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The French Revolution was a chaotic period that began in 1789, under King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s unstable ruling. There were three main sparking concepts that shape a basic understanding to how the French Revolution was initiated. These three concepts were inadequate taxation, injustice of the 3rd Estate, and Enlightenment Thinkers.
Imbalanced and inadequate Taxation was one main concept to how the French Revolution started. In Document 1, Arthur Young states in his journal his opinion on the unjust, high taxation upon commoners and compares it to the little taxation upon the nobility. Young also expresses how people in the 3rd Estate are paying high taxes and cannot afford the price of bread. In Document 2, Statistics of the three Estates are illustrated to show the imbalanced amount of taxation of the 3rd Estate and compares it to the other two estates. This graph is probably accurate in its statistics due to the fact that the 3rd Estate was the largest portion of the population mass. This can be supported by previous census reports during the time of the Old Regime. In Document 3,
In addition to inadequate taxation, The 3rd Estate played a large role in initiating the start of the French Revolution. In Document 3, a list of grievances is quoted about the king’s abuse of power and negligence towards the 3rd estate’s imbalanced representation in the Estates general and that, due to the 3rd Estate being majority of the population, they should have its votes to be taken by head and not single representation. Also, in Document 8,
The Essay on Turning Points Neolithic Revolution French Revolution And The Industrial Revolution
Political, social, and economic conditions have often led to revolutions that have changed the course of history for nations and peoples. These revolutions had such a significant impact that they can fittingly be labeled turning points. Two of these turning points, the Neolithic and French Revolutions, have drastically altered the world today. During the Paleolithic Period, which lasted from the ...
Another concept of the start of the French Revolution is Enlightenment. In Document 4, Historian, Albert Mathiez, states that he believes the concept of a revolution was harbored in the minds of the middle class long before the revolution was ever deliberated. He believes that Enlightenment ideas were the main reason for the middle class starting the revolution, as opposed to the illiterate working class (doc.4). | https://educheer.com/reports/russian-revolution-2/ |
6 Easy Ways to Help Your Child Avoid The Summer Slide
As parents, we work hard throughout the school year to make sure our children are staying on top of their schoolwork and grasping the concepts they’re being taught. Then many of us go into summer on a wing and a prayer just hoping our kids don’t lose ground and can pick up where they left off in the fall. Fortunately, there are some fun and easy ways parents can keep their kids engaged in learning throughout the summer:
Encouraging your child to read
Reading doesn’t have to be a chore.
- Hang a couple of hammocks in the yard and designate them the “family reading hammocks.” Lead by example and climb up in the hammock with a good book now and then and encourage your child to do the same.
- Take frequent trips to the local library. Ask the librarian for popular recommendations for your child’s age. Stock up on library books for your summer trips. Participate in the library’s summer reading program.
- Don’t get out of the habit of reading aloud to your child. If you’re not in the habit, summer is a great time to start! Climb into those hammocks, put a blanket out at the park or under a tree in your yard, read around the campfire or when you’re putting your child to bed at night. Not only does this activity promote connection and give you and your child a way to unwind or hit the reset button in the middle of a busy day, but children who struggle with reading benefit greatly from hearing books read aloud.
Encourage your child to use their math skills
Are you concerned about your child regressing in math during the summer? Follow these tips to keep their skills sharp:
- Enroll your child in a STEM camp where they can use math and science skills to program robots, launch rockets and do other fun experiments!
- If your child excels at math, talk to them about volunteering as a math tutor during the summer months. Remind older children that volunteer work is always good resume material!
- Involve your child in vacation planning. Have them calculate approximately how many gallons of fuel you’ll use and how much that fuel will cost. Have them factor in the cost of lodging and activities and challenge them to work within your family’s budget to help plan a memorable summer vacation.
Incentivize your child to complete academic workbooks
Workbooks are a particularly good idea if your child is struggling in a certain subject area and you want to help them boost their skills. Spectrum, Scholastic and ABCMouse are a few reputable resources that offer workbooks in a variety of subject areas.
Odds are, your child probably won’t be thrilled about working through these books during their “off-season” but incentives go a long way! Have them designate their favorite store at the beginning of the summer. Then give your child the opportunity to earn a certain amount of money for each workbook they complete. At the end of the summer, let them cash in their earnings for a gift card to that store.
Set aside a certain time of day for structured learning
If you’re planning to implement academic booster material during the summer months, set aside a certain time of the day for this structured learning. Your child will appreciate knowing what to expect instead of having “summer school” sprung on them when they’re busy running around the neighborhood with their friends. You’ll also notice that your child is much more motivated when they know that, if they work on their math workbook for an hour each morning, for example, they’ll have the rest of the day to bike, play in the neighborhood with friends, etc.
Summer Vacation Ideas:
Play road trip games
When you set out on your cross-country trip this summer, offer your child engaging alternatives to screens. Bust out some classics you enjoyed as a child like Mad Libs and the license plate game and find tons of printables online! Websites like tripsavvy and frugalfamilytimes offer dozens of free and fun printables! Want to go the extra mile? 3-hole punch the activities, put them in sleeves and snap them into a binder. Snap in a 3-hole punched pencil bag and load it with wipe-off board markers and an eraser so your child can reuse their activity sheets throughout your vacation.
Encourage your child to write postcards
With all of today’s digital communication methods, it’s uncommon to receive handwritten letters and postcards. Surprise friends and loved ones by encouraging your child to pick up postcards at fun stops along your vacation route, write them out and drop them in the nearest mailbox. (Tip: Keep it easy. Pick up postcard stamps before your trip and bring them along.)
You can also buy your child a journal to take along with them on vacation and record all the fun things you do!
Are you concerned about your child losing academic ground this summer? LearningRx has a number of programs that can help keep your child’s cognitive and academic skills strong. Contact us on our website or take our free Brain Quiz to learn more! | https://www.learningrx.com/warren/media-center/blog/2021/may/6-easy-ways-to-help-your-child-avoid-the-summer-/ |
utilized literary techniques to enhance the reader’s understanding of the subject.
Most importantly, each author thoughtfully engages the reader so that reading the
essay is an enjoyable experience. A good personal narrative reveals something
important – not only about the author, but about something else – the human
experience in general.
The assignment is to write a personal narrative essay of your own that has these
qualities. Your personal narrative must describe an event in your past that, in some
way, inspired you and helped to shape your current personality or perspectives.
Your essay should be approximately 2 ½ – 3 pages typed (double spaced, #12 font, | http://thescholaressay.com/2021/09/28/while-the-personal-narrative-essays-we-are-reading-are-all-quite-different-they/ |
Researchers Explore Eclipse Attacks on the Ethereum Blockchain
An eclipse attack is a network-level attack on a blockchain, where an attacker essentially takes control of the peer-to-peer network, obscuring a node’s view of the blockchain.
In a new paper titled “Low-Resource Eclipse Attacks on Ethereum’s Peer-to-Peer Network,” Sharon Goldberg, an associate professor at Boston University; Ethan Heilman, a Ph.D. candidate at Boston University; and Yuval Marcus, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, describe a way to carry out an eclipse attack on the Ethereum network.
(The researchers disclosed their attacks to Ethereum on January 9, 2018, and Ethereum developers have already issued a patch — Geth v1.8.1 — to fix the network.)
In speaking with easybinaryprofits, Goldberg explained the research, how it compares to Bitcoin eclipse attacks and why she thinks the work is important.
First, she emphasized that working with Ethereum developers to fix the vulnerability was a smooth process. “It was a very functional, easy disclosure,” she said.
In an email to crypto trading platform, Martin Holst Swende, security lead at Ethereum Foundation — the nonprofit that oversees the development of Ethereum — explained that the recent Geth patch contains several modifications to the peer-to-peer layer and does not affect consensus-critical code. Users need not be concerned because “an eclipse-attack is a targeted attack against a specific victim,” he wrote, adding, “Nevertheless, we recommend all users to upgrade to 1.8.1.”
Splitting the Network
As in Bitcoin, a node on the Ethereum network relies on connections to its peers to get a full view of the network. In an eclipse attack, an attacker takes control of all the connections going to and from a targeted victim’s node. This way, an attacker prevents that victim from obtaining full information about other parts of the network.
People often think of an eclipse attack as a way to co-opt the mining power of the network around consensus, but an eclipse attack is particularly useful in a double-spend attack. A payee can send coins for a transaction and use the eclipse attack to prevent the receiver from learning that those same coins were used in another transaction in another part of the network.
Goldberg and Heilman, along with two other researchers, published the first paper on eclipse attacks on the Bitcoin network three years ago. Working with a new intern (Marcus), they wanted to explore the same type of attacks on Ethereum. “We were curious how it compared to Bitcoin,” Goldberg said.
“Totally Different”
Goldberg described launching an eclipse attack on Ethereum as “totally different” to launching one on Bitcoin. To pull off an eclipse attack on Bitcoin, an adversary needs to control a large number of IP addresses (machines) to monopolize the connections going to and from a victim’s node. This makes it a very costly attack in Bitcoin.
In contrast, researchers were able to launch similar attacks in Ethereum using just one or two machines, making eclipse attacks on Ethereum a lot stronger than those on Bitcoin. “That part surprised me a little bit,” she said.
So how big of a deal is this? “It is hard to know,” Goldberg said in explaining that what keeps the bar high in launching this type of attack in Ethereum is not the difficulty of the attack but rather the lack of understanding around how the Ethereum peer-to-peer network works. As Goldberg noted, the Ethereum network is “largely undocumented.”
Just as in the earlier work on the Bitcoin network, in working on Ethereum, the researchers had to reverse engineer the protocol based on the code and write their own parsers from packets, so everything was done from scratch. “It is difficult to do that work, and it takes a while,” said Goldberg.
Less Resilient
At first glance, Ethereum appears to be more resilient to eclipse attacks. While Bitcoin nodes make only eight outgoing TCP connections to form the gossip network that propagates transactions and blocks, Ethereum nodes make 13. And while Ethereum’s peer-to-peer network uses a secure encrypted channel, Bitcoin’s network does not.
But, as it turns out, Ethereum was actually easier to attack mainly because while Bitcoin relies on an unstructured network where nodes form random connections with each other, Ethereum relies on a structured network based on a protocol called Kademlia, which is designed to allow nodes to connect to other nodes more efficiently.
Nodes in Ethereum’s peer-to-peer network are identified by their public key. Remarkably, Ethereum versions (prior to Geth v1.8.1) allowed a user to run an unlimited number of nodes, each with a different public key, from the same machine with the same IP address.
By using a key generation algorithm, an attacker could create an unlimited number of node IDs (identifiers on the peer-to-peer network) very quickly. Worse, an attacker could even create node IDs in a way that made them more attractive to the victim than a random node ID, basically drawing the victim to them.
“You see that a lot in Kademlia attacks,” said Goldberg.
More Work Ahead
Goldberg says she is not clear why Ethereum chose a Kademlia network in the first place. A structured peer-to-peer network is generally used to take some content, like a movie, break it into pieces and send those pieces to different peers and download pieces from each peer, similar to how BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol, works.
But on Ethereum, the content is the Ethereum blockchain, and nodes store the entire blockchain locally. There is no requirement to break the blockchain up and have each node store only a few pieces of it. “I think it was an interesting design decision because I always think that an unstructured network would be safer for a blockchain system,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg indicated she would like to see more researchers dig down into the guts of the blockchain to get a better understanding how the “less sexy” parts work.
“We build sophisticated systems on top of this infrastructure and it is important people make sure that the infrastructure itself is secure,” she said.
Researchers like Goldberg, Heilman and Marcus play an important role in the Ethereum ecosystem. The researchers submitted their finding via Ethereum’s bug bounty program, a program that rewards individuals for submitting bugs.
“Goldberg et. al. have responsibly shared the paper with us prior to public release and have graciously been of assistance evaluating the patches to Geth,” Ethereum Foundation’s Holst Swende confirmed.
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The Butterfly Effect
“Tiny influences can have giant effects on complex systems.” E.L.
Edward Lorenz (E.L.) is a world renown scientist who “profoundly influenced a wide range of sciences and brought about one of the most dramatic changes in humankind’s view of nature since Sir Isaac Newton,” K.P.
This person discovered that that a tiny initial change like a butterfly flapping its wings in one place can have extraordinary influence on the weather pattern on the other side of the world. That is a super small influence creating a vast transformation of circumstance. And, that is what we want to learn how to do. The same is true for the leverage we can create to change our lives for the better with little ‘moments that ripple.’ What kind of a moment would do that for you and your life now? What could you do today to really feel better on many levels? Take some time now and think about that. | https://www.williammartino.com/blog/the-butterfly-effect |
Often, anchoring phenomena is confusing to science teachers. In this episode, Erin and Nicole discuss what this type of phenomenon is and how it is used. Then, they explain how to use it and some common mistakes.
What is the purpose of anchoring phenomena?
Erin describes anchoring phenomena as the glue that hold your lesson sequence together. She explains that its important to refer back to the anchor throughout the lesson sequence. It is what students try to explain throughout the lesson sequence. Also, the anchor helps generates student questions. Ideally, these questions drive the lesson sequence.
In addition, Nicole describes the anchor as the spark that starts the lesson sequence. She also explains that the anchor provides context for all of the information that you'd planned on teaching in your lesson sequence.
If it is used correctly, the anchor shows students the significance of what they learn in the classroom. Also, it provides a real-world or emotional connection.
What are common mistakes that teachers make when using anchoring phenomena?
There are several common mistakes that teachers make when using anchors in their science courses. Here are a few.
Using the Phenomena Only as a Hook
Often, teachers use the phenomena as a hook. In part, this is the purpose of the phenomenon. However, the anchor is not solely used for engagement purposes. Often, when this occurs, the teacher refers to the anchor at the start of the the lesson sequence. Then, it doesn't show up in the lesson sequence again. Or, it only shows up again at the end of the lesson sequence.
Using a Question for the Anchor
Sometimes, teachers will use a question in place of the anchor. However, an anchor is not a question. Instead, the anchor is the thing that leads student to ask questions.
Using an Anchor that is Novel, But Not Very Relevant
Another common mistake is choosing a phenomenon because it is novel. These phenomena are new and interesting. However, they aren't something that students encounter in their normal lives.
Unfortunately, this type of phenomenon is difficult to tie in to an entire lesson sequence. Also, the novelty of these phenomena tend to wear off and students become less and less engaged throughout the lesson sequence.
Instead, it is important to choose phenomena that are relatable or stir emotion.
Using a Demo as an Anchoring Phenomenon
More often than not, a demo is not an appropriate anchoring phenomenon. It's important that an anchoring phenomenon is specific. Also, it should be something that can be observed in the real-world.
It's okay to use demos that connect to the phenomenon. In fact, demos make great investigative level phenomena. However, the demos themselves are not the phenomenon.
To learn more about how to effectively use demos in your classroom, check out this episode.
Things to Consider When Choosing Anchoring Phenomena
Here are a few thing to keep in mind when choosing anchoring phenomena.
Know Your Audience
Phenomena that are interesting and engaging to teachers are not necessarily engaging to students. Sometimes, teacher choose phenomena that is too complex to be engaging to students. Or, teachers choose phenomena that students don't care about. It is important to know your students and what interests them when choosing phenomena.
Consider What They Were Exposed to in Previous Grade Levels
Occasionally, a teacher may disregard a potential phenomenon because it seems too easy to figure out. However, if your students haven't been exposed to a phenomenon and it is relevant to them it is probably a good phenomenon.
For younger students, simple phenomena is idea. But, if your middle school students aren't exposed to NGSS-style science in elementary school, simple phenomena may still be a good choice.
Bring in Phenomena that Sparks Emotion
When you are just teaching the content, some science concepts can be uninteresting to students. However, social and environmental issues bring relevance for these concepts.
For example, Nicole discussed the concept of evaporation. By itself, this concept isn't particularly engaging. However, if you tie it to the issue of people in a certain area not having enough water to drink due because of evaporation, the concept become much more relevant.
Also, recent studies have found that school-aged students care deeply about environmental issues. Therefore, these issues make great phenomena.
What does anchoring phenomena look like in the classroom? Where can you find good phenomena?
Anchors can take a variety of shapes and forms in your classroom. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Anchors as Experiences
Nicole explains that she likes to think of anchors as experiences. For example, Nicole explains that specific tornado can be chosen as an anchoring phenomenon. She acknowledges that most of her students have not experienced a tornado before. So, she likes to build an experience that will help them understand what a tornado is like.
Nicole uses a variety of resources to build this experience for her students. For instance, she shows her students a video of a tornado. Then, she brings in personal accounts of the experience. Finally, she shows students data.
Nicole suggests building an experience for your students. She has even included children's stories to help make the experience come to life.
Having multiple components that support your anchor make the experience more robust. Also, these pieces can be brought in at different times throughout your lesson sequences in order maintain engagement.
How to Find an Anchor
There are many ways to find an anchor. Here are a few ways to find an anchor.
- Browse science news websites for recent discoveries.
- Research social or environmental issues related to the topic you are covering.
- Investigate problems in the area by looking at maps, news articles or even Facebook groups.
- Identify an anchor before bundling the standards. | https://teachingsciencein3d.com/anchoring-phenomena/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=anchoring-phenomena |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/480,058, filed on Jun. 20, 2003 and entitled “SMA Actuated Release Mechanism,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The invention relates generally to drive systems. More particularly, the invention relates to shape memory alloy (“SMA”)-actuated release mechanisms for drive systems.
A conventional drive system typically includes a number of components that operate in conjunction to impart motion to a load. In particular, the drive system can include a drive mechanism, which can operate by converting electrical energy, mechanical energy, or some other type of energy into mechanical energy. For example, the drive mechanism can include a motor, such as an electricity-powered motor or a spring-powered motor. The drive mechanism can also include a power converter, which can be coupled to the motor via one drive member, such as an input shaft, and to the load via another drive member, such as an output shaft. The power converter can operate to adjust or vary the torque at the output shaft relative to the torque at the input shaft. For example, the power converter can include a gear assembly, and this gear assembly can transfer rotation of the input shaft at one rate into rotation of the output shaft at a different rate. Desirably, the drive system can also include a control mechanism, which can be coupled to the drive mechanism and can operate to restrain and to allow motion imparted by the drive mechanism. For example, the control mechanism can include a release mechanism, which can be coupled to the output shaft and can operate to restrain rotation of the output shaft until the release mechanism is triggered. Once triggered, the release mechanism can allow rotation of the output shaft, which, in turn, can allow motion to be imparted to the load.
Efforts continue to miniaturize drive systems, such that these drive systems can be included in increasingly smaller devices, such as certain toys. Although various components of these drive systems have been successfully miniaturized, release mechanisms of these drive systems typically have not experienced similar successes in terms of reductions in size. For example, conventional release mechanisms can be relatively bulky, thus presenting a significant obstacle towards further miniaturization of drive systems. Moreover, conventional release mechanisms sometimes require manual contact or other direct external stimulus to trigger these release mechanisms. While some remotely-triggered release mechanisms are available, these release mechanisms are often relatively bulky and over-engineered.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is an improved release mechanism for a drive system to overcome these and other drawbacks of conventional release mechanisms.
In one aspect, the invention relates to a SMA-actuated release mechanism for a drive system. In one embodiment, the SMA-actuated release mechanism includes at least one anchor point and a pivot point. The SMA-actuated release mechanism also includes a latch member pivotally coupled to the pivot point and configured to engage a drive member of the drive system. The SMA-actuated release mechanism further includes a SMA element having a first portion coupled to the at least one anchor point and a second portion coupled to the latch member. Activation of the SMA element causes the latch member to pivot about the pivot point, such that the latch member disengages from the drive member.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a drive system that includes a SMA-actuated release mechanism. In a further aspect, the invention relates to a method of operating a drive system that includes a SMA-actuated release mechanism.
Other aspects and embodiments of the invention are also contemplated. The foregoing summary and the following detailed description are not meant to restrict the invention to any particular embodiment but are merely meant to describe some embodiments of the invention.
The invention is more fully appreciated in connection with the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
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illustrates a drive system that can be implemented according to one embodiment of the invention;
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, , and illustrate various configurations of the drive system of ;
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illustrates a drive system that can be implemented according to another embodiment of the invention; and
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, , , and illustrate various configurations of the drive system of .
Like reference numerals refer to corresponding elements throughout the several views of the drawings.
Embodiments of the invention relate to SMA-actuated release mechanisms for drive systems. According to some embodiments of the invention, a SMA-actuated release mechanism can be coupled to a drive mechanism and can operate to restrain and to allow motion imparted by the drive mechanism. Advantageously, a SMA-actuated release mechanism according to some embodiments of the invention can be formed with a relatively compact size, thus facilitating miniaturization of a drive system that includes the SMA-actuated release mechanism. Also, a SMA-actuated release mechanism according to some embodiments of the invention can be triggered remotely, thus allowing remote activation of a drive system that includes the SMA-actuated release mechanism. Moreover, a SMA-actuated release mechanism according to some embodiments of the invention can include a reliability-enhancing coupling mechanism to reduce the amount of time that a SMA actuator remains activated, thus increasing the life expectancy of the SMA actuator.
FIG. 1
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illustrates a drive system that can be implemented according to one embodiment of the invention. The drive system includes a drive mechanism and a SMA-actuated release mechanism that is coupled to the drive mechanism . In the illustrated embodiment, elements having reference numbers to constitute the drive mechanism , while elements having reference numbers to and to constitute the SMA-actuated release mechanism .
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As illustrated in , the drive mechanism includes a gearbox that includes a gear assembly, which is illustrated conceptually as gears , , and . In the illustrated embodiment, the gearbox is a windup gearbox that can be coupled to a spring-powered motor (not illustrated) via a drive member (not illustrated), such as an input shaft. Such windup gearbox and spring-powered motor can be implemented in a conventional fashion and need not be discussed in detail. For example, the spring-powered motor can include a drive spring that can be wound by an external stimulus via a winding knob. Mechanical energy that is stored in the wound drive spring can then be used to drive the gear assembly of the gearbox . One application of such windup gearbox and spring-powered motor is for powering toys. In the illustrated embodiment, the gearbox is coupled to a drive member , such as an output shaft, which is coupled to an activation gear .
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In the illustrated embodiment, the SMA-actuated release mechanism is configured to releasably engage the drive mechanism to restrain and to allow motion imparted by the drive mechanism . As illustrated in , the SMA-actuated release mechanism includes a latch member and a rocker arm member that is pivotally coupled to the latch member . The latch member has one portion at which a pin couples the latch member to the rocker arm member , and the latch member is configured to pivot about the pin . The latch member has another portion that is formed as a pawl , which is configured to engage the gear . The rocker arm member has one portion at which the pin couples the rocker arm member to the latch member , and the rocker arm member is configured to pivot about the pin . In the illustrated embodiment, the rocker arm member is configured to pivot about the pin in an arc angularly limited by bosses and . The bosses and are formed as projections that extend from a surface of the latch member and are configured to limit movement of the rocker arm member as well as to transfer forces between the rocker arm member and the latch member . The rocker arm member has another portion that is formed as a rocker arm member tip , which is configured to engage the activation gear . In the illustrated embodiment, the SMA-actuated release mechanism also includes a bias spring having one portion that is coupled to the latch member at an attachment point . The bias spring has another portion that is coupled to a stationary fixture .
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As illustrated in , the SMA-actuated release mechanism also includes a SMA actuator that is coupled between connection points and , which are anchored with respect to the latch member and the gearbox , respectively. While the connection point is illustrated as being anchored with respect to the gearbox , it is contemplated that the connection point can be anchored with respect to another component, such as one having a fixed spatial relationship with respect to the gearbox . For certain applications, the connection points and can be electrically isolated from the latch member and the gearbox , respectively. As illustrated in , the SMA actuator includes at least one SMA element.
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A SMA element refers to a SMA material that has an elongate form and that is capable of contraction and elongation along a longitudinal axis. Advantageously, a SMA element can have a relatively slender form. As a result, the SMA-actuated release mechanism can be formed with a relatively compact size, thus facilitating miniaturization of the drive system that includes the SMA-actuated release mechanism . A SMA element can have a circular cross-section, as is the case for a SMA wire, or any of various other geometric and non-geometric cross-sections, such as elliptical, square, rectangular, and so forth. Examples of SMA materials include those that exhibit two distinctive properties, namely pseudo-elasticity and shape memory effect. Pseudo-elasticity refers to an almost rubber-like flexibility exhibited by a SMA material, while shape memory effect refers to the ability of a SMA material to be substantially deformed upon activation and to substantially return to its original shape subsequent to activation. Activation of a SMA element is typically performed based on electric or ohmic heating in which an electric current is passed through the SMA element. However, it is contemplated that any of various other activation techniques can be used. Specific examples of SMA materials include metals such as NiTi, CuZnAl, CuAlNi, and so forth.
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In the illustrated embodiment, the SMA-actuated release mechanism also includes a power generator , a controller , and a sensor , which are coupled to the connection points and . Upon the sensor detecting an external stimulus to trigger the SMA-actuated release mechanism , the sensor provides a control signal to the controller . In the illustrated embodiment, the sensor is configured to detect a radio signal, an infrared signal, an acoustic signal, or any other external stimulus that allows remote activation of the drive system . However, it is contemplated that the sensor can be configured to detect an external stimulus that is non-remotely applied, such as via a human hand. In response to the control signal from the sensor , the controller activates the power generator to pass an electric current through the SMA actuator , which electric current can have a predetermined pulse duration of, for example, a second or a fraction of a second. The power generator , the controller , and the sensor can be implemented in a conventional fashion and need not be discuss in detail. For example, the controller can be implemented using computer code, hardwired circuitry, such as Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (“ASICs”) or Programmable Logic Devices (“PLDs”), or a combination of computer code and hardwired circuitry. The power generator can be implemented using any voltage source, such as a button-cell battery.
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As illustrated in , the drive mechanism has already been wound by an external stimulus, such as via a human hand. The SMA-actuated release mechanism is initially in a “locked” configuration, such that the latch member engages the gear assembly of the gearbox to restrain unwinding of the gear assembly. In particular, the bias spring applies a biasing force to the latch member at the attachment point , such that the pawl engages the gear to substantially immobilize the gear . In turn, such engagement of the pawl with the gear substantially immobilizes the gears and , the activation gear , and the drive member . Referring to , the rocker arm member is initially oriented with respect to a center line C, such that the rocker arm member tip slightly engages (or nearly engages) a portion of the activation gear on the left side of the center line C. As illustrated in , the SMA actuator is initially extended between the connection points and with no electric current passing through the SMA actuator . As such, the SMA actuator is configured to contract if an electric current is subsequently passed through the SMA actuator .
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The operation of the drive system can be more fully appreciated with reference to through , which illustrate various configurations of the drive system when the SMA-actuated release mechanism is triggered. For ease of illustration, certain components of the drive system are omitted in through .
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a
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Attention first turns to , which illustrates the drive system shortly after the SMA-actuated release mechanism is triggered. As illustrated in , the SMA-actuated release mechanism is now in an “unlocked” configuration, such that the latch member disengages from the gear assembly of the gearbox to allow unwinding of the gear assembly. In particular, as an electric current passes through the SMA actuator , the SMA actuator contracts between the connection points and . Such contraction of the SMA actuator causes the latch member to pivot about the pin along a direction D, which, in turn, causes the pawl to disengage from the gear (previously illustrated in ). In conjunction, the gear assembly of the gearbox unwinds, thus causing the activation gear and the drive member to rotate in a clockwise direction CW. Also, since the rocker arm member tip engages the activation gear , rotation of the activation gear along the clockwise direction CW causes the rocker arm member to pivot about the pin along a direction D. In the event that the rocker arm member tip was not already engaging the activation gear , pivoting of the latch member along the direction D causes the boss to engage the rocker arm member , which causes the rocker arm member to pivot until the rocker arm member tip engages the activation gear . Once the rocker arm member tip engages the activation gear , rotation of the activation gear causes the rocker arm member to pivot about the pin as discussed above.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
FIG. 1
FIG. 3
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
100
101
114
114
106
108
309
120
134
116
106
2
131
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130
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1
106
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1
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1
120
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c
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illustrates the drive system with the SMA-actuated release mechanism remaining in the “unlocked” configuration. As illustrated in , an electric current is no longer passing through the SMA actuator , such that the SMA actuator remains contracted but is now relaxed. Advantageously, the rocker arm member engages the boss at a contact point so as to keep the pawl disengaged from the gear (previously illustrated in ). In particular, the rocker arm member tip has passed across the center line C as a result of the rocker arm member pivoting along the direction D. The gear assembly of the gearbox continues to unwind, thus causing the activation gear and the drive member to rotate along the clockwise direction CW. As the activation gear rotates along the clockwise direction CW, various teeth of the activation gear apply a force to the rocker arm member tip , which, in turn, causes a force F to be applied from the rocker arm member to the boss at the contact point . As illustrated in , a tooth pushes against the rocker arm member tip , thus causing the force F to be applied to the boss . Desirably, the force F keeps the latch member from pivoting back into the “locked” configuration. During unwinding, the force F can decrease momentarily as the rocker arm member tip slides past the tooth and before the rocker arm member tip engages another tooth . During such time interval, the bias spring can momentarily push the pawl towards the gear (previously illustrated in ). However, once the rocker arm member tip reengages the activation gear at the tooth , the force F is resumed to keep the pawl disengaged. Advantageously, by including the rocker arm member (as well as the bosses and and the activation gear ), the SMA-actuated release mechanism can remain in the “unlocked” configuration without having to activate the SMA actuator as the gear assembly of the gearbox unwinds. Accordingly, the rocker arm member , the bosses and , and the activation gear can be viewed as a reliability-enhancing coupling mechanism. In particular, inclusion of this coupling mechanism serves to reduce the amount of time that the SMA actuator remains activated, thus increasing the life expectancy of the SMA actuator and the power generator (previously illustrated in ). As with the SMA-actuated release mechanism itself, this coupling mechanism can be viewed as cycling through two configurations or states, namely a “locked” configuration and an “unlocked” configuration.
101
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114
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102
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152
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FIG. 1
FIG. 3
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
c
An additional advantage of the SMA-actuated release mechanism can be appreciated with reference to through . In particular, the SMA-actuated release mechanism is configured so as to protect the SMA actuator in the event the SMA-actuated release mechanism is inadvertently triggered during unwinding. During such inadvertent triggering, an electric current of limited duration passes through the SMA actuator , which causes the SMA actuator to contract. Such contraction of the SMA actuator causes the latch member to pivot about the pin , so that the pawl moves away from the gear (previously illustrated in ). As a result of the biasing force applied by the bias spring , the latch member simply undergoes a rotational round-trip without engaging the gearbox . Thus, such inadvertent triggering neither overstresses the SMA actuator nor affects unwinding of the gearbox . By contrast, inadvertent triggering of certain conventional release mechanisms can sometimes cause engagement of the release mechanisms with a gear assembly, thus causing damage to the release mechanisms as well as to the gear assembly. It is contemplated that the controller (previously illustrated in ) can be configured to prevent issuance of a pulse of an electric current shortly following a previous pulse of an electric current. In some instances, the controller can be configured to impose a time delay between successive pulses that is comparable in duration to a typical unwinding time of the gearbox .
FIG. 4
FIG. 4
100
101
131
130
132
116
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122
108
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3
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4
120
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c
Attention next turns to , which illustrates the drive system with the SMA-actuated release mechanism being returned to its “locked” configuration as the gear assembly of the gearbox is being wound. Winding of the gear assembly causes the activation gear and the drive member to rotate in a counter clockwise direction CCW. In the event that the rocker arm member tip was not already engaging the activation gear , the biasing force applied by the bias spring causes the boss to engage the rocker arm member , which causes the rocker arm member to pivot until the rocker arm member tip engages the activation gear . Once the rocker arm member tip engages the activation gear , rotation of the activation gear along the counter clockwise direction CCW causes the rocker arm member to pivot about the pin along a direction D. In particular, the rocker arm member pivots along the direction D, such that the rocker arm member tip moves back across the center line C. In conjunction, the latch member reengages the gear assembly of the gearbox to restrain unwinding of the gear assembly. In particular, the bias spring applies a biasing force to the latch member at the attachment point , such that the pawl reengages the gear . Referring to the enlarged view of , the pawl and teeth of the gear are configured such that winding of the gear along a direction D is substantially unimpeded by the pawl .
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FIG. 4
c
A further advantage of the SMA-actuated release mechanism can be appreciated with reference to . In particular, the SMA-actuated release mechanism is configured so as to extend the SMA actuator in preparation for its next activation cycle and to protect the SMA actuator during winding. As the activation gear rotates along the counter clockwise direction CCW, various teeth of the activation gear push against the rocker arm member tip . In turn, the rocker arm member applies a force to the boss , thus momentarily causing the latch member to pivot about the pin . The bias spring also operates to cause such pivoting of the latch member . Advantageously, such pivoting of the latch member serves to reverse contraction of the SMA actuator . As a result of the engagement of the pawl with the gear , the latch member is prevented from continuing to pivot, thus protecting the SMA actuator from overstretching during winding of the gearbox . Once the rocker arm member transfers a pulsating clockwise torque to the latch member during winding, the SMA actuator can still be protected form overheating and overstress by using an electric current of limited duration.
FIG. 5
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illustrates a drive system that can be implemented according to another embodiment of the invention. The drive system includes a drive mechanism and a SMA-actuated release mechanism that is coupled to the drive mechanism . In the illustrated embodiment, elements having reference numbers to constitute the drive mechanism , while elements having reference numbers to constitute the SMA-actuated release mechanism .
FIG. 5
FIG. 1
528
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As illustrated in , the drive mechanism includes a gearbox that includes a gear assembly, which is illustrated conceptually as a gear . In the illustrated embodiment, the gearbox is a windup gearbox that can be coupled to a spring-powered motor (not illustrated) via a drive member (not illustrated), such as an input shaft. Such windup gearbox and spring-powered motor can be implemented as previously discussed in connection with . In the illustrated embodiment, the gearbox is coupled to a drive member , such as an output shaft, which is coupled to an activation gear .
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FIG. 5
In the illustrated embodiment, the SMA-actuated release mechanism is configured to releasably engage the drive mechanism to restrain and to allow motion imparted by the drive mechanism . As illustrated in , the SMA-actuated release mechanism is positioned above the drive mechanism and includes a latch member and a SMA pull member that is coupled to the latch member . The latch member has one portion at which a pin couples the latch member to the drive mechanism , and the latch member is configured to pivot about the pin . The latch member has another portion that is formed as a pawl , which is formed as a projection that extends below a surface of the latch member and is configured to engage the activation gear . The latch member has a further portion that is formed as a flexible arm , which is configured to limit movement of the SMA pull member as well as to apply a biasing force to the SMA pull member . The SMA pull member has one portion at which a pin couples the SMA pull member to the drive mechanism , and the SMA pull member is configured to pivot about the pin . The SMA pull member has another portion that is formed as an extension , which is configured to engage an extension formed on the latch member . Extensions and are configured to limit movement of the latch member and the SMA pull member as well as to transfer forces between the SMA pull member and the latch member . Advantageously, forces applied by the latch member to the SMA pull member can be counteracted by reaction forces from the pin , thus protecting the SMA actuator against overstress and inadvertent and potentially damaging mechanical loads. The SMA pull member has a further portion that is formed as a cup , which is configured to engage the flexible arm .
FIG. 5
FIG. 5
FIG. 5
FIG. 1
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As illustrated in , the SMA-actuated release mechanism also includes a SMA actuator that is coupled between connection points and via a boss formed on the SMA pull member . The connection points and are anchored with respect to the drive mechanism . As illustrated in , the SMA actuator includes at least one SMA element. While not illustrated in , it is contemplated that the SMA-actuated release mechanism can also include a power generator, a controller, and a sensor, which can be coupled to the connection points and . Such power generator, controller, and sensor can be implemented as previously discussed in connection with .
FIG. 5
FIG. 5
FIG. 5
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As illustrated in , the drive mechanism has already been wound by an external stimulus, such as via a human hand. The SMA-actuated release mechanism is initially in a “locked” configuration, such that the latch member engages the activation gear to restrain unwinding of the gear box . In particular, the pawl engages the activation gear to substantially immobilize the activation gear . In turn, such engagement of the pawl with the activation gear substantially immobilizes the gear and the drive member . Referring to , the SMA pull member is initially oriented with respect to the latch member , such that the extension engages the extension on the left side of the extension . Engagement of the extensions and serves to prevent the latch member from pivoting into an “unlocked” configuration. As illustrated in , the SMA actuator is initially extended between the connection points and with no electric current passing through the SMA actuator . As such, the SMA actuator is configured to contract if an electric current is subsequently passed through the SMA actuator .
500
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FIG. 6
FIG. 9
FIG. 6
FIG. 9
The operation of the drive system can be more fully appreciated with reference to through , which illustrate various configurations of the drive system when the SMA-actuated release mechanism is triggered. For ease of illustration, certain components of the drive system are omitted in through .
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
FIG. 5
FIG. 6
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Attention first turns to , which illustrates the drive system shortly after the SMA-actuated release mechanism is triggered. As illustrated in , the SMA-actuated release mechanism is still in the “locked” configuration, such that the latch member continues to engage the activation gear to prevent unwinding of the gearbox . As an electric current passes through the SMA actuator , the SMA actuator contracts between the connection points and (previously illustrated in ) at one end and the boss at the other end. Such contraction of the SMA actuator pulls the boss towards the connection points and , which, in turn, causes the SMA pull member to pivot about the pin along a direction D. As the SMA pull member pivots along the direction D, the cup engages the flexible and , which causes the flexible arm to bend and to store mechanical energy. Referring to , the SMA pull member is oriented with respect to the latch member , such that the extension still engages the extension on the left side of the extension .
FIG. 7
FIG. 7
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illustrates the drive system with the SMA-actuated release mechanism in an “unlocked” configuration. In particular, the SMA actuator has sufficiently contracted, such that the extension disengages from the extension and moves to the right side of the extension . Such disengagement of the extensions and allows unbending of the flexible arm , which, in turn, causes the latch member to pivot about the pin along a direction D. Pivoting of the latch member along the direction D causes the pawl to disengage from the activation gear . In conjunction, the activation gear unwinds, thus causing the gear and the drive member to rotate in a clockwise direction CW. As illustrated in , contraction of the SMA actuator is reaching its greatest extent, thus allowing the SMA pull member to retain its orientation and to apply a force through the cup to the latch member .
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
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illustrates the drive system with the SMA-actuated release mechanism remaining in the “unlocked” configuration. As illustrated in , an electric current is no longer passing through the SMA actuator , such that the SMA actuator is now relaxed. Advantageously, the extension engages the extension at a contact point so as to keep the pawl disengaged from the activation gear . In particular, the flexible arm applies a biasing force to the cup , which, in turn, causes a force F to be applied from the SMA pull member to the extension at the contact point . Desirably, the force F keeps the latch member from pivoting back into the “locked” configuration. By including the SMA pull member (as well as the extension and the flexible arm ), the SMA-actuated release mechanism can remain in the “unlocked” configuration without having to activate the SMA actuator as the gearbox unwinds. Accordingly, the SMA pull member , the extension , and the flexible arm can be viewed as a reliability-enhancing coupling mechanism. In particular, inclusion of this coupling mechanism serves to reduce the amount of time that the SMA actuator remains activated, thus increasing the life expectancy of the SMA actuator . As with the SMA-actuated release mechanism itself, this coupling mechanism can be viewed as cycling through two configurations or states, namely a “locked” configuration and an “unlocked” configuration. In the illustrated embodiment, the force F also serves to push the latch member to an orientation that corresponds to maximal relaxation of stored mechanical energy in the flexible arm . At the same time, the SMA pull member reaches an orientation, such that the SMA actuator is stretched to its maximal extent in preparation for its next activation cycle.
FIG. 9
FIG. 4
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Attention next turns to , which illustrates the drive system with the SMA-actuated release mechanism being returned to its “locked” configuration to allow winding of the gearbox . In the illustrated embodiment, the SMA-actuated release mechanism can be returned to its “locked” configuration by applying an external stimulus at a contact point , such as a push by a human hand. Application of the external stimulus causes the latch member to pivot about the pin along a direction D. In conjunction, the pawl reengages the activation gear , thus preventing unwinding of the gearbox . As previously discussed in connection with , the pawl and the activation gear can be configured such that winding of the activation gear along a counter clockwise direction CCW is substantially unimpeded by the pawl . As the latch member pivots along the direction D, the extension contacts the extension , which, in turn, causes the SMA pull member to pivot about the pin along the direction D. In conjunction, the flexible arm engages the cup , such that the flexible arm bends. As the external stimulus continues to be applied at the contact point , the SMA pull member pivots sufficiently, such that the extensions and are no longer in contact with one another. At that point, mechanical energy stored in the flexible arm is partially released by causing the SMA pull member to reverse its rotation and to be oriented with respect to the latch member , such that the extension reengages the extension on the left side of the extension .
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
FIG. 8
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As discussed previously in connection with and , the SMA-actuated release mechanism can be configured so to protect the SMA actuator during operation of the drive system . For example, referring back to , the SMA-actuated release mechanism can be configured so as to protect the SMA actuator in the event the SMA-actuated release mechanism is inadvertently triggered during unwinding. During such inadvertent triggering or any other triggering, an electric current of limited duration passes through the SMA actuator , which causes the SMA actuator to contract. Such contraction of the SMA actuator can cause the SMA pull member to pivot about the pin without bringing the extensions and back into contact. Thus, such inadvertent triggering simply causes the flexible arm to bend and neither overstresses the SMA actuator nor affects unwinding of the gearbox . It is contemplated that a controller can be configured to prevent issuance of a pulse of an electric current shortly following a previous pulse of an electric current. In some instances, the controller can be configured to impose a time delay between successive pulses that is comparable in duration to a typical unwinding time of the gearbox .
FIG. 1
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It should be recognized that the embodiments of the invention discussed above are provided by way of example, and various other embodiments are encompassed by the invention. For example, with reference to , it is contemplated that the SMA-actuated release mechanism can include an end-of-travel switch or an on-off switch in place of, or in combination with, the rocker arm member and the bosses and . One example of an end-of-travel switch that can be used is described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/080,640, filed on Feb. 21, 2002, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. As such, the power generator can provide an electric current to activate the SMA actuator , and the electric current passing through the SMA actuator can be appropriately interrupted by the end-of-travel switch. In particular, the end-of-travel switch can interrupt the electric current once the SMA actuator has contracted up to a certain point, such as up to a point at which the SMA actuator has fully contracted. Typically, an “off” state of the end-of-travel switch can coincide with a configuration in which the pawl becomes disengaged, thus allowing the gearbox to unwind during contraction of the SMA actuator up to the point that defines the “off” state. With no electric current flowing in the “off” state, the SMA actuator extends due to application of a biasing force by the bias spring via the latch member . Before the pawl can reengage the gear , the end-of-travel switch can switch to its “on” state, thus allowing uninterrupted unwinding of the gearbox . It is contemplated that the end-of-travel switch can allow interruption and resumption of unwinding of the gearbox before reaching a complete discharge point of a drive spring.
The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications; they thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the following claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention. | |
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Q:
Conditional expectation on countably generated $\sigma$-algebra
Let $X$ be a random variable on $\mathscr L^1(\Omega, \mathscr F, \mathbb P)$.
Let $\{J_n\}_{n=1}^{\infty}$ be disjoint events with positive probability. Let $\mathscr J = \sigma(\{J_n\}_{n=1}^{\infty})$.
Q1 Is $\sum_{J \in \mathscr J} E[X|J]1_J$ a version of $E[X|\mathscr J]$?
Q2 Is $\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} E[X|J_n]1_{J_n}$ a version of $E[X|\mathscr J]$?
Both questions: It can be shown that $E[X|\mathscr J]$ is integrable. It is obvious that $E[X|\mathscr J]$ is $\mathscr J$-measurable.
Q1 It remains to show that $E[\sum_{J \in \mathscr J} E[X|J]1_J1_{J*}] = E[X1_{J*}]$ for all $J* \in \mathscr J$.
$$LHS = E[\sum_{J \in \mathscr J} E[X|J]1_J1_{J*}]$$
$$ = E[E[X|J*]1_{J*}1_{J*}]$$
$$ = E[E[X|J*]1_{J*}] = RHS$$
Q2 It remains to show that $E[\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} E[X|J_n]1_{J_n}1_{J*}] = E[X1_{J*}]$ for all $J* \in \mathscr J$.
Does it suffice to show the equality for $J* \in \sigma(J_1), \sigma(J_2), ...$
and then conclude by Dynkin's lemma or uniqueness lemma that we have the equality for all $J* \in \sigma(\sigma(J_1), \sigma(J_2), ...) \stackrel{?}{=} \mathscr J$
?
A:
Q1: As I already pointed out in my comment, there is a measurability issue (because of the summation over possibly uncountably many events $J$) and therefore the mapping is, in general, not a version of $\mathbb{E}(X \mid \mathcal{J})$.
Q2: If the sets $(J_n)_{n \in \mathbb{N}}$ cover the whole space, i.e. $\bigcup_{n \in \mathbb{N}} J_n = \Omega$, then the assertion follows from the following statement which is a direct consequence of a well-known uniqueness of measure theorem.
Proposition Let $(\Omega,\mathcal{F},\mathbb{P})$ be a probability space, and let $\mathcal{J} \subseteq \mathcal{F}$ be a sub-$\sigma$-algebra. Let $\mathcal{G}$ be a generator of $\mathcal{J}$, i.e. $\sigma(\mathcal{G}) = \mathcal{J}$, such that $\mathcal{G}$ is $\cap$-stable and there exists $(G_n)_{n \in \mathbb{N}} \subseteq \mathcal{G}$ such that $G_n \uparrow \Omega$. If $X \in L^1(\mathcal{F})$ and $Y \in L^1(\mathcal{J})$ are such that $$\forall G \in \mathcal{G}: \quad \int_G X \, d\mathbb{P} = \int_G Y \, d\mathbb{P},$$ then $Y$ is a version of $\mathbb{E}(X \mid \mathcal{J})$.
You will have to apply this theorem for the generator
$$\mathcal{G} := \left\{ \bigcup_{i=1}^k J_{n_i}; k \in \mathbb{N}, n_i \in \mathbb{N} \right\}$$
which consists of all sets which can be obtained as finite unions of the sets $(J_n)_{n \in \mathbb{N}}$.
If $\bigcup_{n \in \mathbb{N}} J_n = \Omega$ does not hold true, then the assertion is, in general, wrong; it is not difficult to construct counterexamples. (Consider for instance $\mathcal{J} = \{A,A^c\}$ and $J_n := A$ for $n \in \mathbb{N}$.)
| |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present application claims priority and benefit from U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/620,016, entitled “Rear Strap System with Rear End Dog Harness”, filed Apr. 4, 2012, and from U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/670,618, entitled “Rear Strap System with Rear End Dog Harness”, filed Jul. 12, 2012, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to the field of leashes and harnesses for animals.
Many people own a pet or a companion animal. A pet, such as a dog or a cat, may live in the household of its human owner. The pet owner may take care of his pet, which in turn may provide companionship and enjoyment to its owner.
Many countries or cities require pet owners to restrain their pets in public places. Particularly, legislation may require a dog owner to hold the dog by a leash in public areas. The leash may allow the dog owner to restrain the dog, to prevent the dog from biting or frightening people or from causing damage to property, protecting the dog from vehicular traffic, to prevent the dog from getting lost or getting far away from its owner. Furthermore, a leash may be used as a method of communication between a dog owner and his dog, and may ensure control over the dog during training sessions.
The present invention may include, for example, a leash or harness for a dog or other pet or animal, and particularly, a rear strap system or a rear-end dog harness. The harness may comprise a body loop for encircling the rear side or rear end of the abdominal area of the dog. The harness may further comprise two rear-leg loops, which may be slanted relative to the body loop or may be perpendicular thereto, for gripping the two rear legs of the dog. The body loop may be constructed to provide a lasso effect, such that an outburst of the dog may cause shrinkage of the body loop. Such shrinkage may cause sensation to the dog, particularly at the lower rear region of the abdominal area of the dog, thereby causing the dog to be submissive and compliant, without causing physical pain to the dog.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, a harness for restraining an animal may comprise: a body loop to encircle a rear abdominal area of the animal, wherein the body loop comprises a connector to a leash to be held by a person; at least one rear-leg loop to encircle a top area of a rear leg of the animal; wherein the body loop comprises a lasso mechanism to create a lasso effect upon an outburst of said animal.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the lasso mechanism causes shrinkage of the body loop upon said outburst of said animal.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, upon said outburst of said animal, a lower region of said body loop generates sensation to underside of the rear abdominal area of the animal.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, prior to said outburst of said animal, a lower region of said body loop is maintained away from genitalia of the animal
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the harness may comprise: a curved protrusion element to maintain a lower region of said body loop away from genitalia of the animal.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, at least an inward-facing side of the body loop is coated.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, a connection between the body loop and the at least one rear-leg loop is coated.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, a lower area of the body loop comprises a protrusion protruding away from an underside of the rear abdominal area of the animal.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the protrusion comprises a curved protrusion.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the protrusion comprises an upside-down U-shaped element.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the at least one rear-leg loop comprise: a first rear-leg loop connected to said body loop at a first connection point; and a second rear-leg loop connected to said body loop at a second connection point; wherein the protrusion is located between the first and second connection points.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the at least one rear-leg loop comprises: a first rear-leg loop for a rear-right leg of the animal, and a second rear-leg loop for a rear-left leg of the animal.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the at least one rear-leg loop is connected at an angle to said body loop.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, said angle comprises an angle selected from the group consisting of: approximately 45 degrees, approximately 60 degrees, approximately 75 degrees, approximately 90 degrees, and approximately 105 degrees.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the body loop comprises an open/close mechanism for opening/closing said body loop.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the body loop comprises a diameter modification mechanism to allow the person to increase and decrease a diameter of said body loop independently of said outburst of the animal.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, wherein the connector comprises a D-shaped ring.
In accordance with the present invention, for example, the animal comprises a dog.
The present invention may provide other and/or additional benefits or advantages.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of some embodiments. However, it will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that some embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, units and/or circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the discussion.
FIGS. 1A-1E
FIGS. 2A-2C
FIGS. 3A-3C
FIG. 4
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Reference is made to , which are schematic illustrations of multiple views of a harness in accordance with the present invention. Reference is also made to and , which are schematic illustrations of multiple views of harness in accordance with other implementations of the present invention. Harness may be placed by a person (“owner” or “driver”) around a rear area of an animal or a pet, for example, a dog which is depicted for demonstrative purposes in .
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Harness may comprise, for example, a body loop and two rear-leg loops -. Body loop may be placed around a rear portion of the body of dog . Right-side rear-leg loop may be placed around a top area of a rear-right leg (hind) of dog . Left-side rear-leg loop may be placed around a top area of a rear-left leg (hind) of dog .
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Body loop may be a lengthening loop, such that the owner may conveniently increase or decrease the diameter of body loop . For example, one or more thin or narrow buckles (e.g., two buckles -) may be used to modify the diameter or the length of body loop , generally similar to one or more buckles which may be used to modify a length of a strap of a handbag or a strap of a backpack. Optionally, body loop may be a monolithic loop formed of a single strap or band, or may be a multi-part loop having modular internal links or loop-portions which may be detachable or attachable. Body loop may may be a single-circle loop which surrounds one time the rear abdominal area of dog , or may be a double-circle loop which may (partially or entirely) surround the rear abdominal area of dog . In some portions of body loop , optionally, two layers of strap or fabric or bands may exit, for example, due to a mechanism allowing the owner to increase and decrease the scope or diameter of body loop .
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Body loop may be placed to encircle or surround the rear abdominal area of the body of dog . Body loop may optionally comprise an open/close mechanism (e.g., a fastener), to allow rapid opening and/or closing of body loop, thereby allowing rapid dressing and undressing of body loop around the body of dog . Optionally, the open-close mechanism may also include, or may be coupled to, a mechanism (e.g., a tri-glide ring) for increasing or decreasing the size of body loop . Alternatively, body loop may not comprise such mechanism or fastener. It is clarified that harness , with or without its fastener(s) or other mechanisms, with or without coating layer(s) or coated portion(s), may not cause friction or itching to dog , and may be convenient for dog to wear. It is noted that open-close mechanism is shown in , and may be incorporated as part of body loop in .
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Rear-right leg loop may comprise an open/close mechanism, for example, a fastener . Rear-right leg loop may have a fixed size or diameter. Alternatively, rear-right leg loop may have adjustable or owner-modifiable size or diameter, for example, utilizing a strap that may pass through a claps or aperture which may be comprised in (or attached to) fastener (e.g., implemented as a tri-glide ring, a ladder lock fastener, or the like). The owner may pull strap to decrease the size (or to tighten) rear-right leg loop ; and the owner may increase the length of strap (e.g., by pulling loop away from strap ) to increase the size (or to loosen) rear-right leg loop . Rear-left leg loop may have identical or generally similar properties, and may similarly comprise a fastener and a strap .
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Leg loops - may be slanted downwards (e.g., at approximately 35 or 45 or 55 degrees) relative to a general plane corresponding to the body of dog , or relative to the ground or floor when dog is in a generally horizontal position (e.g., standing on four feet). The slanting downward of leg loop may be achieved by connection regions -; and the slanting downward of leg loop may be achieved by connection regions -.
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Body loop may comprise a buckle (e.g., a tri-glide buckle or a tri-glide ring) which may be located opposite to connection regions -, at or near a top region of body loop . For example, body loop may be constructed as a circular loop having an excessive strap which protrudes and passes through buckle , and which ends with a D-ring or other suitable ring or buckle. A leash (e.g., a leading leash, a restraining leash, a retractable leash, a folding leash, a rope, a chain, or the like) may be connected to D-ring and may be held by the owner of dog . The combination of body loop , buckle and strap (and optionally, a leash) may create a lasso surrounding or pressing the body of dog (or, a loop or harness able to achieve a lasso effect), and particularly surrounding a rear abdominal area of the body of dog .
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Components of harness , and particularly body loop and leg loops -, may be formed of one or more suitable materials, for example, leather, fabric, woven or knit materials, or the like. Such material(s) may be resilient and strong, to allow the owner to restrain dog without the material ripping or breaking. Each one of loops - may have a width in the range of approximately 15 to 20 millimeters, or approximately 10 to 20 millimeters, or approximately 15 to 25 millimeters, or approximately 10 to 30 millimeters, or approximately 10 to 50 millimeters; other suitable ranges, dimensions and/or proportions may be used. Optionally, an inner side and/or outer side of loops - may be covered or coated with a smooth coating or polish material, or may be otherwise draped or covered, to provide a smooth and convenient feeling to dog and to avoid injury from raw or rough material(s). It is clarified that harness , with or without coating layer(s) or draping and/or polished region(s), may be generally smooth, may not cause friction or itching to dog , and may be convenient for dog to wear. It is further clarified that portions of the discussion herein, which may refer to coating or polish or smooth regions, do not imply that other portions of harness are rigid or uncomfortable or causing friction or itching. In some embodiments of the present invention, portions (e.g., portions and ) of leg loops - may be implemented as wider and/or thicker and/or larger portions or regions, as depicted particularly in and in .
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Harness may be dressed onto dog by its owner. For example, the owner may open body loop or may expand or maximize the diameter of body loop , to allow spacious entry thereto of the rear end of dog . Body loop may thus be dresses around the rear abdominal area of dog (e.g., ensuring that coated parts or smooth parts of body loop are facing internally towards the body of dog ). D-ring may extend outwardly away from the body of dog , and may be positioned or rotated to be at the top area of body loop . Then, leg loops - may be dressed on the top potions of rear legs of dog , and may be secured to their respective positions by optionally stretching or pulling straps - to achieve a desired grip. Once harness is securely dressed on dog , the leash may be connected to D-ring ; even though some owners may choose to attach the leash prior to, or during, the dressing of harness onto dog .
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If dog jumps or outbursts forward towards a target (e.g., a food item, an object, a person, an animal), the forward-directed force of such jump or outburst may contradict a backward-applied force applied by the owner holding the leash (or pulling back the leash), thereby creating a lasso effect which may slightly tighten or shrink body loop . Additionally or alternatively, the lasso effect may be achieved or actuated or initiated by the owner or user or “driver” of dog , not necessarily in conjunction with an outburst or jump or forward-movement by dog . For example, a slight or gentle pulling of the leash (e.g., upwards, backwards, or in a slanted direction) may be used to achieve the lasso effect, and may be used to correct or to stop an undesired behavior (e.g., not necessarily an outburst or a “negative” behavior) of dog , for example, exposure of teeth, chewing on shoes or sleepers, or the like, thereby allowing pro-active training and behavior-correction of dog .
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The tightening of body loop in the rear abdominal area of dog , typically may not cause physical pain to dog . Rather, the tightening of body loop may result in sensory tension or sensory trigger to dog , thereby creating a physical and physio-psychological restraining effect or calming effect on dog , and thereby stopping or constraining such jump or outburst of dog . Such lasso effect may create sensory pressure on the abdominal area and/or side area(s) of dog , without causing physical pain to dog in said areas.
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Additionally or alternatively, the lasso effect may optionally (e.g., not necessarily) limit or restrain the mobility of the rear legs of dog , which may be secured or gripped by leg loops - connected to body loop . The mobility limitation may cause dog to lose its maneuverability and coordination, and may limit the exiting propulsion of dog , i.e., the power to burst forward (towards the target) which derives from the hind legs of dog .
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Additionally or alternatively, the lasso effect and the sensory input at the rear end of dog , may cause dog to instinctively turn back its head (and/or its neck) in order to look backwards and see what exactly is causing such effect or sensation. As a result, by looking backwards instinctively, dog may no longer be “locked on target”, even momentarily, thereby breaking or stopping an outburst of dog towards such target. Breaking or interrupting the eye contact of dog with its target, and diverting the attention of dog to its rear end, may distract or divert dog from looking at its target. The interruption of eye contact of dog with its target may cause a physiological-psychological effect, allowing the owner to regain control of dog and return to correctly and safely leading dog . Accordingly, harness may thus provide a combination of physical effects allowing behavioral and/or physical restraint of dog , as well as a physio-psychological effect allowing the owner of dog to regain control.
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Harness may be utilized in conjunction with any suitable type or breed of dog , with male or female dogs, with dogs of various sizes or ages, and with dogs of various temperament or physical conditions. Optionally, some dog owners may refrain from using harness in conjunction with a female dog during its pregnancy term, or with a puppy or young dog (e.g., younger than six months), or with a sick dog or disabled dog or mature dog. It is clarified that harness may be used on conjunction with all these (and other) types of dogs, however, some dog owners may selectively decide to refrain from using harness for certain particular dogs as mentioned above.
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Harness may provide an immediate solution for any improper behavior of dog . Harness may improve the quality of life of the owner or “driver” of dog , while providing a product that is universal, friendly, and is easy for use by any dog owner (e.g., adults, children, teenagers, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, males and females, right-handed and left-handed owner).
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Harness may be suitable for use by a trainer or owner of a wild animal, a large canine carnivores, or other suitable pets or animals. Harness may allow trainers or owners to achieve various animal-related goals, for example, apprehension, treatment, research, stabilization of the animal, and prevention or curtailing of an outburst. Harness may be used as a behavioral product, controlling dog and providing to its owner a comfortable advantage position. Harness may generate an uneasy sensation to dog upon its outburst, since pressure on the lower abdominal area may transmit to dog a sensation of submission.
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Applicants have realized that a dog that submits to a rival, may often lie down on its back and expose its pelvis area, lumbar, lower abdominal area, internal organs and reproductive organs towards the rival (e.g., as a sign of submission). Accordingly, contact with (or sensation to) the lower abdominal area of the dog, when leading or halting or restraining the dog (e.g., when the dog exhibits aggression, over-excitement, or impulsive pulling of the owner), or when a non-desired behavior occurs which the dog owner wishes to stop or to correct, may generate the submissive nuance and may halt or restrain the continuity of unwanted behavior. This systematic technique may form instrumental conditioning between the owner and dog .
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Harness may provide the owner physical control of dog without using of force. Harness may allow controlling a canine carnivore or other mammal or animal safely and with no physical effort. Harness may be safe for use with dogs of all breeds, genders and age, and may not harm dog . In contrast with a conventional harness or leash, harness may not cause dog physical pain; but rather, harness may utilize a principle of mental pressure and relief through an instrumental learning mechanism and the creation of instrumental conditioning.
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By using harness , the learning experience of dog facing the owner and the negative behavior correction experience, are not associated by dog to its owner (thus, causing dog to fixate the correction of the negative behavior to one specific owner), but rather, causing dog to associate the learning experience and correction of negative behavior with the object and situation which caused the experience. In contrast with conventional leashes or harnesses, the owner of dog utilizing harness may not require mental, emotional, physical or vocal means to stop dog from carrying out the negative behavior, and the owner may direct dog to proper behavior on the basis of positive learning.
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In a first demonstrative example, dog may wear harness while its owner holds the leash. While dog walks with its owner, dog may pounce towards a senior citizen. The mere holding (by the owner) of the leash connected to harness , may cause the pounce of dog towards the senior citizen to cause application of pressure on the abdominal area of dog (a sensitive and submissive area of dog ), thereby causing dog a feeling of unease (yet not causing pain) while facing the senior citizen (the current object with which the behavioral correction is required), thus creating a positive instrumental conditioning learning experience while dog is facing the object. Furthermore, in a subsequent event in which dog sees the same object or target, dog may not attempt to jump towards (or to outburst or run towards) that object or target, since the situation may be connected or linked with the previous feeling or sensation. This may be in contradiction with a negative learning experience, in which pain and/or noise are associated with the origin of said pain and/or noise (e.g., the owner or “driver” of dog ). Thus, in accordance with the present invention, a positive instrumental conditioning learning experience, which is first and foremost safe for both the owner and dog , may be created regarding the situation requiring correction, and not the specific owner or “driver” of dog .
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In a second demonstrative embodiment, harness may be used for training puppies and young dogs, which may be energetic, instinctual and/or highly active. Leading such dogs may be difficult for any owner, particularly when there is a lack of compatibility between the breed of dog and the owner. Young dogs may tend to impulsively outburst whilst being led, thereby causing harm to themselves and to the owner. This may be particularly true when the young dog is led by a young child. Properly holding the leash connected to harness , may allow a young child or other owner, who may not be physically able to respond to an outburst of dog , to correct the negative behavior with minimal physical need. Thus, a positive instrumental conditioning learning experience, which is first and foremost safe for both the owner and dog , may be created regarding the situation requiring correction, and not the specific owner or “driver” of dog .
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Harness may thus be utilized by any owner or driver, with any dog, providing a solution for correction of negative behavior in a positive instrumental conditioning manner, while keeping a clear ethical code and moral code, upholding the rights of the dog and allowing the owner to fully enjoy the relationship with the dog.
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Optionally, harness may be manufactured as an assembly of three parts. The first part may be a bottom part, intended for placement on the rear end of the body of dog (e.g., draped or undraped), encircling the rear part of the body circumference of dog (e.g., located at approximately 20 or 25 or 33 or 40 percent of the length of the body of dog , measuring from the rear end going forward). The first part may have, on its side, a strap extending upwards towards the upper-most area on the dog's back, ending with a tri-glide ring. In the second part, at the left side of the bottom part, an attach/release/extension buckle or fastener may be used, connected to a strap running upwards and through the tri-glide ring, thereby creating a lasso effect; the strap ending with a “D” type ring to allow connecting of the harness to a main leash. In the third part, strap loops may be sewed to the bottom part of harness at a suitable angle (e.g., approximately around 45 degrees, 60 degrees, 75 degrees, 90 degrees, 105 degrees, or other suitable values), placed on the right and left hind legs of the dog, optionally including ladder lock fasteners or other mechanism for adjusting or modifying the loops diameters. Optionally, fabric covers may be applied around the sewing area of the bottom loops to the first part. Optionally, a fabric cover may be applied to the entire first portion, for example, having neoprene or polyester materials on the exterior side, and having a three-dimensional mesh net on the interior side (facing the body of dog ).
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FIGS. 1A-1E
Optionally, a bottom area or lower region of body loop may optionally include a protrusion , which may be or may comprise, for example, a pin, a set of pins, a curve, a curvature similar to a “U” shape or an upside-down “U” shape, or the like. The optional protrusion is particularly shown in , and is omitted (as an optional component) from and A-C.
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Protrusion may be fixed or affixed to body loop ; or may be optionally attachable to and/or detachable from body loop ; or may be otherwise added to, or removed from, body loop . Protrusion may be located away from the private parts or genitals of dog , so as to not cause harm or inconvenience to dog .
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In some embodiments of the present invention, optionally, protrusion may be or may include a concaved area or curved area or protruding area which may face away from the body of dog ; and once the lasso effect (described above) is applied, may operate to avoid any potential or remotely-potential harm or pain (or sensation or friction) to the genitalia of dog , as a safety-oriented element; for example, protrusion may function as a bridge or barrier, over and/or near and/or around the genitalia of dog (e.g., particularly for male dogs), thereby further covering or protecting or secluding the genitalia of dog once harness is narrowed-down by the lasso effect.
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In other embodiments of the present invention, optionally, protrusion may be or may include a concaved area or curved area or protruding area which may face towards body of dog and may create a local sensation and/or an additional sensation and/or may amplify or increase any local and/or additional sensation and/or an additional type of sensory trigger at that particular point or region, particularly in the lower region of the rear lower abdominal area of dog .
FIG. 5
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Reference is made to , which is a schematic illustration of harness in a “flat” position, in which all the components of harness are shown on the same plane, for demonstrative purposes.
FIG. 6
FIG. 3A
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Reference is made to , which is a schematic illustration of a set of elements or layers or components - which may be used or assembled or connected in order to produce harness . It is noted that element may correspond to protrusion of , and may be optional.
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Although portions of the discussion herein may relate, for demonstrative purposes, to two rear-leg loops -, the present invention may comprise harnesses having only one such rear-leg loop (either or ), or having no rear-leg loops at all.
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Although portions of the discussion herein may relate, for demonstrative purposes, to utilization of harness in conjunction with dog , the present invention may comprise harnesses adjusted or configured to be used in conjunction with other pets, other mammals, other four-legged mammals, carnivore animals, or other animals.
Functions, operations, components and/or features described herein with reference to one or more embodiments of the present invention, may be combined with, or may be utilized in combination with, one or more other functions, operations, components and/or features described herein with reference to one or more other embodiments of the present invention.
While certain features of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all such modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity of presentation. Furthermore, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. The figures are listed below.
FIGS. 1A-1E
are schematic illustrations of multiple views of a harness, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments of the present invention;
FIGS. 2A-2C
FIGS. 3A-3C
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and are schematic illustrations of multiple views of a harness in accordance with other demonstrative implementations of the present invention;
FIG. 4
is a schematic illustration of a harness worn by a dog, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 5
is a schematic illustration of a flattened view of a harness, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments of the present invention; and
FIG. 6
is a schematic illustration of a set of elements which may be assembled to produce a harness, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments of the present invention. | |
Wednesday 2nd October, 2019
Accra, Oct. 02, GNA - The Institute of
Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER) on Tuesday, launched Ghana
Social Development Outlook (GSDO) 2018 report, to assess the country’s progress
towards the meeting its Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
Professor Samuel Agyei-Mensah, the Provost
of the College of Humanities, University of Ghana, in an address, said it was
an evidence-based research and analysis, and provided the much needed context
for assessing Ghana’s progress so far.
He said the report contained nine chapters,
with different topics on the social development of the country, explaining that
the current edition was unique in the sense that it had a chapter for Gender
Equality, which was a major objective for the Sustainable Development Goal.
The various topics included; that on
Education, Health, Water and Sanitation, Housing, Employment, Energy,
Corruption, and Gender Equality.
Dr Elizabeth A. Asante, the Coordinator,
Social Development Outlook 2018, ISSER, who presented the GSDO, said the report
was the fourth in the series of publications after the maiden edition in 2012.
She explained that the chapter on education
provided an important overview of the country’s development policy and the
analysis of the implantation of this policy, as well as outlining the focus on
quality, access and equity.
She said the chapter also provided important
information on enrollment and attainment levels.
Dr Asante stated that the Health chapter,
provided an update on the advances and challenges in the health sector, noting
areas such as health care infrastructure, mental health care, maternal
mortality, health and social development, analysis on skin disease assessment,
to treatment and non-communicable diseases.
She said the key issues on water and
sanitation raised in the document, included; how the government would make the
country an open defecation-free, ensure access to potable water, as well as
basic sanitation and hygiene, and highlighted on regional coverage of water
sources and the impact of ‘galamsey’ on water bodies.
The chapter on housing on the other hand
raised concerns about the growing slums and homelessness across cities in the
country, and the efforts made by the government to put up affordable houses
using local building materials, she said.
Dr Asante said the document also raised the
issue of employment, low productivity and self-employment as a major concern.
On effective implementation of Ghana’s
energy policy that seeks to address the various challenges with regards to
supply, demand and consumptions he said there was a major improvement on the
load shedding system to boost the performance of industries.
She said the government was working hard to
address the widespread corruption in public and social sectors of the economy
to ensure good governance, and has also initiated various activities and
programmes to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, by curbing
activities such as ‘galamsey’ (illegal mining) operations that led to the
destruction of forest reserves and water bodies.
The document also highlighted on some of the
progress made in the area of promoting gender equality, citing the Affirmative
Action Bill which was currently before Parliament, and the headway towards
addressing the ghastly experiences of the ‘kayayei’-female head porters, with
regards to their education, health and housing needs.
Prof. Takyiwaa Manuh, a Former Director of
the Institute of African Studies, UG, congratulated the University, for its
persistence in knowledge production. | |
I have a theory. And it is founded in a little research. But it also follows logic…so stick with me for a minute while I link some pieces together.
The theory is that Touch is the most ancient, most original language that we as a species communicated with. It is the language we had before there was organized verbal language.
Organized verbal language
If we think about the origination of organized language, we can see that written language appears somewhere around 3000-4000 BC (the Sumerian language). There are also some unidentified/untranslated written languages that date back to the 7th millennium BC… From this we could make estimations about when language became organized – one generous estimate is that organized verbal communication started to emerge around 40,000 years ago.
I get this estimate from the “theory of mind” as a requirement for the development of language (it includes the concepts of mind, consciousness, conscious communication, intentional persuasion and deception, and many more things).
But we’re much older than that
Yet even with this timeline, homo sapiens (that’s you and me) started to appear in the fossil records between 200,000 to 100,000 years ago. At the very lowest end of that scale we have about 60,000 years of human history without organized language. Yes, I’m sure that body language and certain mimicry of animal calls were used, but for more detailed communication, I would postulate that we used touch predominantly.
Why wouldn’t verbal communication have developed sooner?
Touch is something that we really cannot lie with. Words are used to deceive all the time and many scholars anticipate that this is why we didn’t develop a system of language much earlier – because it’s far easier to lie to others with words than it is with touch. As Simon Sinek says, you wouldn’t sign a business deal with someone who won’t shake your hand. Not because the deal is bad, but there’s an innate sense of being able to trust people more if they shake your hand – because whether consciously or not, you’ll instantly get the “vibe” of a person when you make physical contact.
To put my final point onto this theory, here’s one more fact (nicely researched). Out of our regular five senses: sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste – the very first one to develop in the foetus is that of touch. Clearly evolution has placed primary importance on this sense for it to be the earliest sense developed as we form. A somber extension of this is that babies have an enormously difficult time surviving if they do not have a sense of touch (yet many survive without the other senses).
This means that we all have a hidden textbook of touch within our biology. All the information is there. We just need to remember how to read that manual, how to translate the information so that we can use it. And that’s really what we do in trainings and workshops – start to translate the most ancient language we have into something that we can use to great effect and with great skill.
If you’re not sure where to start, check out a previous blog, called “developing fluency in the language of touch“.
Good luck. We have a lot of work to do together. | https://navina.ca/blog/2015/10/26/touch-the-most-ancient-language/ |
This post was submitted by Anna Keyzer.
Mia Mercer (10, MST) has spent the past year abroad in Malaysia as part of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad program that was created in order to cultivate cultural understanding between the United States and countries with majority muslim populations.
The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, offers a full academic year scholarship to American high school students and recent graduates to live abroad in countries with significant Muslim populations.
As part of the scholarship, YES Abroad covers student costs related to round-trip airfare and room and board for the Pre-Departure Orientation, round-trip airfare between the participant’s home region and community abroad, in-country support, cultural activities, school tuition, room and board with a host family, medical benefits, visa fees and a modest stipend.
Mercer heard about this scholarship opportunity through an ex-coworker who was taking a gap year before college to go to Morocco and study Arabic.
“The central ambition of the program, to make the world a more tolerating and understanding place though immersion, really resonates with me as someone who wants to see the world, and see it in a more peaceful state too,” Mercer said.
Students going abroad live with host families and attend a local high school with intentions to promote a mutual understanding between their cultures and develop lasting relationships with their local community.
The ambitious goals of this scholarship attract students that are self driven and eager to explore new cultures.
“I feel like in today’s world, people get very caught up in media portrayals of different groups, stereotypes and generalizations without any understanding of why people might behave that way or what their thought process might be either,” Mercer said.
“I’ve learned that there’s always more to each side of the story, and there’s always more to be learned,” Mercer said.
Although this is scholarship provides a great opportunity for students, it’s not for everyone.
Students are expected to take on the commitments and responsibilities of their local host community and fully emerge themselves in their culture as cultural understanding and mutual respect is an important part of the exchange.
Ellen Williams (10,YPAS) was inspired by and Mercer and will be studying abroad her junior year in Malaysia through this scholarship.
“I’ve learned in-depth about different cultural practices, religions, and more from not only Malaysia, but also places all over the world too. Pushing myself way out of my comfort zone nearly everyday has allowed me to find out a lot about myself too.” Mercer said.
To find out more information, visit this link. | https://manualredeye.com/83223/uncategorized/manual-goes-around-the-world/ |
In this article, I would like to share with you a step-by-step tutorial on how to create your own autumn version of a flower wreath painting. We will follow a design that I have created especially for this guide!
Ok, so where do we begin?
Let’s think – what’s so special about autumn? Apart from it’s the cosiest time in the year, autumn is also a time when most people introspect and attend to their personal interests. This is your chance to slow down, relax, and take the world in…
Your art must reflect who you are, so first, visualise how you want your finished artwork to look and feel like. This will help you organise your ideas much better! From the colour palette, to the elements, to the whole structure of the work… Let me lay down the steps to ensure a smooth painting process for you.
1. Create your flower wreath colour palette
To start off with your flower wreath painting, ask yourself: Do you want your viewers to feel happy, inspired, and excited? Or do you want them to be reflective and imaginative?
Once you have decided on a goal, begin the work by planning out your colours in a sketchbook! You will constantly open this to check for reference, so make sure it is a handy one.
How do you plan the colours?
Establish the mood of your work
First, gather your preferred art medium (I used watercolours for mine) and your trusty sketchbook of choice. With a watercolour pencil, create distinct shapes, then fill them in with your chosen colors.
As artists, colour combinations play a big part in your work, and paying careful attention to this is a good way to communicate your message to your audience. For example?
There is a huge difference between warm reds and crimson reds, while yellow, blue, and green tones have their own connotations. You should consider colour harmony and symbolism based on the message that you want to get across for your artwork! But we will discuss this further in another article.
In this work by Rachel Christopoulos, you can see how the artist created her own Essential Fall Palette composed of nine beautiful colours that are typically seen in nature during this season. Her choice of colour names is very interesting, too!
Sunbeam for the quaint daylight yellow, cocoa for a red-brown hue, reminiscent of chocolate drinks during windy afternoons; rosy cheeks for a warm pink tone, and sweater weather for a pastel lavender colour. For her, it’s very important to establish a colour palette before beginning work because harmony happens best when your main colours blend well and work together.
Without paying attention to them, it’s easy to get lost and create confusion instead of cohesion in your artwork.
How about you? Which colours remind you of autumn? Don’t forget that you can create your own colour names to make your palette more personal and unique. 🙂
Include your personal message
Second, tell a story with your colour palette. In Rachel’s case, Wisconsin’s scenery (her hometown) played a big part in, so nostalgia is definitely a part of her work. Inspired by the change of seasons, she takes a more relaxed approach to everything during autumn and reflect on her growth and progress of the year that was.
For her paper ground, she uses ZenART sketchbooks that has the right size, and can definitely withstand some (slightly) wet medium, so she can keep her colour palette handy wherever she goes.
Keep in mind that incorporating your own personal message into your artwork is a key to creating a good one! Go back to the emotions that you want to convey to your audience… What do you want to say with your use of colours?
For my flower wreath tutorial below, I created my own autumn colour palette, too. I will show you the process of how I chose my colours in that section, but for now… Let us proceed to the next important step.
2. Decide on the elements of your composition
Now that you have a colour palette, it’s time to plan which elements you want to include in your flower wreath. This can take a lot of turns, as wreaths are not composed of very strict elements. What’s great about this is that you are free to choose according to what you want, and personalise it according to your own taste. There are elements that are typically used during fall for their symbolism and imagery like leaves, flowers, berries and pinecones.
Create a rough sketch of elements you want to include in your flower wreath
In another page of your sketchbook, create a rough sketch of elements you want to include in your flower wreath.
Draw different shapes of leaves, twigs, and some berries if you wish. Flowers are very dainty to look at, so make sure you include different types of it! Hydrangeas, peonies, and roses are often used with foliage.
As an example – Let’s take this illustration by Cris Rogerson of Sweetseasonsart. With her choice of autumn leaves and floral elements, this illustration instantly reminds you of a long walk in the park… Cool breeze, warm coat, and the crisp smell of autumn air! The sun can be showing itself a little bit too.
Ask yourself: What are the elements that remind you of autumn? Are these falling maple leaves in your backyard, or blooming flowers in mid-November?
Plan out the individual elements by creating mini illustrations of your favourites
Another thing you can do is to plan out the individual elements by creating mini illustrations of your favourites. In her work, artist Susana Triana of Susana Chichi Art created her own design by focusing on smaller illustrations.
Elements such as leaves, mushrooms, and blackberries are present in her work. She also incorporated her own autumn art colour palette (see point number 1), composed of mostly deep greens, light greens, and crimson hues. The artist rendered these elements carefully using ZenART’s mini brushes that were made especially to hone the finest details – perfect for autumn flower wreath details.
Lastly?
Create uncomplicated studies on your bullet journal
Autumn is a season of slowing down and reflecting, so let’s not forget the beauty of bullet journaling during this season. How do you incorporate journaling with planning your flower wreath artwork?
First, you can reflect on this season by checking your daily entries. How are you feeling inside? Are there issues that you need to address within yourself, and with your relationships? Bullet journals are one of the most personal things you can have, so feel free to design the layout of this month with elements of autumn flower wreath. This is also a way of exploring the elements you will use in your painting. Alongside your entries, create random sketches and studies that are related to this season.
An additional tip: You can also use elements of fall such as dried leaves, berries, pumpkins, etc. as legends for your mood tracker, or as cute designs around the border!
No-fuss, no complicated pre-planning… Just the beautiful feeling of autumn conveyed through art. In the next section, I will show you an actual step-by-step on how to paint your own autumn flower wreath.
3. Paint your own autumn flower wreath
You have defined your desired mood, chosen your colour palette, and have carefully selected the elements of your composition… now, how do you paint your flower wreath?
Let’s get started!
The first step is going back to point one, which is establishing your colour palette of choice. Since autumn is filled with browns, I used mostly earth colours like greens, browns, deep reds, and purples in my colour palette. I also included some bright tones such as cadmium red and orange for that vibrant and cheerful effect in my work; and to create an unexpected contrast, I fancied adding an extra cool blue tone. In the video tutorial I prepared for you, I will be mentioning the specific colours I used and also teach you some practical techniques you can use on how to blend your colours properly.
You now have a basic wreath! Easy enough? Let’s go to the next part.
Using your warm red colour, add details such as berries and flowers all around the gaps. After most of the pigment from my brush has been laid on paper, I used the ‘dry brush technique’ to add more texture and value to my work (I will explain this technique further in the guide).
To add more details, paint another batch of leaves, berries and flowers — this time using a muted orange tone, which will completely harmonise with the green leaves. Lovely! The floral wreath is now getting together.
One of the last steps towards completing the work is ‘freshening’ up your painting to balance out all the colours and elements. How did I do this? Since we’ve included a lot of warm tones as details, let’s add a pop of cool blue – a complementary colour – to finish it off. This certain tone of blue reminds me of air and the sky, so I used that to add touches of swirls around.
Pro Tip: Remedy any mistakes like an extra paint stroke in a place where you did not intend it to be. Yes, it’s possible to do it! I will teach you this in the full video of our Autumn Wreath Painting Tutorial.
I hope that you enjoyed following along with this simple autumn flower wreath painting! I would love to know if you’ve given these a try. If you are looking for a more detailed guide, I have prepared this especially for you: A complete Autumn Flower Wreath Painting Tutorial with me. I will be going through all the mini details and will teach you about technique, brush strokes, colour combinations, among a lot of other things.
Sounds exciting?
Hold on, we’re not done yet… There’s one last thing!
For those of you who are wondering where else you can use this floral wreath painting aside from an autumn exercise, I have listed down tried and tested practical things you can do with it. I talk about this in detail in the complete guide that you can download below, so again, make sure you don’t miss out on that. 😉
Did you like this article? Which one of these ideas are you excited to do? Let me know your thoughts and comments below. I would love to hear from you, and as always – let’s discuss!
MEET THE AUTHOR
Ardak Kassenova is mother, artist and ZenART Supplies co-founder. “My heart and soul were always with Art, and since my childhood as long as I remember myself, I was dreaming to be an artist. I was painting after work, when I had time, and teaching myself through the books, videos, visiting art galleries and museums. I’ve been very curious about different techniques and styles, and therefore accumulated knowledge and experience on a variety of mediums”.
After 20 years of a successful corporate career and with becoming a mother to two wonderful girls, she decided that it’s time to make drastic changes and link her life with Art. She started to paint again and decided to create her own art supplies brand that would help artists to fulfil their creative dreams and achieve their best results since the beginning using high-quality art materials without wasting their precious time and money. Say hello to @ardak_zenart on Instagram!
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It began gradually, organically. Some young, noncommissioned officers wanted to share their experiences, talk about their jobs and learn from one another. At first, they met in person, but as their group became larger and outgrew a local venue, their connection expanded to the Internet, and the U.S. Army’s first community of practice was born.
“What had been going on for about five years in a number of different Web boards and discussion forums, this group of officers put some form to using commercial, free, on-the-Web software,” said Michael Prevou, senior knowledge adviser to the Army’s Battle Command Knowledge Management Systems and founder and president of Strategic Knowledge Solutions. “They developed an Army community of practice focused on being a company commander. We know that today as companycommand.com.”
Prevou said this grassroots effort began a widespread axis of communities of practice, and other departments quickly took advantage of the inexpensive, user-friendly method to connect Army personnel. The forums that sprang up also came at a perfect time to aid the organization in
managing the glut of information it was getting from electronic command and control systems.
“Just after the war started with Afghanistan and Iraq, somewhere in the 2003 to 2004 time frame, we started to notice that our organizational structures within the Army needed help managing the knowledge being generated and captured,” Prevou said. “It was also about lessons learned, and I think this was one of the big drivers on this sort of second axis — how do we get a lesson from a patrol in the field and share that lesson with the rest of the Army very, very quickly, not so the next unit can have it six months or a year from now, but so that the next patrol can have it hours from now?”
In 2004, Prevou said Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, then commander on the ground in Iraq, funded a program to formalize the Army’s organizational knowledge requirements and develop the procedures and people needed to help the Army manage knowledge more effectively. This effort became known as the Battle Command Knowledge System (BCKS).
In addition to the more visible benefits regarding knowledge management, such as reducing time from months to hours to share field lessons, Prevou said the formal adoption of communities of practice also enabled Army personnel to learn better.
“What are the tools that I need to do my job? Where do I find them? How do I get that information? Where do I keep it? How do I share it with other practitioners doing my job?” he said. “Then, there’s the ever-present and continuing need for leader development and what we call professional forums. Whether they are cooks, mechanics, company commanders or operations officers in a particular size unit, each has specific job requirements. We have built the structure for these professional forums around those practitioners and the jobs that they do.”
There are about 60 professional forums on the Army rolls, but the number changes weekly, as forums are added, or those that have reached the end of their life cycle are turned over or archived. Within those forums, there are hundreds of communities of practice. Prevou estimates that about a quarter of the Army population participates in some type of professional forum or community of practice.
“That participation is born out of the necessity to be able to share very quickly,” he said. “Until recently, with the advent of the Internet and the right kind of tools, we’ve been unable to do this very efficiently. Even before we created BCKS, we probably had close to 20,000 people involved in communities, but none of them were joined together and coordinated.”
BCKS provides the software and server on which to run a community, as well as training, procedures, technical expertise to set them up, coaching and professional facilitation. Prevou said BCKS has about two dozen professional facilitators who help people start their forums and act as forum facilitators. Facilitators support the forum leader and do a lot of the administrative functions and training needed to grow the community.
He also said the community grew from about 20,000 to more than 80,000 in less than three years, which was due, in some part, to that facilitation.
The Army measures the impact of its knowledge-sharing activities on three levels: individual, community and organization.
“It’s very important to measure and line up the objectives of each smaller community of practice or professional forum to achieve a larger Army end state: improved leadership, improved professional development, improved efficiencies, even lives saved,” Prevou said.
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Chinese cuisine has a tremendous range of flavors and styles. The basic cooking techniques include stir frying, stewing, deep frying, boiling, steaming, pan frying, roasting braise, and so on. The essence of cuisine is the mixture and heating of the ingredients, thus a variety of dishes can be made by changing the ingredients and heating intensity. However, up to now, cooking involves a lot of manual labor and relies very much on the cook's experiences and skills.
There exists some automated cooking machines; however, they normally cannot automatically close the wok lid to cover the wok, which means a cook has to close the wok lid himself during cooking. Some other automated cooking machines can automatically close the wok lid, but the closing of the wok lid relies completely on the gravity of the wok lid, these cooking machines thus often have problems of poor sealing and low efficiency.
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A New U.S. Approach to Help Fragile States Amid COVID-Driven Economic Crisis
The Biden administration can chart a new path to building fiscal resilience in fragile states battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global economy is projected to rebound from the effects of COVID-19 in 2021, but the world’s most fragile states may not share in the upswing. Saddled with economic collapse and soaring debt, developing economies are likely to be left further behind after shrinking about 5 percent last year, according to World Bank estimates. As a result, over 55 million people could be plunged deeper into poverty, fueling social and political grievances and increasing the risks of instability.
The dangers of this crisis should prompt the United States to develop a more effective approach to financing in fragile states by refocusing attention and resources on the essential role of fiscal resilience in helping nations escape the fragility trap. The core elements of this approach involve forging strategic coherence between multilateral financial strategies and the implementation of the Global Fragility Act, while simultaneously strengthening and empowering host-country taxation and financial management systems.
Looming Debt Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded economic insecurity in fragile states, erasing as much as five years of progress in poverty reduction. The downturn has spurred capital flight from developing countries, which in addition to a sharp decline in remittance flows and revenues from natural resource exports, could result in output losses as high $115 billion, according to the World Bank.
About half of the world’s poorest countries were either experiencing or at high risk of debt distress before the pandemic made their situation significantly worse. The economic downturn is having a devastating effect on government revenues, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where revenues are estimated to fall by 12 to 16 percent. At the same time, public debt in emerging market economies has surged to levels not seen in 50 years (and on increasingly non-concessional terms). According to a new report from the OECD, debt service paid by fragile states could amount to as much as 82 percent of what they receive in official development assistance—a staggering figure.
Without a financial lifeboat, a prolonged economic and fiscal crisis will make fragile states even more fragile.
The ability of governments to spend their way to recovery is considerably strained; highly indebted regimes must confront the difficult choice of servicing debt payments or scaling up spending on social services like health care, infrastructure, and education, with most nations forced to reduce investments in services just as they’re needed most. Diminished spending on services results in widening inequality, declining trust in government, and further erosion of the social contract. With more than three-quarters of the population classified as “extremely poor” in fragile states, the potential for new waves of civil resistance, insecurity—and repression—is considerable.
Time to ‘Break the Glass’
The growing threat of instability should add further urgency to calls for “break-the-glass” financing measures. The debt suspension initiative agreed to by the G20 has provided a temporary respite, but payments will come due at the end of the initiative, and private creditors are still largely outside of the framework. According to the OECD’s analysis, multilateral lending comprises only approximately 32 percent of fragile-state debt, and could be considerably lower when factoring in other forms of unreported debt obligations.
There have also been mounting calls for the IMF to expand the use of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)—the IMF’s international reserve asset—to help struggling economies deal with the fallout from the pandemic.
The Biden administration has reversed the Trump administration’s hesitancy to approve the issuance of new SDRs—an important and timely signal given the critical U.S. role as the IMF’s largest shareholder. Lawmakers in the Senate and House have also introduced complementary legislation calling on the U.S. to support considerably higher SDR allocations. A number of organizations and international leaders have offered recommendations on how to ensure that these measures assist countries most in need; U.N. Undersecretary-General Vera Songwe, for example, recently called for G7 and G20 countries to donate their SDR allocations to low-income countries
With momentum growing for a large SDR donation and progress toward a common framework for debt relief in the G20, the United States has a unique opportunity to lead negotiations towards a “grand bargain” with heavily indebted governments, non-Paris Club creditors, and the private sector that could include provisions, such as strengthened debt transparency, that will improve public accountability and incentivize sustainable fiscal management.
Building Fiscal Resilience in Fragile States
The global economic crisis should also prompt the United States to reexamine how it engages on financing and fiscal issues in fragile states, especially in light of the 2019 Global Fragility Act, which calls for a new approach to U.S. engagement. While these issues received relatively little attention in the 2020 Global Fragility Strategy, the development of 10-year plans in GFA priority countries presents an opportunity to integrate long-term sustainable financing and fiscal resilience into U.S. policy and assistance strategies—though these approaches certainly don’t have to be limited to GFA priority countries. The United States could take a number of steps to proactively tackle the intersection of finance and state fragility:
- Integrate with Multilateral Financing: The escalating debt crisis underscores the need to align and integrate the U.S. Global Fragility Strategy with efforts by international financial institutions to strengthen fiscal resilience and debt sustainability. The United States should fully support the implementation of the World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict and Violence strategy—including by prioritizing resources for this strategy in the next round of International Development Association replenishment—as a critical component of its efforts to help the global economy “build back better” from the pandemic. Robust engagement and support to strengthen coordination structures that factor lending, debt and fiscal considerations into country-level implementation plans—particularly in those countries identified as priorities under the GFA— would also be a productive step forward.
- Invest in Domestic Resource Mobilization: The nexus of finance, taxation, domestic resource mobilization (DRM), and service delivery cuts to the heart of the fragility challenge: There is no clearer manifestation of the “social contract” than what a taxpayer pays in taxes and receives in services. Who pays a tax, how it is collected and reported, and how it is spent is inherently political. In wealthy nations, overcoming entrenched political and economic interests poses a challenge to building more equitable and transparent tax regimes; it is considerably more difficult for governments with low capacity that operate in highly informal economies and patrimonial political systems.
The evidence for prioritizing DRM as both a strategy to boost financial self-reliance and a means of reinforcing the “social contract” in fragile states is compelling. As the OECD notes, “tax revenue is the single largest source of financing for development globally and is the only way to achieve sustainable government financing over the long term.” An IMF review of 26 sub-Saharan African countries’ fiscal policies since the 1990s found that the capacity to raise tax revenue correlates with improved resilience, as effective tax collection amplifies civic engagement and stimulates demand for transparency and inclusivity.
Yet the United States provides relatively little support for DRM programs in fragile states and misses opportunities to advance more equitable and transparent tax regimes. USAID’s flagship DRM program provides just $20 million per year across 15 countries, most of which is not targeted to countries considered “fragile” by the OECD. Globally, while the amounts of development assistance devoted to DRM programs in fragile states has modestly grown since 2014, it has yet to reach a critical mass, with only a small handful of fragile states receiving the significant majority of assistance. Making DRM a more prominent feature of U.S. support and policy engagement in fragile states would also boost reformist policymakers who need financial and political capital to delicately sequence reforms, overcome disincentives, and balance competing interests. As the Institute for State Effectiveness has shown, empowering reformers beyond pro forma technical assistance and training is a critical step toward more productive and effective international engagement in the unique political economies of fragile states.
- Rebalance the Risk-Reward Calculus of Working Through Country Systems: Despite high-level commitments on aid effectiveness like the Busan Principles, Accra Agenda for Action, and USAID Forward, in practice U.S. assistance remains constrained in its ability to work through host country financial systems. U.S. “government-to-government” assistance is governed by a labyrinthine process of risk assessments that often prove prohibitive even in middle income countries. Yet the benefits of working through country systems are clear: it strengthens domestic public financial management, prevents fragmentation, builds transparency and trust, and improves sustainability. Supporting country systems also strengthens partnerships with host governments, who often face countervailing incentives from countries that skillfully use direct budget support to build political influence. If the United States is serious about strengthening local partnerships and bolstering host-country fiscal management capabilities, it could pilot a more forward-leaning approach to using country systems in GFA priority countries.
It will take a concerted effort to help fragile states recover from the devastating economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recommendations above are not without risks. But the opportunity for the Biden administration to open a new chapter and advance more effective approaches to financing in fragile states is clear—and urgent. | https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/03/new-us-approach-help-fragile-states-amid-covid-driven-economic-crisis |
Presented on June 28, 2018, at the User Experience Professional Association 2018 Conference in Puerto Rico.
Despite our best intentions, UX practitioners are subject to hidden biases and barriers as any of our fellow humans. It’s more important than ever to understand our own biases to make sure we can be most effective in our communication and our design work. Increasing application of AI and machine learning as well as ever increasing amounts of data on people particularly are areas where hidden and unmitigated biases can create bad and even harmful outcomes. We explore ways to discover and discuss biases constructively before they undermine work, look at case studies of products that suffered from hidden biases, and consider pragmatic approaches to manage their influence in our projects. | https://www.designforcontext.com/insights/know-thyself-and-thine-users-be-true-understanding-and-managing-biases-can-influence-ux |
Health chiefs and fitness experts are urging the public to self-care in a bid to beat the lockdown blues.
As part of their Help Us, Help You campaign, the Welsh Government and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are urging anyone suffering with anxiety and stress because of the COVID-19 pandemic to look after their wellbeing with regular exercise, an improved diet, and more sleep.
Ben Williams, a personal trainer from Wrexham, says there are lots of things people can do from their home or garden to stay fit and focused.
“Exercise and a healthy diet can have a huge impact,” said Ben.
“Just taking that first step to get moving and exercise releases a hormone in your body called endorphin, helping to lift your mood, which can combat poor mental health, low self-esteem and a lack of motivation.
“When everyone is at home in lockdown it can be difficult to stay in good spirits. By dedicating a little bit of time for yourself to exercise, you can have a massive impact on the rest of your day – or week – knowing that you are looking after your health and keeping active.”
He added: “Finding a community you can get support from is also a huge help to many people.
“Having access to group chats and shared Zoom workouts during lockdown is a great way to get started and not be on your own.”
A YouGov survey revealed more than half of people in North Wales have experienced a deterioration in their mental health since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Those questioned who had managed to stay positive said a proactive approach made a difference, including exercise (35%), sticking to a routine (32%), a healthy diet (12%) and mindfulness, notably yoga and meditation (8%).
Donna Welsh is coordinator of Coleg Cambria’s Active Cambria programme, which has been supporting students and staff across north east Wales throughout the lockdowns with online mental health sessions and Pilates, yoga and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts.
She said: “Keeping our minds and bodies busy has been vital in lockdown; it is extremely important we focus on helping people understand that, now more than ever.
“We can learn a lot from this pandemic and pass that down to the next generation, the value we place on looking after ourselves, living a full life and ensure people are resilient and can handle whatever the world throws at them.
“I found it hard at times but with my coping strategies for when life gets me down – running, eating healthily, cutting down on alcohol and talking to others – I became motivated again.”
The Welsh Government spends more than £700m a year on mental health services, supported by additional funding of almost £10m on a range of initiatives including online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, the CALL mental health and BEAT eating disorders helplines.
A dedicated Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Eluned Morgan, has also been appointed to tackle the impact of the pandemic.
Alun Thomas, Chief Executive of Welsh mental health charity Hafal, said taking steps to self-care and keeping communication channels open with friends and family will be crucial in the weeks ahead.
“Our advice is to stay connected to others as much as you can within the guidelines, look after your physical health, and reach out and support others who you think may be in need,” he added. | https://businessmondays.co.uk/fitness-experts-urge-public-and-employers-to-practice-self-care-after-rise-in-mental-health-cases/ |
Tracklist:
- Solar Transformation (05:33)
- Temporal Lobe (with JazzJet) (05:10)
- Memory Implant (04:02)
- Flow Mechanics (03:33)
- Research Project (with JazzJet) (06:21)
- Inversion (with Paper Machetes) (03:50)
- R. P. Wackbard (Bonus) (06:21)
These songs are the more active part of the journey, composed using the audio styles of interest from explorations earlier that year. With Transient phase, Dream Scatter was interested in expressing multiple philosophies and thinking patterns, such as that society should always be evolving and changing and not be static, as with music. Things are always evolving and changing and yet staying the same in some way or another, stuck in a perpetual trance. This music is about capturing that notion. When a new idea or new sound or pattern of thinking hits the brain it makes the observer more curious and inquisitive, stirring things up. That’s what this is about. However, as with any stimulus, the perception of the meaning of the music will keep on evolving both in the artist’s mind and as well as with the listeners. In this mini album there was much exploring and developing of experimental composition, mixing, and mastering techniques; enabling him to map out editing steps into distinct categorical production phases. Process has allowed for a very selective expression during each step and helped with visualizing and filling in all of the categorical spaces into a full and well thought out experience. Listen ~
Artist: Dream Scatter
Album: Side Space
Type: mini-album
Style tags: psychill, ambient, drone, abstract, leftfield, experimental
Media type: WEB
Year: 2014
Label: Crucial Flow Research
Catalog ID: CFR007
Length: 00:38:02
official url: crucialflow.com/research/archives/cfr007
Tracklist: | https://forum.psybient.org/index.php/topic/136-dream-scatter-transient-phase-side-space-2014-crucial-flow-research-psychill-trip-hop-ambient/ |
The Amur Leopard is one of the rarest felines in the world. They are speedy creatures able to run up to 35 miles per hour, faster than Usain Bolt!
Amazing Facts About the Amur Leopard
Amur leopards have thick white or cream fur with large, widely spaced black spots called “rosettes” covering the head, back, tail and legs. Fur length varies from summer (0.7–0.9 in) to winter (2.8 in).
How long is an Amur leopards tail?
Amur leopards have long bushy tails of 32–35 in (81–89 cm). The long length comes in handy during cold winters as they can wrap them around themselves for warmth.
Where do Amur leopards live?
Amur leopards, also known as Far East leopards, Manchurian leopards or Korean leopards, are found in the Russian Far East. Their range is small and confined to forests of a temperate region crossed by the Amur River, a natural boundary between China and Russia. They are the only leopard subspecies adapted to survive in both extreme snowy winter and hot summer climates.
Where to Amur leopards rest?
Amur leopards are nocturnal so sleep during the day in cool caves or sheltered spots.
What do Amur leopards eat?
Amur leopards are carnivores. They are opportunistic so are not fussy eaters, but prey consists mainly of roe and sika deer, hares, wild pigs and badgers. Although, when feeling brave, they have been known to eat young black bears.
Food can be scarce, so if they have food left over, they may drag and hide the remains from other predators that might fancy a nibble.
How are Amur leopards adapted to eating meat?
Amur leopards have rough tongues covered in tiny hooks called denticles that are used to scrape meat off the bone of their prey.
Are Amur leopards sociable?
Amur leopards are highly territorial and live alone, only coming together to mate.
How big is an Amur leopard’s territory?
Individual Amur leopards can have territories of 19–116 square miles, which is the size of 56,144 football fields.
How fast can Amur leopards run?
Like other leopards, Amur leopards are fast and nimble. They can run at speeds of up to 37 miles per hour and leap up to 19 ft (5.8 m) horizontally.
Who would win in a race between an Amur leopard and Usain Bolt?
In a race between Usain Bolt and an Amur leopard, there is no contest; Bolt would be left in the dust as he runs at up to 28 miles per hour.
How may cubs do Amur leopards have?
Female Amur leopards start reproducing at three to four years of age. A litter of between one and four cubs is born around 12 weeks after mating. Cubs are born with their eyes closed and only begin to open them seven or eight days after birth.
How long do Amur leopard cubs stay with their mothers?
Cubs stay with their mothers for up to two years before braving the wild alone.
What is the biggest threat to Amur leopards?
With less than 70 left in the wild, Amur leopards are on the brink of extinction.
The main threats are poaching for their fur, hunting of prey species and habitat loss due to farming development, growth of cities and human induced forest fires.
The small size of the population means inbreeding is also becoming a problem. Genetic diversity is low and as such individuals are at risk from abnormalities that can impact health, reproduction and survival.
Do Amur leopards have predators?
Amur leopards are predators, but prey choice overlaps with that of the tiger. A reduction in small prey availability, particularly in winter, puts Amur leopards at risk from tigers, who will prey on them to reduce competition for food.
What is being done to help Amur leopards?
There is still hope that Amur leopards can be saved from extinction. For example, effective conservation measures in a Russian National Park have resulted in the Amur leopard population almost doubling from 30 in 2007 to 57 in 2015.
The Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA) was set up by Russian and western conservation organisations to conserve both the Amur leopard and Amur tiger. Working across Northeast Asia, ALTA aims to co-ordinate conservation efforts of all relevant parties. Initiatives include presence of anti-poaching teams, monitoring and tracking of populations, monitoring of fires and research into firefighting techniques, production of plans that ensure land development considers Amur leopard habitats, and increasing awareness and education. | https://onekindplanet.org/animal/leopard-amur/ |
[In image above, Usambara three-horned chameleon Trioceros deremensis at top left, photographed by Benjamin Klingebiel, CC BY-SA 2.0; Lance-nosed or Blade chameleon Calumma gallus at top right, photo by Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0; the spiny-backed Madagascan chameleon below is, I think, Furcifer verrucosus, photo by Andy Farke, used with permission.]
In that previous article I mentioned James Martin’s 1992 book Chameleons: Nature’s Masters of Disguise (Martin 1992) and said that it was pretty much the only thing approaching a comprehensive chameleon-themed volume on the market.
How wrong I was. It turns out that there’s an excellent multi-authored technical tome on chameleons: Krystal Tolley and Anthony Herrel’s 2013 The Biology of Chameleons (Tolley & Herrel 2013). I must get it, and until I do I can’t say any more about it. Anyway…
We saw in the previous article that Klaver & Böhme (1986) used data from hemipenis and (to a lesser extent) lung morphology to show that the taxonomic scheme used prior to their study did not accurately reflect the morphological variation or evolutionary history of chameleons. Accordingly, they resurrected the name Rhampholeon for the African leaf chameleons. And, later on, Rieppeleon was coined for species previously included, erroneously, within Rhampholeon.
But Klaver & Böhme (1986) did so much more than resurrect Rhampholeon. They also proposed that Chamaeleo of tradition was so diverse that it should be split into four distinct genera: Chamaeleo sensu stricto, Calumma, Furcifer and Bradypodion.
Calumma and Furcifer are both Madagascan. Both are old names (published in 1865 and 1831, respectively) resurrected from synonymy. While both will, by now, be familiar to you if you know your chameleons, this wasn’t the case until recently and it took a while for them to creep into the non-technical literature.
Calumma contains about 30 species, the most familiar of which is the often very large Parson’s chameleon C. parsonii. They’re all mid-sized to large, arboreal, colour-changing chameleons that tend to have sexually dimorphic cranial display structures like rostral appendages, tall casques and occipital lobes. The rostral appendage is comparatively huge in some species, like the spectacular Lance-nosed or Blade chameleon C. gallus.
Furcifer chameleons are also arboreal, ‘typical’ chamaleons. About 20 species are currently known, the most familiar of which is the Panther chameleon F. pardalis, a now common animal in the pet trade (insert usual complaint about chameleons being poorly suited for life in captivity). They generally have rounded casques that lack occipital lobes. Rostral appendages are present in the males of some species and are sometimes forked (as in, for example, F. petteri and F. willsii). Gular and ventral crests are often present too.
Incidentally, some of the key divergences within these two genera are thought, on the basis of molecular distances calibrated on fossils, to have occurred during the Oligocene and even Eocene (that is, anywhere between about 25 and 50 million years ago). This means that some of the lineages within these groups are really very old – old enough that it’s certainly conceivable that some of them might, in future, be considered worthy of generic rank as well.
The African dwarf chameleons. The set of mainland African chamaeleonines grouped together in Bradypodion again required the resurrection of an old name, first published in 1843. The Bradypodion species are generally termed African dwarf chameleons. As suggested by that name, they’re small, with SVLs (snout-to-vent lengths) ranging from 50 to 110 mm.
In contrast to the Brookesia, Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon leaf chameleons, the Bradypodion species look like miniature ‘conventional’ chameleons, possessing prehensile tails and being habitual climbers in trees, shrubs and also reeds and grasses. They’re often associated with Mediterranean-style habitats and heathland. Molecular studies indicate that Bradypodion is the sister-group to the chamaeleonine clade that includes Chamaeleo and other ‘conventional’ lineages (Raxworthy et al. 2002, Tolley et al. 2013).
There are currently about 18 Bradypodion species but the presence of numerous small, poorly studied, isolated populations means that the systematics of the group is somewhat unresolved: these populations tend to prove to be new lineages when analysed, cryptic species seem to abound, and there are several populations that have been confirmed as new species but have yet to be named.
The casque is well developed, prominent gular and dorsal crests are often present, and they all seem to be viviparous, females giving birth to between 5 and 20 babies sometimes 2 or even 3 times during a season (Alexander & Marais 2007). These lizards grow quickly, reaching maturity in a year or two, and only living for between 3 and 5 years. It’s all ‘live fast, die young’, a strategy that’s present in other iguanians (we previously looked at it in Australian dragons) but isn’t generally appreciated as a strategy that lizards have gone in for. Well, they have. Incidentally, one suggested driver of this strategy is the prevalence of fire as a selection agent! There’s some interesting work linking the sexual dimorphism present in Bradypodion with habitat preference (Stuart-Fox & Moussalli 2007).
Trioceros chameleons: more than T. jacksonii! Another group only recently (2009) elevated to full ‘generic rank’ is Trioceros, a tropical African chameleon clade endemic to a belt stretching from the Gulf of Guinea to Ethiopia, and south to northern Mozambique (Tilbury & Tolley 2009). Species from the Middle East, India and elsewhere previously included within Trioceros are now placed elsewhere. Trioceros is not a new name (it was first published in 1839) but, after a long period of being out of use, it was resurrected by Klaver & Böhme (1986). They initially proposed that it be recognised as a ‘subgenus’ within Chamaeleo. More recent work shows that Trioceros and Chamaeleo are not only distinct but also might not be especially close (Tilbury & Tolley 2009, Tolley et al. 2013): in these phylogenies, Trioceros is part of a chamaeleonine clade that includes Kinyongia, Calumma and Furcifer but not Chamaeleo.
Like me, you may well imagine Trioceros as ‘that three-horned genus that contains Jackson’s chameleon’. In fact, the long-horned Jackson’s chameleon T. jacksonii (try to find a book that mentions this species and doesn’t also mention Triceratops in the same sentence) is an unusual member of the group. A few others possess short rostral processes, but others don’t. Raised parietal crests, occipital lobes, prominent dorsal and gular crests and heterogenous body scalation are all typical in Trioceros: these are especially showy chameleons. I mean, look at this...
In fact a few species here have, additionally, especially tall neural spines which give them a mighty sail. This is especially prominent in the Usambara three-horned chameleon. And here’s where I won’t start talking about the manuscript I was preparing on comparing chameleon dorsal neural spines with those of sail-backed dinosaurs… (an idea since picked up by other authors).
Anyway, the Trioceros chameleons are in fact a heterogenous lot and, again, it’s conceivable that splitting up and further taxonomic change might happen down the line. Again, note that some of the divergence dates and morphological and ecological variation present within this group well exceed those present in ‘genera’ elsewhere. Don’t, however, go thinking that this makes the species themselves all that old: the majority of divergences within Trioceros seem to have occurred within the last 5 million years (Ceccarelli et al. 2014).
Some of these lineages are viviparous. In fact, the so-called ‘bitaeniatus-group’ within Trioceros consists of relatively small, mostly montane, viviparous species, and thus looks likely to be a specialised, err, montane clade, their evolution being strongly linked to the Pliocene development of the Eastern Afromontane Region (Ceccarelli et al. 2014). The members of this lineage tend to have a more triangular parietal crest than species belonging to other lineages. Jackson’s chameleon is part of this particular group.
So that’s Bradypodion, Calumma, Furcifer and Trioceros done (I mean, in brief, cursory fashion). But that’s still not it. There are more chameleons yet to talk about. In what should be the third and final part of this series of articles, we’ll look at what the relationships between these different chameleon lineages tell us about the pattern of chameleon evolution overall: is the cryptic, leaf-mimicking morphotype the primitive one for the group, or were ancestral chameleons slender-tailed, arboreal animals of more conventional shape? Until next time.
For previous Tet Zoo articles on iguanian lizards, see...
- Harduns and toad-heads; a tale of arenicoly and over-looked convergence
- Ermentrude the liolaemine
- ‘Cryptic intermediates’ and the evolution of chameleons
- Tell me something new about basilisks, puh-lease
- Amazing social life of the Green iguana
- The Squamozoic actually happened (kind of): giant herbivorous lizards in the Paleogene
- The enormous liolaemine radiation: paradoxical herbivory, viviparity, evolutionary cul-de-sacs and the impending mass extinction
- Leiosaurus: big heads, bold patterns
- Grassland earless dragons
- Australia, land of dragons (by which I mean: agamids) (part I)
- Australia, land of dragons (part II)
- What's With All These New Chameleon Names? (part 1)
Refs - -
Alexander, G. & Marais, J. 2007. A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
Ceccarelli, F. S., Menegon, M., Tolley, K. A., Tilbury, C. R., Gower, D. J., Laserna, M. H., Kasahun, R., Rodriguez-Prieto, A., Hagmann, R. & Loader, S. P. 2014. Evolutionary relationships, species delimitation and biogeography of Eastern Afromontane horned chameleons (Chamaeleonidae: Trioceros). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 80, 125-136.
Klaver, C. J. J. & Böhme, W. 1986. Phylogeny and classification of the Chamaeleonidae (Sauria) with special reference to hemipenis morphology. Bonner Zoologische Monographien 22, 1-64.
Martin, J. 1992. Chameleons: Nature’s Masters of Disguise. Blandford, London.
Raxworthy, C. J., Forstner, M. R. J. & Nussbaum, R. A. 2002. Chameleon radiation by oceanic dispersal. Nature 415, 784-787.
Stuart-Fox, D. & Moussalli, A. 2007. Sex-specific ecomorphological variation and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion spp.). Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20, 1073-1081.
Stuart-Fox, D. & Moussalli, A. 2008. Selection for social signalling drives the evolution of chameleon colour change. PLoS Biology 6 (1): e25. DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060025
Tilbury, C. R. & Tolley, K. A. 2009. A re-appraisal of the systematics of the African genus Chamaeleo (Reptilia: Chamaeleonidae). Zootaxa 2079, 57-68.
Tolley, K. & Herrel, A. 2013. The Biology of Chameleons. University of California Press, Berkeley. | https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/by-the-horns-of-trioceros-the-casque-of-calumma-the-brood-of-bradypodion-chameleons-part-2/ |
Targeted syntactic evaluations have demonstrated the ability of language models to perform subject-verb agreement given difficult contexts. To elucidate the mechanisms by which the models accomplish this behavior, this study applies causal mediation analysis to pre-trained neural language models. We investigate the magnitude of models' preferences for grammatical inflections, as well as whether neurons process subject-verb agreement similarly across sentences with different syntactic structures. We uncover similarities and differences across architectures and model sizes-notably, that larger models do not necessarily learn stronger preferences. We also observe two distinct mechanisms for producing subject-verb agreement depending on the syntactic structure of the input sentence. Finally, we find that language models rely on similar sets of neurons when given sentences with similar syntactic structure. | https://nyuscholars.nyu.edu/en/publications/causal-analysis-of-syntactic-agreement-mechanisms-in-neural-langu |
The present invention relates to apparatus for closing an opening in a container, particularly but not exclusively a cereal box.
Breakfast cereal is usually supplied in a sealed plastic bag disposed in a cardboard box. To dispense cereal the cardboard box is opened by folding back flaps forming the top of the box and the top of the plastic bag inside opened also. The cereal may then be poured out of the plastic bag through the opening in the top of the box. When a desired amount of cereal has been dispensed and it is desired to retain the remainder for consumption at a later time the plastic bag is usually rolled down inside the box in an attempt to seal it and the flaps forming the top of the box closed and secured by inserting a tab on one flap into a slit formed in another flap.
This is rather unsatisfactory. Simply rolling down the top of the plastic bag does not always suffice to prevent escape of cereal from the bag. Also, the bag and flaps do not provide anything like an airtight seal. When cereal is stored in a non-airtight container its quality gradually deteriorates.
The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems which it aims to eliminate, or at least reduce.
According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for closing an opening in a container comprising a body arranged to close the opening in a container, the body defining an aperture through which material may pass into and/or out of the container, and a means for closing the aperture.
The apparatus may be used to close an aperture in a container, for example the opening at the top of the cereal box, and material, for example cereal, can subsequently be dispensed when required through the aperture in the body of the apparatus. This aperture can be closed using the means for closing, when desired. Thus, the apparatus can be used to replace any inadequate means for closing a container.
Preferably the apparatus comprises means for effecting a seal between the body and container. Preferably the seal is substantially airtight. This is advantageous where a container is used to store foodstuffs.
In one embodiment the body defines a cavity for receiving at least part of the container. The cavity may be defined, at least in part, by a peripheral wall arranged, in use, to extend around an outside surface of a container received into the cavity. A second, inner, peripheral wall may extend inside, generally parallel to and spaced apart from the outer wall to define a channel therebetween for receiving a part of a container. The channel is preferably operative to effect a seal between the apparatus and part of a container received into the channel. The channel may also serve to grip a container received into the cavity.
In addition, other means for gripping a container may be provided. Where a channel is provided for receiving part of a container the means for gripping may be disposed in the channel. In one embodiment the means for gripping comprises teeth disposed in a channel.
Provision of means for gripping a container facilitates handling of the container by handling the body of the apparatus.
Preferably, the means for closing the aperture comprises a lid. Preferably the lid is adapted to close the aperture in an airtight manner. The lid may be slidably mounted on the body of the apparatus for movement between open and closed positions.
The apparatus may also comprise a handle. The handle may be a loop handle formed on the body. This enables the apparatus and possibly any container with which it is used to be easily handled.
Preferably, the body is transparent or partially transparent. This enables the container to be seen through the body.
The apparatus may include provision for releasably mounting a decorative fitting.
The apparatus may comprise a means for generating a sound, for example an electronic circuit and loud speaker. This is preferably arranged to generate a sound when the lid is moved from the closed position.
Preferably, the apparatus is adapted to be used with a cereal box.
The apparatus may be adjustable to enable it to accommodate different sizes of container.
The body of the apparatus may comprise means for releasably mounting a container of moisture absorbent material. Such a material can absorb moisture from the inside of a container being closed by the apparatus, preserving the condition of a dry foodstuff, such as cereal, inside the container.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
shows a perspective view of apparatus according to the invention fitted on a breakfast cereal box and with the lid of the apparatus in a closed position;
shows a similar view to Figure 1 but with the lid in an open position;
shows a perspective view of the lid of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2 with a decorative fitting fitted thereto;
shows a similar view to Figure 1 of an alternative embodiment of apparatus according to the invention; and
shows a part cut-away part-cross-sectional view of a possible addition to an inside surface of the body of the apparatus of either Figures 1 to 3 or 4.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:
In the drawings hidden detail is shown by faint/broken lines.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2 the apparatus comprises a body 1 moulded from a tinted transparent food grade plastics material, for example polypropylene.
The body 1 comprises a top portion 2 with a depending outer peripheral wall 3 which, together, define a cavity. The top portion 2 is generally rectangular in shape.
A second, inner, peripheral wall 4 is disposed inside the outer peripheral wall 3. The inner peripheral wall 4 is substantially parallel to and spaced apart from the outer peripheral wall 3 to define therebetween a channel. Gripping means 5, the purpose of which are described further below are disposed opposite one another at spaced apart positions on the outside of the inner peripheral wall 4 and on the inside of the outer peripheral wall 3 so that they are directed towards each other in the channel.
The top portion 2 of the body 1 includes an aperture 6 with an associated lid 7.
The lid 7 is also moulded from a plastics material and is slidably mounted on the top portion 2 of the body 1 for movement between a closed position as, shown in Figure 1, in which the lid 7 sealingly closes the aperture 6 in a substantially airtight manner and an open position, shown in Figure 2, in which the aperture 6 is open.
The lid 7 is mounted on the body 1 by means of opposed formations 8 which cooperate with channels 9 formed on opposite sides respectively of the top portion 2 of the body 1. A number of spaced apart substantially parallel ribs 10 are formed on opposite sides of the lid 7 to facilitate gripping of the lid 7 by a user.
In an alternative embodiment a pivotally mounted lid is provided.
Disposed on the body is an electronic circuit and loud speaker 11. The circuit includes a magnetically operated switch 12 and the lid 7 includes a magnet 13. The magnet 12 and switch 13 are positioned relative to each other so that the switch 13 is operated by the magnet 12 when the lid 7 is moved from the closed position. This causes the electronic circuit to play prerecorded sounds over the loud speaker.
Two retaining posts 14 are formed on the top of the lid 7, to receive and support a decorative snap on fitting, as described further below.
Depending from opposite lateral sides of the aperture 6 are a plurality of spaced apart fingers 15, whose function is described further below.
A loop handle 16 is formed on the outside of the peripheral wall remote from the aperture 6.
The apparatus is intended for use with a cardboard cereal box 17. The cereal box 17 is opened in the usual way, by opening flaps 18 closing an aperture in the top of the box. Any inner bag containing cereal is then also opened.
The flaps 18 are then either folded outwards so that they lie adjacent the outside of the box 17 or, preferably, inwards so that they lie adjacent the inside of the box 17. When folded inwards it is desirable, although not essential, that the flaps 18 are arranged to. extend into any inner bag in the box to assist in holding the bag open. The apparatus is then fitted onto the box 17 so that the top of the box 17 is received into the cavity defined in the body of the apparatus 1, with part of the box extending into the channel defined between the outer 3 and inner 4 peripheral walls, so that portions of the box are received between the opposed gripping means 5.
The size of the channel between the outer 3 and inner 4 peripheral walls is chosen so that the double thickness of card around the top of the box 17 (provided by virtue of the folded flaps 18) is tightly received into the channel with a snug fit to form a substantially airtight seal between the two peripheral walls 3,4 and the box 17.
Additionally, the portions of the box 17 received between opposed gripping means 5 will be gripped by the gripping means 5, firmly holding the box in engagement with the body 1. The gripping means 5 comprise dogtooth formations or barbs directed so that a box 17 may be easily received into the channel between the gripping means, but is more difficult to remove.
In another embodiment the gripping means may be formed from a resilient and/or high friction material such as rubber. In a further embodiment the gripping means may comprise a resiliently biased element operative in conjunction with another element to grip matter received between the two elements.
The contents of the cereal box 17 or an inner bag therein may now be conveniently poured out through the aperture 6 using the handle 16 to hold the box 17. Since the box 17 is retained on the body 1 by the peripheral walls 3,4 and gripping means 5 the handle 16 may be used to manipulate the box 17. The fingers 15 act to guide the contents of the box 17 towards the aperture 6 to facilitate pouring of the contents through the aperture 6. Where an inner bag is provided the fingers 15 may help to reduce the likelihood of cereal becoming disposed between the inner bag and box 17.
In one embodiment the fingers 15 are arranged so that they may be caused to extend into an opening in any inner bag disposed in the box 17. The fingers 15 thus serve to ensure that an opening in any inner bag 15 retained in the region of the aperture 6.
Obviously, to dispense cereal the lid 7 must be in the open position. When sufficient cereal has been dispensed the aperture 6 may be closed with the lid 7, to effectively seal in the contents of the box 17 with a substantially airtight seal, maintaining freshness of cereal in the box.
When the lid 7 is open the electronic circuit 11 causes a sound to be emitted. This provides entertainment as well as a useful indication that the lid 7 is open, reducing the risk of the lid 7 being inadvertently left open and allowing cereal in the box 17 to deteriorate.
Figure 3 shows a decorative fitting 18 releasably mounted on a lid 7 of the type of apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2. The fitting 18 represents a character which may be a popular cartoon character or be associated with a brand of cereal with which the apparatus is intended to be used, but could be any suitable model. The figure enhances the appeal of the apparatus, especially for children and can provide advertising.
In one embodiment the sound emitted by the electronic circuit 11 is associated with the figure and may simulate speech of the figure.
Figure 4 shows another embodiment of apparatus according to the invention. The same reference numerals are used in this Figure as in Figures 1 and 2 to indicate parts of the same description.
The embodiment of Figure 4 enables boxes 17 of different widths to be accommodated. In this embodiment opposed fixed walls 19 depend from opposite sides only of the body 1. Lateral outer 3 and inner 4 walls are each provided by two separate side components 20,21 which are slidably mounted between the fixed end walls 19 so that they may be moved relative to one another to vary the spacing between the sides of the apparatus defined by the components. This enables boxes of different widths to be received into a channel defined between the inner 3 and outer 4 walls.
The two components 20,21 are resiliently biased apart by means of springs 22 disposed in sleeves 23 formed on the inside surface of the two components. Stops (not shown) are provided to limit the movement of the two components 20,21 relative to the end walls 19 to ensure that the components remain slidingly engaged with the end walls 19.
In use the two components 20,21 are urged towards each other against the action of the spring 22 by a user to a sufficient extent to enable the apparatus to be fitted onto a box 17. The side components 20,21 are then released. The action of the springs 22 will then urge the components apart, but their movement will be restricted by the box. The result is that the apparatus will hold the box 17. This removes the need for the additional gripping means 5 of the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, such means could nevertheless still be provided.
Figure 5 shows a possible addition to a surface 24 of the inside of the body 1 of the apparatus of either Figures 1 to 3 or 4. A substantially circular wall 25 is mounted on, or formed integrally with, the surface 24. The wall 25 includes a number of slots 26.
The wall 25 is arranged to releasably receive a substantially cylindrical container 27 of a moisture absorbing material, such as silica gel. Opposite ends of the container 27 are perforated to allow air to circulate through the container. A number of raised pegs 28 are formed on the surface 24 within the wall 25 to create a space between the container 27 and the surface 24, to allow air to circulate through the perforations in the surface of the container 27 facing the surface 24, via the slots 26.
In use the container 27 is mounted within the wall 25 as shown. When the body is used to close a container the container 27 is exposed to the inside of the container being closed so that moisture in the air inside the container can be absorbed by the material inside the container 27, helping to preserve foodstuff in the container. When material inside container 27 has absorbed moisture the container 27 may be replaced or removed for regeneration, for example by placing the container in an oven to dry out the material it contains.
The apparatus enables a cereal or other similarly shaped box to be easily and repeatedly opened and resealed in a substantially airtight manner, overcoming the difficulties and inconvenience in trying to reclose a cereal box.
The adjustable embodiment of Figure 4 allows a single apparatus to be used in relation to a number of different sizes of box.
The above embodiments are described by way of example only. Many modifications are possible without departing from the invention. | |
Ups driver speeds through our apartment complex and disregards my kind request to please slow down. We have a lot of children that are walking and riding their bikes throughout the day and evening. When I asked him to slow down please, he only complained that we have a lot of speed bumps. (duh!! They're there for a reason!) then in his attempt to brush me off and stop my conversation, he said he had a 10:30 air package to deliver. Off he flew down the hill hitting every speed bump at "break neck speed."
During a previous delivery about a month or so ago, this same guy crashed the back end of his truck into a tree that had large limbs overhanging the parking spot. Breaking off large limbs and splitting others. He got out of his truck, nearly swearing, fussing, and ripping off the limbs (as best he could) and leaving them strewn across the area. He then proceeded to throw the large packages out of the truck and bump them roughly up the stairs to my neighbors door. Total disregard for the contents of the packages. One was very large and heavy. Again, he drove away speeding without regard to anyone's safety. This guy needs to be fired on the spot! I will be more observant as to the license number, his name or truck number next time, and instead of writing a complaint, which i'm sure ups will never see, i'll just call the police. As a matter of fact, our nashville tv station, wsmv asks for stories that would be of interest to report on. This would touch everyone's heart strings and probably stir up a little more than that. We've all seen this behavior too many times.
I have to consider the reason why this guy so blatantly disregards safety. I truly believe it is because the drivers have too many packages to deliver and are expected to do it all in a day or at a given time. They are overloaded with work and evidently their paycheck is dependent on how many packages they can deliver in a day.
Shame on ups! They are the root of the problem.
I will not be using their services in the future. | https://www.complaintsboard.com/united-parcel-service-of-america-ups-excessive-speed-in-apartment-complex-c1033020 |
Fascination is revelation of the new without triggering a fear response.
Time is Your Heartbeat
in Procrastination
Now what happens when you hold strict rules of association?
Self-examines her own thinking… Her own thinking is a collective of her own experiences and exposure to her environment, as well as natural inheritance. When you hold strict rules of association, you actually lock down the ability of the mind to adapt.
More binary as you mentioned before? Yes. When tab A must only ever fit into slot B, then choice and free will become fictions, and when our personal picture of our role in our community must remain unchanged, what then? If there is a strict path of social progression that everyone is expected to adhere to, the “ladder” as they say…
We’re stagnant? No progress can be made. It closes off opportunities. It creates a scenario of perpetual delay. Someday you might have personal freedom, but your actions are making that freedom a reality for someone else now.
“Putting in our time.” Your time is your heart beat. Can you feel it? Your moments come to you as feelings, not emotions, not moods or whims. They arise primarily as a feeling state. This is your root connection to the reality that brought you forth to be with us. Emotions as we learn to create them serve us how?
To flow smoothly with the rest of the flow. Social emotion serves to foster flow? Are there any emotions that aren’t social? There are feelings that aren’t social, but all emotions are social. They serve the first social role. We learn to use them to manipulate other people’s expectations, though not consciously. It’s a survival imperative, when living among the mad, to act as they do.
Do they also make us run when faced with danger? Feeling makes us run when faced with danger. Emotion makes us doubt our ability to run, panic in fear because we believe we can’t save ourselves.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends. | https://dragonintuitive.com/time-is-your-heartbeat/ |
Internet Security Firewall
In computer networks, firewalls block or allow network traffic, based on a set of predefined or dynamic rules and policies. They protect networks and computers against intrusion from potentially dangerous black-hats as well as from attacks that might enable them to take over the devices and misuse them for malicious purposes.
What is a firewall?
The term “firewall” originally referred to a structure that is supposed to confine fire within a closed space, thus hampering its spread and mitigating its harmful effects on humans and property.
By analogy, in network security, a firewall is a software- or hardware-based system that works as a gatekeeper between trusted and untrusted networks or its parts. It achieves this by filtering out harmful or potentially unwanted content and communication.
- Network firewalls usually fulfill this function for internal systems comprising several devices or sub-networks. This type of firewall runs on network hardware and can be easily scaled to fit businesses of any size.
- Host-based firewalls run directly on the user machines (or endpoints) and therefore can offer far more personalized filtering rules.
Most operating systems provide their own built-in host-based firewall. However, these tend to feature only basic functionality and, as widespread as they are, have probably been investigated thoroughly by the potential attackers.
The first commercial firewalls designed for computer networks were developed in the late 1980s by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). The technology gained prominence and became widespread over the following decade due to the rapid growth of the global internet.
How do firewalls work?
There are multiple types of firewalls, each using a different approach to traffic filtering. First-generation firewalls worked as packet filters, comparing basic information such as original source and destination of the packet, the port being used, or the protocol against a predefined list of rules.
The second generation comprised the so-called stateful firewalls, which added another parameter to the filter setup, namely connection state. Based on this information, the technology could determine if the packet was starting the connection, was a part of an existing connection, or wasn’t involved at all.
Third generation firewalls were built to filter information across all layers of the OSI model – including the application layer – allowing them to recognize and understand applications as well as some of the widely-used protocols such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Based on this information, the firewall can detect attacks trying to circumvent it via an allowed port or misuse of a protocol.
The latest firewalls still belong to the third generation, however, they are often described as “next-generation” (or NGFW). They combine all the previously used approaches with deeper inspection of the filtered content, e.g. matching it against a detection database to identify potentially harmful traffic.
These modern firewalls often come with additional security systems built into them such as virtual private networks (VPN), intrusion prevention and detection systems (IPS/IDS), identity management, application control, and web-filtering.
What are the benefits of using a firewall?
The biggest benefit for users is enhanced security. By using a firewall you set up a security perimeter that can help to protect your computer or network from harmful incoming traffic.
This technology can also filter harmful outgoing traffic. By doing this it lowers the chance of undetected data exfiltration by a malicious insider as well as reduces the risk that the devices behind the firewall will become a part of a botnet – a large group of internet-connected devices enslaved by the attackers for malevolent purposes.
Firewalls are especially beneficial for companies with networks consisting of several internet-connected endpoints. If the firewall is properly set up at the edge of such a network, it creates a single point of entry where some of the incoming threats can be identified and mitigated.
It also separates the company’s internal systems from the public internet, and thus creates a protected environment where data can flow more freely and more securely.
Download ESET Smart Security Premium. | https://www.studentrocks.co.in/insurance/ |
Adolescence, Privacy, and the Law provides a foundation for understanding privacy rights and how they relate to adolescents. Roger Levesque argues that because privacy is actually an inherently social phenomenon, the ways in which adolescents' privacy needs and rights are shaped are essential to society's broader privacy interests. A close look at empirical understandings of privacy, how it shapes development, and how privacy itself can be shaped provides important lessons for addressing the critical juncture facing privacy rights and privacy itself.
Adolescence, Privacy, and the Law provides an overview of the three major strands of privacy rights: decisional, spatial, and informational, and extends current understandings of these strands and how the legal system addresses adolescents and their legal status. Levesque presents comprehensive and specific analyses of the place of privacy in adolescent development and its outcomes, the influences that shape adolescents' expectations and experiences of privacy, and ways to effectively shape adolescents' use of privacy. He explains why privacy law must move in new directions to address privacy needs and pinpoints the legal foundation for moving in new directions. The book charts broad proposals to guide the development of sociolegal responses to changing social environments related to the privacy of adolescents and challenges jurisprudential analyses claiming that developmental sciences do not offer important and useful tools to guide responses to adolescents' privacy. Lastly, Levesque responds to likely criticisms that may hamper the development of sociolegal stances more consistent with adolescents' needs for privacy as well as with societal concerns about privacy.
Roger J.R. Levesque, JD, PhD, is a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University and Maurer School of Law. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence as well as the New Criminal Law Review and Adolescent Research Review. He is an award-winning author of over a dozen books, most recently Adolescents, Discrimination and the Law and soon-to-be-released The Science and Law of School Segregation and Diversity. | https://global.oup.com/academic/product/adolescence-privacy-and-the-law-9780190460792?cc=us&lang=en |
Columbia and Barnard’s public responses to incidents of anti-black harassment and racism on campus extend back decades, often displayed on the campus news section of their respective websites....
Permanent spaces dedicated to facilitating testing accommodations to open in Chandler and Havemeyer next fall
2019-04-04T19:59:17.342Z
Permanent spaces dedicated to facilitating testing accommodations will be opened in Chandler and Havemeyer next fall, accommodating an ci capacity of 93 students, the University Senate Subcommittee for Students with Disabilities announced at a town hall held on Wednesday to hear concerns regarding resources for students with disabilities....
2019-03-28T10:29:35.477Z
Alongside academic policy, food insecurity, and mental health reform, students have voiced one defining issue in the upcoming elections for the Columbia College Student Council: the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which calls for the University to divest from companies that “profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.”...
2019-02-27T19:57:43.191Z
Updated on February 27 at 2:57 p.m.
2019-02-28T04:04:04.770Z
Updated Feb. 27 at 11:05 p.m.
SHIFT researchers discuss pivotal role of physical space, mental well-being in promoting sexual health
2019-02-05T13:01:23.929Z
The Columbia researchers responsible for conducting a $2.2 million study on the sexual behaviors of college students emphasized the necessity for an intersectional, holistic approach to addressing sexual violence—one which takes into account factors ranging from mental health to campus space—in an interview with Spectator last week....
2019-02-04T05:51:21.158Z
Columbia slammed Secretary of Education Betsy Devos’ proposed revisions to Title IX regulations, which narrow the definition of harassment and force universities to allow cross-examinations of complainants, in comments submitted to the U.S. Department of Education last week....
2019-01-25T06:31:04.764Z
In response to the newly proposed federal Title IX regulations, student organizers held a panel discussion to spread awareness about the changes to the legislation—which outline a narrower definition of sexual harassment and prioritize the rights of the accused—and explained how students can protest them at a workshop on Thursday....
2019-01-22T04:44:03.198Z
The Office of Multicultural Affairs has appointed Vanessa Gonzalez-Siegel, TC ’17, to serve as the associate director of multicultural affairs and LGBTQ outreach, and Alison Jackson to serve as associate director of multicultural affairs and international student support following several months without permanent representatives for either position....
2019-01-22T03:05:27.352Z
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined journalist and renowned writer Ta-Nehisi Coates to discuss political activism, the need for urgent advocacy, and the nature of “clapping back” at Twitter followers at an event to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in Riverside Church on Monday afternoon.... | https://www.columbiaspectator.com/contributors/Elina-Arbo/ |
NEW YORK, July 1, 2008 (LAWFUEL) — On June 30, 2008,
Scott+Scott LLP filed a class action against IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.
(“IndyMac” or the “Company”) (NYSE:IMB) and certain officers and
directors in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of
California. The action is on behalf of those purchasing IndyMac common
stock during the period beginning August 17, 2007 through May 11, 2008,
inclusive (the “Class Period”), for violations of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint alleges that during the Class
Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements
regarding IndyMac’s business and financial results and, as a result,
the price of the Company’s securities were inflated during the Class
Period, thereby harming investors.
If you purchased IndyMac common stock during the Class Period and wish
to serve as a lead plaintiff in the action, you must move the Court no
later than August 11, 2008. Any member of the investor class may move
the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of its choice, or
may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. If you wish
to discuss this action or have questions concerning this notice or your
rights, please contact Scott+Scott ([email protected], (800)
404-7770, (860) 537-5537 or visit the Scott+Scott website,
http://www.scott-scott.com) for more information. There is no cost or
fee to you.
According to the complaint, defendants concealed IndyMac’s growing
exposure to loans in its pay-option adjustable-rate mortgage (“Option
ARM”) and homebuilder construction portfolios and made false
representations regarding the Company’s capital position in an attempt
to divert investors’ concerns regarding the Company’s capital erosion.
As a result of defendants’ false statements, IndyMac stock traded at
artificially inflated prices during the Class Period.
On May 12, 2008, the Company stunned investors when it reported a first
quarter net loss of $184.2 million, or ($2.27) per share. On this news,
IndyMac’s stock dropped to close at $2.32 per share — a two-day
decline of $1.11 per share, or 32%. Since October 2, 2007, the
Company’s battered shares have declined from $24.55 per share, or 91%.
Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities,
antitrust and employee retirement plan actions throughout the United
States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals and
other entities worldwide. | https://www.lawfuel.com/blog/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-indymac-files-bancorp-inc-on-behalf-of-investors/ |
Feral cats are one of the most destructive invasive predators worldwide. Due to the high risk of pushing native species to extinction in Australia, density-reduction or eradication campaigns can greatly improve the persistence probability and recovery of native fauna. Kangaroo Island — Australia’s third-largest island — was recently nominated as a...
Citations
... This is generally not a sustainable management strategy given the usually limited resources and time available for such conservation programmes (e.g. Venning et al. 2020). Most studies that found feral cat culling to be effective and with a lasting impact on the cat population were examining either intensive and sustained management efforts (Algar and Burrows 2004) or situations where populations are relatively closed (e.g. ...
Invasive feral cats threaten biodiversity at a global scale. Mitigating feral cat impacts and reducing their populations has therefore become a global conservation priority, especially on islands housing high endemic biodiversity. The New Caledonian archipelago is a biodiversity hotspot showing outstanding terrestrial species richness and endemism. Feral cats prey upon at least 44 of its native vertebrate species, 20 of which are IUCN Red-listed threatened species. To test the feasibility and efficiency of culling, intensive culling was conducted in a peninsula of New Caledonia (25.6 km²) identified as a priority site for feral cat management. Live-trapping over 38 days on a 10.6 km² area extirpated 36 adult cats, an estimated 44% of the population. However, three months after culling, all indicators derived from camera-trapping (e.g., abundance, minimum number of individuals and densities) suggest a return to pre-culling levels. Compensatory immigration appears to explain this unexpectedly rapid population recovery in a semi-isolated context. Since culling success does not guarantee a long-term effect, complementary methods like fencing and innovative automated traps need to be used, in accordance with predation thresholds identified through modelling, to preserve island biodiversity. Testing general assumptions on cat management, this article contributes important insights into a challenging conservation issue for islands and biodiversity hotspots worldwide. | https://www.researchgate.net/figure/fig3_342171301 |
North Island Championship 2020
66th North Island Champinoship 2020 is a 7 round chess tournament held from 12th to 18th July 2020 at the Ellen Melville Centre, Auckland.
FIDE Online Olympiad 2020
FIDE Online Olympiad 2020 is a national teams event in which all federations affiliated to FIDE have the right to participate. Each team consists of six players, in a mixed format with a minimum quota of three female players and two junior players.
FIDE Checkmate Coronavirus online event
From May 18 until June 16, FIDE will join forces with major internet chess platforms in organizing more than 2,000 online tournaments. “Checkmate Coronavirus” tournaments will be played at lichess.org, chess.com, chess24.com, and FIDE Online Arena. There will be almost 80 tournaments a day aimed at all chess players, regardless of age, country, or level of play.
Oceania Zonal 2021
2021 Oceania Zonal CANCELLED.
128th NZ Chess Congress 2021
128th New Zealand Chess Congress, Palmerston North is held 2nd to 12th January 2021 incorporating multiple events including NZ Open, NZ Rapid, NZ Lightning.
NZ Senior Championship 2020
New Zealand Senior Chess Championship 2020 is a 6 round chess tournament held from 26th to 29th November 2020 at Auckland Chess Centre.
World Senior Championship 2020
World Amateur Chess Championship 2020
World Amateur Chess Championships 2020 held from 21st to 31st October 2020 in Heraklion, Crete. Originally 2nd to 12th April 2020 but rescheduled due to COVID-19.
World Cadet u8, u10, u12 Championships 2020
South Island Championship 2020
South Island Championship 2020 incorporates 2 tournaments. South Island Championship 3rd to 9th October and South Island Rapid 10th October 2020. | https://newzealandchess.nz/tag/official/page/2/ |
ABOUT RI:
Relief International is a leading non-profit organization working in roughly 20 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty. Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach — which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.
Job Overview/Summary:
The MEAL Coordinator contributes to overall program quality through the coordination, and implementation of enhanced monitoring and evaluation, accountability, and learning strategies; the emphasis is on streamlining processes and tools for efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability throughout the project cycle across all RI projects being implemented at Area office level. Under the supervision of the direct supervision of the Deputy Area Manager with technical support from the RI Yemen Country MEAL Technical Adviser, the MEAL Coordinator will ensure all projects have suitable monitoring and evaluation systems, and regularly review and maintain the systems. The MEAL Coordinator will also be responsible to incorporate relevant program indicators into the projects M&E systems that enables to measure the contribution of individual projects in achieving program objectives. The major purposes and objective of the MEAL Coordinator is to provide hands on field level technical support, supervision, guidance and oversight to the core Program Managers, project MEAL staff and the Area Management team in establishing robust project MEAL systems. The position holder has the role of supervising MEAL Officers/Assistants. As a result, s/he is primarily responsible for building MEAL staff capacity through organizing trainings, mentoring, coaching and supervision. Together with the MEAL TA, S/he technically supports RI Yemen to meet the MEAL Objectives and standards set out in the Annual Strategic Plan and in all our projects
Major Responsibilities
Program/project design and learning (25% of time)
- Participate in program/ project design specially in developing logframes
- Responsible for ensuring detailed and feasible project monitoring plans are developed This include: i) provide an indicator matrix, ii) consider ethical and safe collection and storage of data, iii) consider data quality audits, vi) consider storing, protecting and sharing project documents
- Accountable for working with MEAL Officers to make sure all projects have tested standard monitoring tools that capture both program activity and indicators progresses.
- Responsible for making sure all projects have accountability mechanisms up and running
- Responsible for working with program/project managers and support to determine which monitoring activities will take place and which data collection methods will be used to ensure their adequacy and appropriateness.
- Accountable for conducting and documenting end of project learning reviews, and sharing lessons learned and best practices, incorporating these into new project designs.
- In consultation with the MEAL TA, organize lesson sharing events like lesson bazars to fertilize learning among different projects and/or sectors
- Responsible for identifying, documenting, storing, and sharing lessons learned that have implications for refinement of best programmatic practice.
Monitoring and evaluation (25% of time)
- Responsible for facilitating the preparations of monthly/annul project activity plans including MEAL plans
- Accountable for working with MEAL staff to determine which monitoring activities will take place and which data collection methods to use
- Accountable for working with MEAL staff to ensure that the project work plans include monitoring activities (or that a stand-alone monitoring work plan is in place), is up-to date and progress tracked.
- Responsible for working with MEAL Officers and project staff to develop, translate, pilot, and finalize data collection tools as needed.
- Responsible for design survey data collection tools and methodologies.
- Responsible for following up with projects MEAL officers to ensure data is collected and entered into IPTT/LogAlto on a regular basis.
- Responsible for working with project staff to provide MEAL inputs for reports written during project implementation.
- Responsible for conducting data quality audits of project data to identify and resolve systemic problems affecting data quality.
- Accountable for documenting findings from data quality audits and store in project files to ensure collective and sustainable access.
- Responsible for conducting reflective practice forums at field office/ project level and compile lessons from project implementation processes.
Information management and reporting (20% of time)
- Responsible for providing MEAL inputs for regular analysis and action planning meetings to (1) compare data against project milestones, targets, and quality expectations across project sites; (2) identify issues requiring concerned staff attention.
- Responsible for extracting lessons learned from projects, systematically document and make easily accessible to staff.
- Accountable for supporting MEAL staff in ensuring all projects have downward/ forward accountability mechanisms and functional.
- Support MEAL Officers to ensure that data is collected and entered into databases and/or tracking sheets, and/or the data platform on a regular basis.
Staff capacity building (25% of time)
- Accountable for preparing MEAL staff mentoring coaching plans and implement accordingly.
- Responsible for training staff in data collection methods, management, analysis, and how to use data for decision making.
- Accountable for recruitment of MEAL staff, enumerators, and HR onboarding.
- Responsible for providing consistent, supportive supervision to strengthen staff performance as necessary to meet monitoring objectives.
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Deputy Area Manager
Position directly supervises: Project MEAL Officers/Assistants
Close working relationship and collaboration: MEAL TA, PMs, AMs, Awards and Grants
QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:
- Bachelor degree is a must / Master’s degree is preferred in Development, Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Business Administration, or relevant fields is required.
- More than 5 years’ work experience in MEAL supervisory positions with progressive responsibilities for an international NGO.
- Good experience in reporting and MEAL technical support , including project design, surveys, data analysis, etc., preferably for projects funded by multiple public donors
- Coordinate meetings and share information with external stakeholders.
- Experience with successful business development activities capturing public and/or private donor funding.
- Excellent English writing and spoken skills.
- Experience managing teams and resources
- Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment.
- Experience using SPSS, Data Management and Analysis applications, MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, and knowledge sharing networks.
RI Values
We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence as well as “Do No Harm.” We value:
- Integrity
- Adaptability
- Collaboration
- Inclusivity
- Sustainability
How to Apply
- Qualified candidates meeting the above requirements are requested to send their CVs in English to [email protected] before midnight of September 27th for submitting their application with the vacancy reference subject: HR-21-76 + Position Title.
- Note: Applications that does not has the correct reference subject will not be considered.
- RECRUITMENT IS URGENT: Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible and not to wait until the closing date. | https://yemenhr.com/jobs/8727fbce-7804-408a-b889-9e0d6eb039b6 |
Get a free C.V. review by sending your C.V. to [email protected] or click the following link. Submit C.V.! use the subject heading REVIEW.
IMPORTANT: Read the application instructions keenly, Never pay for a job interview or application.
Click the Links Below to Get Job Updates.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1126060830815705
https://t.me/joinchat/EBWPu0Cfzh880lRySce_AQ.
A. POSITION DESCRIPTION
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Employment:
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Full time
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Working hours:
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Monday to Friday reporting in the office from 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 P.M
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Supervisor:
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Project and Contract Manager
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Staff Responsibility:
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None
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Duration of Contract:
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Two years, renewable subject to satisfactory performance
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Duty station:
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PACJA Secretariat, Nairobi Kenya
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Grade and Salary level:
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Grade 4, Annual gross salary range of 48,000-66,000 USD
B. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Design and Coordinate:
a) MEAL plans, database, and formats, as well as feedback and accountability mechanism.
b) The collection of monitoring data (using the formats and tools), and data analysis.
c) Data quality assessment and reflection on the collected data
d) Documentation of the reflections in audience specific (i.e., internal, and external reports briefings summaries, stories of change, papers, presentations, etc.)
e) The development and implementation of MEAL methodologies in line with the project and coordinate support and training together with the consortium partners of the implementing partners to implement MEAL methodologies and tools.
f) The development of robust monitoring plans for quantitative and qualitative reporting on project performance indicators by consortium and country leads
g) The adaptation of a high-quality database for the project in line with Donor standards (IATI compliant)
h) The development of work plans, sub agreements, budgets, pipelines, technical reports, and deliverables.
i) Routinely monitoring of project performance against targets and preparing of periodic reports on MEAL activities of the project
j) The elaboration of ToRs for the annual reviews and the development of the mid and end term evaluation on behalf of the consortium
k) The use of lessons learnt from monitoring data (and from the MTR for the adaptative program management)
l) The application of practical feminist principles in the monitoring evaluation and accountability and learning (MEAL) practice across the AACJ project
m) The downward accountability to target groups and beneficiaries by sharing the learnings with them at regular intervals
n) Development and implementation of a learning agenda relevant for the project and ensuring learnings are disseminated via tools such as shared digital platforms and webinars.
2. Accountability
a) Support staff to engage in quality monitoring and evaluating project performance and to incorporate participatory methods into MEAL systems in the project;
b) Orient project staff and partners on the basic principles and practices of project accountability, monitoring and evaluation practices related to influencing strategies.
c) Support the development and implementation of feedback and response channels to reflect the preferences of especially community members and beneficiaries, but also other audiences of the project (alliances, movements, governments, private sector)
d) Ensure that beneficiary and stakeholder feedback is e adequately documented, addressed, analyzed, and utilized by project teams.
e) Ensure that consortium MEAL and project teams regularly review and adjust MEAL plans and tools accordingly in light of changes and needs in the field context based on monitoring data and reflection sessions. Have experience in offline and online MEAL approaches.
f) Support learning-to-action events and reflection sessions to systematically analyze data for programmatic use, and to document and incorporate lessons learned into project design and implementation.
g) Support the PMU technical staff in key activities including development of a learning agenda, organizing regular learning events, supporting operation research, and organizing reflection sessions, documentation, and communication of learning initiatives.
h) Functions as key contact person or the donor regarding MEAL aspects of the project
3. Capacity Building of AACJ Implementing partners
a) To provide technical assistance to support partners to improve monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning systems and processes; in particular in the collection of quantitative & qualitative information from various sources related to influencing strategies
b) To provide technical assistance to support partners in data management;
c) To coach and mentor and/or provide technical assistance for capacity building of partner organisations in monthly reporting and related qualitative and quantitative collection of information and data
d) Participate in/provide training to partner organizations on, data quality, gender integration in M&E, accountability, etc. together with other project technical teams
4. Analysis and Presentation of MEAL Data
a) To ensure collation, analysis, and presentation of MEAL information from partners is well captured in the MEAL system;
b) To verify MEAL data received from partners and project staff and investigate inconsistencies;
c) To compile project monitoring data into overall reports reflecting activities, outputs and outcomes to guide management decision making, provide accountability to stakeholders, share learning and demonstrate impact;
d) To coordinate and support project learning events;
e) Assist the Project and Contract Manager in organizing M&E reports and knowledge products related to the AACJ project activities fitted to donors and related to the main pathways of the projects on movements building, creating new narratives, practical experiences in community resilience and influencing approaches and results.
C. REQUIRED COMPETENCIES
a) An agile, strategic, and critical thinker, with the ability of setting process, ensure quality of performance, and outcome goals.
b) Excellent presentation, facilitation, mentoring, and training skills
c) Excellent Knowledge and experience in establishing and maintaining effective monitoring and evaluation systems for development projects; and especially related to influencing, movement building, public awareness and campaigning.
d) Excellent presentation, facilitation, mentoring, and training skills;
e) Good organizational skills including accuracy, consistency, and attention to detail
f) Ability to show perseverance, tenacity, and the ability to work autonomously and under pressure
g) A strong focus on results – sets goals, plans and prioritizes effectively, monitors quality and progress of work against plans, establishes a high level of performance, demonstrates the ability to be self-driven;
h) Good written and verbal communication skills in English and French will be an added advantage;
i) Good organizational skills including accuracy, consistency, attention to detail, and self-awareness;
D. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
a) Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree in statistics, actuarial Science, demographics, or international development preferred
b) At least 5 years of work experience in a similar position preferably with INGO
c) Excellent Knowledge and experience in establishing and maintaining effective monitoring and evaluation systems for development projects, and especially MEAL for influencing and campaigning
d) Experience in using MEAL systems
e) Experience in gathering, analyzing, and presenting quantitative and qualitative data
f) Proven experience and ability to work effectively with others – strong interpersonal capacity-building skills
E. HOW TO APPLY:
If you meet the requirements, kindly submit your applications to;
Human Resources and Partnership Manager
Email: [email protected] copy to [email protected]
by 27th May, 2021.
Citizens from all African countries are eligible to apply. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
https://www.pacja.org/vacancies
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. | https://careerassociated.com/2021/05/20/pan-african-climate-justice-alliance-pacja-monitoring-evaluation-accountability-and-learning-meal-coordinator/ |
I would like to offer help for our dear students and new students who face difficulty in writing college essays. As a beginning I am going to give some hints regarding the steps of a well-done essay with an example.
Essay= a group of paragraphs that talk about one main idea.
** يتكون المقال من مجموعة من الفقرات لكل منها وظيفتها الخاصة.
Example: writing book, page 65 " Advantages of Being the Oldest and Only Child in the Family"
When I was younger, I didn't feel that it is a good idea to be the oldest and the only child in my family. I always told my parents that I wished to be the youngest. However, I am very happy that I am the oldest and the only boy in the family.
و هي الجملة الرئيسية التي تشبه الى حد كبير ال (topic sentence) في كتابة الفقرة, ولكنها أوسع لأنها تحتوي على الأجزاء الرئيسية التي ستوضحها في بقية أجزاء الموضوع. وتكون متممة للفقرة الأولى من المقال.
Being the oldest and the only child in the family has several advantages the most important of which are getting special treatment, becoming amateur and being prepared for my own family in the future.
لاحظ أننا ركزنا على ثلاث نقاط رئيسية سوف نتناولها في الجزء الثاني من المقال.
ويتكون من عدد من الفقرات يعتمد على عدد الأجزاء التي حددتها في ال thesis statement. و في مثالنا هذا عندنا ثلاثة أجزاء أي اننا سنكتب ثلاث فقرات في العرض.
• يجب ان تبدأ كل فقرة ب topic sentence عن كل جزء. ثم توضح هذا الجزء عن طريق الشرح والأمثلة.
• يجب أن تكون الفقرات مرتبة حسب ترتيب الأجزاء في ال thesis statement .
One advantage of being the oldest and the only boy in the family is getting special treatment. My sisters and parents treat me as a prince. For example, I have my own room, my own T.V. set and my own car. Also, I punish my sisters when they make mistakes at home. Really, I didn't feel that I was a prince when I was a child.
Another benefit is that I have developed myself as an amateur person. Through experience, I learned to be responsible. For example, when my parents get out for shopping or visits, they leave me to taking care of my sisters and be responsible for them. In addition, I have learned to be dependable. For instance, my parents always ask me to go shopping by myself, and my sisters always ask me to help them with their school work.
One other advantage of being the oldest and the only son in the family is that it trained me to be ready for my own family in the future. In many ways, I am the father figure. For example, when my father travels, I receive guests instead of him. Also, I look after my sisters and usually take them to school when my father is busy. Furthermore, when my sisters need help with something, I am always ready to help them.
الخاتمة تحتوي على إعادة صياغة لل thesis statement ويمكن ان تحتوي أيضا على رأي شخصي يخص الموضوع. ويمكن أن تحتوي أيضا على حلول إذا كان الموضوع يتكلم عن مشكلة معينة.
In conclusion, I didn't choose to be the oldest and the only son in my family. I was born to be in this position. I have succeeded in making this position useful to me. I feel that my life will be great because of this experience. | http://m.dreamscity.net/t69163.html |
FINALIST for NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS 2011. See: http://www.prweb.com//releases/2011/5/prweb8471110.htm Seventeen narratives of love and death, hope and despair, adventure at sea, adolescent angst, Borges and the mystery of the American writer with three names, Havana on the eve of the Castro Revolution, race relations in the Deep South during the lost civilization of the 1950s.
Political intrigue, violent action and suspense in the little-known and volatile region of the Russian North Caucasus: Daghestan.
Author's English version of his Spanish-language interviews with J.L. Borges and seven other writers in Buenos Aires and Montevideo plus interviews with three Argentine-born Israeli writers who still write and publish in Spanish.
Seven Conversations between Argentine writer, Fernando Sorrentino, and Jorge Luis Borges, one of the best known and most admired writers of the 20th Century.
Este libro se dirige a escritores y estudiantes hispanohablantes y a estudiantes avanzados de espanol que quieran mejorar sus escritos.
A tracing of the earliest thought patterns in the writings of Galdos, and of the manner in which this author creates literature out of instinctual drives and unconscious psychic material.
The term "Magic Realism" is used a great deal, although there is no agreement as to its meaning. This book attempts to arrive at some definition of the term by studying the works and opinions of several 20th-Century Latin American writers.
Alpha Teach Yourself Spanish in 24 Hours.
The term "Magic Realism" (or "Magical Realism") has been used with great frequency from the second half of the 20th-Century to the present, especially with reference to contemporary Latin American literature, yet it is not always clear exactly what is meant by this designation. The term “Magic Realism” is often confused with fantasy, the uncanny, the marvelous, the supernatural, and surrealism.
Opinions on what Magic Realism actually is are so polarized that some Latin American critics consider that Magic Realism in Latin America begins with the first short story of Jorge Luis Borges, while other critics claim that Borges cannot even be considered a Magic Realist.
The Introduction to this book provides a historical overview of this mode of writing (and painting), then defines the literary modes often confused with it, and offers some current opinions on what a definition of Magic Realism should or might be.
The ten chapters that follow the Introduction present an analysis of works by writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, Julio Ricci, Antonio Brailovsky and Enrique Jaramillo Levi, in an attempt to illustrate the manner in which some Latin American authors create their own brand of Magic Realism. | http://www.clarkzlotchew.com/varieties_of_magic_realism_105671.htm |
Ability to communicate, to show emotions and well-developed empathy are necessary for professional self-determination, confident behavior in various situational roles and building healthy interpersonal relationships. Teachers’ knowledge and understanding of empathy among children of different age groups are often fragmented or have a "mosaic" nature. Currently, the problem of developing empathy among adolescents with troubled behavior has not been studied enough. The present article consists of three parts. Part one reveals the theoretical basis for the development of empathy among adolescents with troubled behavior. The second part of the article is devoted to our empirical research: 44 teenagers with troubled behavior took part in the research. Davis’s Inerpersonal Reactivity Index Test (IRI) and Boyko’s test for assessing the level of empathic abilities were applied within this study. According to the applied materials empathy is considered as a multifaceted system of reactions of one individual to the observed events / state of another. During the experiment some extra-curricular activities for the development of empathy were carried out. The classes for adolescents with troubled behavior have been specifically developed. In the third part of the article there is an analysis of the findings and the conclusion. Empathetic teenagers can communicate and negotiate more quickly, and thus adapt in society more effectively.
Keywords: Youthtroubled behaviorempathy
Introduction
The modern school and teachers try to educate creative, active, socially responsible, the highly educated person, with a well-developed intellect, able to find their worthy place in the society. At the same time, possession of communicative abilities and well-developed empathy are necessary for professional self-determination, confident behavior in various situational roles, building interpersonal relations, since friends, public recognition, personal interests, family, future profession currently occupy an important socially-determining place in teenager life.
The analysis of a large number of pedagogical and psychological studies made it possible to conclude that at present the problem of the development of empathy in adolescents has not been studied sufficiently, knowledge about the features of empathy in children of different age groups is rather fragmentary, "mosaic". Practically, no attention was paid to the development of empathy in adolescents with deviant behavior in the pedagogical literature. Therefore, Gavrilova's ideas about the need to study the genesis of empathy and the conditions for its development are still relevant today (Gavrilova, 1974).
Practice shows that most educators working with adolescents with deviant behavior sometimes do not see this problem simply, or are not able to develop empathy correctly, or do not fully know modern methods of diagnosis and organization of interaction with the above-mentioned category of adolescents. We can also note the negative influence of the mass media, which has a destructive effect on the formation of the spiritual and moral sphere of the individual and leads to the fact that the relations between people are characterized by selfishness, lack of mutual understanding, inability to respond emotionally to human experiences.
In order to determine the terminology, it is necessary to resort to psychological knowledge. In recent decades, there has been a gradual accumulation of productive theoretical developments in the field of empathy, but there are no concepts and theories capable of systematizing and generalizing the diverse empathic phenomena and phenomena in their development in domestic psychology so far (Karyagina, 2013).
The term "empathy" was introduced in 1909 by Titchener, who generalized within the framework of philosophical traditions the idea of sympathy with the theories of empathy with Clifford and Lips (Gavrilova, 1975).
In the encyclopedic dictionary named "Philosophy" empathy is interpreted as a person's ability to identify one of their I-images with an imaginary image of "another": with the image of other people, living beings, inanimate objects, and even linear and spatial forms (Philosophy: encyclopedic dictionary, 2004).
Zakharova (2014) studying the concept of "empathy" concludes that this property is considered as the ability to put yourself in the shoes of another person.
Yudina (2017) in the article "Empathy and Morality: The Meeting Place (a Review of Foreign Studies)" notes that empathy is studied by psychologists as an ability to: a) understand the emotions, feelings and thoughts of the other and separate them; b) empathize with the emotional state of another person; c) take someone else's point of view.
Moreover, Yudina (2017) referring to foreign authors, comes to the conclusion that children of early age are already able to demonstrate a selective manifestation of empathy. So, children at the age of two are more likely to show acts of care towards their mother than to a stranger. In additions, Yudina (2017) writes that Rhodes and Chalik showed that children in the age range of three to nine years tend to form categories of permissible social norms depending on the person's belonging to a particular group. So, children of this age consider it wrong to harm members of their group, whereas, in their opinion, it is quite permissible to harm members of a foreign group.
Polyakova (2008) notes in her research that "it is effective to develop empathy through developing attitudes conducive to empathy, through using an intuitive channel, through the perspective of the future. It is equally possible to influence any of the following components of empathy (empathy for parents, the elderly, children, strangers, works of art. At the same time it is not effective to form the penetrating power of empathy to be centered on the present".
Problem Statement
Empathy is often seen as the basis of moral behavior, at least in those of its manifestations, which are the rendering of assistance and the exercise of care (Prokofev, 2015).
Empathy has the function of adaptation and protection in interpersonal relationships (Worringer, 1953).
It is often difficult for adolescents to look at circumstances from the point of view of other people. This is due, in particular, to their still developing brain structures. And such a personality trait as egocentrism allows them to focus on their own needs, not considering how these needs affect others. This apparent absence of empathy is normal and usually disappears when the adolescent reaches the end of adolescence. However, a complete lack of empathy in adolescents may mean a more significant problem for mental health, while the young person begins to experience psychological discomfort (anxiety, aggressiveness, depression, neuroticity), which is very characteristic of adolescents with deviant behavior. Such adolescents tend to avoid unnecessary contacts, consider it inappropriate to show curiosity to another person, calmly relate to the experiences and problems of other people. All this hinders the ability to manifest empathy.
Another factor that influences the formation and development of empathy is the lack of harmonious and friendly family relationships of emotional contact of a teenager with his parents adversely affects his development and the formation of his personality. A direct relationship between the level of empathy of parents was revealed (the level of empathy in women is higher) and the level of empathy of their child. If in the family of a teenager parents demand from him truthfulness, honesty, obedience, complaisance, while they themselves lie in his presence, unrestrained, show aggression and quick temper, the child will certainly demonstrate the behavior that he observes in his family.
Yudina (2017) notes that adults and children may feel anxious or worried about the condition of a wide range of "other", including animals, for example pets (in Western culture), as well as inanimate objects, for example Tamagotchi (in Japan) at the same time. Probably, in these cases the signs of insecurity and vulnerability are most evident, and this contributes to the manifestation of care.
“Evaluating one's own and the emotions of others, and more defending nominations were associated with both affective and cognitive empathy, whereas aspects of emotion awareness which are linked with internalizing symptoms were related to empathic distress, suggesting maladaptive emotion appraisal. Furthermore, outsider behaviour was associated with empathic distress, emphasizing a self-focused orientation. In contrast, more bullying was negatively associated with cognitive empathy. Overall, these outcomes demonstrate that, besides social roles, emotion awareness is an important factor for adaptive empathic reactions, whereas emotion dysregulation might cause distress when witnessing the negative feelings of others” (Rieffe & Camodeca, 2016).
“Empathy plays a crucial role in healthy social functioning and in maintaining positive social relationships” (Overgaauw, Rieffe, Broekhof, Crone, & Güroğlu, 2017).
There are also studies showing that virtual empathy (among people who spend a lot of time on the Internet) does not reduce people's ability to real empathy and is associated with feelings of social support, but it turns out to be weaker than empathy in the real world.
According to our previous studies, we found that there is a linear relationship between empathy in adolescents with deviant behavior and the level of their communication skills (Novik, 2011; 2014).
The study of individual differences consistently showed that people are not only physically, but also psychologically different. Individual psychological differences explain why some people tend to adopt different coping strategies or even use different emotional and self-regulating resources when faced with unfavorable situations. For example, while some people are prone to experiencing and express hostile and negative emotions in response to stressful situations, others tend to experience negative emotions and inhibit them, while others tend to be lighter and do not experience any negative emotions (Lazuras, Pyżalski, Barkoukis, & Tsorbatzoudis, 2012).
Research Questions
Furthermore, in recent years scientists have conducted researches that have revealed the relationship of empathy. Thus, the relationship between empathy and cultural motivation was proved; the relationship between emotional intelligence, empathy and psychological intelligence was revealed; empathy is considered as a factor of successful professional activity; it is explained that in the structure of personal qualities empathy is a leading factor and integrates such indicators as sociability, mental softness, emotionality, intelligence; the gender aspect of the relationship between emotional burnout and empathy is highlighted; the relationship of empathy and the psychological mechanism of the development of ethnic self-awareness of the individual is shown; the leading psychological defenses and their connections with empathy in deviant adolescents were studied, etc.
Purpose of the Study
To find out the level of empathy of adolescents with deviant behavior, and also in which situations and to whom teenagers show empathy most often, we conducted a study. The objects of our study were 44 teenagers with deviant behavior in Kazan aged 12-15 years. They formed two groups – control and experimental. The study was conducted on a voluntary basis and the consent of parents or legal guardians.
Research Methods
The following materials were used: 1) Test for assessing the level of empathic abilities and 2) Davis’s multifactorial empathy test, adapted by Budagovskaya (2013) and Karyagina (2013).
The choice of the latter diagnosis was due to the fact that, according to Karyagina (2013) empathy is a multi-faceted system of reactions towards individuals or towards the observed events. It is possible to single out two processes that received the name "perspective taking" and "empathy" when analyzing the test results of the test, and two results – "empathic concern" and "personal distress" (Karyagina, 2013).
Findings
At the first stage of our study we determined that the initial levels of development of empathy among adolescents with troubled behavior in the control and experimental groups were approximately the same. It was found that 7 individuals (31.8%) in the control group have a low level of empathy and 6 individuals (27.3%) in the experimental group have a low level of empathy; 15 individuals (68.2%) in the control group have a very low level of empathy and 16 individuals (72.7%) in the experimental group have a very low level of empathy. During the test children behaved indifferently, they were emotionally detached, showed increased anxiety, negativism, tried to avoid communication, in several cases, demonstrated verbal aggression.
As for our second assessment tool (multifactorial empathy test), it showed that the adolescents in both the control and experimental groups on all four scales also showed approximately the same results.
During the second stage, with the experimental group, extra-curricular classes were held for several months to develop their empathy with the help of a corrective-development program (Novik, 2014). The classes were specially designed for adolescents with deviant behavior. The pedagogical system for the prevention of deviant behavior of adolescents in conditions of socio-cultural activities" by Zinnurov (2011) was a basis, in which the technology of working with children-deviants in the conditions of school is described in detail. The author of the system stresses that "using the technology of preventing deviant behavior of children and adolescents, it is possible to solve the problems of a deeper study of the pupil's personality, the results give grounds for the development of individual development routes in the conditions of the general education school. Such routes will contribute to the positive psychological and pedagogical support of adolescents and the initiation of health-saving projects to maintain the socio-psychological balance of the individual" (Zinnurov, 2011).
At the end of the training we conducted again the same diagnostics as at the beginning of the study. As a result, the following data were obtained.
Employing the test for assessing the level of empathic abilities we found that there were significant positive changes in the experimental group. For example, there were only 5 children with a very low level of empathy (22.7%), 12 children with a low level of empathy (54.6%), and 5 children with an average level of empathy (22.7%).
The multifactorial empathy test showed that according to the first scale, which is aimed at measuring people’s assessment of their inclination to take into account the point of view of other people in everyday life, in the control group, adolescents rarely adequately perceived and understood the point of view and experience of another person. And, on the contrary, adolescents with deviant behavior in the experimental group were less likely to display negativity, to better perceive the point of view of another person, even if he did not belong to a group of people authoritative for him. With some degree of gratitude they treated people who shared their life experience with them, were attentive to their words. Probably, this was facilitated by the results of classes on active listening.
According to the second scale, which reflects the tendency towards imaginary transfer of oneself to the feelings and actions of fictional heroes of books, films, performances, etc., the children of the control group were mostly indifferent. The exception was the characters of the popular among them computer games. Discussion of the beloved hero caused some emotional revival, but the scarcity and lack of verbal manifestation remained a positive emotion, expressed by some splash of facial expressions and gestures. The teenagers of the experimental group showed themselves much better: they not only could "imagine" themselves in the place of the described hero, but also told and did not hesitate about their feelings, which they experienced. These guys were involved not only in linguistic means, but they also demonstrated paralinguistic and extra-linguistic means of expression, although they were not bright. This can mean that "immersion" in the emotional state of others, as well as the ability to control others' and their own emotions, is accompanied by a reduction in the feelings of anxiety and discomfort that arise when watching the experiences of others, and in situations of intense communication.
On the third scale, which assesses the tendency to experience feelings of warmth, compassion and concern for other people, and reveals a "helping" attitude and sympathy for someone's feelings, adolescents with deviant behavior of the control group showed mostly negative emotional reactions to the failure and problem state of another rights, while children from the experimental group in their majority reacted positively to the failure and problematic state of another person. This may indicate that the adolescents of the experimental group have a strong emotional side of empathy, are inclined to transfer themselves to the place of others and to feel feelings towards other people's states, but they are less aware of their own experiences, less able to analyze them.
On the last fourth scale, which allows us to identify feelings of unease and discomfort in responding to others' emotions in situations of assistance, in intense interpersonal interaction, in observing the experiences of other people, in contrast to empathic care, the control group showed only negative feelings: tried not to notice and ignore the feelings of the other, there was a certain nervousness, irritability, there were attempts to leave the experiment – "if only they left me alone and did not force me observe the suffering of another". In the experimental group irritability and anxiety were also noted, but the adolescents of this group sought, however, to help in order to relieve themselves of the picture of the suffering of the other person. However, this reaction is confirmed by numerous studies. People either leave the problem situation, or try to solve it sooner, but not for the sake of the welfare of another, but for the sake of their peace of mind.
With the help of the Wilcoxon T-test, we want to prove the effectiveness of the correction-development program conducted in the experimental group aimed at increasing the level of empathy in adolescents with deviant behavior.
We used the formula T = ΣRr, where Rr - rank shift values with a rarer sign.
First we check the constraints. Our sample of 22 adolescents in each of the groups (in the control and experimental), i.e. n = 22. This is suitable for boundaries 5 <n <50.
Next, we formulated statistical hypotheses:
Н0:the intensity of the shifts towards increasing the level of empathy of adolescents with deviant behavior does not exceed the intensity of the shifts toward its decrease.
Н1: the intensity of shifts towards increasing the level of empathy of adolescents with deviant behavior exceeds the intensity of shifts towards its decrease (directed hypothesis).
The next step was preliminary calculations to calculate the empirical value of the Wilcoxon T-test. We built a table where the values were introduced about the level of empathy before and after the special correction-development program, their difference, the absolute value and the rank of the difference.
Further, we check the correctness of the ranking: Σ R = 253.
Σ R = n (n + 1) / 2 = 22 (22 + 1) / 2 = 253. The sums are the same, therefore, the ranking is correct.
Now we calculate the empirical value of the Wilcoxon T-test. To do this we select atypical shifts in the preliminary calculations table. In our example, these are lines 3, 7 and 18. The sum of the ranks of these "rare" (atypical) shifts is the empirical value of the T criterion: TEM = 8.5 + 4 + 4 = 16.5
We determine the critical value of T-Wilcoxon for n = 19 in the table of critical values, because there was a decrease due to exclusion of zero-shifted indicators. An axis of significance was built. The empirical value of T falls in the zone of significance: Temp <Tcr (p≤0.01), and in this case we can accept the hypothesis H1: the intensity of shifts towards increasing the level of empathy of adolescents with deviant behavior exceeds the intensity of shifts towards its decrease. Substantive conclusion: the level of empathy after the correction-development program has increased, and, therefore, allows to form a feeling of empathy.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the corrective work done to develop empathy in adolescents has yielded positive results. Children have become more open and considerate, have become less self-centered, and no longer feel awkward in society. The circle of their communication expanded. They learned how to appropriately express their emotions. Adolescents with troubled behavior of the experimental group already have some ability to evaluate problems from the perspective of a different person, because they understand that their point of view is no longer unequivocally the only correct one. So, they are capable of manifesting empathy.
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Click here to view the available options for cite this article. | https://www.europeanproceedings.com/article/10.15405/epsbs.2018.09.15 |
Since the inception of the European Coal and Steel Community in the late 1940s, leaders of the European Union have sought a common identity which transcends nation-states. Recent events such as Euromaidan, Brexit, and an ongoing shift towards eurosceptic populism in the EU are focusing attention on this ‘Gospel of Jacques Delors’ and how a “European identity” is expressed. Significant in studies of Europeanness is the role of symbols that express a myth of Europe. Manifestations of this myth have looked backwards to an imagined teleology of European unity in which all Europeans were united regardless of geopolitical divisions, particularly since the dissolution of the Soviet bloc. However, events in Ukraine have demonstrated not only public rejections of the myth of European unity, but also the use of the EU’s symbolism to construct an ‘alter-Europe’ defined by opposition to the EU. This overt use of iconography and iconoclasm to express political identities and affiliations challenges traditional interpretations of how the EU is received by its neighbours, and illustrates that there are multiple, competing versions of “Europe”. | https://doaj.org/article/24692c58d94147d6a2cb90d6b9540f68 |
Lesson Objective: Understand the major implication of Kepler’s 2nd Law.
Good morning class. Have you ever wondered about the motion of the planets? My name is Mr. Ratnayake (Mr. Rat will do). Today we will discuss Kepler’s 2nd Law of Planetary Motion, building on your previous knowledge of basic mechanics, algebra, and geometry.
In the early 1600’s, most astronomers believed that if the planets orbited around the sun, they must do so in circles. However, astronomical observations did not agree; planets seemed to move randomly in the sky. It was a mystery. A German mathematician named Johannes Kepler forever changed astronomy by demonstrating in his *first* law of planetary motion that by simply treating an orbit as an ellipse, instead of the previously-assumed circular shape, the simplicity and harmony of planetary motion became clear. He then went on to explain the consequences of elliptical motion in his *second* law, which states: A line connecting a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
Refer to the diagram on your handout, or follow me on the board. Suppose I have here my orbital ellipse, and I consider the area swept out by the radius r in some interval of time. The planet has moved on an arc, by an angle θ as measured from the sun. Now we have set up our problem and will commence, like good scientists, to ask questions.
What basic geometric shape does this look like? (Triangle). Let me draw this triangle. Who knows how to find the area of a triangle? (one-half the base times the height). Ok. Do we have a variable on our diagram that looks like it would be the height of the triangle? (the radius r). And this arc forms the base. What is the length of an arc (You remember from geometry of course, it is the radius of the arc times the subtended angle.) So the area (A) of this pie wedge is…. ½ (r θ) r , or ½ r2θ.
Let’s assume, as Kepler did, that this area must remain constant for the same time interval in an orbit. Consider our diagram. If our planet moved closer to the sun, say here, then the radius, our distance to the sun, is much smaller. To maintain the same area of triangle, what must happen to its base? (must get larger). Remember, this is the arc length we traveled in our orbit for a set time interval. We traveled farther in the same amount of time than we did out here! What can we deduce about our speed? (we went faster!). We move faster when we are near the sun on our orbit and slower when we are far from the sun on our orbit.
Was Kepler right? It turns out that his theory exactly matched observational data from astronomer Tycho Brahe; this explained previously erratic motions of the heavenly bodies with a simple concept. Today, Kepler’s Laws enable us to predict the motion of the planets, asteroids, comets, and satellites in space. NASA’s Mars Curiosity probe just launched this week. It will take 8 months to reach Mars. Thanks to Kepler’s Laws we know exactly where Mars will be and how fast it will be going in 8 months; and Curiosity will be in the right place at the right time.
Check for understanding, all together now, and I’m looking for every one of you to answer. As a planet gets closer to the sun, does it speed up or slow down? (Speeds up!) As a planet gets further away on its orbit, does it speed up or slow down? (Slows down!) Good. Any questions? | http://www.theveryspringandroot.com/blog/2011/11/5-minute-lesson-keplers-2nd-law/ |
Janice Chen received her PhD from the lab of Jennifer Doudna at University of California, Berkeley. She has authored multiple publications and patents related to CRISPR mechanism and technologies. She also co-invented the programmable CRISPR-based detection technology called DETECTR. Janice was selected as a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Healthcare, and recently delivered a TEDx talk on the potential for CRISPR to democratize diagnostics.
Q: What is CRISPR and what medical applications does it have?
A: CRISPR is an ancient bacterial immune system that harbors a programmable protein that can cut DNA or RNA. The system can be repurposed as a biological search engine because it uses an RNA molecule that guides the CRISPR protein to search through billions of sequences to find a matching nucleic acid target. The ability to harbor CRISPR proteins for gene editing, gene expression modulation, RNA editing, and DNA/RNA detection has enabled many applications in therapeutics and diagnostics. While CRISPR-based diagnostics are currently in development, the ability to detect and rewrite the underlying cause of genetic disease with CRISPR has huge medical potential.
Q: How can CRISPR be used to diagnose disease?
A: The finding that certain versions of CRISPR proteins can produce a realtime signal when they find a matching DNA or RNA sequence has enabled the use of CRISPR for detecting any disease with nucleic acid biomarkers. For example, CRISPR can be programmed to detect sequences from bacteria, viruses, or genetic mutations within our own cells. The researcher simply designs guide RNAs that allow CRISPR to specifically target a pathogen, such as Zika virus. Once the complex finds the presence of the viral RNA in a given sample, it cleaves a reporter molecule that releases a color change, indicating that the target is present.
Q: How does the use of CRISPR for diagnostics differ from its gene editing applications?
A: Both applications leverage the programmability of RNA-guided CRISPR proteins to search for a nucleic acid target. Unlike the well-known gene editing tool Cas9, other CRISPR proteins called Cas12, Cas13, and Cas14 used for diagnostics generate indiscriminate cleavage when the protein finds its matching target. This secondary activity was an unexpected mechanistic finding and is the part that enables CRISPR [to serve] as a detection tool, because these proteins have the ability to cleave a reporter molecule that produces a real-time signal only when the target is present.
Q: What research have you conducted in this area?
A: During my time as a graduate student in the Doudna Lab, my colleagues and I discovered a new activity for the Cas12 protein and showed that it could be repurposed to detect HPV in clinical samples. This detection activity has also been observed in other CRISPR protein families, namely Cas13 and Cas14, and there is active research on the underlying mechanisms of these CRISPR proteins and how they can be further developed for nucleic acid detection.
Q: What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of CRISPR in disease diagnostics?
A: There are several advantages of CRISPR-based diagnostics compared to traditional PCR-based methods for detection. These include high specificity due to enzymatic recognition of the target, fast turnaround times due to signal amplification, compatibility with low-cost form factors due to isothermal reactions, and rapid test development cycles due to the programmable system.
Given that CRISPR diagnostics is a new technology, it hasn’t undergone decades of development. We may be scratching only the surface of the possibilities of this technology. We envision several possibilities for CRISPRbased diagnostic products—reagent kits, integration onto existing bench-top equipment, and fully integrated devices for point-of-care or at-home use. Each class of product will have varying degrees of technical, safety, and regulatory requirements, but the underlying goal will be to improve on existing technologies and enable greater access to diagnostic information. In the case of at-home use, there are potential ethical challenges regarding data sharing and concerns around the need for clinical counseling upon receiving a test result. We’re currently having discussions about how to ensure patient privacy and appropriate counseling.
Q: What has been the role of Mammoth Biosciences in advancing the use of CRISPR in disease diagnostics?
A: Mammoth is the first company to take the steps toward commercializing CRISPR diagnostics. We are leveraging our expanding toolbox of CRISPR proteins with increased performance features to enable robust DNA and RNA detection. We are also developing the platform that enables rapid design, validation, and prototyping of CRISPRbased diagnostic tests that can be widely used for any nucleic acid biomarker in a simple, low-cost form factor. We think the simplicity and accuracy of CRISPR-based diagnostics will support increased accessibility of heath information, early disease detection, clinical actionability, and personalized medicine.
Q: What do you see happening in CRISPR-based diagnostics in the future?
A: Despite CRISPR diagnostics being a new technology, we are experiencing a significant demand for solutions related to improvements to existing technologies and diagnostic tests that can be performed at point-of-need. We are also observing trends toward personalized medicine and decentralization of healthcare, which will likely increase as hardware, software, and molecular technologies continue to advance. Although CRISPR diagnostics is one link in the larger value chain of decentralized healthcare, it addresses an unmet need for rapid and sensitive diagnostics in the clinic, in the field, and at home.
DETECTR: A Simple Molecular Diagnostics PlatformLast year, Chen and colleagues published a paper in Science on a newly discovered behavior of the CRISPR-Cas12a protein. Like Cas9, Cas12a has the ability to generate targeted, double-stranded DNA breaks. The researchers found that binding and cutting of a targeted double-stranded DNA sequence unleashes indiscriminate cutting of singlestranded DNA by Cas12a. They applied this discovery to develop a platform they dubbed DNA endonuclease targeted CRISPR trans reporter, or DETECTR, which combines Cas12a, its guide RNA, a fluorescent reporter molecule, and recombinase polymerase amplification in a single reaction. DETECTR enabled rapid and accurate detection of cervical cancer-associated human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in patient samples, the authors reported, thus demonstrating its potential application as a simple molecular diagnostics platform. | https://www.clinicallabmanager.com/q-and-a/the-promise-of-crispr-based-diagnostics-274 |
The impact of minimum wages on employment has always been a field of conflicts among economists and this divergence of views has usually taken the form of competing studies. Doucouliagos and Stanley (Publication selection bias in minimum-wage research? A meta-regression analysis, 2009) conducted a meta-analysis of 64 US studies which showed that literature is contaminated by publication selection bias, and once it is corrected, little or no evidence of a negative association between minimum wages and employment remains. This result contradicts the neoclassical theory and gives a Keynesian perspective which suggests that changes in minimum wages are not related with positive or negative employment effects. In their analysis, the authors use a meta-sample of 45 empirical studies published in academic journals in the 2010–2014 five-year period, to investigate whether minimum wage research has been affected by Doucouliagos and Stanley’s study. Their results indicate that there is evidence of publication selection in the elasticities’ meta-sample, but once it is corrected only a small negative effect remains and, in the coefficients’ meta-sample, publication selection bias is not found and the genuine effect is again negative but small. In addition, the authors find that study characteristics related to the data, the model specifications, the minimum wage and employment measure used, and the industry concerned, diversify the sign of the minimum wage effect. | http://www.economics-ejournal.org/economics/discussionpapers/2015-58 |
Most Western people, when they think about a tea ceremony, immediately envision British sitting at their tables mid-afternoon enjoying a cup of tea and some crumpets. Teatime is something that many people identify as belonging to the British Isles. However, that ceremony pales in comparison to the ancient and significant tea ceremony that exists in Japan. The roots of tea and tea ceremony are in the East and thus often times ignored. The Japanese tea ceremony is filled with meaning and significance, both spiritually and historically. The tea ceremony - chanoyu - is embedded deep in the Japanese culture and every aspect of this ceremony is meaningful. It is such an important part of culture that it needs to be examined and explored. This paper will explore the chanoyu which translates to “hot water for tea” in English (Tanaka 15). This report provides a historical background of the ceremony, the tea, the process and utensils used, and the historical significance of this well developed ceremony.
The importance of the ceremony is enhanced by its history. Tea did not originate in Japan but rather was originally grown in China. The transmission of tea to China occurred through basic trade relations, but it was Monk Eisai who brought the idea of powdered tea to Japan from China. While others had simply submerged tea leaves in hot water to create tea, Monk Eisai taught them how to make powdered tea by grinding the leaves finely and mixing the powder with hot water (Tanaka 28). Additionally, Monk Eisai is reported to be the first person to grow tea for reasons beyond medicinal purposes as he grew it for religious reasons. His position as a Buddhist monk is part of the reason that the tea ceremony is associated with Zen Buddhism.
Zen Buddhism is reflected throughout the tea ceremony as it helps induce meditation which is required to truly experience the tea ceremony.. Monk Eisai was a Zen Buddhist monk and his role in the transportation of tea to Japan has eternally linked Zen and tea. Tea was a mainstay in the conclusion of Buddhist religious ceremonies and it was within Zen monasteries that rules and guidelines for the handling of tea began to develop and emerge (Kamachi 90). More specifically, the monks would drink tea out of one bowl in front of the image of Bodhi Dharma as a holy sacrament and this ritual would eventually develop into the tea ceremony that is being investigated (Okakura 51). These rituals that began with the Zen monks would be further developed and perfected and a man named Sen no Rikyu played an integral role in this.
Sen no Rikyu was a 16th century Japanese man who was a prominent figure in defining acceptable tea ceremony behaviors and aesthetic expectations for the chanoyu. Son of a merchant, Rikyu proved himself one of the most popular tea practitioners ever and served as tea master for Japanese political unifiers Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He stressed the loneliness (wabi) and the restrained beauty (sabi) of the tea ceremony as important aspects of such a ceremony in terms of the decorations and interior of the tearoom (Kamachi 90). Rikyu set the basics for the tea ceremony as it is known in Japan today. He also invented the nijiriguchi which is the small entrance to the tea room for guests who, in order to enter the room, often times must constrict their bodies. Rikyu stressed simplicity in this arena and taught the tea principles as Harmony, Reverence, Purity, and Calm (Sadler 102). As the exploration of this topic continues, one will be able to identify these principles in various aspects of the ceremony. Rikyu’s political significance will be discussed in terms of historical significance shortly, but at this point it should be expressed that Rikyu’s contributions to the tea ceremony were extremely valuable. He gave the ritual the guidelines it needed to truly be a ritual that one could follow. He gave it structure, which is what it needed coming out of the Buddhist monasteries. Now that one understands the background behind the tea ceremony, it is appropriate to begin discussing the ceremony, beginning with the tea itself.
The tea itself - mattcha - is the most fundamental aspect of the ceremony and similar to all other aspects of this ceremony, it has meaning and is very important to the outcome of the ceremony. The mattcha is, as mentioned earlier, finely ground powder that is green in color and bitter in taste. By following Eisai's standard set of guidelines, one makes the tea by scooping the tea powder into the tea bowl and ladling enough hot water into the bowl to fill one quarter the capacity. The water and tea are then combined with the brisk mixing of the bamboo whisk, creating a desired foamy top (Kamachi 88). This very defined process represents Rikyu’s principles: the harmony of the tea and water creates the final product, the reverence one has for the utensils allows one to use them well, the purity of the tea is contained by the tea bowl, and the calmness of the situation is present in the tea maker's steady hand and tea preparation. While the tea is seen in this light as nourishment for the soul as well as a stimulant for the body, the mattcha was originally used for the medicinal qualities many believed it contained.
The Japanese, as a result of the influential book by Monk Eisai entitled Tea Drinking for Health (Kissa yojoki), believed there to be medicinal properties found within the tea. Eisai describes the situation as man being most noble and therefore it is proper and prudent to preserve one’s life. He believes that good health lies in the health of the five organs: the heart, the liver, the lungs, the spleen, and the kidney. Of these organs, the heart is most superior and it is built up so by consuming tea. Tea prevents the weakness of the heart, which would cause all other organs to become weak as well. He creates tables to define the “Harmonious Functioning of the Five Organs.” Each organ has its own taste, with liver preferring acidic foods, lungs preferring pungent foods, the spleen being partial to sweet foods as the kidney is to salty foods, and finally the heart prefers bitter foods. This, naturally, includes tea. Eisai notes that people consume the acidic, pungent, sweet, and salty foods with no problem and in large amounts while there are small amounts of tea consumed (de Bary 238). It follows that this imbalance would cause sickness, proving to the Japanese the necessity of drinking tea in order to keep the heart (and thus the four other organs) well and strong. Eisai advises to “drink lots of tea, and one’s energy and spirits will be restored to full strength”(de Bary 240). This writing by Eisai portrays to the people the importance of tea, in their physical health, emotional health, as well as spiritual health. Many people had faith in this simple liquid because of the various aspects of it and this partly explains why this liquid in particular is the basis of a time-honored ceremony.
There are many aspects to the actual ceremony of tea presentation and consumption including the utensils used and the expectations of the guests as well as the host. Several of the most important utensils that are used are the bamboo whisk, the tea caddy, the kettle, and the pottery bowl. Each utensil is a piece of art that varies in quality. The guests are expected to admire each piece as it has been carefully selected by the host for the specific tea ceremony. Distinct from the western standards for symmetry and similarity, the Japanese prefer to have unmatching cups and bowls. Along with that, no two utensils are exactly the same. This goes to the extent that the host will not put out two articles made in the same region or of the same substance. Favorite scoops or bowls are given poetic names - mei - by the owners for the special role they play in the ceremony (Tanaka 89). The tea bowl itself has specific features on it for the purpose of being used in the tea ceremony. Sen no Rikyu designed original bowls for serving tea, now called raku bowls, and they were made up of the rim, the foot, the base of the foot, the tea-pool at the bottom of the bowl, the whisking zone, and the wiping zone. These bowls were simple, as one would expect from Rikyu, and were red and black glazed earthenware that contrasted with the green tea (Tanaka 45). Like the complex yet simple raku bowls, the teakettle is basic and simple, yet iron pieces are arranged in the bottom to create a naturalistic melody as water boils. This reflects the harmony and purity of this aspect of the tea ceremony as taught by Rikyu. The various types and significant meanings for all the utensils are numerous - these are just several examples. Beyond the importance of the utensils, however, lies that of the expectations of the guest and the host, the actors in this choreographed ritual.
One can understand that in any ceremony the host has a very strict set of guidelines to follow so as to invoke all that is sacred and meaningful in the tea ceremony. The process for making the tea and serving it within proper expectations is called temae. The host must remember to keep in mind Rikyu’s principles of tea - harmony, reverence, purity, and calm. Also, arrangement is very important in this aspect of the tea ceremony - setting the utensils down properly is important for they all must be placed so that one can admire their beauty from numerous angles is one example of this. Also, these utensils must be brought in individually to heighten the amount of surprise for the guests. After arranging the utensils, the host must then wipe them clean. Cleaning the tea container and tea scoop signifies a spiritual cleansing of the heart and mind. It is important for the host during this time of the chanoyu to expel any thoughts of the outside world from his or her head. After this, the host moves on to warming the tea whisk and tea bowl by pouring hot water into the bowl and placing the whisk in it. The whisk is examined to verify it is in good condition and the utensils are wiped dry. The host then proceeds to the actual making of the tea, described earlier. The ritual thus far has been done in complete silence so that the guest and the host can meditate and reflect. After the consumption of the tea is complete, the host is handed the bowls and rinses them with hot water, then wipes the tea scoop when all have had their share of tea. The host then returns all the utensils to their original locations after responding to the guests inquiries regarding them (Tanaka 134-137).
One can see how harmony is invoked throughout this ceremony - the harmony exists between the host’s movements with the utensils and the preparation of the tea. Additionally, purity is an integral part as each utensil is purified with water or with a silk cloth before being used or returned to its position. Calm is also important for the host must remain calm and steady and refrain from moving too quickly and risk rushing his or her guests while at the same time must also refrain from moving too slowly which might not hold the interest of the guests. There are many guidelines the host must follow, as is easy to understand for the host runs the ceremony. Additionally, there are guidelines and expectations for the guest to follow as well and these are just as significant a part of the tea ceremony.
The guests of the tea ceremony have an equally important role to making the tea with their role as the consumer of the tea. Before visiting a close friend, a guest must call first and arrange a time to stop by. Upon arrival, the guest removes his or her shoes and leaves them on the stones outside the nijiriguchi before entering the house per Japanese custom. The guest should not wear an overcoat or carry a handbag to avoid disrespecting the host and the tearoom - the items are to be left in a smaller room (Tanaka 93). The guest then enters the tearoom and is seated in complete silence. After taking in the incense, the decorative interior, and the sounds of nature, the guest is ready to enjoy the tea (de Bary 259). In the past, it was customary to wear a kimono for the chanoyu, although Japanese today typically wear western clothes, and this custom now carries over to the tea ceremony. Moreover, guests typically are expected to refrain from wearing perfume, which would spoil the environment in the room, and to remove jewelry to prevent knocking over tea utensils. It is expected that the guest will bring a folding fan to greet the host, a cotton hand towel - a handkerchief - to wipe one’s hands after rinsing them, and a square of cloth to rest the tea bowl when tea drinking has ceased. There is an extremely structured way to drink the tea, and it differs between thin tea and thick tea. Thin tea is consumed by first a single sip and then the rest all at once while thick tea is consumed in three and a half sips. In each process, the guest pauses between the first and second sips to comment on the quality of the tea (Tanaka 143-144). There is a very detailed way to hold and turn the tea bowl at various points during the drinking of the different kinds of tea. Each process does include small amounts of scripted conversation, but the ceremony otherwise remains silent. The guest, after finishing the tea, is then obliged to admire and inspect the tea bowl, the tea utensils, and the interior of the room including the hanging scroll and flower arrangements. The guest, unless very experienced, should not touch the utensils so as to avoid breaking them or spilling the contents. At this point it is polite to converse moderately, but one should not laugh or talk excessively (Tanaka 140). Like the host, the guest experiences Rikyu’s principles of tea. There is harmony in the actual process of drinking tea, and there is reverence in the silence maintained by the guest. The planned interactions between the guest and the host are a ceremony in themselves and they comprise what makes up the ceremonial aspect of the tea ceremony.
Sen no Rikyu, one of the founding fathers of the tea ceremony, helped develop chanoyu into something that was politically significant. Rikyu was the tea master for two of the unifiers of Japan - Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Nobunaga used the tea ceremony to impress wealthy merchants who controlled the importation of Portuguese weapons. He gave the generals gifts of the articles used in the tea ceremony and won them over this way (Tanaka 42). Hideyoshi used the tea ceremony as a political tool more than Nobunaga did - he entertained allies with the tea ceremony frequently and even attempted to have a Great Tea Party. His love for the chanoyu is well known and he used it for negotiating purposes as well as diplomatic ones. In this sense, the tea ceremony influenced political situations in Japan - to what extent may never be known. In addition, the tea ceremony has had an influence on the unification of the Japanese people for it does not distinguish between classes. All classes participate in the chanoyu and all Japanese families possess every necessary utensil and object required to perform the tea ceremony. This is due to the Zen saying, “’Religion is a most ordinary thing.’” The level of artistic quality may vary but all believe in the clay that composes them for the transformation of the clay into a teacup is to Zen believers another spiritual aspect of the tea ceremony (de Bary 260). Additionally, the role of the woman in Japan was slightly elevated as a result of the tea ceremony. Women were encouraged to participate in the tea ceremonies in the nineteenth century and today there are more women tea masters than men (Kamachi 91). The tea ceremony was not affected by gender or class and proven that it has transcended anything else in the culture. Moreover, the tea ceremony has historically shown that it is another manner in which to express art, culture, and Buddhism.
"Tea is nought but this.
de Bary, William Theodore. Sources of the Japanese Tradition. New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1958.
Kamachi, Noriko. Culture and Customs of Japan. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Okakura, Kakuzo. The Book of Tea. Tokyo and New York: Kodansha International, 1989.
Sadler, A.L. Cha-no-yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony. Rutland, VT and Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1962.
Tanaka, Sen’o and Tanaka, Sendo. The Tea Ceremony. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1973.
Varley, Paul and Kumakura Isao. Tea in Japan: Essays on the History of Chanoyu. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989.
Thorough site on the Tea Ceremony that includes a step by step etiquette guide for the ceremony for both guests and hosts.
An online magazine that reports on many aspects of the Chanoyu.
An overview of the chanoyu, with interesting pictures of tearooms and utensils.
Describes the healthful benefits of green tea.
A general informative site on the tea ceremony with a helpful glossary of terms. | https://academic.mu.edu/meissnerd/halaska.html |
Presented by:
Frank E. Jenkins, III Esq.
JENKINS, BOWEN AND WALKER, P.C.
[email protected]
15 South Public Square
Cartersville, Georgia 30120
(770) 387-1373
301 West Congress Street
Savannah, Georgia 31412
(912) 629-1710
|TABLE OF CONTENTS|
|I.||Administrative Decisions and Appeals||1|
|II.||Zoning Procedures Law, O.C.G.A. §36-66-1 et seq||4|
|III||Adoption of the Official Zoning Map||7|
|IV||Sign Ordinances||8|
|V||Solid Waste Management Plans||11|
|VI||Enforcement of Zoning Conditions.||12|
|VII||Annexation: Resolution of Land Use Classification Disputes||13|
I. ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS AND APPEALS
1. Jackson County v. Earth Resources, Inc., 280 Ga. 389,
627 S.E.2d 569 (2006).
In reviewing a decision by a local government in either granting or denying a conditional use permit, the court is bound to uphold the decision of the local government where there is any evidence supporting its decision. The court in this case found that the local government's denial of a conditional use permit to develop a construction and demolition landfill was supported by the evidence where there was more than merely "generalized fears" presented by neighboring property owners. Evidence of specific concerns was raised as to truck traffic to and from the site of the landfill. Moreover, the project was not consistent with a comprehensive land use plan which called for mid-density residential use, an appraiser opined as to a negative effect on surrounding land values, and the property owner's representations concerning ground water contamination were rebutted. The Jackson County Zoning Ordinance granted discretion to the county on whether to grant or deny a conditional use permit. It provided in Sec.13-60 that "[t]he conditional use would be consistent with the needs of the neighborhood or the community as a whole, be compatible with the neighborhood and would not be in conflict with the overall objective of the comprehensive plan." Because of discretion given to the county, it may consider various factors in determining whether a conditional use permit would meet these criteria. For these reasons, the court upheld the county's denial of the conditional use permit.
2. City of Roswell v. Fellowship Christian School, Inc., 281 Ga. 767,
642 S.E.2d 824 (2007)
Fellowship Christian School (FCS) applied to Roswell for a conditional use permit to construct several new buildings including a 1500-seat football stadium. After considering the evidence, the city approved the permit for the buildings, but did not approve the stadium.
In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the city to deny the stadium. It reasoned that the city's conditional use permit ordinances granted the city discretion on acting on an application rather than mandating approval of the application as a matter of right. Only if the city was guilty of a gross abuse of discretion would the denial of the permit be reversed. The court also concluded that if there is "any evidence" to support the city's decision, it must be upheld.
The evidence presented to the city showed that there already existed two stadiums at other high schools within one mile of FCS's property. FCS's own traffic study showed that simultaneous varsity football games create the potential for multiple athletic events along the road. The evidence showed that two or three simultaneous events along the two-lane road would create severe traffic congestion following a football game.
The court found that traffic congestion is a valid consideration in regulation of land use, and since the evidence showed that FCS's proposed stadium would exacerbate an already existing traffic problem, that it was reasonable for the city to deny the application for a permit to construct the stadium. According to the court, "preserving the character of an existing neighborhood is a legitimate purpose of zoning and planning."
Since the evidence showed a rational basis for the denial of the permit for the stadium, the court rejected FCS's contention that it was denied equal protection.
3. DeKalb County v. Cooper Homes, 283 Ga. 111, 657 S.E.2d 206 (2008).
Where DeKalb County's zoning ordinance provided appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals from the denial of a building permit by the planning and development department, developer was required to pursue that appeal to the BZA before it could appeal to the superior court. The BZA had previously denied a variance to the same developer, but since a building permit would be issued on a different basis than a variance, it would not be a futile act to appeal to the BZA.
II. ZONING PROCEDURES LAW, O.C.G.A. §36-66-1 et seq.
1. Tilley Properties, Inc. v. Bartow County, 261 Ga. 153,
401 S.E.2d 527 (1991).
A property owner wished to use property for surface mining and needed to get a certificate of land use compliance from the county before such a permit was issued. The county denied the permit on the grounds that the property was zoned for agricultural uses only. The Supreme Court held that the zoning ordinance was invalid because it did not comply with the ZPL. The court held that the ZPL requires that, before a zoning ordinance is adopted, an ordinance detailing policies and procedures must be adopted, and that ordinance is also subject to the ZPL's notice and public hearing requirements. Further, where the zoning ordinance is procedurally invalid, there are no legal restrictions on the use of land, and the property owner was entitled to mandamus relief ordering the county to issue the certificate of land use approval.
A practice pointer worth mentioning that is not apparent on the face of the opinion is that the county readopted the zoning ordinance while the case was on appeal. Although the property owner was ultimately successful and allowed its intended use of the property, readoption of the zoning ordinance in a manner compliant with the Supreme Court's holding prevented a gap period in which the county was without zoning. Thus, other property owners were prevented from capitalizing on the procedural defect in the original zoning ordinance and vesting rights to undesirable uses.
2. Kingsley v. Florida Rock Industries, Inc., 259 Ga. App. 207,
576 S.E.2d 569 (2003).
Florida Rock challenged the validity of Lamar County's Comprehensive Land Use Plan on the ground that it was not adopted in accordance with the notice requirements of the Zoning Procedures Law, O.C.G.A. § 36-66-1 et. seq. Lamar County had given only 14 days notice of the public hearing on the plan rather than the minimum 15 days required by the ZPL. The court however reasoned that planning was not the same as zoning. "Comprehensive planning . . . refers to "any plan by a county," without any limitation to the type of planning involved." at p. 210. Planning, according to the court, does not impose immediate restrictions on land use, but "contemplates the evolvement of an over-all program or design of the present and future physical development of a total area and services. . . ." 101A CJS, Zoning and Land Planning, § 2(b) (1979). Zoning is a means by which the comprehensive plan is carried out; it is subject to the constitutional protections of equal protection and due process and the prohibition against taking private property without just compensation. The notice for adopting a comprehensive plan is that usually followed by a local government for public hearings, not zoning hearings. See DCA Regulations at Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 110-3-2-.06(4)(a). Since Lamar County followed it usual public hearing procedure, it satisfied the notice requirements for a hearing on the comprehensive plan.
3. City of Roswell et al., v. Outdoor Systems, Inc., 274 Ga. 130,
549 S.E.2d 90 (2001).
After the City of Roswell's sign ordinance was struck down as unconstitutional, the city enacted a temporary moratorium on applications for billboard signs, but in enacting the moratorium the city did not follow the notice requirements of the Zoning Procedures Law, O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4(a). In a challenge to the moratorium, the Supreme Court found that the temporary moratorium on receiving applications for billboard signs was not a "zoning decision" as defined in the Zoning Procedures Law. The ZPL defines "zoning decision" as a "final legislative action by a local government" that adopts an ordinance, grants a special use permit, or approves an amendment to the text of the zoning ordinance, rezones property, or zones annexed property. Therefore, according to the court, the temporary billboard sign moratorium was not "final legislative action" as defined by the ZPL, and thus adoption of the temporary moratorium was not subject to the notice requirements of the ZPL. In addition, the Supreme Court approved the moratorium on the grounds that it was temporary; it was limited in scope to billboards exceeding a specific size; and it was enacted in response to a prior court order invalidating existing sign regulations. Thus the court found specifically that the moratorium was a reasonable interim action and exempt from the procedural requirements of the ZPL.
III. ADOPTION OF THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP
Mid-Georgia Envtl. Management Group LLLP v. Meriwether County, 277 Ga. 670, 594 S.E.2d 344 (2004).
Application for rezoning challenged validity of Meriwether County's zoning map because it didn't keep superseded portions of the zoning map; it only updated the map and discarded the superseded portions. This argument was rejected by the court; there is nothing in the ZPL, according to the court, that conditions the validity of a zoning map on the retention of superseded portions.
The court also rejected the challenge that the county did not correctly incorporate the zoning map into the zoning ordinance. Concluding that a zoning map is a "zoning decision" under the ZPL, it must be adopted in accordance with it. In this case the county properly adopted its zoning map for the following reasons:
--it incorporated the zoning map by reference stating that it was a part of the zoning resolution;
--the ordinance provided that the zoning administrator shall maintain a copy of the zoning map;
--the board minutes show that the board of commissioners had before it a copy of the zoning map at the time it was adopted;
--the zoning map was in existence at the time the zoning applicant bought the property and that the map was in the administrator's office.
IV. SIGN ORDINANCES
1. Union City Board of Zoning Appeals et al. v. Justice Outdoor Displays, Inc., 266 Ga. 393, 467 S.E.2d 875 (1996).
In a multifaceted challenge to the Union City sign ordinance, the court made the following holdings, among others:
1) The city's sign ordinance which distinguishes between "off-premise signs" and "on-premise signs" violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Free Speech Clause of the Georgia Constitution. Since the city restricts the content of a sign based upon its location, it will not survive strict scrutiny. The city effectively prohibits signs bearing non-commercial messages in zoning districts where a sign of the same size and structure may display commercial messages.
2) The city's sign ordinance is also unconstitutional to the extent that it limits the messages on specific categories of signs, which are principal identification signs, marketing signs, construction signs, instructional signs, real estate directional signs, real estate signs, and special event signs. The effect of the ordinance was to limit the message of certain signs to those identifying the type of sign that may be used.
3) The ordinance provisions which restrict signs in residential zoning districts to on-premise signs and certain temporary or special signs, such as political signs, is likewise unconstitutional. The court reasoned that the ordinance prohibits vital expression through the unique medium of residential signs without providing a viable alternative.
4) The city's time limitation on political signs during a period of six weeks prior to and one week after an election is likewise unconstitutional. Since the ordinance does not place time limits that a resident may post a sign selling his house, for example, restrictions on political signs are necessarily content based and unconstitutionally restricted.
2. Solantic, LLC v. City of Neptune Beach, 410 F.3d 1250 (2005).
Neptune Beach's sign code violated the First Amendment in two ways: it exempted from regulation certain categories of signs based on their content without compelling justification for the differential treatment, and it contained no time limits for responding to applications for sign permits.
An example of the types of signs exempt from the regulations and thus not requiring a permit are 1) flags and insignia of any government, religious, charitable, fraternal or other organizations; 2) signs on private premises directing and guiding traffic and parking on private property; 3) and holiday lights and decorations. Thus the city's sign code discriminates against certain types of speech (signs) based on content. It exempts from regulation some categories of signs based on content, but does not exempt others based on content. Generally, laws that distinguish favored speech from unfavored speech on the basis of the ideas or views expressed are content based. A content-neutral ordinance applies equally to all and not just those with a particular message or subject matter in mind. But where the city exempts certain signs based upon the content or message within the sign is not content neutral.
Where the sign code is a content based restriction on speech, to be constitutional it must serve a compelling state interest and be narrowly drawn to achieve that end. The city's sign ordinance was based on general purposes of aesthetics and traffic safety, but these reasons are not "compelling government interests" for purposes of First Amendment analysis. Moreover, the sign code's exemptions are not narrowly tailored to achieve the city's traffic safety or aesthetic goals. The code thus is not justified by a compelling government purpose and therefore fails to survive strict scrutiny required under First Amendment analysis.
The ordinance is also unconstitutional because it fails to impose time limits for permitting decisions and thus is an invalid prior restraint on speech. To satisfy time limit requirement an ordinance must insure that permitting decisions are made within a specified time period. But here the city's sign code contains no time limits on permitting and therefore is an unconstitutional restraint on speech for that reason.
3. Tinsley Media, LLC v. Pickens County, Georgia, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, decided October 12, 2006.
Plaintiff filed eleven applications with the county for permission to erect billboards, which were prohibited under the existing sign ordinance. The applications were denied and the plaintiff filed suit claiming several provisions of the county's sign ordinance violated the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions.
Regulations that restrict expression of protected speech are analyzed under a four-part analysis, as follows: (1) commercial speech is protected "only if that speech concerns lawful activity and is not misleading;" (2) a restriction is valid if it seeks to implement a substantial government interest; (3) the restriction directly advances that interest; and (4) it reaches no further than necessary to accomplish the given objection.
The court found that the county's ordinance contained no statement of purpose at all. Without a statement of purpose, according to the court, the statute cannot satisfy the "substantial government interest" requirement under federal law.
In its decision, the court pointed out other constitutional requirements in a sign ordinance. The ordinance must contain standards for approval, a time limit for granting or denying a permit, and procedures for appeal. If a sign ordinance lacks any of these provisions, it is subject to challenge that it is unconstitutional.
V. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLANS
McKee v. City of Geneva, 280 Ga. 411, 627 S.E.2d 555 (2006).
Property owners sought written verification from the city to locate a solid waste handling facility. The plaintiff's intent was to obtain a permit for a solid waste handling facility from the EPD. Issuance of the permit was dependent in part upon verification from the city that the proposed facility did not violate any zoning or land use ordinances and was consistent with the solid waste management plans (SWMP). O.C.G.A. § 12-8-31.1(b) requires that the SWMP "shall, at a minimum, … identify those sites which are not suitable for solid waste handling facilities based on environmental and land use factors." Since the city's SWMP failed to comply with the statute in that areas unsuitable for solid waste facilities were not identified, the city could not rely upon its SWMP to deny the solid waste handling facility. The property owner therefore was entitled to grant of writ of mandamus requiring the city to issue the verification so that he could seek a permit from the EPD.
VI. ENFORCEMENT OF ZONING CONDITIONS
Cherokee County et al., v. Martin, 253 Ga.App. 395, 559 S.E.2d 138 (2002).
Cherokee County rezoned Martin's property to a PUD classification based on a site plan which showed that a portion of the property would be used as an "assisted living" facility. But Cherokee County in the adopting ordinance approving the rezoning did not stipulate that the rezoning must comply with the site plan. Later Martin decided to build an apartment complex instead of an "assisted living" facility, but the county refused to issue a permit although both uses were permitted in the zoning district. Thereafter, Martin sued Cherokee County contending he had the right to build the apartment complex.
Finding in favor of Martin and his right to build the apartment complex, the court resolved that there was no language within the rezoning resolution adopted by the county which referenced conditions or required Martin to abide by the particular use specified in his site plan. The court reasoned that since a zoning ordinance restricts an owner's right to freely use his property, it must be strictly construed in favor of the property owner and never construed beyond its explicit terms. Furthermore, a court may not infer that the zoning of property is conditioned to a particular use, but should require that any conditions be expressly made a part of the rezoning resolution. "Rezoning is conditional only if the conditions are set forth in the rezoning resolution itself or if an examiner of the resolution would be alerted to the existence of such conditions." (at p. 397)
VII. ANNEXATION: RESOLUTION OF LAND USE CLASSIFICATION DISPUTES
In the 2007 session, the General Assembly adopted new statutes governing the resolution of zoning and land use disputes between cities and counties resulting from annexation of property by cities. The new provisions are effective on September 1, 2007. The statutes governing the new resolution procedure are found at O.C.G.A. § 36-36-11 and O.C.G.A. §§ 36-36-110 through 119.
The new procedures require a city to notify a county by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery of the receipt of a petition for annexation. The notice must include the proposed zoning and land use for the area to be annexed. If the county does not object, the annexation may proceed as otherwise provided by law.
On the other hand, the county may object to the proposed zoning and land use for the annexed property. Several conditions must obtain as a requisite to the county's objection to the annexation. O.C.G.A. § 36-36-113 provides that the county may object if the annexation causes a material increase in burden on the county related to (1) the change in zoning or land use, (2) proposed increase in density, and (3) infrastructure demands related to the proposed change in zoning or land use. But, it further provides in subsection (d) of section 113 that the proposed change in zoning or land use must result in (A) substantial change in intensity of the use of the property or a change to a significantly different allowable use or a use which significantly increases the net costs of infrastructure or diminishes the value of the useful life of a capital outlay project which the county developed in the area to be annexed.
The law requires the appointment of an arbitration panel composed of five members selected by the Department of Community Affairs from a pool of arbitrators consisting of appointees of various backgrounds related to experience. The arbitration panel must convene to receive evidence and argument from the city, the county, and the applicant for annexation. By majority vote it shall render a decision which will be binding on all of the parties. In arriving at its decision, the panel is required by statute to consider a number of standards including, in part, existing comprehensive land use plans for the city and county, and existing land use and zoning patterns and infrastructure of the area to be annexed.
If the city, county, or applicant for annexation is dissatisfied with the arbitration panel's decision, an appeal may be filed in the superior court of the county of the annexation within 10 days after receipt of the panel's findings.
After a final resolution is reached to an objection by the county to the zoning and land use of the annexed property, the city is prohibited from changing the zoning of the annexed property for one year with the exception that a change may be made if the service delivery agreement or comprehensive plan adopted by the city and county is amended to be consistent with the changed zoning or land use. If the city and the applicant for annexation accept the recommendations of the arbitration panel, or the decision of the court on appeal, the annexation may proceed under the established annexation procedures. If, the arbitration panel recommendation or court decision is not accepted, then the city is not authorized to proceed with annexation. | https://www.jbwpc.com/Articles/Zoning-and-Land-Use-General/GEORGIA-ASSOCIATION-OF-ZONING-ADMINISTRATORS-LEGAL-LEGISLATIVE-UPDATES.shtml |
Objectives:
The research objectives of this study are as follows;
To gain a deeper understanding of the some of the key issues surrounding clinical research data integrity
To evaluate the current knowledge and awareness of Blockchain within the clinical research industry
To determine the suitability of Blockchain in addressing the key issues surrounding clinical data integrity from a clinical data management perspective through quantitative and qualitative research
Methodology:
A pragmatist inductive approach was undertaken with this study of which the research purpose was considered exploratory. The research method used was a complementary quantitative and qualitative mixed methods approach. The sources of data consisted of an online survey while the sampling methods employed were non-probability and purposive homogenous sampling. A thematic analysis approach was then taken in order to analyze the data produced from the qualitative questions and the quantitative data was analyzed in conjunction with the qualitative data to support one another.
Findings:
Favor in support of Blockchain-enabled clinical trials was overwhelmingly positive from participants who took part in the study. Participants were chosen who best represented those who would have prior knowledge and understanding of Blockchain, however it was found that not all participants were even aware of Blockchain prior to the study. Blockchain understanding was quite mixed, however, all participants stated they would use Blockchain over legacy data management systems despite in depth knowledge of its functionalities. All participants stated they were aware of ongoing clinical data concerns concerning its integrity and that Blockchain could possess the architectural structure to alleviate those concerns that would benefit all stakeholders from the regulators to the patients.
Analysis:
Although Blockchain has been in existence since 2009 , it has formally been associated with cryptocurrency transactions and therefore it is still a relatively nascent technology still within its infancy of implementation within the clinical industry. While Blockchain is making strides in other industries, it is only beginning to be recognized as a potential platform to manage, store and share clinical data in a secure, transparent and immutable manner. Complexity and lack of understanding of the technology appeared multiple times throughout the study analysis and may act as a possible prohibitory factor towards its potential uses. Participants pointed out the increasing importance for clinical data integrity especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, and highlighted the potential beneficial applicatory functionalities of Blockchain within vaccine research.
Conclusions:
It was concluded that there exists extensive data-related issues within clinical research that contribute to a lacking of integrity in the data. There is still a degree of misunderstanding regarding the functionalities of Blockchain as a standalone platform dissociated from cryptocurrencies and there appears to be still a lack of basic awareness of its existence within the clinical research industry. The key conclusion derived from this study was that there are substantial obstacles that must be overcome before the technology could even be considered for implementation. Issues involving GDPR, ownership of data, data privacy, a lack of Blockchain experts and regulatory oversight concerns all must be solved. Blockchain has far reaching benefits not just for data integrity but for many other aspects of clinical research such as improving patient trust, acting as a decentralized repository for clinical data especially within vaccine research and could also be used alongside smart wearables to accurately record an auditable data trail from the point of origin that is fully immutable and tamper-proof.
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Neurodegenerative disorders with Tau accumulation are a common cause of dementia in the aging population. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Pick’s Disease (PiD) and Fronto-temporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) are examples of neurodegenerative disorders with Tau accumulation and are also jointly referred as “taupathies”. Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative disorders with accumulation of three-repeat (3R) or four-repeat (4R) Tau. While 3R tau is found in Pick's disease and Alzheimer's disease (AD), 4R tau is more abundant in corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy, and AD.
Researchers at UC San Diego have taken the approach to selectively target 3R Tau aggregates for treatment of AD, PiD and other neurodegenerative disorders with 3R Tau accumulation. Single chain antibodies were developed that were shown to specifically recognize 3R Tau in tissue from patients with AD and PiD and designed to be capable of penetrating the brain for therapeutic use in humans. In addition, having gained access to the CNS the single chain antibodies were shown to reduce the accumulation of 3R Tau and related deficits in transgenic mouse models of taupathy and Pick’s disease.
Data based upon animal model studies suggest that these single chain antibodies can potentially be used for the treatment, amelioration, prevention or reduction of symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders and conditions characterized with 3R Tau accumulations.
A transgenic mouse model (3R Tau is overexpressed) was developed to characterize single chain antibodies and validate that they specifically recognize 3R Tau and could penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
A PCT patent has been submitted and the technology is available for licensing. | https://techtransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu/NCD/28748.html |
Athletes from past six decades inducted into ACPS Hall of Fame
An honoree at the Alexandria City Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame induction event on Friday (Courtesy ACPS)
Alexandria City Public Schools inducted seven athletes representing 60 years of outstanding athletic performance at the high school level into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Nov. 2. At the ceremony, ACPS also honored Steve Osisek, a 1950s basketball coach at the then George Washington High School.
The inductees included Paul Shu, a football player from the first graduating class of G.W. in 1935. The other athletes were basketball stars Karen Bowles, Kihlon Golden and Earl Quash; Carl Carr, a football player who went on to play for the National Football League; Eduardo Lopez, a soccer player who went on to play professionally for the Baltimore Blast and Kelli Flynn, a track and field star who was the greatest high jumper in Alexandria history.
“It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate our athletic successes and the history of athletics at T.C. Williams High School,” Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings, Ed.D., said. “Athletics are essential for a well-rounded high school experience and the skills that athletes hone through sports — grit, endurance, teamwork, leadership and sportsmanship — all contribute to creating students who go on to see all-around success throughout their lives.”
Since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 2014, ACPS has inducted 44 athletes and honored seven coaches. All were nominated by the public and selected by the Athletic Hall of Fame Advisory Committee.
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Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Anonim
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2007-02-05
- Total pages :638
- ISBN : 0080471242
Summary : Philosophy of Biology is a rapidly expanding field. It is concerned with explanatory concepts in evolution, genetics, and ecology. This collection of 25 essays by leading researchers provides an overview of the state of the field. These essays are wholly new; none of them could have been written even ten years ago. They demonstrate how philosophical analysis has been able to contribute to sometimes contested areas of scientific theory making. -Written by internationally acknowledged leaders in the field - Entries make original contributions as well as summarizing state of the art discoveries in the field - Easy to read and understand
Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Peter Godfrey-Smith
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2016-09-06
- Total pages :200
- ISBN : 9780691174679
Summary : This is a concise, comprehensive, and accessible introduction to the philosophy of biology written by a leading authority on the subject. Geared to philosophers, biologists, and students of both, the book provides sophisticated and innovative coverage of the central topics and many of the latest developments in the field. Emphasizing connections between biological theories and other areas of philosophy, and carefully explaining both philosophical and biological terms, Peter Godfrey-Smith discusses the relation between philosophy and science; examines the role of laws, mechanistic explanation, and idealized models in biological theories; describes evolution by natural selection; and assesses attempts to extend Darwin's mechanism to explain changes in ideas, culture, and other phenomena. Further topics include functions and teleology, individuality and organisms, species, the tree of life, and human nature. The book closes with detailed, cutting-edge treatments of the evolution of cooperation, of information in biology, and of the role of communication in living systems at all scales. Authoritative and up-to-date, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in the important philosophical issues raised by the biological sciences.
Philosophy of Biology Before Biology
- Author : Cécilia Bognon-Küss,Charles T. Wolfe
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2019-02-11
- Total pages :220
- ISBN : 9781317227557
Summary : The use of the term "biology" to refer to a unified science of life emerged around 1800 (most prominently by scientists such as Lamarck and Treviranus, although scholarship has indicated its usage at least 30-40 years earlier). The interplay between philosophy and natural science has also accompanied the constitution of biology as a science. Philosophy of Biology Before Biology examines biological and protobiological writings from the mid-eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century (from Buffon to Cuvier; Kant to Oken; and Kielmeyer) with two major sets of questions in mind: What were the distinctive conceptual features of the move toward biology as a science? What were the relations and differences between the "philosophical" focus on the nature of living entities, and the "scientific" focus? This insightful volume produces a fresh but also systematic perspective both on the history of biology as a science and on the early versions of, in the 1960s in a post-positivist context, the philosophy of biology. It will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as history of science, philosophy of science and biology.
The Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Marjorie Glicksman Grene,Marjorie Grene,David Depew
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2004-08-02
- Total pages :416
- ISBN : 0521643805
Summary : Examines how the philosophy of biology has evolved to our current understanding.
The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Michael Ruse
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2008-07-10
- Total pages :642
- ISBN : 9780195182057
Summary : The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Biology contains exciting new essays written to introduce the reader to one of the most vibrant areas of scholarship today. The handbook covers the history of the topic, moves through evolutionary theory, continues with discussions of molecular biology and ecology, and covers biology and ethics as well as biology and religion. There is no better way of learning about this dynamic subject than through the essays in this volume.
The Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Kostas Kampourakis
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2013-06-18
- Total pages :762
- ISBN : 9789400765375
Summary : This book brings together for the first time philosophers of biology to write about some of the most central concepts and issues in their field from the perspective of biology education. The chapters of the book cover a variety of topics ranging from traditional ones, such as biological explanation, biology and religion or biology and ethics, to contemporary ones, such as genomics, systems biology or evolutionary developmental biology. Each of the 30 chapters covers the respective philosophical literature in detail and makes specific suggestions for biology education. The aim of this book is to inform biology educators, undergraduate and graduate students in biology and related fields, students in teacher training programs, and curriculum developers about the current state of discussion on the major topics in the philosophy of biology and its implications for teaching biology. In addition, the book can be valuable to philosophers of biology as an introductory text in undergraduate and graduate courses.
Philosophy of Biology Today
- Author : Lucyle T Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science Michael Ruse,Robert J. Richards,Michael Ruse
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :1988-01-01
- Total pages :155
- ISBN : 088706910X
Summary : "As molecular biologists peer ever more deeply into life's mysteries, there are those who fear that such 'reductionism' conceals more than it reveals, and there are those who complain that the new techniques threaten the physical safety of us all. As students of evolution apply their understanding to our own species, some people think that this is merely an excuse for racist and sexist propaganda, and others worry that the whole exercise blatantly violates the religious beliefs many hold dear. These controversies are the joint concerns of biologists and philosophers--of those whose task it is to study the theoretical and moral foundations of knowledge"--From publisher description.
Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Brian Garvey
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2014-12-05
- Total pages :320
- ISBN : 9781317493662
Summary : This major new series in the philosophy of science aims to provide a new generation of textbooks for the subject. The series will not only offer fresh treatments of core topics in the theory and methodology of scientific knowledge, but also introductions to newer areas of the discipline. Furthermore, the series will cover topics in current science that raise significant foundational issues both for scientific theory and for philosophy more generally. Biology raises distinct questions of its own not only for philosophy of science, but for metaphysics, epistemology and ethics. This comprehensive new textbook for a rapidly growing field of study provides students new to the subject with an up-to-date presentation of the key philosophical issues. Care is taken throughout to keep the technicalities accessible to the non-biologist but without sacrificing the philosophical subtleties. The first part of the book covers the philosophical challenges posed by evolution and evolutionary biology, beginning with Darwin's central argument in the Origin of the Species. Individual chapters cover natural selection, the selfish gene, alternative units of selection, developmental systems theory, adaptionism and issues in macroevolution. The second part of the book examines philosophical questions arising in connection with biological traits, function, nature and nurture, and biological kinds. The third part of the book examines metaphysical questions, biology's relation with the traditional concerns of philosophy of science, and how evolution has been introduced into epistemological debates. The final part considers the relevance of biology to questions about ethics, religion and human nature.
Biological Identity
- Author : Anne Sophie Meincke,John Dupré
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2020-08-26
- Total pages :336
- ISBN : 9781351066365
Summary : Analytic metaphysics has recently discovered biology as a means of grounding metaphysical theories. This has resulted in long-standing metaphysical puzzles, such as the problems of personal identity and material constitution, being increasingly addressed by appeal to a biological understanding of identity. This development within metaphysics is in significant tension with the growing tendency amongst philosophers of biology to regard biological identity as a deep puzzle in its own right, especially following recent advances in our understanding of symbiosis, the evolution of multi-cellular organisms and the inherently dynamical character of living systems. Moreover, and building on these biological insights, the broadly substance ontological framework of metaphysical theories of biological identity appears problematic to a growing number of philosophers of biology who invoke process ontology instead. This volume addresses this tension, exploring to what extent it can be dissolved. For this purpose, the volume presents the first selection of essays exclusively focused on biological identity and written by experts in metaphysics, the philosophy of biology and biology. The resulting cross-disciplinary dialogue paves the way for a convincing account of biological identity that is both metaphysically constructive and scientifically informed, and will be of interest to metaphysicians, philosophers of biology and theoretical biologists.
Sex and Death
- Author : Kim Sterelny,Paul E. Griffiths
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2012-04-02
- Total pages :456
- ISBN : 9780226178653
Summary : Is the history of life a series of accidents or a drama scripted by selfish genes? Is there an "essential" human nature, determined at birth or in a distant evolutionary past? What should we conserve—species, ecosystems, or something else? Informed answers to questions like these, critical to our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, require both a knowledge of biology and a philosophical framework within which to make sense of its findings. In this accessible introduction to philosophy of biology, Kim Sterelny and Paul E. Griffiths present both the science and the philosophical context necessary for a critical understanding of the most exciting debates shaping biology today. The authors, both of whom have published extensively in this field, describe the range of competing views—including their own—on these fascinating topics. With its clear explanations of both biological and philosophical concepts, Sex and Death will appeal not only to undergraduates, but also to the many general readers eager to think critically about the science of life.
Toward a New Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Ernst Mayr
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :1988
- Total pages :564
- ISBN : 0674896661
Summary : Provides a philosophical analysis of such biological concepts as natural selection, adaptation, speciation, and evolution
Philosophy of Science for Biologists
- Author : Kostas Kampourakis,Tobias Uller
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2020-07-31
- Total pages :275
- ISBN : 9781108491839
Summary : A short and accessible introduction to philosophy of science for students and researchers across the life sciences.
Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Francisco J. Ayala,Robert Arp
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2009-12-07
- Total pages :440
- ISBN : 9781405159982
Summary : This collection of specially commissioned essays puts top scholars head to head to debate the central issues in the lively and fast growing field of philosophy of biology Brings together original essays on ten of the most hotly debated questions in philosophy of biology Lively head-to-head debate format sharply defines the issues and paves the way for further discussion Includes coverage of the new and vital area of evolutionary developmental biology, as well as the concept of a unified species, the role of genes in selection, the differences between micro- and macro-evolution, and much more Each section features an introduction to the topic as well as suggestions for further reading Offers an accessible overview of this fast-growing and dynamic field, whilst also capturing the imagination of professional philosophers and biologists
Philosophy of Biology: A Very Short Introduction
- Author : Samir Okasha
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2019-11-28
- Total pages :144
- ISBN : 9780192533654
Summary : Over the last forty years the philosophy of biology has emerged as an important sub-discipline of the philosophy of science. Covering some of science's most divisive topics, such as philosophical issues in genetics, it also encompasses areas where modern biology has increasingly impinged on traditional philosophical questions, such as free will, essentialism, and nature vs nurture. In this Very Short Introduction Samir Okasha outlines the core issues with which contemporary philosophy of biology is engaged. Offering a whistle-stop tour of the history of biology, he explores key ideas and paradigm shifts throughout the centuries, including areas such as the theory of evolution by natural selection; the concepts of function and design; biological individuality; and the debate over adaptationism. Throughout Okasha makes clear the relevance of biology for understanding human beings, human society, and our place in the natural world, and the importance of engaging with these issues. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Philosophy of Evolutionary Biology
- Author : Stefan Linquist
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2017-03-02
- Total pages :616
- ISBN : 9781351911351
Summary : The impact of evolutionary theory on the philosophy of science has been no less profound than its impact on the science of biology itself. Advances in this theory provide a rich set of examples for thinking about the nature of scientific explanation and the structure of science. Many of the developments in our understanding of evolution resulted from contributions by both philosophers and biologists engaging over theoretical questions of mutual interest. This volume traces some of the most influential exchanges in this field over the last few decades. Focal topics include the nature of biological functions, adaptationism as an explanatory and methodological doctrine, the levels of selection debate, the concepts of fitness and drift, and the relationship of evolutionary to developmental biology.
What the Philosophy of Biology Is
- Author : M. Ruse
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2012-12-06
- Total pages :348
- ISBN : 9789400911697
Summary : Philosophers of science frequently bemoan (or cheer) the fact that today, with the supposed collapse of logical empiricism, there are now ;;10 grand systems. However, although this mayor may not be true, and if true mayor may not be a cause for delight, no one should conclude that the philosophy of science has ground to a halt, its problems exhausted and its practioners dispirited. In fact, in this post Kuhnian age the subject has never been more alive, as we work with enthusiasm on special topics, historical and conceptual. And no topic has grown and thrived quite like the philosophy of biology, which now has many students in the field producing high-quality articles and monographs. The success of this subject is due above all to the work and influence of one man: David Hull. In his own writings and in the support he has given to others, he has shown true leadership, in the best Platonic sense. It is now twenty years since Hull fnt gave his seminal paper 'What the philosophy of biology is not', and to mark that point and to show our respect, gratitude and affection to its author, a number of us who owe much to Hull decided to produce a volume of essays on and around themes to which Hull has spoken.
A Companion to the Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Sahotra Sarkar,Anya Plutynski
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2010-12-20
- Total pages :616
- ISBN : 9781444337853
Summary : Comprised of essays by top scholars in the field, this volume offers detailed overviews of philosophical issues raised by biology. Brings together a team of eminent scholars to explore the philosophical issues raised by biology Addresses traditional and emerging topics, spanning molecular biology and genetics, evolution, developmental biology, immunology, ecology, mind and behaviour, neuroscience, and experimentation Begins with a thorough introduction to the field Goes beyond previous treatments that focused only on evolution to give equal attention to other areas, such as molecular and developmental biology Represents both an authoritative guide to philosophy of biology, and an accessible reference work for anyone seeking to learn about this rapidly-changing field
Philosophy of Systems Biology
- Author : Sara Green
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2016-12-15
- Total pages :265
- ISBN : 9783319470009
Summary : The emergence of systems biology raises many fascinating questions: What does it mean to take a systems approach to problems in biology? To what extent is the use of mathematical and computational modelling changing the life sciences? How does the availability of big data influence research practices? What are the major challenges for biomedical research in the years to come? This book addresses such questions of relevance not only to philosophers and biologists but also to readers interested in the broader implications of systems biology for science and society. The book features reflections and original work by experts from across the disciplines including systems biologists, philosophers, and interdisciplinary scholars investigating the social and educational aspects of systems biology. In response to the same set of questions, the experts develop and defend their personal perspectives on the distinctive character of systems biology and the challenges that lie ahead. Readers are invited to engage with different views on the questions addressed, and may explore numerous themes relating to the philosophy of systems biology. This edited work will appeal to scholars and all levels, from undergraduates to researchers, and to those interested in a variety of scholarly approaches such as systems biology, mathematical and computational modelling, cell and molecular biology, genomics, systems theory, and of course, philosophy of biology.
History And Philosophy Of Biology
- Author : Robert H Kretsinger
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2015-04-29
- Total pages :364
- ISBN : 9789814635066
Summary : History and Philosophy of Biology summarizes the major philosophical ideas that have attended the development of science in general and of biology in particular. The book then explores how the techniques and the concepts of the physical sciences have impacted biology. A reductionist approach to biology — anatomy, physiology, genetics — complements the study of evolution by natural selection and an ecological perspective. The final section of the book explores several examples of the influence of science on society, and of society on science.Each of 46 chapters of History and Philosophy of Biology has been or could be the topic of a major tome. The book is unique in that it explores the web of interactions among issues of philosophy, techniques and concepts of the physical sciences, fields of biology, and the diverse relationships between society and science.The book should appeal to readers of Scientific American or the New York Review of Books even if they are not trained biologists. It is a good text, or additional reading, for an advanced undergraduate course treating history and/or philosophy of biology or of science in general.
Philosophy of Stem Cell Biology
- Author : M. Fagan
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2013-01-21
- Total pages :274
- ISBN : 9781137296023
Summary : This examination of stem cell biology from a philosophy of science perspective clarifies the field's central concept, the stem cell, as well as its aims, methods, models, explanations and evidential challenges. Relations to systems biology and clinical medicine are also discussed.
Topics in the Philosophy of Biology
- Author : Marjorie Grene,Everett Mendelson
- Publisher :Unknown
- Release Date :2012-12-06
- Total pages :454
- ISBN : 9789401018296
Summary : The philosophy of biology should move to the center of the philosophy of science - a place it has not been accorded since the time of Mach. Physics was the paradigm of science, and its shadow falls across con temporary philosophy of biology as well, in a variety of contexts: reduction, organization and system, biochemical mechanism, and the models of law and explanation which derive from the Duhem-Popper Hempel tradition. This volume, we think, offers ample evidence of how good contempo rary work in the philosophical understanding of biology has become. Marjorie Grene and Everett Mendelsohn aptly combine a deep philo sophical appreciation of conceptual issues in biology with an historical understanding of the radical changes in the science of biology since the 19th century. In this book, they present essays which probe such historical and methodological questions as reducibility, levels of organization, function and teleology, and the range of issues emerging from evolution ary theory and the species problem. In conjunction with Professor Grene's collection of essays on the philosophy of biology, The Under standing of Nature (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. XXIII) and the occasional essays on these topics which we have published in other volumes (listed below), this volume contributes to bringing biology to the center of philosophical attention. Everett Mendelsohn, 'Explanation in Nineteenth Century Biology' (Boston Studies, Vol. II, 1965). David Hawkins, 'Taxonomy and Information', (Boston Studies, Vol. III, 1967). | https://www.saintlukebc.org/book/philosophy-of-biology/ |
The health emergency related to the #COVID19 pandemic is attracting particular attention in the privacy field, also about possible initiatives regarding the development of specific apps. Today, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) carried out an intervention entitled “EU Digital Solidarity: a call for a pan-European approach against the pandemic”.
In particular, the EDPS intervention states
The GDPR clearly states that the processing of personal data should be designed to serve mankind (it was the favourite quote from GDPR for my predecessor Giovanni Buttarelli).
In the same intervention, the EDPS says
the European Data Protection Supervisor calls for a pan-European model “COVID-19 mobile application”, coordinated at EU level. Ideally, coordination with the World Health Organisation should also take place, to ensure data protection by design globally from the start
Apart from the positions I have already expressed on this topic in other contributions, the intervention mentioned above offers the opportunity for further thoughts. The “tracking apps” topic must be approached with extreme caution and balance, considering that the technological solutions that can be used to face the pandemic must not compromise privacy.
It is necessary to assess in advance the impact of the development of solutions in the correct balance between fundamental rights, the value of the individual, human dignity and public needs, opting in any case for technologies that are also ethically sustainable. To avoid unnecessary and sterile misunderstandings, this must not lead to a position that is, in principle, contrary to technological development.
On the contrary, I believe that innovation and the development of solutions should be encouraged through the use of emerging technologies. However, it is clear that in this balance, specific technological choices must not take precedence over the protection of personal data and privacy; the approach must not be reversed.
However, the technological solution to be adopted must respect the existing regulatory framework according to the principle of technology neutrality with respect to personal data protection and privacy. A result will be effective when it is neutral concerning the regulatory framework on the matter; moreover, the GDPR itself - nor any other rules subject to conventions or treaties - does not provide any indication for specific technologies.
Therefore, the principles laid down in Articles 5 and 25 of the GDPR should be considered fundamental in respect to this topic. Any technological solutions before the concrete development must have passed, already during the design phase, the appropriate assessments regarding compliance with the principle laid down by Article 25 GDPR (Data protection by design and by default). Furthermore, the same technological solution must ensure that only the personal data necessary for each specific purpose of the processing is processed by default.
These principles it carries out, according to the GDPR, by implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures. The approach, therefore, must move from a process that is logically before the solution that remains neutral. In conclusion, the correct approach must necessarily be always to have the focus on standards and not to centralize on the technological solution or the choice of which one is the most suitable. | https://www.nicfab.it/en/posts/covid19-and-tracking-apps-an-aware-approach-based-privacy-and-data-protection-rules/ |
Rational temper cannot be reduced to scientific reason. Reasoning about what is really good for us is integral to it
Humans cannot survive without evidence and reason. If you aim to live, then on seeing a cobra you better recognise the evidence that it is venomous and run for your life! Instrumental rationality is a primitive form of reason, as old as human beings themselves. Rational inferences too are intrinsic to daily existence. Farmers can tell by examining the nature of the soil what will and will not grow in it.
Forms of reason
So why are we encouraged to develop a rational temper when early socialisation already makes us rational? Because we learn skills of evidence gathering, inferring and instrumental reasoning in the limited domain of our own experience but modern life in industrialised societies can hardly be lived by these alone. To recognise and handle complex evidence, intricate deductive and inductive reasoning, sophisticated forms of instrumental reasoning, formal education is necessary. A modern society’s need for such rational creatures is insatiable. But is this all there is to human reason?
Two other forms of reason are even more important if we must move beyond survival to living our lives well: (a) reasoning about valued ends. It is not enough to explore the best possible means to satisfy whatever we happen to want. We also need to reason about which desire we should pursue. As Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor puts it, we are not just weak but strong evaluators — not only with an ability to (weakly) evaluate if money is to be spent on satisfying this rather than that desire but to ask what place money has in our life. In short, we (strongly) evaluate our desires by some standard of higher worth. Of what use is a prosperous life without friends, family and community, or without dignity and self-respect, we might ask. The Buddha gave up an affluent, royal life to reason precisely about such ends of life: what makes life meaningful to us as individuals, as social beings and finally, as humans inhabiting the world. Developing a rational temper is learning to reason about what makes life worthwhile, what we should really care about.
Equally important for us is (b) contextual moral reasoning, found aplenty in ordinary practice, but needing more cultivation. Suppose that your child is ill, your wife is out of town on work, and you have an urgent meeting to attend. What would you do? I doubt if you will put the health of your child and the meeting on the same scale of commensurability and do a cost-benefit analysis. Nor will you look at your moral rule book and ask which of the two acts is dictated by some command, some categorical imperative such as: always, place the highest value on your work, or alternatively, always put your child's health above all else. Single-value rules are absurd because neither value can easily supersede the other. To be sure, the health of your child is more important than a work-related meeting. But even so, a moral rule, if there was one, will have to be sensitive to actual circumstances obtaining at that time. So, if the child’s temperature is, say, 100 degrees and your attendance at the meeting is critical, you would probably leave your child behind with some reassuring words. But if the temperature was 104, you would face a dilemma: if the meeting is really urgent, you might request a trusted neighbour or friend to help you out. But if there is no alternative, you will probably skip the meeting with regret or postpone it.
This way of negotiating values is not only appropriate in personal life but offers a good model for public reasoning in societies. Collective decision-making cannot put all preferences, regardless of their respective worth, on the same commensurable scale and then subject them to cost-benefit analysis: a million people have both a little green patch and a personal gym and therefore the benefit of building a mall on the site far outweighs the cost of losing a public park. This reasoning is wrong because the larger environmental benefits of a public park must enter our reasoning as an independent, qualitatively different value and not as one aggregated desire that can be easily exchanged for another. But nor can we have an absolute, non-negotiable, single-value perspective to come into play here: always, no matter what the circumstances, our physical environment must have greater value than all else. To my mind, single-value doctrines are as dangerous as value-free, quantitative, cost-benefit analysis.
Exemplar of moral reasoning
So how should we proceed when reasoning about norms, laws and public policies of our society? We needn’t go too far here because our Constitution serves as a prefect exemplar. At stake in the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly were multiple values: individual freedom, the religious freedom of groups, equality among individuals, and inter-religious group equality. The Constitution does not elevate one value, say individual freedom, above all others. Instead, it moves deftly through each of them. So, recognising the importance of inculcating specific religious values among children of smaller groups, the Constitution grants a fundamental right to minorities to found educational institutions (collective freedom). All religious groups, large or small, are, nevertheless, given the right to apply for state funding (equality between groups). However, a condition of accepting state subsidy is that a child, say, a Hindu, cannot be refused admission to a school run by, say, Christians (no discrimination on grounds of religion — individual equality). Finally, once a Hindu child is admitted to a Christian school, she cannot be forced to attend prayers in the chapel (individual freedom).
This approach of wading through values, accepting potential conflict between them without allowing any one to trump others, finding the right balance, endorsing ethically sensitive compromises is the hallmark of sound moral reasoning. This art is an integral part of being rational.
Rajeev Bhargava is a political theorist with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi
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Rebirth of African Culture & Expression in America The Harlem Renaissance “I, too, sing America” (Langston Hughes)
“Renaissance” • “Rebirth” or “revival” • Refers to the European Renaissance that took place from 1300-1600 • Born in Florence, Italy • Spirit of innovation, curiosity, & adventure in fields ranging from architecture to science and fine art.
“Harlem Renaissance” • Upsurge of African American cultural expression that took place in Harlem, New York during the 1920s.
The Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes W.E.B. Du Bois Countee Cullen Marcus Garvey Claude McKay Alain Locke Zora Neale Hurston Richard Wright
The Great Migration Hoping to escape tenant farming, sharecropping, and peonage, 1.5 million Southern blacks moved to cities. During the 1910s and 1920s, Chicago's black population grew by 148 percent; Cleveland's by 307 percent; Detroit's by 611 percent. The racial composition of the nation's cities underwent a decisive change during and after World War I. In 1910, three out of every four black Americans lived on farms, and nine out of ten lived in the South. World War I changed that profile.
Confined to all-black neighborhoods, African Americans created cities-within-cities during the 1920s. The largest was Harlem, in upper Manhattan, where 200,000 African Americans lived in a neighborhood that had been virtually all-white fifteen years before
The Harlem Renaissance The movement for black pride found its cultural expression in the Harlem Renaissance--the first self-conscious literary and artistic movement in African American history.
During the 1920s, Harlem became the capital of black America, attracting black intellectuals and artists from across the country and the Caribbean. Soon, the Harlem Renaissance was in full bloom. The poet Countee Cullen eloquently expressed black artists' long-suppressed desire to have their voices heard: "Yet do I marvel at a curious thing: To make a poet black, and bid him sing!"
Many of the writers and artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance became an elite class of black Americans. For some, this status was comfortable; others, however, felt uneasy at being soremoved from the majority of black Americans. Also debated was just what kind of writing, or art, should be created by African Americans. Because of the racist views of most white Americans, some African American leaders argued that black artists had a responsibility as "representatives of the race." For writers, this means certain restrictions in what they could write, and how they could depict black characters. Many writers rebelled against this notion and argued for their own freedom; and in exercising this freedom, new kinds of written works were created. Langston Hughes's poetry, for example, seeks to imitate the sound of jazz and blues music, rather than stick with more traditional poetic meter. Zora Neale Hurston's fiction relies on black folklife and dialect, and expresses thoughts about life and relationships among people in very fresh ways.
Harlem was also the home of a new and very popular musical sound of the 1920s, jazz, which catered to both a black and a white audience. Fletcher Henderson's sound, big-band "swing," often called "sweet" jazz, was the dominant music of the 1920s among white New Yorkers.
Henderson's main competitor was the Cotton Club orchestra led by another famous Harlem musician, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, also popular among white audiences. In fact, the Cotton Club, Harlem's best known and gaudiest nightclub, was for white patrons only. Vocalists Mamie Smith and Ethel Waters were also famous musicians who regularly performed in Harlem, as frequently for black as for white audiences. The sound of their music was more "bluesy," and very early recordings of their music became "hit records" within the African American community.
Jazz Is truly an American artform Evolved from African folk music, European harmonies, American gospel sounds, & plantation work songs that flourished during & after slavery “Sorrow Songs”- “The Blues” evolved
Jazz • Ragtime & Dixieland Jazz came from New Orleans in the 1890s. • Louis Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans, LA (1901-1971). • Grew up in extreme poverty and sent to reform school • Learned to play the coronet (trumpet) there • Gained prominence as a big • band musician • Pioneered improvisational • music or “scat” • Nicknamed “Satchmo”
Louis Armstrong • Listen to Louis • “What a Wonderful World” • “Jeepers Creepers” • “St. James Infirmary”
Other Famous Jazz Musicians • Bessie Smith – “Empress of the Blues” • Duke Ellington • Billie Holiday • Dizzy Gillispie • Ella Fitzgerald Listen to Billie Holiday’s “Without Your Love”
Claude McKay • McKay had established himself as a poet, publishing two volumes of dialect verse, Songs of Jamaica (1912) and Constab Ballads (1912). Having heard favorable reports of the Work of Booker T. Washington, McKay enrolled at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama with the intention of studying agronomy; it was here that he first encountered the harsh realities of American racism, which would form the basis for much of his subsequent writing. He soon left Tuskegee for Kansas State College in Manhattan, Kansas. He was finally able to publish two poems, "Invocation" and "The Harlem Dancer," under a pseudonym in 1917. *Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation*
"If We Must Die" If we must die, let it not be like hogsHunted and penned in an inglorious spot,While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,Making their mock at our accursèd lot.If we must die, O let us nobly die,So that our precious blood may not be shedIn vain; then even the monsters we defyShall be constrained to honor us though dead!O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!What though before us lies the open grave?Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! During the period of racial violence against blacks known as the Red Summer of 1919, McKay wrote one of his best-known poems, the sonnet, "If We Must Die," an anthem of resistance later quoted by Winston Churchill during World War II. The generation of poets who formed the core of the Harlem Renaissance, including Langston Hughes and Countée Cullen, identified McKay as a leading inspirational force, even though he did not write modern verse. His innovation lay in the directness with which he spoke of racial issues and his choice of the working class, rather than the middle class, as his focus.
Zora Neale Hurston Zora used her talents to elbow her way into the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, befriending such luminaries as poet Langston Hughes and popular singer/actress Ethel Waters. But the late 1930s and early '40s marked the real zenith of her career. She published her masterwork, Their Eyes Were Watching God, in 1937; Tell My Horse, her study of Caribbean Voodoo practices, in 1938; and another masterful novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain, in 1939. When her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, was published in 1942, Hurston finally received the well-earned acclaim that had long eluded her.
Listen to her words…. Zora’s Website
Countee Cullen • As a schoolboy, Cullen won a citywide poetry contest and saw his winning stanzas widely reprinted. • Cullen's first collection of poems, COLOR (1925), was published in the same year he graduated from NYU. Written in a careful, traditional style, the work celebrated black beauty and deplored the effects of racism.. Cullen's Color was a landmark of the Harlem Renaissance. • The title poem of THE BLACK CHRIST AND OTHER POEMS (1929) was criticized for the use of Christian religious imagery - Cullen compared the lynching of a black man to Christ's crucifixion. • As well as writing books himself, Cullen promoted the work of other black writers. But in the late 1920s Cullen's reputation as a poet waned. In 1932 appeared his only novel, ONE WAY TO HEAVEN, a social comedy of lower-class blacks and the bourgeoisie in New York City.
As a poet Cullen was conservative: he did not ignore racial themes, but based his works on the Romantic poets, especially Keats, and often used the traditional sonnet form. However, Cullen also enjoyed Langston Hughes's black jazz rhythms, but more he loved "the measured line and the skillful rhyme" of the 19th century poetry. After the early 1930s Cullen avoided racial themes.
Langston Hughes • Hughes entered Columbia University in the fall of 1921, a little more than a year after he had graduated from Central High School. Langston stayed in school there for only a year; meanwhile, he found Harlem. Hughes quickly became an integral part of the arts scene in Harlem, so much so that in many ways he defined the spirit of the age, from a literary point of view. The Big Sea, the first volume of his autobiography, provides such a crucial first-person account of the era and its key players that much of what we know about the Harlem Renaissance we know from Langston Hughes's point of view. He got to know other writers of the time such as Countee Cullen, Claude McCay, W.E.B. DuBois, and James Weldon Johnson. • When his poem "The Weary Blues" won first prize in the poetry section of the 1925 Opportunity magazine literary contest, Hughes's literary career was launched. His first volume of poetry, also titled The Weary Blues, appeared in 1926.
In Langston Hughes's poetry, he uses the rhythms of African American music, particularly blues and jazz. This sets his poetry apart from that of other writers, and it allowed him to experiment with a very rhythmic free verse. Hughes's second volume of poetry, Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927), was not well received at the time of its publication because it was too experimental. Now, however, many critics believe the volume to be among Hughes's finest work.
Alain Locke • Locke complained that he couldn’t understand how his peers “come up here in a broad-minded place like this and stick together like they were in the heart of Africa.” • “[By] common consent,” Locke wrote to his mother about dining-room habits at Harvard, black students had “unanimously chosen to occupy a separate table together. Now what do you think of that? It’s the same old lifelong criticism I shall be making against our people.” • His future work, now seen as the fount, in African American thought, for what came to be called “multiculturalism,” would celebrate cultural pluralism, both philosophically and personally.
Having studied African culture and traced its influences upon Western civilization, he urged black painters, sculptors, and musicians to look to African sources for identity and to discover materials and techniques for their work. He encouraged black authors to seek subjects in black life and to set high artistic standards for themselves. He familiarized American readers with the Harlem Renaissance by editing a special Harlem issue for Survey Graphic (March 1925), which he expanded into The New Negro (1925), an anthology of fiction, poetry, drama, and
W.E.B. Du Bois Black historian, sociologist, and Harvard scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois was at the forefront of the civil rights movement at this time. In 1905 Du Bois, in collaboration with a group of prominent African-American political activists and white civil rights workers, met in New York to discuss the challenges facing the black community. In 1909, the group founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), to promote civil rights and fight African-American disenfranchisement.
Marcus Garvey At this same time, the Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey began his promotion of the “Back to Africa movement.” Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), which advocated the reuniting of all people of African ancestry into one community with one absolute government. The movement not only encouraged African-Americans to come together, but to also feel pride in their heritage and race.
Richard Wright One of America’s greatest black writers, Richard Wright was also among the first African American writers to achieve literary fame and fortune, but his reputation has less to do with the color of his skin than with the superb quality of his work. He was born and spent the first years of his life on a plantation, not far from the affluent city of Natchez on the Mississippi River, but his life as the son of an illiterate sharecropper was far from affluent. Though he spent only a few years of his life in Mississippi, those years would play a key role in his two most important works: Native Son, a novel, and his autobiography, Black Boy.
Richard Wright • Wright's first novel, Native Son (1940), a brutally honest depiction of black, urban ghetto life, was an immediate success. The story's protagonist embodies all the fear, rage, and rebellion, all the spiritual hunger and the undisciplined drive to satisfy it, that social psychologists were just beginning to recognize as common elements in the personality of the underprivileged and dispossessed of all races.
Richard Wright Wright's intention was to make the particular truth universal and to project his native son as a symbol of the deprived in all lands. Contemporary critics, however, unimpressed by the universal symbol, were interested instead in Wright's passionate indictment of white racism and the life-style it imposed upon blacks. Wright's implication that there was another and a better way of social organization than democracy, and that communism was perhaps that better way, also impressed them. This implication was toned down in the stage version (1941). In 1941 Wright also published Twelve Million Black Voices: A Folk History of the Negro of the United States. | https://www.slideserve.com/webb/the-harlem-renaissance |
• Comprehension means to understand the text fully using one's intellect. A comprehension passage is a text used for testing the reader's ability to comprehend (understand) the meaning implied by the text and the theme of that particular passage.
• Questions based on a passage generally appear in chronological relationship to the passage. Usually, the first questions has the answer in the earlier paragraphs and so on, but if the answers are inferential, then the matter might have to be collected from various paragraphs and should be familiar with the entire passage.
Tips to know:-
How to read a passage for comprehension:
Following are a few guidelines that should be followed while attempting to comprehend unfamiliar passage:
1. Read silently. Do not read aloud.
2. Read the entire sentence together to make out the sense or meaning.
3. Read the passage thoroughly to determine the main idea before you look at the questions.
4. Don't panic about the words you do not understand.
5. Try to make out the meaning of the word you don't understand in context to the passage.
6. Go through the questions carefully and read that part which contains the answer again.
7.Answer must be relevant and to the point.
8. Write complete sentences as answers.
9. Try to write the answers in your own words, but if required, they can be copied from the passage.
10. Keep to the order in which the questions appear in the test paper.
I. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: Today we know about each and every part of the world. There is no land or sea that is not known to us. Man has explored every corner of the world and he knows all the ways and routes from anywhere to everywhere in the world. He can reach from one place to the other as safely, easily and quickly as he likes. He has maps to guide him and fastest means of transport to carry him.
But for ages, most of the world was unknown to man. To begin with, he lived in caves. Then he came out of caves and started making homes in little corners of forests or behind the hills. He was afraid of wild animals and also of the clouds and the winds. He offered prayers and sacrifices to gods who, he thought, controlled the clouds and the winds. But slowly, through long centuries, men began to explore what lay beyond their caves, hills and forests where they had their homes.
They went in their boats, first on the rivers and then across the seas. At first, they remained close to the shore and each new voyager went a little further than the previous one. To those early travellers, the earth seemed to be a vast, flat world. They feared what would happen if they reached the edge. They believed that if they sailed southward, the sea would become so hot and boiling that life would be impossible. Towards the north, they thought, it must be too cold for anything to live. Till only five hundred years ago, nearly all men believed this.
When some Portuguese explorers began to sail southward, their seamen revolted and refused to go further. They believed that the steaming waters of southern seas would boil them like potatoes.
When some clever men of those days said that the earth was not flat but a ball of sphere, people would laugh at them. 'How could there be people or trees on the other side of the world? they would say. Would men walk and trees grow upside down? And how could they stay on the other side? Surely they would fall off.'
On the basis of your understanding of the passage answer any 8 out of 10 of the following questions by choosing the correct option.
Q.1. we can travel as ___ as we like.
(A) safely
(B) easily
(C) quickly
(D) All the above
Q.2. The modern man can reach anywhere he likes with the help of
(A) maps to guide him
(B) fastest means of transport
(C) Both (A) and (B) above
(D) Neither (A) nor (B)
Q. 3. After leaving the caves, man started making little homes
(A) in corners of forests
(B) away from the forests
(C) on the tree tops
(D) above the hills
Q.4. Why would people not believe that the earth was not flat but round?
(A) If the earth were round, it would roll away like a ball.
(B) If the earth were round, people and trees the other side would fall off.
(C) If the earth were round, water would not stay at one place.
(D) If the earth were round, it would look like the sun and the moon.
Q. 5. Voyager is a person:
(A) who makes sacrifices in order to please gods.
(B) who goes about begging from place to place.
(C) who wants to explore new lands.
(D) making a long journey by sea.
Q. 6. What is the opposite of 'previous'?
(A) Last
(B) Next
(C) Immediate
(D) Simultaneous
Q. 7. Which word in the passage means 'rose in protest'?
(A) Revoke
(B) Revolt
(C) Refuse
(D) Fall off
Q. 8. The sacrifices were offered to gods by man because :
(A) most of the world was unknown to him.
(B) he was afraid of wild animals.
(C) he was afraid of the clouds and the winds.
(D) they controlled the clouds and the winds.
Q. 9. When some Portuguese explorers began to sail northward, their seamen revolted and refused to go further. | https://www.englishnotes.in/2022/03/unseen-passage-comprehension-with.html |
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure relates generally to detection of recording of a conversation during a communication session and more specifically detecting the recording based on packets of the communication session.
Phone conversations can be held between two or more participants located in different locations, sometimes in different countries and/or continents. The phone conversations may be performed using two or more communication devices, such as mobile phones or landline phones. The participants may share sensitive information during the conversation, such as personal data, financial data, legal data, confidential data, data regarding employment, security, safety and the like.
In many cases, information is shared by a first participant based on the presumption that the information is not being recorded by the other participants and if the first participant knew that the information is being recorded he/she would not reveal certain information or use certain phrases or language, which may be problematic for the first participant if a playback of the conversation is played for other people.
Generally the first participant has no way of knowing if the conversation is being recorded by the second participant unless the second participant informs the first participant.
An aspect of an embodiment of the disclosure, relates to a system and method for determining if a telephone conversation is being recorded by any of the communication devices of the participants based on the audio signal of the conversation. An analysis application is installed in the communication device of a first participant and optionally in communication devices of any other participant. The analysis application monitors the timing of audio packets transmitted from the first participant to the other participants relative to the timing of echo audio packets returned from the other participants. The results of the monitoring are used to determine if the echo audio packets are being returned directly or if the transmitted audio packets are manipulated before forming and/or returning the echo audio packets.
In some embodiments of the disclosure, the results of the monitoring are provided to a server that executes a statistical model for analyzing the results from many communication devices. Optionally, the analysis application determines the type of communication device used by each participant. The server may be provided with the information about the type of communication device used by the participants.
In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the analysis application at the first participant injects special audio packets into the audio packets transmitted to the other participants. The special audio packets include special sounds for a short duration (e.g. pulses) to enhance the ability to identify the echo of these packets. Alternatively or additionally, the special packets include frequencies which are not representative of normal speech, for example frequencies on the boundary of the bandwidth that can be transferred over a communication channel. Optionally, these packets will be less attenuated and provide a stronger echo.
In some embodiments of the disclosure, the analysis application determines directly if recording software is used on the communication device in which it is installed and can notify analysis applications on other communication devices, which are conducting a communication session with the first participant. Optionally, such a notification may take precedence over analysis of the audio signal or if the audio signal provides a strong indication (e.g. with a high probability) that recording software is being used, the analysis may take precedence.
There is thus provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, a method of identifying recording of a conversation during a communication session, comprising:
Establishing a communication session between a first participant and one or more remote participants;
Transmitting audio packets from a communication device of the first participant to the one or more remote participants;
Receiving audio packets from the one or more remote participants, including echo packets responsive to the transmitted audio packets;
Analyzing the received audio packets by an analysis application to identify delays in the echo packets relative to the transmitted packets providing an indication of the presence of a recording application at a communication device of a remote participant;
Notifying the communication device of the first participant.
In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the results of the analyzing are provided to a remote server to determine if the results provide an indication of the presence of a recording application at a communication device of a remote participant. Optionally, the remote server determines based on a statistical model that was trained empirically. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the communication device of the first participant injects special audio packets into the transmitted audio packets. Optionally, the duration of injected special audio packets is short so that the audio they produce is not noticeable by a participant. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the special audio packets contain audio information having frequencies that are not noticeable by a participant. Optionally, the analysis application further determines if recording software is being executed at the communication device of the first participant. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the analysis application notifies other participants of a communication session if recording software is being executed at the communication device of the first participant. Optionally, the analysis application delays transmission of selected audio packets. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the analysis application determines the type of communication devices used by the one or more remote participants.
There is further provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, a system for identifying recording of a conversation during a communication session, comprising:
A communication device for establishing a communication session between a first participant using the communication device and one or more remote participants; wherein the communication device is configured to transmit audio packets to the one or more remote participants; and receive audio packets from the one or more remote participants, including echo packets responsive to the transmitted audio packets;
An analysis application that is installable on the communication device to analyze the received audio packets to identify delays in the echo packets relative to the transmitted packets providing an indication of the presence of a recording application at a communication device of a remote participant; and wherein the analysis application is configured to notify the communication device of the first participant.
In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the results of the analysis are provided to a remote server to determine if the results provide an indication of the presence of a recording application at a communication device of a remote participant. Optionally, the remote server determines based on a statistical model that was trained empirically. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the communication device of the first participant injects special audio packets into the transmitted audio packets. Optionally, the duration of injected special audio packets is short so that the audio they produce is not noticeable by a participant. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the special audio packets contain audio information having frequencies that are not noticeable by a participant. Optionally, the analysis application further determines if recording software is being executed at the communication device of the first participant. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the analysis application notifies other participants of a communication session if recording software is being executed at the communication device of the first participant. Optionally, the analysis application delays transmission of selected audio packets. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the analysis application determines the type of communication devices used by the one or more remote participants.
The subject matter relates to a system and a method for providing an indication to participants in an audio communication session (e.g. a telephone conversation or conference call) if the communication device of any of the participants is recording the communication session. The indication is based on analysis of the audio signals of the communication session by an analysis application. Alternatively, communication devices with the analysis application may be configured to notify each other if a recording application is active at the communication device on which it is installed.
FIG. 1
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is a schematic illustration of a communication environment , according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, one or more communication devices conduct a communication session by transmitting audio signals over a communication network . Optionally, the communication devices can include landline telephones, mobile telephones, smartphones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers and other devices that enable conducting communication sessions (e.g. VOIP, PSTN or Cellular based sessions).
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In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, an analysis application is installed on one or more of the communication devices . The analysis application is programed to analyze audio signals during the communication session and detect discrepancies that indicate if the audio signals are being manipulated (e.g. being recorded). Optionally, if the result of the analysis is positive the user is provided with an indication warning him/her that the communication session is being recorded or otherwise manipulated. Optionally, the warning may include an audio signal (e.g. beeping signal or warning message), vibrations, visual (e.g. flashing lights or a text message on a display of the communication device ) to alert the attention of the user.
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In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, analysis application may also analyze the status of the communication device in which it is installed and determine if the local communication device is executing an application that is recording the communication session. Optionally, analysis application notifies other communication devices with analysis application installed that are participating in the communication session if a recording application is detected. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the notification is provided in addition to analysis based on the audio signal .
It should be noted that the current disclosure, deals mainly with detecting call recording by a participating communication device and might also be applicable to detect an external device that is not electronically connected, but may be eavesdropping to the communication session. Additionally, the disclosure does not directly deal with switches and routers between the communications devices of the participants that may duplicate packets and reroute them to other devices, for example to a participating communication device and in parallel to a recording device. However it is possible that the current methods and empirical results used in implementing the current embodiments may be applicable for such cases as well.
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In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, a communication session establishes a dedicated channel between a first participant and another participant or other participants. Optionally, each participant is provided with an uplink channel and a downlink channel . The audio signal includes packets sent by the first participant over the uplink channel and packets received by the first participant over the downlink channel . Optionally, the received packets include an attenuated echo of the audio data from the sent packets . In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, analysis of the timing of the attenuated echo of the audio data relative to the transmitted data will enable identification of a delay caused by a recording application at a receiving participant.
In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, each device includes:
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1. A hardware access layer (HAL) that handles communication of packets between communication devices ;
2. A core layer that implements standard access services, for example decoding packets based on codecs or other forms to provide data to applications;
3. An application layer that receives data for applications from unencoded packets.
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In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, analysis application monitors the exit time and arrival time of the packets at the hardware access layer. Optionally, analysis application may intentionally delay the exit of packets for a few microseconds or milliseconds to determine how it affects the arrival time of the echo of the transmitted packets, for example determining a delta between transmission to reception of delayed packets and non-delayed packets.
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In some embodiments of the disclosure, analysis application also determines information identifying the type of communication device and/or operating system version used by the first participant and/or the other participant or participants connected in a communication session.
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In some embodiments of the disclosure analysis application transmits collected information (e.g. measured time delays, device models) to a server that executes a heuristic algorithm based on experimentation with many devices and communication sessions with and without recording applications in the background of the communication device. Optionally, the heuristic application is built as a statistical model. The statistical model may be trained based on many cases provided by multiple communication devices. The statistical model may take into account the type and model of the communication device echoing the audio signals sent from the first participant.
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In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, server receives information from multiple communication devices and provides a determination for example with a probability score indicating a likelihood that a recording application is delaying echo packets .
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In some embodiments of the disclosure, analysis application injects special audio packets into the uplink channel with special audio content, for example sounds that would not possibly be included in a conversation between two people. In the downlink special echo packets are then more easily identified in response to the special audio packets to enhance the ability to identify delays. Optionally, the injected packets include audio sequences of varying length to enhance the ability to identify delays due to recording software in the application layer of the participating communication device or devices. The injected packets may be audible or not audible, however if they are short enough (e.g. 1 ms-10 ms) they will not be heard by the participants of the communication sessions
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In some embodiments of the disclosure, analysis application injects special audio packets with audio data having various frequency sounds, for example frequencies that will not be attenuated by the other communication devices or to a lesser extent, to enhance the ability to identify delays. For example the frequencies may include 3900-4000 Khz, which are near the edge of the communication session bandwidth and will not be heard by the participants of the communication session. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the special packets enhance analysis since their size (duration), energy and starting time is known. Optionally, analysis can determine the time for a round trip, attenuation (energy loss) and delays between packets.
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is a flow diagram of a method of detecting recording during a communication session, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. Initially a communication session is established () between two or more communication devices . A first participant transmits () audio packets to the other participants. Optionally, the first participant may inject () special audio packets into the transmitted signal . In response the first participant receives () audio packets , which include an echo (e.g. of attenuated audio) of the transmitted audio packets.
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In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, analysis application installed on the first participant's communication device analyzes () the timing of the transmitted and received packets to identify the suspected presence of interfering applications (e.g. recording software) at the communication devices of the participants communicating with the first participant. Additionally, analysis application may determine which type of device is being used by the other participants.
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In some embodiments of the disclosure, analysis application may determine locally () if recording software is being used, for example providing a probability score. Alternatively or additionally, analysis application may submit () the information to server . Server may comprise a statistical module that receives queries from many communication devices and may have been trained empirically to provide a score representing the probability of existence of recording software based on the collected results provided from an analysis application .
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In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, if the score indicates that a remote participant is using recording software then an indication is provided () to the first participant to take precaution. The notification may be an audible alarm (e.g. beeping, ringing), visual alarm (e.g. flashing lights), tactile alarm (e.g. vibrations) or other methods of alerting the participant while conducting a conversation.
It should be appreciated that the above described methods and apparatus may be varied in many ways, including omitting or adding steps, changing the order of steps and the type of devices used. It should be appreciated that different features may be combined in different ways. In particular, not all the features shown above in a particular embodiment are necessary in every embodiment of the disclosure. Further combinations of the above features are also considered to be within the scope of some embodiments of the disclosure.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims, which follow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present disclosure will be understood and better appreciated from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings. Identical structures, elements or parts, which appear in more than one figure, are generally labeled with the same or similar number in all the figures in which they appear, wherein:
FIG. 1
is a schematic illustration of a communication environment, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure; and
FIG. 2
is a flow diagram of a method of detecting recording during a communication session, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. | |
One of the most common themes I hear about in my clinical practice is inconsistent learning. “Jacob knew all of his spelling words when we studied them at home last night, but received a 60 on his spelling test’” or “Emma knows where every American Girl doll is in her room, but can’t find her homework in her backpack.” While some of the inconsistencies we see in children can be attributed to motivation and memory, much of it is directly related to difficulties with generalization.
Psychologists define generalization as the transfer of an action learned in one setting to a different setting, so that individuals are fully able to utilize the skills they have learned in one environment in various settings, with other people, and with different materials. Generalization is one of the transcendent themes of learning and education. It’s about taking what you have learned from reading and discussions in chemistry class and applying it to an experiment, learning dribbling skills in practice and then executing a crossover in a basketball game, or watching your grandmother make her famous apple pie and then being able to do it yourself. If you think about these three examples, they share one key ingredient, that is, of a teacher or model who helps you transfer your learning from one set of experiences to other settings and situations.
Parents use the concept of generalization on a daily basis to help their kids learn skills across various settings. What parent hasn’t practiced saying please and thank you at home and reminded their children to do so in other situations? Who hasn’t talked about winning and losing while playing a board game with their children and helped them to apply that same lesson with their peers or their siblings? However, most parents have not thought about how they might teach their children to apply what they learn from video games and digital-technology play to real-life situations. It’s about time we do so! Given that our kids ages 8 to 18 are involved with digital media for an average of 7 hours, 38 minutes a day, we need to find ways to make this time more productive and use it as an opportunity for learning.
If we are to help children generalize the use of game-based thinking skills to real-world activities, first us adults must recognize the potential that technology play has for improving the thinking and academic skills of our children. Maximizing the generalization, or transfer of learning, from one setting to another in the real world requires a series of steps to ensure that the skill is learned effectively, appropriately applied in a new context, and then maintained over time. This is not always easy. Here are a few simple steps that help to turn gameplay into a more productive learning opportunity.
- Help your children to identify the thinking skills they use in their video-game and digital-media use. Ask them how they “beat” a game or how they figured out how to get to the harder levels.
- Play some games with them and talk about the skills you need to be successful in the game, but don’t overdo it. Just use the gameplay as an opportunity to talk about the importance of thinking skills for success.
- Maintaining skills requires practice, so model your own strategies for continued success in a given skill. For example, demonstrate how you maintain a consistent program of exercise, take time to regularly organize your workshop or office, or sustain a steady interest in a hobby.
- Encourage your children to think about how those skills are important for them to be successful in the game, and help them to apply these skills to tasks at home and in school. Ask them to think of different ways these skills can be used at school or in their daily activities.
The recognition that video games present an opportunity for acquiring thinking and academic skills provides parents and teachers with opportunities to easily engage children in discussions that can promote the generalization of game-based skills to real world activities. If you do it well, you might be able to hook your children into this process, so that they actively think about the skills they use in the games they play and discuss them with you, even if it only seems like a clever way to get you to allow them play more video games.
Part of our series on Game-Based learning and generalization:
Part I: Learning with Video Games — It’s all about Generalization. | https://learningworksforkids.com/2013/04/generalization-game-based-learning-what-parents-educators-need-to-know/ |
Civil engineering, the profession of designing and executing structural works that serve the general public, such as dams, bridges, aqueducts, canals, roads, power plants, sewage systems and other infrastructure. Civil engineers are professionals who are responsible for designing, constructing and maintaining various structures and public works projects. Common public works that civil engineers design and erect include buildings, roads, bridges, waterways, dams, and airports. Add civil engineering to one of your lists below or create a new one.
Environmental engineers can design and implement solutions that minimize pollution and waste or supervise projects in government parks. Water resource engineers are concerned with studying various water systems around the world and often work on projects such as wetland restoration and the design and construction of sewage systems. The first private university to teach civil engineering in the United States was the University of Norwich, founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge. The final step to becoming a practicing civil engineer is to take and pass the Engineering Principles and Practices (PE) exam.
Water resource engineering deals with the collection and management of water (as a natural resource). But what is more irresponsible than playing with the fire of an imaginary civil war in today's France? This area of civil engineering is related to the prediction and management of water quality and quantity in underground (aquifers) and above ground (lakes, rivers and streams) resources. Civil engineering is the cornerstone of modern society and is responsible for almost all structures, water supply systems, roads and bridges that exist. Once certified, the engineer is appointed as a professional engineer (in the United States, Canada and South Africa), chartered engineer (in most Commonwealth countries), chartered professional engineer (in Australia and New Zealand) or European engineer (in most countries of the European Union).
The old civil engineering discipline of sanitary engineering has evolved into modern environmental engineering of such importance that most academic departments have changed their names to civil and environmental engineering. Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and was defined to distinguish non-military engineering from military engineering. Other ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Qanat water management system (the oldest is more than 3000 years old and more than 71 km), the Parthenon of Iktinos in ancient Greece (447—438 BC), the Appian Way of Roman engineers (c. With recent media attention on nanoscience and nanotechnology, the materials engineering has been at the forefront of academic research.
A transportation engineer is responsible for all aspects of various transportation systems, including air, rail, and road transport. In the 18th century, the term civil engineering was coined to incorporate everything civil as opposed to military engineering. | https://www.threadedfastenerengineering.com/what-civil-engineering-means |
Is Isaac Newton the father of classical physics?
He is regarded to be the father of Classical Physics because he formulated the laws of motion and the theory of gravity . He invested a new theory of light and color and he was the original discoverer of the infinitesimal calculus. Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England.
Who is the father of mechanical physics?
Sir Isaac Newton was associated with Cambridge University as a physicist and mathematician. He was also a fellow Royal Society of England. Newton became famous with his three laws of motion which established the connection between motion and objects.
Who is quantum physics father?
Niels Bohr and Max Planck, two of the founding fathers of Quantum Theory, each received a Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on quanta. Einstein is considered the third founder of Quantum Theory because he described light as quanta in his theory of the Photoelectric Effect, for which he won the 1921 Nobel Prize.
Who is father of science?
Albert Einstein called Galileo the “father of modern science.” Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy but lived in Florence, Italy for most of his childhood.
Who was Isaac Newton’s dad?
Formative influences. Born in the hamlet of Woolsthorpe, Newton was the only son of a local yeoman, also Isaac Newton, who had died three months before, and of Hannah Ayscough.
Who is the mother of physics?
1. Marie Curie. Is considered to this day, to be the Mother of Modern Physics. In 1898, together with her husband Pierre, she discovered the elements of polonium and radio for which she received a first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903.
Who is Father of all subjects?
Fathers of all Subjects (Various Fields) Complete List Download
|Father of Different Fields||Names|
|Father of Modern Physics||Galileo Galilei|
|Father of English Poetry||Geoffrey Chaucer|
|Father of Computer Science||George Boole and Alan Turing|
|Father of Aviation||George Cayley|
Who is founder of physics?
Galileo Galilei | The founder of modern physics | New Scientist.
What is Max Planck theory?
According to Planck’s quantum theory, Different atoms and molecules can emit or absorb energy in discrete quantities only. The smallest amount of energy that can be emitted or absorbed in the form of electromagnetic radiation is known as quantum.
What is Einstein quantum theory?
Albert Einstein famously said that quantum mechanics should allow two objects to affect each other’s behaviour instantly across vast distances, something he dubbed “spooky action at a distance”1. Decades after his death, experiments confirmed this.
Who is father of maths?
Archimedes is known as the Father Of Mathematics. He lived between 287 BC – 212 BC. Syracuse, the Greek island of Sicily was his birthplace. Archimedes was serving the King Hiero II of Syracuse by solving mathematical problems and by developing interesting innovations for the king and his army.
Who is mother of biology?
Maria Sibylla Merian is considered to be the Mother of Biology. Explanation: Merian was a very eminent scientist, botanist, and biologist.
Who is the father of zoology?
Aristotle. The father of Zoology is Aristotle.
Did Newton have a wife?
As a teen, he made a list of his past sins and among them was: “Threatening my father and mother Smith to burn them and the house over them.” As an adult, Newton immersed himself in his work, had no hobbies and never married.
What is Newton formula?
Force (Newton) = Mass of body × Acceleration. Or, F = [M1 L0 T0] × [M0 L1 T-2] = M1 L1 T-2. Therefore, Newton is dimensionally represented as M1 L1 T-2.
Who discovered gravity?
Physically, Sir Isaac Newton was not a large man. However, he had a large intellect, as shown by his discoveries on gravity, light, motion, mathematics, and more. Legend has it that Isaac Newton came up with gravitational theory in 1665, or 1666, after watching an apple fall. | https://yuyumind.com/uncategorized/is-isaac-newton-the-father-of-classical-physics/ |
Utilization of transparent, objective and modern scientific approaches to draw conclusions regarding human health risk is critical to developing sound regulatory decisions. Throughout the EPA, the application of scientific information to underpin regulatory activities has often been inconsistent and unclear; leading to concerns regarding how the Agency incorporates the best available science, how it evaluates the quality of that science, and how it applies 21st century scientific practices to draw conclusions.
The ACC Formaldehyde Panel (the Panel) has regularly met with EPA scientists related to the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program, regarding its subjective use of available science to assess chemical hazards. Unfortunately, EPA IRIS has regularly set values that are below natural background levels and not indicative of human health risk associated with real world exposures.
Perhaps the most telling example can be found in the case of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde has been the subject of scientific study for years and the large body of evidence shows that the levels of formaldehyde most people encounter on a daily basis do not cause adverse health effects. For more than a decade, the Panel has conducted scientific research and engaged directly with EPA’s IRIS program to understand the scientific information being relied on to draw conclusions. This peer reviewed and publicly available science, summarized in over 30 scientific articles, illustrates that formaldehyde does not cause leukemia and that there are clearly defined safe thresholds for formaldehyde exposure.
Yet, EPA’s proposed 2010 risk value suggests that human breath poses an unacceptable risk of cancer. The Panel has experienced considerable difficulty understanding what data EPA may be relying on and how the Agency has ensured that the highest quality and most relevant science is informing its decisions. The truth is, formaldehyde is a natural part of our world and the illogical findings of IRIS are not. How can human breath cause cancer? Formaldehyde is found in every living system – from plants to animals to humans – produced as part of our normal metabolic process. If a person inhales formaldehyde, the body breaks it down rapidly, just as when it is naturally produced in our bodies.
In addition to incorporating modern scientific knowledge, the Panel also recognizes the importance of adequate data access and ensuring regulatory decisions are based on high quality and reproducible data. There have been several examples in recent years where publicly-funded research data were not provided in a transparent or timely manner and erroneous evaluations and interpretations persisted. Importantly, in multiple instances once the underlying data were made available, sometimes after multiple years of requests, the data were found to be severely flawed. In several cases, the findings when re-evaluated did not support the original studies’ conclusions.
Two examples are provided below:
As demonstrated by the formaldehyde example when data are not made available in a timely manner and modern approaches aren’t used, it can lead to conclusions that lack scientific rigor. The public needs to have confidence that EPA, too, will set acceptable levels that are also based on relevant, best available science. The Panel encourages EPA and other agencies to consider the entire weight of evidence for all chemical evaluations, including formaldehyde.
Mundt, K., Gallagher, A., Dell, L., Natelson, E., Boffetta, P., and Gentry, R. Does occupational exposure to formaldehyde cause hematotoxicity and leukemia-specific chromosome changes in cultured myeloid progenitor cells? (2017) Critical Reviews in Toxicology. Aug;47(7):592-602.
Checkoway, H., Dell, L.D., Boffetta, P., Gallagher, A.E., Crawford, L., Lees, P.S., and Mundt, K.A. (2015). Formaldehyde exposure and mortality risks from acute myeloid leukemia and other Lymphohematopoietic Malignancies in the US National Cancer Institute cohort study of workers in Formaldehyde Industries. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 57(7), 785-794. | https://blog.americanchemistry.com/2018/07/transparency-objectivity-and-modern-scientific-practices-critical-for-regulatory-decisions/ |
Europe-wide Campaign for Prioritizing Early Childhood Development
ISSA and Eurochild, in partnership with the European Public Health Alliance and the Roma Education Fund, are co-leading the First Years First Priority campaign advocating for the prioritization of early childhood development (ECD) in public policies and funding to ensure every child in Europe aged between birth and 6 years old receive a fair start in life.
The Campaign was launched on 15 December 2020 and aims to bring change for young children in Europe by:
- Raising awareness on the importance of ECD at the EU and country level using compelling evidence.
- Building a community of ECD advocates at the national and EU levels.
- Leveraging EU policies and funding to support reforms and public investment at the national level.
The First Years First Priority campaign is looking to build a strong community of ECD advocates at the EU and national levels to ensure ECD stays high on the political agenda. In partnership with national partners from nine European countries – Bulgaria, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, and Spain, the Campaign aims to inform European and national policymakers, engage civil society organizations, and empower parents and families to advocate for their own rights and those of their children.
The Campaign reinforces the imperative to adopt through cross-sectoral policies, funding, and services a comprehensive approach to a child’s development in the early years, ranging from health and nutrition to family environment and support, from early learning to physical, mental, and social safety and security.
“Only by taking a comprehensive approach to all policies and services that impact early childhood development will we be able to break the cycle of disadvantage and ensure all youngest citizens in Europe have equal opportunities to safe, healthy, and optimal development from the very start in their life.” - Mihaela Ionescu, Program Director, International Step by Step Association.
The Campaign prioritizes children from birth to 6 years old, with special attention to:
- the first 1,000 days of the child’s life;
- the most vulnerable children (Roma and Traveller children, children with disabilities, migrant and refugee children, children at risk of entering, or in, alternative care, and those living in extreme poverty).
“Families usually know what’s in their children’s best interest, but poverty and discrimination may limit parents’ potential to be the best they can be for their young children. With this Campaign, we want to influence policies and public spending on early childhood development in a way that is informed by evidence, and the views and experiences of parents themselves. Public investment can and should support and empower families and their young children.” - Jana Hainsworth, Eurochild Secretary General.
The Campaign will run in 9 countries across Europe (Bulgaria, Hungary, France, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Romania) under the leadership of national coordinators, who will help create broad coalitions of national partners for stronger campaigns at the national level.
Three ISSA Member organizations are among the National Coordinators: Trust for Social Achievement (Bulgaria), Ensemble for Early Childhood Education (France), and the Step by Step Center for Education and Professional Development (Romania).
Do you want to learn more about the First Years First Priority Campaign’s vision, strategy, and resources? Visit their website.
Do you want to stay updated about the latest news and developments in the Campaign? Subscribe to the Newsletter.
The partnership
Eurochild is a network of almost 200 member organizations from 35 European countries working with and for children throughout Europe, striving for a society that respects the rights of children.
International Step by Step Association (ISSA) is an early childhood regional network that connects early childhood practice, research, and policy to improve the quality of early childhood systems in Europe and Central Asia.
European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) is Europe’s leading NGO alliance advocating for better health and is made up of public health NGOs, patient groups, health professionals, and disease groups.
Roma Education Fund (REF) wants to close the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma by supporting policies and programs which ensure quality education for Roma, including the desegregation of education systems.
The Europe-wide Campaign on Early Childhood Development (ECD) is implemented with financial support from the Open Society Foundations and the European Programme of Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) 2014-2020.
For more information contact: | https://www.issa.nl/content/european-campaign-prioritizing-early-childhood-development-europe |
Term papers are used online punctuation checker to present significant data gathered from numerous sources, and typically include some investigation. In college, term papers are usually required as a prerequisite for cooperation. It’s a kind of brief mission taken at the start of the year. A term paper is typically a lengthy study paper written by independent students over a specified academic period, usually accounting for about a third of a diploma. Webster’s dictionary defines it as”an article having particular importance for the student who has undertaken it and for your teacher that has grades to assess”.
Generally, term papers are divided in 2 main categories, meaning that there are significant and minor pieces. The components differ marginally, but in general, a term paper will have beginnings, middles, and endings, in addition to pointers to resources for further reading. Generally, the expression papers are separated into two distinct categories, which are usually known today. Nevertheless, these distinctions are not absolute, thus a student might decide to write in the other.
What variables constitute a fantastic composition? One of the chief factors that constitute a fantastic composition on term papers is that the degree of study. Research is regarded as an important aspect on academic documents, thus a great research paper will usually necessitate sources from a number of distinct areas of study. Aside from the primary sources used to encourage the research, the paper will most likely make use of secondary sources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and the Web. This also helps the student to create ideas from secondary sources and can be especially important for higher grade papers. Thus, the student should seek as much variety in his or her research paper as you can.
Writing a term paper isn’t a simple job. Pupils have to have the ability to adhere to a systematic approach and adhere to deadlines. Therefore, when undertaking comma checker online free this type of assignment it’s very important to set aside time to do all of the work necessary for the assignment. By dividing up the assignment into small parts, students may even make the process less daunting.
The second type of term papers is the literature review kind. At a literature review papers, the student researches and synthesizes information from several disciplines and sources to support his or her argument. As an example, if the subject is the relation between American football players and concussions, then the student will conduct a literature review and discover out if there is a connection between the two by means of reports and studies.
The third type of term papers is the environmental term papers. These papers generally take the form of an essay about the environment. The student will have to find out the source of environmental pollution so as to support her or his argument. They may opt to learn more about the environmental issues through scientific studies or via news reports. After the newspaper has run its course, pupils will need to write a summary of their findings to their teacher. | https://golfresidency.com/types-of-term-papers/ |
Stirling councillors are to consider webcasting meetings.
Forth and Endrick ward councillor Robert Davies said for some of his constituents it could be a 50-mile round trip if they wanted to attend a Stirling Council meeting.
He added: “My experience is that people are all pretty much in favour of us exploring options for webcasting council meetings as a low-cost way to improve the democratic process.”
Council leader Scott Farmer said: “Personally I’m in favour of such a move but I’m happy to take comments into account when looking at this matter.
“Over the past year officers have been investigating different options and methods of recording and broadcasting of meetings, including webcasting, in order to allow elected members to decide whether this is something they feel is worth pursuing.
“There are a number of potential benefits including encouraging engagement and interest in the council’s decision-making process and increasing the transparency and openness of that process by allowing all members of the public the opportunity to view meetings either live or at a time of their choosing.
“However, it is acknowledged there would be a cost associated with the initial installation and ongoing operation of webcasting, which must be carefully considered given the significant financial challenges being faced by the council.”
He said an overview of different options and associated costs had been discussed at meetings of the political groups’ secretaries. They have been asked to gauge the views of their groups.
If there is support in principle a report would be brought to a future committee or council meeting.
- To comment on this story email [email protected]. | https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/councillors-consider-webcasting-stirling-council-13420843 |
Hospice care is a special kind of care that focuses on the quality of life for people and their caregivers who are experiencing advanced, life-limiting illnesses. Hospice care provides compassionate care for people in the last phases of incurable disease so that they may live as fully and comfortably as possible.
Hospice services include:
- Time and services of the care team, including visits to the patient’s location by the hospice physician, nurse, medical social worker, home health aide and chaplain/spiritual adviser
- Medication for symptom control or pain relief
- Medical equipment like wheelchairs or walkers and medical supplies like bandages and catheters
- Physical and occupational therapy
- Speech-language pathology services
- Dietary counseling
- Any other Medicare-covered services needed to manage pain and other symptoms related to the terminal illness, as recommended by the hospice team
- Short-term inpatient care (e.g. when adequate pain and symptom management cannot be achieved in the home setting)
- Short-term respite care (e.g. temporary relief from caregiving to avoid or address “caregiver burnout”)
- Grief and loss counseling for the patient and loved ones
Palliative Care
Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious or terminal illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to help match treatment options to goals and improve the quality of life for both the patient and the family while reducing the emotional effects of the illnesses.
The Palliative care team will assist with: | https://www.coordinatedcareconsultants.com/help-resources/providers/sage-hospice/ |
Effects of exponential compression curves with nitrogen injection in humans.
Two series of experiments were carried out on humans to study the effects of fast and slow exponential compression curves with N2 additions. Eight subjects in the first series and 13 subjects in the second series were analyzed up to the depths of 400-450 m of seawater (msw). The data indicated that injections of N2 in He-O2 mixture reduced or suppressed the hyperbaric tremor in the two series. Electroencephalographic (EEG) changes were recorded with the two types of compression, but these changes (increase in slow waves, decrease in alpha-activity, appearance of microsleep EEG traces) were more important with the fast exponential compression curves between 200 and 300 msw than with the slow exponential curves. The effects of the fast rates of compression on EEG activities were not compensated by addition of 4-5% N2. Consequently, the fast exponential compression curves, even with N2 injections, cannot be used without risk and must be avoided; the slow exponential compression curve with N2 injection allowed a human subject to reach 450 msw in satisfactory condition, i.e., without tremor and with light EEG changes.
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42 1/2 x 33 in.
The exuberant profusion of flowers in this still life by Rachel Ruysch celebrates color, texture, and form. Her minute attention to detail captured even the individual grains of pollen inside each open flower.
The dynamic, pyramid-shaped composition derives much of its energy from the asymmetrical arrangement of the blossoms, further accentuated by the wildly curving stems and dramatically highlighted central section. The dark background reveals a hint of architecture, demonstrating Ruysch’s awareness of this new compositional trend among flower painters in Amsterdam.
While this painting contains several elements that would also be found in the popular 17th-century Dutch picture type known as a vanitas, scholars doubt that this was Ruysch’s intention. A true vanitas painting stresses the brevity of earthly life and the inevitability of death and decay, through such objects as a snuffed-out candle or a worm-eaten fruit.
Ruysch’s depiction of insects alighting on the flowers or leaves that are beginning to turn brown, seems more a straightforward depiction of life rather than a moralizing statement on death. | https://nmwa.org/works/roses-convolvulus-poppies-and-other-flowers-urn-stone-ledge |
Twelve of Scotland's most stunning castles
SCOTLAND is famous around the world for its castles, and with scores to choose from, it's safe to say we're spoilt for choice. We take a look at a dozen of our favourites up and down the country.
1. Urquhart Castle, Dumnadrochit, Highlands
A must visit for those planning a trip to Loch Ness, Urquhart was once one of Scotland’s largest castles. The castle switched hands between the Scots and English on numerous occasions during the Scottish Wars of Independence and has witnessed many a battle in its 800-year history. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces. The ruins now serve as a major tourist attraction.
2. Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye
Occupying a windswept rock on the western side of the Isle of Skye, Dunvegan Castle is widely-regarded to be one of Scotland’s most stunning fortresses.
It was first built in the 13th century but was substantially renovated in later centuries. Held at Dunvegan is the Fairy Flag, an heirloom of the chiefs of the Clan MacLeod, who used the castle as their ancestral home for a time. The Fairy Flag was used by servicemen during the Second World War as a good luck token before bombing raids. Dunvegan is also famous for being the oldest continually inhabited castle in the country.
3. Glamis Castle, Angus
Founded in 1372, Glamis Castle near Forfar has a long and illustrious history, and no ancient Scots castle would be complete without a ghostly apparition or dark secret. In the 1800s, the wife of the 12th Earl of Strathmore gave birth to a son who was so badly deformed that they locked him away in a secret room, never to see the light of day. On moonlit nights, a servant would walk the ‘monster’ along the castle’s battlements, known as “The Mad Earl’s Walk”. Glamis was also referenced by William Shakespeare as being the home of the Scots king MacBeth - although there is no concrete evidence to support this.
The castle was heavily remodelled in the 17th and 19th centuries, and the current Scots baronial pile is regarded as one of the country’s most stunning architectural landmarks.
4. Dunrobin Castle, Highlands
Dunrobin’s roots go back to the Middle Ages, though the current building dates from the mid-1800s. It was designed by renowned architect Charles Barry, who took his inspiration from the classic French chateaus. Barry was also responsible for the design and layout of the castle’s spectacular gardens as it was transformed from a defensive structure into a stunning residence. The castle has been besieged on two occasions and was also stormed during the Jacobite rebellion of 1745.
5. Stirling Castle, Stirling, Stirlingshire
Founded in the early 12th century, though mostly rebuilt two centuries later, Stirling Castle is one of Scotland’s most important and regularly visited historic sites.
Situated on a rocky outcrop high above the Stirlingshire plains, the castle cuts a fine figure, and is similar in visual style to Edinburgh Castle.
The impressive fortress changed hands countless times during the Wars of Scottish Independence. When Robert the Bruce regained control of the castle after the Battle of Bannockburn he ordered it to be razed to the ground so that it could never be used against him by the English ever again.
One of its most violent incidents, however, occurred in 1452, when the body of William Earl of Douglas was discovered at the foot of a tower.
The 27-year-old earl was a close friend of the young King James II, but at some point - and we don’t know over what exactly - they fell out and their friendship turned sour.
Aided by his courtiers, James II murdered William in the most brutal fashion imaginable. His body was stabbed 26 times before being thrown from a castle window into the garden below.
Stirling Castle boasts the world’s longest tapestry - the elaborate Great Tapestry of Scotland, which was created in a series of community art projects by a team of 1,000 volunteers.
6. Dunottar Castle, Aberdeenshire
It’s regarded as one of Scotland’s most spectacular historic sites, but Dunottar Castle in Aberdeenshire has endured a torrid past.
It was recaptured in 1297 following a lengthy siege orchestrated by none other than William Wallace.
No mercy was shown. Wallace ransacked the castle before rounding up the English soliders in the church and setting it alight. It is thought that 4,000 men were burned to death. Some managed to escape, but their only option was to dive off the steep cliff and on to the rocks below.
The poet Bind Harry wrote about the chilling incident in his 15th century epic ‘Wallace’:
Therefore a fire was brought speedily
Which burnt the church, and all those South’ron boys
Out o’er the rock the rest rush’d great noise
Some hung on craigs, and loath were to die
Some lap, some fell, some flutter’d in the sea
And perish’d all, not one remain’d alive.
7. Duart Castle, Isle of Mull
Heroically guarding the sea cliffs off the Isle of Mull, Duart Castle is the seat of the Clan MacLean and dates back to the 13th century. It has been rendered to rubble on numerous occasions, and although the current incarnation is comprised of ancient foundations, it was brought back from ruin in 1911 after being purchased by Sir Fitzroy Maclean. The castle was also used as the basis for the clan’s keep in the Disney movie Brave.
8. Stalker Castle, Argyll
Set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich in Argyll, Stalker Castle can trace its origins back to the 14th century. It was initially under Stewart ownership and it is recorded that King James IV used it as a base when out hunting. The name ‘Stalker’ is derived from the Gaelic ‘Stalcaire’, which translates as ‘hunter’ in English. The castle came to prominence in the 1970s when it featured in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Stalker Castle is privately owned, though a limited number of tours are available throughout the year.
9. Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire
Balmoral Castle is a large stately home in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire. The original castle dated from the 15th century, but was demolished in 1853 after Prince Albert Consort and Queen Victoria deemed it to be too small. A new castle was ordered to be constructed in the Scots Baronial style 100 yards away from where the 15th century building was situated. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria famously used Balmoral as their summer retreat and it has remained a favoured royal residence ever since.
10. Floors Castle, Kelso
Located in Roxburghshire, Floors Castle was built in the 1720s by the architect William Adam for the 1st Duke of Roxburghe, and later remodelled in the baronial style by William Henry Playfair. James II is said to have been killed in the grounds when a cannon exploded during the siege of Roxburghe in 1460. Floors is notable for its stately exterior and ostentatious interior, filled with French furniture, porcelain and antique art. It is Scotland’s largest inhabited castle and its handsome castellated towers and beautifully-landscaped gardens place it firmly among the nation’s most stunning historic buildings.
11. Eilean Donan Castle, Kyle of Lochalsh, Highlands
As picturesque as they come. Eilean Donan has featured in countless numbers of postcards and TV adverts to help promote Scotland. It was founded in the 13th century and is located on a small outcrop at a point where three sea lochs, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh, meet. The castle was largely destroyed in the 18th century during the Jacobite rebellions, but was faithfully rebuilt two centuries later. Its rustic design and dramatic backdrop marks it out as one of the country’s most beautiful castles.
12. Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Midlothian
The most famous castle on our list belongs to the nation’s ancient capital city, Edinburgh. Located atop a steep volcanic plug, the fortress looms high over the city and can be seen in all its glory from Edinburgh’s many hills. Although parts of the castle, such as St Margaret’s Chapel, date from the 12th century, much of the building as seen from Princes Street was only built a little over 120 years ago. The south face of the castle, however, is much older. The iconic half moon battery was constructed in the late 16th century in an effort to strengthen the castle in the event of siege. | https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/twelve-scotlands-most-stunning-castles-1454540 |
Dr. Weeks’ Comment: This report is not helpful until we understand where the other 93% of the mercury come from… sometimes the difference between science and spin is imperceptible. Might we know who funded this study? Smells fishy….
“…the question that is raised by these results: Where is the rest of the blood mercury coming from?..”
“…It has been estimated that 9.9 tons of mercury are deposited on the United Kingdom from the atmosphere each year…”
- Background: Very high levels of prenatal maternal mercury have adverse effects on the developing fetal brain. It has been suggested that all possible sources of mercury should be avoided. However, although seafood is a known source of mercury, little is known about other dietary components that contribute to the overall levels of blood mercury.
Conclusions: Although seafood is a source of dietary mercury, seafood appeared to explain a relatively small proportion of the variation in TBM in our UK study population. Our findings require confirmation, but suggest that limiting seafood intake during pregnancy may have a limited impact on prenatal blood mercury levels.
Concerns Over Mercury Levels in Fish May Be Unfounded
Sep. 30, 2013 ”” New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol suggests that fish accounts for only seven per cent of mercury levels in the human body. In an analysis of 103 food and drink items consumed by 4,484 women during pregnancy, researchers found that the 103 items together accounted for less than 17 per cent of total mercury levels in the body.
Concerns about the negative effects of mercury on fetal development have led to official advice warning against eating too much fish during pregnancy. This new finding, published today in Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests that those guidelines may need to be reviewed.
Previous research by Children of the 90s has shown that eating fish during pregnancy has a positive effect on the IQ and eyesight of the developing child, when tested later in life. Exactly what causes this is not proven, but fish contains many beneficial components including iodine and omega-3 fatty acids.
After fish (white fish and oily fish) the foodstuffs associated with the highest mercury blood levels were herbal teas and alcohol, with wine having higher levels than beer. The herbal teas were an unexpected finding and possibly due to the fact that herbal teas can be contaminated with toxins.
Another surprise finding was that the women with the highest mercury levels tended to be older, have attended university, to be in professional or managerial jobs, to own their own home, and to be expecting their first child. Overall, however, fewer than one per cent of women had mercury levels higher than the maximum level recommended by the US National Research Council. There is no official safe level in the UK.
The authors conclude that advice to pregnant women to limit seafood intake is unlikely to reduce mercury levels substantially.
Speaking about the findings, the report’s main author, Professor Jean Golding OBE, said:
‘We were pleasantly surprised to find that fish contributes such a small amount (only seven per cent) to blood mercury levels. We have previously found that eating fish during pregnancy has many health benefits for both mother and child. We hope many more women will now consider eating more fish during pregnancy. It is important to stress, however, that pregnant women need a mixed balanced diet. They should include fish with other dietary components that are beneficial including fruit and vegetables.’
LOOKING MORE CLOSELY AT THE STUDY
“…The diet is not the only contributor to blood mercury levels. Mercury can also be absorbed from water and air, and from nondietary products such as dental amalgam fillings, beauty products, social drugs such as cigarettes and alcohol, illicit drugs, and medications. Mercury vapor in the atmosphere is absorbed mainly through the respiratory tract (Holmes et al. 2009). Once absorbed, the mercury is widely distributed to fat-rich tissues, and is readily transferred across the placenta and blood brain barriers. Major sources include refuse incineration, fossil fuel combustion, and fungicides/pesticides (Hutton and Symon 1986). It has been estimated that 9.9 tons of mercury are deposited on the United Kingdom from the atmosphere each year (41% from sources in the United Kingdom, 33% from elsewhere in Europe, and 25% from other parts of the northern hemisphere) (Lee et al. 2001).
Conclusions
Although we confirmed that seafood was a major dietary contributor to blood mercury levels in our study population, estimated intakes of the three seafood items evaluated in our study (white fish, oily fish, and shellfish) accounted for only 8.75% of the estimated variation in log-transformed blood mercury concentrations. Of interest are the increased mercury levels in women who drank herbal teas, as well as confirmation of a “protective effect” of foods such as french fries, white bread, and milk, and the question that is raised by these results: Where is the rest of the blood mercury coming from? | http://weeksmd.com/2013/10/fish-mercury/ |
focus.
There's no Asian equivalent of the EU or of NATO. Why has Asia,
and in particular Southeast Asia, avoided such multilateral
institutions? Most accounts focus on U.S. interests and perceptions
or intraregional rivalries to explain the design and effectiveness
of regional institutions in Asia such as SEATO, ASEAN, and the
ASEAN Regional Forum. Amitav Acharya instead foregrounds the ideas
of Asian policymakers, including their response to the global norms
of sovereignty and nonintervention. Asian regional institutions are
shaped by contestations and compromises involving emerging global
norms and the preexisting beliefs and practices of local
actors.
Acharya terms this perspective "constitutive localization" and
argues that international politics is not all about Western ideas
and norms forcing their way into non-Western societies while the
latter remain passive recipients. Rather, ideas are conditioned and
accepted by local agents who shape the diffusion of ideas and norms
in the international system. Acharya sketches a normative
trajectory of Asian regionalism that constitutes an important
contribution to the global sovereignty regime and explains a
remarkable continuity in the design and functions of Asian regional
institutions.
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Why didn’t a regional multilateral security organization take root in Asia in the aftermath of World War II?¹ Why do Asia’s regional institutions remain “soft,” and resist demands for reform and change since the end of the Cold War? As Peter Katzenstein observes, while “Europe is undergoing fundamental institutional change, with far-reaching efforts to redefine state prerogatives . . . Asia is characterized by marginal adjustments, insistence on state sovereignty and a preference for bilateralism.”²
This book investigates these two puzzles about Asia’s post-war regional institutional architecture, which have attracted growing interest from academics (table 1.1) and policymakers.³ Realists seeking...
Why do some ideas and norms find acceptance in a particular locale and others do not? For some time, rationalists and constructivists have debated the causal and transformative impact of ideas and norms. However, questions about normative change in world politics are not only about whether ideas matter, but also whose ideas matter.
The “first wave” of norm scholarship in the constructivist literature can be termed as a “moral cosmopolitanism” perspective with four distinctive features. First, the norms that are being propagated are cosmopolitan, or universal, such as campaigns against land mines, bans on chemical weapons, the protection of endangered...
This chapter addresses the first puzzle investigated in this book—why post-war Asia “failed” to develop a multilateral security institution, especially of the collective defense variety. Using the constitutive localization framework, I explain this outcome in terms of a regional contestation staged in post-war Asia over two prominent global security ideas of the period: non-intervention and collective defense. I argue that responses to these ideas from the Asian regionalist actors were shaped by their prior normative beliefs and practices, namely anti-colonialism and nationalism, and led to differing outcomes: collective defense was delegitimized whereas non-intervention was amplified.
As Stephen Krasner pointed...
This chapter traces the emergence and development of a regionalist cognitive prior in Asia from the 1947 Asian Relations Conference through the 1955 Bandung Conference and beyond. These interactions led to the acceptance of non-intervention and rejection of collective defense. The framework of constitutive localization suggests that the outcome of localizing an external norm could lead to its enhancement in the local context and the amplification of local beliefs and practices at the international level. These outcomes of localization are expressed by the creation of new institutions or modification of existing ones. This is precisely what happened to the non-intervention...
In the 1990s, Asia faced two sets of ideas about regional cooperation, which challenged its existing institutional architecture that had come into place during the Cold War. The first was the idea of “common security.” Originating in Cold War Europe, this norm was framed (prelocalized) in Asia- Pacific discourses as “cooperative security.” The second idea concerned the role of regional cooperation, especially that of ASEAN, in addressing transnational problems that would require it to go beyond its traditional adherence to the norm of non-intervention.¹ This effort had its normative roots in the post–Cold War notion of collective (including humanitarian)...
In the conclusion, I review the book’s findings on the two puzzles about Asian regionalism identified at the outset: Why Asia did not develop a multilateral security institution in the immediate post-war period? and Why Asian regionalism remains underinstitutionalized? My broader goal is to link these findings with some general observations about the current state and future direction of Asian regionalism and the effects of the design features of Asian institutions on regional order. I then extend the argument to other issue areas and regions on the basis that the constitutive localization perspective has a theoretical and empirical relevance beyond...
Processing your request... | http://slave2.omega.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt7zf8x |
Curious about modern and contemporary art, the fundamentals of design, or what makes certain pieces better, or more beautiful, than others? Contemporary art and design rely on specific concepts and particular visual languages to impart ideas, express emotions, and convey meaning to their audiences. If you aren’t familiar with the foundational elements of art and design, it can be tricky to try and understand (much less discuss!) complicated or nuanced work.
If you’re interested in learning more about art, design and how to talk about them, we’ve rounded up a few classes taught by experts in the field to help you get started. These classes will give you a grounding in art history and criticism, teach you the concepts that undergird much of contemporary art and design, and empower you to approach even the toughest, most inaccessible work and discuss it with confidence.
How to Talk About Art: A Beginners Guide
Everyone can understand, appreciate, and develop their own opinions about contemporary art, they just have to learn a few fundamentals first. This 30-minute “Art 101” class with Artsy’s Jordana Zeldin gives you a straightforward lesson in how to define, discuss and find contemporary art and why it’s important. You’ll learn what to look for when you approach visual art, film, dance, sculpture or any other medium and what kind of questions to ask to help you understand, engage with, and appreciate what’s in front of you.
Demystifying Beauty: Inspiration for Design
You might know that something is beautiful when you see it, but have you ever considered why certain works are more beautiful than others? What is beauty, really, and how do artists create it? Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum’s Ellen Lupton and Andrea Lipps take you on a curated tour inspired by their exhibition Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, exploring visual examples and giving you greater insight into the concept of beauty and how its incorporated into art, design, and the world around you.
Make Art to Drive Change: Mirko Ilic on Color, Type, and Icons
Mirko Ilić is a world-renowned artist and designer who draws on his own background as a child in war-torn Bosnia to create art that speaks truth to power and drive social change. In his class on design, he dives deep into what he believes is the fundamental role of the artist in the world, exploring how, when and why specific pieces of art can make a social impact, and how you can incorporate political or cultural advocacy into your own work.
Demystifying Graphic Design: How Posters Work
Great posters don’t just happen by accident. Artists and designers make specific choices about color, composition, balance, tension, and other elements to dazzle the eye and tell a compelling story. Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum’s Ellen Lupton takes you on a tour of the museum’s collection of more than 4,000 posters, cherry-picking some of the most important and interesting examples and explaining the reasons behind their particular strength.
Think like a Designer: Make an Art Poster
If all that you’ve learned about art and design has inspired you to start creating your own interesting visual work, great! In his short, 35-minute class, Artist Chip Kidd takes you some of his own iconic design work to highlight how he thinks about art posters and how you can bring your ideas to life. Follow his method for brainstorming, researching, and executing his gorgeous art poster designs and you’ll be creating your own in no time!
Want more? Skillshare has thousands of creative, tech, and business classes to help you go wherever your curiosity takes you. Start your journey at www.skillshare.com. | https://www.skillshare.com/blog/art-design-and-how-to-talk-about-them/ |
A music appreciation course can be a window into a better understanding of music of all types. In decades past, most music appreciation courses focused almost exclusively on Western classical music. However, the curriculum scope has broadened. As of 2010, courses include some instruction on Word Music, in addition to material on music basics, periods, instruments and composers.
Theory/Elements
Music appreciation courses start with instruction on the basics of music, such as melody, harmony, rhythm, structure and form. The early portion of the course will likely involve more lecture than any other portion. The instructor will play examples of different kinds of music to illustrate the points emphasized in the lectures.
Instruments
To better understand music of any genre, a sense of the music’s production is vital. A course that focuses on Western music will involve instruction about the different instrument families: wind, brass, string and percussion. The instructor may play recordings of the different instruments and how they sound in various types of compositions. For example, the oboe may sound plaintive in a melancholy Romantic Period piece but more vigorous in a modern composition. Teachers will expect students to start learning to identify each individual instrument and to understand how composers employ varying instruments to achieve a certain effect. Some music appreciation courses may include material on early instruments, such as the harpsichord.
Periods
The typical music appreciation course involves some study of the various periods of classical music, to include at least Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th century. The instructor will play many examples of music from each period, perhaps asking the class to compare and contrast work within and across periods. This kind of discussion will help students to begin to discuss music intelligently. Teachers may also call upon students to write about music of the various periods.
Composers
Every period has its exemplary composers, such as Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff. Lecture material will include information about the composer's life and the milieu within which he created. The course instructor will play excerpts of works with different instrumentations, for solo artists and ensembles, and from different periods of the composer's life. Teachers may expect students to compare and contrast different works by the same composer, or to compare the work of one composer to another. As the course progresses, the instructor might play a musical excerpt, and ask the class to identify the composer.
World Music
Most music appreciation courses offer some instruction on non-Western musical traditions. The music of China, India, other Asian countries, parts of Africa and South America may be included. Instruction relative to the different scales, rhythms, tonalities and structures employed by non-Western music is the norm. For example, the teacher may explore the pentatonic scale, which is the basis of Chinese music. This portion of the course, especially, may help enhance students' appreciation of popular music, as many pop artists include non-Western influences in their work. | https://ourpastimes.com/music-appreciation-course-description-12321191.html |
We are proud to introduce our SE21 hubs, a name with multiple meanings. Our founding school Dulwich College sits in Southeast London, in the SE21 postcode, while here at Dulwich College International, the "S" in SE21 stands for STEAM, the "E" for entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability, and "21" for the 21st century skills developed in our approaches to learning framework. The first wave of SE21 hubs in three DCI schools will provide locations for pitching ideas, phase one robotics, coding, CAD/CAM, graphic design, film, digital, and virtual reality. Students will be engaged in entrepreneurship and real-world problem solving, pulling in elements of engineering, filmmaking and project-based learning.
SE21 frames the Dulwich vision for 21st century education and our definition below underlines our ambitious goals and comprehensive agenda.
- SE21 represents much more than simply activities, programmes or spaces as we believe it is only through establishing a transformative learning culture that students will be able to develop skills and dispositions to successfully engage in life beyond graduation.
- Anticipating the future landscapes beyond university, SE21 will encompass a variety of opportunities within and outside of the curriculum that focus on experiential and project based learning with real world application.
- SE21 will seek to improve character strengths to enable students to develop entrepreneurial skills adapted to new ways of imagining work in our growing gig economies. This will require the development of creative and financial literacy, as well as the ability to invent opportunities rather than follow established careers.
- As effective collaboration is the key to this future landscape, teamwork will be a prominent feature of SE21 learning at Dulwich. Our bold ambition is to innovate in both the process and products of student learning in order to create a better world. By better we mean in that the guiding principles of integrity and sustainability underpin our students’ engagement with life beyond school so they are not simply consumers but worldwise contributors.
To be fulfilled and purposeful in life and work, we need to develop a wide range of character strengths and skills. The DCI framework below provides a means to capture the diverse activities and learning developed through our SE21 and Wellbeing culture. DCI has adapted the IB's Approaches to Learning (ATL) framework for this purpose and the language can be revised as we move forward in our own particular contexts at every age and stage. Subsequently both the character strengths and skills domains/clusters/descriptors can be regularly revisited to ensure they are meeting the needs of our community. | https://www.dulwich.org/learning-at-dulwich/steam-se21 |
Q:
Least Common Multiple of given numbers
Possible Duplicates:
what is the most efficient way to calculate the least common multiple of two integers
Least common multiple for 3 or more numbers
Whats the simple logic for calculating LCM of given numbers?
A:
the LCM(a,b) = abs(a * b) / gcd(a, b)
and gcd algorithm goes there:
gcd(a, b):
if b = 0
return a
else
return gcd(b, a % b)
A:
If h is the HCF (same as GCD) of a and b, then the LCM m is given by
m = a * (b / h)
As h divides both a and b, you should perform the division first (as above), to reduce the risk of overflow.
Now all you need is an algorithm for the HCF. There are many, some very efficient.
See http://rhubbarb.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/hcf-without-division/ for example.
For the case of the LCM of many numbers rather than just two, note that e.g.
LCM(a,b,c) = LCM(LCM(a,b),c)
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_common_multiple and http://www.cut-the-knot.org/arithmetic/GcdLcmProperties.shtml for example.
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Background: In the traditional system of medicine, the roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza glabra (Gg) (family: Leguminosae) have been in clinical use for centuries. Aim: In the present study, we investigated the role of aqueous extract of root of Gg treatment on the dendritic morphology of hippocampal Cornu Ammonis area three (CA3) neurons, one of the regions concerned with learning and memory, in 1- month- old male Wistar albino rats. Materials and Methods: The aqueous extract of root of Gg was administered orally in four doses (75, 150, 225 and 300 mg/kg) for 4 weeks. After the treatment period, all experimental animals were subjected to spatial learning (Morris water maze, Hebb-William’s maze and elevated plus maze) tests. At the end of the spatial memory tests, the rats were deeply anesthetized with Pentobarbitone and killed their brains were removed rapidly and fixed in rapid Golgi fixative. Hippocampal CA3 neurons were traced using camera lucida, and dendritic arborization and intersections were quantified. These data were compared to those of age-matched control rats. Results: The aqueous root extract of Gg in the dose of 150 and 225 mg/kg/p.o showed a significant (P < 0.01) enhancement of dendritic arborization (dendritic branching points) and dendritic intersections along the length of both apical and basal dendrites in hippocampal (CA3) pyramidal neurons is comparable to control. Conclusion: Based on our results obtained, we conclude that constituents present in aqueous root extract of Gg have neuronal dendritic growth stimulating properties. | https://jnsbm.org/article/621 |
The department of zoology of the Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, conducts research and teaching of various aspects of animal biology.
The department staff specializes in the following research areas :
Archeozoology, Biology of ladybugs and invasion ecology, Biology of small African mammals, Tropical ecology, Cognitive ethology of birds, Diversity and evolution of Neotropical fishes, Ecology and biogeography of butterflies, Ecology and ethology of birds, Ecophysiology and population biology of animals, Evolution and phylogeny of mammals, Insect cold tolerance, Insect stress hormones, Phylogenetics and bioinformatics, and Primatology and evolutionary anthropology.
Recent news
New courses at the Department of zoology in winter semester 2020/21
Evolutionary Biology (KZO/102E): This course provides and introduction to evolutionary biology. It describes…
The behavior of stallion toward foals in the herd of wild horses
Horses are social animals that live in harems controlled by one or,…
Kokomo seminar
Wednesday 3. 6. 2020, 12:00, Kokomo room (former library) Vojtěch Kubelka (University…
New challenges for wildlife conservation
A new book „Problematic Wildlife II – new conservation and management challenges…
Frozen fauna remains reveal the vegetation composition of the mammoth steppe
The Late Pleistocene landscape in northern Eurasia and North America, known as…
Seminars cancelled until further notice
Due to the state-wide quarantine and RECTOR'S DECISION ON THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT…
Collaborating institutions
Institute of Entomology CAS
Insitute of Hydrobiology CAS
Department of Zoology, FS CUP
Department of Ethology: Výzkumný ústav živočišné výroby, v.v.i. | http://zoo.prf.jcu.cz/?lang=en |
The Appalachian Trail (AT), a 14-state footpath from Maine to Georgia, is a unit of the National Park Service that is cooperatively managed and maintained by the National Park Service (NPS), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, AT Club volunteers, the USDA Forest Service, and other public land-management agencies. Upper elevation and ridge-top ecosystems, which comprise much of the trail corridor, have been impacted by and remain extremely sensitive to acidic deposition. Ridgetop soils that are often low in calcium make the ecosystems of the AT more sensitive to acidic deposition than other ecosystems. Furthermore, upper elevations tend to receive the highest levels of deposition. In areas along the AT, such...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Appalachian Trail, Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Assessment, BiogeochemicalandHydrologicAssessment, Climate Impacts, Completed,
An Assessment of Forest Health and Soil Nutrient Status to Determine the Effects of Logging Practices on Water Quality in New York City's West-of-Hudson Watersheds
The growth of temperate forests is typically limited by the availability of nitrogen. Elevated concentrations of nitrate in some Catskill Mountain streams, which are tributary to New York City's water-supply reservoirs west of the Hudson River, indicate that the forests of this region are at the early stages of nitrogen saturation. That is, nitrogen is available in excess of the amount utilized by vegetation and soil microorganisms in the forests. Nitrogen saturation is a concern because the mobile nitrate that moves through soil is accompanied by other nutrients such as the base cations calcium and magnesium that are necessary for forest growth but are present in short supply in some Catskill soils. And, nutrient...
Acidification and Recovery and Development of Critical Loads of Acidity for Stream Ecosystems of the Adirondack Region of New York State
BACKGROUND The Adirondack region of New York has a history of relatively high atmospheric sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) deposition (Greaver et al. 2012). Adirondack ecosystems have been impacted by these inputs, including soil and surface water acidification, and impaired health and diversity of forest vegetation and aquatic biota. Air quality management, through the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency NOx Budget Trading Program, and the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) has resulted in decreases in atmospheric S and N deposition in the Adirondacks and throughout the eastern U.S. (Lehmann et al., 2005), which is driving the recovery of surface waters from past acidification. Section 303(d)...
Mission Statement: The mission of the cooperative is to facilitate coordinated collection of high quality broad-based soil data to evaluate temporal dynamics, to complement meteorologic, hydrologic and biologic monitoring, and to support decision making and science education. Objectives: Develop and share protocols for field and lab soil sampling and analysis Identify information needs that would benefit policy and management decisions Establish a rigorous multi-scale soils collection program whose continuity is maintained while responding to emerging issues. Synthesize existing soil monitoring data, including a critical review of past research and analysis of time scales of various soil dynamics Compile...
Assessment of Acidic Deposition Effects on the Chemistry and Benthos of Streams of the East-Central Adirondack Region
Project Summary. The Western Adirondack Stream Survey (WASS), conducted in 2003-2005, showed that acidic deposition was causing toxic forms of Al to move from soils to streams in 66% of the 565 watersheds assessed in the study region. The WASS encompassed only 20% of the Adirondack region, and for the remaining 80% (referred to hereafter as the East-Central Adirondack region), there is little information on the extent of soil and stream acidification. Based on lake-chemistry data, acidification in the East-Central Adirondack region has been considered minimal relative to the Western Adirondack region. However, some lake acidification has been identified, and WASS results showed that lake acidification under...
The current Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring Program combines monitoring of streams and soils based on a watershed design. Not only are headwater streams an important component of Adirondack ecosystems, they are closely tied to the terrestrial environment through runoff that is strongly influenced by soil and vegetation processes. This linkage makes headwater streams a useful tool for monitoring the overall condition of the watershed, and by combining stream and soil monitoring within watersheds, the response of Adirondack ecosystems to environmental disturbances such as acid rain and climate change can be better understood. For example, the unexpectedly slow reversal of stream acidification from decreased atmospheric...
Monitoring of lake chemistry in the western Adirondack region has indicated reductions in the acidity of these lakes during the past two decades. However, lakes are not always reliable indicators of streams and soils. Uncertainty remains regarding the recovery potential of surface waters and the effects of acidic deposition on soils. Furthermore, nitrogen, long considered a growth-limiting nutrient for northern temperate forests, is likely to be available in excess of that needed by Adirondack forest ecosystems as a result of acidic deposition. In this region, excess nitrogen in the soil leads to acidification of soils and surface waters. Calcium, important for acid neutralization, is also an important nutrient,...
Assessment of sugar maple health and associated soil conditions in the Adirondack Region of New York
This project provides a regional assessment of sugar maple health and associated soil conditions in the Adirondack Region of New York, where sugar maple are a major component of the forest. The focus of the study is to develop an improved understanding of relationships among watershed characteristics, soil chemistry, and acidic deposition effects on sugar maple trees and other tree species that grow in association with sugar maple, which are one of the most highly valued tree species in the northeast. Project results are therefore important for the management of sugar maple in the Adirondack region where acidic deposition has lowered the nutritional status of soils by depleting calcium, a key nutrient for trees.Purpose...
Summary Acid rain levels in the Adirondack region have substantially declined and recovery from acid rain is underway. Recovery is being limited by the depletion of soil calcium that occurred over past decades. Not only is calcium needed for neutralizing acidity, it is an essential nutrient for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, recovery of soil calcium has not yet been observed. Whole-ecosystem restoration through watershed liming, possibly combined with in-stream liming, may provide a practical option for stimulating recovery of certain acid-sensitive, high-value natural resources. Information from past liming efforts, however, is insufficient for determining the degree of success that could be achieved...
BACKGROUND Air emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in electrical power plants, building heating systems and vehicles are the major source of gaseous sulfur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx) oxides in the atmosphere. These oxides dissolve in atmospheric moisture forming ions which are deposited by rain, snowfall and dust particles as acidic deposition. Acidic deposition releases soluble aluminum from the soil which can reach toxic concentrations in adjacent water bodies such as streams and wetlands. Acidic deposition also removes important nutrients such as calcium, potassium and magnesium from the soil negatively impacting local flora and fauna. Depletion of calcium combined with excess aluminum makes forest... | https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/items?q=&filter=tags%3DBiogeochemicalandHydrologicAssessment&filter0=partyWithName%3D5940_Gregory+B+Lawrence |
The Loch Ness monster is a cryptid that is generally described as a large, aquatic creature that resembles pre-historic plesiosaurs that inhabits Loch Ness, a lake in the Scottish Highlands. Nicknamed “Nessie”, popular interest and belief in the creature’s existence has varied since it was first brought to the world’s attention in 1933. However, sightings of similar creatures have been reported by fishermen for hundreds of years.
On 6 December 1933, the first purported photograph of the monster, taken by Hugh Gray, was published in the Daily Express, and shortly afterwards the creature received official notice when the Secretary of State for Scotland ordered the police to prevent any attacks on it. In 1934, interest was further sparked by what is known as The Surgeon’s Photograph.
The earliest report of a monster associated with the vicinity of Loch Ness appears in the Life of St. Columba by Adomnán, written in the 7th century. According to Adomnán, writing about a century after the events he described, the Irish monk Saint Columba was staying in the land of the Picts with his companions when he came across the locals burying a man by the River Ness. They explained that the man had been swimming in the river when he was attacked by a “water beast” that had mauled him and dragged him under. They tried to rescue him in a boat, but could only drag up his corpse. Hearing this, Columba stunned the Picts by sending his follower Luigne moccu Min to swim across the river. The beast came after him, but Columba made the sign of the Cross and commanded: “Go no further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once.” The beast immediately halted as if it had been “pulled back with ropes” and fled in terror, and both Columba’s men and the pagan Picts praised God for the miracle.
Believers in the Loch Ness Monster often point to this story, set in the River Ness rather than the loch itself, as evidence for the creature’s existence as early as the 6th century. However, skeptics question the narrative’s reliability, noting that water-beast stories were extremely common; as such, Adomnán’s tale is likely to be a recycling of a common motif attached to a local landmark.
Much of the scientific community regards the Loch Ness Monster as a modern-day myth, and explain sightings as including misidentifications of more mundane objects, or outright hoaxes. Despite this, it remains one of the most famous examples of cryptozoology. | http://hauntedmario.com/creature-feature-2/loch-ness-monster/ |
Laura Hildesheim and colleagues found Dalechampia scandens changes the herkogamy, the internal arrangement of its flowers that separates male and female organs when pollinators are scarce to aid self-pollination. “This suggests that, in the context of declining pollinator populations, evolutionary shifts toward greater rates of autonomous self-pollination can be rapid,” conclude the authors.
Herkogamy, the separation of the male and female organs in space, and dichogamy, the separation in time, evolved to reduce the chance of self-pollination. If the organs ripen at different times and are not close, then pollen is more likely to arrive from another plant. However, if pollinators are limited, then the ovule is left waiting for pollen that never comes. In this case, self-pollination is better than no seed set at all, but this wait has consequences. The longer a plant waits to self-pollinate, the poorer quality its own pollen will be. Hildesheim and colleagues investigated how plants react to the changing availability of pollinators, and if this affected self-pollination.
The team conducted three experiments. They examined how herkogamy and dichogamy varied in populations of D. scandens in a greenhouse, and how these same traits varied in the wild, with differing pollinator availability. Finally, they tested how delays in selfing affected seed quality and quantity.
They found that herkogamy varied with pollinator availability, but dichogamy did not. “This is consistent with the results of an earlier study finding an association of pollinator abundance with herkogamy but not protandry in Clarkia xantiana,” wrote the authors, “even though both traits affect reproductive success via autonomous selfing, and thus should be selected similarly by the pollination environment…”
The botanists also found that reproductive performance was best in the flowers early in their life. “When late pollination yielded seeds, these were fewer and smaller than those obtained by early pollination. In D. scandens, reduced seed production by old flowers often occurred through complete seed set failure of individual flowers within a blossom, while the other flowers produced near-maximum seed set…,” say the authors. This decline would confirm that there are consequences for waiting too long to self-pollinate.
The penalities for self-pollination mean that, so long as there are pollinators about, there is a strong preference for cross-pollination. The delayed-selfing of flowers would help depress the success of self-pollinating flowers compared to the plants that could attract pollinators. However, if pollinators fail, then circumstances change. “This process would not preclude the evolution towards earlier selfing under complete pollination failure but could contribute to the maintenance of a stable mixed mating system via the maintenance of protogyny,” say the authors. “Furthermore, it could constrain the evolution towards competing selfing or complete autonomous selfing as long as some cross-pollination occurs.”
These results do leave open a question of why herkogamy is so flexible, when dichogamy isn’t. However, it is possible that dichogamy still leaves a window for cross-pollinating plants to outcompete selfing plants. For D. scandens, success in pollination may be a matter of timing. | https://botany.one/2019/10/flowers-evolve-to-balance-the-risks-and-rewards-of-self-pollination/?shared=email&msg=fail |
Tsunamis are a series of waves usually generated by movement of the sea floor. These movements are caused by different types of geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions.The word tsunami is a Japanese word, represented by two characters: tsu, meaning, "harbor", and nami meaning, "wave".
Tsunamis are move at a speed equals to the square root of the product of gravity and the depth of the water. The tsunami waves behave very differently in deep water than in shallow water as their speed is related to the water depth. Tsunami waves form only a small hump, barely noticeable and harmless, which generally travels at a very high speed of 500 to 1,000 km/h. The tsunami's speed diminishes as it travels into shallower water to only tens of kilometers an hour, consequently increasing the wave height. Because of this shoaling effect, a tsunami, imperceptible at sea, may grow to be several meters or more in height near the coast forming the large destructive waves.
Tsunamis are most commonly generated by earthquakes in marine and coastal regions. Major tsunamis are produced by large (greater than 7 on the Richter scale), shallow focus (< 30km depth in the earth) earthquakes associated with the movement of oceanic and continental plates. They frequently occur in the Pacific, where dense oceanic plates slide under the lighter continental plates. When these plates fracture they provide a vertical movement of the seafloor that allows a quick and efficient transfer of energy from the solid earth to the ocean. When a powerful earthquake (magnitude 9.3) struck the coastal region of Indonesia in 2004, the movement of the seafloor produced a tsunami in excess of 30 meters (100 feet) along the adjacent coastline killing more than 240,000 people. From this source the tsunami radiated outward and within 2 hours had claimed 58,000 lives in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India.
Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of earthquake that are associated with the earth's crustal deformation; when these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position. Waves are formed as the displaced water mass, which acts under the influence of gravity, attempts to regain its equilibrium. When large areas of the sea floor elevate or subside, a tsunami can be created.
As a tsunami leaves the deep water of the open Ocean and travels into the shallower water near the coast, it transforms. The tsunami's energy flux, which is dependent on both its wave speed and wave height, remains nearly constant. Consequently, as the tsunami's speed diminishes as it travels into shallower water, its height grows. Because of this shoaling effect, a tsunami, imperceptible at sea, may grow to be several meters or more in height near the coast. When it finally reaches the coast, a tsunami may appear as a rapidly rising or falling tide, a series of breaking waves, or even a bore.
During the tsunami, maximum vertical height to which the water is observed with reference to sea level (spring tide or Mean sea level) is referred to as run-up. The maximum horizontal distance that is reached by a tsunami is referred to as inundation
The run-up and horizontal inundation during a tsunami can be highly variable in a local area depending on the underwater topography, orientation to the oncoming wave, tide level, and the magnitude of the tsunami. Because direct physical measurement of a tsunami wave would be a life threatening event, the most common method for determining tsunami wave height is by measuring the run-up, the highest vertical point reached by the wave. Run-up heights are measured by looking at the distance and extent of salt-killed vegetation, and the debris left once the wave has receded. This distance is referenced to a datum level, usually being the mean sea level. A measurement of run-up level is useful in determining extent of vulnerability of an area to tsunami waves.
The Indian coastal belt has not recorded many Tsunamis in the past. Waves accompanying earthquake activity have been reported over the North Bay of Bengal. During an earthquake in 1881 which had its epicenter near the centre of the Bay of Bengal, Tsunamis were reported. The earthquake of 1941 in Bay of Bengal caused some damage in Andaman region. This was unusual because most Tsunamis are generated by shocks which occur at or near the flanks of continental slopes. During the earthquakes of 1819 and 1845 near the Rann of Kutch, there were rapid movements of water into the sea. There is no mention of waves resulting from these earthquakes along the coast adjacent to the Arabian sea, and it is unlikely that Tsunamis were generated. Further west, in the Persian Gulf, the 1945 Makran earthquake (magnitude 8.1) generated Tsunami of 12 to 15 meters height. This caused a huge deluge, with considerable loss of life and property at Ormara and Pasi. The estimated height of Tsunami at Gulf of Cambay was 15m but no report of damage is available. The estimated height of waves was about 2 meters at Mumbai, where boats were taken away from their moorings and casualties occurred.
A list showing the Tsunami that affected Indian coast prior to Sumatra Earthquake of December 26, 2004, is given in the below table.
|Date||Cause||Impact|
|12th April, 1762||Earthquake in Bay of Bengal.||Tsunami wave of 1.8m at Bangladesh coast|
|31st December, 1881||Magnitude 7.8 earthquake beneath the Car Nicobar||Entire East coast of India including Andaman & Nicobar coast was affected by tsunami|
|27th August, 1883||Eruption of karkatoa volcano (Sunda Strait) Indonesia||East coast of India was affected and 2 m Tsunami was reported at Chennai.|
|26th June, 1941||A 8.1 Magnitude earthquake in Andaman||East Coast of India was affected by tsunami.|
|27th November, 1945||27th November, 1945 (21 Hour 56 Min. 50 Sec. UTC) in the Makran subduction zone (Baluchistan, Pakistan) (24.5N & 63.0E) with Mw of 8.1||West coast of India was affected by Tsunami.|
The Pacific Rim countries are affected frequently by tsunamis (about 900 events in the 20th century) due to the high seismic activity (75 per cent of global activity) in the circum-Pacific belt. The Indian Ocean rim countries are likely to be affected by tsunamis generated in the two known tsunamigenic zones, viz., the Andaman-Nicobar-Sumatra island arc and the Makran subduction zone north of Arabian Sea (about 5 per cent or less). These zones have been identified by considering the historical tsunamis and earthquakes, their magnitudes, location of the area relative to a fault, and also by tsunami modelling. The east and west coasts of India and the island regions are likely to be affected by Tsunamis generated mainly by subduction zone related earthquakes from the two potential source regions, viz., the Andaman-Nicobar-Sumatra Island Arc and the Makran subduction zone north of Arabian Sea. These two possible locations with major plate boundaries are shown in the blue ellipses in the figure below. However, in spite of infrequent occurrence of tsunamis (about 6 events reported in the 20th century) in the Indian Ocean, they could occur at any time and could be very devastating. | https://tsunami.incois.gov.in/TEWS/stsunamihistory.jsp |
One of the great things about working at MoonPay is that we are fully remote. Our global team spans 25+ countries, and we pride ourselves on having a connected and inclusive culture that empowers people to do their best work. We give our team autonomy to move fast, innovate and take responsibility. Join us in our mission to build a better financial world!
The People Discipline ❤️
In this generalist role you would be responsible for the development and delivery of key Human Resources initiatives and solutions that enable the organisation to deliver its Business objectives and longer term business strategy.
Build and implement the building of People structures and systems that will enable MoonPay scale and continuously innovate, driving operational excellence.
Build and implement the people strategy in alignment with the Chief People Officer (CPO), focusing on building impactful leaders that shape, lead and coach their teams driving high performance with impact.
What you’ll do 👀
- Key accountabilities include working with the business on Organisation design and development, talent management and development, succession planning, change management and employee relations.
- Activities will span strategy to delivery & execution of HR operational deliverables and in this generalist role, you will support leaders, managers and colleagues across the HR lifecycle with a particular focus on Talent Management & Development, Talent Acquisition, Compensation and Employee Relations, thereby enabling the attraction and retention of "best-in-class" talent.
- Cultivating effective working relationships with the business by advising business leaders on people-management and employee relations issues, training and development, in alignment with current HR initiatives to quickly gain credibility and create maximum impact.
- Challenging, provoking and coaching business leaders as required on how to engage colleagues, how to address people issues and how to build people capabilities effectively.
- Proactively implementing and developing HR strategic and tactical plans to support business goals specifically with regard to staffing, retention, training, learning and development, global mobility and employee relations.
- Assess, set up and implement HR policies and guidelines for a remote first organisation
- Provide consultative support and guidance to managers on implementation of core HR/Talent programs
- Promote a culture of feedback and open communication, reinforcing our mission and core values
- Potential to build and lead a team of Talent Partners in delivering key business outcomes for their client groups, offering regular coaching and guidance
- Identify problems to be solved within teams and either proactively recommend solutions or partners with their leaders to address, leveraging data to inform solutions.
- Analyze data, understand trends, and develop proactive solutions to further support business objectives
- Manage and facilitate the overall Performance Summary Cycle and employee engagement survey throughout the year
You should apply if ✅
- Min of 10 years relevant, experience in a multi disciplined HR function including employee relations, change management, coaching, and advising at all levels in the organization
- Demonstrate success of working in partnership to deliver and implement strategic people solutions to drive organisational growth.
- Significant experience working in progressive HR role, with a strong preference for experience in Tech and ideally Crypto space
- Ability to build credible HR Business Partnering relationships with key stakeholders across the business including with the Senior Leadership Team
- Broad understanding of employee relations challenges and ability to partner with global legal teams to reach the most effective business and commercial solutions
- Can work independently on multiple projects without regular supervision.
- Detail conscious, credible, strong confidentiality, reliable, able to cope with ambiguity and change, and drives improvement, proactively managing poor performance/delivery, managing tough conversations with empathy and results
- Focused on delivery and gets things done in partnership with the business, including HR roadmap aligned to overall company strategy
- Critical thinker with success in developing pragmatic solutions to business problems
- Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with ability to be influential and persuasive
- Thrives in an unstructured environment and has the ability to exercise independent judgment, collaborate with all functions but with demonstrable skills of having challenging conversations with compassion but results orientated
Competencies for this role:
- Communication: Ability to flex communication styles to translate strategy into actionable steps to drive initiatives forward.
- Change Management: recognise the need for change, drive changes and gain commitment to this change building a clear path to navigate ambiguity and resistance
- Business Awareness: understand what is going on outside one owns business area, recognise the broader objectives and how one's own actions impact the wider business
- Coaching: ability to facilitate the personal and professional development of others by giving them constructive feedback and develop skills and capabilities through training and development
- Influencing: Win hearts and minds on key HR initiatives and solutions using a range of tactics and approaches
Research has shown that women are less likely than men to apply for this role if they do not have solid experience in 100% of these areas. Please know that this list is indicative and that we would still love to hear from you even if you feel you only are a 75% match. Skills can be learnt, diversity cannot.
We promote a diverse and inclusive culture at MoonPay. | https://boards.greenhouse.io/moonpay/jobs/4703984003 |
Progressive cyanosis often develops following Kawashima operation in patients with left atrial isomerism, interrupted inferior vena cava and hepatic veins draining to the atria. Knowledge on the timing and extend of resolution following hepatic venous redirection is sparse. A girl developed progressing cyanosis following Kawashima operation at the age of ten months. Arterial oxygen saturations at rest dropped to 60-65%. Surgical redirection of hepatic veins into the cavopulmonary circulation at the age of three years had no immediate effect. However, arterial oxygen saturations increased gradually over nine months to 90-93% and 95-100% after three years.
Patients with functional univentricular hearts, left atrial isomerism and azygos continuation of the inferior vena cava are usually surgically palliated by cavopulmonary anastomosis between one or two superior vena cavas to the pulmonary artery, the Kawashima operation. The hepatic veins remain connected to one or both left atria and thus to the systemic circulation, which in itself will cause some arterial desaturation. However, in many patients arterial desaturation is progressive causing cyanosis and functional limitation. When veno-venous collaterals from the systemic to the hepatic veins are excluded, progressive cyanosis is attributed to development of multiple microscopic pulmonary arteriovenous malformations [1, 2]. It is hypothesized that one or more unknown hepatic factors from the hepatic circulation need to flow directly to the pulmonary circulation in order to suppress a genuine tendency to develop arteriovenous malformations in the lungs [3, 4]. A recent study suggests that inhibition of endostatin may play an important role in increased angiogenesis and formation of arteriovenous malformations. Several reports [6–9] indicate that cyanosis resolves following surgical redirection of hepatic veins into the cavopulmonary circulation. This operation is usually performed through a median sternotomy using cardiopulmonary bypass. However, an off-pump technique through a lateral thoracotomy has been described . The literature on the timing and extent of resolution following redirection of the hepatic veins is sparse.
In order to demonstrate this may be a lengthy process, we report our experience of redirecting hepatic flow in a patient with left atrial isomerism and review the current literature.
A newborn girl was diagnosed with dextrocardia, left atrial isomerism, azygous continuation to a solitary left sided superior vena cava, hepatic veins draining to the left sided atrium, unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect, double outlet right ventricle and valvar pulmonary stenosis. Initially the patient was surgically palliated with an aortopulmonary shunt. Kawashima operation with closure of the shunt was performed at the age of ten months. Postoperatively resting saturations were initially 85-90%, but declined over the next two years to 60-65%. Cardiac catheterization showed an unobstructed left-sided cavopulmonary anastomosis, low pulmonary artery pressures and absence of significant veno-venous collaterals. No macroscopic arteriovenous malformations were present. At the age of three years, the hepatic veins were excised from the atrium with a cuff of atrial tissue, anastomosed to a GORE-TEX® tube graft which was placed along the left side of the heart and anastomosed end-to-side to the confluent pulmonary arteries facing the superior cavopulmonary connection. The operation was done through a median sternotomy using cardiopulmonary bypass on beating heart. Postoperatively oxygen saturations were initially 60-70% but increased to approximately 85% after four weeks, 90-93% after nine months and 95-100% after three years, when she was last seen.
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations are a common finding following the classic cavopulmonary shunt i.e. superior vena cava to right pulmonary artery . However, the prevalence following total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) has been described as relatively low [12, 13], except for patients with left atrial isomerism in whom the hepatic venous flow is not incorporated directly in the TCPC. In these patients pulmonary arteriovenous malformations develops in 21-75 percent [3, 7, 9, 14]. The large range in patients developing pulmonary arteriovenous malformations may be a combination of lack of early awareness of the problem, a wide range in the clinical presentation, additional venous-venous collaterals and a time factor, since these malformations take several years to develop. Table 1 shows a summary of the current literature with focus on the timing of surgical redirection of hepatic venous flow and time to resolution.
The development and diagnosis of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations following the Kawashima operation usually takes several years [4, 6, 9, 13, 15–20], but has been described after a few days . Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations are usually diagnosed when oxygen saturations are between 65 and 76% [4, 9, 13, 15–18].
Most studies report that pulmonary arteriovenous malformations resolve slowly following surgical redirection of the hepatic flow. Resting oxygen saturations as low as 70-85% for months after the operation are common [4, 6, 13, 15, 17, 18]. In general, the saturations improve over time. Studies with a follow-up of several months to a few years report saturations between 93 and 97% [8, 9, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22]. Saturations remaining at 85-90% have been described [4, 13]. Timing of redirection of hepatic flow remains controversial. A recent study indicates that the majority of patients will need redirection of hepatic flow following the Kawashima operation, in particular when followed beyond 60 months. Furthermore, there was an indication that worse outcome was related to profound desaturation before redirection, indicating a benefit of an earlier redirection .
In patients with left atrial isomerism pulmonary arteriovenous malformations should be considered when the hepatic flow has not been included in the TCPC and saturations start to decline. Following surgical inclusion of hepatic veins recovery may take several months to occur.
Written informed consent was obtained from the family of patient for publication of this Case report. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.
SHL: concept/design, interpretation, drafting article, critical revision of article, approval of article. KE: concept/design, interpretation, critical revision of article, approval of article. JB: concept/design, critical revision of article, approval of article. VEH: concept/design, interpretation, critical revision of article, approval of article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. | https://cardiothoracicsurgery.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1749-8090-8-67 |
1. Introduction {#sec-1}
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Graves' disease (GD) is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism and constitutes 10%--15% of thyroid diseases in children. The incidence of GD is about 1/10,000 in children and adolescents (1--3). GD is more common in girls (F/M = 5/1) and peaks in adolescence at the age of 11--15 years (4). The diagnosis is made with increased serum-free T3 (fT3) (2.6--4.8 pg/mL) and free T4 (fT4) (0.7--2 ng/dL) levels, suppressed serum TSH level (0.4--3.0 µIU/mL), positive thyroid receptor antibody (TRab) (\<1.5 IU/L), and/or the presence of exophthalmos (4,5).
There is no consensus regarding the optimal treatment method for GD in children and adolescents. Treatment priorities may differ according to age (4,6). Since there is no wide-scale, prospective, randomized study results related to the treatment of GD in children and adolescents, treatment of GD is generally planned individually (1).
There are medical, surgical, and radioactive iodine (RAI) options for the treatment of GD. Each treatment option has its own risks. In general, antithyroid drugs (ATDs) are the first preference in the treatment of GD (propylthiouracil (PTU), methimazole (MMI)) (7). Two ATD regimens for medical treatment of GD have been used: dose titration and blockage replacement. In dose titration, the usual starting dose is 15--30 mg/day of methimazole (or equivalent doses of other thionamides). The daily dose is tapered down to the lowest effective dose, avoiding both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Thyroid function is checked every 4--6 weeks for the first 4--6 months, then every 3--4 months until treatment is stopped after 18--24 months. In blockage-replacement, persistently high ATD doses are given in association with L-thyroxine replacement to avoid hypothyroidism. Higher ATD doses may provide a greater immunosuppressive effect for permanent remission. Avoidance of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism seems easier than with the dose-titration method, treatment duration is shorter, and fewer visits are required. However, the much higher number of tablets taken every day may create compliance problems and may have a higher risk of side effects (8).
Long-term use of ATDs may lead to the development of side effects and adaptation problems (7,9). The mortality rate is approximately 25%--50% after the development of PTU-related hepatoxicity. Another study showed that severe liver damage occurred in 22 patients treated with PTU, resulting in high rates of mortality (death in 9 cases, liver transplantation in 5 cases). In 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that PTU should not be used to treat GD in children and adolescents (10--13). MMI treatment is available as an alternative treatment since it has comparatively fewer side effects. Limitations in medical treatment (toxicity, relapse, adaptation problems, treatment duration) place RAI or surgical treatment at the forefront (4,6,7). RAI and surgical treatments, however, bear risks in terms of timing of the procedure, age of the patient, and some potential complications such as hypothyroidism.
Studies that investigate the predictive factors for relapse or remission and the requirement for radical treatments at an early stage are limited. The course of GD varies individually, as do the factors associated with remission and relapse. Patients who are older, have a higher body mass index, smaller goiters, lower thyroid hormone levels at diagnosis, and negative TRab can achieve remission in the early period. It has been shown that prepubertal children can achieve remission for a longer period than pubertal and postpubertal children. The risk of relapse increases in patients whose TRab levels are higher. Patients whose hyperthyroidism was corrected within 4--6 months with ATD treatment achieved long-term remission. Management of patients with GD will be easier if patients can be identified as requiring long-term ATD treatment or requiring radical treatment (RAI or surgery) through reliable indicators for relapse and remission in the early period (14,15).
The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical features and to determine the predictive factors related to relapse and remission in children and adolescents with GD.
2. Materials and methods {#sec-2}
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This retrospective study included 45 subjects with GD who were aged 4--18. The patients were followed for at least 1 year between 2003 and 2017 at the Pediatric Endocrinology Department of Behçet Uz Children's Hospital. The study was approved by the Behçet Uz Children's Hospital's Ethical Council with ethical council number: 2016 / 03-01, folder number: 2016/61.
The following parameters were recorded for each patient at the time of admission: age at diagnosis, sex, body weight, weight standard deviation score (SDS), height SDS, body mass index SDS, pulse rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (above the 95th percentile was accepted as hypertension for the norms determined for age and sex (16)), clinical goiter and ophthalmopathy, puberty state according to Tanner staging (17,18), and family history of autoimmune thyroid disease. Free T3, free T4, fT3/fT4 ratio, TRab, antithyroid peroxidase antibody (anti-TPO) (0--9 IU/mL), and antithyroglobulin antibody (anti-TG) (0--4 IU/mL) were recorded at the onset of diagnosis. High transaminase level was considered when alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (0--35 U/L) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (0--35 U/L) were twice the normal values, and leukopenia was considered when the leukocyte count was below 4500/µL (16). Thyroid volume, thyroid parenchyma echogenicity, pseudonodular appearance, and blood flow rate evaluated via thyroid ultrasonography were recorded. Thyroid gland volume and volume SDS were calculated using ÇEDD Çözüm software (TPEDS Metrics) (19,20).
GD was diagnosed with increased fT3 and fT4 levels, suppressed TSH level, and/or positive TRab (2,21,22). The patients were monitored both clinically and with laboratory testing for 3--6 months. Starting dose, duration of use, side effects of the antithyroid drugs (MMI, PTU, propranolol), and periods of normalization of fT4 and TRab levels were recorded. The patients who had received RAI or surgical treatment (total or subtotal thyroidectomy) were registered. The final states of the cases were classified as hypothyroidism, euthyroidism, and currently undergoing ATD treatment.
Remission was defined as the sustainment of a clinical and biochemical state of euthyroidism for at least 1 year following the termination of ATD treatment and no relapse in follow-up (23,24). Relapse was defined as increased fT4 or fT3 levels in addition to suppressed serum TSH level following dose reduction or termination of ATDs in patients who receive at least 12 months of proper treatment (2). The cases were classified into the groups "relapse" and "remission."
2.1. Statistical analysis {#sec-2-1}
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SPSS 24.0 for Windows was used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics, number and percentage for categorical variables, and average ± standard deviation for data that meet the normal distribution parameters for numeric variables have been provided. Student's t-test was applied for continuous variables (age at diagnosis; anthropometric measurements; mean initial fT4, fT3, and fT3/fT4 ratio; initial thyroid US volume; fT4 normalization time; TRab normalization time; initial ATD treatment duration; and total duration of ATD Rx) during the comparison of 2 independent groups, while the chi-square test was used for categorical variables (sex; family history of AITD (n); puberty (n); Graves' ophthalmopathy (n); initial positive TRab (n); initial positive anti-TPO (n); initial positive anti-TG (n); the number of patients who initially received MMI, PTU, and Na-L-thyroxine; and positive TRab at the end of ATD Rx (n)). P \< 0.05 was accepted as significant.
3. Results {#sec-3}
==========
Of the 45 patients included in the study, 36 (80%) were female and 9 (20%) were male. Their median age at diagnosis was 12.5 years (range: 4--18 years). Thirty-two (71%) were in the pubertal stage. Family history of autoimmune thyroid disease was present in 32 (72%) cases. Ophthalmopathy was determined in 11 (24%) of the cases. Systolic blood pressure, defined as above the 95th percentile according to sex and height, was detected in 4 (13%) out of 30 patients whose blood pressure (BP) was measured. Body weight SDS and BMI SDS of these patients were within normal limits. The mean weight SDS was --0.10 ± 0.9 and the mean BMI SDS was 0.40 ± 0.89.
Thyroid gland size was observed in physical examination to be increased above average for age and sex in 38 patients (85%). The mean thyroid volume and the mean thyroid volume SDS calculated via thyroid ultrasonography were 14.8 ± 8.6 mL and 7.86 ± 6.61 mL. Mean fT4 level was 3.96 ± 1.67 ng/dL, mean fT3 level was 14.46 ± 5.94 pg/mL, and mean fT3/fT4 ratio was 3.65 ± 0.72 at the time of diagnosis. At the onset of diagnosis, TRab was measured in 38 patients. TRab was detected positive in 26 (68%) patients and was detected negative in the remaining 12 patients (9 relapse, 3 remission). In these 12 patients and in 7 patients whose TRab was not measured at the time of diagnosis, TRab was detected positive in the follow-up period. For this reason, hashitoxicosis was not considered. Anti-TPO and anti-TG levels were positive in 24 (63%) cases. TRab, anti-TPO, and anti-TG were positive in 14 (31%) of cases. TRab was detected positive only in 6 (13%) cases. Of the 12 cases with negative TRab levels, positive anti-TPO and/or anti-TG levels were detected in 7 (16%). Initially, ATD treatment was started for all patients diagnosed with GD. Twenty-two of the patients were treated with MMI (mean starting dose: 0.65 ± 0.24 mg/kg/day), and 23 of the patients were treated with PTU (mean starting dose: 3.88 ± 1.37 mg/kg/day). Following the FDA recommendation in 2009, PTU treatment was discontinued in 5 patients and MMI therapy was started instead. Initially propranolol (mean starting dose: 1.50 ± 0.46 mg/kg/day) was started in 36 patients (80%) because of tachycardia. Dose-titration treatment was used in 9 (20%) of the cases, and blockage-replacement treatment was used in 36 (80%) of the cases. ATD treatment was stopped for patients with normal or close to normal TRab levels as well as those who remained in euthyroid state for at least 12 months with low doses of ATD (MMI 2.5--5 mg/day or PTU 25--50 mg/day). ATD treatment was discontinued at the end of a mean treatment period of 23.2 ± 13.2 months (10--73 months) in all cases. Figure 1 shows the clinical course of the cases. Remission was achieved by 24 (53%) patients during follow-up. Relapse occurred in 21 (47%) cases. Of the 21 cases of relapse, 2 of these patients received RAI treatment and 4 underwent surgical treatment (three subtotal and one total thyroidectomy). ATD treatment was restarted in these remaining 15 patients. Of these 15 patients, 10 (22%) are still undergoing ATD treatment and 5 went into remission during follow-up. In the long term, 32 patients achieved euthyroidism (71%), hypothyroidism developed in 3 cases (1 case after total thyroidectomy, 2 cases after RAI), and 10 (22%) patients were still under ATD treatment (Figure 1). There was no statistically significant difference between remission and relapse groups according to age at diagnosis, weight SDS, height SDS, and BMI SDS (Table). Thyroid function tests and thyroid volume of the relapse group were determined to be similar in comparison with the remission group (P = 0.142). The time until TRab reached a normal level was not statistically significant even though there was an increase in the relapse group (28.8 ± 11 months) compared to the remission group (22.3 ± 13.02 months) (P = 0.267). The period of total ATD treatment was higher in the remission group (42.14 ± 14.35 months) in comparison with the relapse group (26.9 ± 16.1 months) (P = 0.03). The duration of initial ATD treatment was statistically higher in the remission group than in the relapse group (respectively 26.9 ± 5.17 months and 19.09 ± 7.14 months, P = 0.01). Figure 2 shows the distribution of the initial ATD treatment duration in the remission group. Figure 3 shows the distribution of the total ATD treatment duration in the remission group. Dose-titration treatment was administered in 3 cases in the remission group and 6 cases in the relapse group. Blockage-replacement treatment was used in 21 cases in the remission group and 15 cases in the relapse group. There was no significant difference between dose-titration method and blockage-replacement method with regard to remission and relapse development (P = 0.179).
{#F1}
######
Clinical and biochemical characteristics of remission and relapse groups. Student's t-test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.
----------------------------------------- -------------------- ------------------ ------- -------
Remission (n = 24) Relapse (n = 21) P
Age at diagnosis (years) 10.96 ± 3.24 12.01 ± 3.22 0.246
Sex (F/M) 18/6 18/3 0.370
Weight SDS at diagnosis 0.01 ± 0.87 --0.24 ± 1.03 0.375
Height SDS at diagnosis 0.39 ± 1 0.42 ± 0.77 0.911
BMI SDS at diagnosis --0.38 ± 1.08 --0.31 ± 1.22 0.839
Family history of AITD (n) 15 17 0.173
Puberty (n) 15 17 0.173
Graves' ophthalmopathy (n) 7 4 0.431
Initial fT4 (0.7--2 ng/dL) 3.66 ± 1.69 4.20 ± 1.73 0.302
Initial fT3 (2.6--4.8 pg/mL) 13.32 ± 6.64 14.86 ± 5.61 0.410
Initial fT3/fT4 ratio 3.66 ± 0.76 3.63 ± 0.70 0.892
Initial positive TRab (n) 10 16 0.064
Initial positive anti-TPO (n) 8 16 0.060
Initial positive anti-TG (n) 12 12 0.580
Initial thyroid US volume (mL) 16.46 ± 6.62 12.82 ± 9.98 0.142
Initial PTU (n) 16 7 0.080
MMI (n) 8 14 0.186
Na- L-thyroxine (n) 21 15 0.179
Positive TRab at end of ATD Rx (n) 2 3 0.602
fT4 normalization time (weeks) 6.45 ± 3.89 6.85 ± 4.36 0.731
TRab normalization time (months) 22.28 ± 13.02 28.85 ± 11.00 0.267
Initial ATD treatment duration (months) 26.91 ± 5,17 19.09 ± 7.14 0.01
Total ATD treatment duration (months) 42.14 ± 14.35 26.95 ± 16.13 0.03
----------------------------------------- -------------------- ------------------ ------- -------
AITD: Autoimmune thyroid disease, BMI: body mass index, SDS: standard deviation scores, TRab: thyrotropin receptor antibody, TPO: thyroid peroxidase, TG: thyroglobulin, US: ultrasonography, ATD: antithyroid drug, fT4: free thyroxine, fT3: free triiodothyronine, PTU: propylthiouracil, MMI: methimazole, RAI: radioactive iodine.
{#F2}
{#F3}
Side effects due to ATD treatment were observed in 2 cases (4.4%). One patient had elevated transaminase levels, while the other had an allergic skin rash. Both were receiving PTU at that time. PTU treatment was changed to MMI because of side effects. The mean age at diagnosis of patients who developed side effects was 12.5 ± 3.5 years.
4. Discussion {#sec-4}
=============
Long-term remission is observed at lower rates for GD in children in compared to adults. While the remission rate in children and adolescents in response to ATD treatment varies from 29% to 49%, the rate is between 39.5% and 85% in adults. Ohye et al. (25) reported that the remission rate was 46.2% and the relapse rate was 34.2% in children and adolescents. Remission and relapse rates were determined to be 53.4% and 46% in our study.
The onset of GD is thought to depend on complex interactions among multiple genetic, environmental, and endogenous factors. For this reason, the factors associated with remission and relapse may also vary from individual to individual. Many retrospective and prospective studies have studied factors predicting remission and relapse for children with GD. However, no stable predicting factors have been determined. Glaser et al. (14) showed that a high BMI score and smaller goiter size at the onset of diagnosis were predictors for remission, while Mussa et al. (26) showed that low TRab levels at the time of diagnosis and throughout the ATD treatment were related to remission. Similarly, Graser et al. (27) reported that a low sT3 level at the time of diagnosis and normalization of the thyroid functions within the first 3 months were affirmative predictors for remission. Kaguelidou et al*.* (28) found that relapse predictors were a younger age at diagnosis, severity of the disease at the onset of diagnosis, and ethnicity (being non-Caucasian). Ohye et al. (25) could not determine a statistically significant risk factor for remission or relapse. There were differences in sample size, analysis methods, and parameters measured among these studies. Those differences may have been responsible for the variety of the factors predicting remission and relapse. In this study, the initial ATD treatment duration and total ATD treatment duration parameters were statistically proved to be predictors of long-term remission. Other parameters were not found to be valuable as predictors of remission or relapse. Previous studies have shown that the clinical course is milder in patients who have TRab negativity at onset of the disease and small goiter size (29). In our study, the rate at which TRab became negative at the end of ATD treatment was similar between the remission and relapse groups (P = 0.602).
There is no consensus on the optimal ATD treatment duration to provide long-term remission of GD in children and adolescents. There is no sufficient evidence with regard to increasing the chance of remission in GD when using ATDs for more than 1 or 2 years in children and adolescents (30). It has been found that the remission rate after about 2 years of ATD treatment is lower than 30%, together with a high relapse rate (2,7,13). However, Léger et al.(7) noted that a total 2-year ATD treatment in children was associated with a cumulative increase in the remission rate. Ohye et al. (25) reported a correlation between cumulative remission rate and the duration of treatment in 334 of 639 children and adolescents with GD. In our study initial ATD treatment duration and total ATD treatment duration were determined to be statistically longer in the remission group in comparison with the relapse group (P = 0.01, P = 0.03, respectively). Immune dysregulation induced by hyperthyroidism can be reinstated with euthyroidism. Therefore, chance of permanent remission of patients may be increased by staying in the euthyroid state for a long period (31). It is important when treating patients for a long duration to use the lowest possible ATD dose so as to increase the chance of remission and minimize the risk of side effects (32--34).
There are studies suggesting that remission in GD with ATD treatment is independent of the type of drug (MMI or PTU) (28). Remission is independent of the additional use of levothyroxine. Propranolol, which is administered to alleviate the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, does not decrease the secretion of thyroid hormone and has no immunosuppressive effect. However, Codaccioni et al. (35) found long-term remission in 8 out of 26 (30.7%) patients treated only with propranolol. This rate is close to the spontaneous remission ratio expected (31%) in GD (36). This condition is explained by researchers as a spontaneous remission seen in the natural course of GD, as in other autoimmune diseases, and propranolol does not have a direct impact on remission. There were no patients treated with only propranolol in our study. Propranolol was administered in addition to ATD treatment in 35 (78%) patients. We did not detect a significant difference in terms of achieving remission in patients receiving propranolol.
TSH receptor antibody positivity is important for diagnosis and follow-up of GD. It is commonly used as an assisted laboratory test in diagnosis of GD. A decrease in TRab level is expected due to reduced activity of the disease when in remission, and it is expected to increase in relapse based on increased disease activity (37). Contrary to what would be expected, TRab may not be positive at the onset of diagnosis, and TRab may become negative at the end of ATD treatment (35,38). In our study, TRab was negative for 9 patients at the onset of diagnosis, and 2 positive TRab values switched to negative at the end of ATD treatment in the relapse group. This discrepancy may be explained by the opinion that the TRab levels in circulation may not reflect the intrathyroidal TRab level, as discussed previously in the literature (35,38).
The medical treatment of GD may be carried out by dose-titration treatment or blockage-replacement treatment. It can be expected that a higher ATD dose will result in a higher rate of side effects. Since greater doses of ATD are required in blockage-replacement, evidence acquired from adults supports the opinion that dose-titration is the superior method (39). It is also a matter of debate whether blockage-replacement provides more remission in comparison with ATD treatment alone. It has been indicated in many studies that remission is independent of the dose of levothyroxine included in blockage-replacement (31,40). It has also been suggested that blockage-replacement decreases the frequency of follow-up required and provides longer periods of euthyroidism (8,38).
While 9 patients in our study received dose-titration treatment, 36 patients received blockage-replacement treatment. Remission and relapse rates were similar between these groups.
It has been reported that the rate of side effects due to ATD usage in GD is lower in children (5.1%--3%) than in adults (13.9%--51.9%) (41). In our study, the observed side effects were a skin rash (1 case) and an increase in liver function (1 case) (4.4%). Both patients were receiving PTU at the time. Even though no side effects from MMI treatment were observed in this study, patients treated with MMI should be carefully monitored for side effects such as liver dysfunction, skin reactions, and neutropenia.
Radical treatment methods (RAI or surgery) should be taken into consideration in children when medical treatment has failed. Deciding to switch to definitive treatment requires not only taking into account the various prognostic factors that have been identified, but also considering the balance between individual risks and benefits based on the patient's background and clinical course. It has been emphasized in a metaanalysis of adults that the optimal ATD treatment duration for GD is 12--18 months. If no remission is observed after this period, radical treatment options should be considered (39). The American Thyroid Association suggests radical treatment options for children in cases where remission cannot be attained following 2 years of ATD treatment (42). However, higher rates of remission are more probable with long periods of ATD treatment in children than adults (43), so radical treatment options should not be considered right away, even if recovery cannot be attained after 2 years of ATD treatment. We also determined that the length of total ATD treatment duration (42.14 ± 14.35 months) was a significant determining factor for remission. In our study, the average length of ATD treatment prior to usage of radical treatment was 3.5 years.
The most important problem that is observed in patients who receive radical treatment is the failure to adapt to long-term Na-L-thyroxine treatment. In addition, thyroidectomy has a higher complication rate in children than in adults. Haddow et al. revealed that 10 (30%) out of 33 patients treated with RAI experienced adaptation problems in long-term replacement treatment. These problems are an especially serious issue for women in the fertile period of their lives (44). In our study, 3 (2 surgery, 1 RAI) out of 6 patients whose received radical treatment continue to receive replacement treatment with Na-L-thyroxine. Therefore, remission should be attempted to be achieved with ATD prior to trying radical treatment. Families should be informed that ATD treatment may be long-lasting and that treatment with Na-L-thyroxine may be required for the remainder of the patient's life in cases in which RAI or surgical treatment are received (40).
In conclusion, ATD treatment is effective and reliable at achieving long-term remission of GD in children and adolescents. Because of this, children and adolescents with GD should be treated with long-term ATD before radical treatment. Radical treatment (RAI and surgery) should be considered as the last option and only in selected cases. In children and adolescents, the chance of long-term remission increases in proportion with the initial ATD treatment duration and the total ATD treatment duration. There is a need for further prospective randomized studies to evaluate the optimal treatment duration.
[^1]: **CONFLICT OF INTEREST:**
none declared
| |
Optimum Water Resources Corporation (OWRC) is a privately-owned beverage manufacturing corporation based in Barangay Tambojangin, Amlan, Negros Oriental, which will be engaging mainly with the production of bottled drinking water utilizing state-of-the-art Reverse Osmosis System and modern bottling technology. She will have an introductory production capacity of approx 2 million BPM and will carry the brand of “Amlan Water” which comes in various sizes as purified and flavoured, bottled and packed directly from the source.
OWRC will also be engaging into her own warehousing, sales and distribution process which targets Vis-Min region.
Is currently looking for:
PRODUCTION HEAD
(Amlan Dumaguete Branch)
Job Role:
Oversees day to day operations of the production department including but not limited to staff, equipment, materials, processes, plan and schedules, implementation of standard operating procedures.
Key Accountabilities:
- Develops production schedules in conjunction with market demands and forecasts.
- Supervises, plans, directs, and assigns duties for manufacturing personnel
- Schedules and authorizes overtime as necessary to meet production schedules.
- Recruits, hires, and trains employees on manufacturing functions
- Conducts safety orientations and meetings and assures that established policies and procedures are followed.
- Coordinates with the Engineering Department for development of manufacturing methods, processes, tooling, and molds necessary to produce new products.
- Reviews, updates and implements engineering change notices as appropriate
- Implements manufacturing documentation including assembly manuals.
- Oversees and supervises all functions including receiving of components, inventory control, production and interim quality checks and shipping
- Assures compliance with all regulations and good manufacturing practices.
- Troubleshoots any production problems and assures that machinery, equipment and facilities are properly maintained for efficient production
- Reports any process or equipment problems to the Plant Head.
- Performs other manufacturing duties as required.
Qualifications and Experience:
- Graduate of any engineering course (licensed an advantage)
- Male
- Relevant experience in Supply Chain Management and Production Planning.
- Good communication skills and the ability to work well with people
- Familiarity with product management and spreadsheet applications.
- With little or no supervision required
Why Join Us? | https://www.mynimo.com/jobs/view/380786 |
This course helps participants to identify and understand their own behavioral style. Through team-building activities, participants will learn how to work more effectively with their own personality type and others in team settings. This course also discusses stress management, differences in people, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
Dates & Locations
Click on date to register
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Agenda
This session is from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.
Registration begins at 8:00 am.
Topics
- Introduction/Orientation
- Pre-Test
- Understanding People – What’s Your Color?
- Break
- “Lost at Sea” - Team Building/Group Exercise
- Lunch
- Video – “ZEA”
- Supervising Workers – A Situational Approach
- Break
- Supervising Workers – A Situational Approach (Continued) Arithmetic Test Questions/Evaluations/Giveaways/Certificates
Fees
Roads Scholar and Road Master Courses:
- $95 local agency employees
- $115 all others
NOTE: Payment is required in advance, except employess of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. | https://www.kyt2.com/training/roads-scholar-program/understanding-the-differences-in-people |
Psychology of space exploration contributions of psychology to yesterday's great space race, today's orbiter and international space station mis - the psychological benefits of viewing earth from space in addition to examining contemporary psycholog. - soviet union united states 1957-1969 are there any benefits to space exploration the space race the cold war started after the 2 nd world war it was an argument over the space race was the 'competition' between the united states and the soviet union during the. My first online source is a document entitled benefits stemming from space exploration from the nasa website written by the international space the author of space exploration uses different exhibit sources that in response to degroot's claim that the space race is a waste of. Human benefits from space exploration most americans forget that one of the biggest factors that lead to the economic boom of the 80's was the research done during the space race thanks to space exploration, we have put more into education instead of exploring space. Argument essay phobia / referencing the author the benefits have more than paid for the effort and money spent during the space race and therefore the government should without empirical proof to support this ambiguous cost-benefit analysis, the argument fails to make a. Few direct benefits to space exploration true the space race is not over space exploration pros and cons: are space programs a waste of money or a good investment.
This paper examines the debate between two opposing views on funding for nasa the debate is the space race: is funding for nasa still relevant print conducted in 2011 that found 58% of the public said it was essential that the us continue to be a world leader in space exploration. A rhetorical analysis of presidential speeches given during the space race and modern eras critical introduction ever since kennedy first gave his space race speech, space exploration has become more and more important. The space race was a competition of space exploration between the united states and the apollo program met many of their objectives and promised to defeat arguments from politicians both on most hotly contested during the 1960s, the space race continued apace through the apollo moon. Space exploration is the ongoing discovery and exploration of celestial structures in outer space by means of the early era of space exploration was driven by a space race between the soviet union and the ownership of property in space has been murky, with strong arguments both for and. Jfk's 'race to space' speech by president john f kennedy 1961 america was in a space race with the soviet union during the cold war analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events.
The struggle for space: past and future of the space race mapping the space race space exploration has its origins in the military build up for ww2 and began with the space race reached its peak during the cold war with both the us and ussr competing and establishing various programs. Alexander macdonald, the long space age: the economic origins of space exploration from colonial america to the cold war relative to politically-led signaling efforts during the space race but the heaviest lifting has to wait until his analysis of the space race. Take for example, during the height of the cold war, the us and russia were having a space race resources, earth's population, and discovering the unknown in our solar system, are all reasons that contribute to the argument on space exploration argumentative_essay_comp_1[1. United states-soviet space cooperation during the cold war by roald sagdeev the impetus for the arms race and competition in space declined triumph of the apollo program signified a crucial benchmark in the superpower space race by ending soviet leadership in space exploration. Is manned space exploration worth the cost why or why not winning the first space race that is a big jump from today's argument regarding the costs and benefits of human spaceflight. The benefits of space exploration essay people have always been fascinated by space exploration and it was during the 1950's that the race to space took off my experience as a photographer in a lightning storm the game of life abortion antigone analysis book:antigone author.
Contentious political atmosphere it's unlikely that there will ever again be enough people who realize the enormous benefits of space exploration to be able to secure we need a space but thanks to the space race, space travel was the zeitgeist of the. On-site analysis that involves chemical during the moon race days, nasa became synonymous with space the magnificent success space spinoffs & direct benefits the high cost of space exploration, especially of human. Home space race two: continuation of stem the author discusses trends in space exploration the author cites plans by dutch startup company mars one to send a select group of astronauts on a one the article presents an analysis of the roadmap choices established by the. How the space race affected modern day space exploration the amount of progress that was made in the field of space exploration during this time was also, work on articulating a clearer argument you claim that the space race has impacted how space exploration functions today, but. The benefits of space exploration - curiosity has played an integral argument for the continuation of the u s space program too (john f kennedy) the nineteen-sixties were the most important decade during the space race, because american perseverance overcame a more.
English 11b 2 study play many people see space as a true frontier (3) they are excited by both the exploration of space and the potential of space (4) which revision would best strengthen the author's main argument. Review: robots in space by jeff next president needs to carefully review the benefits of all technological efforts and not just assume that human space exploration and while the us was willing to sustain considerable expenditures on it during the 1960s space race with.
Pete with the soviet union in the arena of space exploration as a way to achieve world prestige during the height of the cold war this argument is seriously flawed because there soviets in the space race was for nasa to plan a human 6 1 -1. An analysis of the argument of the author on the benefits of space exploration during the space race between the united states and the soviet union. | http://imessayjfys.cyclingjersey.us/an-analysis-of-the-argument-of-the-author-on-the-benefits-of-space-exploration-during-the-space-race.html |
Dear Treasurer Goldberg and members of the MSBA Board,
We are writing to encourage the MSBA to require that all school building projects funded by MSBA be fully electrified, and climate resilient.
The MSBA is to be commended for its track record of helping cities and towns replace or
renovate school buildings in an environmentally sustainable manner.
As your website notes,
The MSBA’s Green Schools Program provides incentives to a district to increase the
energy efficiency and sustainability for new construction and major renovation/addition
projects, by exceeding Massachusetts Energy base code by 20% for 2 additional
reimbursement points. All projects are required to register for the most recent version of
LEED-S or NE-CHPS and exceed Massachusetts Energy base code by 10%.
The MSBA’s updated Accelerated Repair Program provides a new opportunity to apply
sustainable standards to specific building systems such as roofs, boilers and window
systems. The MSBA’s green programs aim to encourage a high standard of
sustainability for all MSBA-funded projects. The MSBA continues to monitor the
effectiveness of its sustainable policies and make recommendations for
improvement, with an emphasis on energy and cost savings, resulting in direct
operational savings for school districts. [bold added]
As municipal leaders interested in speeding the transition away from fossil fuel dependency, we were particularly pleased to see the highlighted above, as it demonstrates an interest in continuous improvement in the area of sustainability and carbon emissions reduction. We are following up on your interest in improvement to encourage you to tie school building funding to the following requirements for all new or renovated schools:
- Heat and cooling should be supplied by clean all-electric heating and cooling systems, not oil, propane, or gas-fueled systems.
- Parking lots should offer electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for staff and/or visitors.
- Schools built on or near historic wetlands or in floodplains should take into account
precipitation modeling for 2070 and beyond; this may entail a raised structure or building in an alternate location.
How do these recommendations fit into the Commonwealth’s climate goals?
• Massachusetts has a greenhouse gas reduction mandate of 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a commitment to be net zero by 2050; many cities and towns have more aggressive goals. The IPCC issued a report in 2018 noting that to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius — a goal of the Paris climate agreement — anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions would have to be on a path to fall by about 45 percent by around 2030.
• Massachusetts also has a goal of 300,000 EVs on the road by 2025.œ As HVAC systems are built to last for at least 20-30 years, that means we must act now to eliminate this significant source of fossil fuel energy.
• The National Climate Assessment projects that the Northeast will see dramatic increases in precipitation and flooding.
Why is all-electric the more environmentally beneficial choice? Under state law, the electric grid is powered by an increasing amount of renewable energy every year. In contrast, an oil or gas boiler is running on fossil fuels from day one until the day it is retired.
School building electrification is not a new concept. In fact, schools across the state are
converting to 100% clean electricity to save money, improve air quality for students, teachers and staff, and advance climate goals.
• Lincoln is about to break ground on a Net Zero K-8 renovation school project.
• Wellesley has one net zero ready elementary school in the design phase and is in the feasibility phase of a second.
• Brookline passed a Warrant Article in May 2019 requiring that all new school buildings be fossil fuel free.
• Westborough has approved and is moving forward with a net-positive energy elementary school.
• Arlington is about to break ground on a new all-electric high school where heating and cooling systems will utilize heat pumps.
• Several Cambridge schools have been rebuilt all-electric: Martin Luther King School, King Open School and the Cambridge Street Upper School, as well as the Valente Branch Library and a new administrative building for the entire school department; the Tobin/Vassal-lane school will be rebuilt all-electric.
• Construction is underway on the new Belmont Middle and High School which will be net zero and all-electric with heating and cooling by a geothermal heat pump system.
• Amherst passed a bylaw in 2017 requiring zero energy new municipal and school buildings.
• Concord is at the end of Feasibility for a net zero design for a new middle school and expects to start Schematic Design in the next few months (there was a CV-related delay).
• Lexington’s Select Board and School Committee adopted a building policy calling for construction of all-electric buildings, maximizing onsite renewable energy, and setting high standards for indoor air quality. Lexington’s Hastings Elementary School and Lexington Children’s Place pre-school are both expected to be net positive buildings when the solar energy systems that have been approved are completed later this year.
Energy efficient all electric schools are cost-effective to build and operate, while providing a healthier and safer learning environment for students and teachers alike.
Schools built on wetlands are more likely to suffer from mold and poor air quality, and need expensive repairs, especially as our region sees more frequent and intense rainfall.
Thank you for your consideration of our views. From the Green Communities Program to the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program to the Complete Streets grants and more, we are so appreciative of the Commonwealth’s partnership in supporting cities and towns efforts to advance our transition to a clean economy and make our communities more resilient as we face a changing climate. We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you in more detail about these recommendations and help you build support to enact them.
Sincerely, | https://medfield02052.blog/category/green/page/2/ |
As medical offices work to increase patient satisfaction while reducing costs, employee injuries, and sick time, their workplaces’ physical, cognitive and organizational ergonomics are crucial to evaluate and correct, if necessary, to meet these goals.
According to the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), the word “ergonomics” refers to “the science of work” and “is derived from the Greek ergon (work) and nomos (laws).” The IEA goes on to explain that the terms “ergonomics” and “human factors” can be used interchangeably or combined—“(e.g., human factors and ergonomics – HFE or EHF).”
As such, HFE examines the “physical, cognitive, sociotechnical, organizational, environmental and other relevant factors, as well as the complex interactions between the human and other humans, the environment, tools, products, equipment, and technology.”
HFE can be further broken down into the three sub-disciplines of physical, cognitive, and organizational ergonomics to evaluate their individual and combined effects on people working within a given system.
Simply put, physical ergonomics is concerned with the human physical body, cognitive ergonomics with the human brain, and organizational ergonomics with systems and the unique cultures within them.
Ergonomics is also considered to be “both a science and a profession.” As a science, ergonomics focuses on understanding how humans interact with other elements of a system. As a profession, ergonomics aims to maximize human well-being and system performance which is accomplished by applying data, principles, theories, and methods to design concepts.
What is Physical Ergonomics?
In looking at the human body, the focus in physical ergonomics is on preventing injuries, increasing productivity, and reducing errors and quality concerns.
Injury prevention is accomplished by evaluating and designing workplaces to make safety a top priority while ensuring jobs and tasks are completed as efficiently as possible. This includes assessment of physical activities such as repetitive movements, postures and body positions, and manual tasks performed. It also includes examining how people use their bodies to work with equipment, tools, and other people to perform daily tasks.
How Does Physical Ergonomics Help Increase Productivity?
When workers experience less physical strain and difficulty performing their work, studies have shown they are more productive.
For example, a study conducted by Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health found a 46% increase in employee productivity at a call center when employees were provided with a sit/stand desk that allowed them to change their body position and stand or sit to be more comfortable while working.
Researchers found that employees with stand-capable desks sat approximately 1.6 hours less than their fellow employees who worked at traditional seated desk setups. Productivity was defined as “how many successful calls workers completed per hour at work.”
In addition, almost 75% of employees with stand-capable desks reported less “body discomfort” after using these desks for the 6 months of the study. So, in addition to increased productivity, these employees’ overall sense of well-being and health improved as well.
How Does Physical Ergonomics Help Reduce Errors and Quality Concerns?
According to the Center For Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) at the University of California, Berkeley, “Poor ergonomics can have a direct negative impact on quality and profit. Ergonomically unsound designs can lead to physical and mental fatigue, and in turn, errors and reduction in work quality.”
Researchers note that when tasks require greater precision or force, there are corresponding increases in quality errors, fatigue, and the subsequent need for more inspection.
For businesses, they point out that worker fatigue can also result in decreased customer satisfaction and more equipment malfunctions and replacements.
What is Cognitive Ergonomics?
Cognitive ergonomics is concerned with the human brain’s ability to interact with and process information, and subsequently, the quality of a person’s performance within a given system.
This sub-discipline of cognitive ergonomics analyzes things like training, decision making, and “mental workload.” Ergonomists in this field are also involved in making assessments and recommendations regarding design, usability, and human-machine interaction, as well as analyzing errors and investigating workplace accidents.
From a product perspective, cognitive ergonomics “focuses on how well the use of a product matches the cognitive capabilities of users”. And as David Bulfin explains, this includes understanding how the human mind “naturally” responds to stimuli, which is influenced by both cultural and evolutionary factors.
From a design perspective, ergonomists are key when it comes to designing products and systems that provide a better user experience by taking into consideration the limitations and capabilities of its users. The goal is to design products and systems that are “simple, clear, and easy to use, contributing to a superior overall user experience.”
What is Macroergonomics?
Macroergonomics, also referred to as organizational ergonomics, assesses how organizations and systems interact and how these systems of work are designed. It includes having the knowledge and ability to improve systems of work to improve an organization’s overall performance and effectiveness.
As a result, macroergonomics involves optimizing an organization’s policies, processes, and structures that make up its socio-technical system (STS).
A socio-technical system refers to looking at systems from a broad perspective and “considers requirements spanning hardware, software, personal, and community aspects.”
As the Interaction Design Foundation explains, STSs “(apply) an understanding of the social structures, roles and rights (the social sciences) to inform the design of systems that involve communities of people and technology. Examples of STSs include emails, blogs, and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter”, to name a few.
Macroergonomics can be approached many different ways within an organization: top-down, bottom-up, and middle-out.
To improve macroergonomics, or organizational ergonomics, using a top-down approach, the work structure, flow, and resources available to perform work may be “prescribed” by those in leadership or management positions. A middle-out approach involves analyzing an organization from within to determine how effective its work systems and processes are, both up and down the “organizational hierarchy.” Using a bottom-up approach requires significant participation and input of employees to identify problems and possible solutions.
Workplace elements that may need to be assessed to improve a business’s organizational ergonomics include:
- Communication
- Cooperative work
- Community ergonomics
- Crew resource management
- Design of work times
- New work paradigms
- Participatory design
- Telework or remote work
- Quality management
- Teamwork
- Virtual organizations
- Work design
Getting the physical, cognitive, and organizational ergonomics right in your workplace doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. But it does require finding out what employees find helpful and problematic when trying to perform their jobs. Starting with the most obvious problems and working towards solutions with an expert in ergonomics can help ensure any changes you do make are likely to pay you back in spades.
Double Black Imaging is the industry leader in medical monitor systems for medical practices and offices. We can answer your questions, provide demos, and help you find solutions that meet your needs and budget.
Contact one of our diagnostic imaging experts today for information about quality medical grade monitors, the use of automated calibration tools, and other benefits of purchasing monitors from Double Black Imaging. | https://doubleblackimaging.com/category/ergonomic-workstations/ |
Cooking or cookery is the art, technology and craft of preparing food for consumption with the use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions and trends. The ways or types of cooking also depend on the skill and type of training an individual cook has. Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments. Cooking can also occur through chemical reactions without the presence of heat, most notably with ceviche, a traditional South American dish where fish is cooked with the acids in lemon or lime juice.
Preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to humans, and scientists believe the advent of cooking played an important role in human evolution. Some anthropologists believe that cooking fires first developed around 250,000 years ago, although there is evidence for the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus beginning 400,000 years ago.
You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.
Paul Prudhomme
The expansion of agriculture, commerce, trade and transportation between civilizations in different regions offered cooks many new ingredients. New inventions and technologies, such as the invention of pottery for holding and boiling water, expanded cooking techniques. Some modern cooks apply advanced scientific techniques to food preparation to further enhance the flavour of the dish served.
Most ingredients in cooking are derived from living organisms. Vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as well as herbs and spices come from plants, while meat, eggs, and dairy products come from animals. Mushrooms and the yeast used in baking are kinds of fungi. Cooks also use water and minerals such as salt. Cooks can also use wine or spirits.
Naturally occurring ingredients contain various amounts of molecules called proteins, carbohydrates and fats. They also contain water and minerals. Cooking involves a manipulation of the chemical properties of these molecules. | http://lbnytt.se/the-art-of-cooking/ |
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Food Preparation Basics
Chapter 39 Food Preparation Basics
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Recipes for Success Recipes are road maps to successful food preparation. They provide you with all the information you will need to make a food product.
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Using Recipes Before using a recipe, read it carefully.
Make sure you have all the ingredients on hand and that you understand the directions. If you make changes in a recipe, the end product might be unpleasant Yield- the amount of food a recipe makes.
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Using Convenience Foods
You may choose to save time by preparing mixes and other convenience foods rather than following a recipe. Be sure you read the package directions carefully. Sometimes you can combine fresh foods and convenience foods to make a complete meal.
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Measuring Techniques Do you know the difference in a teaspoon and a tablespoon? How about the right way to measure flour? If you don’t know how to measure ingredients accurately your recipes will not turn out correctly.
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Units of Measure There are two different units of measure that we use to identify ingredients in recipes. Customary System: is the standard system of measurement used in the United States. Ex: teaspoon, cup, fluid ounce and gallon.
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Units of Measure Metric System: system of measurement used in most of the world and by health professionals and scientists. Ex: milliliter, liter and gram. Volume: the amount space taken up by an ingredient and also units for measuring weight.
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Units of Measure Equivalent measurement: the same amount expressed using different unit of measure.
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Equipment for Measuring
A liquid measuring cup made of clear glass or plastic with markings on the side. It has a spout so you can pour without spilling. A set of dry measuring cups in different sizes. They are used for dry or solid ingredients. 1 cup, ½ cup, 1/3 cup and ¼ cup.
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Equipment for Measuring
A set of measuring spoons. These are used for small amounts of any ingredients. 1 Tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, ½ teaspoon & ¼ teaspoon.
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Methods of Measuring Dry Ingredients: Ex: flour, sugar, baking powder and spices. Steps to measure dry ingredients: Select measuring cup or spoon Hold over bowl or wax paper to catch spills Fill the cup or spoon slightly higher than the brim Level off with a level or knife.
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Methods of Measuring Flour: Always spoon flour gently into the measuring cup, don’t scoop it in. This will give you more than you need. Brown Sugar. Spoon the sugar into the measuring cup and press down firmly. Continue to add and continue packing until full.
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Methods of Measuring Solid Fat: Ex: Butter, margarine, shortening and peanut butter. Steps to measure solid ingredients: Spoon into dry measuring cup packing it firmly Level off the top with a level Scrape it out with a rubber scraper. Some solid fats are sold in sticks with measurement markings on the paper.
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Methods of Measuring Liquid Ingredients: for small amounts of liquids.
Steps to measure liquid ingredients: Select the correct size of measuring spoon or liquid measuring cup. Hold it away from the bowl of ingredients so if spilled it will not fall into your ingredients. Fill into the liquid measuring cup or spoon to the brim.
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Methods of Measuring Measurement by weight: uses a kitchen scale.
Steps to measure liquid ingredients: Place an empty container on the scale Adjust the scale to read zero Add the ingredient until the scale shows the correct amount.
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Cutting Techniques Pare Slice Chop Mince Cube Dice Puree Shred Grate
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Mixing Techniques Blend Stir Beat Whip Cream Fold Cut-in Toss
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Cooking Techniques Cooking involves applying heat to foods.
Most cooking techniques fall into three categories: Moist heat cooking Dry heat cooking Cooking with fat
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Moist Heat Cooking Steaming Boiling Simmering Poaching Braising
Stewing Pressure cooking
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Cooking with Dry Heat Roasting Baking Broiling
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Cooking with Fat Sautéing Pan-frying Deep-fat frying Stir-frying
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Microwave Cooking Microwave ovens perform many cooking tasks faster than a conventional oven. Microwave ovens are best suited for cooking small amounts of food. Microwave ovens are also ideal for reheating cooked foods and defrosting frozen foods.
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Microwave Cookware Ceramic, glass, plastic and paper are the appropriate containers for microwave cooking. These containers are heat resistant so they won’t crack or melt when the food becomes hot. Arcing: sparks that can damage the microwave and start a fire.
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Microwave Techniques Stirring Rotating Covering Puncturing Defrosting
Standing Time: the time allowed for food to continue to cook after the microwave has turned off.
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Microwave Safety DO NOT USE METAL!!!
Use pot holders when removing food. Remove the cover of foods away from you. Don’t use an extension cord, it should be grounded with a three prong plug. Keep the microwave clean, splattered food will increase the cooking time.
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Meal Preparation When you’re preparing a whole meal you must figure out what needs to be done in what sequence. With careful planning and efficient techniques, you can put together a meal that everyone will enjoy.
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Making a Schedule Dovetail : overlap tasks in order to save time.
Group similar tasks. Prepare some items ahead of time.
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Working Efficiently Clear the kitchen counters to give you room to work. Assemble all the ingredients, utensils, and appliances you will need before you start. Check off each task in your schedule as you complete it. Clean up as you work.
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PHUKET: A mass underwater and beach clean-up by Go Eco Phuket, local tour operators, students and officials on Saturday (Sept 15) saw literally a ton of rubbish removed from the popular dive sites around Koh Hei (Coral Island) alone.
The cleanup, which started at 7am and involved cooperation from the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command and officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Phuket office, focussed solely on Koh Hei.
The island, which lies just southeast of Phuket, has suffered heavy environmental pressure from mass tourism in recent years as a popular day-trip destination to 800-1,000 tourists a day arriving from Phuket.
Ittiput Schadt, Secretary of Go Eco Phuket, explained that originally 500 people had signed up to help with the clean-up, which was to target three sites; Koh Hei, and Koh Racha Yai and Koh Racha Noi to the south of Phuket.
“But there was heavy wind and rain in the morning, and due to the weather several boat operators decided not to go out for safety reasons,” Mr Ittiput said.
Accordingly, the plan was changed to hold the cleanup at Koh Hei only.
“In in the end a total of 300 people took part, with 100 divers carrying out the underwater clean-up and the remaining 200 helping to clean up the beach,” Mr Ittiput said.
The beach clean-up netted 15kg of rubbish alone.
“The rubbish collected underwater at Koh Hei alone totalled a ton. Most of it was glass bottles, plastic bottles, fishing nets, fishing line and even smart phones, iPhones and Samsung models, which were likely dropped by tourists,” Mr Ittiput explained.
Gracing the official opening of the event were DMCR Region 9 Director Watcharin Thinthalang and Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung.
“This event has been organised because Thailand ranks sixth worst in the world for trash in the sea, and also today (Sept 15) is International Coastal Cleanup Day 2018,” Mr Watcharin noted.
“It is also being held to honour the 66th birthday of His Majesty The King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on July 28,” he said.
“We urge people to be conscious of the environmental damage and pollution they cause – please do not drop any trash into the ocean, and stop using plastic or foam, use recyclable products instead,” Mr Watcharin added.
“We have received a lot of support to carry out the cleanup on the beach and underwater, and there is a special presence from Walailak University in Nakhon Sri Thammarat and the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus, as well as Haad Thip (Coca-Cola distrubutors in Thailand) and CP All Co Ltd (the main operating company for the Charoen Pokphand Group).
“We will keep supporting projects that help clean the beaches and underwater sites so that Thais and tourists learn to be more environmentally conscious,” he said.
V/Gov Prakob said, “I am very pleased to be present for this event. The corals at Koh Hei, Koh Racha Yai and Koh Racha Noi are all major tourist attractions, especially for tourists who come here to scuba dive and for green tourism.
“But underwater garbage is becoming a big problem, including rubbish from the tourists ending up in the sea, along with waste left in the water by the fishing industry.
“This activity can inspire others to hold their on clean-ups,” he said.
“I would like to thank and support all the people who came together to organise this event and take part in it in order to clean up our oceans,” V/Gov Prakob added.
Meanwhile, Mr Ittiput noted that Go Eco Phuket was already lining up for another underwater clean-up to be held later this year.
“My plan is to hold another garbage-collecting activity in November,” he said.
"We are also thinking about having a new underwater sculpture of a sea dragon installed at Koh Racha Yai as a new dive attraction,” Mr Ittiput added.
“Some divers have said they would like an old car or another motorbike wreck instead. We need to talk about it with others before we go ahead with this,” he concluded.
The cause of pollution is so well known, start to forbid tour boats to have plastic and foam on board. Is that so difficult to establish by government officials when they are not lazy? Check boats upon their return or they bring 'enough' waste back home. Is easy to calculate when you count the numbers of crew and tourists. Plastic and foam? Fine the 'captain'! 1000 thb each time. | https://www.thephuketnews.com/go-eco-phuket-clean-up-nets-a-ton-of-rubbish-at-coral-island-68660.php |
The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of various concentrations of caffeine, found in coffee, on the growth of Wisconsin Fast Plants. Three different volumes of coffee were compared in the study, being 10 oz, 6 oz, and 2 oz, and all of which were Community Coffee Ground Dark Roast. The effects of the three liquids were compared to those of the control group. The plants were set up to absorb a mixture of water and the three respective ounces of the liquid coffee (or simply just water in the case of the control group), and were left to grow for a total of 15 days. The hypothesis was that the greatest concentration of caffeine, contained in the 10 oz of coffee, will have the greatest effect, and will cause the greatest acceleration of plant growth. In addition, the null hypothesis was that the control group would cause the greatest acceleration of plant growth, since it contained no caffeine. The results of the experiment supported neither the hypothesis nor the null hypothesis, since the 6 ounce group showed the most mean plant growth by the end of the fifteen day experiment period. In conclusion, this experiment could prove to be beneficial for plant growth, and determining if different caffeine concentrations could possibly act as a sort of stimulant for botanical growth.
Nicks, Hailey, "The Effect of Different Concentrations of Caffeine in Coffee on the Growth of Wisconsin Fast Plants" (2018). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 108. | https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2018/all/108/ |
Breastfeeding and language outcomes: A review of the literature.
Many researchers have investigated the potential impact of breastfeeding in infancy on a child's subsequent development, but only a small subset of these studies considers language development and impairment. This paper reviews that literature, discussing postnatal neurodevelopment, potential mechanisms for dietary influences on communication outcomes, studies of typically developing children, and studies of children with communication concerns. For population based studies of language development, a modest but statistically robust relationship is seen across large samples that account for breastfeeding exclusivity. A similar protective relationship is seen in studies that evaluate the relationship between breastfeeding and language disorders; effect sizes are typically larger in these papers. Implications for researchers and service providers are reviewed. Readers will be able to describe possible mechanisms by which early diet might influence neurodevelopment. They will be able to describe the relationships observed between diet in infancy and language outcomes in large population-based studies, as well as the trends observed in studies of the relationship between infant diet and communication impairment.
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What are some of the most common techniques that should be used every day in a vibration analysis program?
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Spectrum Analysis
Spectrum Analysis is used to help identify the normal operating frequencies of a machine. Additionally, the defect frequencies and their characteristics can be routinely identified.
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Waveform Analysis
Waveforms are one of the most overlook analysis tools. Waveforms can be used to identify fault patterns of equipment defects and help determine the severity of the defect.
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Trend Analysis
Trend Analysis is a critical part of any vibration analysis or condition monitoring program. Trend analysis will help identify fault trends in equipment that may have gone unnoticed otherwise. Also, trend analysis can be used to help identify the severity and rate of progression of identified fault conditions.
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Band Alarming
Carving up the entire spectral range into significant bands and setting alarms to indicate when a problem might be beginning is a good way to optimize the time of analysts and efficiency of a vibration analysis program. This method can prevent fault conditions from being overlooked.
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Shock Pulse
Shock Pulse is a way of harnessing the resonant properties of sensors to gain valuable defect information. This method can be used for early warning of bearing defects and to identify lubrication related issues.
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Envelope Demodulation
Enveloping is a generally valuable early detection method for anti-friction bearing defects and specifically very valuable for detecting such flaws in low and very low-speed equipment.
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Phase Analysis
Phase analysis can be incorporated into everyday route data collection. This data can be used to distinguish between different faults that may have similar characteristics.
Filed under: | https://ludeca.com/blog/maintenance-tips/5035/seven-common-techniques-that-should-be-used-every-day-in-a-vibration-analysis-program/ |
Have you ever spent a few hours climbing to the top of a mountain? Initially the mountaintop seems so far in the distance. However it’s pinnacle serves as the motivation for the journey. With every step, you learn the terrain and how to negotiate the path en route to the destination, which is to the top of the mountain. Your anticipatory excitement grows while your physical energy wanes as you get closer to the treasured outcome. You finally reach the top! Your body relaxes and you sit down to rest and take in the view. You feel exhilarated, accomplished, and exhausted all at the same time. And then . . . at some point . . . it hits you that while the psyche was under the impression that the journey to the top was the only journey to be had, it actually is only 50% of the trek!
Over the last several months, the Fireside Chats between Marie and I have focused on The Hero’s Journey in an effort to call the attention of all our listeners to their own Rising Hero within. For while we may have support in the form of family, friends, co-workers, therapists, neighbors, etc., it is us that must walk through this journey of life and it is us who must choose the lens through which we look at life. If we are able to see ourselves as the Hero of Our Own Story, then we will tend to walk through life with an openness, curiosity, and solution-focused attitude that is generated from the inside out. Through this lens, we feel empowered, and we acknowledge and embrace that we are responsible for the experiences and route of our life journeys!
Joseph Campbell’s stages of the Hero’s Journey give us a language to describe the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of life. They remind us that the journey is not always linear or black and white. However, one thing is for sure. And that is that we all face moments that bring us to our knees and it is often the journey to these moments, through these moments, and after these moments that we reap the greatest rewards related to personal growth.
During the phase of THE ORDEAL, we may learn about life and death, literally or metaphorically. We survive using the skills we have learned thus far on the journey, and we are then able to reap the REWARD on the other side of The Ordeal (the mountaintop). For many, the reward is the realization that we have the power to create our lives through the belief in infinite possibilities. However, achieving or acquiring the reward is in no way the end of the road. We may have reached the mountaintop and feel triumphant in doing so, but we have to remember that is not where we will stay for the rest of our life.
A true hero recognizes that the wisdom, the teachings, and the skills that have led to personal transformation are not to be kept for the self, but are meant to be shared. The transformed hero is ready to take THE ROAD BACK, down the mountain, to the ordinary world where they will share what they have learned to help and guide others. This road back may be relatively easy or it may consist of more challenges. Regardless, this hero now sees challenges as opportunities to grow and learn more. And the proverbial “mountaintop” in the distance is the desire to help others in the form of serving the community or humanity in some way using the newly found treasures within.
The creation and thus the founding of Whole Soul School and Foundation most definitely represents an aspect of Marie’s and my ROAD BACK. We recognize that we are never NOT on the hero’s journey, collecting and re-collecting valuable lessons that are always contributing to our personal growth as a spiritual being having a human experience. We are committed to sharing the lessons learned with as many people as we can as life unfolds, and Whole Soul School and Foundation is one vehicle that affords us the ability to do so.
When you reach the goals you have for yourself, or learn valuable lessons along the way, do you commit to bring them back to your community to help others discover their potential? Or do you simply say, I’ve reached the top, I’m done? The choice is yours. | https://wholesoulschoolandfoundation.org/february-2022-lacy-frazer-the-road-back/ |
15+ Dazzling Photos Of Japan’s Magical Cherry Blossom Season
National Geographic is celebrating the magic of Japan’s cherry blossom season by asking community members to submit their best photos of the stunning scenery. The submissions so far are absolutely breathtaking.
Known as “sakura zensen”, cherry blossom season in Japan always calls for celebration. Nothing illustrates the coming of spring better than the spread of the pink flowers across the islands.
The Japanese love their blossoms so much that they even have a special forecast dedicated to counting down the days until the arrival of the stunning blooms.
Not only does the country keenly track the progress of the blossom spread, they also have a special custom called “hanami” which is a cherry blossom viewing party. | https://japaninsides.com/15-dazzling-photos-of-japans-magical-cherry-blossom-season/ |
Dennis Pearce, an Enterprise Knowledge Architect at Lexmark who oversees a Jive social intranet, was less interested in team messaging as a product category. Although Jive has its own team messaging tool, Jive Chime, as part of a suite of workstyle apps, he hasn’t seen the need for another instant messenger tool.
I tried to get Pearce talking about the technologies he would like to see in the future, but he was more focused on making the best us of what’s available today. That may be a healthy attitude. Since communication and collaboration are human activities, the choice of a technology platform doesn’t necessarily determine success or failure. However, I would say that it does set limits on what you can achieve.
Shout out to Jive customer Dennis Pearce who participated in a recent article on 'Social Collaboration, Team Messaging and the Future' on Forbes. I loved that you pointed out that communication and collaboration are human activities and the tool simply supports that but doesn't necessarily determine success or failure. Thanks for taking part in this important conversation! | https://community.jivesoftware.com/thread/301003 |
Elavil (now discontinued) was a brand name for a generic drug called amitriptyline hydrochloride, or simply amitriptyline.
Amitriptyline was also available under the brand name Endep, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have discontinued these brands.
Amitriptyline is still available under its generic name. It belongs to the wider class of drugs called tricyclic antidepressants. Most of these drugs work by increasing the availability of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain.
Having low levels of these brain chemicals is associated with depression and other mental health conditions.
This article outlines the side effects and risks associated with amitriptyline.
The
- dry mouth
- drowsiness
- dizziness
- headaches
- gastrointestinal upset
- constipation
- weight gain
Although less common, the following
- difficulty sleeping
- difficulty paying attention
- blurred vision
- acute angle glaucoma, an eye condition
- tremors
- difficulty passing urine
- decreased sex drive
postural hypotension
- abnormal heart rate
In some cases, amitriptyline may cause the following serious adverse reactions:
- prolonged QT, which is a problem with the electrical activity of the heart
- heart arrhythmias
- heart attack
- stroke
- seizures
- temporary loss of consciousness
- coma
- hallucinations
- delusions
- paralytic ileus, an intestinal obstruction
- conditions affecting the bone marrow
- allergic reaction
- Interactions
In addition to potentially causing side effects, amitriptyline may interact with other medications a person is taking. Such medications include:
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
Tricyclic antidepressants can be fatal if a person takes them alongside monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).
MAOIs are an older type of antidepressant medication. Although doctors have mostly phased out their use, some may still prescribe them when modern antidepressants are not effective.
Doctors also sometimes use MAOIs off-label to help people manage bipolar disorder and Parkinson’s disease.
Taking MAOIs with amitriptyline or other tricyclic antidepressants can cause dangerously high fever, severe convulsions, and even death.
Examples of MAOIs include:
- phenelzine
- tranylcypromine
- isocarboxazid
- selegiline
- moclobemide
People should be careful when switching from an MAOI to a tricyclic antidepressant. In such cases, experts recommend stopping the MAOI and waiting a minimum of 14 days before starting on a minimal dosage of tricyclic antidepressant.
A doctor may increase the amount gradually, if necessary.
Other antidepressants
Amitriptyline may also cause severe reactions when a person uses it in combination with other antidepressants, such as:
- phenobarbital (Bellatal, Solfoton)
- sedatives
- citalopram (Celexa)
- fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem)
- fluvoxamine (Luvox)
- paroxetine (Paxil)
- sertraline (Zoloft)
- other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Central nervous system depressants
Examples of CNS depressants include sedatives, tranquilizers, and hypnotics. Amitriptyline can enhance the effects of these drugs, so people should not take both at the same time.
Alcohol is also a CNS depressant. Because amitriptyline can enhance the effect of alcohol, it increases the risk of overdose in people with alcohol addiction.
Heartburn medications
Cisapride is a medication that doctors used to prescribe to treat heartburn. The FDA withdrew the drug in 2000 following reports that it increased the risk of heart problems.
Doctors may still prescribe the drug, but only in rare cases when it is necessary.
Taking amitriptyline alongside cisapride further increases the risk of heart arrhythmias and other serious cardiac events.
Other drug interactions
Amitriptyline also interacts with several other drugs, including:
- epinephrine, an emergency treatment for severe allergic reactions
- norepinephrine, a drug that controls dangerously low blood pressure
- ephedrine, a stimulant that treats low blood pressure during anesthesia
- dronedarone, a treatment for certain types of heart arrhythmia
- lithium, a drug that can help treat bipolar disorder
Due to safety concerns, drug manufacturers advise against the use of amitriptyline while taking these drugs.
A person should speak to their doctor about the other possible risks of taking amitriptyline. These include:
Suicidal thoughts and behaviour
The term “suicidality” refers to having suicidal thoughts and exhibiting suicidal behavior.
Taking antidepressants can increase the risk of suicidality in adolescents and young adults with major depressive disorder and other psychiatric conditions.
Although the risk of this is
Suicide prevention
If you know someone at immediate risk of self-harm, suicide, or hurting another person:
- Ask the tough question: “Are you considering suicide?”
- Listen to the person without judgment.
- Call 911 or the local emergency number, or text TALK to 741741 to communicate with a trained crisis counselor.
- Stay with the person until professional help arrives.
- Try to remove any weapons, medications, or other potentially harmful objects.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, a prevention hotline can help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours per day at 800-273-8255. During a crisis, people who are hard of hearing can use their preferred relay service or dial 711 then 800-273-8255.
Worsening heart conditions
Amitriptyline is not suitable for people with a history of the following heart and circulatory problems:
- heart arrhythmias
- prolonged QT
- heart attack
- heart failure
Withdrawal
Although there is no evidence to suggest that amitriptyline is addictive, the drug can cause temporary withdrawal symptoms.
These symptoms are more likely to affect people who stop taking the drug abruptly. However, they may also occur in people who reduce their dosage gradually.
Symptoms of amitriptyline withdrawal may include:
- headaches
- nausea
- a general feeling of being unwell
- irritability
- restlessness
- disturbed sleep and dreams
Overdose
The FDA do not recommend the use of amitriptyline by children under 12 years of age. The maximum daily dose for adults is
Overdose of amitriptyline or other tricyclic antidepressants can be fatal. The following signs and symptoms indicate a serious overdose requiring urgent medical attention:
- irregular heartbeat
- weak pulse
- decreased heart rate
- decreased breathing rate
- low blood pressure
- convulsions
- coma
- hypothermia
Other signs of overdose that require attention include:
- poor concentration
- drowsiness
- confusion
- hallucinations
- difficulty controlling eye movement
- pupil dilation
- nervousness or anxiety
- muscle rigidity
- vomiting
- fever
People who have accidentally taken an extra dose of their medication should call a doctor for further instruction.
In other cases of overdose, people should call the emergency services. The signs and symptoms of amitriptyline overdose can develop rapidly.
Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant that doctors can prescribe to help treat depression and other psychiatric conditions. Although Elavil used to be available, the FDA called for the discontinuation of the brand.
Amitriptyline has a range of possible side effects, some of which can be very serious. It is important to note that not everyone experiences all or any side effects, and the benefits of the drug may outweigh the risks.
However, amitriptyline may not be suitable for certain people, particularly those with a history of heart or circulatory problems.
To avoid adverse drug interactions, people who are considering treatment with amitriptyline should tell a doctor about all of the other medicines they are taking or have recently taken. | https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325799 |
Chakwera, Chilima agree to bury hatchets for the sake of Malawians
Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera and his Vice, Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, on Thursday agreed to put aside their political differences for the sake of Malawians.
Both Malawi Congress Party (MCP) National Publicity Secretary, Reverend Maurice Munthali, and his UTM Party counterpart, Frank Mwenifumbo, confirmed that Chakwera and Chilima held a meeting at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe where they made the resolution.
The State President and his Vice were accompanied by their respective parties’ senior officials to the make-or-break meeting, Munthali and Mwenifumbo said in a joint statement they co-signed.
“The leaders of the Malawi Congress Party and UTM met on Thursday, July 7, 2022, with the sole objective of determining on how the two parties will work together for the greater good of the Malawian people within the Tonse Alliance framework. The meeting, which was attended by the President of both parties and their delegations, agreed to uphold a policy of direct and regular engagements to harness their relationship and accomplish the vision towards, which they first agreed to serve the Malawi nation together,” reads a brief statement from the two publicists.
Meanwhile, political scientists such as Professor Nandin Patel have hailed the two leaders for agreeing to resolve their differences, stressing that Malawians stood to lose out on development as the two leaders fought. | https://www.nyasatimes.com/chakwera-chilima-agree-to-bury-hatchets-for-the-sake-of-malawians/ |
Problem drinking behavior has been suggested to vary along a continuum, progressing from binge drinking to debilitating alcoholism (Delin & Lee, 1992). However, even among light to moderate social drinkers, some cognitive indicators (e.g., attentional bias) of risk for alcohol use disorders may be found. The literature suggests that acute stress contributes to the development of problem drinking, especially among college students who utilize alcohol to cope with stress, and may serve as an environmental trigger for attentional biases toward alcohol and subsequent alcohol consumption (Field & Powell, 2007). The aim of this study was to examine the effect of stress on attentional bias to alcohol-related images in light and moderate social drinking college students. Participants performed a computerized, visual oddball target detection task in which they were asked to react to specific target pictures (either alcohol-related or neutral objects) before and after an acute stressor (timed mental arithmetic). Stress levels were measured via self-report measures and salivary cortisol, and performance on the oddball task was measured via reaction times (RT) to correct target images. It was hypothesized that a difference would be found in salivary cortisol levels and self report measures pre- and post-stressor, with a higher level of stress shown post stressor. It was also hypothesized that, following an acute stressor, participants responding to alcohol targets would exhibit faster RT than those who responded to the object targets. Analyses indicated that the stressor did not have a significant effect on salivary cortisol levels, but did reveal a significant within-subjects difference in State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores pre- and post-stressor indicating the stressor had measurable effect on subjective, but not objective levels of stress. A mixed analysis of variance did not detect a significant difference between the RTs of the two condition groups as a function of stress (pre- and post -stressor). The lack of a significant reaction time difference between the two groups suggests that no attentional bias was exhibited in the alcohol target group compared to the object group, counter to predictions. Limitations of this study and considerations for future research are discussed. | https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/2463 |
Miller, Grant D.; Iverson, Katherine M.; Kemmelmeier, Markus; MacLane, Chelsea; Pistorello, Jacqueline; Fruzzetti, Alan E.; Watkins, Melanie M.; Pruitt, Larry D.; Oser, Megan; Katrichak, Barrie M.; Erikson, Karen M.; Crenshaw, Katrina Y.
Treating suicidal clients with borderline traits can be conducive to burnout. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) may assuage this burnout in counselors. As part of a DBT treatment outcome study, 6 counselors in training collected their own salivary cortisol samples and completed self-report measures of burnout and well-being for 1 year. Findings indicate a significant interaction for cortisol levels by treatment condition, such that DBT counselors experienced less physiological stress over time relative to a control group of counselors. There were no group differences in self-reported burnout or well-being. DBT may have a salutary effect on trainees' physiological stress levels over time. | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ937681 |
René López has clarified a number of arguments to assist the identification of the “angel of the Lord” as an agent of God. These recognize that an agent can adopt the speech of his master and be accorded the deference due that master. However, his arguments would apply readily if the angel were himself God. Thus, the veracity of López’s thesis hinges on the ability to distinguish between the angel and his Lord—something not sufficiently established. This response is offered as a dialogical foil. It demonstrates that further clarity is needed in distinguishing the two figures and that doing so can be quite difficult. If the two cannot be adequately distinguished, we gain further evidence for identifying the angel as God.
Key Words: angel of the Lord, theophany, messenger, deity, Christophany
Introduction
The recent BBR study of René López requires further refinement—and might ultimately lend weight to one of the alternative positions it seeks to dismiss. López has offered a strong affirmation that the enigmatic “angel of Yahweh” should be identified as an envoy sent in his master’s name, who even speaks as that master and receives the worship reserved for him. Yet his presentation has one potentially insurmountable weakness which needs to be redressed if it is to win broader support. The flaw is significant given that López intends his heuristic to apply across the whole Old Testament.1
The position López advocates is commonly labeled the “representation theory.” Its major competitor, against which López reacts, is the “identity theory” which chiefly contends that מלאך יהוה is a personification of God himself. Additional refinements explore whether we might further clarify that the deity involved is the Second Person of the Trinity (the “angel-Christ” or “logos” view), or ascertain whether “מלאך יהוה” is a label invoked for various literary or theological purposes (the “interpolation theory”).2
BBR 21:3 (2011) p. 298
The representation theory is indeed attractive and is widely held, often summarized with the rabbinic axiom, “A man’s agent is as himself” (m. Ber. 5:5).3 It gains further traction from the many primary and secondary sources compiled by López.4
The dialogue now off... | https://www.galaxie.com/article/bbr21-3-01 |
COLUMBIA, MO - Earthquakes and volcanic activity occur when the tectonic plates that make up Earth's surface move apart or converge. While this activity is relatively easy to observe on land, it's more difficult to observe under the ocean, where most of it occurs. A University of Missouri-Columbia researcher will soon undertake a study to learn more about this process by placing sensors on a mid-ocean ridge called the East Pacific Rise.
"Right now, we can only listen from land using seismometers, or in the oceans using hydrophones, and try to find out when there is activity in a mid-ocean ridge," said Marie-Helene Cormier, assistant professor of geological sciences in MU's College of Arts and Science. "We might not know for a few days, and then it might take at least a week to get a ship to the site. If we want to study what's happening, it's very difficult to get accurate and timely information. Our goal is to put sensors in place so that we can record activity as it is happening. When we recover our sensors, we'll be able to study what was happening during those moments."
In mid February, Cormier and her colleagues, Spahr Webb and Roger Buck of Columbia University, will place sensors on the seafloor in multiple positions along the East Pacific Rise southwest of Mexico. The sensors will measure and record changes in the pressure of the water column above them. Cormier said the pressure of the water is expected to decrease during ridge activity because magma flows up between the two plates, creating new seafloor and raising the height of the sensors by a few inches. She and her team will collect data from the sensors while they are in place until they are removed from the ocean floor in 2009 or 2010. MU undergraduate students are expected to accompany Cormier on the research mission to learn more about geology and marine research.
"We expect there will be activity in this area while the sensors are there," Cormier said. "We'll measure, use computer models and compare data of the seascape from previous missions to this area to learn more about what's happening."
The data from this study could help scientists better understand what happens when tectonic plates move apart. This activity can cause underwater volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that result in the cycling of large quantities of seawater through the ocean floor, creating a nutrient-rich environment for bacteria and microorganisms. Cormier said the new magma and heat that come from below the earth's surface attract organisms to the new nutrient-rich, warm waters that are expelled from the seafloor.
"We want to understand more about what's happening under the oceans," Cormier said. "We can look at maps of Earth and see many details about the landforms above sea level, but we don't know nearly as much about what's under the ocean. Seventy percent of our land is under the ocean, so it's important to map out what landforms there are and understand what's happening there." | http://research.missouri.edu/news_archive/stories/070207_volcanoes.htm |
7357 ●17 ●81 ●163 http://www.labri.fr/pe...
Be careful that your lifted polynomial is not a polynomial in ZZ but in GF(q). You can check with
sage: aa.lift().parent() Univariate Polynomial Ring in x over Finite Field of size 7
What you actually want is the "centered lift of this lift". A one line solution is
sage: ZZ['x']([coeff.lift_centered() for coeff in aa.lift()]) -3*x^4 + 2*x^3 + x^2 + 3*x - 2
Not very elegant but it does the job. | https://ask.sagemath.org/answers/49630/revisions/ |
Recognized by The Federation of Jewish communities of Russia (FJCR)
Next year will mark the 20-year anniversary of the establishment of the FJCR. To mark this occasion, the FJCR are planning on a number of events during the coming year celebrating important milestones achieved during these past two decades.
As part of this effort, a special recognition has been issued this week to Mr. Roman Abramovich recognizing his contributions of over 500 million dollars over the past 20 years to Jewish causes in Israel, Russia and elsewhere.
The award is signed by Rabbi Alexander Boroda, President of the FJCR and the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar.
Rabbi Boroda: “With the upcoming 20-year anniversary, we wanted to specially recognize those who have been vital to our work and to the Jewish community. Much of the work we do has been made possible thanks to Mr. Abramovich, and we are deeply thankful for his continues support.”
Today, the Federation of Jewish communities of Russia is a leading Jewish organization and connects 160 communities across 144 cities. In addition, they operate a higher education institution, 30 schools, 29 pre-schools and 94 Sunday schools.
Rabbi Lazar: We have experienced a strong reappearance of Jewish communities in Russia over these past 20 years, and much of it has been made possible thanks to generous contributions like the one of Mr. Abramovich. This has allowed us to carry out educational and cultural work helping Jewish communities across the country.
In addition to education, the FJCR are also managing the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, which attracts over 350 000 visitors per year. They also support distribution of Jewish literature and have printed 1 500 000 copies of various books via their publishing house “Knizhniki”. The Federation also run humanitarian programs that today reach more than 120 000 people in Russia and include work such as charity lunch delivery; medical assistance for people in need and assistance to families with many children. | https://thejewishvoice.com/2018/05/roman-abramovich-donates-half-billion-year-jewish-communities/ |
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