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We are pleased to have completed the 3rd annual Women & MPN conference on Friday, September 29th, in Los Angeles. We had wonderful speakers and a lively panel discussion on issues impacting women and all those living with MPNs. One recurring theme was revealed by the newly diagnosed attendees; their physicians didn’t seem to know a lot about their ET, PV or MF and gave little support or direction to resources. MPN Advocacy & Education International is committed to a more vigorous outreach program to physicians and will continue to provide direction, education and resources to all patients and caregivers lacking the support they need. Our special guest, Emmy-award winning actress, Finola Hughes, will be a great spokesperson for the MPN community because of her ability to reach much greater numbers through the media.
While participating in the Women & MPN™ conference in Los Angeles at the end of September, I met several women who were newly-diagnosed with a myeloproliferative neoplasm. They are bright, can-do women who recently learned what is causing their crazy symptoms and cost some of them their employment. As I listened to their stories, a rush of memories ran through me:
Ten years ago, after severe abdominal thromboses, sepsis, and organ failure, a hematologist told me, “At least you don’t have cancer. You should see some of my really sick patients. When you recover from the surgery, you should start working out and lose some weight. You’ll feel better.” Eight years ago, when I almost stroked with a hematocrit of 69.1, another hematologist started treatment (phlebotomies and hydrea) and encouraged me to consult with a MPN expert. That expert noted some CBC results from several years earlier (separate health care organization) that showed platelet count over 900,000. He explained that I likely started with ET; it wasn’t diagnosed back then because they didn’t know as much and the internist didn’t connect my symptoms to a blood disorder.
Incredibly, in 2017, some hematologists still don’t understand the very diseases they diagnose. I get it; there’s a lot to know. Given the complexities of blood cancers and diseases, they have a responsibility to acknowledge their limitations and refer patients to specialists. Unfortunately, many newly-diagnosed MPN patients receive partial information, treatment plans that look more like Swiss cheese, and faulty expectations.
I naively assumed a decade after my first experience, MPNs would not be foreign to local practice physicians. In the last ten years, significant progress was made with new mutations identified, patient studies, new treatments, and diagnostic and treatment protocols. MPNs receive attention at American Society of Hematology (ASH) and other related conferences. I thought greater awareness and understanding would filter through the hematology network beyond university and research centers. Based on recent conversations with several new patients, this is not happening. And people in smaller communities are at greatest risk.
Fortunately, these women took the information from their physicians and started researching on their own. One way or another, they found MPN Advocacy & Education International’s conference and decided to attend. The physicians who spoke at the conference shared timely information in relatable ways. “I can’t tell you how much relief I feel! Meeting other patients and talking to doctors who know what they are talking about gives me hope,” remarked an attendee.
Another shared, “My doctor told me that PV is no big deal. Then I looked it up and read it is cancer and could kill me. After listening to all the speakers, I’m starting to believe that we can get a handle on this after all. I don’t understand half of what they said, but at least I know it’s complicated and treatable. Now I need to find a good MPN doctor!”
Don’t fight a fact. Deal with it!
So as the MPN progress train lurches forward, we must remember that everyone isn’t on board. Let this be a reminder to take charge of our care. Ask questions. Seek second opinions. Connect with others. Be mindful. Don’t give up. This caring MPN community is here for you.
How to Approach the Conversation with Your Child’s Hematologist
By Nicole Kucine, MD, MS
It can be difficult to know what to expect when your child is being evaluated for an MPN. There is limited guidance on the internet, which can make specialist visits overwhelming to families. As parents, you can expect that you and your child will be asked many questions about symptoms he or she might be having, including headache, abdominal symptoms, rashes, and itching. Your child will undergo a number of blood tests, including some genetic tests, as well as a bone marrow examination. Children who are having symptoms specific to a certain body area may need radiologic tests (such as an ultrasound or MRI.) You should feel free to ask anything you want, and make sure if you are searching the internet you look at reliable sources (such as the MPN Research Foundation, MPN Advocacy Education International, or cancer.gov.) Some of the questions I am often asked include the following:
Does my child have cancer?
This is a tricky question, and others may disagree, but I do not think of children with MPN as having cancer. In adults, the World Health Organization criteria considers MPN to be chronic forms of leukemia. We are still evaluating MPN in children, and at this point it is not clear that they are all the same disorders in kids as they are in adults. I view the classical MPN in children as chronic bone marrow disorders, and while they have the potential to transform to acute leukemia, this is not something that has been reported in the literature. By envisioning these as chronic illnesses, I think it helps to set the expectations for long-term follow-up and aiming for keeping day to day activities as normal for your child as possible.
Does my child need the bone marrow evaluation?
The answer to this is definitely yes. The bone marrow exam is an extremely important part of the diagnostic process. It can provide a lot of information about what is going on with your child’s blood cells at the source. Things like storage iron, fibrosis, and the appearance of the precursor blood cells are studied. The procedure itself is performed with anesthesia to make sure your child is asleep during the bone marrow test and doesn’t remember it. The pain following a bone marrow test is generally very mild, and children may not require any pain medicine or might require a dose of Tylenol.
What type of MPN does my child have?
The diagnostic criteria for the various types of MPN are based on years of study and data on adult patients. They include features like appearance of bone marrow cells, genetic findings, and lab criteria. Making the appropriate classification for adult patients is important for discussions of prognosis and treatment. We do not yet know if we can directly apply these criteria to children, and knowing the exact type of MPN each child has may not be possible. While it is important to gather all of this information in children, it may not be as important to specifically name the exact type of MPN, and “MPN, unclassifiable” is an appropriate diagnosis for a number of children. The decisions about how to counsel families, what treatments may be recommended, and what follow-up is needed, will be made based on a variety of findings.
Does my child require treatment for his or her MPN?
The answer to this question varies, as I do not believe treatment is required for all children with MPN. I usually determine the need for treatment based on an individual child’s symptoms and lab findings. I generally do not recommend treatment for children who are asymptomatic and have reassuring labs. Children with mild symptoms in the setting of a high platelet count can often benefit from low-dose aspirin, as long as they are not showing evidence of bleeding or acquired vonWillebrand disease. Children with high red blood cell counts can also benefit from low-dose aspirin or phlebotomy. When a child has a severe clinical event such as a blood clot, or does not have improvement of symptoms with initial therapy, then cytoreductive therapy is appropriate. Which medication is used should be decided based on a conversation with the family and the treating doctor. I have been asked about what is my “cutoff” for high platelet or red cell counts for treatment, and there isn’t a standard cutoff. For example, I don’t think an asymptomatic child with a platelet count of 1.3 million necessitates treatment if they are feeling well and otherwise healthy. If you asked 10 different hematologists, you would probably get 10 different opinions on when to treat, so I think it’s important to have a conversation with your hematologist about the risks and benefits of different treatments.
While it can be frustrating to be facing a rare disease, there is ongoing research to help us better understand these conditions in children and adolescents. Keeping an open mind and making sure you have good communication with your child’s hematologist is the most important thing you can do.
MPN Advocacy & Education International was invited to attend a very important and timely meeting with the FDA last month. The invitation was extended to us and a few other MPN focused organizations. This meeting launched a unique beginning for those of us representing the MPN Community.
The FDA’s newly formed Oncology Center of Excellence and the Office of Patient Outcomes are committed to engaging MPN patients and advocates to better respond to the need for quality treatment options.
Among the many topics presented by their hematologists, researchers and cancer patient liaison, was an in depth explanation on drug approval processes and how valuable and critical the patient’s voice is to their mission.
After a drug is approved, companies are required to send frequent updates on any and all reported adverse side effects from their drug. Physicians also report on these events and patients can do so by contacting the FDA directly through Med Watch Consumer Voluntary Reporting. Go to www.fda.gov/reportinghelp. Patient Reported Outcomes are extremely important and valuable to the Drug Approval Process and after a drug is approved.
We also learned the complexities surrounding drug “holds” and what happens and why when that hold begins and when it is released. They stressed the importance of ongoing communication between BioPharma and the FDA and encourage regular conversations and frequent updates with comprehensive data.
As the MPN Community pursues the use of Interferon and hopes for accessibility to Interferon as a viable option for treatment, we learned that company(ies) producing Interferon would have to apply for approval specifically for MPNs. It could be a daunting process but there may be avenues we can utilize through patient advocacy efforts.
Although we did not share all of our concerns at this meeting, we look forward to subsequent meetings where we hope to tackle the issues of endpoints, pricing, fast-tracking, and other challenges surrounding MPN drug approval. We were very pleased to have had this opportunity.
Individuals living with Essential Thrombocythemia, Polycythemia Vera and Myelofibrosis are now invited to participate in the first ever patient advocacy driven registry for people with an MPN (myeloproliferative neoplasm). This new initiative is called myMPN and was launched in September at the beginning of Blood Cancer Awareness Month. Information about this project and the link to enroll can be found at http://www.mpnresearchfoundation.org/myMPN.
Through myMPN the MPN Research Foundation provides patients with an opportunity to share information about their experience with MPN with researchers. The “How do you feel today” survey records symptom data in real time. There is a “Health Event” survey for people who have had a change in diagnosis, medication change, hospitalization or other medical event they’d like to include in myMPN. Participants will be able to see how they compare to others in myMPN. Almost 100 people are already participating on a regular basis.
Dr. Ruben Mesa is the chair of myMPN’s steering committee which also includes representatives from Mayo Clinic, Guys and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, MD Anderson and Johns Hopkins University. The Steering Committee provided feedback and oversight for the protocol and surveys that are included in myMPN and will help set data access guidelines and lead the evolution of the surveys over time.
NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:STML), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for difficult to treat cancers, announced today that data from SL-801’s ongoing Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced solid tumors has been selected by the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) for poster presentation at their Annual Congress 2017, to be held September 8-12, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. SL-801 is a novel, potent and reversible Exportin-1 (XPO1) inhibitor.
How do I know if I’m having ET symptoms or menopause symptoms, i.e. night sweats, foggy brain etc.?
There is no one answer for this – and many of the symptoms of essential thrombocythemia may be confused with “normal” symptoms of menopause. However, there are some tell-tale signs that ET is the root cause. For example, night sweats are different than hot flashes. Night sweats typically occur while sleeping and characteristically cause soaking sweats – like you have to change your pajamas or the bedding. Night sweats are not subtle. In contrast, most women describe hot flashes as a flush that comes on at any time of the day (or night) and while uncomfortable, doesn’t typically cause profuse sweating. If you are having migraine headaches, visual auras, painful rash of the extremities — called “erythromelalgia,” these are more common with ET and warrant a discussion with your physician.
Sex is difficult since my diagnosis. My husband is cautious and doesn’t want to impose himself on me, and I cannot get my head into it. I’m consumed with thoughts of the disease and possible progression. Can you offer an insights?
Many individuals, when faced with a life changing diagnosis, find that anxiety and depression about the diagnosis can affect the normal activities of life, whether or not it’s sexual activities or libido, work, sleep or other relationships. It is very, very common for people to experience grief reactions or event depression with diagnosis. Depression and anxiety are very treatable conditions.
In your situation, I would strongly recommend seeking out a psychotherapist or psychiatrist and discussing that your worries about your disease are impeding your normal function. You might also have your husband join you at some of these sessions. Finally, don’t forget to mention this to your hematologist as well, who might be able to give some advice with regard to a medical approach. The most stressful things in life: death, divorce, illness often cause humans to experience grief, which can also take the form of anxiety or depression. There is excellent treatment for this in the form of therapy and medication. Please talk to a professional.
I know intimacy is many things unrelated to sex but sometimes the fatigue overtakes me and I simply don’t care if I ever have sex. I also fall asleep when we try to be close.
Fatigue is a very common symptom of the MPNs, including the “lower-risk” MPNs including polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia. This can impede normal sexual activity and libido. One option is to try creative, non-medical, interventions. Think about what times of the day you are at your best. Perhaps timing your intimate encounters to be at a time of day when you feel more energized? Experiment with alterations in your diet – are there some foods that make you sleepy? If so, you can avoid those when you want to remain energized. Certainly, avoiding alcohol might help to prevent fatigue on “date nights.” A lack of libido can also be a sign of depression and certain
Fatigue is a very common symptom of the MPNs, including the “lower-risk” MPNs including polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia. This can impede normal sexual activity and libido. One option is to try creative, non-medical, interventions. Think about what times of the day you are at your best. Perhaps timing your intimate encounters to be at a time of day when you feel more energized? Experiment with alterations in your diet – are there some foods that make you sleepy? If so, you can avoid those when you want to remain energized. Certainly, avoiding alcohol might help to prevent fatigue on “date nights.” A lack of libido can also be a sign of depression and certain antidepressants can help with this. I recommend discussing this all with your physician.
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When Worrying Gets Out of Control
By George Pratt, Ph.D.,
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla
July 19, 2007
“Butterflies” in your stomach just before an interview for your dream job. A racing heartbeat when you realize the highway patrol officer’s sirens are meant for you. Lying wide-awake in bed all night before an important presentation.
Nearly all of us feel mildly anxious once in a while. But for nearly seven million American adults, anxiety is a chronic, debilitating problem. Far from a mild case of “nerves”, people with a condition known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) experience irrational worry, uncertainty and dread for months on end. They may spend hours a day worrying that something terrible is about to happen. Their anxiety can make it nearly impossible to concentrate at work or school, make simple decisions, and enjoy everyday activities. In extreme cases, they may worry about simply getting through the day.
Moreover, while most people with GAD realize their anxiety is unwarranted, they feel helpless to control it.
GAD comes on gradually and can begin at any age, although it is most common between adolescence and middle age. It affects about twice as many women as men. GAD is diagnosed when daily feelings of unfounded anxiety last at least six months; in addition, people with GAD may struggle with physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, sweating, shortness of breath, fatigue and difficulty sleeping. Often GAD is accompanied by other problems, such as depression or substance abuse.
Easing the Anxiety
If anxiety is a problem for you or someone you know, the first step is to see a psychologist or a physician for a diagnosis, as well as to rule out a physical problem. If other disorders such as depression or alcohol abuse are present, they may need to be treated at the same time (or even before) the anxiety is addressed. Fortunately, there are a number of effective treatments for GAD, including psychotherapy, medications, or both, and insurance will usually cover care.
The most common medications for GAD are anti-anxiety drugs known as benzodiazepines, such as Xanax® and Ativan®, which help to control anxiety and have few side effects. However, because people may develop a tolerance for benzodiazepines, the dosage often has to be increased over time, making these drugs best for short-term use.
A newer anti-anxiety medication, azapirone, has proven effective for long-term treatment of GAD. Sold under the brand name Buspar®, azapirone generally must be taken for at least two weeks before symptoms begin to subside, and may cause side effects, including headache and nausea.
Although antidepressants were originally intended to treat depression, they also can be useful for anxiety. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increase the amount of a chemical called serotonin in the brain, which can help ease anxiety. SSRIs must be taken for four to six weeks to achieve the full benefit; side effects may include nausea, sleepiness, and dry mouth.
For many with GAD, a combination of psychotherapy and medication is the most effective treatment. A mental health professional trained in working with anxiety disorders, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker, may help people with GAD determine the causes behind their anxiety, recognize irrational thought patterns (cognitive therapy), and learn to overcome constant worrying. If you would like a referral to a therapist, ask your doctor.
Some people with mild anxiety may find relief through non-medical therapies as well. Calming activities that focus the mind and relax the body, such as yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises, and provide some relief and can be used alone or in conjunction with other treatment.
The key to overcoming GAD is finding what works for you. By working with your psychologist or physician, you can find the best treatment (or combination of treatments) for your individual care. | https://drgeorgepratt.com/home/print/when-worrying-gets-out-of-control/ |
Nadar saraswathi college of engineering and Technology is one of the institution run by Theni Melapettai Hindu Nadargal Uravinmurai.
Nadar Saraswathi College of Engineering and Technology was established in the year 2010 with the motto of uplifting rural students cadre and to nurture them with excellence. It is exclusively constructed for moulding up outstanding Engineers as responsible citizen and dynamic professionals.The institution is placed in the midst of a thriving eco-friendly ever flourishing nature bound landscape of about 21 acres. It is located at Vadapudhupatti at about 6 Kms from Theni, Near Nadar Saraswathi College of Arts and Science. Science and Technology are of paramount social, political and economic importance in the 21st century. In todays society, there is a genuine need for a technical institute that offers its students quality academic and career education in an atmosphere of personalized attention. NSCET educational programs that prepare the students to enter their chosen career field upon graduation. Through Quality Teaching, Learning, and Research, the College will provide students with opportunities to develop the knowledge, understanding, and skills necessary for successful employment. Our goal is to offer a lifelong educational solution that can equip the students with the knowledge,skills and credentials needed to establish and advance professionally at any point on a chosen career path. Excellence in teaching will continue to be the most important criterion in faculty recruitment. At the same time, the ability to do research, to engage in continuous scholarly and creative work, and to provide service, primarily to the region and the state, will be important additional qualifications. The college will provide a comprehensive range of support services for students. | http://nscet.org/index.html |
At this point people around the world have been contouring for years. Regardless of whether you’ve known it as draping, or shaping, before “contour” entered our recent vocabulary, you’ve likely already been participating in the practice. While many of us are able to define our cheek-bones, one area that can trip up the contour process, is the nose. Thankfully, Megan Bertsch, a makeup artist based in Sioux Falls, brought along her lovely model, Monalisa Perez, to show us how we can perfect our nose shape with a few tricks of the trade.
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Urban trees for a cooler future - Growth patterns of urban trees in a changing climate
Urban trees provide important environmental services and are indispensable for the regulation of a city's climate, whilst growing in stressful conditions with low water and space availability. However, compared to their forest counterparts, little is known about urban trees' capability to cope with climate change. Due to the heat island effect, Montreal has already experienced 1.4°C higher temperatures, creating increasingly challenging conditions for urban trees. Planting resilient trees is necessary to minimize the efforts needed to ensure their health and performance and the provisioning of environmental services. Through dendrochronological analyses, we have compared the growth rates of four common urban tree species Norway maple (Acer platanoides), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), lime (Tilia cordata), common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Trees were sampled in the metropolitan area of Montreal across an urban gradient, from trees growing in pavement pits to lawns in residential areas, and in parks.
Contrary to expectations, in the last decades, the least accomodating conditions of the urban center have been showing an increase in growth rates. Both Acer species growing in pavement pits have shown a significant increase in growth rates, reaching the ones achieved by park trees. Climate correlations indicate a strong positive effect of autumn temperature, indicating an increase of the vegetative period in this area and therefore an increase in growth. Eastern Canada has recorded an increase in temperature as well as precipitation, explaining the consistent increase in growth in the last decades. Dendrochronological results proved to be a necessary assessment to understand the complex system of urban forestry. | https://sites.grenadine.uqam.ca/sites/geotop/en/ameridendro2022/schedule/504/Urban%20trees%20for%20a%20cooler%20future%20-%20Growth%20patterns%20of%20urban%20trees%20in%20a%20changing%20climate |
The iterative cycles used in agile software development create a series of deadlines for project teams. We investigate the optimal iteration length under behavioral conditions for agile software projects. Based on system dynamics simulation, we argue that both very long (as in sequential development) and very short (monthly) iterative cycles create huge and disruptive fluctuations in schedule pressure experienced by the team. These lead to poor performance in terms of quality, as well as costs and time compared with optimal iterative cycles of two to three months. The monthly cycles used in many agile practices might be too short to ensure optimal performance.
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Publishing or acceptance of an advertisement is neither a guarantee nor endorsement of the advertiser's product or service. View advertising policy. | https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effects-iteration-length-agile-software-development-11424 |
Focus Group 'Dynamics & Stability'
On the one hand focus group 'dynamics & stability' collected and described different types of dynamics, e. g. processes of expansion, transfer, intensification, tiering, gradation, growth, and deterioration. On the other hand the concept of 'dynamics' has been analysed with regard to its prerequisites and its heuristic potential for the study of the history of religions. In the study of religions the term 'dynamic' is often used to merely differentiate one's own approach from others that are considered as static in order to evade the notion of religious traditions as spatially and temporally immutable and clearly distinguishable entities. An in-depth academic reflection on the concept of dynamic is still missing and has therefore been endeavoured by this focus group.
Especially the interrelationship between dynamics and stability has been be discussed both, on the material level and on the scientific meta-level. It had to be determined, among other topics, which kind of conceptual stability is necessary to properly identify and describe religious traditions from a 'dynamic' perspective.
The concept of a religious attractor – as a scientific object that is both stable and dynamic has been be utilised to further the study of 'dynamics in the history of religions.' Peirce's conceptualisation of a 'dynamic object' generating an attractive and attracting chain of signs seems well suited to describe dynamics in the terms of attractors.
'Dynamics' primarily denotes relations in space and time. Phases of stabilisation and dynamisation alternate in development processes. Analytically, three basic types of dynamics can be distinguished:
- endogenous dynamics (development, growth, decay, differentiation, etc.)
- exogenous dynamics (demarcation, inclusion, etc.)
- transfer dynamics, which combine endogenous and exogenous dynamics in a specific way (schema, form)
These types can be analysed with respect to push and pull factors, i. e. as phenomena of impetus and attraction. They manifest in situations of religious contact and occasion the emergence of material objects, which are under scrutiny as dynamic crystallisations or densifications. Densification means an intensification of expression, with sacralisation and self-referencing as the significant processes of this intensification.
The focus group's agenda entailed the following tasks:
- to further develop the semiotics approach in order to describe the dynamics of religious 'condensed signs' employing the concept of a 'dynamic object,'
- to apply Simmel's concept of 'axialrotation' to the labelling of religious dynamics,
- to analyse horizontal dynamics in the history of religions (densification by interpretation),
- to advance the development of a vertically dynamic stratigraphic model of religion as the interrelationship of processes of attraction and repercussion (evolutionary scheme). | https://khk.ceres.rub.de/en/research/focus-groups-2011-2015/dynamics-stability/ |
1. Introduction {#sec1-molecules-25-00242}
===============
Gastrointestinal strongyles (GIS) are considered one of the most common causes of economic losses and disease in small ruminant breeding \[[@B1-molecules-25-00242]\]. These parasites are nematodes belonging to the Strongylida order, and localize in the gastrointestinal tract of small ruminants. Infected animals may show reduced growth, cachexia, weakness, anemia and diarrhea, that may lead to poor reproductive and productive performances and death \[[@B2-molecules-25-00242]\]. In the last decades gastrointestinal strongyles infections have been primarily controlled with synthetic drugs belonging to different chemical classes, i.e., benzimidazoles, imidazothiazole/tetrahydroxypyrimidines, macrocyclic lactones, amino-acetonitrile derivates and spiroindoles \[[@B1-molecules-25-00242]\]. However, the regular and sometimes excessive use of anthelmintics has contributed to the onset of drug resistance, which is now widespread worldwide \[[@B3-molecules-25-00242]\], limiting the effectiveness of synthetic drugs for the control of gastrointestinal nematode infections \[[@B4-molecules-25-00242],[@B5-molecules-25-00242]\]. Confirming this, there are reports of the reduced efficacy of some recently commercialized anthelmintics, such as monepantel or derquantel against the GIS species *Haemonchus contortus* \[[@B6-molecules-25-00242]\]. Therefore, to date, many anthelmintics prove to be inefficacious, as well as polluting \[[@B7-molecules-25-00242]\]. Another important issue linked to the use of synthetic drugs is that their residues can be found in products of animal origin, such as meat and milk \[[@B8-molecules-25-00242]\].
For the control of GIS there are various environmentally sustainable, non chemical approaches that can limit the use of synthetic drugs in ruminants, such as vaccination, biological control, nutritional supplementation and grazing management, including pasture rotation \[[@B9-molecules-25-00242]\], but in most cases the complementary aid of an anthelminthic treatment is still required \[[@B10-molecules-25-00242]\]. For this reason, there is an increasing interest in natural compounds with anthelmintic activity, such as plant extracts and plant-derived compounds, with the aim to find a valid alternative to current synthetic drugs, or that can be used as a model for the synthesis of new drugs. Several previous 'in vitro' and 'in vivo' studies in small ruminants have shown that different plant extracts and pure compounds of plant origin possess anthelmintic properties against GIS species, including two of the most pathogenic common nematodes of small ruminants, i.e., *Haemonchus contortus* \[[@B11-molecules-25-00242],[@B12-molecules-25-00242]\] and *Teladorsagia circumcincta* \[[@B13-molecules-25-00242]\]. The anthelmintic activity of these plant extracts is related to the presence of biologically active metabolites such as condensed tannins, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, alkaloids and saponins \[[@B14-molecules-25-00242],[@B15-molecules-25-00242]\]. Among these, saponins are important secondary metabolites from plants, and are considered as potential anthelmintic natural compounds \[[@B16-molecules-25-00242],[@B17-molecules-25-00242]\]. It is reported that fractions rich in steroidal and triterpenic saponins from *Agave sisalana* have an 'in vitro' ovicidal effect against the nematodes of goats \[[@B18-molecules-25-00242]\]. More recently, the 'in vitro' nematicidal potential of saponins from different *Medicago* spp. against donkey nematodes was demonstrated \[[@B19-molecules-25-00242]\]. Biological effects of saponins are normally ascribed to their specific interaction with cell membranes \[[@B20-molecules-25-00242]\], causing changes in cell permeability. By affecting some cell membrane components, saponins induce the formation of micelle-like aggregates that disrupt membrane functionality and cause lysis \[[@B21-molecules-25-00242]\]. For nematodes, saponins have been associated with the formation of complexes with cellular membrane components present in different stages of the nematode life cycle, leading to an increase in membrane permeability and causing these parasites to die \[[@B21-molecules-25-00242],[@B22-molecules-25-00242]\]. Saponins are detected in many plant species, including the genus *Medicago*, in which they are triterpenic pentacyclic glycosides with a wide range of biological properties, including antimicrobial, fungicidal, nematicidal, cytotoxic and insecticidal activities \[[@B20-molecules-25-00242],[@B23-molecules-25-00242],[@B24-molecules-25-00242],[@B25-molecules-25-00242],[@B26-molecules-25-00242]\].
The aim of the present investigation was to test 'in vitro' the anthelmintic activity of saponins and prosapogenins from different *Medicago* species, selected for their importance as a forage crop worldwide for animal feeding. Alfalfa, *M. sativa* L. and burr medic, *M. polymorpha* L. have been considered as species that have an agronomic relevance in Mediterranean environments \[[@B27-molecules-25-00242]\]. From these forage plants, saponin mixtures were extracted, purified and used at different concentrations to assess their 'in vitro' anthelmintic activities against GIS of sheep, by using the egg hatch test (EHT), that evaluates the ability of a compound to inhibit the development and the hatch of GIS eggs.
2. Results {#sec2-molecules-25-00242}
==========
2.1. Saponin Composition {#sec2dot1-molecules-25-00242}
------------------------
The compositional profile of *Medicago* saponin extracts used in this study differed according to the plant species \[[@B28-molecules-25-00242],[@B29-molecules-25-00242],[@B30-molecules-25-00242]\]. Crude saponins were obtained from the *Medicago* species under investigation as whitish powder in a purity of about 90% and in a different yield: *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona 2.1% dry matter (DM), *M. polymorpha* cv. Santiago 1.7% DM and *M. sativa* cv. Equipe 1.5% DM. [Figure 1](#molecules-25-00242-f001){ref-type="fig"} shows the chemical structure of the most abundant saponins/sapogenins detected in the different *Medicago* extracts. The content of the most abundant sapogenins, obtained after acid hydrolysis of the corresponding glycosides, is reported in [Table 1](#molecules-25-00242-t001){ref-type="table"}.
Saponins from *M. sativa* were characterized by a higher amount of medicagenic and zanhic acids ([Figure 1](#molecules-25-00242-f001){ref-type="fig"}), quoted as 47.2% and 25.5% of the total sapogenins, respectively. Hederagenin ([Figure 1](#molecules-25-00242-f001){ref-type="fig"}) was instead the dominant sapogenin in *M. polymorpha* cv. Santiago, representing 88.3% of the total aglycones, while echinocystic acid (90.1%) ([Figure 1](#molecules-25-00242-f001){ref-type="fig"}) was the dominant sapogenin detected in *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona. Soyasapogenol B, the aglycone moiety of soyasaponin I, a saponin commonly present in Leguminosae, was detected in all samples, although in a different amount. From the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses of saponins (data not shown), and by comparison with authentic reference compounds previously identified in the *Medicago* spp. \[[@B30-molecules-25-00242],[@B31-molecules-25-00242],[@B32-molecules-25-00242]\], all the saponin mixtures here evaluated were mainly constituted by bidesmosidic type saponins (70%--80%). *M. sativa* prosapogenins, obtained after basic hydrolysis of the corresponding saponins, were instead entirely made up by monodesmosides and possess the same sapogenin composition as *M. sativa* from which they were obtained.
2.2. 'In Vitro' Anthelmintic Activity of Saponin Mixtures {#sec2dot2-molecules-25-00242}
---------------------------------------------------------
Results of the 'in vitro' anthelmintic activity of the saponin mixtures tested at different concentrations against sheep GIS eggs are reported in [Figure 2](#molecules-25-00242-f002){ref-type="fig"}. All the saponin mixtures used in this study showed inhibiting effects against GIS eggs in a concentration-dependent manner. More specifically, 10, 5 and 2.5 mg/mL *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona, 10 and 5 mg/mL *M. polymorpha* cv. Santiago and 10 mg/mL *M. sativa* saponins were able to inhibit almost 100% of GIS eggs. For these saponin samples the same anthelmintic effects were recorded as for the reference drug, thiabendazole (TBZ), tested at 3 µg/mL (*P* \< 0.001).
A very good inhibition activity (93%) was also observed for *M. polymorpha* cv Santiago at 2.5 mg/mL, while the efficacy of 0.5 and 0.25 mg/mL *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona, 0.5 mg/mL *M. polymorpha* cv Santiago, 5 and 2.5 mg/mL *M. sativa* saponins and 10 mg/mL *M. sativa* prosapogenins ranged between 73% and 84% ([Figure 2](#molecules-25-00242-f002){ref-type="fig"}). Egg hatching inhibition values comprised between 43% and 66% were observed for *M. polymorpha* cv. Santiago at 0.25 mg/mL, *M. sativa* saponins at 0.5 mg/mL and *M. sativa* prosapogenins in the range 5--0.5 mg/mL concentration. All other saponin solutions (0.05 mg/mL *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona and cv. Santiago, 0.25 and 0.05 mg/mL *M. sativa* saponins and 0.25 and 0.05 mg/mL *M. sativa* prosapogenins) showed a very low efficacy (2%--12.5%), but statistically different (*P* \< 0.001) from the untreated controls for which an egg hatch inhibition less than 1% was registered ([Figure 2](#molecules-25-00242-f002){ref-type="fig"}).
From fecal cultures, *Trichostrongylus* spp. (40%), *Oesophagostomum* spp. (20%), *Cooperia* spp. (20%), *Haemonchus* spp. (10%) and *Chabertia* spp. (10%) GIS genera were identified. Negative effects of tested saponins against the different nematode genera were approximately similar.
For the calculation of the EC~50~ and EC~90~, the best regression line was performed with a logarithmic curve (natural logarithm), with an R^2^ ranging from 0.87 to 0.93. With 1.72 mg/mL EC~50~ and 3.84 mg/mL EC~90~, *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona was the most active saponin, followed by *M. polymorpha* cv Santiago (1.77 mg/mL EC~50~ and 4.00 mg/mL EC~90~) and *M. sativa* saponins (2.34 mg/mL EC~50~ and 4.71 mg/mL EC~90~). Showing 3.33 mg/mL EC~50~ and 8.13 mg/mL EC~90~, *M. sativa* prosapogenins were the less effective compounds.
3. Discussion {#sec3-molecules-25-00242}
=============
Results obtained in this study show that all *Medicago* saponins and prosapogenins evaluated in this study have 'in vitro' inhibiting effects against sheep GIS eggs, although with a different level of efficacy, with *M. polymorpha* saponins as the most active. A dose dependent inhibition effects on egg hatch and development was also observed ([Figure 2](#molecules-25-00242-f002){ref-type="fig"}).
Moreover, the EC~90~ and EC~50~ values found for the most active saponins in this study are similar to those reported for other active plant compounds \[[@B33-molecules-25-00242]\]. These results are in agreement with previously reported data, confirming a high ovicidal activity of saponins from *Medicago* spp. \[[@B19-molecules-25-00242]\]. As observed by \[[@B19-molecules-25-00242]\], when tested at the 10 mg/mL concentration against donkey GIS eggs, saponins from *Medicago* spp. show a high activity (80%--100% egg hatch reduction) with *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona and *M. sativa* as the most active. Differences in saponin activity between sheep and donkey GIS eggs can probably be ascribed to a different susceptibility of sheep and donkey GIS species to tested saponins. The available data from literature also confirm the 'in vitro' anthelmintic activity of this class of compounds against ruminant GIS. The saponins aescin and digitonin \[[@B17-molecules-25-00242]\] and saponin fractions contained in *Zizyphus joazeiro* \[[@B16-molecules-25-00242]\], *Phytolacca icosandra* \[[@B34-molecules-25-00242]\] and *Agave sisalana* \[[@B18-molecules-25-00242]\] showed 'in vitro' ovicidal activity against the nematodes of small ruminants. Similarly, the 'in vitro' ovicidal action of *Combretum molle* against eggs of *H. contortus* from sheep and of *Ipomoea chiliantha*, *Tocoiena formosa* and *Aspilia latissima* against the eggs of *Haemonchus placei* from cattle, have been attributed to their saponin content \[[@B33-molecules-25-00242],[@B35-molecules-25-00242]\]. Biological effects of saponins are normally ascribed to their specific interaction with the cell membrane, causing changes in the cell permeability \[[@B20-molecules-25-00242],[@B36-molecules-25-00242],[@B37-molecules-25-00242]\]. By this way, saponins may penetrate inside the GIS eggs, altering some biological functions and preventing the normal development of eggs, thus leading to the inhibition of the development of eggs definitively, as proposed by \[[@B16-molecules-25-00242]\]. It has been also hypothesized that these compounds may be able to interfere with enzymatic pathways involved in larval development, which results in larval death \[[@B16-molecules-25-00242]\].
Data obtained in this study on the structure--activity relationship showed that all the *Medicago* saponins are active compounds against GIS eggs, independently of the involved genins. Comparing results between saponins and related prosapogenins, data here presented indicated that *M. sativa* prosapogenins (monodesmosides) resulted less active than the related saponins (bidesmosides). These results agree with previously reported data on GIS eggs from donkey \[[@B19-molecules-25-00242]\].
The 'in vitro' efficacy of saponins from *Medicago* spp. in inhibiting the hatching of GIS eggs of sheep and donkey \[[@B19-molecules-25-00242]\], encourage further studies aimed at evaluating their efficacy 'in vivo' as new anthelmintic compounds, as nutraceuticals or as a means to inhibit the environmental development of GIS eggs in order to lower pasture contamination. However, various aspects related to their potential toxicity should be considered. Saponins, in fact, as well as tannins, if ingested in large quantities, are potentially toxic, and may diminish the digestibility of feed \[[@B38-molecules-25-00242],[@B39-molecules-25-00242]\]. However, if taken in moderate concentrations, they can improve nutritional effects \[[@B40-molecules-25-00242]\], and at the same time can reduce the parasitic burden \[[@B34-molecules-25-00242]\]. A previous study \[[@B41-molecules-25-00242]\] showed that a diet containing 1.5% of saponins from *Quillaja saponaria* bark may reduce by 38.8% the sheep fecal egg count (FEC) of GIS eggs when compared to untreated animals. The high 'in vitro' activity of the *Medicago* saponins evaluated in the present study against sheep GIS eggs may suggest their potential 'in vivo' efficacy at non-toxic dosages.
4. Materials and Methods {#sec4-molecules-25-00242}
========================
4.1. Plant Material, Extraction, Purification and Characterization of Saponin Mixtures {#sec4dot1-molecules-25-00242}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Medicago* plants used in this study were grown at the Research Center for Animal Production and Aquaculture (CREA-ZA, Lodi, Italy). Aerial parts from *M. polymorpha* cv. Santiago, *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona, and *M. sativa* cv. Equipe were utilized for saponin processing. Leaves were separated from stems and dried at 40 °C to a constant weight. All samples were ground and used for the successive extractions. Saponins were extracted and purified following general procedures, as previously reported \[[@B30-molecules-25-00242],[@B31-molecules-25-00242],[@B32-molecules-25-00242]\]. Powdered plant materials (150 g) were separately defatted with CHCl~3~ in a Soxhlet apparatus for 24 h. Defatted material (100 g) was separately extracted with 80% MeOH under reflux for 24 h. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure, and the residue was re-suspended in 30% MeOH. The solution was applied onto a 100 × 60 mm RP-18 (40--63 μm) column, preconditioned with 30% MeOH. Elution was carried out with 30% MeOH (500 mL) to remove sugars and some phenolics.
Total saponins were then eluted with 90% MeOH (400 mL) and dried under vacuum. 2.06 g of saponins were obtained from *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona (2.1% yield), 1.72 g of saponins were obtained from *M. polymorpha* cv. Santiago (1.7% yield), while 1.48 g of saponins were obtained from *M. sativa* cv. Equipe (1.5% yield). In addition, saponins from *M. sativa* were subjected to basic hydrolysis \[[@B23-molecules-25-00242]\] to obtain the related prosapogenins, which were also evaluated in this study. All samples were dissolved in H~2~O-5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), solutions were properly diluted with H~2~O and used in the bioassay at different final concentrations from 0.05 to 10.0 mg/mL. The saponin mixtures, obtained as whitish powders of about 90% purity, were analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC), as previously described \[[@B30-molecules-25-00242]\]. In addition, extracted and purified saponins were characterized for their qualitative and quantitative aglycone composition by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses of derivative sapogenins obtained after acid hydrolysis, as already reported \[[@B42-molecules-25-00242]\]. To obtain information on saponin composition and purity, the saponin mixtures were then analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), using an external standard method \[[@B30-molecules-25-00242]\], and the results compared with standards of previously purified and identified saponins and data from literature \[[@B30-molecules-25-00242],[@B31-molecules-25-00242],[@B32-molecules-25-00242]\].
4.2. Nematode Egg Collection, Purification and Suspension {#sec4dot2-molecules-25-00242}
---------------------------------------------------------
Purified GIS eggs were obtained from fecal samples of naturally infected sheep from an organic farm in Tuscany (central Italy). For transport to the laboratory, fecal samples were placed in sealed and refrigerated bags. Fecal microscopic analysis was performed using the Mini-FLOTAC technique \[[@B43-molecules-25-00242]\], with a sensitivity of 20 eggs per gram of feces (EPG). Recovery and suspension of GIS eggs were performed within 3 h of collection using previously reported methods \[[@B44-molecules-25-00242]\] with some modifications. More specifically, 30 g of feces were mixed with distilled water and then centrifuged in 50 mL tubes at 900× *g* for 5 min. The supernatant was than eliminated and an NaCl saturated solution was added to the sediment and centrifuged at 170× *g* for 5 min. The supernatant was collected and centrifuged for the last time with distilled water in 15 mL tubes at 900× *g* for 5 min. The supernatant was eliminated in order to obtain the sediment containing the purified eggs that were inspected microscopically to exclude any embryonation that had begun, then they were counted, diluted in distilled water to the final concentration of about 400 eggs/mL and used immediately in the bioassay. Finally, fecal cultures were also performed by using the same pooled fecal samples employed for obtaining gastrointestinal strongyles eggs, to the aim of identifying GIS nematodes at the genus level. Fecal samples were cultured in an incubator at 25 °C for seven days, and larvae were recovered by the Baermann technique and identified according to the key and description given by \[[@B45-molecules-25-00242]\].
4.3. Evaluation of the 'In Vitro' Anthelmintic Activity of Saponins {#sec4dot3-molecules-25-00242}
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Egg Hatch Test (EHT) was performed to evaluate the 'in vitro' anthelmintic activity of saponin and prosapogenin samples. In EHT the effectiveness of the substances is evaluated based on their ability to inhibit the development and hatching of parasite eggs \[[@B44-molecules-25-00242],[@B46-molecules-25-00242]\]. In the present work the EHT was carried as in the previously reported methods \[[@B35-molecules-25-00242],[@B44-molecules-25-00242],[@B46-molecules-25-00242]\], with some minor modifications. In detail, 24-well, flat-bottomed microplates were used, and 0.5 mL of distilled water containing approximately 200 eggs were placed in each well. All the test samples were treated with 0.5 mL of the different saponin solutions to obtain the reported final saponin concentration. Positive controls contained the same amount of GIS eggs and the anthelmintic drug TBZ (2-(4-Thiazoly) Benzimidazole (Thiabendazole) minimum 99%, Sigma S.r.l., Milan, Italy) at the final concentration of 3 µg/mL in 1% DMSO. Two different negative controls were prepared by adding to the egg suspension 0.5 mL of distilled water and 0.5 mL of 1% DMSO. The plates were then incubated at 25 °C in darkness and 80% humidity for 48 h, and the number of eggs and of the first-stage larvae (L1) in each well was microscopically counted. The percentage of egg hatch reduction was calculated using the following formula:
All experiments were performed in triplicate in three independent assays.
4.4. Statistical Analysis {#sec4dot4-molecules-25-00242}
-------------------------
Results from all experiments were statistically analyzed and compared. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) program. To perform the statistical analysis of the obtained data, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test with 5% significance (*P* \< 0.05), was used. Significant results were further tested with the Tukey post-hoc test (*P* \< 0.05). The determination of EC~50~ and EC~90~ concentrations was done through non-linear regression analysis by using XLSTAT^®^.
4.5. Ethical Declaration {#sec4dot5-molecules-25-00242}
------------------------
This study has not included animal experiment. Sheep fecal samples used for the evaluations performed in this study have been collected with the consensus of the farm owner. Authors declare that the work has been carried out in adherence to a high standard of veterinary care.
**Sample Availability:** Samples of the saponin mixtures are available from the authors.
Conceptualization, A.T., M.M. and S.P.; methodology, A.T., M.M. and S.P.; software, S.M.; formal analysis, A.T.; investigation, M.M. and S.P.; data curation, S.M.; interpretation of data and writing the original draft, A.T., M.M., S.P., S.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
This research received no external funding.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
{#molecules-25-00242-f001}
{#molecules-25-00242-f002}
molecules-25-00242-t001_Table 1
######
Percentage composition of the most abundant sapogenins detected in the *Medicago* saponin mixtures used in this investigation. For chemical structures see [Figure 1](#molecules-25-00242-f001){ref-type="fig"}.
Sapogenin *M. polymorpha* cv. Anglona *M. polymorpha* cv. Santiago *M. sativa* cv. Equipe
------------------ ----------------------------- ------------------------------ ------------------------
Hederagenin 3.6 88.3 1.1
Echinoystic acid 90.1 2.8 −
Bayogenin 0.2 3.2 1.8
Medicagenic acid − − 47.2
Zanhic acid − − 25.5
Soyasapogenol B 2.1 3.6 13.3
| |
"Like school, only better"
Cricket Green School
Lower Green West
Mitcham, CR4 3AF
Tel: 0208 640 1177
Headteacher: Mrs Celia Dawson
For most of us, speech, language and communication are things we take for granted. We can use speech to articulate our thoughts, feelings and opinions in a clear manner. We can use language - words, grammar and sentence structure - to convey these thoughts, feelings and opinions.
And we can use our speech and language skills to communicate to others what we are thinking and feeling. We do all this - without too much thought or effort.
In our department, we have two speech and language therapists, Heidi Vignalou and Verity Woodfield, and one speech and language therapy assistant, Molly Talmage. If you would like to know more about SLT at CGS, please contact the school and arrange to speak to one of our speech and language therapists.
For our pupils at Cricket Green school, speech, language and communication are areas of struggle.
They may have difficulties in making themselves understood, using words and sentences. They may have difficulties in understanding what others are telling them.
Some pupils may use challenging behaviour instead of verbal communication – as a result of their frustration from not being able to use words. And some pupils may not communicate at all, rather they sit passively until another person initiates interaction with them. Without adequate speech, language and communication skills, pupils will have difficulties choosing friends and maintaining friendships, finding and keeping a job, and maintaining good mental health.
Speech and language therapists (SLTs) are specialists in the areas of speech, language and communication. Here at Cricket Green, we focus on helping our pupils use these skills to improve their knowledge, social interaction, independence and participation in everyday activities. We help our pupils practise these skills in functional settings - mainly school and home:
* At school, the curriculum is modified in terms of pace, content and language. Using curricular topics, SLTs work with school staff to develop pupils' speaking and listening skills in paired, small group and classroom settings. SLTs also help develop pupils’ understanding of concepts within the curriculum, as well as their expressive skills.
* At home, SLTs work with parents and carers to develop pupils' understanding and expression around routines and holidays.
In helping our pupils develop their speaking and listening skills, SLTs use two types of prompts: visual (including photos and symbols) and verbal prompts (modification of language from concrete to abstract). These are also used to assist pupils to develop their language skills and to access the curriculum. For those pupils who are not yet using their speaking and listening skills, SLTs can support their learning by using alternative/augmentative communication (AAC) strategies, such as communication boards, Makaton signs, Talking Mats, PODD, PECS and simple voice output devices such as the Big Mack and Supertalker.
In addition to working with our pupils directly, SLTs also conduct regular staff and parent training to help facilitate pupils’ speech, language and communication skills. | http://www.cricketgreen.merton.sch.uk/speech-and-language-therapy/4578383625 |
This module is a nuts and bolts, step by step approach to understanding how basic poses are the building blocks to advance your practice—and to helping your students develop theirs. Over the course of twelve weeks, you will develop in depth knowledge of 12 Foundational Poses—and the whole family of other poses related to them.
Through this module you learn to improve your sequencing skills. Each week you’ll hone in on a specific component of creating intelligent, creative and artful sequences. You will have access to video content of the sequencing we discuss in addition to the twice monthly webinars so you can land the principles in your body.
This Module is the third in a year-long series of Online Mentoring Programs designed to support yoga teachers in their continued education and growth. The course will focus on a single foundational text to the study and practice of yoga; this year we will be working with the Bhagavad Gita.
Through this module you learn to improve your verbal teaching skills. We start with clear language and instruction, and from there add visual and sensate cues. You’ll go on learning how to link your instructions, to speak to your student’s nervous system as well as their musculoskeletal system, and how to use imagery effectively. | https://www.giocondayoga.com/onlinementoring |
The so-called "trigger rate" could be looming for many borrowers
The story of the year so far in Canada’s mortgage market has been rising interest rates – and it’s no surprise that many Canadians have become increasingly concerned about their financial future as a result.
The proof is in a variety of surveys that have been carried out throughout the year, each of which have revealed growing levels of anxiety and uncertainty among homeowners and would-be buyers amid that rising-rate environment.
In late February, even before the onset of rate hikes brought about by the Bank of Canada, over half of Canadians (55%) were concerned about the possible impact higher rates could have on their financial situation, according to the quarterly MNP Consumer Debt Index.
By July, the central bank’s rate-hiking journey was already well under way – and nearly six in 10 Canadians were already feeling the pinch from those increases, that index showed. Half said they would be in financial trouble if rates rose much further, and 56% were concerned about their ability to pay debts as borrowing costs surge.
Rising interest rates have also generated significant levels of uncertainty among Canadians, with almost four in 10 (38%) confused about what effect those hikes would have on their lives, according to a real estate survey conducted on behalf of TD at the end of June.
Queries about higher rates have dominated mortgage brokers’ discussions with their clients in recent months – particularly among borrowers on variable-rate mortgages, which are directly impacted by the central bank’s action on its benchmark policy rate.
Read next: Housing market risks grow – but long-term outlook healthy, says CEO
With the Bank of Canada’s next rate announcement on September 07 expected to result in another sizeable hike, those calls are only likely to intensify, especially with the so-called “trigger rate” set to come into play for many borrowers after another rate jump, according to a prominent Toronto-based mortgage professional.
That trigger is the point at which a fixed monthly payment on a variable rate can increase, usually taking place when interest payments are higher than total payments – and a number of homeowners could hit that point soon, Mortgage Outlet co-founder and director Elan Weintraub (pictured top) told Canadian Mortgage Professional.
Many variable-rate mortgages on fixed payments have been inching towards their trigger throughout 2022, with the Bank of Canada having increased its policy rate by 2.25% so far this year: first through a quarter-point hike in March, followed by two 0.5% jumps in April and June before a one-percentage-point increase in July that took many observers by surprise.
Meanwhile, Canada’s inflation crisis, which has seen consumer price index (CPI) growth hovering around a four-decade high in recent months, means that the central bank may not be near the finishing line on its rate-hiking trajectory, Weintraub said.
“I actually think that the Bank of Canada is going to keep raising rates for a while, until they really quash inflation,” he said. “Imagine there’s a forest fire and you bring all this water and end the fire, but there’s still a tiny little place that’s got some burning embers of fire.
“That tiny fire could reignite the entire forest, so you want to keep [going] until the entire forest is flooded. I feel the same way with rates and inflation… I think rates are going to go up easily another 1.5%, and then 12 months [later], they might plateau.”
Advice to clients should be carefully tailored to their individual circumstances, according to Weintraub, and take into account shifting variable and fixed rates (particularly with the latter trending downwards in recent weeks) as well as the customer’s risk tolerance.
“Let’s say right now you’re in a variable rate of 4.1% and we know that rates are going to go up in September,” he said. “I could lock you in at 4.49% [on a fixed] for the next five years – the math is the math, but if you’re going to be worried about your mortgage for the next five years and you can lock in under 4.5%, it might be more of an emotional decision than a purely maths decision. | https://www.mpamag.com/ca/mortgage-industry/industry-trends/what-will-the-next-bank-of-canada-hike-mean-for-homeowners/416118 |
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed loans fell this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow at 3.59 percent, down nine basis points from last week.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell throughout the week, reaching 3.56 percent on Monday before rising slightly.
Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate was 2.79 percent. For 5/1 ARMs, or adjustable-rate mortgages, the rate was 2.66 percent.
Check Zillow for mortgage rate trends and up-to-the-minute rates for your state, or use the mortgage calculator to calculate monthly payments at the current rates.
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed home loans fell this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow at 3.68 percent, down 13 basis points from last week.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell steadily until Friday, then hovered around the current rate for the rest of the week.
Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate was 2.87 percent. For 5/1 ARMs, or adjustable-rate mortgages, the rate was 2.97 percent.
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed loans fell this week, with the rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow at 3.74 percent, down seven basis points from last week.
The 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.78 percent on Thursday, then hovered there before dropping to the current rate.
Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate was 2.96 percent. For 5/1 ARMs, or adjustable-rate mortgages, the rate was 2.97 percent.
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed loans rose this week, with the rate borrowers were quoted Tuesday on Zillow at 3.81 percent, up six basis points from last week.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rose throughout the week, reaching 3.86 percent on Saturday before falling Monday.
Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.02 percent, and for 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 3.05 percent.
Will an Adjustable Rate Mortgage Cost an Arm and a Leg?
If you’re buying a house soon, you may be mulling over the idea of getting an adjustable-rate mortgage. Or you were, until you heard about the Federal Reserve’s recent decision to raise interest rates a quarter point. That likely put a chill on many homeowners’ desires to have an adjustable-rate mortgage, also known as an ARM.
If you currently have an ARM, you might be in full-blown-panic mode, wondering if your interest rate is going to climb soon.
“My voicemail and email has been inundated by my clients, friends and partners all asking the same question, ‘What should I do about my ARM mortgage and when?'” says Drew Grandi, a loan originator with Wintrust Mortgage in Massachusetts.
Because the interest rate could go up, it can be risky to have an adjustable rate. Nobody wants an ARM to cost them an arm and a leg.
So why get an ARM if your monthly mortgage payment can turn on you like that? Because the fixed rate for those five years or so is lower than a traditional fixed mortgage rate. It hasn’t been all that much lower in recent years, of course, since all mortgage rates have been low. Still, even a percentage point can reduce a mortgage payment enough to save a homeowner thousands of dollars in the long run.
How High Can an ARM Go?
While your monthly mortgage payment can adjust every year to a higher and higher rate, there is a limit to how much financial pain you’ll endure.
“There are protective caps, so the loan cannot adjust higher than the designated annual cap or lifetime overall rate cap,” says Staci Titsworth, regional manager of PNC Mortgage in Pittsburgh. This is looked upon as insurance against risk.
“Most ARMs are capped so that your interest rate will not exceed more than 5 percent above your original rate,” Grandi says.
That doesn’t sound so bad, but it can add up. Grandi offers an example of the homeowner who has a 5/1 ARM at 3 percent on a $300,000 mortgage. That would mean you’re paying $1,264.81 a month for the first five years, he says. If interest rates shot up, the most you would pay is 8 percent on that $300,000, which would mean a max monthly payment of $2,201.29, or about $936 more than your original payment.
What if You Have an ARM Now?
Don’t panic, Grandi says. “Everyone currently in an ARM should not necessarily be hounding their mortgage expert to refinance into a fixed-rate mortgage,” he says.
In fact, if you have a low-rate ARM now and you refinance into a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, you’d likely pay around 4 percent and your monthly payment would jump a little. With that previous $300,000 ARM example, Grandi says, the homeowner’s payment would go up less than $200 a month.
That may well be worth it to have the comfort of knowing you have a fixed mortgage payment. But if you’re planning to move in the next couple of years, you’re probably better off keeping the ARM. That’s because one of the biggest factors in whether you should get an ARM is how long you plan to live in your house. Generally, if you’re going to live in your home for a short time before selling it, an ARM is considered a financially shrewd move.
“I’m a big believer in ARM loans and have one now,” Titsworth says. “Adjustable rate mortgages are a good option for consumers that have a shorter-term need, and also those that are comfortable with a little risk,” she adds.
Who Shouldn’t Get an ARM?
Do what you want, but if you’d like some general rules of thumb, there are three types of homeowners who should likely avoid an ARM.
— First-time homebuyers. Ali Vafai, president of The Money Source, a national correspondent lender and mortgage loan servicer on New York’s Long Island, says first-time homebuyers or those with little down payment should not choose ARM loans. Since rates are near historic lows today, he says it’s very likely rates will be higher in five years and payments would increase after the fixed period. Even if you’re not planning to stay very long, maybe you’ll discover you hate moving and and realize you don’t want to go anywhere.
— People on a tight budget. So you scraped up your down payment, barely, and you figure you can afford to live in a house if you pare back your budget a bit. It sure doesn’t sound like you would do well if, in five years, your monthly mortgage payment shot up a couple hundred dollars a month.
— Natural-born worriers. As has been duly noted, ARMs are a risk. Before you get an ARM, ask yourself some risk-related questions, Grandi suggests.
For instance, when you’ve been living in your home for two years, will you suddenly have sleepless nights because you aren’t sure what your mortgage payment will be in three years?
“Do you expect continued doom and gloom for the United States’ economy with unemployment increasing and inflation staying low?” Grandi asks.
Titsworth agrees. She loves the ARM, though, and points out what isn’t often emphasized: When your fixed rate ends and it adjusts, your monthly payment doesn’t necessarily have to go higher. “It’s possible the rate could drop,” she says.
Lower credit scores may qualify.
Spotty credit histories may be acceptable.
The fact that the FHA raised its loan limits in 188 counties nationally speaks to a broader theme that there is reinvigorated demand for housing, both in terms of home sales and refinancing. For example, in California’s Sonoma County, the Federal Housing Finance Agency had a maximum conforming loan limit for 2015 at $520,950. That number has been raised to $554,300 for 2016. The FHA followed suit, raising its loan limit previously set at $520,950 to match the $554,300 figure.
What this means in Sonoma County and elsewhere is that you can buy a home with 3.5 percent down up to the maximum local FHA loan limit. In other words, for people who have been on the fence about buying a home because they didn’t have the cash or because they were at a competitive disadvantage because of rising housing prices, there are now more options.
Using Sonoma County’s previous loan limit of $520,950, for example, a borrower in 2016 will have the ability to borrow up to $33,000 more or spend $33,000 more on a home than they could have with 2015’s FHA underwriting criteria.
Case in point: If you were looking for a home and your loan size was more than $520,950 in 2015, you would have been thrown into the jumbo loan category, requiring significantly more cash out of pocket. This is why the loan limit increases can be a substantial benefit for the right type of borrower, because they would need less cash and have more leniency in loan-to-values needed for a higher priced home.
Up to 85 percent cash-out refinancing.
Three-year waiting time after a foreclosure.
Three-year waiting time after a short sale.
Three-year waiting time after a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
Two-year waiting time from Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
One-year waiting time from Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
While FHA loans can make sense for people who want to get a foot in the door, they do come with some higher costs consumers should consider. FHA loans contain a 1.75 percent upfront mortgage insurance premium, typically financed in the loan amount (or paid for in cash), as well as a monthly mortgage insurance premium.
An FHA loan can help a borrower accomplish financial goals while at the same time bettering their equity position and their credit score to refinance into something lower in the long term. (You can see where your credit currently stands by viewing your free credit report summary, updated each month, on Credit.com.) Like conforming conventional and jumbo loans, FHA loans still require full documentation, such as tax returns for two years, W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements. But they are flexible on using reserves and gift monies to purchase or refinance a home. And be sure to look for tips on negotiating the best price when buying a home.
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that interest rates would increase by 0.25 percent, or 25 basis points.
But the moderate rate increase does not spell doom if you’re looking to buy a home — in fact, it may give you the push you need to get out there and buy your home before interest rates rise again, something economists are predicting for 2016.
Rising interest rates don’t mean you can’t find a mortgage that works for you. The rate hike by the Fed is minor and isn’t likely to squeeze too many consumers out of being able to buy a home. You might have to reconfigure what you put down versus what you pay monthly but as Smoke emphasizes, mortgage rates differ from day to day and lender to lender.
“It’s like buying gasoline — it’s different by provider, it’s different one street to the next,” Smoke says.
Increased rates can help keep home appreciation in line with wage increases. As housing markets continue to recover from the recession, home values have been appreciating rapidly, outpacing wage increases and making it more difficult for everyone to afford them.
“When you raise rates, you slow down the pace of house price appreciation,” Fleming says, noting mortgage rates will go up regardless of the Fed’s decision. By slowing the increase of home prices, the same people who could afford a house today will likely be able to afford the same house down the line, without being edged out by rapid property appreciation.
But at the moment, Rick notes, “housing is still relatively affordable,” and after such a long period of no interest rate changes, the Fed’s decision to increase rates by 0.25 percent isn’t going to stop people from making big purchases such as cars or homes with financing.
Gudell notes many homebuyers are overinsured with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage — because the chances they’ll stay in one home for 30 years are slim — but many are not willing to take the risk of facing higher rates down the line in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis.
You should still shop around. Treat your mortgage like any other major purchase — weigh your options and compare rates before you sign on the bottom line. The mortgage, and your ability to pay it off, are just as important as the house you choose to buy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged higher this week following three straight weeks of declines, amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise its key short-term interest rate next week.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.95 percent from 3.93 percent a week earlier. The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.19 percent from 3.16 percent.
The key 30-year rate was slightly above its level of a year ago, 3.93 percent. The rate has increased significantly overall since the end of October, when it stood at 3.76 percent.
An interest rate hike by the Fed, expected to come at its policymaking meeting next Tuesday and Wednesday, would be the central bank’s first in nearly a decade.
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed home loans fell this week, with the rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow at 3.72 percent Tuesday, down three basis points from last week.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovered around 3.75 percent throughout the week before dipping slightly.
Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate was 2.91 percent. For 5/1 ARMs, or adjustable rate mortgages, the rate was 2.92 percent.
Check Zillow for rate trends and up-to-the-minute mortgage rates for your state, or use the mortgage calculator to calculate monthly payments. | http://kentmeyersbooks.com/author/blogadmin/page/2/ |
Recognizing the way in which people interact with nature and the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two, UNESCO has introduced the concept of ‘World Heritage’ with the relevant Convention, emphasizing the need for collaboration among all member-states for the preservation of cultural goods and natural environment of outstanding universal value. Since 1992, the Convention is managed by the World Heritage Centre, which is based in Paris, and which constitutes a focal point and a coordinator within UNESCO for all matters related to world heritage.
The concept of World Heritage has acquired great importance and is widely used today. UNESCO encourages the submission of applications for inclusion in the List of World Heritage sites and the design of management plans and evaluation of the state of conservation of the monuments so that the necessary measures are being undertaken. For this purpose, UNESCO aims at fostering international cooperation, exchange of experience, and provision of know-how to States with enlisted monuments. It also provides financial assistance for preserving monuments and for the implementation of specific measures in case of emergency.
© 2012 CYPRUS NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO. All rights reserved. | http://www.unesco.org.cy/Programmes-World_Heritage,EN-PROGRAMMES-04-01,EN |
During the 19th and most of the 20th century, discussions of style revolved around pure formalism or pure functionalism. Style, as the way of assembling forms, was trapped in producing consistency and sameness across architectural forms. This seminar is the third in a series at the GSD focused at researching a contemporary idea of style in architecture. The previous semesters investigated the architecture of the latter part of the 20th century which defies the senselessness and anonymity of early 20th century city. The aim was to establish whether the systems of differentiation identified earlier were exploring their style as formalism or they were based on a new idea of style that would work with form and function simultaneously as a way to use form to subvert function as set out for each type by early 20th century modernism.
The seminar became a thorough and typological examination of the formal elements shared by given building types that architect's operate and design with in order to create functional change and evolve the social prospect of the building. The students assigned to a given building type were responsible with charting the similarities and differences in a typological spectrum and to organize this given case studies and diagrammatic analysis.
This semester we will interrogate further the form-function relationship of those projects. We will focus particularly on the history of drawing techniques of describing different concepts of function. We will examine and produce drawings that describe amongst other criteria the structural function [arrangement of activities or materials], the physical function [such as acoustics, traffic, lighting], the psychological function or the social function of built forms.
The seminar will continue to combine reading texts related the topic with a case study method of research. Work for the seminar will therefore have three components upon which students will be graded: the reading and discussion of theoretical texts on style and typology; the development of drawing techniques to examine functional considerations in each building type; the production and execution of those drawings for a sample pool of projects of each type to verify how in each case formal variation changes the way it functions.
The publication that was realised is the product of thee seminars co-taught at Harvard GSD, from 2010-2013. | http://www.op-al.com/function-of-style/ |
Centre for Human Development (CHD) is a women-led international non-profit organisation established in 2014 under the leadership of Raheela Narchoor. CHD is the first women-led international organisation working to deliver United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 in Kashmir, J&K, India.
Women are under-represented in economic, social, and political decision-making processes. We work in three areas – economic, social, and political empowerment of women. Our working methodology is unique. We use local resources, local practices, and technology to empower women by increasing their participation in the decision-making process.
We also partner locally to create sustainable development solutions in Education, Health, Livelihoods, Technology, Justice and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH).
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There are many other ways that you can Invest with Us, if you can’t find it on our website, you can email [email protected] and someone will be in touch to help you. | https://centreforhumandevelopment.org.uk/ |
The Global Earplugs market industry 2018 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Earplugs market industry.
The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions and classifications. The Earplugs market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.
This report focuses on the Global Earplugs market top players, covered Honeywell, EarPeace, DUBS Acoustic Filters, 3M, Etymotic Research, Moldex, Macks, DAP World Inc., TM Manufacturing, Surefire, Alpine SleepSoft, Pluggerz, Cirrus Healthcare, Ear Band-It, ProGuard, Plugfones, and Appia Healthcare Limited. Other prominent vendors of the earplugs market are Dongguan Yingfa, Living Stones Biz, Bengbu Hucong, Microgard, Radians Custom, and Westone.
The report discusses the various types of Earplugs market solutions. While the regions considered in the scope of the report include North America, Europe, and various others. The study also emphasizes on how rising digital security threats is changing the market scenario. | https://www.qyreports.com/report/global-earplugs-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2023-103261/ |
If you wanted to make wine, you had to make something to keep it in too
In the early days Josip and the team had to make all their barrels the old fashioned way.
With their hands and a whole lot of elbow grease. To make a new barrel they would have to craft planks of wood, which then had to be fastened together by using a hoop driver to pound metal rings around them. It’s as strenuous and time consuming as it sounds, but it was all worth it to be able to age their wine beautifully, and give it a unique flavour.Return to 100 Stories
Welcome to Babich Wines
To enter this website, please confirm that you are aged 18 years or older and should you purchase any wine that the receiver of the wine purchased is also aged 18 years or older. Thank you. | https://www.babichwines.com/if-you-wanted-to-make-wine-you-had-to-make-something-to-keep-it-in-too/ |
We use a comprehensive financial planning approach to investing that has proven successful for our clients over many market cycles and changes. Our conservative approach to investing, tailored to your financial needs, encompasses full-service financial planning, investment management, risk management, and estate planning.
Our mission at GFA Financial Group, LLC is to provide comprehensive and independent financial and wealth management advice that helps our clients to accumulate, protect, and preserve their wealth beyond expectations. GFA Financial Group, LLC is an independent financial services firm, meaning our advice and recommendations come with no hidden agendas and no strings attached. GFA Financial Group, LLC does not offer proprietary products, which means we can offer products and services to our clients from a wide range of options.
We are dedicated to: | http://www.gfafinancialgroupllc.com/about |
5.5 When Do We Stop?
In the examples above, we completed one iteration of the data analysis process. In some cases, a single iteration may be sufficient, but in most real-life cases, you’ll need to iterate at least a few times. From the examples above, there are still some things left to do:
Price Survey Data: We ended the example by fitting a Gamma distribution model. But how does that fit the data? What would we expect from the data if they truly followed a Gamma distribution (we never made that plot)? Is there a better way to capture that spike in the distribution right around $10?
Ozone and Temperature: The smoother suggested a nonlinear relationship between temperature and ozone, but what is the reason for this? Is the nonlinearity real or just a chance occurrence in the data? Is there a known physical process that explains the dramatic increase in ozone levels beyond a certain temperature and can we model that process?
Ultimately, you might be able to iterate over and over again. Every answer will usually raise more questions and require further digging into the data. When exactly do you stop the process then? Statistical theory suggests a number of different approaches to determining when a statistical model is “good enough” and fits the data well. This is not what we will discuss here, but rather we will discuss a few high-level criteria to determine when you might consider stopping the data analysis iteration.
5.5.1 Are you out of data?
Iterative data analysis will eventually begin to raise questions that simply cannot be answered with the data at hand. For example, in the ozone/temperature analysis, the modeling suggested that there isn’t just a simple relationship between the two variables, that it may be nonlinear. But the data can’t explain precisely why such a nonlinear relationship might exist (although they can suggest certain hypotheses). Also, you may need to collect additional data to determine whether what you observe is real or simply a fluke or statistical accident. Either way, you need to go back out into the world and collect new data. More data analysis is unlikely to bring these answers.
Another situation in which you may find yourself seeking out more data is when you’ve actually completed the data analysis and come to satisfactory results, usually some interesting finding. Then, it can be very important to try to replicate whatever you’ve found using a different, possibly independent, dataset. In the ozone/temperature example, if we concluded that there were a nonlinear relationship between temperature and ozone, our conclusion might be made more powerful if we could show that this relationship were present in other cities besides New York. Such independent confirmation can increase the strength of evidence and can play a powerful role in decision-making.
5.5.2 Do you have enough evidence to make a decision?
Data analysis is often conducted in support of decision-making, whether in business, academia, government, or elsewhere, we often collect an analyze data to inform some sort of decision. It’s important to realize that the analysis that you perform to get yourself to the point where you can make a decision about something may be very different from the analysis you perform to achieve other goals, such as writing a report, publishing a paper, or putting out a finished product.
That’s why it’s important to always keep in mind the purpose of the data analysis as you go along because you may over- or under-invest resources in the analysis if the analysis is not attuned to the ultimate goal. The purpose of a data analysis may change over time and there may in fact be multiple parallel purposes. The question of whether you have enough evidence depends on factors specific to the application at hand and your personal situation with respect to costs and benefits. If you feel you do not have enough evidence to make a decision, it may be because you are out of data, or because you need to conduct more analysis.
5.5.3 Can you place your results in any larger context?
Another way to ask this question is “Do the results make some sort of sense?” Often, you can answer this question by searching available literature in your area or see if other people inside or outside your organization have come to a similar conclusion. If your analysis findings hew closely to what others have found, that may be a good thing, but it’s not the only desirable outcome. Findings that are at odds with past results may lead down a path of new discovery. In either case, it’s often difficult to come to the right answer without further investigation.
You have to be a bit careful with how you answer this question. Often, especially with very large and complex datasets, it’s easy to come to a result that “makes sense” and conforms to our understanding of how a given process should work. In this situation, it’s important to be hypercritical of our findings and to challenge them as much as possible. In our experience, when the data very closely match our expectation, it can be a result of either mistakes or misunderstandings in the analysis or in the data collection process. It is critical to question every aspect of the analysis process to make sure everything was done appropriately.
If your results do not make sense, or the data do not match your expectation, then this is where things get interesting. You may simply have done something incorrectly in the analysis or the data collection. Chances are, that’s exactly what happened. For every diamond in the rough, there are 99 pieces of coal. However, on the off-chance that you’ve discovered something unusual that others have not yet seen, you’ll need to (a) make sure that the analysis was done properly and (b) replicate your findings in another dataset. Surprising results are usually met with much scrutiny and you’ll need to be prepared to rigorously defend your work.
Ultimately, if your analysis leads you to a place where you can definitively answer the question “Do the results make sense?” then regardless of how you answer that question, you likely need to stop your analysis and carefully check every part of it.
5.5.4 Are you out of time?
This criterion seems arbitrary but nevertheless plays a big role in determining when to stop an analysis in practice. A related question might be “Are you out of money?” Ultimately, there will be both a time budget and a monetary budget that determines how many resources can be committed to a given analysis. Being aware of what these budgets are, even if you are not necessarily in control of them, can be important to managing a data analysis. In particular, you may need to argue for more resources and to persuade others to given them to you. In such a situation, it’s useful to know when to stop the data analysis iteration and prepare whatever results you may have obtained to date in order to present a coherent argument for continuation of the analysis. | https://bookdown.org/rdpeng/artofdatascience/when-do-we-stop.html |
, Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Chu is an alumnus of the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television. There, he won the Princess Grace Award, the Dore Schary Award presented by the Anti-Defamation League, the Jack Nicholson directing award, and was recognized as an honoree for the IFP/West program Project: Involve.
After making his student short, "When the Kids Are Away", Chu was signed to William Morris Agency and attached to several high profile projects. Chu was hired by Sony Pictures to direct their feature Bye Bye Birdie but Sony never green lit the film due to budget concerns. Sony recently got back into business with Chu to direct their updated version of The Great Gatsby. He also is in a dance crew called AC/DC or Adam/Chu Dance crew. His father, Lawrence Chu, is a well-known chef and his parents own Chef Chu's, a popular restaurant in Los Altos, California. He also attended Pinewood School from kindergarten through 12th grade. Chu is currently directing the online series The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.
In an interview, Chu addressed a question he is often asked, "Why do all of your films have dance?" He responded, "I don’t know why. It seems so obvious. But there’s something about the dancers that motivate me the most. I don’t know if it’s just dance, but I do think that the dancers are amazing artists, and every time I meet a new dancer, that triggers something in my brain, and I’m more creative than I could ever be. When I feel that creativity burst, I go with it."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jon M. Chu, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Filmography
(10 titles)
(movie, 2019)
···
Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho
Genre:
Comedy, TV Movie
By:
Jon M. Chu
With:
Ken Jeong
Role:
Director
(movie, 2018)
···
Crazy Rich Asians
Genre:
Comedy, Drama, Romance
By:
Jon M. Chu
With:
Constance Wu
,
Henry Golding
,
Michelle Yeoh
Role:
Director
(movie, 2016)
···
Now You See Me 2
Genre:
Action, Comedy, Thriller
By:
Jon M. Chu
,
Richard Whelan
,
Tom Rye
With:
Jesse Eisenberg
,
Mark Ruffalo
,
Woody Harrelson
Role:
Director
(movie, 2015)
···
Jem and the Holograms
Genre:
Drama, Music, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy
By:
Jon M. Chu
With:
Molly Ringwald
,
Juliette Lewis
,
Ryan Guzman
Role:
Director
(movie, 2014)
···
We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss
By:
Bob Balaban
,
Mary Harron
,
Joe Berlinger
,
Barbara Kopple
,
Catherine Hardwicke
,
Morgan Spurlock
,
Jon M. Chu
,
Albert Hughes
,
Shola Lynch
,
Miao Wang
With:
Patton Oswalt
,
Maya Rudolph
,
Morgan Spurlock
Role:
Director
(movie, 2013)
···
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Genre:
Adventure, Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
By:
Jon M. Chu
With:
Dwayne Johnson
,
D.J. Cotrona
,
Adrianne Palicki
Role:
Director
(movie, 2012)
···
Step Up Revolution
Genre:
Music, Drama, Romance
By:
Scott Speer
With:
Kathryn McCormick
,
Ryan Guzman
,
Megan Boone
Role:
Producer
(movie, 2010)
···
Step Up 3D
Genre:
Drama, Romance
By:
Jon M. Chu
With:
Rick Malambri
,
Adam G. Sevani
,
Joe Slaughter
Role:
Director
(movie, 2008)
···
Step Up 2: The Streets
Genre:
Music, Drama, Romance
By:
Jon M. Chu
With:
Briana Evigan
,
Robert Hoffman
,
Will Kemp
Role:
Director
(movie, 1993)
···
Freaked
Genre:
Comedy
By:
Alex Winter
With:
Brooke Shields
,
William Sadler
,
Alex Winter
Role: | http://secondscene.co/people/53283/jon-m-chu |
Jieyu Liu (SOAS, University of London)
While population ageing is now a common feature of many societies, research has tended to concentrate on western contexts with ageing in developing countries receiving less attention. In China, the challenge of population ageing is an emergent area of concern with significant implications as the country enters a period referred to by some as ‘super ageing’ (Joseph and Phillips 1999). In 2012 the number of people in China who were 60 years old and over had reached 185 million, comprising 13 per cent of the total population. It is estimated that by 2053, this number will exceed 487 million, constituting 35 per cent of the population (China Daily 2012). Among the ageing population, the majority (it is estimated to be two thirds) of older people live in rural areas. In China the position of the older people in rural areas is complicated by the fact that since the 1990s there has been a large-scale migration of younger workers from rural to urban areas (it is estimated that as many as 144 million rural residents are now working in towns and cities) and this has geographically separated many adult children from the ageing parents.
The household registration (Hukou) system introduced in 1958 required every Chinese citizen to register at birth with the local authorities as either an urban or a rural household registration holder of a particular fixed place in order to control population mobility. Since the 1980s, when the economic reforms started, the state’s ban on rural-urban migration has been lifted; however, the long-established systemic segregation between urban and rural Hukou holders has stayed intact and Hukou function as a means of managing access to resources in cities that receive migrants. For example, regardless of their actual place of residence, rural Hukou holders are deprived of various benefits (e.g. access to better jobs, admission to city schools) and welfare provisions (e.g. pension) that are available to urban hukou holders. This lack of state welfare support, combined with an institutional discrimination against rural Hukou holders, has created particular challenges to rural households in the context of rural-urban migration.
My research examined the impact of adult child migration on ageing and intergenerational relationships in rural Chinese families. It sought to redress the absence of in-depth research on rural families and on experiences of growing older in rural China. The project ran for 16 months and utilised qualitative in-depth biographical and observational research methods. The fieldwork took place in 2011 and involved me living with local families for two months in two different villages. 17 families took part in the project, nine in Village One and eight in Village Two. 60 interviews were conducted in total across at least two (and sometime three) generations in each family and with both male and female family members.
Unlike the western modernization thesis, which anticipates the decline of family ties in the face of migration and urbanization, my study demonstrated the continuing significance of family and kinship in shaping people’ lives in rural households. For example, villagers often reported how family members introduced jobs to them or how they followed their relatives to a particular migration destination. Not only were people’s migrating livelihoods secured within the family network, the household acted as a safety net for all members. It was a common theme in all interviews that, whenever people ran into difficulties, monetary or non-monetary, it was family members who they turned to for help.
Migration choice was often made in a household context. Frequently, it was found to be a strategy to enhance the collective welfare of the household and positively accepted by the older generation. Despite geographical distance, different family members worked together to pool resources for the collective welfare of the household. In terms of the support for the older generation, migration enabled a division of labour between children who migrated to offer financial support and the children who stayed behind to offer instrumental support.
Traditionally the Chinese value of filial piety emphasized a deference of the needs of children’s generation to the will and welfare of parents and other seniors in the family. This study indicates a shift from this traditional pattern of filial piety to a model which is based upon reciprocity and interdependence. Unlike the victimized image of the ‘left-behind’ in Chinese media, the older generation were active support providers in their family. For example, the younger generation’s migration was enabled through the older generation’s support in raising grandchildren and looking after farm work. The older generation took on these tasks as their duty and hope that their support would be reciprocated when they need it in later life.
Whilst interdependence is the dominant feature of relations between older parents and their children, a principle of ‘tiered egalitarianism’ persists in the relationships of reciprocal obligations and duties. That is, parents still prioritize sons’ family needs over daughters’ family needs although between sons the support from parents is provided equally. Any perceived non-compliance with this principle would cause damage to the interdependent networks within the family. Interviewees reported that perceptions of unequal childcare support and property division from parents were an important source of family discords between parents and children and between siblings. These conflicts in the household usually led to the breakdown of the webs of interdependence and reciprocity, with detrimental effects upon old age care for the seniors in the household. Therefore, the way in which migration affects care and support for older people is shaped by the conditions embedded in the reciprocal relations between older parents and adult children prior to and during migration.
The gendered division of labour resulted in older women carrying the main burden of care and farm work. In particular, their care work was critical in facilitating the bonds between generations. However, when the care is performed in a private sphere, it is often constructed as non-work. Indeed, because of the lack of formal recognition of women’s care work within the domestic sphere, interviewees only referred to this work as ‘women’s errands at home’. This gendered division of labour and the feminized notion of care work contributed to the reproduction of gender inequalities within the household.
Traditionally, the care of parents was primarily the concern of sons. That is to say, because of the patrilocal marriage practice, a daughter moved to her husband’s family to take up her place in his household and look after his family. As a result, daughters were only required to make contributions to their natal families as long as they remained unmarried. However, migration seems to have put daughters who stay-behind in a central role in providing support to their parents. The study found that the burden on stay-behind married daughters has increased as they have become an important source of emotional and instrumental support to their parents as a result of their brothers’ migration.
Associated with the changing role of daughters in old age support is the part a daughter-in-law plays in the household. As noted above, traditionally sons were considered the main providers of support for parents, it was their wives who undertook the daily care work. Today, the daughters-in-law’s filial obligations towards the in-laws still remain but some care responsibilities have been transferred to the daughters. For many village interviewees, washing parents’ dirty clothes and bed sheets had become a taken-for-granted daughter’s job. The decline in support provided by daughter-in-laws may reflect a decline in the power of the mother-in-law, in that traditionally she was the immediate, unchallengeable supervisor of her daughter-in-law’s work and life. This research found that the power of mother-in-law had diminished significantly and this reflects a gradual disappearance of the traditional hierarchical family authority.
Despite the fact that daughters play an increasing role in caring for their parents in the context of migration, the patriarchal practice that only sons inherit the parental home still persists. The persistence of gendered arrangements and tradition such as patriarchal property inheritance affords sons more symbolic status and material benefits.
Jieyu Liu is Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director in the China Institute at SOAS. She has published widely on gender, sexuality and socio-economic development in China. The research on which this article was based was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council 2011-13 (RES-000-22-4031). See, Liu, J. (2014) ‘Ageing, Migration and Familial Support in Rural China’, Geoforum, 51:305-312. | http://discoversociety.org/2014/09/02/ageing-migration-and-intergenerational-relations-in-rural-china/ |
I see many advancements on the Scala 3 (dotty) front, but I still can’t help noticing many macro-related features that I’m directly or indirectly using and there are still no alternatives out there that are even discussed. I’ll layout the features I’m missing, so maybe someone can shed some light:
-
illTypedfrom shapeless. Used for testing puposes,
illTypedverifies that the specific code fed to it does not compile. It is also possible to compare the compiled error message to verify its contents. Under-the-hood the macro uses
c.typecheck. Is there a viable alternative?
- The refined library enables (using macros) applying compile-time constraints on arguments. While most of its features may be somehow replaceable by meta-programming features of dotty, I have no idea how
Eval(link) can be implemented since it uses
c.evalunder-the-hood.
- The sourcecode library provides common source code context for any program via implicit macros. Is there an alternative in dotty? Maybe somehow to reflect context-sensitive TASTY trees to the program?
- The singleton-ops library is the library I’m most dependent on (and help maintain).
- It provides compile-time arithmetic/logic type/value calculations and constraints.
- It provides a mechanism to transfer a type expression to a value expression, falling back to runtime calculations and checks if not all information is available during compile-time (see this thread).
- It provides a mechanism to reroute compile-time
@implicitNotFounderror messages to the proper symbol (using this trick from shapeless).
- It works around the compiler’s eager widening policy.
Currently, I see no way to bridge over these gaps. | https://contributors.scala-lang.org/t/dead-parts-of-libraries-in-scala-3/2559 |
Three tips to navigate this year’s festive season
There’s something about the festive season that makes it one of the most wonderful times of the year. While there are many reasons behind this celebratory attitude, which differs from one person to the next, a central theme is that it somehow becomes slightly easier to throw caution to the wind and to spend money more freely (and perhaps more carelessly) compared to the earlier months of the year.
While many of us may have gotten away with this type of frivolous spending in years gone by, 2020 has brought with it the sobering reality that our future earnings may not be as guaranteed as we might have thought. In fact, this festive season may very well require some significant adjustments to the way in which we think about money, and consequently, the way in which we spend it.
While working wisely with your money has always been important, the events of the past year have meant that the opportunity for carefree spending (and the ability to recover from it) may very well be off the cards. Fortunately, it’s still possible to enjoy the festivities without compromising your financial footing. To help guide you, we’ve listed three tips on how to navigate this year’s festive season.
1. Live within your means
If you’re feeling demoralised about having less money to spend this year, the reality is that you’re not alone. The national lockdown has resulted in the closure of many sectors of the local economy, and while this was (and remains) a necessary step to help combat the spread of the pandemic, the result has been that many people lost their ability to earn an income during this time. This, of course, makes the prospect of taking on additional debt to fund your festive activities that more appealing (we’ll discuss this in more detail below). However, it’s important to remember that with debt comes additional risks, and that one of the most effective means of recovering from financial difficulties is to simply live within your means.
2. Beware the debt trap
With interest rates currently at exceptionally low levels, taking on additional debt may seem like an attractive option. But before you tap into your credit card or take out that personal loan, it’s important to remember that the more debt you have, the more interest you’ll end up paying in the long run.
A good starting point is to draw up a budget. This will not only give you a good idea of how much you have to spend but also where you might be able to free up some extra cash. And if you are considering taking on additional debt this festive season (something that is strongly discouraged), drawing up a budget will help you determine just how much you can afford to pay back as a monthly instalment, which is a great way of assessing how much debt you can assume without significantly worsening your financial position.
3. Don’t withdraw from your investments
Another very real temptation in the current environment is to withdraw from your investments. It’s worth remembering that investments are typically long term in nature, which means that by withdrawing you not only reduce the value of your investment in the present, but that you also risk eroding the potential for future gains in years to come.
We need only take a short trip through history to demonstrate this point. Looking back at the start of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, many investors cashed in their investments at significantly low values. But what followed next was the longest equity bull run in history. Those who took advantage of the cheap valuations and stuck to their investment objectives benefited from the market recovery, while those who sold out of their investments locked in their losses and missed out on the significant returns that followed.
Already, we have started to see signs of a turnaround with local equities (the FTSE/JSE All Share Index) up 14.2% in rand terms and an impressive 30.2% in US dollar terms for the six months ending 30 November 2020. Granted, no one can predict the extent to which this recovery will continue, but the important takeaway is that cashing in your investment at the wrong time has potentially negative consequences.
As a concluding thought, this festive season will be a challenging one for many, and it’s very likely that there will be far fewer gifts being exchanged this year. So if you’re feeling the financial pinch, know that you’re not alone and that there are certain strategies that you can employ (and others that you should avoid) to get through this festive season. Hopefully, these tips will help you emerge from what has been a turbulent year with your finances intact, and in a financially healthy position to start off the new year.
For more information, please feel free to contact our Client Services Team on 0860 105 775 or email us at [email protected].
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Did you enjoy this article? | https://www.prudential.co.za/insights/articlesreleases/three-tips-to-navigate-this-year-s-festive-season/ |
Memory is such a tricky fish. I love the way it comes for me in pictures, scents, the echo of words. A smile. A shiver. The flicker of something elusive. Something forgotten.
It’s this everyday quest to remember that drives so much of my writing. How we mark the past, understand events and make heroes and villains of people, how we interpret history and piece together narratives from its soup gives shape to who we think we are, who we want to be, the hopes and values that make us us as a bunch, and individually.
But it’s a quest that comes laid with traps – disguises, lies, mirages, dead ends and precipice edges – that only grow in number and trickery over time. Memories are nothing if not utterly untrustworthy characters.
I met a lovely one of these a couple of days ago, going through a long-neglected box of bits and pieces my mother had kept from my childhood – scraps of schoolwork, letters, cards, theatre programs from my old tap-dancing days (best forgotten).
In among it all, I found my very first attempt at writing a story. It’s most definitely my handwriting, possibly from around year five or six – I’d have been about ten or eleven when I penned it. But the thing is, I don’t remember having written it at all.
I remember the story sparklingly well. I remember sitting in the cold, shady area at the front of La Perouse Public School at lunchtime and marvelling at it, wide-eyed. But in my memory, it’s my friend Diana Hoffmann who is writing it. She was a master horror story teller – her parents let her stay up late on Saturday nights to watch films like Dracula and Frankenstein. They were German and had a black Labrador called Fritz who could fart for Deutschland.
I’m doodling drops of blood around the margins of her story, and wishing I could invent one as fabulous as hers.
There’s not a writing day goes by that I don’t remember it was Diana who somehow switched me on – showed me some magic, shone a light up the path of how stories are made. I’ve always wanted to thank her for this, but we lost touch after going separate ways in high school, and I’ve never been able to track her down.
I still can’t quite believe that I had a crack at writing such a Diana-inspired tale myself. But here it is, in green and red. It’s only three pages long, abandoned before it was really begun. But it is the very beginning of all my scribbling days. Where did I write it? In secret, in my bedroom? How did Mum get her hands on it? How is it that even at this tender age I seemed destined to bring a bit of weird kid to cliché?
Does it matter that my memories tricked me into thinking that this story was Diana’s alone? No. What matters is that somehow I am forever honouring what she gave me.
I wish I could tell her this. I wish we could share a laugh, reminisce. But in lieu of that, and until we do, I’ve framed the front page of my ‘Hall of Horror!’, along with a merit award for ‘good sentence work’, which I don’t remember ever having received either, and I’ve sat it on my desk as fact. Evidence of how fragile, how precious our memories are. And a reminder that the quest for catching the truth in them is one that’s always worth making.
oh how what a memory of the old school days – flashbacks and all of the book nook! | https://kimkellyauthor.com/2014/10/01/271/ |
Roland “Ron” Mueck is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor working in the United Kingdom. The works of art you will see below are nothing like we saw before, they are hyper realistic sculptures of people and human faces looking so real you need to have a second look.
Ron loves to play with scale, creating art that looks small or extremely large when you look at it from afar, for example one of the pieces in the gallery below looks like a regular size person, but when you zoom out or come closer to the piece, you see it is actually a miniature version, these type of art illusion together with the stunning reality he is able to create with his hands, sets him apart from other artists trying to create human like sculptures or other art pieces.
Before creating these amazing real life sculptors Ron was a model maker and puppeteer for children TV shows and movies. but in 1996 he started working on these sculptors that are part made of resin, fiberglass, silicone and other materials. You can follow him on his Facebook page to stay updated on his work.
Make sure to share Ron Mueck’s work with your art loving friends. | https://theawesomedaily.com/ron-mueck-sculptors/ |
And, because it was a film about rugby, albeit rugby played by athletes in wheelchairs, I was of course immediately intrigued since I have come to appreciate rugby in its many shapes and forms.
So, when I saw a post online awhile back that Duncan Campbell was among the 2020-21 inductees into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame I reached out to a contact to help arrange an interview.
Campbell was one of the creators of wheelchair rugby.
Campbell was inducted in the Builder category for his role in developing the sport of Wheelchair Rugby from its early inception in 1976. Campbell’s involvement has led to the transformation of the sport from its beginnings, originally called ‘Murderball’. The sport has since evolved to become one of most popular Parasports, making its Paralympic Games debut in 1996 as a demonstration sport and achieving full medal status in 2000, notes www.sportshall.ca
Campbell said the induction was gratifying.
“It was pretty cool – very cool,” he said.
Campbell said he takes the induction as something that reflects not only on his accomplishment, but also as something of a validation of the sport itself.
Wheelchair rugby sort of happened by luck, with a bit of design thrown in.
“It came out of four guys fooling around in a gym in Winnipeg,” said Campbell.
Growing up in Winnipeg, Campbell was a typical Canadian youth with a love of sport including hockey, but a diving accident at age 17 left him a quadriplegic. While doctors thought he might never live or work independently again, Campbell remained determined to pursue an active lifestyle and began working out alongside other people with physical disabilities at a local gym in Winnipeg.
While getting back to hockey was impossible Campbell did find his way back to sport.
“One night in 1976, he and four friends—Jerry Terwin, Randy Dueck, Paul LeJeune, and Chris Sargent—showed up for their weekly weightlifting workout at a Winnipeg rehab centre, but the volunteer who assisted them didn’t show up. They went down the hall to the gymnasium instead and began fooling around with a volleyball. Within 45 minutes they had the basic rules to a fast-paced, physical game similar to rugby, but played in wheelchairs on a basketball court. They knew right away they had something and called it ‘murderball’,” detailed bcsportshall.com
Campbell said while not specifically looking to create a rugby-style game the four were looking at what might develop into a team sport for people in wheelchairs.
“What we were thinking was there was no team sport for us to play,” he recalled. “We were trying to come up with a team sport.”
Soon after demonstrating the game to others in Canada, it spread to the US and overseas to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Britain.
In Campbell’s words, it “just blew up,” noted the bcsportshall.com – Campbell is an inductee there too. Now the world’s fastest growing wheelchair sport, over fifty nations play wheelchair rugby. Its’ popularity has exploded since becoming a full Paralympic medal sport in 2000 and boosted further by the Academy Award-nominated Murderball.
“It’s the most-watched ... most-attended sport at the Paralympics,” Campbell told this journalist.
In 1995 wheelchair rugby appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta.
The sport has had full medal status since the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia.
Asked why the sport has grown so quickly, Campbell has an answer ready.
“I think it’s because it’s fast. It’s got a little bit of violence in it which people like,” he related.
The physical aspect perhaps came naturally to Campbell and the others coming from Canada where hockey is king.
Campbell said the sport also hits a sort of sweet middle when it comes to scoring.
“There’s never enough scoring in hockey and way too much in basketball,” he said, adding wheelchair rugby typically has 40 point scores, a bit higher at the top level of the game.
It helped too there were para-athletes looking for a sport, “especially in the United States,” said Campbell. “When the U.S. takes hold of something it grows.”
Initially, Campbell was a player.
“I was in it to play it,” he said, adding being part of the sport’s development in the early years came out of being an active player.
Campbell was a sort of ‘Johnny Appleseed’ of wheelchair rugby at the start. He moved to Edmonton and found the sport had not yet started there, so he kickstarted things.
A later move to B.C. found the wheelchair rugby organization with some obstacles “things that needed to be done,” he said, so he stepped up and got involved there too. That would lead to an eventual job that lasted nearly a decade and a half working with the sport.
He has participated in every capacity from player to coach to administrator. He also served as a member of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, national development director for the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, and committee member for the 2010 world wheelchair rugby championships.
In 2001, Canadian players changed the name of the national championship trophy to the Campbell Cup in his honour.
In 2013, Campbell received the prestigious Paralympic Order from Sir Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee.
So does Campbell have a vision of the sport’s future – a pro league perhaps? | https://www.sasktoday.ca/central/local-sports/sports-this-week-co-creator-of-wheelchair-rugby-honoured-4920859 |
DISSERTATION TITLE: THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS POLICY AND ITS IMPACT ON LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: CASE OF VUNGU RURAL DISTRICT COUNCIL.
DISSERTATION: FIRST DRAFT
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Due to the economic sanctions imposed by the Europeans, Zimbabwe has been hard hit by lack of foreign direct investment. This has also led to the failure by the Central Government of Zimbabwe to support the local authorities both urban and rural in partaking Local Economic Development (LED) in their own areas. To outsmart this scenario, Zimbabwe among other developing countries in Africa introduced the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P) in 2015 with the main goal of improving the business environment for the local actors and attracting sustainable and mutual beneficial foreign direct investments. It is the purpose of this research to analyse the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P) and its impact on Local Economic Development (LED) with the case of Vungu Rural District Council. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the background of the study, problem statement, research objectives, and research questions, significance of the study, limitations and delimitations as well as definition of terms.
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Background of the study
The Zimbabwean economy has been stable during the colonial regime until 1990 after independence. The economy in Zimbabwe deteriorated due to poor monetary policies and the failure of the fiscal policies to control the budget deficit. In addition, the Zimbabwean economy further worsened in 2002 due to massive droughts together with the fast track land reform programme. This has later contributed to high inflation rates, imposed sanctions as well as lack of foreign and direct investors in Zimbabwe. The Central Government of Zimbabwe with the main aim of stimulating local economic development has introduced many policies since independence in the 1980s. The policies that were implemented include the Economic Structural Adjustment Program (ESAP) of 1996, Zimbabwe Program for Economic and Social Transformation (ZIMPREST) of 1998-2000, Vision 20/20 of 2009, Short Term Economic Recovery Program (STERP) of 2009-2013 and the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZIMASSET).
The key components of LED involve the use of sustainable local resources, poverty eradication as well as participation by both local and foreign stakeholders for the development of a local area. Zimbabwe has been rated poorly in the Ease of Doing Business Indicators according to the World Bank Reports of 2016.To ensure that the business environment is conducive and that growth is nurtured by the Central government, Zimbabwe among other developing countries adopted the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B. P) in 2015.The key highlights of the Ease of Doing Business Policy are labour market regulation, enforcing contracts ,registering property ,protecting minority investors among other as according to the World Bank report of (2004).
The research is a case study based with Vungu Rural District Council being used. A brief background of Vungu Rural District Council according to the Vungu RDC Website (2017) shows that it was established in terms of subsection (1) of Section 8 of the Rural District Councils Act Chapter 29:13, 1996 through the Presidential Proclamation 15 of 1993 published as Statutory Instrument 99 of 1993 as amended by Proclamation 26 of 1993 published as Statutory Instrument 195 of 1993. The Presidential Proclamation also abolished the Manyame Local Government District Council; the Vungu and Upper Ngezi Rural Council area and the Gweru-Shurugwi Rural Council area. The council area covers Chiwundura Communal lands, Lower Gweru Communal Lands and the large-scale commercial farming and A2 and A1 farming areas around Gweru town. The area covers two House of Assembly constituencies, namely, Vungu Constituency (Wards 1, 2, 3,4,5,6,7,8,15,17 and 19) and most of Chiwundura Constituency (Wards 9,10,11,12,13,14,16 and 18).
The area under study suffers from reduced service delivery especially when it comes to infrastructure development and meeting the demands and needs of the clients. Furthermore, it has been discovered that many local people both the business and residents are not benefitting in investing and developing their local areas due to old procedures that were introduced by the council. Hence, it is therefore the purpose of this study to analyses the Ease of Doing Business Policy introduced by the Central Government and its impact on Local Economic Development with the case study of Vungu Rural District Council.
Statement of the problem
Improving service delivery and client’s satisfaction has become the key element of concern of Local Authorities in Zimbabwe and Vungu R.D.C is no exception. Vungu R.D.C has faced many challenges in attracting local investors as well as improving client’s satisfaction pertaining to the issues of development in Vungu District. It is the main goal of the Ease of Doing Business to certify that such challenges are dealt with. The research seeks to scrutinize the impact of the Ease of Doing Business Policy on Local Economic Development in Vungu District.
Key Research Questions
What aspects of the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P) that are currently being implemented by Vungu Rural District Council?
What are the Local Economic Development Projects that are currently being undertaken by Vungu Rural District Council since adopting the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P)?
What are the major challenges being faced by Vungu Rural District Council in implementing the Ease of Doing Business Policy on Local Economic Development Projects?
To what extent has the Ease of Doing Business Policy promote Local Economic Development in Vungu Rural District Council?
Research Objectives
To identify aspects of the Ease of Doing Business Policy implemented in Vungu Rural District Council.
To examine the impact of the Ease of Doing Business Policy in terms of Local Economic Development in Vungu Rural District.
To establish factors that contribute to the success and failures of the Ease of Doing Business Policy on Local Economic Development in Vungu Rural District.
Justification of the study
The Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P) is a strategy that was implemented with the main aim of creating an environment that is conducive for the operation of a business. The objective of this research is therefore to scrutinize the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P) in detail and its impact on Local Economic Development. It is also the purpose of this study to analyze if the policy of Ease of Doing Business is being fully implemented in Local Authorities of Zimbabwe. This research will also determine the relationship between the Ease of Doing Business Policy and Local Economic Development analyzing on the negative and positive impacts of the policy. In addition, this study will also help Local Authorities in bringing out opportunities they may have overlooked in their strategic plans as well as the strategies that can be employed in trying to foster development in their own areas.
Significance of the study
The study determines the relationship between the Ease of Doing Business reforms and Local Economic Development analyzing on the successes as well as failures of the projects. There much literature available on local economic development in the country and it was the researcher’s wish to communicate on what is happening in other countries that have adopted an almost similar approach to development through the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P) analyzing critical success factors and failures. Thus, it means developing countries alike can adopt a similar approach to development.
Delimitations of the study
Vungu Rural District Council is one of the local authorities in the Midlands Province. The council has seven (7) departments, which are the Human Resources, and Administration, Environment, Finance, Social Services, Finance, Roads, Works and Planning department and the Audit department and the study shall focus on all departments, as they are interrelated. The research shall only be focus on Vungu Rural District Council at administration and the local stakeholders operating in Vungu district. The research targeted business people, Council employees and management. The objective of including these groups was to confirm that the study brings to light the impacts of the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P) on local economic development projects since its initiation.
Limitations of the study
Turabian (2013) points out limitations are physical and conceptual boundaries of the study. This research covers one local authority in Zimbabwe that is Vungu Rural District Council. The study is focused on the Policy of the Ease of Doing Business and its impact on Local Economic Development.
Time limit
The researcher faced the problem of limitation of time, as she has to balance between research and attending lectures.
Solution: – To respond this the researcher made use of the weekends and semester break to ensure that she gets the job done
Disclosure issues
Management may choose to suppress information citing various reasons like confidentiality amongst other things. To deflect this, the researcher persuaded the management that the research is exclusively for academic purposes and would not be published until there was approval from the organization and the institution.
Definition of terms
Definition LED
Blakely (1994) postulated that LED is a process which brings local governments and other key stakeholders to work together in their localities to stimulate and maintain business activity to stimulate local employment.
The World Bank defined LED as a process by which the public sector, business and non-governmental sectors partner and work collectively to create better conditions for economic growth and employment generation to ultimately improve the quality of life of the citizens.
The Ease of Doing Business
A reform set that is meant to improve the performance of the public sector and service delivery to the citizens and investors.
Summary
The chapter sought to highlight some key fundamentals of the study bringing out a brief history of the concept of the Ease of Doing Business as well as Local Economic Development. The background of the study ensured that it laid the foundation of the study by postulating the objectives of the study as well as research questions. The chapter also sought to highlight the significance of the study to Vungu Rural District Council as well as in contributing to the knowledge gap that currently exists in local economic development in Zimbabwe. The next chapter shall disclose the literature written on the Ease of Doing Business and Local Economic Development by many researchers as well as the legal framework.
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
To understand the Ease of Doing Business Policy and Local Economic Development in detail, this chapter provides an assessment of the related literature. The chapter unfolds with the definitions of terms, and provides a historical background on the Ease of Doing Business and Local Economic development, theoretical foundations of Local Economic Development. It shall also highlight the aspects of the Ease of Doing Business Policy. In addition, it shall also highlight the actors involved in Local Economic Development. This chapter shall also seek to find out the relationship between the Ease of Doing Business Policy and Local Economic Development with relevance to two case studies that is Zambia and Egypt.
2.1 CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
2.1.1 Definition of LED
Rodriguez-Pose (2008:23) described LED as an “integrated approach in development rather than a ‘one size fits all solution’ with its core purpose being to ‘mobilize the local economic potential by bringing innovation to all its growth dimensions which range from infrastructure to local small and medium enterprise and their skills ,to attracting foreign direct investment ,fostering territorial competitiveness strengthening local institutions ,better management of the development process and internalizing local resources”.
According to Mufamadi (2000:1), LED is an outcome based local initiate, which is driven by local stakeholders. It involves identifying and using primary level resources, ideas and skills to stimulate economic growth and development. The aim of LED is to create employment opportunities for local residents, alleviate poverty and redistribute resources and opportunities to the benefits of all residents.
Basing on the above definitions by different scholars, LED is more focused on different actors or stakeholders who participate to improve the livelihoods of the people within the community as well as promoting the economic growth of the country using the locally available resources within an area.
2.1.2The Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P)
According to the World Bank (2012:12-30) the ease of doing business is an index created by Simeon Djankov at the World Bank Group.
The Ease of Doing Business Policy is a policy that is used by many developing countries to improve the business-operating environment as well as attracting sustainable and mutual beneficial foreign direct investments.
2.2 HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
Local Economic Development
World Bank (2003) the concept of LED arose in the context of Globalization. The World Bank further summarizes the post 1960 understanding of LED through three waves of development.
According to the World Bank (2001) the first wave was from the 1960s to the early 1980s.During this period, the LED focus was on attraction of manufacturing investments, hard infrastructure investment and attracting outside investors. The second wave was focused on retaining and growing of existing local business. The emphasis was still on inward investment attraction. The late 1990s and onwards can be classified as the third wave. During this wave of LED, greater focus was placed on soft infrastructure investments, public-private partnerships, networking and making the entire business environment more conducive to business.
2.2.1The Ease of Doing Business
As stated by Djankov (2012) the Doing Business report has its origins in a paper first published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics by Simeon Djankov, Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes and Andrei Shleifer called “The Regulation of Entry in 2002. The paper presented data on the regulation of entry of start-up firms in 85 countries covering the number of procedures, official time and official cost that a start-up must bear before it could operate legally. The main findings of the paper were that: “Countries with heavier regulation of entry have higher corruption and larger unofficial economies, but no better quality of public or private goods. Countries with more democratic and limited governments have lighter regulation of entry. The paper became widely known because it provided quantitative evidence that entry regulation benefits politicians and bureaucrats without adding value to the private sector, or granting any additional protection
According to the Economist (2014), “several countries have launched reforms to improve their rankings. These efforts are motivated to a great scope by the fact that the World Bank Group publishes the data, and hence coverage by the media and the private sector every year. In addition, Doing Business highlights every year the successful reforms carried out by each country. Since The Regulation of Entry was published, Simeon Djankov and Andrei Shleifer have published eight other academic studies, one for each set of indicators covered by the report.
As stated by the World Bank (2015) in 2013, Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2011 through May 2012. Over the previous decade, the reports recorded nearly 2,000 regulatory reforms implemented by 180 economies.
According to the World Bank (2015) in 2014, Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2012 through May 2013 in 189 economies. In 2015, Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2013 through June 2014 in 189 economies. For the first time this year, Doing Business collected data for two cities in 11 economies with more than 100 million inhabitants. These economies include Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, and the United States. The added city enables a sub-national comparison and benchmarking against other large cities.
Fig 1: The Ease of Doing Business Index Map
Source: Charts Bin Website
2.3 Actors of Local Economic Development
Local Economic Development is a change that places emphasis on local area and is spear headed by the local people in partnership with the other actors that include the local authorities, national government, the private sector and the Non-governmental organizations. It is a foundation on which local economies are inspired to enhance competitiveness, increase sustainable growth and to eradicate poverty. In addition, Local Economic Development is a multi-actor as it is not only initiated at local level but it is also based on decentralization with the involvement of regional and national level for coordination, promotion and support.
According to Wekwete (2009), LED is therefore a multi-actor in terms of implementation and all key actors become part of continuous learning and lesson sharing. In addition, Wekwete (2009) hearsays that LED as a policy and process brings together key local, national and international partners together to invest and stimulate local economies for growth and poverty reduction. It is fashioned as a bottom up process emanating from localities advocating for and attracting external investments, retention and expansion of local enterprises connecting global values chains and mobilizing the private sector.
Basing on the views of Local Economic Development by Wekwete it can be concluded that it is a bottom approach that originates from the local level with the involvement of the community by promoting the use of local resources and the participation of all local stakeholders for economic growth by attracting foreign direct investors.
2.3.1 Local Level
According to many scholars through the Multi-actor model for Local Economic Development, the local level is the pillar on which development lays. As stated by Canzaneli (2001) economic development at the local level is in which local stakeholders work cohesively. Such a process will stimulate and facilitate partnership between local stakeholders enabling the joint-design and implementation of strategies. It can be concluded from the above views that at the local level that is where local development begins as local stakeholders work together in order to make local economic development strategies within an area.
2.3.2 Regional Level
The regional level also plays a pivotal role in promoting local economic development. Basing on the Multi-Actor Model for Local Economic Development by Pennink (2012) in fig 1, Stimson et al (2009) postulates that the first variable demonstrates the resources endowments and market conditions that a region currently possesses. Sufficient resources are necessary for a region to efficiently grow and perform. The second and third variable, leadership and entrepreneurship are closely related but not synonymous. Effective leadership encompasses entrepreneurship. Leadership can be performed by an individual but in the case of regional economic development is more likely to be the expression of the collective action of a society or a group of people.
2.3.3 National level
Pennink (2012) postulated that economic development is suggested to be stimulated by co-operation between government, business and industry. For the government, it is not just the notion agencies but also provincial and municipal heads that are actors that can (and should) contribute to interplay of the three actors. In this interplay, the willingness to share knowledge is significant and at the local level, there is need for knowledge.
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Figure 2: Multi-level, Multi-actor Model for Local Economic Development
Source: Pennink, B. 2014. Dimensions of Local Economic Development: Towards a Multi-Level, Multi Actor Model
2.4 THEORIES OF LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Economic Base Theory
Dinc (2002) argues that an ideal local economy can be divided into two sectors that is the basic and non-basic sector. The theory emphasizes that, to strengthen and grow the economy, it is essential to ensure that the basic sector is developed and enhanced as it is the engine of an economy or in more technical terms provides the economic base. According to Das and Leatherman (2013), an economy is supposed to have a stronger basic economy than the non-basic one, which puts it in a better position if the national economy fails. Das and Leatherman (2013) postulated that the basic industry is that type of economy, which does not necessarily rely on the local market but rather focuses on the international markets. Examples of such include mining, agriculture and tourism, the latter having prices which are largely determined on the global scale. The non- basic industry is that which relies on local markets for example convenient stores, butcheries among others.
The research will determine the aspects of the Ease of Doing Business Policy that are being implemented by Vungu Rural District Council analyzing the overall contribution of the policy to local economic development.
2.4.1 Place Marketing Theory
Metaxas (2012), is of the view that place marketing is instrumental to local economic development as it is not only limited to the satisfaction of the enterprise and residents from purchase of goods and services that are provided by the place but to also satisfying the expectations of the potential investor.
Cheshire (1999) cited in Hague et al (2011) defined place competitiveness as “a process by which groups acting on a behalf of a regional or sub-regional economy seek to promote it as a location for economic activity either implicitly or explicitly in competition with other areas. In other words, the creation of investor friendly policies attracts instead of pushing away potential investors.
According to Storper (1997), a local authority should be able to have conditions that attract firms as well as maintain the ones with a rising market share in an activity while maintaining or increasing standards of living for those who participate in it.
The Cardiff Consensus of 2011 brings out the four key actions or conditions that enable local governments to play their full roles. These actions according to the Cardiff Consensus (2011) are –
Providing a clear national framework for local economic development through effective fiscal, political and legal decentralization including appropriate constitutional and legal recognition and access to an equitable share of national resources;
Creating an enabling environment for LED which enable business to flourish by promoting direct investments, providing core services, convening the private sector and reducing red tape;
Developing local strategies to promote LED, which involves local government working with other partners to understand the local economies and promoting integrated development planning and community consultation.
Developing the capacity of local governments to access existing funding sources or to use innovative financing models to support LED through public private partnerships, special purpose vehicles, joint ventures, municipal bonds, and borrowing on the market where appropriate and accessing credit; and developing partnerships with the private sector and other partners to ensure effective promotion and coordination of LED.
From the above view, place marketing is influential in empowering local economic development as it encourages development within an area leading to more employment opportunities, participation of local stakeholders thereby eradicating issues of poverty as well as promoting issues of development within an area.
2.5 LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
To ensure that there is meaningful development, there are innumerable strategies of Local Economic Development that have been implemented. According to the Wisconsin Economic Development Institute (2003) there are five (5) main strategies that can be used by local authorities in LED and these are enterprise and business development, regional collaboration, community cash flow development, infrastructural development and workforce development.
2.5.1 Enterprise and business development
There are provisions that are set aside to ensure that there are businesses that can provide the necessary capital investment for any meaningful development to take place. Ndabeni (2014) is of the view that economic failure leading to closure of industries has contributed to the significant growth of the informal sector, which is instrumental in reducing poverty and unemployment. Wisconsin Economic Development Institute (2003) argues that enterprise and business development entails retention of current players, attraction of new players and lastly creation of new businesses complimenting the existing ones. Kuratko and Lafollette (1987) postulated that local authorities could partake in business and enterprise development through the creation of small business incubators. It is unquestionable that most small and medium enterprises have unsuccessful from the start, a factor accredited by lack of financial and business skills. The small business incubator amenities necessitate the use of leases on terms that are flexible as well as reduced rentals with the resultant support facilities of financial management as well as technical and administrative support.
2.5.2 Regional Collaboration
Wisconsin Economic Development Institute (2003) defines collaboration as a high degree of commitment to working with others. Regional collaboration normally involves a scenario whereby there is teamwork for mutual gain between local governments or with the other stakeholders. Local authorities strengthen the performance of the economy both in the short and long period through the application of a co-operative approach. Hague et al (2011), is of the view that regional collaboration may also lead to the expansion of markets especially for primary producers. It can be argued however that regional collaboration is not only centered on geographical boundaries only but across national frontiers. Self- Pierson (2012) postulates that local authorities can exploit the avenue of city twinning which ensures that there is an exchange of manpower and technical expertise between various local authorities. For example, the Harare City Council collaborated with the German city of Munich. Dhedheya (2013) hearsays that Harare has benefitted from medical supplies as well as exchange of information on town planning, urban governance and municipal improvements among others. In this regard, regional collaboration is often a policy that involves all stakeholders be it ratepayers, business people or the respective local governments. Participation or engagement of stakeholders is one of the pillars of Local Economic Development.
2.5.3 Community cash flow development
Pulver, (1986) argues that community cash flow development can be aided by encouraging local citizens to buy local brands for example purchasing groceries from local stores rather than buying from other territories. As cash flow development involves the movement of money in and out of a territory, there is also a need to stimulate investment and this perhaps explains the use of growth points as a development tool. Gordon (2006) is of the view that in order to promote community cash flow development, there are four main components that should be looked at which are creation of local safety nets, housing improvements and settlement upgrading, basic service delivery and stimulating local economy. Wekwete, (1988) postulates that” growth points are used to stimulate growth by virtue of the use of concessionary rates and subsidies, which attracts investors. Furthermore, through market research, a local authority can be able to know goods and services required within their area of domain and work accordingly to acquire them. According to Helmsing (2010), a community should partake in income generating projects as well as have provisions for a community fund where those who are disadvantaged can borrow money. This will ensure that even if the national economy fails, communities are better positioned to fend for themselves.
2.5.4 Workforce development
Armstrong (2006) points out that in order to have a competitive advantage and have a highly skilled and capable labour force, there is a need to ensure that there is training and development of employees. Haralson (2010) argues that workforce development is essential in community development and describes a wide range of the term has come to describe a relatively wide range of undertakings as well as programs partook by territories to formulate, endure and preserve a competent workforce capable of supporting present and future business as well as industry. According to Agia, et al. (2007) workforce development directly translates to improved service delivery. This is mainly because an experienced and capable workforce is better positioned to be innovative and creative considering any changes on the global scale be it poor economy or other anomalies. The Wisconsin Economic Development Institute (2003) supports that the absence of highly skilled labour supply may significantly reduce the chances of attracting investment. This is mainly since people want to invest in a local authority that is managed by an efficient workforce. A good workforce development may also mean that there will not be poor service delivery, which in turn may mean that there will be low levels of outward migration. Low levels of outward migration mean that the community may be well equipped to partake in local economic development, as the people at the forefront will be having the community’s interests at heart. Furthermore, as local economic development focuses on job creation, poverty alleviation, it often means that the higher the level of inward investment promoted by the presence of a capable workforce, the higher the chances of people getting employment and poverty being eradicated. The presence of an educated and trained workforce may also mean the sustainability of current and future businesses.
2.5.6 Infrastructural Development
Smith & Da Lomba (2008) define infrastructure as the structural elements of an economy, which allows the production of goods and services without being part of the production process per se. It comprises of the hard element that is road and rail networks, airports, water supply, educational facilities, solid waste treatment and disposal, electricity power generation to mention but a few. It also concerns the soft element of good management and development policies as well as use of operating procedures, all in a bid to ensure that they are responsive to societal demand. Infrastructure plays an important role in the social and economic development of communities. Smith and Da Lomba (2008) also go on to highlight that areas devoid of such have high levels of people wallowing in poverty with local authorities seen to be focusing more provision of basic municipal services like water and sanitation. Blair (1996) points out that for LED to be successful, there is a need to maintain existing infrastructure as well as come up with new modernized infrastructure.
2.5.7Locality Development
As reported by Helmsing (2010) locality development is about planning and realization of infrastructure and of relevant economic and social overhead capital in the locality. Locality development is not restricted to the export base of an area. It also has to address the orderly development of the non-basic sector of the local economy. Locality development corresponds to the management of the entire local territory. Localities that succeed in better management of their territories contribute to enhance the competitiveness of their economic activities. It may also improve the local quality life. Together these may take the locality more attractive to external investment, firms and people. Helmsing (2010) further goes on to highlight that the management of the territory would involve several components. Participatory Local Economic Development Planning: LED is a multi-actor affair. There important investment complementarities within the private and community sectors and between the public and private agents which when properly managed can result in important economic gains and external benefits. Local government can make an important contribution by properly coordinating its own Public Sector Investment Program with needs and investment priorities of communities and the private and through its physical planning.
2.6 THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS POLICY (E.O.D.B.P) IN ZIMBABWE
The Ease of Doing Business deals with the aspects of regulations affecting the key areas to do with the business that include: -starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, getting credit, registering property, protecting minority investors, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and paying taxes. The concept of the Ease of Doing Business Policy started in Zimbabwe in September 2015 with the Office of the President and Cabinet introducing the first 100(hundred) Day Rapid Results Initiative on the Ease of Doing Business. According to the Progress Report on the Ease of Doing Business Reforms (2017) the Office of the President and Cabinet are spearheading the reforms of the Ease of Doing Business.
It is also according to the report that Zimbabwe has focused on the key areas concepts expect on getting electricity. After its execution, in Zimbabwe many milestones have been achieved in areas such as registering property, starting a business and getting credit. The achievement of the results has been enabled and sustained through the adoption of the Rapid Results Approach whose thrust is achievement of results in a business usual manner.
2.6.1 THE RATIONALE BEHIND THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN ZIMBABWE
The Ease of Doing Business Policy is there to transform the investment climate in the country and can lead to significant changes in the Company Act. It is also aimed at improving the business-operating environment in Zimbabwe to boost local and foreign investment. According to the Progress Report on the Ease of Doing Business Reform (2017), the reforms of the Ease of Doing Business are aimed to –
Improve the business-operating environment in Zimbabwe in order to boost local and foreign investment.
Improve performance of the public-sector institutions in delivering quality services to the people.
Reduce the cost and ease of doing business.
Creation of value for money.
2.7 LEGAL FRAMEWORKS FOR THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
For any policy to be successfully applied there is a need to ensure that it is structured by legislation to confirm that it is explicit and not exposed to abuse by the implementers. The section below will highlight legal frameworks that guide local economic development in Zimbabwe. In addition, the section will bring out legal provisions that share a link with the Ease of Doing Business in Zimbabwe and other countries that include Egypt and Zambia.
2.7.1 For Local Economic Development (L.E.D)
LED in Zimbabwe originates its legality from the supreme law of the land that is the Constitution Amendment No 20 of 2013 on Section 14. Local authorities are also mandated to partake in local economic development through the Rural District Council Act chapter 29.13 on section 60. Other acts that also guide local authorities on local economic development are the Regional and Town Planning Act Chapter 29.16, Special Economic Zones Act Chapter 14.34, Urban Council Act Chapter 29.15, the ZIMASSET as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
2.7.1.2 As stated by the Constitution of Zimbabwe on Chapter 14 Section 264: –
(1) Whenever appropriate, governmental powers and responsibilities must be devolved to provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities, which are competent to carry out those responsibilities efficiently and effectively.
(2) The objectives of the devolution of governmental powers and responsibilities to provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities are-
(a) To give powers of local governance to the people and enhance their participation in the exercise of the powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them;
(b) To promote democratic, effective, transparent, accountable and coherent government in Zimbabwe as a whole;
(c) To preserve and foster the peace, national unity and indivisibility of Zimbabwe;
(d)To recognize the right of communities to manage their own affairs and to further their development;
(e) To ensure the equitable sharing of local and national resources; and
(f) To transfer responsibilities and resources from the national government in order to establish a sound financial base for each provincial and metropolitan council and local authority.
2.7.1.3 According to the RDCA Chapter 29.13 on Section 60: –
(5) The functions of a rural district development committee shall be—
(a) To consider ward development plans submitted to it in terms of section fifty-nine;
(b) To make recommendations to the council as to matters to be included in the annual development and other long-term plans for the district within which the council area is situated;
(c)To prepare the annual district development plan for approval by the council and assist in the preparation of other long-term plans for the council area;
(d) When instructed to do so by the council, to investigate the implementation of the annual development and other long-term plans for the council area;
(e) To exercise such other functions in relation to the annual development and other long-term plans for the district as may be assigned to it from time to time by the council.
Basing on the legal frameworks of Zimbabwe Local Economic Development is all about transferring powers and responsibilities by the Central government to the local authorities in order to manage their own affairs at local people. Furthermore, the local people or community for the purpose of development within their own areas bases Local Economic development according to the legal frameworks of Zimbabwe upon the effective and efficient use of local resources.
2.7.2 For the Ease of Doing Business Policy
The Ease of Doing Business Policy was put forward to transform the investment climate in Zimbabwe as well as creating significant changes in the Company’s Act.
Case of Zimbabwe
The Ease of Doing Business Policy shares a link with various pieces of legislation that is the Special Economic Zones Act, the Deeds Registry Act, Judicial Laws Ease of Setting Commercial Dispute Bill, Shop licensing Act, Insolvency Act, the Movable Property Security Interest Bill, Estate Administrators and Insolvency Practitioners Act, Public Procurement Act as well as subsidiary legislation in the form of Statutory Instruments (S.I).
2.7.2.1 One Stop Shop Investment
To promote and facilitate both foreign direct investment and local investment, the government launched the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA).It is an institution born out of the union of the Export Processing Zones Authority(EPZA) and the Zimbabwe Investment Centre(ZIC).This was done to create the One Stop Shop Investment Centre(OSSIC).The One Stop Shop(OSS) was set up in 2010.Its main aim is to bring under one roof a number of key institutions that includes the Deeds Offices, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe(RBZ), the Ministry of Mines, power utility ZESA, Environment Management Authority, Local government and the immigration department to accelerate the process required for an investor to set up shop in Zimbabwe.
Fig 3: The Zimbabwe Investment Authority in Harare
Source: ZIA website
2.7.2.2 Case of Egypt
In Egypt, the Global Authority for Investment (GAFI) eases the way of global investors looking to harness opportunities present by Egypt’s fast growing domestic economy and nation’s robust competitive advantage as an export hub for European, Arab world and Africa. The main purposes of the GAFI are to-
Facilitate the procurement of business licenses.
Offer tech advice and information to clients planning.
Introduce a transparent and reasonable fee structure.
Improve the quality and timeliness of government related processes.
2.7.2.3 The Investment Service Centre of Egypt
The Investment Service Centre guides the Ease of Doing Business in Egypt through the Incentive Law No 8 of 1997, Company Law No 159 of 1981 together with the Law No 72 of 2017.
2.7.2. 4 According to the Investment Law No 72 of 2017 Chapter 2 on Article 2
Investment in the Arab Republic of Egypt aims at improving the national economic growth rates and the domestic production rates, as well as provision of employment opportunities, promotion of exports, and boosting of competitiveness, which contribute to achieving the comprehensive and sustainable development.
All the Competent Authorities in the State seek attracting and promoting of the local and foreign investments.
Investment is governed by the following principles:
Equality of the investment opportunities and equal opportunities regardless of the size and location of the Project and without discrimination based on gender.
The State supports the emerging companies, entrepreneurship, and micro, small, and medium enterprises to empower the youth and small investors.
Consideration of all aspects with social dimension, protection of the environment and the public health.
Freedom of competition, prevention of monopolization practices, and protection of the consumers.
Compliance with the principles of governance, transparency, prudent management, and absence of conflict of interests.
Seeking to stabilize and fix the investment policies.
Prompt completion of investors’ transactions and providing them with facilities in a manner to attain their lawful interests.
2.7.2.5 Case of Zambia
There are legal frameworks of doing business that are mandatory to the national government and the local authorities of Zambia. These legal frameworks include the Zambian Development Act, Multi-lateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MISA), Company’s Act Cap 388 of Zambia and the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Act.
Building on the legislations discussed in this section, it can be seen that policies are created and some amended to ensure that there are implemented. In addition, this section has also highlighted the policies that are used by other countries and how they successful the Ease of Doing Business policy thereby promoting Local Economic Development in their countries. In addition, this section has also shade light on the ideas of other countries on the Ease of Doing Business and it further calls for a critical analysis on how Zimbabwe can improve in the Ease of Doing Business policy as well as fostering for Local Economic Development.
2.8 The Negative and Positive Impacts of the Ease of Doing Business Policy (E.O.D.B.P) on Local Economic Development (LED)
Central and Local Government Coordination
The relationship between the central government and the local authorities bears an impact on local economic development. A cordial relationship between the central and local government drives away investors and there is no development while on the other hand when the central government and the local authorities’ coordinates, development is promoted thereby by attracting both local and foreign direct investors. The failure by the Central Government to decentralize some of its responsibilities and powers to the local authorities promotes poor service delivery and less development within the country. At times, the central government can create an environment that is not conducive enough for development to take place. Madzivanyika (2011:33) alleges that efficient and effective provision of service is undermined by a high level of central interference in the decisions of municipalities. According to the Urban Councils Act of Zimbabwe (UCA) Chapter 29.15 on Section 91 the Minister to have unrestricted access to all council records, minutes and nay document in the possession of any council which is relevant to the council’s meeting, resolutions and affairs. Muchadenyika (2014) also argues that soiled Central local relations have led to local authorities lacking autonomy, which directly translate to appalling service delivery. With the regards to the above views one can also conclude that lack of coordination between the Central government and the local authorities is also another key element that has contributed to the failure of Local Economic Development (LED) projects and the attraction foreign investors.
2.8.1 Corruption
According to Kunaka (2002), corruption often leads to low levels of infrastructure development as money earmarked for development purpose can often be diverted towards other things that do not benefit the community. In line with Mundenga (2015), corruption sidetracks resources that are needed to improve the lives of citizens in order to enrich a few at great cost to many. It inhibits the state from achieving its statutory obligations, corrodes the legitimacy of a democratic government and undermines the rule of law thereby devilling the moral fabric of the society and chocking economic growth .It has powerful deteriorating effect on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by destroying the investor optimism and confidence .Mills (2012) also agrees that corruption can destroy local economic development as it impairs trade, scares away inward investment as well as diverting spending by government on public goods such as education and health which in turn may lead to the exacerbation of poverty.
2.8.1.2 Economic Performance
One of the chief components that influence local economic development at any place is the economic structure. A country with a good economic performance promotes development whilst a country with an unstable economy drives away development. The frequent adjustments of policies within a country affect issues to do with local economic development as well as the performance of the economy in a negative way. These frequent changes in government policies can create uncertainty for local business as well as the investors. As reported by the Zim Stats (2015) Due to the fact we are importing quite a large number of goods from other countries instead of locally creating our own and exporting them, we are not promoting local growth in our country. According to Chakaipa (2010) poor economic performance of a nation and high levels of unemployment lead to brain drain whereby qualified and skilled labour force flock out of the country to other countries in search of greener pastures.
From the above views by different scholars, it can be concluded that the economic performance of a country has an impact on local economic development. Without unskilled personnel within a country, there is no capacity to develop a local area especially on infrastructure thus leading to a less conducive business environment for attracting investors.
2.8.1.3 Politics
According to Buckett (2015), investors are more inclined to invest in a country where their investments are profitable and protected against any changes in the political landscape. Griffith and Wall (1995:322) observes that an uncertain political environment can hinder efforts made to attract investment. In the case of Zimbabwe, ZANU PF and MDC officials in both urban and rural local authorities are often in favour of their own political parties instead of promoting local economic development in their own areas. For instance, some councilors from the MDC party in Vungu Rural District Council allocated stands without the knowledge of the council not for development but only to further their own political interests. The scenario is also like the some of the local authorities both in urban and rural areas were councilors’ advocate for development for their political parties. In most scenarios, especially in rural areas, the Ward Development Committees (WARDCOs) that are meant for developmental purposes are no longer serving their purposes as most of the councilors are developing their own wards for political interests. Muchadenyika (2010) observed that the rise and ascendancy of MDC in Urban local governments resulted in serious confrontations between state and local level further supports this pointed. ZANU PF had lost the control of most local authorities in elections and tried to regain lost urban governance institutions. The fight to control urban areas has sustained at the expense of service delivery. With the events of political instability between different political parties, Zimbabwe it has often been difficult for the country to be a safe country for doing business and attracting foreign direct investors. Basing on the above, one can conclude that politics is also one of the factors that contribute to the failure of local economic development and the attraction of local as well as foreign investors within the country.
2.8.1.4 Impediments to foreign investment
For Local Economic Development to be successful within a country there is the need to ensure that investors are fully protected by the laws so that they can operate in a conducive business environment. According to Theron (2010) although Zimbabwe law guarantees the right to private ownership, this right is increasingly not respected in practice. The Central government of Zimbabwe that seized private farms and businesses of the foreign investors without compensation or legal process evidence the above view. The Land Reform Program is an example of such programs that seized the private properties of the foreign investors.
Unlike in Egypt, where investors operate in a conducive business environment as according to the Investment Law No72 Chapter 2 Article 2 of 2017 of Egypt. The act provides for equality and equal opportunities for the investors support from the government and freedom of competition among other rights. It is through these policies, that Egypt is ranked better in the Ease of Doing Business index according to the World Bank reports. With the regards to the above, one can clarify that friendly policies attracts foreign investors to operate in a conducive environment while strict laws drive away investors.
2.8.1.5 Technology
Technology is yet another key component that plays a pivotal role in Local Economic Development.Kundishora (2012) points out that ICTs can help in garnering work opportunities for people. Melkott further agrees upon this point and Steeves (2001) cited in Kehbuma (2005) development can only take place in a country if people are liberated and this can only take place through access to information which is necessitated by ICT infrastructure. Technology therefore plays a pivotal role in promoting a fruitful local Economic Development. Effective ICT policies attract investor’s thereby promoting development in both urban and rural areas.
2.9 Summary
Basing on the views of many scholars, Local Economic Development revolves around the engagement of both local and foreign direct investment with local resources for the benefit of the local people. The chapter sought to highlight the theories and strategies of local economic development and their relationship with the Ease of Doing Business Policy. This chapter also highlighted the legal frameworks that are inter-related with the Ease of Doing Business in other countries. The next chapter shall examine the research methodology.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION
The following chapter will highlight the research design, target population, sample frame as well as the instruments. The chapter will also seek to make initial investigations into research areas that are unknown as well as seeking for new information into phenomena and in the settings of this study, seek for the examination of the Ease of Doing Business Policy and its impact on Local Economic Development.
3.1 Research
A research is a systematic core analysis and interpretation of data to answer a certain question which one have in mind or to solve a problem. According to Rajasekar (2013) Research is a logical and systematic search for new and useful information on a topic. Concerning the above views, a research is therefore a systematic process of collecting, examining and interpreting data.
3.1.2 Research Methodology
Polit and Hungler (2004:233) define methodology as ways of obtaining, organizing and analyzing data. Methodology decisions depend on the nature of the research question. Henning (2004:36) also defined methodology as coherent group of methods that complement one another and that have the ability to fit to deliver data and findings that will reflect the research question and suit the researcher purpose. The methodology here captures characteristics such as the study design and research instruments as well as discussing data analyzing tools.
3.1.3 Research Design
According to Parahoo (1997:142) a research design is’ a plan that describes how, when and where data are to be collected’. Mc Millian and Schumacher (2001:166) further defines a research design is a plan for selecting subjects, research sites and data collection procedures to answer the research questions. They further indicate that the goal of a sound research design is to provide results that have judged to be credible. The research design aims to make sure that data collected addresses research the intended research objectives. The research design is appropriate as it intends to conduct an in-depth analysis on the Ease of Doing Business Policy and its linkage with Local Economic Development.
3.1.4 Quantitative Research Design
According to Leedy (1993) Qualitative research methods deals with numbers and anything that is measurable in a systematic way of investigation of phenomena and their relationship. It is used to answer questions on relationships with measurable variable with the intention to explain, predict and control a phenomenon. In other words, quantitative research design creates meanings through objectivity uncovered through data collection.
3.1.5 Quantitative Research Design
Hiatt (1986) points out that qualitative research methods focus on discovering and understanding the experiences, perspectives and thoughts of the participant that is qualitative research explores meaning purpose or reality. According to Lincolin and Guba (1985) qualitative research is usually described as allowing a detailed exploration of a topic of interest in which information is collected by a researcher through case studies, interviews and so.
3.2 POPULATION
A population is a collection in which the researcher would obtain results from. It is embraced with individuals or organizations with specific characteristics. Chimedza et al (2006) is of the view that a population is a total set of objects in a statistical survey or study. The population includes all elements that meet certain criteria for inclusion in a study (Burns & Grove 2003:43).
3.3 SAMPLING
Brown and Dowling (1998), argues that sampling is the selection of some elements to present the entire populace from which the elements are chosen or selected. It should be noted that the vital concept in sampling is representativeness.
3.3.1 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
Sampling can be defined as a process of selecting units that include people, organisation from a population of interest so that by categorizing the sample a researcher may fairly generalize the results back to the population from which they were chosen. The research will apply both random and non-random sampling techniques, which are the stratified sampling, convenience sampling, purposive sampling and observation. Probability sampling will be used to achieve representativeness. Random sampling techniques will be applied to quantitative methods whereas non-random techniques will be applicable to the qualitative methods.
3.3.2Stratified Sampling
According to Walliman (2014), stratified sampling is used when cases in population fall into distinctively different categories strata?. An equally randomised sample will be obtained from each stratum separately to ensure that each is equally represented. These samples will then be combined to form the complete sample from the whole population. For the purposes of this research, the sampling units will be divided into strata that are the business people, council officials, elected officials and the D.A.s office. This would ensure that the sample would be divided into manageable sub units based on information to be gathered. Furthermore, the separation of the sampling units makes it easier to analyse the data.
3.3.3 Convenience Sampling
It involves using what is immediately available (Walliman 2014:154). This involved the haphazard selection of cases because they were easily available to obtain. This sampling technique will be mainly used to conduct interviews with the council officials as well as business people.
3.3.4 Systematic /Interval Sampling
Systematic or technical sampling is a technique based on selection of elements at interval starting with a randomly selected element on the population lists. The researcher will also make use of systematic sampling, which would ensure that everyone had an equal chance of being selected. Haralambos and Holborn (2004) points out that a systematic sampling entails the picking up of a respondent after every interval.
3.3.5 Purposive Sampling
Purposive Sampling is a technique that is based on the researcher’s judgement to fulfil those who will participate in the research process. Black (2010) defines purposive sampling as a non-probability sampling method and it occurs when elements selected for the sample are chosen by the judgement of the researcher. The purposive sampling will be used when gathering data from the local officials, and from the offices of the District Administrator
3.4 DATA COLLECTING INSTRUMENTS
According to Burns & Grove (2003:373), data gathering is the precise, systematic gathering of information relevant to the research sub-problems, using methods such as interviews, participant observation, focus group discussion, narratives and case histories .The data accumulated for this research will derive from both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data will mainly originate from questionnaires as well as interviews.
Fig 4: Types of Data Collection in Research Methodology
Source: Wikipedia website
3.4.1 Primary Data
It will be collected by the researcher in the field in the form of observations, questionnaires and interviews directed to respondents. The major advantage of primary data as a form of gathering information is that it may not be subjected to exaggeration, a norm quite synonymous with secondary data. Furthermore, it ensures that facts gathered will be recent and up to date.
3.4.1.1 Primary Data Collecting Instruments
The tools to be used by the researcher for the purposes of this study are the questionnaires as well as interviews. Data will be collected from a sample of the business community, residents, council officials, district administrator office and councillors.
3.4.1.2 Questionnaires
Tshuma and Mafa (2013) defined a questionnaire as a document containing questions designed to obtain information from the sampled respondents and is used as a great deal in survey research. Basing on the above view, a questionnaire can be seen as a data collection instrument that comprises of open-ended questions or closed questions or both. The questionnaires shall combine elements of open ended and close ended. The open-ended questions are flexible and it gives room for a respondent to elaborate. Questionnaires are a form of quantitative data collection mechanism. The close ended questions are restrictive and do not give room for clarification and they may be limited to such answers as ‘yes, no’, ‘agree, disagree’ to mention but a few. Haralambos and Holborn (2004) cite the following as the major advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires as a research instrument.
Advantages
i. Data resulting from questionnaires is easily measurable especially data originating from close ended questionnaires
ii. Permits the researcher to cover a large geographical area especially if postal questionnaires are used. Furthermore, it means distant areas may be reached.
iii. Respondents are given sufficient time to give trustworthy information as the researcher simply leaves the questionnaire and will take it at any given date.
iv. Respondents are not indebted under any circumstances to say their name thereby protecting their identity. Thus, it often means that the research will be done within the confines of research ethics. Furthermore, respondents give answers without fear of persecution or reprisal.
v. As questionnaires have the same questions and distributed to various groups of people, it often means that responses given are varied thus giving a researcher rich, diverse and crucial information over a very short space of time.
Disadvantages
i. Questionnaires can be subject to misinterpretation especially if there are self-administered by the respondents. As a result, it often means that people may interpret the question differently hence giving responses that are biased
ii. Low response rate is also another disadvantage of questionnaires. It has often been seen that many of the questionnaires send out to respondents are not returned which often greatly reduces the chances of having a valid research.
iii. Unless drastic measures like taking a lie detector test are taken, there is no way a researcher can be sure that the information being given by a respondent is truthful. It has often been observed that questionnaires are subjected to exaggeration and misrepresentation of information
3.4.1.3 Interviews
An interview involves a one on one direct conversation with another person and it is done to find out new information basing on a specific research topic. According to Cohen (2006) an interview is a two-way conversation or oral questionnaire initiated by an interviewer for the specific purpose of obtaining research related information and to learn about the ideas, beliefs, views and opinions of interviewees. Flick (1998:76) points out that there are different types of namely semi-structured, structured and unstructured interviews. According to Gabrium (2002) an unstructured interview is an open situation through which great flexibility and freedom is offered to both sides that is the interviewer and the interviewee in terms of planning, implementing and organising the interview content and question. Haralambos and Holborn (2004) state that structured interviews are a list of predetermined questions in which the researcher is not allowed to deviate from. On the other hand, semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to let the respondent talk about other things during the course of the interview before redirecting them to the topic discussion.
Advantages
More information in greater depth can be obtained.
There is room for flexibility as questions can be restricted.
There is room for probing in case of verification.
Personnel information can be easily obtained.
Supplementary information can be obtained.
Language can be adjusted to suit the respondent.
Disadvantages
Interviews are costlier to conduct in comparison with questionnaires
Interviews may lead to subjective information as the interviewee may exaggerate some information so as to please the researcher
Interviews lack anonymity that is provided by questionnaires and as such respondents may withhold some vital information or avoid answering questions deemed as sensitive iv) Interviews may be influenced by respondents’ personal attributes and may suffer from interviewer dominance.
Interviews are time consuming.
3.4.1.4 Observations/Non Participant
An observation can be viewed as the recording of events as observed by an outsider for example observing the traffic and record the number of cars or the social behaviour of people interacting in a bus.
Advantages
An observation allows a deeper insight into the researcher’s problems.
It compliments other research methods.
Disadvantages
Interviews introduce biases on their own
Observing people may change their behaviour.
Observations are time-consuming and expenses.
3.4.1.5 Ethical Considerations
According to Gray (2004p235) In conducting interviews, ethical issues are one of the main concerns. Confidentiality must be given. Respondents should not be harmed or damaged in any way by the research. Putton (2000 p404-5) and Gray (2004p235) also state that there are some ethical issues that need to be considered during the research methods which are: –
Explaining the purpose of inquiry to the respondent.
Promises and reciprocity-state what respondents will gain.
Risk assessment-considering in what ways might the interview put the respondent at risk in terms of stress, legal liabilities or political repercussion.
Confidentiality-reflect on the extent to which promises of confidentiality can be met.
Inform consent-what kind of consent is necessary if any.
3.5 Secondary data
Haralambos and Holborn (2004) define secondary sources as data that have already been produced. In other words, they are sources that already in existence. Information will originate from the internet especially relating to projects amongst others.
Advantages
Obtained at a lower cost as one simply has go into a library or search on the internet for relevant information. Information on the Ease of Doing Business and local economic development is readily available on the internet as well as library.
ii) Time saving as one does not have to go into the field
iii) Enables comparativeness as the researcher can compare findings to those that are in already existing literature.
Disadvantages
i) An in-depth case study may not be available which forces the researcher to go into the field
ii) There may not be information that will be relevant to the researcher’s studies for instance the researcher found it very difficult to find literature linking the Ease of Doing Business with local economic development.
3.6 Summary
The main aim of this chapter was to explain in detail the research methodology that can be used by the research when scrutinising the findings from the field, which are the primary and the secondary data together with the sampling techniques. The next chapter will present the data and analyse the findings from the field’s work. | https://lavafamilyinn.com/faculty-of-social-sciences-department-of-local-governance-studies-name/ |
Characterizing phosphoproteins and phosphoproteomes using mass spectrometry.
The reversible phosphorylation of proteins plays a major role in many vital cellular processes by modulating protein function and transmitting signals within cellular pathways and networks. Because phosphorylation is dynamic and the sites of modification cannot be predicted by an organism's genome, proteomic measurements are required to identify sites of and changes in the phosphorylation state of proteins. The low stoichiometry of phosphorylation sites that accompany the multifarious nature of protein phosphorylation in biological systems continues to challenge the dynamic range of present mass spectrometry (MS) technologies and proteomic measurements, despite the preponderance of research and analytical methods devoted to this area. This review addresses some of the strategies and limitations involving the use of MS to map and quantify changes in protein phosphorylation sites for samples that range from a single protein to an entire proteome, and presents several compelling reasons as to why comprehensive phosphorylation site analysis has proven to be so elusive without a hypothesis-driven experimental approach to elicit more meaningful and confident results.
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These photos are from many of my favorite performance experiences. There are more photos to come, so please check back.
In March 2006, I went to Egypt for the first time as part of the Treasures of Egypt Tour by Katia of Boston, with several
other professional dancers. We performed in a showcase while on a cruise on the Nile River in Upper Egypt. We had a wonderful
audience not only of our gracious Egyptian crew, but of tourists from the U.S., Australia, Europe and elsewhere.
Here I am performing with legendary jazz musician, David Amram at the beautiful Whistler House Museum in Lowell, Mass. Since
2000, David, percussionist Kevin Twigg and bassist John DeWitt and I have performed a jazzy version of "Ah Yah Zein"
in the annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac festival's Cairo to Kerouac program, honoring Beat writer Jack Kerouac's love of world
cultures.
The writer Lawrence Carradini and I created 'Dance of the Beloved,' a performance of Middle Eastern dance and the poetry of
the mystic Rumi, along with some of Lawrence's original poetry and modern and ancient classics. We have performed in many
venues since then; this performance took place in October 2004 at the Athenian Corner restaurant.
Joining us that evening were the dancers Qamar, Aurora, Nadia and Troupe Dakini.
In November 2007, I performed in 'Visions of the East,' a showcase of Middle Eastern dance at MIT Kresge Theatre, and choreographed
and directed by Katia of Boston. I performed 'Kariat el Fingen,' the reader of the coffee cup, about a fortune teller who
claims to reveal the future of a young girl (played by the dancer, Ma'isa). The scene is a mulid (an Islamic festival day)
and as you can see, the girl is not thrilled about all the fortune teller has to say!
In my journey in writing and literature, I like to fuse these elements with my dance. I created a gothic choreography, 'Bruders
des Schattens' ('Sons of Darkness,') with music from the soundtrack of film director Werner Herzog's 1979 version of 'Nosferatu'
by Popol Vuh.
I performed this choreography in July 2012 at the Paradox showcase presented by Abraxas Theatre at the YMCA Theater,
Cambridge, Mass., July 2012.
Here I performed for the Nashua, N.H. Destination Downtown block party.
I remember the beautiful warm summer breeze that day, and the great audience -- truly inspiring!
I love Persian classical dance, music and poetry. This dance was a tribute to the mystical poet, Hafez, which I performed
while dancing with Bellydance Worcester at Worcester First Night at the DCU Center, Worcester, Mass. The show was produced
by the beautiful dancer Loreli, who is also a dear friend of mine.
This was a great thrill to dance in downtown Nashua, N.H. and witness the Olympic torch, which runners took right past
my stage at a festival celebrating the passing on June 14, 1996. So, in my own way, I hope to keep the flame of Middle Eastern
dance alive!
Zbeide, the first dancer with whom I studied, has given a lot to the community over the years, including performances at numerous
charitable events. When her son, George, and his fiancee, Margie, were injured in a motorcycle accident, it was the community's
turn to help her and her family. Here I am dancing as part of the troupe, Zbeide's Harem, at a benefit for George and Margie
at Dom Polksi, Lowell, Mass., in July 2008.
To me, the sword adds an exciting dynamic to Oriental dance. Here, I am performing with Zbeide's Harem, at our annual show
to support the 5 Mile Charity Road Race at the East End Club in Lowell, Mass.
Site contents copyright 2014 Morgana Mirage. | http://margaret-smith.tripod.com/morgana/id6.html |
Contents
Sovereignty over the island, which until then had been part of the French département of Méditerranée, was given to Napoleon I of France after his abdication following the War of the Sixth Coalition. Article 3 of the treaty stipulated that Elba was to be "an independent principality possessed by him in complete sovereignty and as personal property".[1] His rule was to persist until his death, at which point control of the Principality would return to Tuscany. The former emperor was also granted a stipend of two million francs per year to be paid by France.
Upon Napoleon's landing on the island, the Mayor of Portoferraio, Pietro Traditi, presented the keys to the city to the Emperor. After which, Napoleon begun work as sovereign of the island, starting by writing a small, three-paged constitution, outlining five government departments: the departments of civil administration, the communes, the domains reserved for the emperor, the imperial palace, and the army. General Henri Bertrand was appointed grand marshal of the palace, a post he held during Napoleon's reign in France, and was in charge of the civil administration. General Drouot was appointed Governor of the island and charged with military matters, Giuseppe Balbiani was named Intendant General of police, and Guillaume-Joseph Roux was made treasurer. Napoleon created a conseil souverain (Sovereign's Council), seating on the council was twelve members: four Frenchmen and eight Elbans. Five councillors were made members of the court of first instance, with Balbiani as President. The remaining members of the Sovereign's Council were placed on the court of appeal, without any presiding head. However, despite the power held by the council, most government power was vested in the four French ministers brought from the former regime, and Napoleon himself who took an extremely active role in governing the principality.
As allowed by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Napoleon brought 870 men to the island with him from France. The army was made up of 566 from the elite Garde impériale (both infantry and cavalry) and the remaining 300 were from a small battalion of grenadiers. The army was under the supervision of General Drouot and commanded by General Cambronne and the staff headquarters. The Navy consisted of 66 men and one ship: the double-masted, 18-gunned brig, Inconstant. A small flotilla of two other sloops also accompanied Inconstant. The fleet was first commanded by Lieutenant Taillade; however, after nearly losing Inconstant in a storm, Taillade was replaced by lieutenant J. Chautard, who would later ferry Napoleon back from Elba in 1815. Paoli Filidoro was appointed Captain of the Gendarmerie and operated under Giuseppe Balbiani as Intendant General. The combined armed forces by 1815 on Elba numbered about 1,000 men, costing over half of the treasury to pay, equip, and feed.
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Venturing into the world of the scientist was not what I expected. Almost from the start of my interview with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, I was reminded that his arena is exact, not close, and will expose assumptions. Needless to say, I stumbled onto this; yet, in the process, I delighted in the surprisingly unexpected responses from one so capable of seeing our world and beyond uniquely. At least, this is my take away from a warp-speed chat with one of the world’s most famous and highly regarded astrophysicists. Not once did he answer a question the way I expected—and that opened my eyes to my assumptions, for the better.
If I missed a great question, you’ll have a chance to find the answer for yourself. Dr. Tyson is relaunching Cosmos on PBS, made popular by Dr. Carl Sagan in the 1980s; just published Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier; and will take the anchor position in this season’s Open VISIONS lecture series at Fairfield University, when he will discuss the big discoveries on the horizon (inside tip: watch your metaphor use with an astrophysicist—some terms are literal).
What is the biggest lost opportunity in the history of the U.S. space program?
That would be the opportunity to deflect an asteroid that might render life on Earth extinct. So it’s an opportunity that I know will be lost because we have nothing in place to mitigate such a disaster.
Is there a possibility of that?
Yes, very high possibility. We do not have any known asteroids that are going to hit us that will render us extinct, but of the cataloged asteroids, there are some that will hit us eventually, but not in the very near future. In any case, if we find one that hits us in the very near future, we’re not poised to do anything about it.
‘Near future’ being…?
The next 100 years. Decades.
What is the biggest unsung achievement?
There’s a space mission familiar to space enthusiasts, yet all but forgotten by everyone else. That’s Apollo 8. Apollo 8 in 1968 was the first mission ever to leave Earth for another destination. That gets overshadowed by Apollo 11 in 1969, the first time we walked on the moon. But Apollo 8 was the first time we left Earth, went to the moon, and orbited the moon; in that mission they snapped that photo of Earthrise over the lunar landscape—the most recognizable photo ever.
Why didn’t it get the recognition?
People wanted to walk on the moon. They valued the footsteps and flag planting more than the idea that you could go to another place and look back to Earth. By my reckoning, that was the birth of the modern-day conservation movement…I think that one mission had impact on our culture that was greater than anyone could have predicted or has remembered.
What about U.S. students not keeping up in the sciences with other students?
I have an unorthodox solution to that. The typical answer is, ‘Oh, they need more funding or better science teachers or programs to stimulate interest in science.’ And this goes on…Those are Band-Aid solutions. It doesn’t get to the root of the problem. I think you need them, but don’t do that alone and expect it to solve the problem. From my view of history, and the conduct of people and legislators in America, if NASA were fully funded—double or triple its budget, for example—and we had a suite of launch vehicles to take us anywhere we wanted in the solar system—dependent on the need, could be scientific, geopolitical, military, asteroid mining, touristic, whatever, that if we were that kind of country, discoveries and innovations would be writ large in the daily paper because each one of those branches of space will be innovating and discovering a consequence of boldly going where no one else has gone before.
When you do that, the press writes about it, and when the press writes about it, people talk about it in editorials and op-eds, letters to the editor, and blogs in modern times, and children in the pipeline see that we have become an innovation nation. They see that these discoveries define what tomorrow will look like. As a result, students become self-driven to want to enter the STEM fields, and then it’s no longer dependent on whether they have a good science teacher because their sights are set far beyond it—and they emerge on the other end of the educational pipeline…When you stimulate innovation in science and technology, you birth the economies of the twenty-first century. Investment in space is a force of nature unto itself that will pump the educational pipeline in ways that no program that you can implement can equal.
I mean new discoveries to engage the public?
All discoveries engage the public. Even discoveries the pubic doesn’t understand. If they’re big, the press will write about it. The Higgs boson, discovered in the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator in Switzerland was a banner headline in the New York Times, and most people didn’t even know what the particle was, but they knew it was a really important particle and the physicists were excited about it and the Nobel Prize would be awarded for it. And where was it discovered? Not in America. Nope. It was discovered in the country that embraced particle physics. In America, that was lost when Congress cut the budget on the super-conducting supercollider, which was already being built in Texas, and then got cut. In the judgment of the Congress, it was no longer in the national interest. And so that captured the imagination of an entire generation of people. What is the boson? What is particle physics? What is a particle accelerator? Things like that stimulate curiosity.
Imagine we go to Mars and figure out how to extract water from the soil of Mars. ‘Wow, that’s interesting. I can apply that to the Sahara Desert and extract the water that’s in the sand that we can’t otherwise get to’—and that’s because someone brilliant enough figured out how to do it for Mars. You might ask, ‘Why don’t we just get them to do it for the Sahara in the first place?’ Why? Because Mars is a much more interesting place to think about than the Sahara Desert. And in a free country, you want your smart people doing what interests them the most. The history of the advance of science and the tandem advance of culture pivots on the discovery that smart people make without reference to whether it had a direct application to whether you had food on your plate the next day.
In the 1920s, quantum physics was discovered. You can’t get more obscure than that. This is what a particle does when you shine a light on it. It disappears and reappears and there’s a wave function. And there are all these things that no one understood except the few physicists who were working on it. Fifty years later, the work in that decade would become the foundation of the entire IT revolution. You could argue that 40 percent of the entire world economy is based on the discoveries of that decade. Yet, they’re not thinking lasers or barcodes or GPS while they’re doing it. They have the freedom to explore the unknown.
When the government stops caring about the distant future, then you’ve basically mortgaged that future and you fade to insignificance on the world stage.
Do you have a mentor?
A mentor to assist in what I have become as an adult? No. What I’ve done, in my opinion sensibly, is not to look at all the people I know, and all the talents that they carry, and assemble a mentor a la carte. When you do that, you take the best of the whole combination of people who respect and honor and emulate, and, typically, that’s not all contained in the same person.…If I needed someone with my skin color born in the city to have done astrophysics before I did it in order for me to become an astrophysicist, I would never have become an astrophysicist. So in that way, role models can be detrimental to your ambitions—if your ambitions transcend the availability or even the existence of role models to serve that purpose. So there’s no single mentor; there’s a dozen mentors. | https://fairfieldlivingmag.com/discovery/ |
If you have a sneaking suspicion that your partner is cheating on you, it can be an incredibly difficult thing to deal with. You may feel like you’re going crazy or like you’re just being paranoid. However, if you can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong, it’s worth exploring whether or not your suspicions are founded.
This blog post will discuss some of the signs that may indicate that your partner is cheating on you, as well as what to do if you think they are.
Look for Common Signs of Cheating
If you’re worried that your partner might be cheating, it can be helpful to look out for signs common to most people who are unfaithful. These signs may include sudden changes in behaviour, such as spending more time away from home, suddenly having a lot more money or gifts available, or being overly secretive about their activities.
Other signs may include avoiding eye contact when discussing certain topics, odd phone calls or text messages at odd hours of the night, and unfamiliar items (clothes/jewellery) appearing in their belongings.
Talk To Your Partner
The best way to deal with suspicions of infidelity is to talk directly to your partner about it. Be honest and express your concerns to them in a non-accusatory way. It’s important to allow them the chance to explain themselves and their behaviour before making any assumptions or jumping to conclusions.
Get Professional Help
If your partner is uncooperative or unwilling to talk about the issue, it may be best for you to get professional help. Seek a counsellor or therapist who can help you both work through your issues in a safe and confidential environment. They can provide guidance on how to communicate better and work together towards the resolution of the problem.
Make A Decision
Ultimately, it’s up to you whether or not you want to stay with someone who has been unfaithful. You need to consider your own feelings and values before making a decision. It’s important to remember that you have the right to choose what is best for yourself, even if it means leaving a relationship that isn’t healthy or fulfilling anymore.
Hire a PI
If you’re still unsure and are really suspicious, you can always hire a private investigator to look into the situation. This may be an expensive option, but it could give you the answers that you need in order to make the best decision for yourself.
Self-care:
Whatever you decide to do, it’s important to take care of yourself. This means taking time away from the situation to find yourself again. Make sure that you are getting enough sleep, exercise, and social interaction with people who will support you in your decision-making process.
If you think your partner is cheating on you, it can be difficult to know what to do. The most important thing is to trust yourself and make sure that you get the help and support that you need in order to make the best decision for yourself. | https://alejandraslife.com/what-to-do-if-you-think-your-partner-is-cheating-on-you/ |
3. Nuclear medicine: e.g. to diagnose and determine the severity of or treat a variety of diseases and other abnormalities within the body using small amounts of radioactive material.
All healthcare organisations using ionising radiation must comply with the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) 2000 (and its subsequent amendments 2006 and 2011).
Who we inspect
We inspect independent healthcare organisations that use ionising radiation for medical purposes in Wales, to make sure that they are safe for people receiving treatment.
How we monitor compliance
HIW are responsible for monitoring compliance against IR(ME)R, we do this by:
Inspecting organisations that use ionising radiation
Reviewing incidents notified to us involving ‘exposures much greater than intended’
Considering how dental practices comply with IR(ME)R, as part of our dental practice inspections
How we inspect
We look at how services:
Comply with the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R)
Meet the National Minimum Standards for Independent Health Care Services in Wales.
Comply with the Care Standards Act 2000
Comply with the Independent Health Care (Wales) Regulations 2011
Meet any other relevant professional standards and guidance (where applicable)
Our inspections of healthcare services using ionising radiation are usually announced. Services receive up to twelve weeks notice of an inspection.
The inspections are conducted by at least one HIW inspector and are supported by a Senior Clinical Officer from Public Health England (PHE), acting in an advisory capacity.
The following documents provide guidance about what we will look at during an inspection. | http://hiw.org.uk/about/whatwedo/inspect/independent/indirmer/?lang=en |
This week has been an interesting one marking the end of October and at the same time marking the beginning of November. Many interesting things happened in the cryptocurrency industry with the leading cryptocurrencies, regulation, and hacks.
If you missed any of the news, no worries here is a roundup of the major stories for you to have a feel of the most recent issues in the industry.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin though it has experienced some rough times, some people still seem to be highly interested in in the asset, one of which is Jack Dorsey. This is suggested by the Twitter CEO and strong fan of Bitcoin tweeting Bitcoin whitepaper published by Satoshi Nakamoto as his way of celebrating Bitcoin’s 10th anniversary. Dorsey tweeting the white paper to his 4 million followers shows he still believes in a bright future for bitcoin, a thought he has expressed himself.
ETF
The crypto community was led to believe the SEC was to let known its position on nine Bitcoin ETF applications by 26th October but after more than one week after the “deadline”, no information has been released concerning the ETFs. This is because SEC had scheduled a different date for conclusions on the nine ETF applications it was to review.
The actual scheduled date is said to be the 5th of November, not the earlier known 26th October. The 5th November has also been set as the last date for all concerned parties to send their comments to the SEC and the ruling may be expected anytime after the given date.
While most of the crypto community is looking forward to an ETF, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company is shying away from the idea at this time. According to the company’s CEO Larry Fink, the cryptocurrency industry is not yet mature enough for an ETF.
MapleChange
Concerning hacks, a Canadian exchange MapleChange was hacked according to the news in the week. The exchange said all funds held in the exchange were lost and the exchange had to shut down.
According to an announcement on the exchange’s official Twitter page, all social accounts of the exchange have also been closed and investigations are ongoing to uncover those behind the hack before compensation can be paid to users.
Ripple (XRP)
Despite Ripple’s bad reputation in the crypto industry because of its style of business (working with banks), Dilip Rao the company’s Global Head for Infrastructure Innovation said the asset holds the solution to liquidity problems in the financial industry.
As far as Dilip is concerned, XRP is the lead cryptocurrency as its network processes up to 1,500 transactions in a second, a number that is far larger than most cryptocurrency networks.
The Chief marketer of Ripple Cory Johnson also holds the same view as Dilip, emphasizing that the Ripple network is highly decentralized which makes it the future of cryptocurrency.
Nasdaq
In a bid to protect investors in the cryptocurrency market, Nasdaq, a trillion Dollar American company has announced its intention to launch Nasdaq SMARTS to help reduce the problems of funds loss through hacks, fraud and market manipulation.
The product is a market surveillance technology that can be used for any company in any industry in a unique fashion to monitor risks and alert the company in case of any attacks. This according to Nasdaq will boost confidence and attract investors to the cryptocurrency industry.
Tron
On the subject of Tron, Justin Sun, CEO of the company has destroyed 800 million worth of TRX. According to Sun, the ERC20 tokens will soon become nothing more than “historical artifacts.” Sun announced this on his Twitter page, saying his followers to not “forget to keep one as a souvenir.” according to Tron Foundation, the decision to burn the token was also to prevent inflation due to excess supply and the token burning is a tradition to improve the value to the circulating coins.
Justin Sun has also made known his regard for Bitcoin and Ethereum as his favorite projects apart from Tron. according to Sun, he will always hold Bitcoin in high esteem because it is the “gateway” to the cryptocurrency industry. For Ethereum, he said it is the closest thing to Bitcoin that has ventured into the building of DApps which makes the project enviable to him.
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash, though part of the crypto struggle, has had a taste of a sudden rise within the week. This came after the world’s largest exchange Binance and Bitcoin.com announced their plans for a BCH hardfork. BCH experienced a 10% appreciation despite the week’s unfavorable nature in the market. Both major companies have indicated their decision to support the BCH version in the event of a fork, a statement which is believed to be responsible for the sudden rise.
Janet Yellen
One of the most fanatical critics of Bitcoin and former chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen has said Bitcoin is by no means a store of value neither is it a useful currency. Yellen said this during the 2018 Canada FinTech Forum in Montreal on Monday.
She alleged that Bitcoin’s decentralization is what has made it useless as a payment instrument although she admitted that the asset has grown more stable in the past few months. Not only her but her successor has also taken the same attitude saying Bitcoin investment is only for “sophisticated” investors and everyone else should stay away from it.
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DISCLAIMER Read More
The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available. | https://zycrypto.com/this-week-in-crypto-bitcoin-etf-maplechange-xrp-nasdaq-trx-bitcoin-cash-and-janet-yellen/ |
Guidance for medical examiners when assessing a patient for either a general topic or condition – Headache (including Migraine).
Aeromedical implications
Effect of aviation on condition
- Fatigue
- Operational stresses
Effect of condition on aviation
- Overt incapacitation
- rapid onset without warning
- neurological deficits
- pain
- vomiting
- Subtle incapacitation
- aura
- neurological deficit
- Distraction due to treatment and symptoms.
Effect of treatment on aviation
- Side-effects including sedation
Approach to medical certification
Based on the condition: any of the following
- Photophobia and/or photopsia
- Phonophobia
- Dysphasia
- Other sensory features
- Other motor features
- Disabling pain
- Vomiting
- Rate of onset less than 30 mins
Based on treatment
- Manage effectively with preventative treatment
- Absence of side-effects
Demonstrated stability
- Absence of symptoms for 3 months AND
- Stabilised on any preventative medication for that period
Risk assessment protocol - information required
Initial and follow-up applications require you to complete the following form: | https://www.casa.gov.au/licences-and-certificates/medical-professionals/dames-clinical-practice-guidelines/headache-including-migraine |
- In this tutorial, we will look at how to use the “Create Page Statistics Report” feature of the AutoBookmark plug-in. Use this tool to generate a handy report that displays accurate page information relating to the input file. The report features detailed statistical data about each individual page of the input PDF.
- The data shown uses the PDF coordinate system – page width, height, as well as crop box dimensions are provided via page coordinates. Each page’s rotation angle and page labels are also specified. Page locations and layout dimensions are recorded in the report as logical values in PDF units - one PDF unit = one DTP point (1/72").
- PDF Coordinate System Explained:
- X/Y axis: the origin of each document is the bottom-left corner. The x-axis extends to the right (horizontal) and the y-axis extends upwards (vertical).
- PDF’s don’t have a “resolution” - PDF units can be converted to physical values (such as pixels), when an external value for the resolution is provided.
- For example, a typical (A4) PDF document may have a page width and height of 612 by 792 units. This size in inches is 8.5" by 11" (obtained by dividing the width of 612 and the height of 792 by 72).
- An object located at point 635, 355 in the PDF has a distance of 4" by 6" from the bottom-left corner of the page (also obtained by dividing each coordinate of the location point by 72).
- The PDF we'll use here to demonstrate producing a statistics report has an overall page size of 720 x 405 pt. A separate crop box within it measures 550 x 305 pt.
- The output statistics report presents these measurements as x,y coordinates:
- Prerequisites
- You need a copy of Adobe® Acrobat® along with the AutoBookmark™ plug-in installed on your computer in order to use this tutorial. Both are available as trial versions.
- Step 1 - Open the Tool
- First, open the PDF in Acrobat that you want to create a statistics report for. Then select "Plug-Ins > Pages > Create Page Statistics Report..." from the main menu.
- Step 2 - Save the Report
- Now select a folder to save the report in. It will be saved with a *.htm file extension. The default filename format is "(input document name) Page Statistics Report.htm". Optionally rename the output report and press "Save".
- Step 3 - Inspect the Report
- Press "OK" to open the report file in the default web browser.
- Inspect the data in the output report - page statistics are presented in a table under "Page Statistics".
- Page coordinates detected in the PDF are shown here - one record for each page:
- Page rotation (0/90/180) is also extracted. PDF page rotation can be changed manually using the "Organize Pages" tool.
- Any page annotations will also be identified and placed in the report - here, notes have been added using the "Comment" tool in Acrobat.
- Page labels are also extracted - edit them in the "Page Thumbnails" panel in Acrobat, by clicking on the thumbnail options icon:
- Select "Page Labels..." from the list:
- Choose a page label style for currently selected/all pages. Press "OK" to proceed.
- PDF page labels are reflected in the report. Here, capitalized alphabetical labels are now shown in the output report:
- Bates numbers located on the pages of PDF documents will also be extracted and placed in the report. Bates numbers can be added/removed from documents via the "Organize Pages" tool ("More > Bates Numbering").
- You can find a list of other step-by-step bookmarking tutorials by clicking here. | https://evermap.com/Tutorial_ABM_CreatePageStatisticsReport.asp |
Consumerization of IT, namely the emergence of BYOx (where x is anything from apps, data to the latest mobile devices), is having a significant impact on business operations and the strategic implementation of emerging technologies, according to the New IT Survey conducted by SolarWinds ...
Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) released its latest research report entitled, Obstacles and Priorities on the Journey to the Software-Defined Data Center.
Over the past few years, a number of new enterprise technologies have emerged that are critically reliant on network performance, but where this reliance is not necessarily obvious. These technologies include enterprise-class Voice over IP (VOIP) telephony solutions, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions, and enterprise collaboration tools ...
Increasing infrastructure complexity has affected the role of nearly all IT professionals, creating the need for new skillsets, including the ability to help companies make informed, strategic business decisions, according to the SolarWinds New IT Survey ...
Experts at ExtraHop offer the following predictions for IT in 2014 ...
However you define APM, the whole performance management landscape is on the cusp of a number of important changes that will alter the game in 2014. Here are some predictions around key areas you can expect to see change ...
During his keynote speech at the recent Interop 2013 conference in New York, Cisco CEO John Chambers talked about how technology trends are moving towards a focus on applications. Chambers said: We're moving from a web economy to an application economy ...
There are sure to be plenty of new technologies and products debuting at next week’s VMWorld conference in San Francisco. But one technology trend that attendees should expect to hear quite a bit of is Software Defined Data Centers ...
Network complexity has defined a new competitive skillset for IT professionals, according to a new SolarWinds survey ...
Every year when I attend the major networking and interoperability conference known as Interop, I attempt to figure out what the theme of the show is. Sometimes that can be a tough job, but not at the recent Interop Las Vegas. Clearly, Software Defined Networking (or SDN) was the king of this year’s Interop ...
While the majority of IT professionals are confident in their ability to respond to the needs of the business, almost a third still equated the visibility of their IT department into their company's business initiatives to a foggy day in London, according to the 2013 Cisco Global IT Impact Survey ...
Software defined networking (SDN) is creating a lot of excitement in data centers, but current technology is still relatively immature. Joe Skorupa, VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner, explains that SDN is not only limited to data center and service provider networks ...
The 2013 network priorities for typical midsized organizations are an exercise in pragmatic intelligence, as CIOs and senior network managers wrestle to simplify, streamline and consolidate in order to embrace the next phase of network innovation, according to Exinda ...
Jim Rapoza, Aberdeen Senior Research Analyst on IT Infrastructure, talks about APM hot topics including Cloud, analytics and NPM ... | https://www.apmdigest.com/hot-topic/sdn?page=1 |
How do you address a cover letter to a specific person?
When you know the hiring manager’s name Establish a personal connection by addressing the hiring manager directly. If you have their full name but aren’t sure of their gender, begin with Dear followed by their first and last name. Even if you know their gender, this is always a safe option.
How do you address a letter to two MR?
The Salutation Smith” or “Dear Ms. Jones.” When you write to two men, use the plural form of Mr., which is Messrs. For example, begin your letter with “Dear Messrs. Smith and Jackson.” Watch your punctuation, too.
Is Mrs and Mr correct way to write?
To a Married Couple with the Same Last Name Use “Mr.” and “Mrs.” and spell out the husband’s first and last name. If you decide to include the husband’s middle name, it should be spelled out, not abbreviated as an initial.
Can you put two names on an envelope?
Addressing an envelope to multiple recipients belonging to the same family, with the same last name at the same address, is a quite simple process. On the first address line where one name would normally sit, the line should read the family name in such a manner as “The Family of Mr. and Mrs.
What is the proper way to address an envelope to a family?
The basics to remember are:Your name or your family name and address go in the top left corner of the envelope.The recipient’s family name and address goes in the center of the envelope.You should always include last names on an envelope address.You do not use an apostrophe with last names in addresses.
What is the correct way to address an envelope?
The address you are mailing to should be written as follows:Recipient’s name.Business’s name (if applicable)Street address (with apartment or suite number)City, State and ZIP code (on the same line)*Country*
When addressing a couple who comes first?
Addressing a Couple Nowadays, the order of the names—whether his name or hers comes first—does not matter and either way is acceptable. The exception is when one member of the couple ‘outranks’ the other—the one with the higher rank is always listed first.
How do you write Mr and Mrs with both names?
To a Married Couple Should you choose to include both persons’ names, the outer envelope can be addressed as Mr. and Mrs. HIS_FIRSTNAME LASTNAME. An alternate version includes both names as Mr.
Which name should come first?
Outside of the traditional, formal “Mr. & Mrs. John Doe”, the wife’s name is ALWAYS first when using first names: “Jane and John Doe” (1). In social importance, the woman is always first, then males, then children.
How do you address a couple?
Address a married couple using “Mr.” and “Mrs.” followed by the shared last name. For example, “Mr. and Mrs. Doe.”
Who name goes first on the wedding invitation?
The name of the bride always precedes the groom’s name. Formal invitations issued by the bride’s parents refer to her by her first and middle names, the groom by his full name and title; if the couple is hosting by themselves, their titles are optional.
What do you call a married woman who keeps her maiden name?
Typically, women who have just got married will change their title to “Mrs.”. If you are keeping your maiden name after marriage then you might like to go by “Ms.” instead, but you don’t have to. You could keep your own name but just change the prefix to “Mrs.”.
How do you address an envelope to an unmarried couple?
The Outer EnvelopeAn invitation to an unmarried couple residing at the same address is addressed with both names connected by “and.” Use one or two lines, depending on length.No abbreviations or middle initials are used when addressing formal invitations.
How do you address someone who is not married?
Miss: Use “Miss” when addressing young girls and women under 30 that are unmarried. Ms.: Use “Ms.” when you are not sure of a woman’s marital status, if the woman is unmarried and over 30 or if she prefers being addressed with a marital-status neutral title. Mrs.: Use “Mrs.” when addressing a married woman.
Is it OK to handwrite save the date envelopes?
Save-the-dates are supposed to be less formal than invitations, which is why handwritten envelopes are custom. The envelopes can be brighter and more fun than the actual invitations. Make sure you have the correct spelling and the correct address of all your guests’ names.
Is a widow Ms or Mrs?
A widow is traditionally addressed as Mrs. John Jones, but if you feel the guest may not want to be addressed that way, it’s completely okay to ask her how she prefers to be addressed. A divorced woman who has kept her married name should be addressed as you suggested — Ms.
Which finger does a widow wear her wedding ring on?
Tip: Moving your wedding ring to your right hand is a universal sign that you are a widow or widower. But it indicates that you may be interested in dating. Be aware of this as you are deciding what to do with your ring. You may be approached by people who are interested in dating you.
Can we use MRS for widow?
Mrs was most often used by a woman when married, in conjunction with her husband’s first and last names (e.g., Mrs John Smith). A widow would also be addressed with the same title as when she was married. Mrs was rarely used before a woman’s first name, her birth name, or a hyphenated surname her husband was not using.
What does widow mean?
noun. a woman who has lost her spouse by death and has not remarried. | https://somme2016.org/how-to/how-do-you-address-a-cover-letter-to-a-specific-person/ |
Tax included.
Our rosemary spearmint artisan soap is handcrafted in small batches. This vegan bar soap is lightly scented, lathers well, gently cleanses and rinses clean.Ingredients: sunflower oil, coconut oil, olive oil, coconut milk, sodium hydroxide, castor oil, fresh rosemary as well as rosemary and peppermint essential oils. | https://simplynaturalcanada.ca/products/rosemary-spearmint-vegan-soap |
Job Summary:
Maintain cleanliness of all equipment and plant areas including buildings and grounds. With the direction of supervisors, collect data and track product inventory. Train on plant processes and procedures.
Essential Functions:
- Routinely perform product cleanup at soybean loading and unloading areas
- Collect product samples at the direction of plant supervisors
- Deliver product samples to the Laboratory for testing
- At the direction of supervisors, access plant storage facilities to monitory product inventories
- Receive instruction on plant procedures and facility operations and operate equipment at the direction of supervisors
- Other duties as assigned
Physical Requirements:
- Walking
- Standing
- Sweeping
- Shoveling
- Routinely lifting up to 50 lbs.
- Climbing ladders and stairs
- Working at heights
- Working in confined spaces
- Stooping
- Squatting
- Kneeling
- Reaching
- Manual dexterity
- Sight
- Hearing
- Bending and twisting
Qualifications:
- High school diploma or GED preferred
- Ability to read and write
- Ability to take instruction and follow direction
- Dependable attendance
Bunge (NYSE: BG) is a world leader in sourcing, processing and supplying oilseed and grain products and ingredients. Founded in 1818, Bunge’s expansive network feeds and fuels a growing world, creating sustainable products and opportunities for more than 70,000 farmers and the consumers they serve across the globe. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri and has 25,000 employees worldwide who stand behind more than 350 port terminals, oilseed processing plants, grain facilities, and food and ingredient production and packaging facilities around the world. | https://jobs.bunge.com/job/Decatur-Crush-Utility-Worker-AL-35601-2678/838075101/ |
No.
There were some good arguments on this topic, swinging between aesthetic rebuttals to logical deconstructions. Here are four I liked:
1. Tal Yarkoni, Director of the Psychoinformatics Lab at University of Texas, Austin, writes on his blog,
“… it’s worth keeping in mind that there’s nothing intrinsically evil about the idea that large corporations might be trying to manipulate your experience and behavior. Everybody you interact with–including every one of your friends, family, and colleagues–is constantly trying to manipulate your behavior in various ways. Your mother wants you to eat more broccoli; your friends want you to come get smashed with them at a bar; your boss wants you to stay at work longer and take fewer breaks. We are always trying to get other people to feel, think, and do certain things that they would not otherwise have felt, thought, or done. So the meaningful question is not whether people are trying to manipulate your experience and behavior, but whether they’re trying to manipulate you in a way that aligns with or contradicts your own best interests. The mere fact that Facebook, Google, and Amazon run experiments intended to alter your emotional experience in a revenue-increasing way is not necessarily a bad thing if in the process of making more money off you, those companies also improve your quality of life. I’m not taking a stand one way or the other, mind you, but simply pointing out that without controlled experimentation, the user experience on Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. would probably be very, very different–and most likely less pleasant.”
2. Yarkoni’s argument brings us to these tweets.
https://twitter.com/pmarca/status/483024580554932224
Didn’t get it? Chris Dixon explains.
I didn’t spot these tweets. TechCrunch did, and it brings up the relevant comparison with A/B testing. A/B testing is a technique whereby web-designers optimize user experience engineers by showing different layouts to different user groups, then decide on the best layout depending how which users responded to which layouts. Like Dixon asks, is it okay if it’s done all the time on sites that want to make money by giving you a good time?
You’d argue that we’ve signed up to be manipulated like that, not like this – see #4. Or you’d argue this was different because Facebook was just being Facebook – but the social scientists weren’t being ethical. This is true. To quote from the TechCrunch piece,
A source tells Forbes’ Kashmir Hill it was not submitted for pre-approval by the Institutional Review Board, an independent ethics committee that requires scientific experiments to meet stern safety and consent standards to ensure the welfare of their subjects. I was IRB certified for an experiment I developed in college, and can attest that the study would likely fail to meet many of the pre-requisites.
3. The study that appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which it appears not many have read. It reports a statistically significant result that emotions are contagious over Facebook. But as Yarkoni demonstrates, its practical significance is minuscule:
… the manipulation had a negligible real-world impact on users’ behavior. To put it in intuitive terms, the effect of condition in the Facebook study is roughly comparable to a hypothetical treatment that increased the average height of the male population in the United States by about one twentieth of an inch (given a standard deviation of ~2.8 inches).
4. Facebook’s Terms of Service – to quote:
We use the information we receive about you in connection with the services and features we provide to you and other users like your friends, our partners, the advertisers that purchase ads on the site, and the developers that build the games, applications, and websites you use. For example, in addition to helping people see and find things that you do and share, we may use the information we receive about you:
… for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research and service improvement.
IMO, the problems appear to be:
- The social scientists didn’t get informed consent from the subjects of their experiments.
- What a scientific experiment is is not clearly defined in Facebook’s ToS – and defining such a thing will prove very difficult and is likely never to be implemented.
To-do: Find out more about the IRB and its opinions on this experiment. | https://rootprivileges.net/2014/06/30/did-facebook-cheat-us/ |
Today’s government report reveals that gross domestic product growth has decreased slightly from the 4.2% growth seen in Q2 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5% for Q3.
Key Takeaways
- GDP expanded 3.5%, down from 4.2%
- The growth surpassed expectations of economists polled by Dow Jones who forecasted 3.4%
- The PCE Index which helps measure inflation increased by 1.6% instead of the forecasted 2.2%
- Consumer spending grew 4%, the highest growth since Q4 2014
The July-September quarter saw less inflation with the core personal consumption expenditure index (excluding food and energy) coming in at 1.6% compared to 2.1% in Q2 - StreetAccount economists had expected 2.2%. The overall price consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 1.6% compared to 2% last quarter.
Economists Outlook
“The advance [in GDP] was driven by another strong reading on household spending, which shot ahead by a full 4%,” said Royce Mendes of CIBC Economics. “The other major driver of growth was a robust rebound in inventories, which had seen a draw down in the prior quarter as foreign buyers pulled ahead purchases in an attempt to get ahead of their own country’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Exports, however, suffered in the quarter for the same reason as outbound shipments came back down to earth following that artificial boost.”
Mendes pointed out that business fixed investment was flat in Q3 which is “possibly a sign that the most potent effects of the tax cuts are now in the rearview mirror.”
Raymond James chief economist Scott Brown said: "The headline was not too far from expectations, but we did get a few surprises. Consumer was stronger than we expected. The consumer accounts for 68 percent of overall GDP, and the consumer really drives the bus. Business to be sure, but there's got to be consumption at the end of it."
Trade War Impact
The economy has slowed down, but not as much as previously expected thanks to the strongest consumer spending since Q4 2014 with 4% growth in that area. The growth may have offset the negative effects of tariffs such as the drop in soybean exports which was one of the factors in the economists predictions for the slowdown.
The tariffs between the US and China as a result of the recent trade war are now in the billions, leading to concerns that the battle between the world’s two largest economies will cause global economy will suffer as a consequence.
Gold Market Reaction
Spot gold has held gains of 0.45% and is now trading at $1,234.77 an ounce, up $1.77 from prices directly preceding the report.
December Comex Futures are up 0.4% and trading at $1,237.20 an ounce at the time of writing. | https://goldprice.org/news/gdp-growth-cools-to-3.5 |
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released a deep report into last year's issue with "unintended acceleration" on certain Toyota cars. They actually employed a team from NASA who analyzed the throttle control software using a wide range of cutting-edge tools. Reading their report gives a good idea for how embedded control software is developed, and the challenges inherent in validating it.
The conclusion is that the software is not a likely cause of the problems. The real meat of the report (and its appendixes) is just how this conclusions is reached, and what it says about the tools that could be applied to develop embedded software with greater confidence about its correctness.
The NASA team used several types of static analysis, both code-semantic analysis looking for coding errors and static timing and stack-depth analysis. They also applied model checking, and built models of the environment that the control code interacted with. What they did not do was to simulate the actual code being used, since a simulation environment was not really available that could run the complete software setup.
The source code is complex and has many dependencies that make full-scale simulation outside its native hardware environment difficult. Even within the … compilation and debug environment, the practice … has been to only use a software simulation environment for “one-shot” unit testing, i.e., one input vector yielding one output vector. Any further testing beyond the unit level was done … on hardware platforms with integrated software loads.
What this appears to be saying is that the developers of the code created unit-testing scaffolds for the control system and ran these on some small simulation setup. The simulated testing of the actual compiled code did not extend to the complete system, and most likely did not include running the actual target OS, dealing with interrupts, and other asynchronous events. This problem is elegantly solved with a virtual platform like Simics, where you replicate the hardware platform inside a host machine. You can then run the real code just like on the physical machine. No other solution really gives you that ability, running the whole software stack with all its bits and pieces integrated.
Using virtual platforms for such testing of functionality has several advantages, in particular for reproducing complex issues. Considering the effort spent on code validation, unit testing, and static analysis, I would expect the code to be pretty solid in units. However, when the code is integrated into the environment with an OS, with hardware and interrupt handlers, there is a whole new set of issues that appear.
Virtual platforms are great for integration testing. They are much more available than hardware. When rare issues appear, they are trivial to capture, reproduce, and communicate. With multiple communicating processor cores, you really want the debug power of a virtual platform. You also want to test what happens when the hardware starts to act up, with faults such as bad sensor readings or interrupts arriving quicker than expected.
In the end, all software has to be tested on the real hardware. There is no getting around that, you "fly what you test and you test what you fly". Using a virtual platform alongside environment simulations and static analysis tools will, however, make that testing much less painful. More bugs will have been removed prior to committing to hardware, and the overall code quality will be better. More than likely, the software development will also have taken less time and been less stressful for the developers. | http://blogs.windriver.com/engblom/2011/03/the-importance-of-integration.html |
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Physical activity reduces many major mortality risk factors including arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer. All-cause mortality is decreased by about 30% to 35% in physically active as compared to inactive subjects. The purpose of this paper was to synthesize the literature on life expectancy in relation to physical activity. A systematic PubMed search on life expectancy in physically active and inactive individuals was performed. In addition, articles comparing life expectancy of athletes compared to that of nonathletes were reviewed. Results of 13 studies describing eight different cohorts suggest that regular physical activity is associated with an increase of life expectancy by 0.4 to 6.9 years. Eleven studies included confounding risk factors for mortality and revealed an increase in life expectancy by 0.4 to 4.2 years with regular physical activity. Eleven case control studies on life expectancy in former athletes revealed consistently greater life expectancy in aerobic endurance athletes but inconsistent results for other athletes. None of these studies considered confounding risk factors for mortality. In conclusion, while regular physical activity increases life expectancy, it remains unclear if high-intensity sports activities further increase life expectancy.
National Center for
Biotechnology Information, | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22811911?dopt=AbstractPlus |
The Presidential Global Engagement Fund (PGE Fund), established by the Office of the President, the Office of Global Affairs and International Studies, and the Division of Research, aims to increase OHIO’s global engagement to advance academic excellence and innovation in regions of the world and with selected partners of strategic interest to the University. This includes international disciplinary and interdisciplinary activities that promote research and creative activity, education, experiential learning and/or recruitment and alumni initiatives. As part of OHIO’s Global Strategy, the PGE Fund is intentionally and directly linked to leveraging past, current and future investments in OHIO’s globalization efforts, including the most recent university-wide capacity building Global Connections Program and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Initiative.
The investment profile of the PGE Fund will align with university priorities proposed by University International Council (UIC) and approved by the President, in consultation with the Office of Global Affairs and International Studies and the Division of Research.
The PGE Fund focuses its support on promoting a diversity of activities, partners, and regions of the world for the global engagement in four categories including:
- International Research & Creative Activity;
- International Institutional Partners;
- Selected Regions and Countries of the World; and
- Excellence and Innovation.
AWARD CATEGORY
1. International Research & Creative Activity
The proposals in this category promote international research and scholarly activities that are innovative with high impact potential. There are no pre-defined priorities for research topics or disciplines. Preference will be given to proposals that are interdisciplinary in nature and engaging international partners and/or researchers.
2. International Institutional Partners
The proposals in this category strengthen the existing institutional partnerships of Ohio University. As a result, the projects that involve the pre-identified institutional partners are eligible for the funding. Preference will be given to proposals that are innovative, targeting strategic priorities of both Ohio University and the select partner institution, and with potential for long-term outcomes. For the purpose of the PGE Fund, the international partners include below:
- Malaysia as a country
- Chubu University, Japan
- Leipzig University, Germany
- Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Ecuador
3. Selected Regions and Countries of the World
Current data shows that the faculty and student mobility at Ohio University is concentrated in Europe. The proposals in this category enhance opportunities for Ohio University to engage in regions that are not in Europe. This may include research and creative activities, education, experiential learning, and/or recruitment and alumni initiatives.
4. Excellence and Innovation
The proposals in this category are expected to contain excellent ideas and objectives to be implemented worldwide (excluding the U.S. but including U.S. Territories). This is an open category where there are no boundaries and restrictions. Proposals should have excellent ideas that are game-changing, impactful and sustainable.
ELIGIBILITY
Faculty and administrative staff on all Ohio University campuses are eligible to participate as a Principal Investigator (PI) or a Co-Investigator (CI) in any field of study. Proposals must be submitted by PI, with a priority given to early career faculty . Administrative staff who are interested in participating must have a faculty member as part of the project team. The recipient of PGE Fund is expected to be an employee of Ohio University for the entire award period.
AWARD SIZE & TERMS
Funding requests for a project can range from $5,000 to $20,000 per proposal for a period of 18 months. No matching funding is required from internal or external partners but is welcomed unless the project costs exceeds the allowable budget from this program. Note: proposals will not be evaluated on the basis of matching fund.
Awards will be made in spring 2020 to be used immediately upon account establishment and no longer than 18 months from the start date. Applicants should assume that the project should begin no later than April 15th, 2020. The award is intended to support the costs of conducting clearly defined activities including (but not limited to):
- International travel and living expenses
- Language training by participants as required
- Delivery of clearly defined workshops
- Project-related expenses
- Temporary research assistants, translators, or transcribers
Some other terms for the award include:
- Participation of partner/collaborating international institutions can be included in the budget request.
- No awards will be made to subsidize travel and expenses for attendance and participation at professional conferences and meetings, or to provide salary subsidies or course buy-outs.
- This funding should not be a duplication of other internal or external funding.
- Funding can be used to enable undergraduate and graduate student participation but will not cover academic tuition and/or fee waivers.
- Funding can support graduate student stipends if they are strongly linked to the success of the project.
DELIVERABLES
Within 18 months of the last day of the grant, all application activities must lead to at least one of the following deliverables:
- Submission of an article manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal or similar peer-reviewed publication);
- Submission of an exhibit or performance to peer reviewed venue;
- External proposal submission to, or recipient of a granting council, foundation or related agency;
- A proposal or new program for education (on campus, virtual, and/or COIL); research & creative activity; study away; international recruitment or other related activities
- A proposal to, or a new collaboration with an internal institutional or college funding program to advance international programming; and/or
- MOU and Activity Agreement with a partner institution to continue active collaboration in a targeted area of activity.
In the spring or fall term following the completion of the award (e.g. Spring 2022 or Fall 2023), the awardees will be asked to provide a public lecture presenting their work, results and preliminary findings.
The awardees are expected to submit a final report that describes the project goals and program description, experiences, results and lessons learned.
PROPOSAL SECTIONS
- Cover Page
- Checklist
- Project Description
- CV for each proposing PI and CI(s)
- Budget and justification
- Description of participating collaborators and institutions/agencies in the site/country (ies) where the PI and/or CI(s) is going to conduct the proposed initiative(s) (if applicable)
- Supporting letter(s) from participating international partners/institutions (if applicable)
More information about the proposal format and details will be available soon.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
- Submit one (1) electronic copy of the entire proposal (with required signatures) no later than 5:00 p.m. on the deadline date to the Office of Global Affairs ( [email protected] ) with a subject header of "Presidential Global Engagement Fund Proposal".
- All proposals must be a single file in Adobe Acrobat format (Mac users must include the file extensions .pdf in the file name) and must contain the entire proposal, including all appendices, unless authorized prior to the deadline.
- If there is anything about your proposal that requires special handling or consideration, it is essential that you contact the Office of Global Affairs ( [email protected] ) for approval prior to submission.
DEADLINE
The full proposals are due on January 31, 2020, 5:00 p.m. EST.
REVIEW OF PROPOSALS
Proposals will be evaluated by the PGE Fund Review Committee chaired by the Vice President of Research and Creative Activity and a member of the University of International Council. One of the Committee members is a diversity officer who will help ensure the fair process to all applicants.
Proposals will be reviewed with the assistance of persons at Ohio University or elsewhere who have expertise in the area of proposed projects. The following criteria, as well as other factors as special circumstances dictate, are considered in the proposal review:
- Resulting in internationally visible outputs and/or outcomes
- High quality of the proposal and the proposed project
- Projects must be sustainable after the project funding period
- Projects requiring international travel to one or more countries
- Projects which can reasonably be accomplished with available funds
- Projects with intellectual and practical activities which align with the University’s goal of supporting scholarship that promotes global engagement with international partnerships
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESULTS
Successful proposals will be recommended to the President by the UIC PGE Fund Review Committee following a thorough review of all proposals. The recipients of the fund will be announced in March 2020, subject to revision if necessary to successfully execute the review process.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
In the spring or fall term following the completion of the award (e.g. Spring 2022 or Fall 2023), the awardees will be asked to provide a public lecture presenting their work, results and preliminary findings.
A final report that describes significant outcomes, discoveries, experiences, results and lessons learned must be submitted.
CONTACT
Contact the Office of Global Affairs at [email protected] with any questions regarding the PGE Fund and/or proposal submission. | https://www.ohio.edu/global/resources/PGEFund.cfm |
In January 2014, Shakespeares Globe will be opening a new, indoor playhouse a 17th century reconstruction that will be lit entirely by candlelight.
Following a search for young talent, they will be forming a new company of specially selected 12 to 16 year olds who will be given the once in a lifetime opportunity to train under the Globes own expert practitioners.
Open to a range of acting abilities and experience, the Globe Young Players apprentice scheme is set to begin in Autumn 2013.
The Globe Young Players Company will work once a week for six months followed by an intensive rehearsal period, culminating in a professionally staged performance of John Marstons finest play,The Malcontent. For the first time in 400 years, The Malcontent will be performed and recreated by a company of young actors for whom this play was originally written, in the tradition of the child actor companies of Shakespeares time.
The Malcontent will play for 12 performances in the indoor space from 3rd to 19th April 2014, and will mark the finale of the Globes first ever winter season.
The Young Players will be schooled in the craft and performance of early modern drama, and work with masters in text, voice, movement, dance and fights. | https://www.woapa.co.uk/news/woapa-news/the-globe-theatre-young-players |
Sebastian Nympha-Harlem is the Firstborn Legacy, famed son of The Promised Witch, Hella Corvime, and the infamous warlock, Harrow Nympha. Sebastian—Bash—carries the weight of a new species of magic, leading his family—and the world—into a new era of peace with the humans.
The Melorian Academy is the first of its kind, a school in rural Australia designed for humans and magic folk alike. Here they will train together as allies. The Cambions, witches and Legacies will learn to control and harness their powers. Humans will be gifted with the tools to block magic. They were once enemies—wounds from a past war still mending—but now they have come together as a new generation to fight the real enemies.
Angels are breaking out of Heaven, demons eat passersby, and an old enemy, a powerful witch, has a plan brewing in the background as she grows more powerful than ever.
Set twenty-two years after the end of The Promised Witch series, Bash’s new generation takes on the challenges of humans faced with magic, fear and prejudice, and the delicate balance of peace. | https://mojobb.com/firstborn-legacy-by-dionnara-dawson/ |
The University of Aberdeen offers a MSc programme that provides flexibility to enable the student to gain knowledge and skills to meet their career aspirations, whether in research or as a practising ecologist. Apply now!
Mott MacDonald invites applications for the position of Civil Engineer (Water Resources) who will work out of their office located in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
The Civil Engineering programme from the University of Birmingham develops a broad knowledge base and understanding of the civil engineering profession and acquire problem-solving, team working, and communication skills; all essential when dealing with complex issues in this multi-disciplinary profession. The University of Birmingham has extensive laboratories and other facilities both on and off our campus for undertaking research in…
Syngenta is currently looking for a Technical Expert to provide environmental fate and exposure expertise to support the development and registration of new and existing active ingredients and products. An ideal candidate for this role has a strong understanding of environmental fate studies and will provide specialist technical expertise and advice to design, manage and interpret programmes of environmental field studies, in particular…
Are you looking for a challenging and rewarding role where you can build on your skills and develop a career within a fascinating and globally important field of science? If so, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) is looking for an enthusiastic person to join its Water Resources Systems Group, researching and applying hydrological models in the UK and internationally. The NERC Research Associates' Programme is an initiative which is…
UNFCCC-GIR-CASTT is a professional training on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories for national experts from developing countries. The goal is to enhance the technical capacity of individuals and to improve the overall competency in reporting and in contributing to climate action. The four-week intensive training course will begin on 25 June and be held in Seoul (South Korea). Current government officials, consultants and researchers in the fields…
Imperial College London invites applications for their master course in Hydrology and water resources management.
WaterAid is looking for an exceptional Trust and Foundation Officer, to join our team in delivering transformational change in trust and foundation partnerships. You’ll be an integral member of WaterAid’s talented and dedicated trusts subteam of four, stewarding WaterAid’s valuable trust relationships and maximising partnerships for strategic engagement and funding complex projects. You will creatively manage a varied portfolio of WaterAid’s…
This funding opportunity, the Climate Change and Health Awards, is open to researchers who want to better understand the links between climate change and people’s health. The awards are open to individuals or teams of up to ten members from anywhere in the world. Applicants can apply if they’re based at: an academic research organisation, a not-for-profit or government body, a private sector organisation. To be eligible, the proposal must focus…
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The Southern Ocean (SO) is one of the most important and poorly understood components of the global carbon cycle that profoundly shapes Earth’s climate. It is the primary hot spot for the oceanic sink of anthropogenic CO2, having captured half of all human-related carbon that has entered the ocean to date. Many of these climate feedbacks are poorly understood and quantified, yet evidence from our planet’s past global climatic transitions (e.g…
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As the call to lower harmful emissions are louder and more aggressive than ever before businesses are looking at new strategies to tackle the issue. Better access to renewable technologies means that this is a realistic prospect for many energy-intensive businesses. Under pressure from shareholders, regulators and consumers, some pioneers are exploring new avenues, such as self-generation, as a means to achieve lower targets and climate-related…
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Until the past two decades most historians tended to be dismissive of Jacobitism as a subject of little more than antiquarian interest. In particular, they questioned both the scale of the threat posed by the exiled Stuart dynasty to the new regime established at the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the extent of support for the cause (so called because ‘Jacobus’ was the Latin for James, and James II was the monarch overthrown at the revolution). If the Jacobite challenge had been serious and substantial, why had its impact on the course of British history been so limited? By the lights of the Whig interpretation of history, the new constitutional foundations laid at the Glorious Revolution had settled during the early 18th century, providing a secure platform for the Industrial Revolution. The smooth accession of the Hanoverians in 1714 appeared to reflect an era of ordered prosperity referred to in the song ‘The Vicar of Bray’ as ‘pudding time’.
The conventional wisdom of the Whigs was repackaged for a modern audience by J.H. Plumb during the 1960s. Plumb redirected attention towards the patronage systems that had secured political stability in the first third of the 18th century. For him, Jacobitism’s primary significance lay in giving Whig politicians a convenient smear: it enabled them to denounce their political rivals, the Tories, as unreliable crypto-Jacobites who could not be trusted with office under the Hanoverians. In so far as Jacobitism had any real existence beyond the projections of Whig propaganda, it was the creed of yesterday’s men: ‘the broken-down gentry of the North’, ‘the depressed peasantry of the South-West’, ‘the cantankerous clergy of Oxford and Cambridge’. It was no surprise to Plumb that the main strength of the Jacobite movement derived from ‘the tribal ferocity’ of the Scottish Highlands – confirmation that Jacobitism was not a historical topic of the first rank, but an anthropological curiosity remote from the real world of 18th-century capitalism.
Jacobitism remained a quaint irrelevance until the 1980s, when it began to assume a place at the centre of historical debate. The revival of interest had three very different sources. First, Jacobitism had an allure for a certain kind of reactionary. In particular, Peterhouse, Cambridge, became associated with a style of politics that was not so much to the right of Thatcherism as centuries behind it. This was exemplified most vividly by an embrace of high and authoritarian churchmanship – for some members of the Peterhouse right under the inspiration of genuine religious belief, for others out of a recognition of the utility of established religion as an instrument of social control. Erudite and eccentric, J.C.D. Clark’s English Society 1688-1832 (1985) celebrated 18th-century England as a confessional state, in which Jacobitism posed the major threat to the social and political order. Turning standard interpretations of the century inside out, Clark’s version of history treated commerce, urbanisation and the Industrial Revolution as off-stage irrelevances, phenomena that made scarcely any impact on the stately continuation of a traditional society which happily deferred to the values of monarchy, aristocracy and an established church. Nevertheless, 18th-century England fell some way short of a palaeo-conservative paradise, the overthrow of divine right monarchy in 1688 being as much a cause of regret as the Reform Act of 1832.
Second, as the Northern Irish Troubles and Scottish devolution became talking points in British politics, Jacobitism attracted new interest as a forerunner of Celtic nationalism. It proved irresistible to nationalist historians from Scotland and Ireland who were keenly aware that opposition to the English ascendancy in ‘these islands’ during the late 17th and 18th centuries had been hitched to the cause of the Stuarts. A growing awareness among English historians of the need for a ‘new British history’ which might explain the ambiguous relationships of Greater England with its subject peoples in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, further stimulated a reappraisal of Jacobitism.
Third, developments in social history – in particular, an appreciation of the alien features of past mental worlds – reinforced the plausibility of Jacobitism as an ideological commitment. Extrapolating from Keith Thomas’s investigation of popular belief, Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971), historians began to probe beneath the advertised rationality of the Age of Reason. If the people believed in witches and fairies, then why not also in the Stuarts as divine right monarchs? Paul Monod’s Jacobitism and the English People 1688-1788 (1989) established the importance of Jacobite allegiance within English political culture. It was no longer convincing to depict Jacobitism as an anachronism which, while capable of enchanting the ‘backward’ peoples of the Celtic fringe, had lacked any ideological purchase in an enlightened, commercial England.
Daniel Szechi belongs neither to the Peterhouse right nor to the ranks of Scottish nationalists, though he does dedicate his study of the 1715 Jacobite rebellion to the memory of his Scottish grandmother. His most obvious debts are to a pan-British historiography that transcends the border between Scotland and England, and to the recognition that there was nothing outlandish or irrational about the Jacobite movement. It was, Szechi insists, ‘a natural, unsurprising outgrowth of the institutions and mores of the era’. Nor does he have much time for the disciplinary separation between British and European history: it is impossible, he suggests, to write the history of Jacobitism without examining both its domestic support and the exploitation of the Stuart cause by European rulers – urged on by a diaspora of exiled Jacobite rebels – as a tool of statecraft. Szechi has demonstrated that in the century following the military revolution, diversionary tactics – such as encouraging a Jacobite uprising in Britain’s backyard – became an effective way of overcoming stalemate between well-drilled armies. Over the course of the half a century or so between the Glorious Revolution and the eventual demise of Jacobitism as a practical option, France, Spain, Sweden, Prussia and Russia variously supported Jacobite plots, whether out of direct rivalry with Britain or to put pressure on its ruling House of Hanover, which was implicated in the geopolitics of the Baltic region.
The Jacobite revolt of 1715, however – unlike the civil wars of 1689-91, and the risings of 1708, 1719 and 1745-46 – was uniquely not a theatre of European power politics. Under the terms of the Peace of Utrecht (1713) the French had been forced to withdraw their support for the Jacobites. The Stuart court in exile had removed itself from Saint Germain to Bar-Le-Duc in the autonomous Duchy of Lorraine. Besides, Louis XIV, Jacobitism’s sugar daddy, died in August 1715, leaving France under the control of the Duke of Orléans, the regent for Louis XIV’s great-grandson, Louis XV. Orléans favoured good relations with Britain and the maintenance of the terms of the Peace of Utrecht; not that this entirely precluded some discreet French help in 1715. To rise in support of the Stuarts was risky enough when backed up by a foreign army and navy; but to do so in the absence of overseas support seems reckless. Yet Szechi shows that the rising of 1715 drew in more supporters than the better known escapade of 1745. He reckons that the maximum strength of the Jacobite armies in 1715 was about fourteen thousand Scots and a thousand English, and that, allowing for turnover and attrition, not least during harvest time in September, the Jacobites probably raised about twenty thousand men. Why did they do it?
The political anxieties associated with the maintenance of public order in a multicultural society were as keenly felt in 1715 as they are now. Then, as today, religion was at the root of fundamental political differences. Although dominated by its overwhelming Anglican majority, England was divided between the Whigs, whose identity was stridently Protestant and anti-Catholic, but sympathetic to the interests of Protestant Dissent; and the Tories, who were more precisely the party of the Church of England, sharply opposed to the pretensions of Dissenters, but soft on Jacobitism. There were, besides, the Nonjurors, breakaway Anglicans who believed that the political theology of the Church of England committed it to upholding the indefeasible hereditary right of James II and his successors, and who regarded the revolution of 1688 as a sinful breach of faith with the Lord’s anointed. Such was the logic of the divine right of kings. Within the Church of England, there was plenty of Tory sympathy for the position of the Nonjurors and a concern that the Toleration Act of 1689 granted to Protestant Dissent had undermined the basic structures of Anglican society. There was also a substantial Roman Catholic presence in Lancashire. In Scotland, the country was polarised between a ruling Presbyterian Kirk, emphatically Whig, and an embattled Episcopalian ‘Dissent’, strong in the Highlands and north-eastern Lowlands and stubbornly loyal, for the most part, to the deposed Stuarts. In addition, a militant Presbyterian minority felt bound to the Covenants of 1638 and 1643, and wished to impose a Presbyterian theocracy on Scotland, before exporting it to England. In Ireland, an Anglican establishment held sway in a country where around 75 per cent of the population was Roman Catholic, not forgetting another troublesome Presbyterian minority.
The death of Queen Anne in August 1714 widened the fractures in British society. Anne had, at least, been a staunch Anglican and, as the daughter of James II, was of impeccable Stuart lineage, albeit not the heir by right. Her Hanoverian successor, George I, leapfrogged 58 people closer in kinship to Anne, and his Lutheran background aroused suspicion in many quarters. The Church of England, it appeared, was in greater danger than ever. As a result, there were anti-Whig riots in about forty English and Welsh towns in 1714-15, with a heavy concentration in southern Lancashire, Staffordshire and the west Midlands. News of these disorders spread to Scotland, which having been pressured, cajoled and bribed into a parliamentary union with England in 1707, remained brittle and uneasy. Szechi sets out a wealth of contemporary evidence that demonstrates the creation in Scotland of a ‘climate of expectation’: many believed a Jacobite revolution in England was imminent.
When it came, though, the rebellion consisted of a series of local risings which were only loosely concerted after the fact. The grand plan concocted by the Earl of Mar was that Jacobites should rise across the country on 15 September 1715. Instead, there was a ‘rolling process’ of rebellion, with the laggardly Jacobites of Caithness mobilising only in January 1716, long after the hopes of the rebels elsewhere had begun to curdle. Szechi identifies one main theatre of rebellion in central Scotland, and three secondary areas: in the north; the western Highlands; and the southern Lowlands and the North of England, which, Szechi notes, was ‘the only part of the great Anglo-Welsh Jacobite rebellion originally envisaged that actually materialised’. In southern England, the Jacobite leadership was placed under arrest, and the government sent garrisons to intimidate the Tory-Jacobite populations of Oxford, Bristol and Bath.
The rebellion took the form of a civil and polite ‘conversation in violence’, though one with the serious intent of bringing over the mass of the population to the Jacobite side by means of ‘a combination of example, persuasion and intimidation’. The early stages of the rebellion – or rather ensemble of rebellions – took the form of ‘petite guerre’, a phoney war of localised raids and skirmishes, rather than major confrontations. The outcome was decided in two near simultaneous battles in mid-November 1715, at Sherrifmuir near Stirling and at Preston. If the former was inconclusive, though marked by massive Jacobite desertion, the latter resulted in Jacobite surrender and the virtual collapse of the undertaking. Although the rebellion staggered on in Scotland for a few more months, it was effectively over by the time the Jacobite claimant, the Old Pretender, landed at Peterhead in late December 1715.
The rebellion’s aftermath, Szechi finds, yields a richer history than the deeds of 1715. Wisely perhaps, but at some distance from bureaucratic standards of fairness and due process, the British state exercised the full range of discretionary powers available to pre-modern governments: bloody retribution, stern punishments inefficiently implemented and ultra-liberal laxity. Around six hundred rebels were sentenced to be transported to the New World – some bribing their way off at Cork – but only forty faced execution. The Hanoverian regime opted for ‘exemplary punishment, but only on a small percentage of those involved’. But, although most of the lesser fry got off, many Jacobite gentlemen fled beyond the capricious reach of the law, joining the Continental Jacobite diaspora. Szechi does not downplay the boredom of exile. Surprisingly, given the historic connections between Scotland and France, many Scots Jacobite gentry did not possess even a smattering of French, and vegetated in the tedium of cheap provincial towns. Even life for high status refugees at the Jacobite court in exile lost its savour, ‘one day being as like the other as two eggs and these eaten without either pepper or salt’. As if such torpor were not bad enough, Episcopalian Jacobites also found themselves under pressure to convert to Roman Catholicism.
The pressing matter back home was the reknitting of Scotland’s social fabric. Szechi shows the way the Scottish elite remade civil society, using the country’s semi-autonomous institutions and a good measure of legal chicanery to frustrate the government’s punitive policy of forfeiting estates. Moderate Whigs helped out Jacobite neighbours in distress, some grandees interceding with the government to allow exiles to return home. The resultant web of obligations reinforced the bonds of ‘class unity’ and, ultimately, reintegrated Jacobite families peaceably back into the framework of Hanoverian society. Not only does Szechi significantly qualify prevailing assumptions about the character of ‘Whig oligarchy’, he also provides a compelling reinterpretation of the long-term decline of Jacobitism. As grateful clients of their Whig neighbours, former Jacobite rebels and their families were less likely to nurture anti-Whig grievances, and also became conscious that a code of honour and gratitude – which in some cases trumped their commitment to the Stuarts – meant they could never disturb the peace again. Several clans which had been active on the Jacobite side during the rebellion of 1715 turned out to be divided or neutral when the Young Pretender launched the final rising in 1745.
On the other hand, there was an element of calculation in Whiggish generosity. Kindness to one’s neighbours in their time of trouble was ‘credit in the social bank if the Jacobites one day triumphed’. However much the apparent tranquillity of Augustan society might deceive later generations of historians, contemporaries knew the topsy-turvy nature of politics in early modern Britain. A gentleman in his seventies looking back on his life from the perspective of 1716 would have lived through the revolutionary upheavals and civil wars of the 1640s, the dictatorship of Cromwell and his military junta, the Restoration, the reign of James II, the Glorious Revolution and a succession of Jacobite plots to unseat the usurpers who had displaced the rightful Jacobite line. Ideological rectitude was all very well for staunch Whigs and Jacobites; but prudent landowners saw the wisdom in putting political insurance before abstract principle. Szechi skilfully marries the rival interpretations of 18th-century history – the hitherto incompatible models of conflict and good order – to demonstrate the ways in which a weakened Jacobitism itself contributed to the making of Augustan stability.
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If you worked one additional month and did not use your sick leave for the month, the years of service would be 30 years and 10 months of creditable service. In the meantime, the annuitant has bills to pay, and many retired employees use their unused annual leave lump sum payment, received by most retiring employees within 30 days of retirement, to help pay these bills. The annuity is computed using only whole months of service. Pay Attention to the Details When Planning Your Exit To determine how much you will have to live on and complete our. Then mix in your to determine how many months of additional time will count towards your total annuity calculation. Employees are encouraged to verify all information regarding retirement planning with their agency. Shortly generally means two to six weeks.
Otherwise, the 1 st, 2 nd or 3 rd of the month are good dates for those employees, whose actual retirement could begin the next day. By working one additional month, you receive two months of service — one month for the extra month worked and an additional month when combining the eight hours of sick leave with the 29 days that would have been lost. One of the biggest reasons that employees choose to retire around the end of the year is to cash in a large amount of use or lose leave. So what are the best dates for your clients to retire in 2014? Now, in this case, the effective date of retirement will be 1st of February, and the date of issuance of the first annuity check will be 1st of March. Review the form thoroughly before starting.
This is 4 hours for full time employees. Many agencies are now refusing to accept retirement application forms that have corrections on them where the applicant either lined or crossed out the information and annotated the correct information above or beside the correction. This holds true in most of the cases, but there are two expectations. This article may not be reproduced without express written consent from John Grobe. This column discusses the suggested employees during 2020 and 2021, with an updated discussion for best retirement dates during 2019. This way you might end up with additional annual leave to be paid out shortly after you leave. For example, if you are retiring with 30 years, 8 months and 29 days of federal service, your annuity is computed using 30 years and 8 months of service.
An excellent resource is the calendar report, , by Tammy Flanagan, published by the National Institute of Transition Planning. Review our section on to see what date would be best for you. Office of Personnel Management Federal Employees Retirement System P. After determining that you have the resources to retire comfortably, the following discussion will help you set your most advantageous retirement date. This is because Saturday and Sunday are your days off, so you do not receive pay for those days from your job. Consider the for a maximum annuity increase in the year after retirement. You should consult with a financial professional where appropriate.
Since most federal employees work a Monday to Friday 80 hour bi-weekly payroll schedule, it is assumed that the best day of the week to retire is the second Saturday of a pay period. The retirement annuity is not considered earned income, therefore, this may be your last opportunity to build this tax-deferred retirement fund. There is a huge benefit in doing so. However, the annuity could begin on Saturday. However, the selection of a retirement date can have significant financial consequences. For example, it you retire on December 31 st and federal employees are due to receive a 3% pay increase effective on January seventh, the lump sum annual leave is payable for the first week at your current pay rate and the remaining days at the pay rate including the 3% pay increase. Treatment of unused annual leave at the time of retirement All retiring federal employees are paid in a lump sum for any unused annual leave hours as of the day of their retirement.
If you accumulated the maximum annual leave carryover from the prior year usually 240 hours and you accumulated additional annual leave in your last year up to 208 hours if you earn eight hours per pay period and did not take annual leave , the result could be 448 hours of annual leave paid to you upon retirement. However, the annuity could begin on Saturday. Hence, it becomes important for the agencies to speed up the process of payment for the unused annual leave hours. The eight hours of annual leave is paid in a lump sum after retirement and the four hours of sick leave may be used to increase the amount of service used in the annuity computation. All three work together to provide the information needed to perform the final adjudication of their retirement. There is much more to consider with this life altering decision and we offer many planning tools on this site to help you decide if the time is right for you to leave.
An exception allows their annuities to commence the day after they retire if they retire in the first three days of a month. If your client retires before the end of the leave period they will not earn the last leave accrued. The financial institution will provide this information. Such employees get paid for as much as 448 hours of unused annual leave hours. The employee is not entitled to any payment for November, as they were not off the rolls by the end of the day on the 3rd of the month. To avoid days in a non-pay status, work until the beginning date of your retirement annuity. They now require you to submit a form without and corrections.
Annuities only start on specific days. Both retirement plans are discussed and we show you how to determine your eligibility date. That usually means picking a retirement date that provides for the most income in terms of both salary and annuity. For many the date will be tied to a work anniversary or perhaps a personal convenience but for some clients, selecting the date has definite benefits implications. Maximize the full months of creditable service used in the retirement annuity computation. You will need your spouse's social security number, military discharge information, etc. | http://cleanpowerfinance.com/best-csrs-retirement-dates-2014.html |
Chronic hypophosphatemia is associated with short stature, rickets phenotype (bowing of the legs), and bone pain.
Depletion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) can lead to myocardial dysfunction and respiratory failure due to weakness of the diaphragm. In critical care setting it can lead to difficulty in weaning mechanical ventilatory support.
In musculoskeletal tissue it can lead to muscle weakness, diplopia, and dysphagia. It can lead to instability of muscle membranes and rhabdomyolysis.
In circulatory system it can lead to white blood cell dysfunction and thus immunocompromisation. It can also lead to hemolytic anemia. | https://keywords.selfstudy.app/hypophosphatemia-complications/ |
Discover new abilities when it comes to writing effectively by looking at the lessons in this chapter. Not only will they improve your student's writing, but they will help review:
- Identifying components that make good writing
- Organizing a piece of writing
- Writing for an audience
- Structuring sentences and paragraphs
- Making in-text citations
- Citing online sources
- Improving sentence structure
- Writing clear sentences
After going through all of the lessons, you can use the quizzes to test your student's abilities. They will help you address topics your student knows and areas that he needs to work on for the exam.
1. How to Write Well: What Makes Writing Good?
From great ideas to great execution, learn what makes writing 'good' and how to transform your writing from 'okay' to accomplished through the use of specific examples, great ideas, and organization.
2. Choosing How to Organize Your Writing: Task, Purpose & Audience
By following a series of tasks, making sure to decide upon our purpose for writing and tailoring the paper to our audience, we can write stronger essays and reports. Watch this lesson to find out how to do these things.
3. Writing for Your Audience
By understanding some fundamental characteristics about your audience, you can write more effectively and be in better control of how well your writing is received by that audience. This video explains the basic points that you should consider in order to provide more informative and more persuasive essays for your readers.
4. How to Structure Paragraphs in an Essay
When structuring a paragraph, you shouldn't just go throwing together a few sentences. The sentences that make up a paragraph should all flow together and represent the same topic to make up a strong paragraph. This video explains how to put together your sentences and paragraphs to maximize their impact.
5. Structuring Paragraphs and Sentences: Tips and Tricks
Once you've developed an outline, it's time to begin drafting your essay. This lesson will walk you through the steps of putting together a body paragraph and show you how to ensure that your paragraphs are unified, coherent and well-developed.
6. How to Avoid Redundancy in Your Writing
Does your writing redundantly say the same thing twice? Is it full of unnecessary and inessential repetition of things you've already said before? Learn how to fix it here!
7. How to Structure Sentences in an Essay
Sometimes we know what we want to write, but we are just unsure of the best way to write it. In this video, we will cover ways to structure sentences in an essay.
8. Sentence Clarity: How to Write Clear Sentences
Just because you know a good sentence when you read one doesn't mean that you think it's easy to put one together - forget about writing an essay's worth. Learn how to write clear sentences and turn rough ones into gems.
9. How to Write Better by Improving Your Sentence Structure
Often times in writing, we know what we want to say, but it doesn't seem to come out right. In this video we will learn the steps needed to improve your writing with better sentence structure.
10. How to Write Logical Sentences and Avoid Faulty Comparisons
Your sentences may not always make as much sense as you think they do, especially if you're comparing two or more things. It's easy to let comparisons become illogical, incomplete, or ambiguous. Learn how to avoid making faulty comparisons on your way to writing a great essay.
11. How to Make In-Text Citations
With this lesson, you'll get to know the basics of creating in-text citations. We'll go over both MLA and APA style parenthetical citations and how to use them to cite different types of sources.
12. How to Cite Online Sources
A large majority of research today is done online, so you'll need to cite web pages for your papers. In this video we will learn the proper way of citing online sources in both APA and MLA styles.
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A physiological monitoring system is provided. The physiological monitoring system includes a vital-sign detection device and a controller. The vital-sign detection device emits visible light during afirst period to detect a vital-sign of an object. During the first period, the controller determines whether a first predetermined event occurs. In response to the first predetermined event occurring, the controller controls the vital-sign detection device to emit invisible light during a second period to detect the vital-sign. | |
ABENGOA HIDRÓGENO, S.A.
Abengoa Hidrógeno, S. A. is a company headquartered in Seville (Spain), a city it has been linked with since its very establishment. The objective of Abengoa Hidrógeno, an Abengoa company, is the organization and operation of businesses and activities related with the production of electric energy utilizing different technology fuel cells, as well as the production of hydrogen from renewable sources, and its clean and efficient use.
Abengoa Hidrógeno was established in 2003, incorporating personnel from different Abengoa companies who, since 1999, had been working with hydrogen and fuel cells. Over the years, the company has established relationships and contacts with the sector’s main players, and has achieved quantifiable leadership in projects, patents, publications and R&D&I investment.
Abengoa is an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the infrastructures, energy and water sectors. Abengoa Innovación is a business group within Abengoa dedicated to development and innovation in three key areas: Electric Power Systems/Energy Storage, Hydrogen, and Aerospace.
The Hydrogen Department has more than 15 years’ experience designing, constructing, integrating, and testing different technologies in the field of hydrogen and fuel cells.
Abengoa Innovación is dedicated to the development of fuel cell power plants, hydrogen production units, hydrogen refueling stations and customization projects for civil, the defense and aerospace sectors.
Abengoa can cover the entire EPC chain from the design and engineering phase to the procurement, construction, commissioning and startup of the different technologies it develops. | http://aeh2.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=271%3Aabengoa-hidrogenoeng&catid=59%3Acontenido-en-ingles&Itemid=89&lang=es |
The Mothers’ and Young People’s Study is an Australian prospective cohort study initially designed to investigate women's health after childbirth. Over time our focus has expanded to include investigation of children and young people’s health and wellbeing, and the extent to which mothers' and children's health are inextricably linked.
The study has collected detailed information on maternal and child health from pregnancy to age 10. It is one of the few pregnancy cohort studies with prospectively collected data on common maternal health problems and repeated measurement of exposure to intimate partner violence spanning the period from early pregnancy to 10 years postpartum. Evidence from the study has already highlighted the importance of ongoing primary care and support for mothers tailored to social context and extending well beyond the perinatal period.
We are currently implementing a nested sub-study following up mothers and adolescent children in the study at age 15 to 17 years to examine social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and adolescent mental health and wellbeing.
In late 2021, we hope to commence follow-up of all mothers and young people in the cohort as the young people reach 18 years of age.
Aim
The study aims to improve understanding of social and obstetric factors influencing maternal and child health. The information collected is used to inform policy and practice in maternity care, early childhood services and primary health care.
Methods
Prospective pregnancy cohort of over 1500 first-time mothers and their first-born children.
In the early years of the study the main focus was on women's health and recovery after childbirth. Women taking part in the study completed questionnaires and telephone interviews in early and late pregnancy, and at three, six, nine, 12 and 18 months postpartum. The study was then extended to include follow-up at four and ten years postpartum. Over 800 women in the study have also been followed up after second and subsequent births.
Data have been collected on common maternal physical and psychological health problems, including incontinence, sexual health problems, depression, anxiety and intimate partner violence, and on a range of child health and developmental outcomes. We have also collected information regarding the social context of women and children, and changing life circumstances as the children grow up. | https://www.anrows.org.au/project/mothers-and-young-peoples-study/ |
Join Intel-and build a better tomorrow. Intel is in the midst of an exciting transformation, with a vision to create and extend computing technology to connect and enrich the lives of every person on Earth. So join us-and help us create the next generation of technologies that will shape the future for decades to come.
About the group:
The Components Research Electron Beam Lithography team works closely with integration, device and the other fab modules to quickly convert next-gen research proposals into reality.
We do litho at a rapid-prototyping pace in the RP1 fab to help Intel get ahead. This position is for a lithography module engineer to support and enable this work.
About the role:
Litho engineers are responsible for:
Ensuring safety protocols are kept up-to-date, understood, and followed by all litho tool users.
Continuously improving module patterning and alignment capabilities and communicating these results with program stakeholders.
Training of technicians and other engineers to use these tools.
Maintaining maximum uptime and availability of e-beam writers, tracks, and litho metrology tools.
Working closely with device, integration, other module engineers, and technicians to write and align patterns and measure the results.
Communicating and coordinating experiments with the rest of the litho module and the fab, both at daily morning pass downs and throughout the day as circumstances change.
Activities include ownership of multiple tools, including ensuring proper maintenance. This includes both working directly with supplier engineers as well as performing hands-on work by the tool owner as needed. There will be ongoing collaborations with suppliers to develop these tools as well.
We're constantly working on making a more connected and intelligent future, and we need your help. Change tomorrow. Start today.
Qualifications
You must possess the below requirements to be initially considered for this position. Preferred qualifications are in addition to the requirements and are considered a plus factor in identifying top candidates. Experience listed below would be obtained through a combination of your schoolwork and/or classes and/or research and/or relevant previous job and/or internship experiences.
Minimum Qualifications:
PhD in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or related discipline.
3+ years of experience in tool support and process development in a fab or lab environment.
Preferred Qualifications:
Demonstrated experience in the following areas:
Litho research and development, both tool and process.
Litho metrology experience, especially with registration.
Process development experience involving patterning.
Inside this Business Group
As the world's largest chip manufacturer, Intel strives to make every facet of semiconductor manufacturing state-of-the-art -- from semiconductor process development and manufacturing, through yield improvement to packaging, final test and optimization, and world class Supply Chain and facilities support. Employees in the Technology Development and Manufacturing Group are part of a worldwide network of design, development, manufacturing, and assembly/test facilities, all focused on utilizing the power of Moore’s Law to bring smart, connected devices to every person on Earth.
Covid Statement
Intel strongly encourages employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Intel aligns to federal, state, and local laws and as a contractor to the U.S. Government is subject to government mandates that may be issued. Intel policies for COVID-19 including guidance about testing and vaccination are subject to change over time.
Posting Statement
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by local law, regulation, or ordinance.
Benefits
We offer a total compensation package that ranks among the best in the industry. It consists of competitive pay, stock, bonuses, and benefit programs. Find more information about our Amazing Benefits here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/jobs/benefits.html
Working Model
This role will be eligible for our hybrid work model which allows employees to split their time between working on-site at their assigned Intel site and off-site. In certain circumstances the work model may change to accommodate business needs. | https://workinmontana.jobs/helena-mt/components-research-lithography-engineer/3D2931D864CA4F8595C9B43D01451393/job/?vs=28 |
A thematic exploration of Picasso's work in the 1910s and 1920s.
Includes previously unpublished material from the archives of the Fundacion Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte (FABA).
An exhibition catalogue with 200 works and 80 archival images In light of a large selection of previously unpublished personal archives - documents, photographs and films - this title explores Picasso's 'Olga period' by contextualizing his work during this period and by questioning the contrast between the subject and its portrayal.
A favorite model since their meeting in 1917, Olga Khokhlova, a Russian ballet dancer who married Picasso in July 1918, is the most represented female figure in the artist's work of the late 1910s and 1920s.
Picasso renders the ambiguity of his first wife, her beauty, her Ingres-like contours, and her deep, pensive, melancholy, in many of his most famous portraits.
The exhibition that this book accompanies brings to light materials conserved by Olga's family until recently, including memorabilia of her life as a dancer, photos of Picasso, their son Paul, and their daily life together, and their travels to Barcelona, Naples, and Monte Carlo. | https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Emilia-Philippot/Olga-Picasso/22696534 |
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As we retain full ownership of all such material, you also agree to comply with our instructions should we request that the information/content be deleted, altered or returned to us at any time. Unless otherwise specified, the customer fully acknowledges and accepts that they must not alter, disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer or otherwise modify the downloaded material at any time. | https://www.salemwebdesigncompany.in/terms-conditions.php |
These apps have the most access to your personal information.
No one has the time to read the fine print in today's fast-paced digital environment.
When downloading an app, many people simply click "Accept" without reading the fine print.
There are several apps that enjoy it when you agree to data collecting without fully knowing what you're doing.
This is due to the fact that they are capable of gathering a great deal of data, such as your age, religion, or biometrics.
Before downloading an app, it's a good idea to take a look at the "About" section.
The alternative is that you might consent to the disclosure of private information. | https://bvfcl.in/web-stories/these-apps-have-the-most-access/ |
Matt Shilcock is an emerging contemporary/dance theatre artist. Diagnosed at birth with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, commonly known as brittle bone disorder, he spent much of his youth in a wheelchair before learning to walk at the age of fifteen. Matt began performing professionally in 2009 with No Strings Attached Theatre for Disability’s Preparing the Garden training program. He went on to work with Restless Dance Theatre in 2010 with his debut in Next of Kin – no ordinary status family, directed by Philip Channells. Since then he has continued to dance with the company and is a member of the Education Team and Touring Company and is a dancer’s representative of the Restless Board.
Matt has worked with artists including Laura Lima – 13 Rooms; Dean Walsh – Second Nature; Zoë Barry – Howling Like a Wolf and Daniel Koerner – Take Me There. In 2012 he attended the Catalyst Dance Masterclass Series III and performed in Second Skin directed by Philip Channells at the Carriageworks in Sydney. He is a 2013 recipient of the JUMP mentoring program, which he is dedicating to the development of his unique movement scoring system called O s t e o g e n u i n e.
Matt has a Certificate III & IV in Fitness and Personal Training and is a 2nd Kyu in Budo Taijutsu and specialised weaponry. | https://philipchannells.com/about/people/associate-artists/education-team/matt-shilcock/ |
Explore the famous trees and treetops of South Africa: gaze up at the lush green canopies of some of the tallest and oldest trees on the African continent and stare out in wonder at the emerald oceans of unspoiled forests surrounding your tree house accommodation – what a view!
If you’re in the nation’s capital Pretoria, be sure to visit the Wonderboom – a 1000-year-old wild fig tree with a colossal trunk, beneath which folklore says the chief of a local tribe was laid to rest. It can be found at the Wonderboom Nature Reserve to the north of the city.
Near Tzaneen, stop in at the Modjadji Cycad Reserve, which is named after the legendary rain-making queen of the Balobedu tribe. Here you can wander among these evergreen cycads, which are a species of plant that date back millions of years, and are regarded as living fossils.
On the road between Gravelotte and Leydsdorp, a giant baobab has been turned into a pub, a great place to stop for a drink and admire this uniquely African tree. The biggest baobab in the country is the Sagole Giant in the Limpopo Valley – it’s trunk it over 10 meters wide.
Along the Garden Route on South Africa’s south-east coast lies the Big Tree, a towering yellowwood tree in the Knysna Forest that is approximately 660 years old. Further down the scenic route in the town of George, you’ll find the country’s largest oak tree in front of the public library, which was planted in 1811. (Incidentally, South Africa’s tallest tree is a 100m-high blue gum in the Woodbush Forest Reserve in Magoebaskloof.) In Mossel Bay, you can post a very special letter at the Old Post Office Tree. Back in the 1500s, Portuguese sailors would leave letters inside an old boot beneath this large milkwood tree for other explorers to find, establishing South Africa’s first post office which is now a national monument.
If you have a head for heights and enjoy the buzz of adrenaline, a canopy tour is eco-adventure not to be missed. You’ll sail from platform to platform, sliding along steel cables that are securely strung between trees and across magnificent gorges.
There are canopy tours in five amazing locations throughout South Africa, including the Tsitsikamma rainforest, along the rock face of the Ysterhout Kloof in the Magaliesberg mountain range, beneath the waterfall in the Karkloof forest reserve, over the Groot Letaba River gorge of the Magoebaskloof, and in the shadow of the beautiful Cathkin Peak in the Drakensberg.
For a unique experience, South Africa has a number of guesthouses and lodges where you can spend the night sleeping several meters off the ground, nestled in the boughs of a sturdy tree – with the wind whistling through the leaves surrounding you.
The five-star Tsala Treetop Lodge in Plettenberg Bay is the “perfect balance between nature and voluptuous luxury”. The ten treetop suites and six villas are opulent; definitely a breakaway for those with deep pockets.
In the heart of Zululand, on Lake St Lucia, the tree houses at Bonamanzi are comfortably equipped and perfect for families.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find more fantastical and eccentrically decorated tree house accommodation in South Africa! Take your pick from the Fantasy House, the Bottle Tree House, and more eye-boggling wonders.
Situated above the Karatara River Gorge in the Outeniqua foothills, the Teniqua tree houses are a great woodland getaway. The four honeymoon treetop suites offer sweeping views of the Knysna forest and romantic sunsets. | http://about-south-africa.com/what-to-do/16-what-to-do/42-back-to-your-roots-with-an-african-treetop-adventure |
FENS offers a range of state of the art platforms for interacting international researchers from the entire spectrum of neuroscience disciplines.
Visit the FENS meetings portal to get more information.
In collaboration with prominent and long-standing partners of FENS, new programmes for European higher education – schools and training – will be offered every year.
Visit the FENS Training portal to get more information.
Check out the latest articles and news of EJN. All FENS members have FREE access to EJN!
Visit the FENS website to get more information.
FENS calls on the European Parliament and Commission to reaffirm their commitment to the Directive.
Visit the FENS Outreach portal to get more information.
FENS provides its members with a full package of services to facilitate the exchange of information and enhance networking activities among neuroscientists.
Visit the FENS Societies portal to get more information.
23-26 April 2017: Rungstedgaard - north Copenhagen, Denmark
- Read here the interview with Richard Morris and Robert Malenka, the Brain Conference co-chairs.
The Brain Prize was awarded in 2016 for “ground-breaking research on the cellular and molecular basis of Long-Term Potentiation and the demonstration that this form of synaptic plasticity underpins spatial memory and learning.”
Research on LTP and LTD, and their possible functions is now extending to include diverse aspects of memory encoding and consolidation, including areas of emotional learning in brain structures beyond the hippocampus. There is also growing interest in how dysfunction of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity is a likely contributor to a variety of neurological and psychiatric diseases.
The aim of this Brain Conference is to bring together world experts to discuss the major issues in the field.
Co-Chairs:
Venue: Rungstedgaard, North Copenhagen, Denmark
Contact:
For enquiries, please contact: [email protected] Brain Conferences Committee
The Brain Conferences are intimate-scale meetings focused on current topics in neuroscience. Two conferences per year are organised by FENS in collaboration with Lundbeck Foundation, the awarder of The Brain Prize.
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Become a FENS Member by registering with one of the FENS member Societies.FENS member societies are independent scientific organizations with individual guidelines and rules for membership. You are encouraged to check the particular guidelines for membership before submitting your expression of interest to become a FENS member. You can find an overview of all FENS societies here: www.fens.org/societies.Please enter your contact details below, and the indicated FENS member Society will approach you with further membership information.
By submitting this form, you provide your consent to the use and storage of your personal data for purposes related to your membership.*
Please insert your email address in the form below and we will contact you. | https://www.fens.org/Meetings/The-Brain-Conferences/Learning-Memory-and-Synaptic-Plasticity/ |
Anyone who has dealt with resentment knows what it does to the human psyche and overall health. It is an incredibly complex emotion that causes feelings of disappointment, anger, disgust, bitterness, and even fear. But all those feelings are natural, right? So why is it important to learn how to let go of resentment?
Psychologists believe that resentment can cause serious mental health issues, especially if it lingers over a long period of time. In such cases, it is typical that feelings of resentment gradually increase and become deeper and deeper. That, in turn, leads to irritability, unhappiness, and even excessive anxiety and depression.
What Causes Resentment?
Nearly everyone can harbor some level of resentment, and it’s usually caused by some sort of injustice or mistreatment.
It can be something momentary, such as gossip or a divorce, but it can also be something continuous, such as abuse, racism, bad relationships, or stressful work conditions.
Whatever the cause, feelings of resentment are often a result of an inadequate expression of emotions. A person may feel victimized but, at the same time, too angry or ashamed to discuss what happened. Instead, they keep piling up negative emotions, thus becoming more bitter and angry by the day.
Signs That You Are Resentful
Although resentment can take numerous forms, certain signs are typical for all cases.
The most frequent ones are:
• Recurring strong negative emotions when thinking about a specific experience
• Feeling weak, invisible, inadequate
• Inability to stop thinking about the experience that was the trigger of resentment
• Regret
• Tense relationships
• Fear and avoidance of conflict
None of these issues are easy to overcome, and resentment starts taking a toll on you. There are quite a few negative, long-term effects of resentment that everyone needs to be aware of.
Consequences of Resentment
In most cases, resentment is a persistent emotion, and dealing with it isn’t exactly easy.
Some weaker negative results of resentment are edginess, touchiness, easy anger arousal, and denial. Another, more serious result is the development of a cynical, hostile attitude that radiates negativity and becomes a risk to other, healthy relationships. Other consequences include loss of self-confidence and trouble trusting people.
Unfortunately, resentment can have much worse effects if it continues over a long period of time, such as:
• Chronic muscle and back pain (due to constriction of nerve endings)
• Weakened immune system
• Hypertension (increases the risk of stroke and heart attack)
• Cancer
• Addiction
• Depression
• Shortened life span
Resentment and Forgiveness
The biggest problem a resentful person can face is the inability to forgive. In order for them to move on and start feeling like themselves again, they have to learn how to let go of resentment.
An important aspect of overcoming resentment is learning how to forgive. A person needs to be able to acknowledge their own feelings and face them one at a time. As PsychologyToday reports, forgiving and letting go of resentment proved to benefit a person’s physical health.
Resentment is the strongest when it’s felt toward close people, be it a family member, a friend, or a partner. Nobody wants conflicts with their loved ones, so many people wrongly assume it’s easy to forgive a family member. However, it’s not in human nature to expect being hurt by someone so close. In that sense, this type of forgiveness may be the hardest one for people to reach.
How to Let Go of Resentment
There are many strategies to help you learn how to let go of resentment, but the best thing to do is to try and take it one step at a time. Learning how to forgive is a difficult and challenging process, so don’t be afraid to take your time.
There are 5 major steps:
1. Acknowledge the hurt
2. Identify your emotions
3. Find compassion for the person who hurt you
4. Make a commitment to forgive
5. Set boundaries
#1. Acknowledge the Hurt
The first step in learning how to let go of resentment is acknowledging that you’ve been hurt. Don’t be afraid, scared, or shy to tell yourself (and everyone else) how you feel.
You need to pinpoint the exact source of your hurt and analyze all the circumstances of the event. Don’t be afraid to dig deep — after all, your goal is to get to the root of the problem.
Some people tend to minimize the harm that has been done to them or make excuses for the person who hurt them, especially if it’s a romantic partner. It’s crucial that you break down this barrier.
#2. Identify Your Emotions
Don’t run away from your emotions, because you have every right to feel the way you do. It’s important to remember how the event made you feel. Then, you need to embrace the emotions you’ve been feeling since, and then express those emotions openly.
Identifying and expressing your emotions might even help the person who hurt you understand your pain better. What is it that you feel? Anger, sadness, grief, loneliness? Hate, disgust, depression? Make sure your emotions are clear to everyone involved.
#3. Find Compassion for the Person Who Hurt You
Most people looking to learn how to let go of resentment usually don’t expect this step. Nevertheless, it might be a crucial one.
Obviously, finding compassion for the person who hurt you and caused you pain is the hardest thing in the process. You need to put yourself in that person’s shoes and try to view the situation from a different angle. Their perspective might show the person’s emotions, motivation, and circumstances, and you need to try to empathize with that.
#4. Make a Commitment to Forgive
Resentment is an awful thing to live with, and you have every reason to want to get over it. But unless you actually want to forgive the person that hurt you, none of this will matter much.
So make a commitment to forgive, but also commit to being fair. Don’t use what the person has done to you as a weapon at a later time.
Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. If you ever have doubts about whether you actually forgave someone, you need to remind yourself of this commitment. Motivate yourself towards reaching true forgiveness.
#5. Set Boundaries
Now you know how to let go of resentment, but this final step will help prevent such negative events from happening again.
You should acknowledge what your weak points are, and then protect yourself from being hurt again. You need to set boundaries for the people who hurt you and make it clear that some things won’t fly with you anymore.
For example, if you are sensitive to insults, make it clear that you aren’t going to associate with them if they verbally attack you. Or, if you are sensitive to loud noises, screaming and yelling, make it clear that you will only speak to them if they speak in a normal, kind manner.
As you can see, figuring out how to let go of resentment isn’t easy, but actually doing it is even harder. These techniques can truly help you forgive and finally feel free of negativity. | https://www.dailyrx.com/how-to-let-go-of-resentment/ |
Men and women often view white-collar crimes differently from a gendered standpoint. White-collar crime encompasses many types of offenses and offenders, and males are engaged in the majority of cases of corporate and professional malfeasance. Understanding gender and white-collar crime is a work in progress, and women’s participation in the workplace is changing the landscape. Currently, there is little empirical evidence to suggest that women’s involvement in high-level corporate crime is increasing, and whether or not this trend will change remains to be seen.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. | https://fortunepublishing.org/index.php/bjclj/article/view/54 |
The name ‘al-Jazair’ (the islands), which has long been used to denote the capital, Algiers, is derived from the rocks in the sea nearby.
Algeria, a large country rich in natural resources, can be considered the quiet giant of North Africa. Although part of the Arab world, a sizable minority of the population identifies itself as Berbers, and there is still a considerable French cultural influence. Throughout history, Algeria has experienced major social, economic and political shocks. Half a century ago, independence from France was gained only after an atrocious war against the colonial power. After a promising start as a major oil producer during the oil boom, a fundamental political and economic crisis in the 1980s culminated in a decade of civil war between Islamist groups and the armed forces.
At the turn of the millennium, decreasing violence and higher oil prices led to greater stability, especially compared to other countries in the Middle Eastern and North African region, but the structural tensions in politics and society have not been resolved. The military is still the major political power, and the country is still economically very dependent on revenue from international oil and gas sales. The Arab revolutions that emerged in neighbouring Tunisia, Libya, and elsewhere in the region beginning in 2011 appeared to have left Algeria unaffected. The impact of these events is as yet uncertain, and the regional upheavals in the Maghreb and Sahel, coupled with an imminent political-succession question, may have consequences in the years to come. | https://fanack.com/algeria/?print=print |
Russo Bros. & Co. was established in 1954 by Michael Russo to service the home improvement needs of residential and commercial clients in Northern New Jersey. We are your single source for plumbing, heating, air conditioning and drain cleaning.
We are fully licensed and equipped to handle any task from new installations to all levels of service and repair work. We are also licensed to install, repair, and test backflow prevention devices as required by the state of New Jersey.
Now, more than 60 years since our founding, Russo Bros. & Co. is run by Michael’s sons, Matt and Mark Russo. The second generation is carrying on the same level of service and quality that made their father well known as the “Professor of Plumbing.”
If you want to learn more about our services or what makes Russo Bros. & Co. the home improvement contractor of choice all over Northern New Jersey, contact us today.
We service homes and commercial buildings in Morris County, Essex County, Union County, Passaic County, and Somerset County, NJ. | https://www.russobrosplumbing.com/about-us/ |
When, in a December 2016 column for The Hill, I accused the New York Times, the venerable “Gray Lady” of American journalism, of violating basic journalistic ethics in its reporting on the arrest of a patently mentally ill man in D.C. — and then, the Washington Post’s media critic Eric Wemple wrote his own column a week later piggybacking on my complaints (“NYT, D.C. corrections department brawl over logistics of Pizzagate”) — I was sure something more would come of it.
But, because the press, even blue-ribbon progressive newspapers like the Times and the Post, are ultimately more concerned with printing the news — and scooping the competition — than the ethics of how their information is obtained, even when fundamental constitutional rights of the accused are at stake, prospects for reform do not appear promising.
At a minimum, I thought Wemple would follow up on his story, to get to the bottom of my allegations. Or, when Wemple wimped out on providing the Post’s readers with closure, that other news outlets and purported media “watchdogs,” concerned about journalistic ethics, would step in and provide a resolution to the story. Naively, as a former public defender, I dreamed that as a result of the minor brouhaha my oped had generated, theTimes would delineate clearer, more cautionary guidelines for its journalists, guidelines that would provide guidance and ultimately govern the interviewing of recent arrestees where there exists reason to believe, based on the objective facts of an individual case, that the accused is laboring under a mental illness, or, is otherwise not of sound mind, and, therefore, is perhaps, unable to competently waive critical constitutional rights — like the right to remain silent, without counsel — in the face of dogged questioning from a persistent reporter. I had also hoped that perhaps jails and prisons, which are legally obligated to protect their populations, would take notice and ensure that appropriate special procedures are in place in their institutions, including approval by, or at the bare minimum prior notification to, defense lawyers, for media contacts, and that these procedures are followed with care in every case.
Now like most criminal defense attorneys, I was drilled to explain the attorney-client privilege and the right to remain silent at the very first meeting with a new client, crucial advice to later be repeated and stressed, often, in a variety of different ways and settings. Especially in high profile “media” cases, my fellow public defenders and I were even taught that it was particularly important to warn new clients that eager, ambitious members of the press could try and visit them at the jail to try and get them to talk about the allegations — and how, by doing so, they could gravely imperil their chances of later beating their criminal case.
But I never understood, and I still don’t understand, why or how the press, and here I especially mean the progressive liberal news media, but also, the conservative, libertarian, and other “types” of traditional and modern age journalists and news organizations, who frequently espouse a stake in the protection of core constitutional values, can get off so easy.
While the First Amendment right of the press to gather information about criminal cases is essential in a free republic, journalists that care about the Constitution should care about all parts of it, including being cognizant and respectful of the Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights of the accused. This is especially true in cases where mental illness is at play and the power dynamics between reporter and defendant are grossly disproportionate.
Before a journalist shows up at a jail to try and interview a new arrestee, particularly one who, from all outward appearances, is suffering from the debilitating effects of a mental health problem, why don’t they have any ethical duty to even inform the attorney of record that they are planning to try and do so? At a minimum, why aren’t there well-defined policies at the New York Times, the Washington Post, and in newsrooms all across the country providing a protocol for reporters conducting interviews in penal settings to follow — one that adequately balances the free flow of information with respect for the fundamental rights of the accused — particularly in situations where objective facts indicate the accused is suffering from some form of mental impairment?
“Ethical Journalism: AHandbookof Values and Practices for the News and Editorial Departments” circa 2004 states that “[t]he goal of The New York Times is to cover the news as impartially as possible . . . and to treat readers, news sources, advertisers and others fairly and openly, and to be seen to be doing so. The reputation of The Times rests upon such perceptions[.]” This is a noble aspiration for a news organization to have. I’m only suggesting that the handbook — and comparable ones in media outlets across the country — could benefit from some soul-searching, and ultimately, some updating, specifically with a section addressing the commonly reoccurring situation of reporters interviewing vulnerable, mental health-impaired, recent arrestees.
Stephen Cooper is a former D.C. public defender who worked as an assistant federal public defender in Alabama between 2012 and 2015. He has contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers in the United States and overseas. He writes full-time and lives in Woodland Hills, California. | |
Mjóifjörður, the "narrow fjord", 18 km. long is situated between Norðfjörður and Seyðisfjörður, and is known for pleasant weather and tranquility. The road leading to the fjord is relatively good, but is usually closed in winter, when the only access to Mjóifjörður is by the scheduled Fjardaferdir boat from Norðfjörður. The exhilarating road on the north side runs along the fjord-side to Dalatangi, a lighthouse with a most magnificent view out towards the open ocean. There are many attractions in Mjóifjörður, which is considered by many people to be the most impressive fjord in Iceland.
The beautiful waterfalls Klifbrekkufossar tumble down by the roadside. The ravine Prestagil " the Priest's Ravine", is so named because of a local folktale that tells of a huge troll woman that tried to seduce a priest into the ravine, is on the south side. Another challenging gorge is Hofsárgljúfur on the way to Dalatangi, stop by the bridge an look down. The small inlet of Smjörvogur, close to Hofsárgljúfur, was once used as a prison as there was no way in, or out of it, without assistance. At Asknes are the remains of an old whaling station, the largest in the world at the time it was built by the Norwegians around 1900, with over 200 hundred workers. Today, some 20 people live in Mjóifjörður, mostly in the tiny village, Brekkuþorp. A visit to the solitary Dalatangi lighthouse is worth your while, as is a boat trip along the fjord. A stay at the guesthouse is a haven of tranquility and the local shellfish with a good glass of white wine at Brekkan restaurant is truly the icing on the Mjóifjörður cake.
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Travel directory for Mjóifjörður
The official travel index of Iceland
Farm Holidays
Sólbrekka
Nature
Klifbrekkufossar
Klifbrekkufossar is a magnificent tier of waterfalls in Mjóifjörður. While descending the main road from Egilsstaðir the waterfalls can be spotted on the right-hand side.
Nature
Prestagil,
Prestagil -The Gorge of the Priests - is an imposing ravine in Mjóifjörður. It derives the name by an old legend which tells of a giant hag who resided in the ravine and managed to lure two priests to the gorge and gain power over them. The area is well suited for outdoor activities.
Nature
Asknes
Asknes in fjord Mjóifjörður houses the remains of a old whaling-station, which the Norwegians erected around year 1900. The factory was the largest of its kind in the world at that time. In its hayday there were 200 employees but today there are only around 40 people living in the entire Mjóifjörður region.
Nature
Víknaslóðir
In Borgarfjörður Eystri is the starting point for one of the best hiking areas in the country, the so-called "Víknaslóðir" or "The trails of the Inlets". This area is an extensive one but the trails are clearly indicated. A 10 days hike in the area is recommended - or a 5-day hike either around the Southern or the Northern area. In the village of Bakkagerði in Borgarfjörður the traveler will be provided with good preparatory assistance in most fields relating to a visit to Víknaslóðir.
Nature
Dalatangi
The way to Dalatangi takes one along a rough and narrow trail along the northern coast of Mjóifjörður. A spectacular symphony awaits the traveler at the edge of the high and rugged shore: Waterfalls, steep cliffs vales with the roaring ocean below are not cut out for those suffering from vertigo! At the end of the road - as far eastward as possible - awaits the farm and the lighthouses. The newcomer is seized with an insular impression, all while contemplating the spectacular view of Loðmundarfjörður and Seydisfjörður, at times extending as far as the and at Mt. Glettingur in the far north. | https://www.east.is/en/inspiration/town/mjoifjordur |
Sometimes the question is asked why there is so much talk and fuss and often confusion when speaking the first time and more importantly dealing with the implementation of key processes and systems in the organization.
As part of the diversity and incorporation human resource services, some of these key issues need to be addressed in order to get the full support from the management team needed to implement the above approach to ensure that diversity is very important in everyday life.
Image Source: Google
At this point, it may be useful to look at some of the dynamics we see in an organization that is not fully open to promoting diversity and inclusion practices within its team.
The management team consists of those who are usually very limited in terms of the various dimensions of diversity.
The subconscious bias of key management staff is geared towards hiring those who act, speak, and look fit into the corporate culture. In subsequent business trips, we see that decisions are made by such people with unconscious bias and that their thought processes are not even questioned.
In the end, while some employees and managers continue to be successful and satisfied with organizational results; in the end the company itself loses, as a visible result in organizations if, first and foremost, more diverse ways of thinking are allowed in the decision-making process, resulting from more employees. | https://lusomundo.net/tag/human-resource-consulting/ |
Hi <<First Name>>,
Christian theologians have for some decades affirmed that they have no monopoly on encounters with God or ultimate reality, and that other religions also have access to religious truth and transformation. If that is the case, the time has come for Christians not only to learn about but also from their religious neighbors.
Circling the Elephant affirms that the best way to be truly open to the mystery of the infinite is to move away from defensive postures of religious isolationism and self-sufficiency and to move, in vulnerability and openness, toward the mystery of the neighbor.
Employing the ancient Indian allegory of the elephant and blind(folded) men, John J. Thatamanil argues for the integration of three often-separated theological projects: theologies of religious diversity (the work of accounting for why there are so many different understandings of the elephant), comparative theology (the venture of walking over to a different side of the elephant), and constructive theology (the endeavor of re-describing the elephant in light of the other two tasks).
Circling the Elephant also offers an analysis of why we have fallen short in the past. Interreligious learning has been obstructed by problematic ideas about “religion” and “religions,” Thatamanil argues, while also pointing out the troubling resonances between reified notions of “religion” and “race.” He contests these notions and offers a new theory of the religious that makes interreligious learning both possible and desirable.
Christians have much to learn from their religious neighbors, even about such central features of Christian theology as Christ and the Trinity. This book envisions religious diversity as a promise, not a problem, and proposes a new theology of religious diversity that opens the door to robust interreligious learning and Christian transformation through encountering the other.
Circling the Elephant on Amazon
Circling the Elephant Website
John Thatamanil’s Faculty page at Union Theological Seminary
John Thatamanil on Homebrewed Christianity Podcast
Please tag your posts for this book as #CirclingTheElephant
“With rigorous research and wisdom from years of Hindu-Christian-Buddhist trialogue, Dr. Thatamanil presents a trinitarian theology of religious diversity that is expansive, provocative, and imaginative. It is deeply rewarding to witness how intra- and inter-religious dialogues occur in this creative theologian’s mind simultaneously on many levels. The book pushes the envelope of the ways constructive theology can be done!”
—Kwok Pui-lan, Dean’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
“Rooted in the expansive diversity of our actual human existence, John Thatamanil offers a new approach to the well-worn paths of theologies of religious pluralism and comparative theology. Challenging the very category of ‘religion’ from out of the near-infinite ways we humans orient ourselves in the world, this provocative proposal invites us to consider what it might still mean to be ‘religious’ when the unbounded encounter with the beauty of the particular is data for theological reflection. As complex and complicated as our moment in history, Circling the Elephant is an invitation to embrace the bewildering divine and human with a creativity that just might make us want to be better people.”
—Jeannine Hill Fletcher, author of The Sin of White Supremacy: Christianity, Racism and Religious Diversity in America
“Insightful, skillful, and convincing, this book could serve as an anchor for a course.”
―Choice
“Circling the Elephant is a compelling case for interreligious learning in our times, grounded in a convincing critique of religious traditions as impermeable historical fortresses. Theological arguments for openness to the wisdom of our neighbors’ traditions are richly illustrated by stories of the creativity and transformation that flow from such deep human encounters. Thatamanil’s work is a new and valuable resource for comparative theology, theologies of religious diversity, and constructive theology across traditions.”
—Anantanand Rambachan, St. Olaf College
John J. Thatamanil is Associate Professor of Theology and World Religions at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He is the author of The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament; An East–West Conversation. He teaches a wide variety of courses in the areas of comparative theology, theologies of religious diversity, Hindu-Christian dialogue, the theology of Paul Tillich, theory of religion, and process theology. He is committed to the work of comparative theology—theology that learns from and with a variety of traditions.
We have a few remaining copies of Samaritan Cookbook. Find out more & request your copy!
Be sure to let your blogging and podcasting friends know that they can apply to join us. | https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?e=%5BUNIQID%5D&u=d6c1bd65c316d68842a5dee64&id=70890885c5 |
The present application relates vehicle cameras and specifically to an adaptive calibration of vehicle cameras.
Camera calibration parameters are divided into intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. The intrinsic parameters describe the transformation of a light ray that passes through the lens and reaches the image sensor. This transformation is non-linear in the specific case of the fish eye image.
The extrinsic parameters describe the transformation of a point from the world into the camera referential. Combining these two transformations it is possible to relate a point in the image with a point in the world. In general, the intrinsic parameters are fixed and are defined in the factory. The extrinsic parameters are specific for the each application and may change over time.
In the context of the present specification, the extrinsic parameters map a point from the vehicle referential into the camera referential. These parameters may change for various reasons such as camera housing deterioration, low tyre pressure, etc. Known methods to determine the extrinsic parameters involve the detection of targets used for calibration.
In the context of the present specification the intrinsic parameters are known, for example by a factory setting or a prior calibration and the extrinsic parameters are to be determined. Generally, the extrinsic parameters comprise three rotation parameters and three translation parameters.
It is an object of the present specification to provide an improved method and device for deriving extrinsic camera parameters using known features of a detected neighbouring vehicle.
The method according to the present specification is particularly suitable for acquiring a calibration target reliably while camera is moving and for providing an adaptive calibration of extrinsic camera parameters. The adaptive calibration is carried out while the vehicle on which the camera is mounted is in use and in particular during driving on a public road. In most cases this means that the vehicle camera is moving.
In a specific embodiment, the extrinsic parameters relate to three rotation angles, which can be provided by a horizontal and a vertical inclination angle of the camera and a rotation of the image around the projection axis of the camera. The extrinsic parameters can furthermore include a height of the camera above ground level. A horizontal position of the vehicle camera with respect to the vehicle frame is often known but may also be calibrated.
Target based calibration usually requires a fixed target, which has a known position with respect to the camera position. If the camera is moving this would require to change the position of a calibration target accordingly whenever the camera position changes. In most situations this is not feasible. According to another method, a target is projected by a car using a laser for example. The position of that laser would have to be calibrated and it could also change over time.
The use of multiple images from the same camera is often a complicated problem to solve. It is possible to determine the position of the camera related to a referential but it is difficult to get the scale factor. The use of multiple cameras can present difficulties if the common areas in the image are small and are on the corners of the image. These regions are affected by the camera distortion and it is difficult to identify and match features.
By contrast, a method according to the present specification does not require multiple images, images from multiple cameras or a complex stereo camera although such features may be used if they are available. For example, multiple images of the same target may be processed separately and the separate estimates of the extrinsic parameters can be averaged or accumulated.
A fixed target based camera extrinsic calibration works best with a fixed and known target. However, it is often difficult and practically not possible to acquire a fixed and known target when the camera is moving. By contrast, a method according to the present specification allows in certain situations to acquire a known target even when the vehicle camera, the target or both of them are moving. This feature can help to provide a good calibration of extrinsic parameters.
Extrinsic camera calibration often requires a fixed target to estimate the extrinsic parameters. Instead of a fixed target the method according to the present specification uses the image of a vehicle in the scenery, acquires a known vehicle feature and uses it as fixed target. Each vehicle model has known features, for example the number plate size, the character size on the number plate, the vehicle height, the vehicle width, the tyre width, chassis height and width etc. Each of these features can give a cue to provide a calibration of extrinsic camera parameters.
In particular, the vehicle can refer to registered motor vehicles that carry number plates. Specifically, motor vehicles with three or more wheels of a known type can provide well recognizable visual features. However, two wheelers, such as motor bikes, can also be used for calibration purposes. For example, the height of the number plate can be derived from the vehicle type of a motor bike and used in the camera calibration.
According to the present specification, a database is provided with characterizing data about the outer dimensions of popular vehicle models and keeps, such as height, width, number plate size, tyre width and height, chassis width and height. According to a further embodiment, the database comprises information about the size of each individual character on a vehicle number plate.
The database is used for extrinsic calibration through automated interpretation of vehicle images in the image frames of one or more vehicle cameras.
According to one embodiment, a number plate recognition is used to recognise the vehicle number plate and the vehicle number plate data is used to derive dimensional information that contributes to solving the calibration problem.
In particular, the vehicle number plate characters have standard type and size. For example the number plate characters of the European Union have a uniform design across a large geographical region.
Once the number plate characters are recognised, they can be used to find out the vehicle model if corresponding data can be retrieved from a database. The database is indexed for faster searching. In one embodiment this comprises indexing a data field corresponding to the vehicle mode. In another embodiment, data fields corresponding to the visible features of the vehicle are indexed. The database index may comprise a multi-field index, which indexes multiple data fields for easier retrieval of a combination of values.
When the vehicle model is known, the number plate height can be retrieved from the database and the actual size of the characters can be calculated. All of the characters on the number plate can be used as a known target to solve the calibration problem.
Among others, the vehicle model data may contain the vehicle height, the vehicle width, the wheel base, the tyre width, the tail lamp height and width, the head lamp height and width, and the windshield size. All of the dimensional vehicle information, which relates to the outer appearance of the vehicle, can be used as input data to solve the calibration problem.
Specifically, the present application discloses a computer implemented method for an adaptive calibration of a vehicle camera from an image of a neighbouring vehicle. In particular, the neighbouring vehicle can refer to a vehicle driving ahead of or behind a present vehicle to which the camera is mounted. Thereby, visible external features of the neighbouring vehicle can be detected conveniently.
Image data is retrieved from the vehicle camera and the image of the neighbouring vehicle is acquired from the image data. For example, the vehicle can be identified by detecting typical features that characterise the outer appearance and/or the motion of a vehicle.
A vehicle model of the neighbouring vehicle is determined from the image data. For example, the vehicle model can be retrieved by matching the detected features of the neighbouring vehicle with features that are stored in an onboard database or in an exterior database and which are linked to the vehicle model. In particular, the relative sizes of visible features can be compared with a database content of an onboard database.
Furthermore, the vehicle model can be retrieved by using identified type information, such as a trademark sign or a model number on the vehicle body, or by linking letters or other markers on the number plate to the vehicle type. Moreover, the vehicle type may also be determined using a feedback signal of a licence plate transponder.
The vehicle model is used to retrieve dimensional information of the pre-determined target from an onboard database, which is provided in the present vehicle. In particular, the dimensional information comprises data relating to the absolute size, height and width of visible features. The dimensional information is correlated with the image data, for example by deriving absolute or relative dimensions of visible features of the neighbouring vehicle from the image data by using image recognition methods and comparing the dimensions of the visible features with the retrieved dimensions.
The correlation between the dimensional information and the image of the neighbouring vehicle is used to determine one or more extrinsic parameters of the vehicle camera.
According to a further embodiment, in which the neighbouring vehicle is a vehicle in front of or behind a present vehicle to which the camera is mounted, image data corresponding to a vehicle number plate is identified. The number plate is sometimes also referred to as registration plate or licence plate.
Number plate letters of the vehicle number plate are identified. Among others, the letters may represent roman characters or characters of some other alphabet or writing system or numbers.
Dimensional information of the number plate letters of the number plate is retrieved from the onboard database. The letters can be compared with stored letter information directly, and thereby a type of the number plate can be determined, or the type of the number plate can be determined first by using other characteristic features of the number plate, such as the European Union symbol, the positioning of the letters, the alphabet used, a service certificate symbol etc.
The dimensional information of the letters is correlated with image data relating to the letters and the correlation between the dimensional information of the letters and image data relating to the letters is used to determine one or more extrinsic parameters of the vehicle camera.
According to an embodiment in which the dimensional information in the database comprises a number plate height. The dimensional information of the number plate letters and the height of the number plate are used to derive a relative position of the number plate and to determine the one or more extrinsic parameters from one or more recognized number plate letters.
According to a further embodiment, image data corresponding to a car number plate is identified and a content of the vehicle number plate is identified, such as for example a letter combination or a transponder feedback signal. The identified content of the vehicle number plate is used as a search key to retrieve the vehicle model from an onboard database or from a remote database.
In particular, the vehicle model can be retrieved from a remote database over a wireless connection. The remote database is easier to update and may have a larger data volume than an onboard database. On the other hand, an onboard database can be accessed quickly and permanently and does not incur any transmission fees.
According to specific embodiments, the dimensional information is selected from a vehicle height, a vehicle width, a bumper with, a number plate size, a vehicle height, a vehicle width, a wheel base, a tyre width, a tail lamp height, a tail lamp width, a head lamp height, a head lamp width and a windshield size. In particular the outer dimensions of the vehicle and the distances between the vehicle's lights can provide good recognition features.
According to one embodiment in which the neighbouring vehicle is a vehicle ahead or behind a present vehicle to which the camera is mounted and in which the dimensional information relates to a height above ground surface, a position of a visible feature of the neighbouring vehicle above the ground surface is identified.
According to embodiment, a horizontal orientation of the neighbouring vehicle relative to the vehicle camera, or to a vehicle camera reference system is determined, for example using using vanishing points, focus of expansion/contraction or other image features, and a rectifying transformation is derived from the orientation of the neighbouring vehicle.
One or more extrinsic calibration parameters are derived using parameters of the rectifying transformation. In another embodiment, the rectifying transformation is applied to the image data before deriving dimensional information or information about the relative dimensions of the neighbouring vehicle from the image data.
According to a further embodiment, an affine rectifying transformation is determined in which letters of a number plate of the neighbouring vehicle appear undistorted after correction for the intrinsic parameters. The rectifying transformation is applied to an image portion that comprises image data corresponding to the number plate and a scaling factor is derived from an apparent size of the letters.
According to a further embodiment, visible features which correspond to a multiplicity of vehicle images are stored after successful recognition of a vehicle model or vehicle model, wherein the images may correspond to the same neighbouring vehicle or to different neighbouring vehicles. Preferentially the method comprises storing the visible features or, in other words, data that characterizes the visible features, such as actual width, height vs detected width, or the height and not the vehicle images. However, the vehicle images or portions of it may be stored for later use.
One or more extrinsic camera parameters are derived from the visual features of the multiple images, for example by deriving the one or more extrinsic camera parameters for each image separately and forming an average of the derived extrinsic camera parameters. The average could be a weighted average in which the individual estimates of the average are weighted by an accuracy indicator.
Further, the current specification discloses a computer program with computer readable instructions for executing the steps of the aforementioned method and a computer readable storage medium with the computer program.
In a further aspect, the current specification discloses an image processing device for a vehicle camera the image processing device that comprises an input connection for receiving image data from the vehicle camera and a computation unit.
The computation unit is connected to the input connection and is operative to execute the aforementioned methods by providing suitable hardware components such as a microprocessor, an ASIC, an electronic circuit or similar, a computer readable memory, such as a flash memory, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic memory or similar.
Specifically, the computation unit is operative to acquire the image of the neighbouring vehicle from the image data, to determine a vehicle model of the neighbouring vehicle from the image data and to use the vehicle model to retrieve dimensional information of the pre-determined target from an onboard database.
Furthermore, the computation unit is operative to correlate the dimensional information with the image data and to use the correlation between the dimensional information and the image of the neighbouring vehicle to determine one or more extrinsic parameters of the vehicle camera.
Furthermore, the current specification discloses a kit with the image processing device and a vehicle camera. The vehicle camera is connectable to the image processing device, for example by providing a suitable interface and means to attach a data cable.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
shows a car with a surround view system,
Fig. 1
illustrates a projection to a ground plane of an image point recorded with the surround view system of ,
Fig. 2
illustrates in further detail the ground plane projection of ,
Fig. 1
shows an acquisition of dimensional data of a car in front of the car of .
Furthermore, the current specification discloses a vehicle with the kit, wherein the vehicle camera is mounted to the vehicle such that the vehicle camera is pointing to an exterior scenery and connected to the computation unit by a dedicated cable or by an automotive data bus. The computation unit may be provided in the camera or in the vehicle.
In the following description, details are provided to describe embodiments of the application. It shall be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments may be practiced without such details.
Some parts of the embodiments have similar parts. The similar parts may have the same names or similar part numbers. The description of one similar part also applies by reference to another similar parts, where appropriate, thereby reducing repetition of text without limiting the disclosure.
Figure 1
Fig. 1
shows a car 10 with a surround view system 11. The surround view system 11 comprises a front view camera 12, a right side view camera 13, a left side view camera 14 and a rear view camera 15. The cameras 11 - 14 are connected to a CPU of a controller, which is not shown in . The controller is connected to further sensors and units, such as a velocity sensor, a steering angle sensor, a GPS unit, and acceleration and orientation sensors.
Figs. 2 and 3
Fig. 2
show a projection to a ground plane 16. shows a projection of an image point to a ground plane 16. An angle of inclination θ relative to the vertical can be estimated from a location of the image point on the image sensor of the right side view camera 13. If the image point corresponds to a feature of the road the location of the corresponding object point is the projection of the image point onto the ground plane.
Fig. 3
In the example of , the camera 13 has an elevation H above the ground plane. Consequently, the correspond object point is located at a distance H*cos(θ) from the right side of the car 10. If an image point corresponds an object point on the ground plane, a projection of the image point to the ground plane represents the real position of an object point in the surroundings. An angle θ of incidence is derived from a location of the image point on the camera sensor. A location Y of the projection is then derived using the height H of the camera sensor above street level as Y = H * cos(θ).
Fig. 3
Fig. 2
Fig. 4
shows an isometric view of the affine projection of . In , a point in a view port plane 17 is denoted by p = (u, v) and a corresponding point in the ground plane 16 is denoted by P = (X, Y). A distance between the view port plane 17 and a projection centre C is denoted by the letter "f".
A projection to a vertical plane, which is at a right angle to the ground plane, can be provided in a similar way. A vertical view can provide a rectified view of a back-side of a car ahead. Moreover, a projection can be adjusted such that the back side of the car ahead appears rectified and thereby provide information about the camera calibration parameters. In particular, the projection can be adjusted such that characters on a number plate of the car ahead appear rectified.
Fig. 4
Fig. 2
shows a recognition procedure of dimensional data of a neighbouring car 30. In the example of , the neighbouring car 30 is in front of the current car 10.
The front camera 12 of the current car 10 is connected to an image processing unit 18. The image processing unit 18 is connected to an onboard database 19 which contains information about vehicle types, such as the width of a rear bumper 24, a wheelbase 25, a vehicle height 26, a position and type of rear lights 27, 28, a position of a number plate 29, etc.
Furthermore, the image processing unit 18 is connectable to a remote database 20 via an antenna 21 of the car 10 and a wireless connection 22. The remote database 20 is connected to the wireless connection 22 over a network, such as the internet. By way of example, the wireless connection 22 can be provided by the antenna 21, and a transmitter and receiver of a wireless network, such as a mobile phone network.
According to one embodiment, the remote database 20 comprises number plate numbers and data about the car 30 which carries the number plate or registration plate. In a usage scenario, the remote database 20 receives a request that contains the number plate string "AA51WXX", retrieves the corresponding car model "Audi A6" and sends the information back to the antenna 21 of the car 10. The image processing 18 retrieves the corresponding dimensional information of the car model from the onboard database 19 and evaluates the image data based on the retrieved dimensional information.
Once the model of the car 30 is retrieved, the dimensional information can be retrieved from the onboard database 19, from the remote database 20 or from other remote data sources. The remote database 20 contains a subset of information that is stored in a vehicle registration database of a state authority. Other remote data sources which may contain similar information include a manufacturer's database and a database of a car servicing contractor.
The car 30 in front of the current car 10 is located within a camera angle 31 of the front camera 12, such that an image of the car's 30 rear side appears in the image data of the vehicle camera 12. The onboard database 20 is updated over the wireless communication link 22 to include further car models.
According to a further embodiment, the data which links the number plate strings is already contained in the onboard database 20. The onboard database 20 may be updated using the wireless communication link 22. Furthermore, the onboard database may also be updated over a data carrier, such as a compact disk, on which a list with number plate characters and the corresponding car models can be provided.
Although the above description contains much specificity, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but merely providing illustration of the foreseeable embodiments. The above stated advantages of the embodiments should not be construed especially as limiting the scope of the embodiments but merely to explain possible achievements if the described embodiments are put into practice. Thus, the scope of the embodiments should be determined by the claims and their equivalents, rather than by the examples given. | |
In family-owned businesses, governance can become a significant source of conflict and frustration. Those businesses that survive the transition through the generations will have a clear and agreed-upon plan for governance that leads to effective decision-making and increased family harmony. This is also an opportunity to capture the history and legacy of the founder generation, ensuring that institutional knowledge can be passed from generation to generation.
Methods and documents to support communication and information sharing. This could include a Family Council, a Family Charter, a Sibling Management Agreement and additional documents that reflect the philosophies and values of the family as they either actively or remotely manage the family business.
Training and agreement in ways to manage conflict and improve communication, negotiation and decision-making.
A process for setting compensation, managing performance and setting the strategic direction when appropriate. This might include the development of key policies and/or the setting up of an advisory board.
A way to effectively manage family wealth and wealth planning. Ensuring appropriate communication, access to information and professional investment planning.
A way to capture and celebrate the history and legacy of the organization and the family.
At EisnerAmper, we are experts in developing the polices, protocols and practices that can increase communication and family harmony, while ensuring that the family enterprise remains healthy and productive. On the following pages, you will find a host of resources and ideas to help you and your family begin to explore the world of family governance. Please call us for a no-obligation conversation to learn how we can help you to develop this important foundation to intergenerational family-business success! | https://www.eisneramper.com/family-transition/ |
Seliena Coyle makes jewellery inspired by Bronze Age artefacts and indigenous materials that blends new and old technologies.
Like all juried awards and open competition prizes, the Golden Fleece Award maintains various established rules of entry. If you are interested in applying for the Golden Fleece Award, finding out about the eligibility criteria for applicants or how the applications are assessed, please read our guidelines below.
The Golden Fleece Award normally consists of one or more major Awards, to which may be added smaller Merit / Commendation / Special Awards and the size of the award fund is usually in the region of €20,000. How the fund is divided among recipients and distributed in any given year is at the Trustees' discretion. In recent years, Awards of €12,000, €10,000, €5,000, €4,000 and €3,000 have been made.
Entries for the 2022 Award opened on Friday 15 October 2021, and the deadline for submissions is 5pm, Friday 17 December 2021.
Full details of the materials required for submission, and how to submit your application, are available here. | https://www.goldenfleeceaward.com/how-to-apply/guidelines |
- This awards program is open to business bankers, only. For purposes of this awards program, a business banker is any banker who works primarily to serve the financial services of a business, company or other commercial entity. Nominees will typically work in a bank. Nominees must be working full time as a business banker. Self-nominations are encouraged.
- Nominees affiliated with a bank located in the greater San Fernando Valley region are eligible for award consideration. Nominees affiliated with a bank located outside the region are also eligible if the nominee spends a majority of time serving clients in the region. The region is described as through Glendale to the east; Lancaster/Santa Clarita to the north; through the Conejo Valley in the west and south to the Santa Monica Mountains.
- Business bankers should manage a portfolio (loans, deposits, etc.) of at least $15 million annually. NOTE to nominators: if you do not know this information, the Business Journal will confirm eligibility. Bank executives are also eligible for award consideration but only if they, personally, can meet the portfolio criteria.
- Nominees selected for award recognition would most likely be seasoned professionals with a minimum of ten years in the profession. We encourage multiple nominations per bank, however, only one nominee per bank will be selected for award recognition. | https://www.sfvbj.com/nominate-sfv-vta-bank/ |
Students in this course will engage with Hinckley Institute Resident Scholar John Price, who served as the Ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of Seychelles, and the Union of Comoros from 2002-2005. This unique course allows students to learn from and engage with a foremost expert on African politics.
Students will discuss current issues in various African countries and examine policies that impact community development throughout Africa. The class meets once a month on Friday afternoons. Students write papers and give presentations on issues and policies in assigned countries for three of the sessions.
Erosion in Democracy
POLS 5960-002
Since the 2000s, countries across the world, have seen the rise of potential autocrats. Executives with hegemonic aspirations like Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey or Viktor Orbán in Hungary, have used their popularity to hinder free and fair elections, political rights, and civil liberties effectively eroding democracy. What circumstances bring these politicians to power? What factors allow them to undermine democratic regimes? What, if anything, can be done to stop them? In this course we will answer these questions. We will analyze of the causes, consequences, and remedies to democratic backsliding, covering topics like weak institutions, polarization, populism, corruption, false or fake news, and opposition strategies using examples from different countries like Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Bolivia, the Philippines, Brazil, and the United States.
This course is part of the Democratic Erosion Consortium. It is taught in universities across the world. The assignments include writing and publishing blog posts, collaborating with US and international agencies in creating reports on democratic backsliding, or participating and reporting on political events. Not only will it allow you to interact with your classmates, but also with students from other universities inside and outside the US.
Race and Ethnicity in Latin America
ETHNC 4940-001 · POLS 3960-002
POLS 3530-090
The Japanese Empire
HIST 3540
Location: GC 5680
This course focuses on the Japanese empire, which formally began in 1895 and ended in 1945. The Japanese empire has had profound implications for the diplomatic relations amongst nations on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. While this course spends the most amount of time dealing with the Japanese empire, it will also consider how this empire overlapped with and intersected the expansion of the US empire. While historians and scholars have often seen these two powers as diametrically opposed - with the US supporting racial progress and freedom and the Japanese focuses on blood purity and exclusion - we will witness some remarkable similarities in how the two powers dealt with minority populations amidst the buildup to war. This course will also ask you to consider the ways in which minority discourses either shifted and/or remained the same in the postwar period. In other words, how might have the legacies of Japanese imperialism continued into the postwar period. Finally, the course will end by asking us how we as citizens and scholars should attempt to remember war and empire.
Literatures of Global Asias
ENGL 3780
Location: Canvas
If the nineteenth century was marked by a cultural and political focus on the United Kingdom, and the twentieth century by the United States, then what does the twenty-first bring? In the fall of 2011, the Obama administration introduced a new direction in foreign policy—the “pivot” toward the Pacific as the United States shifted its gaze to the Asia Pacific. The administration’s declaration was the culmination of a series of maneuvers that long preceded it, but it would mark the beginning of the twenty-first century’s focus on the rise of global Asias. However, there are nuances that can only be captured through a cultural and literary lens; the Asia Pacific is not a monolith, but many different countries with a wide array of cultures and histories. This course focuses on Asian and Asian American literatures that are global in scope, scale, and imagination; it interrogates the transnational flow of Asian and Asian American labor, capital, bodies, and culture.
Classical Chinese Philosophy
PHIL 4140/5193/6140
Location: CRCC 215
This course will survey seven main thinkers of the “classical” period of Chinese philosophy (approx. 550-221 BCE): Kongzi (Confucius), Mozi, Mengzi (Mencius), Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi. These thinkers developed a complex and rich debate about ethics, human nature, moral psychology, and self-cultivation. The positions they established greatly influenced later Chinese history, including the development of Buddhism, and they influenced philosophical discourse in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam as well. Thus, understanding these early debates is an important stepping-stone for understanding East Asian thought generally. Readings will consist mainly of primary texts in translation, with some secondary literature. No previous knowledge of Chinese language or history is necessary. | https://international-studies.utah.edu/news/Fall2021FeaturedClasses.php |
Identification and initial response to children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: A qualitative synthesis of the perspectives of children, mothers and professionals
Lewis, N. V., Feder, G. S., Howarth, E., Szilassy, E., McTavish, J. R., MacMillan, H. L., & Wathen, N.
URI:
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/4/e019761
http://hdl.handle.net/11212/3951
Date:
2018
Abstract:
Objectives To synthesise evidence on the acceptable identification and initial response to children’s exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) from the perspectives of providers and recipients of healthcare and social services. Design We conducted a thematic synthesis of qualitative research, appraised the included studies with the modified Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist and undertook a sensitivity analysis of the studies scored above 15. Data sources We searched eight electronic databases, checked references and citations and contacted authors of the included studies. Eligibility criteria We included qualitative studies with children, parents and providers of healthcare or social services about their experiences of identification or initial responses to children’s exposure to IPV. Papers that have not been peer-reviewed were excluded as well as non-English papers. Results Searches identified 2039 records; 11 studies met inclusion criteria. Integrated perspectives of 42 children, 212 mothers and 251 professionals showed that sufficient training and support for professionals, good patient-professional relationship and supportive environment for patient/clients need to be in place before enquiry/disclosure of children’s exposure to IPV should occur. Providers and recipients of care favour a phased enquiry about IPV initiated by healthcare professionals, which focuses on ‘safety at home’ and is integrated into the context of the consultation or visit. Participants agreed that an acceptable initial response prioritises child safety and includes emotional support, education about IPV and signposting to IPV services. Participants had conflicting perspectives on what constitutes acceptable engagement with children and management of safety. Sensitivity analysis produced similar results. Conclusions Healthcare and social service professionals should receive sufficient training and ongoing individual and system-level support to provide acceptable identification of and initial response to children’s exposure to IPV. Ideal identification and responses should use a phased approach to enquiry and the WHO Listen, Inquire about needs and concerns, Validate, Enhance safety and Support principles integrated into a trauma-informed and violence-informed model of care.
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Feeling the midday slump in between meals? Keep those hearty snacks on hand to get the most out of your day.
BY: VICTORIA YATES, RN
Do you love to snack? If you’re like most people, you probably love to munch on something in between your meals to keep you energized and get through the day.
Often times, those who eliminate snacking find that limiting calories and cutting out mid-meal snacking will end eating far more than they intend to at their next meal. There’s a tendency to feel uncontrollable around food, where you eat it so quickly out of hunger that you may not be able to fully enjoy it. Evenings can turn into a pantry raid that puts you in bed feeling overly full.
In other words, your workday snacking is far more necessary than you think! Here’s why.
1. It Starts With Noticing Hunger
The necessity of snacking goes back to how your bodies work. In order to work most efficiently with sustained energy and brain power, our bodies need to fuel regularly. As fuel stores deplete, you’ll notice signs of hunger begin to rise. Everyone’s signs of hunger differ, but here’s a few things you may notice as you get hungry: decreased energy, weakness, “brain-fogginess”, headache, dizziness, and the typical sign…stomach pangs. By noticing these signs of hunger, you can better act on those signs and meet your hunger needs.
For most, our bodies do best when eating something every 3-4 hours. Getting those messages of hunger is the biological signal that you should probably eat something. What happens if we don’t listen to those hunger cues between meals? Our hunger reaches a famished level, and we rush home to fill up on snacks while making dinner, or don’t even get home before driving through the drive-through.
2. The Satisfaction Factor
Satisfaction is something we don’t often think about when it comes to meeting our hunger needs. But eating snacks that are satisfying, as well as filling, is very important for sustained energy. Think about that time you were at the office and reached for a rice cake out of hunger.
That rice cake probably didn’t satisfy your hunger and you ended up reaching for something else to satisfy. Instead of grabbing something just because you think it’s low in calories, it’s important to think about what will give you satisfaction. Typically, the most satisfying components to include in a snack when you’re hungry are some form of complex carbs, fat, and protein, but it’s also important to consider what you’re craving.
3. Be Prepared
Maintaining energy at work and keeping hunger at bay is all about being prepared. Always leave the house with a snack prepared, or keep snacks at work. Even if you aren’t hungry for a snack, you are ready for it if that hunger does show up. Snack on nutrient-dense foods that will help you stay energized and focused, rather than rushing home and devouring everything in sight.
Responding to hunger is an important part of eating intuitively, which includes being open to snacking as a practical way to meet your hunger to keep you feeling calm and at peace around food.
So snack away, your body needs it!
Victoria Yates, RN is a Registered Nurse & Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor based in Westchester, NY who focuses on helping women reach a healthier relationship with food and their bodies. She is passionate about guiding others reprogram negative thoughts around food and body image so they may experience a truly joyful life. Learn more about Victoria Yates Nutrition. | https://wellseek.co/2018/02/05/3-reasons-helps-snacker/ |
Library Information Literacy Instruction Request Form
In a rapidly changing, information-rich society, information/digital literacy instruction is more important than ever. Becoming an information-literate individual means knowing when information is needed, how to locate and access it, evaluate the content and ethically use it. Our library is mostly digital, comprised of databases housing journals, eBooks and more. We can help students, staff and faculty successfully navigate our resources and equip them with transferable skills applicable beyond the classroom.
PLACING YOUR ORDER - REQUESTING INSTRUCTION
Click here to request instruction. Faculty can choose from a menu of instruction items to customize their session. We request as much notice as possible to best meet your needs, however, a minimum of two weeks' notice is preferred. We can usually confirm your request within 24 hours.
INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH CONSULTATION (APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE)
In addition to classroom instruction, library staff connect with the campus community through individual research consultations. Students/Faculty/Staff can make an appointment for a one-on-one session with a librarian or library specialist to help with the research process. This includes learning to navigate the online databases, choosing a topic, and help with utilizing database tools. | https://gateway.kctcs.edu/faculty-staff/library-information-services-for-faculty/ |
A contract on construction job specifies a penalty for delay of completion beyond a certain date as follows: Rs. 200 for the first day, Rs. 250 for the second day, Rs. 300 for the third day, etc., the penalty for each succeeding day being Rs. 50 more than for the preceding day. How much money the contractor has to pay as penalty, if he has delayed the work by 30 days. | https://www.meritnation.com/cbse/class10/ncert-solutions/math/math/arithmetic-progressions/page113-exercise-5-3-qno15/9_132_2553 |
Convulsive news came from Kolkata, where the workers have resigned from private hospitals. This came up as a halt on a scheme to expand number of beds for patients of Covid-19. This became unsettling for private hospitals as they are ahead of festivals.
Several hospitals have confirmed the news and have also started recruiting new staff. Pradip Tandon, the CEO of Belle Vue located in Elgin, Kolkata, stated that nearly 20 nurses have resigned in the past two days. He also said that the hospital has recruited 45 nurses who are going through training for almost 12 hours a day.
Similar incidents were seen in Peerless Hospital and AMRI Hospital where 40 have left the hospital in the previous week. According to the reports, the total took up to almost 100 nurses in the city. Health experts said that this may pose a serious threat ahead of the festive season.
The reason for the exodus was recruitment by the government hospital. This is not a new occurrence as previously also nurses have resigned to work in public sector hospitals. Recently the state health department has started recruiting more than 550 nurses for the government hospitals. Proper facilities, benefits, better pay, and job security in private hospitals as in the public sector may act as a solution to the problem.
Private hospitals have undertaken to aggrandize the covid beds to half a grand by the festivals. This now may become hard to get after the exodus of workers in private hospitals. The need to ramp up the number of beds was to cope with the spike in covid cases in upcoming months as estimated by the health department.
Rupak Barua, the group of CEO of AMRI Hospital, said that they are recruiting from anywhere possible. Recently the hospital has recruited nurses from colleges of Tripura, Orissa, and Jharkhand.
Officials have said that to increase the efficiency, number of beds, cope with the covid cases, recruitment is indispensable. | https://nursingnews.in/demission-of-nurses-may-pose-a-new-menace-in-kolkata/ |
During the past decade and a half I have attended more meetings of the St. Thomas University Senate than I care to remember. Therefore, I think I speak with some measure of authority when I say the meetings are often mind-numbingly boring, yet still address issues of great importance to the university community.
The student press at St. Thomas has taken an interest in attending and reporting on the proceedings of Senate. The editor of this newspaper and a photographer recently attended a meeting of Senate to cover a story of consequence for students, namely a discussion of changing timeslots for classes.
The editor reported in the last edition of this newspaper about how she received a less than warm welcome at last month’s Senate meeting and was restricted in how she could report through a “no recording” motion that was introduced and passed unanimously.
I encourage Senate to reconsider this position at its next meeting. Senate meetings are open to members of the university community, and open to the media, there is no question about that. Therefore, the student press should be permitted to record the proceedings. Allowing reporters to record debates at Senate simply makes for more accurate reporting.
As a university that has at the core of its mission the exploration of ideas and freedom of inquiry, it is important that we walk the talk within our own institutions. I understand that having reporters in the room and acting in a truly open and transparent fashion can be uncomfortable. I understand why senators might prefer to do their business out of the public eye and why it might be off putting to be recorded.
However, the request to record Senate meetings for accuracy in reporting is a fair and reasonable request from a group of excellent students and conscientious journalists who are working hard to accurately report issues of importance to the community they serve.
My suggestion is that Senate reverse its no recording policy and then meet with student journalists to find a way for the free press and the Senate to do the work they are both mandated to do.
At a university where we teach journalism, communications and public policy we should be setting an example for openness and transparency for universities across the country, not imposing restrictions on the work of student journalists. At this time in history, when the free press is under assault from many quarters, including those in positions of great power, we should ensure that in our own house, we recognize the important work that journalists play in keeping us informed and assist them in having access to the information they need to do their best work. | http://theaquinian.net/letter-editor-2/ |
Embryonic stem (ES) cells and genetically modifi ed stem cells are being widely used in basic research in the fi eld of regenerative medicine. However, clinical application of these cells is currently diffi cult in view of ethical issues. On the other hand, cells derived from bone marrow, adipose tissue or other tissues have attracted attention as clinically applicable sources of autograft ing cells, because these cells can diff erentiate into various types of cells, including adipocytes, osteocytes, chondrocytes, smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells and neuronal cells. Since, adipose tissue yields mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) 500 fold greater than bone marrow, isolated with minimal invasive procedure and moreover, it is contaminated with lesser number of hematopoietic stem cells, it could be a better source for mesenchymal stem cells. Surface markers are now increasingly used for identifi cation of these cells and their diff erentiation. Even these markers are being exploited for obtaining homogenous cell prearation. Many surface antigens which are known for mouse bone marrow MSCs but their presence or absence in mouse adipose tissue has not been established. Comparatively, identifi cation of markers on adipose derived MSCs from human is actively pursued. So far, presence or absence of 36 well studied surface markers on human adipose derived MSCs is established, albeit some of them being doubtful. In contrast, presence of only 6 markers and absence of 10 markers in mouse adipose derived MSCs has been established. | https://www.omicsonline.org/proceedings/identifi-cation-of-surface-markers-during-proliferation-and-differentiation-of-mouse-adiposederived-mesenchymal-stem-cells-3698.html |
6/18/2008 NC Junior Golf Championship July 7-8 2008 at Maggie Valley Club.
5/30/2008 Kevin Kisner Wins 2008 Bermuda Run Open
5/30/2008 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - June '08 Issue
5/23/2008 Moore defeats Gallo in Sudden Death to win Walnut Creek Classic
5/9/2008 David Robinson Wins the 2008 Tarheel Tour’s Northstone Open
5/6/2008 Tarheel Player Jason Bohn Captures Third Place in the 2008 Wachovia Championship
5/2/2008 2008 Cabarrus Classic Title Captured by DJ Fiese
4/26/2008 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - May '08 Issue
4/25/2008 Tar Heel Tour - Bare Grabs Sapona Title
4/24/2008 Tennesse Wins Battle of the Smokies Over Carolina
4/12/2008 McLuen captures first Manor Classic with course-record-shattering 63
4/9/2008 Inaugural Charlotte Open to Draw Elite Field of Pros and Amateurs
4/2/2008 Maggie Valley Selects Steve De Witt as Head Golf Professional
3/25/2008 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - April '08 Issue
3/23/2008 Murray
State Captures 2008 Shamrock Intercollegiate Title
3/14/2008 CGRA Announces Winners of 2007 Reporting Awards
3/6/2008 Lake Toxaway’s New Golf Course to Debut This Summer
3/6/2008 Robinson Wins 2008 Tarheel Tournament at Rivertowne Golf CC
3/2/2008 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - Mar '08 Issue
2/25/2008 The Shamrock Women’s Intercollegiate Golf at Tega Cay
2/8/2008 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - Feb '08 Issue
1/25/2008 Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation Starts Business Network
1/8/2008 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - Jan '08 Issue
11/16/2007 Brady Captures Harris Teeter Senior Tour Championship
11/13/2007 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - Nov Issue
11/12/2007 Farquhar, Diaz capture championship at National Golf Club
10/19/2007 Richard Scott Wins Tarheel Tour’s Championship at Walnut Creek
10/13/2007 Ryan Blaum Wins Tarheel Tour’s Second-Annual Salisbury Classic
10/09/2007 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - Oct Issue
10/4/2007 Stroever Wins Third Annual Columbia Open
9/28/2007 Quackenbush Outlasts Cannon To Take MonaVie Title
9/20/2007 Kiawah Island Golf Resort Kicks Off 2008 Season
9/18/2007 Olde Sycamore Upgrades Course and Signs Signet Management
9/18/2007 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - Sept Issue
9/11/2007 Hilton Head National Finals, Oct. 27-28
9/7/2007 Jonathan Fricke wins the 2007 Tarheel Tour’s Stonebridge
8/30/2007 Olde Sycamore Expands Patriot Golf Day to Four Days, Aug. 31-Sept. 3
8/8/2007 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - August Issue
7/25/2007 Ted Staats Returns as GM for Olde Sycamore
7/25/2007 Carnoustie: The duel that didn't happen
7/15/2007 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - July Issue
7/14/2007 2007 Southern Open Won by Shaun Norris
7/9/2007 2007 Southern Open Starts July 12
7/9/2007 Glorioso and Price Win Lance Two-Man Team Championship
6/22/2007 Matt Cannon Wins the Tarheel Tour’s Warrior Open
6/14/2007 Scott Brown Wins at the Tarheel Tour’s Bermuda Run Classic
6/14/2007 Pinehurst
Selected For 2014 U.S. Open Championship
6/1/2007 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - June Issue
6/1/2007 McLuen wins Tarheel Tour’s Walnut Creek Classic
5/29/2007 Denise Mackey is Named Director of Marketing at Olde Sycamore
5/21/2007 Embassy Suites Golf Resort & Spa Opens in Concord, NC
5/4/2007 McGirt Wins Tarheel Classic at Cabarrus
4/23/2007 New Maggie Valley Clubhouse Unveiled After Major Renovation
4/6/2007 Tarheel Tour’s River Run Classic Won by David Mathis
3/20/2007 Tega Cay, SC - Winthrop Captures 2007 Shamrock Intercollegiate Title
3/16/2007 Kiawah Island Golf Resort 8th Annual National Club Championship March 5 – 8, 2007
3/8/2007 Embassy Suites Owner to Manage Rocky River Golf Club
2/22/2007 Kiawah Island Golf Resort Junior Golf Camps this summer
2/22/2007 Rivertowne Tar Heel 2007 Won by Jody Bellflower
2/13/2007 Pinehurst Amateur Tour’s New Season Begins March 3
2/5/2007 2007 Tarheel Tour Schedule
2/5/2007 Triad Amateur Tour Launches New Season on March 3, 2007
1/29/2007 1st Annual South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine Tournament Form
1/29/2007 Leopard’s Chase Golf Club to Open February 15th
1/22/2007 Kiawah Island Golf Resort Kicks Off 2007 Golf Season with Three Events
1/18/2007 Western Piedmont Amateur Golf Tour Launches Season on Feb. 10
1/17/2007 Carolinas Golf Association 2007 Championship and Tournament Schedule
1/11/2007 South Carolina Amateur Golf Magazine On-line - Jan Issue
1/10/2007 Charlotte Amateur Tour Launches New Season on Feb. 3, 2007
12/26/2006 Sedgefield Country Club to be Restored by Spence
11/17/2006 David Siegel Wins Tarheel at Firethorne
11/9/2006 Diewock Wins Sopona Open
10/20/2006 Bermuda Run Classic 2006 Won by John McAllister
10/17/2006 Belmont Abbey wins at Rocky River
10/12/2006 Hurley Claims Title in Inaugural Event ar Cedarwood Country Club
9/9/2006 Kiawah Island Golf Resort has New Director of Golf
9/8/2006 Stonebridge Classic claimed by Curl with Drama
8/23/2006 Kiawah Island Golf Resort Receives High Rankings from Top Magazines
8/17/2006 Mcluen Claims Tarheel Title at Eagle Chase
7/27/2006 Sanchez wins at Skybrook
7/19/2006 The Amateur Tour Mid-Season Championship Win at Palmetto Dunes
7/9/2006 2006 Southern Open won by Brian Quackenbush
7/9/2006 Jaspers and Aughtry Win Lance Two-Man Title at Stonebridge
7/8/2006 “Two Gloves” and “KB” Tied for Southern Open
6/29/2006 Burkhart wins Rocky River Classic
6/20/2006 Twelve Advance From US Kids World Qualifier at Rocky River
6/16/2006 Charlotte National Open Won by Reifer's Pro Debute
6/12/2006 2007 U.S. Women's Open Tickets on Sale This June
6/2/2006 Scotty Cameron Gives “Two Gloves” Two Wins!
5/12/2006 Kevin Taylor of Mocksville, NC wins Sapona Golf Classic in Lexington, NC
5/5/2006 Andy Bare Captures First Tarheel Tour Win!
5/4/2006 USC-Aiken cruises and Coker wins playoff in NCAA Division II Super Regional action
5/4/2006 Top Golf School Forges Partnership with Leading Mental Game System in Golf
4/21/2006 Bermuda Run Open Won by Dustin Bray
4/14/2006 Olde Sycamore Open by Tim Simpson
4/6/2006 Tarheel Tour Back in Action
3/23/2006 Rookie Hamilton Captures First Win at Rock Hill Open
3/10/2006 Tarheel Tour Match Play Championship at Oldfield Country Club
3/2/2006 Tommy Gainey Captures the Patriots Point Open
2/23/2006 Bray Wins Tar Heel Season Opener
2/7/2006 Harris Teeter Senior Tour’s 8th Season Starts Feb 22
1/7/2006 Charlotte Amateur Tour Accepting Players for 12th Season
1/6/2006 Wild Wing Changes Ownership
11/16/2005 Gerald Weathers Named Bright’s Creek Director of Golf
10/21/2005 Lake Toxaway Country Club in the mountains of NC gets redesign
10/18/2005 Harris Teeter Sr. Tour Finals to Attract a Large Field
10/18/2005 Falcons Win Team and Individual Titles in Charlotte Shootout at Rocky River
10/13/2005 Moon Goes Down Under at Cowans Ford
10/10/2005 Bright’s Creek To Offer Preview Prior To Spring Grand Opening
10/6/2005 Steve Gilley Tastes Tarheel Victory Second Time in 2005
9/28/2005 David Sanchez finds first Tarheel Tour victory at the Cabarrus Open
9/9/2005 Cannon Bags Another Tarheel Tour Victory
8/25/2005 Biershenk Torches the Back Nine to Win at Kannapolis
8/25/2005 Spence Chosen to Restore Historic Layout at Cape Fear C.C.
8/18/2005 Seawell Captures Raintree Coulter Real Estate Classic
8/11/2005 Justin Walters Notches First Tarheel Tour Victory
7/28/2005 Cannon Fires Impressive 66 to Regain Winning Form
7/16/2005 Southern Open Championship 2005 Won by Gealy
6/23/2005 Martin Tastes First Pro Victory in Anderson Creek Open
6/14/2005 The First Day at the US Open at Pinehurst 2
6/11/2005 A Great Golf Course Designer Michael J. Strantz, 50, passed away on Friday, June 10, 2005.
6/10/2005 Golfholes.com has been blogged
6/9/2005 Christian Drains Birdie Putt to Capture Eagle Chase Classic
6/5/2005 A Literary Light has Gone Out - Herbert Warren Wind
5/31/2005 Golfholes.com CEO makes His First Hole-In-One
5/25/2005 Signet Adds Reserve Club at Woodside Plantation to Portfolio
5/20/2005 Tarheel Tour player wins largest golf check $3 million
5/13/2005 Hanna Takes Top Honors in Rain-Shortened Treyburn Open
5/6/2005 Birdie Binge Gives MacKellar Top Honors in Warrior Golf Classic
4/26/2005 Inaugural Southern Open to Draw Elite Field of Pros and Ams
4/25/2005 Rocky River Moves Up a Spot to No. 78 in NC’s Top 100
4/20/2005 Final-Hole Birdie Earns Hicks $9,000 in Verdict Ridge Invitational
4/18/2005 Anderson Creek Hosts a Day with Joey Sindelar on May 3
4/8/2005 A Photo Journalist's Review of the 2005 US Open's Pinehurst #2
4/7/2005 Seawell's Late Charge Earns $9,000 Victory in Rocky River Classic
4/5/2005 Anderson Creek to Host ESPN Challenge Local Qualifier
3/30/2005 Early Eagle Propels Adams to Victory in NorthStone Open
3/22/2005 Golf Digest Selects Neuse Golf Club as Site of Demo Tour Event
3/20/2005 Elon College won The third annual 2005 Shamrock Collegiate Invitational
3/20/2005 USGA To Expand Museum and Create Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History
11/17/2004 Eichele Cruises to Victory in Harris Teeter Senior Amateur Tour's 2004 Tour Championship
11/11/2004 Maxon's 66 Ties Course Record at Rocky River Open
11/1/2004 Best Front Nine in the the Golf Triangle
11/1/2004 Best Back Nine in the the Golf Triangle
0/7/2004 Red-Hot Parel Sets Tour Scoring Mark in Winning Fox Den Open
9/29/2004 Gainey Posts Back-to-Back 66s to Win the Statesville Open
9/22/2004 Cannon Captures Sixth Tarheel Tour Victory of the Season
9/1/2004 Cannon Blisters the Back Nine to Post Fifth Tarheel Tour Win of Season
8/26/2004 Rookie Matt Johnson Notches Win in Fourth Professional Start
8/19/2004 Cannon Wins the Statesville Classic with a Tour-Record Total of 17-under
8/5/2004 Siegel Birdies Three of Last Four to Win Tarheel Tour's Kannapolis Invitational
7/29/2004 Cannon Wins 7-Hole Playoff on Tarheel Tour After Rain Washes Out Final Round
7/27/2004 Boone Golfer Fires a KW Tour-Record of 64 in Tri-Cities Tournament
7/21/2004 Kemp Hangs On to Win Tarheel Tour's River Run Classic
7/16/2004 Adams Overcomes Struggles to Win Tarheel Tour's Charlotte National Open
6/24/2004 Cannon Completes Wire-to-Wire Victory in Tarheel Tour's Warrior Invitational
6/3/2004 David Mathis of Raleigh Takes Top Honors in the Multiple Directory Services Classic
6/2/2004 Siegel's 67 Puts Him Atop Field at Tarheel Tour's Multiple Directory Services Classic
6/1/2004 Bradford's 67 Leads Tarheel Tour's Multiple Directory Services Classic
5/27/2004 Watson Wins Tarheel Tour's Verdict Ridge Open in Playoff
5/26/2004 Strong Finish Keeps Kilgo in Lead in Tarheel Tour's Verdict Ridge Open
5/25/2004 Kilgo Leads Tarheel Tour Event at Verdict Ridge
5/17/2004 U.S. Open Qualifying at National Golf Club
5/18/2004 Parel Birdies Final
Five Holes to Win Tarheel Tour's Eagle Chase Classic
5/17/2004 Patton, Nelson Tied Entering Final Round of Tarheel Tour's Eagle Chase Classic
5/16/2004 Drew Nelson Leads Tarheel Tour Event at Eagle Chase with 1st Round 64
5/6/2004 Jeff Curl Wins Tarheel Purse at Emerald lake
5/5/2004 Herberth Fires Record-Breaking 61 to Grab Tarheel Tour Lead
4/29/2004 National Golf Club to Host U.S. Open Qualifying
3/14/2004 The 2004 Shamrock Intercollegiate Results
11/17/2003 The Fayetteville Golf Trail
Last modified: October 10, 2014 : | http://www.golfholes.com/golfnews/carolina-golf-news.htm |
Introduction to Object Oriented Programming
Download the pdf version of these notes.
The term Object Oriented Programming is a relatively new concept in the world of programming languages. Earlier the only style of programming was known as Sequential or Linear or Procedural Programming. Every program has two parts: Code and Data. The code part consists of the statements that are executed to perform the job. The data part consists of the variables which hold the necessary values to perform the job. In Sequential programming style more emphasis is placed on the code part and less on the data part. The code statements are executed one by one, sequentially, meaning that you can execute statement number n if you have already executed statement number n - 1, and the next statement to execute is statement number n + 1.
In Object Oriented Programming, the style is changed. Basically, more emphasis is placed on the data part and emphasis placed on the code part is secondary. Everything you have to consider must be viewed as an object. The definition of an object is like the following.
An object is a collection of a set of data and a set of code. The data part is called attributes (formed as variables) and the code part is called functions (formed as executable statements). The relationship between the attributes and the functions is such that if a function is executed, the values of some attribute can be accessed or changed. In other words, to access or change the value of some attribute, we must execute the proper function.
Let us explain with an example. Consider ‘chair’ to be an object. We can say that any chair in the world must have a set of attributes like height, width, breadth, color, material, weight, price and location. To validate our case, we illustrate three different chairs of different types.
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Chair1
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Chair2
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Chair3
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Height
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3 ft
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2.5 ft
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3.5 ft
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Width
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2 ft
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2.5 ft
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3 ft
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Breadth
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3 ft
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2.25 ft
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3.5 ft
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Color
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Red
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Green
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Blue
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Material
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Wood
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Plastic
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Iron
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Weight
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5 kg
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2 kg
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10 kg
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Price
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500/-
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250/-
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1000/-
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Location
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Centre
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West
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North East
The attribute set described above defines the data part of the three chair objects. You can see that all the three chairs have the identical attribute set. It may happen that the value within the individual attribute could be different for the three objects. For example the three objects have different values for the material attribute, but all of them have the material attribute in their set of attributes.
But as they are objects, the chairs must also have a set of functions (meaning what we can do with these chairs). The set of functions could be like the following:
Buy();
Sell();
Repair();
Paint();
Move();
As you can understand, if we execute these functions, then one or some of the attribute values will be accessed or changed. For example, to Buy() or Sell() the chair, its price attribute will be changed. To Repair() a chair, we may change its dimensions, weight or material. To Paint() a chair its color property will be changed. To Move() a chair, we change its location.
The concept of Class
If some objects are found to have a similar set of attributes and a similar set of functions, then these objects can be grouped together into a class. A class is a collection of declaration of the attribute variables and the definition of the functions. Once the class has been defined, we can create as many objects of a class as we need just as we declare variables of a data type. In the light of a class, an object can also be defined as an instance or occurrence of a class.
We may declare the CHAIR class as having declared variables like height, width, breadth, color, material, weight, price and location and define the functions like Buy(), Sell(), Repair(), Paint() and Move(). Now, in order to declare a new object Chair4, all we need to do is write the following statement:
CHAIR Chair4; (Equivalent to int n;)
And the job is done.
Each object has its own space in memory where it can store its own attribute set, because each object is expected to have a unique attribute set of its own. However, there is no need to store separate copies of the functions for each individual objects, as the coding for the functions need not be changed for each object.
Writing the actual program in an object oriented system is fairly easy. All we have to do is to execute the appropriate function with the appropriate object. For example, if we want to sell Chair2, then we may write:
Chair2.Sell();
And if we want to move Chair3 then we may write:
Chair3.Move();
Below we briefly mention some of the important features of the object oriented programming.
Encapsulation
Encapsulation is the technique of putting together the data part (attributes) and the code part (functions) that can operate on the data part into the same single container called a class.
Data Abstraction or Data Hiding
This is the technique of making some part of the class accessible to the outside world while keeping some sensitive part inaccessible. Generally the attributes of a class are defined with a keyword called private, which means that these attributes cannot be accessed from outside the class by any means. The functions of the class are generally declared with a keyword called public, which means that they can be accessed from outside the class if called using an object of the same class.
Polymorphism
This means the quality of the same thing to exist in different forms. This is an integral feature of object oriented programming that is not found in sequential programming.
Inheritance
This is also another unique feature of object oriented programming. This means the creation of a new class out of an existing class. Inheritance supports the concept of code reuse and saves a lot of time and effort to create a new class. | http://eazynotes.com/pages/c++/introduction-to-object-oriented-programming.html |
Materials Included:
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Selected writings on Leadership, Facilitation, Assertiveness, Coaching, Listening Skills, Self-Awareness, Emotional Intelligence, Negotiation, Meeting Management, and Agile.
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Outset Group Seminar Manual
Who should attend?
Appropriate for anyone working in an agile environment, including:
-
Scrum Masters — Developers/Programmers — Solution Architects
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Product Owners — Project/Program Managers — Business Analysts
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Quality Specialists — Business Owners and Sponsors
This course includes The Outset Advantage
What knowledge and skills do students gain?
The Outset Group offer programs and courses that are preapproved for professional development units through PMI and have been reviewed by a project management
professional (PMP) to ensure that they meet PMI's expectations for professional development in project management.PMBOK® Guide, PMI®, PMP®,
CAPM®, and the PMI R.E.P. logo are either marks or registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
Seminar Content & Approach
Agile requires a higher level of communication among team members, customers, and management. This course bridges the gap in communications skills that many people encounter when they are placed in an Agile environment.
This workshop teaches a set of proven leadership and facilitation techniques that foster trust, teamwork, accountability, openness, and a commitment to team success. We model the Agile environment in the classroom, and use team exercises, role play, games, scenarios, self-assessment, and robust dialogue to help students learn and “internalize” new skills. Students have the opportunity to practice in a safe, supportive environment, under the direction of an expert Instructor. They return to work prepared to apply these skills to their Agile projects, and embark on a journey of professional excellence.
We start with self-assessment, to build self-awareness that is the foundation of effective leadership. Students then learn a model of leadership that is calibrated to the high performance world of agile. They learn how to foster accountability among team members, and how to organize and facilitate the four basic meetings of the SCRUM method (Planning, Daily Stand Up, Product Review, Retrospective). They learn to recognize when people are simply “going through the motions”, and how to intervene to bring the team to higher levels of productivity. They learn to recognize the difference between communication “process” and communication “content”, and learn how to foster effective process that yields higher quality dialogue and decisions. They learn the root causes of conflict and low team morale, and how to engage a team in making work more fun, collaborative, and rewarding. They learn how to manage upward, to effectively communicate with those in authority. And they learn how to communicate “outward” with various business and technical roles.
Students Return to Work with:
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A deeper understanding of the student’s leadership role and accountability in their Agile environment
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The ability to differentiate between communication “process” and “content”
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Coaching/Mentoring techniques that are calibrated to the Agile environment
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Techniques to intervene in low quality communication (fighting, blaming, avoiding, confusion) and lead a communication process that is based on mutual respect, accountability, and team objectives
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Techniques to model assertive leadership in an Agile setting
Techniques to prepare for and facilitate each of the four Scrum meetings
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Techniques to foster open-minded, productive communication that results in high quality dialogue and decisions
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The ability to interact with “non-Agile” personnel at all levels, and align the work of Agile teams with strategic intent, business requirements, and enterprise programs. | https://www.outsetgroup.com/how-to-lead-and-facilitate-agile-teams |
“We’re trying to implement
falls prevention and hopefully we can make an impact on some of the falls data
that is high for our area to reduce hospitalizations and death rates,” said Emily
Watts, program manager for ALTC.
The Yakima-based ALTC promotes and develops a
comprehensive system of services to help meet the needs of older adults and
adults with disabilities in an
eight-county area: Asotin, Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas,
Walla Walla, and Yakima counties.
“Four of our counties fall
in top 10 for falls for over 65 and Benton County is one of them,” Watts said.
The three-day-a-week fitness
program welcomes those using walkers or canes. Cuff weights that strap onto
ankles or wrists are supplied and used during class.
A typical class includes a short warmup followed by 20 minutes of aerobics, a short cooldown, 20 minutes of strength training and ends with a 10-minute stretch.
Pat Hoinacki, 69, of West
Richland, recently completed training to be an EnhanceFitness instructor after
learning about it as an advisory board member of Southeast
Washington ALTC.
The program is a way for Hoinacki
to do what she does best: take care of people. She is a retired school and
hospice nurse.
“I just really like keeping people healthy; it’s just something I do,” she said. “It’s an opportunity at this point in my life – since I’ve aged out of hands-on nursing – to help people stay healthy. At my age level, I feel like I can set a good example. I really enjoy every day I’m there and I really enjoy fitness.”
She’s even recruited her
husband – who hasn’t been keen on a regular exercise routine – to take her class.
“It is a really good thing
for men and women. The program is aimed to address all fitness levels; it
welcomes the frail or the non-exerciser. They would be our ideal candidate,” Hoinacki
said.
Hoinacki said the class is
taught at two levels, seated or standing.
“Attendance is the most important
thing to be successful with strength and balance training,” Hoinacki said.
Myers said the class has helped her: “I feel like I have more energy now and am
able to move around better,” she said.
Austria said she appreciates
the social aspect of the class as well.
Maximum class enrollment is 25.
EnhanceFitness registration
To sign up for the free Kennewick
class, which runs from 11 a.m. to noon Monday, Wednesday
and Friday, call 509-554-4636 or email [email protected].
To sign up for the free Richland
class, which runs from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday
and Friday, call 509-438-9470 or email [email protected].
To sign up for
the free Prosser class, which runs from 2 to 3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday,
call 509-396-8276 or email [email protected].
To sign up for the Pasco class, which runs from 10 to 11
a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, call 509-545-3459 or [email protected]. Cost is $33 for
Pasco residents, $41 for others.
More programs coming
More programs will be rolled
out in the next four years to reduce the rate of falls in the region.
Watts said Matter of
Balance, an
8-week structured group intervention that emphasizes practical strategies to
reduce fear of falling and increase activity levels, will be offered in the coming fiscal year.
ALTC also will offer the Otago Exercise Program, a series of 17 strength
and balance exercises delivered by a physical therapist or a physical therapy
assistant in the home, outpatient or community setting. The program reduces
falls between 35 percent and 40 percent for frail older adults, according to
the state’s falls prevention plan.
Instructors sought
Watts said instructors are needed to offer more EnhanceFitness
classes, especially bilingual English-Spanish teachers. They receive a stipend
for their work.
“We want to implement more classes in Benton and Franklin
counties and especially implement a bilingual class. We’re looking for fitness
instructors or group exercise leadership to continue to grow the program,” she
said. | |
I used Red Star Platinum yeast, but you can use regular yeast. The Platinum will give a better rise.
If you use a different brand of active dry yeast, let it bloom for a few minutes in the water before kneading. If you use any type of Red Star yeast, you don't need to wait.
Long Loaves
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) Red Star Platinum yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (3 ounces) semolina flour
2 cups (9 ounces) bread flour
1/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic.
If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix the dough in a bowl, then turn it out and knead by hand.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, about an hour.
When the dough has risen, flour your work surface and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Turn the dough out onto your work surface and divide in half. Form each half into a rope about 13 inches long. Place one rope on each baking sheet on a diagonal to give them plenty of space.
Cover the loaves with plastic wrap. Or, what I do is use a second baking sheet upside-down on top of the sheets with the rising bread. Set aside until the dough has doubled in size and if you poke one gently, the dent remains or fills in slowly.
Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees until the loaves are nicely browned, about 25 minutes.
Remove the bread and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing. | https://www.cookistry.com/2014/02/long-loaves.html |
Listen to the audio:
The Magician's Hat
By Tamara Kula
Jamie loved to do magic tricks. He did card tricks, coin tricks, rope tricks, and any other kind of magic trick he could think of. He could pull a candy bar out of his ear, rip a dollar bill in half and make it whole again, and read somebody’s mind. They were all just tricks, of course – not real magic – but the other kids in the orphanage loved to watch Jamie perform his impressive repertoire.
“Do it again!” shrieked Hannah when Jamie pulled a beaded bracelet out of her shirt sleeve. Peter laughed and laughed as Jamie coughed out a 15-foot multi-colored scarf. And little Molly just watched with huge, brown eyes until Mrs. Miller called them for supper.
Eventually, though, the orphans grew bored of the same old tricks day after day. But, as luck would have it, that was when Jamie found an old magician’s hat buried at the bottom of a crate of stuffed animals at the second-hand store across the street.
The hat was splendid – tall and dark with a sparkling silver band. When Jamie set it on his head, he felt positively regal. It was a little dusty and rather old, but those qualities simply added to its mysterious appeal. Jamie bought it at once for a bargain price and ran back to the orphanage with his prize clutched tightly to his chest.
He didn’t show the hat to anyone. He went into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like a real magician with the hat perched on his head. He closed his eyes and imagined himself on stage. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, I will pull a rabbit out of this hat,” he said, bowing and removing the hat with a flourish.
He reached into the hat. His serene stage smile gave way to an expression of shock as his fingers closed around something warm and furry. Heart racing, he drew from the hat a quivering, snow-white rabbit.
With a cry of triumph, Jamie flew out of the bathroom in search of an audience. He found little Molly first. “Molly, what’s your favorite kind of animal?” he asked breathlessly.
“Kitty cat!” smiled Molly, clapping her hands.
“Well, Molly,” said Jamie confidently, “today is your lucky day because I am going to pull a kitty cat out of this empty hat just for you!” His hand disappeared into the hat and when it reappeared, it was holding a tiny kitten. Molly’s huge dark eyes lit up and she eagerly reached for her pet.
Soon he had brought into existence a parrot for Peter, a turtle for Hannah, a walking stick for Joey, a hamster for Karen, and an entire family of hedgehogs for Clay.
“Where on earth are all these animals coming from!” cried Mrs. Miller in exasperation as she stepped around hedgehogs and dodged the turtle to get to the kitchen.
It wasn’t long before all of the children in the orphanage were hounding Jamie for a pet of their own, a new toy, candy, or this or that, and Jamie decided he was no longer going to be generous with his hat. “From now on, I’m using this hat for only me,” he thought stubbornly, already regretting having made such a display with his new treasure.
After supper, Jamie again found himself cornered by children wanting something from his magician’s hat.
“You want to see a magic trick?” sneered Jamie. “Watch this!” And he pulled a big chocolate cake from the hat and made a show of eating it, smacking his lips and licking his fingers. “And you can’t have any! It’s all mine!”
The children frowned and muttered under their breath, but they quickly dispersed and left Jamie in peace. When Jamie looked up, only one child remained. Molly’s huge eyes looked hopefully at Jamie’s last bite of chocolate cake. Jamie glanced at the cake, then at Molly. He crammed the cake into his mouth and watched Molly walk away in disappointment.
Jamie got greedier and meaner with every passing day. Finally the other children agreed that something had to be done.
That afternoon as Jamie walked through the main room, Peter stopped him. “Your magic hat can’t do everything, you know,” said Peter.
“Oh yeah?” responded Jamie, crossing his arms with a haughty smile on his lips.
“I bet you can’t make yourself disappear,” challenged Peter.
Jamie set the hat determinedly on his head and said simply, “We’ll just see about that.”
The next sound the children heard was a soft thump as the magician’s hat hit the floor. Jamie had completely vanished. Molly tentatively approached the hat and nudged it with her foot. She looked up with amazement in her large eyes.
A few hours later, Mrs. Miller walked by, asking as she went, “Have you seen Jamie? He’s supposed to help with supper tonight.”
“I haven’t seen him,” said Hannah. “He just disappeared.”
Mrs. Miller didn’t bat an eye. “Well, if you see him, send him to the kitchen,” she said. Suddenly her face grew stern and she chided, “You’re going to ruin your appetites for supper! Wherever did you get so much candy!”
Go to Teacher's Notes and New Words. | http://eslbookworm.com/magicianshat.html |
Despite being in a pandemic that has stretched for almost a year, community members are still willing to give their time to help local nonprofits.
The Frederick Community Action Agency, the Frederick Rescue Mission and United Way of Frederick County are among nonprofits in the county that meet basic human needs, and each utilizes volunteers in different ways.
At the Frederick Rescue Mission, whose services include assisting those experiencing chemical addiction, homelessness and hunger, volunteers help with many tasks, including food preparation and distribution, serving food, helping at the Rescue Mission’s front desk and assisting at Rescued Treasures, the mission’s clothing program, “and other duties as assigned,” said Sandie Hall, public relations coordinator.
“Ordinarily we have 40 to 50 volunteers a day on campus. During COVID, we are seeing 15 to 20,” Hall said. “We’re not anywhere up to our full capacity of volunteers. We really rely so heavily on them and their efforts.”
Generally, and overwhelmingly perhaps, Hall said the people who volunteer at the mission are all in.
“Their heart is to be here,” she said. “Especially at a time like this, when the COVID pandemic has made life so difficult, especially for many of the people that we serve, and our volunteers are acutely aware of that need, and so they really are trying to do and want to do all they can, even more so during this time.”
Hall also called volunteer’s the Rescue Mission’s lifeblood.
“We really, really want every dollar that comes in to go into people’s mouths and on their back and to helping them to change their lives,” she said. “[Volunteers’] effort, their heart, their passion to come along and partner with us … is helping … to make sure that those dollars go where they’re most needed.”
Board member Alyce Luck, 69, has volunteered at the mission for about nine years and is in the kitchen weekly.
Luck was the service learning coordinator at Frederick High School for about 15 of her 24 years there as a teacher and would offer students opportunities to serve in the community.
“The Rescue Mission was one of the places that I would even take them for visits when I taught sociology, and so it was on my bucket list of places to volunteer,” she said, adding that she also volunteers at Frederick Health Hospital.
All of her volunteer experiences allow her to learn something she didn’t know before, from another person’s perspective. “Everybody’s on a journey,” she said. “Once you get to sit in community with others in the rawness of life, you get a better perspective of what life is really like.”
Volunteers are also vital at United Way of Frederick County, which offers programs such as Volunteers In Tax Assistance (VITA), where IRS-certified volunteers help low-to-moderate income people with free tax preparation services.
“There’s several ways that we use volunteers,” said Shana Knight, marketing and outreach manager. “And we do have our own programs that happen several times throughout the year … like Day of Action, VITA.”
While some older volunteers are, understandably, exercising caution when it comes to volunteering in person, people are still willing to volunteer their time.
“People who probably never volunteered before are wanting to help out just because of the circumstances,” Knight said. “We definitely see a lot of people being very generous.”
Volunteers among a nonprofit’s most essential resources, Knight said. “A lot of times, nonprofits have a small staff. I feel like I can’t even really put it into words how important volunteers are.”
At the Frederick Community Action Agency, Chris Bard, supervisor of food and nutrition services, said volunteers are still helping out at the food bank and soup kitchen.
The agency is the federally designated Community Action Agency for Frederick County. Started in 1968, the agency has sponsored by the city of Frederick and the Friends for Neighborhood Progress Inc. with support from Frederick County Government. It administers programs and services to assist disadvantaged and low-income people, according to the city’s website.
“The way that COVID-19 has impacted that operation is prior to COVID-19, a lot of our volunteers [were] in their 60s or older—not all of them but quite a bit of them—and quite naturally they didn’t want to come and help at that point due to health concerns,” he said.
Because of that staff had to pick up a lot of the work. They still had volunteers come in, but not as many, Bard said.
“We depend on volunteers. They help us so much,” he said.
In December, the city of Frederick issued a call for more FCAA volunteers and Bard said he’s seen more volunteers since then. “And yes, they are younger,” he said. “But some of our old volunteers are starting to come back, as well.”
As for the number of volunteers, Bard said prior to COVID the soup kitchen would have had eight to 10 volunteers to serve the evening meal, but now they only need three or four, “because we're not letting everybody in at one time,” due to COVID restrictions.
“Volunteers serve a vital role to nonprofits,” he said, noting his appreciation that so many people in the community are very willing to help those in need. | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/coronavirus/volunteers-help-nonprofits-survive/article_734ba317-8c9a-5fad-9cb4-bf274f078eeb.html |
“The 21st Century View of Life and Death” Part 2
We live in the universe. However, people have not recognized that they live in the universe yet. “The 21st century View of Life and Death” Part 2 is going to unlock this universal structure and deepen our understanding about death which surely comes to all lives!
Yin and Yang
We live in the visible world every day. We perceive the figures and forms of everything including our own body with our eyes, and recognize existence. Modern people’s way of thinking, which is represented in the scientific field, considers only this “visible world” as everything. Only when visible phenomena occur, modern people recognize existence. If they feel there is a problem, they try to solve it in a visible method.
However, there is always an invisible existence behind visible matters. Mind, thoughts, souls ――― we cannot see them with our eyes, but such invisible matters become the nature of visible matters which emerge on the surface. “The visible world” appears as form and yang energy, while “the invisible world” is without forms and is yin energy. We call the combination of this “visible world” and “invisible world” as “The World of Existence (Phenomenal World= the world where phenomena occur).” Both our visible body and our invisible soul behind it form “the world of existence.”
The Universe Breathes
The universe is always based on two opposite matters, and this system is called Taiko-Hassei according to the Katakamuna cosmophysics, which was established in East Asia about 13000 years ago. When there is heaven, there is earth. When there is a man, there is a woman. In this manner, there is always the existence of yin and yang which becomes a pair, and makes each other exist. Then, if “the world of existence” is yang, there must be the existence of yin which will become paired with it. It is called “The World of Non-Existence (Potential World = the World of the Source of All Phenomena).” Our modern thinking considers that something “exists” as a premise, so we cannot perceive this “world of non-existence” through such a way of thinking. It is a world of only vibrancy where even a concept of existence or non-existence does not exist.
Figure 1: The universal system which repeats emergence and disappearance
You can download for enlarged figure from here.
Originally, this world (the universe) was “the world of non-existence.” However, one day, “existence” was created from “non-existence (nothing).” Time and space were born in the world where nothing existed, and diversity has expanded through this process of creation. And it has become the current phenomenal world. When this expansion reaches its peak finally, this process will contract gradually, and settle toward non-existence (nothing) in the end. That is, it returns to “the world of non-existence.”
The universe infinitely repeats this process from emergence to disappearance. It is a great breath of the universe. The universe slowly breathes in a majestic scale beyond our imagination, and all lives exist in such a world. Also, our own lives are supported under the same universal structure.
All information from the beginning to the end of the universe is sleeping. Great clues are hidden so that humans achieve the universal evolution in the future.
A Story of Life of Universe
If we consider only the visible world as everything in this world, we would think birth is the beginning and death is the end. However, in fact, this world is not based on such a simple system. We continue an eternal journey along with the flow of time, transforming our figure from a body, to only a soul, to the universally finest particle, all in a multi-structured world where “the world of existence” is three-dimensionally overlapped with “the world of non-existence” which is its source. It is the story of life, which is woven in the great universal breath.
Let’s Look at the Transition of the Soul.
The soul gains a body, and is born as a human on earth, which is “the visible world.” It cannot recognize what it is, in a state of only a soul. However, once we gain a body and come down on earth, we encounter various phenomena. Our figure, the environmental setting of our birth, and even every single event which we encounter in our daily life occur in an appropriate way to ourselves. The soul begins to know what it is through such phenomena. We live to know ourselves in “the visible world” which accurately reflects our own figure like a mirror, and to evolve ourselves.
When the cycle of our life marks the end eventually, the soul leaves the body. This is death. Components of the body, which were tied by the soul so far, are decomposed at the atomic level, and become ingredients for the next matter in the circulation of the global ecosystem. On the other hand, the soul returns to a different-dimensional universe, which is appropriate to its spiritual level. It is “the invisible world.” Some return to a high-dimensional position in “the invisible world,” and some fall into a low-dimensional position like hell, depending on how much they spiritually grow up while they are alive. After a certain period passes by, we gain a body and come down on earth again. This is how we start the next life in “the visible world.”
The soul follows the flow of time which heads in a one-way direction from past to future, moves forward in a spiral motion between “the visible world” and “the invisible world,” and repeats reincarnation. It is as if food enters the body. We can see the food with our eyes. When we eat it and it enters the body, we cannot see it anymore. However, the food which cannot be seen moves through our visible body as energy. When it is excreted from the body finally, it changes form and becomes visible again. Although it is either visible or invisible, it surely continues to exist, and circulates in “the world of existence.”
Figure 2: The system of reincarnation of souls
Numerous souls (Figure 2) repeat emergence and disappearance, and exist in the universe (Figure 1).
One Trace in a Gigantic Life
As every single life with the body has a life-span, a soul also has a life-span. It is, so to speak, the expiration date of the soul. When the soul, which evolves through many lives and has fully learned, faces the life-span, it becomes the universally finest particle and returns to “the world of non-existence” which is the source of “the world of existence.” The universally finest particle is much finer than an atom or a particle. It is the universally smallest scale which we cannot perceive with modern science, and they becomes ingredients of all existences in this world.
The story of the soul marks the end by becoming the universally smallest unit and returning to “the world of non-existence.” However, as the universe infinitely repeats the process from emergence to disappearance, the end of the story of a soul could be the beginning of the next story. The point, where this end is overlapped with the beginning, is just one point in the flow of time. Also, this point indicates “the world of non-existence,” so we can say that it is eternal. And, the trace of the story of every single soul will be engraved in the gigantic life of the universe.
“Thoughts (pronounced as Omoi in Japanese)” are “Heavy (also pronounce as Omoi).”
Then, how will the soul take the path of evolution? It is only while we are alive with the body in “the visible world” that the soul can evolve. However, if we are trapped with only visible matters, we cannot become aware of the true reason why we came down on earth. For example, you study hard, achieve excellent grades, get a job with a high social position, earn a lot of money, purchase a nice house and a car, gain whatever you want, and think you are satisfied with your life. This is status for many modern people. However, when we look at it through spiritual eyes, just the ego has expanded.
The soul is bound by the weight of the body on earth while we are alive with the body. However, once the soul leaves the body, it loses the mass. If there is no attachment to the earth, it rises straight up and returns to a different-dimensional universe, which is its original place. That is, heaven. However, if we expand our ego and hold many things, the thought of such attachment becomes a weight. Then, even if we leave our body, we cannot rise up. In extreme cases, the soul cannot reincarnate anymore, and its thoughts become heavier and heavier, and such a soul falls into the magma of the earth. Then, it becomes burned, becomes decomposed into the universally finest particles, and resets the existence of itself.
It is You that Judges Yourself.
How much do we polished our minds while we are alive? While we live as humans on earth, souls of various levels gather here. However, once we leave our body, our souls will become classified into a different-dimensional universe which is appropriate to each soul. Therefore, souls of different levels do not interact with each other. On the contrary, the earth is a place rich in such diversity.
When souls finish their learning on earth and return to their appropriate positions, they create a program for the next life based on the result of their previous life. For example, if we made war in our previous life, we might be born in the opponent’s nation in the next life. In fact, our current enemy who we hate and fight against could be our descendant in our previous life.
Our individual life-span is incorporated in the program, but when we are born on earth, such a memory will be completely erased. It is because if we know the answer in advance, we would think beyond the frame of time and lose an opportunity to become aware of our life purpose. Living in the phenomenal world means travelling with time. Our life purpose is to live each moment “now” without being trapped in the past or fixing upon the future, to receive events we encounter every moment, to know what kind of vibrancy we emit, and to change ourselves.
Even if our memory of the past is erased, all the records are engraved in our soul. Our physical DNA disappears with the dismantling of the body. However, all we have done each moment has been engraved in our spiritual DNA, and that accumulation has created the current you. Although you dress up beautifully, gain a high status and a good reputation from the society while you are alive, once you die and get out of the body, the reality of your soul will be revealed. It is you that judge yourself then, because you have stayed with your own life and confirmed everything. That is why, you cannot fake yourself. If pollution is engraved in your soul, the program of your next life will reflect such pollution and begin.
Flowers of a Big Tree which Follows the Universal Consensus.
When we are born on earth, souls do not create a program alone. We always discuss with this world.
In the flow of a long long time, numerous souls have come down on earth, played an appropriate roles to each era, and departed the earth. They repeat reincarnation and engrave their history. At the same time, they are asked to express the era from the side of the world. Every single soul is given an original role. They continue to weave the universal story which has continued from a long time ago, as a part of a gigantic life of the era.
When we trace the flow of time, we reach the beginning (= end) of the universe. On the contrary, when we move forward, we reach the end (= beginning) of the universe. All information from the beginning to the end of the universe is sleeping in our spiritual DNA.
In order to awaken it, we do not have to think. When we let go of the attachment of “ourselves” which is ego, the awareness will naturally come out. It is because we are originally a part of the universe. As the information of the entire body is input in each one of our cells in the body, all information of the universe is engraved in our soul. When we engrave our history in our soul, it is also engraved in the universe. Evolving our soul means evolving the universe itself.
When our soul evolves, beautiful flowers of life will bloom there. It is not just one flower. It is flowers of a big tree of a gigantic life with numerous buds. When you feel that you are one of them, fully bloom your original flower, and create a network with other flowers, it will become a gigantic beautiful tree in full bloom, which is in accordance with the universal consensus.
When you die,
head straight toward the light.
Currently, a lot of issues are occurring on earth. The cause is the pollution of the human mind. Humans have brought various issues to the earth as a result of forgetting to purify their souls through reincarnation and accumulating spiritual pollution. Therefore, this time, we will tell you the attitude when you die.
The Karma of the Earth
When your body faces death, your soul rises up. Rising up means rising to the heavens. When your soul leaves the body after death, it loses the mass of the body and naturally rises to the heavens. When this happens, a polluted soul holds a lot of attachment which becomes a weight, and cannot rise up. It ends up drifting around the earth like mist.
Still, it gradually goes upwards because it does not have a body. However, the souls with a lot of attachment continue to remain in the material world even if they rise up, and they end up drifting in the outside of the atmosphere without returning to the heavens. The earth is a physically beautiful blue planet with white clouds floating; however, when we spiritually look at the current earth, it has become grey, covered with souls which cannot leave the three-dimensional world even though they lost their physical body. The vibrancy of the caught-up souls comes down on earth, which delays human awakening on the current earth.
Then, what should we do when we face death? When a soul faces death and gets out of the physical body, it looks down at that body from slightly above. If there is some attachment to its own life, it will keep watching the body. That is, it looks down. Or, if it holds onto things or schedules such as “I want this,” and “I want to do that,” it will end up looking down at the ground by paying attention to such matters. The present era is the time when people expand their desires based on ego, and polluting their souls is supposed to be attractive.
However, when you have realized that you have died, first of all, please look at the above by all means. Then, you will surely see light. That is the direction which you should head to after you have faced death. Please do not think of anything that you leave behind you. Just go straight toward the light. If you do so, you will surely rise up. There is no need to hold a funeral or sutra recited by a Buddhist monk. What you should do is just release your attachment, and head straight towards the light. You can return to your original home, only by doing so.
This is very important for not polluting the earth spiritually. Currently, we humans not only pollute the earth in a visible way, but also in an invisible form. That becomes the karma of the earth. Therefore, please always keep this in your mind because death surely comes to anyone of us, and it could be tomorrow.
Ray of Light in Darkness
It is not only human souls that cover the surroundings of the earth. Animal souls, whose lives are taken away by humans, become spiritual grey mist and also cover the earth. A tremendous number of animals are killed for meat which is eaten by humans every day. Their fear, in the moment when they are killed, is beyond our imagination. Animals scream, emit the vibrancy of fear, and their lives are taken away. We eat the meat with such vibrancy in our daily life.
When lions eat zebras in the natural world, it is the circulation of life. The zebra’s life is taken over to the lion, and the zebra’s soul rises up without any regret. However, the souls of animals which are killed for humans to satisfy their desires, cannot rise up. They cover the earth and resonate the vibrancy of fear. Such vibrancy has brought a great impact to the spiritual pollution of the earth. Therefore, the modern era has become a very difficult time for humans to become awakened. That is why, it is important for us to try not to generate such wandering souls in our daily life. As a result of such efforts, when we face death in the future, we can depart gracefully without being trapped on the earth.
Spiritually, it is an era of darkness on the current earth. People have not woken up yet. However, in such a situation, if there is a handful of people who begin to wake up, they will become a ray of light in the darkness. Even a slight light can be seen very well in darkness. It will surely become a signpost for people who are far away.
Awakened people begin to purify this world with their enlightenment. When such movement expands and the earth is wrapped with a beautiful harmony, the world will become beautiful instantly, and the earth will restore its original luster.
Our life exists to purify our souls ――― Then, what is “beautiful”? The 21st century View of Life and Death Part 3, which will be published during the autumn equinox in 2018, will unlock what the true beauty of life is! | https://konohana-family-intl-blog.org/newsletter-94/ |
hacks techniques which were used for CSS layout in the past. Definitely give it a try if you haven’t already done so.
IE10 and IE11 support an earlier version of the CSS Grid spec and with help from Autoprefixer we can reap the benefits of CSS Grid in those old browsers with a little bit of extra work. I’ve long been a huge fan and happy user of Autoprefixer. It’s a PostCSS plugin that examines your CSS and augments it with vendor prefixes and alternative syntaxes. Although vendor prefixes (e.g.
-webkit,
-moz,
-o, etc.) are much less common these days, there are a few still in use.
CSS Grid Basics
With CSS Grid the basic idea is to define the grid, i.e. the rows and columns that make it up, and then go about placing elements on the grid. Think of a website layout with a masthead, navigation, hero image, main content sidebar, and footer as an example. Your grid styles can specify where each of these elements should be displayed on the grid: how many rows or columns they span, etc. In addition to this method of explicitly placing elements on the grid, auto-placement places elements on the grid for you automatically.
Autoprefixer + CSS Grid
I recently learned how to use control comments in Autoprefixer to get fine-grained control over the way it operates on and enhances my CSS Grid styles. Rather than specifying a single (global) behavior via config options, control comments let you tell Autoprefixer how you would like it to process individual blocks of CSS code. For the scenario where I was explicitly placing elements on my grid I used the following control comment in my CSS file:
/* autoprefixer grid: no-autoplace */
This allowed me to lay out the elements and Autoprefixer generated the
-ms-grid styles required to make my modern CSS Grid styles work in IE 10 and IE 11.
In another scenario I did want the auto-placement support and enabled it with the following control comment in a different block of the same CSS file:
/* autoprefixer grid: autoplace */
This was for a group of uniformly sized tile elements that I wanted to lay out in a grid that adapted as the viewport size varied. E.g.: from 4 tiles per row, to 3 tiles, to 2 and finally to 1 tile per row for the smallest viewports.
In both cases I was pleasantly surprised that my CSS Grid styles worked in modern browsers and also in IE 11 and 10! I added some fallback styles using flexbox for those browsers which do not yet support CSS Grid to ensure the content was accessible there as well.
Test Your Autoprefix’d Grid Styles
Please note the Autoprefixer docs warn its grid support may not work in all cases and must be tested. For my purposes this worked you great but make sure to test because your mileage may vary.
Learning More
If you’d like to learn more about CSS Grid I would recommend checking out Jen Simmons’ CSS Grid Basics series on YouTube and the Grid by Example site by Rachel Andrew. To learn more about Autoprefixer, check out the docs at GitHub or you can try it out interactively. | https://www.endpointdev.com/blog/2019/11/winning-with-css-grid-and-autoprefixer/ |
What is financial wellbeing?
Financial wellbeing comes from having financial security and this means different things to different people and can change with time. Some examples of financial wellbeing could be having enough money to cover outgoings, having sufficient savings, clearing debts, being able to afford your own house, getting a mortgage, being able to retire early, or helping children get onto the property ladder.
Financial wellbeing also comes from having a greater understanding of your own objectives and motivations in life. This tends to help people develop a sense of clarity and goals to work towards and that in itself could bring a sense of wellbeing.
Why is it important?
It is important for a variety of reasons, but the two most common reasons are:
1. Mental wellbeing. the links between financial and mental wellbeing are well documented. Nearly 80% of UK residents are stressed about money and three out of four employees have said that money issues impact their productivity and focus both in and out of the workplace.
2. Financial stability. Having financial security provides stability and peace of mind. For most people this would include knowing that your finances are in order which could be related to savings and budgeting, ensuring you have a plan which could be short, medium and long term and that you can withstand a financial shock.
Top tips
- Develop and set goals. Consider what you would like to achieve over the short, medium and long term and create goals. Once you have an idea of what you would like to achieve then break that down into bitesize steps. It will likely be a useful exercise to create a list of goals and then consider what you may need to do to begin working towards them Having goals and objectives provides a sense of certainty and clarity and can prove to be a rewarding exercise.
- Review your monthly outgoings. Consider your goals and how these can be factored in to your monthly outgoings. It may be a worthwhile exercise shopping around to see if you can find more cost-effective solutions (without compromising the service or cover you receive) for outgoings such as insurance and utilities. It will be worthwhile looking at allocating budgets towards achieving each respective goal whether it be saving, family, property, investment, retirement related and so on. You may find it beneficial to have different accounts or vehicles for these. A simple example may be having a separate bank account to save into monthly for the holiday season each year, birthdays or trips abroad. Many banks now offer information on your monthly spending and you can use digital tools to help you look at this area.
- Review, monitor and adapt. Setting goals are a bit like using a Sat Nav. You input your address which is the final destination (your goal) and then the best route is calculated. At this point, unless you know the route already, it is likely you will periodically look at the Sat Nav to make sure you’re on track and going in the right direction. This also applies with financial planning. There may be unexpected events that occur, which in the Sat Nav example could be traffic, so it is important to not only monitor your progress but to adapt your plan as appropriate as and when hurdles appear. In some scenarios the opposite may happen and you may achieve your objective a lot sooner than expected. It is important to be realistic when setting and reviewing goals.
- Consider talking to someone. If you are going through financial hardship, are worrying about money or don’t feel particularly confident about how you can achieve the goals you have set then it may be useful to talk to someone. This could be someone that you may feel might be financially savvy such as a friend, family member, charity or a professional adviser. Personal finances are something that you may not wish to discuss with others and it can sometimes feel very overwhelming. It is very unlikely that you are alone and there is a high chance that someone has been in your shoes before. Talking it through could provide you with some reassurance and some external input and views. This may help you see things from a different perspective and could lead to setting a plan in motion to achieve your objectives and subsequently get peace of mind.
The most important asset in life is time. Taking control of your financial plans and setting goals to achieve them can provide clarity and a sense of wellbeing. This should leave you with more time to spend time with the people you care about and do more of the things you enjoy and want to do in life. | https://www.myrtwellbeing.org.uk/financial-wellness/the-importance-of-financial-wellbeing/651.article |
The invention relates to a light source with a discharge vessel which is filled with a filling gas, and with an electron beam source arranged in vacuum or in a region of low pressure, which source generates electrons and propels them through an inlet foil into the discharge vessel.
The electron beam source, also denoted electron gun hereinafter, is operated in high vacuum so as to avoid destruction of the cathode by ionized residual gases. An ultra-thin inlet foil is tensioned between the vacuum, in which the electron gun is present, and the gas space of the discharge vessel, in which an approximately atmospheric pressure prevails, through which foil the electron beam is not subjected to any substantial energy loss. Such a light source, which comprises a discharge vessel with a filling gas into which electrons are propelled from the electron gun through the thin inlet foil, is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,401. The inlet foil, also denoted inlet membrane hereinafter, is an approximately 300 nm thick silicon nitride membrane which is resistant to pressure differences of a few bar, given a width of a little less than 1 mm and any length as desired. The silicon nitride membranes used until now, however, constitute a factor limiting the life, size, shape, and gas filling of the respective light source because of their limited strength, their low corrosion resistance, their small thermal conductivity, and their limited operational stability under electron bombardment, as well as their low sputter resistance. Given a width of approximately 1 mm, such foils will burst at a differential pressure of approximately 2 bar, and it is only a reduction of the foil width to 0.7 mm, which is undesirable, which renders possible pressures of 3 to 4 bar. Higher operational pressures of 4 to 8 bar, however, are desired in particular for operation with light rare gases. Substantially larger pressure-resistant foils are also necessary for enlarging the discharge zone. A strong foil corrosion resulting from the use of gas fillings comprising fluorine are the cause that no such light sources have yet been realized. Since a not inconsiderable heat generation takes place in the gas space in the foil region, the beam currents used until now are limited, because the foil material is insufficiently capable of removing this heat. The low sputter resistance of the silicon nitride membrane strongly limits the service life and the beam current of the lamp.
The invention accordingly has for its object to provide an improved light source. In particular, the foils and the inlet conditions into the discharge vessel are to be improved.
1
ΔP[bar]=d[μm]/D[cm]
This object is achieved by the characteristics defined in claim . According to the invention, the inlet foil comprises a diamond layer. The present invention proposes to construct a light source as above with the use of a thin diamond membrane so as to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art. Diamond foils with dimensions of 5 mm×1.5 mm and a thickness of 2 micrometers are capable of withstanding pressure differences of more than 8 bar. A rule of thumb for round foils is that the pressure resistance ΔP in bar is given by the thickness d of the window foil in micrometers divided by the diameter D in cm, i.e.
A bursting pressure of 1 bar accordingly results for a 1 μm thick diamond foil with a diameter of 1 cm. It is thus possible with diamond foils to irradiate large volumes and to construct correspondingly high-power light sources. The thermal conductivity of diamond at room temperature is higher than that of any other material. The thermal load on the foils is reduced thereby. Diamond is also resistant to gas mixtures comprising fluorine and renders possible, for example, ArF or KrF discharges.
Advantageously, the electron beam source comprises a thermionic electron emitter. This is a hot electron emitter in which, for example, a tungsten wire is used.
Advantageously, the electron beam source comprises a field emitter. The field emitter may be constructed, for example, on the basis of carbon nanotubes. Field emitters, for example carbon nanotubes, may be brought into emission over wide surface areas, so that large windows can be homogeneously irradiated with electron sources of this kind, or alternatively elongate slot geometries can be illuminated.
An embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail below for better understanding with reference to the drawing, in which
FIG. 1
shows a light source with an inlet foil in cross-section,
FIG. 2
shows a diamond window in plan view, and
FIG. 3
shows the diamond window in side elevation.
FIG. 1
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shows a light source , also denoted gas discharge lamp hereinafter, with a discharge vessel and a high-vacuum chamber in which an electron beam source is arranged. The discharge vessel and the high-vacuum chamber are separated by an interior wall . The wall has an inlet window with a frame and a foil . The electron beam source has a heated cathode , a Wehnelt cylinder , and a ring anode . Electrons are emitted from the heated cathode and pass through an opening of the Wehnelt cylinder into an acceleration region . Here the electrons are accelerated towards the ring anode , which they pass with an energy of approximately 10 keV. Subsequently they pass through an approximately micrometer thin inlet foil of diamond into a gas space of the discharge vessel . When passing through the diamond foil , the electrons lose no more than 10% of their energy, depositing the remainder in the gas space in a locally strongly limited manner, said gas space being filled with 100 mbar xenon. The generated continuous UV radiation around 170 nm is converted into visible light by a phosphor provided on the inner side of the discharge vessel . The negative charge introduced from the outside into the gas space must be drained off to an external current circuit again via a conductive plate .
FIGS. 2 and 3
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show the inlet window with the frame and the diamond foil . The frame is a carrier whose central portion was etched away such that a round opening was formed, which is also denoted window opening hereinafter. The foil is arranged on the carrier . Diamond foils as used for the construction of such a light source can be obtained by deposition from a gas phase. During this, carbon atoms are deposited on the carrier , denoted substrate hereinafter, and build up a diamond layer which forms the foil . To manufacture a diamond window , carbon atoms are deposited on silicon, whereupon the window opening is exposed by etching. The remaining silicon forms the window frame . Alternatively, diamond foils may be fully removed from their original substrate used in the deposition process and may subsequently be glued to a new window frame made from any material as desired, such as a metal, a synthetic resin, or glass, or may be connected thereto by brazing techniques with active AgCuTi brazing agents. Further possible window frame materials are thicker diamond layers, quartz glass, and further materials with a very low coefficient of thermal expansion.
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light source
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discharge vessel
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high-vacuum chamber
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electron beam source
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ring anode
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gas space
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plate
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opening
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS | |
Satellite observations and a state-of-the art regional atmospheric model have independently confirmed that the Greenland ice sheet is loosing mass at an accelerating rate, reports a new study in Science. Collaborating on the paper were scientists from Utrecht University, the Netherlands Royal Meteorological Institute, Delft University of Technology, Bristol University (UK) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (USA).
The researchers used the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO2/GR) at high (~11 km) horizontal resolution to calculate surface processes over Greenland, satellite radar measurements to determine iceberg production and ice sheet mass loss from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Mission (GRACE) satellites.
They found that the mass loss is equally distributed between increased iceberg production, driven by acceleration of Greenland’s fast-flowing outlet glaciers, and increased meltwater production at the ice sheet surface. Recent warm summers further accelerated the mass loss to 273 Gt per year (1 Gt is the mass of 1 cubic kilometer of water), in the period 2006-2008, which represents 0.75 mm of global sea level rise per year.
It is clear from these results that mass loss from Greenland has been accelerating since the late 1990s and the underlying causes suggest this trend is likely to continue in the near future. We have produced agreement between two totally independent estimates, giving us a lot of confidence in the numbers and our inferences about the processes.—Professor Jonathan Bamber, University of Bristol, co-author
The Greenland ice sheet contains enough water to cause a global sea level rise of seven metres. Since 2000, the ice sheet has lost about 1500 Gt in total, representing on average a global sea level rise of about half a millimeter per year, or 5 mm since 2000.
At the same time that surface melting started to increase around 1996, snowfall on the ice sheet also increased at approximately the same rate, masking surface mass losses for nearly a decade. Moreover, a significant part of the additional meltwater refroze in the cold snowpack that covers the ice sheet. Without these moderating effects, post-1996 Greenland mass loss would have been double the amount of mass loss observed now. | https://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/11/greenland-20091115.html |
Critical Analysis of Women’s Representation
Through the interpretation of texts, and subsequent creation of social reality, mediated representations are often seen to be presented within the certain of ideological discourses that reflect the existing power structures.
The main objective of this paper is to analyze television commercials with an emphasis on gender roles to decode the main elements of a dominant discourse (preferred readings) and representation mechanisms; and the elements’ relationships with ideology, hegemony and power relations in reproducing a dominant discourse. Grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical framework of cultural studies and critical studies perspectives, the two-layer analysis is used in this paper – a semiotic and critical discourse analysis of television commercials with an emphasize on gender roles and ideology.
The results demonstrate that the TV advertisements selected in this paper represent dominant gender relations and reproduce traditional values. Furthermore, these representations illustrate a contradiction between society and media in gender roles. Keywords TV advertisements. Representation of women.
Gender roles. Critical discourse analysis. Ideology. 1 Ali Hajimohammadi PhD Candidate, Cultural and Media Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, PO Box 773/14395, Jalal Al e Ahmad AVE, Tehran, Iran. e-mail: [email protected] com
Published Online: 15 January 2011 108 Introduction The research is placed within the cultural studies perspective that assumes an intertwined relationship between the production and reproduction of symbolic meanings and actualized meanings. From a cultural studies perspective, the study of women’s representation in mainstream television advertisements with emphasize on gender roles is embraced. Media has an important role in representation of different groups in a society, but television, as the most popular medium, plays a significant role in representing and shaping attitudes.
Advertising, as one of the television genres, is a prominent discourse type in virtually all contemporary societies (Cook, 2005). In addition to information regarding services and products, it constructs a secondary discourse about society and power relations. Gender relations are one of the secondary discourses that advertisements construct. The image of woman and man in media, particularly in television, is essential for the understanding of social practices, social interactions and ideology. Therefore, advertising has an important role in the representation of gender in a society.
Advertising, as a powerful force, often reflects and enhances the social ideologies that it selectively endorses. At the same time, advertising is a cultural environment challenged by ideological discourses in the society and is constantly evolving in response to the shifting power relations between social groups. In addition, advertising considered as a cultural form and discourse is a site in which different subjectivities struggle to impose or challenge, to confirm, negotiate or displace definitions and identities” (Gledhill, 1988, p. 72).
On the other hand, representations are directly associated with collective meanings, power relations, status hierarchies, resistance, alliances or conflicts that may exist in the public sphere. Thus, it is a common belief among scholars that the representation of gender relations actually reflects the social, cultural, political and economic values of the society (Dines & Humez, 1994; Gauntlett, 2002). Recent studies in relevant literature have illustrated that the present systems of mass communication express to a considerable extent gender representations of the dominant Published Online: 15 January 2011 09 patriarchal ideology (Brunsdon, 2000; Shattuc, 1997).
Accordingly, television programs mirror dominant gender relations and patriarchal values that still remain in post-modern societies (Van Dijk, 1993). Representation of women in the media, especially television, is an important issue in social communication and cultural studies, since media has an important role in communities. Media typically carries dominant values, cultural elements, and dominant ideology in any society.
In Iran, despite changes in the representation of women in television, dominant discourse in advertising is evident, thus challenging the dominant regimes of representation should be considered. Utilizing a critical approach, the mainstream television commercials represent women and gender roles is going to be investigated. This study also aims to explore the intersections of gender and ideology that are embedded in television advertising.
Research Approach Cultural studies have linked communication, consumption and cultural transformation to identity through the analysis of both media texts and living experiences (Muhammad, 2003). In terms of method, the cultural studies perspective raises questions that emphasize qualitative and interdisciplinary modes of investigation. In this paper, critical discourse analysis is used as a linguistic tool in cultural studies. According to the purpose of this study, the following research questions serve as the guidelines for analyzing the advertisements: How are women represented in television commercials?
What are the common mechanisms in presenting female characters in television How do television commercials conceptualize women in relation to the dominant What are the socio-cultural mechanisms and ideologies that play a role in How does the dominant discourse become naturalized in television commercials? commercials? male culture and for what reason? shaping these representations?
To answer these research questions, a qualitative analysis method is used. A ajor criticism against quantitative research on the evaluation of gender roles focuses on this aspect that statistical content analysis usually describe the visual elements of audiovisuals, easily recognizable and clearly measurable factors but do not provide an in-depth reasoning about the hidden ideologies and the social interaction of the production procedures (Norenee, 1977). Furthermore, quantitative analyses usually do not investigate advertising as an intermediary system between economy, culture and society (Pazarzi & Tsangaris, 2008).
In this respect, a qualitative study is conducted – a textual analysis that studies all the elements in which femininity is conceived, constructed and projected in society through three TV commercials. Textual analysis has been widely used within the cultural studies to uncover the preferred meanings encoded in a text. Specifically, this textual analysis is intended to show how ideology and meanings are accepted and conceptualized by TV commercials to define a woman (or man) in mediated culture.
This is especially true in the analysis of TV advertising because textual analysis often deals with a relative smaller number of texts, but seeks to get into the beneath of the surface, the denotative meanings, to examine more implicit, connotative, and symbolic meanings, through the researcher? s interpretation rather than systematic measuring. By uncovering the connotative meanings and the deeper social and marketing ideologies shaping these images and messages, one can reach to this understanding of how women are being represented and gender roles constructed and ideology enacted in advertisement.
The critical discourse analysis not only concentrates on visual issues and constructing meanings, but it also focuses on the question of how these meanings reflect or support the dominant patriarchal ideology and naturalization of dominant discourse in the society. As mentioned earlier, commercial advertisements are cultural phenomena in the society. Different methods are used to study cultural phenomena, but cultural studies Published Online: 15 January 2011 111 like other qualitative forms of sociological inquiry, inevitably emphasize on “circle of meaning” which is inspired by Derrida (1979) and Laclau and Moufee (1985).
For these thinkers, nothing exists outside of discourse; and race, gender, nationality and class are discursive. Consequently, “semiotic approach cannot explore their strategies. In semiotic approach, representation was understood on the basis of the ways words functioned as signs within language, but in a culture, meaning often depends on longer units of analysis – narratives, statements, group of images, the whole discourses which have acquired widespread authority. Therefore “semiotics seemed to confine the processes of representation to the language and to treat it as a closed, rather static system” (Hall, 2003, p. 2).
It is the fundamental basic of development from semiotics to metatextual analysis. Subsequent developments became more concerned with representation as a source of production of social knowledge and power relation that led to critical discourse analysis and its different approaches. Considering the main vocabulary and purpose of critical discourse analysis (Van Dijk, 2003) and the formations of cultural studies (Barker, 2003), it can be concluded that gender and representation are the main areas of critical discourse analysis and cultural studies.
In other words, they are the shared subject of many researches in these fields. Since approaches of critical discourse analysis are complicated and numerous, and cultural fields also involve a vast part of the community, explaining the interaction between methods of discourse analysis and cultural studies in a brief article like this is not possible. Therefore, the focus is going to be on a certain approach of critical discourse analysis to achieve a clear and perfect vision of cultural phenomena. As mentioned above, the analysis of representation should go beyond the semiotic approach to provide a more complete analysis.
The analysis of gender representation has to go beyond semiotics approach and utilize a discourse approach. Laclau and Mufee? s (1985) approach is the appropriate theoretical framework of analyzing text for the whole discourses embedded in advertising about gender roles and its discourses. Published Online: 15 January 2011 112 Explanation of the theoretical principles of Laclau and Mouffe? s (1985) theory and utilizing it as the method of analysis is not impossible here. This theory is primarily based on Foucauldian interpretation and manifesto of macro semantic system.
It helps researchers to identify discursive distinction and antagonism among discourses and floating signifiers to determine what discourses they produce and which discourses are highlighted or marginalized. Questions like whether it also demonstrates the interaction of them over the definition of signifiers, or how television advertisements, according to this theory, reinforce and reproduce the dominant discourse and dominant patriarchal system. Hence, the two-layer analysis is used in this paper – a semiotics and critical discourse analysis of television commercials.
Grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical framework of cultural studies and critical studies perspectives, the present research can contribute to the current understanding of how TV commercials represent women and how the dominant male discourse becomes naturalized. The common advertising strategies targeting gender roles are examined to illuminate how gender roles are encoded in TV advertising texts, how woman is defined through consumption ideologies, and how advertising constructs subjective positions.
Therefore, a detailed analysis of advertising representations of women and the preferred meanings in advertising are presented. Sampling The main sampling method in this paper is purposive sampling, the most common sampling method in qualitative research (Creswell, 2007). The purposive sampling approach is used when samples are chosen because they have particular features of characteristics that will enable detailed exploration and understanding of the central questions that the researcher intends to study, | https://newyorkessays.com/essay-critical-analysis-of-womens-representation/ |
Magnitude (Crossword clue)
We found 14 answers for “Magnitude” .This page shows answers to the clue Magnitude, followed by ten definitions like “Relative importance”, “A measure of earthquake size” and “How bright a celestial body is”. Synonyms for Magnitude are for example enormity, immensity and size. More synonyms can be found below the puzzle answers.
MUCHNESS
DIMENSIONAL
QUARTERNSIONS
Definitions of “Magnitude”If the answer you seek is not in the answers above these definitions may help solving your crossword puzzle.
• How bright a celestial body is
• The brightness of a celestial body
• Local magnitude (ML)
• Non-negative scalar quantity -V-
• (Noun) Great size or importance
• (mathematics) In mathematics
• A measure of the strength of an earthquake
• Greatness of character, rank, or position
• Relative apparent brightness of a star
• The quantifiable size of a natural event
A further 30 definitions can be found on Encyclo
More crossword answersWe found 14 answers for the crossword clue Magnitude . A further 6 clues may be related. Are you looking for more answers, or do you have a question for other crossword enthusiasts? Use the “Crossword Q & A” community to ask for help.
If you haven't solved the
crossword clue Magnitude yet try to search our Crossword Dictionary by entering the letters you already know! | https://www.crosswordclues.com/clue/magnitude |
The John Lewis Partnership is to phase out all diesel-powered heavy trucks from its fleet by 2028.
Instead it will roll out more than 500 delivery trucks powered by bio-methane to the John Lewis and Waitrose fleets.
Each bio-methane truck can run up to 500 miles and emits 80 per cent less CO2 than a standard diesel alternative.
The partnership has been trialling bio-methane trucks since 2015 as a low-carbon alternative to diesel, with 61 bio-methane trucks already in operation or about to be delivered and the bio-methane fuel supplied by CNG Fuels. Six Waitrose delivery trucks are also currently trialling zero-emission refrigeration units as part of the Low Emissions Freight and Logistics Trial. | https://www.logisticsmanager.com/john-lewis-to-phase-out-diesel-trucks/ |
Tạ Tỵ’s Cubist masterpiece completed
About a year ago, I reported on the cleaning of a cubist masterpiece by Tạ Tỵ. The painting The Guitar was covered in a large amount of overpaint, which took a long time to remove.
It was only after overpaint and dirt removal that the full extent of damage and paint loss was visible. It was obvious that while the painting was damaged in some areas, with localised loss of the original paint, a lot of the overpaint had actually covered original paint that was in good condition.
These images show some of the original paint as revealed during overpaint removal. In particular, it was astounding how much of the painting had been covered in overpaint, just to disguise several comparatively small areas of damage.
In other cases, overpaint had been applied directly onto the bare canvas to hide paint loss. This was particularly disturbing in the bottom left corner, where a large section of paint was missing.
Dirt removal also significantly improved the appearance of the painting, with the colours appearing brighter.
Once the majority of overpaint and dirt had been removed, the areas of paint loss were filled with a white inert filling material in preparation for inpainting. The filler was carved and textured to replicate the surface texture of the original adjoining paint areas.
Inpainting and retouching was undertaken with pigments bound in a synthetic resin. The completed painting can now be fully enjoyed in a state more in keeping with how the artist had originally intended it to look. | https://asiarta.org/2012/08/conservation/t%E1%BA%A1-t%E1%BB%B5s-cubist-masterpiece-completed/ |
It looked like the perfect bank robbery. But you can't judge a crime by its cover.
Plot outline
Personal notes
Cast
- Denzel Washington
- Clive Owen
- Jodie Foster
- Christopher Plummer
- Willem Dafoe
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Carlos Andrés Gómez
- Kim Director
- James Ransone
- Bernie Rachelle
- Peter Gerety
- Victor Colicchio
- Cassandra Freeman
- Peter Frechette
- Gerry Vichi
- Waris Ahluwalia
- Rafael Osorio
- Rodney 'Bear' Jackson
- Daryl Mitchell
- Ashlie Atkinson
- David Brown
- Robert C. Kirk
- Frank Stellato
- Ken Leung
- Marcia Jean Kurtz
- Ed Onipede Blunt
- Amir Ali Said
- Lemon Andersen
- Samantha Ivers
- Peter Kybart
- Jason Manuel Olazabal
- Jeff Ward
- Anthony Mangano
- Michael Devine
- Ed Bogdanowicz
- Aaron Vexler
- Anthony Borowiec
- Joe Coots
- Lionel Pina
- Ken Ferrigni
- Frank Hopf
- Robert Testut
- Craig M. Spitzer
- Limary Agosto
- Patrick Illig
- Frank Composto
- Rozanne Sher
- Rachel Black
- Gregory Dann
- Ben Crowley
- Shon Gables
- Dominic Carter
- Sandra Endo
- Kandiss Edmundson
- Al Palagonia
- Florina Petcu
- Agim Coma
- John Speredakos
- Zee Richard
- Ernest Rayford
- Vincent DiMartino
- Julian Niccolini
- Ed Crescimanni
- Brad Leland
- Tiffany Adams
- Kisha Batista
- Robert Bizik
- Cherise Boothe
- John Borras
- Rebecca Brillhart
- Jay Charan
- Stany Coppet
- Ed Cuffe
- Rue DeBona
- Michael Den Dekker
- Kathryne Isabelle Easton
- Joanie Ellen
- Doug Ferony
- Edwin Freeman
- Chuck Gerena
- Rashaad Ernesto Green
- Carla Greene
- Turi Haim
- Frank Harts
- James Hook
- Enver Hoxha
- Van Hughes
- Matt Jade
- Julie Jei
- Russ Klein
- Amanda Renee Knox
- Steve Lord
- Heather Male
- Dominick Mancino
- Francis Mateo
- Rachel McDermott
- Sean Mulcahy
- John B. Nelson Jr.
- Nancy Otero
- James Donnell Quinn
- Jamieson Rhyme
- Michal Sinnott
- Alexander Sovronsky
- Brandhyze Stanley
- Philippe Vonlanthen
- Angel Wallace
- Steven Weisz
Plots
A police detective, a bank robber, and a high-power broker enter high-stakes negotiations after the criminal's brilliant heist spirals into a hostage situation.
Composed and meticulous, the soft-spoken and ingenious bank robber, Dalton Russell, has orchestrated the perfect heist--shortly, the Manhattan bank at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway along with dozens of hostages will be his to command. Try as he might, the rough hostage negotiator, Keith Frazier, is always one step behind the criminal mastermind--and what is more disheartening--the institution's silver-haired founder, Arthur Case, recruits the intelligent problem-fixer, Madeline White, to retrieve something of paramount importance. However, the thieves seem to procrastinate intentionally, when they should be rushing into action. Will Arthur and Madeline get what they want this time?
A gang holds up a bank, takes hostages and is trapped inside the bank by police. A police hostage negotiator arrives and takes charge but the gang don't seem to be following the usual playbook. Even more mysteriously, the chairman of the bank has hired his own negotiator.
From a cell, a man tells us he has planned the perfect bank robbery; he invites us to watch. An efficient gang enters a Manhattan bank, locks the doors, and takes hostages. They work deliberately, without haste. Detective Frazier is assigned to negotiate, but half his mind is occupied with the corruption charges he is facing. The bank's president has something to protect in a safe deposit box, so he brings in Madeleine White, a high-power broker with a hidden agenda. With an army of police surrounding the bank, the thief, the cop, and the plutocrat's fixer enter high-stakes negotiations. Why are the robbers asking for a plane, if they are so competent and they know they won't get one? Why aren't they in more of a hurry? If the job's perfect, why is the thieves' leader in a cell? | https://skogstok.se/php4dvd/?go=movie&id=387 |
In the previous blog post, we looked at using survey data to measure inflation expectations. Now we consider market-based measures. The graph shows various measures of the breakeven inflation rate, which is computed as the difference in returns of constant-maturity Treasury bills: one being the traditional bill and the other being the inflation-indexed bill. If we look at 10-year Treasury bills, we can evaluate what the markets think the average yearly inflation rate will be over the next 10 years. With such a long horizon, it makes less sense to compare these expectations to realized inflation. But this graph still includes a segment to signal the Fed’s 2% inflation target announced on January 25, 2012, since the purpose of that announcement was to anchor inflation expectations.
How this graph was created: Search for “breakeven inflation” and many series will be shown. Here, we used those with a monthly frequency. For the segment, choose “Add a Series” but select “Trend line” from the pull-down menu. Once that’s added, change the initial date to “2012-01-25” and use “2” for both start and end values.
An important element of monetary policymaking, as well as financial market pricing, is the level of inflation that people expect. There is no direct measure of each individual’s inflation expectations, but we can infer expectations at the aggregate level. One way we do this is to simply ask some people what they think. The Surveys of Consumers, an initiative of Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan, ask many questions to evaluate consumer sentiment, and one question is what the inflation rate will be over the next year. The average answer is shown in blue in the graph, with the actual inflation rate shown in red. Note that this is not an entirely fair comparison: For any particular date, the blue line shows expectations over the next 12 months and the red line shows actual inflation over the past 12 months.
We also added a short green segment: This is the Fed’s 2% inflation target, announced on January 25, 2012. We see it falls between expectations and realizations.
If you want to learn more about inflation expectations, take a look at this recent Economic Synopses essay.
How this graph was created: Search for “inflation expectations” and the Michigan Survey should be your first choice. Then add the series “CPI” to your graph, making sure to change the units to “Percent Change from Year Ago.” Finally, for the green segment, choose “Add a Series” but select “Trend line” from the pull-down menu. Once that’s added, change the initial date to “2012-01-25” and use “2” for both start and end values.
The producer price index (PPI) is one of the oldest continuously recorded statistics in the United States. While the better-known consumer price index (CPI) computes the price of a basket of consumer goods in retail stores, the PPI looks at raw materials, intermediate goods, and goods ready to be shipped. In fact, it was previously known as the wholesale price index (WPI). FRED offers the PPI in all sorts of decompositions, over 10,000 series in total.
In the graph, we compare the CPI with the PPI. Notice that the PPI appears to be more volatile, at least in recent years, and the two indexes tracked each other much better before the 1980s than since. In particular, the PPI has increased much less than the CPI and has seen some dramatic drops.
How this graph was created: Search for PPI, and the index for all commodities will likely be your first choice. Add that series to the graph. Then add the CPI by searching for it in the “Graph” tab through the “Add Data Series” panel. | https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2015/06/ |
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