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On Wednesday, the House of Representatives did something that’s woefully uncommon these days: It passed a bill with bipartisan support. The bill, called the SELF DRIVE Act, lays out a basic federal framework for autonomous vehicle regulation, signaling that federal lawmakers are finally ready to think seriously about self-driving cars and what they mean for the future of the country.
“With this legislation, innovation can flourish without the heavy hand of government,” said Representative Bob Latta, the Ohio Republican who heads up the Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, in a floor speech just before the SELF DRIVE Act passed by a two-thirds majority. (And no, I’m not shouting at you—it’s an acronym, for Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution.) The Senate will need to pass its own bill before the legislative framework can become law.
This seems like a good time for Congress to step in, and the famously regulation-averse tech industry has actually welcomed the legislative clarification. Self-driving vehicles have been testing on public roads since 2010, when Google hit the streets near Mountain View, California. And in the absence of congressional oversight, states have stepped in to regulate them, creating a patchwork of at least 21 different state laws and guidelines with different purposes, definitions, and priorities. This is a serious pain for the growing self-driving industry, which aspires to build cars permitted on all public roads.
The industry wants the flexibility to experiment, and it says there’s a lot at stake. This came up in every congressional floor speech on Wednesday: Nearly 40,000 people died on American roads in 2016, and the National Highway Traffic Administration says 94 percent of fatal crashes can be attributed to human error. Let’s get rid of the human, and quick, goes the logic.
But the robocar industry also argues that it’s way too early for Congress to demand strict, particular rules for the vehicles. Companies certainly aren’t selling these vehicles to the public yet, and even the largest AV player, Google’s self-driving spinoff Waymo, only has about 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans on the road (though that number is growing). In other words: There aren’t that many of these vehicles to regulate, and companies are still figuring out how they should work.
Lawmakers, for their part, hope the legislation strikes a balance between allowing tech and car companies to test whatever, wherever, and giving them enough leeway to try stuff out, collect some data, and determine the best way to operate vehicles without a driver.
“We need to give Congress credit for being both strategic and specific,” says Mark Rosekind, who headed up the National Traffic Safety Administration during the Obama administration and now oversees safety at the self-driving startup Zoox.
So what’s in the bill? And what’s next? Strap on your seatbelt, and say hello to the robot at the wheel:
First, the legislation works out a way for the federal government’s rules to trump state laws and rules. It officially gives the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration power to regulate vehicle design, construction, and performance—the way it does with, well, normal cars. States still have authority over vehicle registration and licensing, but they’ll have a harder time making demands about what goes on inside the car.
Now that NHTSA officially has the power to regulate these things, the legislation gives it a set of deadlines. It has 24 months to come up with rules about what automakers need to submit to the agency to certify they're serious about safety. And it has a year to figure out what features of a self-driving car will need performance standards. How will you know that a car’s sensor configuration—the combination of lasers and cameras that help it “see”—is safe? What about its cybersecurity fail-safes? Or the way it ensures there’s a passenger in the car before taking off? Quoth NHTSA: TBD.
Second, the legislation requires autonomous vehicle manufacturers be deliberate about the way they share their passengers’ data. Think about how much a self-driving car company could know about you: where you work, where you live, where you drop your kid off each morning, that you used to go to the gym a lot but stopped about five months ago. Some companies would like to customize these self-driving things to your driving style or preferred nondriving activity. Maybe you like a cautious approach, or to watch a certain kind of show while rocketing toward work. Consumers will probably want that info protected. | https://www.wired.com/story/congress-self-driving-car-law-bill/ |
Factoring Polynomials: ax²+bx+c
This packet helps students understand how to factor more advanced quadratic equations. Students will use factoring to find the two solutions (also called roots or x-intercepts) of a quadratic equation (which graphs as a parabola). Factoring is the process of finding two terms -- for quadratic equations those terms will be two binomials -- that can be multiplied together to get the quadratic equation.
Many students are familiar with using the FOIL process to multiply binomials. Factoring quadratic equations is, essential, the reverse of using FOIL to turn a pair of binomials into a polynomial. For example:
If you are given the problem:$(x-2)(x+4)$
You would use FOIL (which stands for "multiply the FIRST terms, then the OUTER terms, then the INNER terms, then the LAST terms") to get: $x^2+4x-2x-8$,
which can be simplified to $x^2 +2x-8$
On the other hand, If you were given the expression $x^2 +2x-8$ and asked to factor it
(or if you were given $x^2 +2x-8$=0 and asked to solve it),
you would determine that:
$x \times x = x^2$, and $-2 \times 4 = -8$ while $-2+4=2$,
so $x^2 +2x-8 = (x-2)(x+4)$
Each page starts with easier problems that get more difficult as students work through the packet. Simpler problems are in standard form. More advanced problems require students to simplify and combine like terms before they factor the problem.
After doing all 36 problems, students should be more comfortable doing these problems and have a clear understanding of how to solve them.
Simple:
Factor each polynomial.
$2x²+3x+1$
Advanced:
Solve each equation by factoring.
$6x²+4x+4=-6x$
Practice problems require knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of integers. | https://edboost.org/practice/factoring-polynomials-ax-bxc |
Rad note » this entry originated from another page. It was moved here because the subject drifted far enough to warrant its own, separate page, which lets me focus on and reference more easily the concepts under discussion here.
At the end of this entry (that you're reading now) I will include a link that will return you to the exact place from where this entry originated. Here ya go ...
» Russian Greats Weave the Eternal Golden Thread of Scripture Thru Their Timeless Novels
I noticed that both Tolstoy and Dostoevsky weave verses-of-scripture into their stories.
[ I was going to, instead, write » 'weave into their stories verses of scripture' ..
.. which is better writing.
But notice how that is not weaving the words. And therefore not recursive.
And recursion is where the power is. In writing both narrative and computer programs. ]
Both of them begin their timeless novels, for example, with a short verse that sets the tone and foreshadows things to come .. a mechanism that itself plays off the prophetic. A technique.
Tolstoy begins Anna Karenina (a novel claimed by many to be the finest written, in any language, ever, in the history of our species, homo sapiens) with a verse from the Old Testament that has echoed down thru the centuries » Vengeance is mine; I will repay.
Dostoevsky, on the other hand, begins The Brother Karamazov (a novel acclaimed the world over as one of the supreme achievements in literature) with a verse from John's gospel » Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
[ I am talking about Writing here. Writing and writers. ]
Hemingway liked to use verses of scripture as his titles. I wonder if he got this idea while he was reading the Russians ..
.. sitting around a fire in the mountains of Austria during the winter months .. when Paris got ugly. And cold.
<ignore this intentional body-text marker>
••• today's entry continues here below •••
Skiing during the day and reading the Russians at night.
Let the Russians take you into their fascinating worlds.
Let them escort you around the streets of centuries past ..
.. as you sip the Austrian schnapps.
Tolstoy takes you into the homes of the landed gentry ..
.. where social customs are well-established and where cultural norms are settled ..
.. but where only the wealthy-few may go.
For the rest of your destinations, where 99% of the real people live » Dostoevsky takes you there. To those places that are not so pretty. Where moral chaos reigns.
I also noticed that scripture says that God's word -- "the word of the Lord" -- is eternal.
I see this [ seasoning your prose with references to verses of scripture ] as weaving eternal golden threads thru your writing (.. which, perhaps, can help it endure the ravages of the passage of time).
People often have preconceived notions of scripture (.. and all things related to religion). So care must be exercised. Or the reader will be put off. Offended.
But a well-selected, thought-provoking use of scripture .. can add a bit of gravity to a piece. (It can add many other things, too.)
When I set out to research scripture for myself, I found out it was considerably different from what I had been taught in Catholic Sunday school. (All those years.)
I found many things there that the nuns never told me about. And I didnt find some of the things that they said were in there. (Such as purgatory, where I was planning to spend much time in spiritual rehab.)
Because .. if the writer is going to season his writing with verses of scripture .. if he is going to weave eternal golden threads thru his stories .. he will (first) have to learn what scripture actually says.
For himself. And not rely on what somebody else said.
Obvious, no?
In the arts, as in most things, longevity and endurance speak to quality.
» Working With a (Funny) Scriptural Literate
I worked with this guy who knew scripture pretty well.
He had a big family. I learned things from him.
Quite a bit, because I worked there for years.
I liked the way he would weave certain bible stories into the particular challenge we were facing.
And he usually did it in a funny way.
He would say things like » "Our masters demand we make bricks, but they give us no straw."
And » "Our masters reap where they do not sow." (.. meaning that our bosses were cruel, "hard men" for telling us to do something particularly difficult).
Anyway, my point is » his ability to use scripture and biblical stories impressed me. It also made me feel like all those years in Catholic Sunday school after church .. were a waste. I mean he was vastly beyond me.
The end. ■
You can return to the exact spot from where this entry originated .. see » here. | http://mtos5.radified.com/rad/2015/03/russian-greats-weave-the-eternal-golden-thread-of-scripture-thru-their-timeless-novels.html |
Kriston Capps is a staff writer for CityLab covering housing, architecture, and politics. He previously worked as a senior editor for Architect magazine.
When Uber and Lyft pulled out of Austin earlier this summer after voters passed a ballot measure regulating their drivers, many of the services’ supporters argued that their exit would put more drunk drivers on the road. After the ride-sharing services left, Austin recorded 359 arrests for DWI in May 2016, an uptick from 334 arrests for the same period one year prior.
Austin is one of a few major metro areas where Uber and Lyft opened up shop only to quickly close down operations less than two years later. With such small figures and over such a short time, it’s hard to say whether a 7.5-percent increase in arrests represents a spike in drunk driving, a surge in police vigilance, a statistical blip, or something else. Still, given the popularity of these services (especially Uber), it should be possible to show where ride-hailing has cut down on drunk-driving fatalities—somewhere, if not in Austin.
In fact, Uber hasn’t had much of an impact at all. A new study released by the American Journal of Epidemiology finds that Uber’s deployment in the nation’s 100 most-populated metro areas has no association with traffic fatalities—not in aggregate, not those caused by drunk driving, and not during weekends or holidays.
The study, by Noli Brazil of the Spatial Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California and David S. Kirk at the University of Oxford, assessed traffic fatalities before and after the advent of Uber in 100 different metro areas (by county) between 2005 and 2014. The researchers controlled for various factors that could affect risk, including state laws legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana, changes to driver licensing, bans on texting, and so on. The tax rate on alcohol, too, was another factor accounted for by Brazil and Kirk, as were monthly unemployment rates and the number of taxi drivers working in a given metropolitan county. Looking exclusively at Uber’s impact on drunk-driving fatalities, they found no impact.
“If would-be drunk drivers were rational, then lowering the difficulty of finding alternate transportation options and the cost of those options would, in theory, reduce the number of drunk-driving occurrences and fatalities,” the study reads. “This is the promise of Uber and other [transportation network companies], particularly in terms of increasing the supply of transportation options.”
Using three different models, Brazil and Kirk found that Uber did not reduce traffic fatalities in a statistically significant way. That runs counter to the conventional wisdom that more hired drivers would seem to mean fewer drunk drivers. The conventional wisdom appears to be wrong, and the researchers have some theories on why.
For almost any driver, the potential cost of driving drunk outweighs the real cost of an Uber fare. You could kill someone (or yourself), wreck your car, accrue massive penalties, or wind up in jail when driving under the influence. Uber on the other hand is not so bad (except when it’s surging).
Drunk drivers don’t necessarily weigh these potential costs rationally. As the researchers explain, intoxicated drivers may be more likely to think exclusively about the odds. Ultimately, drivers are unlikely to get caught when they drink and drive—whereas they are certain to be on the hook for an Uber fare, a parking ticket, a car tow, or personal inconvenience if they decide not to drive. This is a bad bet! That’s the point: Drunk drivers make bad bets.
The number of Uber drivers across the U.S. is growing astronomically. The figure for monthly Uber drivers on the road has grown from a few thousand drivers in January 2013 to 450,000 monthly drivers in April 2016. If the service continues to expand at exponential rates, it could some day make a dent in the number of drunk driving-related crashes and fatalities. (Note that the study also accounts for Lyft, but focuses on Uber because it has vastly more drivers.)
But for all the sound and fury over Uber and Lyft, drivers for these services represent a tiny, tiny share of drivers on the road. There are 210 million licensed drivers in the U.S. Of these, some 4.2 million adults decide to drive while intoxicated in any given month. Uber simply doesn’t compare.
The Austinite argument that drunk-driving incidents would skyrocket once Uber and Lyft left town was one part genuine concern, one part concern-trolling. After all, no one making that argument ever said, “If I can’t take Uber or Lyft, then I plan to drive drunk.” Instead, the worry was framed as a problem facing other people. If other people cannot take Uber or Lyft, then they will drive drunk. This concern may be misguided, according to Brazil and Kirk.
“Uber may be a substitute for taxis and other forms of public transportation but not a substitute for drunk driving,” they write. “Accordingly, Uber passengers may have formerly been taxi and public transit users, and thus the number of at-risk drivers on the road would not substantially change. Prior evidence has suggested this substitutability.” (Links to footnotes added.)
In the most populous metro areas, passengers have other options beyond Uber. Even before Uber came around, many would-be Uber passengers likely didn’t drive. They took taxis, buses, bikes, or rail (and still do). In major metro areas, Uber works more like a very expensive form of public transit than an alternative to driving. People living near public transit or people earning low incomes may not consider Uber to be an option. Neither might drivers who simply depend on their cars instead of any public transportation.
Where Uber’s impact on drunk-driving fatalities needs further study is in smaller towns, the researchers concede. “Uber may have a greater association with the number of traffic fatalities in smaller areas, where transportation options are limited,” the study reads. “In future research, investigators should examine whether the association between Uber’s presence and traffic fatalities depends upon the availability of alternative transportation options.”
On this point, Austin is something of a special case. For a city as populous as it is and growing as fast as it is, Austin’s public transportation network is lagging behind. Austin combines big-city growth with small-town infrastructure. One consequence may be that the relatively wealthy residents who, for a brief spell, relied on Uber and Lyft as a form of transit—the profligate California refugees, the high-earner-not-rich-yet Silicon Hills types, the Torchy’s Millennials with disposable income to burn—may be returning to their cars.
This very visible, very voluble cohort is small, though. The greater concern for Austin is the growing number of residents who don’t consider Uber or any kind of transit to be a viable option.
The first class of hand-picked remote workers moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in exchange for $10,000 and a built-in community. The city might just be luring them to stay.
From ancient Rome to modern Atlanta, the shape of cities has been defined by the technologies that allow commuters to get to work in about 30 minutes.
As tenant protections get stronger, corporate landlords use software to manage delinquent renters. But housing advocates see a tool for quicker evictions.
A new Urban Institute study measures the spatial mismatch between where job seekers live and employment opportunities.
To rein in traffic-snarling new mobility modes, L.A. needed digital savvy. Then came a privacy uproar, a murky cast of consultants, and a legal crusade by Uber. | https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2016/08/no-uber-hasnt-had-any-impact-on-drunk-driving-deaths/494984/ |
Rainbow District School Board is committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students, staff, school visitors and community members.
In Rainbow Schools there are a number of initiatives in place to build a culture of caring and maintain safe schools.
Click the following links for more information about video surveillance equipment, use of the internet and electronic devices, trauma teams, lockdowns and the community threat assessment protocol.
Enhance the safety of students, staff, and community members.
Protect Board and school property against theft and vandalism.
Personal information is being collected under the authority of the Education Act and used in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). For more information, please contact the Principal.
Rainbow Schools remind students and parents/guardians that cell phones, digital cameras, personal digital and other electronic devices can be disruptive and must not be activated in class or during examinations and/or assessments without the permission of school staff.
Using the Internet and electronic devices with care will ensure that the safety and privacy of students and staff remain first and foremost.
In order to ensure the ongoing safety and security of students and staff, Rainbow Schools are required to practice lockdown procedures much like fire drills.
Lockdown is the term used when there is a major incident or threat of school violence within the school, or in relation to the school.
Doors are locked, blinds are closed, and lights are turned off.
Everyone moves to the location in the room where it is most difficult to be seen from the classroom door window.
Students outside of the building at the time of the lockdown are escorted to a predetermined gathering point at the school.
What is a Hold and Secure?
Hold and secure is the term used when it is desirable to secure the school due to an ongoing situation outside and not related to the school.
In this situation, the school continues to function normally, with the exterior doors being locked until such time as the situation near the school is resolved.
What is a Shelter in Place?
Shelter in place is the term used for an environmental or weather related situation where it is necessary to keep all occupants within the school to protect them from an external situation.
Examples may include chemical spills, blackouts, explosions or extreme weather conditions.
The above terms are consistent for schools across Ontario.
What is an Internal Hold and Secure?
Internal hold and secure is a term specific to Rainbow District School Board.
Rainbow schools may implement an internal hold and secure when something is occurring inside the school and minimal movement is required.
Students remain in classrooms. Teaching and learning continues.
What is the Trauma Team?
When there is a critical incident affecting a school, such as the death of a student, Rainbow District School Board’s Trauma Team may go to the school to provide support. The team is made up of Board employees who are trained to assist students in need and call in additional resources that may be required. The Trauma Team may also provide information to parents/guardians on how to help their children after a crisis. The Trauma Team works closely with staff from the Child and Family Centre.
Rainbow District School Board is committed to providing safe learning environments for all students, staff, school visitors and community members.
When a student’s behaviour poses a serious threat to his or her safety or the safety of others, a Community Threat Assessment Protocol will be activated.
The protocol will guide school personnel to respond quickly to the threatening behaviour and put measures in place to protect students and staff.
When a Community Threat Assessment Protocol is activated, parents/guardians will be notified.
School boards, police and community partners will work together to assess the threat and implement interventions.
The partners will share information, advice and support, and plans will be developed to minimize the risk.
The parents of the student who made the threat have an important role to play in the process of gathering information and establishing a plan for the student, which will enable the team to evaluate and minimize the risk.
If a concern for safety still exists, and parents/guardians cannot be reached, or if they choose not to provide consent to share information, the threat assessment process will proceed.
In sharing personal information, each individual’s right to privacy will be balanced with the need to ensure the safety of all. Student safety is our first priority.
If you have any questions regarding the Community Threat Assessment Protocol, please contact the Principal of your child’s school. | https://www.rainbowschools.ca/schools/school-policies-procedures/safe-schools/ |
How Do We Know God Exists Catholic – Questioning the accepted “wisdom” of today, Catholic scientist Dr. Gerhard Vershoorn shows here that science cannot answer the question of whether God exists or not. Indeed, it would be like expecting a microscope to reveal the square root of sixteen!
Verschuren begins by explaining five popular medieval proofs for the existence of God – based on reason alone – despite nearly a thousand attempts to disprove them. With the help of this intelligence, you will understand that reason gives us access to the existence of God, just as reason gives us access to the existence of numbers. In fact, when we use our reasoning to investigate the existence of God, we are confronted with evidence far more powerful than anything science can offer.
How Do We Know God Exists Catholic
Yes, Verschuuren was a Catholic. But he was a long-time scientist, he just learned to use reason to extrapolate from evidence where it is necessary. Among the many facts which Verschuuren here proves by pure argument are the following:
How To Prove That God Doesn’t Exist
• And reveals the great power of reason – and even greater power of God!
To try! Verschuuren’s amazing evidence for God’s existence – based on evidence alone – will open your eyes, touch your heart, and most importantly, strengthen your faith in the wonderful Creator of heaven and earth!
Timeline Of The Catholic Church
To understand how these arguments work, I asked a Dominican priest, Fr. Gregory Penn, studying the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas is famous for presenting his Five Ways as “proof” of God’s existence. But what does the evidence really show? And most importantly, do they hold up today? We can find out.
Pete: Much of your work as a pastor is based on the assumption that God exists. But what about those who doubt it? Specifically, what do you say to those who do not take the Bible as a valid starting point?
Fr. Gregory: All my eggs are in the “God exists” basket. If there is no God, I am a very compassionate person. Fortunately, I believe that belief in God is justified. I have to admit that the reason I believe – and the reason most people believe – is that someone else has chosen us. My parents decided to baptize me and enlighten me in the faith. So, with the light of faith, I accepted the existence of God from an early age. Over time, this recognition became personal, but it was a confession that stood out to me. Before it was a conscious choice, it was my home environment. But this is not the only way to know God.
Topic 1: The Existence Of God
St. Thomas Aquinas taught that the existence of God is a foundation of faith: it is revealed by God and discovered by reason. Therefore, whether you have received any form of revelation or not, you can judge for yourself that God exists. St. Thomas admits that such an endeavor is difficult, time-consuming, and error-prone, but believes that those who practice it can “prove” God’s existence.
Pete: Well, I’ll eat. Let’s just say that I’m willing to accept the idea that God’s existence is reasonably attainable. Where do we start?
It begins by first observing the world around us – in five ways. It starts close to your experience. For example, things are moving or things are disappearing. Then, from these observations, it returns to the source of the sequence of observations. Essentially, he decides that reality cannot explain itself as reason. Hence, the need for something or someone is a way of transcending the limits of creation.
Bonus: A Catholic Scientist On Philosophical Proofs For God
And so, for example, St. Thomas remarks (third) that everything that exists cannot be or could not be otherwise. Then neither you nor I could have been born. I can get off the curb in front of the bus. You can be passionate about space aliens. Anything can happen. Our existence is accidental and unnecessary.
? Or, as it is sometimes said, why is nothing rather than anything? This is the kind of question and the kind of inquiry that St. P. Thomas returns to God as the source of truth.
Pete: So God is the cause of everything? But then, can’t the skeptic ask who or what God did? Are we stuck in an unsolvable dilemma here, brother? Gregory?
A Catholic Scientist Proves God Exists & In The Beginning (2 Book Set)
Fr. Gregory: St. Thomas replied: Everything that moves must have motion, and everything that happens must have a cause. But for the whole chain of motions or causes to work, there must be some motion or cause without a cause—which gives the whole sequence the ability to move or cause. God is not the mover or cause of the way things are. He is unmoved and has no cause, so to ask what motion or cause He has is to eliminate God’s individuality in the order of existence.
Pete: And honestly. Let’s say we agree on a case for no reason. But why does God consider this reason to be without a reason? Couldn’t it be a meatball or an electron or something else?
Fr. Gregory: St. Thomas draws some conclusions from the five ways and admits that they are not like the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He discovered immanence, the transcendent first cause, the ultimate essential essence, absolute perfection, and the end of all creation. But St. Thomas can guess what he took along the way to prove additional points about God. So for example, the great benefit of the five ways is to recognize that God does not come in any way, He is. In fact, it is its nature. Therefore, there is nothing in God that St. Thomas calls it energy. . . There is no way to feel more. It is fully realized. Indeed, it is pure imagination that St. Thomas calls the action pure.
Does God Exist? — Thomistic Institute
This result has many implications. God is not limited in His ways in creation. Because we are human, we are not Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwiches or Kiwi birds. Therefore, what we are is a limited and very rounded expression of “what we are”. God crosses that line. It literally destroys everything that exists. Nothing
It survives the embrace of all and at the same time infinite life. Therefore, it cannot be reduced to the Higgs Boson or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. . . Because to think about such things is to lose the essence of God.
Dear side note: I work for Tomistica. We have launched Aquinas 101, a program that brings interested students closer to the thought of St. Louis. Thomas Aquinas. It will be very helpful for those who have little interest in such questions. This is a series of short videos that will be published throughout the year about St. Peter’s. Thomas Aquinas, his philosophy and introduction.
Catholic Charismatics: An Age Of Revolution
. . . With all the readings, podcasts and additional resources. This is strange. Registration is highly recommended 🙂 Oh, it’s free too.
Pat: Weird, I’ll invent the Flying Spaghetti Monster. congratulations You brought me there. One more complaint before we go. Could it not be that God is the universe? What is wrong with praying to the universe?
. In contrast, all living things exist in this way and not otherwise. And the individual manifestation of each being is a matter of its specific, limited participation in God’s being. | https://thebloggertimes.com/how-do-we-know-god-exists-catholic/ |
Most human beings have gone through their lives being unseen for who they truly are, and unheard for what needs to be expressed. This results in our developing loud, abrasive speech when we talk and stomping when we walk. As connective and expressive beings by nature, what is in us must be expressed, one way or another. Our traumas of being unseen and unheard find their way to the surface, usually in a way that is not ideal. If children aren’t allowed to be themselves, they grow up to become escape artists, rarely feeling comfortable in their bodies or their minds. Healing from mental health problems and addiction issues reconnects us to an infinite source of imagination contained within human consciousness. Creativity blossoms and curiosity heightens. Friendships mirror purity. Simplicity returns and is celebrated. Presence becomes a daily pursuit. In short, we build a safe bridge back to our childhood and allow our inner child to experience adulthood for the first time, free from emotional trauma. In this newfound space, anything we choose to dream can become a possibility.
If you’re seeking support on how to discuss your loved one needing help, we have some guidance that may support them getting into treatment and helping you say what it is you really feel. When you talk to your loved one about what you’ve been seeing, it will likely go one of two ways: they will either understand and express alignment with what you think is best based on how they’ve been feeling, or they will deny needing support in any way. Some tips to help you through the discussion, founded solely on how one human being should talk to another, are listed below.
When talking to your loved one, say what you mean, and mean what you say:
Take a deep breath
Make sure you’ve eaten, drank water, and gotten good sleep so you’re in the best possible headspace
Talk about yourself and what you’ve seen, using “I” statements
Do not be accusatory
Speak to listen, not to be heard
Admit where you may have supported the current situation
Speak from the heart and listen to your loved one from the heart
Meet them with love, not with fear
Partial Hospitalization
Intensive Outpatient
Outpatient
Good Heart Recovery offers three different outpatient levels of care, each designed to align with an individual’s course of progress and symptom presentation. Every level of care offers group therapy sessions that are specifically designed each morning and afternoon based on the individual members of the group. The schedules above reflect a typical week at each of our levels of care. Please note, the Intensive Outpatient Program can be mornings or afternoons and the Outpatient Program can contain varying days and times. In addition to group therapy, each of our clients at the top two levels of care receive up to six individual sessions a week, every week while they are in treatment:
PSYCHIATRIC APPOINTMENTS
Each week, our clients are assessed by our medical doctor and PhD in psychoanalysis, Dr. Margorie Gies for medication needs and medical evaluations.
CLINICAL THERAPY
Weekly one-on-one therapy sessions with a Master’s level clinician allow for each of our clients to address the underlying causes of their mental health and substance use disorders.
CLINICAL CASE
MANAGEMENT
One a week sessions with a Master’s level case manager provides structured and progressive workshops for clients to gain future employment and educational goals and work on legal and housing issues, as well as relapse prevention and crisis plans.
PSYCHOSPIRITUAL CONSULTATIONS
Our co-founder meets with each client every week to discuss the ‘bigger questions’ about recovery such as: What’s next? Who am I and who do I want to be? How can I release the past? and how to put all the pieces of progress together into a plan for the future.
FAMILY CONNECTION SESSIONS
We work with families to schedule conjoined family connection sessions for the client and their loved ones to come together and discuss the next steps towards reunification and a deeper understanding of one another.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS
To track our clients’ progress over the course of treatment, we complete psychological assessments upon intake, monthly, and upon discharge to determine our clients’ levels of hope, authenticity, depression, anxiety, mindfulness, automatic thoughts, self-compassion, and loneliness.
Can You Trust Us To Care For Your Loved One?
A Healing Center That Feels Like Home
IT’S OUR MISSION TO HEAL OTHERS
A healer’s oath is to “do no harm” and we strive to meet that oath in every step we take as a unified center. We understand that human life is precious and as family members, we know that the care a loved one receives is trusted and that trust should not be broken. Your loved one will be our highest priority and we will care for them like they deserved to be cared for.
WE WILL TREAT THEM LIKE OUR FAMILY
We’ve been through treatment or we have put a family member through treatment. We’ve lost people we love and we’ve seen people succeed beyond their wildest imagination. Our goal is to make sure everything we offer at Good Heart Recovery we would want to be offered to us and/or our loved ones at a treatment center.
ARRIVAL
We will work with the client to obtain a release of information and we will reach out to you to confirm they have arrived at our center.
WEEKLY CONTACT
Your loved one’s master’s level clinical case manager will reach out to you every week to provide an update based on the approval of your loved one based on medical confidentiality.
A COMPLETE FAMILY PROGRAM
We also have an entire family program where you will be provided family and/or couples sessions with your loved one, which can be done via teleconferencing if needed.
ADDITIONAL FAMILY SUPPORT
Every Tuesday night, if you are local to Santa Barbara, we offer a family connection workshop where you will learn how to deal with the difficulties, successes, and various aspects of your own self-care and your loved one’s recovery.
FAMILY CONNECTION PROGRAM
Join Our Free Family Therapy Groups - Open to The Public.
Our Family Connection Program focuses on increasing communication between family members and their loved ones suffering from mental health and addiction issues. The program serves to develop an understanding between each individual in the family system through psychoeducation and coping skill integration and to reconnect the family through the innate compassion and acceptance we know to exist in all families underneath the pain and struggle of such difficult times. We work to help you support your loved one and yourself.
Events in August 2022
Your Loved One’s Clinical Outpatient Treatment Team
Over 80 years combined experience treating mental health & substance abuse
Good Heart Recovery’s compassionate and dedicated team is comprised of a multidisciplinary group of mental health and substance abuse clinicians and counselors. Uniquely executively and medically run by doctoral-level clinicians and clinically run by seasoned masters level psychotherapists, our team is committed to finding, treating, and reconciling the underlying issues that bring individuals into treatment.
I Need Help
You are not alone. We are here to help.
My Loved One Needs Help
Let’s come up with a solution together. | https://goodheartrecovery.com/iop/family-therapy/?mcat=2&format=list |
Arms control, any international control or limitation of the development, testing, production, deployment, or use of weapons based on the premise that the continued existence of certain national military establishments is inevitable. The concept implies some form of collaboration between generally competitive or antagonistic states in areas of military policy to diminish the likelihood of war or, should war occur, to limit its destructiveness.
Not surprisingly, in view of the threat of nuclear devastation, the second challenge to the traditional paradigm of strategy came from the effort to control nuclear weapons. Arms control has had a long history, perhaps as old as organized warfare itself, but it…
Definition
In a broad sense, arms control grows out of historical state practice in disarmament, which has had, since the 20th century, a long record of successes and failures. A narrower definition of each term, however, reveals key differences between disarmament and arms control. Complete or general disarmament may involve the elimination of a country’s entire military capacity. Partial disarmament may consist of the elimination of certain types or classes of weapons or a general reduction (but not elimination) of all classes of weapons. Whereas disarmament agreements usually directly prohibit the possession or production of weapons, arms-control agreements often proceed by setting limitations on the testing, deployment, or use of certain types of weapons. Arms-control advocates generally take a more or less realistic approach to international relations, eschewing pacifism in a world they view as anarchic and as lacking any central authority for settling conflicts. Furthermore, whereas the objective of disarmament agreements is the reduction or elimination of weapons, arms-control agreements aim to encourage countries to manage their weapons in limited cooperation with each other. Disarmament conferences with a large number of participants have often degenerated into public spectacles with shouting matches between the delegations of countries that have resulted in increased tensions. Nevertheless, arms-control efforts, particularly those between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, proved useful in limiting the nuclear arms race, and, by the end of the 20th century, the term arms control was often used to denote any disarmament or arms-limitation agreement.
History
Early efforts
The first international assembly that addressed the issue of arms control (among other issues) was the first Hague Convention (1899). Although this and later Hague conferences failed to limit armaments, they did adopt a number of agreements on territorial and functional matters. Other Hague conferences addressed issues of arbitration and principles and treaties of warfare. The Hague Convention approved prohibitions on the use of asphyxiating gases and expanding bullets (dumdums) and discharges of projectiles or explosives from balloons, though none of these agreements was observed during World War I. After the war, the Washington Conference (1921–22)—before adjourning early—reached disarmament, arms-limitation, and arms-control agreements aimed at halting the naval arms race between the world’s leading powers. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Japan agreed to limit the number and tonnage of their capital ships and to scrap certain other ships. At the London Naval Conference (1930), however, Italy and France refused to agree to an extension of the agreement, and Japan withdrew in 1935. In 1925 the Geneva Protocol, which now has some 130 parties, prohibited the use of asphyxiating and poisonous gases and bacteriological weapons in international conflicts, though it did not apply to internal or civil wars. Because many countries retained the right to use such weapons in a retaliatory strike, the Geneva Protocol came to be seen as a broader and more effective agreement that included prohibitions of using such weapons in a first strike.
The Cold War: Soviet and U.S.-led arms-control agreements
World War II, during which some 40 to 50 million people died, was by far the bloodiest conflict in human history. The conclusion of the Pacific phase of the war ushered in the atomic age as the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Two of the victor states, the United States and the Soviet Union, soon began to develop large arsenals of nuclear weapons. The possibility of the mutual destruction of each country by the other in an intercontinental exchange of nuclear-armed missiles prompted them to undertake increasingly serious negotiations to limit first the testing, then the deployment, and finally the possession of these weapons. As precursors, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established in 1957 as an autonomous intergovernmental body, under the auspices of the United Nations, to promote peaceful uses of nuclear technology and to prevent the use of such technology for military purposes; and in 1959 the Antarctic Treaty, signed by 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, internationalized and demilitarized Antarctica and paved the way for future arms-control agreements between the Soviet Union and the United States. Many of the arms-control agreements of the Cold War period focused on mutual deterrence, a strategy in which the threat of reprisal would effectively preclude an initial attack.
U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy considered treaties that sought to control the production of weapons in an attempt to avoid a nuclear conflict. (Kennedy, in particular, was concerned with nuclear proliferation by the People’s Republic of China.) During the Cuban missile crisis (1962), a new series of arms-control issues appeared, including the need for diplomatic communication to avert potential nuclear catastrophe. Beginning in the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union sponsored several international arms-control agreements designed to be of limited risk to each side. The first of these, the partial Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (1963), prohibited tests of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater, which thus effectively confined nuclear explosions to underground sites. The Outer Space Treaty (1967) further limited the deployment of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction by banning countries from placing them in orbit. In 1968 the two superpowers took the lead in establishing the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Non-proliferation Treaty; NPT), whereby they agreed not to promote the spread, or proliferation, of nuclear weapons to countries that did not already possess them. Two classes of states are parties to the NPT: those possessing nuclear weapons, such as China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and nonnuclear states. The treaty, originally signed by 62 countries, had grown to some 185 parties by the early 21st century, although declared or suspected nuclear states such as India, Pakistan, and Israel were not parties. The NPT became effective in 1970 for a 25-year period; it was extended indefinitely in 1995.
During the 1970s the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) helped to restrain the continuing buildup by the Soviet Union and the United States of nuclear-armed intercontinental (long-range or strategic) ballistic missiles (ICBMs). One major part of the SALT I complex of agreements reached in 1972 severely limited each country’s future deployment of antiballistic missiles (ABMs), which could be used to destroy incoming ICBMs. The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty) provided that each country could have no more than two ABM deployment areas and could not establish a nationwide system of ABM defense; a protocol to the agreement, signed in 1974, limited each party to a single ABM deployment area. The ABM Treaty, which was predicated on the strategy of mutually assured destruction, ensured that each side would remain vulnerable to the other’s strategic offensive forces. Another part of the SALT I agreement froze the number of each side’s ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) at current levels. The SALT II agreement (1979) set limits on each side’s store of multiple independent reentry vehicles (MIRVs), which were strategic missiles equipped with multiple nuclear warheads capable of hitting different targets on the ground. This agreement placed limits on the number of MIRVs, strategic bombers, and other strategic launchers each side possessed. Although the SALT agreements stabilized the nuclear arms race between the two superpowers, it did so at very high force levels, with each country continuing to possess many times the offensive capacity needed to utterly destroy the other in a nuclear exchange. (For a technical discussion of weapons systems, see the article rocket and missile system.)
During the 1970s the United States and the Soviet Union also facilitated the establishment of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (1972). Commonly known as the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the agreement supplemented the Geneva Protocol of 1925 and required all signatories both to refrain from developing and producing biological or toxin weapons and to destroy such weapons that they may possess that “have no justification for prophylactic, protective, and other peaceful purposes.” Since it entered into force in 1975, the convention has been reviewed several times in order to take into account new scientific and technological developments, though there is no method in place to monitor compliance.
In 1985 the accession in the Soviet Union of a liberalizing regime under Mikhail Gorbachev generated intensified arms-control negotiations between the two superpowers. The result of these efforts, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (1987), committed the United States and the Soviet Union to the complete elimination of their stocks of intermediate- and medium-range land-based missiles. In the meantime, a new set of bilateral negotiations between the superpowers had begun in 1982 with the aim of reducing rather than merely limiting their arsenals of nuclear warheads and launch platforms (missiles and bombers). These negotiations, called the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START), produced a treaty in 1991 that committed the superpowers to reducing their strategic nuclear forces by 25 to 30 percent over a period of years. The United States and the Soviet Union also began eliminating various types of tactical (battlefield) nuclear-armed weapons, including artillery shells, depth charges, land mines, bombs, and the warheads carried on various tactical missiles. The START agreement built on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (1990), which committed the Warsaw Pact and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to strict limits on the number of tanks, combat aircraft, armoured vehicles, and attack helicopters that each side could possess.
Recent efforts
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in late 1991, newly sovereign Russia undertook efforts to drastically reduce its nuclear and conventional armed forces through unilateral actions and agreements with the United States. The newly independent republics of Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan inherited some of the Soviet Union’s nuclear arsenal but quickly pursued complete nuclear disarmament; all three became nuclear free by 1996. In 1992 an informal agreement (START II) was reached between the United States and Russia that would further drastically reduce each country’s strategic nuclear forces over a period extending into the early 21st century.
In the 1990s the United States and Russia played major roles in the conclusion of the Chemical Weapons Convention (1993), which prohibited the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and called for the destruction of existing stocks within 10 years. The convention, drafted by the 39 countries of the Conference on Disarmament and entering into force in 1997, reaffirmed the Geneva Protocol of 1925, restated the prohibitions of the Treaty of Versailles (1919) and the Washington treaties (1921–22) against the use of poisonous gases, and added a ban on bacteriological warfare; some 150 states were party to the agreement by the early 21st century. The 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which would prohibit all forms of nuclear explosive testing, had been signed by more than 165 states and ratified by more than 100 by the early 21st century but had failed to enter into force because some of the 44 states whose signatures were required for its enactment (including the United States, China, India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan) chose not to sign. In 1997, as a result of efforts led by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), a treaty prohibiting the use of antipersonnel mines was negotiated; it went into effect in 1999, and, by the early 21st century, nearly 150 countries had signed it, though China, Russia, and the United States had not. | https://www.britannica.com/topic/arms-control |
*To say Usain Bolt is fast is an understatement.
Dude is lightening fast! After all, his name is Usain BOLT, right?
Well anyway, on Sunday in Moscow at the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships, he reclaimed his 100-meter world gold crown he lost through a false start in South Korea two years ago.
Now, the Olympic champion once again holds every major sprint title there is.
And he shook off rain, sore legs, a slow start and any doubters Sunday to prove there never has been an athlete quite like him.
“For me to come in and regain my title, it’s always great to be back,” Bolt said.
Despite getting late out of the blocks in the downpour, the Jamaican superstar steadily caught up with 2004 Olympic champion Justin Gatlin and left the American behind with a trademark late burst of speed that, still, no one can match.
“I came out here just to execute and get it right and to win,” Bolt said. “That’s what I do.”
Gatlin made it more of race than many thought he could, staying ahead until the closing stages.
Get the rest of this story at USA Today. | http://www.eurweb.com/2013/08/usain-bolt-reclaims-100-meter-world-championship-crown-pics/ |
His family is growing. This Monday, may 18, Usain Bolt has become a father of a little girl, the fruit of his love with the model Kasi Bennett. There are, however, a caveat to this good news.
He is the fastest man in the world, but, on Monday, may 18, the world has learned that Usain Bolt has become a father. For the past six years, the winningest athlete in the history of the Olympic Games in sprint shares the life of Kasi Bennett, a model of three years his junior. Of discrete nature, only revealing that rarely in public, after revealed their romance in 2017, the lovebirds have welcomed a little girl as revealed by our colleagues on the HuffPost. A happy new one detail since, in this day of celebration, the athlete of 33 years has been to steal the limelight on the social networks. It is not him who announced the birth of his first child.
In fact, on Twitter, the jamaican Prime minister Andrew Holness has charged, well before Usain Bolt could make it to the world. “Congratulations to our legend of sprint – Usain Bolt and Kasi Bennett for the arrival of their little girl“, can be read in a publication unveiled on the social network at the blue bird in the afternoon of this Monday, may 18. A message adorning a plate in which the politician shares the spotlight with the main concerned. The news was confirmed, in the wake, by the local press. A detail that did not record the internet users. They have been many to congratulate the young dad in the thread of comments.
Congratulations to our sprint legend Usain Bolt (@usainbolt) and Kasi Bennett on the arrival of their baby girl! pic.twitter.com/bheXPgU7Qd
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) May 18, 2020
A pregnancy announced in January
If they have not been able to announce the birth of their daughter, Usain Boltand his beautiful can be comforting to have, at least, been able to reveal his arrival to themselves. In the month of January 2020, the athlete took to his account of Instagram to inform his fans that he was waiting for a happy event. “I just want to say that a KING or a QUEEN is about to happen, “he wrote in the caption of a photograph of Kasi Bennett, his hand resting on his belly. The beauty of jamaica had shared her own announcement on the social network. | https://thegaltimes.com/usain-bolt-dad-how-he-is-made-to-steal-the-limelight-for-this-unique-day/8362/ |
Rap Report > Trust in Genomics: A Challenge for Scientists and Ethicists Alike
Access to data and the quality of data depend partially on the quality of trust between physicians, researchers and many different patients. When trust breaks down, patients and research subjects may request that their samples be withdrawn, or they may not provide samples and data in the first place. Technological developments that enable biomedical institutions to bank vast quantities of tissues and data today introduce new challenges to this critical project of creating and maintaining trust. Any tissue now given for research or routine medical care technically could be used for an indefinite amount of time for entirely unforeseen purposes. In such a situation, it is hard to say that anyone understands what they are consenting to, even the researchers and physicians collecting samples and running trials. Under these conditions, trust based in mutual understanding faces new challenges.
How to address these novel challenges will be at the center of the Science & Justice Working Group meeting on April 16, 2014, “Trust in Genomics: A Problem of Knowledge and Ethics”, 4:00-6:00PM in Engineering 2 599 on the UCSC campus. In this discussion, respected medical geneticist Wylie Burke (University Washington) and cultural anthropologist and bioethicist Barbara Koenig (UCSF) will share their experiences working with biobanks, researchers and patients to build better data sets by attending to matters of trust and respect.
Dr. Barbara Koenig, professor of medical anthropology and bioethics in the UCSF School of Nursing, is the co-Director of a newly launched research institute at UCSF dedicated to understanding the ethical, legal and social implications of translational medical genomics, The Center for Transdisciplinary ELSI Research in Translational Genomics (CT2G). By bringing together a broad, multidisciplinary range of expertise, CT2G is endeavoring to ask, and answer, questions about how genomic information will be used in a manner that benefits researchers, patients and broader publics. “A decade after the human genome was fully mapped,” Koenig argues, “figuring out how to translate genomic findings into prevention and clinical care has become a public health priority.”
Dr. Wylie Burke, Professor of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington and Principal Investigator of the University of Washington Center for Genomics and Healthcare Equality, co-authored an article in Science (Trinidad et al., 2011) that highlighted the potential benefits of approaching consent (and re-consent) as an opportunity to engage with donors beyond legal formalities. She and her co-authors examine the downstream consequences of not thoroughly consenting donors for the use of their biological materials and data. Drawing on cases that have appeared in the headlines, such as the sequencing of the HeLa cell line, they examine the wide range of opinions about how best to protect patient privacy and dignity in an age when even experts cannot anticipate how biological samples might be used in the near future. In the article, they propose that “researchers and IRBs consider how the informed consent process could be used to foster respectful engagement, rather than merely mitigate risk.”
This discussion is the second in a series of discussions that the SJRC is hosting on Data Justice (see Science and Justice in an Age of Big Data: A Conversation with Peter Yu and David Haussler for a description of the first meeting held on January 22, 2014). The meeting is co-sponsored by the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, the Center for Biomolecular Sciences and Engineering, and the GENECATS and CANCERCATS research groups. | https://scijust.ucsc.edu/2014/04/16/trust-in-genomics-a-problem-of-knowledge-as-well-as-ethics/ |
Sarah Kim, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
About Sarah Kim
Sarah Kim, Ph.D. is a practicing pharmacometrician with a background in Applied Mathematics and a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutics at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. As an early-stage Principal Investigator (PI), she is leading several funded computational modeling projects to create and innovate quantitative solutions in healthcare. The shared goal of these projects is to develop clinical trial simulation (CTS) tools. These tools will help drug developers optimize clinical trial designs to detect therapeutic effects more efficiently, therefore reducing clinical trial times, expenses, and participant burden. Her research teams are currently focusing on development of the CTS tools for type 1 diabetes (T1D) prevention studies in partnership with JDRF and C-Path’s Type 1 Diabetes Consortium (JDRF 2-SRA-2020-903-A-N, PI: Kim), and for efficacy evaluation studies of potential therapies in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in collaboration with ImagingDMD and C-Path’s Duchenne Regulatory Science Consortium (NIH 1R21TR004006, PI: Kim). Using Artificial Intelligence (AI), her research team is also currently developing an imaging analysis and informatics tool to improve understanding of T1D progression (UF Informatics Institute AI SEED Fund, PI: Kim). She has received recognition including the David Goldstein Award and Presidential Trainee Awards from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Since 2020, she has been serving as an AI initiative committee member at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.
Accomplishments
Research Profile
Dr. Kim’s current research focuses on:
(1) Developing disease progression model-based clinical trial simulation tools to optimize clinical trial enrichment and design of studies to investigate the efficacy of potential therapies. She is currently focusing on optimizing clinical trial designs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and type 1 diabetes.
(2) Developing Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)-assisted imaging analysis and informatics tools that will accelerate the analysis of imaging data and provide insights into better understanding of disease progression. Ultimately, the AI/ML-based tools will help in the rational design of disease prevention and treatment strategies.
(3) Population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD)-modeling and simulation informing experimental designs of anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis agents to identify optimal regimens which markedly shorten the length of tuberculosis treatments and prevent the emergence of resistance.
Publications
Grants
Education
Teaching Profile
Contact Details
- Business:
- (407) 313-7044
- Business: | https://pharmacy.ufl.edu/profile/kim-sarah/ |
Celebrating 200 Years of the Scots!
Whether you are of Scottish descent or want to be a “Scot” for the day, the village of Caledonia Missouri is celebrating its 2019 Bicentennial by honoring its long history of Scottish heritage.
Founded in May 1819 by Scotsman Alexander Craighead, Caledonia will offer a taste of Scottish heritage; starting with a Scottish themed parade down Main Street at 9AM, led by the local Veterans and members of the Scottish-American Military Society with bagpipes; the day will feature Scottish Clan tents, a traditional Calling of the Clans event, the Claddagh Dancers, Scottish vendors with merchandise straight from Scotland and demonstrations explaining tartan history and Scottish terminology. The Scottish St. Andrew Society will have an informational booth; The Village will recognize the representatives of the founding families of the village and will be honored to have H.M. Honorary Consul to Missouri for the United Kingdom Mark Sutherland. Mr. Sutherland was born in Scotland and represents the U.K. here in the states.
Vendors seeking information about the Vintage & Antique market should contact Nina Gilliam at (314) 409-7015.
Copyright © Scottish St. Andrew Society of Greater St. Louis. All rights reserved. | https://www.stlstandrews.com/village-of-caledonia-bicentennial/ |
Statistics is the study of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation. Statisticians summarize and visualize data in meaningful ways, test hypotheses, estimate unknown quantities in the population, and predict unknown outcomes based on available data.
The Statistics B.S. prepares you (i) to summarize and visualize data, (ii) to analyze data to address research objectives, (iii) to communicate results clearly and effectively in both oral and written forms, (iv) to understand the role of the profession in service of society, and (v) to work in interdisciplinary environments.
Our program is designed for two paths. The first path is for workforce immediately after the B.S. degree such as industry (e.g., business, pharmaceuticals, actuarial science) and federal agencies. The second path is to pursue graduate degrees (M.S., M.A., or Ph.D.) in statistics, biostatistics, data science, and related fields requiring the statistical skills. | https://csumb.edu/catalog/statistics-bs/ |
There are very few math books that merit the adjective ‘charming’ but Mage Merlin's Unsolved Mathematical Mysteries (MIT Press, 2020) is one of them. Satyan Devadoss and Matt Harvey have chosen a truly unique, creative and charming way to acquaint readers with some of the unsolved problems of mathematics. Some are classic, such as the Goldbach Conjecture, some are fairly well known, such as the Collatz Conjecture. Others are less well known but no less fascinating – and all are intriguing and both enjoyable and tantalizing to contemplate. The authors have woven the problems into a coherent story, and I think you’ll enjoy hearing – and reading – both the story and the associated problems. | https://newbooksnetwork.com/satyan-devadoss-mage-merlins-unsolved-mathematical-mysteries-mit-press-2020?token=wCaQSGaUKxpgMJtJidLWHH9bpmUnjoqX |
1. Is it reasonable for staff at hospitals and aged-care facilities to witness EPGs?
Hospitals and aged-care facilities will need to develop their own policies and guidelines about whether staff can or should witness Enduring Power of Guardianship (EPG) documents. This guidance will be important to ensure duty of care requirements are met and that staff are not placed under duress to witness powers especially where there may be concerns about the capacity of the person making the EPG.
2. Can service providers request a copy of an EPG?
When seeking decisions on behalf of a person who has lost capacity, it will be important for service providers to ensure they approach the correct person. Therefore service providers should ensure that requesting a copy of any EPG is part of the process when a person becomes a client. Service providers should also consider how to record information about the EPG, the authority of the enduring guardian and how to ensure all staff are aware of this.
3. If a client's enduring guardian appears to be struggling with the role, what support is available and how can I help them?
If you can see an enduring guardian is having difficulty in their role, perhaps because a decision is complex or they do not have time to see the person regularly, it would be helpful to discuss their concerns to see if they can be resolved.
The Office of the Public Advocate’s Guide to Enduring Power of Guardianship in Western Australia provides information to an enduring guardian about the decision making process. Reading this may be enough to assist them in their role. The enduring guardian can also contact the Office of the Public Advocate's Telephone Advisory Service on 1300 858 455. While the advisory office cannot make the decision for the enduring guardian, they may be able to offer advice which will assist them in their role.
4. If I suspect that an enduring guardian is acting inappropriately in the role, what should I do?
If you have reason to believe that an enduring guardian is in any way abusing or neglecting the appointor, or not making decisions which are in their best interests, and talking with the enduring guardian has not resolved your concerns, you may wish to consider making an application to the State Administrative Tribunal in relation to the operation of the EPG.
5. What role should I play if a client wishes to complete an EPG?
Service providers and health professionals play a key role in ensuring that consumers have easy access to information about enduring powers of guardianship and how to make them. While it is anticipated that people will complete the powers independently, as a service provider you may be able to assist in directing people where to get the appropriate information, such as the Office of the Public Advocate’s website, range of publications and Telephone Advisory Service.
6. A client who made an EPG has since lost capacity. Who do I consult for decisions regarding personal, lifestyle and treatment matters?
If a person has made an EPG they will have decided who should make specific decisions on their behalf when they lose capacity. Service providers will need to see the EPG in order to know who has been appointed as enduring guardian(s) and what decision they have the authority to make. Where the enduring guardian has the authority to make the required decision you must consult the enduring guardian.
If a decision is required for which the enduring guardian does not have the required authority, and a decision cannot be made informally, the enduring guardian may wish to make an application to the State Administrative Tribunal for a variation of the EPG. | https://www.publicadvocate.wa.gov.au/F/faqs_for_health_professionals.aspx?uid=3522-2298-4611-8879 |
Some of the most interesting discussions I’ve had with teachers in recent times have been about the challenge of making modelling work so that students all learn to do the things they are modelling. In one case it was in English. The teacher found it frustrating that, despite feeling she was doing the ‘right things’ in her modelling, several students still couldn’t get going. Over a series of instructional coaching discussions we identified what was happening. If you had a video of her alone, you’d see a teacher giving a really clear exposition of how to write the paragraph in the form required. As a knowledgable adult writer, it made total sense to me. But, if you were to see it through the eyes of one of the struggling students, it was like a novice dancer watching an expert: impressive but overwhelming. Put simply, there were too many steps to learn all at once. Initially the teacher had asked the class to copy down the exemplar as she live modelled it – but we identified that in doing this students were not mentally engaging with her explanatory talk; they were just focused on copying the words correctly. Not enough thinking was being done. She changed approach, broke it down into even smaller steps and got students to discuss and then practise their own version of each small step – phrase by phrase. It took longer but the results were far better.
I’ve had similar discussions in other contexts too. Ollie Lovell discusses the issue in relation to ‘worked examples’ in his excellent Cognitive Load Theory In Action book.. – see a discussion of it in the video here. (view from 27.35)
As Ollie explains, worked examples are not examples students do for practice after a teacher explains some model answers; they are examples teachers and students work through together before students then practise independently.
As with the English modelling example, the learning happens in the extended handover with the teacher carefully managing the cognitive load and reducing scaffolding slowly, step by step. An example of this is the use of backward fading in maths problems – but the general idea applies elsewhere.
One way to thing of this is in terms of a handover, baton-style:
A baton exchange is only successful if the receiver get a firm grip. If you look from a distance, it might appear instantaneous. But learning doesn’t form in that way with knowledge leaping from the teacher to the student:
Watching a teacher perform a task doesn’t necessarily mean a student can do it, even if they have seen exactly what the teacher has done and heard them explain it really clearly. There’s just too much to take in, to process and turn into knowledge they can deploy themselves.
What is needed is a much more extended hand-over where the teacher works with the students to do the task together:
Zoom right in on that baton hand-over. It’s not instaneous; a crucial time passes when both people are holding the baton together. In that brief moment, they are communicating through the touch: Have you got it? No, not yet. Ok, I’m still with you. Grip harder. Have you got it now. Nearly, keeping holding, I’m nearly there.. Ok. You’re ready.. Off you go. Yes, I’m ready, let go. I already have…. you’re away.
In a real world lesson context the ‘We do it together’ process is the key to modelling. Ollie Lovell refers to this as the ‘alternation strategy’. This is where students get a sense of what it feels like to do the task successfully, working towards the moment of independence. Students who struggle need this to be longer, with more smaller steps, more iterations of to and fro until they are up and running. This period will be fuelled by lots of checking for understanding and guided practice on the details. I’ve met teachers who hold back from this – they think of it as spoon-feeding and spoon-feeding is a bad thing. I have to say to them – no, it’s not; it’s ok. It’s teaching! Don’t drop that baton for fear of over-helping. Of course you have to let go in the end… but only when they’re ready.
So, if modelling isn’t quite firing for you, the answer is likely to be that you need to break it down even more, getting students to practise each step with you alongside them even more before you move onto the next one. As with learning a dance, once you know the steps you can then start to link them together, to practise several at once until, eventually you have the whole dance. Sometimes you just need to practise the beginning, the middle or the end – and the same is true for writing and maths problems. You don’t always need to start from the beginning – so varying the point at which modelling begins can be a useful thing to consider.
Update. Here’s a fabulous graphic from David Goodwin. | https://teacherhead.com/2020/11/28/the-art-of-modelling-its-all-in-the-handover/ |
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Descriptive Statistics: Demographic Variables
<![CDATA[
Descriptive Statistics: Demographic Variables
ART 1 Thomas, P.E. (2011). Do racial disparities persist in infant mortality from respiratory distress syndrome? Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 40(1), 47-51. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.2010.01205.x Identify the (descriptive) demographic variables reported in the article, their level of measurement, and the statistical test(s) used to report their results using the table below. Demographic variable Level of measurement Descriptive statistic used [Example: hair color] [nominal] [Number/frequency, percentage] PART 2 Work Sheet on Statistics to Determine Differences A study is developed to determine if there is a difference in the average fasting blood glucose in participants randomized to a dietary intervention group or a group receiving an exercise intervention in addition to a dietary intervention. 1. What is the independent variable? 2. What is the dependent variable? 3. Are the two groups independent or dependent? 4. What statistical test should be used to measure the outcome variable? Why? 5. Write a null hypothesis for this study. 6. Write an alternative hypothesis for this study. 7. The researcher selects a t-test to analyze the data which produces a p value of .07. She had selected an alpha of .05 prior to data collection. What is your conclusion based on this result? 8. What type of error might the researcher be making? 9. Under what circumstances would a t-test be an inappropriate choice of statistical test for this study? 10. What if the researcher was only able to recruit 20 participants? What other statistical test(s) should be considered to compare the differences in the outcome variable? Why?]]>
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Summary: Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.
When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death, only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task -find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons – and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side.
Genre: fantasy, young adult
Rating: ★★★★★
The Keeper of Night is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. I’ve been in a slight reading slump, chugging through books but feeling content if I abandon them for a few days; nothing has been stealing or keeping my attention, and then this book came along and changed everything. I thought about it when I wasn’t reading it. I put headphones in and let the real world dissolve entirely as I got sucked into this one. I’m already excitedly anticipating the sequel.
What initially sucked me into this story (aside from the cover, hello look at it) was the writing style. The prose here is so gorgeous, and there were numerous times where I paused to reread a line because of how breathtaking and heartbreaking it was. This is definitely not an easy or heartwarming story, and the writing so eloquently emphasizes that without losing sight of the story arc or characters. In fact, the prose here left me feeling like I was actually on the adventure with the main characters. I could drown myself in Baker’s writing and can’t wait to read any and everything she writes in the future.
The night had become physically heavy on my shoulders with the weight of Hiro’s anguish. It tasted of soot on my tongue, crawling down my throat and filling up my lungs. I too knew how it felt to be crushed under the weight of the entire night sky.
I also genuinely loved how unique the entire story is. Books have been written before about Reapers, sure, but Ren is especially different because she’s half British and half Japanese, also making her part Shinigami. Japanese folklore is so terrifying and creative, and it’s this element that really sets it apart from similar story arcs. This isn’t a story about people with magical abilities discovering a mythical new world, like Alice in Wonderland. This is about actual harbingers of death violently fighting and killing malignant supernatural beings. The action scenes are gory, gruesome, and downright brutal. I loved meeting so many different types of characters and creatures, all taking place in a world that was so foreign to me (Japan and the underworld, of course). The general story arc here, with Ren running away from one side of her culture to discover another, isn’t necessarily a new device, but there are so many unique elements to her story, and I fell in love with every single one of them.
Ren’s relationship with her brother, Neven, was downright heartbreaking. Neven gave up being a Reaper, and essentially threw his entire life away, to join Ren on her journey. They might have only been half-siblings, but Neven never looked at Ren any differently, and along the way he protected her and helped her because he knew how important the journey was for her. Neven always saw Ren as just Ren, not half-Reaper or half-Shinigami; in his eyes, she was always enough, not necessarily designed by where she came from. But Ren craved more than that, and in her desperate attempt to be accepted by the part of her heritage that hadn’t rejected her, she caused their relationship to crack. I loved their relationship and what it stood for, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to see Ren push away the one person who had always accepted her as she was.
I also loved her relationship with Hiro, a character she meets along the way who guides her and introduces her to the underworld. Like Neven, I initially felt like there was something off about him the entire time, and I was waiting for a huge twist involving betrayal, but along the way I found myself warming up to him. He, like Neven, accepted Ren for who she was immediately, and I had such a soft spot for him. His relationship with Ren was enthralling, as he was the first person to truly desire her for who she was. Their relationship bordered on romantic without ever quite going that far or overthrowing the rest of the story, which I enjoyed.
Ren’s internal struggle and road to self-discovery was incredible, and it’s important to note that there is proper biracial Asian representation here. In Britain, Ren was never quite good enough to be a regular Reaper because of the other half of her heritage. She was bullied and even disowned by her own father, so she flees to Japan to discover and fully embrace the Shinigami part of herself. However, once she gets there, she’s still constantly called a foreigner, and she finds herself having to prove to others that she is enough. Her frustration over her her race was so well done (“Why am I the only one with no say in who I am?”) , and while I found the ending to be quite a whirlwind and surprise, I was happy to see where Ren ended up, as it cemented which piece of her heritage she embraced and clung to. I can’t wait to see where the sequel takes her.
I thought of Tennyson’s poems, how love and Death were supposed to be archenemies, light and darkness. But Tennyson had never known Reapers or Shinigami, or the look in Hiro’s eyes like he saw the entire universe in me, the darkness in his eyes that somehow looked starving, ready to devour everything, and maybe I wanted to be devoured. | https://butfirstkafka.com/2021/11/15/review-the-keeper-of-night-by-kylie-lee-baker/ |
Eighteen leading UK doctors and medical academics have called for a ban on fracking.
In a letter to the British Medical Journal, the group, which includes nine professors, said the arguments against fracking on public health and ecological grounds were overwhelming.
The group said:
“Fracking is an inherently risky activity that produces hazardous levels of air and water pollution that can have adverse impacts on health. It said: “There are clear grounds for adopting the precautionary principle and prohibiting fracking.”
The signatories include the former chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Clare Gerada, the chief executive of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Helen Gordon, and former deputy chief medical officer, Dr Sheila Adam. Members of the group hold posts at the Universities of Liverpool, Southampton, Lancaster and University College London.
In October 2013, Public Health England (PHE) concluded that the potential emissions associated with shale gas extraction were low, if operations were properly run and regulated. But that report has been criticised for not including in its analysis a large range of health studies published during 2013.
In December 2014, the health professionals’ charity, Medact, said “the claim of PHE that fracking is safe if properly practised and regulated cannot be substantiated on the basis of the available evidence which is inadequate and incomplete”. A report by Medact, published today calls for a moratorium on fracking.
The BMJ letter, a response to the forthcoming Medact report, identified risks from heavy traffic, noise and odour from fracking. It also said the technique was socially-disruptive by creating temporary “boomtowns”. Damage to the natural environment was an additional health hazard, the letter said.
“Such risks would be magnified in the UK where fracking is projected to take place in closer proximity to more densely populated communities; and where there are concerns about the effectiveness of the regulatory system for onshore gas extraction.”
It also countered the argument that shale gas was a clean source of energy.
“Methane is a potent greenhouse gas in its own right and when burnt, produces carbon dioxide. Shale gas extraction would undermine our commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and be incompatible with global efforts to prevent global warming from exceeding two degrees centigrade.”
Yorkshire doctors call for health assessment on fracking
- GPs leaders in Yorkshire are calling for an assessment of potential health risks of fracking – before the technique is used in Ryedale. The NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (SRCCG) said there was not enough evidence to conclude that fracking posed a low risk to the local population. It called for a full Health Impact Assessment before decisions were made on shale gas exploration in the area. Third Energy is preparing a planning application to frack its existing exploration well at Kirby Misperton in Ryedale. It told MPs earlier this month if the well was successful the company would want to frack at up to 19 sites in the area, with between 10 and 50 wells per site. SRCCG, at a meeting last week, agreed there should be a full Health Impact Assessment before any planning application was decided. | https://drillordrop.com/2015/03/30/leading-uk-medics-call-for-fracking-ban/?replytocom=16133 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system that enhances revenue and reduces costs by integrating services associated with the wireless communication industry.
2. Background of the Technology
Wireless communication, such as cellular or digital telephone communication, is widespread and continues to grow and evolve rapidly. Providers (interchangeably referred to herein as “carriers” or “operators”) in the wireless communication industry have an enormous task of providing seamless wireless communications to end parties (interchangeably referred to herein as “users” or “consumers”). The wireless communication systems, which form the technological foundation of the wireless communication industry, however, are not currently able to provide operators with the scope of integrated functions needed to keep up with the demands of the industry.
For instance, one significant problem faced by the wireless communication Industry is integrating signaling services (those that specifically provide wireless communication), with administrative services, such as billing and revenue management. The administrative services are typically managed by operations support systems (OSS) (interchangeably referred to herein as the “platform”), which are generally systems that process information supporting various management functions, such as billing, customer care, network management, inventory control, maintenance, trouble ticket reporting, surveillance and service provisioning.
The current technology in the wireless communication field is increasingly encumbered by legacy operating systems that were developed with a compartmentalized, functional view of the providers operations. Thus, billing systems are developed in isolation from the network, and signaling plays a limited role in service creation. The net results are highly capable and robust OSS systems that perform well within a limited functional sphere of capabilities. Carriers typically spend great time and resources in bringing these different operational systems into a harmonious optimal relationship. As long as OSS and billing providers continue to take a narrow and compartmentalized perspective to system design, architecture, and performance, sub-optimization will be the norm.
There is an increased awareness and demand for a more integrated OSS and network capabilities. Carriers are increasingly frustrated in being presented with dysfunctional systems that require extensive modifications before they can fully operate. The cost to the carrier can be incurred not only in terms of additional adaptation costs, but also in lost revenues as new service creation is delayed.
Wireless carriers are also demanding greater real, or near real-time, capabilities in the areas of real time service creation, quality of service optimization, and cost performance management from their OSS/Billing providers. The pressure on carriers to reduce costs, increase return on investment, and increase profitability has never been more severe.
For example, providers typically use numerous applications and platforms to carry out the plethora of services used by providers. This approach is inherently flawed and creates disadvantages for the provider mainly because this approach often limits the breadth of the applications. For instance, each application or platform used by the provider is focused on a specific task, thereby forcing the provider to compartmentalize activity. Compartmentalization is believed to be a narrow and inefficient method of addressing the activities of the provider.
Providers are increasingly growing frustrated with the reality of losses in revenue and the lack of available, easy-to-use remedies. For example, currently used technologies attempt to connect the multitude of services offered by providers by implementing extensive modifications to and upgrades of existing systems. This method of upgrading is not generally efficient; rather it has proven to be cost prohibitive due to the high costs associated with system testing, adaptation, and implementation. Moreover, this type of upgrade is commonly associated with numerous delays (due in part to the difficulty synchronizing older systems with newer applications. Delays usually account for significant revenue loss.
The present state of the technology also does not facilitate real-time processing. In particular, providers are limited in the areas of real-time service assessment and integration, quality of service optimization, and cost performance management. The inability to make real-time decisions and optimizations has an effect on the providers' revenue stream. For instance, in some cases, optimizations necessary to capture revenue are not implemented until a significant portion of available revenue is already lost.
It is widely believed, for example, that providers fail to collect significant amounts of revenue and that providers have unnecessary overhead that contributes to overall costs of operation. Accordingly, it is believed that providers suffer these losses of revenue, in part, because of 1) an inability of the present technology to accurately assess and collect revenue based on signaling or network use and 2) an inefficient method of processing revenue streams.
Thus, there remains an unmet need in the prior art for an elegant, intelligent and efficient wireless communication system that provides a wireless carrier with a single OSS platform integrating and implementing multiple systems, services, solutions and applications from third party technology vendors. There also remains an unmet need in the art for an OSS platform that facilitates upgrades, customization, and general usability, while providing an enhancement for revenue collection and cost reduction of services associated with network operation.
The present invention provides an underlying platform layer that can remain a static core on which newer and newer applications can be built, and innovative services can be launched, without having to replace high cost capital infrastructure again and again, as technology matures. Products, services, and applications can become obsolete, but the capital infrastructure should not necessarily become obsolete as well.
Two core elements, which provide the underlying logic for all services—old and new—for the last 20 years and do not change for wireless carriers, are signaling and billing. The present invention provides one such pioneering technology platform and layer, which uniquely combines signaling protocols and real-time rating engines to form a core on which applications can rest. The present invention uses signaling to transmit data, probe network operations, and distribute information in real time, thus creating innovative services, while seamlessly combining rating engines and billing elements to charge for these services in real time.
7
The present invention, which in one embodiment is referred to as the wireless intelligent services engine (WISE) (also interchangeably referred to herein as the “system”), may also provide a robust, multi-layer OSS platform that integrates the numerous services offered by a provider into an operational system. WISE assists providers to maximize revenues and to reduce costs. In particular, the present invention provides a single, advanced real-time and integrated signaling and billing system, which forms the basis for all wireless communications services and associated services. The system integration is provided through the OSS platform, which incorporates signaling protocols to transmit data (e.g., via signaling system 7 (SS7) or C- signaling), the probing of network operations, and the distribution of information in real-time. As a result, the system of the present invention seamlessly allows the providers' rating engines and billing elements to charge for communication services in real-time.
In one more aspect of the present invention, the present invention increases the general application and usability of the operation system, in comparison to conventional operating systems. In particular, the system of the present invention is designed to be easily implemented, customized, and upgraded.
The system allows providers to efficiently and cost-effectively implement the system. The system does not require extensive modifications before the system is fully operational, thereby saving the provider from high implementation costs and delays that are typically associated with application upgrades. Moreover, the system can be customized to accommodate the needs of each provider. Thus, the present invention is highly scaleable and provider-specific.
Furthermore, the system of the present invention is fully and conveniently upgradable. The system provides a static core on which newer applications can be built and innovative services can be launched without having to replace the capital infrastructure over time. Applications can be integrated with the core infrastructure using industry standard connections and protocols, as are generally known in the art.
Generally, the WISE architecture includes a series of interrelating layers. The central layers include a protocol stack layer, an adaptation layer, a network broker layer, an application interface layer and an application layer.
To achieve the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as broadly described herein, the present invention provides a plafform to enhance wireless carrier revenues and reduce network costs. The preferred embodiment of the present invention can be deployed in wireless carrier networks. will become more apparent from the following description.
FIG. 1
illustrates an exemplary wireless intelligent services engine architecture, wherein numerous functional layers are integrated, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2 and 3
show an exemplary functional overview of the system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4
FIGS. 1-3
presents hardware, software or a combination thereof that may be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems to carry out the functionality of the present invention illustrated in .
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, which disclose multiple embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention. Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will also become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or upon leaming by practice of the invention.
The present invention provides an innovative OSS platform, which integrates signaling and billing technologies to allow real-time transactions and system assessment and/or management.
The system of the present invention provides an underlying platform layer that can remain as a static core and that can serve as the capital infrastructure for the provider. The static core generally includes two elements: signaling and billing that provide the underlying logic for most, if not all, services in the wireless communication industry. The present invention uniquely combines signaling protocols and real-time rating engines to form a core on which other applications are built and implemented. This core may also interface with third party applications and hardware. As a result, the present invention seamlessly integrates signaling, which is used to transmit data, probe network operations, and distribute information in real-time, with rating engine service and billing services to permit real-time assessment, management, and accounting of these services.
The system can be initially developed with one or more service layers, each of which performs services related to the wireless communication industry. The implementation of the system may be provider-specific to meet the exact needs of each provider.
The static core may be upgraded and expanded to accommodate the changing needs of each provider. For example, products, services, and applications, which can be rendered obsolete over time, can be replaced with state of the art applications on the system of the present invention. Generally, the replacement applications are interfaced with the system of the present invention using industry standard interfaces, which are generally known in the art. Accordingly, the system of the present invention can add multiple service layers to provide additional wireless communication services currently known or developed in the future.
Furthermore, the system of the present invention may be easily added to the existing capital infrastructure without high levels of adaptation or the need to replace significant amounts of hardware. Maintenance of the present system is also facilitated because vendor-specific information for each application and customizabon may not be required.
TABLE 1
Abbreviation
Description
OSS
Operations Support System
ISUP
Integrated Services User Part
INAP
Intelligent Network Application Part
CAP
Camel Application Part
CAMEL
Customized Applications MobileEnhanced Logic
SAL
SS7 Adaptation Layer
NBL
Network Broker Layer
OSA
Open Services Access
XML
Extensible Markup Language
IDL
Interface Definition Language
MAP
Mobile Application Part
API
Application Program Interface
WISE
Wireless OSS Platform
WIN
Wireless Intelligent Network
MMS
Multimedia Messaging System
UMS
Unified Messaging System
EMS I
Enhanced Messaging System
For the purposes of this application, Table 1 provides standard abbreviations for terms.
FIG. 1
1004
1003
1002
1001
According to , which represents one embodiment of the WISE architecture, a protocol stack layer (PSL) 1005, an adaptation layer , a network broker layer (NBL) , an application interface layer (AIL) and an application layer are combined.
FIG. 1
1001
The top layer schematically in is the application layer , which provides the interface with external applications and interfaces with below layers via industry standard interfaces, such as interface definition language (IDL), open services access (OSA), and extensible mark-up language (XML). In this embodiment, the application layer may include external applications, such as, for example, multimedia messaging system (MMS), short message service center (SMSC), intelligent network (IN), Third Generation (3G) wireless systems, Service Node (SN), and Optimal Routing (OR).
The system of the present invention can run numerous applications. For instance, the system can run an intelligent network based mobile pre-paid platform with great rating flexibility and rapid service creation and deployment functionality, such as Mobile VPN, CUG, Mobile Office, and services generally described in the International Telecommunication Union—Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) recommendations IN CS-1, CS-2, and CS-3. The system of the present invention can also run an application for an optimal routing functionality, which can be achieved through quickly and efficienty subscribing to and calling the call management APIs. Other applications capable of running on the system of the present invention include, for example, 3G services, dual IMSI-based roaming, missed call alerts, welcome SMS alerts while roaming, location-based services, mobile prepaid services based on service node technology, mobile pre-paid roaming applications using the call management APIs and rating APIs to provide pre-paid roaming services, SMS, EMS, UMS, and MMS services, postpaid and prepaid billing, and prepaid roaming and non-roaming based on CAMEL phase II, III, and IV.
1001
1002
1002
The layer below the application layer is the application interface layer (AIL) . The AIL provides the published application programming interfaces (APIs), such as call management and rating, which are generally known in the telecommunication arts. In one embodiment, the APIs are derived from industry standards, such as Parlay and XML.
1002
The AIL is developed using the concepts of inter-operability and scalability. For example, in one variation of the present invention, interoperability is facilitated by using Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA®). CORBA® is a vendor-independent architecture and infrastructure that computer applications use to work together over networks. Using the standard protocol IIOP, a CORBA-based program from any vendor, on almost any computer, operating system, programming language, and network, can interoperate with a CORBA-based program from the same or another vendor, on almost any other computer, operating system, programming language, and network. Other examples of interoperability include XML, java native interface (JNI), and Interface Definition Language (IDL).
1002
The AIL may interface with the layers below via industry standard interfaces, such as IDL, OSA, and XML. In one embodiment, the APIs are derived from Industry standards, such as Parlay and XML.
FIG. 1
1002
1003
In an embodiment of the present invention according to , the layer schematically below the AIL is the network broker layer (NBL) . The functionality of this layer is to interface with the network layer and to specified access components. The specified access components are specific protocols, such as wireless intelligent network (WIN), integrated services user part (ISUP), intelligent network application part (INAP), mobile application part (MAP), Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP), Signaling Connection Control Part (SCCP) and/or customized applications mobile enhanced logic (CAMEL) application part (collectively known as “CAP”). In one variation, there are specified access components to the wireless domain (e.g., Wireless Access Components).
1003
1003
The applications register and subscribe to the services offered by the NBL . The NBL is capable of addressing various protocols under signaling. In one variation, the 3G related applications are registered and subscribed to telecom access components. To support 3G requirements, for example, both SS7 and IP protocols are subscribed to and registered by applications.
1003
1003
1003
Additionally, the NBL interfaces with vendor-specific APIs transparent to the application (e.g. NetStructure, manufactured by Intel of Santa Clara, Calif. and Opencall manufactured by Hewlett Packard of Palo Alto, Calif.). Additionally, in one variation, the NBL also supports network management functionality, so as to ensure that proper fault and alarm reporting is carried out apart from having the flexibility in managing and fixing faults. In another variation, the NBL also provides network statistics based on the applications subscribed thereon.
1003
1004
1004
1004
FIG. 1
Schematically below the network broker layer shown in to is the adaptation layer . The purpose of the adaptation layer is to convert the various APIs (e.g., SS7) provided by each vendor to a common framework of messages. In one variation involving SS7, for example, any new SS7 stack can be implemented quickly and efficiently. This adaptation layer , typically, avoids the need to test the complete functionality of the entire system after each software/hardware change.
FIG. 1
1005
1004
1005
As shown in , the protocol stack layer is schematically disposed below the adaptation layer . The purpose of the protocol stack layer is to facilitate interconnection and exchange of information between users in a communications system. The hardware and software functions of the SS7 protocol are divided into functional abstractions called “levels.” These levels map loosely to the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) 7-layer reference model defined by the International Standards Organization (ISO).
FIGS. 2 and 3
FIG. 2
1
provide functional overviews of the system of the present Invention. In , the process beings with the initializer executing the process(es) obtained from a file containing configuration information, such as config.ini 2 (also referred to herein interchangeably as “configuration information”). The initializer also may start or initialize the various protocol stacks configured in the config.ini 2 file.
Typically the config.ini 2 file stores application information. For example, the config.ini 2 (or an equivalent file) includes the number of applications, the name of applications, and ID for applications. The config.ini 2 file may include stack information, including the type of stack and the protocol used. Example stacks include Opencall (herein referred to as “HP”), NetStructure (herein referred to as “DK”), and Signalware (manufactured by Ulticom, Inc. of Mt. Laurel, N.J. and herein referred to as “ULTICOM”). Example protocols Include ISUP-HP, MAP-HP, ISUP-DK, MAP-DK, CAP-ULTICOM, and INAP-ULTICOM.
Additionally, in yet another variation, the config.ini 2 file includes converter information. The converter information may include, for example, the number of converters per stack and the converter type. The converter type information may Include the socket and/or pipe.
The config.ini 2 file may also include fail-safe information. The fail-safe information includes stack level fail-safe information (e.g., HP, DK, or ULTICOM) and the converter level fail-safe information. The converter level fail-safe information may include this information for each converter level (e.g., 1, 2, 3, . . .n).
The config.ini 2 file may also include: 1) a broker configuration, which may include information, such as an application ID, protocol ID, application IP address; 2) broker level fail-safe information, which may include the broker ID; 3) API information and/or format, which may include interface information, such as the WISE format, the PARLAY format, or the OSA format; and 4) information on IP addresses, which may include whether the address is active or in stand by.
3
4
In decision box , the particular vendor and/or protocol for the desired process are selected. The vendor and protocol selections may include, for example, HP 16, DK 12, and ULTICOM (also referred to herein as “UL”).
4
1
4
5
8
10
7
7
a
b
After a vendor and protocol is selected, the initializer starts the corresponding stacks. ULTICOM may be one of the stacks, including protocols, started by the initializer . The ULTICOM stack(s) communicate in the SS7 network using, for example, E1/T1 interfaces, via CAP and INAP . Accordingly, this leads to UL_CAP and UL_INAP .
12
1
12
14
11
9
9
a
a
a
a.
Additionally DK may be one of the stacks, including protocols, started by the initializer . The DK stacks communicate in the SS7 network using E1/T1 interfaces, via ISUP and MAP . Accordingly, this leads to DK_ISUP and DK_MAP
16
1
16
5
14
11
13
13
b
b
a
b.
HP may also be one of the stocks, including protocols, started by the initializer . The HP stacks communicate in the SS7 network using E1/T1 interfaces, via ISUP and MAP . Accordingly this leads to HP_ISUP and DK_MAP
15
15
4
12
16
100
100
100
a
b
a
b
c
FIG. 3
Converters and , for example, receive the message from the various stacks, e.g., UL , DK :, and HP , and convert them to configured API formats. In one variation, as shown in , the three types of API formats generated are WISE , PARLAY , and OSA , which are the formats in the config.ini 2 file.
15
15
15
15
a
b
a
b
FIG. 2
The converters may operate under a fail-safe configuration, if configured to do so in the config.ini 2. The number of converters and , as shown in , is dependent on the traffic the system is designed to support. Under the fail-safe condition one converter and may execute in each machine/system. In some embodiments, a pair of converters may execute in the other machine/system (active and stand by servers).
15
15
101
101
a
b
FIG. 3
Once the converters and receive the messages from the stacks and convert them to configured API formats, the API formats are forwarded to the broker , as shown in . All the applications register with the broker using an application ID, a protocol ID, and an IP address.
6
104
101
15
15
4
12
16
6
104
6
104
6
104
FIG. 2
FIG. 3
a
b
The system manager () and () serves as the system administrator (interchangeably referred to herein as “monitor”) to ensure the functionality of each element, i.e., the broker , the converters and , and the stacks , , and . In the event that there is a malfunction, the system manager and identifies and remedies the malfunction. Additionally, the system manager and may alert the operator of the malfunction with an alarm. In one variation, the system manager and can automatically initiate additional processes to ensure high availability of the services.
101
102
102
102
102
103
102
101
a
b
c
a
a
a
The broker routes the APIs to the appropriate application , , and based on the application ID, the protocol ID, and the IP address. In one variation, application addresses pre-paid applications. In this variation, the application interfaces with the rating engine with standard SQL statements. In another variation, application is a messaging application. Thus, multiple applications 102a, 102b, and 102c can be developed within the same broker .
The following illustrates three examples of implementations and resulting effectiveness of the system of the present Invention. The first two examples are comparative examples of conventional systems and the problems associated therewith. The third example is illustrative of the how the system of the present invention assists providers and improves upon the conventional systems.
TABLE 2
Services
Equipment/Platform
Vendor
Mobile Voice Telephony
MSC/VLR & HLR
Siemens, Nokia
and Ericsson
Data (SMS)
Unix
Nokia
GPRS
Unix
Nokia
Prepaid IN
Unix
Siemens
Prepaid IN
Windows
Vendor 1
Prepaid Roaming
Windows
Vendor 2
Optimal Routing
Windows
Vendor 3
Welcome SMS
Windows
Vendor 4
Postpaid Billing
Sun Solaris
Vendor 5
Comparative Example 1. A large wireless communications provider uses multi-vendor platforms as the infrastructure to support wireless communication and related services. The provider uses numerous services, which are functional on separate hardware. Table 2 lists the services and platforms that are used by the provider.
Table 2 presents a typical case in which the provider uses multiple plafforms/equipment to support various services. As a result, the provider must ensure complete and accurate integration of these services with one another to provide 100% optimization to the end user. In the event that the provider is unable to provide 100% optimization, the provider has limited options to address the situation and attempt to reach 100% optimization. For instance, the provider can obtain support from each vendor to determine whether each vendor's services are operational and optimized. However, each vendor is only able to address the problems associated with the vendor-specific application. A vendor of one protocol cannot typically address the problems associated with another protocol. Thus, the provider must rely on numerous vendors for support. By relying on the various vendors for assistance, the provider invests substantial amount of time and resources. In practical terms, addressing problems in this manner (e.g., obtaining expert support from each vendor) is typically associated with significant costs. In addition, the provider is typically unable to obtain information from vendors on how the individual applications should be integrated with one another. Therefore, having multiple platforms/equipment installed at the provider invites huge network integration costs and the likelihood of decreased revenues due to a high turnover of subscribers, i.e., unsubscribing from the services of the carrier.
TABLE 3
Services*
Equipment/Platform
Vendor
Mobile Voice Telephony
MSCNLR & HLR
Siemens
Data (SMS)
Unix
Single Vendor
GPRS
Unix
Single Vendor
Prepaid IN
Unix
Single Vendor
Prepaid Roaming
Unix
Single Vendor
Optimal Routing
Unix
Single Vendor
Welcome SMS
Unix
Single Vendor
Postpaid Billing
Unix I
Single Vendor
Comparative Example 2. A large provider uses a single vendor platform as the infrastructure to support various services offered by the provider. Table 3 illustrates the various services offered by the provider and the corresponding platforms used to support the services.
Thus, Table 3 depicts a typical case where the provider installed various services of a single vendor on separate hardware to support those services. In this example, the maintenance costs of such hardware is prohibitively high, and the provider is accordingly extremely dependent on the single vendor. Additionally, the provider is limited to services that are provided by the single vendor, thereby limiting the scope of the providers' services to those offered by the single vendor. Moreover, the problem of limited scope of services is further exacerbated because the single vendor infrastructure does not permit third-party services to be implemented. The net result for the provider includes limited services offered, restricted revenue growth, and a potential loss of customers to market competitors providing a wider scope and range of services.
TABLE 4
Services*
Equipment/Platform
Vendor
Mobile Voice Telephony
MSC/VLR & HLR
Siemens
Data (SMS)
OS Independent
Single Vendor/
GPRS
(Unix, Solaris,
Multi Vendor
Prepaid IN
Linux) HM
(Multi Vendor
Prepaid Roaming
independent (HP,
for hardware
Optimal Routing
SUN, INTEL)
and applications
Welcome SMS
is possible), but
Postpaid Billing
not recommended
Option/Interface for Carrier
to add 3rd party services
Example 3. The following example involves a large provider using the platform of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment, as infrastructure to support various services. In this variation, the infrastructure is hardware and operating system independent, thereby increasing the versatility and applicability of the platform. Table 4 presents the various services provided the provider in this embodiment.
Table 4 depicts a typical case where the Wireless carrier has a single vendor and has installed scaleable hardware that supports various services. The infrastructure provided by the present invention creates an interface that can communicate with (e.g., “plug into”) any numerous third party services that operate in universally accepted formats and industry standard interfaces (e.g., XML, CORBA).
Thus, with the implementation of the present Invention, the provider obtains a number of advantages, including decreased maintenance costs and a resulting minimization of network costs. It should be noted that maintenance of the infrastructure does not require vendor-specific assistance or hardware.
The provider also has an option to increase services developed by third parties on the existing platform (single or multiple hardware boxes). This potential for expansion provides the carrier with flexibility to increase services and/or provide additional services to its customers, thereby enhancing revenue and providing a basis for a substantial decrease in network costs.
The system in Example 3, as compared to the conventional systems in Examples 1 and 2, allows providers to reduce capital expenses and operational expenses. This reduction in expenses is significant when compared to the industry standard costs for implementing and maintaining a core infrastructure. Accordingly, as the costs decrease, the provider is able to increase revenue, or at the least, pass the financial benefit to the end user maintaining the same similar revenues.
FIG. 4
The present invention may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems. In one embodiment, the invention is directed toward one or more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionality described herein. An example of such a computer system is shown in .
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Computer system includes one or more processors, such as processor . The processor is connected to a communication infrastructure (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). Various software embodiments are described in terms of this exemplary computer system. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the invention using other computer systems and/or architectures.
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Computer system can include a display interface that transmits graphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure (or from a frame buffer not shown) to the display unit . Computer system also includes a main memory , preferably random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory . The secondary memory may include, for example, a hard disk drive and/or a removable storage drive , representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive reads' from and/or writes to a removable storage unit in a well-known manner. Removable storage unit may represent a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written to removable storage drive . As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.
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In alternative embodiments, secondary memory may include other devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system . Such devices may Include, for example, removable storage unit and interface . Removable storage unit and interface may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) and associated socket, etc., which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit to computer system .
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Computer system may also include a communications interface . Communications interface allows software and data to be transferred between computer system and external devices. Examples of communications interface may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred via communications interface are in the form of signals , which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface . These signals are provided to communications interface via a communications path (e.g., channel) . This path carries signals and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link and/or other communications channels. In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to refer generally to media such as a removable storage drive , removable storage drive , RAM, ROM, EPROM, a hard disk installed in hard disk drive , and signals . These computer program products provide software to the computer system . The invention is directed to such computer program products.
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Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) are stored in main memory and/or secondary memory . Computer programs may also be received via communications interface . Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system to perform the features of the present invention. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor to perform the features of the present invention. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system .
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In an embodiment where the invention is implemented using software, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system using removable storage drive , removable storage drive , RAM, ROM, EPROM, hard drive , or communications interface . The control logic (software), when executed by the processor , causes the processor to perform the functions of the invention as described herein. In another embodiment, the invention Is implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, hardware components, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).
In yet another embodiment, the invention is implemented using a combination of both hardware and software.
While there has been described what are at present considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made thereto, and it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Other modifications will be apparent to those skiJled In the art. | |
A peak programme meter (PPM) is an instrument used in professional audio for indicating the level of an audio signal.
There are many different kinds of PPM. They fall into broad categories:
- True peak programme meter. This shows the peak level of the waveform no matter how brief its duration.
- Quasi peak programme meter (QPPM). This only shows the true level of the peak if it exceeds a certain duration, typically a few milliseconds. On peaks of shorter duration, it will indicate less than the true peak level. The extent of the shortfall is determined by the 'integration time'.
- Sample peak programme meter (SPPM). This is a PPM for digital audio which shows only peak sample values, not the true waveform peaks (which may fall between samples and be up to 3 dB higher in amplitude). It may have either a 'true' or a 'quasi' integration characteristic.
- Over-sampling peak programme meter. This is a sample PPM in which the signal has first been over-sampled, typically by a factor of four, to alleviate the problem with a basic sample PPM.
Contents
- 1 Design characteristics
- 2 History and national variants
- 3 Nagra modulometer
- 4 Usage of meter by sound balancers
- 5 PPMs and digital audio levels
- 6 PPMs for consumer use
- 7 References
In professional usage, where consistent level measurements are needed across an industry, audio level meters often comply with a detailed formal standard. This ensures that all meters that comply with the standard will give the same indication on a given audio signal. The principal standard for PPMs is IEC 60268-10. It describes two different quasi-PPM designs which have their roots in meters originally developed in the 1930s for the AM radio broadcasting networks of Germany (Type I) and the United Kingdom (Type II).
The term Peak Programme Meter usually refers to these IEC-specified types and similar designs.
PPMs were originally designed for monitoring analogue audio signals but are also now used with digital audio.
PPMs do not provide effective loudness monitoring. Newer types of meter do, and there is now a push within the broadcasting industry to move away from traditional level meters such as those featured in this article to two new types: loudness meters based on EBU Tech. 3341 and oversampling true PPMs. The former would be used to standardise broadcast loudness to −23 LUFS and the latter to prevent digital clipping.
Design characteristics
Display technologies
In common with many other types of audio level meter, PPMs originally used electro-mechanical displays. These took the form of moving-coil panel meters or mirror galvanometers with demanding 'ballistics': the key requirement being that the indicated level should rise as quickly as possible with negligible overshoot. These displays require active driver electronics.
Nowadays PPMs are often implemented as 'bargraph' incremental displays using solid-state illuminated segments in a vertical or horizontal array. For these, IEC 60268-10 requires a minimum of 100 segments and a resolution better than 0.5 dB at the higher levels.
Many operators prefer the moving-coil meter type of display in which a needle moves in an arc, because an angular movement is easier for the human eye to monitor than the linear movement of a bargraph.
PPMs can also be implemented in software: this can be done on a general-purpose computer or by a dedicated device which can 'burn in' a PPM image onto a video waveform for display on a picture monitor.
Scales and scale marks
PPMs often use white-on-black displays, to minimise eyestrain especially with extended periods of use.
PPMs are usually calibrated in one of these ways:
- In decibels relative to Alignment Level (e.g. Nordic, EBU)
- In decibels relative to Maximum Permitted Level (e.g. DIN, ABC, SABC)
- In decibels relative to 0 dBu (e.g. CBC)
- In decibels relative to 0 dBFS (e.g. IEC 60268-18)
- In simple numerical marks which can be correlated with any of the above (e.g. British)
Whichever scheme is used, usually there is a scale mark corresponding to Alignment Level.
Most PPMs have an approximately logarithmic scale, i.e. roughly linear in decibels, to provide useful indications over a wide dynamic range.
Integration time
Tone burst
duration (ms)
Under-indication Type I Type II 100 0 dB 10 −1 dB −2 dB 5 −2 dB −4 dB 3 −4 dB 1.5 −7 dB 0.5 −17 dB 0.4 −15 dB
Quasi-PPMs have a short integration time in order to register peaks longer than a few milliseconds in duration. In the original context of AM radio broadcasting in the 1930s, overloads due to shorter peaks were considered unimportant on the grounds that the human ear could not detect distortion due to momentary clipping. Ignoring momentary clipping made it possible to increase average modulation levels. In modern digital audio practice, where quality standards are hopefully much higher than AM radio in the 1930s, clipping of even short peaks is usually regarded as something to avoid.
On typical, real-world audio signals, a quasi-PPM under-reads the true peak by 6 to 8 dB. Nevertheless, quasi-PPMs are still widely used in the digital age because of their usefulness in achieving programme balance. Overloads are avoided by allowing, typically, 9 dB of 'headroom' when controlling digital levels with a quasi-PPM.
The extent to which quasi-PPMs show less than the true amplitude of momentary peaks is determined by the 'integration time'. This is defined by IEC 60268-10 as "the duration of a burst of sinusoidal voltage of 5000 Hz at reference level which results in an indication 2 dB below reference indication". This standard also contains tables showing the difference between indicated and true peaks for tone bursts of other durations. The longer the integration time, the greater the difference between the true and indicated peaks.
In earlier standards, different methods of measurement and criteria were used, such as 0.2 Neper or 80% voltage instead of 2 dB, but the practical difference between them was small.
A Type I PPM has an integration time of 5 milliseconds and a Type II PPM has an integration time of 10 milliseconds.
Return time
All PPMs have a return time which is much longer than the integration time, to give the operator more time to see the peaks and reduce eye strain. Type I PPMs fall back 20 dB in 1.7 seconds. Type II PPMs fall back 24 dB in 2.8 seconds.
History and national variants
The PPM was originally developed for use in AM radio broadcasting networks in the 1930s, independently in both Germany and the United Kingdom, as a superior alternative to earlier types of meter which were not much use for monitoring peak audio levels. These were both quasi-peak meters with some features in common but otherwise substantially different.
IEC 60268-10 Type I PPM
Germany
In about 1936 and 1937, German broadcasters developed a peak programme meter which used a mirror galvanometer known as a 'lichtzeiger' (light pointer) for the display. The system consisted of a drive amplifier (e.g. ARD types U21 and U71) and a separate display unit (e.g. ARD types J47 and J48). A stereo version, known as a 'doppel lichtzeiger' contained two mirror galvanometer displays in a single housing. Such displays were still used until the 1970s, when solid-state bargraph displays became the norm.
The design became standardised as DIN 45406. It evolved into the Type I meter in IEC 60268-10 and it is still known colloquially as a DIN PPM. Compared to the Type II designs it has faster integration and return times, a much wider dynamic range and a scale which is semi-logarithmic and calibrated in dB relative to maximum level. It continues to be used in much of northern Europe.
In German broadcasting, the nominal analogue signal corresponding to Maximum Permitted Level was standardised by ARD at 1.55 volts (+6 dBu), and this is the usual sensitivity of a DIN-type PPM for an indication of 0 dB. Alignment Level (−3 dBu) is shown on the meter by a scale mark at −9.
In Scandinavia a variant of the DIN PPM known as 'Nordic' is used. It has the same integration and return times but a different scale, with 'TEST' corresponding to Alignment Level (0 dBu) and +9 corresponding to Maximum Permitted Level (+9 dBu). Compared to the DIN scale, the Nordic scale is more logarithmic and covers a somewhat smaller dynamic range.
IEC 60268-10 Type II PPM
United Kingdom
The BBC used a number of methods of measuring programme volume in its early years, including the 'volume indicator' and 'slide-back voltmeter'.
By 1932, when the BBC moved to purpose-built facilities in Broadcasting House, the first audio meter to be known as a 'programme meter' was introduced. It was developed by Charles Holt-Smith of the Research Department and became known as the 'Smith meter'. This was the first meter with white markings on a black background. It was driven by a circuit that gave a roughly logarithmic transfer characteristic, so it could be calibrated in decibels. The overall characteristics were the product of the driver circuit and the movement's ballistics.
The first of the PPMs was designed by C. G. Mayo, also of the BBC's Research Department. It came into service in 1938. It kept the Smith meter's logarithmic, white-on-black display, and included all the key design features that are still used to this day with only slight modification: full-wave rectification, fast integration and slow return times, and a simple scale calibrated from 1 to 7.
The integration and return times were determined after a series of experiments. At first it was intended to create a true peak meter to prevent transmitters from exceeding 100% modulation. A prototype meter was created with an integration time of about 1 ms. It was found that the ear is tolerant of distortion lasting a few ms, and that a 'registration time' of 4 ms would suffice. The return time had to be a compromise between a rapid return, which was tiring to the eye, and a slow return, which made control difficult. It was decided that the meter should take between 2s and 3s to drop back 26 dB.
The BBC PPM became the subject of several formal standards: BS 4297:1968 (superseded); BS5428:Part 9:1981 (superseded) and then BS 6840-10:1991. The text of the latter is identical to the Type IIa PPM in IEC 60268-10:1991.
Alignment level (0 dBu) and Maximum Permitted Level (+8 dBu) correspond to scale marks '4' and '6' respectively.
The BBC PPM was adopted by commercial broadcasters in the UK. Other organisations around the world, including the EBU, CBC and ABC used the same dynamics but with slightly different scales.
Modern British PPMs have a 4 dB spacing between the scale marks. Older designs had a 6 dB spacing between '1' and '2'. This discrepancy can sometimes also be found at the equivalent position on the derived CBC and ABC scales.
From its inception in 1939 until 2009, the PPM display was available in the form of an electro-mechanical, moving-coil meter movement with a demanding ballistic specification. For many years these were manufactured by Ernest Turner and Company, and in later years by Sifam, based in Torquay. In 2009 Sifam announced it would end production of the Type 74 dual-needle meter movement. In 2010 this was followed by the end of all PPM meter movement manufacturing by Sifam. Three major users - Bryant Unlimited, Canford Audio and TSL - placed final orders with Sifam for large stocks of the meters to supply manufacturing and maintenance activities for several years.
Stereo British PPMs
In the UK, twin-needle PPMs are sometimes used for stereo. Red and green needles are used for left and right. This colour convention comes from port and starboard navigation lights, in accordance with an ancient BBC in-joke about Broadcasting House resembling a battleship. White and yellow needles are used for sum and difference (M and S). A more recent variation is to use a black needle with a dayglo orange tip for S instead of yellow.
The sensitivity of the S indication can be increased on some meter installations by 20 dB; this is to aid line-up procedures, e.g. of stereo mic pairs, or the azimuth of analogue tape machine heads, which rely on cancellation of the S signal.
M3 and M6
M and S needles are normally aligned so that M = L + R − 6 dB and S = L − R − 6 dB; this is known as the M6 standard. A signal, equal in amplitude and phase in the left and right channels will show the same meter deflection for M as it does for L and R.
M6 has largely replaced the earlier M3 standard in which the M and S needles indicated 3 dB higher. M3 was intended as a compromise to ensure mono compatibility when stereo programmes were listened to on mono receivers, which pick up only the M signal.
With M6, a widely-panned sound that peaked to its maximum 6 on, say, the left channel would peak only 4.5 on M. The same sound in the centre of the stereo image would peak 6 on M. This is a 6 dB variation for the mono listener.
With M0, i.e. simple M = L + R, a widely-panned sound peaking 6 would peak to 6 on M, but when panned centre would need to peak just 4.5 on each channel to keep M at 6. This is a 6 dB variation for the stereo listener.
With M3, any variations as sounds are panned are kept to 3 dB. Moreover, for most non-phase-coherent stereo sounds, the sum of the two channel voltages averages 3 dB (the full 6 dB sum is only achieved by exactly in-phase signals, i.e. a mono signal panned centre), so with M = L + R − 3 dB, most stereo sounds are a 'good fit' to the maximum permissible signal (PPM 6) on M, L and R.
M6, however, better reflects the absolute signal level and keeps the M needle at '4' for Alignment Level and '6' for peaks, without the operator having to remember to subtract 3 dB.
Commercial broadcasting in the UK initially used M3 but had switched to M6 by 1980. This was mandated by the IBA's Engineering Code of Practice. BBC installations used M3 until 1999. The BBC now uses M6, but this has not been rolled out universally - many parts of the corporation still use 'traditional' M3.
European Broadcasting Union
The EBU PPM is a variant of the British PPM designed for the control of programme levels in international programme exchange. It is formalised as the Type IIb PPM in IEC 60268-10. It is identical to the British PPM except for the scale plate, which is calibrated in dB relative to Alignment Level, which is marked 'TEST'. There are also ticks at 2 dB intervals and at +9 dB, corresponding to Maximum Permitted Level.
USA
In the late 1930s PPMs were considered for use in the USA, but rejected in favour of a 'Standard Volume Indicator' (VU meter) on grounds of cost. Joint research by CBS, NBC and Bell Labs found that using an experimental design of PPM (with a relatively long integration time of 25 ms) in the control of programme levels gave only a 1 dB advantage over the VU meter, in terms of average output level for a given amount of distortion. It was felt that this was too small to justify the much greater expense. It was also found that VU meters gave more consistent readings than PPMs when comparing programme levels at the sending and receiving end of long lines subject to group delay, which altered the waveform. This finding has been disputed by others.
A widely-believed myth is that the PPM was developed as a superior alternative to the VU meter. In fact, the PPM came first, and if anything the VU meter was developed as an economical alternative to the PPM.
By 1980, ABC had about 100 PPMs in use in control rooms in New York and its Washington News Bureau, and was ordering new consoles with PPMs fitted. These were Type II PPMs with the seven marks labelled −22, −16, −12, −8, −4, 0 and +4. ABC found a modified version of the EBU meter based on the VU-meter 'A scale' to be the best since it let operators use their usual jargon such as 'zero level' etc. The appearance is similar to an EBU scale except that the numbers are 8 dB lower.
To aid alignment on both VU meters and PPMS, ABC in New York used a special test signal known as ATS. A 440 Hz tone alternated between steady tone at +8 dBu (indicated at 0 VU and −8 PPM) and tone bursts at +16 dBu (indicated at 0 VU and 0 PPM).
Canada
By 1978 PPMs were in use at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Vancouver plant. Some 30 or 40 PPMs were in use, with just one or two VU meters retained for settling telco disputes. These are Type II PPMs with the seven marks labelled −6, 0, +4, +8, +12, +16 and +20: this scaling shows absolute levels in dBu (or dBm into 600
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. | https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/1074002 |
MORONI, June 14, 2018 – Situated in the Indian Ocean, to the north-west of Mayotte and Madagascar, the archipelago of the Comoros has registered a 10-percentage point reduction in poverty levels since 2014, according to the latest poverty assessment report on the Comoros, published by the World Bank.
The study notes that while there has been a drop in poverty levels in both rural and urban areas, the reduction has been significantly more apparent in the urban area. It draws six main conclusions:
- Poverty is relatively widespread throughout the country, although the level is rather low in comparison to the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa: In 2014, 42.4% of the population, or approximately 316,000 people were living below the poverty line of 25,341 Comorian francs per person per month. The poverty line is based on the cost of meeting basic needs. Around 23.5% of the population lives in conditions of extreme poverty. However, judging by the international poverty threshold of $1.9 per person per day, only two out of every ten Comorians could be classified as poor, a rate that places the Comoros ahead of other low-income countries and 30 percentage points ahead of other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Inequality is still quite widespread: Consumption expenditure is very unequally distributed in the Comoros, with the most obvious disparities being observed in the rural areas and in Ndzouani. The disparity between rural and urban households is largely attributable to the fact that rural households earn less from their income streams. The characteristic features of poor households contribute in large measure to persistent poverty and intergenerational inequality. Approximately one fifth of all instances of unequal levels of consumption can be attributed to the inequality of opportunity associated with the circumstances observed within Comorian households.
- Some positive developments may be observed with regard to the intergenerational labor mobility: young men and women are increasingly choosing to work in sectors that are more productive than those of their parents. Consequently, living standards and household revenue have improved, mainly due to higher levels of education and greater access to means of communication and transport. Higher earnings from jobs in the sectors of industry and commerce have contributed to a further reduction in poverty levels.
- Living conditions and multidimensional poverty indices have improved, but many people remain without access to services and goods: Between 2004 and 2014, households benefited from improvements in housing conditions and the supply of modern equipment. Multidimensional poverty has fallen considerably as living conditions have improved. The percentage of the population experiencing hardship, as measured in approximately one third of the indicators of well-being such as consumption, access to goods and basic services and housing conditions, has fallen from 85% in 2004 to 75% in 2014. Despite these improvements, the population continues to suffer from serious hardship in a number of indicators of well-being, particularly in rural areas. The most notable indicators of well-being that reflect the hardship being experienced by the population include access to goods and basic services, followed by consumption.
- It appears that development policies in the Comoros have helped improve living conditions and human development in the country and reduce poverty: The national strategy for the promotion of education and for the enhancement of social expenditure on education and health has led to real progress in the development of human capital and helped prevent the deepening of inequalities.
- The increasingly significant levels of support provided by the diaspora through the transfer of remittances to their families and to the economy as a whole have no doubt made a critical contribution to the improvement of household living standards and to poverty reduction. The Comoros has one of the largest diasporas in Africa and is one of the three main beneficiaries of remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa. Remittances account for around 25% of GDP and the foreign exchange inflows from these transfers exceed those derived from exports. Remittance flows have also increased considerably over the past few years, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP. Nevertheless, the sustainability of this trend remains uncertain.
The report includes some strategic advice on accelerating economic growth and reducing poverty in the Comoros and provides recommendations on how to take advantage of the attributes of the Comoros and leverage the country’s latent comparative advantages to create more productive employment, promote diversification, competitiveness and formality, and improve the framework for exploiting the gains from migration and remittance transfers. | https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/comoros/publication/latest-report-on-poverty-in-the-comoros |
Gardens of the Muse
Renegade Editor’s Note: The beat poets and Jim Morrison (Admiral Morrison’s son) are examples of how poetry can be weaponized against us, because poetry is indeed very powerful.
By Ron McVan
A great poem is a fountain forever overflowing with waters of wisdom and delight; and after one person and one age has exhausted all its divine effluence which their peculiar relations enable them to share, another and yet another succeeds, and new relations are ever developed, the source of an unforeseen and an unconceived delight.” ~ Percy Bysshe Shelly
The Golden Ages of poetry were nurtured in the garden of the muse. In league with time and favorable circumstance they flourished there among the splendid creative genius of the ancient Bards. Poetry in its gifted form can inspire and capture whole nations or like a gentle flower exhale the sweetest delicate perfumes. It can create dreams, stimulate the imagination, unleash horror, ignite angry protest, unveil truth or fill a person with the deepest possible passions of love and desire. The powers of poetry are always beckoning to be released and time has not diminished its calling nor its magic, even within our own complex high tech modern day world. The process of placing profound words in the most direct and enlightening order of mathematical perfection is perhaps the deepest level within the arts which man can reach. The process can often imply a coincidence of unrestrained imaginative ecstasy with superb mental poise. It is the poet’s deliberate expression that becomes the magic token of experience to the reader. We can example this experience in the deeply profound lines of Shelly: “Life, like a dome of many-colored glass, Stains the white radiance of Eternity, Until Death tramples it to fragments.”
One can recognize the use of myth in poetry as a kind of amplified allusion. A myth is a symbolic representation of a people’s beliefs about such matters as the creation of the world, the nature of the universe or the origins and destiny of a people, culture or nation. Poetry can retell portions of any of the ancient myths and legends or create new myths as we can see in any variety of current poets and writers of prose. Before the development of writing, poetry preceded prose because it was easier to remember. Some of the very earliest philosophy is written in poetry and some of it remains to this day, highly memorable. A handful of beat poets in the 1950’s were able to captivate and influence whole generations of youth, later culminating into the hippie era, which as we know, has left some lasting impressions in our times. When intellect combines with emotion and spirit, it can stir the reader or a whole generation and leave a lasting mark in world history. The whole Hippie generation morphed out of the beat poetry scene and found its poetic fruition in the singing poet of the 60’s Jim Morrison, lead vocalist of the rock group “The Doors”. A poet must understand his own deepest emotions as well as the people and world around him. He must hold a learned grasp of history, and a broad knowledge of many subjects to include mystic spiritualism, philosophy and the mysteries and at the same time always stay a step ahead of his audience. If he can do all of what poetry requires he will rightfully earn the title of Bard.
Poetry in fact, may very well possess powers of profundity not found in any of the other categories of the arts. In some ways it goes even deeper than music but then again, poetry is in and of itself a form of music in many relative respects. Music and poetry are so interwoven, one with the other, that they can be described in almost the same terms; indeed, in their early history, music, dance, and poetry were one. We live rhythm by rhythm and it is essential that the writer of poetry have a keen appreciation of the tonal qualities of words. To adjust properly the sound of words to the particular meaning requires a nice sense of balance. Poetry is the most musical, most concentrated type of imaginative literature. Poetry gains in meaning when interpreted by the proper perfected tonalities of the human voice. Through the rhythmically arranged words which constitute poetry, there is created a flow or verbal melody, heard by the ear or imagined by the mind that produces a powerful charm. When a poem serves to enrich the mind of man, it attains the esteemed title of Classic poetry. For instance the poetic prose of Homer is classic through and through and will survive the test of time for as long as mankind exists. We need the reason of prose and we need the imagination of poetry.
It is indubitably true that passion cannot be very strong which we are at leisure to describe. But a man of genius feels more intensely, and suffers more strongly than another; and for this very reason, when the force of his passion has subsided, he retains for a longer period the recollection of what it has been, and can more easily imagine himself again under its influence; and, in my conception, what we call the power of imagination is chiefly the combination of strong feelings and recollections. Thus a man of genius is peculiarly gifted with the faculty of observing the secret workings of human nature as she prevails in his own heart, and in the hearts of all mankind; and is enabled to describe those feelings, and bring them home to every reader. The great secret of the poet’s art is to make us feel our existence by the force of sympathy.” ~ (From The Study of Literature) Lane Cooper
The knowledge of mythic lore has led men in the past broadly to appreciate the motives and conditions of ancient art and literature, and the uniform and ordered evolution of the aesthetic sense. The study of the classic myths stimulates to creative production, prepares for the appreciation of poetry and other kinds of art, and furnishes a clue to the spiritual development of the race. The more important myths and best illustrative poems should provide not only nutriment for thought, but fine material for the memory. We value poetry for what it shows us about our inner and outer lives. We find pleasure in its music, admire the power of its language and imagery, take pride and comfort in what it says. Quite often the idea for a poem strikes the poet like a lightning bolt and possesses him or her with a flood of emotion and feeling. Poetry is a process of attempting to say the most through a poem with the least amount of words so that it becomes as profound and to the point as possible. The art of deliberate speech was one of the reasons why the ancient Druids were held in such high esteem by their folkish tribes. Writing a long story is least difficult for the writer because the writer has an abundance of words to describe his thoughts. The short story writer has a greater challenge, but the poet uses the bare minimum of words to express what it is he has to say which is by far the greatest challenge of the three.
It was the Words of Power, the reverberation of certain syllables according to a definite technique and with a strong grasp of the physical and psychic nexus which binds all things in sequence, which furnished the magician with his weapon against the gods. If the deities would not yield to his prayers or his pleading, he could exert an effective pressure on them by means of iterated and reiterated words! Those conversant with the first principles of occultism will remember the recondite truth that from sound precedes all the other degrees of magic. Sound comes first in the manifestations of power pure and undefiled. He who has mastered sound has gained the entrance to the power-house.” ~ Bernard Bromage M.A.
In the 13th century Icelandic masterpiece known as Njal’s Saga, the poetic style of that day is still refreshing to read even now in modern times. For example: “Blood rains from the cloudy web, on the broad loom of slaughter. The web of man, grey as armour, is woven; The Valkyries, will cross it with a crimson weft. The warp is made of human entrails; Human heads are used as weights; The heddle-rods are blood-wet spears; The shafts are iron-bound, and arrows are the shuttles, With swords we will weave this web of battle… It is terrible now to look around, As blood-red cloud darkens the sky. The heavens are stained with the blood of men as the Valkyries sing their song… Let us ride our horses hard on bare backs, With swords unsheathed, Away from here.” Njal’s Saga was broadly based on authentical historical events and the material was drawn from oral traditions and occasional written records. The author of Njal’s Saga is unknown, but the creative stylistic writings found among the Icelandic and Norse folk, boils and churns with the Viking era life force of its day. Of course when it comes to poetry it is hard to surpass the Celts. From their earliest mystical beginnings with the Danu tribes and Druids, poetry, music and dance virtually flow from the D.N.A. of the Celts like a never ending stream. Many things can be said about poetry, that it is beauty and passion, that it is enchanting, enlightening, mystical, and greatly loved by both man and the gods. Enough has been said of poetry to its credit, respect and honor over thousands of years to rightfully refer to it as “The Divine Art”. Poetry is loved and appreciated from paupers to royalty and the most intelligent of minds. A well written poem will speak directly to the mind, heart and soul and may even transport its reader to that magical somewhere in the Gardens of the Muse! | http://www.renegadetribune.com/gardens-of-the-muse/ |
Predicting where cyberattacks will take place
The importance of robust cybersecurity on a national level has seldom been more underlined than it has in 2020.
In the past year, COVID responses have been hampered by cyberattacks while presidential elections have been riddled with concern about foreign interference and voter fraud. It's perhaps no surprise, therefore, that Harvard has begun publishing a league table according to a country's digital capabilities.
The National Cyber Power Index aims to compare the ability of each country to successfully defend itself from cyberattacks. It’s a tool that is obviously interesting in an academic sense, but its static nature doesn’t necessarily help cybersecurity teams in the here and now. This is where a new database that has been developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University aims to step in.
The Cyber Attack Predictive Index (CAPI) provides a degree of foresight into where cyberattacks might happen on a national level. The initial scan suggests, for instance, that there is a strong likelihood of a cyberattack by Russia on Ukraine, with the second most likely being an attack by the United States against Iran.
"The use of cyber operations to degrade and disrupt critical infrastructure, to send a political message, to disrupt economic activities, or to shape adversarial national security objectives has led to a new type of conflict among nation-states," the team explains. "As more countries develop cyber capabilities, cyber-attacks are likely to become more common in international relations."
Predicting threats
The tool provides predictive analysis of the nations that are most likely to be engaging in cyber-warfare. The tool was developed after analyzing a number of major attacks undertaken since 2008 to try and determine whether any particular characteristics stood out that would allow future attacks to be predicted.
“These attacks set a precedent or stood out as unique in their intended effects,” the team explains. “Attribution of the attacks in our case studies was corroborated through public acknowledgment by the U.S. Government, persuasive arguments by researchers, or, in some cases, through self-identification by the attackers themselves.”
After assessing the details of each attack, a number of common factors stood out:
- Knowledgeable and organized cyber force - As the Harvard index highlighted earlier identified, a key component of the cyberattack capabilities of any nation is the skills available to them. The Johns Hopkins team goes further, however, and highlights the importance not only of a strong talent base but also the ability to deploy advanced technology against an enemy.
- Grievances that exist on a national level - Cyber attacks are an increasingly common international response when more traditional diplomatic measures are considered too mild, yet a military response too severe.
- Lack of fear of repercussions - Obviously few nations want open warfare, so the sense that they can conduct their attack without reprisals, whether these are economic, legal, military, or cyber-based, is a clear motivating factor. Nations will weigh up the potential risks and consequences of their actions before proceeding.
- The consistency of the attack with national security policy - A somewhat more complicated factor to consider is the overall alignment with the national security strategy of the country. These are often not things that are in the public domain so the researchers accept that a degree of guesswork is required to combine what is in the public domain with that which is not.
- Technological vulnerabilities identified in the attacked country - Last, but not least, are the vulnerabilities in the target country's infrastructure. Obviously, every networked architecture has vulnerabilities, but some will be more so than others. The researchers cite countries like Russia and China as difficult targets precisely because of the restrictive policies surrounding internet access and their relatively advanced technology.
Each of these factors is scored on a 1 to 5 scale, with higher scores signifying a higher likelihood of an attack occurring. The website provides 12 scenarios to illustrate the tool in action, with low-probability events, such as India attacking China, at one end, and high probability events, such as Israel attacking Iran, at the other.
The tool was developed in 2019 as the threat posed by things such as malware grew. The researchers, who have several decades worth of experience at the likes of the National Security Agency behind them aim to help policymakers and other officials understand where the risks are highest.
They have pulled together a CAPI Advisory Board, which consists of various project stakeholders. The group meets on a regular basis to discuss some of the hot-spots identified by the project and explore some of the implications of any cyber attacks that may unfold.
With cyber warfare an increasingly common occurrence, tools like this are likely to be part of a growing arsenal used to understand, predict, and subsequently defend against possible attacks. | https://cybernews.com/security/predicting-where-cyberattacks-will-take-place/ |
With the theme "Asian Values for the World," the session invites well-known scholars, media professionals and artists from Asia, Europe and the Americas as speakers to explore the rich connotations and contemporary values of Asian civilizations, and discuss the new missions of Asian civilizations in the era of globalization.
The session aims to consolidate the self-confidence of Asian cultures and promote exchanges and mutual learning with civilizations from the rest of the world.
During the session, a number of cooperation agreements will be signed and a batch of excellent TV co-production works, which tell the stories of Asia and embody the values of Asian civilizations, will be launched.
The session is expected to have a profound influence on promoting the prosperity and development of Asian civilizations, and facilitate the building of a community of a shared future for mankind.
A supporting activity, "the Dialogue on Asian Internet Audio-Visual Broadcasting Policy and Release of Cooperation Results" will be held. | http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/ctenglish/2018/hotspots/yzwm/1/201905/t20190514_800167825.html |
Caravan Park’ is the term used to refer to both a trailer park and an RV park. The better option would be to say ‘holiday park’ given the fact that many parks are now offering a number of other types of accommodation for travellers.
From ensuite cabins and bunkhouses to powered-sites, spa chalets and self-contained units, the accommodation options are many and varied. Caravan parks cater to different preferences and budgets – check them out on our site. | https://www.myguidewhitsundays.com/accommodation/caravan-parks |
Are you present-focused or future-focused?2009-06-05
Everyone knows about being introverted versus extroverted, but there’s another axis that makes a much bigger difference. It’s present-focused versus future-focused.
Some people are mostly focused on the present moment. They live for today and do what feels good right now.
Some people are mostly focused on the future. They use today as a stepping stone and do what’s best for their future selves.
I learned about this from the book The Time Paradox, by legendary psychologist Phil Zimbardo, and it blew my mind. It helped me understand these people who had seemed crazy to me before. It also helped me understand why I act the way I do.
Check out these examples.
Present-focused people:
- Pursue pleasure, excitement, and novelty
- Focus on immediate gratification
- Especially appreciate life, nature, and the people around them
- Are playful, impulsive, and sensual
- Avoid anything boring, difficult, or repetitive
- Get fully immersed in the moment and lose track of time
- Are more likely to use drugs and alcohol
- Are better at helping others than helping themselves
Future-focused people:
- Delay gratification
- Are driven with self-discipline because they vividly see their future goals
- Tend to live in their minds, picturing other selves, scenarios, and possible futures
- Especially love their work
- Exercise, invest, and go for preventative health exams
- Are better at helping themselves, but worse at helping others
- Are more likely to be successful in their careers, but often at the expense of personal relationships, which require a present focus
Your time-focus is environmental. People who grow up in unstable places are more present-focused because imagining the future is hard. People who grow up in cold climates are more future-focused because they have to prepare for the winter.
Your time-focus can change in an instant. If you ask a present-focused person to describe their ultimate career and write down the steps to achieve those goals, their focus will change to the future. If you ask a future-focused person to name every background sound they can hear, or where their body is touching their chair, their focus will change to the present.
Your values change your focus. Being in love or making art pushes someone towards a present-focus. Ambition pushes someone towards a future-focus.
Both mindsets are necessary. You need a present-focus to enjoy life. But too much present-focus can prevent the deeper happiness of achievement. (I call this “shallow happy” versus “deep happy”.)
I wish all of this was part of a common understanding, the way we understand when extroverts want to go out for excitement, and introverts want to stay home with a book.
This concept even helps me understand myself when I’m acting out of character. If I’m acting too undisciplined, I realize it’s because I’ve stopped vividly seeing my future. I can only see the present. If I’m acting too disconnected, I realize it’s because I’m obsessed with my goals. I can see only the future.
I hope you find the idea as useful as I have. | https://git.sr.ht/~sivers/sive.rs/blob/89db8a0db3b15ad1a131b443ccfe2a0d5f08170a/site/time |
TECHNICAL FIELD
BACKGROUND ART
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
Solution to Problem
Advantageous Effects of Invention
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLE 3
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
The present invention relates to a hybrid construction machine in which a hydraulic pump as a hydraulic source for a hydraulic actuator is driven by both an engine and an electric motor. Particularly, it relates to a unit for reducing fuel consumption without changing the operability of the hydraulic actuator.
In recent years, an energy saving trend on industrial products has been strong in order to deal with the environmental problem, the problem of rise in the price of crude oil, etc. In response to the trend, hybridization using an engine and an electric motor together has been also examined in construction machines whose mainstream is a system in which a hydraulic drive system is heretofore driven only by an engine. By hybridization of a construction machine, it is possible to expect not only the effect of reduction in exhaust gas but also the effect of energy saving, including engine's high efficiency drive, improvement of efficiency in transmission, and recovery of regenerative electric power.
In the background art, as a hybrid construction machine of this type, there has been proposed a hybrid construction machine, in which an electric motor (generator motor) is driven to engage in motoring or regenerating in accordance with power absorbed by a hydraulic pump so as to change the power distribution between an engine and the electric motor and operate the engine in a high-efficiency range in order to reduce the fuel consumption (for example, see Patent Literature 1).
Patent Literature 1: JP-A-2007-290607
In order to further reduce the fuel consumption in the hybrid construction machine disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the rotation speed of the engine may be changed in accordance with the power absorbed by the hydraulic pump. However, when the rotation speed of the engine is changed in the configuration disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the discharge flow rate of the hydraulic pump also changes so that operation on the hydraulic actuator in response to the amount of operation on a lever differs from that in an ordinary construction machine that is not hybrid. Thus, a feeling of strangeness on operation may be given to an operator.
An object of the present invention is to provide a hybrid construction machine which can provide the same operation feeling as an ordinary construction machine that is not hybrid without changing the discharge flow rate of a hydraulic pump even when the rotation speed of an engine is changed according to power absorbed by the hydraulic pump.
In order to solve the foregoing problem, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine including: a variable displacement hydraulic pump which discharges hydraulic oil for a hydraulic actuator; an engine which drives the hydraulic pump; an electric motor which is driven by the engine to charge generated electric power into an electric storage device and which is driven by the electric power charged in the electric storage device so as to assist the engine to drive the hydraulic pump; and a controller which controls driving of the hydraulic pump, the engine and the electric motor; characterized in that: the controller includes an engine power calculating unit which calculates power generated by the engine, a first rotation speed calculating unit which calculates a first rotation speed of the engine to minimize fuel required for generating the engine power, a second rotation speed calculating unit which calculates a second rotation speed which is a lower limit of a target rotation speed of the engine, a target rotation speed calculating unit which calculates the target rotation speed of the engine based on the first rotation speed and the second rotation speed, and an engine control unit which controls the engine so as to make a real rotation speed of the engine close to the target rotation speed.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: the controller further includes a target flow rate calculating unit which calculates a target flow rate of the hydraulic oil discharged from the hydraulic pump, and a hydraulic pump control unit which controls displacement of the hydraulic pump based on the target flow rate and the real rotation speed of the engine.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: the controller further includes a target flow rate calculating unit which calculates a target flow rate of the hydraulic oil discharged from the hydraulic pump, and a hydraulic pump control unit which controls displacement of the hydraulic pump based on the target flow rate and the target rotation speed of the engine.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: the target flow rate calculating unit calculates the target flow rate based on a dial position of an engine control dial and an amount of operation on an operating lever.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: the engine power calculating unit calculates the engine power based on an amount of fuel injection in the engine and the rotation speed of the engine.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: the engine power calculating unit calculates the engine power based on the discharge flow rate and a discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump, the power of the electric motor and a load of accessories.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: a target maximum total power calculating unit which calculates a target maximum value of total power of the engine and the electric motor is provided; and the second rotation speed calculating unit calculates a minimum rotation speed of the engine required for generating the target maximum total power in the engine and the electric motor.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: the target maximum total power calculating unit calculates the target maximum total power based on a dial position of an engine control dial.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: a third rotation speed calculating unit which calculates a minimum rotation speed of the engine required for securing a target flow rate of the hydraulic pump is further provided; and the target rotation speed calculating unit selects a largest value from a first rotation speed outputted from the first rotation speed calculating unit, a second rotation speed outputted from the second rotation speed calculating unit and a third rotation speed outputted from the third rotation speed calculating unit.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: the second rotation speed calculating unit calculates a minimum rotation speed of the engine required for securing a target flow rate of the hydraulic pump.
Moreover, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine including: a variable displacement hydraulic pump which discharges hydraulic oil for a hydraulic actuator; an engine which drives the hydraulic pump; an electric motor which is driven by the engine to charge generated electric power into an electric storage device and which is driven by the electric power charged in the electric storage device so as to assist the engine to drive the hydraulic pump; and a controller which controls driving of the hydraulic pump, the engine and the electric motor; characterized in that: a rotation speed of the engine increases when power generated by the engine increases, and the rotation speed of the engine decreases when the power generated by the engine decreases.
In addition, according to the invention, there is provided a hybrid construction machine in the aforementioned configuration, characterized in that: displacement of the hydraulic pump increases when an amount of operation on an operating level increases or when the rotation speed of the engine decreases, and the displacement of the hydraulic pump decreases when the amount of operation on the operating level decreases or when the rotation speed of the engine increases.
According to the present invention, the target rotation speed (real rotation speed) of the engine increases in accordance with the increase of engine power so that the fuel consumption can be reduced. In addition, the tilting angle of the hydraulic pump decreases in accordance with the increase of the engine rotation speed so that the discharge flow rate of hydraulic oil discharged from the hydraulic pump can be made constant. Thus, the operation on the hydraulic actuator in response to the amount of operation on the lever can be made similar to that in an ordinary construction machine that is not hybrid.
Embodiments of hybrid construction machines according to the invention will be described below while hydraulic excavators are taken as examples.
FIG. 1
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As shown in , a hybrid construction machine according to Example 1 has a variable displacement hydraulic pump which discharges hydraulic oil for a not-shown hydraulic actuator, an engine which drives the hydraulic pump , an electric motor which is driven by the engine to charge generated electric power into a not-shown electric storage device and which is driven by the electric power charged in the not-shown electric storage device so as to assist the engine to drive the hydraulic pump , and a controller A which controls driving of the hydraulic pump , the engine and the electric motor . Further, the hybrid construction machine has an engine control dial (hereinafter abbreviated to “EC dial”) operated by an operator, and an operating lever .
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The controller A includes an engine power calculating unit which calculates power generated by the engine , a first rotation speed calculating unit which calculates a real rotation speed of the engine to minimize fuel required for generating the engine power, a target maximum total power calculating unit which calculates a target maximum value of total power of the engine and the electric motor , a second rotation speed calculating unit which determines a lower limit of a target rotation speed of the engine , a target flow rate calculating unit which calculates a target flow rate of the hydraulic oil discharged from the hydraulic pump , a third rotation speed calculating unit which calculates a minimum rotation speed of the engine required for securing the target flow rate of the hydraulic pump , a target rotation speed calculating unit which selects a largest value from the first rotation speed calculated by the first rotation speed calculating unit , the second rotation speed calculated by the second rotation speed calculating unit and the third rotation speed calculated by the third rotation speed calculating unit , an engine control unit which controls the engine so as to make the real rotation speed of the engine close to the target rotation speed calculated by the target rotation speed calculating unit , an electric motor control unit which controls torque generated in the electric motor so as to make the real rotation speed of the engine close to the target rotation speed calculated by the target rotation speed calculating unit , and a hydraulic pump control unit which controls a tilting amount (displacement) of the hydraulic pump based on the target flow rate outputted from the target flow rate calculating unit and the real rotation speed of the engine .
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The variable displacement hydraulic pump supplies hydraulic oil to a not-shown hydraulic actuator such as a boom, an arm, a bucket, etc. The displacement (amount of hydraulic oil discharged by one turn) of the hydraulic pump can be changed by changing the tilting angle of a swash plate.
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The engine is mechanically connected to the hydraulic pump so that the engine can drive and rotate the hydraulic pump . The engine consumes fuel stored in a not-shown fuel tank and generates power. The power can be changed by changing the amount of fuel injection.
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The electric motor is mechanically connected to the hydraulic pump so that the electric motor can drive and rotate the hydraulic pump . Thus, the electric motor is also mechanically connected to the engine . The electric motor may consume electric power of a not-shown electric storage device to generate power (motor), and may absorb inertial energy or the power generated in the engine so as to generate (regenerate) power and store the power into the electric storage device.
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The EC dial is designed so that the dial position thereof can be changed by an operator. In an ordinary hydraulic excavator that is not hybrid, the target rotation speed of the engine is determined based on the dial position of the EC dial . In the invention, however, the target maximum total power of the engine and the electric motor is determined based on the dial position of the EC dial . The method for determining the target maximum total power will be described later.
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The operating lever is provided for allowing the operator to operate a hydraulic actuator such as a boom, an arm, a bucket, etc.
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FIG. 2
The engine power calculating unit calculates the engine power based on the fuel injection amount and the rotation speed of the engine , for example, using a map shown in . The map is set based on the relationship among the fuel injection amount, the rotation speed and the generated power of the engine , which relationship is obtained by experiments or the like in advance.
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FIG. 3
The first rotation speed calculating unit calculates the first rotation speed which will be described below, based on the engine power calculated by the engine power calculating unit , for example, using a map shown in . That is, in the map, the engine rotation speed to minimize fuel required for generating each power of the engine is set as the first rotation speed based on the relationship between the power and the engine rotation speed, which relationship is obtained by experiments or the like in advance.
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FIG. 4
The target maximum total power calculating unit calculates the target maximum total power based on the dial position of the EC dial , for example, using a map shown in . In the map, a maximum power that can be generated in each dial position of the EC dial by an engine in an ordinary hydraulic excavator that is not hybrid is set as the target maximum total power based on the relationship between the dial position and the maximum power, which relationship is obtained by experiments or the like in advance. In this description, the “ordinary hydraulic excavator that is not hybrid” means a model whose engine power is substantially equal to the total power of the engine and the electric motor according to the invention.
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FIG. 5
The second rotation speed calculating unit calculates the following second rotation speed based on the target maximum total power calculated by the target maximum total power calculating unit , for example, using a map shown in . That is, in the map, each total power of the engine and the electric motor and the minimum engine rotation speed required for generating the power are set as the target maximum total power and the second rotation speed respectively based on the relationship between the total power and the minimum engine rotation speed, which relationship is obtained by experiments or the like in advance.
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FIG. 6
The target flow rate calculating unit calculates the target flow rate based on the dial position of the EC dial and the amount of operation on the operating lever , for example, using a map shown in . In the map, each flow rate of a hydraulic pump in an ordinary hydraulic excavator that is not hybrid is set as the target flow rate based on the relationship among the dial position of the EC dial , the amount of operation on the operating lever and the flow rate, which relationship is obtained by experiments or the like in advance.
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FIG. 7
The third rotation speed calculating unit calculates the following third rotation speed based on the target flow rate calculated by the target flow rate calculating unit , for example, using a map shown in . In the map, each flow rate of the hydraulic pump and the minimum engine rotation speed required for securing the flow rate are set as the target flow rate and the third rotation speed based on the relationship between the flow rate and the engine rotation speed, which relationship is obtained by experiments or the like in advance.
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The target rotation speed calculating unit selects the largest value from the first rotation speed, the second rotation speed and the third rotation speed.
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The engine control unit controls the fuel injection amount or the fuel injection timing of the engine so as to make the real rotation speed of the engine close to the target rotation speed calculated by the target rotation speed calculating unit . For example, the rotation speed, the deviation of the target rotation speed and the integrated value of the deviation are multiplied by gains respectively, and fuel corresponding to a value obtained by the sum of those values is injected.
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The electric motor control unit controls torque generated in the electric motor so as to make the real rotation speed of the engine close to the target rotation speed calculated by the target rotation speed calculating unit . For example, the rotation speed, the deviation of the target rotation speed and the integrated value of the deviation are multiplied by gains respectively, and torque corresponding to a value obtained by the sum of those values is generated. Torque generated in the electric motor may be made high when the remaining amount of electric power in the electric storage device is large. Torque generated in the electric motor may be made low or electric power may be generated when the remaining amount of electric power is small.
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Based on the real rotation speed of the engine and the target flow rate calculated by the target flow rate calculating unit , the hydraulic pump control unit calculates a target tilting angle of the hydraulic pump using a map so as to change the tilting angle. The map is set based on the relationship among the engine rotation speed, the tilting angle and the flow rate, which relationship is obtained by experiments or the like in advance. The tilting angle is changed by hydraulic control or electric control. In the case of the hydraulic control, an electromagnetic valve is driven to control hydraulic pressure for changing the tilting angle. In the case of the electric control, an electric motor (another electric motor than the electric motor ) for changing the tilting angle is driven to change the tilting angle.
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Restriction may be put on the change of the tilting angle by the hydraulic pump control unit so as to prevent the power absorbed by the hydraulic pump from exceeding the target maximum total power calculated by the target maximum total power calculating unit . Alternatively, restriction may be put on the target flow rate calculated by the target flow rate calculating unit using a value obtained by dividing the target maximum total power by the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump .
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FIG. 1
Although one single hydraulic pump is provided in the example of , a plurality of hydraulic pumps may be provided. In that case, the same number of target flow rate calculating units and the same number of hydraulic pump control units as the number of hydraulic pumps are provided. In addition, the third rotation speed calculating unit calculates the third rotation speed based on the highest target flow rate of the target flow rates calculated by the target flow rate calculating units .
FIG. 8
2
The operation of the hybrid construction machine according to Example 1 will be described below with reference to . This example illustrates an example in which the fuel consumption becomes lower as the rotation speed increases when high power is generated by the engine .
1
4
5
4
5
1
1
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
When the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump increases due to increase in load on the hydraulic actuator in a period in which the dial position of the EC dial and the amount of operation on the operating lever are fixed as shown in (a) of , the engine power increases correspondingly as shown in (b) of . When the engine power increases, the first rotation speed and the target rotation speed increase correspondingly as shown in (c) of . On this occasion, the second rotation speed and the third rotation speed remain unchanged because the dial position of the EC dial and the amount of operation on the operating lever are fixed. When the target rotation speed increases, the engine rotation speed increases correspondingly as shown in (d) of so that the fuel consumption can be suppressed to minimum. In addition, when the engine rotation speed increases, the displacement of the hydraulic pump decreases correspondingly as shown in (e) of . As a result, the flow rate of the hydraulic pump becomes constant as shown in (f) of . Thus, the operation of the hydraulic actuator in response to the amount of operation on the lever can be made similar to that in an ordinary construction machine that is not hybrid.
FIG. 9
17
20
2
1
Next, the configuration of a hybrid construction machine according to Example 2 will be shown with reference to . As is apparent from this drawing, Example 2 of the invention is characterized in that the target rotation speed calculated by the target rotation speed calculating unit is used in the hydraulic pump control unit in place of the real rotation speed of the engine . The remaining is the same as that in the hybrid construction machine according to Example 1. Therefore, like parts are referred to by like signs correspondingly, and description thereof will be omitted. The target rotation speed changes more quickly than the real rotation speed. Example 2 is therefore effective in the case where it takes much time to change the tilting angle of the hydraulic pump .
FIG. 10
1
3
11
2
Next, the configuration of a hybrid construction machine according to Example 3 will be shown with reference to . As is apparent from this drawing, Example 3 of the invention is characterized in that the flow rate and the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump , the power of the electric motor and the load of accessories such as an air conditioner are used in the engine power calculating unit in place of the fuel injection amount and the rotation speed of the engine .
11
1
1
11
3
19
11
11
3
1
That is, the engine power calculating unit in Example 3 first multiplies the flow rate and the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump so as to calculate the power absorbed by the hydraulic pump . Next, the engine power calculating unit calculates the power generated by the electric motor based on the output of the electric motor control unit . Next, the engine power calculating unit calculates the power consumed by accessories such as an air conditioner, for example, based on the condition of a switch of the air conditioner. Finally, the engine power calculating unit sets, as the engine power, a value obtained by subtracting the power generated by the electric motor from the sum of the power absorbed by the hydraulic pump and the power consumed by the accessories. The remaining is the same as that in the hybrid construction machine according to Example 1. Therefore, like parts are referred by like signs correspondingly, and description thereof will be omitted.
11
15
1
17
20
2
In the engine power calculating unit , the target flow rate calculated by the target flow rate calculating unit may be used in place of the flow rate of the hydraulic pump . In addition, in the same manner as in Example 2, the target rotation speed calculated by the target rotation speed calculating unit may be used in the hydraulic pump control unit in place of the real rotation speed of the engine .
1
hydraulic pump
2
engine
3
electric motor
4
engine control dial
5
operating lever
11
engine power calculating unit
12
first rotation speed calculating unit
13
target maximum total power calculating unit
14
second rotation speed calculating unit
15
target flow rate calculating unit
16
third rotation speed calculating unit
17
target rotation speed calculating unit
18
engine control unit
19
electric motor control unit
20
hydraulic pump control unit
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
A block diagram showing the system configuration of a hybrid construction machine according to Example 1.
FIG. 2
A graph showing an example of a map provided in an engine power calculating unit.
FIG. 3
A graph showing an example of a map provided in a first rotation speed calculating unit.
FIG. 4
A graph showing an example of a map provided in a target maximum total power calculating unit.
FIG. 5
A graph showing an example of a map provided in a second rotation speed calculating unit.
FIG. 6
A graph showing an example of a map provided in a target flow rate calculating unit.
FIG. 7
A graph showing an example of a map provided in a third rotation speed calculating unit.
FIG. 8
A graph showing the operation of the invention.
FIG. 9
A block diagram showing the system configuration of a hybrid construction machine according to Example 2.
FIG. 10
A block diagram showing the system configuration of a hybrid construction machine according to Example 3. | |
How has each ratio changed over time? This information provides a means of evaluating historical trends. It is important to note whether each ratio has been historically increasing, decreasing, or nearly constant. For example, a 10 percent profit margin could be bad if the trend has been down 20 percent each of the last three years. But a 10 percent profit margin could be excellent if the trend has been up, up, up. Therefore, calculate the percentage change in each ratio from one year to the next to assess historical financial performance on that dimension. Identify and examine large percent changes in a financial ratio from one year to the next.
How does each ratio compare to industry norms? A firm’s inventory turnover ratio may appear impressive at first glance but may pale when compared to industry standards or norms. Industries can differ dramatically on certain ratios. For example grocery companies, such as Kroger, have a high inventory turnover whereas automobile dealerships have a lower turnover. Therefore, comparison of a firm’s ratios within its particular industry can be essential in determining strength/weakness.
How does each ratio compare with key competitors? Oftentimes competition is more intense between several competitors in a given industry or location than across all rival firms in the industry. When this is true, financial ratio analysis should include comparison to those key competitors. For example, if a firm’s profitability ratio is trending up over time and compares favorably to the industry average, but it is trending down relative to its leading competitor, there may be reason for concern.
Financial ratio analysis is not without some limitations. First of all, financial ratios are based on accounting data, and firms differ in their treatment of such items as depreciation, inventory valuation, research and development expenditures, pension plan costs, mergers, and taxes. Also, seasonal factors can influence comparative ratios. | https://statskey.com/financial-ratio-5428 |
Traditionally, books on business ethics focus on CSR, companies' relations with their stakeholders, and corporate citizenship. More recently, green credentials and sustainability have been added to that agenda. Unconventionally, this book argues that business ethics are basic to running business, not a separate subject. They are inherent to the governance and management of every organization, not an optional exercise in corporate citizenship. Business ethics concern behaviour in business and the behaviour of business. Decisions at every level in a company have ethical implications - strategically in the board room, managerially throughout the organization, and operationally in all of its activities.
The use, and sometimes the abuse, of corporate power, the process of corporate governance, raises ethical issues. Business involves risk-taking, whether decisions are at the strategic, managerial, or operational level. Exposure to ethical risk needs to be part of every organization's strategy formulation, policy making, and enterprise risk management.
Designed to be read by both undergraduates and postgraduates, this book is a primer on ethics in business. It is also relevant to ethics courses that are now part of many legal, accountancy and other professional examinations. The book is not about moral philosophy, nor does it prescribe appropriate standards of behaviour or recommend economic, legal or political solutions. Rather it enables readers to recognize ethical issues in business, to respond appropriately, and to embed ethics in business processes. The book not only considers what business ethics are, and why they are important, but offers practical approaches on how to develop a successful corporate ethics culture.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN: 9780415815000
Number of pages: 448
Weight: 953 g
Dimensions: 248 x 171 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
This is profoundly important and adroitly written book in business ethics and corporate governance. Bob and Gretchen Tricker offer an invaluable map for readers to navigate the critical issues surrounding the subject. This book is full of reflective insights, vivid case illustrations, and well-informed analyses. This is a particularly important reading in the field of business because the authors have taken an unconventional approach by arguing that business ethics should be fundamental to business and not merely voluntary efforts to decorate the annual reports. And that makes this book an essential reading for both seasoned and aspiring leaders.
Professor Alan Kai Ming AU, Associate Dean and Professor, Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration, The Open University of Hong Kong
Business Ethics: A Stakeholder, Governance and Risk approach is a mine of timely and relevant thinking with a hands-on approach on practical problems that current organizations face. Prompted by the numerous and infamous ethical breakdowns of the last two decades, the book highlights the thin red line holding together business ethics, governance, accountability and finance. The authors' endeavour represents a beginning not an end and is the base from which all with an interest in governance and ethics of corporations should start. I wish I had encountered this book earlier.
Amedeo Pugliese, Lecturer, School of Accountancy, QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
The Trickers have written a masterpiece and I am very happy with the textbook, as a lecturer. And I highly recommend this book to any graduate program in business.
Professor Gregg Li, Adjunct Professor of Corporate Governance, Hong Kong Baptist University
This text aims to integrate ethics into everyday business, which is an imperative for business students and practitioners alike. The book is replete with relevant exercises and dilemmas to make the reader think critically about ethical issues. It is very contemporary in covering recent events, such as the Libor and the latest insider trading scandals.
Dr Eleanor O'Higgins, University College, Dublin, Quinn Business School
This authoritative work demonstrates how business decision making is invariably a moral exercise. Ethics are integral to the way business is conducted, not an afterthought. The book illustrates dramatically the ethical risks inherent in all forms of business activity including strategy, operations and reporting. The work navigates through the many ethical dilemmas facing managers, and convincingly directs the reader to the safe harbour of a sound ethical framework. This book will be indispensible both to business students and practicing managers.
Professor Thomas Clarke, Director, Centre for Corporate Governance, UTS Sydney
You may also be interested in... | https://www.waterstones.com/book/business-ethics/bob-tricker/gretchen-tricker/9780415815000 |
Carpedia Hospitality, a global, implementation-based management consulting firm, provides the recreation and gaming industry with solutions that improve operating performance and alleviate profit margin pressure. We work alongside market leaders and early adopters to develop customized and data-driven management tools that materially improve profitability while coaching teams to gain the tactical skills required to achieve operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Rather than just deliver our findings and recommendations to you in a report, our consultants actively assist with implementation while coaching, training, and supporting leaders. This ensures that the benefits and underlying changes will continue long after our consultants are gone. The performance improvement is carefully tracked, to ensure results are realized in financial performance and satisfaction metrics. Results from our engagements meet or exceed initial expectations over 90% of the time and the average return on investment for our clients is between 200% – 300% within the first year. | https://carpedia.com/hospitality/hospitality-client-sectors/recreation-gaming/ |
An introduction is presented in which the author discusses the works of anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, the recognitions he received and the publication of his works in the journal.
- No Vestige of a Beginning -- No Prospect of an End: Allen McCartney's Contributions on the Problem of Cultural Frontiers and Ethnic Boundaries. Workman, William B. // Arctic Anthropology;2004, Vol. 41 Issue 2, p70
I examine identification of prehistoric ethnic boundaries with a focus on the Eskimo/Aleut interface on the Alaska Peninsula and the contributions of Allen McCartney on this topic. McCartney has long been critical of simplistic ethnic identifications in prehistory. In his later writings he...
- Philosophy of Man as a Rigorous Science: A View of Claude Levi-Strauss' Structural Anthropology. Bossert, Philip J. // Human Studies;Apr/Jun82, Vol. 5 Issue 2, p97
The article presents views of the author with respect to the opinion expressed by structural anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss on the requirement of having a separate place for anthropology. His structural anthropology presupposes the unity of reason and the permanence of human nature. His...
- Civilizational analysis for beginners. Hann, Chris // Focaal;2012, Vol. 62 Issue 1, p113
The article discusses two case studies that demonstrate how micro-investigations that make use of ethnographic methods can be reconciled with the analysis of inter- and intra-civilizational dynamics. It highlights a discussion on the appreciation of anthropologists Claude Lévi-Strauss and...
- AN APPRAISAL OF FORMAL AND STRUCTURAL KINSHIP ANALYSIS. Hanifi, M. Jamil // International Journal of Sociology of the Family;Spring74, Vol. 4 Issue 1, p48
The article examines two methods of analyzing relationship terminologies. An analysis of the works of those anthropologists who have done work on kinship terminologies will be presented. These will be divided into two groups, namely, formal semantic analysis and structural analysis. Formal...
- LÉVI-STRAUSS, HOMME DE SENS ET DE PARADOXE. Desroches, Monique // Intersections: Canadian Journal of Music;2010, Vol. 30 Issue 1, p65
Th rough the lens of the ethnomusicologist, the author of this article provides food for thought about the work of this great master and raises some questions about his methodological position and his conception of ethnographic analysis. Without questioning the fertility and richness of the...
- LÉVI-STRAUSS, BRÈVES RÉFLEXIONS SUR SES INSPIRATIONS, SA DÉMARCHE ET SON LEGS. Fernando, Nathalie // Intersections: Canadian Journal of Music;2010, Vol. 30 Issue 1, p5
Th is article is based on a lecture given on the occasion of a workshop celebrating the centenary of Lévi-Strauss. Th e latter was intended to briefly summarize the nature of his structuralist gaze and the anthropological concerns that underlie his thinking. It also recalled the highlights of...
- Lévi-Strauss, Claude. Caws, Peter // Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature;1980, p476
A profile of French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss is presented. Information on his birth, birthplace, educational background, and family background is presented. Description of his writing style is discussed. Some of his works include the book "Tristes Tropiques," and the "Les Structures...
- The Advent of Heroic Anthropology in the History of Ideas. Doja, Albert // Journal of the History of Ideas;Oct2005, Vol. 66 Issue 4, p633
The article discusses on anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss' contribution on the advent of heroic anthropology in the history of ideas. It points out that Lévi-Strauss has developed anthropology into a scientific project with far more sophisticated intellectual purchase for understanding... | http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/obituaries/47670170/claude-l-vi-strauss-1908-2009-o-profeta-da-antropologia-arcaica |
(Nanowerk News) A team of scientists led by the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences has successfully performed a quantum walk in a quantum system with up to 23 steps. The study's findings, funded in part by the EU, were published in the journal Physical Review Letters ("Realization of a Quantum Walk with One and Two Trapped Ions").
A random walk is basically a mathematical formalisation of a trajectory that consists of taking successive random steps, and it is particularly used in physics and mathematics. Examples of random walks include the 'Galton board' which is used to show binomial distribution to students. Here, balls are dropped from the top and either bounce left or right in a random way as they hit pins that are stuck in the board. The 'Brownian motion' denotes the seemingly random movement of particles suspended in a fluid such as liquid or gas.
The researchers in this latest study used a hiker as an example. A hiker must determine the direction they want to take when they come to a junction. Lacking a map, they randomly decide on which path to follow. Whether they go through detours or not, they arrive at their destination finally.
The physicists used one and two trapped ions to show a quantum walk on a line in phase space (a space encompassing all possible states of a system). This study offers the physics world a first-time look at this quantum process using trapped ions.
IQOQI's Drs Christian Roos and Rainer Blatt, along with their colleagues, transferred this principle of random walk to quantum systems and stimulated an atom to 'take a quantum walk'.
According to the researchers, the two internal states correspond to the decision of the hiker to go left or right. The atom is distinct, however, in that it does not have to decide on a direction; the superposition of the two states allows the possibilities to be presented at the same time.
The team modified the superposition of the inner states after each step. A laser pulse was used for the change. They then shifted the ion to the left or right. They successfully repeated this randomly controlled process up to 23 times and gathered data on the performance of quantum walks. The use of the second ion allowed the physicists to extend the experiment and enabled the walking ion to 'stay' rather than move left or right.
According to the scientists, by performing a statistical analysis of the 23 steps, they effectively confirmed that quantum walks are not the same as classical 'random' walks. | https://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=15462.php |
This two-day workshop will teach you the basics of how to mix, mold, and create your own HyperTufa container! ...
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Oct. 24–25 Tri-state community-supported agriculture conference focuses on sustainable farming practices
https://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/oct-24%E2%80%9325-tri-state-community-supported-agriculture-conference-focuses-sustainable
ARCHBOLD, Ohio—Want to learn more about how to start a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program? How about learning how to expand your existing CSA to make it more sustainable and successful? ...
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New Ohio initiatives to address farm stress
https://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/new-ohio-initiatives-address-farm-stress
Sherrie R. Whaley A new federal grant awarded to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) will support and enhance several initiatives that address farm stress in Ohio. In partnership with Ohio State University Extension, training will be provided to ment ...
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Lots to see, learn at Gwynne Conservation Area: Farm Science Review 2021
https://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/lots-see-learn-gwynne-conservation-area-farm-science-review-2021
Kurt Knebusch LONDON, Ohio—There’s a place you can go to discover such things as: How grazing goats can help control invasive plants in your woods. How to call turkeys, identify frogs, stock your pond with the best types of fish, and grow your own edible ...
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Tree University: Powerful Pawpaws
https://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu/events/tree-university-powerful-pawpaws
Join us for this 1-hour webinar with Dr. G. Matt Davies, Associate Professor on Soil and Plant Community Restoration at OSU. Dr. Davies will speak about his research on Pawpaw trees- and using them to tackle issues of declining forest health. ...
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FCS Reflections of the 2021 Hancock County Fair
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FCS Reflections of the Fair What a marvelous time I had last week, experiencing my first Hancock County Fair as the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Educator for OSU Extension! Not only was the weather a pleasant surprise, but so were my interactions wi ...
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CD Wire- September 13, 2021
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Mission Statement: Ohio State University Extension Community Development helps communities enhance their well-being and create social, economic, and environmental conditions in which they can thrive. AD Update:-David Civittolo, Interim Assistant Director ...
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Considering carbon markets? Look but don’t leap
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Alayna DeMartini Farmers would be wise to look into, but not jump into any agreements with companies to be paid for conservation measures that remove carbon from the air. That’s because the pay to farmers for those measures isn’t much right now, but it’s ...
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Bazler Chair in Food Science
https://fst.osu.edu/home/slides/bazler-chair-food-science
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Ahmed E. Yousef named the new Virginia Hutchinson Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science.
https://cfaes.osu.edu/home/slides/ahmed-e-yousef-named-the-new-virginia-hutchinson-bazler-and-frank-e-bazler-chair-in-food
https://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/35-million-gift-funds-new-cfaes-endowed-chair-in-food-science-ahmed-yousef-named_blank Image Slide Gray Marquee ... | https://governmentaffairs.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/search/site?page=2&f%5B0%5D=hash%3An0w4rm&f%5B1%5D=hash%3Aajcnw6&f%5B2%5D=hash%3A2rnydt&f%5B3%5D=hash%3Apwxd80&f%5B4%5D=hash%3A4ms6td&f%5B5%5D=hash%3Al1wg85&f%5B6%5D=hash%3Ahjf865 |
Nature-Inspired Optimization Algorithms,a comprehensive work on the most popular optimization algorithms based on nature,starts with an overview of optimization going from the classical to the latest swarm intelligence algorithm. Nature has a rich abundance of flora and fauna that inspired the development of optimization techniques,providing us with simple solutions to complex problems in an effective and adaptive manner. The study of the intelligent survival strategies of animals,birds,and insects in a hostile and ever-changing environment has led to the development of techniques emulating their behavior.
This book is a lucid description of fifteen important existing optimization algorithms based on swarm intelligence and superior in performance. It is a valuable resource for engineers,researchers,faculty,and students who are devising optimum solutions to any type of problem ranging from computer science to economics and covering diverse areas that require maximizing output and minimizing resources. This is the crux of all optimization algorithms.
Features:
Detailed description of the algorithms along with pseudocode and flowchart
Easy translation to program code that is also readily available in Mathworks website for some of the algorithms
Simple examples demonstrating the optimization strategies are provided to enhance understanding
Standard applications and benchmark datasets for testing and validating the algorithms are included
This book is a reference for undergraduate and post-graduate students. It will be useful to faculty members teaching optimization. It is also a comprehensive guide for researchers who are looking for optimizing resources in attaining the best solution to a problem. The nature-inspired optimization algorithms are unconventional,and this makes them more efficient than their traditional counterparts. | http://finelybook.com/nature-inspired-optimization-algorithms/ |
Benzene, 1,2-dimethoxy-4-(2-propenyl)-, also known as methyl eugenol, is a chemical that occurs naturally in a variety of plants, including various herbs.
Methyl eugenol is present in the essential oils of several plant species. These oils are extracted for use as fragrance ingredients and softeners in personal care products and cosmetics and as a flavour ingredient in food and beverages.
Essential oils and herbs that contain methyl eugenol are also used in natural health products.
Methyl eugenol may also be present in citronella oil, which is an active ingredient found in certain personal insect repellents.
Methyl eugenol is not manufactured in or imported into Canada in its pure form above the reporting threshold.
Prior to the assessment, methyl eugenol was identified as a potential concern for human health based on its classification by international organizations as a substance that was found to cause cancer in laboratory animals, and based on a moderate potential for exposure (not including workplace exposures) to the general population of Canada.
Methyl eugenol was not considered to be a high priority for assessment of potential risks to the environment; however, potential environmental effects were also evaluated in this screening assessment.
Canadians may be exposed to low levels of methyl eugenol from certain types of essential oils found in personal care products, cosmetics and citronella oil personal insect repellents.
Canadians may also be exposed to methyl eugenol in plant essential oils or parts such as leaves, stems and seeds that naturally contain methyl eugenol and can be used as flavouring ingredients in foods.
How is it released to the environment?
There are no known industrial sources of release of methyl eugenol to the Canadian environment. However, methyl eugenol may potentially be released to the environment through consumer and commercial use of products containing this substance.
What are the results of the assessment?
The Government of Canada has conducted a science-based evaluation of methyl eugenol, called a screening assessment.
Screening assessments address potential for harm to the general population of Canada (not including workplace exposures) and the environment.
The Government of Canada has concluded that methyl eugenol may be considered to be harmful to human health.
However, there are no human studies to indicate that the presence of methyl eugenol in food, whether added as a flavour ingredient or naturally present, poses a risk to Canadians.
Additionally, methyl eugenol is not expected to remain in the environment for a long time, to accumulate in organisms or cause harm to organisms; therefore, the Government of Canada has concluded that methyl eugenol is not entering the environment in a quantity or under conditions that constitute a danger to the environment.
The application of the Significant New Activity (SNAc) provisions to this substance will be recommended. This would require that any proposed new manufacture, use or import be subject to further assessment, and would determine if the new activity requires further risk management consideration.
The amount of methyl eugenol in certain essential oils should be the level outlined in Health Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist, which is the list of ingredients that are intended to be prohibited or restricted for use in cosmetics, including many personal care products. Under Canadian legislation, cosmetics that contain substances that are harmful to the user cannot be sold. Non-natural sources of methyl eugenol cannot be intentionally added to cosmetics.
The Government of Canada will propose a phase out plan for personal insect repellents containing citronella oil (which contains methyl eugenol), if further information to support their continued safety is not provided.
The Government of Canada has recently completed consultations with the food industry about the uses of methyl eugenol as a flavour and/or the use of essential oils or plant parts that naturally contain methyl eugenol as flavouring ingredients in foods offered for sale in Canada. Analysis of this data will be used to determine what if any risk management strategies may be required to address the use of methyl eugenol in foods.
The final screening assessment and the proposed risk management approach documents were published on September 18, 2010. The publication of the proposed risk management approach document will be followed by a 60-day comment period, ending November 17, 2010.
The health risks associated with a chemical depend on the hazard (its potential to cause health effects) and the dose (the amount of chemical to which you are exposed).
As a general precaution, Canadians are reminded when using any product to carefully follow any safety warnings and directions.
Canadians who handle methyl eugenol in the workplace should consult with their occupational health and safety representative about safe handling practices, applicable laws and requirements under the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. | https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/chemical-substances/challenge/batch-9/methyl-eugenol.html |
- Description: Ph.D. , The complexity of Combretaceae and lack of information on phylogenetic relationships within the family led me to explore relationships between and within genera of Combretaceae by means of combined analyses of plastid (rbcL, psaA-ycf3 spacer, and psbA-trnH spacer) and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences for all but three of the 17 genera in Combretaceae. The current classification of the family into two subfamilies, Strephonematoideae and Combretoideae, is corroborated. Within Combretoideae, division into two tribes, Laguncularieae and Combreteae, is strongly supported. Within Combreteae subtribe Terminaliinae relationships between genera are largely unresolved. Terminalia is not supported as monophyletic, and two groups were identified, one containing mainly African species and another of mostly Asian species. Pteleopsis, Buchenavia and Anogeissus are embedded within Terminalia, and I suggest that all genera of Terminialiinae with the exception of Conocarpus should be included into an expanded Terminalia. Within subtribe Combretinae, a clade formed by the two monotypic genera Guiera and Calycopteris is sister to the rest of the subtribe. Within Combretinae, groupings are consistent with recent results based on morphological data. Combretum is currently divided into three subgenera: Apethalanthum, Cacoucia and Combretum. The two last were included in this study and supported as monophyletic. Meiostemon is sister to subgenus Combretum, and Quisqualis is embedded within subgenus Cacoucia. I recommend that subgenus Combretum should be expanded to include Meiostemon and subgenus Cacoucia to include Quisqualis. The sectional classification within Combretum proposed in earlier morphological studies is confirmed except for the exclusion of Combretum imberbe from section Hypocrateropsis into a separate and monotypic section and the inclusion of Combretum zeyheri (section Spathulipetala) within section Macrostigmatea. In order to accommodate Combretum imberbe a new section is suggested which is formally described in Maurin et al. (2010). The reinstatement of previously recognised sections Grandiflora and Trichopetala, both of which had been sunk into subgenus Cacoucia section Poivrea, is also suggested. In this study two new species from South Africa are presented: Combretum nwambiyana O.Maurin, M.Jordaan & A.E.van Wyk and Combretum stylesii Maurin, Jordaan & A.E.van Wyk. The formal description of these two new species will be done in regular journals. Divergence time estimates using a Bayesian MCMC approach implemented in BEAST suggested a crown date for Combretaceae around 82.6 mya with the two subtribes Combretinae and Terminaliinae splitting at the end of the Late Cretaceous during a period marked by a number of mass extinctions both in plants and animals. The Miocene and Pliocene are characterised by constant speciation with many clades within Combretaceae succesfully adapting to savanna vegetation and diversifying within it.
- Full Text:
A test of psbK-psbI and atpF-atpH as potential plant DNA barcodes using the flora of the Kruger National Park (South Africa) as a model system.
- Authors: Lahaye, Renaud R. Y. , Savolainen, Vincent , Duthoit, Sylvie , Maurin, Olivier , Van der Bank, Michelle
- Date: 2008-05-16
- Subjects: Plant DNA barcoding , DNA barcoding , Kruger National Park (South Africa)
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5728 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5286
- Description: DNA barcoding is a new technique that uses short, standardized DNA sequences (400-800 bp) of an organism to determine its identity. Because this sequence has to be variable enough to identify individual species, but not too variable within the same species so that a clear threshold can be defined between intra- and inter-specific diversities, it is very challenging to apply this technique to all species on the planet . A DNA barcode has been identified for animals, i.e. the mitochondrial gene cox1 , which shows strong abilities in identifying cryptic species, accelerating biodiversity inventories and helping to identify species from degraded material (e.g. to control trade of threatened). For plants, the identification of a suitable DNA barcode is more problematic. Cho et al. showed that mitochondrial DNA evolves too slowly in plants to provide a region variable enough to discriminate between species. Then the quest for the best suitable barcode started and is still ongoing.
- Full Text:
A test of psbK-psbI and atpF-atpH as potential plant DNA barcodes using the flora of the Kruger National Park as a model system (South Africa)
- Authors: Lahaye, Renaud , Savolainen, Vincent , Duthoit, Sylvie , Maurin, Olivier , Van der Bank, Michelle
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: DNA barcoding , Kruger National Park Africa (South Africa)
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:6275 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8915
- Description: A DNA barcode consists of a standardized short sequence of DNA (400-800bp) used to identify the taxonomic species a small organic fragment belongs to. Even though it has been easy to discriminate animal species by using the mitochondrial gene cox1, this is still difficult for plants seeing that the mitochondrial genome is not variable enough on the species level. During the Second International Barcode of Life Conference in Tapei (September 2007), different plastid regions were proposed as potential plant DNA barcodes, such as atpF-atpH and psbK-psbI, but no consensus on which region to use was reached during the meeting. The largest plant DNA barcoding study to date proposed matK as the best candidate and suggested that in combination with trnH-psbA a slight increase in performance could be achieved. However, no study has tested the suitability of the newly proposed psbK-psbI and atpF-atpH for plant barcoding purposes. Four potential DNA barcodes, matK, trnH-psbA, atpF-atpH, and psbK-psbI, were amplified and sequenced for a selective sampling including mainly trees and shrubs of the flora of the Kruger National Park Africa (South Africa). The performance of each region and also each possible combination of these were tested by applying a battery of metrics and statistical tests. Our results confirm that the second half (5’ end) of matK is the best candidate in a single locus barcoding approach reaching 87.5% of species correctly identified. Combining matK with trnH-psbA and psbK-psbI increased only slightly the performance in discriminating species. The results from this study show that the use of a ‘three-region barcode’ does not significantly outperform matK in a single-locus barcoding approach. We therefore argue against the ‘multiple barcode approach’ proposed by the plant working group, and instead propose to keep barcoding plants in line with the approach taken for animals, i.e. using one barcode: cox1 for animals and matK for plants.
- Full Text:
Molecular and morphological analysis of subfamily Alooideae (Asphodelaceae) and the inclusion of chortolirion in aloe
- Authors: Daru, Barnabas H. , Manning, John C. , Boatwright, James S. , Maurin, Olivier , Maclean, Norman , Schaefer, Hanno , Kuzmina, Maria , van der Bank, Michelle
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Asphodelaceae , Alooideae , Asparagales , Aloe , Chortolirion
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5985 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8605
- Description: Asphodelaceae subfam. Alooideae (Asparagales) currently comprises five genera, four of which are endemic to southern Africa. Despite their importance in commercial horticulture the evolutionary relationships among the genera are still incompletely understood. This study examines phylogenetic relationships in the subfamily using an expanded molecular sequence dataset from three plastid regions (matK, rbcLa, trnH-psbA) and the first subunit of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1). Sequence data were analysed using maximum parsimony and Bayesian statistics, and selected morphological traits were mapped onto the molecular phylogeny. Haworthia is confirmed as being polyphyletic, comprising three main clades that largely correlate with current subgeneric circumscriptions. Astroloba and Gasteria are evidently each monophyletic and sister respectively to Astroloba and H. subg. Robustipedunculares. Chortolirion is shown to be deeply nested within Aloe and is formally included in that genus. Aloe itself is clearly polyphyletic, with the dwarf species A. aristata allied to Haworthia subg. Robustipedunculares. The taxonomic implications of these findings are examined but branch support at critical lower nodes is insufficient at this stage to justify implementing major taxonomic changes.
- Full Text: | https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository?view=list&f0=sm_creator%3A%22Maurin%2C+Olivier%22&sort=sort_ss_title+asc |
The following series of tutorials will show you how to connect LCD screens to your Raspberry Pi and run the software required to send messages to the screens. Below we have an overview of the functions we have implemented when linked to your PrivateEyePi system.
Alarm sensor activity is display in real time as each event happens.
Indicator When the alarm is armed, using a tactile switch, an indicator is displayed all the time to show the alarm is armed. The HD4470 displays an "*" top right and on the Nokia 5510 it displays the status below the line at the bottom.
Whenever a temperature reading is received it can be displayed in real time, or rotating through all temperature readings at 10 second intervals.
Same as the temperature reading except with additional information for humidity.
When an alarm occurs the screen will display the Location that triggered the alarm. This message will stay on the screen until it is cleared by pushing the button.
Use the button to scroll through the last 10 alarm activity logs. | http://projects.privateeyepi.com/home/home-alarm-system-project/lcd-overview |
After a career of working and living with Native Americans and studying their traditions, Barre Toelken has written this sweeping study of Native American folklore in the West. Within a framework of performance theory, cultural worldview, and collaborative research, he examines Native American visual arts, dance, oral tradition (story and song), humor, and patterns of thinking and discovery to demonstrate what can be gleaned from Indian traditions by Natives and non-Natives alike. In the process he considers popular distortions of Indian beliefs, demystifies many traditions by showing how they can be comprehended within their cultural contexts, considers why some aspects of Native American life are not meant to be understood by or shared with outsiders, and emphasizes how much can be learned through sensitivity to and awareness of cultural values. | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/40877 |
Chronic granulocyte leukemia with respiratory distress. Efficacy of emergency leukapheresis.
In the absence of preexisting pulmonary disease, progressive respiratory failure caused by leukostasis associated with uncontrolled chronic granulocytic leukemia developed in two patients. The conditions of both patients improved dramatically with aggressive leukapheresis. Clinical improvement correlated with decreased pulmonary wedge pressure, while vascular volume remained constant. Continuous-flow cell separation removed numerous immature myeloid cells, replaced them with oxygen-carrying erythrocytes, and maintained a constant blood volume. The course of these two patients demonstrates the use of continuous-flow leukapheresis in an intensive care unit to reduce leukocyte count and manifestations of leukostasis rapidly, while improving the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood, without exposing the patients to dangerously large shifts in fluid volume.
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Ion leaching and soil solution acidification in a vadose zone under soil treated with sewage sludge for agriculture.
In this study, we performed monitoring of the soil solution (SS) over 10 years on a loamy/clayey-textured Dark Red Dystroferric Oxisol that received sewage sludge for agricultural purposes. The SS was obtained by lysimeters installed along the walls of a well at 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, 4 m and 5 m in depth. The major ions found in the SS were NO3-, SO42-, Cl-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Pb2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+, and the pH level ranged from 4 to 6.5 along the profile. Throughout the first three years of monitoring, the pH to a 3-m depth became more acidic, and in the last year, this trend reached 5 m. At the 5-m depth, the pH decreased from 6.5 to 4.5 from the first to the last monitoring. The SS acidification was provoked by both nitrite oxidation and ion leaching. The leaching of H+ or the possible ion exchange/desorption of H+ due to the leached cations (Ca2+ and Mg2+) at the 4-m and 5-m depth caused the pH decrease. The ionic strength (IS) of the solution controlled the ion leaching. The sludge application increased the IS to 3 m, increasing the density of the soil charges and its ability to absorb ions. After the sludge application was completed, there was a decrease in IS of the SS as well as a decrease in ion absorption and retention abilities, which promoted leaching to greater depths. During the entire monitoring process, NO3-, Cd and Pb remained above the potability limit.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
BACKGROUND ART
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The present invention relates to a control system that includes a control apparatus and a controlled apparatus that is controlled by the control apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an improvement in the control performed at a start of communication within a control system.
Conventional techniques are available for connecting domestic appliances such as air conditioners and AV (audio-video) appliances to a central control apparatus using coaxial cables, twisted-pair cables, mains cables, or the like as communication paths. The central control apparatus in such a system communicates with the domestic appliances (hereinafter, such apparatuses are referred to as "controlled apparatuses") so that it can control their operations. One such technology has been standardized according to the Japanese HBS (Home Bus System) standard.
Initial communication settings have to be made for communication to take place within a communicative control system composed of a central control apparatus and controlled apparatuses. These settings include the setting of address numbers (referred to hereafter as "own addresses") for identifying the central control apparatus and the controlled apparatuses on the communication network, as well as the setting of address numbers of apparatuses (referred to hereafter as "called addresses") that the central control apparatus and the controlled apparatuses are to communicate with.
The settings described above are conventionally made separately for each apparatus according to manual operations performed when the communicative control system is first used. Such settings made in a conventional communicative control system are described below with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram giving an overview of a conventional communicative control system.
The present conventional communicative control system includes the central control apparatus 600 and the controlled apparatus 700. These apparatuses are interconnected via their respective communication units 610, 710 and the transfer path 900, and so are able to communicate with each other.
The central control apparatus 600 is provided with an own address setting/holding unit 620 for setting and holding the address of the central control apparatus 600 and a called address setting/holding unit 630 for setting and holding the address of the apparatus in communication with the central control apparatus 600. In the same way, the controlled apparatus 700 is provided with an own address setting/holding unit 720 for setting and holding the address of the controlled apparatus 700 and a called address setting/holding unit 730 for setting and holding the address of the apparatus in communication with the controlled apparatus 700.
The central control apparatus 600 is also equipped with control buttons 651 ∼ 653 that the user can press to select a desired control operation and a control message issuing unit 640 for detecting presses of the control buttons 651 ∼ 653 and issuing a control message to the controlled apparatus 700. The controlled apparatus 700 is also equipped with a control unit 740 for controlling the controlled apparatus 700 according to a control message issued by the central control apparatus 600.
For communication to take place between the central control apparatus 600 and the controlled apparatus 700, both the central control apparatus 600 and the controlled apparatus 700 have to internally set their own address and the address of the other apparatus. Such initial communications settings are made in the following way in a conventional communicative control system.
First the user respectively uses the own address setting/holding units 620 and 720 to manually set the own address of the central control apparatus 600 and the own address of the controlled apparatus 700. The values used as the own addresses of the central control apparatus 600 and the controlled apparatus 700 are set within a range determined by the communication protocol being used. As examples, the addresses may be freely set as any integer between 1 and 65535 so long as no two apparatuses in the system have the same own address. In this way, each apparatus in the communicative control system is assigned an exclusive address.
As one example, the user may assign the own address "1" to the central control apparatus 600 and the own address "65535" to the controlled apparatus 700, in keeping with the conditions given above.
Once the own addresses of each apparatus have been determined as described above, the user uses the called address setting/holding unit 630, 730 to set the called address(es) in the central control apparatus 600 and a called address in the controlled apparatus 700. In this case, the own address of the controlled apparatus 700 is set in the central control apparatus 600 as a called address and the own address of the central control apparatus 600 is set in the controlled apparatus 700 as the called address.
As mentioned above, the central control apparatus 600 is assigned the own address "1", while the controlled apparatus 700 is assigned the own address "65535", so that "65535" is set as a called address of the central control apparatus 600 and "1" is set as the called address of the controlled apparatus 700.
The above setting of the called addresses of the apparatuses completes the initial communication settings and so makes communication between the apparatuses possible. In the present arrangement, the central control apparatus 600 can control the controlled apparatus 700.
In the present example, the control button 651 of the central control apparatus 600 is used to indicate a "power on" operation for the controlled apparatus 700. If the user presses the control button 651, this is detected by the control message issuing unit 640 which issues the corresponding control message and passes it over to the communication unit 610. The communication unit 610 refers to the own address stored in the own address setting/holding unit 620 and the called address stored in the called address setting/holding unit 630 and transfers the received control message from the address number "1" (the central control apparatus 600) to the address number "65535" (the controlled apparatus 700). The control message transmitted in this way passes the transfer path 900 and reaches the communication unit 710 of the controlled apparatus 700.
In the controlled apparatus 700, the control message is sent from the communication unit 710 to the control unit 740 which has an appropriate operation performed for the control message. When the control button 651 is used to indicate a "power on" operation for the controlled apparatus 700, a "power on" control message is issued and the control unit 740 performs control so that the controlled apparatus 700 is switched on.
While the explanation has thus far described a communicative control system having one central control apparatus and one controlled apparatus, the following will examine the procedure making the communication initialization settings for the case where a central control apparatus is connected to a plurality of controlled apparatuses that are to be controlled individually.
FIG. 9 shows a communicative control system where a central control apparatus 600 is connected to a plurality (here, two) controlled apparatuses 700 and 800, while FIG. 10 shows the construction of the controlled apparatus selection panel 660 that is used during the procedure making the communication initialization settings in this communicative control system. The construction and operation of the controlled apparatus 800 conform to the same standards as the controlled apparatus 700.
As shown in FIG. 9, an additional appliance, the controlled apparatus 800, is connected via the transfer path 900 to the central control apparatus 600 and the controlled apparatus 700 described above.
The central control apparatus 600 includes the controlled apparatus selection panel 660 shown in FIG. 10. This controlled apparatus selection panel 660 includes the "air conditioner 1 settings" button 661 for selecting the air conditioner 1 (which corresponds to the controlled apparatus 700 in FIG. 9) when making the communication initialization settings and the "air conditioner 2 settings" button 662 for selecting the air conditioner 2 (which corresponds to the controlled apparatus 800 in FIG. 10) when making the communication initialization settings.
By pressing the "air conditioner 1 setting" button 661 or "air conditioner 2 setting" button 662 the user can indicate the controlled apparatus to be controlled and so make the communication initialization settings for communication with the specified controlled apparatus.
The user needs to perform such communication initialization settings separately for each controlled apparatus. After the user presses the "air conditioner 1 setting" button 661, the setting operation described above is performed to set addresses for the central control apparatus 600 and the controlled apparatus 700. After this, the user presses the "air conditioner 2 setting" button 662, and the setting operation is performed again to set addresses in the central control apparatus 600 and the controlled apparatus 800.
The conventional communicative control system has the user perform a manual operation (that commences with the user indicating a controlled apparatus via the controlled apparatus selection panel 660) to make the communication initialization settings for the central control apparatus and the separate controlled apparatuses. As a result, communication can be performed between the central control apparatus and each of the controlled apparatuses.
Since the communication initialization settings are made manually, the person who makes the settings requires special knowledge. Since the set addresses are merely numerical strings, the setting process requires special experience and can be difficult for users.
When a communicative control system is newly set up, such as in a new house, a technical specialist needs to be called to make the settings. This is undesirable as it involves labor and other costs. As housewives, the elderly, and children will probably be incapable of changing the settings, a technician will need to be called whenever maintenance is required or the number of controlled apparatus is increased. Such difficulties presented by the procedure for making the communication initialization settings can also hinder the widespread introduction of communicative control systems into the home.
The present invention was conceived in view of the problems with the background art and has a first object of providing a control system that does not require the user to make the communication initialization settings. A second object of the present invention is to provide a control system that can simplify the control performed by a control apparatus over a controlled apparatus without increasing the amount of data that needs to be exchanged during such control.
The present invention is a control system including a control apparatus and a plurality of controlled apparatuses that communicate with the control apparatus via a communication network to enable the control apparatus to control the controlled apparatuses. Each controlled apparatus includes: own address storing means for storing, in advance, a provisional address that provisionally identifies the controlled apparatus when communication is commenced; and a first storing means for storing, in advance, a set of unique information that is unique to the controlled apparatus and does not depend on whether or not the controlled apparatus is connected to the communication network. The control apparatus includes: client address storing means for storing proper addresses for identifying controlled apparatuses once communication has begun, each proper address being exclusively assigned to one of the controlled apparatuses connected to the communication network; a second storing means for storing, in advance, a set of unique information for each controlled apparatus connected to the communication network, each set of unique information being associated with one of the proper addresses stored by the client address storing means; and first control means for performing control that (i) specifies, when communication is commenced, a controlled apparatus to which communication is to be performed using the provisional address stored in the own address storing means of the controlled apparatus, (ii) compares a set of unique information stored in the first storing means of the controlled apparatus with a set of unique information stored in the second storing means, and (iii) stores, based on a comparison result, a proper address stored in the client address storing means in place of the provisional address in the own address storing means of the controlled apparatus.
When communication is commenced, the control apparatus specifies the device with which it is in communication using the provisional address stored in the controlled apparatus. The control apparatus compares the unique information that is stored in advance in the control apparatus and in the controlled apparatus and, depending on the result of the comparison, has the controlled apparatus store a proper address, which it receives from the control apparatus, in place of the provisional address.
In this way, the control apparatus assigns a proper address to a controlled apparatus at the start of communication, so that the user does not need to make the communication initialization settings.
Here, each set of unique information may include one of: (1) data showing the manufacturer of a controlled apparatus; (2) data showing the model number of the controlled apparatus; (3) data showing the product number of the controlled apparatus; and (4) data showing a classification of the controlled apparatus.
When communication is commenced, the control apparatus specifies the device with which it is in communication using the provisional address stored in the controlled apparatus. The control apparatus compares data showing any of (1) the manufacturer of the controlled apparatus, (2) the model number of the controlled apparatus, (3) the product number of the controlled apparatus and (4) the appliance type of the controlled apparatus such data being stored in advance in the control apparatus and in the controlled apparatus. Depending on the result of the comparison, the control apparatus sends a proper address to the controlled apparatus and has the controlled apparatus store the proper address in place of the provisional address.
In this way, the control apparatus assigns a proper address to a controlled apparatus at the start of communication, so that the user does not need to make the communication initialization settings.
Here, the control system may further comprise a first external management apparatus that manages the sets of unique information of controlled apparatuses and is outside the communication network, wherein sets of unique information stored in advance in the second storing means of the control apparatus have been sent to the control apparatus from the first external management apparatus.
With the above control system, the sets of unique information are stored in advance in the second storing means of the control apparatus by having them sent from the first external management apparatus to the control apparatus.
As a result, the control apparatus can assign a proper address to a controlled apparatus without needing the user to make the communication initialization settings. The sets of unique information used during this process are sent from the first external management apparatus, making the setting process even more convenient for users.
Here, each controlled apparatus may further includes third storing means for storing, in advance, a set of first data relating to functions of the controlled apparatus, and the control apparatus may further include: fourth storing means for storing sets of first data; and second control means performing control so that the set of first data stored in the third storing means of a controlled apparatus is copied into the fourth storing means after control has been performed by the first control means.
With the above construction, the controlled apparatus stores a set of first data that relates to the functions of the controlled apparatus in advance. After control by the first control means is complete, this first data is stored in the fourth storing means of the control apparatus.
As a result, the control apparatus can assign a proper address to a controlled apparatus without needing the user to make the communication initialization settings. When these settings are made, the first data is sent to the control apparatus, which simplifies the control of the controlled apparatus by the control apparatus without increasing the amount of data transferred during such control.
Here, each controlled apparatus may further include: fifth storing means for storing a set of second data that cannot be determined when the controlled apparatus is manufactured, and the control apparatus may further include: sixth storing means for storing, in advance, the set of second data of each control apparatus; and third control means for performing control to copy a set of second data already stored in the sixth storing means into the fifth storing means after control has been performed by the first control means.
In this control system, second data, which cannot be determined when the controlled apparatus is manufactured, is stored in the control apparatus before communication begins. After control has been performed by the first control means, the second data is stored in the fifth storing means of the controlled apparatus.
As a result, the control apparatus can assign a proper address to a controlled apparatus without needing the user to make the communication initialization settings. When these settings are made, the second data is sent to the controlled apparatus, which simplifies the control relating to data that cannot be determined when the controlled apparatus is manufactured, without increasing the amount of data transferred during such control.
Here, the control system may further comprise a second external management apparatus that manages the sets of second data but is not connected to the communication network, wherein the sets of second data stored in advance in the sixth storing means of the control apparatus have been sent to the control apparatus from the second external management apparatus.
In the above system, a second external management apparatus provided outside the communication network transmits the sets of second data to the control apparatus so as to store the sets of second data in the sixth storage means of the control apparatus before the communication begins.
As a result, the control apparatus can assign a proper address to a controlled apparatus without needing the user to make the communication initialization settings. When these settings are made, the second data will have already been sent from the second external to the controlled apparatus, which simplifies the control relating to data that cannot be determined when the controlled apparatus is manufactured, without increasing the amount of data transferred during such control.
The stated objects can also be achieved by a control system including a control apparatus and a controlled apparatus that communicate with the control apparatus via a communication network to enable the control apparatus to control the controlled apparatus, wherein a set of first data and a set of second data are commonly established in the control apparatus and the controlled apparatus, the set of first data relating to functions of the controlled apparatus and the set of second data not being determined when the controlled apparatus is manufactured.
In the above control system, the control apparatus and controlled apparatus share first data relating to the functions of the controlled apparatus and second data that cannot be determined when the controlled apparatus is manufactured.
Sharing the first and second data in this way simplifies the control performed by the control apparatus over the controlled apparatus without increasing the amount of data that is transferred during such control.
Here, each set of first data may include data showing functions of the controlled apparatus that can be controlled through communication by the control apparatus and data showing power consumption for the functions.
With the above construction, data showing the functions of the controlled apparatus that can be controlled by the control apparatus, data showing the power consumption of these functions, and second data that cannot be determined when the controlled apparatus is manufactured are shared by the control apparatus and the controlled apparatus.
This simplifies the control performed by the control apparatus over the controlled apparatus without increasing the amount of data that is transferred during such control.
Here, each set of second data may include data showing a place where the controlled apparatus is installed and data showing a simple name that identifies the controlled apparatus but differs from the model number.
With the above construction, the first data and either data showing the installed location of the controlled apparatus or data showing a convenient name for the controlled apparatus are shared by the control apparatus and the controlled apparatus.
This simplifies the control performed by the control apparatus over the controlled apparatus without increasing the amount of data that is transferred during such control.
When communicating with a suitable device, the control apparatus and controlled apparatus described above as part of a control system can by themselves achieve the same effects as the control system.
The present invention can also be achieved by software.
The stated objects can be realized by a computer-readable recording medium on which a program to be installed into a control apparatus has been recorded, the control apparatus being connected via a communication network to a plurality of controlled apparatuses that the control apparatus controls through communication, wherein before commencing communication, each controlled apparatus stores: (i) a provisional address that is set in advance and enables the control apparatus to provisionally identify the controlled apparatus when communication is commenced; and (ii) unique information that is unique to the controlled apparatus, wherein before commencing communication, the control apparatus stores: (a) proper addresses to be assigned exclusively to controlled apparatuses connected to the communication network; and (b) sets of unique information, each of which is associated with a different proper address, and wherein when communication commences, the control apparatus operates according to the program: (1) to specify a controlled apparatus with which the controlled apparatus has not previously communicated using the provisional address stored by the controlled apparatus; (2) to compare the set of unique information stored by the controlled apparatus with the sets of unique information in the control apparatus; and (3) to store, depending on a comparison result, a proper address in place of the provisional address in the controlled apparatus.
At the start of communication, the program described above specifies the controlled apparatus using the provisional address stored in advance by the controlled apparatus. The program compares the unique information stored in the control apparatus with the unique information stored in the controlled apparatus and, depending on the result of this comparison, has the controlled apparatus store a proper address in place of the provisional address.
The above procedure has the control apparatus assign a proper address to the controlled apparatus at the start of communication, and makes communication initialization settings by the user unnecessary.
The objects can also be realized by a computer-readable recording medium on which a program to be installed into controlled apparatus is recorded, the controlled apparatus being connected via a communication network to a control apparatus that controls the controlled apparatus through communication, wherein before commencing communication, the control apparatus stores: (1) proper addresses to be assigned exclusively to controlled apparatuses connected to the communication network, each proper address being used to identify a controlled apparatus after communication is commenced; and (2) sets of unique information, each of which is unique to a controlled apparatus and is exclusively associated with one of the proper addresses, wherein when communication begins, the control apparatus performs control: (i) to specify a controlled apparatus using a provisional address that is stored in the controlled apparatus in advance; (ii) to compares the unique information stored in advance in the controlled apparatus with the unique information stored in the control apparatus; and (iii) to have the controlled apparatus store a proper address in place of the provisional address, depending on a comparison result, and wherein the controlled apparatus operates according to the program and control by the control apparatus to store the proper address in place of the provisional address.
At the start of communication, the program described above has the controlled apparatus store a proper address in place of the provisional address.
As a result, the control apparatus assigns a proper address to the controlled apparatus at the start of communication, so that communication initialization settings by the user are unnecessary.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic construction of a communicative control system that is an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows the construction of the central control apparatus 90 that has an input unit 160.
FIG. 3 shows the construction of the central control apparatus 100.
FIG. 4 shows the construction of the terminals 200, 300.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control procedure for the communication initialization settings in the present communicative control system.
FIG. 6 shows the exchanges of data performed during the communication initialization settings in the present communicative control system.
FIG. 7 shows the exchanges of data performed when simultaneously making the communication initialization settings for a plurality of terminals 200, 300 in the present communicative control system.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an overview of a conventional communicative control system.
FIG. 9 shows a communicative control system where a central control apparatus 600 is connected to a plurality of controlled apparatuses 700 and 800.
FIG. 10 shows the construction of the controlled apparatus selection panel 660 that is used when making the communication initialization settings if the central control apparatus 600 is connected to a plurality of controlled apparatuses 700, 800.
The following describes a communicative control system that is an embodiment of the present invention by referring to the attaching drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of the construction of a communicative control system that is an embodiment of the present invention.
The communicative control system includes a central control apparatus 100, terminals 200 and 300, transfer paths 400, the outside communication line 450, and the outside center 500. The terminals 200 and 300 are controlled by the central control apparatus 100 and equate to the domestic appliances referred to in the "Background Art" section as controlled apparatuses. The transfer paths 400 enable communication to be performed between the central control apparatus 100 and the terminals 200 and 300. The outside communication line 450 connects the central control apparatus 100 and the outside center 500. The outside center 500 connects with the central control apparatus 100 as necessary via the outside communication line 450 and transmits information it stores in advance relating to the terminals 200, 300 to the central control apparatus 100. This information includes the unique terminal information A and the user-dependent information which are both described later. The following operation omits the construction and operation of the terminal 300 since these conform to the same standards as the construction and operation of the terminal 200.
The terminal 200 includes the communication unit 210, the address storing unit 220 for storing an address for identifying the terminal 200, a unique terminal information storing unit 230 for storing unique terminal information (described later), and a user-dependent information storing unit 240 for storing user-dependent information (described later).
The central control apparatus 100 includes a communication unit 110, an address storing unit 121, a unique terminal information storing unit 122, a user-dependent information storing unit 123, an address storing unit 131, a unique terminal information storing unit 132, a user-dependent information storing unit 133, a terminal information setting unit 140, and an external connection unit 150. The communication unit 110 communicates with the terminals 200 and 300. The address storing unit 121 stores an address for identifying the terminal 200 when communicating. The unique terminal information storing unit 122 stores the unique terminal information of the terminal 200. The user-dependent information storing unit 123 stores the user-dependent information of the terminal 200. The address storing unit 131 stores an address for identifying the terminal 300 when communicating. The unique terminal information storing unit 132 stores the unique terminal information of the terminal 300. The user-dependent information storing unit 133 stores the user-dependent information of the terminal 300. The terminal information setting unit 140 sets the unique terminal information and the user-dependent information. The external connection unit 150 communicates with the outside center 500 to receive part of the unique terminal information (specifically the unique terminal information A described later) and the user-dependent information from the outside center 500.
In this example, the central control apparatus 100 stores the addresses for the maximum number of terminals that can be controlled in advance, with the central control apparatus 100 storing a set of a terminal address, unique terminal information and user-dependent information for each terminal to which the central control apparatus 100 connects. Before commencing communication with a terminal, the central control apparatus 100 stores the address, part of the unique terminal information (this part being the unique terminal information A described later) and the user-dependent information as a set. The procedure performed when communication is commenced between the central control apparatus 100 and a terminal is described later with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.
The unique terminal information is unique information for each terminal that is determined at the time of manufacture, and includes the manufacturer of the terminal, the model number, the product number, the manufacturing date, the manufacturing location, the manufacturing lot, the functions provided to the terminal (as a domestic appliance), the functions that can be controlled remotely (i.e., via communication), and the power consumption of the terminal. The user-dependent information, meanwhile, includes information relating to how the user uses the terminal after purchasing it, and so includes the installed location of the terminal and a reference name for the device.
"A Ltd." as the manufacturer;
"AG-XX1" as the model number;
"12345678" as the product number;
"October 2, 1999" as the manufacturing date;
"Newcastle, U.K." as the manufacturing location,
"99-4" as the manufacturing lot,
"heating, cooling, dehumidifying" as the provided functions,
"heating between X°C and Y°C to a precision of Z°", "cooling between x°C and y°C to a precision of z°", and "dehumidifying between P% and Q% to a precision of R%" as the functions that can be controlled remotely; and
"xx W during heating, yy W during cooling, zz W during standby, and maximum power rating pp W" as the power consumption.
As one example, the unique terminal information may include:
"kitchen" as the installed location; and
"air conditioner 1" as the reference name.
As one example, the user-dependent information may include:
Out of convenience, the following explanation will refer to the manufacturer, the model number and product number as the unique terminal information A, and the rest of the unique terminal information (i.e., the manufacturing date, the manufacturing location, the manufacturing lot, the functions provided to the terminal, the functions that can be controlled remotely, and the power consumption) as the unique terminal information B. The content of the unique terminal information and the user-dependent information is shown in Table 1.
When communication is commenced in the present communicative control system, the unique terminal information A and the user-dependent information are already stored in the central control apparatus 100. This information, however, does not need to be received from the outside center 500 via the external connection unit 150 and to be set in the appropriate storing units by the terminal information setting unit 140. Instead, an input unit 160 can be provided in the central control apparatus (such a central control apparatus being hereafter referred to as central control apparatus 90) and used to receive an input of this information and to have the information set in the appropriate storing units by the terminal information setting unit 140.
FIG. 2 shows the construction of the central control apparatus 90 that has an input unit 160. Components that have the same functions as those in the central control apparatus 90 of FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. This central control apparatus 90 is able to receive information via its input unit 160 without having to connect to the outside center 500.
A central control apparatus 100 (or central control apparatus 90) and terminals 200, 300 equipped with the functions described above can be realized by the physical construction shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 shows the construction of the central control apparatus 100, while FIG. 4 shows the construction of each of the terminals 200 and 300.
As shown in FIG. 3, the central control apparatus 100 is a physical construction for realizing the functions described above, and so includes a communication modem 101, a non-volatile memory 102, a microcomputer 103, a digital modulation/demodulation circuit 104, an analog circuit 105, and a mains cable 106. The communication modem 101 performs communication with external devices. The non-volatile memory 102 stores information such as the unique terminal information and the user-dependent information. The microcomputer 103 principally includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and memory such as ROM (Read-Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and is used to execute software that transfers data using any protocol used to transfer data on a wired connection. The digital modulation/demodulation circuit 104 modulates and demodulates signals that are transferred on a mains cable. The analog circuit 105 is used for electrically connecting the central control apparatus 100 to a mains cable. The mains cable 106 is used as the communication medium. As shown in Fig. 4, the terminals 200, 300 have a non-volatile memory 201, a microcomputer 202, a digital modulation/demodulation circuit 203, an analog circuit 204, and a mains cable 205.
The communication unit 110 of the central control apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to the digital modulation/demodulation circuit 104 and the analog circuit 105. The address storing units 121, 131, etc., the unique terminal information storing units 122, 132, etc., and the user-dependent information storing unit 123, 133, etc. all correspond to the non-volatile memory 102. The external connection unit 150 corresponds to the communication modem 101, while the terminal information setting unit 140 and the control unit (not illustrated in FIG. 1) that performs overall control over the components of the central control apparatus 100 corresponds to the microcomputer 103. The various components of the terminals 200, 300 shown in FIG. 1 similarly correspond to the non-volatile memory 201, the microcomputer 202, the digital modulation/demodulation circuit 203, and the analog circuit 204, while the parts of the transfer path 400 shown in FIG. 1 near the apparatuses correspond to the mains cables 106.
The following describes the control procedure for making the communication initialization settings when communication is commenced between the central control apparatus 100 and the terminal 200 whose structures are described above. In this case, the terminal 200 is assumed to have been newly connected to the the central control apparatus 100, so that the procedure making the communication initialization settings is performed by the central control apparatus 100 and the terminal 200.
add0
addx
addx
Assume that the following addresses have been assigned in the communication network formed by the present communicative control system before the procedure making the communication initialization settings is commenced. The central control apparatus 100 has been assigned the address (such as the address "1"), while the terminal 200 has been provisionally assigned the address (such as the address "65535"). The provisional address is a specific address showing that the terminal 200 has not been assigned an address on the communication network. Unique terminal information, such as the example given above, is assumed to have been stored in the unique terminal information storing unit 230 of the terminal 200 before the terminal 200 leaves the factory.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control procedure for the communication initialization settings in the present communicative control system.
add1
100
When commencing communication, the central control apparatus 100 (see FIG. 1) first obtains the unique terminal information A (information showing the manufacturer, the model number, and product number as part of the unique terminal information) and the user-dependent information (information showing the installed location and user name) of the terminal 200 that is to be newly connected from the outside center 500. The central control apparatus 90 (see FIG. 2) performs this operation based on a manual operation made using the input unit 160. The unique terminal information A is stored in the unique terminal information storing unit 122 and the user-dependent information is stored in the user-dependent information storing unit 123 (S1). The unique terminal information A and user-dependent information referred to here are respectively stored in the unique terminal information storing unit 122 and the user-dependent information storing unit 123 in combination with one address , such as the address , that is stored in the address storing unit 121. The address storing unit 121 stores in advance a number of addresses that is equal to maximum number of terminals that can be handled by the central control apparatus 100.
add0
addx
When this information has been stored in the central control apparatus 100 and in the terminal 200, the communication unit 210 of the terminal 200 transmits an address request to the central control apparatus 100 that is assigned the address using the provisional address (S2). When making this address request, the terminal 200 also sends information (such as the manufacturer name "A Ltd." and the product number "12345678") that (i) is stored in the unique terminal information storing unit 230 and (ii) forms part of the unique terminal information A stored in the unique terminal information storing unit 122 of the central control apparatus 100.
add1
addx
The communication unit 110 of the central control apparatus 100 receives this information and judges whether the unique terminal information A stored in the unique terminal information storing unit 122 in step S1 matches the information including the unique terminal information A that was transmitted from the terminal 200 in step S2 (S3). If not (S3:No), the present procedure ends. If the information matches, however (S3:Yes), the central control apparatus 100 provides the address , which is stored in the address storing unit 121 corresponding to the combination of the matching unique terminal information, to the terminal 200 that has the provisional address (S4).
add1
add1
After step S4, the communication unit 210 of the terminal 200 receives the address which is then stored in the address storing unit 220 (S5). This storing of the address completes the setting of the address that will be used thereafter in communication by the terminal 200.
add1
The central control apparatus 100 next instructs, via the communication unit 210, the terminal 200 that has been given the address to transmit all of the unique terminal information stored in its unique terminal information storing unit 230 (S6). On receiving this instruction, the communication unit 210 of the terminal 200 transmits the unique terminal information including the unique terminal information A (showing the manufacturer, product number, and model number) and the unique terminal information B (showing the manufacturing date, the manufacturing location, the manufacturing lot, the functions provided to the terminal, the functions that can be controlled remotely, and the power consumption) to the central control apparatus 100 (S7).
After this, the communication unit 110 of the central control apparatus 100 receives all of the unique terminal information sent from the terminal 200 and stores the information into the unique terminal information storing unit 122 (S8). Once the unique terminal information has been stored, the communication unit 110 of the central control apparatus 100 transmits all of the user-dependent information of the terminal 200 obtained in step S1 to the terminal 200 (S9). The communication unit 210 of the terminal 200 receives this user-dependent information and stores all of the user-dependent information in the user-dependent information storing unit 240 (S10). The communication unit 210 of the terminal 200 then transmits data showing that the communication initialization settings have been completed, and by doing so completes the procedure making the communication initialization settings.
The following explanation describes the main data that is transferred between the central control apparatus 100 and the terminal 200 when performing the above procedure for making the communication initialization settings.
add1
FIG. 6 shows the exchanges of data performed during the procedure for making the communication initialization settings in the present communicative control system. Note that before this procedure takes place, the address , the unique terminal information A and the user-dependent information of the terminal 200 are respectively stored in the address storing unit 121, the unique terminal information storing unit 122 and the user-dependent information storing unit 123 in the central control apparatus 100 as one set of information.
addx
add1
addx
add1
During the procedure making the communication initialization settings in the present communicative control system, the terminal 200 first sends an address request and the unique terminal information A to the central control apparatus 100. This address request includes the address as the address of the sender and requests the setting of a proper address. In response, the central control apparatus 100 transmits data to assign the address to the terminal 200 that currently uses the address . Next the central control apparatus 100 transmits a unique terminal information transmission request, which requests transmission of all of the unique terminal information, to the address . The terminal 200 receives this request and accordingly transmits all of its unique terminal information to the central control apparatus 100.
The central control apparatus 100 next transmits the user-dependent information. After this, data showing that the communication initialization settings have been made is transmitted to the central control apparatus 100 to end the procedure that makes the communication initialization settings.
addx
add1
The data transfers described above result in the terminal 200 that was assigned the provisional address being assigned the proper address that is used in the subsequent communication. The user-dependent information of the terminal 200 and the unique terminal information, which are respectively stored in the central control apparatus 100 and the terminal 200 before the communication initialization setting procedure starts, are transferred by the data exchanges between the central control apparatus 100 and the terminal 200, so that the unique terminal information and the user-dependent information are shared between the central control apparatus 100 and the terminal 200 using their respective storing units.
The control procedure shown in FIG. 5 is also capable of simultaneously making the required communication initialization settings for a plurality of newly installed terminals 200, 300, etc.
add1
FIG. 7 shows the exchanges of data performed during the communication initialization settings that are simultaneously made for a plurality of terminals 200, 300 in the present communicative control system. Note that before the communication initialization setting procedure takes place, the address , the unique terminal information A and the user-dependent information of the terminal 200 are respectively stored in the address storing unit 121, the unique terminal information storing unit 122 and the user-dependent information storing unit 123 in the central control apparatus 100 as one set of information, and that the address add2, the unique terminal information A and the user-dependent information of the terminal 300 are respectively stored in the address storing unit 131, the unique terminal information storing unit 132 and the user-dependent information storing unit 133 in the central control apparatus 100 as another set of information.
When performing the communication initialization setting procedure for the two terminals 200 and 300, the central control apparatus 100 will already store the unique terminal information A for identifying the respective terminals, and the address requests received from the terminal 200 and the terminal 300 will be accompanied by the unique terminal information A of each terminal. As a result, the central control apparatus 100 can exchange data with each terminal in the same way as in FIG. 6 and, by referring to the stored unique terminal information A and the unique terminal information A that accompanies the address request (this corresponds to the processing in step S3 in FIG. 5), identify each terminal before assigning a proper address to each.
add1
add2
addx
The exchanges of data result in the proper addresses and being respectively assigned to the terminals 200 and 300 that were both previously assigned the provisional address . Before the communication initialization setting procedure starts, the user-dependent information of the terminals 200 and 300 is stored in the central control apparatus 100 and the terminals 200 and 300 respectively store their own unique terminal information. This information is transferred by the data exchanges between the central control apparatus 100 and the terminals 200 and 300, so that the unique terminal information and the user-dependent information of the terminal 200 are shared between the central control apparatus 100 and the terminal 200 using their respective storing units, and the unique terminal information and the user-dependent information of the terminal 300 are shared between the central control apparatus 100 and the terminal 300 using their respective storing units.
As described above, the communication initialization setting procedure does not require the user to perform any operations. The central control apparatus 100 and the terminals share the unique terminal information and the user-dependent information using their respective storing units, so that the amount of data that is transferred thereafter when performing control can be reduced, simplifying the control procedures performed between the control apparatus and the controlled apparatus(es).
The communicative control system of the above embodiment describes, the case where the unique terminal information that is stored before the communication initialization setting procedure takes place includes the manufacturer, product number and model number. However, the unique terminal information A may only include one of these three elements, or the communication initialization setting procedure may be performed according to the information shown in Table 2.
As shown in Table 2, this modification has the unique terminal information split into the unique terminal information A, the unique terminal information B, and the unique terminal information C. The unique terminal information A includes an appliance classification. The unique terminal information B includes the manufacturer and product number. The unique terminal information C includes the manufacturing date, the manufacturing location, the manufacturing lot, the functions provided to the terminal, the functions that can be controlled remotely, the power consumption, and the model number. In such a case, the unique terminal information A is stored in the central control apparatus 100 before the communication initialization setting procedure is commenced. The unique terminal information B is transferred together with an address request from the terminal 200 to the central control apparatus 100 during the communication initialization setting procedure. The unique terminal information C is transmitted from the terminal 200 to the central control apparatus 100 after the terminal 200 has been assigned a proper address.
The following describes the processing for having the central control apparatus 100 assign a proper address to the terminal 200 as part of the communication initialization setting procedure of the communicative control system of this modification. This description refers to Table 3 and to FIG. 6. The user-dependent information is stored, managed and communicated in the same way as above, and so will not described further.
As shown in Table 3, the communicative control system of this modification associates in advance (1) the addresses stored in the address storing unit 121 which are to be assigned to appliances with (2) the appliance classifications stored in the unique terminal information storing unit 122. In more detail, before the communication initialization setting procedure (which assigns a proper address to the terminal 200 for use in subsequent communication and transfers the information required for control) is commenced, the central control apparatus 100 has the address 10 assigned to "air conditioner 1" which will be the first air conditioner connected to the system, the address 11 assigned to "air conditioner 2" that will be the second air conditioner, the address 40 assigned to "water heater 1" that will be the first water heater to be connected, etc. In this way, addresses are set in advance.
In the same way as in FIG. 6, the communication initialization setting procedure commences with the terminal 200 first sending an address request together with the unique terminal information A and B. The central control apparatus 100 determines the appliance classification of the terminal 200 that issued the address request from the unique terminal information A that accompanies the address request, finds an address that is associated with this appliance classification, and assigns the address to the terminal 200. When assigning this address, the central control apparatus 100 also transmits the unique terminal information B. The terminal 200 refers to the unique terminal information B received from the central control apparatus 100 and judges whether to accept the transmitted address as the address newly assigned to the terminal 200. By doing so, when a plurality of terminals are connected to a central control apparatus, each terminal can be prevented from mistakenly accepting an address that has been assigned to a different terminal.
As described above, the communicative control system of this modification uses different information to the communicative control system that is described as the main embodiment, but enables the central control apparatus 100 to assign a proper address for use in subsequent communication to the terminal 200 using information that is stored in advance in the central control apparatus 100 and a provisional address that is temporarily assigned to the terminal 200.
TABLE 1
CLASSIFICATIONS OF INFORMATION
INFORMATION TYPE
UNIQUE TERMINAL INFORMATION
UNIQUE TERMINAL INFORMATION A
MANUFACTURER NAME, MODEL NUMBER, PRODUCT NUMBER
UNIQUE TERMINAL INFORMATION B
MANUFACTURING DATE, MANUFACTURING LOCATION, MANUFACTURING LOT, PROVIDED FUNCTIONS, REMOTELY CONTROLLED FUNCTIONS, POWER CONSUMPTION
USER-DEPENDENT INFORMATION
INSTALLED LOCATION, REFERENCE NAME
TABLE 2
CLASSIFICATIONS OF INFORMATION
INFORMATION TYPE
UNIQUE TERMINAL INFORMATION
UNIQUE TERMINAL INFORMATION A
APPLIANCE CLASSIFICATION
UNIQUE TERMINAL INFORMATION B
MANUFACTURER NAME, PRODUCT NUMBER
UNIQUE TERMINAL INFORMATION C
MANUFACTURING DATE, MANUFACTURING LOCATION, MANUFACTURING LOT, PROVIDED FUNCTIONS, REMOTELY CONTROLLED FUNCTIONS, POWER CONSUMPTION
USER-DEPENDENT INFORMATION
INSTALLED LOCATION, REFERENCE NAME
TABLE 3
APPLIANCE CLASSIFICATION
ADDRESS ASSIGNED TO APPLIANCE
AIR CONDITIONER 1
10
AIR CONDITIONER 2
11
AIR CONDITIONER 3
12
REFRIDGERATOR 1
20
REFRIDGERATOR 2
21
WINDOW BLIND 1
30
WINDOW BLIND 2
31
WATER HEATER 1
40
The communicative control system of the present invention can be used as a system for connecting a central control apparatus to domestic appliances like air conditioners and AV equipment to allow such appliances to be controlled. | |
The tuba, as we all know, is a big instrument. The subject of the tuba, as it turns out, is even bigger. It all begins with a peculiar-looking Mediaeval instrument made of wood and leather that was redesigned a number of times, first gaining keys, a straightened wood or metal body in two sections and even more keys, an upright configuration of graceful, wound tubing and valves, a circular design resembling a snake once more, and eventually culminating in the 4-valve BB flat compensating behemoth we all know and love today.
The tuba is an instrument for which there was a demand long before its creation. Various inventors sought to fill the desire of composers, bandmasters and orchestra conductors for an instrument that could supply the bottom end, especially in the days when orchestras were growing exponentially in size. Hector Berlioz’ remarks concerning the serpent and ophicleide are well-documented and uniformly uncomplimentary. To do these instruments justice, however, Wagner, who loved a lush tone-palate, wrote supporting passages for the serpent, and demand for the ophicleide remained such that it lasted until the early 20th century.
Though this researcher can never hope to do justice to this instrument in so short a piece, it nevertheless is my hope that this overview will provide the basis from which to form meaningful direction and questions in the minds of those who wish to know more about this instrument, its origins and related instruments.
The serpent was invented in France by Edme Guillaume ca 1590. Though metal versions exist, the original and most predominant materials this instrument was fashioned from was wood covered with leather. The mouthpiece was variously made of wood, bone, ivory, oxhorn, ceramic, and various metal alloys such as brass, bronze and pewter.
The original serpent, coiled back and forth like a snake, was played by means of six holes. Later on, keys were added so that this instrument could play with greater facility.
This instrument saw wide use in the church as a bass accompaniment for religious music that had evolved from Gregorian Chant. The earliest known composers of this form were Leoninus and Perotinus, or Leonin and Perotin, in the 12th century. The composers Leoninus and Perotinus are critically important to us because they are the first two recognised composers of Western Music: for the student of Western Music, it all begins with them.
In Britain, besides its sacred role, the serpent was soon adopted as the bass member of military wind bands.
Down through the centuries, the serpent proved remarkably resilient to sweeping change in instrument design. Though it was redesigned several times and adapted for modern use, the original instrument managed to hang on, and is still with us today, kept alive by various groups and collectors with a keen interest in this venerable old instrument.
Composers like Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Meyerbeer and Wagner were no stranger to the serpent, and even today, composers in search of interesting sounds to compliment their tone-palate, will occasionally score solo parts for this 400-year-old relic.
The largest version of this instrument, the contrabass Anaconda, appeared belatedly in 1840, and is now part of the collection of the Edinburg University Collection of Musical Instruments.
In 1810, in Dublin Ireland, bugle-maker Joseph Halliday created the keyed bugle, the progenitor of the modern cornet. He based his design upon the keyed trumpet, an instrument that had been around since the late 18th century. In 1821 he created the ophicleide, the name being constructed from the two words “ophis” (Greek for “serpent”) and “kleis” (for “stopper” or “cover”).
Though the ophicleide bears no resemblance to its progenitor, being made of brass, having keys and pads like a saxophone, and standing upright, what matters here is its less obvious internal design. It is a brasswind of conical bore utilizing holes that, when covered or uncovered, change the pitch of the instrument.
If the appearance of the ophicleide is reminiscent of the saxophone, there is good reason for this. The saxophone was but one of several attempts to fuse ophicleide and woodwind design. In fact, Sax’s earliest saxophones were often refered to as the ophicléides á clefs, or the ophicléides á clefs et á bec.
Adolphe Sax was by no means the first inventor to attempt this. Other fusions of ophicleides and woodwinds, with single and double reeds, predate Sax’s efforts. In fact, when he first introduced the progenitor of the modern saxophone at a Paris exhibition, another inventor had brought a very similar instrument. Because Sax’s instrument was far superior to its competitors, the competition was soon routed, but in typical Sax fashion the authenticity of his invention is doubtful.
The ophicleide all but swept aside its predecessor, but the plucky serpent managed to hang on, whilst the ophicleide finally expired in 1928, though it has recently been resurrected, and faithful replicas are once again available.
The largest version of the ophicleide is the contrabass Monstre Ophicleide, built by Robb Stewart, an expert at making replicas of 19th century brasswinds.
Another variation on the serpent, the earliest bass horn I am aware of was manufactured circa 1800, predating the ophicleide by about twenty years. I am as yet uncertain as to the origin of this instrument, or who its inventor was, but this early example comes from England.
The helicon, thought to have been invented in Russia circa 1845, was designed to be a marching horn, carried on the shoulder. This bass instrument was the forerunner of the Sousaphone, which is the self-same instrument with a directional bell grafted on. In 1850, Ignaz Stowasser of Vienna produced large numbers of these instruments for cavalry and infantry bands.
The helicon was very popular across Europe and in the United States.
The tuba proper was first patented by Prussian bandmaster Wilhelm Wieprecht and German instrument-builder Johann Gottfried Moritz in 1835. This instrument was soon adopted by British brass bands.
Tubas come in a number of keys: BB flat, CC, E flat, F, and GG, though the tuba is what is called a “non-transposing” instrument, as its music is read and played in concert pitch.
There are many design configurations for the tuba. The compensating valve design allows the playing of true, pure pedals that are in tune; Miraphone’s tuba, held almost in the transverse position, has four rotary keys; the bell can be forward facing or up; they can have up to five valves, either in-line or with the extra two strategically placed for the left hand; bell diameter can vary from 37-74 cm (15-30 inches); they can be built of brass that is often electroplated with silver, nickel or copper, or they can sometimes have bells of plastic or fibreglass; the bell tubing can we wide and open like a funnel, or relatively small, ending in a large bell.
Though the tuba has a conical bore, its profile is not that of the bass Saxhorns, which are members of the cornet à pistons (cornopean) or valved bugle family. The tuba has a wider conical bore profile and deeper cup mouthpiece.
The original Wieprecht\Moritz instrument, like its Bombardon (helicon) analogue, was an F instrument.
By 1843, Adolphe Sax had begun manufacturing Wieprecht-Moritz-type tubas in Paris. His work on the tuba, however, was a limited, secondary matter compared to the brasswinds that bear his name. His apparent intent was to create an integrated family that included the entire range of the various diverse brasswinds. To accomplish this he selected a single archetypal design upon which all of his instruments were based. That underlying design is the bore profile of the valved bugle or cornopean, the predecessors of the cornet.
This means that the Eb bass Saxhorn brass instruments have a narrower bore and smaller bell profile than the tuba.
The Sousaphone, alleged to have been first made by C. G. Conn in 1898, was actually first manufactured by J. W. Pepper in 1893, where it was displayed at the industrial exhibit in Philadelphia that same year.
The compensating valve system was invented by D. J. Blaikely in 1878. It is designed to extend the range of the instrument, whilst stabilizing the pedals’ pitch. The basis of this principal is that when two or more pistons are used at the same time, the combined length of tubing serves to correctly adjust the pitch. To understand this concept, one must consider that the length of tubing added by opening each piston is not that of a perfect interval. Each interval is actually a bit sharp, which is necessary when it comes to playing an equal-tempered scale. The natural scale, especially of a conical bore instrument, is actually flat, each scale having its own unique arrangements of perfect intervals, such as perfect seconds, thirds, sixths and octaves. While it is not possible to freely modulate while using natural intonation, the sound, called “just intonation,” is absolutely gorgeous.
Victor Mahillon further refined this system circa 1886 with his “automatic regulating pistons” design.
The Wagner tuba comes in two forms- the smaller 4-valve F\B flat horn which has roughly the same range as the Horn and Tenor (alto) horn, and the larger B flat bass horn. The F horn uses a “French” horn mouthpiece, whilst the bass version uses a correspondingly larger mouthpiece. Both can best be described as falling somewhere between a Saxhorn and a “French” horn in bore profile.
The Wagner tuba has a bell with almost no flare, and the entire bore, including though the valves, is conical, which together serve to impair the instrument’s output, which no doubt in turn curtailed this instrument’s chances of gaining widespread popularity.
The smaller F Wagner tuba, like the F contralto trumpet, is still widely popular in Europe, however, but as a staple of small brass ensembles. New improved models of both versions of this horn, of high quality, are today being manufactured by Hoyer, fine makers of “French” horns. | http://www.alsmiddlebrasspages.com/brasshistory/tubahistory.html |
The patron saint lost causes; desperate situations is St. Jude Thaddaeus.
“He said to his disciples, therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse or barns; yet God feeds them. And how much more you are worth than the birds! Can any of you, however much you worry, add a single cubit to your span of life? If a very small thing is beyond your powers, why worry about the rest?” – Luke 12:22-26
WHAT IS IT?
Stress is a necessary and integral part of human life. Stress can help you to get up on time, to challenge yourself and to accomplish your goals. Healthy stress appears when you need it and gives you the energy and initiative to take needed actions and then lessens when the need has passed. But too much stress, particularly over prolonged periods of time, can cause disruptive behavioral or even physical symptoms.
Economic stress can be triggered by actual stressful experiences such as the loss of a job or home, for example, or major changes to your family’s income and budget. Anticipated or possible events, however, can be just as stressful as actual happenings. The fear of your family losing their home or no longer being able afford college costs can be just as stressful, and sometimes more so, than the actual events.
HOW TO MANAGE IT…
The American Psychological Association offers these tips to help deal with your stress about money and the economy: (www.apa.org)
- Pause but don’t panic – There are many negative stories in newspapers and on television about the state of the economy. Pay attention to what’s happening around you, but refrain from getting caught up in doom-and-gloom hype, which can lead to high levels of anxiety and bad decision making. Avoid the tendency to overreact or to become passive. Remain calm and stay focused.
- Identify your financial stressors and make a plan – Take stock of your particular financial situation and what causes you stress. Write down specific ways you and your family can reduce expenses or manage your finances more efficiently. Then commit to a specific plan and review it regularly. Although this can be anxiety-provoking in the short term, putting things down on paper and committing to a plan can reduce stress. If you are having trouble paying bills or staying on top of debt, reach out for help by calling your bank, utilities or credit card company.
- Recognize how you deal with stress related to money – In tough economic times some people are more likely to relieve stress by turning to unhealthy activities like smoking, drinking, gambling or emotional eating. The strain can also lead to more conflict and arguments between partners. Be alert to these behaviors—if they are causing you trouble, consider seeking help from a psychologist or community mental health clinic before the problem gets worse.
- Turn these challenging times into opportunities for real growth and change –Times like this, while difficult, can offer opportunities to take stock of your current situation and make needed changes. Think of ways that these economic challenges can motivate you to find healthier ways to deal with stress. Try taking a walk—it’s an inexpensive way to get good exercise. Having dinner at home with your family may not only save you money, but help bring you closer together. Consider learning a new skill. Take a course through your employer or look into low-cost resources in your community that can lead to a better job. The key is to use this time to think outside the box and try new ways of managing your life.
- Ask for professional support – Credit counseling services and financial planners are available to help you take control over your money situation. Find a professional Certified Financial Planner who can evaluate your financial situation and provide the necessary advice customized for you (see “4 Tips for Finding the Right Adviser”). If you continue to be overwhelmed by the stress, you may want to talk with a psychologist who can help you address the emotions behind your financial worries, manage stress, and change unhealthy behaviors.
RESOURCES
Catholic Charities of Orange County
Address: 1820 E. 16th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Providing quality professional social services to those in need and increasing the dignity of individuals and families through advocacy and education. Since 1976, Catholic Charities of Orange County has fed the hungry, consoled the hurting, and cared for the young, thereby providing help and creating hope for all people of Orange County, regardless of religion, ethnic diversity, culture, or creed. The following services are offered:
1. Cal Fresh (Food Stamp) Programs – 714-347-9601 or toll-free 877-847-3663 – helps families in assistance with the new Food Stamp Program.
2. Counseling Center – 714-347-9674 – provides professional individual and group counseling sessions.
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Orange County
Toll-free phone: 1-800-213-2227
Non-profit organization that provides debt management, credit counseling, financial education workshops, and home purchase advice.
Unemployment Services – State of California Employment Development Department
Search for a job, file for unemployment insurance or disability leave, and find job-training resources (also see Employment/Education).
Doris Cantlay Center
Phone: 714-668-1130
Provides food and basic necessities to individuals and families in need. | https://www.rcbo.org/resource/economic-stress/ |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
The present invention relates to energy monitoring and management within a computer room environment.
Data center heat density has been increasing since the advent of the server. This has become particularly problematic during the past few years as data center managers have struggled to cope with heat and energy intensity problems. These issues have resulted in enormous energy bills and a rising carbon impact.
In the past it has been customary to use only fixed cooling assets to try to address a dynamic heat load. This has created inherent inefficiencies.
Computer servers are energized by CPU chips whose advance in capabilities are generally described through Moore's Law. Moore's Law states, the number of transistors on a chip will double every two years. This law has been much debated over the past few years but, however in general it has proved remarkably prescient. Consequent upon the increase in the density of transistors in microprocessors, energy consumption in these devices has increased dramatically. In this regard, the general trend is for maximum energy consumption to increase a little more than 2 times every 4 years. Much of the engineering resources used by chip manufacturers today are spent tackling this energy consumption and a related heat dissipation challenge.
Whilst the decrease in size of the transistors in modern microprocessors is essential for increases in computing energy it brings in additional challenges, most notably in terms of variations within cross sections of circuitry among otherwise identical chips.
In a multi-core architecture, each core forms a separate processing zone. It has been shown that in multi-core chips asymmetry between any two cores leads to differences in wattage drawn by a chip to perform the same task.
FIG. 1
depicts the effect of variability on wattage within the first-generation dual-core Itanium processor (Montecito) running a single task repetitively. As this graph shows, the energy consumption in watts has a range of around ±8% ftor the mean while running the same task. This illustrates the fact that a single chip will use differing amounts of energy to accomplish the same process.
A second area of chip variability occurs between any two chips made with the same die. This is known as With-in Die (WID) variability. WID variability, has been studied with great detail over the past few years as nano-scale architectures have moved to new levels. Studies have shown that wattage variability for chips produced on one die can have standard deviations of ±10% from the mean. That is, 68% of the chips in the same die would have an average wattage draw that falls within a range of 20% from top to bottom. For the second sigma group of 27%, one can expect a energy range of 40% and so on. Such a high range of energy consumption is far beyond what many have come to expect and it creates new management challenges.
There is a third class of chip variability which is know as the Inter-die variation. Whilst there is no public information concerning inter-die variations one expects that two chips from different dies would appear to have a likelihood of producing a greater variation than those that come from a common die.
In addition to the energy consumption variation between any two identical chips, energy variations arise from the natural change in tasks performed by a processor during a day. Processor usage may go from an idle position for at least some time of the day towards a full load at other times. The variation of energy usage between identical chips coupled with the natural variation of work load provides an extremely dynamic heat profile for each server.
The rise in magnitude and variability of heat loads of CPU's, memory chips and the computer equipment in which they are employed creates enormous strains on data center cooling infrastructure. These strains create heat problems that manifest themselves as hot spots, hot zones, tripped breakers and other density-related issues as well as rising cooling use and consequent cost and carbon impact.
Adjusting the air flow under floor, above floor or within a cabinet is a primary practice to provide more cooling to server racks and cabinets that are running at high heat levels. Adding additional air flow can offer help in some cases but at a very high price of extra energy usage. Air flow must increase at an exponential rate in order to dissipate an arithmetic rise in heat load. This means that the energy consumption to generate higher fan flow rates increases at an exponential rate as well.
Total Data Center Energy use/IT Equipment Energy use.
Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE):
IT Equipment Energy use/Total Data Center Energy use
Data Center Efficiency (DCE), which is the inverse of PUE or;
In the past few years, The Green Grid and other organizations have proposed using standardized measurement metrics for overall data center energy efficiency. The specifics of the metrics offered by the Green Grid are centered around wattage data and include:
IT equipment—servers, storage, network equipment, etc
Cooling Load—Chillers, CRAC (Computer Room Air Conditioners)
Electrical losses associated with the PDU (Power Distribution Units), UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) and Switchgear systems.
Total Data Center Energy use includes contributions from the following:
According to the Green Grid, most data centers have a PUE of over 3, yet a number of less than 1.6 has been shown to be achievable. As will be appreciated, in a data center having a PUE of 3, the energy used for cooling the data centre will most likely exceed the IT equipment energy plus electrical losses.
In view of the foregoing it can be seen that there is a need to address the energy usage in computing and data center environments.
In a first aspect the present invention provides a system for monitoring and controlling power consumption in a computer device comprising a plurality of computing resources. The system includes: at least one automatic energy monitor adapted to measure energy use of the computing resources; a computer system for receiving a signal indicative of a measured energy use of each computing resource measured by the energy monitor and determine a level energy consumed by each computing resource; a controller configured to control the operation of said plurality of computing resources so as to minimise the difference in energy use between the plurality of computer resources comprising the computer system.
The computer system can determine which computing resource are consuming power and the rate of consumption of power.
The controller can enable manual or automatic management the rate of power consumption.
In a preferred form of the invention the energy use of each computing resource is monitored by a dedicated automatic energy monitor. Groups of computing resources can be monitored by a common automatic energy monitor.
The controller can be configured to minimise the difference in energy use between the plurality of computer resources by controlling the processes running on each computing device. Control can be performed remotely.
In a second aspect the present invention provides a system for monitoring and controlling power consumption in a system comprising a computer device including a plurality of computing resources and at least one cooling device for cooling the computing device. The system includes: at least one automatic energy monitor adapted to measure energy use of the computing resources and the cooling device; a computer system for receiving a signal indicative of a measured energy use of each computing resource and cooling device as measured by the energy monitor and to determine a level energy consumed by each computing resource and cooling device; a controller configured to control the operation of at least one of said computing resources and cooling devices to control the amount of cooling being used by each computing device at least partly on the basis of the measured energy use of at least one of said computing resources and cooling devices.
The controller can enable manual or automatic control of the operation of at least one of said computing resources and cooling devices to control the amount of cooling being used by each computing device. Preferably the controller enables manual or automatic control of the operation of at least one of said computing resources and cooling devices to match the rate of cooling to the energy consumption of each computer device.
In a third aspect the present invention provides a method of controlling energy use in a system comprising a plurality of computing resources arranged in at least one computing device. The method includes: defining a desired heat profile for a computing device which optimises airflow characteristics for the computing device; monitoring the energy use of at lease one computing resource; determining the heat generation of each computing resource at least partly on the basis of the energy use of the computing resource; and controlling the operation of one or more computing resources so that the heat generation of the computing device is optimised towards the desired heat profile.
The system can include an air conditioning system, having one or more air conditioning resources, for cooling at least one computing device. In this case the method can further include: controlling the operation of at least one air conditioning resource on the basis of the energy use of at least one computing resource.
Preferably the method includes: monitoring the energy use of at least one air conditioning resource; and adjusting the operation of one or more computing resources so that the energy use of at least one air conditioning resource is minimised.
The step of controlling the operation of one or more computing resources so that the heat generation of the computing device is optimised towards the desired heat profile preferably includes, controlling the operation of one or more computing resources so that electric energy flowing through a circuit powering at least two computing resources of the computing device is substantially equal.
The step of controlling the operation of one or more computing resources can include moving at least one of a processes; a process thread; and a virtualized process or a virtual server from one computing resource to another.
The step of controlling the operation of one or more computing resources can include selectively routing network traffic to a computing resource.
Controlling the operation of at least one air conditioning resource can include any one or more of the following: selectively redirecting airflow from an air conditioning resource to cool a computing device; adjusting an airflow level output by an air conditioning resource; adjusting a temperature of cooling air output by an air conditioning resource.
In a fourth aspect the present invention provides a method of controlling an air conditioning system configured to cool at least one computing resource arranged in at least one computing device. The method includes: defining a desired heat profile for a computing device which optimises airflow characteristics for the computing device; monitoring the energy use of a computing resource; determining the heat generation of each of the computing resources on the basis of the energy use of the computing resource; and controlling the operation of at least one air conditioning resource on the basis of the energy use of at least one computing resource of the computing device.
The method can include: monitoring the energy use of at least one air conditioning resource; and adjusting the operation of one or more computing resources so that the energy use of at least one air conditioning resource is minimised.
The method can include associating one or more air conditioning resources to a plurality of computing resources; and adjusting the heat removal capacity of the one or more air conditioning resources to substantially match the energy use of the computing resources with which it is associated.
In certain embodiments the heat profile for a computing device includes one or more of: a spatial temperature profile for the device, a spatial temperature variation profile; and a temporal temperature variation profile.
Preferably the energy use of, one or both of, an air conditioning resource or computing resource is monitored on an electrical circuit powering the resource. The method can include measuring any one or more of the following parameters of the electrical circuit: electric energy flowing through the circuit; electric energy that has flowed through the circuit in a given time; voltage across the circuit; current flowing through the circuit.
Preferably the temperature profile is substantially spatially uniform.
The method can include: selectively redirecting airflow from an air conditioning resource to cool a computing device; adjusting an airflow level output by an air conditioning resource; adjusting a temperature of cooling air output by an air conditioning resource.
In a further aspect the present invention provides a computing system comprising a plurality of computing resources arranged in at least one computing device: at least one automatic energy monitor adapted to measure at least one electrical parameter of a circuit powering a computing resource of the computing device; a data acquisition sub-system for receiving a signal indicative of a measured energy parameter of the circuit powering each computing resource measured by the energy monitor; and a controller configured to determine a level of heat generated by each computing resource on the basis of the measured electrical parameter and to control the operation of one or more computing resources so that the heat generation of the computing device is optimised towards a desired heat profile for the computing device.
The system can further include: an air conditioning system, including one or more air conditioning resources, for cooling said at least one computing device, and wherein the controller is further configured enable the operation of at least one air conditioning resource to be controlled on the basis of a measured electrical parameter of a circuit powering at least one computing resource of the computing device.
The system preferably also includes: at least one automatic energy monitor adapted to measure at least one electrical parameter of a circuit powering an air conditioning resource of the system, and the data acquisition sub-system can be further adapted to receive a signal indicative of said measured electrical parameter of the air conditioning resource.
The heat profile for a computing device is preferably chosen to optimise airflow to the computing device.
Preferably the controller controls the operation of one or more computing resources so that electric energy flowing through a circuit powering at least two computing resources of the computing device is substantially equal.
In a further aspect the present invention provides a method of distributing computing tasks between a plurality of computer resources forming at least one computer device The method includes; defining a desired heat profile for a computing device to optimise airflow associated with the computer device; determining the heat generation of each computing resource on the basis of the computing resource's energy use; and adjusting the heat being generated by at least one of the plurality of computer resources to optimise the heat being generated by the computer device towards the desired heat profile by distributing computing tasks to at least one of the plurality of computer resources. The method can include distributing least one of the following computing types of tasks: a processes; a process thread; and virtual server. Distributing computing tasks can include selectively routing network traffic to a computing resource.
The step of distributing computing tasks to at least one of the plurality of computer resources preferably includes controlling the operation of one or more computing resources so that electric energy flowing through a circuit powering at least two computing resources of the computing device is substantially equal.
In a further aspect the present invention provides a scheduling scheme for distributing computing tasks between a plurality of computing resources of at least one computing device, said scheme being defined by a plurality of task distribution criteria relating to one or more, task characteristics or computer device characteristics, wherein at least one of the task distribution criteria is at least partly based on the heat being generated by a plurality of the computing resources. The scheme for distributing computing tasks can include task distribution criteria based upon heat value of a computing resource which is determined on the basis of a measurement of energy used by the computing resource.
In yet another aspect the present invention provides a method of arranging one or more computing resources within a computing device forming part of a computing system. The method includes; defining a plurality of energy consumption classes and classifying the computing resources into at least one class; defining a desired heat profile for at least part of the computing device on the basis of the energy consumption classes, said desired heat profile being configured to optimise airflow associated with the computing device; arranging the computing resources within the computing device to optimise heat generated within the computing device towards the desired heating profile.
Preferably the computing device is a server rack and the computing resources are servers mounted within the rack. The computing system can be a server room or data centre and the computing resources include one or more servers or other computing or network appliances.
The invention can also provide a computing appliance configured to schedule computing tasks between a plurality of computer resources or network devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the above mentioned methods.
In a further aspect the present invention also provides a computer program comprising a set of computer implementable instructions that when implemented cause a computer to implement a method according to the invention. A computer readable medium storing such a computer program forms another aspect of the invention.
The present inventors have had the insight that the units of measurement of CPU energy, heat and total energy used by a microprocessor are integrally related. Most specifically, the energy that a CPU draws in watts, is exactly the same as the heat in watts it radiates. That is, energy draw and heat load are simply two sides of the same coin.
variation of heat generation within a group of computer resources;
matching of cooling resources to the heat loads generated.
Moreover, the present inventors have realised that energy use and carbon impact can be reduced by managing heat generation characteristics within the computing environment which leads to the ability to better utilise the cooling resources available. Preferably this is achieved by actively managing the following factors.
Turning firstly to the problem of heat variation within a group of computer resources, the inventors have identified that one of the key heat generation characteristics of a group of computing resources, e.g. servers within a server cabinet, is the variability of heat load between servers. In particular, it has been found that it is advantageous to hold the total variation of energy use, and consequently heat generation, between individual or groups of computer resources (e.g. servers within a rack) to a minimum. This can have a three fold benefit—firstly, it minimizes the energy needed to cool the computing resources within their enclosure because it presents advantageous airflow resistance characteristics, next it minimises the need to deal with sharp increases and variations in temperature which reduce equipment life and increase equipment failures, and third it minimises heat recirculation and therefore hotspots within a given space for a given level of processing.
In fact, in a preferred form of the invention, minimising the difference in heat generation between servers or groups of servers within a cabinet or rack provides more improvement in cooling performance within a cabinet than the varying the total heat load of the cabinet. For instance it has been found that a cabinet with a balanced heat load throughout it can support 50% more total heat, and thus, 50% more equipment load than the equivalent cabinet having servers distributed with random heat levels. Such a cabinet will also exhibits far less temperature variation with time (better than 20% improvement) which further adds to overall energy efficiency of the computer room.
In a preferred foil of the invention the heat variation tolerance within a group of servers should be held to 20% or, the maximum expectation for the average spread of 1 standard deviation of CPUs within the group of servers.
In an ideal system one would measure the heat generation and variation of each server individually and balance their use accordingly. However, generally speaking it is not practical to do this, therefore is useful to group servers into at least two groups within a rack or cabinet and to balance heat loads of one group of servers vs another.
low load—these servers are most often in a low load or idle position and any processing creates large jumps in energy use and heat levels;
medium load—these servers spend the majority of time above idle but, at less than 80% capacity; and
a high load—these servers spend the majority of the time above 50% capacity.
The following three classifications are used:
It is possible to use these loading classes as a predictor of variance in heat generation as follows:
Loading
Low
Medium
High
Variability of heat output
High
Medium
Low
Therefore to minimise overall heat variation in a cabinet or within a portion of a cabinet, high load physical servers are preferably grouped together. Similarly, medium load physical servers should also be grouped.
From the table above it will be appreciated that a cabinet of only low loaded servers may present a rather chaotic heat output over time and potentially create significant hot spots. Therefore, low load physical servers are preferably interspersed amongst high and medium load servers. This arrangement minimises the variation of heat load within each cabinet or portion of a cabinet.
Virtualized servers have a low standard deviation heat load profile. This fact can be put to use both by grouping virtual servers within their own cabinets or, by using the relative heat stability of virtual servers to mitigate the heat variations of servers with lighter loads and higher heat standard deviations. If used properly, this factor can provide significant energy efficiency benefits and may present a reason to move servers that have not yet been virtualized to a virtual position.
In addition to the inherent benefits of the higher loading factors of virtual servers compared to low load servers, with virtual servers load balancing tools can be used shift computing tasks to achieve energy efficiency benefits. For example, user can schedule and, in some cases, move applications on-the-fly to change processor wattage and thus, improve heat load balancing in a cabinet or rack. This balancing reduces hot zones and total air resistance and therefore lowers cabinet or rack temperature and consequently reduces cooling needed in the rack. This balancing results in an increase in data center energy efficiency.
Alternatively the dynamic arrangement of servers can be done in a non-virtualized environment as well. For non-virtualized environments, these tools that can be used to change server loading include load balancing switches, routers and hubs, which can be used to choose which server will handle a specific request. Any device which can be used to change the loading of a CPU, memory, disk system, server, computing equipment, group of computing equipment or network and may be made responsive to heat loading data for such devices, could be used to balance heat load among computing devices, thus, providing less temperature variation and better air flow characteristics and therefore reducing cooling requirements while increasing data center efficiency.
To assist in the understanding of the energy use and consequently heat minimisation implications of this aspect of the present invention, it is useful to consider that each server (or group of servers) in a system can be seen to act as if it were a resistor. Thus the overall system of servers can be represented electrically as a system of parallel resistors, wherein each server (or group of servers) is represented by a resistor having some equivalent input impedance.
FIG. 2
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For example illustrates a server cabinet including four servers to . This server cabinet can be modelled as a circuit in which server is modelled as resistor R and the group of servers , and are modelled as resistor R. As will be appreciated R is derived by treating the group of servers as three parallel resistors and determining an equivalent resistance of the group .
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At this point it is helpful to examine how the total energy used by such a set of parallel resistors varies with particular resistance values. Let's choose an example where resistor R has a resistance of 100 Ohms and resistor R has a resistance of 150 Ohms. When placed in parallel, the combination R∥R has a resistance of (150*100)/(150+100)=15000/250=60 ohms.
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Secondly, consider the case where resistor R has a resistance of 125 Ohms and resistor R has a resistance of 125 Ohms. The combination R∥R has a resistance of (125*125)/(125÷125)=15625=62.5 ohms. Note that in both cases the sum of the component resistances, R∥R is 250 Ohm. However, the observed parallel resistance varies depending on how the balance is shifted between the separate branches of the circuit.
Assuming a 110V energy supply was used to feed such a system of resistors, it is can be seen that a different amount of current must flow either of the parallel circuits described. In the first case, 110 Volts across a 60 ohm load results in a current of 1.83 amps. In turn, this implies a energy consumption of roughly 200 Watts.
In the second case, 110 Volts across a 62.5 ohm load results in a current of 1.76 amps. This implies a energy consumption of roughly 193.6 Watts.
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In practice, R and R are electrical characteristics of a circuit and will each vary according to the characteristics of the servers, e.g. according to the physical characteristics of the processors involved, and the extent to which the processor is loaded at the instant of measurement. However, there is a link that can be established between the wattage of heat in a server and the thermal resistance of the air in a computer rack or cabinet.
It follows that balancing the manner in which resistance is presented to a source of energy can reduce the overall energy consumption. Using the “thermal resistance” analogue of Ohm's Law, we learn that:
Temperature Rise=Thermal Resistance×Power dissipated by the system
and therefore:
Thermal Resistance=Temperature Rise/power dissipated by the system and,
Power dissipated by the system=Temperature Rise/Thermal Resistance
It can be seen then, that by measuring and controlling any two of these three variables, one can control the outcome of the third. Further, because temperature is simply driven by energy use, we know that by equalizing energy use among computing equipment within a space that presents otherwise generally equal thermal resistance, it is possible to control temperature variations. This can reduce the cooling requirements for the equipment to a common temperature point. In an environment where energy use varies from one computer to another, it is still possible to reduce the difference in temperature from any piece of equipment to the next, or to form groups of equipment which have similar energy use and thus temperature ranges. Thus, even with computer equipment with different energy consumption for individual units, groups of computers can be combined to provide advantageous thermal and, thereby, cooling conditions.
Temperature, then, correlates strongly with the energy consumption within a circuit for computer racks and cabinets. Therefore, measuring and controlling energy consumption can provide the means to control temperature and, therefore, control the total amount of cooling necessary to mitigate the heat in a computer rack or cabinet.
While it would be ideal to measure both temperature and energy use for complete verification, it can be seen that it may not be necessary so long as energy use can be measured. However, in some cases, it may not be economically feasible to measure energy use. Therefore, a lower cost proxy may be used in such cases. For example, rather than measuring actual energy use, one may measure and control current (amperage) or amp hours. In the case of temperature, it may not be possible to measure temperature accurately in the computer equipment or CPU. Therefore, an alternative proxy could be used that may include cabinet or rack temperature, server case temperature, mother board temperature or other similar temperature points.
FIG. 2
While the equalization of wattage between servers or groups of servers or other computing or electronic equipment in a cabinet or rack will allow for better air flow patterns and reduced cooling needs, it should also be noted that it may be possible to define a heat profile within a cabinet that maximises the cooling effectiveness within the cabinet, without uniform wattage or uniform resistance, as in the example of . In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the processing load of the computing devices within the cabinet can still be managed even when wattages are significantly different between two or more devices, so that their energy consumption and/or the energy consumption needed to cool these devices approaches that defined by the desired heat profile. This may be accomplished by spreading out the servers with the highest loads in an equidistant fashion from one another. Preferably each high load (and therefore heat) server or group of servers are located on a separate circuit, so as to equalize the energy usage between circuits and hold resistance to as the most uniform and lowest level possible between groups of servers.
In practice, servers (e.g. a single piece of hardware as in a standard server or a single blade within a blade server) may be grouped so as to manage the resistance of groups of servers rather than individual servers. Primarily this is done for the sake of cost efficiency of reducing the number of measurement points. A group can be from 1 server to 100 or more servers in a single cabinet. Ideally, each group of servers can be contained within a single power circuit so as its total energy use can be measured, thus allowing it to be managed by its energy use (or a proxy of its power usage or temperature may alternatively be used). Thus, when it is not possible or feasible to monitor individual servers and their energy use, it may be possible to monitor and control the total amount of heat being generated by all servers attached to each circuit, within a cabinet or rack. It follows then that, in order to reduce the cooling requirements for such rack or cabinet that one would try to minimize the difference of wattage load for each circuit as compared to the other or others within that cabinet or rack.
Further, when it is not possible to monitor energy use for individual servers but, where energy use measurements may be taken for all servers on each circuit within a rack, a proxy for energy use or temperature measurement may be used for each individual server that is attached to a circuit. A proper proxy must vary in proportion to the energy usage of heat and, therefore, proper proxies may include: CPU Utilization, CPU amperage, CPU temperature, Motherboard amperage, Motherboard temperature or other such measurements as may be available which bear a relationship to the amount of energy being used by that processor.
It can be seen then, that, even if one can only measure energy use at the circuit level for groups of servers within a cabinet that it may still be possible to balance heat loads effectively among both, groups of servers, and individual servers within a group by varying the amount of processing done on each CPU of each server. A proxy for energy use can be measured and the differences in that proxy minimized between individual servers while, also minimizing the total energy use of all servers that are attached to each circuit, by comparing circuits within that cabinet.
In addition to the above, it can be seen that, when using circuit load measurements to balance groups of servers, it is most advantageous to physically place each server within a circuit group within the same physical zone of a cabinet or rack. For example, with a cabinet having 3 circuits A, B and C and each circuit having 10 servers attached, it is most advantageous from a management and control standpoint to place all 10 servers from circuit A in the lowest 10 spots within a cabinet, then to place all 10 servers attached to circuit B in a middle location within the cabinet and, finally, to place all 10 servers attached to circuit C in the top location within the cabinet. In this manner, it is both easier to keep track of computing resources and, to know the exact effect and location within a cabinet of the heat loading.
FIG. 3
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While heat balancing can achieve significant energy savings in terms of cooling requirements, lower carbon impact and increased equipment life, the inventors have seen that it may also be advantageous to match cooling levels of air or liquid to the heat levels that are being generated within any individual cabinet. illustrates such a system schematically with a computing environment, which in this case is a computer server room . The server room is illustrated as including two cabinets and housing a plurality of computing devices to . Cooling of the cabinets is provided by a computer room air conditioner (CRAC) unit . The CRAC unit provides cool air into the cabinets , to cool the computing devices to and draws heated air from the room for cooling and recirculation. Those skilled in the art will be familiar with stick arrangements and methods and techniques for distributing air within such a computer the room.
at the circuit level within a power panel for all servers on a circuit;
at the power strip level for all servers on a circuit;
at the plug level of a power strip for an individual server or blade server or similar multi-server module;
within the server at the CPU(s) or on the mother board or power supply.
To implement an embodiment of the present invention in such a system, the energy consumption of heat generation (and in some cases the temperature) of the computing devices within a cabinet or rack, needs to be monitored. Embodiments of the present invention can take such measurements for each device individually or in groups. In a particularly preferred form, energy consumption of the computing devices is measured in groups defined by the circuit to which the devices are collected. However, measurements of energy consumption may be taken at one of a number of positions, including but not limited to:
Measurements of wattage preferably measure true RMS wattage, but a proxy for wattage may also be used, for example, by measuring amperage at any of the above points or by estimated using data from the CPU or motherboard as to its amperage or amperage and voltage.
via a sensor mounted on the CPU, Motherboard, or Server
via a sensor mounted on our outside the computing device's case
by using data supplied by the CPU, Motherboard, energy Supply or other component of the computing device
Measurements of temperature may not need to be taken and may be assumed to be a relatively constant if wattage can be held to a reasonable tolerance. However, where temperature measurements are desired and available for maximum accuracy in balancing they may be measured in any practical manner, including:
Heat is ultimately removed from the server cabinet or rack by the CRAC and Chiller system. Thus in a further aspect of the invention, efficiencies in energy use can be increased by more closely matching the cooling operation of the CRAC units to the actual heat generated within the computer room and, more specifically, to each individual cabinet or rack. The importance of this aspect of the invention can be seen when it is appreciated that CRAC units use large amounts of energy for small changes in temperature settings—merely adjusting CRAC temperatures by just 1 degree downward costs an additional 4% in energy usage. Conventionally, data centers apply cooling according to their hottest server within a cabinet or hottest individual cabinet, and hot spots are dealt with by simply lowering the supply temperature of one or more CRAC units, resulting in substantial additional energy cost.
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However when energy consumption data (heat generation data) is gathered as described above, it is possible to assign the cooling output of individual CRAC units as primary cooling sources to individual cabinets or to groups of cabinets. The heat generated within a cabinet e.g. in watts can then be matched to the flow of air from each CRAC unit to increase cooling system efficiency. With the correct heat value of each cabinet, rack or equipment space, adjustable vent floor tiles and other adjustable air support structures can be used to match actual cooling wattage to each equipment rack and, thus allow each cabinet to receive the exact amount of cooling required for heat being generated in the cabinet. Other options for providing the proper cooling in wattage can include adjustable damper systems, adjustable overhead vents, and other adjustable air-flow or liquid flow devices. The objective of such systems is to manually or automatically adjust the flow of air or liquid cooling resources as measured in watts, kWh, BTU, BTU/hour or similar measurements, to match the actual power, kWh, BTU, BTU/hour or similar measurements of heat generated within a cabinet, rack, room, or other equipment space.
In addition to energy savings from matching heat generation to cooling, management of CRAC unit supply and return air temperature can provide significant energy savings since CRAC units operate more efficiently when the return air (the air arriving at the CRAC unit from the data center) is sufficiently different from the supply air (the cooled air leaving the CRAC unit). This temperature difference between supply and return is generally known as ΔT. In general, higher the spread in ΔT, the higher the efficiency. Concentrated heat loads arriving at the return air side provide a higher ΔT and therefore, higher energy efficiencies.
The use of hot-isles and cold isles is one strategy employed to concentrate heat loads to achieve a high ΔT. Other examples of heat concentration strategies include using hooded exhausts ducts at the cabinets and using cabinet-mounted CRAC units. In general, the more efficiently one is able to contain and move the exhaust heat from a cabinet to the CRAC unit, the more efficient the cooling process will be.
Ultimately the success of any such strategy can only be judged by measuring the energy used in the cooling system. Thus in a preferred form of the invention, CRAC energy usage for each CRAC unit is also monitored. It should be noted that gathering wattage data for a CRAC unit is generally not possible from a PDU as CRAC units are typically sufficiently large so as to have their own power breakers within a panel. Preferably the heat removed in BTU also monitored.
The Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of cooling loads can be used to determine the efficiency of each CRAC unit and chiller unit. EER is a metric commonly used for HVAC equipment. The calculation of EER for any piece of equipment is as follows:
BTUs of cooling capacity/Watt hours of electricity used in cooling
In order to maintain consistency in measurements and thus enable them to be confidently compared, it is preferable to measure both computer system energy usage and cooling system energy usage at the circuit-level within the power energy panel.
Another advantage of this arrangement is that it can be much more economical to measure circuit-level wattage in these neatly grouped units. Typically, energy panels consist of 42, 48, 84, 98 or even 100+ circuits. The ability to measure large groups of circuits from a single unit creates significant economies of scale vis-á-vis measuring circuit within a cabinet one energy strip at a time. Monitoring at the panel-level, also allows the accuracy of measurements to reach utility-grade levels while maintaining a cost that can be considerably lower than PDU strip monitoring. Highly accurate current transformers, voltage transformers and utility-grade energy meter chips can be employed.
Wattage data by plug load can be measured for each server, computing device or piece of electronic equipment.
Wattage data by circuit can measured for each group of servers, computing devices or other piece of electronic equipment
Wattage data by circuit can be combined to see total heat wattage by cabinet;
Cabinet heat loads can be matched against individual CRAC unit cooling resources;
“What-if” scenarios can be employed by moving circuits virtually within a floor space to see the effect on heat and cooling efficiencies before a hard move of devices is performed;
Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) can be seen as trends.
In this preferred arrangement the energy usage data for each element of the computing and cooling system can be obtained instantaneously. In this manner each circuit's information can logically be assigned to its usage (servers within a cabinet and their users and CRAC and chiller units) via a relational database. Software accessing such a relational database can use the real-time RMS energy data for each computing resource and cooling resource in, inter alia, the following ways:
FIG. 4
FIG. 3
illustrates a system of to which circuit level energy metering for the CRAC and computing resources has been added.
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In this figure, computing devices , and share a power circuit and are grouped together as device . Similarly computing devices , and are share a energy circuit and are referred to as computing device .
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The actual energy used by each computing device , , , , and is monitored by a dedicated circuit level RMS energy monitor , , , , and . In a preferred form the energy monitor is preferably Analog Devices 7763 energy Meter on-a-clip. The energy used by the CRAC unit is similarly monitored by circuit level RMS energy monitor .
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Each energy monitor , , , , , and is connected by a communication line (e.g. a wired or wireless data link) to a energy data acquisition system such as TrendPoint Systems's EnerSure unit, in which the energy data for said circuits is stored. The energy usage data obtained by the RMS energy meters to is obtained instantaneously and stored in a database.
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As explained above the computer load data can be used to determine the actual level of cooling that needs to be applied to the room and also where this cooling needs to be applied within the room as well as to each rack or cabinet. Thus the system includes a system controller which has the task of controlling the cooling needed for each group of computing devices. Further, the system controller or another system controller may be used to control the processor loads of the computing devices within the cabinets and possibly between cabinets, thus balancing the thermal resistance and/or power between individual computers or groups of computers in such a manner as to minimize cooling resources needed for said computers or group of computers. The system controller accesses the database stored in energy data acquisition system and uses the data for efficiency monitoring and schedules tasks or routes traffic to individual servers in accordance with a scheduling/load balancing scheme that includes attempting to match heat generation to the optimum heat profile of a cabinet (or entire room).
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Because each cabinet and has three groups of devices e.g. , and For cabinet and , and for cabinet , for which energy use is individually monitored the equivalent circuit for this system would include 3 resistors connected in parallel and accordingly a three zone heat balancing profile can be used.
In most current data centers each cabinet typically employ 2 circuits (whilst some bring from 3 to 4 circuits to each cabinet), this creates a natural grouping within each cabinet and to then to actively manage each grouping. Alternatively more zones and circuits can be used. The only limit is the cost and practical limitation of monitoring energy consumption on many circuits and then defining heat profiles with such a fine level of control.
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The system controller compares the actual energy usage data of each plug load or group of servers on a circuit to a profile of the other plug loads, and/or circuits to determine the heat load of the servers and circuits within a cabinet and then determines which are furthest in variation in comparison from one another and, therefore, from their desired heat value. The system controller the uses a targeting scheduler/load balancer to send/redistribute/move processes among and between servers within separate circuits and between separate circuit within a cabinet (i.e. in different heat zones of the heat profile) in an attempt to more closely match the heat generation to the desired heat profile within the cabinet. The desired heat profile is one which shows the least variation between energy use on each circuit or between heat loads among individual servers. The process of shifting processes may focus first on virtualized servers and servers which are under the control of load balancing switches. Ideally, the system controller seeks to arrange the intra-cabinet loads with a target heat variation having a standard deviation of ±10%. Inter-circuit variation can be set to a similar level or a level determined by the heat profile.
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Next the operation of the cooling resources is controlled to accord with the actual measured cabinet heat loads. The system controller may also automatically match the cooling provided by each CRAC unit to a server cabinet or group of cabinets. It may do this through automatically controlled floor vents or through automatically controlled fans either in or outside the CRAC unit or by automatically controlling CRAC unit temperature, or by other related means. The energy data acquisition system also gather CRAC and chiller energy usage data over time and enables effects of such moves on the associated vents, fans, CRAC units and chiller units to be monitored by the system controller . Because the cooling effectiveness will change as the CRAC and Chillers are adjusted it may be necessary to re-balance server loads and continue to iteratively manage both processor loading and cooling system parameters. Ultimately the PUE of the entire data center can be monitored on an ongoing basis to track the effect of the changes of overall energy use over time.
FIG. 5
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illustrates a computer room housing a plurality of server racks , , and , each housing a plurality of servers. The room is cooled by a CRAC . The computer room is of a raised floor design and includes an under-floor plenum . During operation, the servers are cooled by air from the CRAC . The CRAC delivers cool air to the underfloor plenum as indicated by dashed arrows. This cool air is delivered to the server racks , , and via floor vents and .
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The air enters the racks , , and via respective ventilation openings on a designated side of the racks. Hot air is expelled from the server racks , , and via vents (not shown) located on the top of the racks. The hot air circulates through the server room , as indicated by solid arrows, back to the CRAC where heat is removed from the system.
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In an embodiment of the present invention the operation of the CRAC , can be controlled, e.g. by changing temperature and flow rate, in accordance with the methods described above. Additionally the floor vents and can be controlled to locally control airflow direction and volume to direct cooling air onto selected servers as determined according to the methods described herein. The floor vents and can be manually controllable, alternatively they can be powered vents that are automatically controllable.
FIG. 6
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illustrates a second exemplary server room able to be cooled using an embodiment of the present invention. In this system the server room houses two server racks and . The room is cooled by a CRAC which delivers cool air (indicated by dashed lines) directly to the room . In this embodiment hot air is removed from the servers and via a duct system . The duct system delivers the hot air to the CRAC for cooling. In this example, the operation of the CRAC and extraction fans associated with the duct system can be controlled in accordance with the methods described to effectively move cooling air to the servers housed in the racks and and remove hot air therefrom.
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illustrates a further exemplary server room able to be cooled using an embodiment of the present invention. In this system the server room houses two server racks and . The room is cooled by a CRAC which delivers cool air (indicated by dashed lines) directly to the room . In this embodiment the room includes a ventilated ceiling space via which hot air is removed from the servers and to the CRAC for cooling. Air enters the ceiling space via ceiling vents . The ceiling vents can be controlled to control the volume of cooling air entering the ceiling space or to control where the hot air is removed. This can be important in controlling airflow patterns within the server room . The vents can be manually or automatically controllable. As with the previous embodiments the operation of the CRAC and the vents can be controlled in accordance with the methods described above to effectively move cooling air around the system.
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In these embodiments other airflow control means can also be used to direct air to particular parts of the server room, or to particular racks within the room, for example one or more fans can be used to circulate air in the room, or direct air from the underfloor plenum in a particular direction; rack mounted blowers can be used for directly providing air to a rack from the plenum; and air baffles for controlling cool air delivery air circulation and hot air re-circulation can also be used to control airflow in accordance with the invention. Those skilled in the art will readily be able to adapt the methods described herein to other server room arrangements and to control other types of airflow control devices.
As will be appreciated from the foregoing, device to device variations in energy usage have been shown to be substantial. However the placement of each physical or virtual server within a rack greatly effects its heat circulation as well as the circulation patterns of nearby servers. This change in circulation patters, in turn, creates enormous differences in the amount of energy that is required to cool that server and other servers within a rack. Aspects of this invention take advantage of this property to lower cooling requirements by seeking to optimise the heat profile within each individual data cabinet. For each cabinet (or larger or smaller grouping of computing devices) a desired heat profile can be defined. The optimum heat profile for group of devices call then be used as one of many factors in the control of the computing devices. In a particularly preferred form of the invention, CPU processes, tasks threads, or any other energy using tasks can be scheduled both in time or location amongst computing devices within a cabinet, in order to most closely match the actual heat profile of the cabinet to its optimum heat profile.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
depicts the effect of variability on wattage within the first-generation dual-core Itanium processor (Montecito) running a single task repetitively;
FIG. 2
illustrates an exemplary server cabinet and an equivalent circuit representation of the server;
FIG. 3
illustrates schematically a computer equipment room, and illustrates an environment in which an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented;
FIG. 4
illustrates schematically a computer equipment room, including energy usage monitoring equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5
illustrates a server room having a cooling system operable in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6
illustrates a second example of a server room having a cooling system operable in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 7
illustrates a another exemplary server room having a cooling system operable in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. | |
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Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Hamilton will use $370 million to expand its bus system ahead of an LRT construction project.
The Government of Canada is contributing over $201.8 million and Ontario is providing more than $168.2 million. The City of Hamilton’s share is $148.8 million.
“This funding, along with the federal government’s previously announced support for Hamilton’s LRT project, together represent an historic, generational investment in transit in Hamilton,” said Mayor Fed Eisenberger.
“This will allow us to expand transit like never before, making it faster, more affordable, more reliable and more convenient. This in turn will attract more riders than ever before, which in turn makes roads less congested and is good for the environment.”
Funded projects include:
- Construction of a new 60,000-sq. m. public transit maintenance and storage facility. The facility will include a 30-bus maintenance area, two indoor CNG fueling lanes, two bus wash rack systems, storage for 200 conventional size buses, approximately 4,000 square metres of administration space and a four-level parking structure to accommodate approximately 400 parking spaces for employees
- Replacement of Birch Avenue bridge and associated road Work /construction of Salt management facility, replacement of a rail bridge, completion of associated road work and the construction of a salt management facility.
- Dispatching and AVL hardware and software replacement – Installation of new dispatch and automatic vehicle location systems on buses in the transit fleet to provide automated real-time detour and service interruption information to transit users.
- Expansion of transit fleet – purchase of up to 85 40-ft. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, which will enable the city of Hamilton to expand its fleet and increase public transit service by an additional 300,000 service hours by 2026.
- Construction of active transportation connections – a 185-m. active transportation bridge, 1.4 km. of new bike paths, 420 m. of upgraded bike paths and up to 500 new bike parking spaces.
- Implementation of priority bus movement on the 16-kilometre A-Line rapid transit route. Work includes construction of five new queue jump lanes, implementation of transit signal priority measures at approximately 26 intersections, improvements to approximately 19 transit stops along the corridor and approximately 17 kilometres of new sidewalk construction.
Projects will contribute to the network of BLAST corridors designed to connect residents from the lower city to the mountain, waterfront and the airport.
“Investing over $200 million in Hamilton’s public transit system, to improve the A-Line Rapid Transit Corridor, purchase new buses, construct new bike paths, and support a new storage and maintenance facility will reduce commute times and help workers, students, seniors and families across Hamilton and beyond get where they need to go faster, cleaner and in affordable ways,” said Catherine McKenna, Canada’s minister of infrastructure and communities. | https://ontarioconstructionnews.com/hamilton-expanding-transit-system-with-370-million-from-feds-and-province/ |
ABS 200 WEEK 5 QUIZ
- The __________ can be defined as the tendency to give an employee higher ratings than he/she objectively deserves because of the rater’s failure to discriminate among distinct and potentially independent aspects of the employee’s behavior. For instance, a supervisor is disposed to judge an employee’s productivity favorably because the employee’s workspace is remarkably neat.
- Which of the following statements defines psychoneuromuscular theory?
- A view of management that values human beings as strategic assets with enduring value to the organization is called
- According to research discussed in the textbook, children’s prosocial behaviors
- Which does NOT apply to achievement goal theory?
- Carla is an industrial/organizational psychologist who is often asked to identify the specific responsibilities and requirements of a variety of jobs. As a result, she spends a considerable amount of time not only interviewing and observing workers who perform specific jobs, but also collecting job descriptions from employment experts. She calls what she does
- Which of the following statements is FALSE?
- Which of the following properties does NOT describe mastery motivational climate?
- Which statement does NOT fit achievement motivation theory?
- __________ means that the information produced by an assessment tool (e.g., a test, an interview protocol, or a research procedure) accurately measures what it is intended to measure. For instance, a __________ measure of introversion assesses a specific disposition and can predict performance in the workplace where this disposition is relevant.
- Which of the following is UNLIKELY to be a sub-field of industrial/organizational psychology?
- Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) are
- PETTLEP is
- As a director of human resources, Paul often warns supervisors who are conducting performance evaluations that “birds of a feather flock together.” To which of the following biases does this famous adage apply?
- Which of the following terms specifically refers to the degree to which members of a group work together to achieve common goals, such as at a league championship?
- Coworkers say that Don is driven to excel at work because he wants to attain material rewards and avoid unpleasant consequences. Don’s approach to work activities can be said to be
- The standard for effort and performance accepted by the team is called
- Which of the following is NOT an example of extrinsic motivation?
- Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding goals in sport?
- As part of a job application, Shanika takes a personality test. Then, she takes the same test 6 months later. She is told that the test is _________. That is, it can be trusted to produce consistent measurements across time if given to the same person. | https://www.homeworkmade.com/abs-200-introduction-to-applied-behavioral-science-week-5-quiz-answers/ |
Washington, DC – This week, the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) announced the endorsement of legislation on technology and artificial intelligence, including Rep. Darren Soto’s (FL-09) AI Jobs Act of 2019 that will authorize the Department of Labor to work with businesses and educational institutions to create a report analyzing the future growth of artificial intelligence and its impact on American workforce.
Facebook Inc. got a preview Wednesday of what to expect next week when executives come to testify about plans to launch Libra, a digital currency and online payment system.
At a hearing Wednesday morning, Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee peppered Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell with questions about how the central bank would respond to Libra.
Rep. Soto Statement on Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency: “Potential Opportunity for Financial Inclusion”
U.S. Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09), Co-Chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, released the following statement today after Facebook’s announcement of “Libra,” a new cryptocurrency venture powered by Blockchain technology:
Reps. Soto and Watson Coleman Announce Inclusion of Virtual Currency Price Manipulation Provision in Agriculture Appropriations Bill
Congressman Darren Soto, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced the inclusion of provisions in the fiscal year 2020 Agriculture Appropriations bill to monitor virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, for fraud and manipulation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) and Representative Darren Soto (D-FL) led a bipartisan letter to Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council, requesting the Administration include blockchain technology in its initiatives on emerging technologies.
Washington, DC – Today, the New Democrat Coalition Technology Task Force Co-Chairs Darren Soto, Sharice Davids, Kendra Horn, and Harley Rouda released their goals for the 116th Congress. The Technology Task Force will meet with stakeholders and develop policy positions for the Coalition to advance in both the near term and long term.
Technology Task Force Mission Statement for the 116th Congress:
Soto, Davidson Introduce Digital Token Taxonomy Package to Address Blockchain, Innovation Flight in America
Following a year of collaboration, the Token Taxonomy Act of 2019 (H.R. 2144) and the Digital Taxonomy Act (H.R. 2154) were introduced today as the leading legislation to provide jurisdiction and regulatory certainty for businesses, entrepreneurs, and regulators in the United States’ blockchain economy. | https://soto.house.gov/issues/finance-technology |
Let be a field. We denote by the affine -dimensional space over which is simply the set of -tuples of elements of We write when we wish to emphasize that we are not thinking of this set as a vector space, i.e., the origin is not distinguished from any other point.
Any set of polynomials defines a zero locus, denoted by:
Conversely, any subset defines a set of polynomials, as follows:
This defines a pair of maps between subsets of and subsets of
The interplay between these two maps forms the basis of algebraic geometry: relating the geometric properties of a set of points to the algebraic properties of a set of polynomials.
We use the notation because this set is always an ideal in thought of as a commutative ring under the usual operations of polynomial addition and multiplication. Similarly, note that where denotes the ideal generated by Therefore, instead of arbitrary subsets we may restrict attention to ideals without loss of generality.
An affine algebraic set is a subset of which is the zero locus of some set of polynomials. The Zariski topology on is defined by declaring affine algebraic sets to be closed. Note that the empty set is the zero locus of the constant polynomial while the whole space is the zero locus of the empty set of polynomials. Moreover, for all we have:
This shows that finite unions and arbitrary intersections of affine algebraic sets are themselves affine algebraic sets, which confirms that the Zariski topology is a legitimate topology.
It follows from Hilbert's basis theorem that is a Noetherian ring. Thus, any affine algebraic set can be written as the zero locus of a finite set of polynomials. This says something profound about affine algebraic sets: they can all be represented using a finite amount of information (modulo the information content of coefficients in ).
In general, the – round-trip enlarges sets. That is, for all and all we have:
Moreover, both and reverse inclusions.
A quick argument shows that equality holds between and if and only if is algebraic.
Later on, we will see that there is also an if-and-only-if condition for equality between and This condition is stated in a theorem called Hilbert's Nullstellensatz, which roughly means “zero-locus-theorem” in German.
Proof: First observe that the ideal is the kernel of the evaluation homomorphism which is a surjective ring homomorphism By the first isomorphism theorem, we can write Since an ideal is maximal if and only if its quotient ring is a field, we may conclude that every ideal of the form is maximal. | https://www.dkzhang.com/notes/algebraic-geometry.html |
Holmes Report 26 Aug 2014 // 4:09AM GMT
DALLAS—Mary Kay, the beauty brand and direct selling giant, has promoted Crayton Webb to vice president of corporate communications and corporate social responsibility. Webb will continue to oversee global media relations, reputation management and public relations initiatives for the company’s more than 35 international subsidiaries. He also leads Mary Kay’s corporate social responsibility efforts, Pink Changing Lives. He joined the company in 2005 as manager of government relations before his promotion to director of corporate communications and CSR in 2008.
LOS ANGELES—Fox International Channels has appointed Cherry Yates as vice president of corporate communications, a new position. Yates will lead communications strategy for FIC’s more than 300 entertainment, sports, lifestyle, factual and movie channels. She will also continue in her role as VP of global communications for National Geographic Channels International. Yates joined NGCI as publicity manager in 2004.
NEW YORK—Belle Lenz has been appointed regional director of communications, Dentsu Aegis Network, Americas. She will be responsible for developing and driving communications strategy across the region. She joins Dentsu Aegis Network from IPG Mediabrands, where she was most recently vice president, global communications, overseeing corporate communications, partnerships and events for the global media holding company. She has also held senior positions at Havas Media and DiGennaro Communications.
BURLINGTON, MA—Endurance International Group, a leading provider of cloud-based platform solutions designed to help small and medium-sized businesses succeed online, has appointed Alan Wallace as director of public relations. He will report to executive VP, product and marketing, Joel Rosen, and will oversee all external communications and media relations. He was previously a senior public relations manager with Trend Micro and before that worked in the trustworthy computing division of Microsoft.
SAN DIEGO—Cubic Corporation has appointed Suzanne Hatcher as director of corporate communications. She will lead Cubic's corporate communications and public relations function, and report to Jay Thomas, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Hatcher joins Cubic from Life Technologies, a biotechnology company recently acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific, where she served in a global role as director of corporate communications and public relations. Previously, she worked at CareFusion and Sempra Energy in a variety of communication leadership roles.
ARLINGTON, VA—Conservation International has appointed Meg Galloway Goldthwaite as its chief marketing officer, responsible for marketing and communication efforts, including strategic partnerships, brand positioning and message development. Goldthwaite joins CI from Women for Women International, where she served as senior director of strategy and innovation. Prior to that, she was vice president for marketing and communications for the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
ANAHEIM, CA—The Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau has hired Tania Weinkle as communications director. She was most recently director of public relations at INNOCEAN USA, a full-service advertising agency specializing in the automotive and sports industries, where she led the public relations team. | https://www.holmesreport.com/latest/article/corporate-people-news-in-brief-(august-26-2014) |
Step 3 - Practising and updating your plan
It is important to regularly review and update your plan to ensure it meets the changing needs of your community. It is also important to make sure that your plan will work properly in an emergency.
As a minimum, you should check regularly that it is still up to date. You may want to practise using the plan to test how well it would work in an emergency and see how ready members of your team and volunteers are to help out.
You could work with your local emergency responders, using the local risk assessment you have produced, to identify scenarios that you can use to test the arrangements you have made in your plan.
Your local emergency responders may be planning to practise their own emergency plans, and if so, you may be able to practise “activating” your plan as part of their exercise.
Practising the arrangements in your plan will allow you to identify any problems with it. Once you have practised your plan, you should review and update it. You should also regularly update your emergency contact list to ensure it is accurate.
When you make any changes to the plan, you should record them to make sure that everyone knows they are using the latest version and ensure that everyone who needs a copy of the plan is sent a copy of the updated version.
Please send copies of completed plans to Argyll and Bute Council and ensure that hard copies are kept safely retained.
Every step of this process helps make you and your community more resilient – supporting the work of emergency responders and building the sense of community in your area. | https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/practising-and-updating-your-plan |
It has become fashionable to be sustainable: More and more companies try to aquire a green identity, products and labels rival for lucrative sustainable customer’s favour. A trendy image certainly accelerates things: More customers encourage companies to develop sustainable technologies, therefore, sustainability policies can be introduced faster. However, this process is also blurring the topic and the connected ideas because also people and institutions become part of the movement, that do actually not act sustainably.
The main cause for this confusing state is nothing else but the complicated definition of sustainability itself. It is not that easy to define this term that is used so often (in this article I’ve made use of it already 7 times). In order to sharpen our image of the concept sustainability I dedicated this article to one famous, possible definition of sustainability and to the consequences that it implies. This is the definition:
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. ”
It was introduced by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987 and was frequently used ever since from various organizations including the World Bank. Most readers will agree that the phrase sounds quite appealing and most would probably agree to it. A second glance is necessary to see the tricky parts of it.
First of all, the question must be raised what those needs of the “present generation” actually are. Do we talk about individual and specific needs, about averaged needs or about externally defined needs? If they are externally defined, who does it, how and with which kind of justification? Has every citizen the right on the same amount of needs? What’s the unit that is used to compare different needs, what are the exchange rates? Are only basic needs like food, water and safety included or is need for a big car also valid? We have not arrived yet at the end of this series of questions and I do not want to answer any of them here. The questions above have to be reanswered constantly by the individuals of a society. I simply wanted to raise awareness for the difficulties that result out of the first part of the definition already. However, one consequence for sustainability follows directly: Sustainability is not only about the future, but also about the needs of the human being living in the present. This is essential, for example, when the development and the duties of emerging countries are discussed. If sustainability depended only on future ecological facts, then development of poorer countries would probably have to be strictly prevented.
Now let’s look at the second part of the definition: “… without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This part contains the information that today’s actions somewhat influence the situation which future generations will be facing. Easy and intuitive. Really? No, not at all. Let me give you an example. A government is trying to build a new highway in a pristine and beautiful landscape; straight through the middle. It is not possible to withdraw any appraisement of this project out of the above phrase because the needs of future generations are inaccessible for us. If people living in the future will be fond of nice landscapes without highways, then the project should definitely be stopped. But if the main “need” of future generations will be fast connections between cities for cars the project should go on. In this case even a second highway should be built.
The conclusion out of this example is simple: Today’s convictions, preferences and tastes simply do not matter in the future. So what concepts can we base our actions and policies on, individually and as a society in order to act sustainably? We must first of all pursue our own needs and ideas and secondly we must include the future generations by considering the reversibility of our actions. All we can do to enable future generations to meet their own needs, whatever they will be, is not to obstruct any possibilities. Reversibility is an expandable concept too. But it is still a lot more concrete than trying to guess future generations’ needs. We can estimate quite precisely the costs and the duration to revert a current state: The extinction of a species can’t be reverted. A reasonable reduction of the number of individuals of a species can be reverted. Also most agricultural land can probably be reverted into wilderness. Exhausted oil fields can’t be refilled but oil as an energy source may be substituted one day. Oil as a chemical base product less likely.
As you hopefully realized reading this article, sustainability is a complex concept and it needs to be discussed constantly. Try to keep this in mind using the “s” – word the next time. | http://projourno.org/2012/03/what-do-you-mean-by-sustainable/ |
Contamination Major Concern With Recycling
The city of Union is dealing with a contamination issue regarding recycling. Namely, what is — and isn’t — recyclable.
According to Union City Administrator Russell Rost this is a nationwide problem, that is being experienced locally.
“The real issue with recyclables is with the contamination levels,” Rost said. “I think it’s partly an educational problem, and partly a situation where new residents move in and don’t understand the difference between the yellow-lid cans and the black-lid cans.”
The yellow-lids indicate recycling and the black-lids indicate garbage. Rost said that when even just a few people contaminate their recyclables with things such as yard waste, food and other garbage, the whole community is affected.
“If a truck takes a load to the center for recyclables, and they say it’s contaminated, they can’t take it,” he said. “So, that truck has to be diverted to a landfill and all the material will be dumped in the landfill.”
Union uses a single-stream system that has been in place since 2010. Single stream allows all recyclables that are collected by the city and its waste management partner, Waste Connections, to be placed together in one bin. Materials don’t need to be separated.
“It’s a good concept because it allows more people to participate in the program. People didn’t want to go through the extra trouble of sorting through bottles and glass, and the different recyclables,” Rost said. “It is a good program because it allows for more material, but it also has the side effect of adding more contaminants when people don’t recycle properly.”
Rost said that recycling centers where the recyclables are sorted out, understand that it’s nearly impossible to have a 100 percent contaminate-free truckload. However, having too many contaminants is becoming a new normal.
“They have people at the recycling center that will report it,” he said. “They are OK if some things that aren’t recyclable make it into the distribution, but they’re not happy when the good recyclables are contaminated by greases, vegetation and other trash, to a level they can’t sort it without more manpower, they’re just not going to accept it.”
Rost said as part of an effort to educate the public, the city is currently working on making a new brochure with the help of Waste Connections. The city also is developing other ideas to help deter contaminants.
“We are working on a new warning sticker that we could put on the recycle container when it’s been contaminated,” he said. “It would be a notice for recyclables only and have information for residents that will tell them what is allowed.”
Rost also said that if residents don’t have curbside pickup available, there are three recycling containers behind Union City Hall.
The city administrator said the situation needs to improve.
“The whole point is to protect the recycle program so we don’t have to discontinue it altogether,” he said. “Some cities have had to do it.”
Recycling become a problem in many communities around the United States when China stopped accepting virtually all recyclables imported to the country. A big reason why is because of plastic contaminants.
“We are going to continue our efforts to keep the program viable,” Rost said. “It’s just a matter of getting the correct information to the people that need it.” | |
The report released today highlights that global trade will support strong global economic growth in 2021 and beyond, with the US and Chinese economies leading the way. This growth defied expectations of double-digit annual declines, which had been estimated between 13 and 32% by the World Trade Organization. For example, Dubai, a major trade hub, saw the growth of its foreign trade rebound significantly in 2020, despite the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the second half of 2020 having seen a particularly significant jump in trade volumes, by 6% year-on-year. year. that of Dubai the overall value of exports jumped 8% in 2020, on an annual basis.
Ahmed Ben Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO, DMCC, said: “In 2020, the outlook for world trade was bleak as the world sought to combat the impact of the pandemic. Today the picture is much more positive, as evidenced by the findings of our last edition. special The future of commerce – Report 2021. But if world trade has shown its resilience, it is at the same time undergoing major changes. Technology, changing consumer behavior, the fight against climate change and geopolitics will all be key contributors to its overhaul in the years to come. Against this background, our research offers a number of tangible recommendations for governments and businesses looking to navigate this new landscape and accelerate recovery from the pandemic. “
According to research, the most transformative element in the outlook for world trade is technology. Blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi) and other new and disruptive technologies will further accelerate the growth of commerce. For example, DeFi protocols have seen a considerable amount of funds invested. Since the start of 2021 alone, the total value locked in DeFi has tripled by around $ 20 billion at 60 billion dollars. As digital infrastructures develop, they will continue to accelerate a revolutionary change in commerce from national to global.
On the geopolitical front, fears of protectionist policies persist and are fueled by lingering trade tensions between the United States and China, rising economic nationalism, and widening economic disparities between low- and middle-income economies. At the same time, in a development meaningful for sustainability and global trade, the EU’s willingness to exploit a practice of carbon pricing, as part of the Carbon Frontier Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), or ” carbon pricing, “has been criticized as a form of protectionism, and as such has the potential to further exacerbate existing geopolitical tensions. The results suggest that while a “new era of protectionism” is a key risk in the wake of the pandemic and the growing discussions of US-Chinese decoupling, outright protectionism will be kept at bay because it is costly, unpredictable, and hassle-free. an impact on jobs. Instead, economic nationalism is more likely to occur.
While there were concerns that the pandemic could see sustainability fall onto the political and business agenda, this has not been the case. Rather, China, Japan, United States, South Korea and Canada are among the countries to have announced more aggressive net zero targets. In addition, companies and investors have stepped up their sustainability efforts and they are expected to experience exponential growth in the years to come. For its part, CBAM has the potential to significantly disrupt international trade and raises questions about how to accurately measure emissions from complex supply chains. Again, technology and artificial intelligence can provide at least part of the answer for companies and governments looking to make accurate assessments of sustainability into their business agendas.
At the launch event, global trade experts participated in a panel discussion to share their views on the report. Panelists included Khatija Haque, Research Officer and Chief Economist, Emirates NBD; Roberta Piermartini, Head of Trade Cost Analysis, World Trade Organization; Yanislav Malahov, crypto and blockchain technology expert and founder of Aeternity; and Marcus traitor, Chairman and CEO of CB Investment Growth Holdings and Member of the Board of Directors of Clear Bank and RTGS Global.
To read the full DMCC report, please visit: www.futureoftrade.com. | https://real-mccoys.com/global-trade-defies-expectations-in-2021-spurs-recovery-finds-latest-dmcc-report-on-future-of-trade/ |
This study explored how educational robotics (ER) was implemented in classrooms to foster creativity among elementary school students and identified challenges associated with its implementation. Twenty‐six teachers at different elementary schools were interviewed. In‐depth teacher interviews and grounded theory were used to collect and analyze the interviews. We found that the intended creative learning outcome for students was mastery of the developmental process of creativity. The teachers generally reported using a four‐phase instructional framework consisting of eight sub‐phases and targeted teaching strategies to support students' learning outcomes. Challenges included insufficient appropriate learning materials, a lack of expansive learning activities and tasks and limited opportunities to engage students in the process of design thinking and developing metacognitive abilities. The findings have practical implications for teachers and researchers who are interested in developing pedagogical practices (PP) incorporating ER to support students' creativity. The study also has theoretical value, offering insights into teachers' PP in implementing ER. Copyright © 2020 British Educational Research Association. | https://repository.eduhk.hk/en/publications/fostering-students-creativity-via-educational-robotics-an-investi |
The Importance of Studying Interactions With Ovarian Hormones: Implications for Depressive Symptoms in Premenopausal and Menopausal Women
The relevance of depression in the clinical realm is well known, as it is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. Clinical depression is the leading cause of disease for women worldwide. The sex difference in depression and anxiety has guided the research of not just recent studies but older studies as well, supporting the theory that gonadal hormones are associated with the mechanisms of emotional cognition. The scientific literature points towards a clear correlative relationship between gonadal hormones, especially estrogens, and emotion regulation. This thesis investigates the neural pathways that have been indicated to regulate mood and anxiety. Currently, the research points to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which regulates the stress response through its ultimate secretion of cortisol through the adrenal cortex, and its modulated response when exposed to higher levels of estrogen. Another mechanism that has been investigated is the interaction of estrogen and the serotonergic system, which is noteworthy because the serotonergic system is known for its importance in mood regulation. However, it is important to note that the research seeking to determine the neurobiological underpinnings of estrogen and the serotonergic system is not expansive. Future research should focus on determining the direct relationship between cortisol hypersecretion and estrogens, the specific neurobiological effects of serotonergic receptor subtypes on the antidepressant actions of estrogens, and the simultaneous effects of the stress and serotonergic systems on depressive symptoms. | https://keep.lib.asu.edu/search?f%5B0%5D=all_subjects%3A33332&f%5B1%5D=linked_agents%3AArroyo%2C%20Mariana&f%5B2%5D=linked_agents%3ABimonte-Nelson%2C%20Heather%20A.&f%5B3%5D=linked_agents%3AJurutka%2C%20Peter&f%5B4%5D=resource_type%3AText |
The digital divide is often described as the gap in technological advancement between the economically developed and the developing nations. The rise in popularity of mobile phones and associated telecommunications services can be determining factor to assess the national economy. The study has highlighted that the mobile phones have played a great role in improving the economic status of various developing nations. The rising popularity of mobile phones, especially that of the smartphones have driven multinational companies to expand their business in various emerging economies. This in turn has played a major role in improving the overall economic status of these countries.
The mobile phone revolution has facilitated increasing the usage of telecommunication services and the internet at a much larger scale than computers. Since mobile phones are cheaper, can be carried along easily and are less complicated to use as compared to a desktop system, their contribution towards reducing the digital divide has been immense. Digital divide refers to the difference in technological advancement and usage of modern communications systems between the developed and the developing nations. The report analyses whether mobile phones have actually been successful in bridging the technological differences between the developed and the developing nations. The research indicates that mobile phones, in the developing nations are a huge boon for technological and economic advancement.
The reason behind the shrinking digital divide is also attributed by the fact that the average price of smartphones has come down drastically. Along with that the increasing availability of the high-speed internet has a major role to play in this area. More people in the developing nations can now gain access to the internet, thereby making it easier for them to communicate at a global scale. Moreover, the adoption of smartphones has also contributed in improving the standard of living of the people in the developing nations. Furthermore, the phenomenon of technology diffusion has supported the transfer of new technologies to reach various other nations. Therefore, this study clearly indicates that the adoption and usage of smartphones has a major role to play in bridging the digital divide between the developed and developing countries. | https://www.managementwritingsolutions.com/essay-examples/industry-analysis/interrelation-of-digital-divide-mobile-phones-and-economic-development |
Overview of COH 440 Project Elements
Components:
1. Hazard & Vulnerability Analysis (HVA)
2. Signature Assignment Paper
3. Signature Assignment Presentation
Scenario:
You are applying for an internship within the Emergency Preparedness and Response department at your local county health department. The application process requires that you submit a public health disaster management plan for a natural or man-made event in the community. The plan should adapt best practices and lessons learned from a recent event in a similar community to prepare your local community. The most comprehensive, evidence-based and realistic plans will be selected for in-person interviews which will include a presentation of the proposal. The plans should also be mindful of an all-hazards approach. Earning an internship will provide you opportunities to network with experts that can help improve your skills and provide you a competitive advantage when applying for employment and/or graduate school.
Step 1: Pick an area with hazards that are interesting to you (e.g., San Diego)
HVA:
To write and present a disaster management plan for your chosen local jurisdiction, it is necessary to know what hazards are present. A HVA is a way to determine top hazards for an area. Choose the area on which you want to do your project, and complete the HVA worksheet for your chosen jurisdiction.
Step 2: Identify the top threats to the jurisdiction based on results of your HVA and chose a high-ranking hazard on which you would like to focus (e.g., wildfires in San Diego)
Step 3: Complete the paper and presentation, following the rubric.
Paper:
Following the scenario above, write your paper as if you were creating a public health disaster management plan for your chosen jurisdiction, using the hazard you chose from the HVA and acknowledging the HVA process for your paper (e.g., write a plan for public health management of wildfires in San Diego).
Running Head: Oklahoma County Tornado Disaster Management Plan 1
Oklahoma County Tornado Disaster Management Plan 2
Sample Paper
Oklahoma County Tornado Disaster Management Plan
University
Title
Oklahoma County has the largest population in Oklahoma. According to the U.S. Census Bureau there were 776,864 individuals residing in this county in 2015. Oklahoma County consists of 708.82 square miles, with a population of 1,013.8 per mile (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.). The racial/ethnic majorities are broken down as: White (57.9%) followed by Hispanic (16.1%) and Black (14.6%); the median age is 34.2 and 2015 median income was $47,437, with 18.2% of residents below the poverty line (Oklahoma Demographics, 2017).
In order to implement a disaster management plan with all residents of this County in mind, an all hazards approach will be used. In order to assess the probability of a disaster and the impact on the community, a Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis will be conducted.
Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis
A collaborative Public Health Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis was conducted for Oklahoma County using the Kaiser HVA template. Information to conduct the HVA was gathered from historical weather data and Oklahoma County Emergency Management office. The results of the HVA identified the top four natural hazards to Oklahoma County were tornados 67%, thunderstorms 61%, floods 59%, and fires 56%. Based on this HVA tornados will be the focus for the public health disaster management plan.
According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, a tornado is “a narrow, violently rotating column or air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground (NSSL, n.d. para. 1).” Tornadoes are formed from thunderstorms and are generated when cool air overrides a layer of warm air, forcing the warm air to quickly rise (Oklahoma County, 2013). There are two types of winds associated with tornadoes, rotating vortex and straight line (FEMA, 2013). Vortex winds are the extreme winds typically associated with tornadoes. These winds can tear structures apart, life vehicles off the ground, and uproot trees. Straight line winds, also known as damaging winds, are high velocity winds that exert significant pressure. These winds can break windows, damage siding, tear off roofs, and cause a structure to collapse. Tornadoes are classified based on the Enhanced Fujita scale. This scale measures the intensity of tornadoes and classifies them into 6 categories, EF 0- EF5. An EF 0 has wind speeds of 40-72 mph; EF1 has wind speeds of 73-112 mph; an EF 2 has wind speeds of 113-157 mph; an EF3 has wind speeds of 158-207 mph, an EF4 has wind speeds of 208-260 mph and an EF5 has wind speeds of 261-318 mph (Storm Prediction Center, n.d.).
There are two regions in the U.S. where tornadoes occur at higher frequencies, these include Florida and the south-central parts of the U.S. known as “Tornado Alley.” The states that make up Tornado Alley include Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa. “Tornado season” in the Southern Plains typically occurs between the months of May and June, although tornadoes can occur at any time of the year. (NSSL, n.d.). The geographic location of Oklahoma, makes it an optimal spot for convection weather to occur (Oklahoma County, 2013). The Rocky Mountains, which are located north-west of Oklahoma, provide cool air masses; the Gulf of Mexico provides a source of moisture; and the northeast provides dry-hot conditions.
Data collected from 1950-2010 shows that Oklahoma has averaged 54 tornadoes per year (The State of Oklahoma, n.d). During this period, there were 3,466 tornadoes. These tornadoes caused 281 deaths and injured 4,353 individuals. The most recent and deadliest tornado in Oklahoma occurred on May 20, 2013 at 2:56 p.m. CDT. This EF-5 tornado touched down southwest of Moore OK, part of Oklahoma County. The tornado was on the ground for 39 minutes, traveling a distance of 14 miles, with a diameter of 1.1 miles (FEMA, 2014). The tornado claimed the lives of 24 individuals, 7 of which were children, injured 324, and caused $2 billion in damages.
Goal Statement
The purpose of this public health disaster management plan is to ensure the welfare and safety of all citizens of Oklahoma County during a tornado by providing a comprehensive overview of preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery plans that have been carefully selected and researched.
Objectives
1) By Six months after the plan is revealed, 90% of residents living in Oklahoma county will have a plan in place in case of a tornado; this includes plans for when at home, work, school, or out in the community.
2) Three months after the plan is revealed 95% of residents will be aware of weather alert systems such as, the Accessible Hazard Alert System which sends out an automated text, email, or phone call to alert the public of weather hazards and 85% of residents will be registered to one of these systems.
3) After a tornado occurs in the county, response efforts will be deployed and all units will be working in their designated areas by 30 minutes after the tornado has subsided. Ensure the safety of all personnel working on recovery and response efforts after a disaster.
Ecological Strategy and Emergency Planning Model
An effective emergency planning model consists of developing an all hazards emergency operation plan (EOP) that covers all phases of a disaster (preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery). A comprehensive EOP will assign responsibilities to specific individuals and organizations to carry out during an emergency; determine authority and organizational relationships, and show how actions will be coordinated; describe how individuals and property will be protected during a disaster or emergency; identify personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities and other resources that will be used during response and recovery; and identifies what steps will be used to mitigate response and recovery activities (Mississippi State University, n.d.).
FEMA defines mitigation as the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters (FEMA, 2016). Mitigation efforts occur during all phases of a disaster. Mitigation efforts for tornadoes include warning systems, alerts, safe rooms, stand-alone shelters, reinforced buildings and community storm shelters. A tornado watch will be issued when there is a higher than normal chance of a tornado forming. A tornado warning will be initiated when a tornado is indicated on radar or has been spotted. Each town in Oklahoma county will be equipped with multiple tornado warning sirens. These sirens will be tested on a weekly basis to ensure they are working properly. Sirens will go off as soon as a tornado warning is issued in a particular area. Residents will be encouraged to register for weather alerts that will either send a text message, email or call individuals and alert them of weather hazards in their area. Having safe rooms, stand-alone shelters, and reinforcing buildings are essential for providing coverage and protection from tornadoes. New building codes will require all buildings to be reinforced and will require homes to be equipped with safe rooms. Community shelters will be located throughout the county in order to provide protection for individuals who do not live in homes that cannot provide protection and for those who are caught out in the storm when the warning sounds.
Preparedness efforts for all disasters include public education, planning, training, and exercises. It’s important for each member of the community to be prepared for a tornado. Every individual should create a plan for themselves, their family members, and pets/animals to include where they will take shelter in the event of a tornado and how they will get there. Plans should include when at home, work, school, and areas that are spent during leisurely time. If family members are not together, their plan should also include a place to meet up at after authorities have declared that it is safe to move about. Individuals should also have an emergency preparedness kit in their homes and vehicles that have essential items such as a radio, flashlight, batteries, first aid kit, and enough food and water to last two days.
The Oklahoma County’s Emergency Management Department is responsible for providing educational information to community members on appropriate sheltering methods during a tornado, including locations of storm shelters in the area. Information will be provided to the community via bi-annual meetings, information packets that are updated and mailed out annually to each resident, the County’s website and through public service announcements. Low-income residents who are unable to afford an emergency kit, can pick one up at their town-halls.
It’s important for the community to be involved in preparing for tornadoes. All schools and hospitals will be required to participate in at least two tornado drills per year, and all businesses will be required to have at least one tornado drill per year. All businesses will be required to post the location of emergency shelters to the nearest entry way of their facilities. When a tornado watch is an effect business will be required to make announcements every 30 minutes over the stores PA system. During a tornado warning, businesses will be required to announce this over the PA and provide information to the nearest storm shelter, if the facility is not a safe means of providing cover.
Oklahoma County will participate in regional preparedness efforts with other counties in their region. These preparedness efforts will include collaboration on grants, exercises, training, and resources.
A response plan is necessary to help coordinated time sensitive actions that are necessary to help save lives and reduce injury, protect property, stabilize the situation, and provide for basic human needs directly before and after an incident (Mississippi State University, n.d.). Response efforts include providing emergency services, search and rescue teams, transportation, having utility crews available, ensuring communications, opening up shelters, and dispersing volunteers. After the tornado has subsided, emergency response personnel will be activated to start rendering services and perform a rapid assessment of the area in order to prioritize response activities, allocate resources, and request additional assistance from mutual aid partners and the state.
Directly after the storm, a rapid assessment should be conducted to obtain critical information on lifesaving needs, critical infrastructure, critical facilities, damage risk, and displaced individuals (FEMA, n.d.). Response teams need to be ready to move after it is declared safe. Roads may be damaged or blocked by debris, having a response team dedicated to removing the debris and clearing pathways will be critical for emergency medical services, firefighters, police officers, and search and rescuers to reach their intended destinations. A utility crew will need to be readily available in order to respond to hazards such as downed power lines, electrical systems, or broken gas lines.
Plans should be implemented before a disaster to insure emergency responders and rescue workers are informed about potential hazards they may encounter and are equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE). Personnel may encounter blood or bodily fluids, pathogens from sewer system breaks, damaged utility services, scattered debris, smoke and dust, fall hazards, materials with sharp or jagged edges, and unstable buildings with the potential of collapse. PPE should include gloves, sturdy footwear, respiratory protection, protective eyewear, and hearing protection.
Volunteers and volunteer organizations are an essential asset to the response and recovery of disaster areas. Volunteers need to be well organized and coordinate with the Incident Command System in order to effectively respond to a disaster. Volunteer organizations such as the Red Cross, the Salvation army, and AmeriCorps will be needed to assist with setting up shelters, providing food and water to those displaced, and providing response and disaster relief efforts.
The recovery phase includes the short and long term efforts needed to restore a community’s systems and activities back to normal (FEMA, n.d.). Recovery efforts start as soon as the incident has occurred; recovery efforts may be coinciding with response efforts. Recovery efforts include returning economic and business activity to a positive state, restoring and improving health and social services, stabilizing critical infrastructure and implementing housing solutions.
Emergency Management
The international Association of Emergency Managers defines emergency management as “the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to threats/hazards and cope with disasters (FEMA, 2007, p. 4).” Emergency management involves the coordination and integration of actions from individuals and households, private and nonprofit sectors, community entities and all levels of government necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters (FEMA, 2007). Emergency management seeks to improve the outcome of disasters and can be measured in lives saved, fewer injuries, reduced damages, and shorter recovery time.
An effective emergency management plan should adopt best practices from other plans. The emergency preparedness plan created utilized strengths and weaknesses that occurred during the response and recovery efforts for the tornado that occurred on May 22, 2011 in Joplin Missouri. This tornado was the deadliest tornado in the U.S. since 1947 (FEMA, 2011). The tornado caused 161fatalities and injured 1,371 individuals. The tornado damaged thousands of buildings, including the St. John’s Regional Medical Center, and caused approximately $2.8 billion in damages.
Two areas of strength that were recognized from the Joplin tornado were the regional capabilities and the use of traditional and social communications (FEMA, 2011). Joplin had participated in a number of regional preparedness initiates with 18 counties and other jurisdictions that were located in their sector. Preparedness efforts included collaboration on grants, exercises, training, and other preparedness activities. After the tornado, city officials used press conferences, press releases, email, the City’s web page, and Facebook to disseminate important emergency information to the public and response partners. Using both traditional and social media communications in a complimentary manner allowed for target audiences to receive important and necessary information about response and recovery efforts.
Two areas of weakness that the Oklahoma County plan recognized and improved upon from the Joplin tornadoes were the management of volunteers and the planning for mortuary services. In addition to the regional mutual aid, personnel from over 400 public safety organizations deployed to the area. The first challenge was when self-dispatched responders arrived in Joplin, they began performing tasks without coordinating with the local incident command. Second, many responders lack the equipment and training needed to conduct operations, such as search and rescue. As a result, improper search markings were used, instead of standard search markings. This lead to some structures that were searched multiple times, which waisted valuable time and could pose potential harm in unstable structures. Due to the large amount of fatalities, the local corners office was over whelmed. Two days after the tornado, the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) was called in. The complications came when processing the bodies and identifying victims. Initially, even with the DMORT team only 2-3 bodies were being processed per day. Coroners were allowing victim families to identify bodies, but stopped after a family member misidentified someone.
There are many roles and responsibilities involved during a natural disaster, focused on life safety, incident stabilization and preservation of property and the environment. The local emergency manager is responsible for conducting key components of emergency management such as coordinating the planning process and working with organizations and governmental agencies, conducting a hazard and vulnerability and risk assessment, and coordinating reviews of all local emergency responders; managing resources before, during and after a disaster; coordinating with all partners involved in the emergency management process, including fire services, law enforcement, emergency medical programs, public works, volunteers and voluntary organizations, private and nonprofit sector organizations, and citizens (FEMA, n.d.). The emergency manager should also be current on related legal and accreditation issues and have input into the budgeting process and consider potential fiscal issues related to disaster.
Forming a collaborative planning team is necessary to develop and maintain an EOP. This team is responsible for overseeing the implementation, review, and updating of the plan. Planning members may consist of emergency managers, fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, public utilities, public health, health care, child welfare, animal control and care, community organizations, local businesses, social services and transportation services (FEMA, n.d.). Planning efforts need to include all phases of the disaster and should be developed in accordance with the DMA 2000, FEMA regulations, the Oklahoma Management guidance (Oklahoma County, 2014). Exercising these plans is a critical means of testing their effectiveness prior to an actual incident.
An incident command system (ICS) is a standardized organizational structure used to command, coordinate, and control personnel and resources when responding to a disaster (FEMA, n.d.). The incident commander (IC) has the authority of coordinating the use of resources and personnel at the scene of an emergency. Other important elements of the ICS include Operations, Planning. Logistics, and finance/Administration.
Surge
During any disaster, it’s important for hospitals to plan for medical surge capacity. Medical surge capacity refers to “a significant event or circumstances that impact the healthcare delivery system resulting in excess demand over capacity and/or capability in hospitals, community care clinics, public health departments, other primary and secondary care providers, resources, and/or emergency medical services (California Hospital, 2013, p. 1).” Both communities and regions need to be involved in the development of surge capacity plans that reflect local hazards and other variables (Hick, 2004). Plans must incorporate additional space requirements, the organizational structure, staffing needs, supplies, equipment, pharmaceuticals, information systems, and other necessary resources needed to support public health and patient care efforts.
Increasing hospital space for the incoming flux of patients is a crucial element of managing hospital surge (Riley, 2011). Emergency management plans should include rapid patient discharge, canceling elective surgeries, focusing on strategies to increase bed capacity and identifying locations for alternative care facilities. The plan needs to specify how they are going to accommodate the rapid discharge of stable patients and who will be responsible for canceling elective surgeries. To increase bed capacity, the plan should include increasing beds per room and listing nontraditional spaces that can be converted for patient care. In the event that the hospital facility is damaged and unable to receive patients or full capacity is reached, pre-identified locations for alternative care facilities should be noted in the plan.
To accommodate incoming patient’s hospital staff personnel and supplemental staff support from other organization should be called upon. Other organizations that may be called upon to provide staff include Emergency Systems for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR VHP), Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), the American Red Cross, public health departments, and/or schools (Adams, 2009). Protocols should be in place to revise staff schedules, call in off duty personnel, assign volunteers to appropriate areas and implement nonclinical staff when appropriate. Altered standards of care may be enacted to increase the capacity of existing staff.
During disasters, additional equipment, supplies, and pharmaceuticals are needed. Policies should be an enacted to optimize resources. These policies should include substitution, conservation, use of less-resource-intensive therapies, and in the worst-case scenario, reuse or reallocation of resources (Einav, 2014). Hospitals should have a stock pile of these resources, but in the event that they run out, the Oklahoma County Emergency Medical Services has an additional reserve of supplies that hospitals in the area can request upon need. It may be necessary to collaborate with the local public health department and public health laboratory in times of crisis, and consider safety issues as well.
Special Planning Considerations
During any disaster, planning members should take into account special considerations that may need to be in place before, during, and after a disaster and accounted for during the planning and response. Special considerations to consider when implementing plans include ensuring those with special needs and vulnerable populations are provided for and having plans in effect for pets and other animals.
Individuals who have special needs and vulnerabilities need to be considered in the planning process before, during, and after a disaster. Vulnerable populations include individuals with acute medical conditions, chronic diseases, people with disabilities, elderly and youth, low income, immigrants, individuals with limited English proficiency, and homeless individuals (Riley, 2011). In order to help emergency managers plan for individuals with special needs and vulnerabilities, individuals should register with the county. This register will help identify those with special circumstances so planners can adopt best practices for mitigation, preparedness, and recovery efforts.
Plans should educate the public about creating a plan for not only their families, but their pets and animals. Plans need to include identifying shelters in the area where pets are accepted. Families should ensure all pets have tags secured to their collar with their name and your phone number and address. Families should also have an emergency kit for their pets that have food, water, medications, veterinary records, food dishes, first aid kit, and a photo for identification purposes. Additionally, communities need to plan for shelters that have the ability to house, and care for pets.
In the event of a mass casualty special considerations need to be made. Triage may need to occur and in the unfortunate case of a mass fatality event, mortuary services must be expanded in addition to hospital surge for the living. The trauma system may be greatly impacted, causing reliance on mutual aid and ability to accommodate these extra resources; it is very important that all members of the work force have needed resources including food and housing, and have proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to include protection for the head, eyes, feet, and ears. and also the tools needed to do heavy lifting. In the event of a tornado the aftermath still has significant risks involved. Special planning needs to be done regarding debris removal from the roads since this will create an issue for people that are trying to seek medical care or evacuate for any reason. Another special consideration that needs to be addressed is infrastructure damage such as downed power lines.
Evaluation
Any successful program needs to be evaluated. Process, outcome, and impact evaluations will help determine if program activities have been implemented as intended, determine to what degree program objectives have been achieved, and measures the effectiveness of the program (CDC, n.d.). Process evaluations for this program will include questions such as: how many residents attended informational meetings? What information did residents receive? And What barriers were encountered when implementing training, drills and exercises? Outcome evaluations will ask questions such as: were educational programs for the public effective at helping residents from a plan to find shelter before a tornado occurred? Did practicing drills and exercises effectively prepare responders for the actual incident? Impact evaluations will ask questions such as: Did mitigation efforts help reduce fatalities, injuries, and property damage? Did the program help improve preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts? The evaluation design of this study is a non-experimental design.
Qualitative and quantitative data will be collected. Qualitative data will be collected through direct observations, interviews, and focus groups. Observational data will collect information on property damage, buildings that were not damaged, and on how response and recovery efforts were conducted. Key personnel such as the emergency manager, the incident commander, and first responders will be interviewed to gain an understanding of the event through their experience. A focus group will be conducted using community members, emergency responders, planning members, members of volunteer organizations, and members of the ICS command to determine what went well during the event and what areas need improvement. Quantitative data will be collected by using surveys. Surveys will be sent to individuals, those who volunteered, individuals working for volunteer organizations, emergency responders, and emergency managers. After qualitative and quantitative information is analyzed, an After-Action Report and Improvement Plan will be drafted and key findings will be presented to key stakeholders.
Conclusion
Oklahoma county has the largest population in Oklahoma. Due to the geographical location of Oklahoma tornadoes are an imminent threat to those who live there. Having a disaster management plan that extensively covers preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery is essential to minimizing the loss of life, stabilizing the incident, and protecting property. This plan involves a whole community approach that seeks to improve the welfare and safety of its citizens through the implementation emergency management. | https://originposts.com/2021/09/24/h-3/ |
Subject: World History and Geography:
Ancient Civilizations
Estimated Time: 1 class period
Yamantaka Mandala
Tibet, c. 1725
Color on cloth
Pacific Asia Museum Collection
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jesse L. Greenstein, 1996.8.6
Yamantaka Mandala
Detail
Painting of a Buddhist
Mandala
Tibet, 18th century,
Ink and gold on paper
Pacific Asia Museum Collection
Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Wilmont Gordon, 1990.14.57
Introduction
Buddhists in Tibet, Nepal, China, and Japan use mandalas
as diagrams or models of a perfected environment, most often a symbolic
depiction of the world of a particular Buddhist deity. They help
worshipers practice concentration and cultivate inner vision, picturing
themselves present within the perfected environment. From here,
the deity can help them to progress toward a state of enlightenment.
Mandalas can be paintings or made of sand,
wood, sugar and butter, and many other materials.
Lesson Objectives
Understand an important device some Buddhists use to understand
their cosmos.
Key Terms
Cosmos
Enlightenment
Mandala
Meditation
Instructional Materials
Discussion
Discuss with students the concept that a mandala is a map of a perfect
environment. A Buddhist meditating on one of these mandalas might
start with the outer ring, which symbolizes the everyday world.
They picture themselves moving closer to the center of the mandala.
They might imagine they are entering a huge palace and passing through
many gates and doors to find treasure inside.
Ask students to look closely at the mandalas.
What objects do they see? By looking closely, they can identify
clouds, gates, and figures.
Based on their studies of Buddhist cultures,
what do they understand by the concept of a “perfect environment”?
What would they expect to find in this environment? What would be
their own idea of a “perfect environment”? What objects
would be there? What kind of landscape would it have? Who would
live there?
Standards
Students in grade six expand their understanding of history
by studying the people and events that ushered in the dawn of the
major western and non-western ancient civilizations. Geography is
of special significance in the development of the human story. Continued
emphasis is placed on the everyday lives, problems and accomplishments
of people, their role in developing social, economic and political
structures, as well as in establishing and spreading ideas that
helped transform the world forever. Students develop higher levels
of critical thinking by considering why civilizations developed
where and when they did, why they became dominant and why they declined.
Students analyze the interactions among the various cultures, emphasizing
their enduring contributions and the link, despite time, between
the contemporary and ancient worlds.
6.5 Students analyze the geographic, political,
economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations
of India, in terms of:
the life and moral teachings of Buddha and
how Buddhism spread in India, Ceylon, and Central Asia
6.6 Students analyze the geographic, political,
economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations
of China, in terms of:
the diffusion of Buddhism northward to China during the Han dynasty
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This Visions of Enlightment:
Understanding the Art of Buddhism web module
is funded through the generous support of the Freeman Foundation.
USC Pacific Asia Museum. All rights reserved. | http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/buddhism/html/resource4.html |
The sheer quantity and diversity of Armenian rugs and woven arts would make it impossible to showcase examples of this ancient and ongoing tradition in its entirety on one website.
However, the Armenian Rugs Society will be showcasing select samples of the Armenian rug and textile craft, here, within our Galleries section for the perusal of our members and supporters.
The Society will be adding Galleries showcasing compelling rugs, carpets, textiles, and other woven arts from the Armenian tradition spanning the totality of the Armenian topography, past and present.
The Society will, also, be exploring works from the Armenian diaspora and world community that have been crafted by Armenian master weavers, as well as those non-Armenian works heavily influenced by the Armenian tradition.
Currently, the Society is showcasing three Armenian rugs from three different regions and time periods as examples of the amazing craftsmanship, colors, and design ornamentation characteristic of Armenian woven arts.
Please use the Gallery icons below or the navigation bar at the top of each page to explore our Galleries. | https://www.armenianrugssociety.org/galleries.html |
In order to continue to exercise cautions and to ensure the safety of all our members, we are extending our online group practice until further notice.
We remain hopeful that we will be meeting in-person again before long. Sign-up to receive our weekly newsletter to get the latest updates.
How to join us online:
via Zoom: Starting at 3:45 PM on each Saturday, visit https://zoom.us/j/727507599 (video + audio)
by Phone: 312-626-6799 / Meeting ID: 727507599# (audio only)
Practice begins at 4 PM as usual. If Zoom is new to you, watch this video on how to join a Zoom meeting.
May all beings be safe, healthy, and at peace.
- This event has passed.
Watch & Learn: “7 Wonders of the Buddhist World” (online)
October 30 @ 3:45 am - 6:00 pm CDT
It’s the 5th Saturday — our special event week!
On October 30th, we will do a short sitting, and then watch a documentary TV special: “Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World” together.
Presented by historian Bettany Hughes, “Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World” visits seven of the most famous ancient and modern Buddhist locations in the world, including Bodh Gaya in India, the Bodanath Stupa in Nepal, the Temple of The Tooth in Sri Lanka, Wat Pho Temple in Thailand, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Giant Buddha in Hong Kong, and the Hsi Lai Temple in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. At each location, Hughes meets with Buddhists who explain the different concepts that form the core of Buddhist belief, giving insight into the long and rich history of Buddhism. EVENT SCHEDULE:
3:45 PM: Online session open for dial-in
4:00 PM: Slow Moving Meditation – to help settle our body & mind
~4:10 PM: Short Sitting Meditation
~4:30 PM: get your pop-corn ready…
4:40 PM: “Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World”
~6:00 PM: Adjourn
You may join any or all segments of the evening.
- Check that your internet and audio/video is working beforehand
- Wear comfortable and loose clothing
- Find as quiet a place as possible; while also be understanding of each other should kids/pets, etc. make noise in the background! (we’ll use the “mute” function judiciously)
- If using a meditation cushion or bench, make sure to also have support under your knees – not too hard and not too soft (e.g., rest round cushion on top of a larger square cushion or folded towels/blankets, etc.)
- If using a chair, sit on a sturdy & comfortable chair where the thighs can be parallel with the floor
- For moving meditation, we will experiment with a seated form, to minimize space requirement
Beginners welcome. No cost to attend. Donations welcome. Your generosity will support the continual operations and growth of this group, including the cost of our monthly rent and Meetup subscription fees.
We also meet on other Saturdays with slightly different programs – see our event listing for details. | https://chicagomeditation.org/event/watch-learn-7-wonders-of-the-buddhist-world-online/ |
Intersectional Environmentalism: How Climate Change is an Environmental Justice issue
Climate change disproportionately affects those who suffer from socioeconomic inequalities, such as people of colour and Indigenous communities.
What is environmental justice?
Environmental justice refers to the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, colour, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
“Fair treatment” in the above definition refers to the idea that no one suffers a disproportionate share of environmental consequences from any industry or operation.
Is environmental justice a new concept?
Despite only being popularized recently, sociologist and environmental activist Robert Bullard has spent over 40 years researching and creating awareness on how indigenous communities, people of color and ethnic minorities suffer a disproportionate impact on any environmental issues.
The movement
Research on environmental justice began in the late 70’s after residents of a Black neighborhood in Houston realized the state was going to allow the construction of a solid-waste facility in their community. After some research, Bullard found out that 80% of the city’s waste and its sites were situated in Black neighbourhoods despite only 25% of the population in Houston being white. This was the first of many similar discoveries along the years.
According to Dorceta Taylor, an environmental justice expert at Yale, a movement started to emerge. In 1991, over a thousand activists attended a conference in Washington DC where the first “Principles of Environmental Justice” (still used today by many environmental justice groups) were drafted.
Why does Environmental racism exist?
There are many reasons behind it. To fully understand it, we need to first look into systemic racism.
Systemic racism refers to “policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization, and that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people an unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race.” We can find evidence of it in every level of society; education, criminal justice, employment, wealth, benefits and housing, surveillance, healthcare, …
Environmental racism occurs for many reasons, both intentional and unintentional but also unequal enforcement of laws and the lack of Black and other minority groups in the decision-making process. In order to achieve environmental justice, all of these issues must be addressed.
What is social justice?
According to the UN, social justice can be understood as the fair and compassionate distribution of the fruits and economic growth.
Justice for the environment and for people are two challenging conversations that are happening simultaneously in many tables around the world. However, in most cases those conversations happen separately. Many miss the interconnectedness of human life and Planet Earth.
The planet is experiencing significant changes due to climate change and its effects are tangible across the globe. A UN report on climate change stated that “people who are socially, economically, culturally, politically, institutionally or otherwise marginalised” will suffer the most as the effects of climate change continue to develop.
A Human impact report, published by the Global Humanitarian Forum in 2009 said that 300, 000 people per year are already dying from climate change related issues and over 4 billion are suffering the consequences of drought, floods, desertification, loss of biodiversity, etc.
How are minorities disproportionately affected?
In the US specifically, slavery is a precursor to more recent discriminatory policies and socioeconomic inequalities There are numerous factors determined by race rather than equal opportunities, including income level, health status, and education access. This historical discrimination in housing, education, employment and other areas mentioned above in this article played a role in the manifestation of these inequalities.
African Americans make up for 13% of the US population, however 68% live in a 30-mile radius from a coal-fired plant compared to a 56% of whites which leads to a higher risk of health issues, from heart attacks to birth defects.
In conclusion, it’s clear that environmental justice can’t exist without social justice and vice versa. We must, individually and as governments and organisations, acknowledge its intersectionality and create policies and initiatives to solve these issues as a whole, rather than individually. | https://bealam.com/blogs/news/intersectional-environmentalism-how-climate-change-is-an-environmental-justice-issue |
Since its early days Jazz music has always been experimentatal, trying to contaminate, and integrate different cultures, styles and musical philosophies. Along the years, jazz movement expanded and diversified in many different genres and styles. Electronic music has also always been exprimental and the avant-garde of electronic musicians explored new technologies and new styles of music. Today the two musical frontieers meet and the contamination between jazz and electronic music will enrich both musical languages, changing the grooves but keeping the same depth and spirit of the two genres. | https://www.hhv.de/shop/en/item/v-a-white-gardenia-volume-1-578495 |
Following a brief discussion of each point, he explained that it wasnecessary to treat the above hypotheses as an introduction, but that a'summary outline of them will suffice, since they will be completelyconfirmed and further proven by the agreement with the phenomena of thetheories which we shall demonstrate in the following sections. The geocentric system was still held for many years afterwards, as at the time the Copernican system did not offer better predictions than the geocentric system, and it posed problems for both and scripture. From this situation, there could easily arise disagreements between Catholic expositors of holy scripture and those who might wish to adhere obstinately to this false opinion. The deferent is a circle whose center point, called the eccentric and marked in the diagram with an X, is removed from the Earth. For all of their efforts, all that Ptolemy and Copernicus had sought to uncover was nothing more than a comprehensive series of mathematical functions to capture the apparent movement of the planets as seen against the background stars. Students would gather around a teacher, perhaps in a beautiful grove, and ask questions and discuss among themselves what might be the answers and the best ways to figure out those answers. The difference is an earth-centered model or geocentric is a model where the Earth is at the center of the solar system, whereas a sun-centered or heliocentric is a model where the sun is at the center of the solar system.
While the Moon and the planets have their own motions, they also appear to revolve around Earth about once per day. Copernicus then went on to brieflydiscuss the following cosmological topics. Almost all ancient cultures developed cosmological stories to explain the basic features of the cosmos: Earth and its inhabitants, sky, sea, Sun, Moon, and stars. Upon comparison then, both systems possessed a corresponding level of accuracy; neither one being greatly superior to the other. Articles on Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, and Aristotle can be found in Biography in Context, Encyclopaedia Britannica English, Spanish, and kids' versions and Kids InfoBits.
Hebrew cosmology pictured a flat Earth, over which was a dome-shaped firmament, supported above the Earth by mountains, and surrounded by waters. A body traveling at uniform speed on a circular path with the Earth at its center will sweep out equal angles in equal times. Beyond the layer of fire, were the solid spheres of aether in which the celestial bodies were embedded. Two observations supported the idea that Earth was the center of the Universe. However, Ptolemy placed Venus' and entirely inside the sphere of the Sun between the Sun and Mercury , but this was arbitrary; he could just as easily have swapped Venus and Mercury and put them on the other side of the Sun, or made any other arrangement of Venus and Mercury, as long as they were always near a line running from the Earth through the Sun, such as placing the center of the Venus epicycle near the Sun. In reality, that is because the loss of light caused by Venus' phases compensates for the increase in apparent size caused by its varying distance from Earth. It predicted various celestial motions, including the beginning and end of retrograde motion, to within a maximum error of 10 degrees, considerably better than without the equant.
Both theories gave orbits that were circular but with the Sun off-centre. Figure of the heavenly bodies — An illustration of the Ptolemaic geocentric system by Portuguese cosmographer and cartographer , 1568 Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris In , the geocentric model also known as geocentrism, or the Ptolemaic system is a description of the with at the center. The ancient Israelites also used more descriptive terms for how God created the celestial realm, and based on the collection of these more specific and illustrative terms, I would propose that they had two basic ideas of the composition of the heavenly realm. Edward Rosen Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Planets Variations in speed through the zodiac Eccentric per planet Planets Variations in retrograde timing Equants per planet Copernicus used a pair of epicycles instead Planets Size of deferents, epicycles Only ratio between radius of deferent and associated epicycle determined; absolute distances not determined in theory Average greatest of 23° Mercury and 46° Venus Size of epicycles set by these angles, proportional to distances Interior planets Limited to movement near the Sun Center their deferent centers along the Retrograde only at , when brightest Radii of epicycles aligned to Sun—Earth line The geocentric model was eventually replaced by the. His ideas including the one that earth rotates at its own axis,were too different for most of the scholars of his time to accept. His heliocentric system put the Sun helio at the center of our system.
However, the process was gradual. So proof becomes a very elusive thing in most sciences, and one has to be wary of them, and probably skeptical of them. The original version was written in Castilian using astronomical data compiled by a team of astronomers in Toledo under the patronage of King Alfonso X. The struggle, so violent in the early days of science, between the views of Ptolemy and Copernicus would then be quite meaningless. Mind over Matter: The Lubavitcher Rebbe on Science, Technology and Medicine. Whatever its philosophical or physical flaws, was it at least superior to the Ptolemaic system in calculating the motions of celestial objects? The predictions of Copernicus were narrowly superior for the Moon.
His own compromise was to place the earth at the center of the universe with the sun and moon orbiting it, as Ptolemy had, and at the same time, to place the other planets in orbit around the sun, following Copernicus. Finally … Nicolas Copernicus, a Polish monk, tried figuring out that perhaps the Sun was in the middle, with the planets going in circles around the Sun. This was really nothing more though than a mathematical manipulation employed in order not to have to discard the primary aspects of his system; to allow it to better match actual observations; and also to allow him to claim that any observed non-uniform motion was not real, but illusory. Bible writers used the 'language of appearance,' just as people always have. . The influence of the Maragha school on remains speculative, since there is no documentary evidence to prove it.
For in this most beautifultemple, who would place this lamp in another or better position than thatfrom which it can light up the whole thing at the same time? January 19, 1581 Time Prutenic Alfonsine Beginning -44 mins +1 hr 19 mins Middle -34 mins +1 hr 9 mins End -34 mins +59 mins Table 6d. The battle between the due massimi sistemi del mondo two chief world systems , as Galileo Galilei memorably described them, was the most important in scientific history. However this effect is negligible at the scale of accuracy that applies to a planetarium. With this method, Ptolemy and Copernicus thus charted the blind progress of the planets through the sky. The Sleepwalkers: A History of Man's Changing Vision of the Universe. Clearly, Kepler saw, something was wrong with astronomy in his day from an standpoint. Cosmological and metaphysical speculations were not to be cultivated in public nor were they to be committed to writing.
Many historians of science have argued, convincingly, that the choicebetween the Ptolemaic and the Copernican systems rested on aestheticcriteria, principles of harmony, symmetry and simplicity. He stated that any possible declarations of geocentrists within the synod did not set the position of the church body as a whole. In 1838, astronomer measured the of the star successfully, and disproved Ptolemy's claim that parallax motion did not exist. As Doppelmayr explains, if the Earth is the center of the universe, it must push the other planets away from itself whenever they get too close. You also probably know that planets other than our own have moons, and the way to test to see whether or not something is true is by experimenting. His descriptions of were a breakthrough in scientific thought, using the newly developed mathematical discipline of , finally replacing the previous schools of scientific thought, which had been dominated by Aristotle and Ptolemy. On the contrary, as Aristotle says in a work on animals,the moon has the closest kinship with the earth. | http://minecraftservers.nu/ptolemy-vs-copernicus.html |
In Ephesians, the apostle Paul says to “put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts” (4:22). Then he says, “So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors” (4:25).
Judging from these verses (and others) and the many shallow “Christian” articles online, a Christian may never, ever lie; it is a sin condemned by God. But that is not only a simplistic conclusion, it’s not Biblical in any way. The truth is more complicated:
From Paul Copan
The following is entirely an excerpt from Paul Copan’s Enrichment Journal article called “Is It Ever Morally Permissible to Deceive?…”
God is True and Hates Lying Lips
“First, Scripture affirms the trustworthiness of God. God is true (Romans 3:4). He is faithful and keeps His promises (Deuteronomy 7:9). And He hates lying lips (Proverbs 12:22). Jesus calls himself “the truth” (John 14:6). Indeed, the being who qualifies as God would have to be worship-worthy and, therefore, trustworthy rather than faithless.
Some Duties Are Absolute
Second, some duties are absolute and inviolable— that we should love and worship God— and God would never command us to hate Him or to worship a God-substitute. Nor would God command us to rape someone or torture babies for fun. Although God’s commands in Scripture are sometimes difficult, God would never order us to do what is intrinsically evil (Jeremiah 19:5).
Distinction Between Absolute Duties and Prima Facie Duties
Third, philosophers make a distinction between absolute duties and prima facie (Latin: “on first appearance”) duties. This is helpful as we read Scripture as well. All things being equal, moral demands, such as, “Keep your promises” or “Do not deceive”, are generally binding for all people (prima facie). We are generally to tell the truth and “not withhold good from those to whom it is due” (Proverbs 3:27).
But, note well, such duties are not absolute and without exception. For example, it is generally wrong to take innocent human life. However, what if terrorists hijack a plane to use as a destructive weapon to fly into a building full of innocent civilians? Is a president who orders the passenger plane with innocent people on board shot down morally justified?
If a woman has an ectopic pregnancy (a fertilized egg trapped in a fallopian tube), both she and the unborn baby will die unless this young human life is removed. Unfortunately, the child will not survive either way. In this case, is it better to spare one human life rather than lose two?
Deception Morally Permissible in Cases of Supreme Emergency
Fourth, deception, which is generally wrong, is likewise morally permissible in cases of supreme emergency, as when Nazis are hunting down innocent Jews. Not all Christians agree on this point. However, I believe we can make a reasonable, Biblical case. In my forthcoming book, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom (IVP Academic, May 2014), my co-author and I go into more detail on this topic. For this article, I’ll sketch out the case for why deception is morally permissible under certain specific conditions warranted by Scripture.
A Hierarchy of Moral Duties
Fifth, this view assumes that there is a hierarchy or an ordering of moral duties. For example, some loves are more important than others. Loving God is more central than loving family members, and when loving family members comes into conflict with Christian discipleship, the follower of Christ should express greater allegiance to Christ (Matthew 10:37). And while we should love the stranger in our midst, we have a greater obligation to care for family members, whom God has entrusted to our care (1 Timothy 5:8).
Conditions Under Which Deception is Morally Permissible
When is deception permissible? There are three main conditions under which deception is morally permissible.
1. Inconsequential Social Arrangements
After a long walk with two unknowing friends to Emmaus, Jesus acted as though He would go on, though He did not intend to do so (Luke 24:28,29). This was not deception. Rather, Jesus was displaying modesty; He didn’t force His presence on His two friends. Rather, He gave them opportunity freely to invite Him in.1
Also, Jesus instructed His disciples to use “makeup” of sorts so as not to appear as though they had been fasting (Matthew 6:17,18). Keeping such information private — between you and God — is not sinful.
We also assume a degree of deception in light, everyday social arrangements. When we tell jokes, deception is often involved — deception that makes the punch line especially funny. Quarterbacks in football and pitchers in baseball routinely deceive; the better they are at deception, the better they perform in a game. This is simply part of the mutually agreed upon arrangement in participating in such sports.
Even in our greetings, we don’t tell everything about our psychological condition to people who ask us, “How are you?” Typically, there’s no expectation on the part of the friendly greeter to receive from us a detailed clinical description of our inner state. We shouldn’t assume full disclosure in such circumstances is essential to maintaining our integrity. In fact, if we did tell everything, people would simply stop asking, “How are you?”
So we have some Biblical evidence, as well as the support of common sense considerations, that furtiveness is permissible when it comes to such inconsequential social arrangements.
2. Deception in War
War, by its very nature, calls for an array of available weapons, including psychology and stealth. God himself waged war this way. In Joshua 8:2, God told Joshua to set an ambush. God also set an ambush in 2 Chronicles 20:22.
God instructed Moses to send spies— the quintessential form of stealth— into the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:2). Likewise, two Israelite spies went to Jericho, where Rahab hid the spies and deceived the local troops (Joshua 2:2–6). Yet God commended and rewarded her for this act (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25).
Some argue that God commended Rahab for her faith, not her deceptive activity. Apart from the fact that all three of the relevant passages commend her actions, how is it possible to divorce faith from works?
Paul himself condemns the dangerous mindset of sinning that grace might increase (Romans 6:1,2). It is morally and theologically misguided to say that we may commit a sinful act for a good cause and be rewarded for such “faith”. Don’t sinful acts deserve reprimands rather than rewards, especially when the motivation is as ignoble as self-preservation?
By contrast, Rahab acted in the faith that the God who was with Israel was mightier than the gods of Jericho. In response, she did the right thing by siding with God’s people. In what we might properly call an act of war, her actions and words deceived others. Some argue that the hiding of the spies was acceptable but that she sinned when she spoke untrue words. However, this dubious description of “the sin of deception,” in which words are sacrosanct but actions are not, is both theologically vague and morally inconsistent.
If there can be just wars (and my co-authored book, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics, defends this view), then ambushes, camouflage, spying, deceptive strategy, communicating in code, as integral parts of such wars, would also be legitimate.
3. Deception in Opposing Criminals
Another area where deception is Biblically (and perhaps philosophically) permissible is in resisting a criminal or an enemy in war. [A variation of #2 above.]
Here we come to the classic question: Are you morally obligated to tell the Gestapo at the door that you are harboring Jews in your cellar?
We answer, “No.”
Consider Sophie Scholl, a committed Christian and university student who was an active participant in “The White Rose,” a German resistance movement during World War II.2 She and her friends devoted their lives to exposing Nazi propaganda and lies by quietly publicizing the truth to her fellow Germans. The Nazis captured Scholl and her brother on February 18, 1943. Under interrogation, she sought to deceive her captors to protect her innocent comrades-in-arms. She refused to say anything that might endanger her friends. Few would question whether she did the right thing.
We have similar scenarios in Scripture. The Hebrew midwives resisted an ungodly and oppressive regime through civil disobedience and deception. The result was that “God was kind to the midwives” and “gave them families of their own” (Exodus 1:20,21). How can it be said that their faith was good and their subversive activity bad? Or how can it be said that their disobedience was good and their deception bad? The Bible does not make those distinctions. It simply says that God rewarded them.
See Also:
- Some Thoughts About Lying- Part 2, by ShepherdFarmerGeek (Active on 12/23/18)
SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
This has been part one of a two part entry for Round 80 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
- A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
- A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
- DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
- Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
- A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
Second Prize:
- A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
- A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
- A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
- A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
- An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).
Third Prize:
- A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
- A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
- Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
- Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
- Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.
Round 80 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. | https://survivalblog.com/2018/12/22/thoughts-lying-part-1-shepherdfarmergeek/ |
A lot has been made about the so-called “series A crunch” — the idea that it is increasingly challenging for early-stage companies to continue to raise financing as they move beyond the idea stage. That’s always been the case in the startup arena with more carnage in the earliest of stages of development.
But a big bottleneck is now occurring, with CB Insights releasing a report last December indicating that as many as 1,100 seed-stage startups will be “orphaned” because of an inability to raise the next round.
Now, here comes more evidence backing up that trend. Fenwick, the Silicon Valley law firm with operations in Seattle, just released a report on seed-stage financing deals.
The findings echo what we’ve been hearing on the street: It’s especially tough to raise a series A financing round right now.
Here’s the most telling stat from the Fenwick report: “Of the companies funded in 2011, 27% had raised a Series A financing by the end of the following year (2012), while 45% of the companies funded in 2010 had raised a Series A financing by the end of the following year (2011).”
In other words, as an entrepreneur in 2010 you had a far greater chance to raise a series A deal than you did in 2011. Now, there’s a lot more going on here, as the chart below shows. Entrepreneurs are increasingly going back to raise additional seed financing, skipping the long, hard slog that it takes to nail the series A deal. And some VCs, looking to get involved with startups earlier, are spending more of their time and capital in the seed rounds.
According to Fenwick, the percentage of seed financings led by venture capital investors increased from 27 percent in 2011 to 34 percent in 2012.
In Seattle, this situation can be felt more acutely since some of the region’s venture firms have either decided to toss in the towel or scale back their fundraising efforts. And there just have not been as many angel investors to step into the area. That means fewer potential places to raise a seed or series A deal, creating a funding gap that someone (angel, corporate investor, outside VC, etc.) could fill. (Stay tuned on this front as we’re hearing about a new effort afoot to help fill this gap).
One of the problems is that —in part because of the rise of accelerators, crowdfunding and other early-stage financing mechanisms — there have been just a heck of a lot more companies formed in the seed stage.
What happens to them will be an interesting story to watch in the coming months, with one New York investor telling Business Insider this week that there’s a “lot of blood in the water.”
“Pretty much every seed investment in the past two years that you haven’t heard about recently is shutting down.”
What do you think? What will happen to the companies that raised seed-stage funding in the past two years?
Follow us on Twitter @GeekWire. | https://www.geekwire.com/2013/seed-financing/ |
The sound of the fallen tree
During the past year (WHICH YEAR?) I have been working on a body of art work in which I try to reveal the intimate relation and permeability that I find between nature, culture and politics and the knowledge that stems from this relationship.
The resulting work was shown recently in Buenos Aires at Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo under the name of The sound of the fallen tree. The title of the show refers to the philosophical riddle that raises questions regarding perception and knowledge of reality: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? I am not interested in dealing with an answer to this question, but in using it as a shortcut into a poetic dimension.
The sound of the fallen tree (a tree which already fell, rather than being in the act of falling) refers to a state of mind in which the understanding of reality is irrational, emotional and intuitive, a dimension that makes us doubt about what we thought we knew. | https://claudiafontes.com/project/colectiva-2/ |
Laboratory Coordinator:
Erica M. Deschak-Joya
Human Resources Specialist
Code 1810 Building 72 North
4555 Overlook Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20375-5320
[email protected]
- All participants must be U.S. citizens. NRL will not accept Permanent Residents or Dual Citizens as applicants for the ONR Summer Faculty Program.
- Broadly based exploratory and advanced development programs in response to identified and anticipated Navy needs;
- Broad multidisciplinary support to the Naval Warfare Centers;
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As the Navy’s full-spectrum corporate laboratory, NRL conducts a broadly based, multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development directed toward maritime applications of new and improved materials; techniques; equipment; systems; ocean, atmospheric, and space sciences; and related technologies. Specific leadership responsibilities and expertise are maintained in the following areas at NRL Monterey:
Research Areas and Topics for Employment Opportunities
Data Assimilation
We are seeking candidates to develop, adapt and implement techniques for our global and mesoscale modeling systems to (1) utilize of new types of atmospheric data (e.g., satellite, Doppler radar, high resolution mesoscale observations, unmanned platforms, observations of opportunity); (2) initialize models with cloud and moisture information (including soil moisture and precipitation); (3) directly assimilate all-sky MW and IR radiances; (4) improve the initialization of tropical cyclones including aircraft reconnaissance data (e.g., dropsondes, SFMR, tail Doppler radar); (5) assimilate aerosol and trace constituents; (6) develop coupled data assimilation for Earth System of system that includes atmosphere, ocean, land, sea-ice, waves, upper-atmosphere, aerosols and trace gases, and improved land surface components; and (7) adapt the MET/MET+ analysis and forecast diagnostics and verification package. The candidates must have a background in at least two of the following areas: data assimilation theory & applications, remote sensing theory & applications, and radiative transfer.
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Global Modeling
We are seeking candidates to: (1) develop and test improvements to the dynamics and physical parameterizations in the Navy global modeling system (NAVy Global Environmental Model, NAVGEM); (2) develop, and evaluate the fully coupled air-ocean-ice-wave Navy Earth System Prediction Capability (ESPC); (3) assist in global model diagnostics; (4) conduct basic research in global dynamics, predictability, sub-seasonal to seasonal prediction, extended range prediction of tropical cyclones, and coupled processes; and (5) test, evaluate and implement improvements to our global ensemble forecasting system. Candidates must have a background in numerical modeling that can be applied to a global prediction system and/or a background in ensemble forecast systems.
Mesoscale Modeling
We are seeking candidates to: (1) develop and evaluate new numerical methods and parameterizations for non-hydrostatic microscale, mesoscale, and global modeling systems, which includes atmosphere and ocean components (COAMPS, COAMPS-TC); (2) develop a next generation non-hydrostatic unified global and limited-area prediction system (NEPTUNE); (3) test and evaluate high-resolution air-ocean coupled systems (COAMPS, COAMPS-TC, NEPTUNE); (4) conduct basic research studies of microscale and mesoscale dynamics, tropical cyclones, Arctic processes and prediction, mesoscale predictability, the parameterization of physical processes on the mesoscale and microscale, air-sea coupled processes, and the coupling between physical and dynamical processes; (5) assist in regional and next-generation model development, diagnostics, and evaluation. Candidates must have a background in numerical modeling that can be applied to a non-hydrostatic mesoscale prediction system.
Aerosol/Radiation Modeling
We are seeking candidates to: (1) develop and test our aerosol forecast models , including model initialization, data assimilation, and transitioning the models to operations; (2) participate in Navy and international field projects to collect and interpret in-situ and remote measurements of aerosols, radiation, and clouds; (3) distribute real-time aerosol observations, global, and regional aerosol forecasts and validation via the internet to Navy and academia; and (4) integrate the atmospheric aerosol impact on the performance of Naval optical sensors and high energy laser systems. Candidates should have a background in one or more of the following areas: numerical weather prediction, data assimilation, chemical transport modeling, measurement and analysis of the microphysical and optical properties of tropospheric aerosols, instrumentation, radiation, radiative transfer calculations and satellite aerosol retrievals.
Decision Systems
Satellite Meteorological Applications
We are seeking candidates to assist in (1) exploring multi-sensor and model data fusion capabilities based on next-generation passive and active observing system, (2) developing both novel and innovative algorithms and techniques for retrieval of cloud, rainfall, and aerosol properties, (3) developing artificial intelligence applications for creation and blending satellite data products, (4) integrating these activities within the framework of numerical weather prediction model validation, parameterization improvements, and data assimilation, and (5) tactical and operational applications and delivery of satellite data products. Candidates must have a background in satellite remote sensing theory, radiative transfer theory, aerosol optical properties, satellite meteorology, satellite operations and sensor development, and computer sciences/artificial intelligence. | http://onroutreach-summer-faculty-research-sabbatical.com/naval-research-laboratory-monterey-ca |
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Overview
The war in Afghanistan has become one of the most complex, challenging operations in the history of the US military. Using first-hand accounts of the men and women who fought in OperationEnduring Freedom, this book presents an intensely personal history of the war in Afghanistan, revealing the determination, heroism, sacrifice, and strength of spirit that came to form the fabric of the conflict.
Enduring Freedom, Enduring Voices places the first-hand accounts of serving men and women into the context of the military operations. Drawing on grippingoral histories, from theater commanders, Special Forces troops, reconstruction teams, and everyday soldiers, Michael G. Walling analyzes operations as they were experienced by individuals, from those immediately following 9/11 through to those in 2014 as US troops prepared to withdraw. Written following a research trip to the region, in which the author spent considerable time embedded with the US forces, Walling's unique and intensely personal history offers a timely insight into the conflict as the majority of NATO forces are withdrawn – the final chapter in the story of US military operations in Afghanistan.
He also charts the evolution of US military structure as it was forced to adapt to cope with the non-conventional, but nonetheless deadly threats of asymmetric warfare, as well as detailing covert ops, infrastructure rebuilding, and the training of Afghan forces.
Resonating across gender, age, nationality, and ethnicity, this book is not just a document of US fortunes in a far-flung conflict. It is a tribute to the determination, heroism, sacrifice, and the strength of the human spirit. | https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/enduring-freedom-enduring-voices-michael-walling/1120552742?ean=9781782008293&itm=1&usri=9781782008293 |
The 40-year-old's body was discovered at his £650,000 flat in London's West End after he apparently committed suicide.
The creative genius, whose full name was Lee Alexander McQueen, was mourning his mother, Joyce, who died 11 days ago.
His death came just days before London Fashion Week, which is due to open on February 19, and as final preparations were made to unveil his spring collection.
A spokeswoman for the designer said his friends and colleagues were "devastated" by the tragic news.
His design company added: "We are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee's family."
News of McQueen's death spread quickly around the global fashion industry, provoking an outpouring of tributes.
Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, said: "Lee McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs.
Designer Katherine Hamnett described him as a "genius", while Dame Vivienne Westwood said she was "incredibly sorry" to hear the news. A spokesman for model Kate Moss said: "Kate is shocked and devastated at the tragic loss of her dear friend Lee McQueen. Her thoughts are with his family at this sad time."
The fashion designer's body was taken from his flat in Green Street, off Park Lane in Mayfair, shortly before 5pm on Thursday. As the vehicle drove away, McQueen fan Daniel Hernandez, who is from Los Angeles but lives in Bayswater, waved goodbye and shouted: "Thank you".
- More about: | http://www.standard.co.uk/newsheadlines/fashion-designer-mcqueen-found-dead-6762343.html |
The September 27, 2014 phreatic eruption of Mount Ontake near Nagano, Japan, left 57 climbers dead, and another 6 missing and presumed dead. The conventional wisdom (as still reported on Wikipedia) is that phreatic eruptions have no discernable precursors—no warning signs—and so experts cannot give warnings and advisories.
Now, however, in an article recently published in Earth, Planets and Space, Aitaro Kato, Toshiko Terakawa, Yoshiko Yamanaka, Yuta Maeda, Shinichiro Horikawa, Kenjiro Matsuhiro, and Takashi Okuda, from Nagoya University and the University of Tokyo, have back-reviewed the seisemic data from the year leading up to the eruption—and especially the two weeks immediately prior—and have discovered a pattern of increased activity. More than that, they have hypothesized how the pre-eruption mechanism-of-action would lead to the activity that they discovered, and they suggest studying additional observational techniques to help better predict future phreatic eruptions.
Phreatic eruptions
But, first—what is a phreatic eruption? As distinct from the more stereotypical magmatic eruption (which is what it sounds like), phreatic eruptions center on superheated steam rather than magma. Sometimes also called “steam cannon” eruptions, these events throw superheated steam along with ash and rock into the air. They can also lead to pyroclastic mud flows, as well. The 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington State might be the best known example of a phreatic eruption.
Eruption precursors
In their article, “Preparatory and precursory processes leading up to the 2014 phreatic eruption of Mount Ontake, Japan,” Kato et al., built a catalogue of seismic activity beneath the volcano going back a year before the eruption. They then used those data to construct a filter for searching the larger set of seismic data to look for patterns, which they found. From those patterns—specifically increased activity along a trench running from the north-north-west to the south-south-east—they were able to build a model of how this eruption evolved.
They hypothesize that over time, water began to infiltrate small cracks in the base of the volcano; and that the magma chamber would heat this water, building pressure, which then weakened the surrounding rock, leading eventually to the full eruption. They conclude the article with a prescription:
To our knowledge, the present study was the first to describe the rapid propagation of a vertical conduit during the accelerating stage prior to a phreatic eruption. It is important to capture short-term precursors as early as possible and to raise the alarm for climbers to evacuate from potential eruption sites. Further understanding of the excitation mechanism of phreatic eruptions will require continuous monitoring of seismicity and crustal movement in the vicinity of the summit because the geophysical signals related to the pre-eruption propagation of a vertical crack are too localized to be observed in the far field.
Read the entire article here. | http://blogs.springeropen.com/springeropen/2015/07/30/discovering-predict-phreatic-volcanic-eruptions/ |
Mining is a critical industry for South Africa as the country works towards the achievement of the National Development Plan (NDP), which aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. According to the NDP, the country can realise these goals by drawing on the energies of its people, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, and promoting leadership and partnerships throughout society.
To give effect to this vision, and to ensure that mining does not become a “sunset sector”, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Mineral Resources have partnered to launch the Mandela Mining Precinct (MMP).
The MMP is an outcome of the Mining Phakisa, which aims to foster global leadership in narrow-reef, hardrock mining equipment and systems through partnerships in research and development (R&D) and the creation of a competitive local manufacturing capability.
National Treasury, via the DST, has allocated R213 million in support of the implementation of the South African Mining Extraction Research, Development and Innovation Strategy, which the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research developed and has been tasked with leading.
Finding solutions
Launched recently by the Minister of Science and Technology, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, and the Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe, the MMP is a dedicated R&D hub located in Melville, Johannesburg. It has been set up to find solutions to the problems facing the mining sector, and to address the need for a vigorous, vibrant and adequately resourced local mining research, development and innovation community. The MMP will address not only the technical challenges but also the socio-economic imbalances in mining.
It was established as a partnership between government and the Minerals Council of South Africa, formerly the Chamber of Mines, and the launch was attended by captains of the mining industry, including Roger Baxter and Neal Froneman.
Also based at the MMP is the Mining Equipment Manufacturers of South Africa (MEMSA), which was launched simultaneously by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti). MEMSA aims to grow the local supply chain of capital equipment for the mining industry and will receive an R8 million sponsorship from the dti’s Cluster Development Programme.
The Minerals Council of South Africa has pledged R33 million for the 2018 calendar year, and will honour a funding commitment ratio of 1:2 against funding from government on an annual basis.
Partnerships vital for growth
Minister Mantashe told guests at the launch that partnerships are vital for growth in the sector. Partnerships, he stressed, requires mutual respect “and an appreciation that we need each other and are better together. Partnership is a conscious exercise; if you don’t do it consciously, it doesn’t work”.
The Minister said that over the past few decades the mining sector has experienced huge challenges, with its contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) declining dramatically, from 21 percent in 1970 to 7.4 percent in 2017. “We are in discussions with industry, with the aim of improving our contribution to the GDP. We must strengthen it, modernise and grow the industry.”
Minister Mantashe added that mining has to be treated with respect. He said the common expression in the sector is, “if it is not grown, it is mined” and current and future technology will depend on what is mined.
Referring to the MEMSA exhibition that accompanied the launch, the Minister urged mining companies to source their equipment from the local companies that were exhibiting, as they were producing better equipment than their global counterparts. While jobs are being shed in mining, the Minister added, more jobs could be created in associated sectors, such as the mining equipment manufacturing sector.
Niche market
About US$2 billion worth of mining capital equipment is imported into South Africa annually, with the Southern African Development Community representing another US$2 billion annual market, translating into a niche market larger than that of the European Union. This represents an enormous opportunity for MEMSA to leverage in terms of import displacement.
The MMP is in line with South Africa’s commitment to increasing its investment in research and development. This currently stands at 0.77 percent of GDP, and the aim is to increase it to 1.5 percent. This can only happen if the country has practical programmes in place, and the MMP is one of these.
Minister Kubayi-Ngubane said the MMP is a good illustration of public-private partnerships in action. “We are setting an example, showing that, working together, we can place our country and our people on a higher developmental trajectory.”
The MMP and the activities associated with it represent a new dawn for collaboration in mining research, development and innovation. All stakeholders – including government, mining companies, local mining equipment manufacturers and the research community – acknowledge the need for a coherent, collaborative approach to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector. It is hoped that this partnership will stimulate the transformation of South Africa's comparative advantage in the minerals sector into a competitive one.
Modernisation of mining
“The modernisation of mining, which includes mechanisation and automation, is said to bring opportunities that outweigh the projected challenges, and is therefore deemed necessary,” Minister Kubayi-Ngubane said.
“This conversion will broadly contribute towards the survival of the South African mining industry through the mining of lower-grade ores, as well as deeper resources, thereby extending the life of mines. In addition, the adoption of technological developments and advancements will contribute towards improved health and safety, and facilitate the sector’s migration from dangerous, labour-intensive platforms to the government’s goal of zero harm,” the Minister said.
Also speaking at the launch, MEMSA CEO Dr Paul Jourdan said that MEMSA is focusing on rolling out programmes to support its members’ growth, technology development and competitiveness.
“Our short-term goal is to increase local content, which will ultimately require a dedicated incentive, especially with regard to capex. This means we also have to increase factory-floor and manufacturing competitiveness, and look at innovation, technology, quality and pricing,” Jourdan said.
Additional employment
He added that the focus on capital equipment is essential to usher in a new age of mechanisation in South Africa’s mining industry, as the old model of using cheap migrant labour is no longer sustainable.
Contrary to the popular view that mechanisation will result in significant job losses in the mining industry, research indicates that it will generate additional employment opportunities.
“Mechanisation based on locally manufactured equipment has the potential to maintain employment levels,” Dr Jourdan said. “For example, if you install a completely mechanised equipment set, from drifter drills to roof bolters and load-haul dumpers, which can all even be controlled remotely, you will employ nearly the same number of people,” he added. | https://www.publicsectormanager.co.za/post/modernising-mining-through-partnerships-and-transformation |
Supply and demand sits at the heart of economic theory. If you and lots of other people want a Mars bar and there are not enough Mars bars to go around, we all know the price will rise. Looking towards Christmas, there will be the new ‘must have’ toys/gadgets/mince pies/Christmas puddings, provoking long queues and frantic online searching, with the consequence that the price will rise. Labour and employment, so the theory goes, should be no different. Except it does seem to have been different, at least for the past decade.
In October, the Office for National Statistics released its UK labour market report. This showed that average weekly earnings for employees in Great Britain increased by 3.1%, higher than at any time for the past ten years. It also showed that the labour market continues to be very tight. The unemployment rate was 4%, the lowest since February 1975. The number of people in work was 32.39 million, a figure that continues to remain high. To the unwary, this might suggest economic theory is working – low unemployment, high employment and wages rising above the rate of inflation.
I wonder whether, in fact, that it is employment law that makes the difference. In support of that, I cite two significant changes over the period following the financial crash in 2008, up to now, where the latest wage growth figures coincides with the chief economist at the Bank of England saying he saw signs of a ‘new dawn’ for wage growth. These are the National Minimum/National Living Wage (NMW) and the abolition of employment tribunal fees.
The NMW covers a lot of jobs: 1.5 million in 2015, rising to 1.9 million in 2017 and projected to rise to 3.4 million in 2020. The value of each minimum wage rate is higher in real terms since the NMW was introduced in 1999, albeit it fell in the immediate aftermath of the financial crash.
Therefore, changes in employment law have benefited the wages of those at the lower end of the scale and have meant that the overall figures for wage growth are slightly better than they might have been without that intervention.
One of the jurisdictions most hit by the introduction of employment tribunal fees was unlawful deductions from wages, with the number of claims received by employment tribunals since their abolition more than doubling. Quarterly figures for pre-July 2013 show the number of claims was running at around 10,000. Post-July 2013, this figure drops to 2-3,000 each quarter, until fees are abolished when they rise to around 6,000.
In a roundabout way, this suggests that the invisible hand of the market has its limits and that greater change can be effected in less obvious ways. Economists grappling with their conundrum of high demand for labour but depressed wages might want to take the matter up with some employment lawyers.
The legal content in this article is believed to be correct and true on this date. | http://www.elaweb.org.uk/resources/ela-briefing/word-editor-november-2018 |
Guidelines for research using fish
Please also see the PREPARE guidelines for planning and conducting animal research and testing and the section on zebrafish.
- Revised version of Appendix A of the "European Convention for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes". The revision came into force on 15 June 2007 and the aim was to include species-specific guidelines for a number of fish species, in a background document, but these were never published.
- Guidelines for the severity classification of procedures on fish
- Wootten R (2005) Species-specific provisions for fish in the European Convention for the protection of animals used for experimental and scientific purposes (presentation at a meeting in Oslo in May 2005)
- Griffin G (2005) Canadian Guidelines for the care & use of fish in research, teaching and testing (presentation at a meeting in Oslo in May 2005)
- Guidelines on: the care and use of fish in research, teaching and testing (2005) from the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)
- Approved protocols for decapods, cephalopods and fish (Guidance from the Animal Ethics Sub-Committee of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Ethics Committee, South Africa)
- Johansen R., Needham JR, Colquhoun D., Poppe TT & Smith AJ. (2006): Guidelines for health and welfare monitoring of fish used in research. Laboratory Animals 40(4): 323-340
- Considerations for a European animal welfare standard to evaluate adverse phenotypes in teleost fish
- Guidelines for the Use of Fishes in Research (2004) American Fisheries Society (AFS)
- Ostrander GK (2000) The Laboratory Fish. Academic Press, Baltimore, USA.
- Poole T (1999) UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory Animals. Volume 2: Amphibious & Aquatic Vertebrates & Advanced Invertebrates. Blackwell Science.
- Casebolt DB, Speare DJ, Horney BS (1998) Care and use of fish as laboratory animals: Current state of knowlege. Laboratory Animal Science 48, 124-136
- DeTolla LJ et al. (1995) Guidelines for the Care and Use of Fish in Research ILAR Journal 37 (4)
- Borski RG, Hodson RJ (2003) Fish Research and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee ILAR journal 44 (4)
- Brattelid T, Smith AJ (2000) Guidelines for reporting the results of experiments using fish Laboratory Animals 34 131-135
- The welfare of farmed fish at slaughter (concerns about carbon dioxide use) (HSUS report)
- Schaeffer et al. (1992) The Care and Use of Amphibians, Reptiles and Fish in Research Scientists for Animal Welfare (SCAW)
- Documents for laypeople on ethics committees, Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA), UK
- Brattelid T (1999): Kompendium i forsøksdyrlære for fiskeforskere (Norwegian-language compendium from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science)
- Westerfield M (2000) The zebrafish book. A guide for the laboratory use of zebrafish (Danio rerio). 4th ed., Univ. of Oregon Press, Eugene.
- Zebrafish Information Network
- Ethical considerations in fish research
- Animal models - theme issues from the ILAR journal
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Please give us your feedback so we can improve the information on the page. Thank you in advance for your help. Please add your email address if you would like a reply.Please contact us by email if you have any questions. | https://norecopa.no/species/fish/guidelines/ |
A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, U.S. June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Richard Carson
CAIRO – 6 April 2022: The European Union (EU) is officially going to rely heavily on Libya to diversify its energy sources, away from Russian oil and gas, while the Libyans hope that this will contribute to pushing Europe to speed up resolving the country's crisis to secure production and export operations.
The European Union's spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa Luis Miguel Bueno said that Europe will rely heavily on Libya in the coming period to diversify its sources of gas and energy, amid the dispute between the union and Russia over the war crisis against Ukraine.
He added that talks are ongoing between Libya and Italy in this regard, and it is expected that several European countries will move to invest in Libyan oil.
Libyan economic experts and politicians believe the increasing importance of Libyan oil and gas may contribute to pushing European countries to solve the Libyan crisis by finding a quick political solution that guarantees the security of oil and gas export, especially since instability led in earlier times to militias and gangs taking control over oil fields and disrupting production.
Libya is torn by the crisis between the previous government headed by Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba and the current one led by Fathi Bashagha, with militia activity continuing to control several facilities in Western Libya.
Libyan political analyst Ibrahim al-Fitouri says that Europe's need for gas and oil may push it to find a rapid solution to the crisis in Libya, where political and security issues may stand in the way of Europe's desire to make the most of oil and gas. Fitouri expected the world would not allow the Libyan oil to be stopped, and this might be reflected in improving the conditions of the oil sector, which needs maintenance operations for refineries and exploration of new fields.
Furthermore, the economic expert, Sherif al-Araqib, emphasized the need to stabilize the situation in Libya, carry out major maintenance operations, and explore new areas, to increase Libya's share of European imports. He said that Italy relied on 50 percent of Russian gas for its imports, while Libya depends on only 2 percent.
A World Bank report expected that the Libyan economy may witness an improvement in the level of growth if gas exports to Europe increase.
Libya has previously expressed its willingness to increase gas pumping to Europe, according to Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Libyan Oil Corporation, Mustafa Sanalla. Sanalla said that his country is focusing on raising gas production rates, especially since Libya has a strategic location due to its proximity to the European market, and it has massive reserves of gas.
The European Union gets 40 percent of gas and 30 percent of oil from Russia. Libya has the ninth largest known oil reserves in the world and the biggest oil reserves in Africa.
The dizzying developments in Libya's oil fields have come amid a mounting standoff between two rival governments which threaten to again drag the country into chaotic infighting. | https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/114620/Will-Libya-meet-Europe-s-gas-needs-instead-of-Russia |
Lead Training Coordinator
Position Description:
The Lead Training Coordinator is responsible for coordinating all training and development activities across the CCF Health Home for the Care Management Agencies as well as serve as the lead for the CANS-NY Technical Assistance Institute with the Chapin Hall University. S/he will also coordinate and identify all training needs for the member organizations. The Director will work closely with Chapin Hall University to ensure that the CANS-NY Institute operations are met. The Lead Training Coordinator will help to identify training needs and create and analyze various reports to support training initiatives. The Lead Training Coordinator will assist with reviewing the personnel QI Tool in the area of Training to ensure CMA staff is in compliance with annual training requirements. The Lead Training Coordinator will report findings from agency regulatory reviews and needs identified via the agency QI process. The Lead Training Coordinator will assist with developing and implementing training programs identified needs by the DOH and the member organizations that relate to the wok in the Health Home. The Lead Training Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that an effective database is in place to monitor expected training participants, actual participants and is responsible for follow-up to ensure compliance with regulatory and accreditation requirements. The Coordinator will ensure compliance with DOH Health Home standards on best practice. The Coordinator will work with the Compliance Officer and Executive Director on all administrative requirements (e.g., budget, short-term plan, department goals and objectives), as required. The Coordinator will coordinate all contracts with ad-hoc trainers and create, review and develop approved curriculum.
Reports to: Working under the supervision of the Executive Director, this position is responsible for providing an array of training and support services for the CCF organization as well as the contracted Care Management Agencies within the CCF Network.
Primary Requirements:
- CANS-NY Certification is required. Director must score a 80 or above on the CANS-NY certification and remain current with certification requirements within 30 days of hire.
- Must maintain active knowledge of DOH’s current training requirements for Children’s Health Homes and is responsible, in collaboration with the Compliance Officer, for assuring CCF and the partner agencies’ compliance with same.
- Data analysis: Produce and monitor reports on training compliance and exception reports.
- Training and Staff Development: Develop training curriculum.
- Train Care Managers as needed
- Assist GSIHealth in providing required annual refresher training as needed.
- Develop in collaboration with managers, staff development plans to enhance skill level of personnel.
- Participate in leadership training program to identify needs and promote successes.
- Serve as on-site support for direct and management staff to facilitate on the job training
- Must identify training resources across partner agencies and the State and to facilitating resource sharing to meet requirements
SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY:
- Monitor and review the on-going needs and assessment for the end-users of the CANS-NY
- Responsible for the recruitment and Training of CANS-NY Regional Coaches
- Responsible for the Regional Coaching Supports & Communication
- Participate and lead learning collaborative with Chapin Hall and Regional Coaches
- Conduct webinars for the CANS-NY end user as identified by the Institute Director
- Act as a liaison and supervise, coordinate regional CANS-NY coaches from the 8 identified CCF member agencies
- Attend the CANS Annual National Conference
- Develop Curricula to support training needs of the Organization and the Member
OTHER REQUIREMENTS:
- Master’s Degree plus 3 years in related filed required
- Minimum of three years’ experience in training and curriculum development
- Knowledge of online Learning Management Systems (LMSs) including experience developing web based curricula and training
- Knowledge of CANS-NY
- CANS-NY Certification Required upon 30 days of Hire
- Knowledge of delivering reports and conducting training needs analysis
- Experience working in one of the following industries preferred: Healthcare; Child Welfare; State or City government
- Demonstrates good judgment and decision-making; has a positive attitude.
- Is a team player.
- Has a strong sensitivity to cultural differences present among staff and consumers within the organization.
- Possesses a strong belief in people’s ability to grow and change; forges a mutually respectful partnership with persons served and their families. | http://ccfhh.org/jobs/director-of-professional-development-and-training/ |
Indian Graphic novels are popularly believed to be stories of an orderly world ruled by mythical gods and humans with superpowers. Rather exploring more down to earth issues, against the background of urban violence and chaos, the genre has evolved and grown in cultural and commercial appeal over the past three decades. The diversity of the genre's intermedial creative formats, intersects Indian myths and contemporary science fiction, individual memoirs and collective history. My research explores the multiverse of contemporary national and gendered identities across India in a collection of recent graphic novels, focusing on the critical use of the medium to contest patriarchal authority, female sexuality, and the exercise of different forms of violence against women. I am interested in the novel's intimate portrayal of the inner psyche of the characters within domestic settings depicted as battlegrounds for desires and affects, memories and traumas, justice and revenge. I also explore the aesthetics of Indian graphic novels, paying attention to their inter and trans-mediality, their deployment of the spoken word and the moving image techniques, in the Deleuzian sense, to capture the ‘idea' of Indianness.
I am from India. I am an English Literature graduate from Miranda House, University of Delhi, India (2014). I have completed my master's in Comparative Indian Literature from the University of Delhi (2016). I have presented papers at several conferences including one international conference.
I had been an avid reader of comics from an early age and reading the mentioned graphic books have influenced me to pursue research on Indian graphic works which deal with women at Kingston University, London. | https://www.kingston.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/research-degree-students/profile/priyanka-rajbongshi-222/ |
Ergonomics is concerned with the ‘fit’ between people and their work. With an increasing number of people becoming conscious about their health and participating in sport or physical activity, ergonomics has become an increasingly prominent concern within the sport and exercise sciences. From the design of footwear and artificial playing surfaces, to studies of proprioception by obese children , the way in which people interact with their environment - designed and natural – has important implications for performance sport and for the design of safe and beneficial forms of physical activity.
influence of playing surface, footwear and equipment design.
Bridging the gap between fundamental scientific research in sport and exercise and applications in sport and exercise contexts, this is an important reference for all advanced students, researchers and professionals working in sport and exercise science, kinesiology, sports technology, sports engineering, ergonomics, and product design.
Youlian Hong is a professor in the Department of Sports Medicine, Chengdu Sports University, China. He received his PhD from the German Sports University of Cologne. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Research in Sports Medicine: An International Journal, and Fellow, Live Member and former President and Geoffrey Dyson Lecturer of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports. | https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Ergonomics-in-Sport-and-Exercise/Hong/p/book/9781138657106 |
Individual must possess strong safety background, with Safety oversight for all phases of site construction.
Provide ongoing communication for the training and enforcement of the Site Specific Safety Plan that incorporates all areas of safety including General Safety, MSDS, Drug and Alcohol Free Program, Motor Vehicle Safety and all other Site Specifics.
Identify potential issues and make recommendation for safety improvements.
Conduct Job Hazard Analysis to identify and mitigate hazards and potential risks.
Complete workplace safety audits and ensure remedial action where necessary.
Ensure proper document record keeping.
Implement and enforce accident prevention plans and activity hazard analysis and ensure full client compliance with all safety and health requirements.
Conduct daily walkthroughs for the site, coordinating daily and weekly look ahead, ensuring wok is accomplished safely and that occupational health if not compromised.
Document inspections, incidents, recognized hazards, and recommend corrective actions, in narrative, with sketches and with photography as appropriate.
Maintain the list of hazardous chemicals on site, and their Material Safety Data Sheets on record for contractor and subcontractors.
Interpret and apply regulatory requirements of both OSH, WORK SAFE NEW ZEALAND & ISO 9001 - APPLICABLE TO THIS PROJECT AND WORK SCOPE.
Develop and implement Site-Specific Safety Program plans to include emergency actions, response, evacuation, and security plans.
Conduct daily safety and health inspections, mishaps, near-miss investigations.
Take immediate action to remedy any safety issues or concerns.
Attend all company staff meetings as scheduled.
Must be experienced with construction process for footpath, Kerbs & Channels construction and reinstatements projects on large streets or council contracts.
Quality Control Certificate an advantage.
Ability to function as Competent Person in accordance with OSH description for Competent Person.
This is a Full time position requiring Full time commitment to safety on-site at all times, reporting directing to Senior Project and Corporate officials.
Construction Safety Certificate is an advantage. The Officer is required to have five (5) years of construction industry safety experience or three (3) years if he or she possesses a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) or safety and health degree.
Must possess the ability to multi-task.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees, managers and client representatives conveying and ensuring safety, quality standards, and scheduling.
Strong management and interpersonal skills, working with many concurrent ongoing operations and recognizing the safety culture intended for the projects and corporate goals.
Proficiency in use of a personal computer and software programs such as Excel, Word, and Outlook. | http://www.totalinfrastructure.co.nz/EMPLOYMENT/JUNIOR+-+INTERMEDIATE+HEALTH++SAFETY+AND+ENVIRONMENTAL+OFFICER+-+CONSTRUCTION.html |
Module IED-2053:
Engineering Team Project
Module Facts
Run by School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
10 Credits or 5 ECTS Credits
Semester 1 & 2
Organiser: Dr Iestyn Pierce
Overall aims and purpose
To tackle an industrially inspired group project. This will involve working in a team to identify a new product opportunity, putting the technical aspects of the project in the wider social and environmental context by studying the market, and health and safety aspects of the product. Development of presentation and project management skills will be pursued in a learning environment that is shaped to reproduce the time and financial constraints regulating real industry operation.
Course content
• Frameworks for innovation and design, McKinney’s FIRE. User Centred Design. Design in the Toyota Production System.
• Compliance with codes and regulations (health and safety, international standards).
• Team creation and management through design, testing, finances and human resources divisions.
• Project management through utilization of tools such as Gantt charts, design reviews, product specifications, performance modeling and characterization.
• Earning project funding in a competitive environment by periodically presenting own teamwork before an investors board.
Learning outcomes mapped to assessment criteria
|threshold
|
40%
|good
|
60%
|excellent
|
70%
|
|
Apply theoretical knowledge to the design of a new product.
|All important project objectives attained.||Almost all of the project objectives completed successfully. Some evidence of evaluation and reflection.||All project objectives met and performance review to identify future improvements.|
|
|
Exercise Presentational Skills in a broad range of contexts
|Can prepare and present an adequate report and oral presentation.||Can prepare and present a good report and oral presentation.||Can prepare and present an excellent report and oral presentation.|
|
|
Appreciate the wider social and environmental aspects of a new product
|Some market, social and environmental aspects included in project report.||Reasonable attention given to addressing the main social and environmental factors relevant to the project.||Social and environmental concerns addressed early in the project and clearly influenced final design|
|
|
Apply management frameworks to successfully complete a project.
|Evidence of some management processes (e.g. minutes of meetings, design reviews)||A reasonable range of management tools applied to monitor the project’s progress and achievements.||Creative use of management to drive the project hard.|
Assessment Methods
|Type||Name||Description||Weight|
|Presentation of initial ideas||10|
|Interim progress review: team presentation||10|
|Final team presentation and product demo||10|
|Group report||70|
Teaching and Learning Strategy
|Hours|
|Group Project||
|
1 x 3 hour session per week for 24 weeks
|72|
|Private study||
|
Individual work in support of project objectives, progress meetings with team members. Preparing reports and presentations.
|28|
Transferable skills
- Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
- Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
- Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
- Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
- Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
- Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
- Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
- Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
- Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
- Teamwork - Able to constructively cooperate with others on a common task, and/or be part of a day-to-day working team
- Mentoring - Able to support, help, guide, inspire and/or coach others
- Management - Able to utilise, coordinate and control resources (human, physical and/or financial)
- Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
- Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others
- Leadership - Able to lead and manage, develop action plans and objectives, offer guidance and direction to others, and cope with the related pressures such authority can result in
Subject specific skills
- Identify emerging technologies and technology trends;
- Apply underpinning concepts and ideas of engineering;
- Apply knowledge and understanding of the specialist cognate area of electronic engineering in an international context;
- Apply knowledge and understanding of the specialist cognate area of computer systems engineering in an international context;
- Apply knowledge and understanding of the specialist cognate area of computer systems for controlling complex systems;
- Apply knowledge and understanding of the specialist cognate area of computer systems engineering in safety-critical areas;
- Formulate and analyse requirements and practical constraints of products, processes and services, place them in an engineering context and manage their implementation;
- Solve problems logically and systematically;
- Systematically review factors affecting the implementation of a project, including safety and sustainability;
- Plan, budget, organise and manage people and resources;
- Agree objectives and work plans with individuals;
- Appreciate the importance of designing products with due regard to good laboratory practice, health and safety considerations and ethical issues.
- Access and synthesize information and literature sources;
- Use both verbal and written communication skills to different target audiences;
- Communicate proposals persuasively and respond positively to feedback;
- Analyse and display data using appropriate methods and mathematical techniques;
- Demonstrate familiarity with relevant subject specific and general computer software packages.
- Demonstrate an awareness of current advances and contemporary approaches in the discipline and have strategies for keeping that awareness current;
- Demonstrate an awareness of the need to work safely and comply within relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks;
Courses including this module
Compulsory in courses: | https://www.bangor.ac.uk/courses/undergrad/modules/IED-2053 |
A New Way of doing Particle Physics
Here is a map showing the visual “knot” structures of PhOENIX and how they relate to the fundamental particles in physics, such as quarks, leptons, hadrons, baryons, photons, etc. as closed-loop knots.
Photons are interpreted as a connected point of information exchange between two vertices. Leptons are single vertex particles, while Hardrons and Baryons are bundles of 3 or more vertices entangled together.
Anti-matter looks like the same as matter only the loops are replaced with arrows… and this is what leads us to the topological conclusion that antimatter is the key to quantum disentanglement. Because it will isolate and close all the particle loops inside of a bubble surrounded by this special type of quantum-topological landscape of antimatter also called “Dirac Hole” structures.
According to PhOENIX theory, antimatter is the key to shutting off quantum entanglement and closing off those loops, and if quantum entanglement is the key to gravity, than this should also shut off gravity. It also gives us the “Negative Energy State” solutions to the Alcubierre-White Warp Drive Theory required to build warp drive technology. It’s a worthy idea that has never been tested and is absolutely worth a try.
The leading physics journals in just the past few years, are all leaning towards that idea that quantum entanglement causes gravity, as no evidence can be found for the graviton.
It is our belief that we are on the verge of a major scientific breakthrough in physics, and we want to be on the cutting edge of that discovery, and the amazing technologies that will be brought to life from this deeper understanding of the core of physics.
The following video is part 1 of a series made by Ken in 2012 to explain and put forth his theory. | http://alienscientist.com/quantum/ |
*Corresponding Author: Ravindranath MJ, Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Priyadarshini Dental College, Tamilnadu, India.
Received: September 24, 2020; Published: October 28, 2020
The role of functional jaw orthopedics plays a vital role in treating the skeletal malocclusion, timely planned and well-executed treatment results in attain an excellent functional occlusion and craniofacial harmony. This article presents a case report of an adult patient diagnosed with Angles Class II malocclusion with an increased overjet of 9 mm and overbite of 5 mm with incompetent lip relationship. Whereas the skeletal base was an Orthognathic maxilla and Retrognathic mandible. The patient was treated in two phases where the first phase consists of a leveling and alignment of the teeth and the second phase with PowerScope 2 Class II corrector device for mandibular advancement to achieve the skeletal discrepancy. The overall treatment duration took 18 months. The success in orthodontic treatment depends on patient compliance particularly in correcting skeletal malocclusions. There is always a constant search for a simple appliance in the treatment of these type of malocclusions. PowerScope 2 Class II corrector is a promising appliance that is relatively simple to install and easy to maintain by patients this directly helps the orthodontist in maintaining patient compliance to achieve the predicted treatment outcome.
Keywords: Class II Malocclusion; PowerScope 2 Class II Corrector; Class II Skeletal Correction; Mandibular Advancement
Citation: Ravindranath MJ and Little Mahendra. “Class II Malocclusion Management of an Adult Patient Using PowerScope® 2 Class II Corrector - A Clinical Case Report". Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 4.11 (2020): 65-67.
Copyright: © 2020 Ravindranath MJ and Little Mahendra. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | http://actascientific.com/ASDS/ASDS-04-0964.php |
Alfred Landecker Democracy Fellow Ireen Kars is a consultant at Russell Reynolds Associates, which helps companies identify, select, and grow sustainable leaders who will thrive and succeed over the long term. This project aims to not only help increase the awareness of the consequences of COVID-19 but also define the role of leadership in a post-COVID-19 world.
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WE CARE: Empowering Migrant Care Workers On- and Offline
Alfred Landecker Democracy Fellow Flavia Matei is an architect working at the University of Art and Design in Linz, Austria. In her free time, Flavia is a committed activist for migrant workers’ rights.
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Claiming our Institutions – Network and Empowerment for BIPOC in Administrations
Alfred Landecker Democracy Fellow Evein Obulor is working on different levels of our societies to fight racism. In her current position as the Coordinator of the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism she works on racial injustices at the city level. Within the next 12 months, she wants to create a network in Germany for BIPOC working within local governments, politics, and administrations and a platform to BIPOC network and exchange best practices.
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Civic Mobility
Alfred Landecker Democracy Fellow Erica Dorn is a social systems choreographer. She educates and facilitates organizations, movements, and communities in long-vision systems transitions. Her project aims to create a proof of concept for bridging political divides by building networks between autonomous places that are experiencing diverse economic and social issues
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Indigenous Creations: Open Source Tools for Indigenous Communities
Alfred Landecker Democracy Fellow DeLesslin George-Warren is a queer artist, researcher, and organizer from Catawba Indian Nation. His wide ranging work encompasses performance art, installation art, community education as well as food sovereignty and language revitalization. DeLesslin will work with five native technologists to support their work in creating Open Source projects to address the needs of their community.
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Making Common Ground
Alfred Landecker Democracy Fellow Catherine Neilan is a Politics Live Editor at the Telegraph, where she is responsible for covering breaking news and finding exclusives from Westminster and beyond. Catherine’s project is designed to find a new way for people to talk about politics and current affairs without slipping into lazy labels and toxic terminology, which is often accompanied by echo chambers
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COVID-19: Misinformation Media Campaign for the Public and Toolkit for Providers
Alfred Landecker Democracy Fellow Asha Shajahan, MD, MHSA is a primary care physician, the Graduate Medical Education Director of Social Equity and Health Disparities at Beaumont Health and the Medical Director of Community Health at Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe in the USA. Asha proposes to equip doctors with a fact-checking tool that can help guide evidence-based outcomes and advice.
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Building International Solidarity
Kalena Thomhave wrote a series of articles detailing the indignities of Filipino call center workers who are organizing for a labor union. Her work highlights the role of the US labor movement in this process and the importance of international solidarity.
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Real Money Moves: Divesting from Private Prisons and Immigrant Detention Centers
Senior Fellow Jasmine Rashid created the campaign "Real Money Moves" to help combat mass incarceration and advocate for immigrant rights.
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Les Pages Vertes (LPV) - a directory of sustainable European fashion
Senior Fellow Rachel Forster invented Les Pages Vertes (LPV), a sustainable European fashion directory that lists more than 400 brands from 44 countries across all ages and genders. | https://www.humanityinaction.org/topics/?_sft_topics=labor |
Background {#Sec1}
==========
The rate of maternal and neonatal mortality is unacceptably high in Iraq. The maternal and neonatal mortality rates are as high as 84 cases per 100,000 live births and 23 cases per 1000 live births, respectively \[[@CR1]\]. These figures are significantly higher in Iraq than developed countries, for example neonatal mortality rates was reported to be 1.74 per 1000 birth in the UK in 2015 \[[@CR2]\]. Perinatal infections and fetal hypoxia are the most important causes of neonatal deaths in Iraq, which can be avoided through early initiation of exclusive breastfeeding \[[@CR1]\]. However, the prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding in Iraq is quite low at 38.1% \[[@CR3]\].
As recommended by the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), newborn infants should be placed in skin-to-skin contact with their mothers immediately after their birth for at least one hour, and mothers should be helped to initiate breastfeeding within the first half-hour following the birth of their infants \[[@CR4], [@CR5]\]. The term skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is defined as the placement of a naked infant, occasionally with a diaper or a cap on, on its mother's bare skin, and the exposed side/back of the infant covered by a blanket or a towel \[[@CR6]\]. The movement of the infant's hands over the mother breasts during SSC leads to increased secretion of oxytocin, which results in increased secretion of breast milk \[[@CR7]\].
It is also known that SSC after birth promotes newborn temperature regulation, metabolic adaptation, and maintenance of glucose blood levels. Infants have a reduced capacity to generate heat, which leads to a rapid decline in temperature. This is why maintenance of temperature is one of the most important needs of infants at birth \[[@CR8]\]. While the mother and her infant are in SSC, heat is transferred from the mother to the infant, during which the mother's body temperature activates the infant's sensory nerves, which in turn results in the infant's relaxation, reduction in the tone of the sympathetic nerves, dilation of skin vessels, and increase in its temperature \[[@CR7]\]. Hypothermia during the newborn period is widely regarded as a major contributory cause of significant morbidity and, at its extreme, mortality in developing countries \[[@CR9]\]. High prevalence of hypothermia has been reported in countries with the highest rate of neonatal mortality, where hypothermia is increasingly gaining attention and significance as a critical intervention for newborn survival \[[@CR10]\].
In addition providing the newborn with numerous benefits, SSC is associated with many benefits for mothers. Secretion of maternal oxytocin in mothers who receive SSC strengthens uterine contractions, which in turn helps the placenta to separate and the duration of the third stage of labor to decrease \[[@CR11]\]. The third stage of labor, which involves separation and expulsion of the placenta and membranes, starts immediately after the delivery of the fetus \[[@CR12]\]. In most obstetric settings, active management of the third stage of labor is now a common practice to accelerate the third stage, in which synthetic oxytocin that causes the uterus to strongly contract is administered. In a spontaneous, uncomplicated birth, it is reasonable to plan a physiological or natural third stage by utilizing the mother's own oxytocin \[[@CR13], [@CR14]\].
There is an urgent need to reorganize and restructure health services throughout Iraq, and maternity and neonatal care is one of the critical areas that needs substantial efforts in this regard \[[@CR15]\]. As a cost-effective, simple and appropriate method, mother and newborn SSC after birth should be practiced in order to improve post-delivery care and potentially save the lives of mothers and newborns \[[@CR16]\]. There are very few *studies* that focus on the effects of SSC on maternal and newborn health in Iraq. The present study was carried out in order to determine the effect of early maternal-newborn SSC after birth on the duration of the third stage of labor, early initiation of breastfeeding, and newborn temperature.
To achieve the objectives of the study, the following hypotheses were tested:Mothers who practice early mother and newborn SSC after giving birth experience a shorter duration of the third stage of labor compared with those who do not practice SSC.Mothers who practice early mother and newborn SSC after giving birth exhibit earlier initiation of breastfeeding compared with those who do not practice SSC.Newborns with mother and newborn SSC exhibit normal body temperature 30 min after birth compare with those who do not receive this contact.Mothers who practice early mother and newborn SSC after giving birth exhibit more successful breastfeeding compared with those who do not perform this contact.
Methods {#Sec2}
=======
A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 108 mothers and their neonates in the maternity department of Hawler maternity teaching hospital in Erbil, Iraq from February to May, 2017. Hawler maternity teaching hospital is one of the largest and busiest maternity hospital in Erbil. Erbil is a city that lies 80 km (50 miles) east of Mosul, and is the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in which the dominant language spoken by residents is Kurdish \[[@CR17]\].
Of the 130 women who were eligible to participate in this study, twenty-two women were unable to continue SSC for 1 h after birth, therefore they were excluded. Finally, we included results from 108 mothers in this study who were randomized into two groups: an intervention group consisting of 56 mothers; and the control group consisting of 52 mothers.
Mothers in both groups were homogeneous in terms of their age and gravidity. Laboring women and newborns who met the following conditions were included in the study:Normal pregnancyFull-term (38 to 42 weeks of gestation)Anticipated normal vaginal delivery and desire to breastfeed the infant at birthLack of receiving any pharmacological pain reliefWilling to join the studyNewborns with an Apgar score \> 7
In this study SSC meant holding the newborn baby undressed in a prone position against the mother's bare chest between breasts while the back of the baby was covered with a blanket. This SSC commenced immediately after giving birth and continued for 1 h.
Study instruments {#Sec3}
-----------------
Four instruments were used to collect data. The first instrument was a questionnaire to gather the required demographic and obstetric data from the mothers, including age, gravidity, number of miscarriages, parity, and history of lactation, along with the demographic data of the infants, including weight and gender. The second instrument was a written form that was used to assess the duration of the third stage of labor, which was measured from time of delivery of the infant to the time of complete delivery of the placenta \[[@CR18]\]. The third instrument was a written form to record axillary temperatures of the newborns. The fourth instrument was the LATCH breastfeeding assessment tool. LATCH is a sensitive, reliable and valid tool that evaluates breastfeeding techniques based on observations and descriptions of effective breastfeeding \[[@CR19], [@CR20]\]. The letters of the acronym LATCH designate five separate assessment parameters: "L" for how well the infant latches onto the breast, "A" for the amount of audible swallowing, "T" for the mother's nipple types, "C" for the mother's level of comfort, and "H" for the amount of support the mother has be given to hold her infant to the breast. Each parameter is scored using a numerical score of 0, 1, or 2 \[[@CR19]\]. The LATCH scale was designed to assess the success of breastfeeding in this study since it is a useful tool in mother-infant pairs who might benefit from additional skilled support to initiate breastfeeding in specific subgroups at risk of non-exclusive breastfeeding at discharge \[[@CR21]\].
The "L" assessment was scored as "2" if good latching was identified (grasps breast, tongue down, lips flanged and rhythmic sucking); "1" if repeated attempts to hold the nipple in the mouth or to stimulate to suck were identified, and "0" if poor latching (too sleepy or reluctant or no latching achieved) was seen. The "A" assessment was scored as "2" if audible swallowing occurred (spontaneous and intermittent \< 24 h old or spontaneous and frequent \> 24 h old), "1" if a few swallows occurred with stimulation, and "0" if ineffective swallowing occurred. The "T" assessment was scored as "2" if an everted nipple was present (after stimulation), "1" if the nipple was flat, and '0' if the nipple was inverted. The 'C' assessment was scored as "2" if the breast was soft and tender, "1" if the breast was filled or reddened / featured small blisters / bruised nipples, and "0" if the breast was engorged or if a crack appeared. The 'H' assessment was scored as "2" if good positioning was achieved (no assistance from the staff or mother able to position / hold infant), "1" if minimal assistance was required (i.e., elevate the head of the bed or place pillows for support), and "0" if full assistance was required (staff held the infant at the mother's breast) \[[@CR19]\]. The total score ranges from 0 to 10, with the higher score representing efficient breastfeeding techniques. A total score of more than 7 is regarded as successful breastfeeding, and a score of less than 7 is considered as unsuccessful breastfeeding \[[@CR19]\].
Method of data collection {#Sec4}
-------------------------
The midwives who worked regularly in the birthing suite agreed that the researcher could attend and record observations of consenting mothers while they were being provided with care. The midwives were requested to behave as if the researcher was not present and not to make changes to their normal practice. The researcher arrived at the delivery room, confirmed the consent of the laboring woman and her relatives, and gained her presence permission from the person managing the birth. The observation equipment included the observation record sheet on a clipboard, a stopwatch, a thermometer and a pen. When birth was imminent, the researcher entered the room to observe. At the moment of birth, the researcher started the stopwatch to record the time following the birth. The researcher stayed with each woman until the end of the first hour after birth.
In the routine care group, the infant was delivered by a midwife, wrapped in blankets, placed under a warmer, and then dried. The Apgar score was determined immediately after the umbilical cord was cut. The infants were provided with this routine care by the midwife working in the delivery room. After the infants were weighed, dressed, and measured, they were handed to their mothers who were encouraged to begin breastfeeding. The routine care of placing a newborn under a warmer is performed in the least time possible (4--5 min) in Hawler maternity teaching hospital due to the presence of only two warmers in the birthing suite for a five-bed room, which are almost always occupied.
With the assistance of the researcher, infants in the intervention group were placed undressed in a prone position against their mothers' bare chest between breasts immediately after birth and before placental delivery or suturing of tears or episiotomy. The Apgar score was determined, the infant's nose and mouth were suctioned while on the mother's chest, the infant was dried, and both mother and infant were covered with a pre-warmed blanket. To prevent heat loss, the infant's head was covered with a dry cap that was replaced when it became damp. Dressing and measuring of the infant were postponed to one hour after the delivery by a registered midwife.
By standing behind or next to the bed and approaching closer to view the actions, the researcher monitored the infants while they were exhibiting feeding behaviors such as mouthing, licking, latching, and suckling. Breastfeeding initiation time after birth and duration of the first breastfeed were recorded, and then the LATCH scale was used to assess the success of the first breastfeed in the two groups. Some of the mothers in the two groups asked the researcher for assistance to breastfeed their newborns; therefore, the degree of assistance provided by researcher was scored along with other parameters of the LATCH scale (latch, audible swallowing, nipple type, comfort).
Active management of the third stage of labor was performed for all participants by a registered midwife. This composed of three steps: 1) administration of 10 IU synthetic oxytocin, immediately after birth of the baby; 2) controlled cord traction (CCT) to deliver the placenta; and 3) massage of the uterine fundus after the placenta is delivered \[[@CR18]\]. The researcher did not interfere with the delivery of the placenta and just observed this procedure being performed by the midwife. Duration of the third stage of labor, which starts with the delivery of the fetus and end with the complete delivery of the placenta was measured by the researcher \[[@CR18]\].
In the 1991 World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines it was recommended that rectal temperature should be limited and axillary temperature should be used routinely for the newborn \[[@CR22]\]. Therefore, in this study, axillary temperature of the newborns in both groups was checked 30 min after birth. The measuring range of the thermometer was 32--42 °C with accuracy to the nearest tenth of a degree. The thermometer sensor was sterilized with 70% alcohol before each use. After the button power was activated, the digital thermometer was turned on and put with the sensor in the newborn's armpit, and kept there until the alarm sound was heard. The score on the screen showed the measured body temperature. Based on WHO's guidelines (1991), an axillary temperature of less than 36.0 °C in newborns is considered as hypothermia \[[@CR23]\].
Statistical methods {#Sec5}
-------------------
Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical analysis software. Descriptive relationships between demographic variables and type of care provided for mothers and newborns after birth were explored using means and standard deviations (SD) for continuous variables, whilst categorical variables were described using proportions. The relationship between SSC and time to initiate breastfeeding, duration of third stage of labor, success of breastfeeding, newborn hypothermia, and temperature of the newborn 30 min after birth were analysed using T tests and Chi square tests. Logistic regression modelling was used to examine the effect of SSC and conventional care on outcomes of the study by adjusting for potential confounders like mother's age, education level, occupation, parity, and newborn gender. The level of statistical significance was set at *p* \< 0.05 in this study. This study had 100% power at a 95% level of confidence to detect 38 and 56% difference in initiation of the breastfeeding and newborn temperature between mother-newborn who experienced SSC and mother-newborns who underwent routine care. The equivalent power value to detect 17% differences in duration of third stage of labor was 81%.
Results {#Sec6}
=======
This study was carried out on 108 mothers and their newborns. The results showed that mean age of the mothers in the SSC and routine care groups was 26.29 **±** 6.13 (M **±** SD) and 26.02 **±** 5.94 (M **±** SD) respectively. Higher numbers of the mothers in the routine care group had secondary and academic education compared with mothers in the intervention group. Most of the mothers in both groups were non-employed and multigravid. Approximately, the same proportion (50%) of the mothers in both groups were primipara. The results showed that the two groups were not significantly different in terms of the mothers' demographic characteristics including maternal age, occupation, gravidity, number of miscarriages, parity and number of antenatal visits (Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}). This study revealed that 48% versus 46% of the newborns who experienced SSC or routine care achieved successful breastfeeding, respectively (Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"}).Table 1Maternal and newborn characteristics in SSC and routine care groupsSSC group (*n* = 56)Routine care group (*n* = 52)*P* value\*n (%)n (%)- Maternal age • \< 18\
• 18--35\
• \> 35\
• Mean ± SD2 (4)\
48 (86)\
6 (11)\
26.29 ± 6.135 (10)\
43 (83)\
4 (8)\
26.02 ± 5.940.4- Mother's education level • Illiterate\
• Primary school\
• Secondary school\
• Academic education24 (43)\
24 (43)\
3 (5)\
5 (9)18 (35)\
15 (29)\
12 (23)\
7 (13)0.03- Mother's occupation • Non employed\
• Employee50 (89.2)\
6 (10.71)46 (88)\
6 (11)0.6- Gravidity • Primigravid\
• Multi gravid (2--4)13 (23.2)\
43 (76.8)12 (23)\
40 (77)0.9- Number of miscarriage • 0\
• 1--245 (80.4)\
11 (19.7)42 (81)\
10 (17)0.7- Parity • 0--1\
• 2--3\
• 430 (54)\
20 (36)\
6 (11)26 (50)\
16 (31)\
10 (19)0.4Number of antenatal visit • \< 3\
• \> 349 (87)\
7 (12)46 (88)\
6 (11)0.8- Gender of newborns • Male\
• Female25 (44)\
21 (55)25 (48)\
27 (52)0.7- Data are presented as mean (standard deviation) in case of continuous variables and n (%) in case of frequencies\*Chi-square testTable 2Success of breastfeeding in mothers with skin-to-skin contact and routine careItemScoreSkin-to-skin contact group (*n* = 56)Routine care group(*n* = 52)*p*-value \*n (%)n (%)Latch• (0) Too sleepy or reluctant, not latch obtained1 (2)0 (0%)0.62• (1) Repeated attempts, must hold nipple in mouth, must stimulate to suck30 (54%)29 (56%)• (2) Grasps breast, tongue down and forward, lips flanged, Rhythmic suckling24 (43%)23 (44%)Audible swallowing• (0) None\
• (1) A few with stimulation\
• (2) Spontaneous and intermittent0 (0%)\
26 (46%)\
30 (54%)3 (6%)\
21 (40%)\
28 (54%)0.17Type of nipple• (0) Inverted\
• (1) Flat\
• (2) Everett after stimulation0 (0%)\
9 (16%)\
47(84%)0 (0%)\
18 (35%)\
34 (65%)0.02Comfort• (0) Engorged, cracked, bleeding, large blister, severe discomfort.0 (0%)0 (0%)• (1) Filling, Reddened, small blister or bruises, mother complains, mild/moderate discomfort6(11%)6 (11%)• (2) Soft, non- tender, intact nipple50 (89%)46 (88%)0.89Hold• (0) Full assist (staffs holds the baby at breast)13 (23%)19 (36%)0.24• (1) Minimal assistant, Teach one side mother - does other staff holds and then mother take over23 (42%)20 (38%)• (2) No assist from staff, mother able to position and hold the infant20 (36%)12 (23%)Total score• \> 7 (Successful breastfeeding)\
• \< 7 (Unsuccessful breastfeeding)27 (48%)\
29 (52%)24 (46%)\
28 (54%)0.83Note: LATCH scale \[[@CR20]\] was used in this study to assess success of breastfeeding\*Chi square test
There was an association between mother and newborn SSC and breastfeeding initiation time after birth. Newborns who experienced SSC initiated breastfeeding 2.41 ± 1.38 (M ± SD) minutes after delivery, while newborns in the routine care group started breastfeeding 5.48 ± 5.70 (M ± SD) minutes following their birth (*p* \< 0. 001).
As shown in Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"}, duration of the first breastfeed in mothers with SSC versus routine care was 23.07 ± 7.89 (M ± SD) and 23.79 ± 8.22 (M ± SD) respectively; however, this difference was not statistically significant. In mothers who practiced SCC, the duration of the third stage of labor was significantly shorter than that of the control group (6 ± 1.74 (M ± SD) versus 8.02 ± 3.69 (M ± SD) minutes) (*p* \< 0.001). The average axillary temperature of the newborns who experienced SSC was 37.33 ± 0.65 °C, while it was 36.18 ± 0.99 °C in newborns in the routine care group. It was found that 98% of the newborns in the SSC group had normal temperature and 2% of them had hypothermia. On the other hand, 42% the newborns in the routine care group had hypothermia.Table 3Comparison of breastfeeding behaviors, newborn temperature and third stage of labor between groupsItemsSkin-to-skin contact group (*n* = 56)Routine care group (*n* = 52)*p* value- Time to initiate breastfeeding (minute) • (Mean ± SD)\
• Range2.41 ± 1.385\
1--95.48 ± 5.704\
1--19\< 0.001^a^- Duration of first breastfeed(minute) • (Mean ± SD)\
• Range23.07 ± 7.89\
10--3523.79 ± 8.22\
10--250.64^a^- Temperature of newborns (degree Celsius) • (Mean ± SD)\
• Range37.33 ± 0.65\
35.62--38.5036.18 ± 0.99\
33.5--38.1\< 0.001^a^- Newborn hypothermia • Yes\
• No1 (2%)\
55 (98%)30 (58%)\
22 (42%)\< 0.000^b^- Duration of third stage of labor (minute) • (Mean ± SD)\
• Range6 ± 1.7\
1--108.02 ± 3.6\
1--20\< 0.001^aa^Chi square test^b^T test
After using the regression model for adjustment of potential factors and background characteristics such as age, education level, employment, parity and newborn gender, there was an association between newborn temperature \[Odds Ratio (OR) 0.01; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.002, 0.12\] newborn hypothermia (OR 180.3; 95% CI 3.84, 8480), time to initiate breastfeeding (OR 2.86; 95% CI 1.68, 4.85) and duration of third stage of labor (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.27, 3.6) with SSC (Table [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"}).Table 4Adjusted relationship of breastfeeding behaviors, newborn temperature and third stage of labor with SSCItemsOdd Ratio (95% Confidence Interval)*p*-value\*- Maternal age0.93 (0.76, 0.1)0.53- Maternal education2.5 (0.98, 11)0.06- Occupation0.69 (0.01, 27.04)0.84- Number of para2 (0.92, 4.71)0.07- Newborn gender0.22 (0.04, 1.19)0.08- Time to initiate breastfeeding2.86 (1.68, 4.85)\< 0.001- Duration of first breastfeed0.96 (0.86, 1.08)0.53- Duration of third stage of labor2.14 (1.27, 3.6)0.004- Successful breastfeeding0.8 (0.55, 1.17)0.26- Newborn temperature0.01 (0.002, 0.12)\< 0.001- Newborn hypothermia180.3 (3.84, 8480)0.008\*Logistic regression
Discussion {#Sec7}
==========
Fifty-two percent of the women in this study received mother-newborn SSC immediately after birth, and 48% experienced convention care after delivering their baby. In this study, mothers in the SSC group had completed lower levels of education compared to mothers in the routine care group; however, this difference was not associated with the outcomes assessed in this study when logistic regression analysis was applied. No relationship was observed between other maternal characteristics with SSC and routine care.
According to the results of the present study, contact through the skin between the women and their newborns after birth led to greater initiation of breastfeeding. It is not clear why SSC improved breastfeeding behaviors of healthy full term infants, however, similar findings have been reported in the literature \[[@CR24]\]. The American College of Nurse-Midwives state that SSC helps infants smell and find the nipple so that breastfeeding will be initiated by them more rapidly and successfully \[[@CR25]\]. This can be attributed to the high levels of catecholamine immediately after birth, which makes olfactory bulbs in the infant's nose extremely sensitive to odor cues \[[@CR26]\]. The results of the studies carried out by Moore and Anderson in USA \[[@CR27]\], Khadivzadeh and Karimi in Iran \[[@CR28]\], and Mahmood et al. in Pakistan \[[@CR29]\] showed that early contact improved breastfeeding initiation and prolonged the duration of breastfeeding in infants. Early initiation of breastfeeding stimulates breast milk production, produces antibody protection for the newborn and its practice determines the successful establishment, longer duration of breastfeeding, and lower risk of neonatal mortality \[[@CR30]\].
In their study, Essa et al., using the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool (IBFAT), found that the SSC and control groups were statistically different in terms of the success of the first breastfeed rate \[[@CR31]\]. However, the LATCH scale used in this study to assess the success of breastfeeding found no statistical difference between the two groups. This discrepancy could be due to a difference in the tools used to assess the success of breastfeeding.
Neonatal hypothermia is an important contributing factor to neonatal mortality and morbidity in both developed and developing countries; especially in developing countries \[[@CR10]\]. The Maternal and Child Health Program by the WHO has issued guidelines for prevention of neonatal hypothermia as one of the elements of essential care in the newborn at birth and on the first day of life \[[@CR32]\]. In the present study, 42% of the newborns who did not receive SSC care had hypothermia; however, just 2% of the newborns who received SSC developed hypothermia after birth. In their study on 160 term neonates in Iran, Keshavarz and Haghighi investigated the effects of kangaroo contact on physiological variables after cesarean section. In so doing, the neonates were randomly assigned into a SSC group and a routine care group. The newborns' temperatures in both groups were measured half an hour after the cessation of contact. The mean temperature was significantly different in the SSC and routine care groups (36.8 °C and 36.6 °C respectively), and the mean temperature one hour after SSC was 36.9 °C, which was 0.3 °C higher than the mean temperature in the control group (푃 = 0.001) \[[@CR33]\]. The results of a meta-analysis comprised of 23 studies indicated strong evidence of increased body temperature as a result of SSC. It is interesting to note that the ambient temperature did not influence the outcome of body temperature, as even in colder environments the body temperature of newborns who received SCC increased or at least remained unchanged \[[@CR34]\]. Transfer of heat from the mother to the newborn facilitated by direct skin contact has been demonstrated to be at least as effective as incubator care for warming \[[@CR35]\].
Assessing the effect of SSC on duration of the third stage of labor in the present study showed that the mothers who had SSC with their infant after birth had a shorter third stage in comparison with those who received routine care (6 min vs 8.02 min). Similar findings have been reported in a study carried out in Baghdad, Iraq by Mejbel and Ali to examine the effectiveness of SSC on the duration of the third stage of labor \[[@CR36]\]. In an Egyptian investigation of low risk primiparous women who either received SSC or routine hospital care, the mean duration of the third stage of labor in the SSC group was significantly shorter (2.8 ± 0.85 min) than the routine care group (11.22 ± 3.33 min) (*p* \< .01) \[[@CR31]\]. Common practices used in the management of third stage of labor neither facilitate the production of a mother's own oxytocin nor reduce catecholamine levels during the first minutes after birth, both of which can be expected to physiologically improve the new mother's contractions and thus reduce her blood loss. The routine practice of separating mother and infant deprives the mother of important opportunities to increase her natural oxytocin levels \[[@CR12]\].
The results of the present study need to be considered in the light of its limitations. In this study, there were no data on exclusive breastfeeding, and duration of breastfeeding was not assessed. In future studies, it would be beneficial to look at exclusive breastfeeding after discharge through a longitudinal study. The researcher of the present study was faced with some challenges in facilitating SSC for the mothers in the intervention group. This may have been because mothers in this study had low knowledge regarding SSC care, as a result of poor provision of health education at antenatal care units in primary health care center in Erbil: only 23.7% of visiting women receive education about infant care and breastfeeding \[[@CR15]\]. Increased workload in the obstetric unit did not allow the researcher to continue SSC more than one hour after birth, although most of the mothers were very pleased and enjoyed the experience of SSC and wished to prolong its duration.
Conclusion and recommendations {#Sec8}
==============================
To reduce the current prevalence of high neonatal morbidity and mortality rate in Iraq, there is a dire need for simple and cost-effective prevention and (complementary) intervention methods that are easily accessible to mothers and can be applied immediately after birth. Mother and newborn SSC is a low-cost intervention that would be accessible, simple, and feasible for most mothers in developing countries. In order to accomplish this goal, the old paradigms of labor and delivery care need to be changed and immediate, uninterrupted SSC after birth should be practiced. Unlimited opportunities for SSC and breastfeeding promote optimal maternal and child outcomes. It is critical to provide all midwives in delivery rooms with continuous educational and training programs on how to implement SSC for all mothers. These changes directly support the millennium goals of improved maternal and child health.
The authors would like to thank the delivery room staff of Hawler maternity teaching hospital of Erbil, Iraq for their cooperation.
Availability of data and materials {#FPar1}
==================================
The datasets analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
SAA and SK completed the data collection for this study. SK and HSS participated in the design of the study and performed the statistical analysis. SK and SAA conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped to draft the manuscript. MBL, HSS, and SK reviewed and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Ethics approval and consent to participate {#FPar2}
==========================================
The participants gave informed consent for the data collection and ethical approval for the data collection was granted by ethical committee of the Nursing College of Hawler Medical University (Ref no. 20).
Consent for publication {#FPar3}
=======================
Not applicable
Competing interests {#FPar4}
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Publisher's Note {#FPar5}
================
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
| |
- 17-01-2022 PAM President Emeritus Hon Abou El Enein addresses the 4th Edition of the World Youth Forum in Egypt.
- 17-12-2021 PAM President signs MoU with UNODC Executive Director
- 17-12-2021 PAM participates in the V-finance and Tecno group event entitled the "sustainability hub"
- 16-12-2021 PAM contributes to UNODC Event on the Role of National Parliaments and other Legislative Bodies in Preventing and Combating Corruption
- 15-12-2021 PAM Secretary General addresses the 1st Counter-Terrorism Coordination Meeting among Parliamentary Assemblies, hosted by the United Nations in Qatar
- 15-12-2021 PAM President addresses the 9th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption
PAM contributes to the 13th Annual Conference of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development
On 10 November 2020, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) participated in the 13th Annual Conference of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), held in a virtual format, and chaired by the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
This year, the conference was dedicated to “Health and the Environment in Arab countries”, and gathered more than 600 participants, including policymakers from the Arab region, representatives of international organizations, environmental and development experts and members of research institutions.
The event focused on the relationship between human health risks and environmental degradation in the Arab countries, with particular attention to the challenges faced in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On this occasion, the Assembly was represented by Hon. Ammar Moussi, member of the Algerian Delegation to PAM and of the PAM Economic Panel on Trade and Investment.
In his intervention, Hon. Moussi spoke about the importance and urgency of mitigating the negative health impacts associated with climate change and with the mismanagement of natural resources in the Arab countries. He also remarked that realizing more equitable levels of health and prosperity in the region will require policymakers to commit to sustainable development and to the targets of the 2030 Agenda.
Hon. Moussi highlighted the collaboration of PAM with the WHO in the dissemination of information regarding the pandemic and vaccine development among parliamentarians from the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions. He also remarked the work of the Assembly in promoting legislative reforms in favour of low-carbon companies and circular production systems in PAM member states.
In his conclusion, Hon. Moussi stressed the need for Arab countries to prioritize the health of people and of the environment in their post-pandemic recovery strategies, emphasizing the role of PAM as a pivotal forum for the exchange of best practices on green initiatives among parliamentarians and experts.
The Conference provided policymakers, researchers and development professionals from the Arab region with a valuable occasion to examine ecological public health approaches and to reflect on the capacity of national action plans to address the health and environmental challenges during the pandemic.
At the end of the conference, the Secretary General of AFED, H.E. Najib Saab, thanked PAM for the active participation in the Forum and for the continuous efforts of the Assembly in facilitating the cooperation between researchers and policymakers from the Mediterranean region in the field of sustainable development.//
MEDIA INFORMATION: 51/2020
Issued on: 20/11/2020
Stay connected with PAM on social media: | https://www.pam.int/?m=news&id=950 |
The English name for this muscle is the muscle above the spine. The term supra is Latin meaning “above or over” and spinatus comes from the Latin spina meaning “thorn.” Spina was originally used to describe any thorn-like or pointed projection, like the spinous processes of the vertebrae. This term was then transferred to the dorsal ridge formed by the individual spinous projections of the vertebrae. On the scapula it forms a dorsal ridge of bone.
Origin
Supraspinous fossa of the scapula and overlying supraspinous fascia.
Insertion
Superior most aspect of the greater tubercle of the humerus.
Action
Abduction of the humerus – the supraspinatus appears to be more prominent in the early stages of abduction than does the deltoid. Both muscles, however, show a progressive increase in activity from 0 to 90 degrees of abduction. At 90 degrees they reach their maximal activity and maintain this level between 90 and 180 degrees of shoulder abduction. They are not responsible for the movement between 90 and 180 degrees rather, this range of motion results from upward rotation of the scapula. During this latter phase they are actively resisting the gravitational load on the arm.Stabilizes the shoulder joint – as one of the rotator cuff muscles, the supraspinatus plays a critical role in stabilizing the shallow shoulder joint. This muscle, along with the superior part of the joint capsule and horizontal fibers of the posterior deltoid, stabilizes the shoulder joint from subluxation or downward dislocation of the vertically hanging arm during normal posture.
Nerve supply
Suprascapular nerve (C5 and C6)
Blood supply
Suprascapular artery and dorsal scapular artery. | http://www.anatomyexpert.com/app/structure/5509/1619/ |
The rotator cuff muscles are a group of muscles that arise from the shoulder blade and surround the shoulder joint. They are responsible for the fine movements of the shoulder, such as internally and externally rotating the arm, as well as helping to keep the shoulder joint in place as the arm is lifted overhead.
The 4 main muscles of the rotator cuff are the (1) supraspinatus, which lies on top, (2) subscapularis, which lies in front and mainly controls internal rotation (such as to scratch our backs), (3 & 4) infraspinatus and teres minor, which lie behind and control external rotation (such as reaching away to pick something up).
All of the rotator cuff muscles start as fleshy muscles from the shoulder blade (the red portions shown in the model above), and as they insert into the top of the arm bone at the shoulder joint, they turn into white, tough "tendons" (the white portions). Most rotator cuff problems occur at the tendon part of the muscle.
The rotator cuff tendons can be injured due to forceful injuries such as falls or sudden heavy lifting, or they may be damaged due to years of repetitive movements that may occur in certain jobs. They are also susceptible to wear and tear with age. For this reason, most people with rotator cuff tendon problems start to notice shoulder symptoms in their 40s and 50s. The tendons may either have tendinosis (or "wear and tear") causing pain, or they may develop partial or full thickness tears, which result in pain and possibly loss of movement and strength. The picture on the left shows an intact supraspinatus tendon attaching to the top of the humerus (arm bone), while the picture on the right shows a complete tear of the supraspinatus tendon.
Critical in the management of rotator cuff problems is a proper detailed assessment with history taking and clinical examination. Often, an ultrasound scan or an MRI scan may be required to confirm if there is a rotator cuff tear.
Click here to learn more about treatment of rotator cuff problems.
Back to main patient information. | https://miortho.sg/patient-resources/rotator-cuff-problems/ |
In leading authentically, we must look for that which is unseen to better our organizations in an increasingly diverse world. In today’s workplace, invisible assumptions, double standards, and barriers constrain opportunities for women. Intersectional identity factors, both seen and unseen, such as race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and class may further complicate women’s progress. This workshop will present findings from new cross-sector research on how intersectionality impacts women’s leadership organized into three learning modules. Working in small groups, participants will examine intersectional barriers and brainstorm solutions to fully integrate women into all levels of organizational leadership.
Problem, Need, and Significance
Despite the fact that women are earning more educational degrees than men, they continue to be underrepresented at the top of institutional leadership hierarchies. In the 1980s, women caught up with men in attainment of bachelor’s and master’s degrees and have since surpassed men in attainment of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees (U.S. Department of Education, 2015), and women are well-represented in the workforce, comprising 52% of managerial and professional workers (U.S. Department of Labor, 2016). However, corporate promotion rates lag behind men. Women make up only 21% of C-suite positions in corporate America (McKinsey & Company, 2017). These numbers are not dissimilar from other sectors where women’s presence in top positions tends to be between 10 and 20%, if not lower (Warner & Corley, 2017).
The challenge is even more pronounced for women with intersectional areas of difference, such as women of color. Women of color are the most underrepresented group in the corporate pipeline—behind white men, men of color, and white women. McKinsey & Company (2017) found that, compared with white women, women of color face the most barriers and experience the steepest drop-offs with seniority despite having higher aspirations for becoming a top executive. While women of color represent 16% of the total labor force (Warner & Corley, 2017), they make up only 3% of C-suite positions, report having less access to opportunities, and are less likely to view their workplace as treating all employees fairly.
Diversity enhances organizational effectiveness (Hoobler, Masterson, Nkomo, & Michel, 2016; Noland, Moran, & Kotschwar, 2016), yet women face many invisible barriers as they strive to advance and succeed in the workplace (Diehl & Dzubinski, 2016). This session introduces a framework for recognizing intersectional identity factors which may impede women’s leadership. Becoming aware of these factors is the first step in helping organizations create inclusive, productive spaces for all women.
Framework
Previously, deliberate gender discrimination and prejudice tied to gender-role stereotypes in the workplace contributed to low levels of women in leadership (Schein, 1973). With increasing attention to gender equality in society and the workplace, discrimination has simply become more hidden (Diehl & Dzubinski, 2016; Ibarra, Ely, & Kolb, 2013). Now frequently conceptualized as unconscious gender bias, these remnants of beliefs and attitudes regarding gender roles and stereotypes continue to impact women’s ability to lead in today’s organizations (Diehl & Dzubinski, 2016). Through their study of women executives in higher education and faith-based institutions, Diehl and Dzubinski (2016) developed a framework of 27 gender-based barriers which prevent women from succeeding or advancing in leadership.
However, gender is not the only type of discrimination that women face; i2017ntersectional factors impact women in ways different from their male colleagues (Eagly & Chin, 2010; Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010). Intersectionality refers to the concept that identity factors such as race, class, gender, age, and sexuality combine to create overlapping layers of discrimination (Collins, 2015). The intersectional experience is greater than the sum of its parts; for example, the concepts of racism and sexism do not adequately describe the particular ways that Black women are subordinated (Crenshaw, 1989). Gender, as well as intersectionality, creates challenges for women’s career paths and their access to organizational leadership roles (Eagly & Chin, 2010; Kilian, Hukai, & McCarty, 2005; Tomlinson, Muzio, Sommerlad, Webley, & Duff, 2013). Yet little research has been done on how intersectionality impacts women in leadership (Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010). Therefore, Dzubinski (2017) explored intersectional barriers to women’s leadership using open-ended survey questions as part of a larger study to create and validate an index to measure unconscious gender bias. This research was conducted across four disparate sectors (healthcare, higher education, faith-based mission organizations, and law) to gain an understanding of how bias impacts women leaders across different fields. Dzubinski identified 27 factors of intersectionality, with many participants describing how factors overlapped to negatively impact their leadership.
The purpose of this interactive workshop is to help participants recognize these seen and unseen intersectional barriers and apply this learning to their own workplaces.
Questions, Content & Design
This session will begin with an overview of unconscious bias (5 minutes). Next, we will describe gender-based leadership barriers from Diehl and Dzubinski’s (2016) research (10 minutes). Then there will be three learning segments (10 minutes each) focusing on intersectional barriers. After each segment, participants will consider which barriers they have seen in their own workplaces and share examples with others (10 minutes per segment). For the next 10 minutes, participants will discuss steps individuals and organizations can take to support all women. The final 5 minutes will involve a short report to the room. The total workshop time will be 90 minutes.
Results, Findings, Outcomes
The workshop learning objectives are to:
1. Recognize that we are all biased.
2. Understand the extent and prevalence of unconscious workplace bias towards women.
3. Name and recognize intersectional factors that affect women in the workplace.
4. Identify personal connections to the intersectional barriers.
5. Identify potential solutions to better support all women in the organization.
Conclusions
From existing research on unconscious bias and intersectionality, it is clear that women face a steep climb on their path to organizational leadership. Dzubinski’s (2017) framework will give participants comprehensive knowledge of intersectional factors that impact women’s leadership. Participants will cognitively recognize barriers and emotionally connect to them through sharing workplace stories with others. Then they will brainstorm possible solutions.
Implications
Recognizing that forms of oppression are interrelated and manifest in multiple forms of injustice and discrimination, our current research on unconscious bias sought to go beyond gender to find out what other identity aspects impact women leaders’ experiences in the workplace. Understanding and working to eliminate embedded intersectional barriers is of great practical interest because of the promise it holds for improved organizational performance and decision-making. Participants will gain a new toolset to recognize hidden barriers which will help them to develop strategies to reduce and eliminate these barriers and to fully integrate women into all levels of organizational leadership. | https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/ila/ila18/index.php?program_focus=view_session&selected_session_id=1390477&cmd=online_program_direct_link&sub_action=online_program |
The overall objective of the Communications Unit is to lead and coordinate WHO/AFRO’S efforts to advocate for resources and actions on key health issues in the African Region and showcase the impact of its work on health outcomes, securing the organization’s position as the regional health leader and facilitating its ability to shape health policies. The unit also manages the internal communications function to create an optimal work environment reinforcing the common purpose of staff members. The unit achieves this by leading advocacy campaigns on health issues and implementing a Regional Communications Strategy, which targets key stakeholders including partners and Governing Bodies, using multiple channels, and building the communications capacity of WHO Clusters, Programmes and Country Offices to produce and disseminate quality communications products. The goal is to contribute to the strengthening of the capacity of countries in the WHO African Region to ensure evidence-based policies and strategies are in place to achieve universal access to high-quality, integrated, people-centered health services, increase the coverage and quality of effective interventions, and to create mechanisms to measure the impact of those strategies and interventions.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
The incumbent will be expected to perform the following duties:–> Develop and implement a social media strategy;–>Manage WHO-AFRO’s and the Regional Director’s social-media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram;–>Develop engaging content for social media platforms to communicate strategic messaging, advocate with, and influence stakeholders as well as increase outreach with targeted, new audiences;–>Collaborate with other Communications team members, including the supervisor and Editor Writer, to generate material for social media communications;–> Contribute to messaging and positioning of the Organization in written and other products;–> Work with Communications team members on the development and implementation of social media campaigns including guided interaction with followers and other audiences;–> Build the capacity of communications officers in Country Offices in social media outreach through trainings, creating templates and providing shareable content;–>Using the analytics provided by the various social media platforms regularly provide reports on the key indicators of social media engagement;–> Post relevant web stories and other content, on the AFRO website;–> Perform other related responsibilities as assigned in his/her area of expertise, including replacing and backstopping, as required.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Essential: Bachelor’s degree in communications, social sciences, development studies or related field.
Desirable: Experience
Essential: Minimum of two (2) years’ experience in managing social media accounts and communications for an organization or legitimate enterprise.
Desirable: Skills
–>Demonstrated capacity in managing social media accounts, sharing knowledge, communicating, and increasing followers.
WHO Competencies
Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Moving forward in a changing environment
Use of Language Skills
Essential: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable: REMUNERATION
WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 49,254 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 1728 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level
- Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
- A written test may be used as a form of screening.
- In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: (link) Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
- Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.
- Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.
- For information on WHO’s operations please visit: (link)
- WHO is committed to workforce diversity.
- WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.
- WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.
- WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
- WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link: (link) Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.
- Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.
- *For WHO General Service staff who do not meet the minimum educational qualifications, please see e-Manual III.4.1, para 220. | https://internationalcareerfinder.com/jobs/social-media-officer-nairobi-kenya/ |
I just came up with a simple example of the central limit theorem after teaching this concept to the DPT research methods course and getting a post class question. In class I had used a normal distribution of HRs from about 270,000 subjects (a large dataset of resting HR and BP I have of people getting pre-employment testing). We took this sample to be our population for example purposes. The initial purpose was to demonstrate the law of large numbers. That as we randomly drew larger samples from this population of 274,000 our sample mean and sample distribution started to be the same as the population mean and population distribution. And if the underlying population distribution is not normal, then that is the distribution that is obtained with a large sample. So if there is a right skew to a population distribution then as samples get larger then we expect that sample to have a right skew. That is the law of large numbers.
Central limit theorem (sometimes confused with the law of large numbers) is about the mean and distribution of “sample means.” You should think of it as the mean of means (though it also applies to the sum). If we have population with a “non normal” distribution, and we sample from it many times all with the same size sample, and we take the means of those samples, and then we make a histogram of those “sample means” then we end up with a normal distribution – no matter what the underlying population distribution might be.
To demonstrate I wrote the following R code that first creates a population with a log distribution and 500,000 “subjects.” There is then a function samples from that population with parameters you can vary (number of samples from the population, and number of subjects / sample), and creates a new data vector of the “sample means.” The only R add on package used is: dplyr
The code is attached, and below is the underlying population distribution as well as the sample means distribution. This is the central limit theorem at work. | http://blogs.uml.edu/health-analytics/2015/01/25/law-of-large-numbers-central-limit-theorem/ |
A two-step question answering/exercise/assessment system which encourages students to consider their initial answers to skills-based problems carefully and to subsequently, on receiving feedback on their errors, give just as much thought to the refinement process prior to submitting an improved version.
Problem
This pattern is particularly relevant to the formative assessment of skills-based courses. A typical approach in this context is to set students exercises which allow them to practise the requisite skills, and then to give feedback on errors. However, students often pay far less attention to feedback than tutors would like them to. If there is a significant delay in providing feedback the situation is further exacerbated. Even when there is little or no delay, students are often more interested in the mark received than learning where they went wrong and what to do about it. If students are not encouraged to give proper consideration to their errors, nor to correct their faulty mental models in a timely fashion, these erroneous assumptions can become fossilised.
Forces
The Try Once, Refine Once (Try Once, Refine Once) pattern is an attempt to provide students with an effective incentive to correct their work (and faulty mental models) before error fossilisation occurs. In this assessment mode, students are permitted to resubmit incorrect work as soon as feedback has been received, with the incentive to do so being the possibility of an improved overall mark (since this appears to be particularly motivating).
Context
This pattern works best for skills-based learning situations where multiple misconceptions are possible. The range of assessment types the approach is suitable for encompasses those in which student answers typically contain a number of errors, for which detailed feedback indicating the source and type of each error can be provided without revealing exactly what must be done to correct them.
The pattern was originally developed for online language learning exercises and is particularly applicable to this domain, but it might also work for other skills-based fields such as mathematics, computer programming and natural sciences. The model works best if feedback can be provided fairly quickly – while the student’s mind is still on his or her answer and the thought processes that led to it. Since the pattern obviously involves each submission being marked twice, it is best applied where marking can be automated or handled in some other way that does not put additional pressure on staff (for instance where peer-marking is possible).
Solution
Whether this pattern is used with large coding assignments for Computer Science or short translation questions for language learning (or indeed any other form of assessment to which it is suited), student submissions should be marked and feedback returned within an optimum period of time.
Try: The ‘try’ step is the student’s initial attempt. If the submitted answer is entirely correct a mark of 100% is awarded and the process terminates at this point. However, if the student’s submission contains errors then an interim mark reflecting the degree of accuracy of the answer is given, along with detailed feedback on the location and type of the errors. The interim mark contributes to a percentage of the total score for the question/assignment.
Refine: If the ‘try’ submission was not completely correct then the ‘refine’ step is initiated. This allows students a second answer attempt, in which they endeavour to refine their previous submission. After this second attempt, feedback on any residual (or newly introduced) errors is given, along with the correct answer or answers. The mark for this attempt contributes to the remaining percentage of the overall question/assignment score.
The marks for the ‘try’ and ‘refine’ stages are unequally weighted, with more importance being given to the first (‘try’) attempt. The ratio can vary, but showing a distinct favouring for the first submission works best, since this ensures that students give careful consideration to all components of their first answer, and equally careful consideration to improving it in the face of the feedback. If the ratio is skewed too far in favour of the second (‘refine’) attempt then students tend to exhibit less care over the construction of their initial answer. If the ratio is skewed too far in favour of the first attempt then students are less inclined to repair trickier errors. However, the marks ratio should be adjusted according to the amount of information in the feedback – the more information it carries, the lower the portion of the mark contributed by the second attempt should be.
No further attempts at answering beyond the second are permitted. This limit, coupled with the unequal weighting of the marks for the two tries, proved to be very important. Allowing students to resubmit faulty work introduced a new problem – if multiple resubmissions were permitted some candidates adopted a mindless iterative approach to the work, in which they began with a ‘stab-in-the-dark’ and then allowed themselves to be guided step-by-step to the correct answer – often via numerous minimally altered attempts.
Support
Source
The source for the pattern Try Once, Refine Once (Try Once, Refine Once) is the design narrative ‘String comparison in language learning’.
Supporting case
Post-16 string comparison
Theoretical justification
One of the strengths of this pattern is that students are not given access to model answers until they have had the chance to properly consider the problems with their original submissions. In the context of language learning (the domain from which this pattern arose), Ferreira and Atkinson divide feedback strategies into Giving- Answer Strategies (GAS) in which target forms corresponding to students’ errors are provided, and Prompting-Answer Strategies (PAS) in which students are ‘pushed’ to notice and ‘repair’ errors for themselves. Using different experimental settings, they found that in a tutorial context PAS seemed to promote more constructive learning.
Ferreira and Atkinson’s work enhances the findings of Nicol and Macfarlane- Dick who maintain that good feedback practice includes, among other things, activities which ‘facilitate the development of self-assessment (reflection) in learning’, and which provide opportunities to ‘close the gap between current and desired performance’. Under the latter category come those activities which present opportunities to repeat a particular ‘task-performance-feedback cycle’, and allowing resubmission of work is an obvious means of doing this. Sadler also stressed the importance of providing chances for students to act on feedback, because without that possibility it is impossible to tell whether or not the feedback results in learning. Boud backed this up, pointing out that teachers may not be able to gauge the efficiency of their feedback if their students cannot use it to produce improved work.
This pattern addresses the issue of acting on feedback, but imposes the restriction of a single resubmission. As mentioned previously, allowing multiple attempts at answers was not found to be beneficial, since this led to the provision of feedback in an iterative fashion, hindering effective learning because students were able to ‘grope their way’ to a correct solution without having to think about each answer as a whole.
In the field of Computer Science, Malmi and Korhonen in researching automatic feedback and resubmission found results indicating that allowing high to unlimited numbers of resubmissions discouraged what they called ‘active pondering’. In other words when allowed numerous resubmissions, learners did not concentrate on finding their own errors, instead they used the automatic assessment system as a sort of debugger, trying solutions to see if they worked, and if not, trying something else. In a follow-up paper it was noted that when multiple submissions were permitted, about 10% of students spent an unreasonable amount of time on exercises, i.e. one that was disproportionate when measured against their examination performance.
Hattie and Timperley argue that ‘The degree of confidence that students have in the correctness of responses can affect receptivity to and seeking of feedback’, and cite the work of Kulhavy and Stock who noted that if confidence or response certainty is high and the response turns out to be a correct one, little attention is paid to the feedback and that feedback has its greatest effect when a learner expects a response to be correct and it turns out to be wrong. As Kulhavy and Stock noted, ‘high confidence errors are the point at which feedback should play its greatest corrective role, simply because the person studies the item longer in an attempt to correct the misconception’ (p. 225). With this pattern, the greater proportion of the marks will be given for the first attempt, and so students are likely to give answers in which they have a considerable degree of confidence – and so, if the answer is then found to be incorrect, this would be a situation where the feedback would be likely to be most effective.
References
- ↑ Fowler, A (2014). Pattern: Try Once, Refine Once. In Mor, Y., Mellar, H., Warburton, S., & Winters, N. (Eds.). Practical design patterns for teaching and learning with technology (pp. 323-327). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
- ↑ Fowler, A. (2014). Design Narrative: String Comparison in Language Learning. In Mor, Y., Mellar, H., Warburton, S., & Winters, N. (Eds.). Practical design patterns for teaching and learning with technology (pp. 279-284). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
- ↑ Fowler, A., Daly, C., & Mor, Y (2008). Post-16 string comparison. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://web.lkldev.ioe.ac.uk/patternlanguage/xwiki/bin/view/Cases/Post16stringcomparison.
- ↑ Ferreira, A., & Atkinson, J. (2009). Designing a feedback component of an intelligent tutoring system for foreign language. Journal Knowledge-Based Systems, 22(7), 496–501.
- ↑ Nicol, D. J., & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199–218.
- ↑ Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18(2), 119–144.
- ↑ Boud, D. (2000). Sustainable assessment: rethinking assessment for the learning society. Studies in Continuing Education, 22(2), 151–167.
- ↑ Malmi, L., & Korhonen, A. (2004). Automatic feedback and resubmissions as learning aid. In Kinshuk, C. Looi, E. Sutinen, D. G. Sampson, I. Aedo, L. Uden, & E. Kähkönen (Eds.), ICALT 2004 - Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, Joensuu, Finland. IEEE.
- ↑ Malmi, L., Karavirta, V., Korhonen, A., & Nikander, J. (2005). Experiences on automatically assessed algorithm simulation exercises with different resubmission policies. ACM Journal of Educational Resources in Computing, 5(3), Article number 7.
- ↑ Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.
- ↑ Kulhavy, R. W., & Stock, W. A. (1989). Feedback in written instruction: The place of response certitude. Educational Psychology Review, 1(4), 279–308. | https://www.learningenvironmentslab.org/openpatternrepository/Try_Once,_Refine_Once/OG |
The food of Turkey is the continuation of Ottoman cuisine, which in turn borrowed many elements from Central Asian, Caucasian, Jewish, Middle Eastern, Greek and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including those of Central and Western Europe. The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm with influences from Levantine cuisines, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia (such as yogurt and mantı), creating a vast array of specialities—many with strong regional associations.
Turkish cuisine varies across the country. The cooking of Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, and rest of the Aegean region inherits many elements of Ottoman court cuisine, with a lighter use of spices, a preference for rice over bulgur, koftes and a wider availability of vegetable stews (türlü), eggplant, stuffed dolmas and fish. The cuisine of the Black Sea Region uses fish extensively, especially the Black Sea anchovy (hamsi) and includes maize dishes. The cuisine of the southeast (e.g. Urfa, Gaziantep, and Adana) is famous for its variety of kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, şöbiyet, kadayıf, and künefe.
broad beans = bakla
dill = dereotu
(1 ) gevrek, koulouri (Turkish)
This is a circular bread, typically encrusted with sesame seeds or, less commonly, poppy, flax or sunflower seeds, found across ...
(1 ) Qoozi, Ghozi (Iraqi) (-Levantine-) (Turkish)
Quzi is a rice-based dish popular in Levant countries. It is served with very slow cooked lamb, roasted nuts, raisins ...
(1 ) (Moroccan) (Turkish)
Shish kebab is a popular meal of skewered and grilled cubes of meat. The word kebab denotes a wide variety ...
(0 ) (Turkish)
Tahinopita is a Greek-Cypriot cake which contains no dairy, eggs, or oil and is therefore considered vegan, making it popular ...
(0 ) Srpska Kafa, Turs... (Serbian) (Turkish)
The Domestic coffee or also called Serbian coffee srpska kafa, Turkish Coffee turska kafa or Black Coffee (crna kafa) has ... | https://worldfood.guide/cuisine/turkish/ |
agents of change within their communities.
Since its foundation in 2004, Bulogo Women’s Group remains committed to its mission of Equipping women and girls with tools and information to access development opportunities and become agents of change within their communities
This business programme provides women living in extreme poverty with an entrepreneurial training that gives them the skills, innovation and confidence to transform their lives through the creation of a self-sustaining business.
Each of these women who goes through the program graduates from the 6 months programme as an independent business owner. The business coaches (graduates of the program) learn key aspects of starting and growing sustainable businesses including.
Our community experiences poor land use and management of the environment, crop production has continued to go down. There is therefore, a growing need to improve the environment and promote proper usage of land (soils) for sustainable agriculture. Since women livelihoods are mostly determined by the climate, BWG works at enhancing environmental protection and management, BWG supports women households to plant trees around their plots of land and home compounds and also construct energy saving stoves.
Working with parents, teacher, girls and community leaders, we conduct interventions to keep girls at school and ensure the access quality education.
Water and Sanitation.
Our projects go beyond getting girls into school. We work to ensure that girls learn and feel safe while in school; are supported to complete all levels of education acquiring the knowledge and skills to compete in the labor market; learn the socio-emotional and life skills necessary to navigate and adapt to a changing world; make decisions about their own lives; and contribute to their communities and the world. Girls’ education is our priority. Better educated women tend to be more informed about nutrition and healthcare, have fewer children, marry at a later age, and their children are usually healthier, should they choose to become mothers. They are more likely to participate in the formal labor market and earn higher incomes. All these factors combined can help lift households, communities, and countries out of poverty.
The Hygiene, Water and Sanitation program aims at promoting a clean safe environment fit for habitation among the rural communities by increasing access to safe water and by enhancing improved hygiene and sanitation practices and behaviors in schools and communities. | https://bulogowomensgroup.org/ |
Overproduction has become art’s new natural mode. Jonas Wood’s show at Gagosian Gallery in London (until 19 December) is an example. It represents a reminder of what’s great about this artist—intensity—and a disappointing dropping-away of the standards set by his own earlier work, in a career spanning around ten years.
Intensity for Wood is a matter of visual surprise, a form being so nicely achieved that the content the form is about, which might be pretty bland—as if the artistic statement is simply: I like these pots, this room, this painting by Picasso—becomes credible. He combines stylised linear representation with a sophisticated colour sense.
As for the latter, it’s hard for anyone to know what it refers to or even means unless they’re involved in doing it: if they’re designers or architects, say, or maybe even artists (although colour achievement or ambition in visual art is not big at the moment). In Wood’s case, it’s a matter of making the whole range work for him—high-contrasting colours and muted ones—and being able to integrate the various registers so that even a muddy range can seem, in the context of the entire painting, to have the electricity of neon.
In the current show, there is no falling-away of his skill with colour. Every painting contains something worth looking at but few are wholly plausible on their own terms. In the past, he has seemed to be sublimely in control of his visual languages and pattern-making, but here we see varieties of pattern-making that don’t cohere. The wrinkl =ed flesh of an elderly potter seems to come from a different painting to the rest of the objects depicted in it, for example.
Where the treatment of the ceiling in a large painting of a studio interior is full of visual excitement, the depiction of empty space isn’t a contrast that allows the painting to breathe, but seems more like an area that the artist hasn’t had quite enough time to deal with adequately. Emptiness generally seems to be an issue that Wood hasn’t had time to work out a solution for—large paintings of pots demonstrate this
too. This tells the story of a show existing only because the market needs feeding.
Factory favourites Overproduction is a complicated syndrome. Matisse said that an artist’s worst enemy is his own bad paintings. He and Picasso were overproducers. Is having factory production of art necessarily an overproduction situation? With Courbet, it did turn out that way, but with Andy Warhol not. The factory producers now are Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Damien Hirst and maybe Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson and a few others. Even Julian Opie is a small factory.
But these are cases where a successful system has been set up so that works can be produced in a relatively mass way, and what you see tells you that. There is no visual conflict. The model for contemporary art factories is Warhol, but he produced his greatest stuff in overproduction mode and his large volume of weaker stuff in exactly the same way. It might be thought that Rubens is a pre-modern overproducer, but again, that’s more like the Warhol model. Rubens can be weak but not because of mass production as such. He’s great when he’s working with factory methods and occasionally weak using the same methods. (His use of assistants is well known, but it’s not so well known that they were the greatest artists of the town in which he was based, or that their skills were utilised within a process overseen by Rubens at every point.)
Another issue is artists whose mode is overproduction from the start, as with some of the so-called “zombies” now—certainly Oscar Murillo, but also Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, who isn’t a “zombie” but a conceptual artist whose concept, influenced by post-colonial critique, involves painting.
Jonas Wood turning from good to less good or weak because of overproduction is a situation where the work isn’t actually premised on a kind of licensed strategic weakness, which Murillo’s and Yiadom-Boakye’s is.
Wood’s present weakness caused by overproduction is more like Luc Tuymans’s overproduction, where you see a definite decline from whatever the premises used to be, with them all being sustained and pushed, to them being largely dropped, and a mere churning-out of token Tuymanses, or brand-Tuymans objects replacing the former good thing. But adulatory critical comment goes with art produced for no good reason.
Critical irrelevance The ending of critics having any effect—when they write for a wide readership—is significant in the rise of overproduction. It’s not that they say marvellous things but the public doesn’t get it, or the overproducing artists laugh and give them the finger. A critic saying something true is irrelevant to the new artistic system based on overproduction.
Overproduction is no mystery. It’s caused by the behaviour of money, by all sorts of financial factors. No artist is going to say: “I won’t take the $50m, thank you; I wish to preserve exquisiteness.”
But critical meaninglessness is to do with new laws of non-hierarchy. No one can know something everyone else doesn’t know. We all comply. If Jonathan Jones, an art critic at the Guardian, doesn’t know that Tracey Emin’s self-portraits are nothing to do with achievements by Dürer or Michelangelo, as he made clear in a recent review of her work (“she’s looking in the mirror and striking a pose, just like the old masters did. She just happens to be naked when she does so… the human figure is just as expressive as the human face. Michelangelo knew that and so does Emin”), or that John Hoyland was already a figure before Damien Hirst exhibited paintings by him, as he has also made clear (“I thought for a moment he’d made John Hoyland up… but no, there really was a John Hoyland”), then so much the better, because we (the public) don’t know
it either.
The polemics appear to be a strange sort of hyperbole, where it’s not always easy to tell—even for an art insider—where innocence is real or manufactured. The larger part of the readership doesn’t know the difference, and art professionals can be happy when arbitrary thunder is turned on those they’re cross with themselves for whatever insider bitter reason. | https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2015/11/12/quantity-now-wins-out-over-quality |
英文
A Test Taker's Journey：Writing in IELTS — is there a magic recipe?
【明報專訊】Countless books have been written on the subject of writing. Among them, Writing With Power and Writing Without Teachers, both authored by Peter Elbow, Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, enjoy particularly high standing and are regarded as bibles for writers and creative writing teachers alike.
In his widely acclaimed works, Peter Elbow compares writing to cooking, the process during which different ingredients interact with each other and, thanks to some chemical transformation, result in a culinary end product. In writing, the ingredients are everything in your head — your ideas, memories, imaginings, aspirations, knowledge, and many others.
Now let's return to our subject — IELTS. In the last issue published on September 27, we talked about the difficulty of the writing part. Now, to explore how we can tackle writing in IELTS, let's compare it to a cooking contest. There seem to be some parallels. First, in both types of settings, there are some ground rules (基本原則), i.e. what to cook vs what to write. In case you have never taken IELTS before, refer to the table for what you are required to write in the academic module (as opposed to the general training module, which we might deal with at a later time).
Second, there are criteria on which your product will be judged. A cook is required to prepare a dish that appeals not only to the palate, but also to the other senses. In the writing part of IELTS, there are four criteria:
1. Task achievement (Task 1) or task response (Task 2): This is about how well you have answered the question.
2. Coherence and cohesion: This is about how easy it is to read your essay and how well your ideas are linked.
3. Lexical resource: This is about how broad a vocabulary you have employed in your essay.
4. Grammatical range and accuracy: This is about to what degree your sentences are grammatically accurate and reasonably complex.
Like the overall IELTS score, your performance in these four areas will be evaluated on a scale from 1 to 9.
But there is one fundamental difference between the IELTS writing test — or any other writing test — and a cooking contest. In the latter, your creativity is essential. A star chef has to keep reinventing themselves, forever tweaking their recipes to showcase their ingenuity. They might experiment with some unconventional ingredients, fine-tune the cooking method, try a different dressing, or sprinkle the dish with a different herb to excite the most jaded (感厭倦的) critic. There is no such thing as a "magic recipe" that can be recycled every time they pit their culinary skills against other contestants.
But in IELTS, creativity is not the most important thing, and there are indeed some well-tried formulas that you can work on. No, it does not mean that you can use prepared or memorised answers in the writing test, which is a recipe for disaster (麻煩的源頭). Nor is it the case that your skills in writing in English are not important — you still have to write well to do well in IELTS. It simply means that you can practice in some specific ways to ensure a better chance of success, just to do justice to yourself.
In the next issue, I will start presenting that "magic recipe". I will begin with the Task 1 question.
■Writer's Profile
Terence Yip is passionate about English more than anything else. Never has he studied or worked in an English-speaking country, but he scored 8.5 in IELTS nevertheless, and is ceaselessly honing his skills as a test taker with the aspiration to score 9 someday. Email: [email protected] | |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. 6.
7. 8.
1. INTRODUCTION
Background
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) is a piece of
Commonwealth legislation which creates a new context for service
provision. The DDA requires that people with disabilities
be given equal opportunity to participate in and contribute
to the full range of social, political and cultural activities.
Access for people with disabilities, including access to the
goods, services and facilities provided by tertiary education
institutions, can no longer be an after-thought. The DDA is
not about limited or ‘parallel’ access, but promotes
and protects equality of access – physical, informational
and attitudinal.
Action Plans have the capacity to produce the systemic change
that is required to eliminate disability discrimination whether
it be direct or indirect. Through an Action Plan, a tertiary
education institution may reduce the risks of having complaints
made against it under the DDA. An Action Plan will also assist
a tertiary education institution better to meet its objective
of providing high quality educational services to the whole
community, of which people with disabilities constitute over
18%.
In view of this, the University willingly accepts its obligation
to uphold the fundamental entitlements of people with disabilities
and will continue its on-going commitment to developing an
institutional culture which provides equality of opportunity
for all staff and students including those with disabilities.
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA)
The objectives of the DDA are:
(a) to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against
persons on the grounds of disability in the areas of:
(i) work, accommodation, education, access to premises,
clubs and sport; and
(ii) the provision of goods, facilities, services and land;
and
(iii) existing laws; and
(iv) the administration of Commonwealth laws and programs;
and
(b) to ensure, as far as practicable, that people with disabilities
have the same rights to equality before the law as the rest
of the community; and
(c) to promote recognition and acceptance within the community
of the principle that persons with disabilities have the same
fundamental rights as the rest of the community.
A Disability Discrimination Commissioner has been appointed
to promote awareness of the DDA and compliance with its provisions.
The Commissioner is based in the Federal Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).
Disability Action Plans
The DDA makes provision for organisations to produce a disability
action plan (DAP). This is a strategic document which sets
out an organisation's commitment to meeting its obligations
and responsibilities under the DDA. An action plan can be
lodged with HREOC, and in the event of a complaint being made
against the organisation, whilst not a defence of discrimination,
can assist HREOC in evaluating the claim.
An effective action plan will reduce the potential for successful
complaints against an organisation by
removing the causes of complaint over time
demonstrating to people with disabilities that the organisation
is already taking all achievable measures to ensure equal
opportunities for access to and participation in programs
and services; and
providing targets and benchmarks against which the organisation's
compliance with the DDA can be measured.
Section 61 of the DDA has specified that an action plan must
include provisions relating to:
the devising of policies and programs to achieve the
objectives of the DDA; and
the communication of these policies and programs to persons
within the organisation; and
the review of practices within the organisation with
a view to the identification of any discriminatory practices;
and
the setting of goals and targets (where these may reasonably
be determined) against which the success of the plan in
achieving the objectives of the DDA may be assessed; and
the means, other than those referred to in the above,
of evaluating the policies and programs; and
the appointment of persons within the organisation responsible
for implementation of the plan.
HREOC will accept an action plan if it is inclusive of these
components.
In developing a Disability Action Plan an institution is
asked to focus on its role as a service provider. For the
University, this includes the provision of lectures, information
distribution, access to classrooms, examination of students,
publication of newsletters and the operation of theatres,
food and bar services and sporting facilities. It also includes
all services funded by the institution, including child care
and student medical services.
Disability Discrimination Act and the University
As Flinders University is primarily an institution of learning
it is appropriate that the Action Plan look in detail at the
area of education, and consider the ways in which people with
disabilities will be assisted, wherever possible, to gain
access to and participate in the same quality education which
is available to students without disabilities. However, as
the University is also an employer and provider of accommodation
and many other services, it is equally appropriate that these
areas also be included in the Action Plan.
Definition of key terms
Disability
The definition of disability adopted by Flinders University
is that which appears in Section 4 of the DDA.
disability, in relation to a person, means:
(a) total or partial loss of the person’s bodily
or mental functions; or
(b) total or partial loss of a part of the body; or
(c) the presence in the body of organisms causing disease
or illness; or
(d) the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing
disease or illness including HIV/AIDS; or
(e) the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a
part of the person’s body; or
(f) a disorder or malfunction that results in the person
learning differently from a person without the disorder
or malfunction; or
(g) a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s
thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment
or that results in disturbed behaviour;
and includes a disability that:
(h) presently exists; or
(i) previously existed but no longer exists; or
(j) may exist in the future; or
(k) is imputed (or presumed) to a person.
It is important to note the broadness of this definition
as people sometimes limit their understanding of disability
to someone who has a physical disability.
Discrimination
Disability discrimination is unfavourable treatment of a
person on the grounds that:
• they have a disability;
• they are accompanied by a carer, interpreter, reader
or other assistant;
• they are accompanied by a guide dog, hearing assistance
dog or other trained animal assistant;
• they use a palliative or therapeutic device or auxiliary
aid (eg. walking frame, hearing aid, wheelchair etc); or
• they are the associate of a person with a disability.
Disability discrimination can take the following forms:
Direct discrimination occurs when people
are treated less favourably because they have a disability,
than a person without that disability would be treated in
the same or similar circumstances.
Indirect discrimination occurs when there
is a requirement or condition (a policy, a practice, a procedure,
or just 'a way of doing things') imposed, applied or maintained
(a) that has an unequal or disproportionate effect on a person
with a disability, or a group of people with disabilities
compared to the effect that it has or would have on persons
who do not have that disability and
(b) that is not reasonable having regard to the circumstances
of the case
whether or not the requirement or condition is or would be
also applied to persons without that disability.
Other major provisions under the DDA include harassment on
the grounds of a person's disability and protection from victimisation
because a person proposes to or exercises their rights under
the DDA.
Examples of discrimination covered by any of the above may
include:
• ridicule
• physical and emotional intimidation
• verbal derogatory comments made in the course of
a lecture, tutorial or interview
• written derogatory comments by students or staff
• restricting access to services, accommodation, educational
or employment opportunities on the basis of stereotyping
people with disabilities, or
• restrictive personnel practices.
The DDA specifies that actual or proposed discrimination
occurs regardless of the intentions of the person committing
the unlawful act. Behaviours that may be regarded as harmless,
trivial, a joke or acceptable to one person may be discrimination
or harassment to those who find offence.
Reasonable adjustment / accommodation
For many people with disabilities, a major barrier to receiving
equal opportunity in access and participation is not the disability
itself, but some feature of the situation that could easily
be accommodated or adjusted. The term ‘reasonable adjustment’
is not contained expressly in the DDA although there is a
requirement that service providers and employers will make
reasonable adjustments. However, the Disability Standards
for Education 2005 sets out the following meaning:
“3.4 Reasonable adjustments
(1)
For these Standards, an adjustment is
reasonable in relation to a student with a disability
if it balances the interests of all parties affected.
Note: Judgements about what is reasonable for a particular
student, or a group of students, with a particular disability
may change over time.
(2)
In assessing whether a particular adjustment
for a student is reasonable, regard should be had to all
the relevant circumstances and interests, including the
following:
(a) the student’s disability;
(b) the views of the student or the student’s associate,
given under section 3.5;
(c) the effect of the adjustment on the student, including
the effect on the student’s:
(i) ability to achieve learning outcomes;
and
(ii) ability to participate in courses or programs; and
(iii) independence;
(d) the effect of the proposed adjustment
on anyone else affected, including the education provider,
staff and other students;
(e) the costs and benefits of making the adjustment.
Note A detailed assessment,
which might include an independent expert assessment,
may be required in order to determine what adjustments
are necessary for a student. The type and extent of
the adjustments may vary depending on the individual
requirements of the student and other relevant circumstances.
Multiple adjustments may be required and may include
multiple activities. Adjustments may not be required
for a student with a disability in some circumstances.
The Standards generally require providers to make reasonable
adjustments where necessary. There is no requirement
to make unreasonable adjustments. In addition, section
10.2 provides that it is not unlawful for an education
provider to fail to comply with a requirement of these
Standards if, and to the extent that, compliance would
impose unjustifiable hardship on the provider. The concept
of unreasonable adjustment is different to the concept
of unjustifiable hardship on the provider. In determining
whether an adjustment is reasonable the factors in subsection
3.4 (2) are considered, including any effect of the
proposed adjustment on anyone else affected, including
the education provider, staff and other students, and
the costs and benefits of making the adjustment. The
specific concept of unjustifiable hardship is not considered.
It is only when it has been determined that the adjustment
is reasonable that it is necessary to go on and consider,
if relevant, whether this would none-the-less impose
the specific concept of unjustifiable hardship on the
provider.
(3)
In assessing whether an adjustment to the
course of the course or program in which the student is
enrolled, or proposes to be enrolled, is reasonable, the
provider is entitled to maintain the academic requirements
of the course or program, and other requirements or components
that are inherent in or essential to its nature.
Note In providing for students
with disabilities, a provider may continue to ensure the
integrity of its courses or programs and assessment requirements
and processes, so that those on whom it confers an award
can present themselves as having the appropriate knowledge,
experience and expertise implicit in the holding of that
particular award.”
The principle of ‘reasonable adjustment’ and
‘reasonable accommodation’ allows that wherever
it is possible, necessary and reasonable to do so, the usual
policy or practice will be varied to meet the needs of a person
with a disability.
Such variations as are required to enact this principle may
be made in relation to both the education of students and
the employment of staff. For example, accommodations or adjustments
may be made to employment arrangements for staff or education
arrangements for students, to the buildings or grounds of
the University, or by way of the provision of specialised
equipment.
Some accommodations or adjustments may involve little or
no additional expenditure. Others however may require substantial
costs which need to be weighed against the benefits to be
gained. However, in many cases the accommodations / adjustments
made for people with disabilities are also of benefit for
people without disabilities. For example, ramps for wheelchair
access make it easier for staff to move furniture or equipment
from building to building.
If the organisation can prove that the accommodations or
adjustments would impose an unjustifiable hardship on the
organisation, it is not legally bound to make the accommodations
or adjustments.
Unjustifiable hardship
Section 11 of the DDA provides that in determining what constitutes
unjustifiable hardship, all relevant circumstances of the
particular case are to be taken into account including:
the nature of the benefit or detriment likely to accrue
or be experienced by any persons concerned; and
the effect of the disability on the person concerned;
and
the financial circumstances and the estimated amount
of expenditure required to be made by the organisation claiming
unjustifiable hardship; and
in the case of the provision of services, or the making
available of facilities, an action plan given to the HREOC
under section 64.
This is not a comprehensive definition but rather a guide
to matters that a decision-maker must have regard for in assessing
a claim of unjustifiable hardship.
Unjustifiable hardship is determined on a case-by-case basis
bearing in mind the objectives of the DDA. An assessment of
the adjustments the person requires will be considered together
with a comprehensive assessment of the effect or likely effect
on the person's disability and required adjustment on the
part of the University, its staff and other stakeholders.
No single factor alone will constitute a case of unjustifiable
hardship.
Associate, in relation to a person, includes:
(a) a spouse of the person; and
(b) another person who is living with the person on a genuine
domestic basis; and
(c) a relative of the person; and
(d) a carer of the person; andanother person who is in a
business, sporting or recreational relationship with the
person
Contract worker means a person who does work for another
person under a contract between the employer of the first-mentioned
person and that other person.
2. DISABILITY ACTION PLAN AND
THE UNIVERSITY
Progress to date
The University has achieved significant changes in the area
of disability. The Flinders’ Disability Action Plan
(DAP) was introduced in 1996 replacing the former Policy
and Action Plan for Students with Disabilities adopted
in 1993 and to monitor the recommendations made in an audit
of physical access to all sites of the University undertaken
in 1995 (The ‘Matthews Report’).
The six Cost Centres first reported on implementation progress
in 1999 under the broad reporting themes of Teaching and Learning,
Working Environment and Access and Support Services. That
report received, from the Federal Disability Discrimination
Commissioner, a certificate of recognition of the commitment
and progress Flinders has made to improve access for people
with disabilities.
The six Cost Centres provided further reports to the Vice
Chancellor’s Committee in January 2002, September 2004
and January 2006 to highlight enhancements since the last
report, and to identify areas for improvement. Yunggorendi
First Nations Centre for Higher Education and Research will
report in 2008.
The University has a Disability Liaison Officer (to coordinate
specific services for students), a Disability Academic Adviser
(FDAA) in each Faculty (to act as a point of contact and information
on disability issues for students and staff) and a Disability
Committee to assist with the implementation of the DAP.
The University continues to regularly revise its student-related
policies and procedures to enhance access and participation
for students with disabilities; regularly reviews its employment
policies through the Enterprise Bargaining negotiations and
continues to allocate resources for the provision of facilities
and services for people with disabilities. Ongoing provision
has been made in the Capital Plan to 2012 to enable Buildings
& Property Division to continue to support the physical
access upgrade program.
Access to some parts of the campus remain difficult because
the campus is built on a hill with a gradient greater than
1:5 in some parts. However, necessary amenities have been
installed (upgraded internal transport system, signage, entrances,
lifts, ramps, universal access service areas and toilets).
These improvements will continue to be made within the University’s
Capital Management Plan.
The University continues to work co-operatively with the
other South Australian Universities and TAFE Colleges through
the Regional Disability Liaison Officer to maximize the efficient
and effective use of resources and expertise in the development
of resources for the institution. The University will continue
to enhance services designed to eliminate the effect of barriers
experienced by staff and students with disabilities.
Implementation of the Disability Action Plan
The Vice Chancellor
The Vice-Chancellor is the Responsible Officer for the
implementation of this Plan.
The Vice-Chancellor has delegated the responsibilities
for carrying out the actions identified in this Plan to
the Heads of the major Cost Centres (four Executive Deans,
the Librarian, Executive Director of Administration and
the Director, Yunggorendi).
Committee level
Academic Senate has a key role in monitoring
the University’s performance against the goals, objectives
and actions identified in the University Strategic Plan
the Flinders Strategic Priorities and Future Directions
Mark III. The University aims to be a good corporate citizen
by acting in accordance with the full range of legislative
requirements. This committee which reports to Council has
the responsibility for monitoring and endorsing the DAP
and initiating any resulting policy changes.
The Equal Opportunity and Diversity (EO&D)
Committee is an expert standing committee of Academic
Senate and advises it on major policy matters in the areas
of equal opportunity (& disability), affirmative action,
student access and equity, diversity and inclusiveness.
This Committee reviews and improves the DAP following receipt
of Cost Centre reports from VCC and makes recommendations
to Academic Senate.
The Disability Committee is a standing
committee of the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Committee.
It is responsible for assisting Cost Centres implement the
Disability Action Plan and for providing advice to the EO&D
Committee on specific matters relating to students with
disabilities. The membership of the Disability committee
includes academic and general staff and students with disabilities.
The Vice-Chancellor’s Committee
(VCC) (convened by the Vice-Chancellor) consists of the
heads of the major cost centres and the Deputy Vice-Chancellors
and deals with all major policy and management issues in
the University. This committee has taken on the task of
overseeing the implementation of equal opportunity and equity
policies within cost centres across the university and this
includes provisions for staff and students with disabilities.
Heads of cost centres will report biennially to this committee
on the implementation of the Disability Action Plan in their
areas.
Operational level
Disability Liaison Officer
The Disability Liaison Officer is located in Central Administration
and reports to the Head of Health and Counselling Services.
The Disability Liaison Officer works in close association
with the Director of Academic and Student Services and Faculty
Disability Academic Advisers on a range of academic matters
relating to students with disabilities.
The Disability Liaison Officer's activities include provision
of information regarding assistance for students with disabilities,
advocacy on disability issues on behalf of individual students
or a number of students and coordination of specific services
that enable students with disabilities to access and participate
in university study.
Executive Deans are responsible for implementing
the objectives of the DAP in their respective Faculty.
Faculty Disability Academic Advisers (FDAA)
are appointed in each Faculty by the Executive Dean to
act as a point of contact and information for students
with disabilities in their faculty
act as a point of contact for Health and Counselling
Service members in seeking to negotiate with academic
staff in their faculty
act as a point of contact for academic staff within
the faculty who may need to clarify issues in regard to
reasonable adjustments to assessment and teaching methods
for students with disabilities.
Training for FDAAs will be provided by the Staff Development
and Training Unit of the University in association with
the Equal Opportunity Unit.
The Executive Director of Administration, the Librarian
and the Director, Yunggorendi are responsible for implementing
actions in this Plan relating to their respective cost centres.
The Equal Opportunity Unit
is responsible for promoting the Disability Action Plan
in order to provide an inclusive environment and improve
service delivery for students and staff with disabilities;
provides advice to the Director of Academic and Student
Services and the Manager of Human Resources Division on
the development and review of education or employment
policies which may impact on students and staff with disabilities;
maintains a network of contact officers to provide
information and support to students or staff with disabilities
on matters of discrimination or harassment.
is responsible for conciliating complaints of discrimination
or harassment.
Policy development and review
The Academic Senate is responsible for the overall development
and review of equal opportunity, diversity and anti discrimination
policies. This includes the development, monitoring and evaluation
of the Disability Action Plan.
Other policies related to this Plan including grievance procedures
for disability discrimination and harassment will be regularly
monitored and reviewed by the Academic Senate and reported
annually to Council.
A significant education policy development for students with
disabilities has been the Guidelines for Reasonable Adjustment
to Assessment and Teaching Methods for Students with Disabilities
which is Appendix A to the Assessment Policy, available in
the Student Related Policies & Procedures Manual (http://www.flinders.edu.au/ppmanual/student/SecC_e.htm).
Funding
The Central Administration has specific
responsibility for funding the salaries for staff dealing
with equal opportunity and disability. It also has responsibility
for managing the budgets for the Higher Education Equity Program
the Capital Works Program, the Staff Development and Training
Unit and Student Support Services, including special equipment
needs, adaptive technology and other facilities and services
for students with disabilities.
The Library manages the provision, support
and training in the use of adaptive technologies for students
on behalf of the University.
Executive Deans are responsible for funding
academic programs in their Faculties and for providing appropriate
teaching related assistance for students with disabilities
in the courses/topics they offer. In instances where students
are enrolled in cross-faculty topics and the assistance requires
additional funding, the Executive Deans will liaise in order
to achieve an acceptable funding arrangement. Where an Executive
Dean claims unjustifiable hardship in respect to providing
reasonable accommodation or adjustment the relevant Executive
Dean may take the issue up with the Vice-Chancellor who may
provide some assistance from central funds.
All Cost Centre Heads are responsible for funding reasonable
accommodations or adjustments for staff with disabilities
in their areas. Where a Cost Centre Head claims unjustifiable
hardship in respect to these the relevant Cost Centre Head
may take the issue up with the Vice-Chancellor who may provide
some assistance from central funds.
Monitoring, review and evaluation of the Disability Action
Plan
Each of the major cost centres will be responsible for monitoring,
reviewing and evaluating their success in achieving relevant
objectives in the Disability Action Plan in their cost centre.
Cost Centre Heads will report to the Vice-Chancellor biennially
on the implementation of the Plan in their cost centres.
The Equal Opportunity & Diversity Committee will receive
these reports from the Vice-Chancellor after they have been
discussed by the Vice-Chancellor's Committee and prepare an
overall report for Academic Senate.
Review: DAP to be reviewed every 8 years from 2005
Evaluation: to be assessed in a variety of ways:
Greater use of services by students who have a disability
Increased number of students with a disability
Increased retention rates of students with a disability
Observable changes in staff understanding of disability
discrimination issues, or
Improvements in the physical accessibility of campus
buildings.
Promotion of the Disability Action Plan
The Equal Opportunity Unit is responsible for the promotion
of the Disability Action Plan within the University. It will
achieve this by:
including information and training about the DAP in appropriate
staff development training programs
placing the complete DAP on the University's intranet
inviting staff and students to seek further advice or
information on the DAP from the Disability Liaison Officer
or the Equal Opportunity Unit.
Consultation
Updating of the Disability Action Plan has been achieved
by consultation with the Disability Committee and the Vice-Chancellor’s
Committee.
The authors of the 1997 DAP consulted widely with stakeholders
within the University community. Those consulted included
Heads of Faculties and selected staff and students within
the faculties; the Disability Liaison Officer; the Librarian
and Library staff; the Director of Administration & Registrar;
Manager of Human Resources; Manager of Academic & Student
Services and related staff; the Manager and the Executive
Officer of the Buildings and Property Division; Dean, University
Hall; Head, Equal Opportunity Unit; Executive Officers Child
Care Centre and Sports Association; Head, Health & Counselling
Services and related staff; Manager of Information Services;
the Disability Committee; Student Union and Postgraduate Students’
Association; Disability Liaison Officers from University of
Adelaide and University of South Australia.
Earlier drafts of the plan were distributed to all cost centres
for comment and revision.
The Head, Equal Opportunity Unit and the Disability Liaison
Officer will consult annually on the effectiveness of the
Disability Action Plan. Consultation will take place by
• holding an annual meeting of staff and students with
a disability, organisations representing people with disabilities
and other interested persons; and
• using the disability network outlets (such as email,
newsletters, Disability Committee) to invite comments from
staff and students with a disability.
• Seeking comments through other electronic media.
3. EDUCATION
Introduction
Flinders University acknowledges and supports the right of
people with disabilities to be involved in higher education.
As this Action Plan confirms, the University is committed
to providing a supportive and safe learning environment for
all students with disabilities so that they are able to participate
to the fullest possible extent in the education programs offered
by the University and all other aspects of University life.
With respect to the provision of services, international students
are also covered by this Plan.
The University recognises that as a consequence of disability
some people may have experienced educational disadvantage
that prevents them from satisfying the usual entry requirements
of the University. In view of this the University will consider
applications to vary the standard entry requirements for people
with disabilities. Assessment of a student's progress through
a course/topic will continue to be based on academic performance,
however provision is made within the policy on students with
disabilities for reasonable adjustment to courses/topics in
aspects of the delivery and method of assessment. Such adjustments
will not compromise the essential content of a course/topic
or the requirements to demonstrate essential skills and knowledge.
Discrimination in education
Discrimination in education is addressed in Section 22, Part
2 of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). This section
states that it is unlawful for an educational authority to
discriminate against a person on the ground of the person’s
disability or a disability of any of the other person’s
associates
by refusing or failing to accept the person's application
for admission as a student;
in the terms or conditions on which it is prepared to
admit the person as a student;
by denying or limiting a student's access to any benefit
provided by the institution; or
by expelling a student; or
by subjecting a student to any other detriment.
It is not unlawful to discriminate against a person with
a disability if their participation in education requires
the University to provide services or facilities that impose
unjustifiable hardship on the institution (refer to Definitions).
Universities should aim to provide students with disabilities
with the opportunity to realise their individual capabilities
and to gain access to and participate in university life.
Universities should ensure that all their interactions
with students with disabilities are characterised by respect
of their rights to dignity, privacy, confidentiality and
equality.
Universities should seek to provide support services
to students with disabilities in the interests of equality
and educational opportunity. Services may include alternative
ways of accessing information and expressing knowledge;
support in mobility and aspects of daily living that provide
for participation in education; and general support services.
Universities may request students to supply suitable documentation
concerning the functional implications of their disability
relevant to academic access so that appropriate support
provisions can be negotiated.
Universities should give attention to the resources needed
to provide the appropriate environment and support services
to students with disabilities. Universities are encouraged
to pursue cooperative links with other educational institutions
in their region and with community service providers in
order to enhance access to highly specialised and expensive
services.
In particular circumstances, a university may be unable
to provide the level of support services, access and/or
facilities required by a student with a disability on the
grounds that to do so would impose unjustifiable hardship
on the university.
Many university qualifications are shaped by the requirements
of professional associations. Section 19 of the Act renders
it unlawful for an organisation that is empowered to confer,
renew, extend, revoke or withdraw an authorisation or qualification
that is needed for or facilitates the practice of a profession
or the carrying on of a trade or the engaging in of an occupation
to discriminate against a person on the ground of the person's
disability or a disability of any of the person's associates:
by refusing or failing to confer, renew or extend the
authorisation or qualification; or
in the terms or conditions on which it is prepared to
confer, renew or extend the authorisation or qualification;
or
by revoking or withdrawing the authorisation or qualification
or varying the terms or conditions on which it is held.
The Act specifies that it is not unlawful to discriminate
on the above grounds if the person is not able to perform
the inherent requirements of the profession. But it does not
permit discrimination where the person can, or would be able
to, perform the inherent requirements if some reasonable adjustment
were made (refer to Definitions).
However, it should be noted that there is some ambiguity
concerning the relationship between this section of the Act
and Section 22 which details an educational authority's obligations
with respect to education.
Actions that may not be unlawful under Section 19 may be
unlawful under Section 22.
Disclosures
The sole purpose of disclosure of a disability is to facilitate
the progress of a student through a course/topic or to make
appropriate adjustments to the buildings or grounds of the
University. The University will encourage students with disabilities
to:
contact the Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) for support,
advice and practical assistance in all areas including,
if appropriate, the process of disclosure to teaching staff;
and
declare such disabilities prior to, or during, enrolment
to appropriate staff of the University.
Any such disclosures will be treated as confidential and
private by staff who are given this information.
The Disability Liaison Officer is usually the only person
who needs to receive documentation about a student’s
disability. The DLO establishes an Access Plan on the basis
of that documentation.
An Access Plan is a document signed by the
DLO that outlines the reasonable adjustments to assessment
and/or teaching method that will need to be made for the student
and which the student uses to discuss their individual requirements
with relevant staff.
Policy on Students with Disabilities
Flinders University is committed to providing access and
equity for students with disabilities to enable them to access
and participate fully and independently, to the greatest extent
possible, in the academic, cultural and social life of the
University.
The following general objectives form the basis of this Disability
Action Plan
to provide opportunities for students with disabilities
to realise their individual capabilities for intellectual,
social, emotional and physical development through a high
level of participation in the University;
to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated
against in admission to a university course/topic;
to provide equipment and support services which prevent,
minimise or overcome barriers to fuller participation in
academic and other activities within the University;
to make reasonable adjustments in modifying, substituting
or supplementing curricula, course/topic work requirements,
timetables, teaching methods and materials, and assessment
procedures to meet the needs of students with disabilities,
without compromising academic standards;
to respect the rights of people with disabilities to
privacy and confidentiality and to ensure the delivery of
services to students with disabilities in a manner which
respects and promotes their human dignity, rights and opportunities;
to foster and encourage among staff and students, positive,
informed and unprejudiced attitudes towards people with
disabilities;
to cooperate with other universities, TAFE, secondary
schools, government and community organisations to maximise
use of resources available to the State for students with
disabilities; and
to provide appropriate level of resources within available
funds in order to reasonably accommodate the needs of students
with disabilities.
The following sections of this Disability Action Plan give
effect to the above policy and general objectives.
Reasonable adjustment to teaching methods and assessment
The principles for reasonable adjustment to assessment and
teaching methods for students with disabilities (Appendix
A of Assessment Policy) include:
1.1
Reasonable adjustment to assessment refers
to special conditions/considerations in examinations and
other assessment exercises, including placements, for
students with disabilities. Reasonable adjustment to teaching
methods refers to variations in the way that course/topics/topics
are taught in order that they are accessible to students
with disabilities. (Examples of reasonable adjustments
to teaching methods include: reading aloud overheads for
students who are blind, ensuring audio-visual materials
are accompanied by transcripts or subtitles for deaf students,
using accessible teaching venues for students with a physical
disability, negotiating suitable placements for students
with a variety of health issues.)
1.2
Reasonable adjustments to assessment and
teaching methods are made using the following principles:
1.2.1
Students with disabilities are subject to
the standard rules and policy on assessment and teaching
methods, and assessment is only varied where a student
can demonstrate with appropriate documentation that he/she
is disadvantaged as a result of disability.
1.2.2
The nature of reasonable adjustments is such that they
are designed to minimise the disadvantage experienced
by students with disabilities, rather than provide students
with a competitive advantage.
1.2.3
Moreover any adjustments to assessment for a student
with a disability are to be made in such a way as to ensure
that the fundamental nature of the assessment remains
the same ie students with disabilities are still required
to demonstrate a pre-determined level of ability in relation
to essential course/topic requirements.
Facilities and services for students with disabilities
The University, within available resources, provides facilities
and services which prevent, minimise or overcome barriers
to fuller participation by students with disabilities in academic
and other activities within the University. Examples of facilities
include: computers, software, stethoscopes suitable for use
with hearing aids and ergonomic furniture. Examples of services
include: sign interpreters, note takers, proof readers, provision
of print materials in alternative formats, scribes, readers
and personal care.
Students with disabilities enrolled in Flinders University
courses are eligible to apply for facilities and services
if they:
have a documented disability; and
experience some disadvantage in studying as a result
of that disability which can be minimised by the provision
of equipment or services.
The University will make every attempt to provide facilities
and services in a way that recognises the individual's needs,
respects the student's right to privacy and confidentiality
and provides a maximum degree of flexibility and student autonomy.
Access to university
Objective 1:
To encourage people with disabilities
to apply for courses offered by the University and to
ensure that the University's entry requirements take into
consideration any disadvantages experienced as a result
of an applicant's disability.
Strategies
Continue to provide disability information and information
on course offerings on the World Wide Web.
Continue to participate in the joint Universities/TAFE
information days.
Continue to provide information to career advisers, secondary
schools, TAFE and students with disabilities on the University's
access programs and general services for students with disabilities.
Continue to provide appropriate support for students
with disabilities who are considered to be "at risk"
of not meeting the academic requirements of their course/topic
due to the effects to their disability.
Ensure that Faculty Disability Academic Advisers receive
sufficient information and support to deal with disability
issues and regularly obtain feedback about the quality of
assistance they provide.
Funding for Disability Liaison Officer position, and financial
support for students with disabilities.
Time frame for action
Ongoing
Teaching and Learning
Objective 3:
To generate an environment within
all faculties and Yunggorendi that encourages the provision
of assistance to students with disabilities as part of
the normal academic support for all students.
Strategies
1.
To improve academic staff awareness of the
issues relating to students with disabilities through:
disseminating information on the arrangements for students
with disabilities while sitting examinations or doing assignments;
encouraging all academic staff to attend disability information
sessions and to ensure that they get sufficient information
about what Faculty Disability Academic Advisers can offer
students with disabilities;
supporting the Faculty Disability Academic Advisers and
the University's Disability Liaison Officer in their efforts
to promote the learning and educational needs of students
with disabilities, and by improving the networking of these
officers with academic staff;
producing a short series of case studies of successful
students with disabilities and distributing these to academic
staff on request;
ensuring that staff induction includes an information
session of issues relevant to students with disabilities;
and
ensuring the ‘Teaching for Learning’ website
includes information relevant to teaching students with
a disability. http://www.flinders.edu.au/teaching/
2.
To have each faculty and Yunggorendi promote
(1) the use of teaching strategies that are inclusive
of students with disabilities and (2) the use of methods
to evaluate learning that will minimise any disadvantage
experienced by students because they have a disability
through:
identifying an academic staff member in each faculty
as Disability Academic Adviser;
ensuring that staff are aware of the University Guidelines
for Reasonable Adjustment to Assessment and Teaching Methods
for Students with Disabilities;
encouraging staff to use inclusive teaching and assessment
methods;
regular evaluation of all courses and topics with respect
to the inclusiveness of students with disabilities;
ensuring that alternative assessment formats are available;
and
ensuring that all course and topic information includes
a statement about the facilities and services available.
3.
To provide appropriate accommodations for
various elements of educational involvement (eg lectures,
tutorials, practicals, field placements, examinations,
assessments) for students with disabilities through:
encouraging students to discuss their individual requirements
with the Disability Liaison Officer and/or Course / Topic
Coordinator; and
encouraging students to obtain an Access Plan which is
used as the basis for negotiating accommodations with the
relevant staff; and
Training for Faculty Disability Academic Advisers, preparation
of material for distribution and funding for staff development
programs.
4. EMPLOYMENT
Introduction
The University's Equal Opportunity Policy states that the
University will not discriminate in the area of employment
on the basis of disability. In the employment of all staff
the University will, to the fullest extent possible, enable
them to participate fully and independently in all aspects
associated with work, career development and employee relations
at the University.
Issues relating to facilities and services for staff with
disabilities are similar to those that apply to students with
disabilities in matters of physical access as well as modifications
to the work environment.
Discrimination in employment
Section 15 of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) makes
it unlawful for an employer or a person acting or purporting
to act on behalf of an employer to discriminate against a
person on the ground of the other person's disability or a
disability of any of that other person's associates:
in the arrangements made for the purpose of determining
who should be offered employment
in determining who should be offered employment
in the terms or conditions on which employment is offered
in the terms and conditions of employment that the employer
affords the employee
by denying or limiting the employee's access to opportunities
for promotion, transfer or training, or any other benefits
associated with employment
by dismissing the employee, or
by subjecting the employee to any other detriment.
Section 15 does not render it unlawful to discriminate against
a person on the ground of their disability if, after taking
into account the person's past training, qualifications and
experience relevant to the particular employment and, if the
person is already employed by the employer, the person's performance
as an employee, and all other relevant factors that it is
reasonable to take into account, the person because of his
or her disability:
would be unable to carry out the inherent requirements
(see below) of the particular employment; or
would, in order to carry out the inherent requirements,
require services or facilities that are not required by
persons without the disability and the provision of which
would impose unjustifiable hardship (see definitions in
1.5) on the employer.
Section 17 of the Act which covers contract workers has similar
provisions to those in the above section.
Inherent requirements
The DDA does not require that a person with a disability
be given a job which they cannot do: that is, cannot perform
the inherent requirements of the job. Although the DDA does
not give a detailed definition of what constitutes the inherent
requirements of a position, provisions are contained in Sections
15(4) (Employment), 16(3) (Commission Agents), 17(2) (Contract
Workers), 18(4) (Partnerships), and 21(2) (Employment Agencies).
In HREOCS’ view, ‘inherent requirements’
need to be determined in the circumstances of each job. They
may include:
the ability to perform the tasks or functions which are
a necessary part of the job
productivity and quality requirements
the ability to work effectively in the team or other
type of work organisation concerned
the ability to work safely.
For example, being able to hear without assistance cannot
be an inherent requirement of a job where alternative means
of communicating are available which enable a person who is
deaf or hearing impaired to perform the same range of job
functions as a person without such an impairment.
In view of this employers need to be aware that they have
a responsibility to ensure that they do not restrict equal
opportunity for people with disabilities. In assessing the
merit of a person with a disability against the essential
criteria of a position employers need to be aware whether
the criteria are, in fact, inherent requirements of the position
and whether by applying the principle of reasonable adjustment
the person with a disability will be able to be meet these
criteria. Where a person already in employment of the University
becomes disabled, the principle of reasonable adjustment shall
also be applied.
Application of the principle of reasonable adjustment
Adjustment can be made either to the working arrangements
of the position or to the work environment to minimise or
eliminate the effect of the disability.
Adjustment may mean:
exchanging some duties between the person with a disability
and other colleagues;
adapting existing equipment or obtaining equipment which
has been specially designed;
compensation for sensory impairment;
rearranging the physical layout of the workplace, for
example to allow for wheelchair access;
providing information or training to people without disabilities;
or
accepting that there may be alternative ways of accomplishing
a given task.
Recruitment
Objective 4:
To ensure that the selection practices
of the University do not discriminate against people with
disabilities.
Strategies
• Continue current practices regarding advertising
and selection of candidates.
• Provide information about services and facilities
for staff with disabilities when enquiries are made about
vacancies.
• Ensure that applicants with disabilities are aware
that they may request to have an Equal Opportunity Officer
on the selection committee.
• Ensure that adjustments to / accommodations for interview
and selection arrangements occur where necessary.
• Human Resources to assist with services or facilities
when difficulties in employment arise.
• Provide training for recruitment staff and people
on selection committees on issues relating to disabilities.
Responsibility for action
Director, Human Resources; Chairs of selection committees.
Time frame for action
On-going
Resource implications
Training for recruitment staff and members of selection
committees.
Working Environment
Objective 5:
To provide reasonable and appropriate
services and facilities to staff with disabilities which
enables them to fulfil the inherent requirements of their
employment.
Strategies
1. To improve the level of services and facilities for staff
with disabilities by:
ensuring that staff induction programs include information
about disability services and facilities;
providing support and assistance when difficulties arise;
investigating sources of government assistance for employment
of people with disabilities;
maintaining an equipment pool in the Library;
establishing and maintaining an equipment fund; and
encouraging staff with disabilities to undertake training
and apply for promotion and vacancies. 2. To take the following
action to ensure that managers and supervisors fulfil their
responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act
by:
provide information of the DDA to all managers and supervisors;
provide advice and assistance on disability issues for
managers and supervisors; and
ensure that managers and supervisors are aware of the
services provided by the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service
(http://www.crsrehab.gov.au/). 3. To ensure that all staff
acquire a knowledge of appropriate language and behaviour
when working with people with disabilities by:
adding to all staff newsletters and webpages information
about services and facilities available for people with
disabilities;
5. LIBRARY
Introduction
The Library provides access and assistance to users with
temporary or permanent disabilities that enable them to access
library and information resources and facilities for their
study, teaching and research. The Library also manages the
provision of adaptive technologies for students on behalf
of the University.
Users are encouraged to make contact with the Library staff
at the beginning of each year to discuss any particular requirements.
The Access Plan process by which students with a disability
deal with university units in a coordinated manner starting
with the Disability Liaison Officer is the major mechanism
for making the initial link between student with disabilities
and the Library.
The Library also maintains a webpage detailing services for
students with disabilities and contact details are linked
from the Disability Page maintained by Health & Counselling.
Services for students with disabilities are detailed in the
Library Guides provided during orientation.
Library staff, particularly those with service delivery
roles have been made aware of how students should make initial
approaches to the Library to arrange for services to meet
their needs. A brochure entitled "Guide to the Library"
is printed each year that provides useful information about
library hours and services.
The Library has a Disability Resource Centre located in the
Central Library that offers specialised equipment for people
with disabilities. Extensive technical support and some training
is provided for users of this equipment. Equipment may be
moved between branches according to student demand.
In addition to the above, other facilities are available
such as desks adapted to suitable wheelchair height and reading
slopes. Library staff can also assist with: retrieving items
from shelves; searching for information; photocopying (including
print enlargement); and retrieval of material from other branches.
Special loan conditions may also be negotiated with the Circulation
Supervisor in any Library.
The Library’s move to electronic collections and electronic
reserve provides a number of significant advantages –
24/7 remote access, ease of enlargement on computer work-stations
and the potential for these files to be ‘read’
using speech synthesis software.
All Libraries now have
Open entrances or entrances with electric sliding doors.
Minimal internal barriers.
Lift access to all levels.
Appropriate toilet facilities in accessible locations.
In addition a barrier free access path is available from
an appropriate carpark to all branch libraries (except the
medical library) throughout library opening hours.
Support Services
Objective 6: To ensure that the Library meets the
needs of staff and students with disabilities.
Strategies
Designate a senior staff member as the responsible officer
for the development, implementation and evaluation of disability
facilities and services within the libraries and promote
the services of this officer.
Continue to allocate and resource a room in the Library
for use by people with disabilities.
Ensure that all students and staff with disabilities
are aware of library policy and services.
The Associate Librarian (Reader Services) to liaise with
branch librarians and suitable authorities within the University
to ensure that people with disabilities have the easiest
access possible to the buildings of all libraries during
the full range of opening hours.
Responsibility for action
• University Librarian
• Associate Librarian (Reader Services) who also represents
the Library on the Disability Committee.
Time frame for action
Already implemented or on-going activities
Resource implications
Unknown. Resources to continue to be allocated
6. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
SERVICES
Introduction
Reliance on information technology resources for communication
and information search and retrieval is becoming an extremely
important and often daily aspect of working and studying in
a university. To the extent that universities take on a more
active role in using these technologies, for example the use
of the World Wide Web, FLO as a means of providing staff and
students with access to information on courses, admission
procedures, enrolment, support services and university policy,
then the notion of access becomes one of providing access
to new digital technologies as well as seeking ways to convert
the existing printed material to other formats (Braille, large
print).
The effect of the DDA in this area is that equal access for
people with disabilities is required by law where it can be
reasonably provided. Universities are responsible for providing
information to students and staff with disabilities in accessible
formats and a computer-aided system can be one of the most
effective and efficient ways of fulfilling this responsibility.
Access and Support Services
Objective 7:
To ensure that the development and
implementation of information technology services are
inclusive of the needs of staff and students with disabilities.
Strategies
Designate a senior staff member as the responsible officer
for the development, implementation and evaluation of disability
support services in Information Services and promote the
services of this officer.
Adopt a strategic approach to the improvement of access,
resources and services in consultation with users with disabilities.
Facilitate access to information services for students
with disabilities through the provision or modification
of equipment as required.
7. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Campus Access
Access for students and staff with disabilities is an important
issue which must be addressed if people are to reach their
full potential in tertiary study and at work. Section 23 of
the Act states that it is unlawful to discriminate against
a person on the ground of that person's disability or a disability
of any of that person's associates:
by refusing to allow the person access to, or the use
of, any premises or facilities that the public or a section
of the public is entitled or allowed to enter or use (whether
for payment or not); or
in the terms or conditions on which the person with a
disability is allowed access to, or the use of, the premises
or facilities; or
by requiring the person to leave such premises or cease
to use such facilities.Section 23 does not render it unlawful
to discriminate against a person on the ground of the person's
disability in relation to the provision of access to premises
if:
the premises are so designed or constructed as to be
inaccessible to a person with a disability; and
any alteration to the premises to provide such access
would impose unjustifiable hardship on the person who would
have to provide that access.
An organisation may therefore claim that providing a particular
level of access would be technically impossible, impose major
difficulties or involve unreasonable costs. The DDA covers
existing premises, those under construction and future premises.
It includes not only buildings but also anything in the "built
environment" which includes car parks, sports fields,
parks, pathways and internal transport systems.
Examples of discrimination
Examples of possible areas of discrimination that could result
in a complaint by a person with a disability include:
failure to provide physical access to a building or to
different levels of a building;
inadequate signage for a person with a vision impairment;
failure to ensure facilities such as vending machines
or counters within buildings are accessible or useable by
people with disabilities;
failure to provide visual indicators of emergency situations
such as evacuations;
inadequate parking facilities for vehicles used by people
with disabilities;
failure to provide a clear and safe access path in a
building or on a pathway;
requiring a person with a mobility disability to gain
access through a distant side entrance; or
failure to provide a hearing augmentation system in an
auditorium that has a sound amplification system.
In recognition of the importance layout of the site and the
design of buildings have in providing a quality learning and
working environment, the University completed a major access
audit of the premises in 1995. A report on the audit is available
at http://som.flinders.edu.au/FUSA/disabstud/Resources/acc_swd/part1/access.htm
Major barriers identified in that Report have been addressed,
and further enhancements to the physical access, audio and
ergonomic improvements continue to be made.
Provision for further enhancement continues to be made in
the Capital Works Budget.
Objective 8:
To create a physical environment
that can reasonably accommodate people with disabilities.
Strategies
Conduct an access audit of the University environs and
make it an ongoing activity.
Identify a senior manager responsible for disability
access and promote the services of this person.
To be aware of the need to provide disability access
and, where necessary, seek external expert advice on disability
standards and related issues as they arise.
Compile a plan and list of priorities for capital works
to be undertaken in any one financial year to improve disability
access.
Expand and promote the Disability Access Barrier Report
Card system.
Ensure that disability access considerations are taken
into account in the construction and refurbishment of all
buildings and grounds.
Provide accessible University transport for people with
disabilities.
Ensure evacuation procedures are in place for students
and staff with disabilities.
Every area of the University should be open and accessible
to people with disabilities in the same way it is open and
accessible to people without disabilities.
Accommodation
Section 25 of The Act states that it is unlawful to discriminate
against a person on the ground of that person's disability
or a disability of any of that person's associates:
by refusing to accept the person's application for accommodation
or according that application a lower order of precedence
in any list of applicants;
in terms or conditions on which the accommodation is
offered;
by denying or limiting a person's access to any benefit
associated with the accommodation;
by evicting the person or subjecting the person to any
other detriment in relation to accommodation;
by refusing to permit the person to make reasonable alterations
to the accommodation occupied by the person if:
that person undertakes to restore the accommodation
to its condition before alteration, on leaving the accommodation;
and
in all the circumstances it is likely that the person
will perform the undertaking; and
in all the circumstances, the action required to
restore the accommodation to its condition before alteration
is reasonably practicable; and
the alteration does not involve alteration of the
premises of any other occupier; and
the alteration is at that other person’s own
expense.
Objective 9: To provide residential accommodation that
is accessible for students with a disability.
Conduct an access audit of the University Hall to identify
premises that are wheelchair accessible and have suitable
amenities (toilet, showers, kitchen facilities and bedrooms)
for students who have a mobility disability.
Plan to have at least one residential place suitable
for a person who uses a wheelchair in each block within
five years.
ADCET, the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on
Education and Training:
Contains up to date and comprehensive information about inclusive
teaching, learning and assessment strategies, adjustments
and support services for people with disabilities in post
secondary education and training.http://www.adcet.edu.au/default.aspx
| |
There are many Olympic events, here are four:- Athletics, Rowing, Boxing, Swimming.
there are four events for the girls and 6 for the men
* about 5 or 9 and one of them is discus throwing.
The olympic city and stadium have to be built , and it takes roughly four years to complete.
throwing the javalin is a sport in the olympic games.
There are four Winter Olympic events that are held indoors. They are speed skating, figure skating, curling and ice hockey.
The ancient Greek Olympic sports were mostly throwing events like javlin. They also had running and long jump and high jump.
the throwing events are the discus, the javelin, and the shot put.
Track and field athletics in the following events, javelin, decathlon, heptathlon.
The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the long jump, javelin throwing, and discus throwing, followed by the stadion (a short foot race) and wrestling.
Sixty (60) countries participated in the taekwondo events at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and sixty-four (64) countries participated in the taekwondo events at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. | https://sports.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_four_olympic_throwing_events |
The Quick Fire started off with an unlikely guest in the kitchen. Padma introduced this weeks guest judge, New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski. He was here to eat whatever the contestants served him, hoping it would fill his big appetite. The Quick Fire this week; cook a BIG sausage. That’s it.
Sausage can be a tricky one to master. The hardest part is making sure the casing is properly on, which many of the chefs struggled with. The chefs stuck to their traditional roots. Doug went with a beer braised pork sausage, Melissa choose to cook wild boar and pork, and Mei went Asian, filling her sausage with pork, ginger, fish sauce and a yuzu aioli.
Melissa and George seemed to struggle the most with the casings. Melissa pulled forth, but made super tiny sausages. George kicked the idea to the curb and went with a veal and pork sausage patty with a sunny-side up egg and potato hash. Rob was pretty satisfied with most of the dishes, but when it came time to pick the bottom and top, it seemed like an easy decision.
Gronkowski was not so satisfied with Gregory and Melissa, leaving them on the bottom. Gregory’s sausage ended up being way to spicy for him and Melissa’s casing problem left her with tiny sausages unfit for the tight end. Just as it seemed Gregory was getting out of his funk, he was put right back in the bottom. George and Doug ended up on top, giving Rob the heartiest of the dishes. George, although he did not technically produce the traditional sausage, took the win and immunity for the next challenge. George is really making the best of this comeback. While I don’t think he is creative enough and a big enough risk taker to make it until the end, he sure is stirring up the competition for the remaining chefs.
Now for the elimination challenge. This weeks challenge took on a new perspective of literature. Each chef had to pick a literacy author and incorporate his or her literary elements on to the plate for the specific author. Greg went first and picked Edgar Allen Poe, Katsuji was up next and went with Stephan King. George, who had immunity, picked Dr. Suess. Melissa and Mei choose Hawthorne and Thoreau, leaving Doug with the uplifting Emily Dickinson. The chefs took a look at the authors works and then jolted off to Whole Foods to see what they could find.
Once the chefs start cooking, it seemed many of them did not pay close attention in high school English class. After picking apart the text, they each picked a specific work or trait of the author and went from there. Some of the chefs seemed to have a better hold on their dishes then others. Gregory seemed to get caught up in the challenge description and forgot about connecting the elements on his plate. George does not take any risks and cooked some fish, based on One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Mei and Melissa went vegetarian and based their foods around farming and history of their authors. Melissa was concentrating more on bridging together unlikely flavors, while Mei was hoping her technique of the charred onion soil and snow would wow the judges while bringing huge flavors to her dish. Doug focused on the sunset elements of Dickinson’s poem, making a carrot soup. Katsuji was not leaving anything behind. His dish was complex and visual, showing the beets to represent blood on the plate. Would the complexity play off?
The judges tasted the food and had minimal complaints. Tom even said that this is best food they had all season. In the end, Mei’s visually stunning technique paid off and she ended up with the win! She was joined by Melissa with her take on spring vegetables and fall broth and Doug, who managed to wow the judges with his carrot soup.
bottom. George had immunity so it came down to Greg and Katsuji. Gregory tried to back his dish of seared beef tenderloin, grilled hen, parsnip puree, beets, and crispy nori, but in the end got caught up in the challenge and forgot about the flavors of his dish. His meat was cooked unevenly, and the elements did not match up. Katsuji was truly making a statement with his dish. He did what the judges wanted and brought the book to the plate, but the ingredients failed him. He served them a Serrano ham, chorizo, short ribs, and veal osso bucco with white beans, red beet puree, and hot sauce. Simple right!? The judges were not thrilled with the sauces and thought the dish did not stand up to the rest.
In the end, Katsuji was sent packing his knives. His over complex dish and use of one to many ingredients finally sent him home. I was glad Katsuji lasted this long in the competition. In the first episode, I ranked him in the bottom three and for sure thought he was going to be sent home in the first few episodes. He proved himself in the next few episodes, even taking home some wins. He showed what he could do with a million ingredients and really stayed true to his style of cooking. I hope he takes the win in Last Chance Kitchen, Katsuji would really stir up the competition! | https://wordplayy.com/2014/12/18/top-chef-the-demise-of-katsuji/ |
Be a part of the values-driven community that empowers you to grow and celebrates your whole self.
Skills:
- Understanding of data structures, data modelling and software architecture.
- Deep knowledge of math, probability, statistics, algorithms and vectorization techniques.
- Familiarity with machine learning frameworks (like FastAPI and Django) and libraries (like scikit-learn and Pandas).
- Outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Would be an added advantage if you have:
- ML service deployment experience on Docker.
- Azure functions, App service
- Single Sign on Functionality
Responsibility
- Ability to write robust code in Python
- Research and implement appropriate ML algorithms and tools
- Design machine learning systems
- Develop machine learning applications according to requirements
- Run machine learning tests, experiments and dataset analysis
- Train and retrain systems when necessary
- Extend existing ML libraries and frameworks
- Keep abreast of developments in the field
An applicant must be a strong fit with Triveni’s core values: | https://triveniglobalsoft.com/machine-learning-engineer/ |
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