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At present, it is an offence to use a hand-held mobile phone or other hand-held device while driving, when that device is making or receiving a call or performing any other interactive communication function.
There is currently no law against using a hands-free phone behind the wheel but if someone drives poorly because they are distracted by a hands-free phone conversation, the police can take enforcement action for failing to have proper control of the vehicle. However, the lack of specific legislation means that some members of the public assume that using a hands-free phone behind the wheel is therefore both acceptable and safe.
Brake advocates for hands-free phone use behind the wheel to be banned and placed on the same legal footing as the use of a hand-held phone.
Using a mobile phone or other device while driving impairs a person’s ability to drive safely and makes a road traffic collision more likely. This is true whether a device is hand-held or being used hands-free. ITransport Select Committee, 2019
How close are we to banning hands-free phone use when driving?
The Transport Select Committee conducted an inquiry into driving whilst using a mobile phone in 2019. One of the recommendations of the inquiry was for:"...the Government to explore options for extending the ban on driving while using a hand-held mobile phone or other device to hands-free devices. This should consider the evidence of the risks involved, the consequences of a ban, and the practicalities of enforcing it.". The Government response to this recommendation was somewhat vague, stating:
"The Government acknowledges the risks associated with the use of hands-free mobile phones while driving... However, despite those risks, there are many difficulties associated with a potential ban on hands-free use, including enforcement which would be hugely problematic... The Government would want to examine existing evidence about the risks of hands-free use; consider what a ban on hands-free would actually look like in practice and how it could be expressed in legal terms; make some initial assumptions about the likely road safety benefits; identify the sectors that would be most severely affected by a ban; make some initial assumptions about the likely costs to both those sectors and wider business; and decide whether, and on what basis, there should be any exemptions from a general ban. This work would take time, and it is important to focus in the short term on handheld mobile phone use." | https://www.brake.org.uk/how-we-help/national-campaigns/the-change-we-want/drivers/hands-free-phones |
The basic purpose of this post is to introduced student to basic principle of sampling.
Sampling can be described as the operations involved in procuring a laboratory size that is a true representative of “a whole lot for a particular analytical exercise. Sampling is indeed the most difficult step in the entire analytical process; however, it remains the only key to the success of the whole analytical programme. Good sample irrespective of the type or method of sampling should possess the following properties:
1.A good sample must have the same characteristic or features with that of the original population from where it is selected.
- The nature of the sample must be the same with that of the population and must remain so throughout the analytical exercise.
3.The number of samples should be large enough to make the result reliable.
Indeed, the methods used in collecting a true representative sample depends on various factors which include:
- The knowledge and experience of the analyst or sampler
The result of survey on the nature, size and configuration of the site of materials to be sampled.
3.The level of sensitivity of the desired result.
It is necessary to note that, there is virtually no single technique that can fulfil all requirements in any sampling case. Modifications and combination of some techniques may be necessary in some sampling cases. | https://www.omokoshaban.com/2018/06/03/basic-principle-of-sampling/ |
This paper proposes a flexible rerouting strategy for the public transit to accommodate the spatiooral variation in the travel demand. Transit routes are typically static in nature, i.e., the buses serve well-defined routes; this results in people living in away from the bus routes choose alternate transit modes such as private automotive vehicles resulting in ever-increasing traffic congestion. In the flex-transit mode, we reroute the buses to accommodate high travel demand areas away from the static routes considering its spatiooral variation. We perform clustering to identify several flex stops; these are stops not on the static routes, but with high travel demand around them. We divide the bus stops on the static routes into critical and non-critical bus stops; critical bus stops refer to transfer points, where people change bus routes to reach their destinations. In the existing static scheduling process, some slack time is provided at the end of each trip to account for any travel delays. Thus, the additional travel time incurred due to taking flexible routes is constrained to be less than the available slack time. We use the percent increase in travel demand to analyze the effectiveness of the rerouting process. The proposed methodology is demonstrated using real-world travel data for Route 7 operated by the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).
Description
Click on the DOI link to access the article (may not be free). | https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/16331 |
In This Lesson
In this lesson you will learn how the importance of open science and how to use Jupyter Notebooks for reproducible work.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this activity, you will be able to:
List benefits of using Jupyter Notebooks to create reports.
Explain how Jupyter Notebooks are a useful tool in Open Science approaches.
Explain one way that Jupyter Notebooks can benefit your research.
What You Need
be sure that you have Python and the earth analytics python environment installed on your computer. You should also have an earth-analytics directory setup on your computer with a /data directory with it
Why Open Science
Open science is about making scientific methods, data and outcomes available to everyone. It can be broken down into several parts Gezelter 2009):
Transparency in experimental methodology, observation, and collection of data.
Public availability and reusability of scientific data.
Public accessibility and transparency of scientific communication.
Using web-based tools to facilitate scientific collaboration.
In this tutorial, you are not going to focus on all aspects of open science as listed above. However, you will learn about Jupyter Notebooks as one tool that can be used to connect data, methods and outputs to make your work:
More transparent and
More available and accessible to the public and your colleagues.
Jupyter notebooks allow you to connect data, code (methods used to process the data) and outputs. Jupyter Notebooks can be saved and shared in different formats such as html or pdf.
Open Science Slide Show
About Jupyter Notebooks
The .ipynb file format allows you to combine descriptive text, code blocks and code output. You can run the code in python and you can export the .ipynb file to a nicely rendered, shareable format like .pdf or html. When render your file to .html or pdf the code is run and so your code outputs including plots, and other figures appear in the rendered document. You will use Jupyter Notebooks (.ipynb files) to document workflows and to share code for data processing, analysis and visualization.
Why Combine Markdown and Code in Jupyter Notebooks
Mixing markdown with code in Jupyter Notebooks provides many advantages:
Human readable: it’s much easier to read a web page or a report containing text and figures.By adding markdown or text around your code, your project becomes more user friendly and easier to understand.
Simple syntax: markdown is a simple language to learn and can be learned quickly. This makes the learning curve for well-documented Jupyter Notebooks smaller.
Helpful Reminder for Your Future Self: When you code, consider your future self. If you leave your future self a well documented set of jupyter notebooks that both run your code and describe the steps, then all components of your work are clearly documented. You and your future self then don’t have to remember what steps, assumptions, tests were used to complete the workflow.
Easy to Modify: You can easily extend or refine analyses contained within a Jupyter notebook by modifying existing or adding new code blocks.
Flexible export formats: Analysis results stored in Notebooks can be disseminated in various formats including HTML, PDF and slideshows.
Easy to share: If all of your analysis is contained and described in a one or more notebooks, it makes it easy to share with a colleague. Your colleague can also easily replicate your workflow.
Data Tip: You can easily create fully reproducible jupyter notebooks that can be run online using my binder.
Jupyter Notebooks Are Beneficial to Your Colleagues
The link between data, code and results makes Jupyter Notebooks powerful. You can share your entire workflow with your colleagues and they can quickly see your process. You can also write reports using .ipynb files which contain code and data analysis results. To enrich the document, you can add text, just like you would in a word document that describes your workflow, discusses your results and presents your conclusions - along side your analysis results.
Jupyter Notebooks Are Beneficial to You & Your Future Self
Jupyter notebooks (.ipynb) are efficient. If you need to make changes to your workflow, you can simply modify the code and run the report again. Your future self will appreciate it too. Jupyter Notebooks allows you to add documentation to remind yourself of your process. Further, all of the code that you used is in the notebook ready to be rerun or modified at any time.
Data Tip: Many of the Earth Lab lessons, including this one, were created using Jupyter Notebooks!
Convert Notebooks to Shareable html Files
You can save Jupyter Notebooks containing code and markdown as .html files. When you save a notebook as .html, it creates a nicely rendered web page with the code and outputs visible along with the markdown rendered as nicely formatted text. This means that you can share the file with a colleague and they can see your entire workflow - without having to rerun your analysis. You will learn how how to save to .html and other formats later in this course.
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Save the Children in partnership with The Centre for Child Rights and Business (formerly CCR CSR), recently conducted a study on the impact of the tea industry in Sri Lanka on children.
The study identifies potential entry points for influence to making sustainable progress and improvement in the lives of children living within tea growing communities. The study has three main objectives; a). to analyse child rights risks specific to smallholder farms and mid-sized tea estates, b) to assess the level of impact of the policies and practices that the particular stakeholder may have on children, and c). to assess and map opportunities and potential areas of engagement to involve tea industry stakeholders for the wellbeing of children living within smallholder and mid-sized tea growing communities.
Among the findings, the study found that 79.9% of parents in Sri Lanka’s tea estates believed that there were potential risks and vulnerabilities to their children within their communities and 21.8% of children said they often witnessed violence.
Please read the full report here.
2022/11/28Read our Guest Article for Fair Cobalt Alliance | Unleashing Potential: How Mining Companies Can Support Decent Work For Youth
2022/11/23Press Release | The Centre Hosted Multi-Stakeholder ‘Towards a Family-Friendly Tea Industry’ Conference | https://www.childrights-business.org/resources/8.html |
In the era of declining development assistance for health, transitioning externally funded programs to governments becomes a priority for donors. However, the process requires a careful approach not only to preserve the public health gains that have already been achieved but also to expand on them. In the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, countries are expected to graduate from support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in or before 2025. We aim to describe transition risks and identify possible means to address them.
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The economics of malaria control in an age of declining aidMay 2019 read more
Publisher: Nature Communications
This article examines financing in the fight against malaria. After briefly describing malaria control plans in Africa since 2000, it offers a stylized model of the economics of malaria and shows how health aid can help escape the malaria trap.
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Addressing the structural drivers of HIV: A STRIVE synthesisMay 2019 read more
Publisher: STRIVE
The past two decades have seen significant progress in tackling HIV. Behavioural interventions have curbed rates of transmission. The scale up of HIV treatment has not only reduced levels of morbidity and mortality, but also created new opportunities for HIV prevention. However, mathematical modelling suggests that, with the current rate of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, 49 million more new HIV infections will occur by 2035, and that even at best, with 90 to 95% coverage, treatment will avert only 60% of new infections.
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The Future of the Global Fund’s Allocation Methodology 2020 – 2022
Publisher: Women4GlobalFund (W4GF)
This paper serves to provide an update W4GF Advocates on the Global Fund allocation methodology for the 2020-2022 funding cycle. It also seeks to highlight key recommendations from W4GF as the Global Fund continues to refine its allocation methodology.
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Blended Finance in the Poorest Countries: The need for a better approach
Publisher: ODI
The need to mobilise private finance is at the heart of international discussions on how to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and move the needle from ‘billions’ of dollars in development aid to ‘trillions’ of dollars in investment.
This report aims to provide hard evidence to inform the discussion on the role of blended finance in plugging the SDG financing gap in developing countries.
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Financing Global Health 2018: Countries and Programs in Transition
Publisher: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
This 10th edition of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s annual Financing Global Health report provides the most up-to-date estimates of development assistance for health, domestic spending on health, health spending on two key infectious diseases – malaria and HIV/AIDS – and future scenarios of health spending. Several transitions in global health financing inform this report: the influence of economic development on the composition of health spending; the emergence of other sources of development assistance funds and initiatives; and the increased availability of disease-specific funding data for the global health community. For funders and policymakers with sights on achieving 2030 global health goals, these estimates are of critical importance. They can be used for identifying funding gaps, evaluating the allocation of scarce resources, and comparing funding across time and countries.
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Global Health Spending and Development Assistance for Health
Publisher: Journal of the American Medical Association
In 2015, member states of the United Nations adopted the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which included 17 global goals that targeted economic and social development.1 Goal 3, “to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,” targets specifically marked progress in universal health coverage; improved access to safe, effective, and affordable medicines; and the end of the HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis epidemics by 2030.
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Health Systems Performance in Managing Tuberculosis: Analysis of tuberculosis care cascades among high-burden and non-high burden countries
Publisher: Journal of Global Health
This study aims to analyze different patterns and gaps of care along the care cascade across countries and to develop a model to examine the relationship between performance of tuberculosis programmes in high and low burden countries along the tuberculosis care cascade and tuberculosis disease burden.
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Global Summary of Findings of an Assessment of HIV Services Packages for Key Populations in Six Regions
Publisher: APMG Health, Inc. for GFAN
In 2017, the Global Fund contracted APMG Health to conduct assessments of the design, implementation, and monitoring of national HIV service packages for KP in 65 countries, across six regions in which the Global Fund has provided HIV grant funds. This report is a global-level analysis of those assessments.
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GFAN GLOBAL STRATEGY MEETING 5–7 MARCH 2019 AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDSMarch 2019 read more
Publisher: GFAN
More than 80 people from around the world attended all or part of the 2019 Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) Global Strategy Meeting, held over three days (5–7 March) in Amsterdam. The main topic of the meeting was resource mobilization for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), with particular emphasis on the 6th replenishment process that had recently been launched and will culminate in a formal pledging conference on 10 October 2019 in Lyon, France. | https://www.globalfundadvocatesnetwork.org/resources/page/3/ |
Many of you may know The Trust for Public Land (TPL) as an organization devoted to the protection and support of the places people care about and the creation of “close-to-home parks” — particularly in and near cities, where 80 percent of Americans live. Through its Center for City Park Excellence (CCPE), TPL also explores the many issues that affect the success of urban areas’ park systems. CCPE’s most recent publication, City Parks, Clean Water: Making Great Places Using Green Infrastructure, looks at the many ways that parks can help with the control of urban stormwater.
Using case studies, data tables, and interviews with national experts, the report explores both new and existing parks, including in-depth studies of water-smart parks in Atlanta, Birmingham, Alabama, Cambridge, Massachusetts, New York, and Shoreline, Washington. The following is the first installment of a two-part series excerpted from the report.
Lisa Nabor Cowan, ASLA, Sustainable Design & Development PPN Officer, Principal, Studioverde
Part I: City Parks, Clean Water, Green Infrastructure
The effort to clean our nation’s waterways has been underway, with increasing strength, for more than 50 years. Great progress has been made, particularly against pollution from untreated sewage and unregulated factories. Rivers no longer catch on fire, oil slicks are a rarity, and most raw discharge pipes have been eliminated. But in cities there remains work to be done, with most urban waterways still not clean, not swimmable, not safe for fishing, and sometimes not even pleasantly boatable.
The primary culprit, as all landscape architects know, is pollution from runoff from paved surfaces – streets, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, roofs, patios, plazas, even playgrounds that quickly shed the rain. The solution is to hold back the water where it hits, slow it down so that the destructiveness of erosion and contaminants are controlled, and clean it before it reaches a waterway.
With two different methods of doing this – using giant holding tanks for storage or a natural, spongier approach for infiltration – the U.S. is at a critical decision point in how it will allocate billions of dollars in the coming decades.
If we go with the soil-based, green infrastructure approach in urban areas, we have to be realistic about the opportunities and possibilities. Do cities have enough unbuilt land to capture water on the surface? After all, in cities, water-capturing surfaces are often somewhat scarce, located primarily in only four places: in private yards, on campuses of various types, alongside public roadways, and within public parks.
Parks already play a significant role in absorbing stormwater since they comprise of 2 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent, or even more of every city’s land area. Right now most of these lands capture only the rain and snow that fall directly on them, but they could theoretically do much more. They are potentially the sites of great new “water-smart parks” that treat runoff as a multiple-benefit asset.
Of course, urban parks have numerous other benefits to residents, some of which may not be fully compatible with absorbing and holding large quantities of water. Could fields become too soggy for sports and recreation? Might playgrounds lose too much space to fenced-off rain gardens? Some skeptics worry that rain gardens might deteriorate into an unattractive landscape while others fear an increase in mosquitoes. Still others fret that pervious paving could buckle under heavy usage. Many of these theoretical worries never come to pass, but they can also represent emotional and political roadblocks to moving forward. The opportunities for cost-saving, win-win solutions are enormous, but there may also be a risk of unanticipated side-effects. The goal is to maximize benefits while minimizing drawbacks, and to use the synergies to reduce costs.
One organization deeply involved at the intersection of parks and stormwater management is The Trust for Public Land (TPL). TPL consults with cities to reduce flooding, maps opportunities to counter the effects of rapid urbanization that has paved formerly porous land, and shows citizens how to get involved in the political process. TPL has physically built water-absorbing parks, from New York and Philadelphia to San Francisco and Los Angeles, and is an official partner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Green Infrastructure Collaborative, a learning alliance to share best practices.
TPL’s most recent addition, City Parks, Clean Water: Making Great Places Using Green Infrastructure, is a major study which shines a light on the successes and challenges of water-smart parks. It looks both at the technologies and the political issues involved in these techniques, and some of the report’s highlights are summarized here.
Why Parks?
Parks have been capturing stormwater from the beginning, often unintentionally through vegetation and porous soils, sometimes purposefully through such large-scale projects as Frederick Law Olmsted’s 1885 redesign of Boston’s Muddy River to deal with festering mudflats and flooding. But the movement ebbed and flowed, mirroring the changing philosophies of water handling over the decades, and for much of the 20th century the dominant strategy was to move water downstream as quickly as possible. That anti-ecological approach is now being upended, and a new generation of stormwater capture techniques are being pioneered, with some city park agencies leading the way. In a 2014 survey by The Trust for Public Land, 82 percent of responding agencies reported that they have created at least one stormwater capture facility, and the collective acreage of these early efforts are already in the thousands.
The Different Goals
Parks and clean water are both public goods of the highest order; combining the two offers great opportunities for collaboration. In the simplest terms, water management requires space, and parkland is a leading resource of space in cities. Conversely, park maintenance requires money, and water utilities have a steady, predictable source of revenue through residential and business water fees.
Nevertheless, there are challenges that sometimes interfere with partnering. For one thing, stormwater has a complex range of impacts, and the techniques for dealing with those impacts are not easy to carry out, or even to explain to the public. For another, there are many different kinds of park users who have vastly different opinions about what makes a park great and what degrades it.
From the perspective of park agencies, there are two major goals that can be furthered by collaboration with stormwater utilities – improving ecological function and reducing costs. These can take several forms:
- Contributing to improved park hydrology: In hilly cities, water racing into parks can not only flood playing fields and undermine trees, but also wash out streams and dump sediment downstream. Since every new swale and detention pond slows the runoff and reduces the burden on waterways and treatment plants, it may be cost-effective for stormwater utilities to help pay for these improvements on parkland. Moreover, these features can serve as attractive, ecological alternatives to the wasteful and dangerous practice of putting drains in the middle of grassy recreational fields.
- Saving money on irrigation: Just like private citizens, many park agencies have to pay for water. (Even if the bill is picked up by the government at large, it’s still a cost to taxpayers.) This expense is often substantial – in San Diego it came to more than $12 million in 2013 and $10 million in Chicago. Even where fees are lower, the tab is rising rapidly. Beyond that, some agencies pay a stormwater or drainage fee to a sewer agency based on the size of their property holdings and the percent of their impermeable land. Therefore, the less water sent down the drain, the more water is available to feed the parks, and the more funds are freed up for programming and other needs. Even better are situations where park departments are financially rewarded for saving water. According to a 2014 Trust for Public Land survey, about fourteen percent of park agencies, including those in Seattle, Minneapolis, and Cincinnati, are given a rebate for water that parks treat and manage while keeping it out of the sewer system. This arrangement gives the agencies an additional financial incentive to creatively modify some of their parkland.
by Peter Harnik, Director and Abby Martin, Assistant Director, The Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence, based in Washington, D.C.
Part II scheduled to be published on July 5, 2016. | https://thefield.asla.org/2016/06/28/city-parks-clean-water-green-infrastructure-part-i/ |
This course provides an overview of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The National Incident Management System defines the comprehensive approach guiding the whole community - all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), and the private sector - to work together seamlessly to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the effects of incidents. The course provides learners with a basic understanding of NIMS concepts, principles, and components.
Performance Objectives
- Describe and identify the key concepts, principles, scope, and applicability underlying NIMS.
- Describe activities and methods for managing resources.
- Describe the NIMS Management Characteristics.
- Identify and describe Incident Command System (ICS) organizational structures.
- Explain Emergency Operations Center (EOC) functions, common models for staff organization, and activation levels.
- Explain the interconnectivity within the NIMS Management and Coordination structures: ICS, EOC, Joint Information System (JIS), and Multiagency Coordination Groups (MAC Groups).
- Identify and describe the characteristics of communications and information systems, effective communication, incident information, and communication standards and formats. | https://www.i-s-consulting.com/store/p5/ics700-virtual.html |
By guest author: Heather Leaman
Elementary schools in the United States typically use the expanding environments approach to teach social studies in grades K-5. Under this curriculum plan, children learn about self and family in Kindergarten and first grade. In second and third grade, children learn about neighborhood and community. As they progress through the upper elementary grades, children expand their understanding of the world by learning about states and the nation.
During the past decade, the National Council for Social Studies has suggested that children’s learning be extended beyond our country to include an understanding of the world. Publishing companies have responded to this initiative by creating materials that help children learn about themselves in relation to the world. Using this worldview, students in primary grades learn about families, neighborhoods and communities globally. In upper elementary grades, children learn about their state and nation in relation to other states and other countries. This movement provides children the opportunity to connect to their world.
Social studies is an ideal subject to help children understand their environment, to learn about others and to celebrate their own unique culture. However, with the influence of No Child Left Behind , schools often leave behind social studies instruction in elementary classrooms. Some schools report spending less than an hour every two weeks on social studies.
This doesn’t have to be the case for American schools. There are outstanding tools, such as dual language books, which enable teachers to integrate social studies with reading and writing instruction. By using dual language books as a tool for teaching social studies, teachers can increase a child’s awareness of their place in the world through experiences with diverse languages, culture and geography. They can expose children to the world around them and honor the diversity of their classroom. The following examples illustrate ways in which teachers bring social studies back into the elementary classroom.
- Oral Reading: Incorporate dual language books into oral reading routines. Read the story in English. Then share the same story in a second language. Teachers can read, play the audio recording or invite linguistically diverse guest readers to share in the task.
- Independent Reading: Make dual language books and audio CDs available for student independent reading. Children can read the text in their primary language and listen to the story in new languages; an invaluable activity for emerging readers as well as for students of differing reading abilities.
- Expanding Reading Materials: Select stories , poems or folktales originating from various diverse cultures to read aloud or for student independent reading. Select books with characters or settings representative of diverse cultures and languages.
- Investigating Other Cultures: Place students in groups of three or four. Assign each group a dual language story, each group representing a different language. Have children locate countries where their assigned language is spoken, learn about the geography and people of the countries and present their findings to the class. Extend this to a year-long study of other cultures, and current global events.
These activities are effective and simple ways to include social studies in the elementary classroom using dual language books as a tool for learning. Social studies, learning about people around the world, can help children appreciate cultural diversity and celebrate their own culture, language and family.
Families can provide assistance by volunteering to be guest readers, making the school PTA or PTO aware of dual language books and multicultural resources and by advocating for social studies instruction in elementary classrooms.
Heather Leaman is an assistant professor in the Elementary Education Department at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She also spent eleven years teaching sixth grade social studies.
© Language Lizard, LLC.
Want to use this article in your e-zine or web site? Contact Language Lizard President and Founder, Anneke Forzani. | https://blog.languagelizard.com/2011/05/15/childs-place-world-bilingual-books-tool-teaching-social-studies-elementary-school/ |
The Humanitou Podcast launched in March 2020. It was the next step in the evolution of Humanitou, a website that has shined light on humanness and creativity since June 2017.
During 80 interviews in that three-year initial run — all published as text Q&As on the website — Humanitou founder and creator, Adam Williams, and guests explored the full range of the human experience.
That continues now in the form of the Humanitou Podcast. The conversations get into all the joyful, messy, authentic bits of being human.
Adam invites guests to share their perspectives on topics such as love and relationships, struggle and resilience, creativity, inspiration and being our authentic selves. Spirituality and faith also factor in from time to time, as do matters of politics, death, gender expression and so on … All the universal stuff of humanness.
As a podcast, Humanitou continues to recognize the value of inclusivity and diversity in these stories, as well. Representation matters. Hearing from voices and places of experience we otherwise might not … that also matters.
Humanitou is about cultivating a space for vulnerable, courageous dialogue and sharing. Along the way, Adam shares pieces of himself, too, and of his own practices of humanness and creativity. We’re all in this together.
And in the process, Adam offers this challenge to all of us to practice truly listening, with openness and empathy, to others’ stories and to hear ourselves in them. Together, we can challenge the truths we hold about ourselves and each other, and grow.
You can subscribe and listen to Humanitou Podcast episodes at humanitou.com, and follow the Humanitou Podcast through major players like Spotify, Apple, Google, Stitcher and Castbox.
The Humanitou Podcast is about empowerment and connection through conversations of humanness and creativity. Like we said, we’re all in this together. | https://humanitou.com/humanitou-podcast/ |
Holiday home nestled 6 Kms distance from Malankara Dam.
Holiday stay located 10 Kms distance from Thodupuzha town.
Deluxe Room:- Maximum occupancy per room- 02, Total number of Bedrooms- 02.
Thodupuzha is the largest town and municipality in Idukki district in the Kerala state of India.
Best time to visit Idukki is October to March at that time this place will be more green and beautiful.
Rooms : Deluxe Room:- Maximum occupancy per room- 02, Total number of Bedrooms- 02.
Bedrooms : Spacious bedrooms with attached bathrooms.
Kitchen : Tariff includes 3 time meal.
By Air:- Nearest airport is Kochin International Airport airport about 40 km away.
By Bus:- The nearest bus stand is Thodupuzha bus stand about 8 Kms away.
*Check in time:- 12 PM.
*Check out time:- 12 PM.
Any refund applicable only if the traveler cancels 7 days before check-in.
Property has 2 bedrooms located at Thodupuzha.
Attached bathroom with modern amenities. | https://www.holidayrentals.co.in/properties/details/4318/Farm-and-Home-Homestay.html |
- Note: Individuals of all demographic, academic and professional backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to apply, particularly women.
- Contribute to women’s economic empowerment: Connect and collaborate with young women, communities and global partners to help grow the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda.
- Amplify your personal and professional growth: Whether you’re a recent grad, mid-career or experienced professional, you’ll receive unique opportunities to boost your CV and build transferable skills, such as cross-cultural communication, project management, research and more.
- Access high quality training and resources: You’ll receive specialized training and resources from our global partners who are subject matter experts in their fields, including gender equality, social enterprise, monitoring and evaluation and climate action.
- Be part of an international network: You’ll connect with like-minded, passionate staff partner organizations and youth around the globe. Joining this network will include first access to future YCI opportunities.
- Receive a Daily Stipend: A stipend will be received by National Fellows to cover the costs of transportation and lunch for each day worked in office. | https://theugandanjobline.com/2021/05/volunteer-jobs-program-training-fellow-youth-challenge-international-yci.html |
A Will and a Way: Political Perseverance Going Into 2016
Scientists have long attributed the sluggish advance of genetically engineered food products to weak political will, rather than shortcomings in the technology.
But recent global developments indicate that this will is getting stronger, as political leaders in key nations announce their support for GE food.
Most notably, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the world's first GE food animal — the fast-growing AquAdvantage salmon — in the waning months of 2015. The decision, which followed more than a decade of review, is particularly significant because other nations have been waiting for the U.S. to take the lead in this area of biotech.
Photo Credit: AquaBounty Technologies
Federal regulators also approved a GE chicken that produces a protein used in treating patients with lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) deficiency, though the animal's meat and eggs cannot be consumed. And the FDA gave the nod to two new GE crops: the Arctic Apple and Simplot's Innate potato. Both were bred to resist bruising and browning.
Africa also marked advances. Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto said last August that his government soon would end a ban on the import of GM products that was imposed in 2012. “Various government ministries, departments and agencies concerned with biotechnology have already consulted and agreed on the necessary regulations and safety measures to be adhered to so that we can maximise on agricultural production, improve health services, conserve the environment, and basically improve the living standards of our people," Ruto said.
Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni took advantage of World Food Day celebrations in October 2015 to declare his strong support for agricultural biotech.
“The future of biotech crops in Uganda is so bright,” reports Nassib Mugwanya, a Ugandan agricultural outreach worker and 2015 Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellow. “It’s just a matter of time that the current bill before parliament, which will allow for commercialization/deployment of biotech crops, will soon be passed into law. Biotech crops under research such as cassava, bananas (cooking type), maize, rice, and sweet potatoes are of strategic national and regional importance.”
Photo Credit: Jeremy Veverka, Alliance for Science
With the support of Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Bangladesh is emerging as the South Asia leader in agricultural biotechnology. The government has already approved commercial cultivation of four varieties of Bt brinjal — eggplant engineered to resist the destructive fruit and shoot borer — with approval of another five in the pipeline. Farmers growing the popular vegetable are reporting higher yields, better market prices, and significant reductions in pesticide use.
In a widely publicized ruling last month, the Supreme Court of the Philippines permanently halted field testing of Bt brinjal there. But Marshall “Marlo” Asis, a Global Leadership Fellow, said the decision does not spell doom for GE crops in his nation:
“The Supreme Court did not stop scientific progress,” Asis wrote in a blog post on the Cornell Alliance for Science website. “Far from it in fact; the decision enables scientific progress by laying down the markers for a good regulatory process. All the government needs to do now is to draft and adopt, after intensive public consultations, the appropriate biosafety regulations. That should be doable in the next 12 months.”
The Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) is meanwhile conducting research on other GE crops, including beta carotene-enriched Golden Rice, Bt cotton, and salt tolerant rice, says Arif Hossain, a Global Leadership Fellow from Bangladesh. BARI researchers recently conducted successful field trials of a GE potato bred to resist the devastating late blight virus, and will be seeking commercial approval this spring.
In neighboring India, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also opened the door to GE crops, approving field trials of transgenic rice, cotton, maize, mustard, brinjal, and chickpea.
“We should establish without further delay a National Bio-safety Authority which inspires public, professional, political and media confidence," urged eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan, who has been called the father of India's Green Revolution.
Despite the advances, anti-GMO activists worldwide continue to exert pressure on the political process.
“The government of Bangladesh is positive about the ongoing research and success of Bt brinjal,” Hossain reports. “But I am afraid to inform you that we have an anti-Bt brinjal alliance comprised of few NGOs and environmental activists. Also there are few journalist who are directly working against Bt brinjal research and adoption.”
Mugwanya says his country is also grappling with anti-GMO sentiment. “Uganda being a vanguard of biotech research in Africa has made it ripe for opposition from activist groups within and outside,” Magwanya reports. But, with Museveni's leadership, “the politicians who shape the policy landscape of Uganda are listening to scientists.”
More advances in agricultural biotechnology seem likely so long as political will is shaped by science, rather than ideology. The question now is whether this newly emerging political will is strong enough to let agricultural biotechnology play a role in addressing the complex challenges of climate change.
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You will help our clients to implement Odoo's ERP software within their organizations. In order to do this successfully, you'll need to understand our client's workflows and business practices to implement Odoo efficiently. You'll also learn all the in's and out's of Odoo and become a product expert, any past technical experiences will be helpful here. You'll be transferring data, acting as a liaison between developers and clients, and configuring the software applications to our clients' needs.
- Minimum Qualification: Degree
- Experience Level: Mid level
- Experience Length: 2 years
Job Description
- Take part in the functional consulting services we provide to our partners and customers.
- Analyze customer's needs and business processes in order to map them properly with Odoo
- Quantify resources required for a task/project.
- Accompany customers in the full delivery cycle from software configuration to go-live.
- Coach customers on how to use Odoo efficiently through individual training.
- Deliver Odoo functional training sessions on-site or online one week every 2 months to train end-users or employees coming from our customers and partners (8-15 people per session).
- Support the sales team during pre-sale.
Must-Have:
- Bachelor's degree or higher in IT Engineering Management, or Computer Science
- Between 1 and 2 years of experience
- Excellent planning and communication skills
- An affinity with the Information Technology world, you understand what an ERP is and what open source is.
- Able to communicate effectively in English.
- Understanding of SQL is preferred
Values:
- You are able to work in a fast-paced start-up environment with a hands-on attitude, open-minded to react to change with agility, with an entrepreneur mindset, not afraid to take appropriate initiatives, autonomous learner, passion for software, approachable, honest, and a fun team player
Compensation
and Perks: | https://www.jobberman.com/job/business-systems-analyst-odoo-rv65pm |
You are to create an program that can play a version of a solitaire card game called "Accordian'' solitaire, the rules for which are as follows:
A standard playing deck is used. Deal cards one by one in a row from left to right, not overlapping. Whenever the card matches its immediate neighbor on the left, or matches the third card to the left, it may be moved onto that card. Cards match if they are of the same suit or same rank. After making a move, look to see if it has made additional moves possible. When a card is moved, all the cards in the pile are moved. Gaps between piles should be closed up as soon as they appear by moving all piles on the right of the gap one position to the left. Deal out the whole pack, combining cards towards the left whenever possible. The game is won if the pack is reduced to a single pile.
Situations can arise where more than one play is possible. Where two
cards may be moved, you should adopt the strategy of always moving the
leftmost card possible. Where a card may be moved either one position
to the left or three positions to the left, move it three positions.
Play
an
interactive
version
of Accordian Solitaire.
Input data to the program specifies the cards for several games. Each line of input contains the the cards for a single game, in the order in which they are dealt from the pack. Each line may contain 1 to 52 cards separated by a single space. The line ends with "00" (double zeroes). The final line of the input file contains only double zeroes. Cards are represented as a two character code. The first character is the suit and the second character is the rank.
One line of output must be produced for line of input. Each line of output shows the cards remaining after playing a round of the game with the pack of cards as described by the corresponding input line.
C7 D7 H3 H5 00
D2 HK SJ C3 H3 00
H2 H3 H4 H5 HK DK D2 D3 D4 00
C7 C4 D9 ST CT S1 HT S9 C9 CQ D6 H7 S2 H5 S5 D3 DT C2 S4 SK H3 DJ C6 S8 C5 DK C8 SQ C1 H9 S7 D4 CJ S6 D2 D1 S3 D8 D7 DQ HQ HJ HK H4 CK H8 SJ C3 H2 H1 H6 D5 00
HE LL OW OR LD 00
00
D7 H5
D2 H3 SJ C3
D4
H7 C5 H6
HE LL OR LD
|50%
||application produces correct output for all instructor test
cases.
|
|15%
||Program design is effectively decomposed into
several small
well-defined, special-purpose functions
|
|15%||Algorithm design uses structured logic for decisions and loops.|
|15%||Coding standards are followed.|
|5%||Clean compile and link (no warnings using the required compiler flags).|
Remember, your program will be tested on Unix1. Code that does not compile will receive a grade of zero.
You need to submit your source code electronically using the
handin utility: No
late submittals will be accepted!
handin graderjd Project4 accordion.c (optional other files)
Accordion Project Function statement counts (instructor solution) 5 2 5 4 5 21 5 9 13 main - 8 total 77 Benefits? Easier testing. Easier debugging. Opportunities for reuse. | http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~jdalbey/101/Projects/Accordion.html |
by BRIAN NADIG
A Portage Park family has collected 50 boxes of supplies for Hurricane Florence victims as part of a learning experience for their 5-year-old daughter named Flo.
"We were trying to teach her a little lesson about charity … that not everyone is as lucky as us," Flo’s mother Tricia Wisniewski said.
Given that several people had mentioned to Flo that her full name matched the name of the hurricane, it seemed like a good time to teach her about the importance of helping others in a time of need and how the process of donation works, Wisniewski said.
Charities which respond to natural disasters often ask for monetary donations because it allows the organizations to efficiently collect and ship supplies that are needed the most in large quantities.
Wisniewski said that while she understands the usefulness of monetary donations, making an online donation would not have been a powerful enough illustration to her young daughter.
"She needed to see the dropping off (of the donated supplies)," she said.
The family set up a collection box on its porch at home and at the Gladstone Park fieldhouse, 5421 N. Menard Ave., where Flo attends "kiddie college."
Wisniewski said that she could not find a nonprofit organization in Chicago that was planning to collect and ship donated clothes, food, toiletries, diapers and other items to hurricane victims in the Carolinas. She found a charitable group in Ohio that would accept supplies for the victims, and DHL has agreed to ship the supplies to Matthew 25 Ministries in Cincinnati.
The Wisniewski’s plan to travel to Cincinnati to help Mathew 25 Ministries with its final preparations before the organization heads to the Carolinas.
Flo’s story has attracted a lot of media attention, and her mother said that her daughter is far from shy and has handled the situation quite well.
"She loves the attention," Wisniewski said. "She talks to everyone."
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A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy which is applicable only to situations where an extreme emergency exists and serious harm would result in the absence of an injunction. In deciding whether to issue a preliminary injunction, the trial court must consider: (1) the possibility of irreparable harm to the plaintiff's legal rights pending the outcome of the trial if the preliminary injunction does not issue; (2) the potential irreparable harm to the defendant's rights if it does; and (3) the likelihood of the plaintiff succeeding on the merits. As to the first consideration, if there is an adequate legal or equitable remedy which will make the plaintiff whole after trial, then a preliminary injunction should not issue. Furthermore, a plaintiff must show the existence of a protectable right or interest which will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not issued. Finally, the decision to grant or deny a preliminary injunction is within the sound discretion of the trial court and should not be reversed absent an abuse of that discretion.
The former employer was engaged in the business of cleaning restaurant hoods and their related components and in selling and servicing of fire extinguishers. The former employee began a business that serviced restaurants. The former employer brought an action alleging that its customer and pricing lists were trade secrets. The lower court granted a preliminary injunction. The former employee sought review, contending that the information was not a trade secret.
Did the lower court err in granting the preliminary injunction?
Yes
The court agreed with the former employee's contention. The court found that the former employer failed to show that its customer list was sufficiently secret to derive economic value from not being generally known to other persons who could obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. The court determined that neither the customer list nor the pricing information constituted a trade secret as that term was defined in the applicable statute. The court noted that the former employer was not likely to succeed on the merits because his claim was based on the wrongful appropriation of a trade secret. The court, therefore, held that it was an abuse of discretion to issue the preliminary injunction. | https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-carbonic-fire-extinguishers-inc-v-heath |
The primary role is to support Lam manufacturing in Penang with Logistics, Trade operation, Supply Chain, Strategic Planning, and Warehousing, through ensuring internal and 3PL KPI, goals and projects are accomplished while maintaining alignment with business objectives and AOP. Portfolio includes managing 3PL operations, including implementation schedule, end user coordination and all necessary information requirements of a project and/or related initiatives. Other portfolio includes directing, coordinating and facilitating multiple logistics business processes and re-engineering activities to enhance systems, processes and methodologies while maintaining appropriate logistics spend.
Other Job Responsibilities
Responsible for tactical management of manufacturing warehouse and 3PL LWM warehouse in Penang and related initiatives / projects by ensuring that projects are delivered to scope, on time and on budget
SAP workflow modelling and reporting for manufacturing warehouse
Inventory management across different locations
Design and lead models for use in evaluating warehouse and business processes to include internal and external (3PL) warehouse operations
Develop and execute to project plans: scope, requirements, schedules, communication plans, risk logs, and any other project documents
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures and ensure stakeholders are informed and trained
Collaborate with stakeholders across regions and corporate for Manufacturing Logistics initiatives and programs
Response to request for Logistics RFQs and subcontractor services
Develop technical documentation including work instructions where applicable
Direct and supervise the day-to-day work & projects of 3PL operations
Manage resources within team to fulfill the needs of different customers
Responsible for the annual Performance Management & Development exercise of direct reports, if any.
Responsible for the training and development of direct reports, if any
Any other duties as assigned by Immediate Supervisor
Minimum Qualification
Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field; Graduate degree preferred
10+ years’ experience in manufacturing warehouse management and logistics operations
3PL management in warehousing activities
Excellent knowledge of warehouse & logistics program management including previous experience working with supply chain and a thorough understanding of best practices. | https://manpower.com.my/job/warehouse-manager-1 |
Postmodernism, Poststructuralism, and Architecture 1960 to the Present
The concept of postmodernism finds its definitive articulation in architecture, even though postmodern thought far exceeds the use of the term postmodern in architectural discourse. Modern architecture—with its utopian aspirations, functional rationality, technological determinism, and aesthetic purism—is understood by postmodern thought as a primary expression of the general search for a metaphysics of certainty and universality, which rejects traditional spatial hierarchies and seeks to establish a new homogeneous and continuous space. Robert Venturi was the first architect to establish his work as explicitly dissenting from the dogma of modern movement. He and Aldo Rossi published important books in 1966 in which they announced their dissatisfaction with the modernist status quo. This course will begin by expanding out from these two practices and their progeny into the context of structuralist and poststructuralist theory that so often intersected with architectural theory and practice. A renewed interest in architecture theory accompanied the new practices; indeed, postmodern architecture was born in the academy and was developed in journals. We will follow that development with architectural projects and theoretical texts. Meanwhile, the larger currents of postmodern thought flowed through poststructuralist theories of language and the subject. Inevitably postmodern architecture also developed a global poststructuralist dimension, which we will study in detail.
The embrace of poststructuralist theory eventually precipitated the end of historicist postmodernism, though it is arguable that postmodern thought continues to frame recent architectural production. In the second half of the seminar, we will investigate the lineage of postmodernism in architectural practice since 1990. This part of the course will be more speculative and will require intense involvement on the part of participants.
Prerequisites: BTC I and BTC III or equivalent study in architecture theory and history.
Structure: The class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 11:30 am (EST). Tuesdays will be devoted to lectures, and these will be recorded and available to students immediately after. Thursday will be discussion sessions, which will be arranged at the start of the semester, taking into account different time zones, if necessary
Note: the instructor will offer live course presentations on 08/31, and/or 09/01. To access the detailed schedule and Zoom links, please visit the Live Course Presentations Website. | https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/course/postmodernism-poststructuralism-and-architecture-1960-to-the-present-fall-2020/ |
A Sunny Day on TCU Campus
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a Big 12 University in Fort Worth, Texas. I’ve driven by the TCU campus several times over the years, but never had a chance to stop. So one sunny winter day, I drove out there to check it out.
Gallery
Sculptures and Statues
Clock Towers
Other Architectural Features
Compared to Other Campuses
My alma mater, Michigan State University (MSU), has a very beautiful campus, and I judge other universities by MSU’s standards. The TCU campus is very different from that of MSU, as well as the campus of my sister’s alma mater, the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). MSU’s campus is dominated by ivy-covered Neo-Gothic red brick buildings on the north side of campus, and International Style architecture on the south side of campus, also incorporating red brick and ivy. This reflects MSU’s status as a 160-year-old agriculture school that expanded dramatically after World War II. On the other hand, UT Dallas’ mix of Brutalist and Postmodern architecture reflects its status as an engineering school that has exploded in size in just the last few years.
Buff Brick
The architecture of the TCU campus falls in between the two extremes of UTD’s Brutalism and MSU’s Collegiate Gothicism. Most of the buildings at TCU are clad in buff brick, rather than red brick, and are roofed with red terra cotta tiles instead of slate or fiberglass shingle. The buildings themselves are mostly a mix of Beaux-Arts and Art Deco. And though much of the campus is new, there are few Modern or Postmodern buildings.
East vs. West
What does all of this reflect? The buff brickwork and red roofs evoke a Spanish Mission style that fits in with Fort Worth’s position as a gateway to the Southwest. That Mission Style coloring, combined with with the more East Coast Beaux Arts style, shows Fort Worth’s position between the East and the West. Likewise the Art Deco influence highlights early 20th century period in which the campus was established. (The school started in 1873 but moved several times before settling in its current location in 1910.)
Lack of Postmodernism
The relative lack of Modern and Postmodern buildings reflect a 21st century building boom that leans heavily on the tried and true architecture styles of the New Urbanism. This serves as an interesting contrast to UTD, which like TCU, has expanded greatly in the last decade. They are both fairly prestigious universities in the DFW Metroplex, but UTD has a strong science and engineering focus while TCU grew out of a more Liberal Arts-oriented college. This accounts for the great difference in the architecture of the UTD and TCU campuses.
Have you been to Texas Christian University’s campus? How about UTD’s? If so, let me know what you think in the comments. | http://steve-lovelace.com/a-sunny-day-on-tcu-campus/ |
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Pregnancy is a period in the life of women that is often associated with decreased daily physical activity and/or exercise. However, maintaining adequate levels of daily physical activity during pregnancy is important for mother and child. Studies suggest that moderate daily physical activity and exercise during pregnancy are associated with reductions in the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, at present, physical activity is not routinely advised to pregnant women at risk for gestational diabetes in the Netherlands. In FitFor2-study we aim to assess whether an exercise program can improve insulin sensitivity and fasting plasma glucose levels of women at high risk for gestational diabetes, assuming that this will lower their risk of gestational diabetes.
The FitFor2-study is a randomised controlled trial. Women who visit one of the participating hospitals or midwifery practices and who are at risk for gestational diabetes are eligible to participate. After baseline measurement they are randomly allocated to in the intervention or control group. The intervention group receives an exercise program twice a week in addition to usual care. The exercise program consist of aerobic and strength exercises and takes place under close supervision of a physiotherapist. Data are collected at 15, 24 and 32 weeks of pregnancy and 12 weeks after delivery. Primary maternal outcome measures are fasting plasma glucose and relative increase in insulin resistance. Primary neonatal outcome is birth weight. Secondary outcome measures are: maternal serum triglycerides, HDL, cholesterol, HbA1c, maternal weight gain during pregnancy, maternal physical activity level, foetal growth.
If the FitFor2 intervention program proves to be effective, obstetricians and midwives should refer women at risk for GDM to a special exercise program. Exercise programs for pregnant women under supervision of an experienced trainer are already available in the Netherlands, and these programs could be adjusted easily for this target group. Furthermore, the costs of these programs should be refunded by including them in the basic health care cost reimbursement schemes.
NTR1139.
National Center for
Biotechnology Information, | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?cmd=search&term=19123930 |
Myelopoiesis is a complex process driven by essential transcription factors, including C/EBPα, PU.1, RUNX1, KLF4 and IRF8. Together, these factors are critical for the control of myeloid progenitor cell expansion and lineage determination in the development of granulocytes and monocytes/macrophages. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed in a cell type and lineage specific manner. There is increasing evidence that miRNAs fine-tune the expression of hematopoietic lineage-specific transcription factors and drive the lineage decisions of hematopoietic progenitor cells. In this review, we discuss recently discovered self-activating and feed-back mechanisms in which transcription factors and miRNAs interact during myeloid cell development. Furthermore, we delineate how some of these mechanisms are affected in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and how disrupted transcription factor-miRNA interplays contribute to leukemogenesis. | https://repub.eur.nl/pub/106189 |
Following her mathematical modeling of traffic flow and mixed autonomy research, ITS Berkeley is excited to welcome Dr. Maria Laura Delle Monache! She begins her appointment as a Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor this fall semester.
“UC Berkeley is the epicenter of mixed autonomy research and technology; I am very excited for the opportunities that Berkeley offers and the people I will get to work with,” says Delle Monache.
While she is currently in Europe and hoping to come to campus this fall, it won’t be her first Cal experience. She was a UC Berkeley visiting scholar in 2012 and has been working with Cal alumni on introducing autonomous vehicles into a traffic circle research, and on the CIRCLES project with ITS Director Alexandre Bayen.
Delle Monache will be teaching CE 255 Highway Traffic Operations this fall and continuing her research on designing more sustainable communities using new models and control strategies that leverage the latest technologies to improve the energy footprint and resilience of transportation systems and exploring opportunities with ITS Berkeley.
Before joining UC Berkeley, Dr. Delle Monache was a research scientist in the team NeCS (Networked Controlled Systems) at Inria and in the GIPSA-Lab (Department of Control) in Grenoble. She has a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Nice - Sophia Antipolis (France), and a Joint Masters Degree in Mathematical modeling in engineering from the University of Hamburg (Germany), and the University of L'Aquila (Italy). | https://its.berkeley.edu/news/delle-monache-joins-its-berkeley |
Artist statement:
For as long as I can remember I have always been fascinated by organic forms–especially flowers–and the contemplative spaces of nature. Since 1977, I have adapted floral motifs in porcelain, creating jewelry and intimate botanical sculptures that embody the essence of a flower. I like to think about working with earth (clay), sticks (bamboo tools) and fire (my kiln) to create the pieces!
Bio: I have been working in clay since 1975, beginning with very rustic earthenware beads. Gradually the forms evolved into botanical shapes - designs rooted in nature, taking their form and coloration from flowers, leaves, and natural forms. For 25 years, Linda van der Linde Studio produced a line of porcelain jewelry, all hand sculpted and hand painted, sold in galleries and shops around the country. Presently I create botanical sculptures and jewelry. | https://www.possumsstoreva.com/lindavanderlinde |
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Amy is taking part in the pre-med advising program, which helps her connect with other students interested in a career in medicine, as well as prepare for med school applications and take classes that cover subjects found on the MCAT.
How did you find out about the pre-med program?
I found out about the pre-med program through the involvement fair my freshman year. I was introduced to our American Medical Student Association and soon after started getting involved with the club. I was further informed about the program through pre-health seminar, a class offered by the school.
How did you get started?
I started getting involved with the pre-med program by joining AMSA my freshman year and participating in the events and activities that the club held. I decided to run for secretary my sophomore year and am currently the Vice President of the club. I honestly think it was one of the best decisions I have made thus far.
What has been the most valuable part of your experience?
The most valuable part of the pre-med program is making connections with my fellow pre-med peers through AMSA. AMSA has become a community of students who share the same passion so it’s a nice place to be surrounded by peers that have the same interests and support you. AMSA is also a great place for lower classmen to get “tips and tricks” from upperclassmen that have experience with upper division science course, MCATs, and med school applications.
Have you taken any research or internship opportunities?
Through our former organic chemistry professor, John Tannaci, I was able to partake in a clinical internship with UCLA where I shadow medical practitioners. I have been shadowing two UCLA pulmonologists consistently since the summer of my freshman year. This experience has been an eye-opener to not only how hard it is to be a doctor, but how worthwhile this profession is. Seeing the patients each week brings me great joy and has solidified my desire to become a doctor.
In addition, I started research during the summer of 2015 under the mentorship of my biochemistry professor, Dennis Revie, in the field of Hepatitis C. Even though I know that I will not pursue research in the future, my interest towards virology has grown and I find myself constantly fascinated by this virus that a cure has yet to be found for. I constantly find myself excited in research when my fellow researchers and I find that our cells have successfully been infected or our methodology for our fluorescent microscopy yields clear images.
Do you have any advice for future pre-med students?
My biggest advice to future pre-med students is to get involved in anything and everything they find. I advise them to find internships as soon as possible. The first thing I tell any pre-med student I meet is to discover if this is really the field you want to pursue by working in clinics or the hospital because I always say, “How can you know that you want to be a doctor if you have yet to experience what it’s like to be a doctor?”
Also, start early. There are so many things to do and so little time. You need to start making a story for yourself at the beginning of freshman year. I do not say this to scare pre-meds away, but it is very important to start thinking about what you want your experiences to tell about you because that’s most likely the first thing interviewers for med school will ask you about. Also, find your passion. Once you find an area of medicine that you love, it’ll be easier to persevere towards that goal.
That’s it for now. Good luck, pre-meds! | https://blogs.callutheran.edu/stories/amy-lai/ |
Return to: Programs and their Requirements
Program Total Credits: 124
Theater artists must be well-versed in a variety of disciplines, each vital in itself and intimately related to all that occurs in a production effort. Students majoring in Theater Management and Production are called upon to develop competencies across a spectrum of these disciplines. As such, they study stage management, directing, playwriting, combat, mask, arts administration, theater history and dramatic literature–all in a context that supports theatrical production. This program is designed to provide practical training for the student who possesses a collaborative perspective. The BFA in Theater Management and Production (TMP) allows the students, in their junior year, to move toward a concentration in a particular area of emphasis, such as many of those mentioned here.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Management and Production allows students with a range of theatrical interests to shape their own individualized course of study. It is designed to give students the practical, artistic, and intellectual foundation necessary for a successful professional life in live theater and allied disciplines.
Practical studio and production training, received in the student’s first two years, is enriched by an understanding of the theater as an art, an industry, and an institution with a history and a vital role in society.
This foundation training prepares the students to emphasize one or more of the above-mentioned disciplines at the upper-division levels and to shape their own curriculum. Upon declaring a concentration in one of these fields, students complete their course of study via a series of production practica and independent study projects. Internships, arranged through the School’s outstanding relationship with area professional theaters, further strengthen the students’ skills and enhance their professional viability. Students completing this program are prepared to enter the industry on either the production or the administrative end and may pursue a range of career options or choose to pursue further study in the above fields.
This program is a good choice for students who are drawn to the collaborative nature of theater. It is an ideal program of study for the student who has a profound passion for theater and/or the entertainment field, but whose long-term interest may lie outside performing. At the same time, it is a curriculum that places that student at the heart of the production process. The program is also well-suited to students who may have an interest in advanced or graduate study in theater.
(or equivalent)
Note all Liberal Arts courses are 3.0 credits.
Select one of the following:
To remain in good standing for casting consideration or production assignments in the School of Theater Arts, a student must receive a grade of ‘B’ or better in the core courses listed below. In the view of the faculty, a student whose work fails to meet this level of achievement will be considered non-competitive by professional standards.
Review Minimum Grade Requirements within the School of Theater Arts Special Requirements and Regulations . | http://catalogue.uarts.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=5&poid=391&returnto=104 |
DANNY MATEO is a former jeepney driver. In 1982, he realized he couldn’t make a living from driving jeepney, so he borrowed a 2,500 square meter land from his father so he could start planting vegetables in Bulacan.
"Sa buhay natural lang iyong nauuntog, may pagsubok, kailangan ituloy mo ang buhay,"says Danny.
By planting his own vegetables, Danny achieved his dream of the good life. He was able to send his children to college, and one of them is now a medicine graduate.
He was also able to buy a farm land, vehicles, farm machinery to mechanize his farming, and built his own house.
Watch Danny's inspiring story here:
Danny is one of East-West Seed's 35 Farmer Heroes. As part of its 35th anniversary in 2017, East West Seed launched a nationwide Search for 35 Farmer Heroes who have achieved success and made a significant contribution to their communities and could serve as role models of other farmers on how vegetable farming can be used to enrich lives. East-West Seed hopes to document the success stories and best practices of the hero farmers to inspire others and to showcase the available improved technologies for vegetable production, increased productivity, improved food security, sanitation and safety thereby contributing to the country’s economic development and growth of farmers income. | https://ph.eastwestseed.com/farmer-stories/danny-mateo |
The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 63/088,098 filed on Oct. 6, 2020.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a delivery system for hormone pellets. More specifically, the present invention is a hormone pellet delivery system for treating a medical condition using a periodic release algorithm.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Pellet therapy has been studied over the span of 80 years and has proven to be safe and effective, while also data has proven to prevent cardiovascular diseases, breast cancer relapse, osteoporosis, dementia, and various other maladies. Although, this method has proven to be successful, there is always a tendency to strive for safer and more effective methods and treatments. Other alternatives include hormonal creams and pills, which lack the effectiveness of pellet therapy. Other methods, such as oral and transdermal therapy, result in high levels of hormones all at once without the interval that allowed female tissue to evolute to apoptosis. After the high level input of hormones, the level remains too high for months and then, the levels tend to drop off at a fast rate obligating a new procedure every 90 or 120 days. The outcome of a fast rate drop of hormones results in extreme mood and energy fluctuation over time and a new invasive procedure must be performed. Various methods of insertion are currently practiced for pellet therapy, one of the most common methods is in an in-office procedure. Typically, hormone pellet therapy uses hormones extracted from natural plants with the same chemical structure produced in human body, in order to replicate the body's normal hormone level.
An objective of the present invention to better improve upon pellet therapy that release hormones periodically, such that the pellets may be used to treat hormonal issues for the female body and treat diseases like prostrate cancer in men through the cyclic release of hormones. The present invention comprises different methods of application for pellet therapy, as well as a delivery algorithm, which provides the patient with an exact cycle of hormone delivery, and then a temporary pause of hormone delivery, from which after the delivery algorithm re-activates the hormone delivery. Further, the present invention employs biodegradable components that are bioidentical to the hormones produced by the human body. The following document aims to provide a clear and concise description of the system that implements a method for the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a medication release mechanism.
FIG. 2
is a flowchart illustrating the overall method for employing the present invention.
FIG. 3
is a flowchart illustrating an example method of functioning of the present invention, wherein the pellet is catered for a female human body.
FIG. 4
is a flowchart illustrating a method of operation of a monitoring apparatus.
FIG. 5
is a schematic view of the present invention, wherein the medication release mechanism comprises a plurality of membrane layers and medication layers.
FIG. 6
is a flowchart illustrating a method of the present invention.
FIG. 7
is a perspective view of a pellet for the present invention.
DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
As a preliminary matter, it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art that the present disclosure has broad utility and application. As should be understood, any embodiment may incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed aspects of the disclosure and may further incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed features. Furthermore, any embodiment discussed and identified as being “preferred” is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure. Moreover, many embodiments, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
Accordingly, while embodiments are described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present disclosure and are made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure. The detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended, nor is to be construed, to limit the scope of patent protection afforded in any claim of a patent issuing here from, which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof. It is not intended that the scope of patent protection be defined by reading into any claim limitation found herein and/or issuing here from that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself.
Thus, for example, any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps of various processes or methods that are described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order, the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order, absent an indication otherwise. Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and orders while still falling within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of patent protection is to be defined by the issued claim(s) rather than the description set forth herein.
Additionally, it is important to note that each term used herein refers to that which an ordinary artisan would understand such term to mean based on the contextual use of such term herein. To the extent that the meaning of a term used herein—as understood by the ordinary artisan based on the contextual use of such term—differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition of such term, it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the ordinary artisan should prevail.
Furthermore, it is important to note that, as used herein, “a” and “an” each generally denotes “at least one,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise. When used herein to join a list of items, “or” denotes “at least one of the items,” but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. Finally, when used herein to join a list of items, “and” denotes “all of the items of the list.”
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. While many embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims found herein and/or issuing here from. The present disclosure includes many aspects and features. One or more steps of the method may be automatically initiated, maintained, and/or terminated based on one or more predefined conditions.
FIG. 1
FIG. 7
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In reference to through , the present invention is a pellet . According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pellet comprises a pellet body , a plurality of release pathways , a quantity of a first medication , a quantity of a second medication , and a medication release mechanism . Preferably, the pellet is a hormone pellet, wherein the size of the hormone pellet varies depending on the dosage of hormones. However, for the preferred embodiment the pellet comprises a diameter from three to four millimeters by one to two millimeters. Additionally, a variance in size does not limit the scope of the invention, as the crucial factor of the invention is the method and release algorithm rather than the shape and dimension of the hormone pellet.
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It is an aim of the present invention to solve hormonal imbalances with a cyclic release algorithm. In other words, in the preferred embodiment, the present invention aims to dispense a particular hormone for a first period of time followed by a pause in the release of that hormone for a second period of time, like the hormone release cycle in a female body. To accomplish this, the plurality of release pathways is integrated into the pellet body . Preferably, the medication release mechanism and the plurality of release pathways relates to a technique and method of releasing hormones stored within the pellet into the user's body, such as through layers of medication that dissolves gradually, dispensing holes etc. Further, release pathways and release mechanism could also refer to mechanical devices like a pump and holes. Alternatively, the medication release mechanism could refer to chemical reactions, wherein the dispenser is an ion pump, and the release pathways are ion gates that prevent medication release if a certain ion potential is not reached. More specifically, the present invention may comprise two different pathways and release mechanism catering to two different medications. To accomplish this, the quantity of the first medication , the quantity of the second medication , and the medication release mechanism are housed within the pellet body . In the preferred embodiment, the medication release mechanism is operatively coupled in between the plurality of release pathways , the quantity of the first medication and the quantity of the second medication , wherein the medication release mechanism dispenses a portion of the quantity of the first medication and a portion of the quantity of the second medication . Preferably, the quantity of the first medication may be a hormone that induces a chemical effect on the user's body, and the quantity of the second medication may be a sterol, a vitamin, or a placebo medication that does not induce any chemical effect on the user's body.
FIG. 2
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In reference to , to achieve the above-described functionality, the present invention comprises the following method of execution. Firstly, the method begins at administering the pellet into a user's body. Preferably, the method for insertion of the hormone pellet is via a subcutaneous injection. In other words, the method for insertion of the hormone pellet is via an injection which penetrates under the skin to subcutaneous tissue and then the hormone pellet is released. Additionally, the pellet is easily localized by a special markup and may be localized by a simple ultrasound and removed from a patient's body if the treatment needs to be interrupted. Following insertion, the method comprises dispensing the portion of the quantity of the first medication for a first time interval with the medication release mechanism , followed by dispensing the portion of the quantity of the second medication for a second time interval with the medication release mechanism.
FIG. 3
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For example, in reference to , when the pellet is catered for a female body, the medication release algorithm delivers a constant dose of hormones to the female body for twenty seven consecutive days. During this time, the pellet delivers the hormone dose as it naturally would without any interruption. Thus, the portion of the quantity of the first medication is a hormone that mimics the female hormone and the first time interval is twenty seven days. After, twenty seven days the pellet pauses hormone delivery for a total of three days. During these three days, the pellet is not delivering hormones as it naturally would, but rather pauses the delivery in order to avoid an imbalance of hormones within the female body during the menstruation period. In other words, the portion of the quantity of the second medication comprises no female hormones, and the second time interval is three days.
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Subsequently, the method includes providing a dispensing time period, wherein the dispensing time period is governed by a predefined threshold for the quantity of the first medication and the quantity of the second medication . In other words, the dispensing time period is dependent on the amount of medication stored within the pellet . Preferably, the time period is one year or 12 months. However, the time period may be increased or decreased, depending on the user's preference, the patient's health conditions, the type of the medication etc. The release algorithm continues the previously described hormonal release phase and the hormonal release pause for the entire duration of the pellet, or until it is otherwise removed. The duration of the pellet or the dispensing time period may also be denoted as the pellet life-cycle. In other words, the pellet life-cycle is variable in duration, as it is able to perform the release algorithm for a life-cycle of three months, four months, six months or a year.
FIG. 3
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Continuing with the previous example, or in reference to , after completing a full cycle of twenty seven days of hormonal release and a three day hormonal pause, the release algorithm sets back to the hormonal release phase, wherein the pellet releases hormones at a regular rate for twenty seven consecutive days. More specifically, once the new cycle begins, the hormone pellets continue with the regular release for twenty seven consecutive days until the hormonal pause phase is reached at the conclusion of those twenty seven days. Subsequently, the release algorithm once again pauses the hormone release for three consecutive days, during the menstrual period of a woman. In other words, the present invention periodically activates the medication release mechanism until the end of the dispensing time period. Thus, concluding another cycle from the release algorithm. That rhythm or the dispensing time period could last an entire year, which makes the present invention a comprehensive method to deliver hormones to women after menopause.
FIG. 1
FIG. 4
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In reference to , the present invention may comprise a monitoring apparatus for determining the amount of medication left in the pellet . To that end, and in reference to , the present invention comprises a method of execution for the monitoring apparatus that comprises the following steps. Preferably, the method comprises monitoring the quantity of the first medication and the quantity of the second medication with the monitoring apparatus . The monitory apparatus may include an external device that may be directly or indirectly connected to the pellet . Examples of such monitoring apparatus includes, but are not limited to blood testing devices, scanning devices, chemical tracing devices, saliva testing devices etc. Subsequently, the user may be altered when the quantity of the first medication or the quantity of the second medication is below the predefined threshold. It should be noted that the monitoring apparatus may comprise any other technology, components, or arrangement of components that are known to one of ordinary skill in the art, as long as the intents of the present invention are not altered.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention is catered to a human male body. More specifically, the present invention may be used to treat men with prostate cancer through a treatment method known as ‘Bipolar Testosterone Replacement’. For this therapy, medical literature prescribes 14 days of high doses of testosterone and 14 days of placebo or varying testosterone/antiandrogenic drug. Thus, in this case, the first time interval may be approximately 14 days, and the second time interval may be approximately 14 days. In other words, the first time interval will comprise 14 days of releasing high testosterone (quantity of first medication) and the second time interval will comprise 14 days of releasing antiandrogenic drugs (quantity of second medication), making neuroreceptors more responsive to the upcoming hormones in the second cycle or the first medication.
It is an aim of the present invention to maintain correct and natural levels of hormones naturally produced by the human body cyclically following human body's nature. To that end, the first medication and the second medication are biodegradable. In other words, the hormone pellet comprises bioidentical hormones as the ones produced by the human body. Some of the bioidentical hormones that the hormone pellets comprise includes, but is not limited to testosterone, estradiol, estriol, and progesterone. Additionally, other components may also be included such as anastrozole, letrozole, or finasteride.
FIG. 5
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In reference to , a more specific embodiment of the present invention follows. Accordingly, the present invention comprises a pellet , and the pellet comprises a plurality of medication layers and a plurality of membrane layers . In this embodiment, each of the plurality of medication layers is sandwiched in between an arbitrary membrane layer and an adjacent membrane layer , wherein the arbitrary membrane layer and the adjacent membrane layer are from the plurality of membrane layers . In other words, intermediary membrane layers may wrap around medication layers and the medication may be slowly released as the intermediary membrane dissolves. To that end, the plurality of medication layers comprises a plurality of first medication layers and a plurality of second medication layers , wherein the plurality of first medication layers and the plurality of second medication layers are arranged in a predefined order.
FIG. 6
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In order to accomplish the above mentioned functionality, the present invention follows a method of operation. As seen in , a first step of the method includes inserting the pellet into the patient. Preferably, a physician applies a local anesthetic, and performs a small incision located on the upper hip area. The pellet is then inserted, and standard medical tape is used to seal the cut, rather than stiches. However, any other method that is known to one of ordinary skill in the art may be employed. Following the insertion process, the arbitrary membrane layer is dissolved within the patient's body over a predefined time period. The predefined time period depends on the patient and the medical condition that is intended to be treated using the pellet therapy. For example, the first medication layer dissolves as the arbitrary membrane layer dissolves, and the second medication layer dissolves as the adjacent membrane layer dissolves. In other words, as each membrane layer dissolves, the subsequent medicine layer gets dissolved into the user's body, and the process continues till all of the plurality of membrane layers and the plurality of medication layers dissolve. Preferably, the plurality of first medication layers comprises biodegradable hormones and the plurality of second medication layers comprises biodegradable and non-hormonal placebo inducing medication.
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According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of first medication layers is dissolved at a first constant rate, and the plurality of second medication layers is dissolved at a second constant rate. This is because, the pellets are placed on the subcutaneous tissue to release small and regular doses of hormones into the body. The goal of the present invention is to maintain correct and natural levels of hormones naturally produced by the human body cyclically following human body's nature. One of the benefits of hormone pellet therapy is the small doses of hormones which are released into the body. Accordingly, the first constant rate and the second constant rate are chosen appropriate to the patient and the kind of medication used within the pellet . Thus, the present invention or pellet therapy that release hormones cyclically is a more reliable option, as the present invention releases a constant dose of hormones with intervals into the body, avoiding the negative effects of the high levels of hormones for an extended period of time and fast rate drop of hormones.
Any slight modification of the previously disclosed invention is to be considered still within the scope of the invention and should not be considered as a limiting factor for the present invention.
Any alternate embodiment that is derived from this concept and disclosure should also be considered within the scope of this invention, particularly since the female body may comprise certain variances within the natural cycles menstruation and associated biological processes.
Furthermore, the figures present within this document only serve as a visual aid and guide as to further illustrate the invention, and by no means limit the scope of the invention.
The invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, but it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Obvious changes, modifications and substitutions may be made by those skilled in the art to achieve the same purpose of the invention.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. | |
A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to learning assistance, and in particular, to help modules or methods, principally with respect to use with a learning application, such as for example, computer programming having as its function the teaching of information to users.
B. Problems in the Art
The “help” screen is widely known in the computer arts. In applications programming, it is common to have available to the program user access to explanations or technical assistance through such help screens.
Help screens are essentially ubiquitous and are therefore well known in the art and will not be discussed in detail here, except to note that conventional help screens consist of textual information that can be read by the user. Hopefully the textual information will assist or “help” the user in some fashion.
There is also known in the art help modules or what otherwise might be called training lessons. The user can essentially learn how to use the application software associated with the help module, without actually running the application software. Essentially, the help module simulates the actual programming to assist a user to become able to use the software for real applications.
There have also been attempts made in the art to provide graphics or audio enhancements to help screens or similar attempts at providing assistance to users.
All of these “help” systems are, at least in a sense, the analog to what has existed for innumerable years in books. It is common for references or authorities to be cited in the book to alert the reader to more information about a subject. The other reference can then be obtained and reviewed to supplement or assist in learning about the subject. Computerization of the learning process is convenient and economical, but present attempts to provide such learning assistance still follow the old paradigm of referencing one other way to describe the same concepts that are in the original information.
However, each of the above-mentioned methods or systems is based on merely providing supplementary information to the user. It may be supplementary in the form of text, graphics, audio, video, or any combination of the above. It should be noted however that all of the methods or systems being discussed do function as adjuncts or supplementations to the foundational information being evaluated (being learned), and that this supplementation is one-dimensional, in the sense that it restates or summarizes the foundational information, or a part thereof, in one manner, format, level of comprehension, etc.
Some existing systems use help modules which provide a reworded paraphrase or summary of the foundational information in a computer based training program. This is dissimilar in that it only spits back a question in a slightly different format to the student. It does not give in-depth information and it is not combined with other dimensions, the two or more levels of sophistication.
The phrase “level(s) of sophistication” is used herein to mean that the content of the information (audio or video, graphic or textual, etc.) varies in some sense from the other information, For example, it could vary by a person's perceptions (visual or auditory), by content, by complexity, or some other perceivable basis. Another example would be differences as subtle as the character or presentation of the information. Examples of characteristics or attributes that can be varied to provide the different levels of sophistication are set forth later in more detail. However, as used herein, level(s) of sophistication does not always mean that one level is more advanced relative to the educational or developmental status of a person. Rather, level of sophistication also means a difference, sometimes even minor, in presentation of information.
It has been found, however, that there is a need in the art for improvement to conventional learning assistance techniques. The following concepts are submitted to be accurate and demonstrable: 1. Different people learn at different rates. 2. Different people also learn in different ways. 3. Different people react to different learning techniques differently. 4. Different people learn better and quicker when provided with assistance at different levels of comprehension or at a developmentally appropriate level. 5. The same person may learn better and quicker by being provided with assistance at different levels of comprehension.
In essence, what “works” for one person may not “work” for another person, when learning. The above can be illustrated with a few examples. If a complex set of rules or regulations had to be followed in one's job, it is many times difficult to learn such rules or regulations efficiently and accurately by simply rote learning. The human language is imprecise. For any person, even very sophisticated, high comprehension persons, merely reading the bare rules or regulations may not provide complete or clear enough information to truly know and understand them. There is many times the need for context, the need to know policy behind the words, and the need to understand the architecture, so to speak, of the rules and regulations as a whole, to achieve a full understanding.
Therefore, assistance in learning such rules and regulations may come from editorial comments associated therewith, from textual summaries or explanations, or other help medium. For the uninitiated, even assistance in the form just described may not be sufficient, or learning will be slow.
Also, learning can be enhanced for some people if a more elementary explanation of information is given. It helps with context, interconnection with other concepts, and remembering certain aspects or points associated with the information being learned.
Others learn better by having more detailed or higher level help or assistance relative to the information being learned. Still further, if one is already initiated in the subject matter, or is merely trying to become refreshed regarding the same, a higher level assistance is all that may be needed. Less elementary help would actually slow down the learning process.
Thus, different persons may ultimately arrive at the same point in learning information or concepts related to a subject matter by using different assistance techniques. Also, the same person may learn and retain quicker by having different levels of assistance available.
A meritorious goal of increasing the quality and quickness of learning is the benefits that flow from the same. In almost any environment, if learning of information, rules, regulations, tasks, etc. can be minimized, savings in worker time and resources can be realized. Further, if the quality of learning is high, work quality, and a reduction of correcting mistakes, is realized. Although in some ways subtle, these benefits are important for most businesses or organizations.
Still further, any learning task can generally be made more interesting by providing flexibility and variety. The quality of learning, i.e. true understanding of the subject matter and goal, retention, etc., can be enhanced by providing learning assistance which is not merely a textual explanation or summary of the subject matter being learned. It has been shown that retention of information by humans can be materially enhanced if more than just reading of the information is done, e.g. that reading and hearing information leads to higher retention, or quality of learning.
An example of a specific problem which the present invention addresses is: How to communicate vast amounts of legal, contractual, regulatory and procedural information to large numbers of government and private sector employees in an efficient, economical and effective way in order to change behavior and improve employee work output.
The specific problem addressed by the present invention (sometimes hereafter referred to as the “Help System”) is to provide an effective organizing tool to help the learner make sense out of the information overload most workers are confronted with today.
The invention is subtle and more intuitive than normal help techniques that rely on a search mechanism only and require the user to be able to articulate what he or she needs to know. This Help System gives it to them right at the topic in question and gives it to them at multiple levels.
The invention functions as a distiller and an amplifier of the information presented in the instruction which forms the backbone of the learning experience whether done in print, audio, video or in electronic interactive media.
As such, it is a completely customized, in context Help System presented in the Socratic approach. The Socratic approach has been shown to be one of the most effective ways of learning. In addition, the Help System gives the learner complete control over the level of information the learner requires for each topic. Learner control has been shown to be a very important component of effective learning systems.
Because of the speed with which a computer based system can manipulate the data, the learner is capable of seeing inter-relationships between concepts, facts, procedures, theories, and practical applications more quickly than with traditional audio, video, and text based non-electronic methods. A learner can go as slowly or as quickly, as deeply or as broadly through the material as he or she requires. The Help System contributes in a very real and important way to fulfilling this learner requirement.
Because the Help System is situated in an Information Model (see for example FIG. 2), vast amounts of information can be translated into learning much faster than ever before. The time normally spent in more customized instructional design approaches can be dramatically cut. The specific problem solved in this regard is the fact that large amounts of training need to be converted to electronic interactive learning formats. This Help System, as a part of the Information Model provides a way to organize and accomplish that very quickly.
Because of the dimensions provided by the Help System, more areas of the brain are touched. Cognitive science tells us that both the right and left brains must be considered. The different aspects of the brain and the various learning styles are addressed by the dimensions of the Help System.
This problem has not been solved completely either in traditional platform instruction, print/textbook, video or audio based training on tapes or cassettes or in other electronic interactive learning.
Platform instructors attempt to solve the problem by gearing the instruction to a certain learning level that they assume the student is in his/her understanding and mastery of the material. This assumption can retard the advanced people or overly tax the slower people. In addition, most of us are masters of some things but lost in other things so assumptions of where a class is on a topic-by-topic basis is difficult. Therefore, most platform instructors can have a lot of difficulty in addressing individual student needs. So for many students the problem has not been solved.
Print/textbooks, video and audio based instruction has all the same problems as platform instruction without the ability to respond in real time to student needs as the human instructor can do. Textbooks have the limitations of much slower information search and retrieval, cross indexing, and easily accessible multiple layered views of the subject matter. For video and audio tapes, the information is presented in linear format and the only way to get to something else is to use the inaccurate fast forward or rewind.
No other electronic interactive learning system presents information and facilitates learning in the immersive and multi-dimensional way the Information Model and its associated Help System do.
The disadvantages of other approaches are outlined below. In the current application of the invention, the Information Model lacks effectiveness without the Help System. The information normally lacks interest, personalization, and fails to provoke the curiosity inherent in all good students. The Help System remedies that.
It is therefore a principle object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for providing instructional help, at multiple levels of sophistication, in a learning application which improves over and solves deficiencies in the art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method as above described which assists a person in evaluating and understanding information relating to a subject with more than simply supplementary text.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention include providing an apparatus and method as above-described which: 1. assists in learning for different types, aptitudes, and skills of different persons; 2. is flexible in its application to different persons, and to the skills and aptitudes of the same person 3. is flexible in presenting choices to users so that users can decide for themselves the best way to get assistance, or can decide the best type of assistance for the particular need of the moment; 4. is interesting and compelling to the user; and 5. is efficient and economical.
The Help System addresses a variety of learning styles more effectively because it is totally under the control of the learner.
The Help System is very context sensitive system. It allows the learner to step around all aspects of a given topic as well as all aspects of a given subject.
The Help System is more interesting. It simulates being in a discussion of experts who represent different takes on the same information. Particularly effective is the emphasis on the practical application and the bottom line aspects delivered by the “Huh?” attribute.
From the instructional designer's point of view, the Help System, as part of the Information Model, gives the designer the ability:
i) to deliver an immersive learning experience.
ii) to process complex, lengthy, sometimes boring information, in a organized, bite-sized, and interesting fashion.
iii) to deploy courses more quickly than any other method.
These and other objects, features, and advantages will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying specification and claims.
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"I have over 30 years experience working with adults and couples in psychotherapy. I'm especially interested in helping people with relationship issues of all kinds. Loss and depression are among my other specialties. I believe in the value of taking time to get to know you as an individual, and the importance of building a strong relationship with my clients, "
"Reaching out to a therapist can be a difficult decision and a brave choice. In my practice, I work with my clients to build upon strengths that already exist to help you gain the skills to reach their fullest potential. I would like to help you have the opportunity to create meaningful change in your daily lives. I provide psychotherapy to children, adolescents, individuals and their families who are struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, ADHD, and learning challenges. I have experience advocating for clients in the form of working with teachers, participating in IEP meetings, and educating the community."
"My specialty is helping individuals to work to remove challenges to achieving satisfaction in their lives. Many times we find ourselves stuck in patterns that are self-defeating but seem difficult to change. These may cause us problems in school and work, as well as in our peer and family relationships, and interfere with the enjoyment of pleasurable activities. These patterns may be due to our early experiences within our families, or as a result of challenges faced in adolescence and adulthood. No matter your age or phase of life, therapy can help."
"Upon entering each new developmental phase of our lives, there is often a momentary pause, an unsettling of the ship as we adjust to new demands, challenges and desires (and this is true no matter our age). Perhaps the Terrible Twos, Tween or Teen years have hit? Could it be that your child is struggling at school and you'd like to support him or her to feel better and have more success? Maybe you are an adult who is feeling overwhelmed by stress and the demands of life. These moments are great opportunities for growth and I believe I can help."
Asperger's Syndrome is a high functioning form of autism. People in 20015 with Asperger's often have difficulties with social skills. They might also have problems with motor regulation. However, unlike many with autism, their language and cognitive skills are largely intact.
If you're looking for help with asperger's in 20015 or for a 20015 asperger's therapist these professionals provide asperger's help, asperger's therapy, asperger's counseling and asperger's treatment. 20015 Aspergers therapists can help with testing for asperger's or diagnosis of aspergers in 20015. The professionals work with asperger's in children or children with asperger's, asperger's in adolescents or adolescents with asperger's and asperger's in adults or adults with asperger's.
Therapists work with asperger behaviors in 20015 and follow asperger's research. They can provide support for parents of children with asperger's in 20015 or aspy behaviour in kids and direct you to local asperger's resources. | https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/aspergers-syndrome/20015?topid=45679 |
Properly managing the amount of fertilizer used on cranberry bogs can have both environmental and financial benefits for growers. Financial benefits may be achieved by not applying more fertilizer than necessary, using split applications to increase efficiency (and reduce amount applied), and limiting nitrogen applications to avoid a shift from fruit production to production of vegetation. While it is important to consider financial benefits when choosing nutrient management practices, a grower should always consider the potential impact to water quality and requirements for meeting water quality standards when formulating the management plan.
Nutrient and water management go hand-in-hand in cranberry production. Many recommendations for nutrient management Best Management Practices (BMPs) relate to water management. Water Management BMPs, while not a part of a mandated nutrient management plan, should be reviewed periodically as you implement your plan.
Massachusetts state-wide plant nutrient regulations (330 CMR 31.00) have been promulgated by MDAR and have been approved. They establish standards for application of plant nutrients to agricultural land and non-agricultural turf and lawns. The regulations for agricultural land became effective on December 5, 2015.
Information, documents and resources can be accessed through the “Plant Nutrient Management” link on the MDAR main webpage or directly through the following link: https://www.mass.gov/plant-nutrient-management. The Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association also offers Nutrient Management Planning via their BOGs Software tool.
Enter your information in the shaded areas and attach your maps.
This information is also in the Chart Book.
Enter your info in the blue boxes and the spreadsheet does the calculations - one tab for starting from the desired rate and the other for starting from the nutrient source (fertilizer). Note: this Excel file should be opened as 'Read only' and then saved with a new name - this prevents overwriting the calculation formulas.
This is an example based on State Bog.
Open as 'Read only' and save under a new name to preserve the contents.
Same as the file above but with blank fields for you to fill in.
Use the right material in the right amount at the right time in the right place. Included are specific recommendations including recommendations for reducing phosphorus use, instructions for calculating fertilizer rates, and environmental cautions.
The faculty of the Cranberry Station in consultation with cranberry growers, USDA NRCS, and international colleagues have developed a Best Management Practices Guide for Massachusetts Cranberry Production. BMPs are those practices, identified through research and experience, that meet the horticulture needs of the crop and provide protection for and enhancement of the environment. They are effective and implementable.
The Nutrient Management BMP was revised and updated in 2010. It includes recommendations for nutrient management in producing bogs and new plantings. Specific recommendations for properly managing nitrogen and phosphorus are included. Appropriate water management practices to enhance environmental quality are also included in the BMP guide.
In addition to these primary resources, there are additional materials developed by a working group of scientists from the North American cranberry growing regions that are useful to consult during the development of a nutrient management plan. Some of these are also listed in the resource section of the Nutrient Management BMP or in the Chart Book. | https://ag.umass.edu/cranberry/publications-resources/nutrient-management-for-cranberries |
Before she even began classes at TCNJ, Snehi Mukkamalla ’23 had a list of what courses she needed to take each year to be ready for medical school and what clubs she needed to join to pad her grad school application. In her head she drew a picture of the perfect TCNJ student: they wore ambassador T-shirts, were very involved in campus, and held leadership positions. It’s who she strove to be.
But when Mukkamalla changed her pre-med track to law her junior year, she was so stressed about her decision that she broke out into stress hives.
“The mindset for students today is that at the age of 18, we need to have our whole lives figured out,” Mukkamalla says. “And with all that pressure, we think if we mess up once, we’re not going to find our way.”
She opened up to some friends about how she was feeling and found they were experiencing the same things. She even spoke to one of those “perfect” TCNJ students and discovered that the student had also switched majors and faced her own challenges and failures before thriving in her senior year.
While there are other mental health organizations on campus, Mukkamalla decided to launch one that would specifically focus on this idea of perfection and the fear of failure. The result is Press PAWS, a joint initiative between TCNJ Student Government and Student Affairs that is working to help students reflect on and embrace setbacks. These challenges can relate to academics, but also extend to not making an athletic team or having trouble making friends.
Peer-to-peer mentorship is a key component of Press PAWS, and the group recruits representatives from different areas of campus including athletics, student government, and residential education. The organization hosts workshops and events where first-year students can talk with these upperclassmen and learn more about success, failure, and self care.
Much of the organization’s focus is on redefining failure as a way to experience growth. Last year, the group’s first event featured their own spin on Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas with gold. Participants took a template of a vase, drew cracks and wrote in some of their personal imperfections. Then they traced over the cracks with gold paint. During finals, Press PAWS representatives went around campus with a white board where students could write down a failure they recently faced and how they were able to grow from that experience.
As Mukkamalla prepares to graduate in the spring, her last few months on campus will be spent helping grow the organization’s impact. In the future, Mukkamalla hopes Press PAWS will include alumni, as well as reach out to more minority communities on campus.
“I think every higher education institution should have a program like this,” says Mukkamalla. “Students need to know it’s ok to slow down and sit with their failures. Redefining those setbacks, learning to accept them, and moving forward are skills we all need for our future.”
Check out presspaws.tcnj.edu and follow them on Instagram to learn more and get involved. | https://news.tcnj.edu/2022/12/05/perfecting-imperfections/ |
Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but the most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report:
"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
Sustainability is the foundation for today’s leading global framework for international cooperation – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Each of the 17 SDGs has specific targets to be achieved by 2030. The goals and targets are universal, meaning they apply to all countries around the world, not just poor countries. Reaching the goals requires action on all fronts – governments, businesses, civil society and people everywhere all have a role to play.
To find out more about the Sustainable Development Goals, explore our SDG Knowledge Hub – an online resource center for the latest news, original commentary from our experts, guest articles from key actors in SDG implementation, and a calendar of upcoming events related to the 2030 Agenda.
Sustainable development is in the news every day as the world copes with climate change, biodiversity loss, conflict and resource scarcity. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and subscribe to our biweekly e-newsletter to stay connected to the global conversation.
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How the Energy Charter Treaty Could Have Costly Consequences for Governments and Climate Action
Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder explores the current status of the Energy Charter Treaty, and why now, more than ever, it deserves far more public attention and scrutiny.Read More
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IISD Speech: President and CEO Scott Vaughan at Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Fun, Profit and Saving the Earth event
IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan spoke to nearly 400 business leaders about how transitioning to a green economy can help Winnipeg weather climate change.Read More
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Healthy Lives and Well-being for Everyone: Why SDG 3 matters and how we can achieve it
Creating a sustainable world—and reaching economic, environmental and social goals—depends on having a thriving and healthy human population. We explore how Sustainable Development Goal 3 plans to achieve that.Read More
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Big Data for Resilience Storybook
The Big Data for Resilience Storybook explores the links between Big Data and resilience building through the experiences of seven international organizations.Read More
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Progressing national SDGs implementation: An independent assessment of the voluntary national review reports submitted to the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2017
The report identifies ten key pillars that we believe are essential to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable DevelopmentRead More
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Indigenous Protected Areas, a Way to Meet Human and Environmental Challenges? | https://iisd.org/topic/sustainable-development?page=2 |
The effects of weight gain during pregnancy (gestational weight gain or GWG) are the subject of numerous studies. However, data on the metabolic effects in the children subsequently born have not yet been comprehensively researched. A new study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) aims to evaluate the relationship between GWG and cardiometabolic risk in offspring aged seven.
The study included a total of 905 mother–child pairs who were enrolled in the follow-up visit of the multicentre Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study, at the study centre in Hong Kong. Women were classified as having gained weight below, within or exceeding the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines. Also factored in the study were standardised GWG values based on pre-pregnancy body-mass index (BMI).
Among the 905 women, the mean pre-pregnancy BMI was 21 kg/m2, the total prevalence of overweight and/or obese participants was 8.3%. The weight change from pre-pregnancy to delivery was 15kg on average, with 17% having gained weight below, 42% having gained weight within and 41% having gained weight exceeding the IOM recommendation.
Independent of pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational hyperglycaemia and other confounders, women who gained more weight than the IOM recommendation had offspring with larger body size at age seven, and increased odds of higher body fat, high blood pressure and poor blood sugar control, while women who gained less than the recommendation had offspring with increased risks of high blood pressure and poor blood sugar control at seven, compared with those who gained weight within the recommended range.
The authors say: “We found evidence of linkage between GWG and several cardiometabolic risk factors in the offspring aged seven years, independently of maternal BMI prior to pregnancy and glucose level during pregnancy. These findings have important implications for both prevention and treatment. There is a need for greater awareness and monitoring of weight gain during pregnancy. Pregnancy might be a potential window of opportunity for intervention through modifiable behaviours, including maternal nutrition and physical activity.”
However, they add: “Although limiting excessive GWG may help minimise the intergenerational cycle of obesity, the benefits of lower weight gain must be balanced against other cardiometabolic risks — such as high blood pressure and poorer blood sugar control —and risk of stunted growth in the offspring if GWG is inadequate.”
They conclude: “Long-term follow-up of these children is necessary to evaluate the effect of maternal GWG on cardiometabolic risk in adolescence and adulthood.”
Reference: Tam, W. H. & Ma, R. C. W. et al (2018). The impact of maternal gestational weight gain on cardiometabolic risk factors in children, Diabetologia DOI: 10.1007/s00125-018-4724-x
Further Information
About the Journal Diabetologia
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The full-text article is available to journalists on request.
Study contacts: | https://www.springer.com/kr/about-springer/media/research-news/all-english-research-news/amount-of-weight-gained-in-pregnancy-could-influence-health-of-child-later-on/16132416 |
When thinking about improving instructional technology in a school district, there are many complicated discussions and questions that are thrown about in an effort to bring access for students. As school districts plan for their E-Rate applications and look to the future of improving technology in their districts, I contend that there are only 4 simple questions that every district should ask before tackling this immense task.
Do we have a plan…a community plan?
K-12 public education is notorious for spending incredible amounts of tax payer dollars on large projects. Often school districts have to ask parents and community members to approve tax increases and to approve spending for large building and technology improvements. Clearly, as students need more access to various technological platforms for learning and achievement, technology needs tend to go above and beyond the classroom. School districts needs to consider the instructional needs of teachers, safety aspects, IoT implementation, and what kinds of technologies will be needed to run the day-to-day operations of the school.
When considering a technology plan, be sure to reach out to the school community…parents, teachers, students, community members, businesses, and other school community stakeholders to ensure that the technology plan is sustainable, cost efficient, and appropriate for the school community. This will help you to make sure you don’t spend more than necessary and you have the appropriate level of technology in place to meet community, state, and federal expectations.
Technology? Why do you even need it?
What is point of putting a tablet in the hands of every elementary school child? Does every campus in your district need wireless access? What kinds of instruction are we expecting from our teachers after we make this purchase? As you develop your plan, be sure you are asking the right kinds of questions instead of simply purchasing technology that is popular or competes with what the school district next door is doing. There is plenty of instructional technology research available to help guide your decisions, and this information should be included in your community plan. Technology is expensive and should not be purchased for the sake of simply having it available. Make sure you need it and have a plan for how you are going to use it.
What are we going to purchase?
After you establish your community plan and make a firm decision on why you want and need the technology you intend to buy, it is the time to decide on the products. This is important because you need to spend time evaluating your current holdings and decide if the infrastructure that you have in place is appropriate for the goals your community established in the technology plan. Having the right amount of bandwidth to cover multiple devices is important, and you will need to study the implications for expanding your wireless infrastructure. If you plan on purchasing tablets or laptops, research their durability, longevity, and if they are appropriate for the level of instructional technology you intend to provide for students.
Do we have the right people and partners in place?
This is by far the most important question to ask. You could have the best and latest technology in place, but it will sit on desks and in boxes like expensive paperweights if you don’t make sure you have properly trained teachers and personnel to use what was purchased. As part of your implementation plan, make sure you have a comprehensive, and ongoing, training and staff development plan for both teachers and students. If you want to get the most out of tax payer dollars and truly make a long-term investment in your students, train your teachers on how to use the devices and have a strong team of technology specialists available to troubleshoot any problems that may arise. | https://samsung-networks.com/keys-to-successful-technology-implementations-4-simple-questions-to-ask |
CAIRO - During a two-day visit over the weekend, Vice-President Wang Qishan agreed with Egyptian leaders that the two countries should further boost cooperation.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly received Wang at Cairo International Airport with a welcoming ceremony.
Wang made the visit at the invitation of Madbouly and also met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
In his meeting with Sisi, Wang said that China and Egypt, both ancient civilizations, share extensive interests and great cooperation potential. He said that China is ready to enhance mutual understanding, coordinate development strategies and strengthen cooperation with Egypt in the fields of economy and trade, production capacity and cultural exchanges within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
China is willing to encourage more Chinese companies to invest in Egypt and continue to encourage Chinese tourists to travel to Egypt, Wang said.
The vice-president said that China is willing to work together with Egypt to safeguard regional peace and stability.
Sisi said that Egypt and China have enjoyed close ties and deep cooperation. He expressed admiration for China's achievements and said Egypt is keen to boost government-level exchanges with China in addition to enhancing dialogue between the two peoples.
Egypt takes it as a priority in its diplomatic affairs to further develop the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and China, begun in 2014, and is willing to coordinate Egypt's dream of national rejuvenation with the Chinese Dream and seek joint development, said Sisi.
Egypt was one of the first countries to support the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China as it believes the initiative will inject fresh vigor into bilateral cooperation, he said.
The Egyptian president said his country is willing to explore possible cooperation involving Egypt, China and other parties in Africa as it assumes the rotating presidency of the African Union in 2019.
In the meeting with Madbouly, Wang said Egypt was one of the first countries in the Middle East and Africa to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and that bilateral relations have progressed steadily for over 60 years.
China attaches great importance to the Suez Canal Corridor Development Project proposed by Sisi, and is willing to boost cooperation with Egypt in this regard, Wang said.
China adheres to its strategy of reform and opening-up, and the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai next month is one measure to expand the country's efforts in line with this strategy, Wang said.
Egypt can make full use of this opportunity by expanding its quality exports to China, Wang said, calling for joint efforts to implement the important consensus achieved by the leaders of the two countries and further boost bilateral cooperation.
Madbouly hailed the growth of bilateral cooperation since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership, saying that it has brought substantial benefits to the people of both countries.
Egypt thinks highly of and actively participates in the Belt and Road Initiative and is willing to boost efforts to coordinate the development strategies of the two sides and increase pragmatic cooperation, the Egyptian prime minister said.
Egypt would like to tap the development experience of China and welcomes Chinese enterprises to participate in Egypt's development, he said.
Madbouly also thanked China for inviting Egypt to participate in the first CIIE as a guest of honor. Egypt will seize the opportunity to facilitate bilateral economic and trade cooperation and try to achieve substantial results, he said. | http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201810/30/WS5bd7c72da310eff3032856ba.html |
Autumn in Paris? Always a good idea!
4. November 2018 Isabelle EslingLeave a Comment on Autumn in Paris? Always a good idea!
The fall is always a good period to reassess your language skills.
You are currently staying in Paris and you want to break from your stressful work environment?
Why not set apart a few hours to brush up your conversational French or German?
I am an experienced languages tutor, a native speaker of French and German and I am very willing to help you progress.
Wherever you are comfortable, we will communicate in French and /or German!
Let’s have fun together. Come to learn French and/or German with me!
Any questions? Feel free to contact me!
Speak French or German confidently!
16. April 2018 16. April 2018 Isabelle EslingLeave a Comment on Speak French or German confidently!
You are currently staying in Paris and you would like to seize the opportunity to improve your conversational French or German…or maybe both?
I can help make you a confident speaker!
No matter how far you have come in your language studies, I am committed to helping you progress. Nearly 90% of the students I met admit that their greatest difficulty lies in self expression.
The more you will speak, the better you will be!
As time goes by, you will be able to master your structures more and more.
Thanks to the guidance of a native speaker, you will become more familiar with idiomatic expressions as well.
Are you ready to challenge yourself? Do not hesitate! Book your conversational courses NOW!
No French conversation partner? No worries!
11. October 2017 11. October 2017 Isabelle Esling2 Comments on No French conversation partner? No worries!
You just arrived in Paris and you are starting to get settled with your job and home.
You started taking French lessons and you are doing your best to progress fast. However, the people you are connected with in Paris are all English speaking, and so is your company. You are feeling that something is missing to help you go further in your learning of French.
No French conversation partner available right now? No worries.
Step out into the streets of the Capital and use every pretext to engage a conversation: order some coffee, buy some croissants, ask for info about a place, buy some fruit and vegetables. This is FREE practice that you can apply ANY TIME. And do not be shy about making mistakes: most people will correct you if what you are saying is incorrect in French.
use some audio documents and repeat sentences…do it several times during the day…the more you repeat, the better you will be.
use passive learning: turn on your TV, radio or audio documents and keep doing what you have to do…just hearing French regularly will also make you progress rapidly. I am using passive learning regularly when I don’t have time with other languages, and I can ensure you that it truly works.
Try to think in French, and use the structures that you already know.
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need some further learning tips. I am very willing to help you out!
Wishing you best luck in learning French rapidly!
You’ve dreamt of emigrating to France. Paris was on your mind all the time. Now you are here. Your dream has come true, but you are feeling blue.
Your biggest dream seems to have turned into a nightmare and you are on an emotional roller coaster all the time. You have been dealing with unfriendly people, constantly harrassed and running people in the metro, the French are speaking too fast for you to catch their speech and, on top of that, you are dealing with the legendary French bureaucracy that is driving you nuts!
Do not worry: I am feeling you. Being an expat is very challenging. I have been there. Although I mastered the language, getting settled in London was far from easy, and, believe it or not, I’ve been dealing with tons of bureaucracy as well from the English side.
I can help you transform your expatriation into a success. How?
-first of all, by helping you acquire more confidence in speaking out. The method I am using is based on very concrete situations that you can apply immediately after the lesson.
-by helping you to deal with the “cultural shock”: the French are quite different from their European neighbors and from English speaking countries. Good food, good cheese, good wines, for instance, play a major role for many French citizens. Being Latins, most people are more laid back and like taking time after their work. The “art of living” or ” art de vivre” is very important to the French. Parisians, by the way, are not representative of France as a whole, so it is important that you travel a little bit out of Paris ( if you can), in order to discover various traditions.
-by increasing your cultural knowledge about Paris and France and giving you some infos on shopping in different arrondissements.
-by working on pronounciation and intonation and by stimulating your conversational skills.
French lessons in Paris? Always a good idea! | https://frenchlessonsinparis.net/tag/conversational-french/ |
Semantic and visual determinants of face recognition in a prosopagnosic patient.
Prosopagnosia is the neuropathological inability to recognize familiar people by their faces. It can occur in isolation or can coincide with recognition deficits for other nonface objects. Often, patients whose prosopagnosia is accompanied by object recognition difficulties have more trouble identifying certain categories of objects relative to others. In previous research, we demonstrated that objects that shared multiple visual features and were semantically close posed severe recognition difficulties for a patient with temporal lobe damage. We now demonstrate that this patient's face recognition is constrained by these same parameters. The prosopagnosic patient ELM had difficulties pairing faces to names when the faces shared visual features and the names were semantically related (e.g., Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, and Josee Chouinard -three ice skaters). He made tenfold fewer errors when the exact same faces were associated with semantically unrelated people (e.g., singer Celine Dion, actress Betty Grable, and First Lady Hillary Clinton). We conclude that prosopagnosia and co-occurring category-specific recognition problems both stem from difficulties disambiguating the stored representations of objects that share multiple visual features and refer to semantically close identities or concepts.
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PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the number of participants in a community in a virtual reality space created online.
SOLUTION: In a virtual reality space providing system, a main processing unit 21 creates a virtual reality space online. An action evaluation unit 25 evaluates action of a user who participates in the virtual reality space through an avatar. A point giving unit 24 gives a point usable in the virtual reality space to the user on the basis of the evaluation. For example, the action evaluation unit 25 evaluates attendance at an event held in the virtual reality space, user's behavior in the event, and a result of a game in the event.
COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&INPIT
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the number of participants in a community in a virtual reality space created online.
SOLUTION: In a virtual reality space providing system, a main processing unit 21 creates a virtual reality space online. An action evaluation unit 25 evaluates action of a user who participates in the virtual reality space through an avatar. A point giving unit 24 gives a point usable in the virtual reality space to the user on the basis of the evaluation. For example, the action evaluation unit 25 evaluates attendance at an event held in the virtual reality space, user's behavior in the event, and a result of a game in the event.
COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&INPIT | |
University of Botswana Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC) has been granted membership of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN).
CTCN promotes the accelerated transfer of environmentally sound technologies for low carbon and climate resilient development at the request of developing countries. Further, CTCN provides technology solutions, capacity building and advice on policy, legal and regulatory frameworks tailored to the needs of individual countries.
According to information on the CTCN website, this means that CERC will be potentially engaged in the three CTCN areas for technical assistance, outreach events as well as knowledge sharing and capacity building activities. On technical assistance, CERC will be able to participate in bids to implement projects in developing countries as CTCN provides technology solutions to such countries through technical assistance project implementations.
With regards to outreach events, CERC will have the honor to join regional forums, regional climate weeks and NDE events in order to connect with stakeholders as CTCN organizes annual events such as regional National Development Entities (NDEs) forums. CERC will also be able to share knowledge and know-how on climate technology/policy solutions through knowledge sharing and capacity building activities.
It is worth noting that CERC-UB is currently the only network member in Botswana. Therefore, implication of CTCN membership to UB researchers means that research proposals within the above three frameworks can be done through CERC for consideration by United Nations (UN) entities. CTCN membership is usually a prerequisite for participation in UN projects. It is hoped that this milestone will encourage UB researchers to seek greater involvement in UN sponsored projects. | https://www.ub.bw/news/cerc-ub-now-un-climate-technology-centre-network-member |
Many people are rightly worried that the appointment of “Conservative” Brett M. Kavanaugh will lead to the reversal of Roe v. Wade and other constitutional protections. With that in mind, I think that the Democratic Senators have to do a better job of framing this debate in the nomination hearings. And my points below are not that Democrats necessarily could stop his nomination. Rather, the confirmation proceedings are an opportunity to educate and galvanize the public voters, and perhaps (albeit unlikely) to influence the nominee’s thinking.
With that in mind, Democratic Senators should pursue the following two questions:
1. Has a U.S. Supreme Court majority ever reversed a personal right previously recognized under the Constitution?
2. When does the principle of stare decisis, or respect for precedent, require that the Constitution be amended formally to reverse a previously recognized constitutional right?
Too often I read stories about how Roe v. Wade may be reversed as if it is a matter of pure political power, or what is sometimes referred to on the Supreme Court as “the power of five” [votes]. But that framing gives short-shrift to the real issues here and ultimately presents a weak argument that undermines core concerns and enables bad jurisprudence.
- The first question is a succinct, powerful and correct framing of the question at hand. Has the U.S. Supreme Court ever recognized that an individual has a personal right — a freedom — protected by the U.S. Constitution and then had a subsequent Supreme Court take that right away? Has that ever happened in the history of this country? Is there any, ahem, precedent for such an outcome?
Remember, under the Roe reversal scenario, an older woman would have to say to a granddaughter, a niece, a friend: “Things were different for me. I had a fundamental right to an abortion that was protected under our Constitution. You no longer have that. The Constitution has not changed; they simply took that personal freedom away from you.”
And I want to be clear — I am not asking whether the Supreme Court has revisited or reversed a previous determination under constitutional law. I am asking specifically if the Supreme Court has ever recognized a personal right or protection under the Constitution and then taken that personal right or freedom away? There are many issue large and small that touch upon the Constitution, but personal freedoms are of a different, higher category.
I am not aware of any previous, similar example of the Supreme Court eliminating a personal constitutional right. (There are many lawyers and smart people here. Am I wrong?)
Thus, the question to nominee Kavanaugh is not whether he would reverse Roe, but does he think he could reverse Roe? On what basis, what authority, what precedent? If he does believe that he could does this, what implications does that have for a “limited judiciary,” for the legitimacy of the courts? What, if any, special constrictions should be placed on this power? If nothing else, should a unanimous or near unanimous Supreme Court be required to take reverse or eliminate a previously recognized personal right under the Constitution?
To me, Justice Kavanaugh and the the other Justices at this point have no right to reverse Roe — it is instead a question for the amendment process discussed below.
Crucially, I believe that the above discussion can be had at the nomination hearing in the abstract and without mentioning Roe or any other specific decision. Nominee Kavanaugh should not be able to wiggle so easily out of these questions under the guise of refusing to answer questions about a potential pending case. These are questions of judicial philosophy, a question of the limits of the judiciary, a question of broad interpretation of the Constitution.
- The second, related question, although procedural in some sense, is no less important. Consider the following: (i) The U.S. Supreme Court has the final say in determining what the Constitution means. (See Marbury v. Madison) (ii) Roe is a 45 year old precedent, decided by 7-2, and whose core holding has been repeatedly reaffirmed, that held that the Constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion, and (iii) Art. V of the Constitution provides the procedures to democratically amend the Constitution — something that has occurred successfully 27 times to date.
In light of those three facts, when does the principle of stare decisis, or respect for precedent, require that the U.S. Constitution be formally amended to reverse a previously recognized constitutional right?
Again, I want to be clear that I am not talking about every decision that touches upon interpreting the Constitution. The Supreme Court will not, and should not, lock in place — immune to subsequent reversal — every decision by a prior Supreme Court touching upon constitutional issues.
But when a prior Supreme Court decision recognizes a personal right, freedom or protection — and when that decision stands for decades, and weaves itself into the national fabric and expectations — doesn’t there come a point when the citizenry must invoke the machinery of a constitutional amendment to reverse it? When that well established decision is no longer subject to the whims and preferences of the currently sitting Supreme Court members?
The funny thing is that the Supreme Court is a small-c “conservative” institution. It has neither the “power of the purse, nor the power of the sword.” For all of its apparent solemnity and power, it relies entirely on the consent and acceptance of others to abide by and enforce its decisions. It is, at core, a fragile and tenuous institution and it is structurally weaker in terms of power than the other two branches.
You see, the questions are not whether nominee Kavanaugh agrees with Roe, or would he have decided it differently if he were on the Supreme Court at the time. The real question is whether nominee Kavanaugh thinks that, upon confirmation, he will have the power to take away constitutional rights and freedoms that citizens have enjoyed for near half a century?
And as nominee Kravanaugh celebrates his professed belief in a limited and circumscribed judiciary, does he recognize and acknowledge that the process for amending the Constitution is the legitimate and established avenue — if any is needed — for eliminating recognition of long-established and personal constitutional rights?
To me, the above would be the most effective discussion to have with nominee Kavanaugh, and the public can judge his answers. | https://thepoliticus.com/two-provocative-questions-that-democrats-should-put-to-nominee-kavanaugh/ |
These regulations are formulated to strengthen the management of computer information networks connected to international networks and safeguard the healthy development of the international computer information exchange.
Computer information networks within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall act in accordance with these regulations when hooking up with international networks.
(1) Computer information networks hooking up with international networks (herein after referred to as international networking for short) refers to the action of computer information networks within the territory of the People's Republic of China to hook up with foreign computer information networks to realize international exchange of information.
(2) Internet networks refers to computer information networks that conduct direct international networking; Internet units refers to units responsible for Internet operations.
(3) Internet access networks refers to computer information networks conducting international networking through access to the Internet networks; Internet access units refers to units responsible for Internet operations.
The state implements a guideline of unified planning, unified standards, and separation of management at different levels to promote the development of international networking.
The Leading Group on Information Advancement Work under the State Council (herein after abbreviated as the Leading Group) is in charge of coordinating and resolving major issues related to international networking work.
The general office of the Leading Group shall formulate specific managing measures in accordance with these regulations; define the rights, obligations, and responsibility of units providing international access channels and the rights, obligations, and responsibility of Internet units and Internet access units; and is in charge of the inspection and supervision over international networking.
Computer information networks conducting direct international networking shall use the international access channels provided by the national public telecommunications networks of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.
No units or individuals shall set up by themselves or use other access channels for international networking.
Internet networks that have been already established shall be managed respectively by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics Industry, the State Education Commission, and the Chinese Academy of Science [CAS] after they are readjusted in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State Council.
New Internet networks must have the approval of the State Council.
Internet access networks must conduct international networking through Internet networks.
Internet access units planning to engage in business activities related to international networking shall apply for a business licence from the department or unit authorized to process applications for permission to engage in business activities related to international networking; no one shall engage in business activities related to international networking without an international networking business licence.
Internet access units planning to engage in non-business activities related to international networking shall report to the department or unit authorized to examine and approve applications for permission to engage in non-business activities related to international networking ; no one is allowed to hook up with the Internet networks to engage in international networking without approval.
Those applying for an international networking business licence or going through the examination and approval procedures shall provide such information as the nature and scope of their computer information networks and the addresses of their host computers.
(4) Possessing other qualifications as prescribed by the law and State Council regulations.
In addition to possessing the qualifications provided for in the preceding paragraph of this article, Internet access units engaging in business activities related to international networking shall possess the ability to provide long-term service to users.
Where access units engaging in business activities related to international networking no longer meet the qualifications as provided for in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article because of a change in conditions, their international networking licenses shall be revoked by the issuing organ; where Internet access units engaging in non-business activities related to international networking no longer meet the qualifications as provided for in Paragraph 1 of this article because of a change in conditions, their international networking qualifications shall be cancelled by the approving organ.
Computers or computer information networks used by individuals, legal persons, and other organizations (hereinafter referred to as users) shall conduct international networking through Internet access networks when there is such a need.
When computers or computer information networks referred to in the preceding paragraph need to access Internet access networks, they shall obtain the approval of the Internet access unit and complete the registration procedures.
Units providing international access channels, Internet units, and Internet access units shall set up relevant networking management centres, strengthen the management of their units and users, and carry out security management work over network information to provide good, safe services to users.
Internet units and Internet access units shall be responsible for their own units' as well as users' Internet-related technical training and managerial education.
Units and individuals engaging in international networking shall observe relevant state laws and administrative rules and regulations, and strictly implement a security and classified information protection system; they are not allowed to use international networking to harm national security, leak state secrets, and engage in law-breaking criminal activities; and they are not allowed to produce, read, duplicate, or circulate information hampering public security and obscene pornographic information.
Public security organs shall order those who violate the provisions of Articles 6, 8, and 10 to stop networking, issue them a warning, and impose a fine of no more than 15,000 yuan; earnings from illegal activities shall be confiscated where applicable.
Those who violate these regulations while at the same time breaking other relevant laws and administrative rules and regulations shall be punished in accordance with the relevant laws and administrative rules and regulations; those whose actions constitute a crime shall be investigated to ascertain their criminal responsibility.
Networking with computer information networks in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao shall be conducted with reference to these regulations.
These regulations shall take effect on the day of promulgation. | http://www.lehmanlaw.com/resource-centre/laws-and-regulations/information-technology/revised-provisional-regulations-governing-the-management-of-chinese-computer-information-networks-connected-to-international-networks-1997.html |
The importation of counterfeit goods, such as clothing, handbags, shoes and cosmetics, poses a great risk to Australian businesses. Counterfeit goods can harm your brand reputation, impact profits, discourage innovation and risk consumer health and safety.
If you’re an intellectual property (IP) rights owner concerned about the potential damage of goods that infringe your IP, there are steps you can take to prevent their importation.
The Australian Border Force (ABF) enforces IP rights through Australia’s Notice of Objection Scheme, which enables it to seize imported goods that are suspected of infringing trade marks, copyright, Olympic insignia or indicia related to sporting events. Brand owners who have concerns about counterfeit imports should lodge a Notice of Objection with the ABF.
A Notice of Objection is a legal document, which allows the ABF to seize goods that:
- are subject to customs control
- appear to infringe IP rights and
- are intended for commercial purposes.
Each year, the ABF enforces over 600 Notices of Objection on behalf of brand owners. During the 2015-16 financial year more than 190,000 individual items of counterfeit and pirated goods were seized, worth about $17 million.
The ABF has an important role in facilitating legitimate trade while enforcing the laws that protect IP rights and the safety of the Australian community.
For more information about the Notice of Objection Scheme and to notify the ABF of suspected counterfeit goods, visit www.border.gov.au.
Find more information on counterfeiting and piracy offences. | https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/about-us/news-and-community/blog/counterfeit-goods-how-australian-businesses-can-protect-themselves |
21.05.2018· 8.4.2 Describe and use flame tests to identify lithium, sodium, potassium and copper (II) ions.
The Role of Potassium and Sodium in Your Diet …
Potassium and sodium are electrolytes needed for the body to function normally and help maintain fluid and blood volume in the body. However, a person can get high blood pressure by consuming too much sodium and not enough potassium. 1 Potassium is found in vegetables, fruit, seafood, and dairy products. Vegetables and fruits, such as potatoes, tomatoes, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, beans
arrange the following metals in decreasing …
arrange the following metals in decreasing order of their reactivity Sodium Potassium calcium magnesium iron zinc Nickel copper Mercury - 18910463
Pure Potassium Iodide IP BP USP FCC Food …
05.05.2020· Heavy metals— Dissolve 2.0 g in 25 mL of water: the limit is 0.001%. Assay— Dissolve about 500 mg of Potassium Iodide, accurately weighed, in about 10 mL of water, and add 35 mL of hydrochloric acid. Titrate with 0.05 M potassium iodate VS until the dark brown solution which is produced becomes pale brown.
Potassium Sodium Tartrate BP USP IP ACS FCC …
Search for the supplies that you need here: . Potassium Sodium Tartrate USP BP IP ACS Analytical Reagent FCC Food Grade Manufacturers. Anmol Chemicals Group, established in 1976, is the pioneer manufacturer of Specialty chemicals, Pharmaceutical Excipients, Fragrance & Flavor chemicals in India.Anmol Chemicals Group has manufacturing facilities spread across Western India, …
Sodium/Potassium Ratio on a Hair Analysis …
One of the important body mineral ratios unveiled in a hair analysis test report is the Sodium/Potassium (Na/K) ratio. This ratio relates to the functioning of the kidney, liver, and adrenal glands, and is often referred to as the life-death ratio.
7647-14-5 - Sodium chloride, Puratronic®, …
Sodium chloride is widely used as a food additive, and a preservative. It is employed in the Chloralkali process for producing chlorine and sodium hydroxide, in the Solvay process for producing sodium carbonate and calcium chloride, in the Mannheim process and in the Hargreaves process for producing sodium sulfate and hydrochloric acid.
Subcellular distribution of metals (sodium, …
Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 1968, I2"ol. 26, pp. 121 to 128. Pergamon Press. Printed in Great Britain SUBCELLULAR DISTRIBUTION OF METALS (SODIUM, POTASSIUM, CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM) IN RAT LIVER, KIDNEY AND INTESTINAL MUCOSA J. A. MURDOCH and F. W. HEATON Department of Biology, University of Lancaster, England (Received 4 January 1968) Abstract--1.
Potassium Carbide | AMERICAN ELEMENTS
Potassium is the seventh most abundant element on earth. It is one of the most reactive and electropositive of all metals and rapidly oxidizes. As with other alkali metals, potassium decomposes in water with the evolution of hydrogen because of its reacts violently with …
Order Reactivity Calcium Lithium Magnesium …
Antimicrobial Shelton abducts tubenoses nickelized hermeneutically potassium > sodium > calcium > magnesium sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, (but the notes are in order of reactivity) The reactivity series of metals. Potassium''s reaction is the most violent that you are likely to encounter in Order Levitra Super Active Oo the science lab.
Place in order of reactivity: potassium, sodium, …
Lahvanya Raoov moved • Place in order of reactivity: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen) and copper, by reference to the reactions, if any, of the metals with– water or steam and – dilute hydrochloric acid and the reduction of their oxides with carbon from Doing to Done
Potassium chloride - Wikipedia
Potassium chloride (also known as KCl or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine.It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a salt-like taste.It could be obtained from ancient dried lake deposits. KCl is used as a fertilizer, in medicine, in scientific appliions, and
GREEN AGROCHEM – Sodium …
Green Agrochem Lignin Unit is specilized in lignosulfonates.Main products are Sodium Lignosulfonate,Calcium Lignosulfonate,Ammonium lignosulfonate,Potassium Lignosulfonate,Ferrochrome Lignosulfonate,Chrome Lignosulfonate,Chrome Free Lignosulfonate,Sodium Lignohumate,Potassium Lignohumate,Ammonium Lignohumate.Also we …
Difference Between Sodium and Potassium | …
22.01.2018· Main Difference – Sodium vs Potassium. Sodium and potassium are highly reactive chemical elements that can be found in group 1 of the periodic table. They are s block elements because they have their valence electron in the outermost s orbital. Both sodium and potassium are very useful chemical elements because they form a wide variety of chemical compounds.
The Reactivity or Electrochemical Series
Metals higher in the reactivity series (e.g. sodium or potassium) have to be extracted using Electrolysis. Although three oxides of iron exist in nature (FeO, Fe 2 O 3 and the one forming the primary constituent of magnetite, Fe 3 O 4 ), it is mainly Fe 2 O 3 (Iron III oxide) that is used in the blast furnace.
Potassium sodium tartrate tetrahydrate CAS …
Potassium sodium tartrate tetrahydrate CAS 6381-59-5 for analysis EMSURE® ACS,ISO,Reag. Ph Eur - Find MSDS or SDS, a COA, data sheets and more information.
PAPER OPEN ACCESS Determination of Sodium, Potassium
sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium minerals level in boiled broccoli and cauliflower compared with fresh broccoli and cauliflower. Validation of analytical methods gives results that spectrometry methods used for determining sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium …
potassium | Definition, Properties, & Reactions | …
Sodium-potassium alloy (NaK) is used to a limited extent as a heat-transfer coolant in some fast-breeder nuclear reactors and experimentally in gas-turbine power plants. The alloy is also used as a alyst or reducing agent in organic synthesis. In addition to the alloys of potassium with lithium and sodium, alloys with other alkali metals are
Chemistry for Kids: Elements - Potassium
Potassium is the fourth element in the first column of the periodic table. It is classified as an alkali metal. Potassium atoms have 19 electrons and 19 protons with one valence electron in the outer shell. Potassium is considered chemically similar to sodium, the alkali metal above it on the periodic table. Characteristics and Properties
Electrolyte Intake and Major Food Sources of …
Dietary intake of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium has a strong impact on personal health. In order to understand possible correlations with regional occurrence of diseases and to develop new dietary strategies, it is necessary to evaluate food choices in defined geographic areas. The aim of this study was to analyze daily consumption and major food sources of electrolytes with an
Sodium Hypochlorite Vs. Calcium Hypochlorite …
30.09.2017· Sodium and calcium hypochlorite are disinfectants used in bleach and bleach products, purifying drinking water, swimming pools, ponds and wastewater. Sodium and calcium hypochlorite also are used in soil treatment of fruits and vegetables. Hypochlorites control bacteria, fungi and slime-forming algae that causes disease in people and animals.
Hair Analysis: What These Test Patterns Tell You
A Calcium shell indies psychological withdrawl, suppression or repression, as Dr. Wilson puts it: “living behind a wall of calcium.” Accompanying this pattern is hidden copper toxicity as indied by high zinc, high calcium and a low sodium/potassium ratio. …
sodium as reducing agent in the extraction of …
sodium as reducing agent in the extraction of metals. sodium as reducing agent in the extraction of metals Carbon Reduction Method Chemistry Tutorial metal oxide carbon monoxide → metal carbon dioxide The chemistry of metal extraction is very complied so when we simplify the reactions it is not really possible to be accurate about what the exact nature of the reactants and products will be.
Foods High in Potassium, Calcium and …
Hypertension or high blood pressure is the most common health problem that many people suffer from. Foods high in potassium, calcium and magnesium play an important role in the diet of hypertension patients, because these minerals exhibit great effects of lowering blood pressure. Here is a list of foods rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium
Potassium metal, K, is more reactive than …
Question: Potassium metal, K, is more reactive than sodium, Na. Calcium, Ca, is less reactive than sodium. The comparative reactivity of these metals is K > Na > Ca. | https://nemosdiving.be/potassium-sodium-calcihm-metals-in-canada+23936.html |
The following five values are the Academy Values:
The Academy Values, also known as the CRISP values, are designed to provide a framework to guide your behaviour as you move towards graduation and service as a commissioned officer. They form the foundation from which you can progress towards embracing your own Service's Values and those of Defence.
The moral and physical fortitude to serve the greater good in the face of adversity and personal risk.
Acknowledging and upholding the rights and dignities of oneself and others.
Acting in an honest, ethical manner and accepting responsibility for one’s actions.
Serving the interests and wellbeing of others and placing these ahead of self interest
Working both individually and as part of a team to achieve mastery in the Profession of Arms.
We welcome any comments or feedback that will help us improve our site.
Please ensure you include the page URL in your email. Thank you! | https://www.defence.gov.au/ADFA/About/ADFAValues.asp |
Halim El-Dabh (1921-2017) was a composer, musician, ethnomusicologist, and educator. Born in Egypt, El-Dabh originally studied agricultural engineering at Fuad I University, studying music and composition informally. His early electro-acoustic compositions (including his famous The Expression of Zaar, one of the earliest musique concrète pieces) led to a move to the U.S.A. as a Fulbright scholar, where he continued his studies with Ernst Krenek, Aaron Copland, and Luigi Dallapiccola, among others.
He continued his work with electronic music at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, working along side Otto Luening, Vladimir Ussachevsky, and John Cage. In addition to his compositions, El-Dabh is known for his investigations and studies into music throughout Africa, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Niger, and Zaire.
Though much of his performing was on traditional Egyptian instruments (especially the darabukha), he was also a highly-regarded pianist, with many of his compositions written for the piano. Long considered one of Egypt's preeminent composers, we encourage you to dive into his oeuvre and discover his music for yourself. | https://www.aseatatthepiano.com/post/featured-composer-halim-el-dabh |
Counterfeiters have been profiting off of copy-cat goods for centuries. Even with the development of advanced enforcement technologies, businesses and consumers continue to be plagued by counterfeit goods. Today, many counterfeit goods are sold through online marketplaces, often without the knowledge of either the online marketplace or the consumer purchasing the goods. Peter Colosi and Michael Hewitt with Sideman Bancroft LLP will discuss challenges of policing sales of counterfeit goods in major online retail marketplaces and effective strategies for brand and consumer protection, including the use of litigation to respond to trademark infringement and counterfeit issues. The speakers will discuss typical approaches used by, and expectations for, damages experts in these types of matters. | https://www.sideman.com/peter-colosi-and-michael-hewitt-present-knock-it-off-protecting-brands-in-online-markets-to-the-calcpa/ |
Our economic development team prepares and strengthens communities while focusing on business retention, expansion and attraction activities. Explore our Economic Development resources available to you and your community.
Preparing communities for economic growth opportunities is our goal. We provide many services in conjunction with our public power partners and other state and regional agencies.
Retention and expansion of existing businesses are critical components to community and regional economic development.
Successful business recruitment programs require an effective method to communicate Nebraska's competitive advantages to companies seeking to expand or relocate. We work closely with a statewide network of partners providing a highly-concentrated and effective recruitment campaign and successful outcome. | https://www.nppd.com/in-your-neighborhood/economic-development |
The surge in cryptocurrency prices over the past year has spurred renewed interest in the multiple ways to profit from the asset class.
Crypto mining remains one of the most viable ways to participate in the upside of digital currencies without buying them directly. In practice, miners’ computers compete by solving complex mathematical equations that help verify digital currency transactions and update the shared ledger called the blockchain. Their reward for solving these problems is a share of the cryptocurrency that’s associated with the blockchain they are part of, such as bitcoin or ethereum.
Since cryptos are decentralized, meaning that no appointed intermediaries are recording each transaction, miners are essential to keeping the crypto ecosystem alive. | https://bcn.social/2021/08/13/how-to-mine-cryptos-like-bitcoin-ether-and-doge-your-complete-guide-to-getting-set-up-and-earning-profits/ |
12022 - Lastväxlare, Gävle Kommun
To participate visit Kommers Annons Gävleborgs län and register interest. You may need to create a user account at Kommers Annons Gävleborgs län if you do not already have one.
1. Contracting authority or entity
Official name
Gävle Kommun
National registration number
212000-2338
Telephone
Email address
Joint procurement
No
Type of contracting authority or entity
Local authority
Organisation role
Buyer
Main activity
General public services
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
No
The procurement is conducted on behalf of an other entity
No
2. Object
Title
Lastväxlare, Gävle Kommun
Reference number
12022
Description
Gävle Kommun (Borgarskolan) planerar upphandling gällande Lastväxlare.
Main CPV-code
34134000-5 Lastbilar med flak och tipptruckar
Contract nature
Supplies
Estimated value
1,000,000.00
Information about lots
No lots
Additional CPV codes
34134000-5 - Lastbilar med flak och tipptruckar
Place of performance (NUTS-code)
SE313 Gävleborgs län
Contract period start
12/30/2022
Contract period end
12/30/2022
Options enabled
No
Options description
3. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
Legal basis
LOU
Environmental requirements
Other
Social requirements
Other
Innovative requirements
Other
Sheltered employment
No
Reserved procurement
Subject to law on procurement statistics
Yes
4. Procedure
Type of procedure
Simplified
Is direct procurement? | https://www.kommersannons.se/Notices/PriorInfoNotice/139 |
Overseeding is a pretty good way to retrieve the lush beauty of your verdant garden. However, knowing the ins and out of overseeding is vital for better grass in the patchy and uneven areas. For best germination, giving new grass sufficient time to grow and settle down is essential.
How long should you wait after overseeding the tall fescue? When to mow new grass after overseeding? Should I bag or mulch after overseeding? Acknowledging when to mow new grass after overseeding is crucial for the success of overseeding.
When to cut grass after overseeding? Never cut the new grass after overseeding for 2 to 3 weeks because sufficient time is required for the seeds to germinate and the roots to acclimate and hold the soil. Once the grass fully develops and grows 2-3 inches tall, you can mow your lawn to regain its beauty.
A well-prepared ground provides a better environment to encourage the germination of new seeds. Whereas proper and in-time watering promotes the growth of new grass. Hence, the germination period may vary depending on the type of seed, the temperature, and weather conditions. However, waiting is critical for the new delicate grass to conform before getting disturbed by cutting or mowing.
Let’s probe into the article.
When To Cut Grass After Overseeding Tall Fescue
Cool-season grass fescue grows fast under favorable conditions. But when to mow tall fescue after overseeding?
After overseeding Fescue, you are required to wait for 15 to 21 days for new seeds to sprout out. Allow the roots of new seedlings to settle down before you consider cutting the tall fescue.
While waiting for the seedlings to germinate properly, it’s very important to water your garden regularly to retain moisture. Insufficient or irregular irrigation can delay the germination of tall fescue seeds. While cutting tall fescue, mow the grass at the height of three inches.
When To Cut Grass After Overseeding UK
Once you spread the seedlings in your garden, let them grow in the ideal environment.
Provide the delicate roots of the new grass with sufficient time to adjust and spread fully in the soil.
You should hold off cutting grass for about two to four weeks after overseeding and aerating your lawn. Once the new grass reaches the height of three inches, you can mow the grass but no more than one-third of the actual height.
Timing is very important for the new grass to merge and extend into mature grass. Limit the usage of your overseeded lawn until the seedlings turn into fully grown grass.
When To Cut Grass After Overseeding Reddit
If I don’t mow for three weeks the grass will be probably two feet high. How long should I wait to cut grass after overseeding my lawn?
Mow your lawn low right before overseeding, after overseeding keep the soil moist by watering twice a day. Keep an eye on the growth of new seedlings and avoid next mowing for at least 2 to 3 weeks. You should cut the grass after overseeding when the new grass is at least 2 &1/2 inches long.
When To Cut Grass After Aeration and Overseeding
Aeration increases the richness of the soil and promotes vegetation. Aeration and overseeding are a perfect combo for the thicker and plush green grass of your lawn.
Take good care of your lawn after aeration and overseeding. Don’t mow the new grass until it adjusts and grows out well up to 4 inches. You have to wait at least 3-4 weeks before you consider cutting your grass. Once the tiny roots are established in the soil, you can go on with the mower to cut the new grass.
Restrict the lawn for any traffic as walking on your newly overseeded lawn can harm or suppress the new seeds. Leave the aeration plugs to decompose naturally as they are nutrient releasers for the grass.
When To Cut Grass After Overseeding
The rate of germination for the new grass is not fixed for all types of grass seeds. Weather conditions, seasonal changes, and rise and fall in temperature matter a lot.
Generally, you can’t cut the newly germinated grass for two to three weeks. The tiny seedlings require some time (minimum 3 weeks) to sprout out and to get intact with the soil. When new grass gets tall enough (2-3 inches) for the first mow, new grass is ready to cut for a perfect look.
Mowing too low can cause thinning of grass, as in hot weather the water evaporates quickly. Hence long grass helps to hold more water and provides shelter against the sun.
Can I Mow After Overseeding My Lawn
No, you can’t mow right after overseeding your lawn. Too early mowing can weaken the roots of seedlings and disturb their growth.
When new grass attains the height of 3 inches, you can fairly cut the grass to shape up your lawn. Be careful, don’t cut the grass more than one-third of the height.
While mowing your lawn, use the right techniques and sharpen the blades for better cutting.
Mowing too often can damage your grass and result in more patchy ground.
When To Cut Grass After Seeding
For optimum grass, prepare your lawn well before distributing the new seeds. Choose good quality seeds according to the needs of the season whether it is summer or fall.
You should not cut your new grass for 21 to 25 days until the grass extends to three inches. Hence, the seedlings are weak, so they require some time to settle and make contact with the ground. When the new grass gets matured, it is ready for the first mowing.
If you are seeding your lawn for the first time, scarify and rake the soil after distributing the seeds and use good fertilizer for fast germination. Consistent watering according to the weather condition is vital to maintain the moisture required for better grass.
How Long Should I Wait to Mow After Overseeding
After overseeding the thin and uneven areas of your lawn, be patient and give the new seedlings enough time for proper vegetation and acclimation.
Ideally, you have to wait for 3 to 4 weeks till the new grass spreads out and reaches the height of three inches. Don’t disturb the seedlings as long as they get ready for the first mowing.
Before mowing, make sure that the grass has fully grown. Don’t mow when the soil is wet as mowing can damage the grass blades. Leave the clippings behind as compost.
Should I bag or mulch after overseeding or Should you mulch or bag after overseeding?
Mulch benefits the overseeded lawn though it is not much needed. A mulch helps a lot to reduce water evaporation by providing shelter and preventing the new grass from drying out. It also promotes the germination of new seeds.
You can rake up the mulch when the new grass grows well and get ready for the first mowing.
Should I Bag My Grass Clippings After Overseeding
Should you bag grass clippings or leave them on the grass to decompose?
You should not bag your grass clippings rather leave them on the grass after distributing the seeds. Be careful, spread them evenly and in a thin layer so that the new seed can get oxygen and sunlight for germination.
But you can also bag the grass clippings, and spread them lightly on the newly germinated grass because grass clippings can serve as mulch and provide supplements and shade to the soil.
Mowing Height After Overseeding
What is the mowing height after overseeding your thin lawn?
Ideally, the mowing height depends on the type of grass seeds used for overseeding. But generally, the mowing height is at least three inches. New grass is ready for mowing when it grows to sufficient height and can endure the stress of mowing.
Don’t trim your grass too short because the loss of shade can dry out your lawn resulting in poor vegetation.
When to Mow After Overseeding Bermuda
Like other warm-season turfgrasses, spring is the ideal season to overseed Bermuda grass. However, Bermuda can fairly be grown in the cool season as well.
After overseeding Bermuda, don’t mow your lawn for about three to four weeks. New seedlings require 21 or 28 days to grow out and flourish under suitable conditions. This resting period is essential for the new grass to get adjusted to the soil.
In case of excessive growth of more than three inches, you can start mowing within three weeks after overseeding.
Frequently Asked Questions (Faqs)
How Long After Overseeding Can I Fertilize?
You can fertilize the lawn after 4 to 6 weeks of seed germination. Always use a quick-release nitrogen base fertilizer because the new grass is in great need of nitrogen for proper growth and settlement. While fertilizing your lawn, be wary of the sun. Don’t spread it in the scorching heat of the sun because it can burn your grass.
Should You Bag the First Mowing After Overseeding?
You should not bag the first mowing, rather you should mulch grass clippings. Leave grass clippings on the new grass to add some nutrients and to retain moisture in the soil. This will also provide shade and prevent the soil from drying out and thus promoting the growth of new grass.
How Short Should I Cut the Grass Before Overseeding?
Before overseeding your lawn, cut the existing grass extra short than the normal mowing. For example, if you cut your grass at 3 inches for regular mowing then you should cut your grass at 2-1.5 inches in height, to prepare the land for overseeding. Rake up or bag the grass clippings. Mowing too low will help the new seeds to get in contact with the soil and water.
Bottom Lines
After going through this post, everything is clear about the right time for cutting new grass after overseeding. All of your efforts in restoring your plush garden will benefit from quality seeds, aeration, proper overseeding, and irrigation.
It’s quite tempting to cut the new grass right after germination but mowing can exert pressure on the new seedlings and disturb the roots as well. Hence, waiting is the key to successful overseeding. Generally, you can cut the grass once the grass grows well up to 2 to 3 inches tall.
Proper planning and acknowledging the ideal time of mowing is necessary for optimal vegetation after overseeding. Though the time of cutting for new grass may differ according to the grass type. Thus leave the new grass untouched and untrodden until it develops to reclaim the beauty of your lawn. | https://gardenerpick.com/when-to-cut-grass-after-overseeding/ |
NOTE: The research process can look different based on the topic, information needs, and researcher. Listed below are the main components research can involve, but it may be completed in a different order or contain additional components.
NOTE: ALSO CHECK OUT THE LIBRARY'S WORKSHOPS!
These search tips can be applied in the library search, databases, and Google/ Google Scholar. There may be minimal differences across databases but using these will generally work.
When deciding where to search consider what type of information you are looking for. Where to search varies broadly based on the topic or information need, but here is a general rule of thumb:
Choosing a resource: Depending on what information you are looking for, you may want to look in different places
Choosing a source type: Narrow your search to a specific source type using the options on the left (works in the library search or in a database search)
Open the library website and enter in keywords, a title, author, etc into the search bar. This will search through our catalog and databases.
After entering in a search into the search bar, you can revise your search to eliminate irrelevant results. You can also click on “advanced search” in the top right for added revising tools.
Notice the search filters that have been used - date, subjects, and source type. These can be especially useful in narrowing down your results. You can select subjects you want to include and exclude from the subjects drop-down on the left.
When does a topic and/or search need to be narrowed?
How do you narrow down a topic?
How do you narrow down a search?
When evaluating a source (article, book, etc), consider the following: | https://libguides.lib.mtu.edu/Library/Research101 |
Throughout the nine seasons of How I Met Your Mother, fans got to watch the show’s beloved characters grow and develop, both as individuals as a group. The friendship of the iconic group, including those that no one saw coming, are some of the best in sitcom history and have provided so many wonderful moments as well as a slew of excellent and emotional quotes that sum up their friendship.
Whether they be from one-on-one conversations or broader statements of friendship from Ted’s narration, there are so many powerful quotes that always resonate with fans and have an emotional impact.
“You’re My Best Friend. I Don’t Need Objectivity. I Just Need Your Support.”
One of the biggest arguments in How I Met Your Mother came in the show’s final season between Marshall and Lily following Marshall’s acceptance of a judgeship.
Lily sought support from Robin, support it was revealed she did not have after a meeting with Darren. That prompted Lily to say this line, which is something everyone can relate to. Whether or not someone is in the wrong, they will always want the support and love of their friend to help them through something hard, which is what Lily wanted here.
“No Matter How Awkward You Feel, If You’re Not There For Him, You Will Always Regret It.”
As the mother figure of the group, even though she had many immature moments, Lily is always handing out advice to the other characters. Often times this can be annoying, but sometimes it is heartwarming, and they can be poignant, important moments, like this quote to Ted.
The whole speech is about saying goodbye to the bad things in New York, rather than the good, and stopping avoiding Barney due to his feelings for Robin. Sometimes everyone has to swallow their pride and be a friend or risk regretting it for the rest of their lives, which Ted would have likely done had it not been for Lily.
“We Spend So Much Effort Trying To Keep Parts Of Our Lives Hidden, Even From Our Closest Friends, That In Those Rare Times When We Do Open Up, It’s Amazing How Minor Those Secrets All End Up Being.”
The episode “Game Night” sees the gang have a game night, led by Marshall, who is clearly setting the game up to get to know and make a judgment on Ted’s new girlfriend, Victoria.
This quote from Ted’s narration could be applied to both his friendships with the likes of Robin and to Victoria, who quickly got over his past with Robin. People always want to hide vulnerable aspects of themselves and hide past secrets and bits of baggage so as not to be judged or lose people when in reality, nobody really cares about such meaningless details.
“Maybe This Isn’t A Breakup. Maybe This Is Just Two Friends Getting Back Together.”
Many believe Barney and Robin were the endgame couple of How I Met Your Mother in terms of the will-they-won’t-they options. Together or not, the two were fantastic together and great friends.
When they broke up the first time, it was because they got to the point of severe unhappiness. When they civilly spoke about it, they agreed to break up, and instead of being sad, Barney pointed out that maybe they are “just two friends getting back together.” It is a pretty good message for those who were friends before partners and did not end on terrible terms, like these two.
“It’s Just … Eventually, We’re All Gonna Move On. It’s Called Growing Up.”
One of the saddest aspects of How I Met Your Mother, and a slew of other sitcoms out there, is the growing up of the characters to the point where they drift apart. This is a big part of How I Met Your Mother, particularly the finale.
This is a lesson that is particularly hard for Barney. Having dealt with abandonment issues and immense insecurities for his whole life, the idea of everyone drifting away scares him. As Lily points out to him after nobody can attend “Robots Vs. Wrestlers” everyone needs to move on and grow up with their lives, families, and careers. It is a tough message, but a real one.
“We’ll Always Be Friends. It’s Just Never Gonna Be How It Was. It Can’t Be. And That Doesn’t Have To Be A Sad Thing.”
The finale of How I Met Your Mother did a lot wrong for fans, but it also had some good, emotional moments, such as Robin and Lily’s conversation on Halloween.
Robin decides to leave the Halloween party early, which greatly upsets Lily, especially since Robin had drifted further than any other friend. As Robin points out, everything has changed, though, and it is hard for her. They have all moved on, but rather optimistically, Robin points out that it does not have to be sad, which is probably something everyone should hold onto when that point in life comes.
“When I Let A Day Go By Without Talking To You … Then That Day Is Just No Good.”
Going back to Robin and Barney, while there is romantic tension between the two for most of the show, and many of the quotes surrounding the two are to do with that, most of them can be applied to their and many other’s friendships.
After getting no phone call from her father during the storm, unlike everyone else, Robin was upset, and Barney made her feel better by telling her it is his loss. This is clearly more of a flirtation given it is these two, but it is still a great moment of friendship as the two were not together, and romantically or not, the two adored one another.
“The Friends, Neighbors, Drinking Buddies And Partners In Crime You Love So Much When You’re Young, As The Years Go By, You Just Lose Touch.”
The episode “Gary Blauman” provided audiences and long-term fans of the show a montage of past beloved and hated characters and where they ended up in life. During this, future-Ted gives fans an emotional narration.
As fans see the likes of Kevin, the Blitz, Zoe, Blah-Blah, and more, Ted talks about how people move on, how time will pass, and people drift out of each other’s lives. It is a painful reality everyone is forced to deal with. Ted then goes on to give some great advice and says, “You will be shocked to learn how easy it is to part ways with someone forever, and that’s why when you find someone you want to keep around, you do something about it.”
“I-I Know I’ve … Missed A Couple Lately, But … We Said We’d Always Be There For The Big Moments.”
One of the big points of the finale is the gang being around for what Lily calls “the big moments.” As the group drifts apart, Ted, Lily, Marshall, and Barney tend to do just that. Robin? Not so much.
That makes it even more emotional when, after RSVP-ing “no,” Robin turns up at MacLaren’s for Ted and Tracy’s wedding. At that point in their lives, all that truly does matter is being there for the big moments. Even though Robin’s job pulled her away from her friends and from her marriage with Barney, in one of the most heartbreaking separations in the show, she manages to make it to Ted’s wedding, one of the biggest moments possible.
“Whatever You Do In This Life, It’s Not Legendary Unless Your Friends Are There To See It.”
Barney Stinson may be a broken man, riddled with insecurities for much of How I Met Your Mother and fans have many unpopular opinions about him, but most will agree that there is nobody better to have as a friend.
He truly adores his friends, valuing their friendship more than he ever really is capable of letting on. A further reminder of this comes when, before his wedding, he teaches some random pair of guys the way of life, pointing out that no matter what they do, it can never be awesome without their friends there. | https://gnntv.site/archives/9836 |
Job Description:
Unit-specific Responsibilities1) Utilize first-hand knowledge and skills gained from recent industry experience to successfully counsel and advise UCIL students interested in law school, as well as those pursuing a career in a variety of fields, including law and related policy careers.2) Assist students with professional resumes/cover letters, general career guidance and industry exploration discussions.  3) Plan, design and support the execution of student workshops, student competitions, and other programming.4) Manage and administer employer treks.  This includes (but is not limited to) connecting with firms/government offices and legal nonprofits and alumni and developing the trek schedule and logistics.5) Maintain efficient methods to track student data, quantify student engagement, and report on student outcomes as needed.6) Collaborate with the Employer Relations and Development team to identify and conduct outreach with employers for both internships and full-time opportunities. 7)  Develop and maintain relationships with campus partners as well as with a variety of Registered Student Organizations (RSOs).
Unit-preferred Competencies1) Deep commitment to customer service and the ability to multitask, meet deadlines, and work successfully in a fast-paced environment.2) Experience developing and delivering presentations.3) Experience working with college-aged students and/or recent college graduates strongly preferred; experience developing and managing an internship program a plus.4) Expertise in program development, or a related area. 5) Demonstrated success in maintaining collaborative relationships with diverse constituencies.6) Strong coaching or counseling skills.7) Excellent verbal and written communications skills. Strong interpersonal, quantitative, and networking skills.8) Ability to communicate to large groups as well as one-on-one with students, senior management, faculty, and alumni.Â
Working Conditions
1) Ability to work evening hours and weekends on an occasional basis (generally 1-2 days per month).
2) Willingness and ability to travel (generally two or three times per year)
Preferred Qualifications
Education
1) Bachelorâ™s degree
2) JD
Experience
1) Minimum of three years of professional experience working in a law firm, legal advocacy organization, or public policy organization
Technical Skills
1) Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. Expertise in counseling, program development, or a related area.
2) Knowledge of career development theory and strong coaching or counseling skills.
Required Documents
1) Resume
2) Cover Letter/Statement of Interest
3) Three Professional References
NOTE:Â When applying all documents MUST be uploaded under the RESUME/CV section of the application.
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via the Applicant Inquiry Form.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637. | https://jobs.associationtrends.com/jobs/13194845/assistant-director-ucil |
The VARP function is a statistical function calculates and returns the variance of a population. Variance provides a general idea of how much data points are spread in a data set, and can be used to calculate the standard deviation or determine the risk of an investment. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to use the VARP function and also go over some tips and error handling methods.
Note that this function was replaced with the VAR.P function in Excel 2010. Although this function is still available for backwards compatibility, prefer using the VAR.P function instead.
Supported versions
- Excel 2003 and newer versions
VARP Function Syntax
Arguments
|number1||The first number argument corresponding to entire population.|
|[number2]||Optional. Other number arguments up to 254 corresponding to entire population.|
Example
The VARP function accepts numeric values as its arguments. Any type of text or logical values will be ignored. You can use range references or static values just like in any other formula.
The function calculates the variance using the following function:
- x: population mean (average)
- x ̅: element of the population
- n: population size
Here is the comparison of the two approaches:
The formulas using named range population (B5:B9).
VARP Function Tips
- Prefer using the VAR.P instead of the outdated VARP function.
- The function assumes that its arguments represent the entire population. If your data is a sample of the population, use VAR.S.
- The function ignores text and logical values like TRUE and FALSE. If you want to evaluate text values and FALSE as 0 and TRUE as 1, use VARPA.
- Empty cells are ignored.
Issues
- Any error in the arguments causes the function to return an error. | https://www.spreadsheetweb.com/excel-varp-function/ |
BACKGROUND
Technical Field
Related Art
The present application generally relates to additive manufacturing and, more specifically, to temperature control techniques for additive manufacturing.
Various materials can be used in the field of additive manufacturing (e.g., 3-D printing) to manufacture geometrically simple or complex components. Generally, an additive manufacturing process includes heating a deposition material, for example, polymers or metals, and depositing them on a base (e.g., deposition surface) according to various techniques such that the deposited material solidifies and cures into a geometrical shape. For purposes of this disclosure, the geometrical shape may be referred to as a manufactured component or product. For example, a solid circular pattern may be deposited on the base and the same pattern may be layered one on top of another to form a relatively simple solid cylindrical component. In such simple components, particularly geometries that are symmetrical in shape, heat tends to dissipate substantially uniformly, and the component cools down without significant residual stress or distortion.
The additive manufacturing process may also be used to manufacture more geometrically complex components that are not necessarily symmetrical and that may have varying thicknesses and sizes throughout the component. For example, a mold of a denture or a component for an aircraft engine may have complex structure with varying thicknesses, shapes, and sizes. In such cases, different regions of the components cool down (e.g., solidify and cure) at different rates. For example, thinner areas may dissipate heat more quickly and therefore may also cool down and cure faster, whereas thicker areas may dissipate heat more slowly and therefore may also cool down and cure more slowly. Areas close to the outer edges of the components may dissipate heat more quickly, whereas areas more toward the center of the component may dissipate heat more slowly. When adjacent areas of the same component cool down at different rates, the component may exhibit increased distortion and increased residual stress due to physical effects of the material such as contraction.
SUMMARY
Systems and methods are disclosed herein in accordance with various embodiments that provide improved control of heat flow and thermal gradients in additive manufacturing operations. In particular, the temperature of individual regions of a deposition base plate used in such manufacturing operations may be individually controlled. In doing so, residual stress and distortion may be reduced in the manufactured product. For example, by controlling the heat transfer rates and heat transfer flow/paths associated with the individual regions of the deposition base plate, desired portions of the manufactured components may be cooled down more evenly at substantially the same rate during an additive manufacturing process to reduce such residual stress and distortion.
According an embodiment, a system may include a base configured to receive deposition material from an additive manufacturing apparatus, wherein the base includes a plurality of regions configured to be individually temperature controlled to affect heat transfer characteristics of at least a portion of the received deposition material; and a temperature control system coupled with the regions and configured to adjust an associated temperature of each of the regions to reduce residual stress and distortion in a product that is fabricated from the received deposition material during an additive manufacturing process.
According to another embodiment, a method for additive manufacturing may include: receiving deposition materials on a base comprising a plurality of regions configured to be individually temperature controlled to affect heat transfer characteristics of at least a portion of the received deposition material; and adjusting, by a temperature control system coupled with the regions, an associated temperature of each region based on heat transfer characteristics to reduce residual stress and distortion in a product that is fabricated from the received deposition material during an additive manufacturing process.
The scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which are incorporated into this section by reference. A more complete understanding of embodiments of the invention will be afforded to those skilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantages thereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description of one or more embodiments. Reference will be made to the appended sheets of drawings that will first be described briefly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an overview block diagram of an additive manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2
is a block diagram of a computing device used with the additive manufacturing system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 3
is a block diagram of a multi-region temperature controlled base according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIGS. 4A-4E
are perspective views of various configurations of the multi-region base according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 5
is a block diagram of a multi-region base including resilient members according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 6
is a flow chart of an additive manufacturing process using the multi-region temperature controlled base according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. Unless otherwise noted, like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the attached drawings and the written description, and thus, descriptions thereof will not be repeated. In the drawings, the relative sizes of elements, layers, and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Hereinafter, example embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention, however, may be embodied in various different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to only the illustrated embodiments herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided as examples so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the aspects and features of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, processes, elements, and techniques that are not necessary to those having ordinary skill in the art for a complete understanding of the aspects and features of the present invention may not be described.
Techniques for reducing distortion and residual stress in additively manufactured products are desirable. By controlling heat flow and thermal gradients of a manufactured component, the component may be cooled down more uniformly at substantially the same rate throughout the component during the additive manufacturing process to reduce distortion and residual stress.
Herein the present disclosure, the term “heat transfer characteristics” is defined as parameters that are related to heat transfer properties known to those skilled in the art. Examples of heat transfer characteristics include, for example, heat flow rate and thermal gradients, but are not necessarily limited thereto.
As the deposition material is deposited on an additive manufacturing base, the deposition material solidifies to form at least a portion of the product or component that is being manufactured. For example, a first layer of the component may initially be deposited by an additive manufacturing apparatus on the base of the additive manufacturing system where the first layer of the deposited material solidifies or fuses together. This process is generally repeated with second and subsequent layers until the final layer is deposited and the final complete component is made. The manufacturing process generally includes heating the deposition material, for example, by a laser, and then begins to cool down thereafter. As the deposited material begins to cool down, the described techniques of the present disclosure provide for controlling the cool down rate of the deposited material by controlling the cool down rate at each region of the deposited material. This can be achieved by regionalizing the base and adding heat to selected/desired regions to slow the cool down rate at those regions or removing heat to certain regions to increase the cool down rate at those regions. By selectively controlling regional temperature of the deposited material, heat transfer rate of the deposited material may be controlled and the temperature of the deposited material may be kept substantially uniform across the entire deposited material (e.g., maintained at a temperature range that is within predetermined manufacturing tolerances). Thus, the deposited material can be solidified and cured while maintaining substantially the same temperature across the entire deposited material, and avoid and/or reduce excessive residual stress and distortion.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, heat transfer flow and heat transfer rate of a component may be controlled by setting and/or adjusting the temperature of the base of the additive manufacturing apparatus. In some embodiments, the base may be divided into a plurality of regions such that the temperature of each of the plurality of regions may be controlled.
FIG. 1
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is a block diagram of an additive manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The additive manufacturing apparatus may include various types of additive manufacturing apparatuses such as, for example, Stereolithography (SLA) apparatus, Digital Light Processing (DLP) apparatus, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) apparatus, Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) apparatus, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) apparatus, Electronic Beam Melting (EBM) apparatus, or Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) apparatus.
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The additive manufacturing system includes a base plate (“base ”) for depositing the deposition material by the additive manufacturing apparatus . Herein the present disclosure, the term “deposition material” is intended to refer to the material such as polymer or metal (e.g., metal powder) that is used to manufacture the component with an additive manufacturing system. When the deposition material is deposited on the base, the deposition material may be referred to as “deposited material” or “received deposition material.” The term “component,” “manufactured component,” “product,” or “manufactured product” is intended to refer to an object that is made or manufactured by the deposited material through the additive manufacturing process.
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FIG. 1
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base is divided into a plurality of regions A, B, C, D and the temperature of each region A-D may be individually controlled to affect the heat transfer characteristics of at least a portion of the deposited material that is deposited over the corresponding region. For illustrative purposes, the example deposited material shows four layers of deposited material A, B, C, and D. Collectively, all of the layers of the deposited material will be referred to as deposited material in the present disclosure. By way of example, the example base illustrated in is divided into four regions A, B, C, and D. Accordingly, the heat transfer characteristics of the portion of the deposited material over region A may be affected by adjusting the temperature of region A. Similarly, the heat transfer characteristics of the portion of the deposited material over region B, C, and D may be affected by adjusting the temperature of regions B, C, and D, respectively.
In this manner, the temperature of each region that corresponds to a portion of the deposited material over that region may be varied to add heat to the deposited material to allow that portion of the deposited material to cool down more slowly (i.e., to dissipate heat from the additive manufacturing process less quickly) or to remove heat from the deposited material to allow that portion of the deposited material to cool down more quickly, thus affecting the heat transfer characteristics of that portion of the deposited material. By adjusting the temperature of each region, the entire deposited material may be solidified and/or cured more uniformly thus reducing residual stress in the deposited material. In some embodiments, stress annealing of the component may be achieved after the component is fully formed or deposited by heating the base to a desired temperature for a desired amount of time followed by controlled cooling. Thus, herein the present disclosure, the additive manufacturing process is intended to include some or all portions of the additive manufacturing cycle. For example, the additive manufacturing process may include just the deposition phase, or it may include all phases such as the deposition phase, the heating phase, the solidifying phase, the curing phase, the stress annealing phase, and the cool down phase.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
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In some embodiments, each region includes one or more heat transfer elements (shown in ) associated with one or more heating or cooling sources . The heat transfer element is configured to transfer heat between the region and the deposition material. For example, according to one example embodiment, the heat transfer element may be an electric resistive or inductive heating element and the heating source may be a power source (e.g., a current source) that is configured to provide an electric current to the electric heating element, which causes the resistive or inductive heating element to become hotter and thus increase the temperature of the associated region. This increase in the temperature of the associated region adds heat to the deposited material that is on the region, which will slow down the rate at which the heat dissipates from the deposited material. Other types of heat transfer elements may be envisaged and will be provided in more detail with reference to .
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In some embodiments, the regions A-D are modular regions that are configured to be mechanically coupled together to form a larger composite base. For example, region A may be an independent and separate region from the other regions B-D, and a user may selectively choose desired regions and arrange them in a desired manner to form a larger composite base. The modular regions may be mechanically coupled with each other, for example, using coupling devices such as fasteners or containers to hold them together, and the modular regions may be thermally decoupled from each other. In other words, the modular regions may be thermally insulated from each other so that heat does not flow between the modular regions. Accordingly, each individual modular region may be able to provide an individual heat transfer characteristic to the corresponding deposited material as determined by the user. In some embodiments, the modular regions are movable along and X-axis, Y-axis, and/or Z-axis direction as desired by the user. In this manner, the user may adjust the position of the modular regions so precisely align the regions to the desired positions.
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In some embodiments, the heat transfer characteristics of each region A-D may be further distinguished from one other by manufacturing each region with material that has different thermal conductivity. For example, region A may be made of a first material (e.g., a steel alloy) which has a relatively higher thermal conductivity compared to region D, which may be made of a second material (e.g., alumina) and has a relatively lower thermal conductivity. Thus, the user may arrange the modular regions based on the thermal conductivities of the modular regions A-D to control the heat transfer characteristics of the deposited material in selected areas of the overall composite base .
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FIG. 2
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
A computing device may be utilized together with the additive manufacturing apparatus to perform the additive manufacturing operations according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The computing device which may include, in some embodiments, one or more subsystems and related modules thereof. is a block diagram of the computing device used with the additive manufacturing apparatus illustrated in , according to an embodiment. Although a variety of components are illustrated in , components may be added and/or omitted for different types of devices as appropriate in various embodiments. According to an embodiment, the computing device includes user controls , a display , a processor and a memory .
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The display may be, for example, a flat screen display or a touch screen display. In some embodiments, the user controls may be integrated with and may also be a part of the display . For example, a touch screen display may have a user interface including user controls where the operator may adjust various settings and/or parameters by touching the user interface with fingers to control the additive manufacturing system . In other embodiments, the user controls may be a separate component from the display . For example, the computing device may have separate user controls that may have a plurality of buttons, switches, and dials to adjust the various settings and/or parameters by pushing the buttons, flipping the switches, and/or turning the dials.
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The processor may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) (e.g., field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), field programmable systems on a chip (FPSCs), or other types of programmable devices), codecs, and/or other processing devices.
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In some embodiments, the processor may execute machine readable instructions (e.g., software, firmware, or other instructions) stored in the memory . In this regard, the processor may perform any of the various operations, processes, and techniques described herein. For example, in some embodiments, the various processes and subsystems described herein (e.g., additive manufacturing apparatus control or temperature controller ) may be effectively implemented by the processor executing appropriate instructions. In other embodiments, the processor may be replaced and/or supplemented with dedicated hardware components to perform any desired combination of the various techniques described herein.
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The memory may be implemented as a machine readable medium storing various machine readable instructions and data. For example, in some embodiments, memory may store an operating system and applications as machine readable instructions that may be read and executed by the processor to perform the various techniques described herein. The memory may also store data used by operating system and/or applications . In some embodiments, memory may be implemented as non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, hard drive, solid state drive, or other non-transitory machine readable mediums), volatile memory, or combinations thereof.
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The applications may include applications such as, additive manufacturing apparatus control , temperature controller , as well as other applications that are not necessarily provided herein. The additive manufacturing apparatus control may be configured to provide commands to the additive manufacturing apparatus in response to receiving commands from a user at the user controls or it may be in response to an automated command generated by the additive manufacturing apparatus control application. Temperature controller may be configured to provide temperature adjustment information for the regions to the heating or cooling source . For example, temperature controller may receive ambient temperature information of the additive manufacturing system , temperature information at the regions, and/or computed desired temperature information for the regions as determined by the additive manufacturing apparatus control , and provide a control signal to the heating or cooling source , which in turn heats or cools the heat transfer elements at each of the regions.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
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is a block diagram of a multi-region temperature controlled base according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to the embodiment, the base is divided into four regions A-D. Each region includes one or more heat transfer elements for changing the temperature of the corresponding region and each heat transfer element is coupled to a heating source or cooling source , , that is configured to cause the corresponding heat transfer element to heat up for cool down the corresponding region. In some embodiments, a region (e.g., region D) includes more than one (e.g., two) heat transfer elements D and D. The embodiments in illustrate various example arrangements but other arrangement may also be envisaged. For example, although not illustrated, one region may include three or four heat transfer elements.
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In some embodiments, a heating source or cooling source , , or is coupled to just one heat transfer element. In other embodiments, the heating source or cooling source , , or is coupled to a plurality of heat transfer elements . That is, each heat transfer element may be coupled to its own dedicated heating or cooling source - or it may share the heating or cooling source - with another heat transfer element corresponding to another region. For example, heating source is coupled to both heat transfer elements A and B, heating source is coupled to both heat transfer element C and D, and heating source is coupled to just heat transfer element D.
FIG. 3
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In the illustrated example embodiment of , the heat transfer element A of region A is an electric a resistive or inductive heater that is electrically coupled to a heating source , which may be a power source that is configured to provide current to the resistive heating element. The resistive or inductive heater becomes hotter when a higher current is applied to it, which heats the region A to affect the heat transfer characteristics of the deposited material over the region A. When a lower current is provided by the power source, the resistive or inductive heater is less hot and therefore allows the deposition material to cool down at a faster rate.
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In some embodiments, the heat transfer elements C and D are liquid heating coils where a heated liquid flows through the coils. In such case, the heating source may include, for example, a heat pump for pumping the heating liquid through the pipes to the coils of the heat transfer elements C, D. The coils which are heated by the heated liquid increases the temperature of region C and D to affect the heat transfer characteristics of the deposited material over regions C and D, respectively. In some embodiments, the heating source may vary the temperature of the heating liquid to vary the rate of heat transfer between the deposited material and the region.
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In some embodiments, the heat transfer element D is a liquid cooling coil where a cooled or chilled liquid flows through the coils. In such case, the cooling source may include, for example, a condenser for pumping the cooling liquid through the coils of the heat transfer element D. In this case, since the heat transfer element D is a liquid cooling coil, heat from the deposited material on the region D is transferred to the cooled liquid in the coil and the liquid carrying the heat from the deposited material is transferred back to the condenser in the cooling source where it is cooled again by removing the heat from the liquid.
FIG. 3
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As illustrated in , region D includes both a heat transfer element D for heating the region D and a heat transfer element D for cooling the region D. Thus, the region D may be used to add heat using the heat transfer element C or the region D may be used to remove heat using heat transfer element D as determined by the user.
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In some embodiments, the heat transfer elements may be embedded inside of a respective region A-D. For example, region A may have a hollow center and the resistive heat transfer element A may be attached to the interior of region A. Yet in other embodiments, the heat transfer elements may be coupled to an external portion of the regions A.
FIGS. 4A-4E
FIG. 4A
FIG. 4B
FIGS. 4C-4D
FIG. 4E
FIGS. 4A-4E
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illustrate various example arrangements of the multi-region base according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, in , base includes three rectangular regions that are mechanically coupled together adjacent each other. In , base includes nine square regions arranged in rows and columns. In , the regions are substantially ring shaped regions (e.g., rectangular or circular ring shaped) that may be arranged concentrically to form a composite base . In , the regions are formed of randomly shaped regions (e.g., non-uniform shape where each region is shaped differently) that be may arranged to form a composite base . As such, the regions may have a variety of uniform or non-uniform shapes and sizes as illustrated by way of example in .
FIG. 5
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is a block diagram of a multi-region base that includes resilient members between the regions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, when the regions are modular regions that are configured to be mechanically coupled together to form a larger composite base , the regions may thermally expand or contract at different rates because each modular region is independently temperature controlled. Accordingly, resilient members such as, for example, a spring-loaded mechanical coupling or ductile insulating foam may be provided between each of the modular regions to accommodate the differential thermal expansion by the regions.
FIG. 6
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is a flow chart of an additive manufacturing process using the multi-region temperature controlled base according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to an example additive manufacturing process for reducing residual stress and reducing distortion in an additively manufactured product, a desired heat transfer characteristic for the disposed deposition material is determined (). For example, a computer analysis may be performed to determine heat transfer characteristics that will allow for the deposited material to cool down and solidify and/or cure in a more uniform manner, while reducing residual stress and distortion.
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Next, a desired temperature for each region may be determined such then when all of the regions are operated together, the regions will provide the desired heat transfer characteristics for the deposited material (). More specifically, a desired temperature is determined for each of the regions such that when all of the regions are operated together as a mechanically coupled thermally decoupled base, the first layer of the deposited material on the base will exhibit the determined heat transfer characteristics. Next, the temperature of each region is set to the determined temperature by adjusting the heating or cooling sources (). When the temperature of each of the regions is set, the first layer (or first group of layers) may be deposited on the regions to begin manufacturing the product ().
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In some embodiments, the temperature of each region may be further adjusted based on, for example, measured ambient temperature at or near the regions or as provided by user input (). In some embodiments, a temperature measuring device may be coupled to or embedded at the regions to provide temperature feedback to the computing device to provide the further adjustments to the temperature.
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Next, a desired temperature for each of the regions is determined for a second layer (or second group of layers) of the deposited material (). For example, as multiple layers are deposited, the temperature required by each region may be different from the temperatures needed by the region when just the first layer is deposited. Thus, the desired temperature for each region is determined again to achieve or maintain the same heat transfer characteristics. Next, the temperature of each region adjusted to the determined temperatures (). In some embodiments, the first layer may not necessarily be just one first layer, but instead, it may be a group of layers that are considered as the first group of layers. Similarly, the second layer may not necessarily be just the second layer but a group of layers that are deposited after the first group of layers.
616
618
Subsequent layers (or subsequent groups of layers) are next deposited over the second layer to continue with the additive manufacturing process (). This process may be repeated as necessary for further layers until the final product is completed ().
In this manner, an additive manufacturing operation may be performed by an additive manufacturing system by better controlling heat flow and thermal gradients of the deposited material by regionalizing the deposition base plate into regions and individually controlling the temperature of the regions. In doing so, residual stress and distortion may be reduced in the manufactured product.
Where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein can be separated into sub-components comprising software, hardware, or both without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated that software components can be implemented as hardware components, and vice-versa.
Software in accordance with the present disclosure, such as program code and/or data, can be stored on one or more non-transitory machine readable mediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein can be implemented using one or more general purpose or specific purpose computers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Where applicable, the ordering of various steps described herein can be changed, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-steps to provide features described herein.
Embodiments described above illustrate but do not limit the invention. It should also be understood that numerous modifications and variations are possible in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined only by the following claims and their equivalents. | |
The problem of sequence-to-sequence alignment is central to many computational applications. Aligning two sequences (e.g., temporal signals) entails computing the optimal pairwise correspondence between the sequence elements while preserving their match orderings. For example, video or audio synchronization are important applications of sequence alignment in the same modality, while the alignment of video to audio or text represents a cross-modal task.
Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) is a standard algorithm for finding the optimal alignment between two variable length sequences. To find a meaningful alignment, DTW assumes that every element in one sequence has a good match in the other sequence. In other words, DTW assumes that the sequences do not contain outliers, which is not the case for most realistic scenarios. A real-world example of sequences containing outliers is instructional videos. These are long, untrimmed videos depicting a person performing a given activity (e.g., “making a latte”) following a pre-defined set of ordered steps (e.g., a recipe). Typically, only a few frames in the video correspond to the instruction steps, while the rest of the video frames are unrelated to the main activity (e.g., the person talking); see Figure 1 (left) for an illustration. In this case, matching the outlier frames to instruction steps will not yield a meaningful alignment. Thus, there is a need for a sequence alignment algorithm that can deal with outliers.
Figure 1. Aligning instructional videos with DTW vs Drop-DTW
Both video sequences (top and bottom) depict the three main steps of “making latte”, however, there are unrelated video segments, i.e., outliers, in between the steps. Here, green denotes correct correspondences and red indicates false matches. Left: DTW aligns all the frames with each other and creates false correspondences where outliers are matched to signal. Right: In contrast, Drop-DTW finds the optimal alignment, while simultaneously dropping unrelated frames (crossed out), leaving only correct correspondences (green links).
In this blog, we present Drop-DTW, our work published at NeurIPS’21, that addresses the problem of matching sequences that contain interspersed outliers as illustrated in Figure 1 (right). During the alignment process, Drop-DTW adaptively finds the outlier sequence elements and drops them from the matching, which results in an alignment limited to the inlier sequence elements. Using this algorithm, we are able to improve step localization performance in instructional videos, as well as learning from video and audio signal with minimal human supervision.
We make the implementation of Drop-DTW publicly available (see the official GitHub repository).
The key aspect of our work is an extension of the classical dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm to handle interspersed outliers during sequence matching. Given that matching any two elements incurs a certain cost (low for similar elements and high otherwise), the classical DTW casts sequence alignment as an optimization problem. The objective is to find a set of pairwise matches between sequence elements, such that the total matching cost is minimized, while the matches follow the temporal order and every element has at least one match. The alignment formulation of DTW completely ignores the fact that some of the elements in the sequences may be outliers and should not have a match in the other sequence.
To handle outliers, Drop-DTW explicitly allows any sequence element to be dropped during matching, i.e., no element from the other sequence will be assigned to the dropped element. Drop-DTW implements this by casting sequence alignment as an optimization problem with a novel component specifying the cost of dropping an element within the optimization process. As a result, Drop-DTW solves optimal temporal alignment while jointly detecting outliers and can effectively skip through irrelevant parts of the sequence during alignment. Figure 2 illustrates how the drop capability is implemented in Drop-DTW. Our algorithm is efficiently realized using a dynamic program that naturally admits a differentiable approximation and can be efficiently used at training and inference time.
Figure 2. Optimal alignment with DTW and Drop-DTW
Aligning two different videos where the digit “3” moves across the square frame. The colored matrices represent the pairwise matching costs, with darker cell indicating higher cost. The paths on the grid are alignment paths, while the points on them indicate a pairwise match between the corresponding row and column elements. (a) All three paths are feasible DTW paths, while only one of them (in green) is optimal. (b) When sequence X contains an outlier (i.e., digit “0”), DTW uses it in the alignment and incurs a high cost (red point). (c) In contrast, Drop-DTW skips the outlier and only keeps the relevant matches. Here, Drop-DTW identifies the 2nd element of the sequence x as an outlier and drops it, which incurs the cost dx2.
While Drop-DTW enables a variety of applications (see for more information) in this blog post we showcase the more practical of the applications - step localization in instructional videos. For this task, we are given as input: (i) a long untrimmed video of a person performing a task (e.g., “making salad”), where the steps involved in performing the main task are interspersed with irrelevant actions (e.g., intermittently washing dishes), and (ii) an ordered set of textual descriptions of the main steps (e.g., “cut tomatoes”) in this video. The goal is to temporally localize each step in the video.
To approach this problem, we first embed the video frames and step text descriptions into high-dimensional vectors, such that we can compute pairwise match and drop costs. Then, we feed the embedded sequences to Drop-DTW for alignment. As a result, our algorithm labels each video frame with one of the instruction steps, or drops it from the alignment, which gives rise to the desired temporal video segmentation (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Drop-DTW for step localization in instructional videos
Given a raw untrimmed video of “making salad” and an ordered list of the recipe steps as text descriptions, we embed each modality into a high-dimensional space using dedicated neural networks. The embedded video frames and sentence sequences are then aligned using Drop-DTW. As a result, every video frame is associated to one of the instruction steps, or dropped otherwise. Matched video frames are labeled with the corresponding instruction step, or marked as “background” in case they were dropped. This labeling is then used to obtain the start and end time of each instruction step.
Figure 4 below gives an example of how Drop-DTW localizes steps in an instruction video depicting “Making Kerala Fish Curry” and compares our approach to other alignment methods (e.g., OTAM and DTW). We can see that the predicted step locations (in the row “Drop-DTW”) are very close to the ground truth locations (in the row “Ground Truth”), especially when comparing to the competing methods – OTAM and DTW. This demonstrates the effectiveness of Drop-DTW for step localization in instructional videos.
Figure 4. Step localization with Drop-DTW vs alternative methods
Each row gives a temporal segmentation of the video into instruction steps, with different colors indicating different steps. First row depicts the ground-truth segmentation, while rows 2-4 demonstrate segmentations produced by different step localization methods. Drop-DTW allows to identify interspersed unlabelled clips and much more closely approximates the ground truth.
In summary, we introduced an extension to the classic DTW algorithm, which can handle interspersed outliers during sequence alignment. The proposed algorithm is efficiently implemented as a dynamic program and naturally admits a differentiable approximation. Drop-DTW can be used both as a flexible alignment cost between sequences and a loss during training. Finally, Drop-DTW has a wide range of applications, e.g., step localization in instructional videos, as highlighted in this blog.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.11996
Hiroaki Sakoe and Seibi Chiba. Dynamic Programming Algorithm Optimization for Spoken Word Recognition. TASSP, 26(1):43–49, 1978.
Nikita Dvornik, Isma Hadji, Konstantinos G. Derpanis, Animesh Garg and Allan D. Jepson, Drop-DTW: Aligning Common Signal Between Sequences While Dropping Outliers, NeurIPS, 2021. | https://research.samsung.com/blog/Drop-DTW_A_Differentiable_Method_for_Sequence_Alignment_that_can_Handle_Outliers |
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Services Products - Services,
Pvt. Ltd. Firm Since 1984
QC SERVICES, Established in 1984, is a professional consultancy organization rendering valuable services to industries for improving competitiveness. Our approach is based on practical workshop training in modern concepts in manufacturing management, followed by on the job guidance for achieving concrete improvements.
We are a group of highly qualified professionals with vast experience in applying modern manufacturing techniques such as Total Quality Management, Statistical Process Control, Value Adding Management, Waste Reduction through intelligent Methods Design, Total Productive Maintenance, Quality Circles, Tools and Techniques of Quality Improvement, Kaizen, Vendor Quality Improvement and Self Certification etc.
We are also helping a few companies for Implementation and Certification of ISO/TS 16949 and ISO 14000 Quality Systems.
We have developed software packages for Calibration and Preventive Maintenance of Manufacturing Facilities, Productivity Measurements and Statistical Process Control.
During the last decade we have introduced these concepts in several reputed organizations.
Training & Implementation services for Quality & Productivity Improvement through modern manufacturing techniqes like :- * Total Quality Management (TQM) - Audit based on Deming and Malcolm Baldrige criteria. * Six Sigma - We have two Six Sigma Black Belts certified by ASQ (American Society for Quality) with over twenty five years of experience in Quality Improvement. Our experts have guided over 500 teams complete over 5000 projects implementing improvements in customer satisfaction, achieving process capability (Cpk > 1.33), achieving machine capabilities, vendor quality improvements etc. In over 1000 operations, productivity improvements, inventory reduction, lean systems, cost reduction. * Statistical Process Control (SPC)- SPC Implementation: COURSE CONTENTS 1. Meaning of Quality, Quality Control, Quality Standard and Process Control. 2. Statistical concepts, Concepts of Variation, Statistical Tools and Techniques - check sheet, Pareto diagram, Histogram, Cause and Effect diagram, Stratification, Scatter diagram, graph and control charts, Brain storming. 3. Machine capability, preventive maintenance, parameter monitoring/ 4. Process capability 5. Various types of control charts and control techniques. Corrective actions, SOP formulation and monitoring, quality audit. * QFD, VE, DFM / DFA - Function Analysis, Voice of customer (VOC), House of Quality (HOQ), Value Analysis & Value Engineering. * TPM and 5-'S' - COURSE CONTENTS: 1.Development of maintenance function, need of TPM for modern manufacturing 2.TPM, process control and TQM 3.Machine capability, process control manual, parameter monitoring 4.Six big losses, calculation of various losses and corrective actions 5. OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) calculations and monitoring 6. 5 - 'S' concepts and implementation 7. Few short training programmes by participants for workers * Certification Guidance & Audits - ISO 9001: 2000, ISO/TS 16949: 2002, ISO 14000.
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Pune - 411030 (Maharashtra) India
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Q:
Why is `(True, True, True) == True, True, True` not True in Python?
Code snippet 1:
a = True, True, True
b = (True, True, True)
print(a == b)
returns True.
Code snippet 2:
(True, True, True) == True, True, True
returns (False, True, True).
A:
Operator precedence. You're actually checking equality between (True, True, True) and True in your second code snippet, and then building a tuple with that result as the first item.
Recall that in Python by specifying a comma-separated "list" of items without any brackets, it returns a tuple:
>>> a = True, True, True
>>> print(type(a))
<class 'tuple'>
>>> print(a)
(True, True, True)
Code snippet 2 is no exception here. You're attempting to build a tuple using the same syntax, it just so happens that the first element is (True, True, True) == True, the second element is True, and the third element is True.
So code snippet 2 is equivalent to:
(((True, True, True) == True), True, True)
And since (True, True, True) == True is False (you're comparing a tuple of three objects to a boolean here), the first element becomes False.
A:
This has to do with how expressions are evaluated in python.
In the first case, both a and b are tuples.
a = True, True, True
b = (True, True, True)
print(type(a))
print(type(b))
print(a == b)
Out:
<class 'tuple'>
<class 'tuple'>
True
So, they are compared as tuples and in-fact they are both equal in value.
But for case 2, it's evaluated left to right.
(True, True, True) == True, True, True
First the tuple (True, True, True) is compared with just True which is False.
| |
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Jalapeño poppers are a very easy treat to make. They are great for appetizers, as hors d’oeuvre at parties, as a dish to bring to potlucks or barbeques. They are little peppers filled with cheese wrapped in bacon. Now some people might be scared to try them because Jalapeños have fame for being spicy. However most of the spiciness is located within the seeds and ribs, so if you clean them really well there is nothing to fear!
Some tips when handling Jalapeños. Use rubber gloves so that none of the capsaicin (the spiciness) gets under your nails, which will cause you some discomfort. Also DO NOT touch your eyes when handling the seeds and ribs or you will be in a world of pain and agony (queue sinister music). But other than that they are super safe ^_^
Bento Components:
- Jalapeño Poppers
- Salad Greens
- Sausage Octopus
- Radish Flowers
- Lemon Wedge
Jalapeño Poppers–
Ingredients:
– 8 jalapeños (about 2 per person)
-1 block of cream cheese at room temperature
-3 green onion stalks, diced
-bacon (1 slice per jalapeño)
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1 Tbsp vegetable or coconut oil.
Note: You will need toothpicks
Put on your gloves and slice all of your jalapeños in half . Do not separate the stem, it looks pretty with it on and is a nice little handle. With a spoon remove all of the seeds and ribs (the white membrane) inside each jalapeño half. Give them a quick rinse then set them to dry on some paper towel. Clean out your cutting board, discard all the jalapeño guts and your gloves.
In a small mixing bowl add the cream cheese, green onions, and pepper. Mix them all together, and set aside. Cut all of your bacon strips in half. Now you are ready to start assembling.
Get one jalapeño half, fill with 1 Tbsp of the cream cheese mixture. Make sure you distribute it evenly. Then wrap the whole thing in one of the bacon pieces. Secure with a toothpick. Repeat this process for each one of the jalapeño halves.
Note: If you want to start this dish ahead for a party, then this is where you would stop. You should place all of the poppers in a baking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until you are ready to make them.
Grease the bottom of your baking sheet with the vegetable oil and place all of your poppers on it. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Now remember that these little pockets of goodness are filled with cheese which tends to melt, so you want your heat to be pretty low, or you would end with pools of cheese around your poppers instead of having it inside of them. (Insert suggestive comment)
Bake for 5o minutes. As soon as they are out, place them on a serving plate that has been lined with paper towel. You can serve immediately, or let them cool to room temperature. Either way they are delicious!
Note: For the bento I just let the poppers cool. Then fill the bottom of my bento box with salad greens. I added radishes, green onions and lemon, all of which will be mixed in when you eat your lunch. The poppers and the sausage can be microwaved on low for a few seconds at a time until they reach a temperature you enjoy. | https://andritoway.com/2015/10/02/bento-series-8-jalapeno-poppers-salad/ |
The full document is published on the JPU website and can be download by clicking here (this will open in a new window).
The text of the document can also be found in the sections below
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 3
2 NATIONAL POLICY ............................................................................................................. 4
Objectively assessed need and development plans............................................................. 4
Defining and measuring need .............................................................................................. 5
3 DEMOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE ................................................................................................. 9
Official demographic projections ........................................................................................... 9
PBA projections ................................................................................................................... 12
Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 16
4 OBJECTIVELY ASSESSED NEED ......................................................................................... 19
Demographic projections and housing need ....................................................................... 19
Objectively assessed need in West Northamptonshire ....................................................... 21
5 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................. 25
APPENDIX
DEMOGRAPHY NOTE
Note: The page numbers relate to the published document.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 This report is part of the evidence base informing the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) for West Northamptonshire, covering the local authority areas of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire. It provides an objective assessment of housing need in the area over the plan period 2011-31. The report was commissioned by the West Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit following agreement with the Inspector examining the Core Strategy that
‘… the Joint Planning Unit (JPU) will now be undertaking a fresh assessment of the objectively assessed need for new housing in the area over the plan period and beyond, as requested by the Inspector.
This will take into account both the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) household projections and the early 2011 Census results, including by reference to the “How Many Homes/What Homes Where toolkit", recently launched by Lord Taylor at the House of Lords’ .
1.2 Below, Chapter 2 reviews national policy and advice on housing requirements and housing targets. This will help us understand what ‘objectively assessed need’ is, how it should be measured and how it bears on development plan targets. Chapter 3 analyses the demographic evidence and Chapter 4 draws conclusions about objectively assessed housing need. Summary and conclusions are in Chapter 5.
2 NATIONAL POLICY
Objectively assessed need and development plans
2.1 The concept of objectively assessed need for development, including housing development, was first introduced to planning by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (March 2012). The Framework makes four main references to it, as shown in the box below.
National Planning Policy Framework
Housing provision and housing need
‘17 Planning should… deliver the homes, business and industrial units, infrastructure and thriving local places that the country needs. Every effort should be made objectively to identify and then meet the housing, business and other development needs of an area, and respond positively to wider opportunities for growth.’
‘47 To boost significantly the supply of housing, local planning authorities should… use their evidence base to ensure that their Local Plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in the housing market area, as far as is consistent with the policies set out in this Framework.’
‘159. Local planning authorities should have a clear understanding of housing needs in their area. They should… prepare a Strategic Housing Market Assessment to assess their full housing needs, working with neighbouring authorities where housing market areas cross administrative boundaries. The Strategic Housing Market Assessment should: identify the scale and mix of housing and the range of tenures that the local population is likely to need over the plan period which:
- meets household and population projections, taking account of migration and demographic change
- addresses the need for all types of housing, including affordable housing and the needs of different groups in the community (such as, but not limited to, families with children, older people, people with disabilities, service families and people wishing to build their own homes);and
- and caters for housing demand and the scale of housing supply necessary to meet this demand.’
179 Joint working should enable local planning authorities to work together to meet development requirements which cannot wholly be met within their own areas – for instance, because of a lack of physical capacity or because to do so would cause significant harm to the principles and policies of this Framework.
2.2 The key messages are clear. Local planning authorities should meet in full the need for housing in their areas, insofar as the have the sustainable capacity to do so. Where this capacity does not exist, need should be ‘exported’ to neighbouring authorities, and these neighbouring authorities should accept it, up to the limits of their sustainable capacity. Authorities that are part of the same housing market area should work together to manage these transfers and to accommodate need that is not tied to particular local authority areas
2.3 In the 16 months since the NPPF was published the Planning Inspectorate has been re-affirming and clarifying these principles, both through formal decisions and informal advice issued in the course of planning examinations. From these documents, one essential point is that objectively assessed need is nothing to do with supply-side considerations, such as development constraints or adverse impacts of development. In relation to East Hampshire, for example, the EiP Inspector advised:
‘The Authorities state… that studies… “do not specifically update wider market housing demand, on the basis that the Council recognises it will not be able to provide for all the general demand for housing”. I do not consider this to be a reasonable excuse for not providing an up to date SHMA. Almost 60% of the District falls within the South Downs National Park. Whilst this and other landscape and ecological designations may provide the justification for not meeting all the objectively assessed need, I consider that the Authorities still need to know what the full needs are in order that they can identify any unmet need and discuss addressing that unmet need with their neighbours.’
2.4 So, in setting housing targets planning authorities’ first task is to determine objectively assessed need. Their second task is to establish whether they have the sustainable capacity to meet that need. If capacity demonstrably falls short of need, housing provision may also have to fall short of need. But authorities still need to know the total need, so that they can calculate the resulting shortfall, or unmet need, and try to export it to their neighbours.
Defining and measuring need
2.5 Although the NPPF places great weight on the concept of objectively assessed need, it does not define that need or specify how it should be measured. The Government has undertaken to publish new technical guidance, which may answer these questions. Pending that guidance, we have to rely on the brief indications at paragraph 159 of the Statement, which suggests that:
- ‘Objectively assessed need’ means the total demand for housing, from all types of household and for both affordable and market housing.
- Population and household projections provide a measure of objectively assessed need.
2.6 Below, we discuss these two points in turn.
What is objectively assessed need?
2.7 With regard to the first point, it is essential to be clear about the definition of ‘objectively assessed housing need’. The answer is not obvious, because ‘need’ is a very wide-ranging term. In order to measure objectively assessed need, we need to know exactly what it means in the present context. Otherwise we shall have no means to decide which of the many possible projections, forecasts or scenarios correctly measures it.
2.8 Therefore it is important to note that the NPPF has radically changed the meaning of ‘housing need’.
- The former Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3), now superseded by the NPPF, was careful to provide a clear definition of ‘need’. In that definition, ‘need’ related to households ‘who are unable to access suitable housing without financial assistance’3 . In other words, ‘need’ in PPS3 related to the affordable sector, plus market housing subsidised by housing benefit.
- PPS3 also defines ‘housing demand’ which it is careful to distinguish from ‘need’ - as ‘the quantity of housing that households are willing and able to buy or rent’.
- This PPS3 definition of need survives in the 2007 SHMA Practice Guidance, which is still in force.
- By contrast, in the NPPF ‘need’ (used interchangeably with ‘demand’ and ‘requirement’) refers to all housing, in both the affordable and market sectors.
2.9 Thus, the NPPF greatly expands the scope of ‘need’, since the market sector is about four times as large as the affordable sector (Figure 2.1).
Figure 2.1 Housing tenure in England, 2011
Source: 2011 Census
2.10 The NPPF also shifts the meaning of ‘need’ from ‘what ideally ought to be provided’ to ‘what can be afforded’. This distinction is particularly important in relation to affordable housing:
- Affordable need, as defined in PPS3 and the Practice Guidance, is measured against set standards of what constitutes suitable housing (numbers of rooms, access to
facilities etc) and the ability to pay for it (no more that 25% of household income should be spent on housing).
-
In reality, there is never enough public money to comply with these standards, and hence to meet ‘need’ in full – regardless of how much housing land is allocated in development plans.
- Indeed ‘PPS3 need’ in many places is greater than the requirement for all housing, as measured by demographic projections and incorporated in development plans.
2.11 ‘PPS3 need’ (what ideally should be provided) remains a useful benchmark in relation to many policies, for example on developer contributions and the allocation of public money. But it is not the ‘need’ for land that according to the NPPF development plans should meet in full, because it would be wrong to allocate land for housing that no one can afford to build.
2.12 In summary, from a close reading of the NPPF we can see that ‘objectively assessed need’ is close to what PPS3 called ‘demand’. Accordingly, as the starting point for our assessment we propose a variation on this PPS3 definition - which we have expanded to make clear that it covers both the market and affordable sectors:
Objectively assessed need (or housing demand) is the quantity of housing that households are willing and able to buy or rent, whether from their own resources (in the market sector) or with assistance from the State (in the affordable sector or with subsidy).
How should it be measured?
2.13 As we have seen, the NPPF suggests that objectively assessed need should be measured by household and population projections, but does not point to any specific projections. This issue was clarified in a government Written Answer:
‘When assessing their housing requirements in future years… authorities should use the most recently released sub-national population projections (published by the Office for National Statistics) and household projections (published by the Department for Communities and Local Government).’
2.14 This statement is important for two reasons. Firstly, it establishes that authorities should refer specifically to the official projections from ONS / CLG. Demographic projections from other sources, such as local government, academic institutions or specialist consultancies, are not given the same weight. Secondly, through the word ‘use’ it suggests that the official projections may provide a starting point in assessing need, rather than the definitive answer. The implication is that authorities may test and revise these projections in the light of additional evidence, just as they used to do under the previous planning system.
2.15 This view is confirmed by the howmanyhomes.org website, which is the home of the How Many Homes/What Homes Where toolkits mentioned by the JCS Inspector. The website, created by a group of professional bodies, trade associations and charities, aims to offer support ‘designed by practitioners for practitioners’ in assessing housing requirements. It has no official status. But as noted earlier Lord Taylor took part in its launch, and the West Northamptonshire Inspector has requested that the JCS need assessment refer to it.
2.16 The toolkits referenced by the Inspector are a suite of Excel spreadsheets that present a user-friendly version of ONS / CLG demographic data and projections. The website’s home page provides an introduction to these figures, advising that:
‘[The ONS / CLG projections] won’t provide you with housing numbers. What they will do is provide you with a baseline of evidence which, together with your understanding of your local area, should enable you to form your own view of the number and type of homes that should be planned for - or at the very least identify specific aspects where further work is needed.’
2.17 This message is reinforced by another element howmanyhomeswhere, the Powerpoint presentation that provides a ‘guided tour’ of the toolkits . Thus, in relation to the CLG household projection, the presentation comments:
‘The temptation to jump to the conclusion that this is “the answer” for the number of homes that need to be built each year should be resisted. It is the figure that would be needed to house new households if recent trends were to continue. This is a starting point for further analysis and discussion, not an answer.’
2.18 In the next section we provide that further analysis and discussion, based on the principles set out earlier.
3 DEMOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE
Official demographic projections
Method
3.1 Official demographic projections for local authority areas are issued at irregular intervals, in two separate publications.
- Firstly the Office of National Statistics (ONS) releases the Sub-National Population Projections (SNPP), which show population by age and sex, based on rolling forward past rates of natural change (births minus deaths) and migration for each demographic group.
- Communities and Local Government (CLG) converts the each SNPP into household projections.
- The factors that translate population into households, known as Housing Representative Rates (or headship rates, or housing formation rates), are based on carrying forward past trends for different demographic groups.
- The resulting household numbers are used as a measure of future housing demand, or objectively assessed need
3.2 A demographic group in this context is a combination of age, sex and (in the case of household projections) relationship status. An example is males aged 25-29 in mixed-sex couples.
Limitations
3.3 Through demographic rates, the projections model the internal mechanics of demographic change. Thus, if men aged 25-29 in mixed-sex couples were historically more likely than the average to be heads of household, and due to a long-ago baby boom the share of that group in the population is set to increase, the projections will show a rise in the overall headship rate. In other words, they will show a larger number of smaller households.
3.4 But the projections cannot model the impact of external (non-demographic) change. If, for example, due to the recession fewer young men can afford to form their own households, any given population will group into fewer, larger households. But the model does not ‘know’ about the recession, because all its inputs are demographic data. It can only tell us what will happen if the external factors that drive demographic change are the same in the future as they have been in the past. The CLG’s introduction to the household projections notes:
‘The assumptions underlying national household and population projections are demographic trend based. They do not attempt to predict the impact that future government policies, changing economic circumstances or other factors might have on demographic behaviour. They provide the household levels and structures that would result if the assumptions based on previous demographic trends in the population and rates of household formation were to be realised in practice.’
3.5 The past that the projections carry forward, also known as the base period, is defined in different ways for different items. Domestic migration rates are carried forward from the previous five years, as are other local components of change. But assumptions about international migration, births, deaths and household formation also take account of much longer-term trends and of expert opinion. Household headship rates, for example, are based on the five previous Censuses, as we discuss later. Births, deaths and international migration are controlled to the National Population Projections (NPP), which in turn take account of long-term trends.
2008-based projections
3.6 As requested by the JCS Inspector, in our objective assessment of need the first step is to consider the projections set out in the How Many Homes/What Homes Where toolkits. These projections are based on 2008 data and published in 2010. Despite their age they are still the most complete projections available from ONS / CLG.
3.7 The 2008-based projections (‘ONS 08’ and ‘CLG 08’) show numbers of households in the JCS area growing by 49,200 over the plan period 2011-31, equal to 2,460 per annum. Broken down by local authority area, the projected annual growth is 430 households p.a. for Daventry, 1,475 for Northampton and 555 for South Northamptonshire.
3.8 The 2008 data on which these projections are based were themselves imperfect estimates. Only Censuses, which occur every 10 years, provide comprehensive, directly observed data about population and households. Between Censuses, ONS and CLG rely on estimates pieced together from various sources, including projections based on the Censuses and administrative records. The figures on births and deaths are robust, because they are taken directly from comprehensive and highly reliable registers. In contrast, estimates of migration and household formation are highly uncertain; because there is no compulsory system in the UK to record migration, estimates are indirect inferences pieced together from imperfect data.
3.9 In the event, the 2011 Census show that the assumptions behind the 2008-based projections were seriously misleading, in two ways.
3.10 Firstly, ONS 2008 substantially overestimated net inward migration into the study area – the difference between people moving into the area and people moving out. Consequently the projections also overestimated total population growth, both for the JCS area as a whole and each individual district (Figure 3.1).
3.11 For the JCS area over the inter-censal period 2001-11, the projections showed a population increase of 43,100 persons. But the Census shows that the increase was just 30,100.
3.12 The second problem with the 2008-based projections relates to household size. CLG 2008 over-estimated household formation, so for any given population it showed larger numbers of smaller households than existed in reality. The Census results demonstrate that this was a common feature across England. The apparent cause is that in recent years more young adults have been remaining with their parents or sharing accommodation, rather than forming new households. This is probably due to reduced demand in the economic downturn, as household incomes fell in real terms and credit tightened.
Figure 3.1 Population change 2001-11: projected and actual
Source: ONS, PBA
3.13 Thus, the Census shows that in 2011 there were fewer people in West Northamptonshire than the 2008 projections expected, and these people grouped into larger, fewer households than the projections expected. For both these reasons, the number of households in 2011 was substantially below the projections. It follows naturally that household growth in the decade since the previous Census was also well below the projections, both for the area as a whole and individual districts (Figure 3.2).
3.14 For the JCS area over the inter-censal period 2001-11, the projections showed household numbers increasing by 23,900. But the Census shows that the increase was just 14,000, less than two thirds of the projected figure.
Figure 3.2 Household change 2001-11: projected and actual
Source: CLG, PBA
3.15 In summary, the Census results have largely invalidated the data behind the 2008-based official demographic projections for West Northamptonshire. With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that the 2008-based projections started with the wrong population and household totals, and the past migration trends that they carried forward did not actually happen. For more robust demographic evidence to inform our housing needs assessment, we need to look to more recent projections, based on the robust data provided by the Census.
2011-based projections
3.16 ONS and CLG in recent months published new, 2011-based demographic projections (‘ONS 2011’ and ‘CLG 2011’), which are badged as ‘interim’ and only run to 2021. These new projections do not feature in the How Many Homes / What Homes Where toolkits. The website says that it is still considering how it might deal with these interim projections and hopes to announce its intentions shortly.
3.17 For the JCS area as a whole, the 2011-based interim projections show numbers of households growing by 21,300 in 2011-21, equal to 2,130 per annum. This is around 15% below the 2008-based household projection. Similarly for the individual districts, CLG 2011 shows less growth than CLG 2008.
3.18 The 2011-based official projections take account the Census results but only partially. They start from the correct population at 2011, taken from the Census, and use household formation rates updated in the light of the Census. But the migration rates that the new projections roll forward are taken from 2010 estimates , which predated the Census. This is a serious flaw, because the Census shows that these estimates were wrong – though in the case of West Northamptonshire they were nearer the truth than the 2008 ones.
3.19 In due course there will be new official projections that are not affected by this flaw. ONS expects to publish 2012-based population projections in early 2014, using new migration rates updated in the light of the Census. Subsequently these will be translated into CLG household projections, probably in late 2014.
3.20 Pending these new publications, there are no official projections that provide a reliable starting point for assessing housing need. Therefore we have modelled our own 2011-based projections for West Northamptonshire, which take full account of the Census results available to date. These projections are presented in the next section.
PBA projections
Method
3.21 We have modelled two alternative 2011-based projection scenarios, called ‘2001-11 Trends’ and ‘2006-11 Trends’. As regards births, deaths and household formation both scenarios use the same assumptions as the official 2011-based projections. But with regard to migration we use different assumptions, carrying forward the trends documented by the 2011 Census:
- 2001-11 Trends rolls forward average migration rates by age and sex for 2001-11, as measured by the two last Censuses.
- 2006-11 Trends rolls forward average migration rates for 2006-2011, as estimated by ONS using Census results.
3.22 In principle one would expect 2001-11 Trends to be the more robust of our two scenarios, because it is based on a longer period. Other things being equal, a longer base period should provide a better projection, because it irons out short-term fluctuations, anomalies and data errors. Common sense suggests that one should not plan for 20 years ahead on the basis of a five-year history; even a 10-year history is shorter than would be ideal. Another reason to prefer 2001-11 Trends is that it is based on hard data from the Censuses, whereas 2006-11 Trends relies on ONS estimates for the inter-censal years.
3.23 On the other hand, one reason not to dismiss Trends 2006-11 is that it should be closer to the forthcoming 2012-based official projections. This is because the ONS projections, like Trends 2006-11, roll forward projected domestic migration rates from the previous five years only .
Results
3.24 Table 3.1 below summarises both the official and PBA projections: For the JCS area as a whole, the two PBA scenarios show almost the same household growth over the plan period, at 30,800 and 28,900 respectively, equal to 1,540 and 1,445 households per annum respectively. This is much less growth than predicted by either CLG 2008 or CLG 2011.
3.25 For individual districts, both PBA scenarios are still well below the CLG projections, but they are more different from each other. We discuss the reasons for these differences in Chapter 4 below.
3.26 For our preferred scenario, PBA Trends 2001-11, the table also shows projections of the economically active population (resident labour force). These projections take account of the further changes in state pension age currently planned by the Government. They show an increase of just 19,100 over the plan period – just under 1,000 per year. As the population ages, numbers of workers per household fall, in existing as well as new households. All of projected workforce growth is in Northampton. In Daventry there is no change and in South Northamptonshire virtually no change.
Table 3.1 Demographic projections for West Northamptonshire 2011-31
|Total change 2011-31||Daventry||Northampton||S Northants||JCS area|
|Population|
|ONS 2008||13,700||51,300||20,700||85,700|
|PBA Trends 01-11||9,600||45,400||6,200||61,300|
|PBA Trends 06-11||4,200||53,500||-4,200||53,500|
|Households|
|CLG 2008||8,600||29,500||11,100||49,200|
|PBA Trends 01-11||5,600||20,800||4,400||30,800|
|PBA Trends 06-11||4,000||24,100||900||28,900|
|Labour force|
|PBA Trends 01-11||0||20,600||-1,500||19,100|
|Change p.a. 2011-31||Daventry||Northampton||S Northants||JCS area|
|Population|
|ONS 2008||685||2,565||1,035||4,285|
|ONS 2011||610||3,020||890||4,530|
|
|
PBA Trends 01-11
|480||2,270||310||3,065|
|PBA Trends 06-11||210||2,675||-210||2,675|
|Households|
|CLG 2008||430||1,475||555||2,460|
|CLG 2011* (2011-21)||340||1,380||420||2,130|
|PBA Trends 01-11||280||1,040||220||1,540|
|PBA Trends 06-11||200||1,205||45||1,445|
|Labour force|
|PBA Trends 01-11||0||1,030||-75||955|
Source: ONS, CLG, PBA
*The top half of the table does not show the ONS 2011 or CLG 2011 projections because they only cover the
period 2011-21
Table 3.2 Components of population change, PBA Trends 2001-11
|Persons per annum||Daventry||Northampton||S Northants||JCS area|
|Natural change||128||1,793||132||2,053|
|Net migration||353||479||177||1,009|
|Total change||481||2,272||309||3,062|
Source: PBA
3.27 In our preferred scenario, PBA Trends 2001-11, roughly two thirds of the area’s population
growth is due to natural change and one third to net in-migration (Table 3.2). Judging from
the experience of recent years, most of this net in-migration would consist of international
migrants coming into Northampton.
3.28 The three graphs below picture actual and projected demographic change in the JCS area
from 2001 to 2031. For past years, up to 2011, they show the latest ONS / CLG estimates,
informed by the 2011 Census. For the future, they show the alternative projections
discussed earlier. The graphs illustrate why projected household growth is so much lower in
the PBA scenarios than the official projections.
3.29 Figure 3.3 shows the resident population:
- We now know, from the 2011 Census, that ONS 2008 had significantly overstated the actual population in 2011 and earlier years (the red line is well above the black line). This was due to overestimating net migration into the area. ONS 2008 then rolled forward this wrongly estimated migration trend into the future.
- ONS 2011 corrected the first of these errors: at 2011 it started from the correct number. But for the future, it still carried forward an overestimated migration trend.
- In contrast, the two PBA Trends projections both start from the correct number and roll forward the correct migration rates. Therefore they show lower growth for the future, due to lower migration rates (the blue and orange lines are shallower than the purple line).
Figure 3.3 West Northamptonshire population 2001-31, thousands
Source: ONS, CLG, PBA
The 2010-based ONS population projections (‘ONS 2010’) were not translated into CLG household projections.
3.30 Figure 3.4 shows average household size:
Figure 3.4 West Northamptonshire average household size 2001-31
Source: ONS, CLG, PBA
- We now know that CLG 2008 significantly understated actual household sizes for 2011 and earlier years. CLG 2008 thought that household sizes had continued to fall after the 2001 Census, in line with the trends recorded by earlier Censuses since 1971. But the 2011 Census shows that these long-term trends were broken in the last 10 years, probably due to the latest economic downturn.
- For the future, all the 2011-based projections start from the correct point and carry forward the same trend - which is taken from the CLG 2011 household projections.
- Broadly speaking, CLG 2011 assumes that future trends in household formation rates parallel the pre-recession trend, but do not catch up with it. The CLG’s Methodology Report suggests that this future trend is very uncertain, due to possible data errors and uncertainty about the shape of the curve . The method chosen to derive the trend reflects a difficult technical judgment; different judgments about headship rates would have been equally reasonable and could have produced very different results.
- Whether the CLG’s answer proves correct will mainly depend on the state of the national economy and the national housing market.
3.31 Finally Figure 3.5 shows household numbers, which of course equal population divided by average household size. As discussed above, in the PBA Trends scenario:
- Future population growth is less than both ONS 2008 and ONS 2011.
- Future household sizes are larger than CLG 2008 but similar to CLG 2011.
- Hence the resulting PBA Trends household numbers are below both CLG projections, but closer to CLG 2011 than CLG 2008.
Figure 3.5 West Northamptonshire households 2001-31, thousands
Source: ONS, CLG, PBA
The 2010-based ONS population projections (‘ONS 2010’) were not translated into CLG household projections.
Conclusions
3.32 The 2008-based CLG household projection featured in How Many Homes / What Homes Where showed growth of 2,460 households per annum across the JCS area over the plan period 2011-31. That projection is no longer credible for West Northamptonshire, because the historical data on which it was based have been proved wrong by the 2011 Census, in two ways. Firstly, the projections underestimated household sizes. Secondly, they overestimated net migration into the area. The first of these features applies generally across England. The second is place-specific.
3.33 Last April the CLG published new household projections, called interim 2011-based projections. These new projections took account of the Census, but only partially. They corrected the underestimation of household sizes but were still based on the wrong historical migration data. The next set of CLG household forecasts will correct this anomaly but will only be published in a year or longer.
3.34 To fill the evidence gap in the meantime, we have modelled our own projection scenarios, which use the correct data on past migration, but otherwise are based on the same assumptions as the official 2011-based projections. In our preferred scenario, Trends 2001-11, household growth over the period averages 1,540 households per annum.
3.35 This scenario in our view is the best possible projection of past demographic trends, in line with official assumptions and methods. In the next section, we consider whether it is also a good measure of the objectively assessed need for housing.
4 OBJECTIVELY ASSESSED NEED
Demographic projections and housing need
What the projections mean
4.1 To understand the relationship between demographic projections and objectively assessed need (OAN), it will be helpful to recap earlier points about the meaning of both items:
- Objectively assessed need (OAN) is the effective demand for housing – that is, the housing that people want and can pay for, whether from their own resources or with help from the State. The OAN equals the amount of housing that would be built if planning did not constrain development.
- Demographic projections show how household numbers will change in future if the external (non-demographic) factors that impact on these numbers are follow the past trends and expert opinions on which the projections are based. These external factors include the state of the economy, credit markets and international migration.
4.2 If external factors do stay the same, and also past planning has provided enough land to meet demand in full, then the projections will be an accurate measure of housing demand (OAN) in the future.
Using alternative assumptions
4.3 In reality, however, many external factors may depart from the past trends and expert opinions on which the projections are based. Many of the assumptions and technical judgments underpinning the projections are surrounded by wide margins of uncertainty. Over a 20-year plan period, economic downturns and recoveries may be steeper or shallower than past ones, international migration may follow earlier trends or different ones, life expectancy may grow faster or more slowly and so forth.
4.4 In general, however, it would not be helpful for local authorities to double-guess national and global assumptions behind the official demographic projections. The official assumptions, though admittedly uncertain, are best estimates by recognised experts, and they have the advantage of being consistent across the country. There is no reason to believe that alternative views of the future are more reliable, or to prove that one particular alternative is more reliable than another.
4.5 A technical note on using demographic projections by Cambridge University advises that:
‘Estimates of the scale of the uncertainty should be used to determine how much flexibility an authority should build into its planning for housing rather than to change the main estimate of the number of homes to required…
Modifications to the official assumptions should be used simply as sensitivity tests to determine how much flexibility an authority should seek to incorporate in its plans and authorities should normally plan on the basis of the official projections.’
4.6 In relation to national and global assumptions such as the state of the economy and resulting trends in headship rates, this advice seems generally reasonable. But it does not apply when the official projections are demonstrably based on the wrong facts. In that case these wrong facts should be corrected as far as possible, as we have done through our Trends projections above.
4.7 We also note that authorities may choose to provide more housing land than the officially projected demand. Alternative scenarios may help explore the case for such additional provision. For example, they may test how much more housing will be needed if rates of household formation catch up with their pre-recession trend, contrary to the latest official projections.
4.8 There is nothing in the NPPF to discourage authorities from setting high targets, based on such ‘optimistic’ scenarios. Flexibility is welcome, as long as it is upwards.
Land supply and planning policy
4.9 So far we have focused on demand-side drivers of demographic change. But supply-side factors have also influenced demographic change, through their impact on housing development. One of these factors is planning policy.
4.10 As mentioned earlier, on a strict interpretation objectively assessed need means unconstrained demand – the amount of housing that would be provided if planning made available as much land as housing providers wanted. In a place where planning has not constrained development in the past, demographic projections that roll forward past trends will be a true measure of demand – what is often called a policy-off scenario.
4.11 However, in many places planning has been constraining housing development for a long time. The past, or base period, that the demographic projections carry forward was already contaminated by policy constraints. Demographic projections cannot measure future demand (OAN), because the past period they carry forward demand was already undersupplied. Instead, the projections should be read as a minimum indicator of future demand. The projections describe a future in which the degree of planning constraint is the same in the future as it was in the past. Rather than ‘policy-off’, they are ‘policy-same’.
4.12 It is often argued that such policy-same projections are a bad starting point, because past policies ought to change. Thus, a planning authority that tightly constrained development in the past will have seen little development, and hence its projections will also show little growth in the future. If provision targets are purely based on the projections, planning policy will be rewarding bad behaviour. Conversely authorities that have planned generously in the past will be ‘punished’ with higher targets for the future.
4.13 The answer to this argument is that trend-based projections can only be the first step in setting housing targets. The projections provide a baseline, or starting point. They tell us what will happen if policy stays the same, so that we may consider if policy ought to change.
4.14 In line with the NPPF, an authority that made generous allocations in the past, but is now running out of sustainable capacity, should be able to export some of its projected demand to its neighbours. If one of these neighbours has been providing too little land in the past, it will now have visible spare capacity, and should be accommodating some of these exports.
4.15 Among other things, demographic projections are useful because they should ensure that this ‘trading’ between authorities adds up to the correct total for larger areas. If an authority does not have the sustainable and deliverable capacity to meet its projected demand, it should seek to export some of that demand to its neighbours in the sub-regional housing market area (HMA). If the HMA as a whole does not have the capacity to meet its projected demand, logic suggests that it should seek to export some of that demand to other HMAs which have more capacity.
Objectively assessed need in West Northamptonshire
4.16 In West Northamptonshire, the history of the 10 years to 2011 shows a close correlation between housing completions and population change, both for the area as a whole and for individual districts (Figures 4.1-4.6). Specifically, it is migration that is closely related to housing completions; the other component of population growth, natural change, follows smooth trends with little fluctuation over time.
4.17 In relation to individual districts, the graphs clearly show the impact of the Grange Park development, built in South Northants as a planned urban extension to Northampton. Grange Park led to substantial net in-migration and resulting population growth in South Northants from 2001 to 2007. After completion of Grange Park in 2007, the district’s net migration turned marginally negative and its population growth flattened out.
4.18 The impact of Grange Park is also visible in the two PBA Trends demographic scenarios. Trends 2001-11 shows future growth of 4,400 households over the plan period, while Trends 2006-11 only shows 900 households. To understand this difference, we need to remember that the projections measure a policy-same future, in which planning constraints were the same as the base period. The Trends 01-11 scenario shows significant growth because its base period includes the Grange Park scheme. Trends 06-11 shows far less growth, because in its base period the planning system released much less development land.
Figure 4.1 Past population change in the JCS area
Figure 4.2 Past net migration in the JCS area
Figure 4.3 Past housing completions in the JCS area
Source: ONS, PBA, JPU
Figure 4.4 Past population change by district
Figure 4.5 Past net migration by district
Figure 4.6 Past housing completions by district
Source: ONS, PBA, JPU
4.19 The demographic projections, considered on their own, do not and cannot tell us the ‘right’ distribution of the total OAN between the three JCS districts. How development should be distributed between the three districts is not primarily a function of demand, because much of the demand for housing will be footloose across local authority boundaries.
4.20 In particular, given that Northampton’s boundary is so tightly drawn around its built-up area (Figure 4.7), many of the households who want to live in Northampton would probably be equally happy to live across the boundary in a neighbouring district. The best minimum measure of this ‘greater Northampton’ demand is probably the 1,200 dwellings per annum (d.p.a.) shown in Trends 2006-11, which takes no account of Grange Park. Which district this demand should be accommodated depends on where there are sustainable, deliverable and attractive sites, not on demographic projections.
Figure 4.7 The West Northamptonshire JCS area
5 CONCLUSIONS
5.1 The 2008-based CLG household projection featured in How Many Homes / What Homes Where showed growth of 2,460 households per annum across the JCS area over the plan period 2011-31. That projection is no longer credible for West Northamptonshire, because the historical data on which it was based have been proved wrong by the 2011 Census. New interim 2011-based household projections were published by CLG in April 2013, but are not helpful, because they are technically flawed and only look forward to 2021.
5.2 To fill the resulting gap in the evidence, we have modelled our own trend-based projection scenarios. These scenarios take full account of the 2011 Census results, and otherwise follow as closely as possible the assumptions and methods used in the official projections. In our preferred scenario, Trends 2001-11, household growth in 2011-31 averages 1,540 per annum.
5.3 With regard to the distribution of growth across districts, as a broad indicative guideline the projections suggest the following average annual increases, in households per annum:
Northampton urban area, including urban extensions in the other districts 1,040
Rest of Daventry 280
Rest of South Northants 220
Total JCS area 1,540
5.4 Housing need calculations usually assume that housing demand exceeds numbers of household by 2-3%, to take account of vacant dwellings as partly offset by second homes. With an allowance of 3%, growth of 1,500 per annum translates into 1,545 net new dwellings per annum (d.p.a.). The indicative distribution across districts is:
Northampton urban area, including urban extensions in the other districts 1,071
Rest of Daventry 288
Rest of South Northants 227
Total JCS area 1,586
5.5 In summary, our projections suggest that the total housing target for the JCS area should not be lower than 1,586 d.p.a, unless sustainable and deliverable capacity demonstrably falls below that number. The targets may be higher, and potentially much higher, if:
- The area has capacity above the minimum figure, and
- The authorities have particular objectives that require greater population growth (such as economic ambitions), and/or
- Neighbouring HMAs have unmet need, which could be exported to West Northamptonshire.
5.6 While the demographic projections provide an indication of underlying trends over the plan period, they do not and cannot predict year-to-year fluctuations in demand. Such short-term fluctuations will not be driven by demographic factors, but rather by economic and market factors, which the projection model does not know about. Given the current economic and market climate, we would expect demand in the early years of the Plan to be below the benchmark figure of 1,586 d.p.a. The JCS’s housing trajectory should reflect this. Otherwise the Councils risk falling foul of the five-year supply requirement in the NPPF. | https://westnorthantsplan.inconsult.uk/JCS_PM/viewCompoundDoc?docid=4338260&sessionid=&voteid=&partId=4370868 |
The 2015 all staff meeting was held on August 24-28 at Dao Fung Shan Christian Centre in Shatin, Hong Kong. A total of 12 staff from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Yunnan, Guangdong, Cambodia participated in the fellowship and teambuilding activities along with seven guests, including members from the CWEF board councilors.
The theme for the meeting was change. The major change for the meeting was the development and implementation of organizational values. The CWEF administration set two of the values, and the staff worked together to develop two more organizational values. Time was also allotted for discussion on how to align daily work practices with the newly developed organizational values.
Other changes that were introduced included a new employee compensation matrix and employee engagement programs. The goal of the compensation matrix and employee engagement program is to align organizational practices with our stated organizational value of people, including our employees.
A number of our guests led studies, including the topics service, faith, fear and the future. A number of study materials were provided for the CWEF staff by the LCMS Asia regional office. | https://www.cwef.org.hk/2015/11/19/the-2015-all-staff-meeting/ |
Concentrating on key works of late-nineteenth and early- twentieth-century American literary realism, Phillip Barrish strains the emergence of recent methods of gaining highbrow prestige--that is, new methods of gaining a point of cultural reputation. via prolonged readings of works through Henry James, William Dean Howells, Abraham Cahan, and Edith Wharton, Barrish emphasizes the diversities among realist modes of cultural authority and people linked to the increase of the social sciences.
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Hence, Tom and Pen’s style of realist taste has only a reduced ability, on its own, to distinguish its possessors as having a uniquely discerning aesthetic sensibility. I suggest that the Reverend Sewell’s response to the “enthusiasm” that his friends Bromfield and Bellingham come to display for Lemuel Barker – “all that’s impossible now,” Sewell tells them (p. 57 After yet another frustration, Bromfield Corey confesses that he and Bellingham are utterly nonplussed by the stubborn resistances they keep encountering as they try American Literary Realism to get closer to Barker and his life.
30 Tom’s dry response to Irene’s list of Shakespearean works – “those are the ones they usually play,” he says – indicates Howells’s assumption that realist taste could and should go hand in hand with a high-culture recognition of Shakespeare’s entire oeuvre as literary monument, rather than simple entertainment. Realist taste should be recognized, Howells wants to suggest, as one element in the period’s developing repertoire of culturally prestigious aesthetic preferences. Tom’s quiet indication that he, at least, recognizes a difference between, in John Quincy Adam’s phrasing, “the true Shakespeare,” whom one read, and that “spurious Shakespeare often exhibited upon the stage,”31 is part of the novel’s insistence that Tom and Penelope, the figures the novel privileges for their realist taste, are loyal readers of the emergent high-culture canon – the same “standard authors” who are explicitly endorsed by Bromfield Corey (p.
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My 16 year old daughter Katelynn and I just did a FB live together about her #MarchForOurLives walkout this week. It was amazing to hear her thoughts about gun reform because we had never discussed it before.
She has some great wisdom that she wants to share with all of you:
Me: Do you think that kids that seem to be hurting could use a hug and someone to acknowledge their pain? How do you decide who just needs a hug and a “how’re you?” And who needs to be reported for their scary behavior?
KT: I think don’t just go and hug someone, you definitely need to ask them, because you never know how many of them have been sexually assaulted or abused. Asking them first and waiting is a GREAT way to help kids feel better. A lot of teenagers don’t like to open up right away and might not want to open up to a stranger. Ask them if there is someone you can talk to for them.
Me: I know you had a young man argue with you online about guns in school. Can you talk about how you handled that situation and how you changed arguing into a conversation by asking questions?
KT: At first I was pretty sassy and aggressive and that triggered him to be aggressive towards me as well. As we were interacting I realized he is passionate about his opinions too and so I asked him questions about how he felt. He feels safer with guns in school and I don’t. I thanked him for telling me his opinion. The only way we are going to make change is to actually talk about things instead of coming across as aggressive and angry.
Me: You have said that bullying is the problem, not necessarily guns. It seems like the “bullying” is this intangible piece and gun violence is a tangible thing adults can put our hands on. What is one thing we can do to stop gun violence in your schools?
KT: The solution to gun violence is not about guns. It is bullying. In the extreme cases of bullying, kids kill themselves or they kill someone else. A lot of people want to mind their own business when it comes to depression or sadness with kids or bullying at school but people need to be educated about how to deal with those topics. I wish adults would intervene when they see bullying or when it is reported to them. We report bullying all the time and teachers don’t do anything about it.
If you want to see more of this amazing conversationwith Katelynn, head on over to my FB page and check out this incredible dialogue for change!
It’s Friday, change the gun reform paradigm y’all, Dr. Melissa Bird
Advocacy starts at home. How can others take you seriously as you engage in advocacy for others if you don’t believe in yourself? Visit Patreon.com/birdgirl1001 to find out how I built the tools necessary to grow a new generation of advocates. | https://www.drmelissabird.com/post/eff-sh-t-up-friday-gun-reform-a-conversation-with-my-teenager |
Statement by Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, before the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities and Government-Sponsored Enterprises of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, March 19, 1997
Thank you for inviting me to present the views of the Federal Reserve Board on the supervision of our nation's banking organizations should they be authorized by the Congress to engage in a wider range of activities. As you know, the Board has supported financial modernization for many years and hopes that the Congress will act,to facilitate reforms that, by enhancing competition within the financial services industry, would benefit the consumers of financial products in the United States.
Financial modernization may well mean that future banking organizations will be sufficiently different from today as to require perhaps substantial changes in the supervisory process for the entire organization. Just how much modification may be needed will depend on the kinds of reforms the Congress adopts. In evaluating those modifications, I would like to underline the significant supervisory role required by the Federal Reserve to carry out its central bank responsibilities. I also would like briefly to discuss the continued importance of umbrella supervision and the implications of a wider role for bank subsidiaries in the modernization process.
SUPERVISION AND CENTRAL BANKING
There are compelling reasons why the central bank of the United States--the Federal Reserve--should continue to be involved in the supervision of banks. The supervisory activities of the Federal Reserve, for example, have benefited from its economic stabilization responsibilities and its recognition that safety and soundness goals for banks must be evaluated jointly with its responsibilities for the stability and growth of the economy. The Board believes that these joint responsibilities make for better supervisory and monetary policies than would result from either a supervisor divorced from economic responsibilities or a macroeconomic policymaker with no practical experience in the review of individual bank operations.
To carry out its responsibilities, the Federal Reserve has been required to develop extensive, detailed knowledge of the intricacies of the U. S., and indeed the world, financial system. That expertise is the result of dealing constantly over many decades with changing financial markets and institutions and their relationships with each other and with the economy and from exercising supervisory responsibilities. It comes as well from ongoing interactions with central banks and financial institutions abroad. These international contacts are critical because today crises can spread more rapidly than in earlier times--in large part reflecting new technologies--and require a coordinated international response.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMIC RISK
Second only to its macrostability responsibilities is the central bank's responsibility to use its authority and expertise to forestall financial crises (including systemic disturbances in the banking system) and to manage such crises once they occur. In a crisis, the Federal Reserve, to be sure, could always flood the market with liquidity through open market operations and discount window loans; at times it has stood ready to do so, and it does not need supervisory and regulatory responsibilities to exercise that power. But while sometimes necessary in times of crises, such an approach may be costly and distortive to economic incentives and long-term growth as well as an insufficient remedy. Supervisory and regulatory responsibilities give the Federal Reserve both the insight and the authority to use techniques that are less blunt and more precisely calibrated to the problem at hand. Such tools improve our ability to manage crises and, more important, to avoid them. The use of such techniques requires both the authority that comes with supervision and regulation and the understanding of the linkages among supervision and regulation, prudential standards, risk-taking, relationships among banks and other financial market participants, and macroeconomic stability.
Our financial system--market oriented and characterized by innovation and rapid change--imparts significant benefits to our economy. But one of the consequences of such a dynamic system is that it is subject to episodes of stress. In the 1980s and early 1990s we faced a series of international debt crises, a major stock market crash, the collapse of the most important player in the junk bond market, the virtual failure of the savings and loan industry, and extensive losses at many banking institutions. More recently, we faced another Mexican crisis and, while in the event less disruptive, the failure of a large British merchant bank. In such situations the Federal Reserve stands ready to provide liquidity, if necessary, and monitors continuously the condition of depository institutions to contain the secondary consequences of any problem. The objectives of the central bank in crisis management are to contain financial losses and prevent a contagious loss of confidence so that difficulties at one institution do not spread more widely to others. The focus of its concern is not to avoid the failure of entities that have made poor decisions or have had bad luck but rather to see that such failures--or threats of failures--do not have broad and serious impacts on financial markets and the national, and indeed the global, economy.
The Federal Reserve's ability to respond expeditiously to any particular incident does not necessitate comprehensive information on each banking institution. But it does require that the Federal Reserve have in-depth knowledge of how institutions of various sizes and other characteristics are likely to behave and what resources are available to them in the event of severe financial stress. Even for those events that might, but do not, precipitate financial crises, the authorities turn first to the Federal Reserve, not only because, as former Chairman Volcker noted last month, we have the money but also because we have the expertise and the experience. We currently gain the necessary insight by having a broad sample of banks subject to our supervision and through our authority over bank holding companies.
PAYMENT AND SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS
Virtually all of the U.S. dollar transactions made worldwide--for securities transfers, foreign exchange and other international capital flows, and for payment for goods and services--are settled in the U.S. banking system. A small number of transactions that comprise the vast proportion of the total value of transactions are transferred over large-dollar payment systems. Banks use two of these systems--Fedwire, operated by the Federal Reserve, and CHIPS (Clearing House Interbank Payments System), operated by the New York Clearing House--currently to transfer $1.6 trillion and $1.3 trillion a day respectively. CHIPS settles its members' net positions on Fedwire.
These interbank transfers, for banks' own accounts and for those of their customers, occur and are settled over a network and structure that is the backbone of the U.S. financial system. Indeed, it is arguably the linchpin of the international system of payments that relies on the dollar as the major international currency for trade and finance. Disruptions and disturbances in the U.S. payment system thus can easily have global implications. Fedwire, CHIPS, and the specialized depositories and clearinghouses for securities and other financial instruments are crucial to the integrity and stability not only of our financial markets and economy but those of the world. Similarly, adverse developments in transfers in London, Tokyo, Singapore, and a host of other centers could rapidly be transferred here, given the financial interrelationships among the individual trading nations.
In all these payment and settlement systems, commercial banks play a central role, both as participants and providers of credit to nonbank participants. Day in and day out, the settlement of payment obligations and securities trades requires significant amounts of bank credit. In periods of stress, such credit demands surge just at the time when some banks are least willing or able to meet them. These demands, if unmet, could produce gridlock in payment and settlement systems, halting activity in financial markets. Indeed, it is in the cauldron of the payments and settlement systems, where decisions involving large sums must be made quickly, that all of the risks and uncertainties associated with problems at a single participant become focused as participants seek to protect themselves from uncertainty. Better solvent than sorry, they might well decide, and refuse to honor a payment request. Observing that, others might follow suit. And that is how crises often begin.
Limiting, if not avoiding, such disruptions and ensuring the continued operation of the payment system requires broad and in-depth knowledge of banking and markets, as well as detailed knowledge and authority with respect to the payment and settlement arrangements and their linkages to banking operations. This type of understanding and authority--as well as knowledge about the behavior of key participants--cannot be created on an ad hoc basis. It requires broad and sustained involvement in both the payment infrastructure and the operation of the banking system. Supervisory authority over the major bank participants is a necessary element.
MONETARY POLICY
While financial crises and payment systems disruptions arise only sporadically, the Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy on an ongoing basis. In this area, too, the Federal Reserve's role in supervision and regulation provides an important perspective to the policy process. Monetary policy works through financial institutions and markets to affect the economy, and depository institutions are a key element in those markets. Indeed, banks and thrift institutions are more important in this regard than might be suggested by a simple arithmetic calculation of their share of total credit flows. While diverse securities markets handle the lion's share of credit flows these days, banks are the backup source of liquidity to many of the securities firms and large borrowers participating in these markets. Moreover, banks at all times are the most important source of credit to most small and intermediate-sized firms that do not have ready access to securities markets. These firms are the catalyst for U.S. economic growth and the prime source of new employment opportunities for our citizens. The Federal Reserve must make its monetary policy with a view to how banks are responding to the economic environment. This was especially important during the "credit crunch" of 1990. Our supervisory responsibilities give us important qualitative and quantitative information that not only helps us in the design of monetary policy but provides important feedback on how our policy stance is affecting bank actions.
The macroeconomic stabilization responsibilities of the Federal Reserve make us particularly sensitive to how regulatory and supervisory postures can influence bank behavior and hence how banks respond to monetary policy actions. For example, capital, liquidity, loan-loss reserve, and asset quality evaluation policies of supervisors will directly influence the manner and speed with which monetary policy actions work. In the development of interagency rules and policies, the Federal Reserve brings to the table its unique concerns about the impact of these rules on credit availability, potential responses to changes in interest rates, and the consequences for the economy. We believe that, as a result, supervisory policy is improved.
FEDERAL RESERVE'S SUPERVISORY ROLE
For all of these reasons, the Board believes the Federal Reserve needs to retain a significant supervisory role in the banking system. Just exactly how that is achieved depends critically on the types of reforms the Congress enacts and the direction the banking industry takes in structuring and conducting its activities. In the Board's view, its current authority is adequate for the current structure. For today's financial system, we are able to meet our obligations by the intelligence we gain from and the authorities we have over the modest number of large banks we directly supervise and the holding companies of these and other large banks over which we have a direct umbrella supervisory role. Our information is importantly supplemented by our supervision of a number of other banks of all sizes, namely state member banks. Currently, the latter group gives us a good representative sample of organizations of all sizes outside the largest entities.
The large entities are essential if we are to address the Federal Reserve's crisis management and systemic risk responsibilities, deal with international financial issues involving foreign central banks, manage risk exposures in payment systems, and retain our practical knowledge and skill base in rapidly changing financial markets. Large bank holding companies are typically at the forefront in financial innovation and in developing sophisticated techniques for managing risks. It is crucial that the Federal Reserve stay informed of these events and understand directly how they work in practice. Directly supervising both these large organizations and a sample of others is also critical to our ability to conduct monetary policy by permitting us to gain firsthand, on-the-spot intelligence on how changes in financial markets--including those induced by monetary policy--are affecting money and credit flows.
If in the future the holding company becomes a less clear window into the banking system, the Board believes that the Congress would need to change the supervisory structure if the central bank is to carry out the responsibilities I have discussed today. 'N
UMBRELLA SUPERVISION
The Congress, in its review of financial modernization, must consider legal entity supervision alone versus legal entity supervision supplemented by umbrella supervision. The Board believes that umbrella supervision is a realistic necessity for the protection of our financial system and to limit any misuse of the sovereign credit, that is, the government's guarantees that support the banking system through the safety net.
The bank holding company organization increasingly is being managed so as to take advantage of the synergies between its component parts in order to deliver better products to the market and higher returns to stockholders. Such synergies cannot occur if the model of the holding company is one in which the parent is just, in effect, a portfolio investor in its subsidiary. Indeed, virtually all of the large holding companies now operate as integrated units and are managed as such, especially in their management of risk.
One could argue that regulators should be interested only in the entities they regulate and, hence, review the risk-evaluation process only as it relates to their regulated entity. Presumably each regulator of each entity--the bank regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the state insurance and any state finance company authorities--would look only at how the risk-management process affected their units. It is our belief that this simply will not be adequate. Risks managed on a consolidated basis cannot be reviewed on an individual legal entity basis by different supervisors.
The latter logic motivated the congressional decision just five years ago to require that foreign banks could enter the United States if, and only if, they were subject to consolidated supervision. This decision, which is consistent with the international standards for consolidated supervision of banking organizations, was a good decision then. It is a good decision today, especially for those banking organizations whose disruption could cause major financial disturbances in U.S. and foreign markets. For foreign and for U.S. banking organizations, retreat from consolidated supervision would, the Board believes, be a significant step backward.
We have to be careful, however, that consolidated umbrella supervision does not inadvertently so hamper the decisionmaking process of banking organizations as to render them ineffectual. The Federal Reserve Board is accordingly in the process of reviewing its supervisory structure and other procedures in order to reflect a market-directed shift from conventional balance sheet auditing to evaluation of the internal risk-management process. Although focused on the key risk-management processes, it would sharply reduce routine supervisory umbrella presence in holding companies. As the committee knows, the Board has recently published for comment proposals to expedite the applications process, and the legislation the Congress enacted last year eased such procedures as well. Nonetheless, the Board requests even greater modification to its existing statutory mandate so that the required applications process could be sharply cut back, particularly in the area of nonbank financial services.
In the Board's view, those entities interested in banks are really interested in access to the safety net, since it is far easier to engage in the nonsafety net activities of banks without acquiring a bank. If an organization chooses to deliver some of its services with the aid of the sovereign credit by acquiring a bank, it should not be excused from efforts of the government to look out for the stability of the overall financial system. For bank holding companies, this implies umbrella supervision. Although that process will increasingly be designed to reduce supervisory presence and be as nonintrusive as possible, umbrella supervision should not be eliminated but recognized for what it is: the cost of obtaining a subsidy.
Nonetheless, we would hope that should the Congress authorize wider activities for financial services holding companies that it recognize that a bank which is a minor part of such an organization (and its associated safety net) can be protected through adequate bank capital requirements and the application of sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act. The case is weak, in our judgment, for umbrella supervision of a holding company in which the bank is not the dominant unit and is not large enough to induce systemic problems should it fail.
SUBSIDIARIES, SUBSIDIES, AND SAFETY NETS
The members of this subcommittee are, I think, aware of the Board's concerns that the safety net constructed for banks inherently contains a subsidy, that conducting new activities in subsidiaries of banks will inadvertently extend that subsidy, and that extension of any subsidy is undesirable. The subcommittee recently heard testimony that there is no net subsidy and, therefore, the authorization of nonbank activities in bank subsidiaries would neither inadvertently extend this undesirable side effect of the safety net nor reduce the importance of the holding company as a consequence of the increased incentives to shift activities from the holding company to the bank. I would like briefly to comment on these latter views.
Subsidy values--net or gross--vary from bank to bank; riskier banks clearly get a larger subsidy from the safety net than safer banks. In addition, the value of the subsidy varies over time; in good times, markets incorporate a low risk premium and when markets turn weak, financial asset holders demand to be compensated by higher yields for holding claims on riskier entities. It is at this time that subsidy values are the most noticeable. What was it worth in the late 1980s and early 1990s for a bank with a troubled loan portfolio to have deposit liabilities guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to be assured that it could turn illiquid to liquid assets at once through the Federal Reserve discount window, and to tell its customers that payment transfers would be settled on a riskless Federal Reserve Bank? For many, it was worth not basis points but percentage points. For some, it meant the difference between survival and failure.
It is argued by some that the cost of regulation exceeds the subsidy. I have no doubt that the costs of regulation are large, too large in my judgment. But no bank has turned in its charter in order to operate without the cost of banking regulation, which would require that it operate also without deposit insurance or access to the discount window or payments System. To do so would require both higher deposit costs and higher capital. Indeed, it is a measure of the size of banks' net subsidy that most nonbank financial institutions are required by the market to operate with significantly higher capital-to-asset ratios than banks. Most finance companies, for example, with credit ratings and debenture interest costs equal to banks are forced by today's market to hold 6 or 7 percentage points higher capital-to-asset ratios than those of banks.
It is instructive that there are no private deposit insurers competing with the FDIC. For the same product offered by the FDIC, private insurers would have to charge premiums far higher than those of government insurance, and still not be able to match the certainty of payments in the event of default, the hallmark of a government insurer backed by the sovereign credit of the United States. ,
The Federal Reserve has a similar status with respect to the availability of the discount window and riskless final settlement during a period of national economic stress. Providing such services is out of the reach of all private institutions. The markets place substantial values on these safety net subsidies, clearly in excess of the cost of regulation. To repeat, were it otherwise, some banks would be dropping their charters if there were not a net subsidy.
In fact, it is apparently the lower funding costs at banks, that benefit directly from the subsidy of the safety net, that has created the tendency for banking organizations to return to the bank and its subsidiaries many activities that are authorized to banks. These activities previously had been conducted in nonbank affiliates for reasons such as geographic and other inflexibilities, which have gradually eased. Indeed, over the past decade the share of consolidated assets of bank holding companies associated with nonbank affiliates--other than section 20 securities affiliates--has declined almost half to just 5.2 percent. This tendency reflects the fact that asset growth that earlier had been associated with nonbank affiliates of bank holding companies--consumer and commercial finance, leasing, and mortgage banking--has most recently occurred largely in the bank or in a subsidiary of the bank. To be sure, as Chairman Helfer indicated to the subcommittee earlier this month, many banking organizations still retain nonbank subsidiaries. Our discussions with bank holding companies, however, suggest that in some cases, these affiliates were acquired in the past and have established names and an interstate network whose value would be reduced if subsumed within a bank. There are also often adverse tax implications for the shift. And, finally, some of these activities may not be asset intensive and hence may not benefit significantly from bank funding.
Clearly, the authorization of new activities in bank subsidiaries that are not now permitted either to banks or their affiliates would tend to accelerate the trend to reduce holding company activity, even if these activities were also permitted to holding company subsidiaries. The subsidy inherent in the safety net would assure that result, extending the spread of the safety net and requiring that the Federal Reserve's authority and ability to meet its responsibilities be shifted to a different paradigm.
Such a result is reason enough for our concern about the spreading of the safety net subsidy. But we should also be concerned because of the distortions that subsidies bring to the financial system more generally. After all, the broad premise underlying financial modernization--with its removal of legislative and regulatory restrictions--is that free and often intense competition will create the most efficient and customer-oriented business system.
This principle has proved itself, generation by generation, with ever higher standards of living.
In financial, as well as most other, markets the principle is rooted in another premise--that the interaction of private competitive forces will, with rare exceptions, create a stable error self-correcting system. This premise is very seriously called into question if government subsidies are supplied at key balancing points. By their nature, subsidies distort the establishment of competitive market prices and create incentives that misalign private risks with private gains. Such distortions undermine the error self-correcting mechanisms that support strong financial markets.
We must be very careful that in the name of free market efficiency we do not countenance greater powers and profits subsidized directly or indirectly by government.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the Board believes that as the Congress moves toward financial modernization the newly created structure of financial organizations should limit, insofar as possible, the real and perceived transfer of the subsidy inherent in the safety net to nonbank activities. To maintain a level playing field for all competitors, nonbank activities must be financed at market, not subsidized, rates.
The Board also believes that financial modernization should not undermine the ability and authority of the central bank of the United States to manage crises, ensure an efficient and safe payment system, and conduct monetary policy. We believe all of these require that the Federal Reserve retain a significant and important role as a bank supervisor. In today's structure, we have adequate authority and coverage to meet our responsibilities. But should erosion occur, as would likely be the case if new activities are authorized in bank subsidiaries, the Congress would have to consider what changes would be required in the Board's supervisory authority to ensure that it continues to be able to meet its central bank responsibilities, | https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Statement+by+Alan+Greenspan%2C+Chairman%2C+Board+of+Governors+of+the...-a019480091 |
For most of Chinese history, China had been a great civilization but not a unified country. Although the Mongols had ruled territories including today’s North China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Khubilai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Chinese style, and the conquest was not complete until 1279.
With the desire to rule all of China, Khubilai Khan (leader of the Mongolian Borjigin clan) established the Yuan dynasty and became Emperor of China.
Despite the surrender of the Song court, resistance of Song remnants remained. Chinese resistance lasted for a few more years as Song loyalists organized themselves around a powerless boy emperor, brother to the last formal Song emperor. In an attempt to restore the Song dynasty, several Song officials set up a government in Guangdong, aboard ships of the vast Song navy, which still maintained over a thousand ships (which then carried the Song army, which had been forced by the Mongol army off of the land onto these Song warships). Realizing this, in 1279 Khubilai sent his fleet to engage the Song fleet at the battle of Yamen in the waters off of modern Hong Kong, winning a decisive victory in which the last Song Emperor Bing of Song and his loyal officials committed suicide. This was the final major military confrontation of the Mongol conquest of the Song in southern China.
Khubilai as emperor and founder of a new dynasty, sought to make his image not merely more acceptable, but noble to his Chinese subjects. He acknowledged the use of both a strong army and good propaganda. He also sought good administration and policy governing the large Chinese populace, striving to build popular support through efficient govenment and de-emphasis of his foreign origin (Mongol). During his time, the use of paper money was radically expanded to facilitate commerce through the empire, and education was introduced for peasant children, as a way for improving general literacy and living standards.
Khubilai did not pursue short-term popular support, but rather, he pursued a nearly two-decade long policy of winning allegiance of a continental civization. The collapse of the Song dynasty fell apart gradually as Chinese generals and whole regiments of solders and sailors deserted to Mongol lines.
Public Works
Khubilai Khan undertook extensive public works. Among Khubilai Khan’s top engineers and scientists was the astronomer Guo Shoujing, who was tasked with many public works projects and helped the Yuan reform the lunisolar calendar to provide an accuracy of 365.2425 days of the year, which was only 26 seconds off the modern Gregorian calendar’s measurement. Road and water communications were reorganized and improved. To provide against possible famines, granaries were ordered built throughout the empire. The city of Beijing was rebuilt with new palace grounds that included artificial lakes, hills and mountains, and parks. During the Yuan period, Beijing became the terminus of the Grand Canal of China, which was completely renovated. These commercially oriented improvements encouraged overland and maritime commerce throughout Asia and facilitated direct Chinese contacts with Europe. Chinese travelers to the West were able to provide assistance in such areas as hydraulic engineering. Contacts with the West also brought the introduction to China of a major food crop, sorghum, along with other foreign food products and methods of preparation.
Cultural Impact
A rich cultural diversity developed during the Yuan dynasty. The major cultural achievements were the development of drama and the novel and the increased use of the written vernacular. The political unity of China and much of central Asia promoted trade between East and West. The Mongols’ extensive West Asian and European contacts produced a fair amount of cultural exchange. The other cultures and peoples in the Mongol World Empire also very much influenced China. It had significantly eased trade and commerce across Asia until its decline; the communications between Yuan dynasty and its ally and subordinate in Persia, the Ilkhanate, encouraged this development.
Buddhism had a great influence in the Yuan government, and the Tibetan-rite Tantric Buddhism had significantly influenced China during this period. The Muslims of the Yuan dynasty introduced Middle Eastern cartography, astronomy, medicine, clothing, and diet in East Asia. Eastern crops such as carrots, turnips, new varieties of lemons, eggplants, and melons, high-quality granulated sugar, and cotton were all either introduced or successfully popularized during the Yuan dynasty.
Translators
Sydney Translation Services provides both Mongolian translator and Chinese translator services for all types of documents, including historical records from Australia. | http://sydneytranslation.com/gift-chinese-chinese-nation/ |
The Baidichen town is located at the entrance of the Qutang Gorge on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It's 8 kilometers (5 miles) from FengJie county and also known as White Emperor City clings to grandeur hills and cliffs. It is actually a mini city scattered with temples and gates on top of Baidi Hill, with a former name of "Zi yang City". Baidi City was in history a must-to-fight for place by various warring powers, as it occupied water and land key point of great significance that means a lot in the military aspect.
It's said to be built by Gong Sunshu, an official but later a soldier, as the site of his headquarter at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. The legend goes that in 25 A.D. Gong Sunshu saw white vapor in the shape of a dragon rising from a nearby well, and taking this as an auspicious omen, he declared himself the 'White Emperor' and renamed the town 'White Emperor City' and the hill Baidi Hill. Later in 36A.D. he raised a war with Liu Xiu (Emperor Guang wu of the Eastern Han Dynasty), then a member of the Han imperial family, in order to annex each other. In this turbulent period, the city was entirely survived from warfare. The grateful local people then built a temple to commemorate him. During the Ming Dynasty, the statue of Gong Sunshu was replaced by a new one for Liu Bei and later with another three for Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhu Geliang respectively.
Another story of the city is about the Three Kingdoms. During the Three Kingdoms Period, Liu Bei, the king of Shu, retreated from a disastrous war against general Lu Su of Wu Kingdom, and died here in distress. Before he passed away, Liu entrusted state affairs and his son, Liu Chan, to Prime Minister Zhu Geliang (a famous idea man in China's history). The front hall contains large statues which depict that section of the story. To the left is the handsome, Observing Stars Pavilion (Guanxing Ting) where Zhu Ge Liang observed the stars and made accurate weather forecasts which helped him plan his victorious battles. With upturned eaves and polished beams, the temple has 12 pillars on the ground floor and 6 on the upper floor.
The Baidi city is surrounded by water on three sides while one side is backed by mountain. It requires to climb almostone thousand stone steps to make one's way up to the entrance of the city, where you might take a bird's eye-view of the magnificent Kuimen scenery; while turn to the back side of the city, one might be amazed at the winding Caotang River flowing into the Yangtze along the foot of the Badi Hill. The Baidi Temple is composed of Mingliang Palace, marquis Wu ancestral shrine and Observing star pavilion, which all in Ming and Qing building styles. Mingliang Palace is the main building of the Badi temple and was built in 1533,in Ming Emperor Jiajing's reign. Sculptures of Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and Zhu Geliang, the famous historical human figures in the Three Kingdoms period, are shrined in the palace; In the marquis Wu ancestral shrine, the one built to commemorate Zhu Geliang's meritorious deeds in politics and military to the state at that time, there're sculptures of his three generations placed; Observing star pavilion stands in the front of the shrine. The Badi temple also houses the display room of the historical culture relics, hall of poem history, excavated relics belonging to the Neolithic Age and calligraphy and painting works of famous artists in history. Besides, thousands of ceramic and bronze wears, remains of the hanging coffin sand stone tablets with inscription on are also here?ll of these added more flavor and charm to Baidi City. After the Three Gorges Project put more water in, the Baidi City would be finally surrounded by four-sided of water, and it's available to sail the boat to go through the city directly, skipping the thousands steps.
Baidi city is also known as City of Poems. In ancient times, attracted by its fame, many scholars and poets visited here and left lots of literal relics. In the city, there are over 70 poems, carvings, and cultural relics of the Sui, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, in which two steles from Sui, Qing Emperor Kangxi, Bamboo-Leaf Stele and Phoenix Stele are the most outstanding. | http://chinatravelrus.com/yangtze-cruises/baidicheng.html |
A must visit place for paragliding enthusiasts, Kamshet is a hill station situated in Maharashtra state. The weather of this region is dominated by warm summers and cool and pleasant winters. The best months to visit this region are from October to May.
December to February- The days are cool and the average temperature is near 33°C. The nights are chilly as the average temperature drops down to 12°C. This is the most preferred season amongst tourists to visit Kamshet as sightseeing can be enjoyed without any inconvenience.
March to April - The days during summer season are extremely hot, due to the temperature that remains around 40°C. During nighttime the average temperature comes down to 22°C, making the nights quite cool and comfortable.
May to November- Heavy rainfall is received in the region of Kamshet and that is why the weather becomes humid. The waterfalls look even more beautiful in the monsoon season.
Moderately Cold The month of January gives an essence of the subtropical climate of Kamshet. Boasting cold days and mild nights, the weather here is ideal for sightseeing. The rays of sun fall on the region making the weather slightly warm, while pleasant winds keep adding coldness in the atmosphere. Light woolen clothes are recommended to stay warm in the winter season.
Moderately Cold February is one of the coldest months with a mix of cold and sunlit days. Kamshet is very crowded in this month, as it is regarded as the peak time to visit the incredible and exclusive attractions of this region. Along with so many attractions marked for visiting, there are plenty of other adventure opportunities to indulge in, like the famous sport of paragliding.
Pleasant During March Kamshet enjoys a more pleasing weather. The average temperature gradually increases in this month but still lies in a comfortable zone. If your main goal is to unwind in soothing environs, then this is the best period to enjoy the pleasing weather while exploring cultural destinations. The region is packed with loads of stunning landscapes that are worth-visiting.
Moderately Hot April is generally hot and bathed in sunlight. This period can be very good, if you are looking for a less crowded and affordable vacation destination. This is a warm and dry month, which also marks the end of tourist season in this region. You are likely to get discounts on holiday deals and accommodations as hotel owners provide special offers to tourists.
Very Hot May is one of the hottest months of this region and one can hardly expect rain during this harsh month. However, it can be a perfect time to visit Kamshet for budget travelers, as there are so many discounts to be availed on tour packages. Visitors who like to relish delectable food and savor summer drinks in a luxurious resort will have handful of deals.
Moderately Hot Kamshet is quite hot during June, but sprinkles of rain make it a good time to plan a trip. The rains during this time are erratic rains, so you can visit the famous shrines and monuments on clear days without worry. People choose this city for vacations in monsoons, as travel packages are discounted and pleasant weather adds more beauty to this tropical region.
Rainy Elevation of Kamshet keeps it less humid and that is why July sees great weather even in monsoons. There are nature parks, beach resorts, moorlands and a lot more to explore in this appealing city, offering a charming mix of ethnicity and natural beauty. With rainy days, the region becomes an ideal stop for rain lovers or even for people looking for discounted travel deals.
Rainy August is one of the months that witness maximum rainfall in Kamshet, making it an ideal time to enjoy natural splendors and avail affordable holiday deals. The weather is primarily cold, as rains continue to lash the city for long time. As consistent rains can hinder your outdoor visits, thus this time is preferable for staying indoors and enjoying scenic views.
Rainy This is the last month of rainy season in Kamshet, offering much needed respite from the hot weather. The city becomes full of life in this month when nature adorns the valley with blossoms and lush greenery all around after being sparkled by the monsoons. The weather during this time is splendidly pleasant and all rainy days are perfect for visiting places of tourist interest.
Pleasant October is one of the most preferred months for visiting Kamshet, especially for those who are looking for an unforgettable vacation experience. The calm and pleasant weather is best to visit the city. This is also a busy tourist season, so finding holiday deals can be easier if done in advance. With so many attractions, accompanied by cool days, holidays would be wonderful here.
Moderately Cold November marks the beginning of winter season in Kamshet and is considered as a favorable period for excursions. The temperature is bearably cold during mornings when you can indulge in day trips while nights would be best enjoyed around a bonfire. You can get inclusive packages to the city at this time and spend precious time exploring the eminent attractions.
Moderately Cold Winter weather of Kamshet is considered the best for holidaying. It is always advisable to carry woolens to stay warm and comfortable in this weather. This is a good time to cover long journeys to moorlands, adorned with picturesque surroundings, where temperature would be perfect and enjoyable. Altogether, December is an ideal month for indulging in sightseeing and other outdoor activities. | http://www.myhappyjourney.com/Kamshet/weather |
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Archaeologists study the remains of things people have left behind or thrown away. They examine everything from underwater shipwrecks to ancient cities that have been buried in the sand. They use flat masonry trowel , toothbrushes, trowel to scrape off layers of earth so that they can examine them carefully as they dig deeper and deeper. Small handpicks help loosen the earth and shovels are used to scoop the earth into wheelbarrows. You need to take introductory course to the subfields of anthropology,cultural anthropology, physical anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics, if you want to be an archeologist.
Underwater Archaeology -. part i research methods and goals. agenda. methods applications new reading: chapter 24 in archaeological ethics . prepare to discuss questions 3,4 and 6 from the end of the chapter.
Archaeology -. what is archaeology?. one of 4 sub-fields anthropology study of ancient cultures through material remains artifacts aims to explain origins & development of human culture “speak to the earth and it shall teach thee”.
1. This is Howard Carter. He is an archaeologist and is particularly interested in Egypt. -1. this is howard carter. he is an archaeologist and is particularly interested in egypt. . 2. this is howard carter’s employer, lord carnarvon. 3. | https://www.slideserve.com/alma/archaeologist |
Commenter Eoin asks a good question “Should the ECB be doing quantitative easing?” My thoughts are as follows.
First, standard monetary policy tools work pretty well until interest rates hit zero. When rates hit zero, these tools are pretty much exhausted (I know Willem Buiter has some interesting ideas to the contrary but these suggestions appear difficult to implement e.g. abolishing currency). If inflation is low, or particularly if there is deflation, this may still imply real interest rates that are higher than desirable.
If the policy rate is above zero—the ECB’s main refinancing rate is one percent—then the first thing you should do if you are concerned about the state of the economy (and believe inflation to be contained) is cut the policy rate. Before the ECB considers any non-standard monetary policy initiatives to stimulate the economy, they should use the room they have left to employ the standard tool.
Some ECB Governing Council members have, in the past, mused aloud that they don’t want to go to zero rates because they are worried about the complications associated with the zero-bound problem. Effectively, this is saying “I’m staying at one and not going to zero because I’d really like to be at minus one” which makes no sense.
Second, if short-term policy rates are at or very close to zero, that doesn’t mean other important rates on longer-termed debt such as those on government debt or mortgages are zero, so targeted intervention in these markets by the central bank could reduce these rates and help to stimulate the economy.
The science on this is a bit murky. On the one hand, you can argue that financial assets are like any other product and that increased demand for them drives up their price, which implies lower bond yields. On the other hand, the primary force determining prices for individual financial assets is arbitrage (ketchup economics!) so there will be limits to the price that the general public will pay for a particular asset if there is a close substitute available.
In practice, the way to think about this is that each asset usually has some underlying no-arbitrage price consistent with the case in which there are no transactions frictions but that, in reality, transactions frictons (bid-ask spreads, gaps in market pricing, difficulties in finding a buyer in tough times) are pretty important. So asset prices also contain a “liquidity premium” related to these frictions. If there is strong demand for an asset due to a central bank purchasing large quantities, this is likely to reduce the interest rate on this asset by lowering this premium.
However, in big markets like those for popular government bonds or mortgage backed securities, it appears that very large amounts of central bank money needs to be pumped into the market to obtain relatively modest reductions in rates. As of yet, the jury is out on the exact effect on interest rates of the Fed and BoE interventions, but they seem to have been modest. So, I’m all in favour of QE as practiced by the BoE and the Fed in the circumstances they found themselves in but it seems to be a pretty limited tool.
What about the ECB? Well, there’s a problem that applies to the ECB that doesn’t apply to the Fed and Bank of England. What do they buy? If they are focusing on government bonds, whose bonds should they buy? The BoE and Fed programs were open, clear and transparent. The ECB’s new program is secret and of uncertain length.
If the ECB were really undertaking QE as practised by the Fed, then they would first cut policy rates to near zero and then, if they were purchasing government bonds, they would purchase bonds of member countries in quantities proportional to their share of the ECB capital subscription. (Alternatively, governments could set up a Euro area bond with proceeds shared among the member countries and the ECB could intervene in these markets.) I would be all in favour of a program like this if the circumstances warranted (and I think they might).
That this is not what the ECB are doing shows that this program is not quantitative easing in the UK or US sense, but rather a program to deal with fiscal crisis in some member states, perhaps motivated by a desire to contains its effects on the rest of the Euro area’s banking system. I am far less enthusiastic about this opaque and poorly-motivated program.
Note that I got this far without using the press’s favourite term about QE “printing money.” Clearly, it’s not printing money, since these transactions are all electronic and may or may not lead to an increase in the stock of currency. Beyond that, while the central bank creates money in the process of purchasing these assets, it also does this when it undertakes its normal monetary policy operations. These are normally temporary operations but, in the case of the ECB, the massive increase in the size of the refinancing operations in recent years is “printing money” every bit as much as QE, though it is never described as such.
The picture usually painted of people running off to the shops to spend the newly printed money is pretty silly—the link between any particular measure of the money supply and economic activity is pretty tenuous. In any case, QE is better seen as a program aimed at getting down interest rates on important instruments rather than something to do with firing up the printing presses. | http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2010/06/04/the-ecb-and-quantitative-easing/ |
Often power calibrations are performed using a power splitter in a leveling configuration to provide a stable available power to compare a standard power measurement device with an unknown. From this configuration one can establish the equivalent source reflection coefficient through the scattering parameters of the power splitter. To perform an uncertainty analysis of this type of power calibration one needs to determine the uncertainty associated of the source reflection coefficient as part of the overall analysis. This article provides a sensitivity analysis that is one component of that uncertainty analysis.
Introduction
Consider the standard leveling configuration that is used in power calibration as represented in the following image
For this configuration the purpose of the leveling loop is to keep the available power constant regardless of the load placed on port 2. This has the effect of fixing the active source reflection coefficient. This reflection coefficient can be computed from the S-parameters of the power splitter using
Typically the S-parameter uncertainties are expressed in terms of magnitude and phase. So the first step in a sensitivity analysis that would be part of an overall uncertainty analysis is to express the above equation in terms of the magnitude and phase. We will do this by defining sij=|Sij|, and defining the phase θij=Arg(Sij) resulting in
or
The magnitude of this quantity is
the real and imaginary parts of this are
and the phase of this quantity is
The uncertainty associated with the measured S-parameters magnitude will be denoted δsij, and the uncertainty in phase δθij.
Real and Imaginary Parts
Using standard sensitiviy analysis techniques, one would estimate the RSS uncertainty in the real and imaginary parts of Γeq using
To complete the analysis of the uncertainty in the real and imaginary parts one need only enumerate the partial derivatives, which results in
Magnitude and Phase Uncertainty
Once the real and imaginary part uncertainties are determined, the magnitude and phase uncertainties associated with that are fairly easy to determin. The result for magnitude is
and for phase is
Note that in these equations all phase and phase uncertainties are assumed to be expressed in radians.
Conclusion
Here an equivlant source reflection coefficient uncertainty estimate has been presented that can be part of an overall uncertainty analysis of a power measurement system. It assumes that one has one has made S-parameter measurements of a power splitter and has determined the uncertainty associated with those parameters. This in itself may not be a trivial task. Please feel free to comment on this article in the forums. | http://www.learningmeasure.com/articles/metrology/GammaEq/ |
A multivariate regression model derived from climate model simulations is shown to produce skillful predictions of unforced, annual mean sea surface temperature variations on multiyear time scales in observations and climate model simulations. Patterns that can be predicted with skill are identified explicitly and shown to arise from a combination of persistence and coupled interactions in the Pacific Ocean. Adding the regression model predictions to an estimate of the response to anthropogenic and natural forcing yields a prediction with higher skill than either alone, demonstrating the contribution of initial condition information to skill on multiyear time scales. © 2013 American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
A significant component of unforced multidecadal variability in the recent acceleration of global warming
Delsole T.,George Mason University |
Delsole T.,Center for Ocean Land Atmosphere Studies |
Tippett M.K.,International Research Institute for Climate and Society |
Shukla J.,George Mason University |
Shukla J.,Center for Ocean Land Atmosphere Studies
Journal of Climate | Year: 2011
The problem of separating variations due to natural and anthropogenic forcing from those due to unforced internal dynamics during the twentieth century is addressed using state-of-the-art climate simulations and observations. An unforced internal component that varies on multidecadal time scales is identified by a new statistical method that maximizes integral time scale. This component, called the internal multidecadal pattern (IMP), is stochastic and hence does not contribute to trends on long time scales; however, it can contribute significantly to short-term trends. Observational estimates indicate that the trend in the spatially averaged "well observed" sea surface temperature (SST) due to the forced component has an approximately constant value of 0.1 K decade-1, while the IMP can contribute about 60.08 K decade-1 for a 30-yr trend. The warming and cooling of the IMP matches that of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation and is of sufficient amplitude to explain the acceleration in warming during 1977-2008 as compared to 1946-77, despite the forced component increasing at the same rate during these two periods. The amplitude and time scale of the IMP are such that its contribution to the trend dominates that of the forced component on time scales shorter than 16 yr, implying that the lack of warming trend during the past 10 yr is not statistically significant. Furthermore, since the IMP varies naturally on multidecadal time scales, it is potentially predictable on decadal time scales, providing a scientific rationale for decadal predictions. While the IMP can contribute significantly to trends for periods of 30 yr or shorter, it cannot account for the 0.8°C warming that has been observed in the twentieth-century spatially averaged SST. © 2011 American Meteorological Society.
L'Heureux M.L.,5830 University Research Court |
Lee S.,Pennsylvania State University |
Lyon B.,International Research Institute for Climate and Society
Nature Climate Change | Year: 2013
The Pacific Walker circulation is a large overturning cell that spans the tropical Pacific Ocean, characterized by rising motion (lower sea-level pressure) over Indonesia and sinking motion (higher sea level-pressure) over the eastern Pacific. Fluctuations in the Walker circulation reflect changes in the location and strength of tropical heating, so related circulation anomalies have global impacts. On interannual timescales, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation accounts for much of the variability in the Walker circulation, but there is considerable interest in longer-term trends and their drivers, including anthropogenic climate change. Here, we examine sea-level pressure trends in ten different data sets drawn from reanalysis, reconstructions and in situ measurements for 1900-2011. We show that periods with fewer in situ measurements result in lower signal-to-noise ratios, making assessments of sea-level pressure trends largely unsuitable before about the 1950s. Multidecadal trends evaluated since 1950 reveal statistically significant, negative values over the Indonesian region, with weaker, positive trends over the eastern Pacific. The overall trend towards a stronger, La Niña-like Walker circulation is nearly concurrent with the observed increase in global average temperatures, thereby justifying closer scrutiny of how the Pacific climate system has changed in the historical record. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Delsole T.,George Mason University |
Delsole T.,Center for Ocean Land Atmosphere Studies |
Yang X.,Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory |
Tippett M.K.,International Research Institute for Climate and Society |
Tippett M.K.,King Abdulaziz University
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society | Year: 2013
This article proposes a statistical test for whether a multi-model combination with unequal weights has significantly smaller errors than a combination with equal weights. A combination with equal weights includes the case of a no-skill model, in which all weights equal zero, and the multi-model mean, in which all weights equal 1/M, where M is the number of models. The test is applied to seasonal hindcasts of 2 m temperature and precipitation generated by five state-of-the-art coupled atmosphere-ocean models. The hypothesis of equal weights could not be rejected over 75% the globe for temperature and 90% of the land for precipitation, implying that strategies for unequal weighting of forecasts may be of value only over a relatively small fraction of the globe. The fact that the test does not require pre-specifying a specific strategy for weighting forecasts suggests that it should be useful for exploring a wide range of multi-model strategies. © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society.
Moisture budget analysis of SST-driven decadal Sahel precipitation variability in the twentieth century
Pomposi C.,Columbia University |
Kushnir Y.,Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory |
Giannini A.,International Research Institute for Climate and Society
Climate Dynamics | Year: 2015
It is well known that the Sahel region of Africa is impacted by decadal scale variability in precipitation, driven by global sea surface temperatures. This work demonstrates that the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Community Atmosphere Model, version 4 is capable of reproducing relationships between Sahelian precipitation variability and Indian and Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperature variations on such timescales. Further analysis then constructs a moisture budget breakdown using model output and shows that the change in precipitation minus evaporation in the region is dominated by column integrated moisture convergence due to the mean flow, with the convergence of mass in the atmospheric column mainly responsible. It is concluded that the oceanic forcing of atmospheric mass convergence and divergence to a first order explains the moisture balance patterns in the region. In particular, the anomalous circulation patterns, including net moisture divergence by the mean and transient flows combined with negative moisture advection, together explain the drying of the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century. Diagnosis of moisture budget and circulation components within the main rainbelt and along the monsoon margins show that changes to the mass convergence are related to the magnitude of precipitation that falls in the region, while the advection of dry air is associated with the maximum latitudinal extent of precipitation. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. | https://www.linknovate.com/affiliation/international-research-institute-for-climate-and-society-633821/all/ |
IST’s confidential client (Respondent) owned and operated a retail truck stop facility in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from approximately 1985 until December 1993, when the site was sold to the Claimant, who has operated the facility since. The Respondent retained limited remediation responsibility for pretransactional conditions. Prior to December 1993 and between December 1993 and 1997, light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) was detected in a limited number of monitoring wells at the site. In 1997, 9 feet of LNAPL were detected in a monitoring well, near the existing operational dispenser island and associated underground storage tank field at the site. In April 2000, LNAPL was detected on a tributary to a nearby creek.
IST was initially involved in remediation at the site on behalf of the Respondent and was ultimately engaged to investigate the source and probable release date for an occurrence of LNAPL on a creek tributary. The source and release date were points of disagreement between IST’s client and the current facility owner.
Effective remediation of the site that includes more than 4 acres impacted by LNAPL (delineated by gauging of over 40 groundwater monitoring wells) demanded a rigorous understanding of the source(s) and transport mechanisms underlying the site. Thus, sophisticated fracture transport analysis was necessary to design the site’s remediation system. Additionally, the fracture transport analysis was essential to physically locate the source and to identify the likely timing of a release from the source location. Detailed research into historical site configuration, operations, and engineering modifications was required to determine the source.
Research into historical operations and subsequent assessment and pipeline removal activity indicated substantial leakage from a series of underground fuel lines installed by the current owner. IST photographed leakage and holes in these lines upon their removal and also conducted probable release volume calculations for comparison with detailed fuel inventory reconciliation and review of fuel storage system testing records. This additional research was necessary to settle the disagreement over whether the fuel in the creek was related to the new release or to the pre-existing release.
The efficacy of the different transport routes was also a highly contested issue between IST’s client and the present site owner. To enhance the transport understanding and evaluate the time of travel in the subsurface system, sophisticated forensic chemistry was employed to date the LNAPL. During the forensic analysis, historical sulfur concentrations of diesel fuel became an important tool to predict travel time. Because low sulfur fuel became mandatory in 1993, LNAPL samples were used to distinguish the relative date of release. Together, identification of the leak source as a posttransactionally installed fuel line and clear determination of the LNAPL migration route from that source to the creek, combined with the fuel sulfur chemisty indicating post-1993 low sulfur fuel made a strong case that the impact was caused by leakage postdating the property transaction.
The case was heard by an American Arbitration Association arbitrator in binding proceedings. The Claimant and Respondent provided fact and expert testimony through 26 witnesses (four were IST personnel). The arbitrator denied the Claimant’s $100 plus million claim for remediation costs and required the Claimant to assume full responsibility for site remediation activities and to release the Respondent from liability for costs to complete the expanded remedial action. The Claimant was required to pay Respondent for completed remedial activities deemed the Claimant’s responsibility. Analysis presented by IST was pivotal to the final decision. | http://integratedscience.com/Binding-Arbitration-Support-Source-Investigation-Remediation.html |
It is becoming increasingly important for registered nurses to assume a leadership role in a changing health care system.
Assignments 2 & 3
Value: 40% each
Submit assignment via link in the Assessment section of the course home page
Due Date : Negotiable (suggested completion after Units 4 and 8)
Purpose
It is becoming increasingly important for registered nurses to assume a leadership role in a changing health care system. Hence, registered nurses must be able to assess and act to fulfill their own learning needs in order to work to their full scope of practice. To complete this assignment, consider an issue or trend in nursing or health care and choose one of the options from the bulleted list below. Your papers must be scholarly in presentation, reflective of course content, and although they may be related to one another, they must not be duplications.
The following is a brief description of each type of paper/project. Please refer to the assignment expectations assessment section below for a detailed description of each type of paper/project.
Note: There is a 10 page limit for all written papers excluding title and reference pages. (with the exception of the professional portfolio):
Paper/Project Options:
Position Paper: presents an arguable position on an issue with the goal of convincing the audience that this position is valid. The position paper is related to course content; be clear as to difference between a position paper, discussion paper, and an issue paper
Discussion Paper: discusses a situation or dilemma representing a variety of views; consists of a reasoned defense of the recommendations. The discussion paper is related to course content; for example one could frame a question and then proceed with discussion of the answer.
Issue Paper: presents a balanced view of a situation or dilemma in which both sides of the situation are clearly articulated. The issue paper is related to course content that follows the framework from your textbook – Framing and Analyzing the Issue.
Literature Review:is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers; the purpose is to convey to what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, including the strengths and weaknesses. The literature review is related to course content.
Website Critique:: is a formalized, critical appraisal of a website; the goal is to turn critical reading into a systematic evaluation in order to deepen insight into that website. This is an analysis of several (5-7) interesting Web sites that relate to a particular issue and or take a position on that issue. Critique the verifiability of information in each web site including the authority of the Web site. Compare and contrast how the issue is presented, and provide an executive summary of each Web site.
Professional Portfolio: is a convenient system to tell the story of one’s career. It might include: original documents (e.g. resume/curriculum vitae, professional association memberships, license/board results), supporting materials (e.g. letters of recommendation, publications, presentations, certifications, job descriptions, evaluations), and collateral pieces (e.g. thank you letters, articles and books you have read). This is a beginning professional portfolio. Portfolio should not exceed a 15 page limit including title page and any appendices (this page limit is an exception to the 10 pages as stated above).
Assignments Expectations
What Is A Position Paper
A position paper presents an arguable opinion about an issue. The goal of a position paper is to convince the audience that your opinion is valid and worth listening to. Ideas that you are considering need to be carefully examined in choosing a topic, developing your argument, and organizing your paper. It is very important to ensure that you are addressing all sides of the issue and presenting it in a manner that is easy for your audience to understand. Your job is to take one side of the argument and persuade your audience that you have well-founded knowledge of the topic being presented. It is important to support your argument with evidence to ensure the validity of your claims, as well as to address the counterclaims to show that you are well informed about both sides.
Writing A Position Paper
Issue Criteria
To take a side on a subject, you should first establish the arguability of a topic that interests you. Ask yourself the following questions to ensure that you will be able to present a strong argument:
Is it a real issue, with genuine controversy and uncertainty?
Can you distinctly identify two positions?
Are you personally interested in advocating one of these positions?
Is the issue narrow enough to be manageable?
Analyzing An Issue And Developing An Argument
Once your topic is selected, you should do some research on the subject matter. While you may already have an opinion on your topic and an idea about which side of the argument you want to take, you need to ensure that your position is well supported. Listing out the pro and con sides of the topic will help you examine your ability to support your counterclaims, along with a list of supporting evidence for both sides. Supporting evidence includes the following:
Factual knowledge – Information that is verifiable and agreed upon by almost everyone.
Statistical Inferences – Interpretation and examples of an accumulation of facts.
Informed Opinion – Opinion developed through research and/or expertise of the claim.
Personal Testimony – Personal experience related by a knowledgeable party.
In considering your audience, ask yourself the following questions:
Is your topic interesting?
Can you manage the material within the specifications set by the tutor?
Does your topic assert something specific and propose a plan of action?
Do you have enough material to support an opinion?
Organization
Your introduction should lead up to a thesis that organizes the rest of your paper. There are three advantages to leading with the thesis:
The audience knows where you stand.
The thesis is located in the two strongest places, first and last.
It is the most common form of academic argument used.
Generic Sample Outline For A Position Paper
Introduction
Introduce the topic
Provide background on the topic
Assert the thesis [your view on the issue]
Counter Argument
Summarize the counterclaims
Provide supporting information for counterclaims
Refute the counterclaims
Give evidence for argument
Your Argument
Assert point #1 of your claims
Give your opinion
Provide support
Assert point #2 of your claims
Give your opinion
Provide support
Assert point #3 of your claims
Give your opinion
Provide support
Conclusion
Restate your argument
Provide a plan of action
[Reference: University of Hawaii-West O’ahu. (1998). Writing a position paper. UHWO Writing Center]
What Is A Discussion Paper
A discussion paper is a formal discourse or exposition on a topic in which there is an exchange of views culled from the literature. A discussion paper differs from a position paper in that a discussion paper consists of the reasoned defense of your recommendations. In order to offer your own recommendations on an issue, you must present a variety of opinions or recommendations based on the literature. Your goal in writing a discussion paper is to formulate and share your own opinions so that your recommendations are a natural extension of your paper.
Writing A Discussion Paper
There are a variety of things a discussion paper can aim to accomplish. Many features of good discussion writing invite comparison and contrast of specific authors, clinical practice, or different interpretations of a nursing issue, such as telehealth. Discussing the significance of both what is common and what is different will prompt you and the reader to new insights.
A good discussion paper is modest, and makes a small point, but it makes that point clearly and succinctly, and it offers good reasons in support of it. In other words, your paper must offer recommendations. It can’t consist in the mere report of your opinions, nor in a mere report of the opinions of the authors you discuss.
A discussion paper usually begins by putting some thesis or argument on the table for consideration. Then it goes on to do one or two of the following:
Criticize that argument; or show that certain arguments for the thesis are no good
Defend the argument or thesis against someone else’s criticism
Offer reasons to believe the thesis
Offer counter-examples to the thesis
Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of two opposing views about the thesis
Give examples which help explain the thesis, or which help to make the thesis more plausible
Argue that certain authors are committed to the thesis by their other views, though they do not come out and explicitly endorse the thesis
Discuss what consequences the thesis would have, if it were true
Revise the thesis, in the light of some objection
Your paper has to show some independent thinking. Try to come up with your own arguments, or your own way of elaborating or criticizing or defending some issue we looked at in this course. Merely summarizing what others have said won’t be enough.
Proposed Outline Of A Discussion Paper
Introduction
Briefly highlight the most salient points of your topic
State your main thesis on the topic for discussion
Background
Provide background information from the literature on your general topic area
Definition And Scope
Provide a definition of your topic Outline the scope of the topic-does this affect all of Canada, or just your province or your health care region? Explain.
How do nurses or the health care system factor into the topic?
Benefits And Challenges
Describe the benefits to nurses or the health care system
Describe the challenges that nurses [or other health care providers] face in this topic
What does the literature say about the benefits and challenges?
Impact And Implications
What is the impact on nurses or the health care system?
How will this affect human resource management?
What other implications do you foresee; what does the literature say about implications?
Recommendations
What do you think needs to be done next?
Who do you think should be involved?
What are the recommendations from the literature?
Would you agree or disagree with the literature and why?
Conclusion
Restate your thesis
Provide a summary of your recommendations
People very often attempt to accomplish too much in a discussion paper. The usual result of this is a paper that’s hard to read, and which is full of inadequately defended and poorly explained claims. So don’t be over-ambitious. Don’t try to establish any earth-shattering conclusions in your paper.
[Reference: Pryor, J. (2004). Guidelines on writing a philosphy paper. Princeton University.]
What Is An Issue Paper?
An issue paper differs from a position paper or a discussion paper in that an issue paper consists of a balanced view of a situation or dilemma in which both sides of the situation are clearly articulated. Because authors will often disagree about the kinds of solutions that should be implemented in remedying the situation or dilemma, you are expected to provide an overview of the various points of view found in the literature regarding how this issue should be resolved. Based on your literature review, you will be expected to discuss how you believe this issue should be resolved and provide your own rationale.
Writing An Issue Paper
Searching The Literature
In writing an issue paper you will be expected to search for a variety of literature resources. Relying on your course textbooks or the material in your study guide is not sufficient. You will be expected to search through the Athabasca University Online Library database (you may also use the online Library from another University if you have access), and you may also use the Internet to search through any of the online scholarly databases. In addition, there are many links to articles and online databases in this resources site which you may use.
Defining The Issue
Once you have a sound understanding of your topic, you will need to clearly define the issue. Recall that an issue has two sides so your definition of the issue should include a balanced view.
For example: The electronic patient record has many advantages such as a time saver, clarity, and accessibility, but it also comes with the challenges associated with security, increased financial costs, and implementation problems. Your issue statement might be: Even though there are significant benefits to an electronic record, not every health region has the financial resources to implement the proper security protocols necessary to ensure patient privacy.
Framework Of Your Issue Paper
Introduction
Introduce your issue
Identify both sides of the issue
Provide an issue definition
Discuss the significance of the issue for nursing
Body Of Paper
Describe your own opinions and beliefs about this issue
Analysis of the issue is completed through discussion of appropriate frameworks
Barriers to resolution are identified
Possible resolution strategies are explored
Conclusion
Briefly summarize your findings and give directions for future research, or recommendations for further study
[Reference: Pryor, J. (2004). Guidelines on writing a philosphy paper. Princeton University.]
What Is A Literature Review?
A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers.
In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.
Writing A Literature Review
A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It’s usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question.
to identify gaps in the literature
to avoid reinventing the wheel (at the very least this will save time and it can stop you from making the same mistakes as others)
to carry on from where others have already reached (reviewing the field allows you to build on the platform of existing knowledge and ideas)
to identify other people working in the same fields (a researcher network is a valuable resource)
to increase your breadth of knowledge of your subject area
to identify seminal works in your area
to provide the intellectual context for your own work, enabling you to position your project relative to other work
to identify opposing views
to put your work into perspective
to demonstrate that you can access previous work in an area
to identify information and ideas that may be relevant to your project
to identify methods that could be relevant to your project
Framework For A Literature Review
Introduction
Define the topic, or issue to provide context for reviewing the literature.
Identify trends, conflicts, or gaps in the literature.
Describe your thesis and reason for reviewing the literature;
Explain the criteria used in analyzing and comparing literature, and state the scope of the review.
Body Of Paper
Group research studies and other types of literature according to a central theme or topic. For example:
current mainstream versus alternative theoretical or ideological viewpoints, including differing theoretical assumptions, or other conflicts;
definitions in use;
current research studies;
current discoveries about the topic;
principal questions that are being asked;
general conclusions that are being drawn;
methodologies and methods in use;
Discussion Of Findings
Organize your findings according to your thesis
What were the most important points you learned?
What is your position based on the findings of your review?
Conclusion
Summarize your major findings and identify gaps in the literature, maintaining the focus established in the introduction.
Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central topic of the literature review and the nursing profession.
Originality
The aim of these papers is for you to show that you understand the material and that you’re able to think critically about it. To do this, your paper does have to show some independent thinking.
But you should try to come up with your own arguments, or your own way of elaborating or criticizing or defending some issue we looked at in this course. Merely summarizing what the literature has said won’t be enough.
[Reference: Hopkins, G. (1999). How to write a literature review. School of Health Sciences, University of Otago, New Zealand.]
What Is A Website Critique?
A critique is a formalized, critical appraisal of a website. It is also a personal response to that site, but it is more than just saying you liked the site or you thought a site was great. Your goal in writing a critique is to turn your critical reading into a systematic evaluation in order to deepen your reader’s (and your own) insight of that website.
When writing a critique of a website, you are expected to analyze and evaluate, not just summarize. A summary merely reports what is or is not in a website; that is, it answers only the question, “What did the website contain?” A critique, on the other hand, analyzes, interprets, and evaluates the website, answering the questions how, why, and how well?
A critique does not necessarily have to criticize the piece in a negative sense. Your reaction to the site may be largely positive, negative, or a combination of the two. It is important to explain why you respond to the site in a certain way. Therefore, you have an obligation, both to the reader and yourself, to clarify your opinions.
Defend your point of view/argument by raising specific issues or aspects of the argument. Explain how the section you might use from the site supports your argument. Your personal response to your assessment should not be the expression of an unsupported or irrelevant personal opinion. Your interpretations and your conclusions must be based on evidence from the site and follow from the ideas you have dealt with in the paper.
Framing Your Critique
Introduction
Introduces the nursing or health care issue or trend. Introduces the websites and presents a brief executive summaryof each web site. Clearly articulates the thesis.
Analysis Of The Website
Analyzes each web site according to the authorship of the site using the following guide from Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries.
Analyzes each web site according the verifiability or accuracy of the information found within the site using the following guide from Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries.
Compares and contrasts how the information is presented in each site using the following questions as a guide.
Does the content effectively offer sufficient information related to the issue? In what way?
Does the content appear to be complete, is well organized, and is easy to understand? How?
Is the content free of bias, or can the bias be easily detected? In what way?
Does the information appear to be accurate based on user’s previous knowledge of subject? Explain.
Is the information consistent with similar information in other sources? Which ones and in what way?
How Do The Sites Stand Up To The Overall Analysis?
Now it is your turn to respond to the critique itself. In other words, what is your general interpretation of your findings? With which parts of the sites do you agree? With which do you disagree? Discuss your reasons for agreement and disagreement, and tie these reasons to your findings from your analysis. Discuss how the authors of the sites might improve their site and explain your reasons for these improvements.
Conclusion
State your conclusions about the overall validity of the information found, and your assessment of the choices you made in selecting the web sites. Remind the reader about the thesis and how well you believe your selections augmented or detracted from your thesis.
References
Behrens, L. (Ed.). (1994). Writing and reading across the curriculum (p. 73-74). New York: Harper Collins.
What Is A Professional Portfolio?
A convenient system to tell the story of your career which includes:
Original documents (remember to get copies or certified copies)
Supporting materials
Collateral pieces
This is a storehouse of historical information about the professional you. A portfolio is the perfect place to save and remember your career benchmarks, accomplishments and important events.
A template for a Professional Portfolio is provided here. This is a Microsoft Word document (.doc).
Creating A Professional Portfolio
Rationale For Creating A Portfolio
By utilizing this portfolio nurses will be able to demonstrate how they can contribute to positive health outcomes through the provision of safe and effective nursing care. In addition, the portfolio will identify the knowledge and skills the individual nurse has as well as a guideline to assist the nurse to reflect on the complex nature of nursing activities.
Each nurse’s portfolio belongs to the individual and is therefore a personal document. It may be necessary at times to share components of the portfolio with others, for example as part of the peer review process. Like other forms of documentation related to professional activity it is the individual nurse’s responsibility to ensure the ethical requirements of client and peer confidentiality are adhered to.
A professional portfolio folder creates a valuable resource that could also be used for promotion and/or future job applications. A curriculum vitae (or resume) containing personal, educational and professional qualifications, and information about the individual’s professional practice as a registered nurse needs to be developed. Along with the curriculum vitae is a section (usually in an appendix) where certified copies of records related to employment, for example job descriptions, qualifications and references should be kept.
What Goes Into A Professional Portfolio?
Contents of a portfolio can be diverse, depending on the nurse’s history of practice and education. Generally, the following are included: | https://essayhelpgurus.com/it-is-becoming-increasingly-important-for-registered-nurses-to-assume-a-leadership-role-in-a-changing-health-care-system-2/ |
STAR Scholars: Exploring the Long-Term Impact of Activist Investors on Shareholders
During the past decade, there has been an increase in shareholder activism, which has also attracted much controversy. Bill Ackman, an American hedge-fund manager, is also a famous activist investor who believes in the ability to improve the performance of a company. The majority of investors have no interest in being active and are therefore considered passive investors; people who have the ability to improve a company’s value but instead remain in a passive position.
Shareholder activism peaked the interest of Drexel LeBow sophomore Raymond Farnesi this past summer. Farnesi participated in a research project as a part of Drexel’s Students Tackling Advanced Research (STAR) Scholar program.
Farnesi’s research investigated an activist investor’s ability to buy a large share of a company in an attempt to get a board seat, attend shareholder meetings, and influence management. Farnesi looked at activists who get involved with investing in a company two years before they merged the company.
Being a finance and economics dual major, he was particularly inquisitive about stock performance in a company with activist investors. “I wanted to know what happens to the stock of a company and what happens to company performance when activists get involved,” says Farnesi.
The STAR Scholar examined 1,200 acquirers in large mergers between 1996 and 2012. He learned that activists target companies that are declining but have high growth potential, and aim at making a profit by changing up the companies’ management.
Farnesi learned that businesses that are controlled by activist investors actually do worse in the long run. “Businesses controlled by these investors see their stock drop by nearly 8 percent over three years (compared to the market) and perform 6.3 percent worse than firms that also did an acquisition without an activist,” says Farnesi.
Farnesi has been asked to continue his research and to execute more showcases surrounding his findings. Farnesi plans to continue his analysis of activist investors when he reaches the graduate level.
Farnesi worked with faculty mentor and associate professor of finance David Becher, PhD, who he credits as being the biggest influence he has had at Drexel. Farnesi says Becher was very helpful and patient with him and he is glad he got to work with him. “Having a mentor in the business world is so great; you can’t beat it,” says Farnesi.
Famesi became passionate about becoming a finance and economics major from the research he conducted over the summer. After STAR, he realized that this is the area of business he wants to be in.
He came to Drexel because of the co-op program. He says Drexel will give him the ability to have invaluable work experience. “It is one thing to study books, but it’s another to be in an actual work environment. The interpersonal skills are something you can’t teach,” says Farnesi.
As far as Farnesi’s goals for the future, he is not sure what field he wants to go into but he hopes to have a positive impact on the future company he works for and on the people around him. He says he does not want to be “the guy who is all about money,” but rather someone with integrity. “I want to keep level while doing well for myself,” says Farnesi.
Undergraduate research offers the opportunity to get to know faculty, explore a major area of research and gain practical research skills and experience.
The BSBA Finance major includes classes in economics, accounting, statistics and marketing, in addition to corporate finance, investment securities and more.
Our undergraduate programs engage students with multiple fields in economics while offering them the flexibility to pursue other areas of interest. | https://www.lebow.drexel.edu/news/star-scholars-exploring-long-term-impact-of-activist-investors-shareholders |
Dave Anderson (1929 - 2018), longtime New York Times sports columnist
One of three sportswriters who have won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary
By: Legacy Staff
34 mins ago
Dave Anderson was a sports columnist and reporter for the New York Times for more than 40 years. He was one of three sportswriters to win a Pulitzer Prize for commentary, receiving the prize in 1981. He also received the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award for major contributions to sports journalism in 1994.
Anderson worked at the New York Times from 1966 until 2007. After retirement, he continued to contribute columns for the Times, his most recent in 2017 on the US Open tennis championship. He wrote 21 books in his career, working with John Madden and Sugar Ray Robinson on their biographies.
We invite you to share condolences for Dave Anderson in our Guest Book.
What people said about him: “RIP to a great man, an exceptional writer and a fabulous role model. Adored Dave Anderson and learned a ton from him. The motto any journalist should live by: "When in doubt, be Dave Anderson." –Bob Glauber, NFL columnist for Newsday | |
Well, The Old Adage Says . . .
4/15/2021
It’s common knowledge that authors are told to write what they know. For instance, in the beloved Anne of Green Gables series of books, a constant thread involves her literary efforts while a teenager. They are melodramatic, romance soap operas that read like silly fanfiction about Camelot. Her characters, as she frequently resents being told, are essentially unreal, stylized fiction personalities that are too high-strung to make any sense to people. In fact, one of her stories was so—well, not exactly literary in quality—that it was chosen as winner for a contest advertising baking powder. (Probably because after Anne’s friend Diana made little awkward additions to an originally full-of-itself fiction effort, those contest judges thought it was the funniest thing they’d ever read.)
Readers want to hear about situations they’ve seen in real life. Anne is told this many times. But if we’re going to talk about “write what you know,” people who write fiction do not write biography or memoir, so they can’t just record what they’ve seen in their lives by putting friends and neighbors into books. Such actions can easily come across as simply uncreative or even spiteful and tasteless if anything critical is said about the characters based on real people. And does this idea even apply to speculative fiction, like sci-fi and fantasy, at all? If it's best to stick to what you know, how exactly can you write about a far future or a world with dragons when you’ve never seen those things? People must think authors really have the power to go to the places they talk about. 😊 I feel that this phrase does indeed apply to speculative fiction too, because you can know about things in life besides physical locales and personal acquaintances. Science fiction often requires a lot of understanding of scientific possibility and fantasy explores philosophy and morality—all things that people can be expected to know about. But in two of my more realistic stories--Movies at the Beach and A Year with the Harrisons--that pretty obviously draw from some real life experiences, I tried to navigate between the scenes that I knew from life and characters that were fictionalized so that the story could be told a lot better.
For instance, the characters in Movies at the Beach attend a dance school because I did that at their age. I wrote about what I knew. But some of the actual people at the school are altered for the story. The dance teacher’s sons in real life were both very lovely young men and I remember them fondly. But they weren’t funny. Not only would it be rude to put them in fiction without their permission, they wouldn’t make good comedic antagonists at the school—unlike the fictional Dylan Dupree in the story. Similarly, Letty Harrisons' extended family is much more dramatically different from hers than happened to me in my real life, but I kept a lot of the details of the world of Texas that I knew about fifteen years ago. Substituting other relatives that went better with the story—a story about growing up and culture shock—turned it into what it really is, a work of fiction. Fiction blends reality that you know with characters native to the genre you’re writing, often replacing real people who came and went and didn’t really create a story you could tell.
So the advice, I found (and I think every author has found), should be amended to, “Write what you know—but not literally everything you've ever seen. It's OK to fictionalize at times, because some things don’t add anything to the story even if they really happened to you.”
And there will be more updates.
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Pleasant Fiction in an Age of Noise
Sarah Scheele
I write stories about human emotions--about the journey of life. Every step of it can be meaningfully great or simply terrible and you can only reach the end after experiencing many kinds of things that make you grow. Emotional travels are the travels of life and the road of living is not one planned out in notebooks or organized in Scrivener. It is felt in love, hope, and fear and developed through an understanding of why humans go through these. And, on top of that, my stories are adventure stories. History, fantasy, and daily modern situations are all adventures as long as you don't know for sure what's going to happen when you wake up each day. Because that would be like repeating the same day over and over again and who wants to do that?
Join the newsletter and get the 10 Chapter Sampler as a signup gift. This Mini-Book has first chapters from 10 different books. There are 3 books of sci-fi/fantasy, 3 historical stories, 3 anthologies of short fiction (mostly fantasy), and 1 contemporary YA novel represented here. Get an overview of what's going on with my work today.
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Bellevere House has been featured on Ezvid Wiki video "10 Wonderfully Inventive Retellings That Interpret Classic Stories in a New Way." Click to see the video. | http://www.sarahscheele.com/news/well-the-old-adage-says |
The majority of the multi-million pound trade in toys is carried out in six weeks before Christmas and every year brings new and innovative toys onto the market to tempt children and parents alike.
Some of the mechanical and electrical toys on show in a Dublin department store include mechanical robots, monkeys, dogs and rabbits. While the concepts behind these toys are not new, year on year the designs get more sophisticated.
Over the next few weeks millions of pounds will be spent on these items, but where toys are concerned few people count the cost.
An RTÉ News report by Conor MacAnally broadcast on 16 November 1976. | https://www.rte.ie/archives/2016/1107/829765-christmas-toy-time/ |
Yuka Imata is a painter who was born in Sapporo, Japan. Imata is currently living and working in New York City. Imata earned her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and has studied at the Art Students League of New York, Scuola de Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy, and independently in Spain for 6 months on a travel grant. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the U.S., Italy, and Japan. She received an Artist in Residence invitation to study and paint on Governors Island and Bryant Park during summer 2012. Her experiences at the residency were featured in Plein Air Magazine and New York Times. Her work has also appeared in American Artist Magazine. She currently teaches at the Jackson Heights Art Club and is represented at The Good Gallery located in Connecticut.
Imata explores various subject matters through her still lifes, landscapes, and figurative paintings. She constantly learns from beauty in nature and believes that by opening up to the possibility of a painting, different subject matters will nurture and feed one another. Imata especially enjoys working on portrait paintings for the challenge of learning not only the sitters’ facial and physical features, but also their personality and life experiences in order to capture the “Sitters’ presence” in the painting. Her recent portrait commission was unveiled at the Montefiore Hospital in New York in February 2013.
Visit Yuka Imata’s website to view a gallery of her portraits, drawings, and more. Also find the latest news on her work, classes, and demonstrations.
See below for a list of schools, programs, and related articles on painting, drawing, and other fine arts subjects. Start your path to a fine arts education today! | http://www.findyourartschool.com/resources/artist-profiles/yuka-imata/ |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The application claims the priority benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-198593 filed on Jul. 17, 2003.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in an image scanning unit and an image forming apparatus for using it, which has a simple structure and an easy assembly and is capable of enhancing accuracy of image scanning.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, it has been known an image scanning unit, which has an imaging lens system including lenses more than 1 group. In the conventional image scanning unit, an illuminating light source of a manuscript is moved in the sub scanning direction, and the reflected light from the manuscript is reduced and imaged on a lined photoelectric conversion element through the imaging lens system, and then a luminous flux imaged on the lined photoelectric conversion element is photo-electrically converted to be output as an image scanning signal.
In this image scanning unit, if the imaged luminous flux is deviated from the light receiving surface of the lined photoelectric conversion element in the optical axis direction, the scanning image is deteriorated. A distance between lenses is therefore adjusted in order for the scanning image to meet a drafting standard by adjusting a distance of each lens group in the image scanning unit.
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FIG. 1
Moreover, in the image scanning unit, the portion of a lens contributing to the imaging of the lined photoelectric conversion element is the portion of area which is surrounded by dotted lines, as shown in . The imaging performance such as aberration in the portion of the area is scattered in the turning direction of the lens. Even thought the lens is set such that the portion of the area becomes parallel to the lined photoelectric conversion element , and the distance between the lens and the lined photoelectric conversion element is adjusted in order for the imaging position of the imaged luminous flux to be parallel to the lined photoelectric conversion element , if the portion of the area is set to be parallel to the lined photoelectric conversion element , the imaging position of the imaged luminous flux may be deviated from the light receiving surface of the lined photoelectric conversion element in the optical axis direction, and deterioration in an image quality is caused.
Especially for a lens used in an image scanning unit for scanning a color image, if an imaging position among a blue wavelength, a green wavelength, and a red wavelength is deviated in the turning direction of the lens, a color image is not well reproduced. Therefore, it is also necessary to adjust a lens in the turning direction.
In order to improve an image quality by adjusting the distance between lenses and the turning direction of lens, there has been known a conventional image scanning unit (For example, JPA-H11-337799). In such an image scanning unit, one lens barrel is divided into two lens barrels, and each lens is held by both of the divided lens barrels. Screw portions are formed in the circumference of one divided lens barrel and in the inner circumference of the other divided lens barrel, and then both of the screw portions are screwed together, and the distance between lens groups are adjusted by turning both of the divided lens barrels.
However, in this related art, if the distance between the lens groups held by each divided lens barrel is adjusted, each lens group is turned with the turning of the divided lens barrel. Therefore, there was a problem that the turning of the lens group and the adjustment of the distance are not separately carried out.
Moreover, in this related art, in order to prevent the winding down of the screw portions, a guide portion of turning direction is provided in the divided lens barrel. However, if the axis core of the guide portion and the optical axis center of the lens are decentered, the optical axis center is turned about the axis core of the guide portion with the turning of the divided lens barrel. An extremely accurate lens barrel should be manufactured in order to avoid such turning, but the manufacture of the extremely accurate lens barrel is difficult because the lens barrel shape is increasingly complicated.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image scanning unit and an image forming apparatus for using it, which can separately perform turning of lens barrels and adjusting a distance between the lens barrels with a simple structure without complicating the structure of the lens barrel.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one feature of the present invention, an image scanning unit comprises at least two lens groups for imaging a reflected image of a manuscript on a lined photoelectric conversion element, lens barrels for holding the lenses, respectively, and constituting an imaging lens system, a base member on which the lined photoelectric conversion element and the lens barrels are disposed, and intermediate holding members for mounting at least one of the lens barrels and the lined photoelectric conversion element on the base member.
According to another feature of the present invention, an image scanning unit comprises an imaging lens including a plurality of lens groups for imaging a reflected image of a manuscript, a photoelectric conversion element for photo-electrically converting the image of the manuscript imaged by the imaging lens, a base member for holding the imaging lens and the photoelectric conversion element, and a positioning mechanism capable of positioning at least one of the plurality of lens groups in a biaxial direction along the base member, at least one of the plurality of lens groups comprising a necked lens group, the positioning mechanism being adjustable a position of at least one of the plurality of lens groups relative to the other lens group or the photoelectric conversion element.
According to further another feature of the present invention, an image scanning unit comprises an imaging lens including a plurality of lens groups for imaging a reflected image of a manuscript, a photoelectric conversion element for photo-electrically converting the image of the manuscript imaged by the imaging lens, a base member for holding the imaging lens and the photoelectric conversion element, and a positioning mechanism capable of positioning at least a part of the plurality of lens groups in a biaxial direction along the base member, at least a part of the lens group comprising a naked lens group, the other part of the lens group comprising a lens group held by a lens barrel, the positioning mechanism being adjustable at least a position of the necked lens group relative to the photoelectric conversion element or the lens group held by the lens group.
FIG. 1
is an explanation view describing the relationship between a lens and a lined photoelectric conversion element.
FIG. 2
is a perspective view illustrating a schematic structure of first embodiment of an image scanning unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 3
FIG. 2
is a cross-section structural view illustrating an example of the lens barrel shown in .
FIG. 4
FIG. 2
is a view illustrating the image scanning unit shown in seen from a front face.
FIG. 5
FIG. 2
is a cross-section view describing a modification example of the lens barrel shown in .
FIG. 6
FIG. 2
is a cross-section view describing another modification example of the lens barrel shown in .
FIG. 7
FIG. 6
is a cross-section view describing further another modification example of the lens barrel shown in .
FIG. 8
is a cross-section view describing failure of a conventional non-divided lens barrel.
FIG. 9
is a front view illustrating a schematic structure of second embodiment of an image scanning unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 10
FIG. 9
is a side view of an image scanning unit shown in .
FIG. 11
is a front view illustrating a schematic structure of third embodiment of an image scanning unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 12
FIG. 11
is a side view of the image scanning unit shown in .
FIG. 13
is a front view illustrating a schematic structure of fourth embodiment of an image scanning unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 14
is a perspective view illustrating a schematic structure of fifth embodiment of an image scanning unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 15
is a perspective view illustrating a schematic structure of sixth embodiment of an image scanning unit according to the present invention.
Hereinafter, embodiments of an image scanning unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(First Embodiment)
FIG. 2
illustrates a first embodiment of an image scanning unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 2
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The image scanning unit in the first embodiment illustrated in is provided with a base member and a photoelectric conversion element which is positioned on the base member . The photoelectric conversion element comprises a lined photographic conversion element . The lined photoelectric conversion is made of picture element lines of each photoelectric conversion arrangement element such as R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue). The image pickup device unit is fixed onto the base member by using a pair of intermediate holding members , .
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A lens barrel and a lens barrel adjacent to the lens barrel are arranged on the base member . The lens barrels , are provided with at least one lens group. An imaging lens system for reducing reflected light from a manuscript (not shown) and for imaging the reduced reflected light onto the lined photoelectric conversion element is constructed by the lens barrels , .
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Here, lens groups , are held in the lens barrel as illustrated in . The lens barrel is positioned in the manuscript side, and the lens barrel is positioned in the imaging side. A forward end portion of the lens barrel is faced to the manuscript side, and a back end portion of the lens barrel is faced to a forward end portion side of the lens barrel , A back end portion of the lens barrel is faced to the lined photoelectric conversion element side.
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The forward end portion of the lens barrel is projected forwardly of the surface of the lens group , and the back end portion of the lens barrel is projected backwardly of the surface of the lens group .
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In the lens barrels , , one lens barrel is divided into two lens barrels, so that the weight is saved compared to the conventional one lens barrel. It is preferable for the lens barrels , to be made of synthetic resin. If the lens barrels , are made of synthetic resin as stated, the weight of the lens barrels are further saved.
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In the conventional metal lens barrel, there may be possibility that a lens group is scratched. However, the lens barrels , can avoid scratching the lens groups because the lens barrels , are made of resin. In case of using the conventional metal lens barrier, a space is provided between the outside diameter of the lens and the internal diameter of the lens barrel in order to avoid scratching the lens group when pressing the lens group into the lens barrel. By providing the gap, the lens group was facilitated to be inserted into the lens barrel, so that there was possibility that an axis positional accuracy for attaching the lens group is deteriorated. However, if the lens barrels , are made of synthetic resin, the lens group is positioned and fixed to the lens barrel by pressing means without being scratched, and the axis positioning accuracy for attaching the lens group to the lens barrel is further improved.
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In this case, if the same synthetic resin used for the lens barrel is used for the lens groups , , the lens barrel and the lens groups , can be decomposed without separating the lens barrel and the lens groups ; for recycling, so that the recycling efficiency is further improved.
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When the lens groups , and the lens barrel are manufactured by using the same synthetic resin material, resin material having high penetration efficiency is used by filling black pigment into the resin material having high penetration efficiency in terms of providing light blocking effect for the lens barrel . The same material is used for the lens barrel .
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FIG. 4
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The lens barrels , are positioned and fixed onto the base member via a pair of intermediate holding members , and a pair of intermediate holding members , which sandwich an optical axis O of the imaging lens system , as illustrated in . The intermediate holding members , are made of base plate portions , and standing plate portions ,
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In an example, the lens barrels , are positioned as follows.
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Firstly, the lens barrel is positioned in the previously designed position on the base member in such that with respect to the lined photoelectric conversion element , the axis core of the lens barrel is aligned with the optical axis O of the imaging lens system and the axis core is positioned in the center in the direction extending the lined photoelectric conversion element . For this positioning, the lens barrel is turned and adjusted in the directions arrows α, β by using for example an assembly robot (not shown). The lens barrel is turned in the direction γ of the optical axis O in order for the area having the smallest aberration on the lined photoelectric conversion element to be a parallel to the direction extending the lined photoelectric conversion element. Whether or not the aberration is in a standard can be judged by processing and evaluating the image signal output from the lined photoelectric conversion element with a signal processing circuit (not shown).
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With this state, ultraviolet-curing adhesive is applied to circumference of the lens barrel while a pair of intermediate holding members , is set on the base member by applying ultraviolet-curing adhesive on base plate portions , of a pair of intermediate holding members , and standing plate portions , of a pair of intermediate holding members , strike against the circumference of the lens barrel as to sandwich the lens barrel by the standing plate portions , . The ultraviolet-curing adhesive , is hardened by irradiating ultraviolet with an ultraviolet-irradiation device (not shown). The lens barrel is thereby fixed onto the previously designed position. It is preferable for the intermediate holding members , to be manufactured by using ultraviolet transmission type resin.
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Secondly, the lens barrel is disposed onto the base member . The axis core of the lens barrel is aligned with the optical axis O of the imaging lens system , and the lens barrel is turned about the optical axis O (in the direction arrow γ) by using an assembly robot (not shown). Accordingly, a turning position with good aberration can be determined as the imaging lens system . Next, the distance H between the lens barrel and the lens barrel are adjusted. The aberration of field curvature is thereby corrected, and then the lens barrel is fixed onto the base member by using the intermediate holding member and the ultraviolet-curing adhesive , . Here, the lens barrels , are fixed onto the base member by using ultraviolet-curing adhesive between the base member and the lens barrels , .
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As described above, according to the above embodiment of the present invention, the respective lens barrels , can be independently turned. The distance H of the lens barrels , can be adjusted independent from the turning of the lens barrels , , so that aberration and field curvature are smoothly corrected, and then the image quality can be improved.
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FIG. 3
According to the embodiment of the present invention, the lens groups , are respectively disposed inside the forward end portion and the back end portion of the lens barrel , as shown in ; therefore, scratches for the lens groups , can be prevented even when the lens barrel is laid during the assembly operation. The same structure is given for the lens barrel . In the embodiment of the present invention, both of the lens groups , are disposed back portion of the lens barrel, but only one of the lens groups may be disposed back portion of the lens group.
The above image scanning unit is incorporated into a copying machine for scanning an optical image, a facsimile device, a scanning device and the like.
FIG. 5
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As shown in , if the back end portion of the lens barrel of the manuscript side and the forward end portion of the lens barrel of the imaging side are overlapped, and the forward end portion is surrounded by the back end portion , the exposure reflected light from the manuscript side can be controlled to be entered in the lens barrel from the gap of the distance H between the lens barrel and the lens barrel as stray light.
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FIG. 6
The imaging lens system as shown in comprises the structure of four lens groups. With this, the lens groups , are held by the lens barrel , and the lens groups , are held by the lens barrel . The lens group is composed of a cemented lens in which two lenses are cemented. Here, a distance adjusting ring (spacer ring) for adjusting the distance between the lens group and the lens group is disposed in the lens barrel , and also a distance adjusting ring (spacer ring) for adjusting the distance between the lens group and the lens group is disposed in the lens barrel in order to improve the positioning accuracy of the distance in the axis direction between the lens group and the lens group , and the distance in the axis direction between the lens group and the lens group . Accordingly, the relative position accuracy can be improved even when the lens group is more than 3 lens groups.
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Here, an aperture stop is integrally disposed in the forward end portion of the lens barrel between the lens barrel and the lens barrel . In case of the conventional one metal (aluminum) lens barrel, a resin aperture stop is mounted on the forward end portion of the lens barrel. When the lens barrel is made of synthetic resin material with the structure which divides the lens barrel into two lens barrels as described above, the aperture stop is integrally formed with the lens barrel , so that the number of parts such as the aperture stop can be reduced. The aperture stop may be disposed in the back end portion of the lens barrel , or may be integrally formed between the lens group and the lens group .
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The distance adjusting rings , way be integrally formed in the inner circumference of the lens barrels , in the direction around the circumference as shown in . In case of the conventional non-divided type lens barrel with four lens groups, if the distance adjusting ring is integrally disposed in the lens barrel , the lens group positioned in the back side can not be inserted from a forward end portion of the lens barrel , as shown in . Moreover, when the lens group is inserted from the back end portion , the lens group can not be inserted because of the interruption of a boundary portion .
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In case of the divided lens barrel holding the two lens groups such as the lens groups , , however, one lens group can be inserted from the forward end portion of the lens barrel, and the other lens group can be inserted from the back end portion of the lens barrel . When the lens is incorporated into the lens barrel , the assembly process and the number of parts are thereby reduced. The same structure is applied to the lens barrel .
FIGS. 9, 10
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illustrate the second embodiment of the image scanning unit according to the present invention. With this embodiment, the image scanning unit may have a construction in which a concave portion is formed on a base member , and the lens barrels , are held in a floating state relative to the base member via a pair of the intermediate holding members , .
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In this construction, the base member and the lens barrel are grasped by an assembly robot. First, the lens barrel is turned to set the relative position with respect to the base member . After the image scanning unit becomes a state that the intermediate holding member is placed to the base member by contacting to the outer circumference of the lens barrel . The ultraviolet-curing adhesive , are previously applied to the base plate portion and the standing plate portion of the intermediate holding member . When ultraviolet is irradiated, the ultraviolet-curing adhesive , is hardened and shrunk by the irradiation of the ultraviolet. The intermediate holding member follows with respect to the base member and the lens barrel , so that the strain caused by the hardening and the shrinking can be reduced.
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Thinner film thickness of the ultraviolet-curing adhesive between the base member and the base plate portion and thinner film thickness of the ultraviolet-curing adhesive between the standing plate portion and the circumference portion of the lens barrel can reduce the amount of hardening and shrinking of the adhesive, Consequently, the positioning accuracy and the fixing performance are improved. The lens barrel is fixed onto the base member through the intermediate holding member by the same described above.
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In this case, it is preferable for the line K connecting the adhesion spots K,K of the lens barrel by a pair of the intermediate holding members , to pass the center of gravity G of the lens barrel , and to be orthogonal to the optical axis O of the imaging lens system . It is also preferable for the line K to be a parallel to the image pixel lines R, G, and B. With this construction, the earthquake protection of the lens barrel is improved. The same construction for the lens barrel is preferable.
FIGS. 11, 12
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show the third embodiment of the image scanning unit according to the present invention. The image scanning unit in this embodiment may be configured to cover the gap which is the distance H between the lens barrel and the lens barrel . Here, curved cover plate portions , are mounted on the standing plate portions , of a pair of the intermediate holding members , . With this construction, dust and dirt which enter into the gap between the lens barrel and the lens barrel can be prevented, and it is also possible to prevent that the reflected light by the exposure from the manuscript side enters into the lens groups from the gap between the lens barrel and the lens barrel .
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In this third embodiment, the cover plate portions , are respectively formed on a pair of the standing plate portions , ; however, the cover plate portion may be formed on one of the standing plate portions to cover the gap.
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illustrates the fourth embodiment of the image scanning unit according to the present invention. In the image scanning unit according to this embodiment, the circumference portion of the lens barrel when the lens barrel is seen as the cross-section surface on the plane orthogonal to the optical axis O of the imaging lens system can be adopted as a polygon shape. Here, the circumference surface of the lens barrel is adopted as a regular hexagonal form. According to the lens barrel , the film thickness of the ultraviolet-curing adhesive between the standing plate portion and the circumference portion of the lens barrel can be equalized. It is also convenient that the position in the turning direction of the lens barrel can be set for a predetermined angle. At this point, the circumference surface of the lens barrel is adopted as the regular hexagonal form; however, other forms such as a regular triangular form, a regular rectangular form, a regular pentangular form, and a regular heptangular form can be adopted; i.e. it is preferable for the circumference surface of the lens barrel to be a regular polygon form.
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It is more preferable for the regular polygon form to have even number of the number of the corners. If the number of the corners is even number, the adhesion surface of the intermediate holding members , becomes parallel when fixing the lens barrel . Further, if the number of the corners is adopted an multiples of , the upper surface and the bottom surface of the lens barrel can be adopted as flat surfaces. The length in the up and down directions of the lens barrel can be shortened, and the thickness of the image scanning unit (scanner) can be reduced.
FIG. 14
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illustrates the fifth embodiment of the image scanning unit according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the same reference numerals are given for the portions same as the above embodiments. The image scanning unit according to this embodiment comprises an imaging lens including a plurality of lens groups for imaging an image reflected from a manuscript, a photoelectric conversion element for photo-electrically converting the manuscript image imaged on the lens groups, a base member for holding a plurality of lens groups and the photoelectric conversion element , and a positioning mechanism capable of positioning each position of the lens groups along the base member . The photoelectric conversion element is not shown in .
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At least one of lens groups is made of a naked lens group. In , two lens groups are naked.
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The positioning mechanism can adjust the distance of a plurality of lens groups and positions of a plurality of lens groups with respect to the photoelectric conversion elements . More particularly, the naked lens groups are disposed on a V shaped guide groove provided on the base member , for example. The movement of the each lens group in the Y direction shown in is controlled by this V shaped guide groove, but the each lens group can move along the guide groove in the X direction perpendicular to the Y direction. The Y direction is the parallel direction with respect to the photoelectric conversion element , and the X direction is the direction which approaches to the photoelectric conversion element and secedes from the photoelectric conversion element . The position between the lens group and the photoelectric conversion element in the Z direction shown in , which is the thickness direction of the base member is appropriately set by forming the guide groove and installing the photoelectric conversion element on the base member in order to align the optical axis of the lens group and the optical axis of the photoelectric conversion element . The lens group is thereby positioned in the biaxial direction with respect to the photoelectric conversion element by the positioning mechanism .
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If the lens groups are positioned with respect to the distance between the two lenses groups and the photoelectric conversion element , these lens groups are fixed onto the base member by a suitable adhesive member. As a fixing device for this lens groups, an appropriate bracket, etc. can be used in addition to the adhesive member. Here, the lens group indicates one unit of lens in terms of constructing the imaging lens. For example, one lens group is considered as one glass ball lens, a cemented lens in which independently formed several lenses are commented, or the like.
In this embodiment, the imaging lens is composed of a lens barrel which holds two lens groups and two lens groups without being held by the lens barrel, i.e. two naked lens groups, for example.
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The naked lens groups can be turned on the guide grove in this embodiment.
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shows the sixth embodiment of the image scanning unit according to the present invention. The image scanning unit in this embodiment comprises lens groups in which a part of the lens groups is naked lens groups, and the other part of the lens groups is the lens groups held by the lens barrel. The naked lens groups in a plurality of lens groups are adopted to be positioned by a positioning mechanism . The positioning mechanism comprises an elongated positioning member of cross-section rectangular shape extending in the X direction and a substantially semicircle shape formed on the surface facing to the lens groups of the positioning member. The naked lens groups are movable along the guide groove , and the distance between the lens groups and the position with respect to the photoelectric conversion element are thereby adjustable. As described above, by the positioning mechanism, one or more naked lens groups are adjustable along the base member, with respect to the lens groups held by the lens barrel and the photoelectric conversion element. The naked lens groups are fixed onto the base member or the positioning member by an appropriate adhesive member after the positioning.
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In the above embodiment, the lens barrel is adjustably fixed onto the base member by using any fixed band (not shown).
According to the present invention, the turning of the lens barrel and the distance adjustment between the lens barrels can be independently conducted with the simple structure of the lens barrel without being complicated, so that an image quality can be improved while preventing an influence caused by the decentralizing of lens when adjusting the distance between the lenses.
Moreover, the position of the naked lens group can be adjusted by freely moving with respect to the photoelectric conversion element and the like, so that an image scanning unit having extremely simple structure and easy assembly can be provided. | |
The foundation of jazz is Swing (“It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”). Swing can mean several things, but for our purposes, when we talk about swing, we will be talking about swing eighth-notes.
In effect, playing jazz is like playing 12/8. Swing eighths can be broken down into: [example 1.1 swing eighths vs. triplets]
The top two staves are what swing eighths would look like if notated the way they are played, with the bottom staff showing the way it looks on the page.
When people learn to swing, one of the first obstacles they encounter is the discrepancy between the way the notes look and the way they sound. Below in Example 1.2, is notated how an F scale looks and what it would look if the notation reflected the way it sounds. Notice how they look different than they sound.
There are more elements to swinging than just this, but it is the first step – seeing the notes one-way, and playing them another. It may help if, at first, you think of jazz being in 12/8. It takes a little getting used to, but with some practice, you can easily make the adjustment.
Keeping swing smooth is very important for several reasons. First, fluidity is needed to help propel the lines. It is easier to play fast lines when things are smooth. Second, it creates a striking contrast when angularity is added through the melodic line.
Have your students practice their scales in swing style, slurring them as they play. [Example 1.3] Slurring will help keep the rhythm smooth, which is essential and will be discussed further in the next chapter. The goal is to make it sound and feel natural. Also, playing scales with a swing feel is a great change of pace when practicing!
Listening to the drums, specifically the ride cymbal, will help when playing. A good drummer makes swinging easy by giving you a good swing feel. By focusing and matching the feel of the rhythm section will help you keep things relaxed.
If you’ve experimented with swing eighths, you noticed that while it sounds okay, something is missing. It is at this point that separates the hip from the others. This is also where misleading information can occur.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that in order to swing, you should put accents on every up-beat.
The notes are in the swing style, but it does not sound quite right. All the accents unfortunately destroy any smoothness that you create. So, it is not right with the accents, but it is not right totally slurred: something is left out.
What is absent is Bebop Tonguing. Put simply, the key to swinging authentically is Bebop Tonguing. In Bebop Tonguing, you tongue the upbeat and slur to the downbeat. [Example 2.2] This style of articulation is not notated in the music; the player is expected to know to use Bebop Tonguing automatically. Because of its importance and “secretive” nature, you could consider Bebop Tonguing one of the secrets of jazz.
When applying the slurs, you have to be careful not to make the ends of them (the downbeats) short. While this may be common in classical music, it is not appropriate for jazz. In order to keep the smoothness need for swing, the downbeats need to be legato.
One way to keep things in perspective is to re-examine swing eighths. Look back at the two notes of a beat in example 1.1. Notice that relationship: the downbeat is twice as long as the upbeat. This is a good reminder to keep the ends of the slurs long.
Along with the misguided accents, the other common mistake is to clip the ends of the slurs. When the ends of the slurs are played short, it causes the swing to sound “hokey.”
Since we try to keep things smooth, the tongue on the upbeats creates a contrast, which is often mistaken for accents. The effect of Bebop Tonguing should just be an interruption of the legato line. When practicing Bebop Tonguing, slur the whole passage first, then add the tongue on the repeat: the two should sound and feel very similar.
This is a huge obstacle when first learning to play jazz. When the tongue is added, the tendency is to heavily accent it. Lighten up on the tongue attack. Use a “da’ syllable to keep things relaxed sounding. Remember, there should be no difference in the air-stream between slurring and Bebop Tonguing.
Bebop Tonguing even applies to pieces where everything is slurred. There was a period when publishers marked everything to make sure that the passages were played legato and smooth.
As jazz evolved through time, certain “rules” developed as to how jazz should sound. These rules were not written down or stated in any fashion. Players learned them by listening and mimicking other players. These stylistic idiosyncrasies create what I call “The Rules of Jazz.” As with Bebop Tonguing, these are not generally marked in the music; it is expected that the player is familiar with these. By following these guidelines, your students will be on their way to sounding and playing like true jazz players!
Since jazz was not written down but passed down aurally, not all players will employ all of the rules. In fact, due to the wide variance in individual playing styles and interpretations, there are some that do not follow any of the rules. It is these differences in approach that make jazz so personal and exciting! But, by employing these guidelines, they will be able to blend in and play in any setting.
This goes back to the idea that swing needs to be smooth. By playing all eighths long, this eliminates any “hokeyness.” Proper use of Bebop Tonguing helps keep things smooth. Play through Example 3.1, making sure to keep things legato. If they are having trouble with keeping things smooth, have them go back and slur the passage to reacquaint themselves with how it sounds legato.
Playing jazz should feel easy. If it seems uncomfortable, focus on keeping things legato. Generally, if they make things smooth and legato (especially if they are using Bebop Tonguing), everything will be okay.
If the composer/arranger wants to make an exception and have the eighths short, they will mark it in the part (finally, something notated!) to make sure there is no misunderstanding. (This pertains to our friend UMO – Unless Marked Otherwise)
Similar to all eighths legato, all quarter notes are short. Short in jazz is not the same as short in Classical. In Classical, short means “as short as possible,” where in jazz it means “shorter than normal but with weight or attitude.”
The syllable used for short notes is “Daht.” Notice how “Daht” has weight to it, yet it does not give the note full value. Compare this syllable with its use of the softer beginning “D” to the more percussive attack of the Classical “T” (Ta, Tet, etc.). When playing short notes, use the syllable in order to give the note its proper weight and length. I like to think of short notes as “Big Bubba Notes” – lots of attitude, nothing wimpy or pristine about them.
This rule applies to all notes equal to a quarter note in length; ties across the bar/beat are included. Pay particular attention to ties across the bar equaling a quarter note, they are commonly overlooked.
Be careful that your students do not rush the beat when playing quarter notes – the tendency is to speed things up because of the empty space created by playing the notes short. Be vigilant about keeping solid time/tempo, or as jazzers say, “keep it in the pocket.”
Similar to Rule #1 and eighth notes, when the composer/arranger wants something other than short quarter notes, they will mark it in the part. (This would be the MO in UMO).
In order to create angularity (which is needed in the middle of all the smooth eighths), jazzers use short notes. We have learned that this pertains to quarter notes, but it also applies to all notes followed by rests. Yes, even eighth notes.
While this seems to contradict Rule #1, it is overruled by the fact that by making these particular notes short, we create angularity. It is this contrast between smooth and angularity that makes jazz so fascinating.
Usually, phrases that stop on the beat will do so with quarter notes, and phrases that end off the beat, on the upbeat, use eighth notes.
Be sure to keep using (Big Bubba) “Daht” for the short notes.
To give ties a sense of direction, accent them. When dealing with ties, be sure to distinguish ties those that equal a quarter note between those with a value longer than a quarter note. If the tie equals a quarter note, refer back to rule #2.
While it depends on the music, not only do you accent ties but also a crescendo/decrescendo. This falls under the heading of general musicianship.
By crescendoing the notes, you give the melodic line momentum.
Triplets and sixteenths always present a problem for jazz beginners. Since the music is not generally marked properly, diligent students will attempt to tongue the individual notes for the triplets and sixteenths. This not only breaks the good swing feel, but can be very difficult to accomplish when the tempos are fast. (Imagine trying to tongue sixteenths when the tempo is 230!)
What we end up doing (again with the jazz secrets) is slurring triplets and sixteenths, even though they are not marked that way. Of course, our friend UMO still applies.
If the triplet/sixteenth grouping is preceded by an upbeat eighth-note, be sure to include the grouping with the Bebop Tonguing.
Bebop Tonguing also applies to eighth notes after the grouping.
Playing jazz can seem a daunting task with many unnotated elements. As we have seen, it is as simple as applying Bebop Tonguing and following five simple rules. Using these will demystify the idiosyncrasies of jazz. By following these guidelines, your students can blend in any situation and will be on their way to sounding and playing like true jazz players!
Eric Ruyle earned a bachelors in Jazz Studies from McNeese State University, received a Masters from Youngstown State University in Woodwind Specialist, and did graduate work in Ethnomusicology at Kent State. He has performed in Mexico, Canada, Europe, and throughout the United States. A top call, Eric has worked with a wide variety of internationally known artists. His articles have been in such national journals as Instrumentalist and Flute Talk. While teaching for over twenty years, he has been with Lonestar College System since 2005. | https://nottelmannmusic.com/the-basics-of-jazz/ |
Lisa first discovered Internal Family Systems (IFS) about five years ago at a training with Richard Schwartz, the founder of IFS. It was immediately evident to her that that this model was different and she sensed the capacity for deep healing for both herself and her clients.
It was an intuitive model that made sense. Lisa immediately started down the path to becoming trained as an IFS therapist. As a model, IFS facilitates the relationship between SELF and PARTS in order to allow individual parts the space they need to feel seen, heard, appreciated and understood.
Lisa's approach is direct, compassionate and relational. She believes that the therapeutic relationship (the relationship between the client and the therapist) is the most important part of a successful therapy experience.
Additional Approaches
While IFS is the primary modality I use to work with adults, I'm also eclectic and integrative in my approach. Other approaches we may incorporate are Family Systems, Narrative Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. | https://www.merrimackriverwellness.com/approach |
Trust arises as you feel and surrender into the bigger space for which you are held by Divine love. This surrendering process doesn’t require submission to anything outside of you or any outside authority or to another person’s will. The Divine is not an outside authority punishing you for being wrong or sinful; it is an energy of Infinite Love that invites you into love WITH It.
The Ethereal Guides, Ascended Teachers, and Angels that represent the Divine are not asking for your submission to them or for you to see them as greater or bigger than you. Rather they invite you into relationship WITH them, to feel the higher vibrational energies for which they live. ALL -You and them – are enriched, enlivened, and transformed from this connection. Trust arises as you and parts of you (as you connect with the Inner Protector and Soul Guardian who resist surrender and feel unworthiness) lean into this relationship with Guides, feeling how you ARE them and they ARE you.
As parts of you lean into and BE with the growing, awakening, authentic YOU (as it grows through Divine Connection and inner differentiation and connection)….so then can these aspects of you trust love again, especially the part of you that holds anxiety. Anxiety is, at its root, a lack of trust in life and the Divine and fear of getting hurt again. These aspects can ‘surrender into love’ WITH you holding the space for this surrender.
This is the only kind of surrender that actually retains your sovereignty…into self, into love, into the Divine love that comes from within as you embody your Divine fractal-ness more and more. | https://soulfullheartblog.com/tag/moving-into-trust/ |
Download original image
Fig. 2.
Schematic representation of the 2 most important opsin families. Upon blue illumination, Channelrhodopsins (derived from
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
) will conduct cations, which in neurons, will result in Na
+
influx and a depolarization of the cell. A single action potential or more sustained depolarization can be elicited using either brief or longer light pulses. Halorhodopsins (
Natromonas pharaonii
) cause the opposite effect, in that upon illumination with yellow/orange light a Cl
?
pump is switched on, leading to hyperpolarization of the cell. In order to know where the transgene is expressed, the opsins are generally fused to a fluorescent reporter protein (XFP), which should be carefully selected, as the wavelength to activate the opsins should not interfere with the wavelength used for visualization of the cell. | https://www.jnmjournal.org/journal/popup_file.html?uid=979&file=jnm-21-337f2.jpg&md=fig&idx=2 |
Fan Modine is the alias of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Gordon Zacharias, who coined the name Fandemian Kirk Modine for a character in a screenplay he was writing. In Zacharias' story, Modine was an American pop star who relocates to China after struggling with fame and wealth. While Zacharias hasn't had to deal much with large sums of money or losing his privacy, he has won widespread critical acclaim for his small but meticulously crafted body of work. Born in 1972 in Wayne, Michigan to Scottish and Polish immigrants who met in Detroit, Zacharias was living in Boston when he was working on the Fan Modine screenplay. The songs Zacharias wrote for the unproduced film eventually formed the basis of the album Slow Road to Tiny Empire, which included contributions from such indie rock notables as Chris Brokaw, Kevin March (the Rentals and Guided by Voices), and Joan Wasser (the Dambuilders). Zacharias initially released the album in 1997 as a limited-edition vinyl LP on his own Phovsho label while living in New York City, but after the set received excellent reviews, the Rykodisc-distributed Slow River imprint reissued it on CD in 1998. | https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/gratitude-for-the-shipper/id812427885 |
# Postage stamps and postal history of Tuscany
Between 1851 and 1860, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, an independent Italian state until 1859 when it joined the United Provinces of Central Italy, produced two postage stamp issues which are among the most prized classic stamp issues of the world, and include the most valuable Italian stamp.
## Tuscany's modern history
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was an independent Italian state from 1569 to 1859, but was occupied by France from 1808 to 1814. The Duchy comprised most of the present area of Tuscany, and its capital was Florence. In December 1859, the Grand Duchy officially ceased to exist, being joined to the Duchies of Modena and Parma to form the United Provinces of Central Italy, which was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia a few months later in March 1860. In 1862 it became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
## Pre stamp letters
Tuscany's mail service may be traced to private letter services operating between 1300 and 1400. In 1704, Grand Duke Gian Gastone de' Medici issued a decree converting the postal service to a state operation and regulating the posting, transport and delivery of letters in detail. The original service ran only between Florence, Pisa and Livorno.
Prior to the introduction of postage stamps in 1851, letters typically were sent postage due, with various postal markings added to the letter. Postal markings were originally hand written on the letters, and in about 1767, postal markings began to be added by rubber stamp, indicating the town of origin. In 1839, postal markings were introduced indicating the date the letter was mailed. Tuscany's pre-stamp letters and postal markings have received extensive philatelic study. The primary study of them is Paolo Vollmeier's I Bolli Postali Toscani del Periodo Prefilatelico fino al 1851, Florence, 1974.
## Postal treaties
On December 31, 1838, Tuscany signed a postal agreement with the Kingdom of Sardinia, and on April 8, 1839, it signed a similar agreement with Austria. These agreements regulated postal rates and procedures for transporting mail between the countries. Another postal convention between Tuscany and Austria was signed on December 1850, which addressed the exchange of mail between the countries and contemplated the introduction of adhesive stamps. Postal conventions with Sardinia and France were entered into in 1851.
## Tuscany's adhesive stamps
### Il Marzocco
On April 1, 1851, Tuscany issued its first adhesive postage stamps. The stamps depict a crowned lion resting a paw on a shield with the fleur-de-lis. The image is based on a Renaissance sculpture by Donatello of a lion called the Marzocco, which was originally commissioned for Pope Martin V and later moved in 1812 to the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, where it became a symbol of Florentine liberties. The stamps shared a common design, differing only in color and denomination. The stamps were initially issued in denominations of 1 and 2 soldi, and 2, 4 and 6 crazie. In July 1851, 1 and 9 crazie stamps were issued and in 1852, Tuscany introduced a 1 quattrino for mailing newspapers and a 60 crazie stamp for international use. The Tuscan lira was divided into 12 crazie, or 20 soldi or 60 quattrini.
These stamps were printed by typography by F. Cambiagi at the Grand Ducal Printing Office in Florence. The stamps were engraved by Giuseppe Niderost from which electrotypes were prepared by M. Alessandri of Florence. The stamps were imperforate and were printed in sheets of 240 subjects divided into three panes of 80 stamps each. The paper was lightly toned blue or gray and was watermarked with rows of the Crown of Tuscany between parallel lines.
Between 1857 and 1859, the stamps, other than the 2 soldi and 60 crazie values, were reissued in the same or similar colors, but printed on white paper with a watermark with intersecting curved lozenges and the words "II E RR POSTE TOSCANE". These, like the prior issue, were typographed, imperforate and printed in sheets of 240 subjects divided into three panes of 80 stamps each.
### Arms of Savoy
Grand Duke Leopold II abdicated on July 21, 1859, and was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand IV, who was deposed after 27 days. Tuscany briefly became part of the United Provinces of Central Italy, a short-lived client state of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, which resulted in Sardinian currency being introduced in which one lira was divided into 100 centesimi. On 7 November 1859, the United Provinces elected Eugenio Emanuele di Savoia-Carignano as their regent. A new series of provisional stamps was issued on January 1, 1860, using the same border, but the lion was replaced with the arms of the House of Savoy. Like the prior two issues, these stamps were typographed, imperforate and printed in sheets of 240 subjects divided into three panes of 80 stamps each. In March 1860, Tuscany was annexed to Sardinia, after which Tuscany used the stamps of Sardinia, and in 1862, Italy.
Tuscany's postage stamps are among the most highly prized and collected classic stamps and have been extensively studied by philatelists. The primary study on them is F. Bargagli Petrucci's I Bolli Postali Toscani del Periodo Filatelico dal 1851 (1976). The three lire stamp of the 1860 issue in mint condition is the most valuable Italian stamp.
## Forgeries
Tuscany's postage stamps have been forged numerous times for the philatelic market. Fernand Serrane stated in 1927 that "a small book would be needed to describe in detail the more than 100 or so counterfeits of the first two Tuscany issues." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_Tuscany#Arms_of_Savoy |
The Delhi High Court on September 02, 2015 has issued an injunction against iBall from importing the devices that are infringing Ericsson’s essential patents. The interim order would become operative from September 09, 2015 and will be effective till the next hearing date.
Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) are necessarily required to be used by any party (manufacturing, selling, offering for sale etc.) to comply with technical standards. Standardization organizations require licenses of essential patents to be on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
Brief facts of the case
- Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (the plaintiff) has filed the suit for permanent injunction on August 21, 2015 restraining infringement of patents, damages, rendition of accounts, delivery up etc. against M/s Best It World (India) Private Limited (the defendant) popularly known as iBall.
- Prior to said suit, the defendant instituted a complaint before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleging that the plaintiff being the owner of Standard Essential Patents has abused its dominant position.
- Thus, the plaintiff submitted that due to lack of good faith on part of the defendant, the suit for permanent injunction was filed.
- Further, the plaintiff also alleged that from November, 2011 till date the defendant has refused to even execute a mutually agreeable NDA so that commercial discussions can commence between the parties.
- However the defendant alleged that the plaintiff failed to provide relevant details thereby enabling the defendant to be aware about the legal rights of the plaintiff. Also that the plaintiff in the suit has incorrectly mentioned that the defendant is unwilling to execute the FRAND Agreement.
- Further, the defendant insisted that it is not the manufacturer and is merely an importer of the products in question.
Core Contention of Ericsson
It is contented that the suit patents relate to three technologies in the field of telecommunications pertaining inter alia to 2G, EDGE and 3G devices (mobile handsets, tablets, dongles etc.):
- Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) speech codec – a feature that conserves use of bandwidth and enhances speech quality; (AMR)
- Features in 3G phones – Multi service handling by a Single Mobile Station & A mobile radio for use in a mobile radio communication system; (3G)
- Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) – A transceiving unit for block automatic retransmission request; (EDGE)
The details of patents infringed by iBall as alleged by Ericsson are following:
The plaintiff has also filed an expert affidavit of Mr. Vijay Ghate along with reports of internal tests which were performed on three devices namely:
- iBall Andi Xotic;
- iBall Cobalt Oomph;
- iBall Andi Sparkle.
Observations and Decision of court
The Court felt that the defendant has not taken any step or shown any interest for the purpose of execution of the FRAND Agreement.
Further on one hand the defendant has alleged that it has not infringed the suit patents of the plaintiff and on the other hand the defendant itself has filed the complaint before the CCI wherein certain admissions of the rights of the plaintiff have been made.
The court was of the opinion that if the interim direction/ order is not granted, the plaintiff would suffer irreparable loss and injury because of the reason that the defendant would keep on marketing the mobile devices without the FRAND agreement and without paying any royalty.
Therefore, an injunction was issued against iBall from importing the devices that are infringing Ericsson’s essential patents which would become operative from September 09, 2015 and will be
effective till the next hearing date.
Conclusion
In this case, the Court has strongly condemned the actions of iBall of not taking any step for execution of FRAND Agreement and alleging that it has not infringed Ericsson’s SEPs, while in the meantime, it filed a complaint before the CCI against Ericsson for abusing its market dominance. The Court granted the interim injunction keeping into consideration that Ericsson would suffer huge loss due continuous operations of marketing and sale of iBall devices without the execution of FRAND
agreement.
Click here to access the court order. | https://ssrana.in/articles/iball-ericsson-not-frands/ |
WA was Architect of Record for the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and the Hamilton County East Garage; both in association with HOK Sport (now Populous) of Kansas City, Missouri, the Design & Principle Architect and for the Great American Ballpark. The Hall of Fame building is one of the three separate facilities on the north and west sides of the Great American Ballpark complex that opened for the 2003 Major League Baseball season. It features a three-story retail space with a monumental stair, the Museum Theatre, Media Library, and a rooftop penthouse. This project included the use of various skin materials also used on the stadium and the adjoining plazas. Such materials were concrete architectural precast masonry/concrete, glass curtain-wall, and metal scrim panels; all integrated with intricate structural steel detailing.
WA also completed other work as part of the architectural team for Great American Ballpark, the new home of the Cincinnati Reds; including our role as the Architect of Record for the East Parking Garage; which was the enabling project for the entire Great American Ball Park development. | https://wa-architectsinc.com/project_item/cincinnati-reds/ |
At more than 400-years-old, the St George Orthodox Church in Mattancherry, Kerala, is a precious remnant of the state’s history and culture. The first Christian church to be built in the land of spices in 1615, it suffered years of neglect and encroachment before the ancient monument was rebuilt.
The task fell to architectural firm Wallmakers to restore the church to its former glory. Trained by architect Satprem Maiini from Auroville Earth Institute, Puducherry, they examined the possibilities of earth architecture and the historic importance of arches and vaults in religious edifices.
Through a series of dialogues between the masons, architects and clients, the design of the church began to emerge. In the interest of staying true to earth architecture, mud as a construction material took the centre stage. Rammed earth and compressed earth blocks became the dominant components of the structure.
For the restoration of the domes, vaults and arches, the team referred to the work of Tadao Ando. Early symbols of eastern Christianity like the Marthoma cross made way for an altar blessed by Ando’s concept of ‘cross of light’, within a sustainable framework of earthen materials. The masons received training by the architect himself in building with compressed stabilised earth blocks using the ancient Nubian technology of arch and vault building.
To ensure stability in the arches, the chain study process was employed to stabilise the right contour of the arch before executive work begins. Incidentally, this study was first formulated by Antonio Gaudi—a fact discovered posthumously by engineers. The process is an antique construction technique involving masonry with earth blocks and mud mortar without shuttering to create a wide range of arches, domes and vaults—a method that was reintroduced to the 20th century by Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy.
With a dual goal of revamping the church and reinstating earth architecture in south India, the team at Wallmakers, along with Auroville Earth Institute’s Maiini, used their extensive knowledge and research to pay homage to history and the environment in one eloquent gesture. The project had the added benefit of educating a host of architecture students, who have come to appreciate the importance of building with earth for a better future. | https://elledecor.in/article/the-striking-edifice-of-mattancherry-church-in-kochi-amalgamates-architectural-concepts-from-around-the-world/ |
May 7, 2016 In Body Image, Eating Physcology, Women's Health By Delfina This post contains affiliate links.
‘Perfect body’ – a phrase nearly every single woman has used to refer to the glossy images that glitter the pages of magazine covers and reality TV, yet seldom, if ever, will turn around and use it to describe herself.
This topic is a hot button for me and for many women. In most online health and wellness spaces, it flies WAY under the radar. But THIS is not one of those spaces. So, let’s have this conversation, shall we?
As the movement around food and body image grows we see a lot more about eating disorders and disordered eating being talked about. Even if we haven’t had a clinical level eating disorder, the majority of us have experienced disordered eating patterns at some point in our life.
Okay, no one’s perfect (thank goodness!) despite what the media would have us believe. Maybe we have a few waves of emotional eating. Things happen, no big deal. But we all need to be real honest with ourselves about our relationship with food, and why it has developed that way.
I can say that almost every woman I know has struggled with the whole ‘perfect body’ issue by chronically dieting or restricting calories or macros at some point. I’m not here to point fingers, because there would be 3 pointing right back at me. I’m not innocent.
My relationship with food isn’t perfect.
In high school I was known for how much I could eat. Most notably how much junk food. At this time I didn’t experience guilt around food, which was great. The thing was I ate pretty unconsciously. I didn’t differentiate between when I was hungry or full. Oh, and I really disliked any sort of vegetables. So I wasn’t really being nourished. It was as if I thought the junk food might just run out.
In college I ate low fat and tracked calories. Spinach and balsamic vinegar lunches with low fat yogurt and low fat hot dogs. Sometimes I would find my mom’s diet pills and take them, because it couldn’t hurt, right? Why the switch? Well, the freshman 15 of course.
Then as I wised up on nutrition and got educated. No more calorie counting or low fat (high sugar) foods. I swung way over in the opposite direction. All in the name of health. I became obsessed with eating perfectly and having the ‘perfect body’. Couple that with training to get on stage and have people judge my body and my relationship with food went whacky. I ate less and less carbs. When I would eat fruit or sweet potatoes all I could think about was the amount of sugar and carbs they contained, the systems that was affecting in my body, and how it would hinder my fat burning ketogenic state. It wasn’t that trying to eat healthy or reach a ketogenic state was bad in and of itself, it was the fear and guilt that became associated with food. It was the relationship I began to have with food, and the constant ignoring what my body was trying to communicate with me. I may have been consuming healthful foods, but I was bombarded with poisonous thoughts and feelings all in the name of having the ‘perfect body’.
Whether or not we have experienced a clinical level eating disorder most of us have experienced some amount of disordered eating.
The big question is why in the hell have we let this ‘perfect body’ ideal make our relationship with food so twisted?
It’s our human nature to want to be accepted and desired, but the ideal that’s been set before us is so specific that it’s impossible for many of us to achieve it. Really, this is the point. We aren’t meant to ever achieve it because then what would companies be able to sell us? Of course we try anyway, and two huge ways we believe we can have control over how our body looks outwardly is through diet and exercise. This idea of a ‘perfect body’ has twisted and disordered our relationship with ourselves and how we choose to eat and move.
At the root of this desire for whatever the ‘perfect body’ is at the time is the desire to be loved and accepted. To be enough. If we keep asking why, this is truly what we want. Hatred for our bodies, guilt and shame will not get us any of those things. For some it may bring us a body we dream of, but a life built on those feelings ultimately won’t lead to sustainability or happiness. And usually once we have the goal body we realize we still feel inadequate. There’s always something that needs to be fixed, changed or better. Inside the new body is the same heavy heart and feelings of unworthiness.
It’s not our bodies that need changing, it’s our relationship with them and ourselves.
Letting go of the ‘perfect body’ standard our society has set before us and accepting our bodies can be difficult. It means that it’s okay to be exactly where we are. The fear is that we may get ‘stuck’ forever in the body that we have grown to hate. (Oh, I’ve definitely had that thought in the past) Hatred is not motivation for change. We won’t ever get what we desire until we make decisions from a place of love and we treat our body, and food, with care.
No matter how ingrained the ‘perfect body’ idea may be for you or how impossible body love and acceptance seems right now, a good place to start is by expressing gratitude for all the things your body allows you to do and experience, outside of how it looks.
There are so many wonderful things to love about your body outside of what it looks like.
Even if you can’t yet fathom accepting every inch of it, begin to bring to mind all the amazing things it does do. What we focus on grows, so instead of focusing on the ‘perfect body’ and what you dislike bring awareness to what you do like. Albeit for some of us this happens slowly, but anything worth achieving happens slowly. Sorry to break it to you, there are no quick fixes.
The grip with which the ‘perfect body’ ideal and self hatred hold over us is a firm one. But, it will begin to loosen once we realize these very standards of beauty are set by an industry that thrives on us disliking ourselves and trying to achieve some crazy idea of perfection that’s entirely too rigid anyway. When we begin to notice that our bodies are actually pretty freaking amazing for all that they already do, a new appreciation can develop, and freedom will soon follow.
Tera Bucasas is the creator of the online program, Yoga For Healing, the host of the podcast Stripped and the creator of the blog Real. Fit. Yoga. By traditional training she is a nutritional therapy practitioner and a certified yoga instructor, with a BA in communications. At her core she is rebellious gypsy who travels the world with never ending curiosity and a spirit of adventure. She is passionate about inspiring women to unleash their innate power and find their wellbeing by working with the body, mind and spirit. Tera believes to make positive change in our world we must challenge the status quo, ask the hard questions and get to the truth beyond the surface. Learn more by checking out her website and podcast. If you are into social media you can also connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
“A person who is content in his or her body -fat or thin- disempowers the industries that prey on us…” That final quote is enlightening. Until we can convince big business to use images of real women or that we won’t buy their products on moral grounds, we’ll have to convince one another. I applaud your commitment.
At every juncture in my life, from Twiggy through Christy Brinkley at 60 I have not challenged the big business image of what I should look like.. I was not built like Barbie; after years of bare bones eating even Barbie wouldn’t look that way.
I have in the footwear department managed to disregard the statusquo, but not in the inner mind of body image. As I get older, believe it or not, I need your message of rejection of the big business body and the love of its function more and more.
Thank you Delfina for posting this message and thank you Tera for writing it. | http://www.codetowellness.com/perfect-body/ |
What is it?
The U.S. Army is committed to implementing policies that promote inclusivity throughout the ranks. To ensure a standard of equity and based on a July 2020, DOD-directed review, the Army has updated the grooming and hairstyle policies. The updates, announced Jan. 26, 2021, will be effective Feb. 25, 2021, and directly support the Army’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
What are the current and past efforts of the Army?
The Army revised Army Regulation (AR) 670-1, Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia and Department of the Army Pamphlet (DA PAM) 670-1 to incorporate previously announced changes (May 2017 to December 2020) in uniform policy and procedures. Major updates include:
- Policy implementation of the Army Green Service Uniform
- Authorization for female Soldiers who are breastfeeding or pumping to wear an optional undershirt
- Changes the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia from Former Wartime Service to Military Operations in Hostile Conditions.
The Army has updated its grooming standards to address the disparate impact on female Soldiers. Army senior leaders approved hairstyle changes that promote diversity and inclusion and improve the health of the force. The updates, based on medical (dermatology) considerations, as well as feedback from Soldiers across the force, are authorized as follows:
- No minimum hair length for female Soldiers
- Multiple hairstyles to be worn at once, such as braiding twists or locs
- Ponytails for Soldiers unable to form a bun
- Highlights (uniform blend of colors)
- Optional wear of earrings in the Army Combat Uniform for Female Soldiers
- Solid lip and nail colors (nonextreme) for female Soldiers
- Clear nail polish for male Soldiers
The revisions also remove potentially offensive language used to describe several hairstyles and replaces with appropriate terminology for unauthorized grooming and appearance standards.
The uniform and/or grooming changes, approved after December 2020, will be included in the next update to the AR 670-1.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned?
The Army is a learning organization, and will continue to gather input from individual Soldiers. Army leaders believe that innovation is not confined by rank or unit, and Soldiers are encouraged to share their policy suggestions with the Army.
Why is this important to the Army?
Pride in the wear of the uniform is important for the Soldiers. Army uniforms embody the professionalism and commitment to the Army Values.
The updates reflect the Army’s commitment to fostering an environment that promotes and facilitates diversity, equity and inclusion. Inclusive policies foster the ability to recruit and retain the top talent. | https://csmng.com/2021/02/22/army-grooming-standards-ar-670-1-updated/ |
- Four Streams Certified, ACC credentialed life coach: emphasis in understanding how worldview, positive psychology, and neuroscience inform the transformation process.
- Academic background in Philosophy & Religion that supports the exploration of how background assumptions influence growth potential and limitations.
- Helping leaders explore, understand, and leverage the intersection of personal growth and leadership priorities to maximize their capacity to influence positive change.
- 15+ years in various director roles leading arts, production, & volunteer development.
- An ongoing, successful track record of creating and managing systems & teams in a manner that prioritizes a meaningful balance of emotional health, creative pursuits, and strategic results.
- Regularly facilitating rewarding coaching spaces for individuals to explore their purpose.
- Passionate about offering coaching support for personal, spiritual and/or leadership transitions.
- Chris has a unique emphasis on the value of deeply exploring personal growth and its impact on leadership style & vibrancy and continues to be a refreshing option within the coaching world. | https://pcs-global.com/team-member/chris-freeman/ |
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In contrast to most eukaryotic cells, neurons possess long, highly branched processes called axons and dendrites. In large mammals, such as humans, some axons reach lengths of over 1 m. These lengths pose a major challenge to the movement of proteins, vesicles, and organelles between presynaptic sites and cell bodies. To overcome this challenge axons and dendrites rely upon specialized transport machinery consisting of cytoskeletal motor proteins generating directed movements along cytoskeletal tracks. Not only are these transport systems crucial to maintain neuronal viability and differentiation, but considerable experimental evidence suggests that failure of axonal transport may play a role in the development or progression of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
National Center for
Biotechnology Information, | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16756504 |
A debate has been gathering momentum during the last year on the EU’s approach to conflict resolution. This has occurred separately from events in Ukraine and relates to challenges in places like the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Levant. Yet now, that debate must be seen as relevant to the union’s Eastern neighborhood too.
EU leaders’ discussion of defense in December 2013 gave a boost to the high politics of security deliberations. France has called for a common fund to finance EU military operations. Senior German politicians have promised a stronger military commitment. On the heel of missions in Mali, Niger, and Somalia, the EU is deploying a new Common Security and Defense Policy operation to the Central African Republic.
Attention often focuses on the EU’s will and capability to undertake military action. Yet, arguably more significant developments in EU conflict policies have been unfolding off camera and little noticed.
Richard Youngs Richard Youngs is a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, based at Carnegie Europe. He works on EU foreign policy and on issues of international democracy. More > @YoungsRichard
The EU is rolling out a number of new initiatives to improve what is commonly its most important contribution to security: the way it deploys civilian and aid initiatives to build more stable institutions in fragile contexts.
The EU has gradually sought to flesh out its “comprehensive approach” to conflict resolution. In December 2013, the European External Action Service (the EU’s foreign policy arm) and the European Commission (its executive) published an important communication calling for the EU to marry short- and long-term funding initiatives; ensure European counterterrorism and migration policies are consistent with conflict interventions; generate more common crisis analysis across member states; and sharpen the focus on preventive measures.
Several EU member states speak similar language, as enshrined, for instance, in the UK development agency’s “drivers of conflict” template. Proposals for a European Institute of Peace are also advancing.
The EU has introduced several new instruments to give more political leverage to the aid it channels to governments in fragile contexts. One such instrument is a “state-building contract,” which is linked to the EU’s New Deal commitment to strengthen help for fragile states.
The aim of signing state-building contracts with conflict-afflicted countries is to foster all-inclusive dialogue between different sides of local conflicts. This dialogue aims at producing a consensual “compact” to define the use of EU funds. One of the most notable contracts was launched in Mali in mid-2013; in light of postelection instability, the EU’s approach in this country has become notably more political. Another contract operates in Mauritania, while efforts now focus on negotiating one for South Sudan.
In addition, the external action service’s new mediation support team has begun to make a difference. In places such as Yemen, Lebanon, and Myanmar, this unit now works to improve the effectiveness of EU mediation strategies and ensure that conflict analysis is more systematically applied to the use of aid and trade instruments.
A new interagency coordinating committee has also been set up in Brussels to provide security input to the use of development aid. In 2013, a “comprehensive strategy” was drawn up to broaden the approach toward the Syrian conflict—for many observers still a more dangerous geostrategic flash point even than Ukraine.
All these moves represent a notable fine-tuning of EU conflict policies. However, the political components to peace building still require much careful elaboration.
The December communication acknowledges that the EU’s comprehensive approach to crises and conflict is still more aspiration than reality. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, insiders still talk of “firewalls” between different policy areas. The innovative state-building contracts still cover only a very small percentage of commission aid and have not yet unleashed any significant increase in initiatives aimed at boosting societies’ long-term resilience and institutional capacity building.
While the mission in the Central African Republic is accompanied by an extra €80 million ($111 million) in aid from the commission, its remit focuses more on extracting Europeans than on the conflict’s root causes, which lie in governance deficiencies in large parts of the country.
The EU faces big challenges in the way it addresses state fragility. It needs to better respect the principle of local ownership but combine this with a long-term reform and institution-building agenda that regimes often resist. The state-building contracts are an attempt to narrow the gap between these two orientations, but they have not entirely squared the circle. They still need better flanking measures.
While conflict sensitivity has improved, years of supposedly prevention-oriented European aid have in many places been ineffective in dissuading conflict. The EU will need to develop more bespoke engagement in each national context while also addressing the tightening links between different subregional conflict systems.
More priority needs to be attached to shaping more “democratic security governance” in fragile contexts. The nature of counterterrorism cooperation across this arc of instability still sits uncomfortably with these supposedly more sophisticated approaches to peace building. The EU needs to do a lot more to address the most deep-rooted drivers of conflict.
While critics bemoan the demise and failure of liberal peace building, the EU has sought to design more comprehensive policy interventions. Its willingness to use the December communication to take this approach to the next level will be of crucial significance given the range and depth of conflicts that now claim the union’s attention.
This is all highly relevant to the current situation in Ukraine. A stronger connection is required between the EU’s generic conflict tools and the deepening crisis in Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus. At the same time, the EU must not let the challenge of dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin distract it from tightening its commitments in other increasingly fractious states—as some diplomats fear is already happening.
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Guest post by Dr Debbie Buckley-Golder, Head of Innovation Talent and Skills at Innovate UK, part of UKRI.
Meeting the challenges described in the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, including the need to increase the level of productivity across the UK, will essentially be achieved by people - the UK workforce, in the multitude of different sectors and industries across the country.
The government has set the target of raising UK investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP over the next 10 years and this will need more, talented people working in research, development and innovation to use that investment wisely and deliver the intended economic growth.
Future prosperity is built on a qualified workforce
So, as the Industrial Strategy white paper acknowledges many times over, one of the key factors to our future prosperity and growth is the training and qualification of our national workforce – whether this is more school leavers with the capabilities and skills developed in achieving T-level or A-level qualifications, graduates and post-graduates with academic or vocational qualifications, people retraining or returning to work after a career break, or working part-time to balance the many demands of modern life.
A great time to be starting an innovation career
This is surely an exciting time for researchers and innovators at the beginning of their professional career, when the need for their expertise, energy and ambition couldn’t be greater, and when substantial amounts of new funding are being made available to address the complex challenges described in the Industrial Strategy.
UKRI is helping build world-class talent
Because of this, I’m delighted that the first programme launched by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), since it was established at the start of April, is designed for 'people' – to help develop, retain, attract and sustain world-leading research and innovation talent in the UK.
People in the early stage of their professional career, who can work comfortably across the boundaries between business and academia, can lead and inspire others to work with them on challenging projects that will really make a difference, and are ‘up for’ the challenge of tackling difficult and complex problems.
Future Leaders Fellowship
The academic community is very familiar with the concept of a personal Fellowship, but for businesses, especially small and medium, this is something new.
That is why, in designing the recently-launched Future Leaders Fellowships programme, we’ve worked hard to make it appealing to business people as much as to academics, and I’d really like to see people from businesses of all sizes grasp the opportunity to set a new trajectory for their career, and do something that will really 'make a difference'.
For example, their employer might want to develop and embed new sector or technology expertise, a new business model, open up new markets or establish their own R&D capability. They might want to validate new concepts, systems or components in an appropriate research or market environment; develop or refine a system model or prototype.
Looking for people with ambition
The Future Leaders Fellowship offers the funding, flexibility and time for someone with the ambition to take a risk and tackle a challenge that could establish the foundation for their whole professional career. | https://industrialstrategy.blog.gov.uk/2018/06/01/people-are-at-the-heart-of-innovation/ |
What is my current financial worth?
For most new clients, a financial plan must precede other services. During the planning process, we gather and analyze data about your
- Cash flow and debts
- Investments
- All type of insurance coverage
- Estate (Wills, Trust etc.)
- Taxes
- Employee Benefits
- Personal Data Risk Tolerance and preferences
- Any other information pertinent to your overall financial situation
After thoroughly analyzing your situation, we:
- Help you clarify and set realistic goals
- Identify key financial issues concerning those goals
- Prepare for you a customized comprehensive financial plan with a list of recommendations and alternative strategies for achieving those goals.
The financial planning process we undertake will provide direction and discipline. It integrates your assets with your goals and objectives. It then helps you achieve your lifetime goals by motivating you to action.
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Objective: To examine the effects of a 3-month low-intensity exercise program on physical frailty.
Design: Randomized clinical trial.
Setting: Regional tertiary-care hospital and academic medical center with an outpatient rehabilitation fitness center.
Participants: Eighty-four physically frail older adults (mean age, 83 +/- 4 yrs).
Intervention: Three-month low-intensity supervised exercise (n = 48) versus unsupervised home-based flexibility activities (n = 36).
Main outcome measures: Physical performance test, measures of balance, strength, flexibility, coordination, speed of reaction, peripheral sensation.
Results: Significant improvement was made by the exercise group on our primary indicator of frailty, a physical performance test (PPT) (29 +/- 4 vs 31 +/- 4 out of a possible 36 points), as well as many of the risk factors previously identified as contributors to frailty; eg, reductions in flexibility, strength, gait speed, and poor balance. Although the home exercise control group showed increases in range of motion, the improvements in flexibility did not translate into improvements in physical performance capacity as assessed by the PPT.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that physical frailty is modifiable with a program of modest activities that can be performed by virtually all older adults. They also indicate that exercise programs consisting primarily of flexibility activities are not likely to reverse or attenuate physical frailty. Although results suggest that frailty is modifiable, it is not likely to be eliminated with exercise, and efforts should be directed toward preventing the condition. | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10896013/?dopt=Abstract |
68.7K subscribers A soft, fluffy low-carb version of sponge cake that soaks up liquids well and can stay very moist without going soggy or falling apart. Recipe:
Recipe's preparation Sponge 1. Pre heat oven to 175 C , grease 2 20cm cake tins lightly with butter and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of plain flour in each tin and run flour around tin till …
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Then add the remaining ingredients except the lemon zest or juice and mix again. Scrape down sides of bowl if needed. STEP 2: Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice into the …
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directions. Preheat oven to 180°C (375°F). Grease non stick cake pan. Beat together eggs, oil and sugar, beat until light & fluffy. Add flour, salt & baking powder. Mix well with electric …
HOW TO MAKE KETO VANILLA SPONGE CAKE - LIGHT, FLUFFY & DELICIOUS ! - YouTube I have received requests for Keto Sponge Cake and frankly, I was not confident that this was …
1 cup custard (low fat or no fat) 350 g low-fat ricotta cheese 1 ⁄ 4 cup icing sugar 250 g sponge cake fingers 1 tablespoon cocoa powder DIRECTIONS Combine coffee and liquer in dish; …
The fluffiness of the sponge cake can come down to two things - the egg whites or the folding of the flour. The egg whites need to be whisked up until soft peaks form. If not, then there will be no air in your sponge. You also need to very gently fold the flour into the egg mixture, and work it as little as possible.
This Sugar-Free Low Carb Sponge Cake is also keto, gluten free and nut free with all the traditional flavors and textures of a sponge cake. A sponge cake is basically just a very light and airy cake made with eggs, flour and sugar, but this recipe is low carb and just as delicious as it's higher carb cousin!
Cut the fully cooled cake in half lengthways using a sharp knife. Add a layer of raspberry jam and cream and top with raspberries. Add the top of the cake and dust with powdered sweetener. Slice and serve. Make it nut free: For a sponge without almond flour, try this coconut flour cake. Slice in half and fill as per recipe.
This fluffy, airy keto Victoria sponge cake is so easy to make! It's a buttery yet light almond flour sponge filled with sugar free raspberry chia jam, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. This post is sponsored by Lakanto. The recipe is 100% Sugar Free Londoner. Victoria sponge cake is one of the great British dessert classics. | https://www.share-recipes.net/nannas-fluffy-sponge-cake-recipe/ |
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