as mind is the singular most important factor determining the quality of our life. “Unfortunately, in the commotion of life, we often put the management of our mind on a backseat while we passionately pursue external success, not realizing that inner victories are the basis for outer accomplishments.” [*] Whereas the wise utilize their time on the earth to elevate themselves by cultivating the mind.
There is a growing body of evidence indicating that spiritual practices are associated with better health and wellbeing. No wonder spirituality in the workplace has become the subject of numerous studies in recent years. The modern management theory for example emphasizes that an effective leader needs to be spiritually aware and evolved. Therefore, to nurture spirituality and realize God is essential for everyone to live healthily, harmoniously, and successfully.
There are only two realms in which our mind dwells — one is the realm of Maya (material energy) and the other is the realm of God. If our mind rises above the sensual perception of pleasures of this material world, it can easily get absorbed in God and be purified. To do so, grasping and practicing these five principles is sine qua non: śhradda (faith), satsaṅg (spiritual congregation), sādhana (spiritual practice), seva (service), and śharaṇāgati (surrender).
śhradda – Faith
A leap of faith is required to embark on the spiritual path. The Bhakti Rasāmṛit Sindhu states:
ādau śhraddhā tataḥ sādhusaṅgo ’tha bhajanakriyā
(1.4.15)
“The first step in the path to God-realization is to have faith. Then, one begins participating in satsaṅg (spiritual congregation). This leads to the personal practice of devotion.”
None of us are without faith, for it is an inseparable aspect of the human personality. we all repose our faith somewhere or the other. Where we decide to place our faith and what we choose to believe in is based on the knowledge we acquire.
There is a direct relationship between knowledge and faith, which results in love. “For example, if your friend shows you a black pebble-like stone. You have no knowledge of its importance, and thus, you have no love for it either. Your friend says, “This is a śhāligrām, and a saintly personality has gifted it to me.” A śhāligrām is a special kind of fossil stone worshipped as a representation of Lord Vishnu. If you are aware of the significance of śhāligrāms, when you receive this knowledge that the stone is a śhāligrām, your appreciation for it will increase. Let us say your friend further adds, “Do you know it used to be worshipped five hundred years ago by the great saint, Swami Ramananda?” The moment you hear this piece of knowledge, your respect for the stone will increase further. Each time, it is the knowledge that increased and strengthened your reverence for the stone.” [†] Similarly, proper knowledge of God instils faith in us and enhances devotion toward him.
Satsaṅg (Spiritual Congregation)
The word sat means eternal truth; the word saṅg means in association. So, satsaṅg means to be in the association of truth. In other words, satsaṅg slowly leads us to the Absolute Truth – our Supreme Lord.
Associating with the righteous and God-loving souls, makes a monumental impact on our mind and eventually sculpts this life and beyond. When we engage in satsaṅg, we are blessed with the invaluable guidance of Hari-Guru. First, we begin receiving higher knowledge that descends from a perfect authority. The divine nectar of knowledge that Shree Krishan imparted to Brahma, the creator, flows down to us through Guru-parampara. When we accept this knowledge, it unlocks the door to our eternal welfare.
Secondly, when we partake in satsaṅg activities – chanting His glorious names, listening to the enlightening discourses, discussing with fellow satsaṅgees, singing melodious kirtans, relishing His delightful pastimes, and several other ways to practice devotion – our mind is firmly fixed in God. That is why, while extoling the greatness of satsaṅg, Saint Tulsiday states:
भक्ति स्वतन्त्र सकल सुख खानी | बिनु सतसंग न पावे प्रानी |
bhakti swatantra sakal sukh khāni | binu satsaṅg na pāwe prāni |
“Devotion, a mine of bliss, is independent of everything, but is not viable without satsaṅg.” Further, when we are part of a satsaṅg, we are amidst the satsaṅgees, who are traversing the same path. Such a spiritual companionship nourishes and inspires us, to progress on the inward journey.
See JKYog Satsaṅg Centers, to find out whether there is a satsaṅg near you or to contact one.
Sādhana (Spiritual Practice)
Any expertise in any field – science, literature, music, dance, athletics, oratory, business, etc. - is accomplished through practice. Similarly, to progress on the spiritual path, we need to do sādhana (spiritual practice) daily. This is the only sure way we can purify our heart and attain peace of mind. When Arjun says that the mind is more obstinate and turbulent than the wind, Shree Krishna assures:
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् |
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ||
asanśhayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate (Bhagavad Gita 6-35)
“O mighty-armed one, what you say is correct; the mind is indeed very difficult to restrain. But by practice and detachment, it can be controlled.”
Hence, we need to take out time to do daily sadhana. “Shutting ourselves out from the world, we should do meditation, contemplation, and devotion. This will help purify the mind and fill it with noble thoughts and aspirations. Then, while doing our worldly duties, we should practice working in divine consciousness, through the technique of karm Yog. In this manner, we will be able to sustain the elevated state of consciousness gathered during the daily sādhana throughout the day.” [**]
If you wish to make spiritual progress a part of your daily life, and take a step towards inner peace and joy, you are only a click away. Join the Daily Sadhana online courses, where H. H. Swami Mukundananda, with his teachings of Vedas, Upanishads, Shreemad Bhagavatam, Purānas, Bhagavad Gita, along with other Eastern and Western philosophies, gently guides you through, revealing the simple and straightforward path to God-realization that you can practice.
Seva (Service)
We - the souls - are on this earth to serve Him. Our scriptures repeatedly proclaim that we are the servants of the Supreme Lord. The Padma Purān states:
दास भूतमिदम् तस्य जगत् स्थावर जन्गमम् |
श्रीमन्नारायन स्वामी जगतान् प्रभुरीश्वरः ||
dāsa bhūtamidaṁ tasya jagatsthāvara jangamam |
śhrīmannārāyaṇa swāmī jagatānprabhurīśhwaraḥ ||
“The Supreme Lord is the controller and the Lord of the world. All moving, and nonmoving entities in this creation are his servants.”
Therefore, our real constitutional position is of an eternal servant of God. That is why, upon his arrival in Lanka, Hanuman announces, “Dasoham Kosalendraya (I am the servant of Lord Ram.)” Śhree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed, “jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya dāsa (every living being is an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord, Shree Krishna.)”
It is not as though we have to become His servants; we are His servants and have to remain so.
Now, the question of paramount importance is, “What is seva?” Seva means to endeavor for the happiness of the Lord, and to desire only that which will please Him. When we realize that we, the souls, are tiny fragments of God’s energy, we naturally give up our desire to enjoy; instead, we aim to serve Him for His happiness. That is the true nature of devotion. As H. H. Swami Mukundananda repeatedly elucidates, “Devotion destroys the subtle envy of the soul towards God and enables us to accept the humble position as His tiny parts and servitors.” Hence, we should desire only to serve the Lord.
We can serve Him in three ways - with tan, man, and dhan (body, mind, and wealth.) As we know, the Supreme Lord does not need any of these three, as He is the one who has bestowed these upon us, for our welfare. We can use these to either serve God and elevate ourselves or serve Maya and sink deeper into the mire of this material world. However, nishkam seva (selfless service) is possible only when He grants it. That, we can attract only when we yearn deeply to serve Hari-Guru for their happiness.
Of the three modes of service – body, mind, and wealth – mind is the prime requisite. Whether we are serving with the body or wealth, where we attach our mind is of utmost importance. It is only when we tether our mind to His feet and serve Him under the guidance of the Guru, we start inching closer to Him. Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj emphasizes this above everything else, as the most powerful means for purifying the mind:
सौ बातन की बात इक, धरु मुरलीधर ध्यान |
बढवह सेवा-वासना, यह ज्ञानन ज्ञान ||
sau bātana kī bāta ika, dharu muralīdhara dhyāna,
baṛhavahu sevā-vāsanā, yaha sau jñānana jñāna. (Bhakti Śhatak, 74)
“Out of a hundred advices for purification, the most important is this. Let your mind be absorbed in the divine flute-player, Shree Krishna, and keep increasing your desire to serve him. This counsel is more important than a hundred such gems of knowledge.”
Visit JKYog Charity, if you wish to serve and be an integral part of the social and spiritual charitable activities of JKYog across the globe.
śharaṇāgati (Surrender)
Although the soul is a fragmental part of God, the soul is tiny while God is infinite. God and the soul are both spiritual in quality, but different in quantity. God is infinite while the individual soul is finite. Hence, the effort of the soul is also limited. To succeed in controlling the obdurate mind, God’s grace is essential. The Vedas state: tapaḥ prabhāvād devaprasādācha (Śhvetāśhvatar Upaniṣhad, 6.21) “Your efforts and the grace of God, both are essential for success.” However, how do we attract His grace?
“The Supreme Lord has an eternal condition for bestowing His grace. He says, ‘O soul, I am ever-eager to fill you with infinite bounties of My divine grace, but before that, you must surrender yourself to Me.’ Even a worldly father will not hand over all his precious possessions to his child, the same way, the grace of God is not a whimsical act. He has perfectly rational rules based upon which He bestows it. If God did not follow rules while bestowing grace, people’s faith in Him would break.” [***] He has repeatedly proclaimed this rule in all the scriptures. For example, Shree Krishna advises Uddhav:
माम् एकम् एव शरणम् आत्मानं सर्व-देहिनाम् |
याहि सर्वात्म-भावेन मया स्या ह्य् अकुतो-भयः ||
mām ekam eva śharaṇam ātmānaṁ sarva-dehinām |
yāhi sarvātma-bhāvena mayā syā hy akuto-bhayaḥ ||
(Shreemad Bhagavatham 11.12.15)
“O Uddhav! Giving up all forms of mundane social and religious conventions, simply surrender unto me, the Supreme Soul of all souls. Only then can you cross over this material ocean and become fearless.” This is His eternal law, which He has stated in all the religious traditions of the world.
“śharaṇāgati (surrender) to God is not an external act. śharaṇāgati is a state of the consciousness; it is an internal condition of the mind, intellect, and ego. Surrender requires the fulfillment of six aspects, explains Swamiji in his Bhagavad Gita commentary and how it helps to cross over Maya.
* H. H. Swami Mukundananda. “The Need for Mind Management.” Art of Mind Management, Plano: JKYog, 2017, p. 10. Print.
** H. H. Swami Mukundananda. “Setting Up Your Daily Sadhana.” Art of Mind Management, Plano: JKYog, 2017, pp. 166 - 167. Print
*** H. H. Swami Mukundananda. “Getting the Support of God’s Grace.” Art of Mind Management, Plano: JKYog, 2017, p. 98. Print.
† H. H. Swami Mukundananda. “Chapter 17: Śhraddhā Traya Vibhāg Yog.” Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God, Plano: JKYog, 2013, pp. 333-334. Print. | https://www.jkyog.org/philosophy-divine-love |
A novel test, MDR in structured populations (MDR‐SP), to detect the interactions and control for population stratification and is applicable to both quantitative and qualitative traits and can incorporate covariates.
A unified GMDR method for detecting gene–gene interactions in family and unrelated samples with application to nicotine dependence
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One significant tetragenic interaction among CHRNA4, CHRNB2, BDNF, and NTRK2 associated with nicotine dependence is detected in the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment sample, suggesting the biological role of these genes in nicotine dependence development.
Multifactor dimensionality reduction-phenomics: a novel method to capture genetic heterogeneity with use of phenotypic variables.
- BiologyAmerican journal of human genetics
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MDR-Phenomics, a novel approach based on the multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) method, to detect genetic effects in pedigree data by integration of phenotypic covariates (PCs) that may reflect genetic heterogeneity, is presented.
Multifactor dimensionality reduction for detecting gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in pharmacogenomics studies.
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MDR is a nonparametric and model-free approach that has been shown to have reasonable power to detect epistasis in both theoretical and empirical studies and its application in pharmacogenomic studies is demonstrated.
A combinatorial approach to detecting gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in family studies.
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SVM‐Based Generalized Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction Approaches for Detecting Gene‐Gene Interactions in Family Studies
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Both the simulation and real data studies show that the proposed SVM and SVM‐based PGMDR methods have great prediction accuracies, consistencies, and power in detecting gene‐gene interactions.
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- MedicineBMC Systems Biology
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The test balanced accuracy of multivariate analysis was not always greater than that of univariate analysis, the multivariate BAs were more stable with smaller standard deviations, and it is useful to use multivariate GMDR with correlated multiple phenotypes of interests.
A generalized combinatorial approach for detecting gene-by-gene and gene-by-environment interactions with application to nicotine dependence.
- BiologyAmerican journal of human genetics
- 2007
A generalized MDR (GMDR) method is reported that permits adjustment for discrete and quantitative covariates and is applicable to both dichotomous and continuous phenotypes in various population-based study designs and serves the purpose of identifying contributors to population variation better than do the other existing methods.
Multifactor dimensionality reduction: An analysis strategy for modelling and detecting gene - gene interactions in human genetics and pharmacogenomics studies
- BiologyHuman Genomics
- 2005
Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) is a novel and powerful statistical tool for detecting and modelling epistasis and has detected interactions in diseases such as sporadic breast cancer, multiple sclerosis and essential hypertension.
Identification of multiple gene-gene interactions for ordinal phenotypes
- MedicineBMC Medical Genomics
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The proposed ordinal MDR (OMDR) and generalized cross-validation consistency (GCVC) to identify multiple best interactions can be practically useful for analyzing complex traits, especially in large-scale genetic studies.
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Most prior research on culture and the dynamics of social support has focused on the emotional outcomes for social support recipients. Though an existing body of research has identified cross-cultural differences in the emotional correlates of receiving different types of social support, researchers have seldom examined possible cultural differences in the experience of social support providers. This study used the Day Reconstruction Method to examine cultural differences in the emotional correlates of the provision of solicited and unsolicited and emotional and informational social support in the daily lives of Singaporean (n = 79) and American (n = 88) participants. Singaporean participants reported providing more social support overall. Regardless of culture, participants reported more positive emotion (affection, happiness) and less negative emotion (anger, anxiety) when they provided emotional social support. Also, multilevel modeling analyses revealed a 3-way interaction between culture, social support provision, and social support solicitation, indicating cultural differences in negative emotional responses to providing solicited social support. Specifically, results suggest that attempts to provide more solicited social support were associated with more negative emotions in the U.S. In contrast, provider negative emotions were highest in Singapore when the provider did not meet the recipient’s request for support. Patterns of cultural differences in social support provision are dissimilar to—rather than simply mirroring—those found in published research on social support receipt, highlighting the importance of studying social support provision as a distinct phenomenon.
Citation: Lawley KA, Willett ZZ, Scollon CN, Lehman BJ (2019) Did you really need to ask? Cultural variation in emotional responses to providing solicited social support. PLoS ONE 14(7): e0219478. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219478
Editor: Stefano Federici, Università degli Studi di Perugia, ITALY
Received: January 19, 2019; Accepted: June 25, 2019; Published: July 12, 2019
Copyright: © 2019 Lawley et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability: Data is held in a public repository, at https://osf.io/6g4pz/.
Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this research.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Introduction
Cultural beliefs and practices can influence how provision of social support (SS), in its many forms, affects SS providers. While cultural differences in the effects of SS receipt have been studied in recent years [1–5], the interaction between the dynamics of SS provision and culture has been left largely unexamined. Notable exceptions include investigations into SS provision [1, 6]. In the present study, we investigated which, if any, of the recognized cross-cultural differences in SS receipt have parallels in SS provision, and how SS provision and culture interact. To accomplish this, it is necessary to first define SS, and to outline the ways in which SS receipt varies by culture.
Social support
Social support is critically important for health and well-being throughout the entire lifespan . SS can come in practical or problem-focused forms including material or informational aid, or through emotional means, which make the recipient feel understood, cared for, and part of a mutually beneficial social network . In addition to its emotional benefits, SS is also one of the most widely recognized buffers of physical illness and mortality . Previous research indicates that individuals who receive very little SS, or who are socially isolated suffer a 50% to 91% greater risk of mortality, a factor that predicts mortality about as well as alcohol consumption and smoking . For example, Yang and colleagues found that ratings of feelings of social connectedness predicted lower systolic blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, and C-reactive protein levels, all of which are well established biomarkers of physiological health . Although the need for SS appears to be universal, the nuances of SS exchange, such as the type, frequency, intention of the provider, and identity of the recipient can all be colored by cultural context .
Cultural differences in SS exchange
Culture is the system of meanings, folk beliefs, values, practices, and customs of a group of people. Living within a culture necessarily involves repeated engagement in culturally specific behaviors and cognitions, a pattern that affects psychology at every level, from social interaction to neuroanatomy . Culture has also been shown to influence both SS-seeking and SS-providing behavior [6,7]. In particular, prior research suggests that cultural values and SS norms can influence the perceived appropriateness and ratings of effectiveness of various forms of SS.
Perhaps the most commonly studied dimension on which cultures are compared along is the independence-interdependence continuum. This dimension captures the degree of importance that relationships and group membership play in one's self-construal, or view of one’s self. In more interdependent contexts, individuals are more likely to think of themselves in terms of their role in important relationships (“I am Michael’s sister”), or in terms of group identity (“I am an American.” ). In more independent cultures, the individual is seen as more autonomous and the self as less “embedded” within relationships and the larger society. Values such as individualism and autonomy are emphasized, and the needs of the individual may be prioritized over those of the group. In independent cultures, social schemas in which the self serves as the primary referent of thought, action, and emotion are more dominant . Independence is characteristic of modern Western cultures such as the United States, whereas interdependence is commonly associated with East Asian cultures like Japan and China. Interdependent cultures emphasize values like communalism, cooperation, and collectivism. Consequently, those in more interdependent cultures generally place greater emphasis on the maintenance of group harmony and prioritize problems of the group. The present study compares the relationship between specific emotions and SS provision in the highly independent culture of the United States and the relatively more interdependent culture of Singapore . We expect that differences in culture will promote differences in the styles of SS that participants from each culture will provide. Although the primary focus of this study is to compare the dynamics of SS provision with those of SS receipt rather than to study cultural differences or speculate upon what mechanisms drive them, we suggest that differences in our Singaporean and American sample are, by definition, cultural differences that can be partially explained by the two cultures’ differences along the interdependence-independence continuum.
Emotion versus problem-focused support
Social support is often categorized as either emotion- or problem-focused. Problem-focused support refers to SS that is intended to help the recipient eliminate the stressor . Typically, problem-focused SS is provided by sharing information that helps resolve the stressor (advice-giving), or by providing instrumental assistance such as giving a ride to the airport or loaning money. In contrast, emotion-focused support refers to SS intended to assist the recipient in coping with the negative emotions and stress caused by the stressor. Emotion-focused SS includes supportive acts such as comforting, expressing affection and providing encouragement. Research on the relationship between SS and culture suggests that in more interdependent cultures, SS exchanges tend to be more problem-focused, that is, support that is more aimed at addressing the stressor itself. In contrast, SS exchange in more independent cultural contexts tends to focus on addressing recipients’ emotional needs through approaches such as comforting and esteem-boosting [1,7]. In interdependent cultures, requiring emotional SS can be seen as disruptive to group cohesion, but problem-focused SS is not. In independent cultures, emotional SS can be used to bolster self-esteem, which is seen as an important trait in independent cultural contexts. In contrast, problem-focused SS in independent cultures can undermine an individual’s sense of self-efficacy.
Solicited versus unsolicited support
One important characteristic of SS provision is whether or not the recipient asked for support. Taylor, Sherman, Kim, Jarcho, Takagi, & Dunagan found that Asians and Asian Americans requested less SS than their European American counterparts . This finding was especially true of requests for emotion-focused SS. Taylor and colleagues suggested that Asians and Asian Americans may request less SS due to fear of straining relationships, feeling burdensome, loss of dignity, or disrupting group harmony. Additionally, Mojaverian and Kim found that Asian Americans reported more positive outcomes, such as higher self-esteem and less stress, when receiving unsolicited support than solicited support, whereas there was no difference in outcomes for European Americans when comparing receipt of solicited SS to receipt of unsolicited support . Further, Taylor, Welch, Kim, and Sherman found that SS recipients from more interdependent contexts reported greater stress and negative emotions when support was requested than when they received unsolicited support . Taken together, this research suggests that within interdependent cultures, it is less common and potentially less beneficial to receive SS that has been explicitly requested.
Receipt versus provision
Much of the research we have reviewed on cultural differences in SS exchange has emerged from research focused on SS recipients. In some cases, these findings provide clear insight into how SS provision may vary across cultures. For example, research indicates that within highly interdependent cultures, a greater proportion of SS receipt is unsolicited . It stands to reason then that within the same culture, a greater proportion of SS provision must be unsolicited as well. However, the extent to which other SS receipt findings generalize to SS provision is less clear. For instance, researchers have found that within highly interdependent cultures, SS recipients are more likely to endorse feelings of burdensomeness and shame when they require or when they receive SS [18,19]. In this case, it is not obvious how recipients’ feelings of burdensomeness and shame affect SS providers. They may mirror the negative emotions of recipients (i.e., feel that their recipients are an irritating burden and/or feel shame on their behalf), or the opposite could be true (i.e., they may feel especially pleased to be of service to their partners). It is also possible that cultural characteristics that lead SS recipients to feel anxious about burdening their support providers may have little effect on providers. To examine whether interactions between culture and SS receipt are paralleled in interactions of culture and SS provision, we have selected two variables along which cross-cultural differences in SS exchange have been observed and supported. Specifically, we examine the specific emotional correlates of SS providers who provided both solicited and unsolicited emotional SS and informational SS, a common form of problem-focused SS.
Culture and specific emotions
Both between-culture and within-culture factors contribute to the experience and expression of emotions. Kuppens, Ceulemans, Timmerman, Diener, and Kim-Prieto refer to these cultural factors that contribute to the experience and expression of emotions as dimensions of emotional experience . They describe characteristics of emotional experience that operate at the individual level, such as individual differences in temperament and personality, as intracultural dimensions. In contrast, characteristics that operate at the cultural level are intercultural dimensions. For example, those from individualistic cultures are more likely than those from collectivistic cultures to report wanting to maximize experiences of positive affect and minimize experiences of negative affect . Members of interdependent cultures also tend to rate negative emotions as less harmful than do those in individualistic contexts. Cross-cultural differences in the way certain emotions are viewed can result in differences in the actual frequency and degree of emotional experiences across cultures. For example, individuals from independent cultural contexts where positive emotions are more desirable to experience than negative emotions, report experiencing positive emotions more frequently than negative emotions because they are considered to be more favorable within that cultural context .
One reason why members of different cultures may experience certain emotions to different extents is through a mechanism called situational selection. Harmon-Jones, Harmon-Jones and Summerell note that individuals differ in how positively or negatively they judge different discrete emotions . They posit that an individual with an extremely negative attitude toward anger may engage in emotional situational selection, or the deliberate avoidance of situations that are likely to cause them anger, and thereby experience less anger than someone who holds a more neutral attitude toward the emotion. Likewise, if a culture strongly favors (or disapproves of) a particular emotional state then the individual members of the culture may engage in emotional situation selection to change the odds of experiencing the emotion. In this way, entire cultures may engage in situational selection, resulting in patterns of cross-cultural differences in the frequency and degree of experiencing certain discrete emotions. Similarly, in a cross-cultural study of values and emotion, Tamir and colleagues found that participants reported wanting to feel more of the specific emotions that corresponded with the values they endorsed . For example, participants who endorsed the value of self-enhancement (a classically individualistic value) reported a stronger desire to feel the value-consistent emotions of anger and pride. These findings suggest that values precede and shape emotional experience, and that insofar as cultural context shapes individual values, it can also affect the desirability of certain emotions.
People can experience a wide variety emotions, but Diener, Smith, and Fujita suggest that all possible emotions experienced fall under one of six discrete emotion categories . They suggest love, joy, fear, anger, shame, and sadness capture the complete range of human emotion. Diener and colleagues derived these six categories from cognitive [26,27], biological/evolutionary [28,29], and empirical [30,31] perspectives. For the current study, we will consider the emotions of affection, happiness, anxiety and worry, irritation/anger, shame and embarrassment, and sadness, closely mirroring Diener et al.’s six main emotional categories.
Emotional outcomes of support provision
Inagaki and Orehek suggest that as long as two boundary conditions are met, the provision of SS can be an inherently rewarding experience . First, support must be given freely. That is, support must be given without coercion via interpersonal or societal pressures. Second, providers must believe that the support they are providing is effective. According to Inagaki and Orehek, when these two conditions are met, providers can experience emotional and physiological benefits similar to those enjoyed by the recipients of responsive SS.
When considering whether cross-cultural differences in SS receipt can be used to inform expectations for SS providers, at least two possibilities emerge. The first is that cultural differences in provision will tend to mirror those of receipt. Culturally inappropriate or culturally non-normative styles of support may impose more stress upon providers, leading to worse emotional outcomes. Providing styles of SS deemed inappropriate within a provider’s culture may also negatively influence providers’ sense of the effectiveness of SS provision, leading to further negative emotions. The second possibility is that the cultural factors that shape the dynamics of SS receipt are not generally mirrored in the dynamics of SS provision, and instead operate through different structures. The present study seeks to explore whether the interaction of provider culture and SS type parallels cultural differences in SS receipt.
The present study
The present study examines the degree to which cross-cultural differences in SS provision mirror cross-cultural differences in SS receipt. Namely, we examine whether SS providers report more discrete negative emotions (anxiety, anger, shame, and sadness) and less discrete positive emotions (affection and happiness) at times when they provided forms of SS that prior research has generally identified as less culturally appropriate. The current study therefore examines differences in the patterns of SS provision and reports of specific emotions among college students from Singapore and the United States. If the dynamics of SS provision parallel those of SS receipt, it would be expected that participants in Singapore would provide more informational support, while participants in the United States would provide more emotional support. Similarly, participants in Singapore would be expected to provide unsolicited support while participants in the United States would be more likely to provide solicited support.
In addition to examining differences in the characteristics of SS provision, we also tested whether the emotional correlates of SS provision varied by culture. If the emotional outcomes of providers parallel those of recipients’ emotions, it would be expected that Singaporean participants would report more affection and happiness and less anxiety, anger, shame, and sadness when providing unsolicited SS and more informational SS. Likewise, we expected that American participants would report more positive and less negative emotions when they provided more solicited support and more emotional support. In addition to these main effects tests of social support characteristics on emotion, we also examined two way interactions between culture and social support solicitation, and between culture and the extent of informational/emotional SS provision. We also compared the emotional correlates of solicited and unsolicited emotional and informational SS. Finally, we examined three-way interactions testing whether cultural differences in emotional or informational SS provision were similar for solicited and unsolicited SS provision. Our reasoning for studying three-way interactions has to do with the nature of unsolicited SS provision. Because unsolicited SS is, by definition, provided without the recipient’s asking, it is much more likely to meet the first of Inagaki and Orehek’s first condition for mutually beneficial SS provision; that support must be given freely . Without the pressure to acquiesce to recipient’s requests for support, unsolicited SS is, by its very nature, given voluntarily. For this reason, we anticipated that the potential for “dysfunctional” SS provision—that is, SS provision that is associated with lower ratings of positive emotions and greater ratings of negative emotions—might be greater for instances of solicited SS.
Method
Participants
Responses from 167 University students recruited from Psychology subject pools in the United States (52.7%) and Singapore (47.3%) received research credit for participation in this study. The sample was 73.1% women, and the gender ratio was similar in the United States and Singaporean sample. Mean age was 21.77 (SD = 2.77). The Singaporean sample was drawn from an urban private University, while the U.S. sample was drawn from a mid-sized public regional university in a small city in the Pacific Northwest. Despite these differences, there were no statistically significant differences in income or age between the two locations, though there was more variability in age in the U.S. sample. Although 179 University undergraduates participated in this study, 167 produced viable data for analyses. Because this study focused on the qualities of SS provision, we were unable to use data from the ten participants who did not report providing any SS. In addition, one participant was omitted because data collection errors made it impossible to match the responses provided on the two days of the study. Another participant only partially completed the study.
This research was approved by the institutional review boards of Singapore Management University (IRB17-007-A001-117) and Western Washington University (secondary review). Written consent to participate was obtained from all participants.
Procedure
All participants took part in two different hour-long sessions in campus computer labs in Singapore and the United States. Participants took part on either a Tuesday/Wednesday or a Saturday/Sunday. Participants provided informed consent and used the Qualtrics research platform to respond to questions. Following Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone’s Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) procedure , all participants were asked to think of their previous day as a series of episodes, and complete a diary sheet listing all episodes that occurred. Participants noted the start and stop times of each episode, listed some descriptive features of the episode, and indicated whether they provided or received social support during the episode. After completing the diary sheet, participants notified a research assistant to help them initiate the Qualtrics questions related to social support provision and receipt. Next, participants responded to questions describing qualities of each episode from the prior day. In addition to the measures described in the measures section, participants indicated their main activities and social interactions for each episode, identified features of SS provision and receipt, and rated several emotions during that episode. SS was defined for participants as being networks of shared social relationships involving reciprocal caring and communication. In addition to examples of emotional and instrumental SS, participants were told that “Sometimes indirect ways of supporting another, such as keeping track of another person’s situation or spending time with the other person are also forms of social support.” Participants answered specific questions about the SS they provided, including the type of recipient of the SS (e.g. friend) who was subsequently referred to as the participant’s “SS partner.” Participants reported an average of 16.04 episodes over the two days. Social support provision was reported in 735 total episodes by 167 different participants (M = 4.34; SD = 2.62).
Measures
Descriptive statistics for the variables described in the sections that follow are shown in Table 1, together with the intraclass correlation coefficient, where appropriate.
Emotional SS.
This 3-item scale adapted from Maisel and Gable asked participants to describe the extent to which they used emotional SS during the episode in which they had reported providing SS. Participants responded using a scale from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very much) to indicate the extent to which they tried to provide emotional SS to their episode partner (M = 5.13, SD = 1.45). Items from this scale include I tried to offer comforting and encouraging words, I tried to tell my partner how much I care about them, and I tried to understand my partner. Cronbach’s alpha was .80 for participants from Singapore and .75 for participants from the United States, and the overall distribution was negatively skewed.
Informational SS.
This 2-item scale asked participants to describe the extent to which their social support provision during that episode involved providing informational SS. Participants responded using a scale from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very much) to indicate the extent to which they engaged in each informational social support behavior (M = 4.90, SD = 1.89). Items from this scale include I tried to give specific suggestions about how to solve the problem and I provided my partner with advice to help them deal with the problem. Cronbach’s alpha was .95 for participants from Singapore and .96 for participants from the United States. The overall distribution was somewhat negatively skewed.
SS request.
This measure assessed whether episodes of social support provided by the participant had been requested by the social support recipient. Participants were asked to respond with Yes (coded 1) or No (coded 0) to the question Did the other person ask for support?
Emotions.
At the start of each episode participants reported the extent to which they had experienced 13 distinct emotions during the episode, using a scale from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very much). Only the eight measures that aligned with the emotion typology described by Diener, Smith, and Fujita were considered as part of this study . Specifically, we evaluated the extent to which culture and SS characteristics predicted affection, happiness, irritation/anger, anxiety, worry, embarrassment, shame, and sadness. Note that this list of emotions has been previously used in cross-cultural research using the Day Reconstruction Method . Because the distribution of each negatively valanced emotion was positively skewed, a natural logarithm was calculated to help reduce the effect of extreme negative emotions scores on the analyses. All tests of negative emotions were conducted both using the original metric and the log-transformed variables. The two positively valanced variables were not severely skewed, and no transformations were used.
Results
Cultural differences in the frequency and characteristics of SS provision
Overall, participants in the U.S. sample reported more episodes (M = 16.93, sd = 5.31) than did those in Singapore (M = 15.05, sd = 4.54), t(165) = 2.67, p = .015. However, those in Singapore reported providing SS to others in a greater percentage of their episodes, t(165) = -3.69, p < .001 (Singapore mean percentage = 33.04, sd = 18.08; U.S. M = 24.11, sd = 12.34). There were no cultural differences in the percent of SS provision episodes that participants described as having been requested, t(165) = 1.81, p = .073. Singapore’s mean person-level percentage of requested SS provision reports was 24.10 (sd = 27.96), while the mean percentage in the United States was 32.47 (sd = 31.61).
Two multilevel modeling analyses were used to test whether culture predicted differences in the continuous variables of informational and emotional SS provision. Location did not predict the amount of reported emotional SS provision (b = -.12; t(164) = -0.67, p = .505) or informational SS provision (b = -.18; t(164) = -0.88, p = .380).
Emotional correlates of SS provision
Data analysis overview.
All analyses predicting discrete emotions were conducted using multilevel modeling to account for the nested data structure. Specifically, variables associated with specific episodes (including emotions and all social support provision characteristics) were analyzed at Level 1, while characteristics of the individual (i.e., culture) were analyzed at Level 2. All Level 1 variables were group mean centered prior to analyses. For consistency, random effects for each variable were initially tested and were included in all subsequent analyses if the random effect was statistically significant, using p < .10. Analyses considering emotional SS provision and informational SS provision were conducted separately for each emotion, yielding the 16 different combinations of SS type and emotional outcome (affection, happiness, irritation/anger, anxiety, worry, embarrassment, shame, and sadness).
The large number of complex analyses that were conducted as part of this study raises concerns about capitalization on chance. For descriptive purposes, Tables 2 and 3 provide an indication of regression coefficients that are statistically significant at p < .01, p < .05, and p < .10. These values are useful for understanding patterns observed across multiple variables and may be of interest to the reader. However, because of the large number of analyses we only interpret results that are statistically significant at p < .01. For parsimony, most of the regression coefficients and standard errors are presented only in the Tables, and the bulk of this section interprets the results without repeating the values that were not statistically significant.
The formulas below summarize the main analyses that test the main effects of social support provision (informational or emotional), whether that support was requested, and location (Singapore or United States), as well as the two way interactions between SS provision and SS request, between location by SS provision, and between location by SS request, as well as the three-way interaction between location, SS provision, and SS request. Decisions about whether Level 1 predictor variables should be modeled as fixed or random effects were determined through preliminary analyses looking only at the Level 1 variables.
In the Level 1 formula above, emotionij, is person j’s specific emotion at time i. That score was predicted by π0j, the person-level intercept for that emotion, by π1j, which is the effect of SS provision (emotional or informational) for person j, by π2j, the person-level effect of SS request, by π3j, which is the effect of and the centered social support by request interaction, and by eij which is error for person j at time i. Variability at Level 2 is captured by estimates of the intercept (β00), the average of each level 1 effect across participants (β10 through β30; i.e., β10 is the cross-person average slope of SS provision on emotion), the effect of location on the intercept(β01), interactions between location and SS provision and SS request (β11 and β21), and the three-way interaction (β31), as well as error (r0j through r3j). Note that the r0j error term indicates individual variability in the intercept, while r1j through r3j capture between-person differences in the magnitude of the corresponding slope; these random factors were included only when preliminary analyses indicated between-person variability at p < .10 (as shown by the underlined values in the Tables).
The results of these analyses are summarized in Table 2 for emotional SS analyses and Table 3 for informational SS. Analyses were conducted using the log-transformed negative emotion variables. Unless otherwise noted, all results are similar when conducted without the logarithmic transformation of the dependent variable. To aid in interpretability, estimated values in the Figures were calculated using non-transformed variables.
In addition a set of supplementary analyses tested whether the results remained consistent if the type of recipient (family member, friend, romantic partner, or acquaintance) of SS was statistically considered. Cultural differences in the target of the SS provision were considered as a possible alternative explanation for the observed cultural differences in social support. This step was important because even though most SS was provided to friends or to romantic partners in both samples, preliminary analyses indicated that there were cultural differences in the targets of the SS. Specifically, those in Singapore were relatively more likely to provide SS to family members, while those in the United States were especially likely to provide SS to acquaintances. Tests were conducted by using a set of three dummy coded variables to indicate whether the participant reported providing support to friends (the reference category), family members, romantic partners, or acquaintances. The dummy coded covariates were used to predict the π0j at level 2 in the formulas above. Because statistically considering SS recipient did not alter the effects described below and reported in Tables 2 and 3, these tests are not presented in this manuscript. Details on these analyses are available upon request.
Cultural differences in the effects of emotional SS provision and solicitation.
Emotional SS provision predicted participant ratings of greater affection (b = .62, p < .001) and happiness (b = .35, p < .001), as well as less irritation/anger (b = -.06, p = .006). Unique relationships between emotional SS provision and anxiety, worry, and embarrassment were not statistically significant in these multivariate models. There was no indication that emotional SS provision predicted sadness or shame. Likewise, with the exception of anger, which needs to be interpreted in the context of a 3-way interaction, tests of SS request indicated that emotions differed based on whether or not the social support had been requested by the recipient, at p < .01. Further, there was no suggestion that discrete emotional correlates of emotional SS provision differed based on whether that support was or was not solicited, as evidenced by the non-significant interactions between emotional SS provision and whether or not SS was requested.
For irritation/anger only, the main effect of emotional SS provision and request (as well as their interaction) should be interpreted in the context of a 3-way interaction between culture, emotional SS provision, and whether the SS was solicited by the recipient (b = -.25, p = .002). As shown in Fig 1, more provision of emotional SS predicted less irritation/anger overall. However, at times when SS was requested, the emotional consequences of emotional SS provision varied by culture. For participants from Singapore, reports of irritation/anger were highest when participants reported few attempts to provide solicited emotional SS and irritation was lowest with more emotional SS provision (simple slope b = -.49, p < .001). In contrast, for those in the U.S. sample, requested emotional SS provision did not predict irritation/anger (simple slope b = -.10, p = .362). Although this cross-over interaction pattern was not evident for unsolicited SS, unsolicited emotional SS provision was associated with relatively less anger both in Singapore (simple slope b = -.13, p < .042) and in the U.S. sample (simple slope b = -.14, p = .018). Likewise, there were no other main effects or two-way interactions related to SS request and culture on other emotions. Although the 3-way interaction pattern was not observed for the effects of emotional SS provision on any emotion other than irritation/anger, as described below similar results were obtained in tests of the emotional correlates of informational SS provision.
Cultural differences in the effects of informational SS provision and solicitation.
A summary of the analyses of the provision of informational SS, as shown in Table 3, shows few consistent direct effects of culture, the provision of informational SS, or requests for SS on any of the emotional outcomes. However, a similar 3-way interaction to the one described above was observed for anger (b = -.19, p = .010) and embarrassment (b = -.08, p = .001), and a similar trend existed for anxiety (b = -.14, p = .039). Each of these effects was also statistically significant for tests of the emotional outcome without a logarithmic transformation. Although Fig 2 only shows the pattern of estimated effects for embarrassment, the direction of the effects is similar for irritation/anger. Specifically, in both cultural contexts, there was no link between unsolicited informational support provision and negative emotions. However, when support was requested, the emotional correlates (i.e., embarrassment and irritation) of informational SS provision varied by culture. In the Singapore sample, relatively more provision of solicited informational SS predicted less embarrassment (and less irritation), while in the U.S. sample more provision of solicited informational SS predicted more embarrassment and irritation.
Discussion
Our primary interest in this study was observing whether cultural differences in SS provision would follow similar patterns to those previously observed within SS receipt, or if patterns for SS providers would differ from the findings in previous research on SS recipients.
If SS provision processes paralleled SS receipt processes, participants in Singapore would be expected to provide more informational support and more unsolicited support to others, and participants in the United States would provide more emotional support and more solicited support to others. Likewise, participants in Singapore would be expected to report more affection and happiness and less anxiety, anger/irritation, worry, embarrassment, shame, and sadness when providing informational and unsolicited support, and participants in the United States would report similar emotions in instances in which they provided emotional and solicited SS.
Overall, the patterns of cross-cultural differences in SS provision of the present study do not mirror cross-cultural differences in patterns of SS receipt, and raise the possibility that cross-cultural differences in emotion responses to SS provision operate differently than for SS receipt. Rather than expecting provider and recipient dynamics to mirror each other, equity theory considers SS to be an equitable exchange, where each member of the dyad brings their own dynamics to the exchange, meaning the emotions and SS behaviors that each member of the dyad experiences during the interaction do not need to be exactly the same . In the context of SS, this means that patterns of SS provision and patterns of SS receipt do not need to perfectly match for a SS exchange to be successful. Similarly, SS providers and SS recipients do not need to experience the same emotions for a SS exchange to be successful. The findings from this study support the idea that even within the same SS exchange, providers and recipients may have different emotional outcomes, and this may influence the perceived success of the SS exchange.
When we examined only episodes in which SS was provided, our findings did not adhere to our expectations drawn from previous research. First, although the direction of the difference between solicited and unsolicited SS was anticipated, the proportion of support that was requested did not differ significantly between Singapore and the United States. Secondly, the amount of informational support provision and the amount of emotional SS provision did not differ between Singapore and the United States. These results differ from previous research that has suggested that SS exchange in interdependent cultures such as Singapore tends to emphasize problem-focused SS, such as informational SS, whereas SS exchange in more independent cultures such as the United States tends to emphasize emotional SS.
Our findings suggested that there were some notable cultural differences in patterns of SS provision. First, participants in Singapore provided SS to others overall in more episodes than participants in the United States. This is in keeping with previous findings regarding SS exchange in more interdependent cultures. Though most SS was provided to either friends or to romantic partners in both Singapore and the United States, individuals in Singapore were relatively more likely to report providing SS to family members, while individuals in the United States were relatively more likely to provide SS to acquaintances. This is likely due to the fact that many college students in Singapore live with their families, while this is not necessarily the case in the United States. The Singaporean participants may have had more exposure to family members than the American participants, allowing them more opportunities to provide SS to family. Similarly, many college students in the United States have jobs or engage in multiple extracurricular activities outside of school, whereas this is less common in Singapore. Participants in the United States may interact with acquaintances on a more regular basis than participants in Singapore, allowing them more opportunities to provide SS to acquaintances.
Our findings indicate that regardless of cultural context, when providing emotional SS, participants reported greater affection and happiness, as well as less irritation/anger and anxiety. Fostering happiness and affection and lessening negative emotions are key characteristics of emotional SS. Therefore, it makes sense that providing emotional support would be related to greater happiness and affection. If emotional SS is genuinely expressed, it is not surprising that providers experienced greater positive emotions and less negative emotions. After all, research on SS suggests that emotion-focused SS provision results in more positive outcomes than problem-focused SS provision .
However, regardless of cultural context, greater informational SS provision did not predict any of the emotional outcomes. It is possible that there is more contextual variability when it comes to providing informational SS, particularly if these emotional outcomes are not being considered in a cross-cultural context. This could be due to the fact that informational SS can be used to address a wide range of problems, from providing advice on how to resolve a conflict with a romantic partner to information on how to best prepare for a presentation at school or work. This means that informational support might include small, easy acts of providing information, or large acts that require a great amount of time or resources on the part of the provider. Informational support therefore can require varied levels of provider investment, likely involving different emotional outcomes. The positively and negatively valenced emotional outcomes for providers of informational SS may balance out across situations and people, resulting in null overall effects.
When considering culture, specific emotions, SS requests, and SS provision together, the results indicated an interesting interactive relationship. Overall, episodes with more emotional SS were characterized by more affection and happiness and less irritation/anger and anxiety. However, when considering episodes in which emotional SS was requested, only ratings of irritation/anger varied significantly by culture. In Singapore, ratings of irritation/anger were lowest when participants reported more provision of solicited emotional SS and greatest when participants reported less provision of solicited emotional SS. In contrast, in the United States, irritation/anger was lower with less provision of solicited emotional SS and highest with more provision of solicited emotional SS. It could be that participants in Singapore who provided relatively more emotional SS in response to their partners requests did so because the requests seemed important. Therefore, there would not be a reason to feel particularly irritated/angry. However, if in Singapore, a SS partner requested emotional SS that the participants did not consider to be necessary or appropriate, the provider would not provide as much support, and might feel anger/irritation at the request. In contrast, within the U.S. sample, participants may have felt irritated/angry when asked to provide more emotional SS. This pattern makes sense within the context of what we know about cultural differences in SS. The goal of emotional SS is reassurance and esteem-building, but in an interdependent cultural context, this type of support can violate cultural expectations of modesty and appropriate emotional expression . In addition, work on cultural differences in the importance of saving face suggests that negative emotions may arise when group members break face, meaning that they fail to appropriately follow norms related to hierarchy and societal expectations . Losing face can be considered selfish, rude, and inappropriate, as it causes discomfort for all who are involved in the social interaction . All of these factors could result in SS providers in Singapore feeling angry/irritated at being requested to provide a form of SS that both members of the SS exchange would recognize as being culturally inappropriate. However, an exception could be made in the instance of a request for emotional SS that seemed especially important, because knowing the inappropriateness of a request for emotional SS would probably make a SS recipient less likely to request it unless they felt that emotional SS was truly needed.
Requests for emotional SS in the U.S. context may have made participants feel overburdened, and may have made the provision feel less voluntary, violating Inagaki and Orehek’s first criterion for beneficial SS provision: support must be given freely . This pattern did not hold true for unsolicited emotional SS, further supporting the idea that providing inappropriate or burdensome forms of SS would lead SS providers to experience more irritation/anger.
Similarly, provision of unsolicited SS was not associated with negative emotions for providers in either culture, whereas informational SS that was requested was associated with negative emotions. This association between solicited informational SS provision and negative emotions varied by culture. In Singapore, greater provision of solicited informational SS was related to less irritation/anger and embarrassment. In the United States greater provision of solicited informational SS was related to more irritation/anger, anxiety, and embarrassment. Again, culture moderates the association between solicited SS provision (in this case informational SS provision) and worse emotional outcomes for providers. For both cultures, unsolicited SS provision did not carry the same costs to providers as solicited support provision. Alternatively, participants in Singapore may have felt fewer negative emotions when providing informational SS because informational support is a more culturally appropriate form of support. Participants in the United States may have experienced more irritation/anger and embarrassment when providing informational SS because they provided a less culturally appropriate type of support to their partners.
Rather than expecting identical input and emotional outcomes for providers and recipients, equity theory posits that both parties should perceive the exchange of resources as being equal . If a provider feels as if the SS receiver is requesting too much support, or requiring more of the provider than they are willing to give, the exchange is not equal and can have negative outcomes for the provider. This concern is less prevalent when SS is provided without the recipient requesting it, as there is less potential for the provider to feel coerced by their partner’s request.
The current results may differ from previous SS research because our measure of SS provision assessed the extent to which providers believed they had provided each type of SS. It is possible that what providers tend to categorize as a particular type of SS (informational vs. emotional or solicited vs. unsolicited) could be categorized differently by recipients. In this way, studying providers might have yielded seemingly different patterns of SS than have been observed in the largely recipient-focused literature. For these reasons, our findings did not neatly parallel those of the SS receipt studies. Alternatively, these findings may suggest that cultural differences are most apparent when SS exchanges are seen as inequitable or otherwise dysfunctional. Tolstoy noted of families, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Similarly, cultural differences may be most subtle when SS exchange is most beneficial and most apparent when SS exchange is dysfunctional. Making one’s partner feel loved and supported may evoke the same positive emotions universally, whereas cultures may have unique patterns of response to unsuccessful or unfavorable SS exchanges.
Limitations and future directions
One potential limitation to this study is that participants were asked to self-report their experiences from only two previous days regardless of whether or not they had provided SS that day. Though Kahneman et al.’s Day Reconstruction Method is an accepted procedure for collecting retrospective accounts of previous days, it is not without its limitations. Participants misremembering or intentionally omitting information is a possible concern with any self-report study. In addition, although participants reported a large number of episodes, only an average of four episodes per person involved the provision of SS, thereby reducing statistical power, especially for tests of cross-level interactions. Future research might expand upon this study by obtaining more episodes involving SS provision and by asking participants to provide a brief explanation of the context in which SS was provided. The rich contextual information may allow a more complete understanding of potential cross-cultural differences in emotional responses to SS provision and the Day Reconstruction Method would be a useful tool for capturing this kind of information. Likewise, analyses involving more episodes of SS provision would provide a more powerful replication of these results; the results reported here should be considered tentative, pending replication.
Future studies exploring cross-cultural SS should build upon this research by providing participants with a wider variety of SS options to report on. In the current study, we used a 2-item measure of problem-focused SS that focused exclusively on informational SS. Both questions regarding problem-focused SS only involved giving advice or providing suggestions to fix the problem, and failed to include other types of problem-focused SS such as instrumental assistance, like giving someone a ride or buying them groceries. It is possible that potential cultural differences were not observed because participants were not asked about instances of instrumental problem-focused SS. Future research should be sure to include a variety of measures regarding different types of SS in order to more thoroughly capture nuances in responses. Likewise, although the multi-item SS provision measures were reliable in each cultural context, we did not use multilevel approaches to ascertain cultural measurement invariance, and it is possible that factor structures may vary by culture .
One final potential limitation to this study comes from the sample characteristics. The study was designed to examine cross-cultural differences in SS provision and emotional outcomes among a sample of individuals living in a independent context and a sample of individuals living in an interdependent context. However, Singapore may not be an ideal example of an interdependent culture. Singapore is a relatively young, highly diverse country that has experienced a great deal of Western influence in recent decades . While previous research has indicated that Singapore is higher in interdependence than the United States is , Singapore may be comparatively individualistic compared to classically and often studied nations in East Asia like Japan and China. Furthermore, by sampling exclusively from a young, urban, student population, it is plausible that the Singaporeans included in our sample are considerably more individualistic/Westernized than the general population. Compared to the U.S. sample, the Singaporean sample were more likely to live at home with family rather than with friends and roommates. Singaporean participants lived in a very densely populated urban environment versus the American’s suburban or campus living. These differences are not necessarily cultural ones, and—to the extent that they drove differences in SS provision—may have limited our ability to study cross-cultural differences. Because the intent of this study was to focus on personal dynamics in the process of SS provision, culture was considered a backdrop of this study rather than a focus. For this reason, this study did not include a specific measure of interdependent and independent cultural values, potentially limiting the generalizability of these results. Because of these factors, future research should replicate and extend the study of SS provision in different interdependent contexts to better capture the cultural variability between highly independent cultures and highly interdependent cultures, as well as include specific measure of cultural values to help pinpoint the cultural components that may be contributing to these findings.
Implications and conclusions
Overall, this study highlights both cross-cultural differences and cross-cultural similarities in the emotional effects of SS for providers. Although much of the existing SS research has focused on the recipient, this study focuses on the experience of the SS provider. The findings from this study support the idea that it is extremely important to consider culture when studying SS processes. A deeper understanding of the role culture plays in SS interactions has a number of real-world implications. Due to globalization, the increasing ease of travel, and social media, engaging in regular cross-cultural interactions is easier and more common than it has ever been before. Because of this, individuals around the world are able to make connections and maintain relationships with people who exist in cultural contexts that are completely different from their own. The global expansion of social networks calls for an increased understanding of the mechanisms behind cross-cultural interactions. Similarly, people are more mobile, and many individuals have the option to relocate to a country they were not born in. Integrating into a new culture has numerous implications for stress and well-being and cross-cultural SS may play an important role in mitigating the negative effects of culture shock. Finally, research on cross-cultural SS can help us to better understand the nuances of acculturation in a cross-generational context. Because it is relatively common to relocate, multiculturalism within families where children are growing up in a different cultural context than their parents did, is increasingly normalized. Understanding how individuals from different cultural contexts prefer to provide and receive SS can help facilitate mutually beneficial SS exchanges among loved ones with different cultural values. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of research on cross-cultural SS provision and emphasize the need for more research on SS provision in general.
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- 37. Leung AK-Y, Cohen D. Within- and between-culture variation: Individual differences and the cultural logics of honor, face, and dignity cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2011; 100(3): 507–526. pmid:21244179
- 38. Kӧnig C, Stadler G, Knoll N, Ochsner S, Hornung R, Scholz U. Invisible support: Effects on the provider’s positive and negative affect. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. 2016; 8(2): 172–191.
- 39. Boer D, Hanke K, He J. On detecting systematic measurement error in cross-cultural research: A review and critical reflection on equivalence and invariance. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology. 2018; 49: 713–734. | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0219478 |
In 2007, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) introduced the Triple Aim framework to help improve the delivery of healthcare services across the industry, from doctor’s offices and acute care facilities to hospice and home health agencies.1 This framework focuses on the simultaneous pursuit of three goals: improving the patient experience, improving the health of populations, and reducing the cost per capita of healthcare.
While the Triple Aim was widely accepted by home health and hospice agencies as a way to enhance service delivery and patient satisfaction, a 2014 paper from Thomas Bodenheimer and Christine Sinsky found that increasing staff burnout “imperils the Triple Aim.”2 As a result, they suggested an update to the framework: The Quadruple Aim.
Hitting Healthcare Targets: Unpacking the Quadruple Aim
Concerns around healthcare staff burnout are well-founded: Recent survey data found that 55 percent of front-line healthcare workers reported mental and physical exhaustion from chronic workplace stress.3 As a result, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) projects a shortage of more than three million essential healthcare workers and 14,000 physicians by 2033.4
The Quadruple Aim looks to reduce staff burnout by identifying and mitigating stressors that negatively impact the experience of healthcare professionals. Common areas of concern include:
Compassion Fatigue
A 2021 study found that 51.6% of palliative care health providers experienced moderate compassion fatigue as they looked to help patients navigate end-of-life challenges.5 To help alleviate these issues, providers must consider ways to support staff — such as the implementation of mindfulness-based stress management solutions that include dedicated time for staff to relax and reconnect with their work each day.
Lack of Work/Life Balance
Home health and hospice staff may also struggle with work/life balance, in turn negatively impacting patient care and the patient experience. Consider that even as U.S. divorce rates hit a fifty-year low, the rate among licensed practical nurses (LPNs) reached 47 percent.6 Here, staffing is key — providers must be willing to pay what the market demands to ensure workers’ work/life balance, or they may find themselves on the wrong side of the Great Resignation.
Inefficient Data Entry
Technology issues around data entry and management remain a problem for healthcare and hospice staff. More than 32 percent of those asked said that they experienced frustration with technology at least 3-5 days per week, thus reducing their ability to effectively interact with patients.7 Addressing this issue requires solutions that simplify and streamline data entry while also providing on-demand access to patient records.
Persistent Pressure of COVID-19
While acute pandemic pressures are easing, problems remain: 97 percent of independent medical group practices say their ability to hit quadruple aim targets has been negatively impacted by COVID-19.8 In part, this stems from systemic changes to healthcare delivery — hospices must find ways to incorporate data-driven telehealth visits both to improve patient satisfaction and develop targeted care plans.
Hitting the Mark of Improved Staff Experience
When it comes to hitting the marks of the Quadruple Aim, there’s no quick fix. Single shots — however well-placed — aren’t enough to improve provider satisfaction over time and can reduce the efficacy of Triple Aim efforts. It’s critical for home health and hospice providers to stay the course by adopting best practices, such as dedicated time for mindfulness each day, written commitments to staff work/life balance, and the adoption of new technology solutions capable of streamlining data entry and underpinning telehealth efforts with enhanced reporting and documentation capabilities.
Ready to improve clinical quality of life under the Quadruple Aim? Hit the mark with Net Health® Home Health and Hospice.
Finding the Favorable: 5 Positive Impacts of COVID-19 for Hospice and Home Health Care
References:
1 The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), “The IHI Triple Aim,” 2022.
2 PubMed.gov, “From Triple to Quadruple Aim: Care of the Patient Requires Care of the Provider,” November 2014.
3 The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), “KFF/The Washington Post Frontline Health Care Workers Survey,” April 6, 2021.
4 The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “New Surgeon General Advisory Sounds Alarm on Health Worker Burnout and Resignation,” May 23, 2022.
5 BMC Palliative Care, “Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction Among Palliative Care Health Providers: A Scoping Review,” June 23, 2021.
6 EduMed, “Achieving Work-Life Balance in Healthcare: An Online Guide for Students & Professionals,” August 19, 2020.
7 National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), “Frustration With Technology and its Relation to Emotional Exhaustion Among Health Care Workers: Cross-sectional Observational Study,” July 6, 2021.
8 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., “Impact of COVID-19 on the Quadruple Aim,” October 18, 2021. | https://www.nethealth.com/all-four-one-what-to-know-about-the-quadruple-aim-for-home-health-and-hospice/ |
Use the EDGE App to predict savings from using Stack Ventilation strategies.
See EDGE’s stack ventilation Rules of Thumb for Homes, Hospitals, Hotels, or Offices projects.
Passive Low Energy Cooling of Buildings［被动式低能耗建筑制冷］: Baruch Givoni.
Sun, Wind and Light: Architectural Design Strategies [太阳、风和光：建筑设计策略]. Mark DeKay and G. Z. Brown.
The Green Studio Handbook [绿色工作室手册]. Alison G. Kwok and Walter T. Grondzik.
Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings［建筑物机电设备］. Walter T. Grondzik, et al.
Environmental Control Systems: Heating, Cooling, Lighting［供暖、制冷与照明：建筑师设计方法］. Fuller Moore. | http://2030palette.com/%E7%83%9F%E5%9B%B1%E6%95%88%E5%BA%94%EF%BC%88%E7%83%AD%E5%8E%8B%EF%BC%89%E8%87%AA%E7%84%B6%E9%80%9A%E9%A3%8E/?lang=zh-hans |
I need an explanation for this Biology question to help me study.
DISCUSSION POST MUST BE 10+ SENTENCES AND THE PEER REVIEWS MUST BE 7+ SENTENCES PLEASE USE YOUR OWN WORDS AND DO NOT COPY FROM OTHER SITES STAY ON TOPIC ,BE POSITIVE , AND DO NOT COMMENT ON GRAMMAR ERRORS. TALK DIRECTLY TO CLASSMATES IN PEER REVIEWS!!! YOU MUST COMPLETE BOTH PEER REVIEWS AND DISCUSSION QUESTION!! THANK YOU
1) DISCUSSION QUESTION
Part 1: Post a Response
There are many practical applications of biological knowledge that we mostly accept and take for granted. Many (though not all) modern techniques in medicine, agriculture and sanitation are examples of widely accepted practices. However, our knowledge about biology has enabled us to do things that raise ethical and social issues. Cloning is one example of such a technology, but there are many others. Choose one such example, then:
- Describe the technology.
- Describe the ethical and social issues that are raised by the issue, and how you think that society should proceed.
2) PEER REVIEW #1 (TEMEKIA)
Dr. Cox and classmates,
I choose to write about Genetic testing. According to the textbook, Genetic testing, or screening is a technology used to study human inheritance patterns, which helps the genetic disorders arise and progress, and how they are treated. Genetic testing is done post-conception, in some cases, it is called prenatal diagnosis. As a parent, the text says that parents can benefit from human genetics studies by finding out if their future child will inherit a genetic disorder, that type of test will estimate the prospective parents for alleles that are associated with genetic disorders.
The ethical and social issues of this technology are that some procedures of the women will carry risk to the fetus, and some may vary by the type of procedure. Occasionally the CVS can disrupt the placenta’s development and may cause underdeveloped or missing fingers or toes in 3% of newborns.
Couples who are at high risk of having a child may opt for reproductive interventions such as vitro-fertilization. This procedure will save the couple eggs in a test tube for fertilization. I do not think that most of the babies in a test tube are healthy. I believe that if the baby is born in the womb of the woman with all the healthy nutrients they will obtain a better growth pattern.
Temekia.
3) PEER REVIEW #2 (JESSICA)
Hello Dr. Cox and Class,
Gene Therapy
This is an introduction of normal genes into cells in place of missing or defective ones in the process of correcting genetic disorders. Stem cells are the body’s raw materials. These are the cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated. Under the right conditions, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells. These daughter cells either become new stem cells or specialized cells such as the brain, blood, or bone cells (Nimesh, 1). Stem cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat a condition or disease. Bone marrow transplant is one of the most widely used and accepted steam cell therapy.
The ethical issue with gene therapy is the source of these stem cells. Embryonic stem cells come from embryos that are three to five years old. Some consider these embryos as human life, and their destruction for the harvest of stem cell recognized the moral issue with this technology. Oocyte harvesting raises issues concerning the safety of the donor (Lemoine, 2). There is also the need for informed consent of both donors of gametes and embryos.
I think society should create an awareness of this technology and try to explain the issues people have with gene therapy. They should assure the public that not all gene therapy involves harvesting from Oocytes. This awareness will help the society realize the potential this technology has in curing diseases that have no other cures. The society should understand that bone marrow transplant is one of the most widely used and accepted gene therapy. | https://essaybaywriters.com/discussion-question-and-peer-reviews-ra283154350/ |
- Enhance the ability of Arts and Sciences to deliver excellent graduate and undergraduate education.
- Project a more unified voice for Arts and Sciences at Fordham.
- Enable effective advocacy on behalf of students, faculty, and staff.
- Cultivate a vibrant culture and sense of community across departments, programs, and campuses.
- Ensure equity and consistency across campuses, clearly explaining and rationalizing differences in structures, policies, and processes where they exist.
- Promote dynamism in academic programs and effective coordination of graduate and undergraduate education.
- Expand opportunities for faculty and students alike to produce and share original research.
- Expand opportunities and support structures for interdisciplinary research, teaching, and learning.
- Consider specific revisions of policies, processes, and leadership positions to ensure a functioning institutional structure and to support strategic visioning and planning; and, where appropriate, provide stepwise proposals to advance these goals.
- Advance diversity, equity, and inclusion for all.
- Appoint a new senior administrator, the Chief Diversity Officer.
- In Student Affairs, promote the position of Assistant Dean and Director of Multicultural Affairs to the position of Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs for Diversity and Inclusion. In Human Resources, undertake a search for a Chief Human Resources Officer.
- Prioritize diversifying the ranks of all University administrators and faculty members.
- Expand outreach to recruit students of color.
- Strengthen and expand the University’s new student orientation programs for undergraduates.
- Develop orientation programs and ongoing personal and professional development programs that are appropriate for their students.
- Advance a proposal that seeks to require all first-year undergraduate students to enroll in a one-credit “First Year Experience” course containing a significant diversity component.
- Develop enough diversity-rich American Pluralism courses to serve all of our students.
- Work to include discussions or treatment of issues of diversity in courses as often and as richly as possible.
- Form school-based committees to identify and/or create professional development programs for faculty colleagues.
- Strengthen our highly successful Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (C-STEP).
- Create a standing Diversity Committee.
- Campus Center project which includes an expanded career center, expanded facilities for Campus Ministry and Student Affairs, updated dining facilities, new space for student clubs and socializing, new event spaces, and updated technology, among other features.
- Continued renovation of Lowenstein Center space at Lincoln Center.
Fordham College at Lincoln Center
- Increase student retention.
- Enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Further ""Re-imagining Arts and Sciences.”
- Support Faculty and Student Research.
- Increase partnerships with Manhattan cultural institutions / curricular engagement with NYC.
- Increase collaboration with professional schools (e.g., Gabelli, Law School, School of Education) to bolster opportunities for accelerated or dual degree programs.
- Increase study abroad / global engagement.
- Increase alumni engagement.
- Heighten visibility of FCLC.
- Foster a culture of student support and success.
- Pursue diversity and inclusive excellence.
Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education
- Develop highly qualified teacher-scholar-practitioners from diverse backgrounds who engage in public life to serve the academy, faith communities, and society.
- Verify the educational effectiveness of all degree programs by engaging in comprehensive assessment toward curriculum reform—inclusive, intercultural, interdisciplinary, and interfaith.
- Increase and diversify enrollment by expanding operations in the areas of development/annual fund, marketing communications, recruitment, retention, global partnerships, and alumni relations.
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Invest in diversity, access, and inclusion.
- Enhance the stature of GSE as a nationally and internationally recognized research institution.
- Enhance revenue through fee-for-service programming, and special cohort-based programming
- Enhance efficiency and effectiveness of GSE through faculty and staff training in diversity, disability, and University software systems.
Graduate School of Social Service
- Support and Promot GSS Faculty as Innovative Educators and Scholars.
- Design and advance strategies for linking issues of diversity to mission and identity.
- Foster a diverse and inclusive community.
- Enhance the value of a Fordham law education. | https://www.fordham.edu/info/29497/a_diverse_and_inclusive_community |
When did the realism movement start?
1840s
What is the purpose of realism in literature?
It depicts familiar people, places, and stories, primarily about the middle and lower classes of society. Literary realism seeks to tell a story as truthfully as possible instead of dramatizing or romanticizing it.
What was the focus of realism?
Broadly defined as “the faithful representation of reality”, Realism as a literary movement is based on “objective reality.” It focuses on showing everyday activities and life, primarily among the middle or lower class society, without romantic idealization or dramatization.
Who created realism?
Gustave Courbet
What happened during the realism period?
Realism was an artistic movement that began in France in the 1850s, following the 1848 Revolution. Realists rejected Romanticism, which had dominated French literature and art since the late 18th century, revolting against the exotic subject matter and exaggerated emotionalism of the movement.
Who started realism in America?
PROFESSOR KAZIN : The American novel, as a realistic form, began just about one hundred years ago when men like Henry James and William Dean Howells, who were very much influenced by European novelists, suddenly began to write realistically about American society. The novel as a form really began around that time.
What led to American realism?
American Realism began as a reaction to and a rejection of Romanticism, with its emphasis on emotion, imagination, and the individual. The movement began as early as the 1830’s but reached prominence and held sway from the end of the Civil War to around the end of the nineteenth century.
Who is the father of American realism?
Mark Twain
What were the main characteristics of romanticism and realism?
What were the major features of the cultural movements known as romanticism and realism? Romanticism is the emphasis on feelings, imagination, and emotion. Realism is the belief that the world should be viewed realistically and scientifically.
What came first romanticism or realism?
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic era) was relatively late in developing in French literature, even more so than in the visual arts. Literary realism was the trend, beginning with mid 19th century French literature and extending to late 19th century writers, towards depictions of contemporary society as it was.
What is realism and romance?
Romantic realism is art that combines elements of both romanticism and realism. The terms “romanticism” and “realism” have been used in varied ways, and are sometimes seen as opposed to one another.
Are you a hopeless romantic or realist?
When it comes to simple definitions: a hopeless romantic is someone who loves the idea of being in love, fantasizes about it and its fairy-tale entwined possibilities. Whereas, a realist is someone who is skeptical about the idea of love and questions its mere existence.
What’s the difference between Impressionism and Realism?
The main differences between impressionism and realism is that impressionism aimed to capture the essence of the object and it’s relationship with light whereas realism was an attempt to represent subject matter accurately and truthfully particularly ordinary everyday life.
What is the difference between realism and naturalism?
Realism attempted to depict things as they actually are, which contrasted with the previously dominant aesthetic of romanticism. Naturalism attempted to depict things realistically, but focused on determinism, or the inability of people to resist their circumstances.
Is The Seagull naturalism or realism?
The Seagull is a naturalistic play in which the tone remains the same throughout the play. It is not a theatrical play but rather a play which presents people of ordinary and everyday life. This is especially evident through the plot and action.
Is the yellow wallpaper psychological realism?
In addition to being discussed as feminist literature and as an example of psychological realism, “The Yellow Wallpaper” has been lauded as a preeminent piece of Gothic fiction because of its incorporation of such Gothic literary elements as horror, suspense, and the supernatural.
Why is the yellow wallpaper realism?
I believe Gilman has used psychological realism to help readers develop a more accepting perception of individuals suffering with mental illness. I believe that the narrator’s husband attributes making the narrator’s mental state worse.
Is the yellow wallpaper a gothic or realist text?
Charlotte Perkins Gilman had no way of knowing that a story she wrote in 1892 would one day be regarded as a classic in feminist literature. The gothic tale of “The Yellow Wallpaper” has become just that, although it took nearly a century to find a truly understanding audience.
What are the symbols in the Yellow Wallpaper?
The Yellow Wallpaper | Symbols
- Yellow Wallpaper. The yellow wallpaper’s pattern symbolizes the confinement of the narrator.
- Estate. The estate, which consists of an isolated house and its gardens, reflects the narrator’s own isolation.
- Moon.
What are the major themes in the Yellow Wallpaper?
The main themes in “The Yellow Wallpaper” are the oppressive nature of gender roles, appearance versus reality, and the need for self-expression.
How does the author develop the characters in the story The Yellow Wallpaper?
In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the reader develops empathy for Jane, the narrator, the moment she says of her husband, “You see he does not believe I am sick!,” early in the story. We continue to develop empathy for her the more we see her being oppressed by her husband, who claims he knows what’s best for her. | https://panicjanet.com/when-did-the-realism-movement-start/ |
Marxism is the idea of social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. Social processes are the way individuals and groups interact, adjust and reject and start relationships based on behavior which is modified through social interactions. Overall marxism analyzes how societies progress and how and society ceases to progress, or regress because of their local or regional economy , or global economy.In this case, Marxism’s theory applies to the novel, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, where a society where mass satisfaction is the instrument utilized by places of power known as the Alphas in order to control the oppressed by keeping the Epsilons numb, at the cost of their opportunity to choose their own way of life.
Brave New World, a novel written by Aldous Huxley explores an utopian future where embryos are chemically engineered to fit in a certain class and soma suppresses negative feelings providing its captor with spurts of energy. The people living in this “new world” are born into different castes such as alphas, betas, gammas, deltas, and epsilons. The alphas are the highest ranking people in the world state while the epsilons are the lowest ranking members and do all the jobs no one wants to do. This book is relevant today in the society in which we live. From relationships to technology, to economy many of the ideas and struggles in this novel have very much translated into our society today.
Aldous Huxley uses Bernard Marx, Helmholtz Watson, and John’s varying interpretations of freedom to enhance the lack of diversity in the World State society with both actions and beliefs. In Brave New World, the World State society was formed on the idea of “Community, Identity, Stability.” It was used to perpetuate ideas of freedom, and more often lack thereof. Bernard Marx struggles in Brave New World, and as a result continued perpetuating the lack of diversity in the World State. Bernard does not disapprove of the World State society, he wants to fit into it.
Eugenics: Addressing the Line Between Utopia and Dystopia Many biologists/geneticists are in favor of eugenics due to the possibility of advancing the human race, limiting disease, and decreasing the occurrence of negative mutations, while others believe eugenic practices are unethical, useless, and have more potential for harm. Eugenic practices have proven to be extremely controversial, so I will focus on discussing the potential impacts of eugenics on the human body, society, and morality. Modern eugenic practices consist of two types of gene alteration: negative genetic engineering, which is the process of removing genes to combat disease, and gene therapy, which improves one 's genetic make-up (Hix, 2009, para. 4). Both methods of eugenics are equally controversial and equally promising. Gene therapy has been used to
Following the European Age of Discovery and Exploration in the 15th century, the world began to get partitioned off under the control of the European superpowers: the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Spanish, the English, and the French. Through papal decrees and wars, the shifting colony boundaries were chiefly determined by whichever proved to be the most powerful and influential empire. By the time Aldous Huxley began to rise to fame in the 1930s, the world ideology of the advanced Western white man had been in place for centuries. In a time of growing unrest, Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, functions as a criticism of the growing secular sentiments within the Western civilizations’ beliefs of the innate superiority of the cultures, government
John Humphrey Noyes, the leader of the community, is akin to Mustafa Mond in the novel. Both Noyes and Mustafa Mond had control over their societies and isolated them from the universe. Some similar aspects of Oneida’s complex marriage are also visible in Brave New World. Everyone belonged to everyone, and monogamy was frowned upon in each society. Noyes and Huxley were both intrigued by eugenics, but Huxley took the idea one step further: instead of specifically pairing couples to produce children, as Noyes did, the author completely eradicated the concept of parenthood.
In the novel, Brave New World, the characters discuss about how in their “new world,” the authorities want to ban books. Huxley thinks there should be no reason to ban reading for those who wanted to read. For some people it’s difficult to learn how to read and know how to process it into learning how to cook, create, draw, sing, etc. Without reading how will you know how to do a task, or how to solve a problem.
John’s suicide was the final event that happened in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. However, John’s suicide didn’t come out of nowhere, there were events in the novel that led up to his death in chapter 18. One of the most important factors that led up to the point where he takes his own life is being an outcast of the two societies he had lived in. John was too different from the peoples of both the Savage Reservation and the World State, he is incompatible with both worlds. John’s life began with him being an outcast of society and it ended with him still being an outcast of society.
As technology improves, so do human capabilities of altering nature, which in turn creates increased responsibility. This directly relates to genetic engineering, which is beginning to morph into a reality. There are advocates for both sides that convey their personal opinions about the hypothetical results, but neither is clearly superior since both arguments speculate upon an unknown future. Hungarian psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, outlines this topic in his essay “The Future of Happiness,” which focuses on the history of selective breeding and compares the goal of happiness with genetic engineering. Csikszentmihalyi alternates between viewpoints regarding genetic engineering but presents a perspective dominated by warning.
The Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering also show that genetic engineering can lead to overpopulation and wars. First of all, in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., everyone is the same and they have strict laws. In Harrison Bergeron, people are made to be the same by putting weights on strong people, making beautiful people wear ugly masks, and hindering smart people’s thoughts. In Jonas’ community, there is Sameness, which is making everything the
In Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World, the idea of individuality is explored as the people of the Brave New World are conditioned to act and think in specific ways. When John, originally from the Savage Reservation, is brought into the civilized world, his more complex ways of thinking and outside perspective on the civilized society reveal the conformity of the people. When John is brought to the lighthouse for an experiment, the people of the Brave New World see John as entertainment and enjoy watching him whip himself. In Chapter 18 at the lighthouse, Huxley uses the animal imagery to emphasize John’s individuality and show the lack of individuality among the people living in the Brave New World.
As John mindlessly scrolls though his Facebook feed he never would suspect that what he is doing is sending his private information to Facebook, which per the terms and conditions which he didn’t read, allow Facebook to send his information to any other company for any reason they see fit. A frightening prospect is it not?
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating.” -Kofi Annan. This quote establishes that through learning, wisdom, and education, one will find themselves in a position to succeed; a place of awareness in a society of unnoticed, let alone unanswered, questions. Throughout our lifetime, we are surrounded by rules and guidelines that are set to to create a baseline consistency in society. This creates a large population of those who follow such guidelines, or a majority. Opposing the majority, are those who seek information for themselves, wanting their own, more personal enjoyment, rather than conforming to the status quo. However, if too many people are given their personal freedom to find happiness for themselves, instability and
As the penman predicted, the mankind is now in the process of putting on the analogous paradigm to the control of mother nature (Mazzoni). Literally speaking, people are now engineering nature. They try to create and produce new forms of life by making interventions on the microcosmic level. With genetic modification, people climb to a new, highest level of genetics. The cloning industry as well as genetic engineering are advancing so fast that it would only take a short time until people would feel the power and would misuse them on their own account (Schumacher).
Only thing the society should really love is Bigh Brother, but Winston rebels against that as well. He and Julia have a sexual relationship that turns into love, which are two rules that they both break in the novel. In Brave New World, John the Savage has self-discipline and control, unlike the people in the society around him. John was brought up in the Savage Reservation so he stands out and is an outsider. The World State, like the Party or Big Brother, promotes happiness, uniformity, and stability. | https://www.ipl.org/essay/Genetic-Engineering-In-Aldous-Huxleys-A-Brave-FJSR8U9UZT |
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In any community laws are laid down to regulate and guide the actions of its citizens. Failure to adhere to these laws, results in a person committing a crime which is an act or omission prohibited and punishable by law. When a crime is committed it is the due care and responsibility of judges to decide the punishment or remedies to be carried out on the offender. In deciding the punishment or remedies to be carried out, judges rely on the doctrine of binding precedent to provide judgment on a case.
A precedent, in the English Law System, is a previous court decision which another court is bound to follow, by deciding a subsequent case in the same way.
The doctrine of binding precedent started under the ruler-ship of King Henry II, in an effort to centralize the administration of justice. He sent royal commissioners round on a tour or circuit, to deal with local problems and legal disputes. They became known as Circuit Judges.
The circuit judges provided uniformity in the administration of law, as decisions on cases were recorded and a unified decision to mete punishment or remedies in local disputes were acquired, and became known stare decisis which means “to stand by a decision”. This formed the basis for the doctrine of judicial precedent (case laws) in which a judge would be bound to rules on a case based on the ruling of a previous case who’s facts are materially similar in a nature to the one currently being ruled on.
Precedents can be binding, that is it must be followed in later cases, or merely persuasive, where it may or may not be used to influence later cases, as judges are not bound by them. To determine if a precedent is binding or persuasive, the judge would have to consider these main factors:
1. The Material Facts Of The Case:-
In order for a precedent to be binding on a judge in a latter case, the material fact of the two cases must be similar.
2. The Hierarchy Of The Courts
The higher up the court is in the court structure, the greater their ability to form a binding decision on the lower courts. The hierarchy of courts was established by the Judicature Act 1873- 75 and the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876.
Judicial Precedent In The Hierarchy Of The Courts
European Court Of Justice:- Since joining the European Communities in 1973 under S3(1) of the European Communities Act 1973, all English courts have been bound by the decision of the European Court Of Justice (ECJ) in matters of European Law. The European Court tends to follow its own decisions but is not strictly bound by them.
The Supreme Court/ House of Lords:- The House of Lords was replaced by the Supreme Court from 1st October 2009. The Supreme Court will carry out the same jurisdiction as the House of Lords, and the current law lord will take office as justices of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the English Law System, except in the matters of European Law. Its decision binds all English courts even itself up until 1966, when the Lord Chancellor introduced the PRACTICE STATEMENT. The PRACTICE STATEMENT of 1966 stated that the House of Lords would no longer regard itself absolutely bound by its own precedents, an example of this is seen in the case Miliangos v George Frank (Textiles) Ltd ) in which the house overruled its previous decision in Re United Railways of Havana & Regla Ware House Ltd case, forming an entirely new precedent, despite the fact that the two cases were the same. The court held that the English Court may award damages in a foreign currency. It should be noted that despite the fact that the House of Lords has freedom to depart its previous precedent it has not been exercised very often.
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The Court of Appeal: – The Court of Appeal decisions are binding on itself e.g. Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co (1944) and all inferior lower courts of the English Legal System. The Court of Appeal decisions are bound by decisions made in the Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice.
The High Court:-The High Court decisions are binding on all lower courts and a high court judge sitting alone. It consists of three divisions: the Queen Bench Division, Family Division and the Chancery Division.The High Court decisions are bound by the courts that are higher on the court structure, such as the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords. A divisional court may depart from a decision previously made by another divisional court if it believes that the previous decision was wrong e.g. R V Greater Manchester Coroner, ex porte tal .
Crown, County and Magistrate Court and Tribunals: – Their decisions are not binding on any court in English Legal System, not even itself. However the decisions made in the Crown Court are highly persuasive.
3. The Ratio decidendi & Obiter dicter
The ratio decendi of a case is the point in a case which determines the judgment or the principle which the case establishes. When a judge delivers judgment in a case he outlines the facts which he finds have been proved on evidence, then he applies the law to those facts and arrive at a decision for which he gives the reason. This reason is the ratio decendi which forms the binding precedent which must be followed in future cases containing the same material facts.
The obiter dicter, Latin for a statement said by the way, although included in the court’s opinion do not form a binding precedent. However, they can be strongly persuasive. Instances where a court opinion may include an obiter dicter are:
Where a court rules that it lacks jurisdiction to hear a case or dismiss a case on technicality. If a court in such a case should offer an opinion on the merits of that case, the opinion will constitute an obiter dicter.
Where the judge in explaining his rule provides a hypothetical set of facts and explains how he or she believes the law would apply these facts.
Where a judge makes side comments in an opinion to provide context for other parts of the opinion.
WAYS IN WHICH PRECEDENTS CAN BE AVOIDED
Even if a precedent appears to be binding there are a number of grounds on which a court may decline to follow it:
If the decision was made per incuriam, that is a decision reached on carelessness or forgetfulness of an inconsistent statutory provision.
Overrule: – where an earlier decision made in a lower court is overturned because it is not in agreement with judges in a high court. The previous decision will still stand but just not followed in later cases.
Reversed: – upon successful appeal to a high court, if the lower court wrongly interpreted the law, the higher court could reverse its decision, overruling its statement of law.
Distinguish: – where the facts are significantly different from an early case. The judge distinguishes the two cases and need not follow the earlier one.
ADVANTAGES OF PRECEDENT
Flexibility: – Precedents can be avoided in many ways and this enables the system to adapt to new situations, to meet the needs of a changing society.
Certainty: – judicial precedents provides certainty of the outcome of a case, making it possible to forecast what a decision will be and plan accordingly by looking at existing procedures.
Detailed practical rules: – judicial precedent is set by real cases as oppose to statutes which are more theoretical and logical. These cases show in detail the application of the law enabling judges to make an accurate informed decision on a case.
Uniformity in the law: – similar cases will be treated in the same way. This is important to give the system a sense of justice and make the system acceptable to the public.
DISADVANTAGES OF PRECEDENT
Ridgity: – judicial precedents forces judges to stand by a previous decision, this encourages bad judicial decisions to perpetuate for a long time before a successful appeal is heard to overrule setting a new precedent.
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Uncertainty & Complexity; – the advantage of certainty can be lost if there are more than one judges sitting on a case forming more than one ratio decidendi. This makes it difficult and more complex to determine which ratio will bind future case of similar nature.
Volume & Timelines: – it takes a long time for cases to be decided upon as judges have to find the ratio of a case which may be buried in a large volume of law reports from existing cases.
Degradation of lower courts: – the overruling of a lower court’s decision by a higher court on an appealed case weakens and lowers the respect of that lower court.
CONCLUSION
The use of a binding precedent to decide cases reduces the possibility of judges making bad decisions and ensures that access to justice is rewarding to all litigants.
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Levant U.P.S. Ltd t/a (“we” or “us”) is committed to data protection and data privacy. With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becoming enforceable from 25 May 2018, we have undertaken a GDPR readiness programme to review our entire business, the way we handle data and the way in which we use it to provide our services and manage business operations.
We hold personal data on all our customers and suppliers to meet legal obligations, to perform vital internal functions and to provide our services to you if you are a customer or make use of your services if you are a supplier. This notice details the personal data we may retain, process and share with third parties relating to your this and vital business operations. We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure, accurate and relevant. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have implemented suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure personal data we hold.
Introduction
We have issued this notice to describe how we handle personal information that we hold about customers and suppliers (collectively referred to as "you").
We respect the privacy rights of individuals and are committed to handling personal information responsibly and in accordance with applicable law. This notice sets out the personal data that we collect and process about you, the purposes of the processing and the rights that you have in connection with it.
If you are in any doubt regarding this notice, please contact [email protected]
Types Of Personal Data We Collect
Throughout your working relationship with us, we may process personal data about you and your dependents, beneficiaries and other individuals whose personal data has been provided to us.
The types of personal information we may process include, but are not limited to:
· Identification data – such as your name, gender, photograph, staff member IDs or Companies House information depending on our relationship with you.
· Contact details – such as business address, telephone/email addresses.
· Background information – such as academic/professional qualifications, education, CV, criminal records data (for vetting purposes, where permissible and in accordance with applicable law).
· Financial information – such as banking details, tax information, withholdings, salary, benefits, expenses, allowances, stock and equity grants. We may perform credit checks in order to establish your creditworthiness to enable us to decide whether or not to enter or continue a business relationship with you
· IT information – information required to provide access to our IT systems and networks such as IP addresses, log files and login information.
· Supplier/customer references relating to previous business transactions may be undertaken prior to commencement of our business relationship with you. We will only gather references from referees provided to us by you.
Sensitive personal data (‘special categories of personal data’ under the General Data Protection Regulation) includes any information that reveals your racial or ethnic origin, religious, political or philosophical beliefs, genetic data, biometric data for the purposes of unique identification, trade union membership, or information about your health/sex life. Generally, we try not to collect or process any sensitive personal information about you, unless authorised by law or where necessary to comply with applicable laws. In some circumstances, we may need to collect some sensitive personal information for legitimate employment-related purposes.
For example, data relating to your racial/ethnic origin, gender and disabilities for the purposes of:
· Equal opportunities monitoring
· To comply with anti-discrimination laws
· For government reporting obligations
Purposes for Processing Personal Data
Legitimate business purposes
We may also collect and use personal information when it is necessary for other legitimate purposes, such as to help us conduct our business more effectively and efficiently – for example, to enter into contracts in order to supply or receive goods or services, to maintain and improve the quality of our goods or services, to provide you with information which you require from us, for general IT security management, accounting purposes or financial planning and or credit check purposes. We may also process your personal information to investigate violations of law or breaches of our own internal policies or in order to process and respond to your queries or complaints.
The IT Department will record and monitor usage of all our IT equipment, user activity, voice traffic, email and Internet usage as deemed necessary. The IT Department will observe the strictest confidentiality when undertaking these activities. They will make their report directly to Alan Kemal who will determine the actions that may need to be taken in any particular case.
Our site(s) is/are protected by circuit television (CCTV) systems throughout its premises as deemed necessary and employees should expect all areas (other than those where use would contravene common decency) to be visible on a television monitoring system. Any information obtained from systems will be used with strict adherence to the GDPR. Information will be used for the prevention and detection of crime and to ensure compliance with our policies and procedures and our legal obligations. This may include using recorded images as evidence in disciplinary proceedings.
Legal purposes
We may also use your personal data where we consider it necessary for complying with laws and regulations, including collecting and disclosing customer or supplier personal information as required by law (e.g. for tax, health and safety, anti-discrimination laws), under judicial authorisation, or to exercise or defend our legal rights.
Legal basis for processing personal data
Our legal basis for collecting and using the personal data described above will depend on the personal data concerned and the way we collect it. We will normally collect personal data from you only where we need it to perform a contract with you (i.e. to manage the customer/supplier relationship), where we have your freely given consent to do so, or where the processing is in our legitimate interests and only where this interest is not overridden by your own interests or fundamental rights and freedoms. In some cases, we may also have a legal obligation to collect personal information from you or may otherwise need the personal information to protect your vital interests or those of another person.
Any processing based on consent will be made clear to you at the time of collection or use – consent can be withdrawn at any time by contacting Alan Kemal.
Who we share your personal data with
We take care to allow access to personal data only to those who require such access to perform their tasks and duties, and to third parties who have a legitimate purpose for accessing it. Whenever we permit a third party to access personal information, we will implement appropriate measures to ensure the data is used in a manner consistent with this notice and that the security and confidentiality of the data is maintained.
Transfers to third-party service providers.
In addition, we make certain personal data available to third parties who provide services to us. We do so on a "need to know basis" and in accordance with applicable data protection and data privacy laws.
For example, some personal data will be available to our employee benefit plans service providers and third-party companies who provide us with employment law advice, health and safety support, payroll support services, expenses, tax and travel management services.
Transfers to other third parties
We may also disclose personal data to third parties on other lawful grounds, including:
· To comply with our legal obligations, including where necessary to abide by law, regulation or contract, or to respond to a court order, administrative or judicial process
· In response to lawful requests by public authorities (including for national security or law enforcement purposes)
· As necessary to establish, exercise or defend against potential, threatened or actual litigation
· Where necessary to protect the vital interests of our employees or another person
· In connection with the sale, assignment or other transfer of all or part of our business; or
· With your freely given and explicit consent
Transfer of personal data abroad
We may need to transfer personal data to countries outside of the United Kingdom. When we export your personal data to a different country, we will take steps to ensure that such data exports comply with applicable laws. For example, if we transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA), such as to the United States, we will implement an appropriate data export solution such as entering into contracts with the data importer that contain EU model clauses or taking other measures to provide an adequate level of data protection.
Data retention
Personal data will be stored in accordance with applicable laws and kept for as long as needed to carry out the purposes described in this notice or as otherwise required by law. Generally, this means your personal information will be retained until the end or your employment, employment application, or work relationship with us plus a reasonable period of time thereafter to respond to employment or work-related inquiries or to deal with any legal matters (e.g. judicial or disciplinary actions), document the proper termination of your employment or work relationship (e.g. to tax authorities), or to provide you with ongoing pensions or other benefits.
For more information, please see our Data Retention Policy, which outlines our current document retention schedule.
Your rights
You may exercise the rights available to you under data protection law as follows:
· The right to be informed.
· The right of access.
· The right to rectification.
· The right to erasure.
· The right to restrict processing.
· The right to data portability.
· The right to object.
· Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.
We respond to all requests we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws. You can read more about these rights at:
https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/is-my-information-being-handled-correctly/
To exercise any of these rights, please contact [email protected]
Issues and complaints
We try to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.
This notice was drafted with clarity in mind. It does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of our collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed.
If you want to make a complaint about the way we have processed your personal information, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office in their capacity as the statutory body which oversees data protection law – www.ico.org.uk/concerns.
Updates to this notice
This notice may be updated periodically to reflect any necessary changes in our privacy practices. In such cases, we will inform you by company-wide email. We encourage you to check this notice periodically to be aware of the most recent version. | https://www.levantups.co.uk/privacy-policy-customers-and-suppliers |
A pilot study on the quality control of film processing in medical radiology laboratories in Greece.
The results of a pilot study on the quality of film processing in 80 medical diagnostic radiology laboratories all over Greece are presented. The sensitometric technique for the evaluation of processing has been used to calculate film's base + fog, maximum optical density, speed and contrast, parameters which describe the performance characteristics of automatic film processors and films. The mean values of the base + fog and the maximum optical density were well within the acceptance limits. The film speed was almost constant while the film contrast showed significant variation.
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Communities are structured by interactions between species and their environment and between one another. Because resources are typically limited in nature, competition (sensitivity to the presence of other individuals of the same or of another species) is an important determinant of whether or not species can coexist, and is also an important process to understand biodiversity (Tilman, 1987; Freckleton et al., 2009 ). Numerous studies have measured how the presence of competitors alters growth and survival (Connell, 1983; Ascheoug et al., 2016), and researchers are currently focused on effectively translating experimental measures of competition to the coexistence and biodiversity patterns observed in natural communities (Freckleton et al. 2009). Resource competition has been demonstrated to show sensitivity to temperature and other factors that influence productivity (Goldber et al., 1999), and it is therefore likely that biodiversity patterns associated with competition will shift as a result of anthropogenic environmental changes such as altered rainfall patterns (Hautier et al.,2009; Clark et al., 2011) and urbanization (Shochat et al., 2010).
The effects of competition can be quantified in numerous ways (Weigelt et al., 2003). An effective method for quantifying competitive ability is to estimate parameter values from models that describe the effects of competitors for growth of populations (May & Leonard, 1975; Beverton & Holt, 1957). This method allows a precise, quantitative definition of competitive ability for a given species that can be compared across different species or conditions, which differs from approaches such as experimental removal of focal species (e.g. Oksanen et al. 2006). Generally, the models include a growth rate term, a term for intraspecific competition (interaction with individuals of the same species), and a term for interspecific competition (interaction with individuals of other species).
Despite the numerous models available for describing population dynamics in the presence of competitors, Chesson (2000; 2012) has shown that common determinants for competitive ability and coexistence emerge from these models. Across the range of models for competition, competitive dominant species are those that combine a high growth rate in the absence of competition and an ability to tolerate competition from both conspecific and heterospecific individuals in their shared location (Hart et al. 2017). If the parameters of these competition models are correctly estimated, it is possible to quantify competition, determine competitive hierarchies, and determine expected coexistence patterns for groups of potentially co-occurring species (Hart et al. 2017).
One important assumption for these models is that the parameters are traditionally treated as fixed for each species. This implies there is no intraspecific variation for the traits that underlie these parameters, which is unlikely to be the case in nature. The population growth rate parameter used in ecological models of population growth, r, is ultimately the same as an individual’s realized fitness (Coulson et al. 2006), and fitness varies in the context of genes and environment. Furthermore, traits that influence competition (e.g. Jung et al. 2010; Edwards et al 2013; Vogt et al. 2013; Kunstler et al. 2016) are often heritable and vary among populations (Ehlers et al., 2016). These findings are important for accurately understanding biodiversity because community dynamics can be influenced by by the genetic composition of resident species (Vellend 2006). For example, one study demonstrated that the genetic composition of one species altered the colonization success of other immigrant species (De Meester et al 2007), and another study found that rapid adaptation for one species in response to different environmental conditions caused entirely different zooplankton communities to assemble (Pantel et al 2015). Another study in a plant- microbe system, found that coevolution of microbes with their host Brassica rapa also led to microbial communities with distinct composition patterns (terHorst et al 2014).
While studies have measured the consequences of genetic variation for competition, community assembly, and coexistence, it is currently not known whether coefficients for competition models demonstrate heritable intraspecific variation. The aim of this study was to determine whether the strength of competition between two species is a heritable trait. We used freshwater zooplankton as a model system to investigate this and had three main goals: (1) to estimate genetic variation in functional traits that might influence competitive ability; 2) to determine whether there is genetic variation for competitive ability itself (both intraspecific and interspecific competition); 3) and to determine if variable competition strength affects community dynamics and species coexistence in experimental mesocosms. We combined three experiments to achieve these goals. The first wass measurement of grazing rates in multiple clones of two zooplankton species in a common garden environment, The second was a common garden experiment to quantify pairwise competition coefficients for multiple clones of each species. The third was a mesocosm experiment to determine whether intraspecific genetic variation in competition strength altered the outcome of community dynamics and whether this effect was temperature-dependent.
Recommended Citation
Han, Zeyi, "The Effects of Intra- and Interspecific Phenotypic Variations for Competition in Freshwater Zooplankton" (2019). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 1390. | https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1390/ |
Chronic pain is a multifaceted condition that can take many forms, including headaches, back and neck pain, arthritis, neurogenic pain (resulting from nerve damage), and psychogenic pain (pain existing without medical explanation). Its unrelenting and debilitating nature can rob you of the life you once knew; it can hinder your ability to engage in routine activities, such as going to work and running errands, and it can prevent you from exercising, socializing, and getting restful sleep. With increased dependency on others for support, people suffering from chronic pain can feel like a burden to those they love, which may negatively impact those relationships as well.
Seeking treatment for chronic pain often adds another level of frustration, requiring a significant investment of time and money to pursue the most effective remedies. Despite medications and steroid injections, procedures, use of TENS units, and visits to physical therapists, chronic pain seems to return with a vengeance. Impediments to daily functioning, combined with often futile attempts at relief, can leave sufferers feeling hopeless and with a diminished sense of identity and self-worth.
It’s easy to underestimate the impact of psychological factors on pain, since chronic pain is broadly viewed as a purely physical problem. But this widespread belief has caused sufferers of psychogenic pain in particular to be stigmatized and have their experiences invalidated. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines the experience of chronic pain as both a physiological and psychological/emotional phenomenon: Our thoughts and feelings about pain can actually influence our sensory perception at the neural level, which indicates a powerful mind-body connection between pain and our emotions.
This mind-body connection is also found in the vicious cycle between chronic pain and anxiety/depression. In many cases, as a person’s pain increases, their engagement in activity decreases as they attempt to reduce discomfort or prevent reinjury, and this leads to maladaptive thoughts about their limitations and overall situation. The resulting anxiety and depression reinforce their inertia through avoidance and withdrawal, which further perpetuates the physical experience of pain, and in turn, feeds deepening feelings of hopelessness, uncertainty, and despair. Learning how to end this cycle and better manage your experience of chronic pain begins with learning how to identify and regulate your thoughts and emotions.
Research shows that one of the most effective approaches for treating chronic pain is a combination of managing the condition and engaging in therapy to address related emotional distress. As a foundation of treatment, Dr. Kimberly Fishbach uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP), an evidence-based approach to chronic and acute pain that has been supported by over 30 years of empirical support. To promote the most effective outcome, she incorporates additional therapeutic modalities, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), interpersonal therapy, mindfulness techniques, and hypnosis to help clients redefine their relationship with pain, increase acceptance, accomplish a deeper state of relaxation, and minimize the severity of pain symptoms. While never a quick fix, the use of hypnosis in conjunction with these therapies can further facilitate relief by redirecting the mind away from pain while clients learn to relax and mitigate the mental anguish associated with physical pain.
In addition to addressing their personal experience with chronic pain, Dr. Fishbach helps clients identify the cognitive and behavioral factors that contribute to the pain cycle, teaches adaptive strategies to overcome these factors, and empowers clients to reclaim their lives and live more fully again.
The symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) include abdominal pain, constipation, gas, bloating, and diarrhea; all of which can have a significant and negative impact on quality of life. While functionally, IBS is a gastrointestinal disorder, it can often occur with other non-GI concerns, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, and anxiety. Those suffering from IBS understand that episodes can be triggered as much by stress as by diet.
Dr. Rebecca Hoffenberg relies on an integrative approach to IBS that takes the whole person into consideration, from dietary triggers to psychological and other stress factors. Having trained with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) in Hypnosis Interventions for IBS and working in consultation with top gastroenterologists, she uses hypnosis in combination with other modalities, such as CBT and mindfulness techniques. By combining these modalities in a supportive and therapeutic environment, Dr. Hoffenberg is able to help her clients achieve improvements in their IBS symptoms, as well as decrease stress levels and improve overall well-being. By promoting lifestyle changes, Dr. Hoffenberg also helps her patients navigate the additional symptoms associated with IBS, such as fatigue, nausea, and backache, which also greatly impact a person’s quality of life.
As with treatment for chronic pain, the mind-body connection is at the core of a holistic, integrative approach to IBS. While there is no conventional cure, clinical studies have shown that hypnosis is effective in treating IBS by providing both psychological and symptomatic relief, and that hypnosis may help reduce abdominal pain by an average of half or even more. In combination with addressing dietary changes, lifestyle choices, and other factors, and in conjunction with other therapeutic modalities, hypnosis is evidence-supported as an effective treatment for IBS.
By helping her clients identify and better manage the dietary, mental, and emotional triggers which can lead to and worsen IBS flare-ups, Dr. Hoffenberg empowers her clients to reduce the pain and discomfort associated with IBS and to regain their quality of life.
No items found. | https://www.nyhealthhypnosis.com/specialties/chronic-pain |
Gravitational waves are a key prediction of general relativity, a theory proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915 that is still our best explanation for the force of gravity. Einstein pictured space and time as interwoven aspects of the same underlying reality, known as space-time. Objects that possess mass, such as stars and planets, warp space-time much like how a heavy ball placed on a trampoline creates a bowl-like depression around itself. This curvature in the space-time trampoline, so to speak, is experienced by all matter in the universe as the force of gravity. Whenever any mass moves, it generates gravitational waves that swell through space-time like ripples radiating across a pond's surface. For these waves to be big enough to detect, however, extraordinarily massive, astronomical objects are required, such as accelerating black holes or neutron stars. The ability to measure the strength and frequency of gravitational waves is important because these measurements would provide vital details about the distant, exotic phenomena that unleashed the waves upon the cosmos.
Why are gravitational waves important for science?
Virtually all of our knowledge about the universe has come to us in the form of light, or electromagnetic radiation. Gravitational waves, however, are an entirely different form of radiation, produced by some of the most violent events in the universe. The study of gravitational waves will reveal the inner workings of some of the most violent events in the universe, such as the collisions of black holes and the explosions of titanic stars. Gravity itself, as a force of nature, will be probed in new ways in these extreme astrophysical conditions that are un-reproducible on Earth in the laboratory. Gravitational waves should even let scientists see all the way back to the origin of the cosmos itself in the Big Bang. The opening of these unparalleled new vistas has a historical precedent. For nearly all of human history, we had to make do with the sunlight and starlight our eyes can see. However, visible light makes up a tiny sliver of the range of energies light can possess. In the 20th century, we learned how to detect the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from the highest-energy gamma rays on down to the lowest-energy radio waves. As a result, astronomers literally saw the universe in a whole new light. A slew of phenomena and happenings in the cosmos suddenly became evident to us, from the spasms of supermassive black holes in galaxy cores to the faint heat emanated by gas clouds where solar systems are born. Now, in the 21st century, a newfound ability to see in gravitational waves will further bolster our efforts to understand the universe.
What is the history behind the search for gravitational waves?
Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, published in full in 1916, revolutionized the understanding of gravity that had prevailed since Isaac Newton's time in the 17th century. Rather than treating space and time as absolute, independent entities as Newton did, Einstein's equations intertwined them into a "space-time." The force of gravity, although described quite accurately by Newton's mathematics, was now conceived by Einstein to be a geometric property of space-time. According to general relativity, mass caused space-time to curve in a describable manner, manifesting as gravity. Application of Einstein's theory resolved numerous discrepancies with Newton's physics, such as tiny shifts in the orbit of the planet Mercury. Over the past century, the predictions of general relativity have been proven to extreme accuracy again and again, and have even made possible precision technologies such as the Global Positioning System.
The LIGO Laboratory operates two detector sites, one near Hanford in eastern Washington, and another near Livingston, Louisiana. This photo shows the Hanford detector site. (Credit: Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab)
One of general relativity’s biggest unproven predictions is the existence of gravitational waves. Einstein's work held that no information could travel faster than the speed of light, including the positions of masses in the universe, which are communicated by gravity. When masses move, corresponding changes in the gravitational field move through the cosmos as gravitational waves at the speed of light, like ripples across a pond. But gravity is an extremely weak force so even the sources of the biggest gravitational waves, like the cataclysmic collisions of black holes, would only produce the tiniest of wiggles by the time they reached Earth. This movement induced by gravitational waves has been calculated to be thousands of times smaller than the nucleus of an atom. For many decades, the ability to measure on such a small scale was impossible.
Against this challenge, strong, albeit indirect support for the existence of gravitational waves emerged in 1974. The astronomers Russell Hulse and Joseph Taylor were conducting research at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. They discovered the first binary pulsar star system, consisting of two rapidly spinning, neutron star remnants of once-giant stars, orbiting each other and sending out pulses of radiation. According to general relativity, the two pulsars would draw closer together over time as they radiated gravitational waves. Indeed, over eight years of observations, the pulsars' orbits decreased at exactly the rate called for by Einstein's equations. Hulse and Taylor were awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery.2
As exciting as these and related pulsar findings have been, no gravitational waves had ever been directly detected on Earth. LIGO was built to finally test this prediction of general relativity and made the long-awaited detection in September 2015.
What are the types of gravitational waves?3
Any movement of a mass through space-time generates gravitational waves. But objects such as people or airplanes do not make waves that are anywhere near large enough to detect. Instead, scientists must look to the cosmos, where extremely massive objects capable of generating detectable waves are relatively commonplace.
LIGO scientists have come up with four different types of gravitational waves that, depending on their origin, should each leave a distinctive signature on the experiment's detection equipment.
Continuous gravitational waves
These waves should be produced by spinning, massive objects that are not perfectly spherical. An example of such an object is a neutron star—the dense, city-sized leftover of a colossal star that collapsed on itself, exploding as a supernova. As a neutron star whirls on its axis, any bumps on its surface will emit gravitational waves. Assuming the compact neutron star's spin rate remains constant, the ripples in space-time it sends out with also remain constant, or continuous.
Inspiral gravitational waves
Two massive objects in the universe can become locked gravitationally and will draw each other closer and closer in a winding, spiral-shaped dance. As the objects "inspiral" toward each other, their orbital distances decrease and their speeds ramp up, rather like how a spinning figure skater who draws in his or her outstretched arms whirls even faster. Huge gravitational waves are generated in this process, with the waves' frequency increasing until the two objects collide and merge into a single object. There are two kinds of massive astronomical bodies that should crank out detectable inspiral gravitational waves: neutron stars (described above); and even denser objects called black holes. So-called stellar black holes form in a similar manner as neutron stars, during the collapse of a giant star going supernova. But these remnant, compact masses contain so much mass, and thus generate so much gravity, that even light cannot escape their gravitational clutches. Any combination of neutron stars and black holes spiraling in toward each other—whether two neutron stars, two black holes, or one of each—should make distinctive gravitational wave signatures.
Stochastic gravitational waves
Given all the possible sources of gravitational waves in the universe, scientists expect there to be a sort of background gravitational wave "hum." The waves composing this background "noise" are expected to be small and hard to detect. Intriguingly, one of the sources of this particular kind of gravitational wave could be the Big Bang itself, 13.8 billion years ago when the universe came into existence. Stochastic gravitational waves from the Big Bang could offer scientists an unprecedented view into the earliest moments of the cosmos.
Burst gravitational waves
This last category is reserved for the "expected unexpected." Scientists think it is likely that LIGO and similar gravitational-wave detection experiments will discover types of waves that theorists have not yet completely described or anticipated. Supernovae, for example, as well as energetic, puzzling phenomena known as gamma ray bursts could each produce telltale gravitational waves. | https://www.kavlifoundation.org/gravitational-waves |
This sheet is a generic summary, designed to give the reader a basic level of background information about the substance in question. Great care has been taken to represent as effectively and correctly as possible the broad range of (not necessarily consistent) information which is available from a variety of sources. The reader must accept therefore that this sheet has no legal status and cannot be relied upon in any legal proceedings. SEPA disclaims any responsibility or liability whatsoever for errors and omissions in this sheet.
What is it?
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) is the term usually used to refer to nitrogen monoxide (nitric oxide or NO; a colourless and odourless gas) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2; a red-brown gas with a pungent smell which is soluble in water). Nitrogen monoxide reacts with oxygen or ozone in the air to produce nitrogen dioxide. Oxides of nitrogen occur both naturally as well as being produced by man's activities.
What is it used for?
Nitrogen monoxide is used in the manufacture of a variety of important chemicals. Nitrogen dioxide is a powerful oxidising agent used in chemical processes and rocket fuels. It is also used to produce nitric acid which is widely used.
Where does it come from?
The main man-made releases of nitrogen oxides are from the burning of fossil fuels (including vehicle emissions), biomass burning (burning of forest and agricultural lands following harvest) and some production processes. Small amounts are released naturally in lightning, natural fires and from microbial processes in soils and water bodies.
How might it affect the environment?
Species containing nitrogen are essential for plant nutrition. However, high levels of nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen monoxide damage plant life. Nitrogen dioxide also contributes to the formation of acid rain which damages vegetation, buildings and water bodies. Nitrogen dioxide is also involved in the formation of ground level ozone which damages vegetation and other materials. Nitrogen dioxide can react with other air pollutants to form peroxyacetyl nitrates (PANs) which then carry reactive and potentially damaging nitrogen-containing species for long distances.
How might exposure to it affect human health?
Inhalation of higher than average environmental levels of nitrogen dioxide / nitrogen monoxide (found around congested urban roads for example) can cause respiratory problems, particularly in sensitive individuals such as asthmatics. Similar problems are experienced by sensitive individuals such as asthmatics after inhalation of ozone (which is formed using nitrogen dioxide). Nitrogen monoxide is also found naturally in the body and is involved in the cardiovascular (heart and blood circulation) and immune (disease protection) systems.
What steps are being taken to limit the potential impacts?
The main legislation controlling levels of nitrogen dioxide in the UK (including Scotland) is the National Air Quality Strategy, in which it is one of the eight main air pollutants targeted for reduction; and, from large industrial processes, through the UK's Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) regulations. The European Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) and that concerned with ambient air quality assessment and management (96/62/EC) also control industrial and general nitrogen dioxide releases respectively. The UK is also a signatory to the international UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollutants (LRTAP) which includes measures to combat the effects of oxides of nitrogen. | http://apps.sepa.org.uk/spripa/Pages/SubstanceInformation.aspx?pid=122 |
Definition & Overview
Pregnancy can be the most exciting yet difficult time in every woman’s life. The experience of having a new life forming inside the body is like no other. However, it is also the time when women are most vulnerable to different medical and emotional conditions.
No matter how hard women try, not all pregnancies go according to plan. Complications may develop before, during, or after pregnancy. Some complications are mild but others can threaten not only the life of the mother, but the life of the baby as well.
Due to a number of factors that can affect the woman and her baby’s health, it’s impossible to ensure a healthy pregnancy. However, if a woman is aware of the risk factors and signs and symptoms of possible complications, she can take preventive measures or seek immediate medical attention and avoid serious health risks.
Cause of Condition
Pregnancy complications can be caused by a wide variety of factors; from the woman’s genes to the environment and these factors can put both her physical and mental health are at risk.
The most common complications associated with pregnancy are high blood pressure, preeclampsia, preterm labor, pregnancy loss, gestational diabetes, anemia, and urinary tract infections (UTI).
High blood pressure: Also referred to as hypertension, this condition occurs when the arteries supplying blood to different organs and the placenta become narrow. When this happens, the organs fail to receive the ideal amount of oxygen and minerals that blood carries. It is possible for the fetus to fail to grow normally. In some cases, hypertension leads to preterm labor or preeclampsia. Women who have been diagnosed with hypertension even before pregnancy should monitor their condition on a regular basis and continue to take medications. If hypertension develops during pregnancy, it is referred to as gestational hypertension. This condition will normally go away after the pregnancy, but it should also be monitored closely. Some women with gestational hypertension may need to undergo an emergency C-section to prevent further risking their lives as well as their baby’s. Eating the right diet, getting an adequate amount of exercise, and sleeping well can reduce the risks of developing gestational hypertension.
Preeclampsia: This is one of the most serious pregnancy-related complications that will likely result in premature delivery. The exact causes are unknown, but some of the risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure can be avoided.
Preterm Labor: This condition is described as labor that occurs before 37 weeks of gestation. Avoiding infections may reduce the risk. In some cases, medications may stop or slow down the condition.
Pregnancy Loss: If a woman’s pregnancy fails to develop within 20 weeks, the condition is referred to as a miscarriage. If she loses the pregnancy after 20 weeks, it is called a “stillbirth.” Unfortunately, many of the risk factors, such as placental problems, poor fetal growth, and chromosomal abnormalities are beyond the woman’s control.
Gestational Diabetes: Hormonal changes during pregnancy may affect the ability of the pancreas to produce enough insulin resulting in this type of diabetes. This condition can have serious effects on the health of both the mother and the baby.
Anemia: Pregnancy-related anemia is common, which is why pregnant women are advised to take iron and folic acid supplements.
Urinary Tract Infection: UTI is one of the most common conditions that develop during pregnancy. It is a bacterial infection and is treated with antibiotics. However, the doctor should be aware of the pregnancy to prescribe the right type of antibiotics.
Key Symptoms
Pregnancy complications can display a wide variety of symptoms. Some symptoms may be mild, but others require immediate medical attention.
Below are considered emergencies:
- Bleeding
- Vomiting and severe nausea
- Decline in the baby’s activity level
Who to See & Types of Treatment Available
An ob-gyn monitors the woman and the baby’s condition periodically to ensure that the pregnancy is progressing well. However, a pregnant woman should not hesitate to seek immediate medical attention should she notice the above-mentioned symptoms.
Some complications can be treated using medications, but others can neither be prevented nor treated. For instance, if the complication is due to an abnormal growth of the fetus, no amount of medical intervention can assist in the pregnancy.
If the woman and baby’s lives are at risk, the doctor may opt to perform a cesarean section (C-section) delivery. Complications that may necessitate this type of surgery are:
- The fetus is too large
- Labor fails to progress
- There are more than one fetus
- An STD or infection
- If the infant is upside down
- Placenta problems
- The baby’s health is at risk
A woman’s mental health is also at risk during and after pregnancy. Some women may experience severe depression during this time. It’s important to realize the signs and symptoms of depression, and to seek professional help as this can have serious effects on the woman and baby’s physical health. If depression occurs after pregnancy, it is referred to as postpartum depression. Most of the time, the woman fails to recognize the presence of this condition, which is why the husband or other family members should seek help for her if they notice any of the symptoms.
Because of the numerous risks associated with pregnancy, couples should always be prepared for any type of emergency. It’s best to discuss an emergency plan with the attending ob-gyn. It would also be a good investment to attend childbirth education classes as these normally have lessons on emergency procedures.
It’s important to remember that emergency plans are only effective if everyone in the home is aware of the plan. Make sure that a copy of the plan is placed at an accessible location so that everyone knows what to expect or do during an emergency.
References:
Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL, et al. Preconceptional counseling. In: Cunnigham FG, Leveno KL, Bloom SL, et al, eds. Williams Obstetrics. 23rd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2010:chap 7.
Jack BW, Atrash H, Coonrod DV, et al. The clinical content of preconception care: an overview and preparation of this supplement. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008;199:S266-S279. | https://www.docdoc.com/info/condition/complications-of-pregnancy/ |
Mulo Francel and Evelyn Huber oppose all previous ideas of sound varieties in a very new way with their extraordinary co-operation of harp and saxophone. In wonderful harmony the duo impresses with exceptional Jazz improvisations and emotional originals causing surprising and fascinating sound events.
For the past 15 years, Mulo Francel, Quadro Nuevo’screative whirlwind, and his accomplished world-class band colleague, harpist Evelyn Huber have shunned all clichés and drawn creatively from the potential of their instruments. The breathiness and bold melancholy of the saxophone couples with the rhythmic and temperamental sound of the harp to create a chamber music that is unparalleled. Finely woven harmonies merge with tempestuous musical cascades, elegiac soundscapes alternate with intimate musical close-ups. While the stringed instrument seems to be moved to captivating tenderness by the hands of angels, the loud and sometimes raucous sound of the wind instrument, can, at times awaken diabolical associations with Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf. For thousands of years, the sound of the harp has played an important role in the music of almost all cultures. But it is in jazz that the saxophone first found its voice as the epitome of individual expressiveness.
Tracklist: | https://mqs.link/mulo-francel-evelyn-huber-tango-lyrico-2003-sacd-iso-dsf-dsd64-flac-24bit96khz/ |
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are actions designed to work with and enhance natural habitats to take advantage of the ability of healthy natural and managed ecosystems to sequester carbon and support biodiversity recovery. The first part of this series focused on greening grey infrastructure; part 2 covered incorporating naturalistic landscape into the public realm. Here in part 3, we continue to explore how NbS can be pushed into the realms of social awareness and everyday recognition by policy makers and the public at large and in turn, support wider and longer term international environmental successes.
4 Towards a Nature Positive Future
4.1 COP26 Advocacy
Prior to the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) held in 2021, leading scientists presented a conceptual shift which puts forward Nature (the environment) as the context for all life, human society, and all human activities (including all economic activity). Similarly, at COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the Prince of Wales, who has for over fifty years championed action for a sustainable future said: “…after billions of years of evolution, Nature is our best teacher – in this regard, restoring Natural Capital, accelerating Nature-based solutions and leveraging the circular bioeconomy will be vital to our efforts..”
Putting nature at the core is the key to a nature positive world, or one in which the dominant importance of nature to humanity is recognized and human actions are governed accordingly (see graphic below). China’s embrace of eco-civilization as a national development objective is aligned with this conceptual shift, recognizing that humans are completely dependent on a healthy planet for our survival, which in turn depends on a functioning living biosphere. As urban development is still predominantly driven by urban planners aiming to balance the competing interests of economic, social, and environmental development goals, landscape architects need to rise to the forefront of the process, to prioritize nature (the environment) as the context for forms of physical, social, and economic development.
4.2 Will NbS Be Enough?
Will NbS alone be enough to tackle the inter-related crises of climate change and biodiversity loss? It is important to recognize that individual behavioral choices can collectively have a significant effect on our planet’s future health. In addition to reducing consumption, reducing waste and bending the curve on fossil fuel dependence and excessive growth, one of the biggest potential shifts we can make is through our diets. Brent Loken, Global Lead Food Scientist at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), proposes a global shift to diets that contain a larger proportion of plant-based foods relative to animal-source foods to release enough agricultural land to sequester 5 to 10 Gt of CO2-equivalent per year if this land was restored to native vegetation.
We cannot feed the world without agriculture, yet where and how we produce food is one of the biggest human-caused threats to biodiversity and our ecosystems. This makes the transformation of our global food system more important than ever, particularly considering urbanization and land development pressures to the countryside. We all need to make the connection between what we eat and consume and the impact the global food system has on our planet. This should also include the positive application of urban food production as part of urban landscape plans.
4.3 Nature Positive World
In a proposal by leading world scientists entitled “A Nature-Positive World: The Global Goal for Nature,” three measurable temporal objectives are put forward: zero net loss of nature from 2020, net positive by 2030, and full recovery by 2050. When combined with development and climate goals, the emphasis on nature is to create an integrated overarching direction for global agreements of an equitable, nature positive, carbon-neutral world.
4.4 A Systematic Nature Positive Practice
Jiangxin Island in Nanjing, now referred to as Singapore Nanjing Eco Hi-tech Island (SNEI), is a township development project jointly supported by Jiangsu & Nanjing Government as well as the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry. To transition from experiential/qualitative decision making to quantified solutions, the creation of a new scenic waterfront belt on the island’s Yangtze River embankment offered a chance to apply NbS using systematic thinking and holistic design. The brief was to create a 12 km long (210 hectare) ecologically restorative park providing scenic attraction for the increasingly urban island community. Using the concept of ‘Sustainable Footprints,’ ecological goals and data driven targets were established to minimize the water footprint (water used for landscape irrigation), carbon footprint (embodied carbon in landscape structures and materials), and ecological footprint (impact on the environment) while creating a base for healthy lifestyles, jogging tracks, and even possible marathons races, cycling events, and retaining traces of the island’s “cultural footprint” (such as agricultural and industrial heritage).
Inspired and spurred by the success of the 2012 London Olympic Park Meadow and iconic projects like the High Line in New York with planting design by Piet Oudolf, the project found ways to introduce dynamic and colorful planting and a water conservation sponge solution.
The project subsequently brought together Nature-based Solutions for resilience to flooding and naturalistic plantings to enhance a wilder aesthetic rather than succumb to an urban landscape approach. Complex forest restoration techniques for succession planning, riverbank wildflower grassland mixes, and native forest understory planting were implemented. Dead wood, stone boulders, fruit- and nut-producing plants all add richness to the planting, establishing habitats diverse with insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals.
Sponge city demonstration bioswales and flood attenuation ponds all come together to create opportunities for wildlife, biodiversity, and habitat enhancement and creation. Traces of industrial history were retained through the reuse of concrete, gravel, and weathering steel for park features, while reducing the carbon footprint compared to moving these materials to off-site landfill (see table below).
After the construction, according to a survey conducted by the China Bird Watching Record Center, Jiangxin Island (Singapore Nanjing Eco Hi- tech Island) has attracted 19 species of wild birds from 16 families. In addition to common forest birds and waterbirds such as magpies and egrets, it also includes migratory forest birds such as spotted thrush and black capuchin, as well as migratory waterbirds such as common cormorants and green shanks, which have become important indicators of this ecological stepping-stone in the East Asian- Australian bird migration route.
The popularity of Singapore Nanjing Eco Hi-tech Island was boosted by the introduction of Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris), which is known for its pink to purple clump- forming inflorescences. However, tourists flocked to the island in droves during the peak national holiday week in 2017, trampling the grasses and requiring security guards to protect the area. This led to adjustments to the planting layout for future years. Opening up paths between inflorescences to make the fields more accessible to large numbers was essential to limit further damage. Across China, similar projects have experienced damage by hordes of tourists posing for selfies, triggering outrage on social media. This raised awareness of the need for greater efforts in educating the public on protection of plants and nature and to strive for greater use of native species in the hope of increasing acceptance of less exotic and more indigenous naturalistic landscapes.
The project not only aims to leave “sustainable footprints” but also to restore ecological systems, food chains, and biodiversity. It has won multiple international awards, including for Wildlife, Biodiversity, Habitat Enhancement or Creation at 2018 IFLA World Congress, and was a finalist at the Landscape Institute Awards 2021.
Efforts to quantify solutions and demonstrate performance against ecological goals and data driven targets also enabled the project to secure a Sustainable Future Award for Urban Design from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) International Region in 2020 for demonstrating performance outcomes in relation to the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE)’s rigorous criteria for social, economic, and ecological value.
4.5 Embracing Nature in Our Homes, Our Workplace, and Our Communities
Making behavioral changes as individuals can start in our homes, workplaces, or communities. Balcony gardens, green roofs, community gardens, greening schools, and creating natural areas in pocket parks all add value and allow us to embrace nature in our cities. Community driven grassroots initiatives help close the gap between top-down policies like Sponge City implementation with public acceptance when implemented at a community level. At the Knowledge Innovation Community (KIC) in Yangpu District, Shanghai, international companies like AECOM have led roof garden initiatives to engage employees, increase biodiversity, and mitigate increasingly intense rainfall events by slowing run-off from the roof. Green roofs also insulate buildings, reducing heat in summer and loss of heat in winter. The use of a diverse range of plants increases passing visits from insects and birds, while also supporting employee health and well-being through access to nature in the workplace. The roof garden is used as a research base for plant trials which assess performance in full sun exposure, full shade, wind exposure, and exposure to drought (largely due to limited maintenance). Reviewing resilience to the harsh conditions of roof top environments enables our horticulturalists to monitor species that would be able to perform in similar microclimatic conditions and with similar maintenance regimes in Shanghai and nearby cities.
4.6 City Resilience and Popular Science in the City
A large-scale exploration of city resilience is taking place in one of Shanghai’s largest green spaces: Zhangjiabang Park. Following an international, award-winning analysis and planning stage in 2015, clear quantifiable goals were established to guide the downstream implementation of the master plan.
Implementing the design across multiple phases, the leading landscape architectural team applied systematic thinking and holistic design solutions, working in close collaboration with ecologists, water specialists, local engineers and consulting specialist advisors, such as The Nature Conservancy. Decision-making was driven to establish ecological habitat to provide a base for monitoring performance and enable future surveys to quantify outcomes. As part of an extensive area of constructed wetlands, flood alleviation lakes will support city resilience to increasingly intense storm events; these wetlands were also found to have established habitat to support over 22 species of birds identified by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. A nature education center for popular science and bird hides for bird watching enthusiasts will provide a base for educating school groups and official visitors. This all helps to advance the planning objective and improve the understanding of local people and public officials to embrace a new large-scale ecological park in the urban core area of Shanghai.
Public education in caring and respecting the landscape of parks and open spaces is important—there need to be better opportunities for local people, students, and tourists to engage in environmental learning to connect people with the natural environment.
With wetlands, meadows, an agricultural-themed island, and forest, the project aims to create an ecological park that provides open space and protected areas with diverse and inclusive opportunities for public access and experiencing nature to improve health and well-being.
When complete, the green wedge will cover a total area of more than 600 hectares—twice the size of Central Park in New York. NbS is applied to increase flood alleviation for Pudong New Area, forest buffers for air quality and thermal comfort, and provide extensive areas of emergent wetland habitat and open water across the site. Phase I and phase II are approaching completion and have established nature protection wetlands with protected islands for bird habitat. Bird hides located in wetlands for nature enthusiasts will provide opportunities to watch and learn from nature in the city. The park frames view corridors to Lujiazui, the financial heart of Shanghai, dynamically reminding visitors of being in the city, despite being in a very naturalistic park. It will also include a science ‘Discovery Center’ for school education tours.
As the park evolves, an ideal goal would be to establish a framework to measure performance together with the client to demonstrate outcomes scientifically and to enhance quantification of the project’s environmental, economic, and social benefits. This can be seen from one excellent example, that brings us back to the Highlands of Scotland, where learning from nature has become a Natural Capital Laboratory (NCL).
4.7 NbS for a Natural Capital Accounting Framework
With many Nature-based Solutions, quantifying the impacts is an increasingly important priority as scientists and economists try to put a monetary value on natural capital, or how much nature is worth. Being able to put a price on ecosystem services is how we can make sure nature—or rather, natural capital—is given due weight at the decision-making table in the same way the global carbon market is being discussed.
Accounting for environmental, social, and economic impacts is also becoming more of a priority for many organizations and is a key future measurement factor. The Natural Capital Laboratory, set up in 2019 by AECOM and the Lifescape Project, is a unique project to do just this: a live environment for identifying, quantifying, and valuing the impacts of rewilding.
Alongside restoration of the site, the living laboratory aims to:
- Test innovative new approaches for capturing data on social and environmental change such as drones, AI, and remote sensing technologies.
- Develop a ‘capitals accounting framework’ that records, quantifies, and values the environmental and social changes on the site.
- Create engaging ways of communicating the findings and the benefits of rewilding such as virtual reality and digital platforms which provide an important public educational transmission.
It is an interesting project to learn from, and annual reports of progress will be available online for everyone to learn from this timely and innovative investigation.
5 Conclusion
Through a career dedicated to the pursuit of working with nature, this article has explored the evolution of a landscape planning and design approach from single-purpose solutions to systematic thinking and holistic design, together with a change from experiential/qualitative decision making to quantified solutions.
Nature-based Solutions need to be embedded in every aspect of our lives. A nature positive future is a necessary complement to our carbon neutrality goals and is the prerequisite for equitable sustainable development, a robust economic recovery, and the health of the planet, people, and all other species.
The three phases of NbS explored here were: 1) greening grey infrastructure, 2) incorporating naturalistic landscape into the public realm, and 3) advocacy for a nature positive future.
For greening grey infrastructure, Nature-based Solutions can protect against erosion, manage stormwater, and reduce impacts of noise and pollution. By restoring forests, wetlands, and coastal and riparian habitats, we can address air and water quality issues, increase carbon sinks, and provide habitat for wildlife.
By increasing nature inside urban public open space, we can reduce urban heat islands, enhance human well-being and health, manage stormwater, and increase biodiversity. Additionally, accounting for environmental, social, and economic impacts is a growing priority for many organizations to quantify and demonstrate the benefits of NbS.
Finally, NbS alone will need additional understanding of the inter-related crises of climate change and biodiversity loss impacted by human pressure on the biosphere. COP26 outcomes left many frustrated that the world may quickly return to business as usual: the time to act at a grassroots and individual level is now. This is a pivotal moment for landscape architects to rise to the challenge, to make our voices powerful, and to have an ever bigger impact on the environmental, social, and governance of landscapes in our cities and to deliver a thriving future for people, nature, and the planet. We must go beyond Nature-based Solutions by advocating a nature positive future through our work as landscape professionals and as individuals.
Lee Parks, International ASLA, is a British landscape architect and landscape director of AECOM. His research focuses on ecological landscape planning, green infrastructure, Nature-based Solutions, and ecological planting design.
LIAO Jingjing, Master, is an assistant landscape designer of AECOM. Her research focuses on green infrastructure, Nature-based Solutions, and community renewal and empowerment. | https://thefield.asla.org/2022/07/21/the-changing-roles-of-landscape-design-in-nature-based-solutions-part-3/ |
The visibility on my previous dive at The Monument had not been great but it had improved as I got closer to The Steps. I was hopeful it would not be too bad for my second dive.
After a surface interval of just under an hour I got into the water at The Steps and swam out on the surface. Once I hit the hour I descended to the sand/kelp. The visibility had deteriorated in the last hour or perhaps it was just worse at depth. It was only 3 to 5 metres. The outgoing tidal current was quite strong. The water temperature was around 15°C. I turned right and headed towards Big Rock.
I headed along the sand line to the rocks where the orange red-fingered anglerfish is. It was in its most recent usual spot.
I continued along the sand line to the rock with sea tulips where the pygmy pipehorses have been. I overshot it due to the poor visibility and had to swim back. Swimming back was hard going due to the current. I made it back to the rock and found "Di", the female pygmy pipehorse, in the same spot I'd seen her on Thursday. I had a quick look for a male but the current and snot algae made it difficult.
I rode the current towards Little Big Rock but high up on the reef. The visibility was only around 3 metres now and so spotting familiar rocks was difficult. I arrived at the large rock behind Little Big Rock and found first the male pygmy pipehorse there and then eventually the female. The current continued to make things difficult and there was snot algae everywhere.
I swam around the area, including Little Big Rock itself, looking for the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish and the salmon red-fingered anglerfish but could not find either of them.
I dropped to the rock just past Little Big Rock and looked for the dwarf lionfish I'd see on Friday. I couldn't see it. I did find the female pygmy pipehorse low down on the rock. I looked for the male but could not see it.
I headed towards Diversity Rock and saw my juvenile orange painted anglerfish on its rock. At Diversity Rock I found the juvenile male pygmy pipehorse. It was hiding out in the snot algae.
I swam past the basket star and then looked around the area near Miamira Rock and New Basket Star Rock for either of the grey red-fingered anglerfish.
I headed past Sponge Hollow and on to the rock with the one-eyed White's seahorse. After one circuit of the rock I found her low down on the northern side of the rock.
I headed towards the shore and looked on the sponge covered rocks for the yellow/pink red-fingered anglerfish and then looked in the kelp for the juvenile weedy seadragon I'd seen on Thursday. I found neither.
I I fought the current back past the basket star and on to Diversity Rock. The juvenile male pygmy pipehorse was still there. I also visited the juvenile orange painted anglerfish.
I stopped just before Little Big Rock and found the female pygmy pipehorse again. I then spotted the male pygmy pipehorse near the top of the rock. It was hiding in the snot algae.
I headed to the large rock behind Little Big Rock and found the two pygmy pipehorses again before fighting the current very hard to get to the last pygmy pipehorse who was in the same spot.
Another tough swim to the orange red-fingered anglerfish and then I headed for the boulders and ascended to 5 metres. I started my safety stop as I swam to Split Rock. I finished my safety stop and swam underwater to the exit. I was surprised how low the tide was already only 3 hours after high tide but the next low tide was quite low and it certainly explains the strength of the current.
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Seas
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Strong current
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Visibility
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3 to 5 metres
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Duration
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85 minutes
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Maximum depth
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13.7 m
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Average depth
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11.2 m
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Water temperature
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15°C
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Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1
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Tides at Botany Bay AEST
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Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location. | https://atj.net.au/Dive2018081210The_Steps.html |
The most successful organizations use data to their advantage when making decisions of every scale. This is especially true with facility planning. Leaders are continually balancing maintenance, operations and renewal needs with aspirations for future growth. We help organizations master this balancing act with tools, software and processes that unleash the power of data-driven decision making.
Our expertise is wide-ranging—spanning facility optimization and management, operations design, future state planning and high-performance, iterative building design. But everything we do is united by our ability to collect, analyze and translate data into actionable insights. Insights that maximize efficiencies, realize the full potential of high-performance design, and help organizations become more strategic with their investments. | https://www.cannondesign.com/capabilities/data-driven-facility-solutions |
Valid interpretation and use of social and emotional learning (SEL) assessment results does not end after identifying an assessment that aligns with your local purposes and ensuring the technical quality. It also involves careful consideration of administration and scoring and communicating the results from an SEL assessment. This guide was developed using the 2014 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing published by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) to identify considerations before and after administering an SEL assessment.
Before administering and scoring an SEL assessment
Most SEL assessments have manuals that provide guidance on how to administer and score the assessment appropriately. Use this guidance to develop a formal plan for preparing personnel who will use the assessment. Outline the following considerations in that plan:
Identifying and sharing standardized procedures for administration and scoring.
Standardized administration procedures may involve instructions, time limits, and assessment conditions. Standardized scoring procedures may address how to aggregate item responses or apply a rubric. Follow any required qualifications or training recommended by the assessment developer for administration and scoring and check for correct and consistent administration and scoring across individuals, classrooms, or schools as well as documenting of deviations or disruptions.
If there is a need to ensure the assessment is being administered and scored correctly and consistently across individuals, classrooms, or schools, additional checks for quality control might be called for or documenting of deviations or disruptions.
Availability and use of accommodations.
If students need alterations to administration and scoring procedures to receive full and fair access to the assessment (e.g. students with disabilities or from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds), identify valid accommodations documented by the assessment developer. If there is no documentation of a needed accommodation, consult state or school district policies for guidance. Inform students as well as the school personnel administering the assessment about available accommodations and process for obtaining those accommodations.
Security and integrity of assessment materials and scores.
Protect copyrighted materials by not allowing reproduction or re-creation of assessment materials in paper or electronic form without consent of the copyright holder. If results are viewed as consequential, have a plan for securing assessment materials as well as protecting the integrity of scores from fraud or deceit on the part of the respondent or assessment user.
Providing instructions, practice, or other support to test takers.
Inform respondents if the way in which they respond (e.g. guessing or the speed of their responses) could affect their scores. If unfamiliar equipment or software is used in administration (e.g., computer administered assessments), provide respondents practice opportunities with equipment or software unless the use of unfamiliar tools is part of what is being assessed (e.g., problem solving).
Collection of empirical evidence for alterations.
If altering the assessment format, mode of administration, instruction, or language of the assessment, the assessment developer should provide (or alternatively the test user should collect) empirical evidence that those alterations will not affect reliability/precision and validity of score interpretation. Published norms may not be valid under altered conditions if it is determined that changes to the assessment alter the meaning of scores.
Before reporting and interpreting results from an SEL assessment
Test users should only report and interpret results as recommended and empirically supported by the assessment developer. To reach conclusions that validly inform decision-making, keep the following considerations in mind:
Levels at which results are reported.
Report assessment scores only at the level intended and empirically supported by the assessment developer. For example, group vs. individual scores, overall scores vs. subscores, separate scores for subgroups. Never combine scores or separate scores unless recommended and empirically supported by the assessment developer. If reporting subgroup results, individual users familiar with those subgroups should be involved in interpretation and use.
How results are reported.
Ensure reporting of results protects copyright of the assessment materials and the privacy of assessment takers through security and confidentiality of individual scores. Consult the developer’s cautions about the limitations of the scores, norms/comparison groups, and potential misinterpretation and misuse. Report amount of error expected for a score using standard error or confidence intervals to indicate scores are estimates that can vary from one occasion to the next.
Use simple language to describe what the assessment covers, what scores represent, the precision/reliability of the scores, and how to interpret and use scores. If reporting performance categories or labels, clearly and precisely describe the intended inference. Minimize potential biases for assessment takers due to demographics (e.g. cultural groups, age, social class, gender etc.)
Identify supplemental information (e.g., results from other assessments, academic/behavioral data) that would support appropriate interpretation and use, especially if reporting individual-level scores. Indicate how to weigh assessment scores in relation to supplemental information when making decisions.
If using an assessment regularly over time and/or used previously, verify that assessment interpretations remain relevant and appropriate when there are significant changes in the SEL curriculum/instruction, the population of assessment takers, modes of administration, or the purpose of conducting the assessment.
Before communicating assessment results and conclusions to stakeholders
A plan for communicating assessment results to stakeholders can assist in ensuring valid interpretation and use and minimize potential negative consequences. Considerations include the following:
Provide framing information.
Provide assessment name, quotes of the purpose and intended interpretation and use, and cautions about interpretation and use from the assessment developer at the beginning of every discussion of assessment results. If sharing assessment results publicly, accompany those results with enough information about the purpose of the assessment and how to appropriately interpret results to minimize the possibility of misinterpretations.
Anticipating misinterpretations and setting parameters for the discussion.
Anticipate the possibility stakeholders might oversimplify their interpretations of results or misattribute reasons for results. Encourage sound conclusions and decision-making by thinking about these potential issues ahead of time. Before discussing assessment results, use recommendations from the assessment developer to define conversations about the results indicating what topics and conclusions are within bounds and outside of bounds (e.g. assigning meaning to results that were unintended or have no evidential basis). | https://buros.org/sel-assessment-technical-guidebook/recommendations-when-using-sel-assessments |
Introduction {#Sec1}
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Over recent decades the field of child and adolescent mental health care has changed and the demand for obtaining structured, systematic and valid information of diagnosis and treatments has increased, in order to prioritize and plan organization of mental health services \[[@CR1], [@CR2]\]. Parallel to these changes, the health care systems have been influenced by the evidence-based movement highlighting the importance of using scientific findings in decision-making \[[@CR3]\]. An overarching concept in this movement is evidence-based practice (EBP), characterized as a systematic approach, integrating best research evidence and standardized data, with clinical expertise, while respecting patient preferences \[[@CR4]--[@CR6]\]. Although many different evidence-based initiatives have been undertaken in within the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, EBP has so far only been implemented in slow pace within this specialty \[[@CR7], [@CR8]\].
Appropriate diagnosis is essential for providing good medical and psychological treatments and for psychoeducation, i.e. helping patients and their families to recognize and understand symptoms \[[@CR9]--[@CR11]\]. Valid and accurate diagnoses are also stipulated in treatment protocols and are prerequisites for planning accurate interventions \[[@CR10]\].
Making a diagnosis requires thorough assessment of medical history, symptoms, and function. Yet, traditionally the diagnostic assessment by clinicians has been more or less unstructured, capturing some but not all of the diagnostic criteria described in the disease classifications \[[@CR12], [@CR13]\]. A recent study within adult psychiatry showed that clinicians do not collect sufficient information in order to establish a correct diagnosis \[[@CR14]\]. Furthermore, the traditional diagnostic process and the information obtained by this has consequently been subject to considerable variation \[[@CR15]\].
The importance of standardized diagnostic interviews in child and adolescent psychiatry practice has been highlighted in several studies \[[@CR12], [@CR13], [@CR16], [@CR17]\], as well as within the field of clinical psychology \[[@CR18]\]. Standardized diagnostic interviews are assumed to save time and speed up the assessment process by facilitating and clarifying the diagnostic process, systematically detect comorbidity, obtain a reliable diagnosis and prepare treatment in a more solid manner \[[@CR10], [@CR19]\]. Less use of structured interviews has been related to underestimation of patient acceptance and mistaken assumptions of patients' feelings \[[@CR20]\].
Despite the importance of assessment, most attention has been given to Evidence-Based Treatments (EBT) and not that much to assessments in the EBP literature \[[@CR2], [@CR5], [@CR21]\]. However, during recent years, the concept of Evidence-Based Assessment (EBA) has been launched as a part of EBP. Mash and Hunsley \[[@CR22]\] propose that standardized assessments (SA) are not restricted to standardized interviews and could be conducted for other purposes than determining diagnosis, such as prognosis and predictions, treatment planning and monitoring. Similarly, Christon et al. \[[@CR23]\] have proposed how EBA could be part of EBP in the treatment process.
EBA represents a strong call for valid and clinically useful assessment tools in everyday child and adolescent psychiatric practice; both for strengthening the diagnostic process and enabling ongoing progress monitoring \[[@CR24], [@CR25]\]. Nevertheless, a survey among 1.927 psychiatrists and psychotherapists in Switzerland revealed that on average only 15% of the patients were assessed using standardized assessment tools \[[@CR20]\]. Further, Garland, Kruse and Aarons \[[@CR1]\] found that standardized measures or scales were even less frequently used within child and adolescent psychiatric settings; 92% of child psychiatrists indicated they had never used the scores from standardized measures in their clinical practice. An inventory conducted in Sweden found that 39% of all psychiatric units used standardized assessment tools in the diagnostic process but not frequently and only 12% did so on regularly basis \[[@CR26]\].
A key facilitating factor for the general success of implementing methods or innovations is whether clinicians find the procedures relevant \[[@CR27]\]. Earlier studies have shown that clinicians' incitement for diagnosing is often external e.g. billing purposes, rather than usefulness, which reduces investment in the assessment process \[[@CR28], [@CR29]\]. Concerns for using SA in the assessment process have also been highlighted and the arguments against using SA include that they are time consuming, that structured interviews will disturb the therapeutic relationship and that clinical judgments are more sufficient and useful \[[@CR25], [@CR20]\]. In parallel, a review of therapist-level resistance to EBP showed that psychotherapists believe that they can objectively and without bias perceive the patients' problem and treatment outcome \[[@CR30]\]. Harvey and Gumport \[[@CR31]\] have identified obstacles against EBT in general and call for more studies of therapists' beliefs and preferences among a broader range of mental health professionals. The same call could probably be made about EBA since there are even fewer studies conducted.
Implementation of new clinical procedures is strongly influenced by clinicians' attitudes. However, there is not yet enough knowledge about obstacles towards the use of standardized tools in diagnostic assessment processes. Large scale studies of child and adolescent mental health providers from various disciplines and in different countries is needed to inform specific efforts to encourage clinicians to use standardized tools systematically and thereby to more evidence-based assessments.
This study is an exploratory study and aims to investigate clinician´s attitudes towards standardized assessments and usefulness of diagnosis, and the research questions are:What are the attitudes of clinicians in secondary mental health care in Stockholm, Sweden towards standardized assessment and the usefulness of diagnosis in treatment planning and how do they differ from an US population?Do Swedish clinicians' attitudes differ between groups due to demographic and profession?
Method {#Sec2}
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Participants and setting {#Sec3}
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In Sweden, the child and adolescent mental health services are divided into two parts: (1) the primary mental health care (general physicians and psychologists, not licensed as specialists in child and adolescent mental disorders) and (2) the specialized mental health care (licensed specialists, i.e. psychiatrics/child psychiatrists and psychologist specialized in mental disorders working in multidisciplinary teams, together with nurses, counselors and others). The present study was conducted within the latter. The participants were mental health care personnel working with outpatient and inpatient assessment and treatment within the non-private specialist child and adolescent mental health care services in Stockholm County Council (CAMHS Stockholm). Each year, approximately 22,000 children and adolescents receive treatment for a mental disorder in one of the six departments in CAMHS Stockholm. This equals nearly 6% of the population under 18 years of age in the catchment area. CAMHS Stockholm consists of 12 outpatient clinics, four intermediate care units mainly working with patients in their home or other environments and one inpatient clinic. All 411 mental health service personnel working with assessment and treatment were asked to participate in the study, of which 345 (84%) volunteered to participate. CAMHS Stockholm also includes seven outpatient clinics specialized in treating e.g. sexual abuse, selfharm, domestic violence, immigrants with mental health problems, and to which patients are referred after initial assessment in the general clinics. Hence, clinicians in the specialized clinics were not included in this survey.
There were mainly female participants (78%) and the average age was 47.2 years (median 48). The participants had worked within the children and adolescent mental health services for an average of 10.3 years (median 7). The participants were psychologists (49%), counselors with a degree in social work and psychotherapy, (22%), medical doctors/psychiatrists (10%), nurses (9%) and other occupational background like mental health keepers, pedagogues etc. with therapeutic training (8%). The majority of participants (90%) had more than 3.5 years of education from university. All the clinical staff working at the CAMHS Stockholm are involved in interdisciplinary assessments in the beginning of a new patient contact, but not all conduct in-depth assessments involving psychological, medical and/or observational tests. The characteristics of the participants are further presented in Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}.Table 1Distribution of participants' demographic and professional characteristics (n = 345)Demographic characteristics Age (years) Mean (SD)47.2 (11.8) Unknown/missing data0.6% Gender Female78.3% Male19.7% Unknown/missing data2.0%Professional characteristics Working years within CAMHS Mean (SD)10.3 (9.6) Unknown/missing data3.5% Highest degree PhD3.8% University more than 3.5 years85.5% University less than 3.5 years7.8% Other higher education1.4% Unknown/missing data1.4% Profession Counsellor22.0% Nurse8.7% Psychiatrist/MD10.1% Psychologist49.3% Other7.8% Unknown/missing data2.0% Management position Yes5.5% No90.7% Unknown/missing data3.8% Conduct in-depth assessments Yes81.4% No17.1% Unknown/missing data1.4% Level of service Outpatient73.0% Intermediate17.4% Inpatient9.0% Unknown/missing data0.6%
Procedure {#Sec4}
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In each of the participating clinics, the clinic manager distributed a questionnaire either during staff meetings or individually distributed in internal mailboxes. During the period when the survey was conducted, 461 were employed, although 50 of them did not receive the questionnaire due to different circumstances, i.e. long sick leave, educational leave or vacation etc. If the clinicians volunteered to participate they completed the questionnaire individually and anonymously and returned the surveys directly to the researchers, using sealed envelopes.
Measures {#Sec5}
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The questionnaire included questions regarding demographic and professional characteristics (independent variables), the measurement Attitudes toward Standardized Assessment (ASA) consisting of four subscales and the Utility of Diagnosis scale (dependent variables) developed in earlier studies \[[@CR24], [@CR25]\]. The scales were translated in collaboration with researchers in Norway and Denmark, and back-translated. One of the original developers of the questionnaire, Dr. Jensen-Doss audited the back-translation to secure correct meaning and approved the final translated Swedish version.
### Demographic and professional characteristics {#Sec6}
The demographic and professional characteristics included age, number of years working within CAMHS, gender, highest educational degree (categorized as PhD; university more than 3.5 years; university less than 3.5 years/other higher education), profession (categorized as counselor; nurse; psychiatrist/MD including those on specialist training; psychologist; other), management position (categorized as unit manager or co-manager of the clinic or not), degree of involvement in assessments (conducting in-depth diagnostic examinations or not) and level of service (outpatient; intermediate; inpatient). In this context, the clinicians' psychotherapeutic training was of interest, as CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) has a long tradition of using assessments \[[@CR32]\]. However, since most participants had a broad therapeutic educational training, indicating an eclectic approach, this factor could not be explored in the analysis.
### Attitudes toward standardized assessment and usefulness of diagnosis {#Sec7}
The ASA questionnaire was originally developed to assess clinicians' attitudes toward SA in three different areas, each measured by a subscale \[[@CR25]\]. In total, ASA consists of 22 items, all rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The questionnaire measures both positive and negative attitudes towards standardized assessments. Hence, in order to receive a universal ranking of the scale direction, the negative ranking scores were re-coded to correspond to the positive ranking scores. For each subscale, the average ranking of included items were calculated.
The ASA subscale, *Benefit over Clinical Judgment* assesses to which extent standardized tools can improve the assessment information compared to relying on clinical judgments alone. The scale consists of five items and with the internal consistency α = .75 in the present study. The subscale, *Practicality* assesses clinician opinions of the feasibility in practice, and consists of 10 items with the internal consistency α = .60 in the present study. The subscale, *Psychometric Quality* assesses clinicians' beliefs concerning reliability and validity of standardized measures and how much they value these psychometric properties, and consists of 7 items with the internal consistency α = .69.
Separate from ASA, *The Utility of Diagnosis* scale assesses clinicians\' opinions regarding the usefulness of diagnosis in their clinical work (e.g. "Making a diagnosis is more important for obtaining services or benefits than for planning of treatment") since it could be of importance for the willingness to invest in the assessment process. The subscale was developed by the same founders as ASA \[[@CR24]\] and consists of five items, also rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), but with somewhat lower internal consistency (α = .45) than the subscales included in ASA. When single items were excluded from the scale in further reliability analysis, the internal consistency improved somewhat, α = .50, and when keeping only three items, it improved additionally (α = .54). However, our judgment was that these improvements were not large enough to motive change of the scale, and we decided to keep all items of the original scale.
Data analysis {#Sec8}
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Prior to analysis we examined normal distribution of continuous independent and dependent variables using test of skewness and kurtosis in which values between − 2 and 2 are considered acceptable, according to Almquist, Ashir and Brannstroem \[[@CR33]\]. The two independent variables, age and working years, were somewhat skewed, whereas the four dependent variables, the attitude subscales, fulfilled criteria for normality.
In order to explore the first research question on clinicians attitudes regarding standardized assessment and diagnosis and how they differ from an US population, descriptive statistics were performed and the four subscales were compared with information from a similar study in US \[[@CR24], [@CR25]\] using an immediate form of two-sample *t* test, *ttesti* in Stata \[[@CR34]\].
In preparation to answer the second research question on differences between clinicians due to characteristics, descriptives of the four subscale (means and standard deviations) were first calculated by categories of each demographic and professional characteristic and then tested in an ANOVA and Post Hoc analysis. The two continuous variables, age and number of working years within secondary mental health services, were dichotomized at the median. As a result of the ANOVA and Post Hoc analysis, three independent variables were changed. Highest educational degree was dichotomized by merging "Doctorial" and "University more than 3.5 years" and by merging "University less than 3.5 years" and "Other higher education". Second Level of service was dichotomized by merging "Outpatient" and Intermediate" into one category, and keeping "Inpatient" as the other category. Third, profession categories "Nurse" and "Other" were merged into one category.
In order to answer the second research question whether clinicians' attitudes in Sweden differ between groups due to demographic and professional characteristics and to what degree the same characteristics predict the attitudes univariate and multivariate linear regressions were conducted. In the regression analyses, the continuous data for age and working years within secondary children and adolescent mental health services were used \[[@CR35]\].
Since age and working years within secondary children and adolescent mental health services were strongly correlated, r (331) = .69, p \< .000, we considered excluding one of them from the multivariate analysis. However, this did not change the explained variance, and hence, both variables were kept in the model, making it possible to explore the strengths of prediction for both of them. In order to compare profession categories, the multivariate regressions were conducted for each category compared to another, one at a time (Psychiatrist/MD vs psychologist; Psychiatrist/MD vs councellor; Psychiatrist/MD vs nurses/other; Psychologist vs councellor; Psychologist vs nurses/other; Councellor vs nurses/other).
Missing data were examined with Post Hoc analysis of the variance for each dependent variable value. This showed that participants with missing data did not differ from the others. The number of missing data on each characteristic is presented in Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"} and since the overall rate of missing data was low, 5% or fewer, decision was made to use listwise deletion.
Decision was made to choose significant level 95% in all analyses and utilize the alphas of .05. Cohen's definitions of effect sizes \[[@CR36]\] were used to describe the subscale differences between two samples t-tests, d values of .20, .50 and .80 were interpreted as small, medium and large effect, and the strengths of the regression coefficients, R^2^ values of .02, .13 and .26 were interpreted as small, medium and large effect sizes \[[@CR37]\].
Results {#Sec9}
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Clinicians' attitudes to standardized assessments and diagnoses {#Sec10}
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The clinicians' attitudes to standardized assessments and diagnostic interviews and to the usefulness of diagnosis in clinical work are presented in Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"}.Table 2Descriptive statistics of subscales and items for Attitudes toward Standardized Assessment and Utility of diagnosis in CAP Stockholm (point scales, means, standard variation, N) and comparison to US (mean, standard deviation, N)Subscales and items within each scaleCAP StockholmUS^a^Diff between CAP Stockholm---US^c^Strongly disagree\
%Disagree\
%Neutral\
%Agree\
%Strongly agree\
%M (SD) NM (SD) N Benefit over clinical judgment3.14 (0.65) 3382.95 (0.68) 1439\*\*\* Using clinical judgment to diagnose children is superior to using standardized assessment measures^b^4.525.247.418.04.82.93 (0.90) 3333.16 (0.96) 1439\*\*\* Standardized measures don't capture what's really going on with children and their families^b^5.334.740.717.22.12.76 (0.87) 3373.11 (0.95) 1439\*\*\* Clinical problems are too complex to be captured by a standardized measure^b^5.431.829.527.16.32.97 (1.03) 3363.02 (0.98) 1439ns Standardized measures provide more useful information than other assessments like informal interviews or observations7.534.442.213.22.72.69 (0.90) 3342.5 (0.82) 1439\*\*\* Standardized measures don't tell me anything I can't learn from just talking to children and their families^b^15.253.319.09.82.72.32 (0.94) 3362.47 (1.06) 1439\*Practicality3.19 (0.44) 3383.19 (0.56) 1404ns Standardized measures can efficiently gather information from multiple individuals (e.g. children, parents, teachers)0.63.011.957.327.34.08 (0.75) 3373.91 (0.79) 1404\*\*\* Standardized assessments are readily available in the language my children and their families speak21.429.441.56.51.22.38 (0.93) 3373.34 (1.12) 1404\*\*\* There are few standardized measures valid for ethnic minority children and their families^b^1.23.937.934.822.13.73 (0.89) 3303.32 (0.82) 1404\*\*\* I have adequate training in the use of standardized measures3.313.918.638.226.03.70 (1.10) 3383.25 (1.24) 1404\*\*\* Standardized diagnostic interviews interfere with establishing rapport during an intake^b^15.428.827.018.410.42.80 (1.20) 3373.04 (1.09) 1404\*\*\* Standardized measures take too long to administer and score^b^7.431.035.121.45.12.90 (1.00) 3362.99 (1.07) 1404ns Standardized symptom checklists are too difficult for many children and their families to read or understand^b^3.327.044.822.62.42.94 (0.85) 3372. 72 (0.92) 1404\*\*\* Copyrighted standardized measures are affordable for use in practice2.75.474.412.35.13.12 (0.69) 3322.71 (0.99) 1404\*\*\* Completing a standardized measure is too much of a burden for children and their families^b^13.945.733.86.20.32.33 (0.80) 3372.69 (0.93) 1404\*\*\* The information I receive from standardized measures isn't worth the time I spend administering, scoring and interpreting the results^b^10.443.032.911.02.72.53 (0.92) 3372.58 (1.08) 1404nsPsychometric quality3.81 (0.49) 3403.78 (0.50) 1428ns Clinicians should use assessments with demonstrated reliability and validity0.91.512.242.742.74.25 (0.79) 3374.20 (0.83) 1428ns Standardized measures help with accurate diagnosis1.22.716.948.830.54.05 (0.83) 3383.91 (0.77) 1428\*\* Standardized measures help detect diagnostic comorbidity (presence of multiple diagnoses)0.32.424.853.718.83.90 (0.74) 3353.67 (0.72) 1428\*\*\* Standardized measures help with differential diagnosis (deciding between 2 diagnoses)0.65.429.049.615.53.74 (0.80) 3353.64 (0.78) 1428\* Standardized measures overdiagnose psychopathology^b^6.025.747.219.41.82.85 (0.86) 3352.84 (0.89) 1428ns Most standardized measures aren't helpful because they don't map on to DSM diagnostic criteria^b^14.338.742.93.60.62.38 (0.79) 3362.45 (0.84) 1428ns It is not necessary for assessment measures to be standardized in research studies^b^37.737.416.95.62.41.98 (0.99) 3371.68 (0.84) 1428\*\*\*Utility of diagnosis3.60 (0.55) 3303.15 (0.71) 1634\*\*\* Accurate diagnosis is an important part of my treatment planning.0.30.09.939.250.64.40 (0.69) 3303.96 (0.93) 1634\*\*\* Most children and families come to work on problems of daily life rather than being diagnosed^b^1.27.626.848.216.23.70 (0.86) 3283.72 (1.07) 1634ns It is sometimes necessary to give a diagnosis that is not clinically indicated to qualify for services^b^28.931.323.012.14.72.31 (1.15) 3272.89 (1.22) 1634\*\*\* Making a diagnosis is more important for obtaining services or benefits than for planning of treatment^b^20.931.831.512.92.92.46 (1.05) 3282.88 (1.23) 1634\*\*\* It is sometimes necessary to make a less serious diagnosis than clinically indicated to avoid stigma attached to serious diagnoses^b^41.533.516.87.40.91.94 (0.98) 3282.72 (1.14) 1634\*\*\*\*\*\* p \< .001 \*\* p \< .01 \* p \< .05^a^Jensen-Doss and Hewley \[[@CR24], [@CR25]\]^b^Item was reverse scored before included in the scale score^c^Using an immediate form of two-sample t-test, ttesti in Stata
First, the clinicians in Stockholm CAP were most positive concerning *Psychometric Quality* (M = 3.81 *CI* 3.76; 3.87). According to the confidence intervals they were less positive to *Utility of Diagnosis* (M = 3.60 *CI* 3.54; 3.66) and even less positive to the feasibility in Practice (M = 3.19 *CI* 3.13; 3.23) and *Benefit over Clinical Judgement* (M = 3.14 *CI* 3.07; 3.21). In comparison to US, clinicians in the Swedish setting were more positive concerning *Benefit over Clinical Judgment* (p \< .001; Cohens *d *= .28) and to the *Utility of Diagnosis* (p \< .001; Cohens *d *= .71) corresponding to small and medium effect sizes, respectively. No statistically significant differences between countries were found in attitudes concerning *Psychometric quality* (p \> .05; Cohens *d *= .06) and *Practicality* (p \> .05; Cohens *d *= .00).
Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"} also present results at the single item level and here the Swedish clinicians were most negative concerning the availability of standardized measurements in other languages valid for ethnic minorities.
Differences in attitudes by groups of demographic and professional characteristics {#Sec11}
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The descriptive results for each attitude subscale are presented by groups of demographic and professional characteristics in Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"}.Table 3Means (M) and standard deviations (SD) for clinicians' attitudes to standardized assessment and utility of diagnosis by groups of demographic and professional characteristicsCharacteristicsBenefit over clinical judgementPracticalityPsychometric qualityUtility of diagnosis*MSDMSDMSDMSD*Demographic characteristics Age (years) \< 483.230.633.240.473.930.503.610.51 \> 473.060.673.130.403.700.463.600.59 Gender Female3.090.663.170.443.790.493.600.55 Male3.340.573.260.443.870.493.650.51Professional characteristics Working years within CAMHS \< 83.220.633.210.473.880.503.590.51 \> 73.080.663.170.413.760.483.620.60 Highest educational degree PhD3.780.763.370.404.140.533.550.37 University more than 3.53.120.643.180.443.830.483.630.55 University less than 3.53.100.683.170.433.590.453.550.53 Other higher education3.050.253.080.503.500.412.750.25 Profession Counsellor2.800.633.030.453.600.383.530.56 Nurse3.140.473.150.313.610.503.500.48 Psychiatrist/MD3.490.633.410.404.030.513.850.65 Psychologist3.200.643.210.443.930.473.650.49 Other3.220.613.180.433.610.513.300.66 Management position Yes3.210.623.280.513.850.483.630.79 No3.130.653.180.433.820.493.610.53 Conduct indepth assessments Yes3.150.683.200.453.860.483.620.55 No3.060.513.130.393.570.453.560.52 Level of service Outpatient3.120.663.170.443.830.493.640.54 Intermediate3.090.613.150.413.710.493.470.53 Inpatient3.430.523.350.433.910.503.610.64
The demographic and professional characteristics in terms of prediction of attitudes were studied by univariate and multivariate linear regressions and are presented in Table [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"}.Table 4Demographic and professional characteristics as predictors of clinician attitudes by four subscales; univariate (one independent variable) and multivariate (controls for all other independent variables) linear regressionsBenefit over Clinical JudgementPracticalityPsychometric QualityUtility of DiagnosisUnivariateMultivariateUnivariateMultivariateUnivariateMultivariateUnivariateMultivariate*β*R^2^*ββ*R^2^*ββ*R^2^*ββ*R^2^*β*Age (years)− .139\*.019− .038− .086.007− .079− .250\*\*\*.062− .071− .064.004− .043Gender Female (1) vs male (0)− .152\*\*.023− .149\*\*− .088.008− .070− .063.004− .055− .040.002− .027Working years within CAMHS− .155\*\*.024− .161\*− .008.000.025− .186\*\*\*.035− .110.000.000.042Highest educational degree Less than 3.5 years university (1) vs more than 3.5 years university (0)− .022.000.006− .024.001.009− .153\*\*.023− .014− .095.009− .055Profession.099.059.123.052 Psychiatrist/MD (1) vs psychologist (0).225\*.175.225\*.171.104.069.187\*.178 Psychiatrist/MD (1) vs councellor (0).450\*\*\*.468\*\*\*.366\*\*\*.341\*\*\*.368\*\*\*.307\*\*\*.242\*\*\*.236\* Psychiatrist/MD (1) vs nurses/other (0).174\*.164.206\*\*.142.326\*\*\*.212\*.310\*\*\*.264 Psychologist (1) vs councellor (0).260\*\*\*.320.177\*\*.197\*\*.281\*\*\*.249\*\*\*.085.087 Psychologist (1) vs nurses/other (0).010.042.042.023.250\*\*\*.164\*.171\*\*.138 Councellor (1) vs nurses/other (0)− .215\*\*\*− .223\*\*− .111− .140.005− .044.096.064Management position No (1) vs yes (0)− .029.001− .109− .051.003− .076− .014.000− .066− .010.000− .022Conduct indepth assessments Yes (1) vs no (0).053.003− .042.059.003− .012.221\*\*\*.049.079.041.002− .059Level of service Inpatient (1) vs Outpatient/intermediate (0).138\*.019.114\*.121\*.015.112.063.004.074.002.000.042\*\*\* p \< .001 \*\* p \< .01 \* p \< .05
Profession alone explained 9.9% of the variance in the subscale *Benefit over Clinical Judgement* (*F(3327) *=* 11.96, p *\< *.001*), a small effect size. Also gender (*F(1329) *=* 7.73, p *\< *.010)* and working year (*F(1326) *=* 8.00, p *\< *.001)* had small effect sizes. Entering all predictors into a multivariable regression analysis, they all together explained 17.3% of the variance (*F(10,281) *=* 7.08, p *\< *.001)*, a medium effect size. Most predictors from the univariate analysis remained significant, except for age and the differences between psychiatrist and the other professions (Table [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"}).
According to univariate analysis profession explained 5.9% of the variance in *Practicality* scale (*F(3327) *=* 6.81, p *\< *.001)*, a small effect size. Entering all predictors into a multivariate regression analysis they all together explained 6.2% of the variance (*F(10,281) *=* 2.94, p *\< *.001)*, a small effect size.
Profession alone explained 12.3% of the variance in the subscale *Psychometric Quality* (*F(3329) *=* 15.40, p *\< *.001),* medium effect size. Clinicians age explained 6.2% of the variance *(F(1336) *=* 22.33, p *\< *.001),* working years explained 3.5% of the variance *(F(1328) *=* 11.74, p *\< *.001)* and whether they conduct in-depth assessments or not explained 4.9% (*F(1328) *=* 11.74, p *\< *.001);* all predictors had small effect sizes. According to the multivariate regression analysis all predictors together, explained 13.0% of the variance *(F(10,283) *=* 5.36, p *\< *.001)*; a medium effect size, with only profession still being statistically significant.
The only statistically significant predictor of the subscale *Utility of Diagnosis* in the univariate regression was profession, which explained 5.2% of the variance *(F(3331) *=* 6.02, p *\< *.001).* Entering all predictors into a multivariate regression analysis they all together explained only 1.8% of the variance in the model *Utility of Diagnosis* (*F(10,285) *=* 1.55, p *= *.122);* none effect size. Only one predictor remained statistically significant, psychiatrists were more positive than counselors.
Discussion {#Sec12}
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This study aims to investigate attitudes of clinicians in specialist child and adolescent mental health care in Stockholm, Sweden towards standardized assessment and the usefulness of diagnosis in treatment planning and how do they differ from an US population.
The main finding from the present study is that clinicians in CAMHS Stockholm overall had quite positive attitudes towards the use of standardized assessment tools and found diagnoses useful. The attitudes were more positive compared to a similar previous study conducted in the US \[[@CR24], [@CR25]\]. The only characteristic that predicted attitudes, in all subscales, was profession.
Participants were most positive towards the psychometric quality of standardized assessments and the utility of diagnoses. They were somewhat less positive to the usefulness in practice and the use of standardized assessment when compared to clinical judgment. The patterns in attitudes across subscale were similar to those found in the US study \[[@CR24], [@CR25]\]. Exceptions from this included that clinicians in the present study seemed to be more positive towards the utility of diagnosis in treatment, compared to those in the US study. This is interesting since the health care systems in these two countries are somewhat different. Clinicians in Sweden were also more likely than their colleagues in US, to report that standardized tools improve the assessment information more than simply relying only on clinical judgments.
Our study also aimed to explore whether clinicians' attitudes differ due to demographic and professional characteristics. The only characteristic that was found to predict attitude across all subscales was profession, with counselors being less positive than the other groups. Also, clinicians with fewer years of working within CAMHS, seemed to be more positive than those with longer experience, but this relationship was not sustained when controlling for all the other variables. The characteristics predicting the explained variance differed somewhat from those in the earlier mentioned US study by Jensen-Doss and Hewley \[[@CR24], [@CR25]\]. Even though profession seemed to be the most important predictor in both populations, it was not always the same professional groups that were most positive. This may be explained by cultural differences between countries, i.e. how the mental health services are organized, but also by differences in the duties/tasks, educational backgrounds and social status of the profession \[[@CR38]\].
One previously identified barrier against EBP in general is the belief that it could have negative impact on the therapeutic relationship \[[@CR39]\]. The clinicians in our study are not quite that pessimistic, which is positive from an implementation point of view \[[@CR40]\]. However, the Swedish clinicians believe that SA do not offer additional information they cannot obtain from informal interviews or from just talking with the children and their parents. This finding is in line with other research; a review of therapist-level resistance to EBP showed that psychotherapists believe that they can objectively and without bias perceive the patients' problem and treatment outcome \[[@CR30]\] a belief not likely to be true \[[@CR14], [@CR20]\]. As mentioned earlier, our study indicates that less experienced clinicians in terms of working years within CAP were more positive than experienced clinicians, this was specifically to the use of SA over clinical judgements. This could be explained by the fact that less experienced appreciate more support in the diagnostic process, but also, as Nakamura, Higa-McMilla, Okamura and Shimabukuro suggest, by a more recent education at university, influenced more by EBP \[[@CR41]\].
The results from our study raise practical issues that need to be considered. First few clinicians in our study, and even fewer than in the US study, agreed that assessment instruments in languages that their clients speak are readily available. Addressing the language issue is crucial, since assessment strategies need to be not just scientifically sound, but also culturally sensitive and clinically relevant as well \[[@CR42]\]. As the patient group in mental health services has changed over the last decades in Sweden, with increasing proportions of children and adolescents originating from countries other than Sweden, it is important to consider availability of the instruments for the most common languages, when implementing EBA in clinical practices.
Second, about one-third of the clinicians reported that they did not have adequate training in using structured assessment tools, which implies a need for more education and practice in this area. According to several implementation strategy theories, e.g. Rogers theory Diffusion of innovations \[[@CR43]\] and research within EBP \[[@CR44]\], providers must not only have favorable attitudes towards it, they also need to have knowledge about the new technique, before successfully adopted into clinical practice. In a recent study of clinicians training in cognitive behavioral therapy with a strong focus on SA tools, the researchers used the ASA questionnaire to investigate the change in attitudes and use of SA before and after training and found that the clinicians developed a more positive attitude towards psychometric quality and feasibility of SA in clinical practices with training \[[@CR45]\]. The actual use of SA also increased during training, but declined somewhat after the training was ended. This is in line with another study showing that training has an positive impact on attitudes and self-efficacy regarding using SA \[[@CR46]\]. To continue increased use of SA, a learning environment is probably needed.
Finally, even if the practical issues are solved, successful implementation of EBA requires a competent and skilful organizational culture with commitment among the mental health service personnel \[[@CR7]\]. As organizations and technologies change rapidly, solutions must be able to handle complex clinical situations and also be flexible. The arena where the patients (especially the young ones) and professionals meet will be somewhat different in the future \[[@CR47]\]. This will also be the future for SA. Although the development of technological solutions has exploded during last decades, it is important that this trend continues in collaboration between clinicians and patients \[[@CR48]\] as well as between practitioners and researchers \[[@CR49]\].
Exchange of scientific and applied knowledge to meet these challenges within nations and between societies are therefore of importance. Whether EBA will be implemented in child mental health services or not in the future, does not only depend on clinicians' attitude, knowledge, ability and motivation. The importance of organizational factors and resources have also been highlighted \[[@CR50]\]. Generally, the motives for using SA must be clear and supported by suitable systems of the mental health service as well as science. When implementing EBP in the future an integrating approach is needed \[[@CR23]\] where both EBA and EBT are of importance since they bridge the gap between science and community services \[[@CR2]\].
Strengths and limitations in our study {#Sec13}
--------------------------------------
The present study is an investigation within only one of many Swedish Counties. However, almost a quarter of the Swedish population lives within the Stockholm County and the CAMHS Stockholm serves more than 80% of the population in this age group in the catchment area. In addition, the high response rate in our study and our respondent coverage of all professions within secondary children and adolescent mental health services, increase the generalizability of our findings.
Our study did not include data from the US and therefore it is important to be careful when drawing conclusions about the differences between the two national settings, Sweden and the US. The findings could, apart from pointing at possible cultural differences, also to some extent, be due to differences in the samples and applied methodology in obtaining and analyzing data.
Profession was the main characteristic statistically significantly associated with the results from all subscales and except for cultural professional differences, the size of the professional groups differed. Counselors were quite narrowly defined as a group in the Swedish sample and were less positive to SA than counselors in the US sample, which represented a larger and more inclusive group consisting of counselors and to some degree social workers. Further, compared to the US sample, the Swedish sample includes more psychologists, who we found had less positive attitudes to SA. Finally, clinicians in the private sector were not included in the Swedish sample; a group with less positive attitudes according to the US study. In addition, the Swedish sample included fewer clinicians with research training (PhD) than the US study, which found high educational level to be a predictor of positive attitudes towards SA.
In this study, we were unfortunately not able to explore the relationship between attitudes and use of SA, which is a limitation. Participants did answer an open-ended question about this but the responses could not be grouped or categorized reliably enough to be included in the analyses.
Finally, the psychometric properties of the subscales, *Utility of Diagnosis* and *Practicality* must be mentioned. In total, all characteristics together explained only 1.8% of the variance in *Utility of Diagnosis*, which is a negligible effect size and less than all other scales. This subscale was also the one with lowest internal consistency and also the one with troublesome face validity in the translation process. The subscale *Practicality* had also questionable internal consistency in the Swedish sample (α = .60) lower than in the US study (α = .75) \[[@CR26]\]. In the present study, we chose not to change the number of items to improve the reliabilty since we wanted to compare the results with those in the previous study.
Implications and conclusion {#Sec14}
---------------------------
This study aims to investigate clinician´s attitudes towards standardized assessments and usefulness of diagnosis. The overall positive attitudes toward diagnosis and SA are of importance in the development of EBA within child and adolescent mental health services and our study suggest that clinicians in general value diagnosis and are willing to use SA. When implementing new methods in practice, there are general as well as specific resistances that needs to be overcome and studies in different cultural settings are of importance to further extend the knowledge of what is universal and what is contextual. Our study indicates that there are some differences compared to earlier studies that could be explained by cultural circumstances and may be used for assisting favorable EBA progress in several settings. Nevertheless, there are specific issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve an equitable and efficient health care e.g. the lack of translated assessment tools and training. The health services and the scientific community need to collaborate to succeed in implementing more evidence-based assessments of mental disorders in children and adolescents.
CAMHS Stockholm
: Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Healths Services within Stockholm County Council
EBM
: evidence-based medicine
EBP
: evidence-based practice
EBT
: evidence-based treatment
EBA
: evidence-based assessment
SA
: standardized assessments
MD, SD and JOL developed the study design and translated questionnaire. MD was the principal investigator and carried out the data collecting and analyzed most data, drafted, edited and finalized the manuscript. JOL, AM and MD planned the article, JOL, SD and AM supervised MD while drafting the manuscript and JOL was the main supervisor. EF supervised the multivariable regression analysis. All authors edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgements {#FPar1}
================
The authors thank Amanda Jensen-Doss for approving the use of the questionnaire and her generous sharing of experiences and knowledge. The authors also thank Einar Heiervang, Per Kristen Teigen and Tobias Edbom for the engagement in the early phase of the study. Finally the authors also want to thank all who participated in the study.
The paper was not presented at any meeting.
Competing interests {#FPar2}
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Availability of data and materials {#FPar3}
==================================
The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available. Data are however available from authors upon reasonable request.
Consent for publication {#FPar4}
=======================
All participants consented to the publication of anonymous results.
Ethical approval and consent to participate {#FPar5}
===========================================
The Stockholm regional ethical review board gave ethical approval (2013/1505-31/5). All participants were asked for consent and participated voluntary.
Funding {#FPar6}
=======
The study was funded by Stockholm County Council, Sweden.
Publisher's Note {#FPar7}
================
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
| |
"Completing the Task"
The Cairns Group of Agricultural Fair Traders reaffirms its commitment to achieving a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system as sought by the Agreement on Agriculture. To this end the Cairns Group is united in its resolve to ensure that the next WTO agriculture negotiations achieve fundamental reform which will put trade in agricultural goods on the same basis as trade in other goods. All trade distorting subsidies must be eliminated and market access must be substantially improved so that agricultural trade can proceed on the basis of market forces.
The Uruguay Round provided a rules-based framework for agricultural trade and took an important first step in reducing agricultural support and protection. Levels of support in OECD countries, however, remain at very high levels, with US$280 billion in total transfers to agriculture in 1997. Also, for many products major impediments continue to constrain market access opportunities. The negotiations, to commence in 1999, must deliver major improvements to the rules, the elimination of subsidies that distort prices, production and trade, and substantial cuts to protection levels.
Completing the task of liberalising agricultural trade will bring important benefits in terms of economic growth, improved welfare, food security and sustainable development.
Food security will be enhanced through more diversified and reliable sources of supply, as more farmers, including poorer farmers in developing countries, are able to respond to market forces and new income generating opportunities, without the burden of competition from heavily subsidised products. Export restrictions must not be allowed to disrupt the supply of food to world markets, in particular to net food importing countries.
In many cases agricultural subsidies and access restrictions have stimulated farm practices that are harmful to the environment. Reform of these policies can contribute to the development of environmentally sustainable agriculture.
The principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, including least developed countries and small states, must also remain an integral part of the next WTO agriculture negotiations. The framework for liberalisation must continue to support the economic development needs, including technical assistance requirements, of these WTO members.
As preparations for the agriculture negotiations intensify, the Cairns Group will push for a comprehensive framework which addresses all areas affecting agricultural trade. A central part of this will be further, far reaching, and specific commitments in each of the three reform areas.
Export Subsidies
- There is no justification for maintaining export subsidies. It is essential that the 1999 negotiations ensure the early, total elimination and prohibition of all forms of these distortive and inequitable policies. There must be clear rules to prevent all forms of circumvention of export subsidy commitments. Also agricultural export credits must be brought under effective international discipline with a view to ending government subsidisation of such credits.
Market Access
- Access opportunities for agricultural products should be on the same conditions as those applying to other goods and should be commercially viable. Tariffs must be the only form of protection, tariff escalation must be removed and tariff peaks curtailed. The 1999 negotiations must result in deep cuts to all tariffs, tariff peaks and tariff escalation. They must provide a major expansion of market access opportunities for agricultural products, including value-added products. The removal of non-tariff barriers must be completed without exception. Trade volumes under tariff rate quotas must be increased substantially. The administration of tariff rate quotas must not diminish the size and value of market access opportunities, particularly in products of special interest to developing countries.
Domestic Support
- Overall levels of domestic support for agriculture remain far in excess of subsidies available to other industries. The 1999 negotiations must result in major reductions in domestic support for all agricultural products. All trade distorting domestic subsidies must be eliminated with only non-distorting forms of support permitted. Close attention will be paid to compensation for the shift away from price support and the Cairns Group will work to ensure that income aids or other domestic support measures are targeted, transparent and fully decoupled so that they do not distort production and trade.
The WTO agriculture negotiations are mandated to begin before the end of 1999. The Cairns Group will work to ensure that the necessary preparations have been undertaken so that the negotiations begin on time, and are completed as soon as possible. The reform process must continue unabated and the outcome must put trade in agricultural goods on an equal footing with trade in other goods. | https://www.cairnsgroup.org/Pages/vision_statement.aspx |
Open Learning Exchange Nepal (OLE Nepal) is a social benefit organization with a mission to increase access to quality education through the integration of technology. OLE Nepal has been working since 2007 to use innovations in technology to improve education quality and access in rural public schools in the country with the belief that inexpensive computers are in the long-term the most cost-effective medium for increasing access to education for Nepali children. The organization aims to increase the quality of education through the creation of open-source learning activities combined with teacher training.
OLE Nepal's program is currently running in fifty schools in sixteen districts in various forms in partnership with Nepal Government's Department of Education (DoE) with support from development partners including Danish Government’s Local Grant Authority, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Finnish Government’s Funds for Local Cooperation.
OLE Nepal and Nepal's DoE recently started the implementation of OLPC shared-model in fifteen schools in three new districts based on the review of the program and the feedback received from teachers and schools as well as the lessons learned over the past three years. In the shared-model, students from different classes share a set of laptops but each student has one-to-one access to laptops and digital resources when a particular class is using the laptops. In addition to significant cost savings, this model makes it is easier for schools and teachers to manage the programs.
OLE Nepal Presentation at 1cc - Rabi Karmacharya came to Boston to share insights on what's been happening in Nepal so far.
More about the OLE Nepal Community.
In early 2007, Rabi Karmacharya and Bryan Berry, decided to leave their jobs in the technology sector and join force to launch OLE Nepal with the vision of transforming Nepal’s public education system using technology in the classroom teaching-learning process. Prior to that, the two had been part of a group of volunteers who had been meeting and discussing the possibility of leveraging the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) laptops to address the challenges faced by educators in the country. They met and discussed with various educators, teachers, experts, activists, community leaders, donors, and government officials going on to form the Board of Directors, and registering the organization. In the process, they received much support from Mr. Mahabir Pun, who also believed in their common cause. Dr. Saurav Dev Bhatta also joined as one of the founding members when the organization was officially launched in September 2007.
OLE Nepal’s mission is to provide freely accessible high-quality interactive teaching-learning materials along with an education-centered digital library that addressed the problems of quality, access, and disparity in education. OLE Nepal signed an agreement with the Government of Nepal to help implement Nepal's pilot of OLPC in 2008 and then carried out a test phase in Bashuki and Bishwamitra Schools. The agreement has been renewed in subsequent years to expand the technology-based education in more schools and grades.
OLE Nepal’s ICT-based education programs are currently running in 50 schools in 16 districts across Nepal benefitting more than 10,000 students. OLE Nepal has also trained over 300 school teachers on how to integrate technology in classroom teaching/learning process. OLE Nepal has prepared an extensive collection of interactive digital learning materials that are based on the school curricula. OLE Nepal has also developed a digital library that are installed in servers in each school.
OLE Nepal has developed two types of digital content: E-Paath and E-Pustakalaya.
E-Paath is a collection of subject-specific, and grade-specific digital learning materials that are conceptualized by educators and curriculum experts. These interactive educational software modules are closely aligned with the national curriculum and are designed to help teachers and students meet the learning objectives outlined in the curriculum. These activities employ various features of technology such as audio, images, animation and text to help students better understand concepts in various subjects.
Each activity has an accompanying “Teacher’s Note” that explains how teachers can integrate the activity in classroom teaching, including the curriculum objectives, learning areas, corresponding textbook chapter, and how the digital activity can be used alongside other learning tools inside and outside the classroom.
E-Pustakalaya (Go to E-Pustakalaya) is an education-centered digital library containing full-text documents, books, educationational videos, audio books, and interactive educational software that can be freely accessed through an intranet or on the Internet. OLE Nepal started the development of E-Pustakalaya with the aim to improve children’s reading skills and develop a reading culture in schools by giving them free and open access to age-appropriate reading materials.
Users of E-Pustakalaya can browse through various sections looking for items they like, or they can search for specific items based on full or partial author name, title, publisher and/or keywords. Users can read books and documents, view videos, listen to audio clips, play educational games directly from E-Pustakalaya, and in the case of books and documents, download and store for later viewing. The E-Pustakalaya currently holds more than 4000 titles.
While these resources can be accessed online , OLE Nepal has placed special emphasis on making them available in far flung schools that do not have Internet connectivity. E-Pustakalaya is hosted in low-cost low-power servers and installed in schools and community libraries that either do not have Internet connectivity or have low bandwidth connection.
OLE Nepal has developed and delivered training programs to help teachers integrate laptops and digital learning materials in classroom teaching.Teachers receive an eight-day training before the deployment of computers in schools. They take part in discussions and practice teaching to build both their skills and confidence in using digital resources in their class. In-School Training is used as a monitoring tool to observe how much the teachers are using the integration of ICT in classroom teaching and what issues they have while doing so. This is conducted 4-6 weeks after the teacher training mentioned above. Refresher Training are organised to help teachers to revise what they learnt in previous training. This project also gives opportunity for teachers to share their issues and lessons learned. For OLE Nepal, it is an evaluation tool to review how effective the trainings were and what training strategies or content need to be reviewed.
OLE Nepal constantly seeks to utilize the best possible technology solution to implement ICT-based education in under-resourced rural schools. On the hardware front, it uses low-power, low-cost, durable equipment that is readily available and easily serviceable locally. With operating system and software applications, OLE Nepal advocates for open source solutions not only because of cost considerations, but also for ease of customization and localization, which are essential in the development and distribution of effective educational content.
OLE Nepal has worked in partnership with various central and local level agencies within the Ministry of Education system to ensure that they build the necessary institutional capacity to implement ICT-based Education on a national level. The project has gained tremendously from the inputs provided by government trainers, curriculum experts, district level school supervisors, resource persons and teachers. The OLPC project was implemented in partnership with the Department of Education and the District Education Offices in the program districts. The DoE and OLE Nepal has also worked together to promote awareness about ICT-based Education. Teacher trainings have been conducted with help of government trainers who were prepared in providing ICT-based Education training. OLE Nepal has consulted with subject experts from the Curriculum Development Center in the preparation and review of the E-Paath activities. All in all, OLE Nepal opts to work with and empower existing resources within our public education system instead of creating a parallel system.
OLE Nepal has deployed over 4000 laptops to 50 schools in 16 districts in Nepal as of August 1, 2012 (Project Coverage). XO Laptops were installed with interactive learning activities including E-Paath, and distributed to classes 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Complete information on sites can be found on OLE's deployment sites page of the Redmine project management tool.
Last edited on 04:14, 22 March 2013.
>11,288 views of this page. One Laptop per Child and the OLPC logos are trademarks of OLPC. | http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLE_Nepal |
This interim report presents preliminary data and observations from evaluations of Intel Teach to the Future being conducted around the world, and recommendations for building and refining this evaluation portfolio to ensure that findings will be instructive at the local, national and international level. The data presented here reflect the various evaluation processes that are underway, as well as those that are just beginning, in countries participating in Intel Teach to the Future. This interim report is intended to provide formative information for consideration by program staff as they develop and/or extend their evaluation plans, rather than summative information about overall program impact. The report is structured to present the following:
- Preliminary data from the Core Surveys administered in four countries: Taiwan, Japan, India and the U.S. (n=11,986)
- Themes derived from analysis of the evaluation reports submitted to EDC, site visits to four countries, conversations with education managers and evaluators, and EDC's evaluation of the U.S. program. The report also presents programmatic and evaluation recommendations that address these themes.
- Summaries of the evaluation plans and findings from twenty countries.
The preliminary results from the Core Survey suggest that Intel Teach to the Future is having an impact on the teaching practice of participants. Not only did a large percentage of teachers report implementing a new technology-integrated lesson or activity since their participation in the program, but many also report that they are experimenting with a number of the project-based teaching strategies promoted in the training. These preliminary findings also suggest strong relationships between access to technical resources and rates of implementation, and an equally strong relationship between teachers' perception of the relevance of the project-based teaching strategies presented in the training and rates of implementation. Some key findings from the Core Survey administered in four countries include:
- 79% of teachers report implementing a new technology-integrated lesson or activity since the training.
- Teachers who did not have access to computer labs were more likely to report not having implemented (39%) than those who had access (19%).
- Teachers who had classroom computers were more likely to implement technologyintegrated lessons than those who did not, and the more classroom computers teachers had, the more often they implemented.
- The challenges to implementation most commonly cited by both teachers who implemented and teachers who did not were those related to lack of access to technology and lack of time. However, among those who had not implemented, lack of administrative and technical support were also cited frequently as obstacles, while those who had implemented did not cite these as frequently.
- Teachers who agreed that the teaching strategies presented in the training were relevant to their teaching goals were more likely to implement technology-integrated lessons than those who did not.
- Nearly all teachers (94%) who implemented a technology-integrated lesson reported that their students were motivated and actively engaged in the lesson.
- More than 60% of teachers reported presenting lessons to students using technology, conducting research on the Internet, and accessing Internet resources for lesson planning more frequently since the training.
The themes that we identified across countries were organized using a research-based framework for analyzing technology integration in educational environments. This framework describes four factors that facilitate or impede the integration of technology: infrastructure, professional development, administrative support and time. We also identified some key evaluation themes and issues that have emerged in multiple countries. In each category we make programmatic and evaluation recommendations for addressing these themes.
- Infrastructure is consistently raised as an issue by teachers working in a wide range of access conditions. We suggest making it explicit in the training that Intel Teach to the Future is designed to help teachers integrate project-based ICT curriculum within the given ICT environments in which they work, and focusing discussion in the training around the specific access conditions of participants. We also suggest collecting stories of innovative implementation in challenging access environments through case studies and contests. These would provide concrete examples for teachers who find it difficult to conceptualize how to integrate technology into their teaching.
- Teachers across the world have been overwhelmingly positive about the professional development they have received through Intel Teach to the Future. We suggest ways in which the program can build on this initial positive response. Some countries have already developed methods for providing ongoing professional development for their MTs through the use of MT groups who meet regularly to share ideas and experiences. These groups could be the focus of qualitative evaluations that explore the ways in which these groups allow MTs to learn from each other and provide follow-up support to teachers. Based on concerns expressed by teachers in a number of countries regarding their need for guidance in helping students make effective use of digital resources, we also suggest follow-up professional development in "information literacy" or "media literacy."
- The relationship between administrative support and teachers' ability to implement technology-integrated curriculum varies across national and local contexts. In order for the program to be effectively adapted to a range of environments, program staff need to be able to create programmatic structures that involve administrators at the level necessary for participants to receive the support they need to experiment with technology. Case studies of administrator workshops currently in place could shed light on how these initiatives can be integrated into programs in other countries. In addition, hierarchical, multi-level evaluations of educational systems can be designed to provide information to program staff about the administrative and structural issues that their programs need to address.
- Time constraints are consistently mentioned as an obstacle to technology integration by program participants. Although lack of time is a difficult problem to resolve, there are ways that program design can address the issue. At least one program has required that all participating schools have Master Teachers on site. Evaluation of this design element can enable program staff in other countries to understand whether this strategy allows participating teachers to more effectively and efficiently implement technology-integrated lessons. In addition, data suggest that offering incentives, especially in the early stages of the program, is essential for encouraging both MTs and PTs to dedicate their time to the training. Systematic exploration of the importance of incentives will better enable program staff to make decisions about how to allocate resources.
- At this stage of our involvement with the international program, a number of evaluation issues have arisen. First, the core survey has already produced interesting, cross-country findings. However, we have identified some key areas of Core Survey development, administration and reporting that can be improved, such as the degree of standardization of the questions and communication about Core Survey requirements. On a broader level, we emphasize the need to establish realistic and meaningful criteria and indicators for program success. We also encourage the use of targeted case studies to explore various aspects of program design and a variety of educational contexts so that individual countries' evaluations can inform program staff around the world. Looking to the future, we suggest creating standardized instruments for use in pre-service program evaluations and documentation of the knowledge base that exists among program staff.
The interim report then presents summaries of the materials we have received from twenty evaluations being conducted around the world. Some countries with mature programs have submitted evaluation reports, the finding of which we summarize in this section. Other countries are at the preliminary stages of their evaluations, and for these we describe their evaluation plans. | https://cct.edc.org/publications/intel-international-interim-final-report |
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