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The internal bickering in the Madhya Pradesh Congress has the potential of signalling a power crisis for the party's Kamal Nath-led government which is agonizingly short of 2 legislators to enjoy an absolute majority (116) in the 230-member Assembly.
The Congress-led alliance is backed by 7 non-Congress legislators -- 2 from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 1 from the Samajwadi Party and 4 Independents.
However, ever since they began expressing displeasure with the government, the BJP has been eyeing the MLAs to boost its chances of regaining power in the state.
The saffron party has 108 seats, and it is looking to take the tally up to 115.
Of the 230 seats, one is vacant where a by-poll would be held in the coming days.
Kamal Nath's government faces a 'threat' from the non-Congress legislators as according to sources, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to woo them.
Some statements of Independent legislator Surendra Singh Shera, BSP's Rambai and Samajwadi Party's Rajesh Shukla have also dropped hints about their exasperation with the government.
BJP sources said if the non-Congress MLAs join hands with them, their current tally (108) would swell to 115 -- pipping the Congress (114), as one of the seats in the 230-member assembly is vacant.
The non-Congress legislators are currently confused over the internal war in the party that has pitted one leader against another, and formed respective 'camps' loyal to their 'leaders'.
The crisis in the Congress party has taken the shape of a full-fledged war between the Jyotiraditya Scindia faction and the rest.
Senior party leader Digvijaya Singh, who has been trying to run both the party and government from the backseat, is facing the ire of not just the Scindia supporters but of some loyalists of Chief Minister Kamal Nath too.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath has held the PCC chief's post for more than 16 months now while the Scindia camp wants their leader to be handed the reins.
The CM wants his loyalist, Home Minister Bala Bachchan, a tribal leader as state chief. | https://www.theweekendleader.com/Headlines/36655/noncongress-mlas-may-pose-risk-to-mp-government.html |
One half.
5.25, or 5 and 1 quarter (5 1/4)
A quarter plus a quarter is a half. In U.S. coins, two quarters equals 50 cents.
half a cup
A whole note.
One-quarter plus one-half equals three-quarters.
7 and three quarter (7+3/4th)
Actually its a Half rest not Half note
Three quarters plus a half is one and a quarter.
37/12
7/8
The answer is 1/4 plus 1/2 = 3/4
A double dotted minim is made of 3 and a halfquarter beats; it is the minim (2 beats) plus half the minim (1 beat) plus half of the half a minim (half a beat). A double dotted crochet would be 1 and three quarter crotchet beats; the crochet (1 quarter beat) plus half the crochet (half a beat) plus half of that (a quarter of a beat). more info is on wikipedia
1/2 plus 1/2 plus 1/4 plus 3/4 is two.
three fourths 3/4
three quarter
2 quaters is a half so a half and a half is a whole, or 2 quaters plus 2 quaters is 4 quaters which is still a whole.
One half note
One and one twelfth
six and a quarter
four and three twentieths :)
Two and one quarter
Quarter is half of a half
It equals a whole note. | https://math.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_half_plus_a_quarter |
The invention discloses an alkaline denitration absorbent, and belongs to the technical field of industrial gas purification. The alkaline denitration absorbent is characterized by being prepared through the following steps: mixing the following raw materials in parts by weight: 40 to 50 parts of urea, 40 to 50 parts of sodium carbonate, 0.2 to 0.8 part of EDTA-Fe, 0.2 to 0.8 part of absorption enhancer, and 0.2 to 0.8 part of distearoyl diethylenetriamine, wherein the sum of the parts by weight of the EDTA-Fe, absorption enhancer and surfactant is more than 1 part by weight; adding 500 to 600 parts by weight of water, evenly mixing, and then adding a proper amount of sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH value to a range of 10 to 12. The alkaline denitration absorbent is used to remove high-valence oxynitride at a normal temperature and under a normal pressure. The nitrogen dioxide absorption rate of the absorbent is 95% or more, and the absorbent has the advantages of rapid absorption speed and high efficiency. | |
The author of the awarded project Acclaimed Designer's The booklight lighting illustrates, The bookLight is a funny book lamp that features shapes of a book. The way to turn on the light is similar to how you take out a book from a shelf. It can be charged both by usb and an adaptor. Usually we put this light on the bookshelves and take out the booklight to switch it on and use it wherever you need it..
Acclaimed Designer's The Booklight Lighting Images:
End of the article, click here to go back to previous page, or alternatively go back to Design Tabloid homepage. | http://www.designtabloid.com/article.php?ID=15011 |
Art from Code: Crazy Bouncing Ball
As a future game designer, I plan to do a simple interactive game at my conference. I spend quite a time on what game should I do. Originally, I am inspired by my city-skyline assignment. In that check-in, I imitated the classic background of game Super Mario Bros. Therefore, a platform game was my plan at first. However, although able to have interactions, Processing is not a tool designed for game production. It will be extremely difficult to have a platform on Processing. So, after having some discussions with Angela, I changed my direction to be practical. I want to do a game that cooperates with the techniques that I learned in class. I tried different combinations and ideas. After some experimenting, I came up with the idea of doing a ball-bouncing game with the sound element.
To begin with, the basic function of the ball bouncing game is movement, one of my favorite parts in the class. Motion, or animation, is a great advantage of computer art compared to traditional art mediums. Traditional arts are static while computer arts provide the rhythm and pattern through energetic motion. To make my conference a game instead of animation, I combined the motion with mouse interaction, letting users participate in the change of motion. The ball will bounce whenever it touches the plate that is controlled by the player. To make the ball bounce in different directions instead of a fixed routine, I modified the angles the ball bounces differently each time. There are a lot of experiments on the angle control. The game will be boring if there is less variability of angle while the game will be too hard to keep track of the ball if there is too much randomness. Additionally, I increased the speed to make the game more fun to play. Each time the ball bounces, the speed will increase. Therefore, the speed of the ball will increase to the extent that it is too crazy to follow by the player. Also, because the ball is bouncing crazily, it seems that there are many balls on the screen visually. The pattern and the rhythm of the ball are extremely cool to observe.
After having the basic function of the game, I wanted to add something fresh to the game. Therefore, I applied sound elements to it. First, I planned to insert a background into it. However, after discussions with my friends, I changed my idea. In the final version, players can have more choices on the music by just pull out their phones and play some music as the background. Instead of generating sound itself through processing, there is a sound detector to catch the sound. The amplitude of sound controls the size of the ball. Louder the sound is, the bigger the ball will be. The changing size of the ball makes the game more fun to play with. Fast pace music is the best suggestion since the speed of the ball will be faster and faster.
Moreover, although the game is simple and straightforward, I took time on design details. For example, I considered the color scheme. Personally, I love the black background and colored elements on top of it. The black background gives a special color contrast compared to white ones. In order to make the ball eye-catchy, I made the color of the ball randomized and changing every second. I tried different sets of color scheme and this is the one satisfy me the most. The color is vibrant and energetic. Besides color, I also considered the instruction: what kind of font and font size should I use? Where should I place the instruction? All these small details make a huge difference.
Speaking about improvement, there is a problem that the ball keeps bouncing if the plat is not moving in a long time. It is because the size of the ball is not fixed. However, it is an interesting accident that I like it somehow: it perfectly fit the “crazy” theme! To keep the craziness sphere and making a better experience for players, I will create a time condition that it didn’t bounce too many times to distract the game as an improvement. Another way to improve is by adding more sound elements to the game. For example, I can add a sound effect each time the ball collides with the plate.
Lastly, this is the first individual game I made. I am really satisfied and proud of my conference work. It is a great experience and first toward my dream. It is not easy to make a game. From inspiration to coding, each step has its own challenges. In this conference, I learned how to conquer these challenges with the techniques I learned and designing my own game step by step. | http://astoryisnotatree.net/?p=12419 |
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (TCM) values all people. TCM commits to creating a long-term Diverse, Equitable, Accessible, and Inclusive (DEAI) culture to help build the community we aspire to live in. The Museum is also committed to serving as a safe, welcoming, and engaging community resource, to working for justice and human rights, and doing its part to improve DEAI within its community, including a commitment to educate children and families about anti-racism. TCM is proud of the progress it has made. However, the Museum must do more!
PLEDGE 1
Create a more racially diverse workplace and foster a culture that values, respects, and celebrates the differences of each individual.
Focus Area: Workplace, Prosperity
The Museum pledges to strengthen our efforts to source and hire diverse staff, volunteer, and intern candidates at all levels of the organization and increase racial diversity among our staff and volunteer groups. We have set the expectation that every staff member and volunteer will engage in on-going education about the value of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion and the role we each must play to advance these values at the Museum.
PLEDGE 2
Increase spending with Black-, women-, and minority-owned businesses.
Focus Areas: Workplace, Prosperity
TCM will expand its work with women- and minority-owned businesses, including Black-owned businesses, with an emphasis on locally owned enterprises. Partners and products that demonstrate a commitment to DEAI will be given priority. Projects over $1M will require diverse spending goals and will be a focus of both the primary contractor and sub-contractor for projects of all sizes. On projects larger than $3M, goal setting for minority- and women-owned businesses will happen in consultation with the primary contractor and diverse business community.
PLEDGE 3
Provide extraordinary family learning experiences that educate our community about systemic racism.
Focus Areas: Education
As an international leader in the field of family learning, it is incumbent upon The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis to do its part to improve DEAI within its ever-expanding community. This includes an ongoing commitment to creating extraordinary family learning experiences that address both historical and current issues of systemic racism and encourage intergenerational conversations about the importance of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
To accomplish these initiatives and make lasting change, The Children’s Museum is willing to embrace new ideas, confront our own biases, have authentic conversations, invest resources, and acknowledge it’s okay to feel uncomfortable while doing so. | https://indyracialequitypledge.com/pledge-tcm/ |
Lady Vandals down Brownstown at Sandoval Tournament
SANDOVAL – The Lady Vandals started slow, but displayed more consistency in the second half of a 52-39 defeat of Brownstown to win the consolation championship at the Sandoval Tournament on Saturday.
The Lady Bombers led by as much as six before Vandalia coach Michelle McNary called timeout with 3:38 left in the first quarter to give her team a very strong message.
“I told them that we were not going to lose this game because of things we can control, like hustling and boxing out,” she said, “and if that was the case, I would not hesitate to take them out of the game.”
She did just that, cycling in most of her players during the first half.
One of them, freshman Megan Godoyo, proved helpful as the Vandals gained a 26-20 advantage at halftime.
Godoyo recorded four steals and scored four points in the final 5:03 of the first half, including a layup with just half a second left on the clock.
“Megan is doing a nice job,” McNary said. “She has given us great minutes off the bench, both defensively and offensively.
“It’s kind of a sign of what’s to come. When I can put her at the point and (put 3-point threats) Haley (Wollerman) and Amber (Bruno) on the wings, that will be nice.”
Wollerman had a game-high 23 points, including three 3-pointers, despite fighting foul trouble during the second half. Bruno added eight points in the win.
Junior Hannah Edwards, however, may have be the most important piece to the Lady Vandal victory.
The 6-foot center was not protecting the paint at the start of the game, prompting McNary to take her out.
“I took her out and chewed her butt a little bit, and asked if she was ready to go back in and that I needed her in there playing hard,” McNary said. “She stepped up and did a nice job.”
Edwards scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half, including a layup with 55 seconds left in the third quarter that sparked a 10-2 run that gave the Vandals an 11-point lead with four minutes left in the game.
“She was definitely a key to us winning this game,” McNary said.
A layup by Brownstown’s Abby Hill and a free throw by Kel-C Sefton moved the Lady Bombers back within six with 1:30 left in the game, though.
But the Lady Vandals would make 7-of-8 free throws in the final 39.6 seconds – the last coming with 1.8 seconds left in the game – while holding Brownstown scoreless to give the Lady Vandals their second straight win.
McNary hopes that momentum will give the team a boost as it moves on to a difficult stretch of the schedule in the coming weeks.
Saturday, Jan. 15
at Sandoval Tournament
vs. Brownstown
Vandalia 52
Brownstown 39
Scoring:
Lady Vandals – Wollerman, 23; Edwards, 15; Bruno, 8; Godoyo, 6.
Lady Bombers – A. Hill, 12; Sefton, 10; Megan Maxey, 9; Brooke Maxey, 6; Morgan Myers, 2; Molly Hill, 1.
Rebounding:
Lady Vandals – Edwards, 7; Godoyo, 3; Megan Shreve, 3; Amy Walton, 3; Bruno, 2; Morgan Whightsil, 2; Morgan Cripe, 1; Wollerman, 1.
Lady Bombers – B. Maxey, 10; Myers, 7; Sefton, 6; M. Hill, 4; Savannah Feezel, 2; A. Hill, 2; M. Maxey, 1
Records:
Lady Vandals – 8-11
Lady Bombers – 9-10
Bombers 14–6–9–10—39
Vandals 14–12–6–20—52
Up Next:
Lady Vandals – at Greenville on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Lady Bombers – at South Central on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Second round
Vandalia 53
Cisne 22
The Lady Vandals easily handled a short-handed Cisne team, 53-22, on Thursday to advance to the consolation championship game.
McNary said she knew the team would likely win against the Lady Lions, who only have seven players, but also said it was imperative the Lady Vandals not overlook Cisne.
“I told them, we can’t take anyone for granted,” McNary said. “I think we kind of overlooked Christ Our Rock (Lutheran) the other night.”
Vandalia lost to Christ Our Rock Lutheran, 52-48, in a first-round game last Monday.
Vandalia began the game on a 13-0 run, and McNary cleared her bench at the 2:52 mark.
The Lady Vandals led 15-3 at the end of the first period. Four different Lady Vandals scored in the period.
The onslaught continued into the second period, as Vandalia pushed its lead to as much as 27-5 before halftime.
Things slowed down in the second half, when the Lady Vandals began consistently substituting players, allowing McNary to get a look at all her bench players.
“That’s going to happen when you’re subbing people in and pull the press off,” she said.
“(Bench player) Morgan Whightsil has been working real hard and could very easily be in our starting lineup.”
Thursday, Jan. 13
at Sandoval Tournament
vs. Cisne
Vandalia 53
Cisne 22
Points – Wollerman, 12; Bruno, 10; Walton, 8; Godoyo, 6; Edwards, 4; Kaitlyn Kershaw, 4; Whightsil, 4; Morgan Cripe, 3; Haley Cothern, 2
Lions 3–6–10–6—22
Vandals 15–15–10–13—53
Second round
Brownstown 43
Webber 18
Brownstown had little trouble in defeating overmatched Webber on Friday in second-round action.
The Lady Bombers kept the Lady Trojans scoreless through the first quarter, taking a 16-0 lead.
By halftime, that lead had been extended to, 22-4.
Sefton led the team with 12 points, and Myers pulled down nine rebounds.
Friday, Jan. 14
at Sandoval Tournament
vs. Webber
Brownstown 43
Webber 18
Points – Sefton, 12; B. Maxey, 9; A. Hill, 8; M. Maxey, 5; Bethany Oberlink, 4; Myers, 3; M. Hill, 2.
Rebounds – Myers, 9; B. Maxey, 5; Sefton, 4; M. Maxey, 2; Dani Austin, 1; Feezel, 1.
Assists – Myers, 3; M. Maxey, 2; Austin, 1; B. Maxey, 2.
Steals – Myers, 7; Sefton, 6; A. Hill, 2; M. Hill, 2.
Blocks – B. Maxey, 4.
Trojans 0–4–8–6—18
Bombers 16–6–10–11—43
First round
Woodlawn 47
Brownstown 37
The Lady Bombers held a halftime lead against Woodlawn last Thursday in its first round game, but the Lady Cardinals buckled down in the second half to defeat Brownstown, 47-37.
Strong efforts by the Lady Bombers in the last two minutes of both the first and second quarters gave them a 19-17 advantage at the half.
With 1:38 remaining in the first period, Woodlawn made a layup to go ahead 11-6, but 14 seconds later Myers made four free throws – two from being fouled on her shot and two from a technical foul against Woodlawn – and a layup with five seconds left in the quarter to give Brownstown a one-point lead.
The Lady Cardinals, however, again went ahead by five, 17-12, in the second period, but Brooke Maxey, Sefton, Abby Hill and Megan Maxey combined to score seven points in the final 1:58 of the first half to give the Lady Bombers another lead.
“I’m not sure why that happened,” said coach Katy Heckert. “I think Woodlawn was getting tired, and we capitalized on that by getting easier baskets, including free throws.”
It appeared that Brownstown was poised to do it again in the third quarter, after Megan Maxey and Abby Hill made back-to-back baskets to give the Lady Bombers a 30-29 lead with 1:30 left in the third period, but they would only score one more basket over the next 9:24, allowing Woodlawn to take a 42-33 lead.
“Something happened during halftime, and we self-destructed and did not play near as well as we did in the first half,” Heckert said.
A 3-pointer by Myers cut the Lady Bombers’ deficit to six, and they tried to foul Woodlawn to catch up, but the Lady Cardinals were a perfect 4-for-4 on free throws down the stretch to preserve the lead.
Thursday, Jan. 13
at Sandoval Tournament
vs. Woodlawn
Woodlawn 47
Brownstown 37
Points – Myers, 11; B. Maxey, 8; M. Maxey, 7; A. Hill, 6; Sefton, 5.
Rebounds – B. Maxey, 6; M. Hill, 4; Sefton, 4; A. Hill, 3; M. Maxey, 2; Myers, 1.
Assists – M. Hill, 1; B. Maxey, 1.
Steals – M. Maxey, 2; A. Hill, 1; M. Hill, 1. | https://www.leaderunion.com/2011/01/19/lady-vandals-down-brownstown-at-sandoval-tournament/ |
Once again, I've reached the point before December of having read 50 books in a year despite being far too busy to read most of the time. I still shudder to think what my annual numbers were like 10 years ago when I was generally reading a minimum of 3 or 4 books in parallel at any given time.) Now to knock out those last 220 pages during December in order to reach 15,000 pages...
(Actually, I already have read that many more pages this year, but I haven't finished the book in question--and won't for probably a few months yet at this rate--so I'm not counting them yet.)
It certainly helped that I managed to read half of Les Mis on the flights to & from Australia in October--enabling me to finish reading the whole thing in only four weeks--or else I'd probably still be slogging through that cube of paper this time next year. Hugo really needed an editor to condense the first 1,000 pages down to 100 or so, and the last 463 pages down to 200-300 or so, and the result would've been a tight novel that hit, hit hard, and left you wanting more. Heck--after the first 1,000 pages, it feels like even Hugo finally wanted to just get the book over with, and the action finally speeds up from glacier pace to merely molasses in January, with occasional flashes all the way up to partially crystalized honey. There were times when I was sure that the title referred to the readers rather than the characters. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed this book--even some of the lengthy near-useless digressions, as they spoke to my inner historian--despite my initial misgivings about the length, tone, and potential impenetrability resulting in my joking about using it as a cure for insomnia on the plane. However, I would generally recommend that anyone who wants to read this either find an abridged version or find a production of the musical to watch, as I now put my achievement at finishing this tome in the same literary mountain-climing category as my achievement at finishing reading all 10 volumes of L. Ron Hubbard's Invasion: Earth series--it's nice to be able to say you've done it, but it's not necessarily something the general public should try at home. ("We're what you call 'experts'"--Mythbusters.)
As for the other two books, Subspace Explorers reads like two pulp SF books smashed together without any heed for how well they actually dovetail. It's also crammed full to the gills with rabidly anti-union sentiment, with barely a token handwave at the corresponding anti-corporation sentiment the story actually needed to come across as at all grounded in reality. Other than that, it entertained me.
On the other hand, Deathworld is simultaneously less realistic and more believable. It sort of peters out at the end as the main character suddenly figures out everything that's been going on and then explains it all to the rest of the characters. On a video hookup that's broadcast to just about every citizen on the planet, just in case there's anyone who would have otherwise missed the scene due to other contractual obligations. It entertained me much more than Subspace Explorers did, and I think it would make for a straight-to-cable movie adaptation that'd be as watchable, or possibly even more so than, say, Atomic Twister, Ogre, or S.S. Doomtrooper. | https://aardy.livejournal.com/127152.html |
b)Table level On multiple columns(Composite key) we take constraints.
Syntax: Column Name data type constraint <Constraint name>
Primary key/unique/check/references.
Example:
Create set table dept
(
D Code integer primary key Not null,
D name varchar(30)
D income integer constraint CHK
Check(DINcome>30000)
)
Create set table emp
(
EID integer unique not null,
Ename varchar(30)
D Code integer constraint ref
References Dept(D code)
)
Table-level constraints
Create set table dept1
(
Party ID integer
Pname varchar(30) not null,
P DOB not null, primary key(Pname, PDOB)
)
Note: In the above situation p name, PDOB is used for unique identification of the record
Multiple column levels(composite)
PID
Pname
1
X
2
X
1
Y
2
X
3
X
Soft referential integrity
We can remove the data in the parent even the value existed in the child
Implemented with no check option
Referential integrity
Example
Create set table emp
(
EID Integer unique, not null,
Ename varchar(30),
DCode integer constraint ref
References with no check option dept(Dcode)
)
Note
P, K UK required not null at the column level because they are associated with the index concept.
For In-depth knowledge on Teradata click on: | https://tekslate.com/constraints-in-teradata |
The present review is aimed to compare two TVs - LG 65LF6300 vs Sony XBR55X810C that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema lovers. The biggest difference between TVs is screen size, namely 65 and 55 inches respectively. The 65LF6300 belongs to the series LF6300, and the Sony XBR55X810C - X810C. The LG 65LF6300 series has 40, 43, 49, 55, 60, 65 inches diagonals, and XBR55X810C boasts 55, 65 inches diagonals.
The XBR55X810C is capable of playing video in 4K/UHD resolution, which is not true of the 65LF6300. Each of the compared devices supports Full HD resolution. The 65LF6300 has the IPS display, while XBR55X810C has the VA display. The Sony XBR55X810C works with 120Hz refresh rate, for LG 65LF6300 the refresh rate is 60Hz. High dynamic range (HDR) is not available on each model.
Sound in the stereo format is available to each TV. The power of the speakers is identical. Dolby Atmos multi-channel audio format is not supported by both of the tested models.
The width of the 65LF6300 is 146.1/57.51 cm/in, and for the XBR55X810C it is 124.5/49 cm/inches. The height of LG 65LF6300 is 84.8/33.38 cm/in, Sony XBR55X810C of height 73/28.74 cm/inches. A depth 65LF6300 is 5.84/2.29 cm/in, the XBR55X810C has 8.1/3.14 cm/in depth.
The 65LF6300 has 3 HDMI connectors versus 4 connectors in the XBR55X810C. And you also can connect up to 3 devices via USB to each of the models. These rivals can connect to the Internet via WI-FI. It is possible to connect a mouse or keyboard via Bluetooth to each of the TVs.
VESA mount is a standardized bracket system for mounting your TV to a wall. Contemplated TVs have the same size and of anchorages 300 x 300.
You can watch Netflix TV shows and movies on each of the TVs. Hulu is available at each of the competitors.
As for Smart TV, here the competitors are equal and support this feature. Local dimming technology is no available in both models. Voice control is supported by both models and there is no leader. Voice control is not available for these models. Devices under consideration can be controlled using the Mobile App. | https://avinfohub.com/televisions/compare-65lf6300-vs-xbr55x810c |
GARDINER — The three-ton base made from old cast-iron paper machine drive gears is centered on Waterfront Park’s Floodtide Terrace.
Now the hard part: transporting the 16-foot fabricated stainless steel form from Robert Lash’s studio on High Holborn Street to the park without harming it.
A year ago, the Savings Bank of Maine commissioned Lash, a metal sculptor, to create a 20-foot sculpture for the waterfront park project. Lash declined to say how much the bank paid for the sculpture, except that he did it for less than he would normally charge because he wanted to do something for the community.
Lash said the sculpture, “Rising,” will be installed by the first week of November.
He said that, like his other sculptures, “Rising” is not a literal piece. Its form echoes natural shapes found along the Kennebec River.
“It’s going to be very exciting, but I’ll be quite relieved when it’s transported down there,” Lash said. “It’s a very tall vertical piece that is a curved shape and at an angle. We’re going to have to get the form from my studio and lay it on a flatbed truck.”
Lash is still doing some finish work on the tiered piece at his studio, to remove any excess welding material and repolish around each weld.
City Manager Scott Morelli said, “Gardiner residents should feel proud that our new waterfront will be showcasing the work of a talented local artist. It will be the frosting on the cake for this project.”
Lash said he bought the enormous gears that were incorporated into the base of “Rising” from the former Augusta Tissue mill when it was being demolished. The gears range in weight from a half-ton to a ton.
The base is an 8-foot-diameter drive gear that weighs 4,000 pounds. On top of that, Lash placed a 5-foot diameter, 4-foot-tall cylinder he made from weathering steel.
“That actually sits vertically and looks like a shaft connected to the bottom gear,” he said. “Then, on top of that, I’ve got a 6-foot-diameter drive gear also salvaged from the tissue mill. It represents the working industrial waterfront, and that’s kind of a historical tie to the river.”
Lash purchased more than 2,800 pounds of stainless steel at the start of the project. All nine individual forms that make up the sculpture have been plasma cut, glued, welded, ground and polished, he said.
Gates, Leighton & Associates of Brunswick, the waterfront project’s landscape architectural firm, designed the flood tide terrace where Lash’s sculpture is being installed.
Gardiner Mayor Andrew MacLean said he is glad to see the work of a Gardiner sculptor represented in the project.
“It’s going to be a striking vertical structure that will really draw the eye,” MacLean said. “As I understand it, the concept was going to create a vision of Gardiner’s mill town history. And it was designed to withstand flooding. It will be something that we can measure what happens in the years the river expands beyond its banks.”
Lash updates the project at risingsculptureproject.blogspot.com/. | https://www.pressherald.com/2010/10/12/history-turns-into-landmark-for-the-future_2010-10-12/ |
What is a spatial order in speech and in writing?
Speech spatial order is a type of logical organization pattern that describes things according to their actual location in space. Definition: this order is also called the order of place and spatial structure. And in speech, it means that the narrator describes objects using an ordered logical sequence, describing things as they look when actually observed. An example is the following model: the narrator sets himself the task of describing the room, and in the description, he uses the spatial order, so his story will begin with the entrance to the room and with a description of those objects that first catches his eye. This will be followed by a description of the middle part of the room and only at the end – its distant elements. In this way, the narrator can observe the principle of spatial order and helps the listeners create a clear and vivid idea in their minds about the object of the story.
For what type of writing is spatial order usually best?
As a rule, the principle of spatial order is best suited for descriptive writing. For example:
- In fiction or non-fiction, when a description is required to evoke certain feelings in the reader or to tell in great detail about the location of certain objects and places. And also, in order to describe physical or social phenomena.
- In technical and scientific literature, when a specific explanation of the operation of various mechanisms, systems and devices is required. Or if you need to make it clear to readers what the structure consists of and how its various elements interact with each other.
- In the case of interior descriptions by designers or critics. Here, they are faced with the task of conjuring up in the imagination of readers an idea of the arrangement of furniture, decor, and everything that fills the room. Spatial order will help a lot to achieve the best result.
- Architects and designers also often resort to using this principle.
- Of course, spatial order is also used when writing an essay.
How to write a spatial order essay?
To write an essay corresponding to the spatial order, it is necessary to describe objects in accordance with their actual position relative to you. Or, if you want to describe what this or that person looks like, then your description should begin with the legs and further up, ending with the head. In addition, before you start writing such an essay, you need to have an accurate idea of what is the main purpose of this description? You must decide what result you need to achieve so as not to deviate too much from the given topic in the process of writing an essay. And in order not to miss anything while writing, you can create a structured plan that will help you stay on course, because organization is the most important element of spatial order essay.
Of course, if you are a first-time writer, then it will be quite useful for you to have the help of a specialist or professional writer who will teach you and tell you what to look for when working with spatial order. You can find such an assistant on our site Writingstatement.com, and the Internet also is a great source of inspiration and filling ideas for writing an essay. On educational portals, you can read examples of written essays in spatial order to get an idea of how to do it right. And, finally, be sure to check the finished text for semantic and logical mistakes.
Define spatial order signal words
Needless to say, we cannot do without certain auxiliary words when writing a descriptive essay. Signal words are almost the determining factor in the use of spatial order in writing, with their help the writer notifies the reader about the location of objects and describes the spatial organization of things. Here is a list of some of the more commonly used spatial order signal words
Many of these words and phrases are prepositions and are at the beginning of a sentence, and they often act as connecting conjunctions, combining the previous sentence with the new one. The main role of signal words is to create a brighter and more understandable picture for the reader, which the author is trying to convey through words and sentences, in addition, they serve to clarify and create greater order in the entire text as a whole. When writing an essay in spatial order, the use of signal words should never be neglected.
What is a chronology? Why is it used in literature?
By itself, the concept of chronology means a list of events in their time sequence. In writing, authors usually tell a story, describing successive events from beginning to the end, so that a certain structured picture is formed in the imagination of readers, which helps them better understand the essence of what they are reading about. This order in literature is called chronological order, and is the most popular among writers. However, one can often find a work in which the chronological order is not observed at all, on the contrary, it is completely turned upside down, that is, the author begins his story from the end and gradually moves towards the beginning. In this order, understanding the big picture can be a little difficult, but often this style makes the work unique and unusual.
3 types of chronology in writing
Distinguishing the chronological type of writing from the rest is quite simple, since it basically includes very specific time periods in a logical sequence. The most popular types of chronology are the following three types:
- Linear chronology. If the author uses this type of chronology, then all the events he describes occur according to an increasing time scale. For example: “Mr. Gray woke up at 9 o’clock in the morning, at 10 am he left for work, at 3 pm he had lunch in a restaurant, and by 6 pm he returned home.” This is a typical chronological linear sequence model.
- Reverse chronology. This is a way of storytelling in which the plot of the story is revealed in reverse order, that is, the first scene described is actually the end of the plot, and the last scene is the first in chronological order. An example is the following plot: the main character of the novel goes to bed and falls asleep, the next event described will be what preceded her falling asleep and then right up to the moment when she woke up in the morning of the day described.
- Nonlinear chronology. This type of chronology is not similar to either the first or the second; there is no clear sequence and order in it. There are many digressions and disparate events in this way of writing, which sometimes helps the author to create a lively, interesting and extraordinary work. However, when choosing a non-linear chronology as a writing style, it is necessary to understand that it is quite easy to lose the thread of the narrative here or go astray, therefore this style is quite difficult.
Thus, we see that each type of chronology has its own nuances and its own individual structure, which must be followed from the beginning to the very end of the work. It makes no sense to mix and intertwine types of chronology with each other, since the narrative will lose its basis and become too vague and difficult to understand.
3 rules for writing a spatial order essay
So, having dealt with the three types of chronology, signal words and the concept of spatial order, we can derive three basic rules that must be followed when writing an essay in spatial order.
Choosing the right topic
The first thing you need to do before you start working on an essay is to choose a topic and create a structured plan that answers in detail all the questions related to your topic. These questions may sound like this: What is the main goal I pursue when writing this essay? What chronological structure do I want to use? How would it be better to formulate the topic of my essay so that it clearly reflects the intention of my work? There can be a huge number of such questions, however, the clearer your idea of the topic is, the better and richer your essay will turn out.
Arrangement of information
A very important role is played by how correctly and logically you arrange the information blocks in your essay. The narration should be consistent and coherent, and thoughts should be clearly and understandably formulated in such a way that it is convenient for the reader to receive and remember the information that you present. Map out for yourself a visual diagram of what is your starting point (the beginning of the description), and which is the end point (the end of the description).
Transitional words
The third point, which is also one of the most important. The use of transitional words is an essential attribute when writing almost any descriptive essay of a spatial order, here are some of them:
- nevertheless
- of course
- in the same way
- likewise
- although
- in spite of
- in contrast
- at the same time
- while this might be true
- on the other hand
- for example
- for instance
- in fact
- indeed
- specifically
- to illustrate, etc.
But it is important to note one more thing, transitional words should be appropriate, they should not be too much in sentences, they should not interfere with the general understanding of the text, otherwise your work will have too much water, which will make it difficult to read.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS:
This application is related to one, or more, of the following United States Patent Applications: Ser. No. 659,989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,799, 144 filed Oct. 12, 1984; Ser. No. 670,436 filed on Nov. 9, 1984. All of the above applications are assigned to the assignee hereof. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and method for identifying spoken words and, in particular, relates to such an apparatus compensating for any system-wide bias and employing reference templates containing all information generated during the enrollment phase.
The electronic identification of a spoken word or phrase has been the goal of many researchers for many years. One common solution included generating a "voice print" or pattern that, essentially, was the electronic result of a time-based amplitude varying signal. The pattern was compared to a library of previously generated word patterns. Such an approach encountered numerous difficulties that were speaker dependent and/or required elaborate analog circuits to reproduce and compare the various word patterns.
More recently, considerable work has been dedicated to a word recognition technique generally referred to as template matching. In template matching, an array of binary numbers representative of features of any spoken word is generated. These templates, generally known as utterance templates, are then compared, i.e. scored, against a stored vocabulary of reference templates. Conventionally, reference templates are developed during an enrollment stage wherein a particular word, or list of words, is repeated and the resultant template for a given word is developed from the features common to all repetitions of that word. The array positions wherein the result perceived was not constant throughout the entire enrollment are not used in the scoring. The rational for such a reference template generation scheme is that it is generally believed that, for accurate comparisons, the format and content of reference templates must be identical to the format and content of the utterance templates being analyzed.
For example, a conventional reference template is formed such that, on any given repetition during enrollment, if the binary value for a specific bit position is identical to all previous binary values for that position, the updated position is assigned that binary value. However, if, on any repetition, that bit position is perceived as a binary value different than all the previous binary values therefor, that bit location becomes empty, i.e., becomes an unknown. Nevertheless, unless a bit postion assumes a particular value for all enrollment repetitions, less than all of the total information extracted from speech signals for that word during enrollment is used during the word recognition process.
During conventional scoring, an utterance template, representing the extracted features of a speech signal of the word to be identified, is compared with all reference templates in the library. After comparing each bit position in the utterance template with the corresponding bit position of a reference template, a score is developed for that reference template. The utterance template is scored against each reference in the library. The scores so developed are then analyzed to determine whether or not any reference template scored high enough to identify the word represented by the utterance template. However, based on the reference template bit retention technique discussed above, each reference template includes a number of bit positions which are "unknown. " Further, the number of "unknowns" varies among the reference templates. Consequently, the comparison between any given reference template and the utterance template being analyzed is ambiguous.
Another difficulty that compounds the ambiguity of conventional systems is that a system-wide bias occasionally exists during enrollment. Such a bias results in a bit position in all the reference templates being assigned a specific binary value regardless of the binary value in that bit position of the utterance template for any word spoken, or the number of times a word is enrolled.
In addition, some present template scoring schemes develop a score based on algorithms formulated to require a substantial number of multiplications and additions to calculate scores. Hence, due to the substantial number of computational steps required, the identification of spoken words is, presently, quite slow even with the use of modern high speed microprocessers. This is inherent because inter alia, multiplication is one of the slowest tasks that any arithmatic microprocessor performs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for identifying spoken words that is both accurate and rapid.
This object is accomplished, at least in part, by an apparatus and method having a library composed of a plurality of reference templates wherein each addressable position of each reference template effectively represents the probability of the occurrence of a particular binary value thereat and has provision for eliminating any system-wide bias.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the appended claims and the drawings attached hereto.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is comprised of FIGS. 1A and 1B and is a block diagram of a word recognition apparatus embodying the principles of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a logarithmic scale modified for use in conjunction with the present invention.
FIG. 3A-3C is an example of various template formats useful in the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a word recognition method used with the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An apparatus, generally indicated at 10 in FIG. 1 and embodying the principles of the present invention, includes means 12 for creating and storing a plurality of reference templates, means 14 for creating and storing a system bias template, means 16 for accessing an utterance template, and means 18 for modifying the plurality of stored reference templates and the system bias template. In addition, the apparatus 10 further includes means 20 for storing the modified reference and system bias templates, means 22 for estabishing a score for the modified templates with respect to an accessed utterance template and means 24 for accepting or rejecting a score, whereby when a score is accepted the reference template corresponding thereto represents the utterance represented by the accessed utterance template.
In the preferred embodiment, the means 12 for creating and storing a plurality of reference templates includes a storage medium 26, a shift register 28, a summer 30 having an output 32 and first and second inputs, 34 and 36 respectively, means 38 for addressing a particular reference template and means 40 for simultaneously addressing a particular position of the particular reference template addressed by the addressing means 38 and the corresponding position of shift register 28.
Similarly, the means 14 for creating and storing a system bias template includes a storage medium 42, a shift register 44, a summer 46 having an output 48 and first and second inputs, 50 and 52 respectively, and means 54 for simultaneously addressing a particular position of both the storage medium 42 and the shift register 44. As more fully discussed below, the creating and storing means, 12 and 14, respectively, are active during enrollment and inactive during recognition.
The means 16 for accessing an utterance template includes a shift register 56 adapted to receive an outputted utterance template from an utterance template former 58. Preferably, the shift register 56 is connected to the reference template creating and storing means 12 and the bias template creating and storing means 14 via switching means 60. An utterence template former 58 particularly adapted for use with the apparatus 10 is fully discussed and described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application, Ser. No. 670,436, filed on even date herewith and assigned to the assignee hereof and is deemed incorporated by reference herein.
The storage medium 26 of the reference template creating and storing means 12 has a capacity at least equal to the product of the number of bytes per template times the number of templates to be stored. For example, using templates having 256 bytes and enrolling 200 different templates, for example, wherein each template represents one spoken word, a capacity of 512 kilobytes is required. The contents of the reference template storage medium 26 addressed by the addressing means 38 is outputted to the shift register 28. The shift register 28 includes, in this example, 256 bytes i.e. one reference template worth of bytes. The output of the shift register 28 is connected to the summer 30 via, for example, the second input 36 thereto. The first input 34 to the summer 30 is connected to the utterance shift register 56 via switching means 60. The output of the summer 30 represents, for each word, the number of times a selected binary value (for example, a binary one) occurred at that position in the shift register 28, i.e. the previous total, plus the occurrence of that bit value in the utterance shift register 56. Thus, the output of summer 30 is an updated total of occurrences of the selected binary value for each position. Hence, by this arrangement, each stored reference template maintains a running sum of the occurrences of the selected binary value for each position for each reference template. Consequently, as more fully discussed below, all data provided by the utterance template former 58 is retained.
The storage medium 42 of the bias template creating and storing means 14 has a capacity at least equal to the number of addressable positions in an utterance template. In the preferred embodiment this capacity is 256 bytes. The contents of the bias template, during enrollment are written into the shift register 44 which is connected to the second input 52 of the summer 46. The first input 50 of the summer 46 receives the bit information from the corresponding position in the shift register 56 having the accessed utterance template therein. The output 48 of the summer 46, therefore, delivers a continuous updated total of the occurrence of a selected binary value for each position to the storage medium 42.
For example, for any given utterance template the bits therein are ones or zeros, i.e. binary highs or lows. However, the information in the corresponding position of the shift register 44 represents the total number of occurrences of the selected value that previously occurred at that position, regardless of the associated utterance template or the number of repetitions of reference templates. Naturally, the summer 46 can be alternatively adapted to count only the occurrence of binary zeros at each position. Nevertheless, as more fully discussed below, all information from all utterance templates formed and used throughout the entire enrollment is retained in the bias template storage medium 42 and used in the subsequent scoring of unknown utterance templates.
In the preferred embodiment, when utterance templates representing unknown words are to be identified, the contents of the storage mediums, 26 and 42 are downloaded to the means 20 after being modified by the means 18. Essentially, the means 18 for modifying the plurality of reference templates and the system bias template, for each position, provides a pair of outputs representing the logarithmic values of the number of occurrences at that position of binary ones and binary zeros.
In one particular embodiment, the means 18 includes a first logarithmic converter 62 adapted to received the system bias template from the storage medium 42 on a byte-by-byte basis. In addition, the converter 62 is connected in parallel with a complementary binary byte logarithmic former 64. The former 64 includes a subtraction means 66 serially connected with a second logarithmic converter 68. The subtraction means 66 is provided, as more fully discussed below, with the total number of utterance templates enrolled (T) from which the number in each position is subtracted on a byte-by-byte basis. That is, if the positions in storage medium 42 represent the occurrences of binary ones, the output of the subtraction means 66 represents the number of occurrences of binary zeros for those same positions. Thus, the outputs from the first and second logarithmic converter, 62 and 68, respectivelym represent the logarithmic values of all data for that bit position established during enrollment. The outputs from the logarithmic converter, 62 and 68, are stored in an expanded storage medium, 70 and 72, respectively, in the storing means 20.
The means 18 also includes a similar arrangement adapted to receive the plurality of reference templates from the storage medium 26 on both a per reference template basis and a byte-by-byte basis for each stored reference template. Specifically, a third logarithmic converter 74 is connected in parallel with a reference template complimentary logarithmic former 76. The former 76 having a serially connected subtraction means 78 and a fourth logarithmic converter 80. In this instance, the minuend stored in the subtraction means 78 is the number of times the word represented by a particular reference template was enrolled. Thus, the outputs for the third and fourth logarithemic converts, 74 and 80, respectively, represent the logarithmic values of all data for that position of each word established during enrollment. The outputs of the third and fourth logarithmic converters, 74 and 80, are stored in a plurality of expanded storage medium, 82 and 84, respectively, in the storing means 20.
As a result, the means 20 for storing the modified plurality of reference templates and the modified system bias templates includes the storage mediums, 70 and 72, each having 256 bytes, i.e. one template array, and storage mediums, 82 and 84, containing the plurality of reference templates formatted as complementary pairs of 256 byte arrays for each word stored.
The means 22 for establishing a score for the modified templates with respect to an utterance template includes a means 86 for selecting a byte from one of the storage medium, 70 or 72, and a byte from one of the storage mediums, 82 or 84 for each reference template, means 88 for summing all bytes from the selecting means 86 for the system bias template and for each of the reference templates, and means 90 for storing the sums of the means 88.
In the preferred embodiment, the means 86 includes first and second shift registers, 92 and 94 respectively, adapted to receive the data stored in the storage mediums, 82 and 84, respectively, for a given reference template. The means 86 further includes a system bias template byte selection means 100 and a reference template byte selection means 102. The byte selection means, 100 and 102, are mutually positioned according to the bit presented by the corresponding binary value of the bit in the position in the utterance shift register 56. For example, if the binary value of a particular bit position in the shift register 56 is a binary one the shift registers, 92 and 96, are selected. The shift registers, 92 and 96, as previously discussed, correspond to the storage mediums, 70 and 82 respectively, having the values of the occurrences of binary ones therein. Conversely, if the binary value in the shift register 56 is a binary zero, the shift registers, 94 and 98, are selected.
The values from the selected shift registers, i.e. either, 92 and 96, or, 94 and 98 are separately summed by the summing means 88A and 88B, each maintaining a single running total for all values of the selected registers, 92 and 96, or 94 and 98, for each 256 bytes, i.e. each reference template. Preferably, as more fully discussed below, after each 256 bytes, i.e. after each reference template, the accumulated sums from the summing means, 88A and 88B are weighted.
The weighted sum from the system bias summer 88A is stored in a first buffer 104 and, by means of a summer 106, subtracted from each weighted sum from the word storage mediums, 82 and 84. The output of summer 106, for each reference template, is stored in a second buffer 108. Preferably, the second buffer 108 includes means 110 for selecting and outputting the highest value stored therein. The outputs from the first and second buffers, 104 and 108, are inputted to the means 24 for accepting or rejecting a score.
In the preferred embodiment, the means 24 includes first and second comparators, 112 and 114, and a logic AND gate 116. The second comparator 114 receives, as an input thereto, the system bias score from buffer 104 and includes, i.e. compares that score with, a preselected, or threshold value. If the sum from buffer 104 exceeds the threshold value a binary one, for example, is outputted to one input of the AND gate 116. The first comparator 112 receives, as an input thereto, the highest value in the buffer 108 and includes, for comparison purposes, a preselected value, or threshold, stored therein. If the value from the buffer 108 exceeds the threshold a binary one, for example, is outputted to the other input of the AND gate 116. If, and only if, both inputs to the AND gate 116 are binary ones, an acceptance signal, i.e., a particular binary value, is outputted from the AND gate 116. The signal so outputted can then be used, by known techniques, for any purpose such as, to execute a preselected command within a computer.
The apparatus 10 further includes a bit clock generator 118 that provides pulses at a regular, preselected frequency for ensuring coordination of data flow and synchronization of data scoring. The output pulse of the generator 118 is designated as BCLK in FIG. 1. As shown, the active position of each shift register, 28 and 44 during enrollment, and, 56, 92, 94, 96, and 98 during recognition is controlled by a pointer according BCLK. Further, the summing means 88 and the storage mediums, 26 and 42 during enrollment, and 70, 72, 82 and 84 during recognition are stepped according to the BCLK. The number of pulses from the bit clock generator 118 is monitored by a counter 120 which produces an output signal, RESET B, after every 256 BCLK clock pulses, i.e. after one template has been operated on.
The RESET B signal controls the reference template presented by the storage mediums, 26, 82 and 84. In addition, the RESET B signal controls the summing means 88 such that, upon receiving the RESET B signal, the accumulated sums therein are outputted therefore. A bias template counter 122 counts the total number of utterance templates enrolled and maintains that sum in subtraction means 66. A reference template counter 124 is provided to count the number of times a particular word is enrolled. The output of the reference template counter 124 is provided to the subtraction means 76.
During enrollment the output from the 256 bit counter 120 is connected, via switch means 126, to a prompter for indicating to the trainer to recite the next word. During recognition the output from the counter 120 is connected to the shift register, 92, 94, 96, and 98, and the bit summing means 88.
Referring to FIG. 2, exemplary modified logarithmic scale 128 is shown which scale is preferably used in the log converters, to determine the outputs thereof. Most noticably is that if the input is equal to zero the output is set to zero. Ordinarily, of course, the logarithmic value of zero is equal to negative infinity. However, such a value would have no real meaning in the present apparatus or the calculations made therein. In addition, to ensure that the entire log converter, which essentially is a look up table, is within a one byte segment of memory the output maximum is set to 255. The present log table is derived utilizing the empirical formula Output=14+100×log (Input) , except, as previously mentioned, that when Input=0 the Output is set to zero. Thus, the desired constraints are provided and those values which, in a conventional voice recognition apparatus, would ordinarily be multiplicants are now sums.
As previously mentioned, the resultant array sums from the summing means 88 are preferably weighted. In one implementation the weighting mechanism includes summers 130A and 130B having as one input thereto a constant value, for example stored in an associated memory, 132A and 130B. The constant values are, by means of the summers, 130A and 130B, subtracted from the output from the summing means 88. For the system bias summation, the weighted value is equal to 256 times the log (T), whereas as the weighting value for the reference template sum is 256 times the log (N).
The weighting values are, effectively, normalization constants that enable the resultant scores to be independant of the number of times each word was enrolled. As a result, the thresholds selected for the comparators, 112 and 114, are constant regardless of the number of enrollments. But for this normalization the threshold values used in scoring would have to be adapted to vary according to the number of times a particular word was enrolled. This would increase the complexity of scoring and deter a user from enrolling a limited part of the total vocabulary library more than the remainder. Such selected increased enrollment of particular words is preferable due, for example, to the inherent nature of any language having words sounding similar to each other.
Referring to FIGS. 3A to 3C, one major difference of the present apparatus 10 over conventional voice recognition systems is depicted by the template format for the utterance template 134 and the enrolled templates, 136 and 138. As shown, the utterance template 134 is composed of a plurality of binary values representing features extracted from a voice signal. The enrolled templates, 136 and 138, however, include values at each position thereof, representing the total number of occurrences of, for example, a binary one in any utterance template during enrollment. Hence, all features from all utterance templates are used for scoring during the recognition phase. Ultimately, rather than relying on those bits remaining in a stored utterance format reference template, the actual probability of occurrence of a particular binary bit is used to score each utterance template. Such an approach clearly increases the accuracy of the template matching procedure. In fact, the template scoring accuracy is such that the means 24 for scoring a template, in fact, only produces either an accept signal or a reject signal. This is in clear contrast to conventional systems that frequently either request further information, request word repetition, or advise the user that there was insufficient information to score or recognize the word in question.
The employment of the present apparatus 10 thus provides a unique method for ascertaining and recognizing a spoken word by use of template matching. As shown in FIG. 4, the method includes the step of first enrolling a plurality of words and maintaining all extracted features relative thereto. The enrolled data is expanded according to the logarithmic scale, discussed above, and stored in the expanded memory means.
During recognition the outputs from the selected memories are summed and weighted to result in a score which definitively rejects or accepts a spoken word.
It will be understood that the information stored in the buffer 108 further includes positional information with regard to the particular reference template being scored. Consequently, once the highest score is established, the location in the expanded memories is known and is accessable to ascertain the exact intended consequence of the acceptance signal generated by the AND gate.
In one alternative embodiment it will be recognized that the means for modifying the stored enrolled templates can be inserted between the expanded memories and the respective shift registers. However, as this would increase the actual summation time it is preferred that the modification means be positioned between the enrollment memory and the modified memory.
The apparatus 10 described herein can be substantially implemented on a iAPx 8088 microprocessor chip, for example, that manufactured and marketed by Intel Corporation of Sunnyvale, Calif., in conjunction with a conventional 64 kbit dynamic random access memory (RAM) bank.
The present apparatus 10 offers numerous advantages over conventional devices. First, since it utilizes a bias template any differences resulting from differences in personnel during enrollment or during the use, as well as differences in particular equipment are eliminated. In addition, since all data generated is retained and utilized, the accuracy is increased. Further, the entire scoring procedure is quite fast since all arithemic operations are summations rather than multiplications. Still further, the contents of the reference template is significantly different than that of the utterance template being scored. More specifically, the data in the utterance template is binary and derived from frequency versus time procedures whereas the data in the reference template is based on the probabilities of occurrence of a particular binary value in that particular position.
Although the present invention has been described herein, with reference to an exemplary embodiment it will be understood that other configurations will be comtemplated which nevertheless do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Consequently, the present invention is is deemed limited only by the appended claims and the reasonable interpretation thereof. | |
Prayer Flags are inscribed with auspicious symbols, invocations, prayers, and mantras. Tibetan Buddhists for centuries have planted these flags outside their homes and places of spiritual practice for the wind to carry the beneficent vibrations across the countryside. Prayer flags are said to bring happiness, long life and prosperity to the flag planter and those in the vicinity.
There are two kinds of Prayer flags (sutra streamer): the standing type and the hanging type. Sutra streamers of the standing type are generally called sutra flags. The highest one could be tens of meters. On the top of the flagpole there are decorations such as the gilded Treasure Vase. Five-Colored Canopy, extails and so on.The hanging type sutra streamers, which are hanged on the long ropes, are commonest in the places of sacred mountains and saint lakes. The longest one could be hundreds of meters. Every family hangs this kind of colorful sutra steamers on the top of door or the roof of house.
...
Tibet Autonomous Region is situated at the southwest border, southwest of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, longitude 78 ° 25 'to 99 ° 06 ', latitude 26 ° 44 'to 36 ° 32 ' between. It is bounded by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, northeast connecting the east of Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, south-east and connected; south and west with Myanmar, India, Bhutan, Sikkim and Kashmir and other countries and regions bordering China and the formation of national and Border lines of all or part of a total length of 4,000 kilometers. Tibet, with its magnificent, magical magnificent natural scenery known. Her vast territory, spectacular landscape and abundant resources. Since ancient times, people of this land to create a rich and splendid culture. | https://www.360cities.net/pt/image/the-tibetan-prayer-flag-on-biri-sacred-mountain-nyingtri |
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- Recipes
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- Drink
- Hot chocolate
Pinches of ginger and cayenne turn hot chocolate into a spicy, indulgent drink that's heavenly on a cold day. Try it topped with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a dusting of cayenne pepper.
1 person made this
IngredientsServes: 4
- 120ml whole milk
- 45g dark chocolate chips
- 40g milk chocolate chips
- 3 pinches ground ginger
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
MethodPrep:5min ›Cook:10min ›Ready in:15min
- Pour milk into a double boiler over simmering water; heat until milk is steaming and bubbles start to surface, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to very low. Whisk dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips gradually into the milk until mixture is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in ginger and cayenne pepper.
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Reviews & ratingsAverage global rating:(3)
Reviews in English (2)
by Buckwheat Queen
This is pretty good. I added extra cayenne. I also opted for the whipped cream and cayenne on top. Thank you for the recipe.-14 Dec 2017
Recipe Summary
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup chopped dark chocolate
- ¼ cup chopped milk chocolate (such as Dairy Milk)
- 3 pinches ground ginger
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Pour milk into a double boiler over simmering water heat until hot and steaming. Reduce heat to very low. Add dark chocolate and milk chocolate bit by bit, whisking gently to melt into the milk. Add ginger and cayenne once chocolate is velvety smooth with no unmelted bits.
Pour melted chocolate into espresso cups or other small-sized cups. Wipe steam off the bottom of the pan to prevent it from dripping into the cups as you pour.
And Laura shook her head and thought, “ Oh ye of little faith.”
When I was literally starving after switching to a paleo diet (not for weight loss, but for other health reasons) she said, “Tasha, you have to make the chocolate peanut butter cups.” I can’t decide if that’s hyperbole or not about the starving. I was ravenously hungry all the time. If you’ve ever cut out sugar and grains, you know how your body freaks out for about a week. I’ve been eating a paleo diet for over four months and chocolate is life. Except, you know, after Jesus. Obviously . He’s literally life and light and I hope we know I’m speaking superfluously here. But figuratively . . . chocolate is life. I can honestly say that I’ve used significantly more cocoa powder the past four months than I ever have in my life before.
Download and print Hot Chocolate Mix Tags Here
Now you tell me – is this exciting or what? How fun to have a real food Hot Chocolate Mix to have on hand and to give as gifts! Sometime within in the next six years, I hope to provide you with another recipe idea as simple as this one.
4 Heavenly homemade hot chocolate recipes to keep you snug this season
If The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper deems it standard to have a cup of hot chocolate when outraged or angered, we can say that this is the ultimate go-to comfort sip.
The Mexicans invented the delicious drink we know today as hot chocolate. They would pour a mixture of ground cocoa beans mixed with chillies and water, back and forth until the drink formed a thick foam and they would serve it cold.
It was not consumed as a hot beverage until the 1500s, when explorer Hernan Cortes brought it to Europe.
Instead of reaching for that sugar-loaded instant hot chocolate, try these gourmet takes on the beverage, that will have you serving hot chocolate as a warm drink, cocktail and even dessert!
If Spanish explorer, Hernan Cortes went looking for silver and gold but instead returned with cocoa, then who is to judge us for the occasional indulgence. Try this warm version of the classic Mexican drink for that extra bit of heat needed in this cold weather.
Staying true to our roots, this variation of hot chocolate will make you nostalgic for all things festive and lovely, such as Peppermint Crisp tart and family.
Vacation? Oh how we wish. If you have this spicy rum hot chocolate as an after-dinner treat or luxurious night cap, one thing is for sure… it will transport you to an island Tiki bar.
Make these hot chocolate balls ahead of time and treat yourself when that hot chocolate craving comes knocking!
Cheesecake swirl brownies
Not only does the white cheesecake swirl liven up the appearance of plain old brown brownies, it also balances out the very dark and rich chocolate brownie.
Step 1
Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler, so it doesn’t burn. (If you don’t have a double boiler, you can stack two pots on top of each other with the bottom one containing boiling water in order to melt the chocolate.
Step 2
Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring frequently.
Step 3
Continue stirring, and cook for about 15-20 minutes to desired consistency.
Champagne White Chocolate Truffles
The Spruce / Elizabeth LaBau
When you need a fabulous dessert for classy events, make these decadent champagne white chocolate truffles. Creamy, rich, and infused with the delicate sparkling flavor of champagne, they are a truly special treat. Whip them up for New Year's Eve celebrations, anniversary dinners, and other important occasions.
How to make homemade hot fudge recipe:
In a heavy saucepan, add all ingredients and stir.
Heat oven medium heat stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and the sauce is smooth.
Remove from heat, stir and let cool slightly.
Add to jar or container with lid. We like to use a small mason jar.
Serve immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 1 month. To reheat, cook for 30 seconds in a microwave safe bowl. Stir and heat for an additional 10 seconds or longer if necessary.
Heavenly Dark Chocolate Truffles Recipe
After a series of tests, bowl after bowl of decadent melted chocolate and lots of truffles later, we’ve come to the conclusion that this, without fail, is the best dark chocolate truffles recipe. They’re rich, creamy and smooth. The recipe below has been inspired and adapted (slightly) from Alice Medrich’s House Truffles Recipe. The recipe can be found in many of her cookbooks. Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts is one of our favorites.
There are two methods you can choose from when making these truffles: By hand or with the help of a food processor. Both are easy to do. You’ll find instructions for both methods below. The truffles made in the food processor are a little creamier.
If you like this chocolate dessert you will also like these recipes:
Chocolate lasagna is light and easy, no-bake layered dessert with crushed Oreo, cream cheese and chocolate pudding, topped with Cool Whip and chocolate chips.
No Bake Strawberry Jello Lasagna is quick and easy dessert recipe for refreshing summer sweet treat and use only few ingredients.
White Chocolate Blueberry Lasagna is perfect summer dessert recipe- light, easy and no oven required. | https://zw.kampod.name/9652-heavenly-hot-chocolate-recipe.html |
Dr. William “Bill” H. Martin, Ph. D, 74, of Zanesville, died Sunday, November 21, 2021, at Genesis Hospital following a sudden illness. Dr. Martin was born March 20, 1947, in Zanesville, the son of John K. Martin and Peggy (Sams) Martin. He married Catherine “Cathy” A. (Rodocker) Martin who survives.
Something worth doing is worth overdoing. This is the sentence we regularly used to describe Bill.
A drink never went unfinished
A smoke never went out
Books were everywhere, and never unread
Food was rarely turned away (unless it was rice)
Music was never listened to quietly. In fact, nothing about Bill was quiet.
Why buy one fountain pen when you can buy 83? Why eat one handful of peanuts when the bag is still full? Why own one notebook when 35 seems more appropriate? Why watch one horrible tv show when there are so many horrible TV shows to watch? And why give one hug or kiss when there are so many to give?
Bill enjoyed life. He celebrated excess. He loved his daily routine. But he loved nothing more than his family.
Coffee and toast in bed for Cathy, his wife of 50+ years, was the norm. Every meal she made “was great” (even though it wasn’t). He worried when she left the house, and greeted her when she returned. If Cathy was in the room, there was a pretty good chance Bill was nearby.
His kids could do no wrong.
John Nathan (Sandra Wong)
Aaron Patrick (Mandi Weiser)
Sarah Kathleen
Rachel Elizabeth (Brad Dillon)
He was proud of everything they did and always had questions for them about work, life and everything in between. For Bill, there was nothing better than the occasions that brought all of his kids home.
The true apples of Bill’s eyes, his four granddaughters.
Madeline Scarlett
Margaret Josephine
Savannah Grayce
Annabelle Sophia (his cupcake)
When you looked on the dresser by his bed; or in his wallet; or in closed boxes, you didn’t find cash or jewelry…you found pictures of the girls or pictures or cards they made for PaPa.
So yes, something worth doing is worth overdoing, especially loving your family and the life you’ve created — which is what Bill did every day. We were lucky to have him, and will certainly miss him. Have one for Bill today — or indulge in some excess — he would have loved it. | https://whiznews.com/obituaries/dr-william-bill-h-martin-ph-d/ |
The _______ ______ for a procedure consists of all feasible simple events or all outcomes that cannot be broken dvery own any even more.
Sample space
The classical technique to probcapability calls for that the outcomes are ____ _____.
Equally likely
A procedure is repetitive aacquire and aacquire, the loved one frequency of an occasion has a tendency to approach the actual probability. This is recognized as _____ _____.
The regulation of big numbers
When making use of the ______ ____ constantly be cautious to prevent double-counting outcomes.
Addition rule
Events that are ____ cannot occur at the very same time.
Disjoint
________ suggests the probcapacity that in a single trial, event A occurs, event B occurs, or they both occur.
P(A or B)
A _______ _____ is any kind of event combining 2 or more easy events.
Compound event
Which word is linked with multiplication as soon as computer probabilities?
And
A picture of line segments branching out from one beginning point portraying the feasible outcomes of a procedure is dubbed a ______ ______.
Tree diagram
Two events A and also B are _________ if the occurrence of one does not impact the probability of the event of the other.
Independent
Selections made with replacement are taken into consideration to be _________.
Independent
"At least one" is indistinguishable to "_____ __ _____."
One or more
The enhance of "at least one" is "_____."
None
A _______ probcapacity of an event is a probability acquired via expertise that some other event has currently occurred. | https://slrfc.org/the-classical-approach-to-probability-requires-that-the-outcomes-are/ |
Introduction {#s1}
============
Various types of workers comprise the health-care industry, including physicians, dentists, and nurses as well as a broad range of other workers such as medical and nursing school students, and volunteers who are constantly in contact with patients in settings other than hospitals[@r1]^)^. These workers could be directly exposed to health-care-related infections as their jobs involve providing health care and treatment to individuals with infectious diseases. Thus, the risk of infection through contact with patients is high among workers in the health-care industry, and their morbid risk of work-related diseases is higher than that of workers in other services[@r2]^)^. Health Care Workers (HCWs) can be exposed to infectious diseases through various modes. Among the modes of transmission is through air-borne infection, in which infected particles larger than 5 *µ*m in diameter are projected into the air during coughing, sneezing, or conversation and splattered to the conjunctiva, or nasal or oral mucosa of humans, thereby spreading the infection[@r3]^)^. For example, in case of tuberculosis world-wide, 8.5 million persons were newly contracted in 2011, of whom 1.45 million died. While tuberculosis is becoming a worldwide health issue, Korea was reported to have the highest incidence of tuberculosis and tuberculosis-related mortality rate among the OECD member countries[@r4]^)^. For this reason, HCW are advised to wear N95 respirators that passed the fit test or high-quality respirators when they enter rooms where patients with suspected or confirmed respiratory organ tuberculosis (pulmonary or laryngeal tuberculosis) are confined[@r3]^)^. In addition, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare established the Guideline for Nosocomial Infection Prevention Control, in which wearing of special masks such as the N95 respirator are recommended in order to prevent infection through inhalation of small (less than 5 *µ*m) infectious particles floating in the air current along with dusts[@r5]^)^. However, considering that reducing the inflow of pathogens to the body greatly depends on the degree of fit of masks to the face, regardless of the quality of respirators and the efficiency of filters, wearers are not fully protected unless the respirator appropriately fits them[@r6]^)^. In a study that evaluated the effects of the N95 respirator and surgical masks within a simulated test space, the effects of an inappropriately worn respirator were worse than those of a loose-fitting respirator[@r7]^)^. Furthermore, other studies indicated that the fit factor extremely decreased, unless the N95 respirator was worn appropriately[@r8],[@r9],[@r10]^)^.
Therefore, a quantitative fit test is highly important. However, environmental conditions differ between workplaces. In addition, intrinsic respiratory rate and respiratory rate during work could differ, making it impossible to guarantee long-term protection[@r11]^)^. Fit test results only indicate the degree of fit between the face of the wearer and the respirator under the condition at the time of measurement and do not predict the degree of protection provided to the wearer from harmful substances in real workplaces[@r12], [@r13]^)^. Thereby, NIOSH suggested that a workplace test or a simulated workplace test should be included in the respiratory protection program[@r14]^)^.
When wearing a respirator in real workplaces, the amount of aerosol particles that enter the respiratory area depends on various factors such as the concentration and size distribution of the aerosol particles in the surrounding environment of the wearer, the types of filters used, the amount of sweat and dusts on the face of the wearer, the movement of the facial muscles, and the wearer's will to wear the respirator appropriately[@r15]^)^. Therefore, it is important that respirator fit is evaluated while workers are performing actual work activities wearing a respirator. However, measuring respirator performance in actual workplaces is difficult[@r16], [@r17]^)^. Hence, the Simulated Workplace Protection Factor (SWPF) can be evaluated by using a laboratory-based method in combination with real workplace environments[@r18]^)^.
Therefore, this study aimed to identify the protective effect of the N95 respirator for HCWs in a simulated work place. In addition, several facial dimensions of test subjects were measured so as to identify correlations with the fit factor and SWPF through the fit test, and real-time SWPFs were measured while performing simulated tasks of nursing so as to identify contributing activities on SWPFs.
Methods {#s2}
=======
General Methods
---------------
A fit test using TSI PortaCount Pro+ 8038 equipment was performed while the test subjects wore the N95 respirator. The criteria of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Protocol[@r27]^)^ were used in the Quantitative Fit Testing (QNFT). QNFT scores higher than 100 were applied as the passing criteria. Every test subject stopped the intake of drinks or foods 30 min before the start of the experiment and avoided smoking[@r28]^)^. The test subjects who completed the fit test were asked to undertake three scenarios. The real-time performances of the respirator were assessed by measuring the ambient air-borne particle concentrations in the room and outside and inside the respirator by using two kinds of fit test equipment. A simulated medical environment was utilized as shown in [Fig. 2](#fig_002){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 2.View of health care setting environment., and three health-care task scenarios were constructed by professional nurses and used in the setting. SWPF was calculated by using real-time measurement data of air-borne particle concentrations outside and inside the respirator while the subjects were performing care for patients.
### 1) Test subjects
For this study, test subjects were voluntarily recruited by posting advertisements or sending advertisement through e-mail, targeting health professionals, particularly nurses and nursing school students. In consideration of the appropriate sample size for the respirator fit test that was calculated[@r19]^)^, 49 test subjects were evaluated.
Facial dimensions, namely face width and face length, were measured to examine if the recruited subjects were included in the NIOSH Respirator Fit Test Panel (the NIOSH panel). Referring to previous study results[@r20],[@r21],[@r22]^)^, nasal root breadth, nose width, lip length, bitragion-subnasale arc, face length, and menton-subnasale length were also measured as illustrated in [Fig. 1](#fig_001){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 1.Facial dimensions measured.[@r23]^)^. A sliding caliper and a spreading caliper were used as measuring tools[@r24], [@r25]^)^. For facial measurements, the reference points of the measurements were determined by using the guidelines from SizeKorea[@r26]^)^. In order to reduce errors in the measurement values, mean values from 3 replications were calculated. In addition, only the individuals included in the NIOSH panel were selected as test subjects.
### 2) Equipment
TSI PortaCount Pro+ 8038 and N95-Companion TSI PortaCount Plus Model 8020 equipment, which quantitatively measure the ambient air-borne dust concentration and the fit level of a respirator, respectively, were used. The linear correlation coefficient of the ambient air-borne dust concentrations between the two kinds of equipment was R^2^=0.9949 ([Fig. 3](#fig_003){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 3.Relationship between the two instrument for ambient particle concentration (p/cm^3^).). Thus two instruments were considered in good agreements to use side-by-side.
In addition, in order not to change the condition of face seal by the weight of the Tygon tube that was connected to TSI PortaCount Pro + 8038, which was used to measure the dust concentration inside the respirator, the tube was supported with a necklace attached with a binder clip[@r18]^)^.
### 3) Respirator
3 M 1860 or 1860s models of the N95 respirators, which have been used and sold in medical work places, were used. The two models were certified by NIOSH.
### 4) SWPF
After discussion with an expert (a nursing professor), three health-care scenarios including patient assessment, suction treatment, and IV treatment were selected among various tasks nurses normally perform ([Table 1](#tbl_001){ref-type="table"}Table 1.Health care scenarios developed for the studyScenarios 1 (Assessment)Scenarios 2 (Suction)Scenarios 3 (IV Treatment)41 s to 1 min 48 s58 s to 1 min 44 s48 sec to 1 min 42 s1. Patient bedside diagnostics1. Upper airway suction1. Administer IV care· Vitals : blood pressure· Suction : by aspirator· IV : Injection of vein2. Ask question2. Notify aspirator2. Notify IV care3. Check blood pressure3. Knock chest and put on gloves3. Clean alcohol4. Raise/lower stretcher as need4. Raise/lower stretcher as need4. Tie tourniquet, push IV medication5. Clean hands5. Perform aspirator5. Raise/lower stretcher as need). To simulate real hospital bed conditions, the following were prepared in the simulated environment: sphygmomanometer, hand sanitizer, wall aspirator, tracheotomy tube, disposable gloves, tourniquet, 2-cc syringe, alcohol cotton balls, and dummy (simulated patients).
SWPF was calculated by measuring the concentrations inside and outside the respirator and using the equation (1)[@r26]^)^.
\...(1)
SWPF = Simulated Workplace Protection Factor
CA = concentration of particles outside the respirator
CB = concentration of particles inside the respirator
Overall SWPF was calculated for each SWPF activity by using equation (2) as follows:
\...(2)
SWPF = Each SWPF calculated by the concentrations outside and inside the respirator
n = total number of SWPF activities evaluated
Statistical analysis {#s3}
====================
The general characteristics of the subjects were subjected to a frequency analysis and expressed as percentages. The mean and standard deviation of each facial dimension (mm) was calculated, followed by a comparison of the mean difference between the men and women by using the *t*-test. The fit factors (FF) were expressed as geometric means (GM) and geometric standard deviations (GSD). A regression analysis between FF and SWPF was performed. The level of significance for all the statistical values was set at α=0.05. Collected data were analyzed by using the SPSS statistics 18.0 program.
Ethics {#s4}
======
The study procedure was approved by the Catholic Medical Center Office of Human Research Protection Program.
Results {#s5}
=======
General characteristics of the test subjects
--------------------------------------------
The test subjects were 49 individuals; 33 (67.3%) were female and 16 (32.7%) were male. Their mean age was 23.0 ± 3.8 yr. The age distribution was as follows: 36 persons (75.0%) younger than 25 yr; 9 persons (18.4%) between 25 and 30 yr; 3 persons (6.1%) between 30 and 35 yr; and 1 person (2.0%) older than 35 yr. The distribution of the subjects' occupations was as follows: 37 subjects (75.5%) nursing students and 12 subjects (24.5%) nurses. The size distribution of the N95 respirator was as follows: 46 subjects (93.9%) wore the small (S), and 3 subjects (6.1%) wore the medium (M) size respirator ([Table 2](#tbl_002){ref-type="table"}Table 2.General characteristics of the study subjectsClassificationN (%)SexMale16 (32.7%)Female33 (67.3%)Age20--2436 (73.5%)25--299 (18.4%)30--343 (6.1%)≥351 (2.0%)JobNursing student37 (75.5%)Nurse12 (24.5%)N95 SizeMedium3 (6.1%)Small46 (93.9%)N: Number of subjects).
Facial dimensions
-----------------
The statistical data of the facial dimensions of 49 subjects are presented in [Table 3](#tbl_003){ref-type="table"}Table 3.Summary statistics of facial dimension measurementsItemMale (N=16)Female (N=33)*p*-valueM±SD95th percentileM±SD95th percentileLCLUCLLCLUCLFace length117.2 ± 5.0114.4120.0110.8 ± 4.2109.3112.30.356Lip length40.1 ± 3.438.241.937.9 ± 2.437.138.80.026^\*^Nose width35.4 ± 2.034.336.531.7 ± 2.530.832.50.435Nasale root breadth33.6 ± 3.231.835.331.6 ± 3.430.432.90.777Bitragion-subnasale arc179.4 ± 22.1167.2191.6176.4 ± 19.3169.5183.20.229Bizygomatic breadth138.6 ± 8.1134.2143.1131.6 ± 6.0129.5133.80.161Menton-subnasale length70.6 ± 3.768.572.665.7 ± 4.464.167.30.193M ± SD: Mean and standard deviation (mm). LCL: Lower control limit, UCL: Upper control limit. \*Statistically significant difference between gender by *t*-test.. The results of the *t*-test to identify sex-related differences in values indicate a statistically significant difference (*p*\<0.05) in lip length ([Table 3](#tbl_003){ref-type="table"}).
Test Panel
----------
The study subjects were 49 individuals who were included in the NIOSH panel. Of the subjects, 33 (67.3%) were female and 16 (32.7%) were male. Their facial lengths ranged from 102 to 126.7 mm, and their facial widths ranged from 120.5 to 153.3 mm ([Fig. 4](#fig_004){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 4.Distribution of test subjects in the NIOSH panel constructed.).
Correlation between the fit test results and SWPF
-------------------------------------------------
Since the results of the fit test did not follow a normal distribution, both the FF and SWPF values were log transformed and the presented with GM (GSD). According to the results of the fit test using the 49 test subjects who were included in the NIOSH panel, 36 test subjects (73.5%) passed and the GM (GSD) of FF was 156.3 (1.3). However, 13 test subjects (26.5%) failed and the GM (GSD) of FF was 37.0 (1.7) ([Table 4](#tbl_004){ref-type="table"}Table 4.Fit test resultFit testN (%)GM (GSD)PassFailPass (FF≥100)Fail (FF\<100)36 (73.5)13 (26.5)156.3 (1.3)37.0 (1.7)GM: Geometric means, GSD: Geometric standard deviations). The GM (GSD) of SWPF values of the test subjects who passed and those who failed the fit test were 68.8 (1.1) and 39.6 (1.3), respectively, indicating that the latter had generally lower values than the former ([Table 5](#tbl_005){ref-type="table"}Table 5.SWPFs by subject who passed or failed the fit testSWPFN (%)GM (GSD)PassFailPass (FF≥100)Fail (FF\<100)36 (73.5)13 (26.5)68.8 (1.1)39.6 (1.3)GM: Geometric means, GSD: Geometric standard deviations).
The relationship between FF and SWPF was analyzed using a regression analysis. When the fit factor was assessed regarding its effect on the SWPF, the explanatory power was 31.6% ([Fig. 5](#fig_005){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 5.Relationship between the overall SWPFs and FFs for three scenarios.).
Real-time SWPF
--------------
The mean concentrations outside and inside the N95 respirator, and the mean real-time measurement values of SWPF for all the test subjects who either passed or failed the fit test were calculated for each exercise and presented in [Figs. 6](#fig_006){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 6.Fluctuations of particle concentrations (ambient and respirator) and overall SWPFs by exercise for three different scenarios from test subjects who passed the fit test. and [7](#fig_007){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 7.Fluctuations of particle concentrations (ambient and respirator) and overall SWPFs by exercise for three different scenarios from test subjects who failed the fit test.. The air-borne dust concentrations outside in the simulated medical environment ranged from 3,420 to 17,800 p/cm^3^. The particle concentrations inside the respirator ranged from 11 to 3,949 p/cm^3^, and the real-time SWPF values ranged from 1.4 to 364.
Among real-time SWPFs by scenario assessed, greater fluctuations were observed from the test subjects who failed the fit test. In addition, lower SWPFs were measured while performing the following movements; moving head up and down, and bending at the waist (e.g. raising and/or lowering the stretcher rails). Therefore, while performing these movements, respirator seals around the face might have been broken and thus allowed particles leaked in the respirator, particularly from those who failed the fit test.
Discussion {#s6}
==========
In medical environments, HCWs may reduce their risk of infection by wearing N95 respirators from infected patients and inhalation of contaminated substances in the air. A fit test was performed in this study to determine the protective effect of wearing the N95 respirator targeting HCWs, including nurses and nursing students, who are frequently exposed to health care-related infection mediated by droplets or air-borne pathogens. A simulated medical environment that is similar to real-world medical environments was created for the study. Three health-care tasks, selected by a field expert, namely patient assessment (measuring blood pressure), suction treatment, and IV treatment, were simulated and performed by the participants. The concentrations outside and inside the mask were measured in order to evaluate real-time SWPFs during the activities.
In the SWPF experiment, weak correlations (R^2^=0.316) between FF and SWPF were found in this study. The result was similar to that of the previous studies that showed a low correlation between two values[@r17], [@r20],[@r21],[@r22]^)^. Another study done with the powered air purifying respirator[@r29]^)^ found no correlation between QNFT and WPF. But, a previous research done in a simulated environment found that fit factor was found to be highly correlated with actual exposure measurement values in the simulated medical workplace[@r18]^)^. Unidentified individual-specific variables were speculated to affect correlation variations[@r13]^)^. However some exercises in this study, such as moving head up and down and bending over, were more influential on SWPF than others. During the assessment of real-time SWPFs, these movements were found to affect the degree of fit of the respirator. These influencing movements or activities need to be carefully managed during patients' care so as to minimize the breakage of the respirator seals.
In contrast, a study on the real-time identification of the protection factor according to OSHA Protocol 1910.134[@r33]^)^ showed that among the SWPFs, talking or grimace was more frequent than other activities[@r34], [@r35]^)^. Hauge *et al*. study[@r18]^)^, however, found no specific activities (e.g., talking or movement) to be related with the inside-respirator concentrations. Since the FF exercises used in this study were composed of only 6 exercises, excluding grimace, we had no information on the effects of grimace. Performing QNFT for respirator wearers is useful in terms of providing valuable training of donning as well as selecting correct sizes. But passing QNFT does not necessarily guarantee wearers' protection because of lack of correlations with SWPF or WPF, a refinement of QNFT exercises so as better predict SWPF or WPF needs to be done.
All the subjects in this study, except three (3) subjects, wore small-size N95 respirators. This finding was similar to that of a study with subjects from the NIOSH panel 1--7 that showed maximum fit with the S-size respirator. Meanwhile, the subjects from test panel 8--10 exhibited maximum fit with the M-size respirator[@r24], [@r25]^)^. In addition, according to the study with the NIOSH panel, subjects with small/ medium, or large facial dimensions who wore S- or M-size respirator, respectively, exhibited better fit[@r24], [@r25]^)^. According to the result of the fit test, the pass rate was 73.5% (36 persons) among the 49 test subjects. This was higher than the result of the QNFT experiment using the same N95 respirator model, which showed a pass rate of 57.4%[@r30]^)^. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that the QNFT fail rate of the N95 respirator was 20--100%[@r31]^)^ and recommended the use of respirator products with an optimal fit for each individual[@r32]^)^. The result indicated that respirator wearers should be provided different sizes of respirators so as to decide a correct size for them after QNFT.
A limitation of this study is the difference in considering such influencing factors from those in real workplaces. For example, influencing factors, including the effect of duration of rewearing a respirator, the model or size of other respirators, and the effect of face size or type, have different effects on fit[@r18]^)^. In addition, the ambient air particle concentrations in the simulated room, which were generally stable throughout the experiment, may be quite different from the real world situations where high and fluctuating concentrations can be found.
In a series of health care simulation studies by NIOSH researchers[@r17], [@r33]^)^, several activities besides OSHA exercises were included such as, hanging an IV bag, inserting a syringe into an IV bag, carrying weight, and walking, etc. Although it is judged that this study did not fully consider influencing factors in real workplaces, we believe that a further study that compensates for these activities will provide HCWs with a higher level of protection with the use of respirators.
Despite of these shortcomings, this study evaluated the performance of the N95 respirator through the fit test, targeting health care workers, and identified levels of protection depending on the wearers' activities by performing a real-time SWPF evaluation. We found that even with a high-quality respirator, if the respirator is not worn properly or the respirator size is not optimal, an adequate protection could not be provided to HCWs, who have a high risk of exposure to air-borne diseases such as tuberculosis due to their job activities and work environments.
Conclusions {#s7}
===========
This study aimed to determine the degree of protection that the N95 respirator provides to HCWs by performing a real-time SWPF evaluation. Test subjects performed 3 types of scenarios in a simulated patient treatment environment. In the SWPF evaluation depending on task, the concentration inside the respirators of the subjects who failed the fit test exhibited a higher fluctuation than that of the test subjects who passed the fit test. Because actions such as raising a rail or lowering a bed, which requires moving the head down or bending at waist, affect the fit level of the respirator, the concentration inside the respirator in each scenario tended to have a higher variation.
During the experiment, we found that particular movements, such as bending at the waist and moving head up and down, were identified as contributing factors affecting more on SWPFs. Therefore, it is necessary to perform the fit test using simulated activities of the real workplaces. Performing the fit test before distributing respirators and training the proper use of respirators seem to be very important for HCWs. Considering the recent increase in the incidence of air-borne diseases such as tuberculosis among HCWs, a better respiratory protection program with regular trainings should be provided in order to protect them from infectious diseases. This study also identified the needs for providing different sizes of respirators for HCWs.
This study was supported by a basic research fund from 3 M Korea in 2014. Also a set of TSI fit testing equipment was donated by APM Engineering. We appreciate both companies for supporting this research.
| |
This is an outline of what we will be doing throughout the year in each of the curriculum areas.
For more details about what your children will be learning during the Autumn Term, click here.
What an opportunity! We were very lucky to visit Emma Carroll, author of two of our books we will be studying this year, at the Octagon Theatre. We learnt a great deal about how she writes her stories and what makes her write about the topic that she chooses. The children were able to ask questions about the writing process and they were also given the opportunity to meet Emma whilst she signed their books.
Myself and Mrs Lockey are very much looking forward to the year ahead. As your child is now in Upper Key Stage Two the expectations will be higher to prepare your child for SATs and also the journey on to secondary school.
Home Learning:
The expectation of reading at home at least 3 times a week with a signature from parents still continues from previous years. Reading has a huge impact on your child’s writing progression, and it is important not to just read with your child but to have a conversation about what your child is reading and also address any vocabulary that is not understood or is unfamiliar. We endeavour to listen to your child read at least once a week in school hours. There will be a weekly spelling list that your child is expected to learn, and they will be tested on this on a weekly basis. The spellings will not be read out for the test and therefore your child will need to remember these. Times tables will also be tested on a weekly basis. By the end of year 4 all children should know their times tables up to 12x12 from memory. These are a fundamental part of their mathematics progression.
Maths and English homework will be sent home on a Friday and be due in the following Wednesday. These tasks should take your child anywhere between 30-60 minutes. I am very happy to help any child who is struggling but they must come and see me before the hand in date. This is their responsibility!
Curriculum:
-Home learning journals must be present in school everyday.
-Curriculum PE will take place on a Monday and Friday, however their PE kit should be in school everyday as we endeavour to be undertaking the Golden Mile on a daily basis.
-8 week swimming course @ Sherborne Boys School 20th November 19- 22nd January 20 Inc.- All children will attend unless medical evidence can be provided as to why they cannot participate.
-This term’s topic is Ancient Egypt, where we will be visiting the Tutankhamun Museum in Dorchester later in the term.
We operate an open-door policy in Newtown Class, therefore if you have any queries or problems that you wish to discuss please do not hesitate to come and see me.
Miss C White and Mrs A Lockey.
Below are the books that we will use in our English lessons each half term. Please feel free to purchase the books for your child if you wish so that they can follow along when we are using them in class (this is not a necessity.) However, please do not let your child read these books ahead of the half term as this would spoil the unit of work. | https://www.milborneport.somerset.sch.uk/classes/newtown |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Applicant is aware of several spring devices in the heels or on the soles of shoes for various purposes such as Kells U.S. Pat. No. 2, 545, 419; Wallach U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,318; and also U.S. Pat. No. 2,555, 654; U.S. Pat. No. 413,693; U.S. Pat. No. 1,021,142, and U.S. Pat. No. 1, 160, 756.
The primary object of this invention is that when the person puts his weight on the heel then a leaf spring is freed to exert force against the ground and thereby assist in the raising of the heel as the weight of the person is shifted toward the sole, means being provided to return the leaf spring to the initial position when the lift is completed. Another object of the invention is to provide such a device for assisting in the lifting of the heel which is compactly arranged in a cavity of the heel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a side view of a shoe showing the heel in position before the weight of the person is shifted to the heel of the shoe, the leaf spring being held retracted.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the heel lift in retracted position.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the heel lift in the extended position.
FIG. 5 is a developed view of the parts of the heel lift on the heel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The shoe 1 has a sole 2 and a heel 3. The heel has a cavity 4 therein. A bottom portion of the heel from the cavity toward the rear 6 of the heel is cut away to form a downwardly and rearwardly inclined surface 7. An anchor pin 8 is extended across the cavity 4 transversly of the heel. A spring coil 9 is anchored on the pin 8. A leaf spring 11 extends from the spring coil 9 so biased as to urge the leaf spring 11 away from the inclined surface 7. A complemental heel portion 12 on the leaf spring 11 complements the heel from the inclined surface 7 to its bottom level.
A lever 13 is pivoted on a pin 14 which latter covers the cavity 4 below the anchor pin 8. The pivot pin 14 extends through a boss 16 on the lever 13, bearing face 17 of the boss 16 is engaged by a coil spring 18. The incline of the bearing face 17 and the bias of the coil spring 18 is such as to urge the lever 13 around the pivot 14 against the leaf spring 11 thereby to hold the leaf spring 11 against the inclined heel surface 7, as shown in FIG. 2. The coil spring 18 is nested in a pocket 19 in the side of the cavity 4 opposite the bearing face 17. The lever 13 has thereon a complemental heel strip 21. The forward end of the lever 13 is spaced from the adjacent bottom wall 22 of the heel by a compressible filler 23, such as sponge rubber.
A releasible latching device for the lever 13 includes a finger 24 which extends from the inner end of the bearing face 17 near the top of the boss 16. A pawl 26 is pivoted on a spring pivot 27 and is normally urged by the spring pivot 27 toward the finger 24. The lower face 28 of the pawl 26 forms a cam surface which initially is abutted by the finger 24 as shown in FIG. 2. When the lever 13 is rocked in a clockwise direction viewing FIG. 2 into the position shown in FIG. 4 the finger 24 bears on the cam surface 28 and pushes the pawl 26 away and enters into a keeper recess 29 thereby to be locked in it and hold the lever 13 temporarily in the leaf spring releasing position.
As the leaf spring 11 is released and moves from the position shown in FIG. 2 into the position shown in FIG. 4, thereby to aid in lifting the heel, a releasing mechanism pulls the pawl 26 around the spring pivot 27 so as to release the finger 24 thereby to allow the coil spring 18 to return the lever 13 into the initial locking position shown in FIG. 2.
The release mechanism includes a line 31 one end of which is secured to an ear 32 on the leaf spring 11 the other end of which is secured in a hole 33 of the pawl 26 above the spring pivot 27. The line 31 is played around a guide pulley 34 in the cavity 4. When the leaf spring 11 moves toward the position shown in FIG. 4, the line 31 is pulled downward and rocks the pawl 26 away from the finger 24 and releases the lever 13 which allows the coil spring 18 to return the lever 13 to its initial position bearing against the leaf spring 11. For this purpose the coil spring 18 is considerably stronger than the spring coil 9 of the leaf spring 11 so that the leaf spring 11 can move away from the slanted surface 7 only when the person places his weight on the forward portion of the heel thereby to rock the lever 13 into the position shown in FIG. 4. | |
Mom Noema Alavez Perez, 19, who is five months pregnant, returned to Bridgeton City Park on Monday as authorities continued to search for her kindergartner, with few leads materializing.
“Today marks two weeks since the monster that took my daughter and made my life change for the worse,” Alavez Perez said, according to CBS Philly. “She was afraid of the dark and everything. And every night, I always think of her, thinking that she’s crying and that she misses us, misses us a lot.”
Alavez Perez said she has trouble sleeping knowing how frightened her daughter must be.
The mom said she was in the car helping her own 8-year-old sister with homework and doing a lottery scratch-off when her daughter disappeared from the 1,000-acre park Sept. 16, according to the report.
Dulce was playing with her 3-year-old brother, Manuel, at the time. Moments later, Manuel said his sister was gone, pointing toward several storage buildings nearby.
An Amber Alert was issued, and a $35,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to a break in the case.
It’s been two weeks since Dulce Maria Alavez was last seen playing in a park in Bridgeton.CBS3
Investigators have been looking for a light-skinned white or Hispanic male wearing orange sneakers, red pants and a black shirt who was driving a red van with tinted windows and a sliding rear passenger door. They consider him someone they want to talk to but note that they don’t have any strong suspects, CBS Philly reported.
Last week, FBI investigators confirmed that they had been in touch with the girl’s father, who is in Mexico, but declined to provide additional details.
Alavez Perez told the local station she doesn’t think Dulce’s father is involved in the disappearance.
The mom’s parents have custody of Dulce, she said.
Alavez Perez told the station she’s been responsive to investigators’ questions and has allowed authorities to comb through her phone at least three times. | |
Chicago Wolves perking up again
Chicago Wolves #12 Chris Tanev warms up prior to playing the Abbotsford Heat in a AHL regular season game.
Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann , PNG
They are not exactly howling on all cylinders, but the Chicago Wolves do at least seem to have some bite back in their game.
The Vancouver Canucks' AHL farm team will carry a three-game winning streak into Wednesday morning's home matinee against the Abbotsford Heat.
The Wolves have won four of five games since head coach Scott Arniel sent a wakeup call to his struggling team and in particular to Canuck prospects Zack Kassian and Jordan Schroeder by benching the pair for a Dec. 1 game against Peoria.
"Those guys were having a tough stretch and their games weren't where we wanted them to be," Arniel said Monday. "As a team we were in a little bit of a slide and you do it obviously to wake up the players and wake up your team and fortunately we won that game that night and it sent a good message."
The Wolves had lost seven of eight games before Schroeder and Kassian were parked in the press box by Arniel.
"I could see gradually game by game their play was dropping off and sometimes you have to do it, you just have to throw a zinger at them and it gets them either pissed off or it gets your team kind of recognizing that nobody is untouchable that way. At the time, it was what we needed."
Arniel said both Kassian and Schroeder have been better of late, but like so many young AHL players are battling with inconsistency. Some nights, they play great. Others, not so well.
"The guys who figure that out and get consistency in their game are the ones who are in the NHL for a long time," Arniel said.
Schroeder and Kassian are tied for second on a Wolves team that has struggled scoring goals this season. Each has 14 points. Schroeder has played 23 games while Kassian has played 22.
The Wolves, who enter Wednesday's game with a record of 12-9-2-1, have scored just 65 goals this season. Only four of the AHL's 30 teams have scored fewer goals than Chicago.
"Yeah, they (goals) really have been tough to come by," Arniel said. "But that is kind of what we have talked about during this last stretch. If we are not getting four or five goals a night then we have to win the 2-1 games. Earlier, we were losing those tight, low-scoring games and now we are finding ways to win. We have won four of the last five and we haven't scored a lot of goals, but we have done a lot of good things to prevent the other team from scoring goals."
And they have done it without the services of No. 1 goalie Eddie Lack, who has missed the last seven games with a stubborn hip flexor injury. Arniel said Lack is still not skating and definitely will not play before Christmas.
Matt Climie has played well in Lack's absence, registering a 2.65 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in his last seven starts.
"Matt has played really well," Arniel said. "We weren't scoring goals and giving him much run support, but we have done that lately, grabbed some early leads and he has given us goaltending good enough to win every night."
The Wolves are dealing with some other key injuries. Winger Steve Pinizzotto is out with a groin problem, while forwards Bill Sweatt and Anton Rodin have suffered concussions. Defenceman Yann Sauve is nursing a back injury.
Fellow defenceman Kevin Connauton, meanwhile, is battling his confidence. The former Vancouver Giant, who was the Canucks' third-round pick in the 2009 NHL draft, is a team-worst minus-10 this season. Connauton, an offensively gifted player, has been asked to work on his play in his own zone and Arniel thinks it has hurt him at the other end of the ice.
"I think with all this talk about his game defensively he has put so much in trying to be a defensive defenceman or add that part to his game that it's taken away his offence," Arniel said. "We have had the conversation about him having to bring his A game and while he works on other aspects of his game he still has to do the things that he's good at. We know he can jump up in the rush and get that slap shot away and be an offensive threat from the back end and I think he got away from that. It still has to be a part of his game, that's what he's good at. We'll continue to work on the other parts."
Connauton has just two goals and eight points in 23 games this season. Last season, he had 13 goals and 33 points in 73 games.
Arniel had praise for the steady play defenceman Chris Tanev, who has 10 points in 22 games and is a plus-six on the season.
ICE CHIPS: Wednesday's game against the Heat is a high school special and starts at 11 a.m. CST. . .The Wolves play five of their next 10 games against Abbotsford, which leads the AHL's North Division with a record of 15-5-3-3. . .The Wolves are tied for third in the competitive Midwest Division, where only two points separate the top and bottom teams. | http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/hockey/vancouver-canucks/Chicago+Wolves+perking+again/7711833/story.html |
Nigeria Judo Federation has bestowed an Award of best behaved coach on head coach of Ondo State Judo, Toyin Ojo.
The award was presented to the coach by the vice president of the federation, Mrs Loveth Owen at the medals presentation to athletes at the ongoing National Sports Festival (NSF) in Asaba, Delta State.
The Ondo State coach while speaking with Sporting Hope in and exclusive interview thanked the federation ,his coaching crew and all the athletes, saying it was a team work.
Ojo added that the award was a manifestation of how disciplined we are in Ondo State, adding that people of the state were known to be upright and always abide with rules and regulations.
He said: “I must confess, I’m overwhelmed with joy, it’s not easy to be singled out and bestowed such an award in the midst of coaches from 36 states and Federal Capital Territory.”
“It’s true that charity begins at home, as a coach we must imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship, because we are like a mirror to our athletes, our attitude and character will be automatically transfered to them, therefore we must always be calm and comfort our selves.”
In sports, you win some and lose some, one we understand the rules and regulations our different games, we will know how to go along with it.”
He urged other coaches within Ondo State and beyond to always be a good custodian of the rules and regulations that guided their respective games. | https://www.thehopenewspaper.com/ondo-judo-coachbags-federation-award-at-21st-nsf/ |
Action under consideration by the Lansing City Council won't give residents of Parkwood Estates Mobile Home Court the access they want on and off of Main Street, but if approved it will insure mobile homes can be moved in and out of the park.
The council will be asked at its meeting tonight, Sept. 6, to approve a change order to the Main Street contract that would make improvements to North Second Street and American Avenue, on the back side of the mobile home park.
Residents of the park have complained since earlier this year, when a median was installed on Main Street that prevented left-hand turns onto Helen Street, which leads into the park. Helen Street's intersection at Main, meanwhile, was reconfigured for "right-in, right-out" access only.
City Administrator Mike Smith said the solution likely won't satisfy everybody, but it's the best the city can do under the circumstances.
The Kansas Department of Transportation, the lead agency on the Main Street project, is holding firm on keeping the Helen Street intersection as is, for safety reasons, Smith said. The city, he said, had wanted to improve and open Helen Street through the mobile home park to allow residents easy access to North Second, but the mobile home park owners only wanted to lease the private stretch of Helen Street to the city.
"We wanted to give the folks an opportunity," Smith said, "but we can't work on what we don't own."
The city's solution, Smith said, is the plan on the table tonight. The plan would make intersection improvements at North Second and American that would allow mobile homes to be moved out of the park - if park owners remove a barricade at Helen and North Second.
"We're trying to give them an opportunity to get their mobile homes in and out," Smith said.
Cost of the proposed change order is $71,000, with the city's share approximately $15,000, said John Young, the city's Public Works director. The state would pick up the remainder.
The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 800 First Terrace. Here's the council agenda:
Old business
¢ Consider minutes from the Aug. 16 meeting.
New business
¢ Hear a presentation on the Lansing Foundation Fund Gala
¢ Hear an update on the Main Street System Enhancement Project
¢ Consider appointing voting delegates to the League of Kansas Municipalities
¢ Consider a change order for the Main Street contract
¢ Consider the preliminary and final development plans for Wendel Replat, a proposed development of six townhomes at J and West Kay streets.
¢ Hear reports from council members, staff members and the mayor.
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Commenting has been disabled for this item. | http://www.basehorinfo.com/news/2007/sep/06/council_consider_helen_st_traffic_alternate/ |
At long last we have agreed all the text for the revised Nationwide Standards at the last Nationwide Meeting of Fish Society delegates held on Sunday May 3rd 2015. The meeting was attended by delegates from all the fish societies dedicated to the improvement and continuation of the Standards for all the recognised Goldfish Varieties. We are also well on with the modifications of the line drawings and our thanks go out to those delegates and societies that put so much work into this effort over the last two years. Apologies to all that had to spend so much time listening to the constructive arguments and contributing their thoughts and opinions at various society meetings over the last 24 months but we now have a solid draft document free of errors and discrepancies. Thanks have to go to all the delegates, from all the societies for their time and determination to complete this mammoth task as mandated by all the societies on behalf of the membership. There may still be some dissent from some fish keepers, with the door always open for further modification as fish develop over the forthcoming years. A standard for the Wakin and Ryukin were also agreed at this meeting. Minutes of the Nationwide meeting will be published soon as a permanent record of events for all society records.
AMGK Web Site
We now have a new web site, that will be set up by June Pons on behalf of the Society and I wish to thank both June for undertaking the initial management of the site and for sorting out how to transfer it from the previous domain etc., and also want to thank Frances Van der Merve for running our web site to date on the Society’s behalf. Once the web site is up and running we will publish all particulars for our members to use and contribute to as appropriate.
New Members
We offer a very warm welcome to new members Tony and Heather Carrier, from Leicester and hope that they will be able to attend our next get together at our Open Show on Saturday 20th June 2015.
Photography
Laurence Tressler, who has been a member for the last couple of years, was kind enough to volunteer to photograph and film our adult fish show during our last meeting. Laurence is a keen photographer and has had a number of interesting past commissions. It is intended that an edited disc copy is produced for review as a permanent club record and, if possible, Laurence has ‘volunteered’ to film the Open Show activities if he can make the date. The film will include the setting up, judging process, auction, canteen activity, presentations of awards and de-benching etc., this should make for interesting viewing later in the year so please watch your dress, language and any make up you lads want to wear!.
President’s Open Day
Andy Barton, our President, kindly opened his house and fish establishment for members on 27th July 2014 which made for a great day out. Apart from some excellent fish on display (particularly broadtail/Veil Orandas, Andy keeps and breeds show quality Fancy Guppies. A number of members, myself included, started fish breeding with quality Guppies so it was good to see some excellent ones that have done Andy proud in the national guppy show league over the last few years. We have included a number of photographs from the day an also some from the year before on a similar event if you are wondering why some of us have had a change of clothing!
Open Show
Don’t forget our open show this year that starts at 8.00amon Saturday 20th June 2015 for all our members, in order to prepare the show hall for visiting exhibitors from the other societies that adhere to the Nationwide Standards.
National Open Goldfish Show to Nationwide Standards
We can confirm that the 2nd National Open Goldfish show judged to Nationwide Standards will again be held in Northampton on Saturday 26th September 2015. As previously this is organised and run jointly by all four goldfish societies with more details being made available nearer the time. But for now please make a note of the date in your diaries.
Chairman’s Open Day
For the third time in five years I have agreed to an open day at my house in Telford, Shropshire on Sunday 26th July 2015, but cannot promise exceptionally sunny like on the last two occasions, but you never know. Although It has been a late start for many of us this year with our fish breeding programme, mainly due to the cold weather, I started to bring the fish into breeding condition during April and now have spawnings of Bristol Shubunkins, Broadtail Moors, Common Goldfish and a few Calico Veiltails – all feeding on newly hatched Brine Shrimp. So there should be plenty of young fish available to see before they hit the Autumn Show scene. Of course, all members are welcome as well as other members from the other Nationwide Standards supporting societies.
Our thanks once again to June for putting this issue of the Goldfish Standard together, and understand that there will be another bumper issue following our open show. | https://amgk.co.uk/2015/05/chairmans-report-may-2015/ |
Some History of Music for Piano 4 Hands
The piano duet (music for 4 hands) became popular in the second half of the 18th century. The piano, at this time, was a focus for entertainment and a great amount of music was both composed and arranged in this format.
Why play piano duets
If you are a keyboard or piano player a repertoire that is deserving of attention and worth exploring is that composed for music for 4 hands. Apart from developing ensemble playing skills it is an excellent medium for developing awareness and understanding of compositional process.
What music is in the repertoire for piano duet aka music for piano 4 hands
J. C. F Bach (1732 – 1795) the third youngest of J.S. Bach’s four composing sons composed two sonatas for piano (4 hands).
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) composed much music for piano 4 hands which he often performed with his elder sister known as Nannerl. There are sonatas, variations and arrangements of music composed for solo piano. These works are excellent for developing an understanding of how Mozart composed his music and are great ensemble pieces with a similar content to the music found in his piano concerti. Mozart’s music is always of a very high and consistent quality. His music was generally composed perfectly formed as such in his head and then subsequently transcribed to manuscript.
First Movement K.19d | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/2YwwZk8
Minuet and Trio K.19d | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/36r0hVG
Rondo K.19d | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/36qfiHe
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) made an important contribution to the repertoire for music for piano 4 hands and there are the three Opus 45 Marches and a number of sets of variations together with arrangements of dances and a two movement Sonata in D Opus 6. For those who enjoy a particular challenge there is an arrangement by the composer of the Grosse Fugue in Bb for piano 4 hands, a copy of which in the composer’s hand was only re-discovered in relatively recent times.
March No.1 in C | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/3pfz7co
Variations on “Ich denke dein” | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/39Dj3LP
Franz Schubert’s (1797 – 1828) contribution to the repertoire is unusual in that some of his major and greatest works are for this medium. The haunting and dramatic Fantasy in F minor D. 940 is an often performed, well recorded work that is in this category. There is also a substantial 4 movement Sonata for Piano Duet in C major D.812 known as the “Grand Duo.” The Rondo in A Major D.951 or “Grand Rondeau” is another appealing piece in the key of A that strikes the same mood as many other of the composer’s works in the same key such as the Piano Sonata in A D.664. Whilst Schubert excelled at composing all types of music his chamber music is particularly significant because many works were composed for a circle of musical friends many of whom supported him at challenging and difficult times in his life. In addition to the substantial works there are many sets of variations, marches and arrangements of dances popular from the composer’s time.
Military March No.1 Opus 51 Free sheet music and accompaniments link: https://bit.ly/3liyMmC
Children’s March in G | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: https://bit.ly/2IcoGWn
Gaetano Donizetti (1797 – 1848) Whilst known for his operas this prolific Italian composer contributed some excellent piano duets to the repertoire which are recent discovery for this blogger.
Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) was intent upon becoming a concert pianists but an injury to a finger led hm to focus on composing. The Studies in Canon Opus 56 for pedal piano were later arranged by Georges Bizet for piano duet and the six movements are excellent pieces to both play and enjoy. They were composed when Schumann was intent upon revisiting the principles of contrapuntal discipline in his writing.
Study in Canon No.2 arr. Bizet | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: https://bit.ly/36jrt7T
Study in Canon No.3 arr. Bizet | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/3bqBEMi
Study in Canon No.4 arr.Bizet Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/36jrt7T
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) contribution to the piano duet repertoire include the 21 Hungarian Dances (1 – 10 date from 1858-68 and 11-21 from 1880), the Waltzes Opus 39 (1865) and the Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann Opus 23. The Hungarian Dances, based on actual Hungarian themes, were very popular and subsequently the composer (and others) made arrangements for various instrument groupings.
Georges Bizet (1838 – 1875) composed his Jeux d’enfants (Children’s Games) Opus 22 in 1871. It a suite of 12 miniatures for piano 4 hands which were then subsequently orchestrated (although not all by the composer). Commentators have suggested that Jeux d’enfants enabled Bizet to discover his true compositional strengths and spirit as a composer – namely writing short melodic pieces that had a chromatic context Bizet’s Jeux d’enfants well maybe of been the inspiration for Fauré, Debussy and Ravel to compose similar childhood inspired music.
Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) played piano duets with his mother and not surprising made a contribution to the repertoire including the characterful Norwegian Dances Opus 35 (1880) which were later orchestrated by Hans Sitt. Much of the composer’s orchestral music has also been arranged as music for piano duet.
Norwegian Dance No.2 Free sheet music and accompaniments link: https://bit.ly/2Ix6KFx
Antonín Dvorák (1841 – 1904) is another late romantic composer associated with the movement known as Nationalism who composed his Slavonic Dances Opus 46 (1878) and Opus 72 (1886) for piano duet. As they quickly became popular Dvorák soon orchestrated them at the request of his publisher. On the whole, they are Bohemian in context and whilst Dvorak does not quote folk melodies he does make use of traditional rhythmic patterns and folk music structures. Amongst the more familiar dances that feature are the furiant, the dumka , the polka, the mazurka and the polonaise. The works were inspired by Brahm’s Hungarian Dances and were important in establishing Dvorák as a major composer.
Gabriel Fauré’s (1845 – 1924) composed the piano duet collection familiarly known as the “Dolly Suite.” Often the inspiration for composing a piano duet collection was a connection to a child and this was the case with this collection of six pieces largely composed between 1893 and 1896.
Mi-a-ou | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/3alMbGr
Le garden de Dolly | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/36qIiP7
Kitty-Valse | Free sheet music and accompaniments link: http://bit.ly/38rcpaY
Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918) is another French composer who contributed to the piano duet repertoire composing a four movement Petite Suite for piano duet in 1888/89 which was subsequently orchestrated by Henri Busser. There are also some other piano duets by the composer including the 6 Épigraphes antiques which date from 1914 although the music initially originated in another format.
Moritz Moszkowski (1854 – 1925) was a German composer of Polish – Jewish descent who was an exceptional pianist and well known at the end of the 19th century as a concert pianist, conductor, composer and teacher. He composed many small-scale piano works of which his 5 Spanish Dances Opus 12 set are probably the best known existing in several formats including piano duet. The Spanish sound is referenced by use of the phrygian mode which has the semi-tones between the first and second and the fifth and sixth degree of the scale – D Eb F G A Bb C D. The rhythmic shapes are from patterns associated with the Bolero which originated in Spain during the C18th as a form of ballroom dance and became a template and form used by many composers of art music. Music associated with particular countries and regions of Europe particular on its fringes was very popular towards the end of the 19th century identified with a movement that was known as nationalism.
Spanish Dance No.2 Free sheet music and accompaniments link: https://bit.ly/35gCbwU
Anton Arensky (1861 – 1906) was a Russian composer and music professor who taught Rimsky Korsakov, Scriabin and Rachmaninov amongst others. Influenced by Tchaikovsky he composed some charming chamber music including the Opus 34 and and Opus 66 piano duets. He tended to imitate the musical style of others rather than pursue and and establish his own distintive musical style and as a consequence he suffered criticism from his contemporaries. It probably explains the reason why his music is not more widely performed and known.
Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937) composed his five movement Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Suite) for piano duet in 1910. The work was subsequently orchestrated and expanded by the composer. Four of the movements have a literary inspirations and they were composed and dedicated to children of the composer’s friends.
More recent composers who have contributed to the piano duet repertoire whose, music is in copyright, are Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963) and Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1972). Poulenc has composed a Sonata for Piano 4 hands and amongst Stravinsky’s piano duets are the 5 Easy Pieces and 3 Easy Pieces. In addition, there are 4 hands arrangements of the composers ballets Petrushka and Rite of Spring both by the composer. György Ligeti (1923 – 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian modern classical composer identified with the “avant-garde.”Amongst his piano music is a Sonatina for piano 4 hands . György Kurtág (b1926) is a Hungarian classical composer and pianist who has composed many piano duets which he often performed with his (late) wife Márta. He is particularly interested in creating miniatures or what have been described as musical fragments. His nine volume collection Játékok includes much 4 hand music.
Who plays piano duets?
There are many fine performers of piano duets and often they are husband and wife teams, siblings or musicians that are together at a festival. John Ogdon played and recorded with his wife Brenda Lucas whilst Aloys and Alfons Kontarsky were two brothers from German pianists who played both piano duets and music for two pianos frequently premiering contemporary works.
Benjamin Britten and Sviatoslav Richter famously played piano duets at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1960’s and these performances which included the Mozart Duet Sonata in C K.521 which are still available in the recording catalogue. Martha Argerich is another pianist who often shares a duet or duo rôle at a music festival and again recordings are available often of the live concerts.
Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu played as a piano duet and piano duo in the late 1980’s and recorded the Schubert Fantasy in F minor D.940 in what was a landmark recording along with works for piano duo.
Piano Duets and PlentyMusic
To encourage pianists and keyboard players to participate in an ensemble music activity PlentyMusic has a number of piano duets available in its catalogue with “accompaniments” to download enabling the player to take on the rôle of either the Primo or Secondo player in an ensemble music activity. Download formats are pdf for sheet music and mp3 for sound files. The sheet music and accompaniments music can be found on the PlentyMusic website in the Area of Study: Piano Duets (Music for Piano Four Hands). There is more music available than that referenced above and music is continuously been added to the website.
Please advise the PlentyMusic Office either through LiveChat or by email if you would like to see some additional scores and accompaniments in place for this repertoire. | https://plentymusic.co.uk/blog/index.php/2021/01/31/music-for-piano-four-hands-piano-duets/ |
Liqueurs and fresh fruit topped with Italian sparkling wine create refreshing, Fruity Prosecco cocktails that complement lighter fare.
Course
Drinks
Cuisine
American
Prep Time
5
mins
Total Time
5
mins
Servings
1
serving
Author
Lynne Webb
Ingredients
3/4
ounce
liqueur
2
tablespoons
whole or chopped fruit
5
ounces
Prosecco
or other sparkling wine, well chilled
Instructions
Measure the liqueur into the bottom of a champagne flute, add the fruit and top with sparkling wine.
Tips for Making This Recipe
Suggested Flavor Combos: | https://www.mygourmetconnection.com/wprm_print/recipe/28235 |
Bella Alarie ’20 was named the Ivy League Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring a game-high 25 points in Princeton’s 65–54 championship win over Penn March 17 (and 21 points in the prior day’s semifinal win over Cornell). But it was Alarie’s defense that keyed the most pivotal plays of the Princeton-Penn game.
After the Quakers took a three-point lead into the final quarter, Alarie blocked Penn’s star forward, Eleah Parker, and kept the ball in play, allowing Gabrielle Rush ’19 to race ahead for a fast-break layup and foul shot that tied the game 47–47. Later, Alarie blocked Parker again to preserve a 51–51 tie, followed by another Rush basket that took the lead for good.
Alarie added a steal down the stretch that helped seal the victory. In her highly anticipated battle with Parker — a matchup of the only two unanimous All-Ivy honorees, the league’s Player of the Year (Alarie) against the Defensive Player of the Year (Parker) — Alarie won decisively, holding the Penn center to 10 points on 5–23 shooting and blocking her four times. Alarie also played all 40 minutes of the game.
“Eleah Parker’s really good — she’s exceptional, and Bella is one of the few people in the country that can guard her. She doesn’t shoot from far away, so those were 23 shots that were around the paint, and [Alarie] was able to disrupt them,” said Princeton coach Courtney Banghart, who added that Alarie’s leadership extended to the postgame celebration — she started a dance party in front of the Princeton Band.
Though Princeton and Penn had finished first and second in the league for five straight years, this was the first year they shared the conference championship, finishing with identical 12–2 records. The tournament final was a rubber match on multiple levels — not only did the two sides split this season’s regular-season meetings, but they also beat one another in the last two Ivy League Tournament finals (Penn winning in 2017, Princeton in 2018).
In the NCAA Tournament, Princeton earned a No. 11 seed and a first-round meeting with No. 6-seed Kentucky in Raleigh, N.C., March 23. The Tigers led at halftime and for parts of the third quarter before the Wildcats surged ahead with a 9–0 run. Kentucky made 15 of 26 second-half shots on its way to a 82–77 victory.
Alarie scored 20 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and assisted on five Tiger baskets. Rush scored 22 points, including six 3-pointers, and Sydney Jordan ’19 had a career-high 17 points in her final collegiate game. | https://paw.princeton.edu/print/208046 |
Walter Davis “W.D.” Scott, 76, of El Dorado Springs, formerly Appleton City, passed away Saturday, September 19, 2015 of complications while fighting lung cancer. He was born July 23, 1939 to Aaron & Winona Scott in Humansville, MO. Walter graduated from Humansville High School in 1957. He served two years in the Army Air Corps as a Helicopter Crew Chief. In 1961, he met and married Phylis Diane Thompson and had four children. Walter worked concrete construction and was a fireman in Kansas City and later worked as a prospect driller for various coal mining companies. In 1987, Walter married his current wife Joy Pankey Helm, who also had four grown children. Together they built and managed Scott Farms in Appleton City where they raised a purebred herd of Charolais cattle, mixed cattle and buffalo. They ran a concession trailer for many years serving buffalo burgers and were well-known in the surrounding communities.
Walter was survived by his loving wife Joy Scott of El Dorado Springs, daughter Lisa & Jesse Wood and five children of Paradise, TX, son Brad & Janet Scott and two children of Appleton City, daughter Lori Stone and four children of Rhome, TX, daughter Jenifer & Chris Shaw and four children of Hamilton, MO, step-daughter Lori Helm-Thorne and six children of El Dorado Springs, step-son Ken & Lori Helm and two children of El Dorado Springs, step-son Randy & Shelly Helm and three children of El Dorado Springs, sister Jean Campbell of Humansville, brother Roy Scott of Humansville, brother Jim Scott of Independence, MO and many beautiful nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Walter was preceded in death by both parents, sister Geraldine Wilkerson, granddaughter Kendall Silvola, step-son Mike Helm, and step-granddaughter Tori Helm.
Visitation will be held at Sheldon Funeral Home, El Dorado Springs, MO on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 at 6pm. Funeral Services will also be held at Sheldon Funeral Home on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 10am, by the Rev. Brent Bland. Interment will follow in the El Dorado Springs City Cemetery. The family suggests that memorials may be made to Eagles High Hopes fund of El Dorado Springs in care of the funeral home or the charity of one’s choice. | https://sheldongoodrich.com/obituary/scott-walter-davis/ |
# For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm
For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm (Swedish: För nit och redlighet i rikets tjänst) is a reward medal awarded to one who has been a Swedish State employee for 30 years and has shown "zealous and devoted service". As an alternative to the medal one can choose a wristwatch or a crystal bowl/art glass. Originally awarded by the King in Council, it is since 1976 awarded by the Swedish Agency for Government Employers.
## History
A medal with the inscription "Honorary reward for Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm" (Hedersbelöning för nit och redlighet i rikets tienst) was proposed in 1803 by the Generaltullarrendesocieteten as a reward for customs officials. It was approved by the King in Council on 20 May the same year, but the first known awarding took place in 1830. Then as a silver medal of the 8th size.
On 1 July 1947 it was decided that the medal would only be awarded in gold of the 6th size. Previously it had been in four different sizes, three of gold and one of silver. By the 1973 order reform, the Riksdag decided that the medal would be the only award to be awarded for state service.
## Appearance
The medal is made of 23 karat gold, weighs 11 grams and has a diameter of 27.5 millimeters ("6th size" according to the Berch's Scale). It is crowned by a royal crown and carries the image of the ruling monarch. The medal is worn on the left side of the chest in a 28 millimeter broad, blue ribbon with yellow edges. The band is straight for men, and bow knot for ladies. The medal is in its present appearance on the obverse provided with King Carl XVI Gustaf's portrait in profile made by Ernst Nordin. The reverse has the text "For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm", along with the name of the recipient and an oak leaf wreath.
Anyone who does not want a gold medal reward can choose from the following options:
Crystal bowl from Kosta Boda glassworks, shaped, blown and engraved by hand. The decor is created by artist Lisa Bauer and the pattern reflects a Småland twinflower. The bowl is 190 mm high and about 205 to 150 mm in range. Crystal bowl from Orrefors, labeled with the coat of arms of Sweden and is signed in the bottom "Orrefors Gunnar Cyrén". The bowl is 135 mm high and has a diameter of 235 mm. Art sculpture by Ernst Billgren is one with nature and together with Kosta Boda's glass blowers he has created this vase exclusively for the award. The vase is 265 mm high, 130 mm in diameter and weighs 2.1 kg. Art sculpture by Bertil Vallien in the form of a half-boat is made exclusively for the award. The sculpture is 310 mm high, 95 mm long, 90 mm deep and weighs 2.5 kg. Wristwatch from Tissot or Certina. The watches are available for both ladies and gentlemen. The watches are made of 18 karat gold and have sapphire glass. The band is made of calf skin. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Zealous_and_Devoted_Service_of_the_Realm |
The invention relates to a method of installing a foundation element, in particular a monopile, in an underwater ground formation by means of a driver, comprising the steps of placing a foundation element on the underwater ground formation, e.g. directly on a river- or seabed or on a scour protection or rock formation, placing a screen for reducing noise input from the driver into surrounding water, and driving the foundation element into the ground formation by means of the driver while the screen is positioned about the foundation element. The invention further relates to a noise mitigation system comprising a screen to be placed about a foundation element. The document "Development of Noise Mitigation Measures in Offshore Wind Farm Construction 2013" describes on page 17 the result achieved in noise mitigation by using two screens formed of bubble curtains positioned at a distance from each other.
WO 2007/096132
WO 2007/096132
As explained in , offshore ramming work is carried out under water to establish foundations, for example, for drilling platforms and wind turbines. For wind turbines, large monopiles with a diameter of more than four meters are rammed into the seabed. This ramming results in a substantial underwater noise input, which can have a negative impact on marine fauna. To reduce the noise input underwater, in the method and device according to , the material that is to be rammed is surrounded by a fixed flooded sleeve. The sleeve advantageously has a sandwich-like structure.
EP 1 640 508
relates to a guide device for piles, the device having a frame fastened on a ship-jack-up rig for encompassing and guiding a post, when ramming the post in a benthic division. A nozzle assembly of a blowing device, which can be lowered from an upper standby position underneath the frame into an operating position at the benthic division, is attached at the frame.
WO 2010/151121
relates to a device for the passive reduction of the sound vibrations in a liquid resulting from a sound source arranged below the liquid level of a body of water, the device comprising an elongate tube which can be arranged over the sound source, the tube comprising an outer wall and inner wall, wherein the tube is designed to maintain a certain desired pressure in the intermediate space between the inner and outer wall. In this case, the pressure is reduced with respect to the ambient pressure. As a result of the reduced pressure, the sound vibrations will less readily travel to the outside and the noise level in the area around the tube is reduced. "The outer wall and inner wall of the tube can be provided one after the other in the body of water, for example by first anchoring the inner wall into the bottom and then anchoring the outer wall which is arranged around it into the bottom. However, it is also possible to place the tube as a whole, that is to say with the inner and outer wall already assembled to form a single part, on the bottom."
EP 2 441 892 A2
relates to a sound insulation device which "has a sleeve (20), which surrounds a pile (1) inserted in a sea floor (2). The bubbling (23) is formed between the sleeve and the pile inserted in the sea floor. Another sleeve (30) is provided, which surrounds the former sleeve. A sound-absorbing material (33) is introduced between the two sleeves."
It is an object of the present invention to further improve noise mitigation.
To this end, the method of the present invention comprises deploying, before driving the foundation element into the ground formation, a further screen about the first screen.
Surrounding the foundation element, during driving, by a first noise mitigation screen and at least a further noise mitigation screen, flexibility in optimizing and/or effectiveness of noise mitigation is improved. E.g., the first screen, the further screen and the distance between the screens can be optimized for mitigation of different frequency ranges. In an example, the first screen comprises a solid sleeve and the further screen is a bubble screen or comprises air chambers.
In an embodiment, the first screen provides a noise reduction of at least 15 dB, e.g. a noise reduction in a range from 17 to 25 dB, and the further screen provides a noise reduction of at least 5 dB, e.g. a noise reduction in a range from 6 to 15 dB.
In another embodiment, the further screen is deployed from the first screen, e.g. the further screen comprises a plurality of arms attached to the first screen and these arms are translated and/or rotated to deploy the further screen. Thus, the screens can be put in place as a whole and/or by means of the same equipment and, when the first screen is in place, the further screen can be folded out.
In another embodiment, a ring, continuous or intermittent, is placed about the first screen, e.g. on the ground formation, and a bubble screen is generated from the ring and/or a buoyant screen is suspended from the ring.
In an embodiment, the further screen is deployed with its bottom end below the bottom end of the first screen. In another embodiment, the further screen is deployed at a distance, measured between the outer circumference, e.g. the outer wall, of the first screen and the outer circumference, e.g. the outer wall or perimeter, of the further screen, of at least 3 meters, preferably at least 5 meters, preferably at least 7 meter, and/or preferably less than 50 meter, preferably less than 40 meters, preferably less than 30 meters, preferably less than 20 meters. Thus, the further screen can be deployed also about objects, such as a rock formation or scour protection, that the first screen is placed on or in and noise transmitted via such objects mitigated with the further screen.
The invention further relates to a noise mitigation system comprising a first screen to be placed about a foundation element, in particular a monopile, during driving of the foundation element in an underwater ground formation, to reduce noise input resulting from the driving into the surrounding water, e.g. a river or sea, and a further screen to be deployed about the first screen.
According to the invention, the further screen is attached to the first screen and movable between a retracted position and a deployed position, the further screen comprises a plurality of arms slidably and/or pivotably attached to the first screen, e.g. pivotable about a substantially vertical or a substantially horizontal axis.
In another embodiment, the further screen comprises a series of nozzles or a buoyant screen, e.g. a flexible tube comprising one or more buoys or air chambers.
In a refinement, the system comprises a tube or duct provided with a plurality of nozzles and attached near or at the ends of the arms, for generating a so-called bubble screen.
In another embodiment, the bottom end of the further screen is deployable below the bottom end of the first screen, e.g. by lowering the further screen from the first screen of by pivoting arms about horizontal axes over an angle between the arms and the first screen of more than 90°, preferably more than 100°. Surrounding e.g. a rock formation or scour protection is facilitated, if the further screen, e.g. the arms, is attached to the first screen at least 1 meter, preferably at least 2 meters, above the bottom end of the first screen.
For the sake of completeness, attention is drawn to the following prior art.
JP 60-159218
discloses a sound insulator for a pile hammer comprising sound insulating cylinders, which are formed from a resilient material and in the shape of bellows. The sound insulating cylinders are secured around a pile.
DE 1 784 396
discloses a pile driving hammer comprising a telescopic sound absorbing sleeve.
EP 2 395 156
relates to a method of installing foundation elements, in particular monopiles, comprising the steps of placing a foundation element on the underwater ground formation and holding the foundation element in place by means of a gripper mounted on a surface vessel.
T.J. Carlson et al., "Hydroacoustic Measurements During Pile Driving at the Hood Canal Bridge, September Through November 2004
" discloses a HDPE pipe sleeve that fits over a 24 inch (about 60,96 cm) pile and reaches from a point above water to the ground elevation below water. The mentioned sleeve diameter and wall thickness are 34 inch (about 86, 36 cm) and 1 3/8 inch (about 3,5 cm), respectively.
Figure 1
is a perspective view of noise mitigation system according to the present invention comprising a further screen in a retracted position.
Figure 2
is a perspective view of noise mitigation system according to the present invention comprising a further screen in a deployed position.
The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the Figures, which show a preferred embodiment of the present method and system.
It is noted that the Figures are schematic in nature and that details, which are not necessary for understanding the present invention, may have been omitted.
Figure 1
shows an embodiment of a system 1 according to the present invention for installing a monopile 2 in an underwater ground formation 3, e.g. a seabed. In this example, the monopile 2 has a circular cross-section and a diameter of five meters and is intended to serve, after installation, as the foundation of a wind turbine.
Figure 2
The system 1 comprises an hydraulic driver 4 (depicted in ), e.g. an IHC Hydrohammer S-1800, connected to a power pack on board of a surface vessel, such as a ship or jack-up barge (not shown), a driver sleeve 5 for securely mounting the driver on the monopile and an anvil (hidden from view by the driver screen) for transmitting impact energy from the driver 4 to the monopile.
The system further comprises a noise mitigation screen 6, made of e.g. steel, to be placed about the foundation element to reduce noise input from the driver into the surrounding water. In this example, the screen comprises an inner wall and an outer wall, i.e. it is double walled, has a circular cross-section and an inner diameter of six meters. In general, it is preferred that, once in place, the sound-insulating screen extends to above the water level W.
In accordance with the present invention, the system comprises a further screen to be deployed about the screen 6. In this example, a plurality of arms 7 is attached to the first screen 6 by means of hinges 8 and hydraulic cylinders (not shown), such that the arms are pivotable about substantially horizontal axes. The arms have a length of 15 meters and are made of e.g. metal rods or tubes. The hinges are located approximately 2 meters above the bottom end of the first screen 6 and comprise torsion bars (not shown) to facilitate folding out and folding in. A flexible tube 9 is attached to the ends of the arms 7 and provided with a plurality of nozzles.
Installation of a monopile is carried out for instance as follows. The cables of the crane are attached to the upper end of a monopile stored on the deck of the ship and the monopile is lifted overboard, manipulated to an upright position, lowered onto the seabed or, as in this example, a scour protection 10. At this stage, the monopile is driven, e.g. by means of a vibratory device, into the scour protection and, depending on the circumstances, the seabed to a depth of some meters to further stabilize the monopile.
The driver is positioned on top of the monopile and the screen is lifted over the monopile and the driver. Alternatively, the screen is placed and the driver is subsequently placed inside the screen and on top of the pile. The further noise mitigation screen is deployed by lowering the arms onto the seabed. In this position, the tube forms a ring that circumscribes the first screen and the scour protection. By feeding air to the tube, e.g. by means of a pump on deck of a surface vessel and via one or more of the arms, a bubble screen is generated, which screen surrounds the scour protection and the first screen.
Finally, the pile is driven to the required depth and when driving is completed, the driver is removed, the further screen retracted, the screens lifted over the pile and placed back on deck or into the sea, and installation is completed.
The invention is not restricted to the embodiment described above and can be varied in numerous ways within the scope of the claims. For instance, the further screen may comprise a buoyant and/or flexible tube, e.g. provided with air chambers or buoys, and the ring may provide sufficient weight to maintain the tube at an appropriate depth, e.g. with it bottom end on or in the seabed. | |
This is considered by most collectors to be one of the ultimate pieces to own of all commercial Beatles memorabilia. The 4-speed 17-1/2" x 10" x 6" NEMS record player was manufactered in 1964 and only 5000 were made, with very few surviving. So far, only a few near mint units have turned up - the majority that have surfaced are in worn condition.
The colorful 20" x 11" x 7" packing box is even rarer, only a handfull are known to exist. An owners manual was also included. The serial numbers were on a piece of paper attached to the inside lid, and in most cases this is missing.
The value has at least doubled in the last three years for upper condition players, selling just a few years ago for $1500 to $2000 and now in 2001 for $4000 and up, when they can be found. | http://rarebeatles.com/photopg2/recplay.htm |
Greenville, North Carolina Clinical Trials
A listing of Greenville, North Carolina clinical trials actively recruiting patient volunteers.
RESULTS
Found (18) clinical trials
Phase 2 Study of Ruxolitinib Versus Anagrelide in Subjects With Essential Thrombocythemia Who Are Resistant to or Intolerant of Hydroxyurea (RESET-272)
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib versus anagrelide in subjects with essential thrombocythemia who are resistant to or intolerant of hydroxyurea.
Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Lenacapavir in Combination With Other Antiretroviral Agents in People Living With HIV
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of lenacapavir (formerly GS-6207) containing regimens in people living with HIV (PLWH).
Reduced Craniospinal Radiation Therapy and Chemotherapy in Treating Younger Patients With Newly Diagnosed WNT-Driven Medulloblastoma
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To estimate the progression-free survival (PFS) of children >= 3 years of age with wingless-type MMTV integration site family (WNT)-driven average-risk medulloblastoma using reduced craniospinal radiotherapy (CSI) (18 Gray [Gy]) with a limited target volume boost to the tumor bed of 36 Gy for a total of …
A Study Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Etrasimod in the Treatment of Patients With Moderately to Severely Active Crohn's Disease
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the dose-response relationship of two doses of etrasimod versus placebo as induction therapy in participants with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and to select an oral etrasimod dose, based on efficacy and safety, for continued development.
Veliparib Radiation Therapy and Temozolomide in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Malignant Glioma Without H3 K27M or BRAFV600 Mutations
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine whether veliparib (ABT-888), when added to radiotherapy (RT) and temozolomide, is efficacious for the treatment of patients with newly-diagnosed high-grade glioma (HGG) whose tumors' molecular profile are wild-type for H3 K27M, BRAF, and IDH1/2. II. To determine whether veliparib (ABT-888), when added to RT and …
Study of Dose Confirmation and Safety of Crizanlizumab in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease Patients
The purpose of the Phase 2 CSEG101B2201 study is to confirm and to establish appropriate dosing and to evaluate the safety in pediatric patients ages 6 months to <18 years with a history of VOC with or without HU/HC, receiving crizanlizumab for 2 years. The efficacy and safety of crizanlizumab …
Prospective Trial of Rituximab for Primary Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis
The goal of this study is to conduct a prospective, open-label 6-month trial of rituximab in patients who present with symptomatic primary or idiopathic PAP. A total of 10 subjects with primary PAP will be enrolled over 12 months at East Carolina University. Patients over age 18 with a clinical …
Study to Evaluate the Effect of GBT440 in Pediatrics With Sickle Cell Disease
This study consists of four parts, Parts A, B, C, and D. Part A is a single dose pharmacokinetic (PK) study in pediatric participants with Sickle Cell Disease. Part B is a multiple dose, safety, exploratory, efficacy, and PK study in adolescent Sickle Cell Disease participants who were 12-17 years …
A Phase 2 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of KZR-616 in Patients With AIHA and ITP
This is a Phase 2 randomized, dose-blind, multicenter study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, efficacy, Pharmacokinetics (PK), and Pharmacodynamics (PD) of treatment with KZR-616 in patients with active Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia or Immune Thrombocytopenia. | https://www.centerwatch.com/clinical-trials/listings/location/united-states/NC/Greenville/?study_type=Interventional&gender=Both&phase=2&phase=2&gender=Both |
Suppose a tuning fork generates sound waves with a frequency of 100 Hz. The waves travel in opposite directions along a hallway, are reflected by end walls, and return. The hallway is 47.0 m long and the tuning fork is located 14.0 m from one end. What is the phase difference between the two reflected wave at the point of the tuning fork.
My attempt:
For this question, I was able to solve using the path length difference. However I tried to solve it using wave equation,
i.e. $y_1 = A \cos(kx - wt),\ y_2 = A \cos(kx + wt)$
The two waves travel in opposite directions, so $w$ has different signs. I was planning to compute the $kx-w$t term for $y_1$ and $y_2$, then the phase difference will be the difference of those two phases, but I was unable to get the right answer. I think the reflection shift the phases of $y_1$ and $y_2$ by $\pi$, so the effect of reflection can be omitted.
Can anyone please explain what $x$ and $t$ should be when the two reflected waves meet at the point of tuning fork? | https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/237741/phase-difference-of-two-reflected-wave |
ABSTRACTThis guide is a comprehensive summary of how we went about creating Citizen Maths, an open online maths course and service.
The guide shares our design principles and the techniques we used to put them into practice.
Our aim is to provide – with the appropriate ‘translation’ – a resource that will be useful to to other teams who are developing online education initiatives.
|Keywords||adult learning · case study · free · further education · level 2 · Mathematics · maths · MOOC · online learning · open · vocational|
|Rights||by/3.0|
|URL||https://repository.alt.ac.uk/2373/|
|Export options||BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar|
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Open, online, flexible, technology-enhanced… and sustainable? Understanding new business models for distance and blended learning
Farrow, Robert; Orr, Dominic; Weller, Martin; Ubachs, George; Konings, Lizzie
Do open, online, flexible and technology-enhanced (OOFAT) approaches to education result in sustainable and innovative business models? This is the focus of the OOFAT Models project funded by ICDE and conducted by ...
Match: online; MOOC; open
Negotiation and conflict resolution education in the age of the MOOC
Ebner, Noam
Even as online learning is increasingly embraced by institutions of higher education, the past decade has seen the arrival of yet another new educational vehicle: massive online open courses (MOOCs). These courses are ...
Match: online; MOOC
Students as teachers in MOOCs? The double gain of MOOCs as an in-class teaching method experiences from a student-made MOOC “Online Data Privacy”
Griesbaum, Joachim
MOOCs are an opportunity to think of learning as an interaction of different people and groups in totally new ways. This paper proposes a didactic setting in which students act as teachers in a MOOC and asks the ...
Match: case study; MOOC
A study of veterinary scholars’ perception of MOOCs
Kumar, Kutty
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a currently trending e-learning platform that presumably attract thousands of participants because of boundless participation, are open to any person to enroll, are free to begin ...
Match: online; MOOC
A tale of two modes: Initial reflections on an innovative MOOC
Sinclair, Jane; Boyatt, Russell; Foss, Jonathan; Rocks, Claire; et al.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are offered by many universities, with hundreds thousands of people worldwide having registered for one or more of the many available courses. Despite the potential that has been ...
Match: case study; MOOC
MOOCs: Expectations and reality: Full report
Hollands, Fiona M.; Tirthali, Devayani
The Question: Do MOOCs cost-effectively produce desirable educational outcomes compared to face-to-face and other online options? The Study: Based on extensive research and interviews, The Centre for Benefit-Cost ...
Match: case study; MOOC
Case study as a research method for analyzing MOOCs
Montes-Rodríguez, Ramón; Martínez-Rodríguez, Juan Bautista; Ocaña-Fernández, Almudena
Educational research is one of the many fields of knowledge that frequently use case studies as a research method, particularly when applying an interpretive approach. Based on literature reviews and a systematic ...
Match: case study; MOOC
Current status of the MOOC movement in the world and reaction of the Turkish higher education institutions
Aydin, Cengiz Hakan; HOME Project; European Association for Distance Teaching Universities
Match: case study; MOOC
Comparing institutional MOOC strategies: Status report based on a mapping survey conducted in October - December 2015
Jansen, Darco; Goes-Daniels, Miriam; HOME Project; European Association for Distance Teaching Universities
This report presents the results of a MOOC survey amongst higher education institutions (HEIs) with a strong focus on Europe and Canada. The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2015. The results of this survey ...
Match: case study; MOOC
Technological developments and tertiary education delivery models: The arrival of MOOCs: Massive Open Online Courses
Shrivastava, Avinash; Guiney, Peter
This paper aims to assist the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the Tertiary Education Commission and other decision-makers in the tertiary education sector to gain a better understanding of the newer ... | https://www.oerknowledgecloud.org/record1633 |
ABSTRACTThe Communicative English (CE) of workers is still worrying for employers. Many employers carry out face-to-face English forworkplace training to curb the problem, but it is outdated, time-consuming and expensive. One of the solutions is to resort to online training in open online learning platforms such as a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This paper aims to discuss the different instructional design (ID) models that can be used to develop a MOOC. The models are ADDIE and ASSURE, which serve as a guide in creating an online course and the winning model for developing MOOC is ADDIE. The discussion from this paper is sought to provide an overview for educators before developing MOOC for CE training and implied the importance of having suitable ID models as a guideline in designing a course. Future research can focus on combining ID models to create more comprehensive course content.
|Keywords||MOOC · communicative English · education · instructional design · online learning · technology|
|Language||English|
|Refereed||Yes|
|Rights||Copyright © 2020 IJICC|
|URL||https://www.ijicc.net/images/vol7iss7/7703_Rafiq_2019_E_R.pdf|
|Export options||BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar|
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MOOC for training: How far it benefits employees?
Rafiq, Karmila Rafiqah M.; Hashim, Harwati; Yunus, Melor Md
As the term 4th Industrial Revolution emerges globally, various industries are moving rapidly towards it. Malaysia, one of the developing countries, is also embracing the 4th Industrial Revolution.However, with the ...
Match: Rafiq, Karmila Rafiqah M.; Hashim, Harwati; Yunus, Melor Md; MOOC; Malaysia; Asia
MOOC instructor designs and challenges: what can be learned from existing MOOCs in Indonesia and Malaysia?
Sari, Annisa R.; Bonk, Curtis J.; Zhu, Meina
The purpose of this study was to explore Indonesian and Malaysian instructors’ perceptions of massive open online course (MOOC) design and how they deal with the design challenges. Surveys, email interviews, and ...
Match: MOOC; instructional design; Malaysia; Asia
Developing Open Educational Resources (OER) for Malaysian classrooms: The HOTS experience
Jhee, Yoon Sook; Nagappan, Rajendran; Osman, Rosma Binti; Sundaram, Seva Bala
The teaching of thinking skills has been emphasized in many ways in the Malaysian education system. Although efforts have been done to assist the teachers to teach HOTS, the impact to change students learning is ...
Match: education; Malaysia; Asia
Designing for quality: The understanding dementia MOOC
King, Carolyn; Kelder, Jo-Anne; Doherty, Kathleen; Phillips, Rob; et al.
The introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as a vehicle for education delivery presents opportunities and challenges. In the context of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre (Wicking Centre), ...
Match: MOOC; education; online learning
Democratizing higher education: Exploring MOOC use among those who cannot afford a formal education
Dillahunt, Tawanna; Wang, Brian; Teasley, Stephanie; McGreal, Rory; Conrad, Dianne
Massive open online courses (“MOOCs”) provide free access to higher education for anyone with Internet access. MOOCs are considered a means for democratizing education. These courses will hopefully provide an ...
Match: MOOC; education; online learning
Design guidelines for mobile MOOC learning–-An empirical study
Jia, Jiyou; Zhang, Bilan; Simon K. S. Cheung; Kwok, Lam-for; et al.
With the popularity and convenience of smart phones and Internet, more and more users participate in MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) via mobile phones or tablet computers. Thus how to design MOOC for mobile learning ...
Match: MOOC; instructional design; Asia
Russian perspectives of online learning technologies in higher education: An empirical study of a MOOC
Larionova, Viola; Brown, Ken; Bystrova, Tatiana; Sinitsyn, Evgueny
There has been a rapid growth of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the global education market in the last decade. Online learning technologies are becoming increasingly widespread in the non-formal education ...
Match: MOOC; online learning; Asia
Design model for integrating Learning Activity Management System (LAMS), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and flipped classroom in Taylor's Integrated Moodle e-Learning System (TIMeS)
Wong, Seng Yue; Tee, Wee Jing; Lim, Pui Voon; Tang, Siew Fun; Logonnathan, Loshinikarasi
The e-learning strategic plan for Taylor's University is being much student centred and focuses on intentional learning. Blended learning has been proposed to apply in Taylor's University to enrich students' quality via ...
Match: MOOC; Malaysia; Asia
The perceptions of MOOC among learners based on Activity Theory
Goh, Wei Wei; Kaur, Sukhminder; Chion, Zheng Hao Addy; Tang, Siew Fun; Logonnathan, Loshinikarasi
Since Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have started to bloom in education industry, there are many discussions about their design, structure, effectiveness and openness to the community. It is undeniable that MOOCs ...
Match: MOOC; Malaysia; Asia
The effectiveness of MOOC among learners based on Kirkpatrick's Model
Goh, Wei Wei; Wong, Seng Yue; Ayub, Enna; Tang, Siew Fun; Cheah, Swi Ee
Massive open online course (MOOCs) are transforming the era of distance learning education in a groundbreaking way that it has attracted a huge amount of attention from the media, education institutions, and education ... | https://www.oerknowledgecloud.org/record2577 |
Whitehorse: Despite all parties publicly calling for efficient, respectful behaviour in the Legislative Assembly, the spring legislative Sitting was still hindered by partisan squabbling, procrastinating grandstanding, and a failure to fully attend to the 2012-2013 Yukon Government budget.
“As of this morning, the Assembly has duly considered and passed only 30% of the budget, and the rest will be forced through this afternoon,” said Darius Elias, Interim Liberal Leader. “That’s because 6 of the 12 government departments and none of the 3 corporations were finished in this House, and now we’re out of time.”
“It’s hard to claim to be fiscally accountable when, after a 30-day Sitting, we have failed to complete even half of the budget,” added Sandy Silver, MLA for Klondike. “Despite promises to keep on task, partisanship and stall tactics have eaten up hours and days that would have better spent on legislative business. That means about $830 million in expenditures will be authorized without full review.”
Debate has been started but not finished for Community Services, Energy, Mines & Resources, Health & Social Services, Highways & Public Works, and the Women’s Directorare. The Public Service Commission, Yukon Development Corporation, Yukon Housing Corporation, and the Yukon Liquor Corporation have received no oversight at all.
The Liberal Caucus had yielded its opportunity to bring forward a second motion for debate on May 9th in order to grant more time for the budget. Instead, the Justice Minister prevented this by filibustering for over 2 hours and thereby running out the clock.
This lack of oversight Extends to a number of key issues in the territory.
“We’re concerned about meeting deadlines on major infrastructure projects,” said Silver. “The Dawson City wastewater treatment plant is behind schedule and will be delivered with run-up operations and maintenace costs. Residents are still in the dark about programming at the new hospital, and we haven’t heard convincing plans about how staff will be recruited and retained.”
Elias is concerned by the lack of accountability for government activities in major departments, such as Education and Housing.
“Yukon schools continue to deliver poor attendance and graduation outcomes. The housing strategy collapsed when the flagship Lot #262 project failed. The home market is crippled by the lack of lots, especially ones that Yukon families can afford,” said Elias. “The public expects checks and balances on government powers, and they expect accountability when the government fails to deliver on its promises.”
For additional information contact:
Shay Kokiw 667-8942
Do you like this post? | https://www.ylp.ca/_but_remain_concerned_about_fiscal_and_key_projects_oversight |
Traffic is a well-known source of frustration for drivers. Many people experience terrible traffic on their way to and from work daily. Did you know that the average worker in the United States spends over 46 hours per year stuck in traffic? That’s almost a full work week!
Generally, traffic can be frustrating and time-consuming, but with a little knowledge, you can avoid some of the most common causes of traffic.
This article will discuss 5 common traffic causes, so you’ll know how to avoid them.
1. Delayed Traffic Control Devices
Signs, signals, pavement markings, and other devices put along highways and streets to move cars, and people safely and effectively are examples of traffic control devices. These devices are strategically positioned to direct traffic, limit vehicle speeds, and warn of potentially hazardous circumstances.
However, occasional disruptions in traffic flow caused by control devices such as railroad grade crossings and badly timed signals add to congestion and unpredictability in journey time. As a result, to minimize traffic congestion, you should hire traffic control equipment that provides 24/7 support service since traffic flows throughout the day.
2. Car Accidents
An automobile collision on a highway may abruptly halt traffic. Car accidents obstruct traffic flow for a variety of causes.
Perhaps the debris of the damaged automobile is impeding the passage of other vehicles. People may also have slowed down to allow the emergency vehicle to reach the accident site. Additionally, drivers might engage in rubbernecking, which involves stopping for a short period to observe what is happening.
But it is only appropriate to stop during these accidents to allow emergency vehicles to move. You never know whether one of those ambulances is driving for a life or death emergency, so always give way to them.
Otherwise, when the emergency takes its toll owing to the difficulties of getting out of the situation, more automobiles will enter the route, adding to the painfully slow traffic.
3. Construction
Construction activity is another issue that influences traffic flow. These modifications may include reducing the number or width of driving lanes, lane shifts, lane diversions, reducing or eliminating shoulders, and even temporary road closures.
Slower speeds and lane closures are common in construction zones. Vehicles travel at the usual speed limit toward the road work, then slow to meet it.
Even though drivers are normally aware of the work, the unexpected slowdown of cars creates a bottleneck. The portion before the work zone quickly fills up with more automobiles than it can manage at regular speeds.
And while being detained in a construction zone is inconvenient, interstate maintenance helps to alleviate traffic congestion in the long term.
4. Saturation
The most prevalent type of traffic congestion happens when the number of automobiles exceeds the roadway’s capacity. These incidents occur whenever too many vehicles are on the road, and they are most likely to happen during “rush hour.” And routes with too many vehicles for the available area might take longer to empty.
Transportation engineers have addressed roadways’ physical capacity or the maximum traffic quantity that a certain highway stretch can carry. Various factors influence capacity, including the number and width of lanes and shoulders, merging areas at interchanges, and highway orientation.
5. Spectacular Traffic Jam
Even little changes made by one motorist might result in large traffic gridlock. Phantom traffic congestion is not caused by an evident reason, such as an accident. Every time a vehicle slows or speeds up, it impacts traffic flow around them. This flow then spreads to the other automobiles in the vicinity.
If one of the cars on the road decides to drive a bit slower, the cars behind it will also have to reduce their speeds; otherwise, they will collide. When these automobiles drive slowly, cars approaching their side of the road will get congested. | https://www.dailywebpoint.com/5-common-causes-of-traffic/ |
The purpose of this Notice is to inform potential applications to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of special interest in grant applications to conduct rigorous health services and economic research to maximize the availability and delivery of efficient, effective drug, alcohol, and tobacco treatment and recovery support services. Examples of such research include: (1) clinical quality improvement; (2) quality improvement in services organization and management; (3) implementation science; (4) availability, demand, access, and financing; (5) effectiveness; and (6) development or improvement of research methodology, analytic approaches, and measurement instrumentation.
Background
Although efficacious addiction treatment approaches exist, too few patients with drug, alcohol, and tobacco use disorders receive such services delivered with fidelity in a timely manner or for a sufficient duration. At the same time, clinical, administrative, and financing policies and practices are constantly changing and have been deployed without a sufficient evidence base, often resulting in barriers to high-quality care. As addiction treatment expands into additional settings, research is needed to promote the availability of effective treatment when and where patients need it, for as long as they need it.
Research Objectives
NIDA seeks research on rigorous hypothesis-driven and theory-based study designs and data analytic methods that will support a new generation of patient centered addiction health services research. This NOSI encourages, but is not limited to, applications in the following areas:
Clinical quality improvement studies to examine factors that may improve the appropriateness, effectiveness, safety, and efficiency of treatment and recovery interventions, either in-person or remotely, in a variety of settings including substance abuse and mental health treatment programs, pharmacies, schools, general health care settings, recovery residences, criminal and juvenile justice systems, child welfare systems and social service agencies.
Studies that examine personalized therapies or that use adaptive designs to tailor services to individual patients, including patients from diverse and underserved communities, are especially encouraged.
Quality improvement studies in services organization and management studies that address organizational contexts and service delivery models, the interaction of providers and programs within and across systems, and at multiple levels (e.g., program, practice network, state), and their collective impact on the quality of service delivery.
Research to better understand or improve the capacity of an SUD services workforce capable of delivering high quality interventions by addressing modifiable structural factors.
Implementation science studies that seek to identify effective strategies for enhancing the adoption, adaptation, and sustainment of evidence-based treatment and recovery practices. Studies that examine causal models of implementation success or failure are especially encouraged.
Research on service delivery models and other studies that address the scalability and sustainability of services that deliver evidence-based care.
Studies that address how to enhance equitable access to and retention in evidence-based interventions for populations that have historically experienced barriers to evidence-based care.
Studies that adapt existing evidence-based practices to address patient- or provider-perspectives that may limit retention in care, scalability of interventions, sustainability, fidelity to evidence-based models, or other barriers to implementation success.
Efficacy and effectiveness research on recovery support and harm reduction interventions and associated service delivery models, including research to address training, retention, and impacts on peer recovery workers. Research on other emerging workforce models for delivering recovery support and other services at scale is also encouraged.
Studies examining the effects of practice and policy changes on service quality and outcomes, including unintended consequences.
Economic studies falling within NIH’s priorities for health economics research as described in?NOT-OD-16-025.
Studies developing or applying new methods and analytic approaches, including data science and health information technologies, to improve reach, efficiency, and effectiveness of health services research, including a focus on SUD prediction and identification, evidence-treatment delivery, and treatment retention.
Application and Submission Information
This notice applies to due dates on or after February 5, 2023 and subsequent receipt dates through January 8, 2026.
Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) or any reissues of these announcement through the expiration date of this notice.
PA-20-194- NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required)
PA-20-195- NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
PA-20-196- NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
PA-20-183– Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required)
PA-20-185- Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
PA-20-184- Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required)
PA-20-200- NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the funding opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:
For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-DA-23-012” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.
Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered for the NOSI initiative. | https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DA-23-012.html |
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) revised its Pattern of Violations (POV) standard in 2013 to improve enforcement and compliance. The updated rule, which is estimated to prevent nearly 1,800 injuries over 10 years, has led to a significant drop in habitual violators since the implementation of safety reforms. How were mine operators able to determine if they showed patterns of significant and substantial (S&S) violations before it’s too late? Read on to find out!
What is the POV Standard?
Under the Mine Act of 1977, MSHA is required to issue a POV notice to mine operators who exhibit recurring patterns of health or safety violations that may lead to serious illnesses or injuries. The POV standard specifies MSHA’s criteria and streamlines the procedures for identifying such safety violators.
How does it work?
To determine if a pattern of violation exists, MSHA must review the injury and violation history of every mine under its jurisdiction at least once a year. A mine will be considered for a POV if it meets either of MSHA’s two sets of criteria in the initial screening:
Criteria 1
- 50 or more citations for S&S violations were issued in the last 12 months.
- The rate of S&S citations/orders issued per 100 hours of inspection is 8 or more during the last 12 months. Or the degree of negligence is considered “high or reckless disregard” for at least 25 percent of all the S&S citations issued in the past 12 months.
- The elevated citations and orders* issued per 100 hours of inspection is at least 0.5 during the last 12 months.
- The injury severity measure for the mine (in the last 12 months) exceeds the most recent 5-year industry severity measure for its corresponding mine type and classification.
Criteria 2
- 100 or more S&S citations were issued in the last 12 months.
- A minimum of 40 elevated citations and orders* were issued during the last 12 months.
MSHA will give a written notice to mine operators who have a POV. Why is this a big deal? Because for every succeeding S&S violation, MSHA will order the mine operator to withdraw all miners from the affected area until the cited violation or condition has been rectified. The POV notice will only be terminated when:
- MSHA has completed a mine inspection and no S&S violations were identified.
- MSHA has not given a withdrawal order (in line with Section 104(e)(1) of the Mine Act) within 90 calendar days of the issuance of the POV notice.
Can mine operators monitor their pattern of violations?
Yes! The revised rule encourages mine operators to consistently evaluate their compliance efforts and address hazardous trends. To determine if they are subject to a POV notice, mine operators can take advantage of two online tools from MSHA:
- POV Monitoring Tool: This user-friendly tool allows mine operators to track if they are at risk of meeting MSHA’s criteria of violations. Simply input the 7-digit MSHA Mine ID and the application will determine if the mine meets the conditions for a potential POV. MSHA’s enforcement data is updated monthly, so mine operators can make the necessary adjustments before things get out of hand.
- S&S Rate Calculator: Mine operators who want to develop a corrective action program to reduce their S&S rate can use this calculator. It is a complementary application to the POV monitoring tool. The data for this monitoring application is refreshed on a daily basis.
Be one step ahead of regulatory issues by maximizing these self-monitoring tools and other online MSHA safety training solutions. Contact 360training.com to learn the essentials of MSHA regulations without the hassle!
*as listed on section 104(b); 104(d); 104(g); or 107(a) of the Mine Act
Sources: | https://www.360training.com/blog/interpreting-pattern-msha-violations-regulation/ |
This volume provides an in-depth historical overview of graphic and visual communication styles, techniques, and outputs from key landscape architects over the past century. Representing Landscapes: One Hundred Years of Visual Communication offers a detailed account of how past and present landscape architects and practitioners have harnessed the power of visualization to frame and situate their designs within the larger cultural, social, ecological, and political milieux.
The fifth book in the Representing Landscapes series, the presentations contained within each of the 25 chapters of this work are not merely drawings and illustrations but are rather graphic touchstones whose past and current influence shapes how landscape architects think and operate within the profession. This collected volume of essays gathers notable landscape historians, scholars, and designers to offer their insights on how the landscape has been presented and charts the development and use of new technologies and contemporary theory to reveal the conceptual power of the living medium of the larger landscape.
Richly detailed with over 220 colour and black and white illustrations from some of the discipline’s best-known landscape architects and designers, this work is a ‘must-have’ for those studying contemporary landscape design or those fascinated by the profession’s history.
Table of Contents
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- A System of Expression: Writing and Making Landscapes of Gertrude Jekyll
- Beatrix Farrand: Representing Landscape in Prose and Drawings
- Fletcher Steele, the Savvy Practitioner: Desire and the Cultivation of Connoisseurship
- Topographical and Landform Explorations: Revisiting Noguchi’s Sculptured Landscapes and their Representations
- Burle Marx: The Individual Language of Plenitude
- J.B. Jackson: Representing Everyday Landscapes
- The EDSA Style: "A Legacy of Graphic Communication"
- Boomerangs, Zig-Zags & Orbits: Drawing the California Garden Garrett Eckbo and Thomas Church
- The Drawings of Lawrence Halprin
- Ian L. McHarg and Mapping Complex Processes
- Drawing Experiments for Representing Landscape
- Peter Walker: The Growth of Representation
- Pieces of the World: Yves Brunier's Landscape Representations
- Hands on!
- Freedom from an Innocent Landscape: The Visual Communication of West 8
- Evolving Representation, Physical and Digital at Hargreaves Jones Landscape Architecture
- Drawing in Perspective
- The Eidetic Drawings of James Corner
- Non-Sites and Simulacra
- The Spirit of Drawing
- Allegorical Drawings: Developing a Cultural Practice
- ASPECTS [of] Design Representation
- Every Picture Tells a Story: The Iconography of GROSS.MAX. Imagery
- Final Thoughts
Nadia Amoroso
Halina Steiner
Thaisa Way
Martin Holland
Shannon Bassett
Ana Rita Sa Carneiro
Jeffrey Blankenship
Kona Gray
Chip Sullivan
Alison Hirsch
Frederick Steiner
Javier González-Campaña and Noemie Lafaurie-Debany
Peter Walker
Linda Pollak
Petra Blaisse
Adriaan Geuze
Matt Perotto
David Malda
Tina George and Nadia Amoroso
Ken Smith
Chip Sullivan
Walter Hood
ASPECT Studios and Jillian Walliss
Eeclo Hooftman
Nadia Amoroso and Martin Holland
Bibliography
Index
View More
Editor(s)
Biography
Nadia Amoroso, PhD, OALA, CSLA, is an Associate Professor in Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. She holds a PhD from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, London, and degrees in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design from the University of Toronto. She specializes in visual communication in landscape architecture, digital design, data visualization, and creative mapping. She also operates an illustration studio, under her name, focusing on landscape architectural visual communication. She has written a number of articles and books on topics relating to creative mapping, visual representation, and digital design including The Exposed City: Mapping the Urban Invisibles, Representing Landscapes: Digital, Representing Landscapes: Hybrid and Digital Landscape Architecture Now.
Martin J. Holland, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph, located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Dr. Holland teaches a range of courses and studios in landscape design, urban design, and landscape history and theory. He has taught studio courses at Clemson University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago. His scholarly interests lie at the intersection of landscape design, cultural studies, and collective memory. He is particularly interested in how monuments, memorials, and other sites of commemoration are used, managed, and interpreted to guide, inform, and influence the public’s understanding of history and how it relates to the built environment. Professor Holland received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his MLA is from the University of Virginia. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he majored in philosophy.
Reviews
"In this book, I find many of my favorite landscape drawings discussed with new insights from a diverse group of landscape architects and scholars. Personal stories are drawn out in this compendium of essays organized around the work of historic landscape architects (Farrand, Church, Burle-Marx, McHarg, Brunier, and others) and contemporary landscape architects (Walker, Hood, Smith, Geuze, and others). Along the way, we learn a history of representation techniques, drawing materials, and landscape theory through the eyes, and hands, of landscape representation."
Ron Henderson FASLA, Professor and Director, Landscape Architecture + Urbanism Program, Illinois Institute of Technology
"Amoroso’s and Holland’s book provides a fascinating cross-section through the repertoire of representation techniques used by landscape architects over the past 100 years. This book features a detailed deconstruction of the seductive and immersive visuals of GROSS.MAX produced with the late Ross Ballard, a deep dive into the archive of West 8, whose collages radiate as much vitality as when they were produced in the 1980’s, and never before seen hand drawings by James Corner. This book will bring fresh inspiration to craft powerful and purposeful visual work to move the profession forward for the next 100 years. Crucially, it reminds us that representation is not linear or circular; it is an evolutionary process that emerges to meet the needs of the designer to communicate a vision to positively impact the world." | https://www.routledge.com/Representing-Landscapes-One-Hundred-Years-of-Visual-Communication/Amoroso-Holland/p/book/9781032024547 |
Play4Jarren Foundation was able to donate over $500 worth of items to ACHNW childlife closet. Items included craft items, games, stuffed animals and gift cards. Thanks to all who donated for the Battle of 62- Battling for more than a highway- Battling for Childhood Cancer. | https://www.play4jarren.org/post/2018/09/18/battle-of-62-donations |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/089,351, filed on Apr. 1, 2016 and titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADAPTIVE LEARNING,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/269,400, filed on Dec. 18, 2015 and titled “CAPTIVE PORTAL QUIZZES FOR LEARNING ON MOBILE DEVICE,” the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Field
Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to adaptive learning on a mobile device and in particular, adaptive learning for access control of a mobile device based on test, such as a quiz, results.
Background
As the user base for mobile devices grows, it is desirable for parents, guardians, teachers and/or other individuals/corporations/government entities to provide access control for different components of a mobile device. Access control may be referred to as screen time access control. For example, a parent may desire to limit access to the entire device and/or limit access to specific applications. Conventional access control techniques may specify a passcode and/or set a timer for access. Still, while conventional access control techniques may prevent access to a device and/or an application, the conventional access control techniques are neither captive nor educational. That is, conventional access control techniques do not provide an engaging and/or adaptive learning environment to the user. Furthermore, in conventional access control techniques, the user may bypass the access control method in a variety of ways, such as learning the passcode or hitting the home button on the mobile device.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a captive access control method that is educational and adaptive to the user's performance. That is, it is desirable to provide a captive access control method that provides learning based upon scientific learning-related research, knowledge, and experience. Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to adaptive learning of tasks, such as a test, provided on a device, such as a mobile device. In the present application, a test may also be referred to as a quiz. Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to providing adaptive learning for access control to the mobile device and/or applications on a mobile device.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes receiving, from a user or task administrator, multiple subjects to be presented in the task. The method also includes presenting the task in response to a condition being satisfied. The method further includes adaptively adjusting a difficulty level of a subject of the plurality of subjects based on a spacing interval, a speed of completing the task, and/or performance of a previous subject level.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus including means for receiving, from a user or task administrator, multiple subjects to be presented in the task. The apparatus also includes means for presenting the task in response to a condition being satisfied. The apparatus further includes means for adaptively adjusting a difficulty level of a subject of the plurality of subjects based on a spacing interval, a speed of completing the task, and/or performance of a previous subject level.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium with non-transitory program code recorded thereon is disclosed. The program code for providing a task is executed by a processor and includes program code to receive, from a user or task administrator, multiple subjects to be presented in the task. The program code also includes program code to present the task in response to a condition being satisfied. The program code further includes program code to adaptively adjust a difficulty level of a subject of the plurality of subjects based on a spacing interval, a speed of completing the task, and/or performance of a previous subject level.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus for providing a task having a memory unit and one or more processors coupled to the memory unit. The processor(s) is configured to receive, from a user or task administrator, multiple subjects to be presented in the task. The processor(s) is also configured to present the task in response to a condition being satisfied. The processor(s) is further configured to adaptively adjust a difficulty level of a subject of the plurality of subjects based on a spacing interval, a speed of completing the task, and/or performance of a previous subject level.
Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described below. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the teachings of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features, which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.
The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.
In cognitive psychology, two conventional learning strategies are retrieval practice (e.g., testing effect) and spacing (e.g., distributed practice). Researchers have attempted to employ these principles to schools and teachers. Still, conventional learning techniques do not use these principals. It is desirable to provide an application that provides an individual with an active learning environment. Aspects of the present disclosure provide a platform to tailor learning for specific individuals and thus improve an individual's learning.
Research has demonstrated that answering a quiz question and retrieving that information from memory improves learning. Quizzing has been shown to be improve learning across many different types of learning, such as vocabulary learning, math learning, conceptual learning, and complex learning. Quizzing has also been shown to improve learning across all types of learners (e.g., across all ages/education levels).
Not only has research shown direct benefits of quizzing (from the act of retrieving information from memory), but research has also demonstrated that quizzing can also have indirect benefits. For example, quizzing may improve a student's ability to learn from instruction and feedback. That is, research shows that quizzing leads to learning gains, even when a learner answers incorrectly. The very attempt to answer, and hence activate relevant background knowledge, will help a student learn more from subsequent feedback, compared to if the student was simply shown the correct answer. Leveraging this research, aspects of the present disclosure provide quiz questions and hints to scaffold learning when a concept is unfamiliar or difficult.
In one configuration, multiple-choice quizzes are used for learning. Although multiple choice quizzes are often considered to be less difficult than open-ended tests, research suggests that multiple choice tests may improve learning, as long as the multiple choice options are well-constructed.
The sequencing of quiz questions may also improve learning. For learning to occur, concepts should be repeated and provided at intervals (e.g., spaced out). Spacing a concept over time benefits learning because the interval provides the time for the learner to “forget” the concept. In allowing the user to forget (e.g., fade the concept from the forefront of the mind), the retrieval processes is engaged such that greater attention may be paid to the concept the next time the concept is presented. Alternatively, when different questions relating to the same concept are crammed together, the user may be given a false sense of fluency and an “illusion of learning” without triggering the underlying processes that lead to long-term learning. By delivering brief bursts of quizzes (e.g., users are given just a handful of questions each time), aspects of the present disclosure use spacing to improve learning.
Furthermore, when a user has learned a first concept better than a second concept, the user should wait a greater time to return to the first concept. In one configuration, sequencing principles are used to determine the time for delivering content to a user based on the level of mastery. That is, questions on a given concept have a minimum delay and the interval between re-presenting the concept increases as a user's mastery level increases. Incorrect responses, on the other hand, reduce the interval between subsequent presentations. In this way, aspects of the present disclosure flexibly space out concepts as tailored for specific concepts and for individual learners.
Additionally, rather than repeatedly re-presenting the same questions, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to repeating a concept in a spaced manner. For example, a concept may be “subtraction of two-digit numbers, with borrowing.” In this example, at a first instance, the user may see “82−38=?” and at the next instance the user may see “25−19=?” In this example, the content of the questions (e.g., numbers) change while the underlying principle remains the same. Thus, the concept may be reinforced rather than a user memorizing a specific answer. Aspects of the present also interleave (e.g., intermix) different concepts. That is, rather than focusing on one concept at a time, aspects of the present disclosure interleave different concepts to improve learning.
In one configuration, item-response concepts directed to retrieval strength versus storage strength are used to estimate a student's mastery ability. That is, the ability to answer a question correctly several times may not provide sufficient evidence that the student fully mastered a concept. Rather, if a student has answered questions on the same concept correctly numerous times over an extended time period, the evidence suggests that the student has mastered a concept to a certain extent.
The aforementioned learning principles may be applied to all learners across a wide range of disciplines. Aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to students of a particular age or education level. Regardless of age or education level, students may believe that passive studying is easier than active testing. By implementing the active testing of the aforementioned principals with a device-lock, aspects of the present disclosure leverage a student's (e.g., user's) desire to use their device (e.g., mobile device) to achieve the desired learning goals.
Additionally, aspects of the present disclosure improving a users' knowledge of how to learn, thereby improving the user's ability to apply the tools of how to learn to other parts of their lives. By delivering messaging in hints and in summary reports to a supervisor (e.g., parent), awareness of learning science research is improved.
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
102
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is a diagram illustrating an example process of adaptive learning on a mobile device according to one aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , a user of the mobile device is presented with a locked task screen upon interaction with the mobile device. For example, when the mobile device is idle or in a sleep-mode, touching or activating the mobile device may trigger the presentation of a locked task screen . In one configuration, the locked task screen is preceded by an animated splash screen (not shown). In one configuration, the locked task screen may replace a factory set lock screen, may be presented before or after a factory set lock screen is presented, and/or may replace the default application launcher. Access to the device is permitted when the device is unlocked and access to the device is limited when the device is in the locked state. For example, the user may only make emergency calls, turn off the device, check learning progress, engage the sketch pad, utilize the voice reader/recognition function and/or answer quiz questions when the device is in the locked state. A user may also receive calls when the device is in the locked state, however, the device returns to a locked state upon completion of the call. Additionally, a user may bypass the locked state by selecting a password option and entering a password or pin established by a task administrator, such as a parent, teacher, guardian, and/or other third party individuals/corporations/government entities.
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According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the user is specified to successfully perform a task provided on the task screen to gain access to the mobile device. As an example, the task may be a multiple choice quiz, an interactive audio dialogue session, an interactive video session, an interactive game, an interactive or static advertising session and/or an interactive written session. In one configuration, access to the mobile device is granted when the number of correct answers for a test is equal to or greater than a correct answer threshold. That is, when the user has successfully finished the task as prescribed, the user is presented with an unlocked screen . The applications and/or features on the mobile device may be accessible to the user via the unlocked screen . The mobile device may be unlocked for an unlimited time or a set time period after the successfully finishing the task.
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Alternatively, if the user fails to successfully complete the task, the device remains in the locked state (e.g., locked task screen ). The task may be unsuccessfully completed if the number of correct answers is less than a threshold and/or if the task was not completed within a prescribed time period. The user may be presented with the locked task screen after failing to successfully complete the task and the user may re-attempt to complete the task when the user interacts with the device. When re-attempting to perform the task, the user is again presented with a task on locked task screen .
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The locked task screen may also be specified to unlock the locked task screen via a password supplied by task administrator. Furthermore, the locked task screen may also provide the ability to dial or reach “emergency” contacts provided by a user or task administrator. Furthermore, the locked task screen may provide the ability to select the device user, engage the sketch pad, utilize voice reader/recognition functionality, turn audio on or off; and to view progress reports within the locked task screen environment
FIG. 4C
FIG. 4D
In one configuration, when a correct answer is input on the locked task screen, an interstitial or correct answer screen () is displayed with a text message, icon, and/or graphic to indicate the correct answer. The correct answer may also be displayed on the interstitial or correct answer screen. Furthermore, when an incorrect answer is input on the locked task screen, an interstitial or incorrect answer screen () may display a text message, icon, and/or graphic indicating the incorrect answer, providing a hint option, and/or including a try again button. In one configuration, an incorrectly answered question is presented again in response to the user selecting the try again button. The hint option may provide additional information to help the user answer the same question, immediately or in the future, and/or a similar type of question in the future.
FIG. 5A
FIG. 5D
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The number of task re-attempts (e.g., re-attempt threshold) may be defined by a task administrator, such as a parent, teacher, guardian, or individual/corporation/government entity, or may be a default setting. If the number of re-attempts exceeds the re-attempt threshold, the system may prevent the user from re-taking a test for a predetermined time period. The task administrator may be a third party, such as a parent, guardian, or teacher. The task administrator may remotely access the device and may remotely configure the task settings (). For example, the task administrator can remotely access the device to update emergency contact phone numbers included on the locked task screen . In addition, the task administrator can remotely access the device to update the frequency with which the locked task screen appears, as well as the number of correct answers required to unlock the device. In another example, the task administrator may remotely access the device to remotely unlock or remove the task screen from the device for a period of time ().
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FIG. 5B
The task administrator may also remotely adjust the locked task screen settings, such as, learning category or subject matter, the number of questions to answer correctly before a device unlock, the frequency of tests or quizzes, the maximum number of quiz questions per day, and time between tasks. The task administrator may also add users for each device and/or add contact phone numbers (). The task administrator may also create and upload custom quiz questions and/or content to be included in the tasks ().
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
It should be noted that presents a high-level interaction session between the user and the mobile device. Aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the steps shown in as alternative steps or additional steps are also contemplated. Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to adaptive learning for tasks. That is, tasks may increase or decrease in difficulty based on the user's performance. The tasks are not limited to unlocking a mobile device and may be specified for other purposes, such as homework or entertainment. Furthermore, the task may be referred to as a test or quiz. Still, aspects of the present disclosure are not intended to limit the task to a test or quiz. Of course, other types of tasks are contemplated.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, the adaptive learning application is installed on a mobile device. The adaptive learning application may include a captive portal lock screen (e.g., locked task screen) that regulates access to the mobile device. In one configuration, the locked task screen may replace a factory set lock screen, it may be presented before or after a factory set lock screen is presented and/or it may replace the default application launcher. The captive portal lock screen may replace the default lock screen of a mobile device, or may be initiated (e.g., displayed) when attempting to unlock the mobile device via the default lock screen, or may appear immediately before, after, or over the default lock screen. The captive portal lock screen may provide a task, such as a quiz, for gaining access to the mobile device. After correctly performing the task, the user may have restricted or unrestricted access to the mobile device for a configurable amount of time. It should be noted that the user is provided access to emergency services via their mobile device at any time in the event of an emergency. The user's (e.g., child's) interaction with the application or interface may vary based on their skill level and/or subject matter. That is, the application and/or interface may be personalized based on the user's answers and/or interaction.
FIGS. 5A-5D
The adaptive learning application may include a graphical interface for a captive portal (e.g., walled garden), whereby the user interacts with the graphical interface to obtain access to the mobile device. As previously discussed, the adaptive learning process may gamify the learning process while allowing a task administrator to control the level of mobile device access (e.g., screen time) and the time spent learning on the mobile device. The task administrator can monitor progress and modify the functionality of the device remotely, such as via a cloud based interface or a dashboard The cloud based interface may be a Web (e.g., Internet) based interface (as shown in ).
The adaptive learning application may also restrict a user's access on a device to a “walled garden” of content or applications. In one configuration, content or applications included in the “walled garden” may be determined by a task administrator, third party, or by a default setting.
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User information, such as name, grade, and/or age may be input by the task administrator during the sign-up process. This information may be used to develop and show a category or subject specific diagnostic test during a user's first interaction with the lock screen. For example, there may be a math diagnostic test for 1graders and a different math diagnostic test for 4graders. After completion of this diagnostic test, the application determines the correct level of question difficulty to apply to each user.
In one example, a user is presented with a series of multiple choice questions. A task administrator may configure testing options, such as frequency, difficulty, and/or subject matter for the multiple choice questions. The configuration of testing options may be performed on the device that presents the questions and/or via a separate device. The testing options may be stored on a networking cloud. In one configuration, the quiz is adaptable such that the quiz's content and difficulty level are set to the interest and/or skill level of the user. The task may be adjusted at the mobile device and/or may be adjusted at the cloud and downloaded to the mobile device.
In the present example, upon correctly answering the questions, the user is granted access to the mobile device. In one configuration, the granted access is set for a predetermined time period, such that the user does not have an unlimited time period for access. The predetermined time period may be set by a task administrator or may be a default setting. Furthermore, the user may obtain either full or partial access to use the mobile device for a specified time duration. Partial access refers to the user having access to specific applications on a device. As an example of partial access, the user may have access to a web browser and may not have access to text messaging. As another example, the user may have access only to a predetermined type and number of applications determined by the task administrator, third party, or default setting.
After the predetermined time period has expired, the user may be redirected to a graphical interface to answer a new set of test questions and/or to perform a new task, such as reading a passage from a story, to obtain subsequent access to the mobile device. The unlock and lock process may repeat in a continuous loop. In one configuration, the number of locks and unlocks may be limited. For example, the user may be allowed to lock and unlock the device ten times a day. One purpose of this learning process is for the user to be educated before gaining access to their mobile device. This process may also be used to assess the aptitude of the user.
In another example, a user may interact with the interface of the mobile device by reading a story displayed on the mobile device's screen. The adaptive learning application may use voice recognition to determine whether the child is properly reading the short story. Furthermore, the adaptive learning application may assist with mispronounced and/or unrecognized words or phrases. In this example, the adaptive learning application may assess the user's reading aptitude and provide reading practice before granting access to the mobile devices.
When the reading condition is satisfied, the user may obtain full or partial access to the mobile device for a predetermined time period. As previously discussed, the predetermined time period may be set by a task administrator or may be a default setting. Additionally, after the predetermined time period has expired, the user may be redirected to a graphical interface to read another story and/or perform a new task, such as answering questions, for obtaining subsequent access to the mobile device.
In another example, the task may be an interactive video session. For the interactive video session the user may need to answer questions related to a displayed video. In yet another example, the task may be an interactive written session. For the interactive written session the user may be presented with a prompt and the user may need to write an essay in response to the prompt. As another example, for the interactive written session, the user may write-in relevant information for a specified category. For example, the user may be prompted to input their blood pressure reading.
In another example, the task may be interacting with, or viewing an advertisement. The individual advertisement may vary in length and the number of advertisements to be viewed and the frequency of viewing may be set by the task administrator or by default.
In one configuration, access to the device is also remotely granted by the parent or task administrator via a dashboard, such as a Learning Dashboard. For example, the task administrator may grant access to the device when the user completes their homework, performs chores, and/or performs a noteworthy achievement. In this example, the task administrator may add tokens, such as unlock tokens, to the network cloud via a device or application, such as a web portal. The token allows the user to obtain access to the mobile device for an unlimited or predetermined time period. The task administrator may also set and control predetermined periods of device access for the user. For example, the task administrator may block access to the device for a set period of time (e.g., 7-8 PM on weekdays, overnight hours, and/or during the weekend).
FIG. 5C
The cloud based dashboard also allows task administrators to remotely input settings for the locked task screen on the mobile device, as well as review a progress “Report Card” and make edits to their account information. The progress “Report Card” may be customized by the task administrator by categories, such as user, device, learning category or subject matter and/or time period. Progress reports are then generated including time spent, number of tasks, task progress, and examples of correct and incorrect answers to task questions. In addition, the Report Card includes a comments or talking points section for the task administrator providing feedback, hints and encouragement (based on progress) they can share with the user(s) ().
Additionally, in one configuration, the task screen interface may include graphics, such as a photo, and may audibly ask questions regarding the graphic. For example, the graphic may be a picture of a fruit bowl and the question may ask to identify a number of oranges in the fruit bowl. The user may verbally answer the questions and the voice recognition system may interpret the answer. Questions may also be answered in writing. Upon correctly answering the questions the user may be granted temporary access to the mobile device.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
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is a flowchart illustrating an example of adaptive learning according to one aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , at block , the mobile device boots up. A proprietary adaptive learning application may be loaded with the initial boot process. At block , upon booting the device, the adaptive learning application launches a locked screen on the mobile device. In one configuration, either simultaneous to or subsequent to launching the lock screen, the adaptive learning application loads various preferences and default settings from a database on the cloud (block ). The preferences and default settings may be used to initialize a test to be presented to a user. Additionally or alternatively, some or all of the preferences and default settings may be saved in a local memory of the mobile device. Upon an attempt to use the mobile device, the adaptive learning application displays a task to be performed (block ). The task may be a quiz or other task, such as reading a story. The task and/or task preferences may be initialized with the loaded preferences.
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As previously discussed, the user must successfully perform the task to obtain access to the mobile device. At block , the adaptive learning application determines if the task was successfully completed. The task may be successfully completed if a number of correct answers is greater than or equal to an answer threshold and/or if the task was performed before the expiration of a timer. In another example, the task is successfully completed if a number of correct words of a read story are greater than or equal to a word threshold and if the story was completed before the expiration of a timer. In another example, the task is successfully completed if an advertisement is viewed and/or interacted with. Of course, other criteria may also be used to determine whether the task was successfully completed.
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In one configuration, if the user fails to complete the task, the adaptive learning application waits a predefined amount of time, at block , before displaying the task again (block ). In one configuration, at block , the adaptive learning application may adaptively adjust the difficulty level of the test based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, the difficulty level of the current test, the user's personal preferences, and/or a cumulative test performance score based on the past test results. For example, after failing a predetermined number of tasks, the difficulty of the task may be decreased. Additionally, or alternatively, the difficulty of a specific subject matter may be adjusted while the difficulty of other subject matter remains the same. After adjustment of the difficulty level, the adaptive learning application may display a new task at block .
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When the user successfully completes the task, at block , the adaptive learning application grants access to the mobile device, at block . In one configuration, after granting the access, the adaptive learning application may start a timer, at block , to allow the access for a predetermined time period. The adaptive learning application may check whether the timer has expired at block . If the timer has expired, the adaptive learning application displays the lock screen (block ). Otherwise, the adaptive learning continues to grant access while continuing to determine whether the time has expired (block ).
FIG. 2
The flowchart diagram for adaptive learning on the mobile device as illustrated in and described above is one example process of adaptive learning. Alternative and/or additional processes for adaptive learning on the mobile device are contemplated.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
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is a diagram illustrating an example cloud based adaptive learning model according to one aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , an adaptive learning model includes a task based lock screen , a network cloud , a web-based adaptive learning interface/application for managing preferences and/or learning parameters, and a reporting interface . Of course, aspects of the present disclosure may also work in an offline mode. Furthermore, the adaptive learning interface/application may be any device with a web-based (e.g., Internet based) interface.
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In one configuration, the network cloud provides storage and networking capabilities to connected applications and users. For example, the network cloud may send the test preferences and learning parameters to the task based lock screen for presenting a task to the user. The task based lock screen may send the task results and other user data to the network cloud for storage. In another example, when the user attempts to wake up the device from a sleeping event and/or after the unlock duration has expired, the adaptive learning application may retrieve and synchronize the local device preferences with the preferences stored in the cloud.
In one configuration, different preferences may be saved for multiple users associated with a device. For example, a device may be used by siblings of different ages. Thus, a task that is applicable to the older sibling may not be applicable to the younger sibling. Therefore, it may be desirable to store different user preferences for one device. A user-based task may be initialized by identifying a specific user at the lock screen or task screen. Additionally, or alternatively, preferences for a user may be saved across multiple devices. That is, multiple devices may support a single account.
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Additionally, the network cloud may also interact with the web-based adaptive learning interface/application to allow a user or task administrator to manage test preferences and/or learning parameters. The web-based adaptive learning interface/application may also interact with the reporting interface to provide reports and/or alerts related to the user's cumulative learning sessions (e.g., tasks) or a specific task. The web-based interface/application can be a portal that is used to remotely monitor the quiz results, input quiz questions, and/or to set preferences for the device and adaptive learning application.
FIG. 4A
FIG. 4B
FIG. 4B
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illustrates an example of a boot screen according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The boot screen may include an animation . Furthermore, the boot screen may be shown prior to the locked task screen. illustrates an example of a locked task screen according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , the locked task screen includes a sketch pad button , an audio on/off button , a subject indicator , a question related to the subject, and multiple answers . The locked task screen may also include a menu button for displaying user names, quiz bypass, progress illustrations and a call button for making emergency calls.
FIG. 4F
FIG. 4E
FIG. 4B
In one configuration, one or more users may be registered for a device. Thus, in the example of , the menu button contains a “user” category that allows for the identification of the active user as well as the ability to switch users on the device by selecting any other named users. Furthermore, the “Bypass Quiz” feature may be used to unlock the device. In one configuration, when attempting to unlock the device via the lock button (), the user is prompted for a password and the device is unlocked when the correct password is input. Furthermore, the locked state may be set as default. As shown in , the task is a answering a math question. Of course, the task is not limited to math questions and other tasks may be presented. For example, the task screen may provide quiz questions in multimedia formats, including, but not limited to: text, texture, graphics, audio, and video.
FIG. 4B
FIG. 4C
FIG. 4D
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In , the subject indicator indicates the subject (e.g., math) and presents a question related to the subject. Furthermore, the question may be a multiple-choice question, thus, one or more answers may be presented. In this example, the user is prompted to select the correct answer from the presented answers . As shown in , the user may be presented with a correct answer screen when the user selects the correct answer from the presented answers . This correct answer screen may include the correct answer restated. As shown in , in another example, the user may be presented with a hint screen when the user selects the incorrect answer from the presented answers . This hint screen may include a try again button. Additionally, or alternatively, the user may receive or request a hint on the screen or from a hint button (not shown).
FIG. 4E
FIG. 4F
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illustrates an example of a password input screen . As previously discussed, the password input screen may be displayed when attempting to unlock the phone via the menu button . illustrates an example of a user selection screen . As previously discussed, one or more users may be configured for a device. Accordingly, one of the users may be selected via the user selection screen .
FIG. 4G
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illustrates an example of a progress screen according to aspects of the present disclosure. The progress screen may be accessed from the menu button . As the user progresses throughout a subject, the progress is updated to reflect their current level. The progress may be in the form of an illustration.
FIG. 4H
FIG. 4H
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illustrates an example of an emergency number screen . As previously discussed, the user may make an emergency call via the call button . As shown in. , the emergency call numbers may include, but are not limited to, and/or the user's parents/guardian.
FIG. 4I
FIG. 4I
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illustrates an example of a sketch pad according to aspects of the present disclosure. In one configuration, the sketch pad is accessed from the sketch pad button (not shown in ). The user can write on the sketch pad with their finger to help in solving test or quiz questions. The user may also erase content on the sketch pad and start over again. Furthermore, the sketch pad can be opened or closed while the question is visible on the screen.
Various forms of interactive dialogues between the user and the task screen may be available. For example, in one example, a captive portal, or a quiz based session may be provided to the user. In another example, the user may choose an intelligent dictation task where the user reads content and the adaptive learning application determines if the user is reading properly.
In one configuration, the task screen of an adaptive learning application may be monitored and configured remotely by a task administrator. The task administrator may be presented with one or more options to control access to the mobile device. These options may include, but are not limited to: subject matter, number of questions to answer before the device is unlocked, and/or duration of each unlock period. In one example aspect, the task administrator may initiate a full lock out, which can be viewed as essentially grounding the child from their mobile device. In another example, the task administrator may initiate a full or partial lock out of the device based upon time parameters. For example, the child's device could be locked every evening at 9 PM and unlocked at 8 AM the following day.
FIG. 3
As illustrated in , the adaptive learning application may use cloud components to track quiz performance and to provide detailed reporting on topics including, but not limited to: quiz duration, number of questions answered, correct answers, incorrect answers, duration between answering questions, progress level, levels completed and/or strengths and weaknesses.
Furthermore, based on the monitoring, the task administrator may remotely lock and/or unlock the task screen. Additionally, the task administrator may be able to remotely adjust difficulty level of a test subject, various predetermined thresholds, and/or durations. For example, the task administrator may adjust the unlock duration. Additionally, the task administrator may also turn on or off system-wide settings such as automatic saving of task results and a task state, and/or enabling/disabling access to emergency call capability. In one configuration, the capability of turning on/off system setting allows for testing the adaptive learning application during an application test period.
Furthermore, the adaptive learning application may remotely enable or disable alerts and/or reports of task related information, on a per task basis or on a per user basis. In one configuration, the task administrator sets up triggers and/or alarms that will alert the task administrator via short message service (SMS), simple network management protocol (SNMP) trap, and/or email when certain thresholds are reached. The thresholds may include, for example, a predefined level of achievement, a predefined level of performance or progress, etc. The triggers and/or alarms may also be set to be sent at a desired schedule.
In one configuration, the adaptive learning application allows the task administrator to remotely send, change, and/or cancel rewards to the user. In one example, a task administrator may load allowance money into an account of the user with the adaptive learning system that can be used as a reward for reaching certain achievement levels. The allowance can be earned based on criteria defined by the task administrator. The reward criteria may be stored in a cloud database and may be remotely updated and controlled by the task administrator. For example, after earning an allowance, the child can redeem the allowance for gift cards at various online and brick and mortar retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, etc.
FIG. 5A
FIG. 5A
FIG. 5A
FIG. 5A
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illustrates an example of a task administrator screen according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , a task administrator may set a testing subject, set a lock time, set a number of correct answers to unlock the device, and select a question bank (e.g., source for questions). Of course, aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the settings of as other settings are also contemplated. Also, as shown in , the task administrator screen may allow the task administrator to set emergency contacts. The settings may be set per user or may be global settings.
FIG. 5B
FIG. 5B
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illustrates an example of a custom quiz screen according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , a task administrator may provide a custom question as well as custom answers (e.g., options). The custom quiz screen may also allow the task administrator to provide a hint and specify the correct answer. The custom question may be set per user or may be a global question (e.g., for all users).
FIG. 5C
FIG. 5C
FIG. 5C
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illustrates an example of a user status screen (e.g., progress report screen) according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , a task administrator may check the status of a user, such as number of questions answered for a subject, current progress in a level, and number of levels completed. Of course, aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the statuses provided in as other statuses are also contemplated.
FIG. 5D
FIG. 5D
FIG. 5D
FIG. 5D
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illustrates an example of a remote lock screen according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , a task administrator may remotely lock/unlock a user device and/or reset a password. Of course, aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the options provided in as other statuses are also contemplated. For example, the remote lock screen may also allow the task administrator to enable/disable the lock screen or the quizzes (not shown in ). Enabling/disabling the lock screen or quizzes may be a universal lock/unlock.
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
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is a flow diagram illustrating a method for adaptive learning according to one aspect of the present disclosure. Aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the steps of the method as alternative or additional steps are possible. In the example shown in , the task is a test. As shown in , at block , an adaptive learning application receives one or more test subjects. The subject may be received from a cloud base database. For example, test subjects may include math, history, literature, and/or science. The test subjects may be received at a scheduled time, received on demand, and/or received in response to an event, such as a user login. The test subjects may also be pre-loaded or cached on the mobile device.
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At block , the adaptive learning application presents a task, such as a test, to a user in response to a condition being satisfied at the mobile device. For example, the condition may be an attempt to use the mobile device. The test may include one or more of the subjects received at block . After successfully completing the test, the mobile device may be unlocked (not shown). After a test is completed, regardless of whether the test was successfully completed, the user's ability level and the next question difficulty level may be assessed by the application. At block , the adaptive learning application adjusts the difficulty level of one or more subjects based on the performance of the previous test. That is, the difficulty of some subjects may increase while the difficulty of other subjects may decrease. The difficulty level may be adjusted so that each subject remains at an adequate level of challenge for the user (e.g., test taker/task performer).
a) Difficulty: The proportion of test-takers that are able to answer this question correctly,
b) Discrimination: The variation in the rate of success of individuals based on their ability level. For example, for an item with low discrimination the number of correct answers may have a similar proportion between low-performers and high-performers. In another example, for an item with high discrimination the number of correct answers for low-performers answers is less than the number of correct answers for high-performers, and
c) Lower asymptote that represents guessing (e.g., 25% as the chance/guessing baseline for multiple-choice questions with four response options). That is, the item parameter assumes that a user may be guessing.
In one configuration, the difficulty level may be dynamically adjusted when it is determined that a probability threshold has been satisfied. This threshold may be applied using item response theory (IRT). IRT may also be specified to estimate the underlying ability level of test-takers and/or to establish a benchmark ability level. IRT is based on the idea that the probability of a correct answer is based on both user ability (e.g., person parameter) and question difficulty (e.g., an item parameter). The person parameter may be based on a user's underlying latent ability. The latent ability refers to a user's knowledge in a subject, such as algebra knowledge. The item parameter may be based on a combination of:
A user may be deemed to have mastered a subject when they have demonstrated over a meaningful sample size that the probability of the user answering questions of the current difficulty level is greater than or equal to a threshold. For example, the threshold may be 50% and the user may be considered a master when they have demonstrated over a meaningful sample size that the probability of answering the questions correctly is 60%.
Probability may be determined as follows: P=1/(1+exp(−(l−d))). Where, P is the probability of answering question correctly, l is the current assessed proficiency level, and d is difficulty level of question. Thus, a subject may be mastered when, over a meaningful sample size, P is greater than a threshold. In this configuration mastery of a question may be determined by the following code: (if probability>threshold) {then mastery=true}.
In comparison to conventional testing methods, IRT improves student testing by estimating the test-taker's ability on a question-by-question basis. That is, the adaptive learning application may estimate the test-taker's ability level and select the next question based on test-taker's ability level. Accordingly, the testing is improved by not presenting questions that are too easy or too hard for a test-taker. Furthermore, the testing is improved by presenting questions tailored to be within the test-taker's “challenge zone.”
As discussed above, IRT may be specified to adapt questions to a user's “challenge zone.” Furthermore, IRT may also be specified as a metric for the difficulty rating for each quiz question. That is, each time a question is presented, the difficulty level (e.g., item parameter) may be recalculated based on the IRT. In one configuration, when a new question is introduced into the learning system, the initial difficulty rating may be based upon a set of criteria, such as those published per grade level by the US Department of Education (DOE). The “difficulty level” refers to a question that a child in the corresponding grade should be able to master.
Each difficulty level may be divided into 10 sub levels, such as ten different sub levels, that correspond to the curriculum a child should be able to master in the time period of a specific class grade. For example, the DOE's curriculum may define that a child in first grade should be able to master a first task in the beginning of the year, master a second task in the middle of the year, and master a third task at the end of the year. Thus, if a question represents a concept that falls into the description of the first task, then the question would be assigned a difficulty level of 1.0. Additionally, a question corresponding to the second task may be assigned a difficulty level of 1.5, and a question corresponding to the third task may be assigned a difficulty level of 1.9. Based on the IRT, the difficulty level may be assessed and adjusted every time the question is presented.
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At block , the adaptive learning application may save test related data, such as a test state, test results, and/or the test preferences. The test data may be saved locally and/or remotely. Additionally, a corresponding “level” designation may be provided for each user based on their competency and/or mastery in answering questions.
In one configuration, each user is individually assessed for each subject. For example a user may be at level 2.2 for math and level 1.5 for science. Furthermore, a user may be assessed a different level for sub-categories of a subject. For example, a user may be a level 1.3 for multiplication tables and level 1.6 for addition and subtraction within the math subject. During an initial registration period, the user or the task administrator inputs the user's school grade level to be used as a starting point (e.g., a diagnostic test) to assess the user's aptitude and corresponding grade level. The user may be initially presented with questions in each subject that match their current school grade level. The level may be adjusted based upon the user's probability of answering questions correctly in each subject. Mastery may be determined by either an average number of correctly answered questions per subject at that difficulty level or a determined learning event. A learning event refers to mastery of a subject in which the user was previously not proficient (e.g., struggling).
In one configuration, when a user answers a question correctly, the event is recorded as a correct answer and given a weight of 1 (e.g., correct). Alternatively, when the user answers the question incorrectly, then the user is presented with a hint to help the user understand the question. For example, if the question is a math question with order of operation, the hint may remind the user that the order of operation is parenthesis, exponents, multiply, divide, add, and subtract. Furthermore, when the user answers the question incorrectly, the event is recorded as an incorrect answer with a weight of 0.
Additionally, in one configuration, when the user answers the question correctly after being presented with the hint, a score of 1 is recorded in the database. Following the scoring, the adaptive learning application may randomly mix in a question of the same type at a later time. Questions of the same type refer to a question in which the subject matter is the same as the previous question. For example a question of the type math and subtype addition up to 10 such as 1+9=10 would be of the same type as 2+5=7 as both questions are within the scope of the same subtype. Additionally, in one configuration, if the user correctly answers the follow up random question, the adaptive learning application records the event as a correct answer with a weight of 2. The elevated weighting is given due to the higher probability that the user has mastered the given concept. When the user has answered a threshold of questions, such as ten or more questions, that correspond to the same subject type and has a predetermined average of correct answers, the user progresses to the next level for that subject. The user may also move down a level if the average score is less than a predetermined threshold.
Mastery of a subject may be defined in a number of ways. One aspect is described above. Additionally or alternatively, as described below, mastery may be determined based on timing or spacing of questions and/or the speed at which the questions are answered. Furthermore, mastery may be defined as a combination of all of these elements: probability, timing or spacing, and speed of question answer.
The adaptive learning application may also adjust the task difficulty level based on the user's motivational mindset. The motivational mindset may be selected by a user or a task administrator and/or assessed by the adaptive learning application based on the user's interaction with an interface of the adaptive learning application. In one configuration, the adaptive learning application may consider whether the user is more influenced by intrinsic or extrinsic motivational factors. This assessment may be used to determine the proper feedback for correct answers and/or when to progress to a new level/subject matter. For example, the adaptive learning application may provide a digital emoticon in response to a correct response in contrast to digital tokens that may be redeemed to tangible prizes, or vice versa, depending on the user's preference of learning incentives.
FIG. 7
FIG. 7
FIG. 7
700
702
is a flow diagram illustrating a method for adaptively adjusting difficulty level of a task according to one aspect of the present disclosure. That is, illustrates that question difficulty may be adjusted (up/down) or may remain the same based upon user performance and/or motivation. As shown in , at block , the adaptive learning application determines whether to adaptively adjust a task difficulty level. The adaptive learning application quantitatively assesses the aptitude of a user, such as a child, based on task performance. The task performance may be based on results of one or more previous tasks. The content, difficulty level, and frequency of the questions may be adjusted adaptively based on the user's performance.
702
704
706
708
704
706
Based on the determination at block , the adaptive learning application may increase the difficulty level at block , decrease the difficulty level at block , or keep the difficulty level same at block . The difficulty level may be adjusted for specific subjects or for all subjects. At block and block , the adaptive learning application may also determine an amount of difficulty level to increase or decrease based on a number of factors. The factors may include, but are not limited to, the user's current performance, level of interest in the current test subject, the user's motivational mindset as described above, and/or other extraneous factors. The extraneous factors may include, but are not limited to, events that are not directly related to test taking itself, such as whether there is a homework assignment on the same or related subject, and/or whether there is a pending school exam on the subject.
710
710
At block , the adaptive learning application may assess the user's motivational mindset, skill level, and/or aptitude. For example, the adaptive learning application may determine the factors that have the greatest motivation for the user, such as intrinsic or extrinsic motivational factors. The assessment may be used to determine the proper feedback and reward/incentive for correct answers and/or for progressing to a new level. This assessment information may be sent to the task administrator's dashboard for review with the user. Furthermore, at block , the adaptive learning application may also learn and save the user's specific performance at a difficulty level. In one example, the adaptive learning application learns and keeps a record of how fast the user mastered the difficulty level of the subject matter and the areas of good performance and poor performance. The areas may refer to entire subjects or sub-categories of a subject. For example, math may be a subject and algebra, geometry, and calculus may be specific sub-categories of the subject.
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
800
802
804
illustrates a flow diagram for determining a user ability level according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , at block , a person parameter is specified for a user. The person parameter may include the user's age, grade, and/or proficiency in specific subject matter. For example, the user may have a higher proficiency in math than English, thus, the math questions may be more difficult than the English questions. The proficiency may be based on a specified scale, such as a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high). In block an item parameter (e.g., question difficulty level) is set for a specific user. In one configuration, the initial person parameter and item parameter are defined based on the grade level of the user and the US DOE specifications on what a user should be to understand at that given grade level.
806
808
After setting the baseline for both the question difficulty (e.g., item parameter) and user proficiency (e.g., person parameter), a calibration process is initiated (block ). The calibration asks the user a predetermined number of questions, such as 50 questions, which may or may not be of the same subject type (such as addition). Based on the user's score during the calibration, at block the difficulty level will be set for the user.
810
The ability level of the user may be calibrated at . Data from the user's answered questions may be used to determine the accuracy of the user's ability level. For example, if a user answers a question correctly and over a meaningful sample size and greater than or equal to the threshold, they may be deemed to have mastered that subject and their level may be subsequently adjusted. This re-assessment may occur instantaneously or periodically. For example, the periodic re-assessment may occur once a month.
812
In addition to calibrating the user's ability level, the questions may be calibrated to maintain an accuracy of a question's assigned difficulty level, at block . Data from answered questions may be used to determine the accuracy of the question difficulty level. For example, if the first student answered a first question correctly and a second student answered the first question incorrectly, it may be assumed that the first student has a higher understanding of the topic then the second student. Therefore, the difficulty level of the first question should reflect the different levels of student understanding by adjusting the questions difficulty level to match the assumed aptitude level of the students. This re-assessment may periodically occur, such as once a month. Additionally, the re-assessment may occur for questions that have been answered by more than a predetermined number of students, such as ten, of varying difficulty levels.
FIG. 9
900
914
914
924
924
914
924
922
902
904
906
926
924
is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus employing a processing system with different modules/means/components for an adaptive learning application in an example apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The processing system may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus . The bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system and the overall design constraints. The bus links together various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware modules, represented by the processor the modules , , and the non-transitory computer-readable medium . The bus may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.
914
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930
920
930
914
922
926
922
926
922
914
926
922
The apparatus includes a processing system coupled to a transceiver . The transceiver is coupled to one or more antennas . The transceiver enables communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The processing system includes a processor coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium . The processor is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium . The software, when executed by the processor , causes the processing system to perform the various functions described for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor when executing software.
914
902
914
904
914
906
902
904
906
922
926
922
914
The processing system includes a task interface management module for managing interfaces to various external components that may include, but are not limited to the cloud databases, underlying wireless and wired networks and various mobile devices. The processing system also includes a remote control module for a third party such as a parent (e.g., task administrator) to remotely control various preferences, thresholds, locking/unlocking of a task screen, and/or setting/enabling/disabling various system parameters. The processing system may also include an adaptive learning module for implementing the adaptive learning algorithms described above and below. The modules , and may be software modules running in the processor , resident/stored in the computer-readable medium , one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor , or some combination thereof. The processing system may be a component of a mobile device which hosts the adaptive learning application.
FIG. 10
FIGS. 6-8
FIG. 10
FIGS. 6-8
1000
1002
illustrates a flow diagram for a method of determining whether to adjust a user's level. The user may be moved up or down a level based on a user's mastery of a subject. Mastery may be determined based on a speed of answering a question after a long spacing event or time delay. At block , a user proficiency is determined. The user proficiency may be determined by administering a test using a testing system. For example, the testing system determines a user's proficiency (e.g., level of competency) in a subject via quiz questions or the like, as discussed above in relation to . The calibration of may be performed alternate to, or in addition to, the aspects discussed in relation to .
1004
1006
FIGS. 6-8
At block , the user is assessed based on the determined user proficiency. For example, a value, level, score, grade, etc. is assessed to the user based upon their proficiency. The user proficiency may be assessed and re-assessed according to the above description relating to, for example, . In an optional configuration, at block , based on the determined proficiency (e.g., user's ability level) the difficulty level of one or more subjects may be adjusted. That is, the difficulty of some subjects may increase while the difficulty of other subjects may decrease. The difficulty level may be adjusted so that each subject remains at an adequate level of challenge for the user (e.g., test taker/task performer).
1008
At block , in an optional configuration, it is determined whether to advance the user to a next level or to a previous level based on the determined proficiency. For example, based on the proficiency and performance of the user, the testing system determines how and when the user advances up or down relative to their assigned value, level, score, grade, etc. According to aspects of the present disclosure, a question difficulty may also be determined based on the proficiency. That is, the user may remain at the same subject level and the user may also be presented with questions from a lower and/or higher subject level based on the determined proficiency.
1010
At block , a spacing interval for a same or similar question is determined based on the determined proficiency. The spacing interval may be a predetermined time period between the same or similar question. For example, if the user answers a question correctly, the spacing interval for when the user would see the same or similar question is greater than a spacing interval assigned when the user answers the question incorrectly. In one example, the increased spacing interval may be a few weeks or longer. Likewise, if the user answers a question incorrectly, the spacing interval for the same or similar question is less than the spacing interval assigned when the user answers the question correctly. In one example, the decreased spacing interval may be less than a week. The decreased spacing interval may be referred to as a low spacing interval and the increased spacing interval may be referred to as a high spacing interval.
Additionally, a speed of completing the task may also be determined based on how quickly the user completes the task. The speed may be used to determine the spacing interval and/or mastery of the subject matter. For example, if a time to answer a question is greater than a threshold, it may be inferred that the user has low (e.g., unacceptable) mastery of that topic. As such, the spacing interval may be set to a low spacing interval (e.g., less than a week) such that a similar question or a same question is asked again in a short time period. Additionally, if a time to answer a question is less than a threshold, it may be inferred that the user has mastery of that topic. As such, the spacing interval may be set to a high spacing interval such that a similar or same question is asked again in an extended time period.
In one configuration, the time for each user to answer each type of question is tracked. The time may be tracked in milliseconds or other intervals. Each individual question may be grouped into different subsets (e.g., types) or by learning objectives. The time (e.g., answer speed) for each user to answer each type of question is stored. For example, the time may be stored in the local device and/or a remote device. When a user submits an answer, the stored answer times are searched to compare an answer speed of the answer with answer speeds of other users for the same and/or similar questions. A percentile (e.g., user percentile) is calculated based on the comparison. The percentile may be defined as r (e.g., a retrieval speed percentile) where 0<r<100. For example, an r value of 1 indicates that the answer was in the slowest 1% of all answers. As another example, an r value of 99 indicates that the answer was in the quickest 1% of all answers. Other r values are possible based on how quickly the user answers the question in comparison to other users.
max
max
In one configuration, a maximum spacing interval, d, is determined. For example, the maximum spacing interval may be defined by an administrator as 30 days. Of course, other values for dare possible.
According to an aspect, the spacing interval can be calculated as:
<math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mrow><mi>s</mi><mo>=</mo><mfrac><msub><mi>rd</mi><mi>max</mi></msub><mn>100</mn></mfrac></mrow><mo>,</mo></mrow></math>
max
where s is the spacing interval, r is the percentile, and dis the maximum spacing interval. The spacing interval may be hours, days, or any other unit of time.
For example, if a time for a user to answer a question (e.g., single digit addition) is greater than a threshold, the user may be in a low percentile, such as 5% (e.g., 5 out of 100). If is set to 30 days, the system would calculate the spacing interval as:
<math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mi>s</mi><mo>=</mo><mrow><mfrac><mrow><mn>5</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>30</mn></mrow><mn>100</mn></mfrac><mo>=</mo><mrow><mn>1.5</mn><mo></mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo></mo><mrow><mi>days</mi><mo>.</mo></mrow></mrow></mrow></mrow></math>
Based on the determined spacing interval, the system would schedule the same or similar question to appear again in in approximately 1.5 days (e.g., 2 days). In one configuration, a fractional day may be rounded up or down.
max
According to another example, if a time for a user to answer a question (e.g., adding single digit numbers) is less than a threshold, the user may be in a high percentile, such as 97% (e.g., 97 out of 100). If dis set to 30 days, the system would calculate the spacing interval as:
<math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mi>s</mi><mo>=</mo><mrow><mfrac><mrow><mn>97</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>30</mn></mrow><mn>100</mn></mfrac><mo>=</mo><mrow><mn>29.1</mn><mo></mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo></mo><mrow><mi>days</mi><mo>.</mo></mrow></mrow></mrow></mrow></math>
Based on the determined spacing interval, the system would schedule the same or similar question to appear again in approximately 29.1 days (e.g., 29 days).
In one configuration, incorrect answers are scheduled such that the same and/or similar question appear(s) one day later. In the event the user answers every question, more question types may be introduced. The new question types may be downloaded or otherwise acquired from a remote device, such as cloud server, or other network, as described herein. In the event the user is unable to answer every question in a daily study schedule, the study schedule may be pushed back to the following day or until the next quiz is taken. If a number of questions in the daily study schedule is greater than a threshold, questions may be removed from appearing after the user has achieved a predetermined mastery score in relation to each question type.
1012
At block , a score is determined based on a speed of answering a question and/or the spacing interval. The score may be an indication of mastery and/or a memory retention of the user with regards to the subject matter of the question. For example, if two users answer the same question as quickly as each other, the user who had the longer spacing interval between answering the question a second time and answering the question a first time will have the higher mastery/memory retention.
According to an aspect, a user is determined to have mastered a question or concept when the user correctly answers the question quickly (e.g., less than a answering threshold) and has not attempted the same type of question for a time that is greater than a question attempt threshold. For example, the question attempt threshold may be a week or a month. Of course, other times frames are contemplated. The thresholds (e.g., answering threshold and/or question attempt threshold) may be set and/or adjusted by the user or defined by the system.
In one configuration, a user's mastery of a question or concept may be determined by a score (e.g. user mastery score). For example, 0<m<100, where m is the user mastery score. If m is one, the user may have a poor mastery of the question or concept. If m is one hundred, the user may have a perfect mastery of the question or concept.
According to an aspect, the user mastery score is calculated as:
<math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mrow><mi>m</mi><mo>=</mo><mfrac><mi>gr</mi><msub><mi>d</mi><mi>max</mi></msub></mfrac></mrow><mo>,</mo></mrow></math>
max
where m is mastery, g is the gap (e.g, days) between when the question or question type was last asked, r is retrieval speed percentile and dis the maximum spacing interval (e.g., 30 days).
max
For example, if a time for a user to answer a question is greater than an answer threshold, the user may be in a low percentile, such as 20% (e.g., 20 out of 100). As previously discussed, the user's percentile is determined based on a comparison of the user's question answer time to the question answer time of other users. In this example, the user may have answered the same or similar question two days ago, thus, g is two. If dis 30 days, the mastery score is
<math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mi>m</mi><mo>=</mo><mrow><mfrac><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>20</mn></mrow><mn>30</mn></mfrac><mo>=</mo><mrow><mn>1.3333</mn><mo></mo><mrow><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><mrow><mi>e</mi><mo>.</mo><mi>g</mi><mo>.</mo></mrow><mo>,</mo><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo></mo><mi>%</mi></mrow></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow><mo>.</mo></mrow></mrow></mrow></mrow></math>
Based on the mastery score, the system may be determine that the user is not secure in the current subject matter.
max
According to another example, if a time for a user to answer a question is greater than an answer threshold, the user may be in a low percentile, such as 20% (e.g., 20 out of 100). If the same or similar question was answered by the user 25 days ago, g is set to 25. If dis set to 30 days, the mastery score is
<math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mi>m</mi><mo>=</mo><mrow><mfrac><mrow><mn>25</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>20</mn></mrow><mn>30</mn></mfrac><mo>=</mo><mrow><mn>16.6666</mn><mo></mo><mrow><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><mrow><mi>e</mi><mo>.</mo><mi>g</mi><mo>.</mo></mrow><mo>,</mo><mrow><mn>17</mn><mo></mo><mi>%</mi></mrow></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow><mo>.</mo></mrow></mrow></mrow></mrow></math>
Based on the mastery score, the system may determine that the user does not have mastery of the subject. Furthermore, it may be assessed that the user's learning has not been retained after a high spacing gap (e.g., 25 days).
max
According to another example, if a time for a user to answer a question is less than a threshold, the user may be in a high percentile, such as 80% (e.g., 80 out of 100). In this example, the same or similar question may have been answered in the past two days, therefore g is two. If dis set to 30 days, the mastery score is
<math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mi>m</mi><mo>=</mo><mrow><mfrac><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>80</mn></mrow><mn>30</mn></mfrac><mo>=</mo><mrow><mn>5.3333</mn><mo></mo><mrow><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><mrow><mi>e</mi><mo>.</mo><mi>g</mi><mo>.</mo></mrow><mo>,</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.3em" height="0.3ex" /></mstyle><mo></mo><mrow><mn>5</mn><mo></mo><mi>%</mi></mrow></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow><mo>.</mo></mrow></mrow></mrow></mrow></math>
In this example, the user's mastery is not secure in this topic because although the user is quick at answering this type of question, the user has not demonstrated the quick answering speed after a high spacing gap.
max
According to yet another example, if a time for a user to answer a question is less than a threshold, the user may be in a high percentile, such as 80% (e.g., 80 out of 100). In this example, the same or similar question may have been answered in the past twenty-five days, therefore, g is twenty-five. If dis set to 30 days, the mastery score is
<math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mi>m</mi><mo>=</mo><mrow><mfrac><mrow><mn>25</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>80</mn></mrow><mn>30</mn></mfrac><mo>=</mo><mrow><mn>66.6666</mn><mo></mo><mrow><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><mrow><mi>e</mi><mo>.</mo><mi>g</mi><mo>.</mo></mrow><mo>,</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.3em" height="0.3ex" /></mstyle><mo></mo><mrow><mn>67</mn><mo></mo><mi>%</mi></mrow></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow><mo>.</mo></mrow></mrow></mrow></mrow></math>
Due to the length between answering the same or similar question (e.g., twenty-five days) and the user's speed of answering the question, the user is determined to show an acceptable mastery of the topic.
A threshold value for the mastery score may be set by an administrator as an acceptable level of mastery. For example, a mastery score of above 67% may be deemed acceptable. Of course, other values are possible. Additionally, different threshold values may be set for mastery scores of different subjects and/or question types.
1014
At block , in an optional configuration, it is determined whether to advance the user to a next level or to a previous level based on the determined proficiency and/or the user's score. For example, based on the proficiency and performance of the user, the testing system determines how and when the user advances up or down relative to their assigned value, level, score, grade, etc. According to aspects of the present disclosure, a question difficulty may also be determined based on the proficiency and/or score. That is, the user may remain at the same subject level and the user may also be presented with questions from a lower and/or higher subject level based on the determined proficiency and/or score.
FIGS. 5-8
In one configuration, the information determined and calculated herein with regards to the spacing interval and mastery may be linked to the progress “Report Card” as described above in relation to . The information may be displayed through a graphical user interface (GUI) or other display.
FIG. 11
1100
1102
1104
1106
illustrates a flow diagram for a method of adaptive learning according to an aspect of the present disclosure. At block , the mobile device receives multiple subjects to be presented in a task. Furthermore, at block , the mobile device presents the task in response to a condition being satisfied at the mobile device. At block , the mobile device adaptively adjusts a difficulty level of a subject of the multiple subjects based on a spacing interval and/or a speed of completing the task.
FIG. 12
FIG. 12
1200
1202
illustrates a flow diagram for a method of adaptive learning according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in , at block , an adaptive learning application receives one or more test subjects. The subject may be received from a cloud base database. For example, test subjects may include math, history, literature, and/or science. The test subjects may be received at a scheduled time, received on demand, and/or received in response to an event, such as a user login. The test subjects may also be pre-loaded or cached on the mobile device.
1204
1202
At block , the adaptive learning application presents a task, such as a test, to a user in response to a condition being satisfied at the mobile device. For example, the condition may be an attempt to use the mobile device. The test may include one or more of the subjects received at block . After successfully completing the test, the mobile device may be unlocked (not shown). After a test is completed, regardless of whether the test was successfully completed, the user's ability level and the next question difficulty level may be assessed by the application.
1206
In an optional configuration, at block , the adaptive learning application adaptively adjusts the difficulty level of one or more subjects based on the performance of the previous test. That is, the difficulty of some subjects may increase while the difficulty of other subjects may decrease. The difficulty level may be adjusted so that each subject remains at an adequate level of challenge for the user (e.g., test taker/task performer).
1208
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1206
1208
1210
1206
1208
1210
FIG. 12
In another optional configuration, at block , the adaptive learning application adaptively adjusts a difficulty level of one or more subjects of the multiple subjects based on a spacing interval between questions that are correctly or incorrectly answered. In yet another optional configuration, at block the adaptive learning application adaptively adjusts a difficulty level of one or more subjects of the multiple subjects based on a speed of completing the task. The order of operation of blocks , , and is not limited to the embodiment of as the difficulty level may be adjusted according to any order. Additionally, aspects of the present disclosure are contemplated for covering any combination of the aspects discussed in blocks , , and .
In one configuration, the adaptive learning application adaptively adjusts a question difficulty while maintaining the subject difficulty level. The question difficulty may be adjusted based on the spacing interval and/or the speed of completing the task. For example, the user may be on subject level five. In this example, based on the spacing interval and/or speed of completing the task, the user may remain on subject level five and questions from subject level four (or a higher subject level) may be presented until a condition is satisfied. For example, the questions from a lower subject level may be presented until the user answers a certain number of questions correctly at a pre-determined spacing interval and/or speed.
1212
At block , the adaptive learning application may save test related data, such as a test state, test results, and/or the test preferences. The test data may be saved locally and/or remotely. Additionally, a corresponding “level” designation may be provided for each user based on their competency and/or mastery in answering questions.
Aspects of the present disclosure have described the adaptive learning application for use with a mobile device. Still, aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to implementing the adaptive learning application on a mobile device and are also contemplated for using the adaptive learning application on other types of devices, such as gaming consoles, televisions, computers, voice assistance systems (e.g., Google Home, Amazon Echo) and/or any other type of device. Furthermore, the adaptive learning application is not limited to granting access to a device and may also be used to grant access to specific applications.
The adaptive learning application may have a different deployment mode. In one example mode, the adaptive learning application may be purchased and downloaded into a mobile device as a standalone application. In an alternative deployment mode, a subscription model may allow users to subscribe to the adaptive learning application that runs on a mobile device and/or the network cloud. For a monthly fee, a subscriber may obtain accesses to the adaptive learning application and related data in the cloud. In another configuration, some aspects of the learning application may be made available for free to the user and other aspects may be made available for a fee (one time or recurring). In another configuration, some or all aspects of the learning application may be made available for free permanently or for a predetermined amount of time.
The present invention is directed to an application, such as a proprietary application installed on a mobile device(s). The application may include a captive portal that restricts access to the said device and a corresponding cloud based management system. Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a child as a user and a parent as a task administrator. Still, aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the user being a child and the task administrator being a parent. Of course, aspects of the present disclosure are contemplated for any type of user that requests access to a device and any type of administrator that desires to restrict a user's access to a device. Other types of users are also contemplated, for example, user may also use aspects of the present disclosure for entertainment or continuing education. For example, the user may be an employee and the task administrator may be management. For the purpose of this disclosure, the term “parent” will refer to any individual or group of individuals which administrative access to the application and the term “child” and/or “children” refers to any individual or group of individuals whose access to the mobile device is desired to be restricted by the administrator. For the purpose of this disclosure, the terms “mastery”, “learning”, and “memory retention” are used interchangeably.
Several processors have been described in connection with various apparatuses and methods. These processors may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such processors are implemented as hardware or software will depend upon the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the system. By way of example, a processor, any portion of a processor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosure may be implemented with a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable processing components configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. The functionality of a processor, any portion of a processor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosure may be implemented with software being executed by a microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, or other suitable platform.
Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The software may reside on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium may include, by way of example, memory such as a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive), random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, or a removable disk. Although memory is shown separate from the processors in the various aspects presented throughout this disclosure, the memory may be internal to the processors (e.g., cache or register).
Computer-readable media may be embodied in a computer-program product. By way of example, a computer-program product may include a computer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure depending on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.
It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically recited therein.
It is also to be understood that the terms “user,” “child,” “task performer,” and “test taker” may be used interchangeably wherever the contexts are appropriate. The term mobile device may include any electronic device that is portable, including, but not limited to mobile phones, laptops, iPads, tablets, game consoles, personal data assistants (PDAs), internet of things and electronic readers.
The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”
Although particular aspects are described herein, many variations and permutations of these aspects fall within the scope of the disclosure. Although some benefits and advantages of the preferred aspects are mentioned, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited to particular benefits, uses or objectives. Rather, aspects of the disclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to different technologies, system configurations, networks and protocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in the figures and in the following description of the preferred aspects. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the disclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the disclosure being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a diagram illustrating an example process of adaptive learning on a mobile device according to one aspect of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2
is a flowchart illustrating an example process of adaptive learning on a mobile device according to one aspect of the present disclosure
FIG. 3
is a diagram illustrating an example cloud based adaptive learning model according to one aspect of the present disclosure.
FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H, and 4I
illustrate examples of test screens according to aspects of the present disclosure.
FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D
illustrate examples of cloud-based learning dashboard screens according to aspects of the present disclosure.
FIGS. 6, 7, and 8
are flow diagrams illustrating methods for adaptive learning according to aspects of the present disclosure
FIG. 9
is block diagram illustrating different modules/means/components for adaptive learning in an example apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure.
FIGS. 10, 11, and 12
are flow diagrams illustrating methods for adaptive learning according to aspects of the present disclosure. | |
When neurodegeneration occurs, the structure of neurons slowly deteriorates, often resulting in the death of the neurons themselves. As parts of the brain atrophy, language can become impoverished and motor functions are compromised. In the world of neurological disorders, diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s might be some of the most obvious, their effects becoming immediately visible in the bodies and voices of their sufferers.
Dr. Alex Forsythe wondered if there were other ways of detecting neurodegenerative disorders, beyond one’s body or language. She led a research team at the University of Liverpool’s School of Psychology to determine if fractal analysis, a mathematical technique, can be applied to artworks as a way to find signs of neurodegeneration in the artist. The team’s study, recently published in Neuropsychology, proves that it can.
Fractal analysis can identify and reveal repeating patterns, known as “fractals,” in shapes and images that might appear to be random, such as those found in nature. Applied to an artwork, fractals become personalized fingerprints, distinctive hallmarks of the artist’s brushstroke. Richard Taylor, a physicist and art historian at the University of Oregon, previously utilized fractal analysis to find patterns in the seemingly arbitrary drips of Jackson Pollock’s work, ultimately helping to distinguish the original paintings from a series of fakes.
In kind, Forsythe’s research team examined and studied 2,092 paintings by famous artists known to have suffered from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s (Salvador Dalí, Willem de Kooning, Norval Morrisseau, and James Brooks), as well as works by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, and Marc Chagall, none of whom had any known neurodegenerative disorders. The researchers found that while these fractal patterns — that is, the mathematically distinct “hallmark” of the artist’s work, not necessarily visible to the naked eye — increased in the work of healthy artists over time, they decreased in those with neurodegenerative disorders. These changes are not attributed to the style nor the complexity of the artists’ work — it is simply that they began to utilize subtly different ways of working as their relationship to their own brain began to shift.
The implications are vast: Could the changes in an artwork detect early symptoms of neurological decline? How, then, would that change what we know about such symptoms in the first place? To gain insight, I spoke with Dr. Forsythe about the study’s inception and significance.
* * *
Monica Uszerowicz: How did you decide to conduct this study?
Alex Forsythe: Several events aligned somewhat by serendipity but also by tragedy. In my early career I was interested in language analysis and was aware of the changes in writing that had been found in individuals who went on to develop Alzheimer’s Disease. I shifted away from that particular research interest, because I felt the field was quite crowded, into image measurement and the psychology of art for my PhD and subsequent academic career.
I came across Richard Taylor’s Nature paper on the use of fractals to identify fraud in the art world at a time when my father-in-law’s health was deteriorating rapidly from Parkinson’s Disease. The thought just occurred to me: I wonder if we can use fractal analysis to identify changes in artists with neurological deterioration, in the way in which we use micrographia — a diagnostic tool in Parkinson’s Disease. Like the language studies in Dementia, are there changes in art?
MU: Can you explain fractal analysis in laymen’s terms?
AF: Fractal patterns offer one way to represent the rough complexity of the natural world. The mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot developed them to measure what was previously unmeasurable. He called it measuring “the art of roughness” and self-similarity in nature. Fractals are patterns that repeat at different magnitudes: for example, the trunk of a tree breaking into its branches, then breaking into finer and finer branches. Simply placing a fractal helps us measure something that cannot be measured through traditional geometry — a ruler, for example.
In art, the individual brushstrokes self-replicate throughout the painting, creating form, space, and pattern — rather like an artist’s handwriting, but a handwriting which can also require fractal movements from the fingers, hands, arms, and in some cases entire body. We have found that the rhythm of these fractal patterns are captured for eternity in the painting, almost like a DNA footprint. We have found that this ‘code’ stays with an artist even if they change genre. Picasso was a great experimenter and regularly changed his artistic style, but the fractal dimension of his works remained stable over his lifespan.
We are finding higher quantities of fractal content in the early and midlife works of artists who later developed neurological problems. You can see, for example, obvious areas of high fractal content in much of the early works of Dalí, where the artist has used his brushstrokes to create water, sky, and mountains, but also in the curvature of the melting clocks. If we were to zoom into the image, we could see fractal content through the repeating nature of the brushstrokes. Dalí worked within what we call a “normal range” for his pieces until midlife, when something starts to change, first subtly, then drastically.
Later works, such as “Portrait of My Dead Brother,” which he painted more than 30 years later in 1963, has areas of repeating patterns, but much of this content is no longer fractal — for example, the areas of circular dots which are not fractal but adhering to geometric principles. Overall, the artists significantly decreased the amount of fractal content that they normally used to create their work. We found similar patterns in the work of the Canadian artist, Norval Morrisseau. I suspect with late Parkinson’s Disease, the artist may be finding it harder to control the brush and create the delicacy which is necessary to create highly fractal content. However, we can see changes taking place from the mid-careers of both artists, possibly before they were aware they had any neurological deterioration.
The pattern in Dementia is somewhat different, and quite dramatic. De Kooning, famous for his series of Woman paintings, continued to paint after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but the fractal content in his pictures decreased quite rapidly from middle age. A similar pattern is found with James Brooks. These patterns are not seen in artists who aged normally.
Controls were critical to rule out possible explanations, such as changes in artistic style. Once I had determined there was an effect, the natural step for me was to determine if there were patterns in other neurological problems.
MU: Did their work get “simpler” over time?
AF: Simpler is one way of thinking about the art works, but actually the artists are still able to produce complex works in later life. They rely less on fractal content to depict their message. So as I explained earlier, Dalí worked quite complexly throughout his life, but later complex paintings often had more geometric, rather than fractal content.
MU: What are the practical applications of the study? Can it be used for preventative care and early detection? Could visual art “examinations” be supplementary to other forms of testing?
AF: The sample is large enough to be somewhat representative, and could be built on with the addition of further artists. If we could find a way of speeding up the analysis, it has all sorts of potential, but my hope is that this study opens up routes of examination and exploration that we have not previously considered, new conversations about what symptoms of neurological decline could potentially be.
MU: What are the larger implications here?
There are, for example, some commonly accepted ideas that one of the first signs of dementia is memory loss, or with Parkinson’s Disease there will be a tremor. This study suggest that other subtle changes might be taking place before before we are perhaps even aware that something has changed. We know that aspects of our personality, such as openness to experience, changes across lifespan. I am hoping to explore the extent to which changes in preference might be triggered through neurological deterioration. The motivation for this direction is that patients with dementia often successfully take up artistic activities. De Kooning, for example, actually won more accolades for the work that he created as his illness progressed.
This is about a new perspective: looking at problems from a different direction. If we identified different processes, it could have implications for the development of new treatments and drugs.
| |
1. Introduction {#sec1-molecules-23-00783}
===============
Mitochondria are widely accepted as the powerhouse and provide up to 90% of the ATP necessary for the cell. They are also important for the regulation of ionic homeostasis, cell growth, redox signaling, and cell death \[[@B1-molecules-23-00783],[@B2-molecules-23-00783],[@B3-molecules-23-00783]\]. The electron transport chain (ETC) generates an electrochemical gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). This gradient, induced by the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ~m~) and the H^+^ gradient, is known as the proton-motive force that drives ATP synthesis. Mitochondria contain two membranes, the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) and the IMM, with an intermembrane space (IMS) between them. The OMM is a semi-permeable membrane allowing the passage of species with a molecular weight up to 6 kDa. The IMM is impermeable under normal aerobic conditions and transports selected ions and solutes through specific channels and exchangers.
An increase in mitochondrial Ca^2+^ and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to oxidative and energetic stresses stimulates mitochondria-mediated cell death. Also, proteolysis due to protein oxidation can alter the structural and functional integrity of the IMM. The main mechanism of mitochondria-mediated cell death involves excessive matrix swelling induced by the opening of the non-selective channels, permeability transition pores (PTP) in the IMM \[[@B4-molecules-23-00783],[@B5-molecules-23-00783],[@B6-molecules-23-00783]\] ([Figure 1](#molecules-23-00783-f001){ref-type="fig"}). The detailed molecular structure of PTPs is yet unknown. Although early studies revealed adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) and voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) as the core components of the PTP complex, subsequent genetic studies noted a regulatory rather than structural role to these proteins in PTP formation. Cyclophilin D has been broadly accepted as a major regulator of the PTP (*reviewed in* \[[@B7-molecules-23-00783]\]). Studies from several groups suggested that F~1~F~O~-ATPase was involved in the PTP complex \[[@B8-molecules-23-00783],[@B9-molecules-23-00783]\]; however, recent findings challenged the pore-forming role of F~1~F~O~-ATPase \[[@B10-molecules-23-00783],[@B11-molecules-23-00783]\].
The dynamics of PTP opening are usually described using various phenomenological approaches. The PTP opening can occur in the low-conductance (reversible) or high-conductance (irreversible) mode \[[@B6-molecules-23-00783],[@B12-molecules-23-00783],[@B13-molecules-23-00783]\]. Low-conductance PTP flickering creates permeability to solutes up to 300 Da, mostly ions, and induces negligible matrix swelling \[[@B14-molecules-23-00783]\]. However, the opening of the low-conductance PTP can initiate IMM depolarization \[[@B15-molecules-23-00783]\]. Notably, the low-conductance PTP induction can regulate ATP synthesis through activation/inhibition of the Krebs cycle by Ca^2+^ in the matrix \[[@B16-molecules-23-00783],[@B17-molecules-23-00783]\]. Furthermore, mitochondria are sensitive to small changes in the matrix volume that may be regulated by the low-conductance PTP. Increases in the matrix volume within the physiological range stimulate the ETC activity, ATP production, fatty acid oxidation, and other metabolic pathways \[[@B18-molecules-23-00783]\]. The high-conductance open-state PTP has a channel \~3 nm in diameter, allowing for the diffusion of all species up to 1.5 kDa \[[@B4-molecules-23-00783],[@B19-molecules-23-00783],[@B20-molecules-23-00783]\]. Therefore, PTP opening stimulates the free bi-directional movement of low molecular weight species (water and solutes) across the IMM, while the indiffusible proteins remain in the matrix. Consequently, an increase in the colloid osmotic pressure causes matrix swelling. Due to the ensuing OMM rupture, apoptotic proteins (e.g., cytochrome *c*) are released into the cytosol, promoting cell death via apoptosis \[[@B21-molecules-23-00783],[@B22-molecules-23-00783]\]. It should be noted that whether cell death occurs through apoptosis or necrosis depends on the ATP level. Since apoptosis is the ATP-dependent process, at low (\<50%) ATP, despite release of apoptotic proteins from the IMS, the cell will apparently die by necrosis rather than apoptosis.
Calcium is a key inducer of both PTP-dependent and PTP-independent swelling of mitochondria ([Figure 1](#molecules-23-00783-f001){ref-type="fig"}). Cytoplasmic Ca^2+^ is rapidly taken up by mitochondria due to the proton-motive force generated by the ETC \[[@B23-molecules-23-00783]\]. The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) is the main channel that transports Ca^2+^ to the matrix when PTPs are closed. In fact, the MCU is a low-affinity and high-capacity channel that mediates Ca^2+^ influx in a ΔΨ~m~-dependent manner \[[@B24-molecules-23-00783]\]. Mitochondrial Ca^2+^ efflux occurs in three ways: (i) the mitochondrial Na^+^/Ca^2+^ exchanger, the main contributor, most relevant in muscle mitochondria \[[@B25-molecules-23-00783]\]; (ii) the H^+^/Ca^2+^ antiporter, an Na-independent pathway \[[@B20-molecules-23-00783],[@B26-molecules-23-00783],[@B27-molecules-23-00783]\]; and (iii) opening of the PTPs. The PTP opening occurs due to Ca^2+^ overload, inducing swelling of mitochondria caused by the influx of water and ions through the open pores \[[@B25-molecules-23-00783],[@B28-molecules-23-00783]\].
In addition to Ca^2+^, H^+^ also plays an important regulatory role in PTP induction and, thus, mitochondrial swelling. Likely, H^+^ regulates the sensitivity of the PTP towards Ca^2+^; low pH inhibits pore opening, whereas pH above 7.0 stimulates permeability transition \[[@B26-molecules-23-00783],[@B29-molecules-23-00783]\]. High H^+^ levels have been shown to inhibit the PTP induction through cyclophilin D \[[@B30-molecules-23-00783]\] and F-ATP synthase \[[@B31-molecules-23-00783]\]. Therefore, pharmacological agents that reduce pH and create temporary acidosis are able to prevent PTP opening and exert beneficial effects in pathological conditions associated with mitochondrial Ca^2+^ overload (e.g., ischemia--reperfusion) \[[@B32-molecules-23-00783],[@B33-molecules-23-00783]\].
Modeling of mitochondrial swelling is important for the simulation and prediction of in vivo events under physiological and pathological conditions. The lack of knowledge on the molecular identity of the PTP complex obscures the understanding of the physical and chemical mechanisms of pore opening and mitochondrial swelling. Previous studies proposed several kinetic approaches to developing an optimized model of mitochondrial swelling. However, they do not provide an adequate mechanism underlying the transition from a reversible to an irreversible swelling state and should be improved by including additional factors. In particular, previous models did not take into consideration ΔΨ~m~, the major parameter that regulates mitochondrial PTP induction, swelling, and cell death \[[@B34-molecules-23-00783],[@B35-molecules-23-00783],[@B36-molecules-23-00783]\]. Simultaneous analysis of swelling and the dynamics of ΔΨ~m~ loss are important for understanding the relationship between changes in the matrix volume, ion flux, and mitochondrial bioenergetics. Also, previous models used the kinetic limit for the analysis of the transport of ions and solutes. As a result, diffusion was assumed to be faster than the respective kinetic rates. Therefore, an improved model should include diffusion-limited transport of Ca^2+^ from the cytosol to the matrix to generalize the modeling approaches.
We have earlier reported \[[@B37-molecules-23-00783]\] a simple model to interpret the experimental data on Ca^2+^-induced mitochondrial swelling. In the current study, we further develop modeling analysis including the transport dynamics of different ions and species across the IMM, and their effects on matrix metabolism, with the objective to describe mitochondrial swelling based on detailed physical and chemical characteristics. Our model describes the mechanism of transition from reversible to irreversible swelling in mitochondria. We developed a FORTRAN code to carry out numerical simulations, with varying values of the model parameters. Our modeling approach is based on the experimental data reported earlier by different authors. It includes the mechanism of matrix swelling, where the IMM rigidity is described by the rigidity tensor, its components dependent on the IMM deformation scale. Simultaneously, the osmotic pressure in the matrix is compensated for by the IMM deformation. Based on earlier suggestions \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783]\], our model couples the PTP opening dynamics with the matrix pH. We conclude that the model is suitable for the analysis of the transition of mitochondria from the reversible to irreversible swelling. However, the applicability range of the model is quite limited, as it only takes into account Ca^2+^, K^+^, and H^+^ to describe the irreversible swelling. In future, we plan to include a description of irreversible swelling in the more complex models with all of the relevant species, which currently disregard the possibility of irreversible swelling.
2. Model Description {#sec2-molecules-23-00783}
====================
There are two different approaches to the modeling of mitochondrial swelling dynamics \[[@B39-molecules-23-00783]\]. The first approach introduces phenomenological kinetic parameters, which are fitted for better reproduction of the experimental kinetic results. The second approach develops a biophysical model based on the ionic and hydrodynamic fluxes across the IMM, and changes in ΔΨ~m~ and mitochondrial respiration rates \[[@B19-molecules-23-00783],[@B40-molecules-23-00783]\].
The role of Ca^2+^ in mitochondrial swelling has been assessed using a simple kinetic approach in rat liver mitochondria \[[@B41-molecules-23-00783]\]. The kinetics of the permeability transition were analyzed within a model based on the assumption that the transition follows first-order kinetics and that the solute diffusion rate depends on the pore conformation. In addition, several theoretical studies concerning mitochondrial swelling dynamics were reported \[[@B39-molecules-23-00783],[@B42-molecules-23-00783],[@B43-molecules-23-00783],[@B44-molecules-23-00783],[@B45-molecules-23-00783],[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\]. Another study reported a model of mitochondrial ion transport and its application to the analysis of different modes of Ca^2+^ uptake by mitochondria \[[@B47-molecules-23-00783]\]. However, this model failed to reproduce the swelling and the role of PTP opening in swelling. Likewise, several systematic studies reported modeling of Ca^2+^ transport across the IMM, and also PTP induction \[[@B42-molecules-23-00783],[@B43-molecules-23-00783],[@B44-molecules-23-00783],[@B45-molecules-23-00783]\]. Their approach is based on a kinetic step that may be presented as Ca^2+^*~out~* ↔ Ca^2+^*~in~*, describing Ca^2+^ ion exchange between the outside and inside of the IMM.
2.1. A Basic Model of Mitochondrial Dynamics {#sec2dot1-molecules-23-00783}
--------------------------------------------
A simple scheme of the proposed model of Ca^2+^-induced mitochondrial swelling is shown in [Figure 2](#molecules-23-00783-f002){ref-type="fig"}. This model is an extended version of our earlier approach \[[@B37-molecules-23-00783]\]. The Ca^2+^ concentration affects ΔΨ*~m~* = Ψ*~m,\ out~* -- ΔΨ*~m,\ in~*, the proton concentration in the matrix *C~H,\ in~*, the PTP opening dynamics, described by the *P~PTP,\ op~* parameter, matrix concentration of the respiration activator (A), matrix osmotic pressure *P~os~* and matrix swelling. Mitochondrial swelling is induced by ionic/neutral species transport in/out of the matrix, which creates osmotic pressure inside the matrix. The osmotic pressure is compensated for by the IMM deformation induced by swelling. The present modeling approach aims to reproduce the IMM swelling dynamics, which is included in the transport model for the ionic and neutral species going in or out of the matrix, along with PTP opening dynamics.
We used the Goldman equation to describe ionic species transport in and out of the matrix \[[@B47-molecules-23-00783]\], which may be presented as follows:$$J_{i}^{} = J_{i}^{out} - J_{i}^{in} = p_{i}\frac{k_{B}T\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{z_{i}\left| e \right|}\frac{C_{i}^{in}e^{- \frac{z_{i}{|e|}\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{k_{B}T}} - C_{i}^{out}}{1 - e^{- \frac{z_{i}{|e|}\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{k_{B}T}}},$$ where *J~i~* is the flux of *i*-th ionic species, *J~i~^in^* and *J~i~^out^* are the *i*-th ionic species fluxes coming in and going out of the matrix, *k~B~* is the Boltzmann constant, *T* is the absolute temperature, *z~i~* is the relative ionic charge, \|*e*\| is the absolute electron charge, $C_{i}^{in}$ and $C_{i}^{out}$ are the concentrations of the *i*-th ionic species inside and outside the matrix, respectively, and *p~i~* is the reduced permeability of the IMM to the *i*-th ionic species. The transport of neutral species may also be described by Equation (1), substituting ΔΨ*~m~* → 0, i.e., $$J_{i}^{} = J_{i}^{out} - J_{i}^{in} = p_{i}^{(0)}\left( {C_{i}^{in} - C_{i}^{out}} \right),$$ where *p~i~*^(0*)*^ is the diffusion coefficient of the respective species in the uniport channels. We assumed *p~i~*^(0*)*^ = 0 for the uniport of the ionic species. Our model uses both Equations (1) and (2). We used published values of the model parameters in our numerical analysis, with the respective data and references listed in [Table 1](#molecules-23-00783-t001){ref-type="table"}.
2.2. Ca^2+^ Transport across the IMM {#sec2dot2-molecules-23-00783}
------------------------------------
Calcium influx through the IMM may be described by Equation (1), taking into account its background cytosolic concentration *C*~0,*cb*~ = 0.5 μM \[[@B48-molecules-23-00783]\]. The effective reduced permeability of Ca^2+^ uniport across the IMM is listed in [Table 1](#molecules-23-00783-t001){ref-type="table"}. Our model includes the transport of Ca^2+^ only. The IMM is impermeable to Ca^2+^, K^+^, Na^+^, H^+^ and other ions; specific channels and exchangers control their flux and concentrations in the mitochondrial matrix. Specifically, mitochondrial K^+^ balance is controlled by ATP-dependent (mitochondrial K~ATP~ channel) and Ca^2+^-dependent channels responsible for influx, and by K^+^/H^+^ exchanger responsible for removal of the excess matrix K^+^. Sodium balance is controlled by Na^+^/Ca^2+^ (influx) and Na^+^/H^+^ (efflux) exchangers \[[@B20-molecules-23-00783]\]. As we already stated, the present model does not include Na^+^ influx/efflux mechanisms. Therefore, the respective processes were omitted. However, we included the K^+^/H^+^ exchange mechanism because K^+^ transport at low \[Ca^2+^\] (low-conductance PTP) induces oscillations of the mitochondrial volume \[[@B53-molecules-23-00783],[@B54-molecules-23-00783]\]. This effect resulting from K^+^ transport across the IMM is appropriately described by modified Equation (1), which may be presented as follows:$$\begin{array}{l}
{J_{K^{+}}^{K/H} = J_{K^{+}}^{out} - J_{K^{+}}^{in} = p_{K^{+},H^{+}}\frac{k_{B}T\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{\left| e \right|}\frac{C_{K^{+}}^{in}e^{- \frac{{|e|}\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{k_{B}T}} - C_{K^{+}}^{out}}{1 - e^{- \frac{{|e|}\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{k_{B}T}}}} \\
{J_{H^{+}}^{H/K} = J_{H^{+}}^{out} - J_{H^{+}}^{in} = p_{H^{+},K^{+}}\frac{k_{B}T\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{\left| e \right|}\frac{C_{H^{+}}^{in}e^{- \frac{{|e|}\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{k_{B}T}} - C_{H^{+}}^{out}}{1 - e^{- \frac{{|e|}\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{k_{B}T}}}} \\
\end{array},$$ where the permeability for the K^+^ and H^+^ ion transport through the membrane depends linearly on H^+^ and K^+^ concentrations: $p_{K^{+},H^{+}} = p_{K^{+},H^{+}}^{(0)}\left| {C_{H^{+}}^{out} - C_{H^{+}}^{in}} \right|$ and $p_{H^{+},K^{+}} = p_{H^{+},K^{+}}^{(0)}\left| {C_{K^{+}}^{out} - C_{K^{+}}^{in}} \right|$, respectively. The values of the $p_{K^{+},H^{+}}^{(0)}$ and $p_{H^{+},K^{+}}^{(0)}$ parameters are listed in [Table 1](#molecules-23-00783-t001){ref-type="table"}.
2.3. PTP Transport of Ionic and Neutral Species {#sec2dot3-molecules-23-00783}
-----------------------------------------------
As we already mentioned, PTP opening also controls transport of different ions and neutral species to and from IMM. Factors controlling PTP opening include changes in \[Ca^2+^\] and ΔΨ~m~, and matrix pH dynamics \[[@B48-molecules-23-00783]\]. Hence, for simplicity, we assume that Ca^2+^ affects the PTP opening dynamics only indirectly, by inducing changes in ΔΨ~m~ or matrix pH. Presently, we follow the modeling approach proposed earlier \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783]\], adding the model component required to describe the mitochondrial swelling dynamics. According to this approach, we assume that ΔΨ~m~ has no direct influence on the PTP opening dynamics in the autoinduced release of mitochondrial Ca^2+^. It is known that PTPs are completely open at pH ≥ 7.3--7.5, and completely closed at pH ≤ 7.0 \[[@B48-molecules-23-00783]\]. Based on these facts, we define the probability of PTP opening as follows:$$P_{PTP} = \frac{\alpha\left( {pH - 7.0} \right)^{n}}{1 + \alpha\left( {pH - 7.0} \right)^{n}}.$$
This expression correctly produces *P~PTP~* = 0 at pH \< 7.0, and *P~PTP~* = 1 at pH \> 7.5. [Figure 3](#molecules-23-00783-f003){ref-type="fig"} shows the probability dependence on pH at different values of *α* and *n*. On the other hand, the PTP opening rate and the PTP closing rate may be presented as follows:$$\begin{array}{l}
{W_{op}^{PTP} = k_{op}n_{PTP,cl}^{m}} \\
{W_{cl}^{PTP} = k_{cl}n_{PTP,op}^{m}} \\
{n_{PTP,cl}^{m} + n_{PTP,op}^{m} = n_{PTP}^{m}} \\
\end{array},$$ where *k~i~* is the respective rate constants (min^−1^), $n_{PTP}^{m}$ is the number of PTP on the IMM of a single mitochondrion, $n_{PTP,op}$ is the number of open PTP, and $n_{PTP,cl}$ is the number of closed PTP.
Using these notations, the equation for the PTP opening dynamics may be presented as follows:$$\begin{array}{l}
{\frac{dn_{PTP,op}}{dt} = k_{op}n_{PTP}^{m} - \left( {k_{op} - k_{cl}} \right)n_{PTP,op}^{m}} \\
{n_{PTP,op}^{m}\left( t \right) = \frac{k_{cl}n_{PTP}^{m}}{\left( {k_{op} - k_{cl}} \right)}\left( e^{- {({k_{op} - k_{cl}})}t} \right)} \\
\end{array}.$$
The latter relationship describes the dynamics of PTP opening. However, it does not include explicitly any effects of the matrix pH; these effects should then be included into the *k~i~* parameters. This makes the analysis quite complex. To simplify the calculations, we use Equation (3) instead of Equation (5). The matrix pH is now a time-dependent function, which we introduce below. Ion fluxes through the PTP may also be described by the modified Goldman Equation (1), and presented as follows: $$\begin{array}{l}
{J_{i,PTP}^{} = p_{i,PTP}P_{PTP}n_{PTP}^{m}\frac{k_{B}T\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{z_{i}\left| e \right|}\frac{C_{i}^{in}e^{- \frac{z_{i}{|e|}\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{k_{B}T}} - C_{i^{}}^{out}}{1 - e^{- \frac{z_{i}{|e|}\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{k_{B}T}}}.} \\
\end{array}$$
In case of H^+^ transport, both $C_{H +}^{in}$ and $C_{H +}^{out}$ are variable parameters. The permeability coefficient for H^+^ coming through PTP is unknown. We assume that its value is close to that for Ca^2+^, with both values listed in [Table 1](#molecules-23-00783-t001){ref-type="table"}, where *p~H+,PTP~* = *p~Ca~*~2+~,*~PTP~*/2 due to the difference in ionic charges \[[@B55-molecules-23-00783]\]. We also assume that the value of K^+^ permeability for PTP transport is the same as that for H^+^. Thus, we included H^+^, K^+^, and Ca^2+^ transport through PTP into the current model. In our calculations, we used the conservation relationships: $${C_{K +}^{in}\ + \ }C_{K +}^{out}\ = \ C_{K + ,0}\ {and}\ C_{Ca2 +}^{in}\ + \ C_{Ca2 +}^{out}\ = \ C_{Ca2 + ,0}$$ for K^+^ and Ca^2+^, and used a constant external hydrogen ion concentration outside of the matrix $C_{H +}^{out}$ ([Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}). We also used the same initial \[H^+^\] in the matrix in all of the simulation runs and recorded its evolution in time. In the case of depolarized IMM, we may represent the ion transport through the PTP by the relationship similar to Equation (2):$$J_{i}^{} = J_{i}^{out} - J_{i}^{in} = p_{i,PTP}^{(0)}P_{PTP}n_{PTP}^{m}\left( {C_{i}^{in} - C_{i}^{out}} \right),$$ where *p~i,PTP~*^(0*)*^ is the effective diffusion coefficient of the respective species through PTP, unknown for live cells. However, we neglect the thermal diffusion of ions through PTP in a depolarized IMM, Equation (7), as the ion release, in this case, is dominated by the hydrodynamic flux induced by mitochondrial rigidity.
2.4. Weak Acid Dissociation {#sec2dot4-molecules-23-00783}
---------------------------
Since the probability of PTP opening is directly dependent on the matrix \[H^+^\] (*C~H+~*), we include the dissociation equilibrium for a weak acid AH. We use the latter as a simplified model for the second dissociation of phosphoric acid, falling into the pH interval of interest with p*K*~a~ = 7.20. In this case, we obtain:$$C_{H^{+}}^{} = C_{A^{-}}^{} = \frac{1}{2}\left\{ {\sqrt{K_{AH}\left( {K_{AH} + 4C_{AH}^{(0)}} \right)} - K_{AH}} \right\},$$ where *K~AH~* is the equilibrium constant of the acid and $C_{AH}^{(0)}$ its initial concentration. Assuming that there are other sources of H^+^ producing its background concentration $C_{H +}^{bg}$, Equation (8) becomes:$$C_{H^{+}}^{} = C_{A^{-}}^{} = \frac{1}{2}\left\{ {\sqrt{\left( {K_{AH} + C_{AH}^{bg}} \right)^{2} + 4K_{AH}C_{AH}^{(0)}} - \left( {K_{AH} + C_{H^{+}}^{bg}} \right)} \right\}$$
Next, we substitute concentrations by activities in Equations (1)--(8): $$a_{i} = \gamma_{i}C_{i},$$ where the activity coefficient *γ~I~* is determined using the Debye--Hückel theory \[[@B56-molecules-23-00783]\]:$$\ln\left( \gamma_{i} \right) = - \frac{\sqrt{2\pi}\left| e \right|^{5}z_{i}^{2}}{\sqrt{\left( {\varepsilon\varepsilon_{0}k_{B}T} \right)^{3}}}\sqrt{I},$$ where *I* is the ionic force, given by:$$I = \frac{1}{2}{\sum\limits_{}{C_{i}z_{i}^{2}}}.$$
We calculated activity coefficients using Equation (11). The mechanism involving electrodiffusion of anions and H^+^ through PTP may be extended to the transport of other weak organic acids to/from the matrix through PTP. The respective kinetic model for a weak acid AH is described by the following reactions:AH*~out~* ↔ A^−^*~out~* + H^+^*~out~*A^−^*~out~* ↔ A^−^*~in~*H^+^*~out~* ↔ H^+^*~in~*A^−^*~in~* + H^+^*~in~* ↔ AH*~in~*
The dissociation constants of weak acids are known quite well \[[@B56-molecules-23-00783]\]. We assume that the dissociation equilibriums, described by Reactions (1) and (4), are much faster than diffusion, described by Reactions (3) and (4). We use the same values of the equilibrium constants inside and outside the matrix. Taking into account the relations (6), and (9) to (12), we described AH transport through PTP. Our model runs use the permeability value for the PTP transport of A^−^ reported earlier \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783]\] (see [Table 1](#molecules-23-00783-t001){ref-type="table"}).
2.5. Effect of Respiration (ETC Activity) on H^+^ Generation {#sec2dot5-molecules-23-00783}
------------------------------------------------------------
Taking into account that ΔΨ~m~ directly affects the respiration and depends on the ETC activity \[[@B46-molecules-23-00783],[@B47-molecules-23-00783]\], we used *W~A~*, the generation rate of the respiration activator A, in our model in the following form \[[@B55-molecules-23-00783]\]:$$W_{A} = k_{A}a_{A,0}\left( {1 - e^{- \frac{\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}}{\delta{({\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}})}}}} \right),$$ where *k~A~* \[min^−1^mM^−1^\] is the effective respiration rate constant, *δ*(ΔΨ*~m~*) is a variable parameter and *a~A,~*~0~ is the activator activity at zero time. The respiration rate is constant at ΔΨ*~m~* = 200 mV \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783]\]. This was achieved in the model by requiring that *W~A~* = 0.99*k~A~a~A,~*~0~ at ΔΨ*~m~* = 200 mV, which results in *δ*(ΔΨ*~m~*) = 43.42 mV, the value used in all model calculations. The respiration activator flux may be presented by the modified Equation (7):$$J_{A}^{} = p_{A,PTP}^{}P_{PTP}n_{PTP}^{m}a_{A},$$ with the *p~A,PTP~* value listed in [Table 1](#molecules-23-00783-t001){ref-type="table"}.
Mitochondrial respiration induces the formation of H^+^ in the IMS due to its ejection from the matrix by ETC complexes I, III, and IV. Our model does not include the detailed mechanism of H^+^ transport into the IMS. Therefore, it controls \[H^+^\] by its generation via an irreversible process: with the S^−^ product not participating in any other reactions. We determined the H^+^ transport using Equation (6) and now, discuss the implementation of the effects of H^+^ on ΔΨ~m~. We calculated the rate of ETC-induced H^+^ generation: $$W_{H^{+},A} = k_{A,H^{+}}a_{A},$$ where *k~A,H+~* is the H^+^ formation rate constant in the respiration cycle.
2.6. Model Implementation {#sec2dot6-molecules-23-00783}
-------------------------
The dynamics of ΔΨ~m~ is determined by the matrix ion fluxes, calculated as explained above. Thus, the system of equations describing the evolution of the model in time may be written as:$$\begin{array}{l}
{\frac{d\left( {\Delta\mathsf{\Psi}_{m}} \right)}{dt} = \frac{F}{C}\left\lbrack {2J_{Ca^{2 +}} + J_{A^{-}} + J_{H^{+}} + J_{K^{+}}} \right\rbrack} \\
{J_{H^{+}} = J_{H^{+},PTP}^{} + \frac{W_{H^{+},A}^{}}{S_{m}} + J_{H^{+}}^{H/K}} \\
\end{array}$$ $$\frac{da_{Ca^{2 +}}^{in}}{dt} = \left( {J_{Ca^{2 +}} + J_{Ca^{2 +},PTP}} \right)S_{m}$$ $$\frac{da_{H^{+}}^{in}}{dt} = \frac{S_{m}}{B}\left( {- J_{H^{+}} - J_{AH}} \right)$$ $$\frac{da_{K^{+}}^{in}}{dt} = \left( {J_{K^{+}}^{K/H} + J_{K^{+},PTP}} \right)S_{m}$$ $$\frac{dA_{in}}{dt} = \left( {W_{A} - W_{H^{+},A} - J_{A}S_{m}} \right),$$ where *F* is the Faraday constant, *C* is the IMM electric capacity, *a~i~* is the activity of the respective ion, *S~m~* the mitochondrial surface area, and *B* = 3 × 10^5^ \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783]\]. Here we assume that the evolution of *P~PTP~*, Equation (3) and that of *W~A~*, Equation (13), occurs much faster than the processes presented in Equations (16)--(20). We calculated the IMM electric capacity using the relationship $C = \frac{S_{m}}{h}$, where *h* = 10 nm is the IMM thickness, used as a constant value in our analysis.
2.7. Mitochondrial Swelling Dynamics {#sec2dot7-molecules-23-00783}
------------------------------------
We complement our model with the mitochondrial swelling induced by osmosis. Osmotic pressure results from the concentration differences of various species inside and outside the matrix, written as follows \[[@B51-molecules-23-00783],[@B57-molecules-23-00783],[@B58-molecules-23-00783]\]:$$\Delta P_{os} = k_{B}TN{\sum\limits_{i}\left( {a_{i}^{in} - a_{out}^{in}} \right)},$$ where *N* is Avogadro's number. The higher osmotic pressure inside the matrix induces mitochondrial swelling, while the IMM deformation compensates for osmotic pressure up to a certain limit, maintaining equilibrium:$$\Delta P_{os} = \Delta P_{IMM},$$ where Δ*P~IMM~* is created by the IMM deformation. In the analysis of mitochondrial deformation, we assume that osmotic water transport in/out of the matrix is much faster than the rates of processes described by Equations (16)--(20). Our model calculations also assume ellipsoid shape for the mitochondrial matrix, with the IMM rigidity described by the second-order tensor: $$g = \begin{pmatrix}
g_{xx} & g_{xy} & g_{xz} \\
g_{yx} & g_{yy} & g_{yz} \\
g_{zx} & g_{zy} & g_{zz} \\
\end{pmatrix},$$ with the matrix shape described by a prolate ellipsoid $$\frac{1}{a^{2}}\left( {x^{2} + y^{2}} \right) + \frac{z^{2}}{c^{2}} = 1,$$ where the rigidity tensor may be diagonalized in the reference system shown in [Figure 2](#molecules-23-00783-f002){ref-type="fig"}:$$g\prime = \left( \begin{array}{l}
\begin{array}{lll}
{g^{\prime}}_{xx} & 0 & 0 \\
0 & {g^{\prime}}_{yy} & 0 \\
0 & 0 & {g^{\prime}}_{zz} \\
\end{array} \\
\end{array} \right).$$
Using the rigidity tensor, we express the pressure created by the IMM deformation: $$\Delta P_{IMM} = \frac{{g^{\prime}}_{xx}\Delta x\left( t \right) + {g^{\prime}}_{yy}\Delta y\left( t \right) + {g^{\prime}}_{zz}\Delta z\left( t \right)}{S_{m}\left( t \right)},$$ where and $$\begin{array}{l}
{S_{m}\left( t \right) = 2\pi\left( {a + \Delta x} \right)^{2}\left( {1 + \frac{c + \Delta z}{\left( {a + \Delta x} \right)f}\arcsin\left( f \right)} \right)} \\
{f = \sqrt{1 - \left( \frac{a + \Delta x}{c + \Delta z} \right)^{2}};\, a + \Delta x < c + \Delta z} \\
\end{array}.$$
The matrix volume changes and the resulting changes in the concentrations/activities are given by:$$\begin{array}{l}
{V_{m}\left( t \right) = \frac{4}{3}\pi\left( {a + \Delta x} \right)^{2}\left( {c + \Delta z} \right)} \\
{a_{i}^{in} = \frac{V_{m}\left( {t - \Delta t} \right)}{V_{v}\left( t \right)}a_{i}^{in}} \\
\end{array},$$ where Δ*t* is the time step used in the numerical integration of Equations (16)--(20).
To take into account the irreversibility of the mitochondrial swelling at large IMM deformations, the tensor components vanish at high deformations:$$\begin{array}{l}
{g_{xx} = g_{yy} = g_{9} = g_{00}\left( {1 - \frac{\beta_{0}\Delta r_{}^{n_{1}}}{1 + \beta_{0}\Delta r_{}^{n_{1}}}} \right)} \\
{r = x\ or\ y} \\
{g_{zz} = g_{zz,0}\left( {1 - \frac{\beta_{z}\Delta z_{}^{n_{1}}}{1 + \beta_{z}z_{}^{n_{1}}}} \right)} \\
\end{array},$$ where *g*~00~, *g~zz,~*~0~, *β*~0~, *β~z~*, and *n*~1~ are adjustable parameters.
We also need to add to Equations (16)--(20) the terms describing the effluxes of the modeled species through PTP due to excess matrix pressure. According to Poiseuille's law, the volume of homogeneous fluid escaping through a cylindrical tube is given by \[[@B44-molecules-23-00783]\]:$$J_{0} = \frac{\pi r^{4}}{8\eta l}\Delta P_{IMM},$$ where *r* is the effective PTP radius, *η* is the viscosity of the matrix fluid, and *l* is the IMM thickness. We define the effective PTP radius as: $$r = r_{0}P_{PTP},$$ where *r*~0~ ≤ 1.5 nm \[[@B26-molecules-23-00783]\]. Thus, the hydrodynamic efflux of *i*-th species is given by:$$J_{i} = J_{0}a_{i}n_{PTP}^{m}.$$
Thus, our model calculations used Equations (16)--(20) with added hydrodynamic flux terms according to Equation (30). Assuming spherically symmetric mitochondria (*g~xx~* = *g~yy~* = *g~zz~*), the equations describing mitochondrial swelling dynamics become much simpler. The volume change rate will be given by: $$\frac{d\Delta V}{dt} = \eta\Delta P_{os} - \kappa\Delta V,$$ where *η* is the coefficient defining the rate of water transfer inside the IMM, and *κ* the coefficient describing the water transfer outside the IMM due to rigidity, vanishing at high deformations: $$\kappa = \kappa_{0}\left( {1 - \frac{\gamma\Delta V_{}^{m}}{1 + \gamma\Delta V_{}^{m}}} \right).$$
Here, *κ*~0~ is the linear rigidity coefficient, and *γ* and *m* the parameters characterizing membrane properties. At small volume changes, Equation (32) becomes: $$\frac{d\Delta V}{dt} = \eta\Delta P_{os} - \kappa_{0}\Delta V.$$
Its solution is still quite complex, because Δ*P~os~* is a time-dependent function, including ion transport and dilution dynamics created by volume dynamics. Using a linear approximation to Equation (33), the latter equation may be solved using Equation (22), with the result given by: $$V(t) = \frac{\eta}{\kappa}\Delta P_{os}\left( {1 - e^{- \kappa t}} \right).$$
Assuming *κ*^−1^ is much shorter than the characteristic times of other processes included in the model, Equation (34) takes the form:$$\Delta V = \frac{\eta\Delta P_{os}}{\kappa_{0}}.$$
The earlier approach presented to mitochondrial swelling dynamics \[[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\] is based on Equation (35). This approach, however, has limited utility, as swelling involves dilution of various components; additionally, Equation (35) is only applicable to spherically symmetric systems with homogeneous swelling. This equation also disregards the irreversibility of large deformations, introduced here by Equation (32).
All of the above considerations apply to the analysis of mitochondrial volume dynamics as a function of different system parameters. Our main objective was to gain an understanding of irreversible mitochondrial swelling, testing the new modeling approach. We are considering a set of equivalent mitochondria, with their number density given by *n~mit~* (cm^−3^), an additional model parameter.
3. Numerical Experiments {#sec3-molecules-23-00783}
========================
Since mitochondrial dimensions vary significantly between biological species and cell types, our model analysis specifically targets mitochondria of the adult rat cardiomyocytes. We implemented the numerical model in a homemade FORTRAN code, with the input parameter values listed in [Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}.
Our numerical experiments used constant values for the *α*, *n*, *C~AH~*~,0~, *δ*(ΔΨ*~m~*), *C~A~*~,0~, *k~A~*, and *k~A~*~,*H+*~ parameters, selected ([Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}) according to previous reports \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783],[@B43-molecules-23-00783],[@B46-molecules-23-00783],[@B51-molecules-23-00783],[@B55-molecules-23-00783],[@B57-molecules-23-00783],[@B58-molecules-23-00783],[@B59-molecules-23-00783],[@B60-molecules-23-00783]\]. We estimated the values of *g*~00~ and *g~zz,~*~0~ for spherical mitochondria based on their average mass and expected oscillation frequency \[[@B61-molecules-23-00783]\]. We used the experimental criterion of irreversible swelling observed upon 50% increase in volume; this translates into Δ*r* = 0.144*a* and Δ*z* = 0.144*c*, and the rigidity tensor components vanishing at *a* = 0.5 μm and *c* = 1 μm \[[@B61-molecules-23-00783]\]. Thus, and using Equation (28), we selected *β*~0~, *β~z~*, and *n*~1~ values as listed in [Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}. We also introduced an outside \[H^+^\] = $C_{H +}^{out}$, kept constant during the model run. We also kept constant $C_{H + ,0}^{in}$*^in^*, the matrix \[H^+^\], in each of the numerical experiments. The values of these two parameters were selected using previous reports \[[@B61-molecules-23-00783]\], with the respective data listed in [Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}. We selected K^+^ and Ca^2+^ concentrations, which we varied independently, to cover their entire natural range.
We solved the system of equations defining our model using a homemade FORTRAN code, and the parameters of [Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}, producing the following output parameters: with PTP opening probability *P~PTP~* and
All of the calculations used ΔΨ*~m~*(*t* = 0) = 200 mV, $C_{Ca2 +}^{in}$(*t* = 0) = 0.5 μM, and $C_{K +}^{in}$(*t* = 0) = 0. In all of the numerical experiments, we kept the ratio of the cell volume to the initial mitochondrial volume constant. Usually an adult rat cardiomyocyte contains \~5000 mitochondria, with the cell to mitochondrial volume ratio of ca. 2.50--2.86 \[[@B62-molecules-23-00783]\]. Thus, the free cell volume per each mitochondrion is (2.50 − 2.86)*V~m~*(*t* = 0). Our numerical analysis additionally used the values of various constants as reported earlier \[[@B52-molecules-23-00783],[@B63-molecules-23-00783],[@B64-molecules-23-00783]\] ([Table 1](#molecules-23-00783-t001){ref-type="table"}).
4. Results and Discussion {#sec4-molecules-23-00783}
=========================
According to [Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}, we varied only two variable parameters: the initial $K_{out}^{+}$ and $Ca_{out}^{2 +}$ concentrations. We made a total of 100 independent numerical experiments with the two concentrations of K^+^ and Ca^2+^ that were varied independently. However, we limited the analysis to only two concentrations of K^+^*~out~* (0.01 and 10 mM) and 10 different Ca^2+^*~out~* concentrations ([Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}), producing a total of the 20 most interesting numerical experiments. We calculated the dynamics of the $H_{in}^{+}$, $K_{in}^{+}$, and $Ca_{in}^{2 +}$ concentrations, ΔΨ~m~, the probability of PTP opening, and the mitochondrial volume. The results of the initial cytosolic \[K^+^\] of 0.1 μM are plotted in [Figure 4](#molecules-23-00783-f004){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 5](#molecules-23-00783-f005){ref-type="fig"}.
[Figure 4](#molecules-23-00783-f004){ref-type="fig"}a,c,e show oscillations with ca. 97 s period of the Ca^2+^, K^+^, and H^+^ concentrations, for the initial cytosolic concentrations of Ca^2+^ and K^+^ of 1.0 and 0.1 μM, respectively. These oscillations result from heterogeneous processes developing at the IMM surface. Such oscillations occur only at low K^+^ and Ca^2+^ concentrations; they were detected experimentally \[[@B49-molecules-23-00783],[@B50-molecules-23-00783]\], and described theoretically \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783]\] in previous studies. Experimental measurements of \[K^+^\] oscillations and a theoretical analysis of oscillations were reported earlier, with oscillation periods of 20 s and 93 s \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783],[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\].
These results are quite similar to those produced by our model, in particular for pH oscillations. Notably, our model differs from previous studies since it includes the swelling of mitochondria.
[Figure 4](#molecules-23-00783-f004){ref-type="fig"}b,d,f plot matrix \[Ca^2+^\], \[K^+^\] and matrix pH for different initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\]. An interesting result is observed at *t* \< 600 s: the matrix \[Ca^2+^\] never exceeds 100 μM, while the initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] is 500 μM. The model generates correct distribution between the "in" and "out" Ca^2+^ at low cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] \< 200 μM, in agreement with earlier reports \[[@B24-molecules-23-00783],[@B43-molecules-23-00783]\]. However, strong deviations from the expected equilibrium distribution between "in" and "out" Ca^2+^ are produced at high cytosolic Ca^2+^ concentrations, between 300 and 500 μM. These deviations may be attributed to the PTP efflux of Ca^2+^ from the matrix, generated by the excess pressure within the matrix due to IMM deformation. This effect has not been reported before. All of the data plotted in [Figure 4](#molecules-23-00783-f004){ref-type="fig"}b,d,f also demonstrate that irreversible processes arise at initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] in the 200--300 μM range. This result agrees with acceptable accuracy with the earlier reported experimental data \[[@B37-molecules-23-00783],[@B41-molecules-23-00783]\].
[Figure 5](#molecules-23-00783-f005){ref-type="fig"} demonstrates time evolution plots of *P~PTP~,* ΔΨ*~m~* and $\frac{V\left( t \right)}{V_{0}} - 1$ in function of the initial \[Ca^2+^\] at a fixed initial cytosolic \[K^+^\] of 0.1 μM. [Figure 5](#molecules-23-00783-f005){ref-type="fig"}a plots the probability of PTP opening, showing that PTP begin to open only at the initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] exceeding 100 μM. At this Ca^2+^ concentration, the probability of PTP opening is very small and limited in time. It increases with \[Ca^2+^\], reaching unity at 200 μM, although still for a short time only. Complete PTP opening was already observed at 150 s for \[Ca^2+^\] = 300 μM, and at 100 s for \[Ca^2+^\] ≥ 400 μM. Such PTP opening dynamics coincides with an acceptable level of accuracy with the data reported earlier \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783],[@B41-molecules-23-00783]\].
[Figure 5](#molecules-23-00783-f005){ref-type="fig"}b plots the dynamics of ΔΨ~m~, with weak oscillations at the initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] of 1.0 μM. This result agrees with earlier model data \[[@B38-molecules-23-00783]\], reporting weak oscillations of ΔΨ~m~ in similar conditions. However, previous studies demonstrated different results reporting deep modulation of ΔΨ~m~, from 0 to 175 mV \[[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\]. We will address these discrepancies in a future publication by the inclusion of the swelling dynamics. It should be noted that our swelling model is quite different, whereas the frequency of oscillation reported in our study is in agreement with the earlier reported model \[[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\]. In conclusion, ΔΨ~m~ remains reversible for the initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] in 25--200 μM range; however, it becomes irreversible at cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] exceeding 300 μm, and completely depolarized at 500 μM. These results agree with the data reported earlier \[[@B26-molecules-23-00783],[@B43-molecules-23-00783],[@B65-molecules-23-00783]\].
[Figure 5](#molecules-23-00783-f005){ref-type="fig"}c plots the dynamics of the matrix volume as $\frac{V\left( t \right)}{V_{0}} - 1$ for clarity. Note that the volume oscillations appear already at the lowest cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\]. The same results were obtained earlier both in experimental measurements \[[@B54-molecules-23-00783]\] and theoretical modeling analysis \[[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\]. Once again, we found an acceptable agreement between the oscillation periods obtained here and reported earlier \[[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\]. Apparently, reversible volume changes arise at initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] \< 300 μM, followed by irreversible swelling at high (\>300 μM) \[Ca^2+^\]. The maximum volume increase of 50% of the initial mitochondrial volume was observed, as expected on the basis of the model parameterization. This volume increase corresponds to vanishing rigidity constant, Equation (28) and the data of [Table 2](#molecules-23-00783-t002){ref-type="table"}, and, therefore, to the irreversible deformation and mitochondrial death.
We report significant differences between the results obtained at \[K^+^\] of 0.1 and 10.0 μM, and \[Ca^2+^\] = 1.0 μM, see the plots of [Figure 4](#molecules-23-00783-f004){ref-type="fig"}a,c,e, [Figure 5](#molecules-23-00783-f005){ref-type="fig"}b and [Figure 6](#molecules-23-00783-f006){ref-type="fig"}, illustrating the dynamics of various system parameters. The results obtained at other \[Ca^2+^\] values are similar to those plotted in [Figure 4](#molecules-23-00783-f004){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 5](#molecules-23-00783-f005){ref-type="fig"} at both \[K^+^\] values of 0.1 and 10.0 μM. We, therefore, only plot the results obtained for \[K^+^\] = 10 μM and \[Ca^2+^\] = 1 μM. [Figure 6](#molecules-23-00783-f006){ref-type="fig"}a shows that all of the matrix concentrations reveal weak oscillation dynamics, with periods similar to those obtained for the initial cytosolic \[K^+^\] = 0.1 μM. However, the modulation depth at \[K^+^\] = 10 μM is smaller than that obtained at the initial cytosolic \[K^+^\] = 0.1 μM. The same is apparent for the ΔΨ~m~ and mitochondrial volume dynamics. Thus, the changes in the initial cytosolic \[K^+^\] produce only minor changes in the dynamics of the key system parameters.
Thus, our numerical model produces results that are different from those obtained in previous studies using a more sophisticated model \[[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\]. The strongest discrepancies in the modulation depth of different model parameters appear at low \[Ca^2+^\]. For instance, we report ΔΨ~m~ modulation depth of 5--7% of the maximum value, while the previous study \[[@B46-molecules-23-00783]\] reports 100% modulation depth, although still in the reversible mode. Apparently, even complete IMM depolarization does not affect the system dynamics in the respective model. This issue will be addressed in a future study, with the presently proposed swelling mechanism included in a more complex model. The swelling mechanism proposed in the previous report only considers the osmotic pressure, disregarding the interaction between the IMM rigidity and IMM deformation.
5. Conclusions {#sec5-molecules-23-00783}
==============
In the present study, we implemented a simplified model of mitochondrial swelling that includes the contribution of osmosis and the IMM rigidity. This is a novel biophysical approach to mitochondrial swelling dynamics, which we will incorporate into more complex and sophisticated models. The numerical experiments in the framework of the developed model produced reasonable results, which describe the earlier reported experimental data with an acceptable accuracy.
6. Limitations of the Study {#sec6-molecules-23-00783}
===========================
The modeling approach explored in the present study is limited by the simplified treatment of the biophysical and chemical processes, including transport of only three ionic species and a simplified respiration mechanism. However, we intentionally focused on the development of a more complex mechanism of mitochondrial swelling, and its usage in the analysis of the more sophisticated modeling approaches reported previously.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number SC1GM128210 (to Sabzali Javadov), and by the Puerto Rico Institute for Functional Nanomaterials (National Science Foundation Grant 1002410) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Puerto Rico Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) (NASA Cooperative Agreement NNX15AK43A) (to Vladimir Makarov).
**Sample Availability:** Not available.
Vladimir Makarov designed and developed the model, performed data analysis, and prepared manuscript draft. Igor Khmelinskii contributed to model design and development and participated in the writing of the manuscript. Sabzali Javadov supervised the project, participated in experimental design, and writing of the manuscript.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
{#molecules-23-00783-f001}
{#molecules-23-00783-f002}
{#molecules-23-00783-f003}
![Time evolution of matrix \[Ca^2+^\]: (**a**) initial \[Ca^2+^\]*~out~* = 1.0 μM; (**b**) plots 1 to 9: initial \[Ca^2+^\]*~out~* = 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, 500 μM; (**c**,**d**) evolution of the matrix K^+^ concentration versus initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\], for the same initial \[Ca^2+^\]*~out~* values; (**e**,**f**) evolution of the matrix pH versus initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\], for the same initial \[Ca^2+^\]*~out~* values. All calculations were carried out for the background \[Ca^2+^\]*~in~* = 0.5 μM, initial cytosolic \[K^+^\] = 0.1 μM, initial matrix pH = 6. The cytosolic pH = 7.0 was kept constant.](molecules-23-00783-g004){#molecules-23-00783-f004}
![Dynamics of the IMM potential, mitochondrial volume and PTP opening probability for different initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] at fixed initial cytosolic \[K^+^\] = 0.1 μM. (**a**) IMM potential dynamics: plots 1--10 for \[Ca^2+^\] = 1--500 μM; (**b**) the *V*(*t*)/*V*~0~--1 value at different cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\]: plots 1--10 for \[Ca^2+^\] = 1--500 μM; (**c**) dynamics of PTP opening probability: plot 5 for \[Ca^2+^\] = 100 μM is expanded by 10^7^; plots 6 to 10: \[Ca^2+^\] = 150--500 μM, respectively. *P~PTP~* = 0 at all times for \[Ca^2+^\] = 1, 25, 50 and 75 μM.](molecules-23-00783-g005){#molecules-23-00783-f005}
![(**a**) Time evolution of matrix (1) \[Ca^2+^\] on the expanded scale $\left( {\left( {C_{Ca^{2 +}}^{in} - 0.5} \right) \times 5} \right)$, μM; (2) \[K^+^\], μM and (3) pH on the expanded scale $\left( {\left( {{pH} - 6} \right) \times 5} \right)$, obtained for the initial cytosolic \[Ca^2+^\] = 1.0 μM and \[K^+^\] = 10 μM; at these starting conditions *P~PTP~* = 0; (**b**) (1) ΔΨ~m~, mV; (2) mitochondrial volume V(t) on the expanded scale.](molecules-23-00783-g006){#molecules-23-00783-f006}
molecules-23-00783-t001_Table 1
######
Parameter values used in modeling analysis.
Parameter Definition Value Refs
---------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*p*~Ca,UP~ Reduced permeability coefficient of the Ca^2+^ transport by uniporter 6.43 × 10^5^, min^−1^mV^−1^ (mg protein)^−1^ (K × esu/erg) \[[@B18-molecules-23-00783],[@B48-molecules-23-00783],[@B49-molecules-23-00783],[@B50-molecules-23-00783]\]
*p~K,H~*^(0)^ Reduced permeability coefficient of the K^+^/H^+^ exchange 3.20 × 10^5^, min^−1^mV^−1^ (mg protein)^−1^ (K × esu/erg) (μM~H~)^−1^ \[[@B47-molecules-23-00783]\]
*P~H,K~*^(0)^ Reduced permeability coefficient of the H^+^/K^+^ exchange 3.20 × 10^5^, min^−1^mV^−1^(mg protein)^−1^ (K × esu/erg) (mM~K~)^−1^ \[[@B47-molecules-23-00783]\]
*p~H+,PTP~* Reduced permeability coefficient of the H^+^ transport by PTP 4.30 × 10^7^, min^−1^mV^−1^ (mg protein)^−1^ (K × esu/erg) \[[@B47-molecules-23-00783]\]
*p~Ca~* ~2*+,PTP*~ Reduced permeability coefficient of the Ca^2+^ transport by PTP 8.61 × 10^7^, min^−1^mV^−1^ (mg protein)^−1^ (K × esu/erg) \[[@B48-molecules-23-00783]\]
*P~K+,PTP~* Reduced permeability coefficient of the K^+^ transport by PTP 4.30 × 10^7^, min^−1^mV^−1^ (mg protein)^−1^ (K × esu/erg) \[[@B51-molecules-23-00783]\]
*p~A-,PTP~* Reduced permeability coefficient of the A^−^ transport by PTP 6.43 × 10^2^, min^−1^mV^−1^ (mg protein)^−1^ (K × esu/erg) \[[@B48-molecules-23-00783]\]
*p~A,PTP~* Reduced permeability coefficient of the A transport by PTP 32.1, min^−1^ (mg protein)^−1^ \[[@B48-molecules-23-00783]\]
\|*e*\| Absolute value of the electron charge 4.80286 × 10^−10^ esu \[[@B52-molecules-23-00783]\]
*k~B~* Boltzmann constant 1.38044 × 10^−16^ erg/K \[[@B52-molecules-23-00783]\]
ΔΨ*~m~* IMM potential 200 mV \[[@B44-molecules-23-00783],[@B47-molecules-23-00783],[@B48-molecules-23-00783]\]
*V~C~/V~m~*(*t* = 0) Ratio of adult rat heart cell volume to total volume of all cell mitochondria 2.86 \[[@B49-molecules-23-00783]\]
molecules-23-00783-t002_Table 2
######
Values of the input parameters.
-------------------------- ------------- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
*α* 1.2 × 10^3^
*n* 4
$C_{K + ,0}^{out}$; μM 0.10 1.2 2.3 3.4 4.5 5.6 6.7 7.8 8.9 10
$C_{Ca2 + ,0}^{out}$; μM 1.0 25 50 75 100 150 200 300 400 500
−log($C_{H + ,0}^{out}$) 7.00
−log($C_{H + ,0}^{in}$) 6.00
$C_{AH,0}^{out}$; μM 50
*δ*(ΔΨ*~m~*); mV 43.42
$C_{A,0}^{in}$; μM 10
*k~A~*; min^−1^ 1
*k~A,H+~*; min^−1^ 1
*g*~00~; dyn/nm 0.017
*g~zz~*~,0~; dyn/nm 0.019
*β*~0~; nm^−*n*1^ 10^6^
*β~z~*; nm^−*n*1^ 10^7^
*n*~1~ 4
-------------------------- ------------- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| |
The Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome houses in 75 rooms around 5,000 paintings and sculptures, amongst others the largest collection of the works of Italian painters of the 19th and 20th centuries.
During its conversion, one of the inner courtyards was to be used as an event location in order to procure the required sponsoring funds. For this purpose the courtyard had to be covered without stealing light from the otherwise windowless room.
Over the area of 350 sq.m the team from System 180 initially spanned a fine supporting structure of stainless steel tubes that also evened out the height differences of the bearing building elements. The cover of transparent PVC film provided the desired protection from the elements without decreasing illumination. Attractive additional effect: the shadows of the supporting structure provided a permanently changing pattern of lines and surfaces on the bordering courtyard walls depending on the time of day. | https://architecture.system180.com/en/portfolio/national-gallery-rome/ |
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and sells direct current (DC) optimized inverter systems for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations worldwide. Its SolarEdge system consists of power optimizers, inverters, communication and smart energy management solutions, and a cloud based monitoring platform. The company's products are used in a range of solar market segments, such as residential, commercial, and small utility-scale solar installations. It also provides pre-sales support, ongoing trainings, and technical support and after installation services; and lithium-ion cells, batteries, and energy storage solutions for various industries, including energy storage systems, residential and commercial solar systems, uninterruptible power supplies, electric vehicles, aerospace, marine, and others. The company sells its products to the providers of solar PV systems; and solar installers and distributors, electrical equipment wholesalers, and PV module manufacturers, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction firms. SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Herzliya, Israel.
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc.’s ISS Governance QualityScore as of October 4, 2019 is 9. The pillar scores are Audit: 1; Board: 9; Shareholder Rights: 6; Compensation: 9. | https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SEDG/profile?ltr=1 |
Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.
This is the text (if you need help).
An international team of scientists has discovered a huge coral reef in the Amazon River. The team from the universities of Georgia in the USA and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was on an expedition to learn more about Amazon River plumes when it made the discovery. Plumes are the areas close to where a river meets the sea and the river's freshwater mixes with the saltwater of the ocean. The reef system spans an area of 5,800 square kilometres, stretching from the coast of French Guiana to the rainforest of the Brazilian state of Maranhao. The finding has surprised marine biologists because reefs are rarely found in large rivers as the water is usually too muddy and dark, and does not contain enough salt.
Back to the coral reef lesson. | https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1604/160425-coral-reef-reading_500.htm |
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Abstract
In this research, experimental field tests and an advanced computer aided design and engineering (CAD and CAE) based application algorithm was developed and tested. The algorithm was put into practice through a case study on the strength-based structural design analysis of a Para-Plow tillage tool. Para-Plow is an effective tractor attached tillage tool utilised as an alternative to the conventional deep tillage tools used in agricultural tillage operations. During heavy tillage operations, the Para-Plow experiences highly dynamic soil reaction forces which may cause undesired deformations and functional failures on its structural elements. Here, prediction of the deformation behaviour of the tool structure during tillage operation in order to describe optimum structural design parameters for the tool elements and produce a functionally durable tool become an important issue. In the field experiments, draft force and strain-gauge based measurements on the tool were carried out simultaneously. Subsequently, Finite Element Method based stress analysis (FEA) were employed in order to simulate deformation behaviour of the tool under consideration of the maximum loading (worst-case scenario) conditions tested in the field. In the field experiments, average and maximum resultant draft forces were measured as 33,514 N and 51,716 N respectively. The FEA revealed that the maximum deformation value of the tool was 9.768 mm and the maximum stress values impart a change on the most critical structural elements of between 50 and 150 MPa under a worst-case loading scenario. Additionally, a validation study revealed that minimum and maximum relative differences for the equivalent stress values between experimental and simulation results were 5.17% and 30.19% respectively. This indicated that the results obtained from both the experimental and simulation are reasonably in union and there were no signs of plastic deformation on the Para-Plow elements (according to the material yield point) under pre-defined loading conditions and a structural optimisation on some of the structural elements may also be possible. This research provides a useful strategy for informing further research on complicated stress and deformation analyses of related agricultural equipment and machinery through experimental and advanced CAE techniques. | https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/139737/?template=browse |
Locating Ancestral Remains
How can a community find out where Ancestral Remains might be held? This is not always an easy process. Few institutions advertise what Ancestral Remains they hold. Many larger museums do have collections databases that can be searched online, but these are not always easily discoverable or up to date, nor do they always list all a museum’s holdings.
Within Australia, the best way to start is simply by asking state, territory and federal public museums and heritage agencies whether they have any Ancestral Remains or if they know where Ancestral Remains from a particular locality might be held. Most agencies will also be aware of other institutions where the collectors and donors represented in their own collections sent objects and Ancestral Remains.
Many museums have online databases of other Indigenous cultural material (non–Ancestral Remains). If the museum does hold materials from a community’s area of interest then it is worth approaching them to see if they have anything else that is not yet on their database. It is also useful to see who collected or donated the objects identified online. The collectors or donors may have a history of collecting and distributing Ancestral Remains, so when their names show up as donors of an object, there may be other items in the museum’s collections, including Ancestral Remains.
When it is not possible to get direct advice from an agency, a useful way to proceed is through a search of libraries and archives for historical documents from a particular region. This way potential collectors can be identified. The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), for example, maintains an excellent online library referencing system, where publications, manuscripts, newspaper articles and other media can be searched by location, group, author, personal name and so on. Their library thesaurus has search terms for ‘human Ancestral Remains’ and ‘repatriation’ that will show catalogue records for any materials that refer to those subjects. The documents can then be researched to see whether the writer made, or knew of, any collections of Ancestral Remains or other cultural material. It is, however, important to remember that no system is complete. There are always gaps, and new information is constantly being discovered.
The National Library of Australia has an extensive online search catalogue, including ‘Trove’, and is a recommended point for beginning searches. For example, a simple test search for ‘Aboriginal Skeletons’ in the search box turned up 1891 results, with identification of written works on Ancestral Remains from many localities in Australia and where those works are held. The AIATSIS library is linked to Trove. Other state and territory libraries also have online searchable catalogues.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups have been identified by different names and spellings over the years. Minor variations in spellings, or the use of a variant term, can affect the results of a search. Different spellings and names should be tried. The AUSTLANG database at AIATSIS can be helpful as it shows many variant spellings for languages. Sometimes it will be more useful to search under ‘place’, or ‘subject’ rather than Indigenous community, nation or group.
All states and territories also hold official government archives. These archives can hold valuable unpublished information, especially relating to asylum and mental hospital records, prison records, colonial office papers, death records and people living on reserves.
The archives: missing Ancestral Remains, lost collections and museum exchange programs
Information available through online collections searches, or attached to the items or Ancestral Remains in the collections, is typically the tip of the iceberg, often just being a summary of the main historical attributes of the item — collector, donor, date and description, for example. Much more information may be held in the archives of the institution. This information could include the history and location of a collection, the name and residence of the donor, the circumstances of acquisition — whether by discovery, trade, purchase or donation — plus a note of other associated Ancestral Remains or people. Even collecting institutions can fail to do the deeper detective work into their archives when a request for information is received. It is important to try to follow up on every lead provided in the institution’s records.
Sometimes it will be necessary to research across institutions. Museums and other collecting institutions frequently exchanged Ancestral Remains as they tried to build up representative collections of ‘types’ of people, a practice now discredited. In such exchanges, the history of acquisition and the culture of origin was often considered irrelevant, and so minimal information was passed on. Similarly, a collector might not always have described the circumstances surrounding the removal of Ancestral Remains when donating or selling them to an institution. Some institutions, particularly anatomy departments in universities and natural science departments in museums, were only interested in such aspects as the biological characteristics of the Ancestral Remains: for example, signs of injury or disease. Cultural information was only used to identify local biological traits. The cultural history of the Ancestral Remains was irrelevant to them. Tracking the history of Ancestral Remains may therefore involve working with more than one institution.
What is provenance and why is it important?
‘Provenance’ refers both to the original source of an item and to its historical trail. The provenance of human Ancestral Remains encompasses the life of the living individual, the place and means of death and the location and cultural content of the burial. It then moves to include the history of the removal of the individual’s body or remains; the history of the donation, sale or transfer to a collector or collecting institution; the use of the Ancestral Remains by the collector or institution; the history of identification and requests for repatriation; the actual repatriation; and the subsequent management of the repatriated remains by the community into the future.
Sometimes information will be lacking and unrecoverable. For example, the name of the individual or of the associated funeral ceremonies will be unknown.
The major aspect of provenance for the purpose of repatriation is, however, determining place of origin. When the place of origin of Ancestral Remains is known, other aspects of provenance become easier to research. Ancestral Remains that have a provenance are thus typically first associated with a place. This allows for the identification of a cultural group affiliated with that place. In some instances, the name of the cultural group then allows an identification of place to be made. As noted earlier, traditional systems of change in land tenure may mean that living individuals may have limited or no biological connection with Ancestral Remains. However, they have the cultural, and often legal, rights to be recognised as the custodians of heritage and histories inherent in the lands that they now affiliate with and occupy. Place is important, as while populations and identities may fluctuate over time, the place of death or burial remains fixed.
The identification of place makes it possible to further refine research into historical documentation. It becomes possible to identify previous residents or explorers who may have taken Ancestral Remains, any other individuals and institutions these people may have been associated with and institutions or other organisations where their published and unpublished writings may be kept.
Sometimes research into provenance can reveal very detailed information, such as the name of the deceased individual and/or their place of interment. Sometimes provenance research can only reveal the region, or the state or territory, they were taken from. And sometimes it is not possible to unearth any information except that they come from ‘Australia’ — in such cases, these are known as ‘unprovenanced remains’. Even if no information is available at the time of initial investigation, this status of being unprovenanced may not be final. On a number of occasions, unprovenanced Ancestral Remains have been the subject of further research and their place or group of affiliation has been identified. This potential for the discovery of new information is important. It encourages wider research than sometimes happens in repatriation exercises. The designation of some Ancestral Remains as unprovenanced may simply be the result of poor or insufficient research undertaken at or by the returning institution.
What resources are available to establish provenance: compiling evidence
Resources useful for determining provenance are diverse and widespread; they range from oral testimony to a wide variety of written records or scientific testing procedures. They are available both locally and in all corners of the world.
The most valuable material is the historical record, which can be found in oral testimony, archives containing collectors’ journals, government records, museum collection records, newspapers, books and journals. Such archives sometimes even house the written or recorded experiences of living people with recollections of where Ancestral Remains were located, collected and subsequently stored, or who have worked with the cultural groups in the area of the Ancestral Remains. Land councils and heritage protection agencies have staff whose job it is, or has been, to identify, record and monitor sites of heritage significance, usually with the assistance of traditional owners and custodians. Asking these people whether they have any further information or relevant experiences can be a great help when it comes to establishing a provenance for Ancestral Remains.
Archival sources include libraries, state and territory archives, and institutional and museum records (see the Resources section at the end of this guide). It is important not to cease research simply at the most visible level of documentation. Ancestral Remains have been returned to Australia seemingly based only on the limited information stored with them; for example, with attached labels, storage boxes or the summary information in the collection register. Often more informative correspondence is held on older files not kept with the collections and rarely consulted by collection managers. Further research often locates more comprehensive documentation, leading to more precise provenancing. In general, experience has proven that more information can usually be located if the right research method is used.
As collections of human remains fell into disuse and were placed in store or transferred to other departments or institutions, so the danger of separation from their associated archives increased. This leads to a very common situation in which Ancestral Remains are divorced from their associated archive and very little is known about the archive, its location or even that it exists at all. Today’s museum curators are rarely fully acquainted with nineteenth-century archives and may not think that any exist. This is particularly the case with university collections, which rarely have specific curators, and there is much corporate memory loss. Sometimes information to locate an archive has been forthcoming from retired departmental staff, including technicians, and it is always worth talking with older members of staff to see what they may recall.
Provenancing research also relies heavily on cross-referencing people and events. Small snippets of information can be compiled to round out a full story of the history of Ancestral Remains. For example, in 1816 there was a massacre of Aboriginal people by British military forces near Appin in New South Wales. Although not explicitly stated in the official account of the time, several heads of victims were collected, including one of a named individual. The fate of these Ancestral Remains was unknown. However, in 1820 one head was mentioned in a book by Sir George Mackenzie called Illustrations of Phrenology. This book documented that the University of Edinburgh’s Anatomy Department had received the skull from a Royal Navy surgeon, who had earlier received it from one of the officers leading the massacre. The university numbered the skull of Carnimbeigle, the Aboriginal resistance leader, as ‘G10’. There were two more Ancestral Remains returned from Edinburgh at the same time. One is simply provenanced to the ‘Cow Pastures Tribe’ and identified as the skull of a female, similarly given to Mackenzie by Mr Hill. This is numbered ‘G11’. The third skull, identified as the ‘Skull of a Chief’, unprovenanced except to ‘New South Wales’ by the historical record, again has Mackenzie as donor. This skull was number ‘G9’. The similarities in collection history — the donors, the locations, the sequential numbering — provide strong circumstantial evidence that the two ‘unknown individuals’ were victims of the same massacre.
What this example presents is a sequence from known to unknown, or from the known to the lost, ranging from detailed historical records of an event, a named victim and the existence of their well-labelled Ancestral Remains (with clear-cut marks where the head was severed), to unmarked remains identified by accompanying limited information on location and donors, through to an originally anonymous, unmarked and largely unprovenanced skull. In these cases, quite basic historical research has been able to bring the hidden history to the surface and has identified two extra nameless victims, even if not by name.
Archival research
It may not be possible for everyone hoping to have Ancestral Remains returned to undertake the requisite archival research themselves. Such research requires access to records, which may be held in far distant locations and may be in different languages. It is worth asking institutions for copies of any information they may have. Research also often requires experience and knowledge of how to locate and work with archival record systems. Professional archivists, historians, anthropologists or other research experts can assist. This can be expensive, though many experts will provide what information they already have, or be willing to do the work, for free.
Ideally, an institution such as a public museum should do as much work as possible to research Ancestral Remains on behalf of a claimant group. It is part of their normal professional duties to answer public enquiries and to make information available to the public. While an organisation may ultimately refuse to repatriate Ancestral Remains, there is no reason why it should not pass on the historical information about the Ancestral Remains they hold; it can do this by either assisting in the research or providing community researchers with access to information, or both.
Within Australia, museums have acquired a body of expertise and knowledge through their repatriation experiences. The staff can often help, if not by doing the research themselves, then at least by providing recommendations and suggesting shortcuts to information they are aware of that could be relevant.
There are also a number of federal and state heritage agencies involved in repatriation. In some cases, these agencies have approached overseas institutions seeking the return of Ancestral Remains. When a government or representative agency takes on the authority and responsibility to make such approaches, it should also work to ensure that appropriate research is done into the provenance of Ancestral Remains. The agencies should encourage the holding institution to undertake thorough research into its files and documentation, or to allow access to appropriate researchers. However, there is a lot that can still be achieved independently using both online and local library references and books.
How did the removal of Ancestral Remains and their original shipment overseas occur, and what paper trail might this produce?
The motivations for removing Ancestral Remains were many and varied. Some were, and still are, simply collected as souvenirs. From the 1790s, in Europe, human remains began to be amassed from around the world for the purposes of studying human diversity, as understood through the now discredited notion of ‘race’. These European collections increased in size throughout the first half of the nineteenth century. By the mid-1800s the concept of evolution had become popular in science and human studies, and Ancestral Remains were collected as samples of physical ‘types’. Later studies began to consider that physical features on remains were also indicators of intelligence and cultural evolution, and Ancestral Remains of all cultures were collected and widely traded. This belief persisted until well into the twentieth century. The idea that Ancestral Remains were indicators of cultural development and intelligence has long since been discredited; nonetheless, the collections often still exist.
In Australia, museums began to amass collections of Indigenous Ancestral Remains from around the 1880s, and continued to do so sometimes until the 1980s, although the reasons for acquisition changed throughout this time. Some state museums still have the legal responsibility to store newly recovered remains until they can be returned to Country.
Ancestral Remains were also collected as objects of art. Where the Ancestral Remains were culturally modified — such as when they were painted with ceremonial designs, or where they had clay, shell, bone or wood attached — they are seen by museums as cultural artefacts. It is particularly difficult to persuade museums, and indeed private collectors, to part with these modified Ancestral Remains. Examples can still be found for sale as artworks by large and small auction houses and on online sales pages. Today the sale of Ancestral Remains in Australia is illegal, though it does occasionally occur. Trade persists overseas and online, in part because either laws prohibiting this trade don’t exist in all countries or, where such laws do exist, many people are unaware of, or deliberately disregard, them, but also often because of the items’ value as curios.
Most of the older collections of Ancestral Remains were made by people in the medical sciences for the purposes of comparative anatomical studies and for studies of racial differences. There was a particular focus on interesting pathologies that could be used to teach medical students about injury and disease. Examples showing cultural and non-cultural damage were sought: for example, tooth evulsion, where a tooth was knocked out during initiation; broken bones that had healed, either well or badly; diseases that affected the bone; tuberculosis; sexually transmitted diseases; dental decay and abscesses; wounds and similar damage. Such items were incorporated into teaching collections. Typically, the collectors of Ancestral Remains for medical specimens were unconcerned by the cultural context or attributes of Ancestral Remains, and much useful information important for establishing a provenance has been lost.
With the exception of phrenological (the study of skull shape) and racial studies, the targeted anthropological and archaeological collection of Ancestral Remains did not really gain momentum until the mid-nineteenth century. At that time there was growing interest in the study of foreign cultures, and Ancestral Remains were among the cultural ‘objects’ often collected, particularly when they had been modified. Such collections normally accompanied colonialism, and pressure was placed on people to part with Ancestral Remains. While most Ancestral Remains were stolen from graves and cultural repositories, some institutions argue that at least some of the Indigenous Ancestral Remains in their collections were legitimately acquired through direct sale or trade with, and with the free and informed consent of, the Indigenous seller. However, it must be acknowledged that the status of buyer and seller at the time was not equal. Indigenous custodians were often at a great disadvantage, either because they had no formal rights to prevent the sale or exchange or, alternatively, because they were needy to the point of starvation, thereby creating a situation in which the ‘sale’ or ‘trade’ of remains was the only way to survive. There is rarely any documentary proof that a free and informed trade and/or exchange actually occurred.
Even if a legitimate trade or sale did occur at the time, this does not disqualify today’s peoples from seeking the return of the Ancestral Remains.
Removal of remains by anthropologists and archeaologists
Anthropologists in Australia were acquiring Ancestral Remains from communities until well into the 1960s. And archaeologists were collecting them from excavations, with little regard for the opinions of local Aboriginal people, until well into the 1980s. By the 1990s, Australian archaeologists had recognised the rights of Aboriginal people to be consulted over archaeological work, including the discovery and treatment of Ancestral Remains.
Even though many archaeological and anthropological collections were acquired without Indigenous permission, they still have the advantage of being collected with a better process of documentation. (Site reports and professional publications provide much information.) This makes it far easier to return Ancestral Remains to their exact place of origin and, if required, to return them to their resting place in the same context and position as they were found.
Before the development of modern professional archaeological and anthropological recording and reporting obligations, some collections of Ancestral Remains were fairly well documented. Maps of locations of burial sites were made. Diaries describing the circumstances of the discovery, theft or purchase were kept. Details of the police engagement were also sometimes kept when the event in question was supported by law and committed by a judicial officer, not just a private atrocity committed by a private individual or mob. Newspapers would sometimes report on the death of individuals and the subsequent treatment of their Ancestral Remains. Documentation can include police reports, traveller’s diaries, correspondence between associates or donors and institutions, expedition accounts, museum catalogues and registers, receipts, unpublished or published reports, books, articles in professional journals and even the distribution of possessions in wills and estates.
Distributions, bias and the historical ages of Ancestral Remains
In arguments opposing repatriation, much is often made of the scientific importance of Ancestral Remains. While it is true that anything and everything has potential scientific importance, most collections are the result of long processes characterised by the destruction of evidence, and this severely compromises their value for science.
As we have seen, most of the larger Australian collections of Ancestral Remains were built up by anatomists, researchers into racial science or amateur collectors. In the process of collecting, whether by excavation of burials or by taking the bodies of the recently deceased, little regard was given to their cultural context. Ancestral Remains were stolen from graves, often without any documentation of how they were originally interred, what goods may have been associated with them, how deep they were, what soils they were buried in, how the Ancestral Remains were positioned in the grave, and so on. There was also the desire to procure ‘good specimens’, either strong and intact bones or ones exhibiting unusual pathologies. Bones prone to falling apart — either because they were very old and highly decayed, or because they were from young people and the bones had not yet fully formed — were often discarded. Often skulls were the only Ancestral Remains taken, with the rest of the body being left, discarded or destroyed. As a result, by the time the Ancestral Remains arrived in a collection their scientific value had been severely compromised. They were unrepresentative of either a biological or cultural population, either in time or in space. Rather they were biased towards the particular interests of the collectors.
The overall result is that many Ancestral Remains in older nineteenth- and twentieth-century collections are adult skulls, sometimes with an unusual pathology that can be seen in the bones or tissue, such as a healed or healing wound, a fatal injury, bacterial or viral bone infections, disease or dental problems such as abscesses. Alternatively, they will have features believed to show the racial characteristics the researcher had already decided they should have; for example, large teeth, thick eyebrow ridges or thicker bones interpreted as indicators of physical and mental primitivism. Few are likely to be any more than 500 years old, as the older Ancestral Remains are usually more fragile and break apart easily. Examining these collections, it would be easy to come to the conclusion that life was all hardship, injury and illness. However, it should be remembered that they were selectively collected and should not therefore be assumed to be representative of a population.
Archaeological evidence of mortuary practices
The development of greatly improved excavation and recording techniques in archaeology has gone some way towards ensuring that some cultural information has been preserved when Ancestral Remains have been excavated. Though even up to the 1980s, remains were often still excavated with little consideration of their importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Archaeological evidence can now be of great value in reconstructing the cultural histories of Ancestral Remains, even when the items under consideration were not collected through archaeological methods. What archaeology has shown is that it is possible there were a variety of different interment practices within the same region. People were buried in extended burials, whereby the body was laid in the grave longways, or in bundle burials, whereby the body was tightly wrapped in a crouching position for burial. Cremation may have been practised. Secondary burials may have occurred, whereby the Ancestral Remains have been exposed somewhere to decay and then later wrapped in a bundle for burial or placement in a hollow tree or rock shelter. All these different forms of burial may have occurred in one and the same area over time. This is helpful when a group is seeking to determine what form of reburial may be appropriate.
Ethnographic evidence of mortuary practices
Ethnographic reports can be similarly useful. An ethnographic report is simply an observation of the practices of a cultural group written down by a researcher. Many settlers, scientists, collectors, missionaries, anthropologists and administrators recorded what they observed or were told. Sometimes these reports are inaccurate, but often they can help build up a picture of traditional mortuary practices, especially when there are several examples that can be compared for common features.
Old terms for language groups and clans
Names assigned to language groups and local clans often vary. As well as the name a group might call itself, there are names the group may have been given by their neighbours. There are incorrect spellings by non-Indigenous observers; there are mistakes where names of other phenomena are recorded as names of a group; some groups will be referred to by the European name of a location — for example, the ‘Cow Pasture Tribes’, the people who lived south of Sydney in the early 1800s.
This makes it important to look for alternative spellings. As mentioned earlier, a very useful resource is the AUSTLANG website maintained by AIATSIS. AUSTLANG allows for searches of language names, alternative and variant names and locations, as well as providing other resources.32
What about Ancestral Remains where archival information is poor or non-existent?
There are many Ancestral Remains that have no known associated information. They have either been collected without information about their location or cultural context having been recorded, or they have been passed on to others without including the original information. Sometimes a fragment of information may exist, such as a name of a collector or donor. It is possible to determine where those collectors/donors may have worked, though it may be difficult to narrow down a specific location or affiliated group. George Murray Black, for example, collected Ancestral Remains from along the Murray River region of Victoria and New South Wales in the 1920s and 1930s. While he often recorded the general locations from which he took crania, thus making them relatively easily to establish a provenance for, he often neglected to provide the same information on long bones (from arms and legs), which he also collected. We can make an educated guess that the large collection of unprovenanced Ancestral Remains Black is known to have collected came from one of the sites he excavated along the river, but cannot be sure as to which one, and thus cannot identify which specific groups should be consulted.
Most unprovenanced Ancestral Remains in Australian museum collections came from somewhere within the state or territory where that museum is situated. Ideally, those museums will also have an Indigenous Advisory Group that will have authority over the management of Ancestral Remains — at least until such time as the Ancestral Remains are returned to more appropriate custodians.
Who might these appropriate custodians be? Each repatriation event is a success in that it gets Ancestral Remains closer to home and increasingly under Indigenous authority. Even where Ancestral Remains are stored indefinitely, if they are under Indigenous control then their welfare is being safeguarded. That control might be exercised by a national, state, regional or local Indigenous agency with responsibilities for heritage issues within their regions. For example, in the Northern Territory, the land councils have elected boards, and each land council has a member of its board on the board of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA), a territory agency responsible for the protection of sacred and significant sites. The AAPA Board is thus a progressively representative body for Northern Territory Aboriginal people. If the AAPA Board were to make a request for the return of Ancestral Remains provenanced only to the Northern Territory it is likely a museum would agree to that request. Where the provenance is better known, however, authorisation from the regional land council, local community, native title body or family would be required.
There is currently a debate as to what should happen to unprovenanced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ancestral Remains, those about which all that is known is that they come from Australia. The idea of a centralised Resting Place or Memorial in Canberra is being considered.33 There have been suggestions in the past that such Ancestral Remains might be reburied in one place, or cremated and spread across the country, or distributed to various state and territory Keeping Places. However, it should be recognised that access to historical records, as well as to non-destructive techniques for provenancing, will likely continue to improve over the years, with information and identification techniques becoming easier to access and apply, more accurate and more affordable. This will assist in provenancing remains that are currently unprovenanced. It is to be hoped that authority over the application and use of the information acquired through these methods will be in the control of Indigenous managers.
Scientific techniques
There are a number of scientific techniques that can assist in establishing the provenance of Ancestral Remains. Many of these are non-destructive, while others require interference and the possibility of physical damage. Some can be done by, or under the direct supervision of, the community. They should be used with caution, however, as none are 100 per cent accurate. They are best used to correlate and corroborate other sources of information.
The Repatriation Unit of the Australian Government Department of the Arts provides useful information on the risks associated with invasive/destructive scientific techniques.34
Revealing faded writing
Many Ancestral Remains were written on in ink or pencil at the time of collection. Typical information included the names of the collector or donor, the catalogue number or the name of the individual. These inscriptions can fade over time. Looking at Ancestral Remains under ultraviolet light or using infrared photographs can make faded or invisible writings visible. (NB Protective eyewear should always be worn when using ultraviolet or infrared lights.)
Metric analysis (craniometrics)
Metric analyses involve taking measurements of Ancestral Remains, and then comparing the measured characteristics with existing databases of Ancestral Remains. It is based on the premise that skull shape is related to ancestry, and thus can be used to identify what population that skull most closely ‘belongs’ to. However, much recent scholarship has questioned the ability of this technique to make such identifications. There are various issues associated with these techniques, and these should be understood before a choice is made to use them, or allow their use by others in the repatriation process. Perhaps the most important of these is the limited number of samples for cross-comparison. The techniques generally indicate what other collections of Ancestral Remains those Ancestral Remains under investigation look most similar to. However, there is no guarantee of direct biological or social linkage; it may just be an apparent one, based on physical similarities. For example, one Ancestral Remain was subjected to metrical analysis and provenanced to a specific group in south-eastern Australia. Subsequent independent research, undertaken by a researcher who was not aware of the metric provenancing work, discovered documentation that conclusively demonstrated the Ancestral Remains were from a named individual from northern Australia.
Non-metric analysis, which involves examining the anatomy and pathology of remains, also looks for particular traits that may be genetic. Usually, these are small features on the Ancestral Remains, such as a bump or crease in a bone that appears most frequently in one particular cultural group or population, or a characteristic of tooth development (such as ‘shovel-shaped’ incisors).35 Hair samples were similarly often collected, in the belief that hair colour, thickness, cross-section and curliness were indicators of biological affiliation.36
Isotopic analysis
Isotopic analyses involve analysing radioactive particles, minerals and chemicals in soils that may attach to Ancestral Remains (non-destructive) or, occasionally, get deposited in bones and teeth themselves (destructive). Samples are taken and analysed for their particular isotopic characteristics, then compared with the isotopic characteristics of certain places or foods found in certain places. While this testing is useful, the difficulty in Australia is that there are too few comparative samples. Parts of the landscape have different characteristics in their soil; a riverbank can differ from a swamp, which can differ from a hill or a desert. Even within local landscapes, there can be micro-environments. To provenance Ancestral Remains requires a match between the soil on the Ancestral Remains, or the Ancestral Remains themselves, and the soil at the suspected location. As can be imagined, this requires having thousands of samples for comparison. Isotopic analysis, therefore, has its best potential when other information has narrowed down the likely area of provenance. Even then, the collection and analyses of comparative samples is likely to be expensive.
Genetic (DNA) analysis
There are two common applications of genetic testing. The first is testing of modern samples, known as ‘DNA’ testing. The second is the testing of older Ancestral Remains, known as ‘ancient DNA’ testing or ‘aDNA’.
DNA testing is probably the best known application. It focuses on taking DNA samples from living people and/or the recently deceased. Its usefulness has been exaggerated by television and movie shows in which the rapid identification of DNA leads to immediate answers to questions of identity.
Ancient DNA testing is the analysis of the genetics of Ancestral Remains, though it is not as accurate as modern DNA testing, owing to the tendency of DNA material in old remains to degrade and become lost. However, it can be used to test whether two sets of Ancestral Remains are related or linked biologically.
There is no denying the potential usefulness of DNA and aDNA analysis for identifying affiliations between deceased and deceased, living and living or deceased and living peoples, but, as yet, there has been very little work to understand the full impact of its application in the area of repatriation. It is certainly not the magic solution that some people think.
Genetic testing can be used to link Ancestral Remains either to other Ancestral Remains or to living people, and to link living people to Ancestral Remains. However, just because results may not show a connection between a living person and an ancestor does not mean that a person is not related to that ancestor or to other ancestors in the culture at the time that ancestor was alive.
Genetic testing brings with it the potential for social damage. Such testing provides a biological genealogy at the expense of the social genealogy. Social genealogies provide historical perceptions of parentage and origins and also allow for non-genetic social processes such as adoption, inheritance, bestowal of rights and succession.
On occasion, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have inquired about having genetic testing of Ancestral Remains so that affiliation can be identified, often for the purpose of resolution of disputes over Indigenous identity, such as in land claims, native title claims and community membership. The people making such requests are often unaware that genetic testing requires not only the testing of the Ancestral Remains, but also the cooperative testing of community members.
There is always the possibility that the Ancestral Remains come from a migrant or guest, rather than from a long-term member of the historical landowning group. Research in land and native title claims has identified circumstances of birth or parentage that were unknown to the particular claimant and their community. Such discoveries may be historically and biologically accurate, but they can also conflict with historical cultural processes, belief of one’s own history and identity and a community’s belief in its own family structures. Genetic testing can aggravate this distress through extending biological differences back through a greater period of time than that covered by documentary or memory-based records.
The age of Ancestral Remains is also an issue. The older the Ancestral Remains the more widespread, and hence reduced, is the genetic trail. Assuming people have two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents and so on, by the time we go back 200 years we are looking only at who might be just a partial contributor to a person’s genes, in a situation where the other contributors are effectively invisible. Furthermore, not all genetic information is passed on, and some disappears through natural processes over time. Limited or lack of proof of genetic affiliation to one known set of Ancestral Remains does not, therefore, mean that a person does not have a stronger relationship to other people from the same area in the past whose remains may have not been discovered.
Caution should be taken when approaching commercial DNA testing companies. There are many commercial service providers available, with most based overseas. These service providers do not have any reliable or extensive databases on either modern or ancient Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander genetics. Their databases and methods are unsuited to the analysis of ancient DNA. Most of their public customers are Europeans. They will test individual samples against a larger European or Asian database and provide affiliation with the nearest match. It is possible that testing of Indigenous Ancestral Remains, or modern living Indigenous people, will align the tested individual with Asian or European ancestry before Indigenous Australian ancestry, simply because the testing laboratory does not have enough Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander genetic information on record.
Such testing will also be expensive; a 2017 price had standard over-the-counter testing at A$149 per sample. Specialised testing between community members is likely to cost more, as is extraction of DNA from the bones of a deceased ancestor. It also requires the willing participation of the community members — always remembering that such testing will not only show relationships between individuals and the Ancestral Remains, but also those between living individuals. Popular commercial DNA laboratory services may not be suitable for repatriation.
The ownership of genetic information is also an important consideration. Most service providers will retain information in line with their desire to expand their comparative databases. Some researchers who endorse genetic analyses of Ancestral Remains for repatriation purposes are known to retain the information for other research purposes. Before any approvals or permissions for genetic testing are given, it should be determined who will own and possess the information and who will have rights over its use in the future. Remains should be under community control before any DNA testing is undertaken.
There are increasing efforts to provide ethical genetic investigation services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people interested in genetic testing. A ‘National Centre for Indigenous Genomics’ is now housed at the Australian National University.37 The centre is overseen by the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics Governance Board, which has an Indigenous majority. | https://www.nma.gov.au/about/publications/repatriation-handbook/chapter-8 |
Which languages are spoken by those who come to our program?
Identify the top 3 to 5 languages (other than English) spoken by participants who come to your program. Although they may be the same languages from Step 1, don’t assume that to be the case. If the number of survivors with LEP in your program does not reflect the demographic make-up of your community, this may be because there are barriers for these individuals to access your program – for example, they are not aware of your program or believe your program is not accessible to them.
Review your program’s demographic data to see which survivors with LEP have contacted your organization and with what frequency:
- Pull numbers from all aspects of your program – hotline, shelter, support groups, outreach, community advocacy initiatives, and any advocates co-located in systems, community and outreach programs.
- List the languages spoken by survivors participating in these programs. Rank them by numbers of survivors (largest to smallest) who speak the languages, across all programs. For example, if in the past year, 1200 persons spoke Korean and 950 spoke Cantonese, rank them in that order.
List the languages spoken by people accessing your program services, ranked by the size of the population that speaks each language, on the language access plan template, Section 1B: Language access needs.
Compare these numbers to the community demographic data:
- Do you provide services in all the languages spoken in your community? If not, this will tell you the languages for which you need to provide access.
- Is your program serving persons who speak different languages to the same proportion they are present in your community? In other words, are your rankings of languages similar? If not, this will tell you the languages for which you need to enhance access.
Now consider how you are serving persons with LEP: are they accessing the full range of program services, or are they, for example, overrepresented in outreach and public awareness, but underrepresented in hotline and shelter? This will tell you if there are program areas that are doing especially well or which need focused attention; it may help you identify practices you already have that should be implemented more broadly
Check in carefully with your program staff to ask about their experiences about who is accessing services, the options staff have for different linguistic groups, and how this influences survivor choice and safety. It is important that these conversations and surveys are framed as inquiries about organizational capacity, not staff performance.
This step is very useful for identifying who IS and who is NOT using your services. It is important to thoughtfully explore why your program is not serving this community. You may wish to use your Language Access Plan as part of the process of building working relationships with members of this community.
Monitor and evaluate interpreter and translator services
Do your interpreters and translators understand and abide by ethics and confidentiality, and are they trained on sexual and domestic violence? If they are members of professional associations, such as the American Translators Association or the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, ask for copies of their codes of ethics and confidentiality forms. If they are not members of professional associations, consider developing your own ethics and confidentiality forms and/or working with community partners to develop shared standards.
- Sample Interview Questions for Prospective Interpreters
- Interpreter Code of Ethics
- Sample Interpreter Confidentiality Form
A process for developing translated materials is outlined on pages 6-8 of this report from Alianza.
Are your staff trained to work with interpreters?
- Tips for using an interpreter from Women’s Justice Center
- Working with Interpreters: Enhancing Communications with Individuals with Limited English proficiency and individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Parts I and II – Find webinars 5 and 6 for training on how to work with interpreters. This is taken from the Translating Justice curriculum.
- The Resource guide for advocates & attorneys on interpretation services for domestic violence victims pages 77-80 feature a fantastic tip sheet for working with interpreters.
Bilingual staff/volunteers – recruit, train, retain
It is important to evaluate the language skills of bilingual staff and volunteers, to ensure your program is providing quality advocacy and to support ongoing staff development. The Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence developed an excellent tool, The Fluency, Accuracy, Neutrality, Safety (F.A.N.S.) Checklist, for bilingual advocates to assess their own language abilities.
Your program may need to develop policies and practices about when and how advocates should (and should not) provide interpretation for others. This checklist can help your program build this policy and practice, helps advocates to better respond to these requests, and builds advocates’ abilities to explain to the survivor the roles of advocate vs. interpreter so the survivor may make better-informed decisions about language access. It can also be used as part of training and supervision of advocates who are likely to be asked to interpret for other entities. | https://esperanzaunited.org/en/knowledge-base/language-access/program-language-assessment/ |
The process of blocking refers to how an artist uses paint to generalize the colors and shapes on a canvas. This process signifies the general layout of the piece and allows for details to be incorporated later on in the process. Blocking is useful when beginning to paint, as you get an idea of where the components of the painting will lay on the page. This process is used by various artists and is the principle used with the paint by numbers technique. Blocking is a good way to initially start off a painting just like you prepare your tools before any revive lawn procedure, as you can include details later on.
Drybrush
Drybrush techniques are commonly used to lay paint, without saturating the brush with water. The results are paint strokes that look raw and which are generally applied on paper or a canvas that has been primed. This technique is useful when trying to conserve paint as well as creating a unique effect on the desired canvas. Using the drybrush technique is particularly effective in creating texture through mediums such as acrylic paint as well as oil paint. Drybrush painting has been used as far back as the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to convey atmosphere and depth.
Wash
The opposite of drybrush techniques, using a wash is a way to create a semi-transparent layer of paint. Often, acrylic paints are used to achieve the technique in a ratio of one part paint to two parts water which may seems as easy as house plant identification but actually it is not. You can also use watercolor, ink, and even pens to create the wash effect. The general idea is to use a small amount of color and a large amount of water to dilute the paint.
The premise of wash painting is also used in practical scenarios, such as staining wood. The idea is similar to that of painting for art, which is to lightly color the wood whilst still being able to see the characteristics of the grain behind it.
Stippling
Stippling is the use of a variation of dots to create depth. The dots used vary in size, spacing, and strength of color. The combination of these factors helps to create a pattern that can be formed into shapes, characters, and entire compositions. The key to this technique is to ensure you take your time with each dot and consider the placement of them. To successfully achieve the stippled effect, you can draw, etch or even paint the dots onto the surface of your choice.
Underpainting
As the name suggests, underpainting is the initial layer of color applied to a painted medium. The aim of this technique is to provide a base for the following layers of paint to fall onto. Underpainting is generally forged in monochromatic colors and helps to establish the color scheme of the artwork. It is recommended that this approach is used when trying to define light and compliment shadows. The final piece of artwork will entirely cover the initial underpainted layer, but it is important to include it as an initial guide. | https://www.organizewithsandy.com/the-painting-techniques-you-should-be-learning/ |
MTSI is hiring a 5G Systems Engineer to provide the overall systems engineering and technical integration guidance for the planning, development, acquisition, and implementation cycle for all projects within the USAF Warfare Center 5G/Next Gen program. Provides guidance for projects to insure their integration and interoperability with other programs and projects. Analyzes user’s requirements, concept of operations documents, and high-level system architectures to develop system requirements specifications. Analyzes system requirements and leads design and development activities. Guides users in formulating requirements, advises alternative approaches, and conducts feasibility studies. Provides technical leadership for the integration of requirements, design, and technology. Incorporates new plans, designs and systems into ongoing operations. Develops technical documentation. Develops system Architecture and system design documentation. Guides system development and implementation planning through assessment or preparation of system engineering management plans and system integration and test plans. Interacts with the Government regarding Systems Engineering technical considerations for associated problems, issues or conflicts. Ultimate responsibility for the technical integrity of work performed and deliverables associated with the Systems Engineering area of responsibility. Communicates with other program personnel, government overseers, and senior executives.
MTSI’s core capabilities are Systems Engineering and Integration, Modeling and Simulation, Test and Evaluation, Acquisition and Program Support, and Mission Assurance services. Our expertise includes ballistic missile defense, air defense, air vehicle survivability, unmanned aircraft, flight test operations, intelligence support, and cyber/space/homeland defense.
Our first core value is that employees come first. We challenge our co-workers to provide the highest level of support and service, and reward them with some of the best benefits in the industry. Eligible new co-workers start with 20 days PTO, 10 holidays, 6% 401k match with immediate vesting, semi-annual bonuses, and eligibility to participate in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). We offer other employee focused benefits, including up to $10,000 in tuition reimbursement and an optional zero dollar deductible BCBS health insurance plan.
For additional company information, please visit: www.mtsi-va.com
Manage system requirements and derived requirements to ensure the delivery of production systems that are compatible with the defined system architecture(s) – Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF), Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), etc
Contribute to the development of sections of systems engineering documentation such as System Engineering Plans, Initial Capabilities Documents, Requirements specifications, and Interface Control Documents
Assist with the development of system requirements, functional requirements, and allocation of the same to individual hardware, software, facility, and personnel components
Coordinate the resolution of action items from Configuration Control Board (CCB) meetings, design reviews, program reviews, and test reviews that require cross-discipline coordination
Participate in an Integrated Product Team to design new capabilities based upon evaluation of all necessary development and operational considerations
Allocate real-time process budgets and error budgets to systems and subsystem components
Generate alternative system concepts, physical architectures, and design solutions
Define the methods, processes, and evaluation criteria by which the systems, subsystems and work products are verified against their requirements in a written plan
Develop system design solution that satisfies the system requirements and fulfills the functional analysis
Review and provide input to program and contract work breakdown structure (WBS), work packages and the integrated master plan (IMP)
Participate in the development of system engineering documentation, such as System Engineering Plans, Initial Capabilities Documents, Requirements Specifications, and Interface Control Documents
Participate in interface definition, design, and changes to the configuration between affected groups and individuals throughout the life cycle
Derive from the system requirements an understanding of stakeholder needs, functions that may be logically inferred and implied as essential to system effectiveness
Derive lower-level requirements from higher-level allocated requirements that describe in detail the functions that a system component must fulfill, and ensure these requirements are complete, correct, unique, unambiguous, realizable, and verifiable
Participate in establishing and gaining approval of the definition of a system or component under development (requirements, designs, interfaces, test procedures, etc.) that provides a common reference point for hardware and software developers
Develop derived requirements for Information Assurance Services (Confidentiality, Integrity, Non-repudiation, and Availability); Basic Information Assurance Mechanisms (e.g., Identification, Authentication, Access Control, Accountability); and Security Mechanism Technology (Passwords, cryptography, discretionary access control, mandatory access control, hashing, key management, etc.)
Implement comprehensive SOA solutions
Implement operational view, technical standards view, and system and services view for architectures using applicable DoDAF standards
Review and/or approve system engineering documentation to ensure that processes and specifications meet system needs and are accurate, comprehensive, and complete
Capture all interface designs in a common interface control format, and store interface data in a commonly accessible repository
Assess each risk to the program and determine the probability of occurrence and quantified consequence of failure in accordance with an approved risk management plan
In conjunction with system stakeholders, plan the verification efforts of new and unproven designs early in the development life cycle to ensure compliance with established requirements
Prepare time-line analysis diagrams illustrating the flow of time-dependent functions
Establish a process to formally and proactively control and manage changes to requirements, consider impacts prior to commitment to change, gain stakeholder buy-in, eliminate ambiguity, ensure traceability to source requirements, and track and settle open actions
Manage and ensure the technical integrity of the system baseline over time, continually updating it as various changes are imposed on the system during the lifecycle from development through deployment and operations & maintenance
Support the planning and test analysis of the DoD Certification/Accreditation Process (as well as other Government Certification and Accreditation (C&A) processes)
Support the development and review of Joint Capability Integration Development System (JCIDS) documents (i.e., Initial Capability Document, Capabilities Description Document, IA Strategy)
Provide technical direction for the development, engineering, interfacing, integration, and testing of specific components of complex hardware/software systems to include requirements elicitation, analysis and functional allocation, conducting systems requirements reviews, developing concepts of operation and interface standards, developing system architectures, and performing technical/non-technical assessment and management as well as end-to-end flow analysis
Develop scenarios (threads) and an Operational Concept that describes the interactions between the system, the user, and the environment, that satisfies operational, support, maintenance, and disposal needs
Conduct quantitative analysis in non-functional system performance areas like Reliability, Maintainability, Vulnerability, Survivability, Produceability, etc.)
Establish and follow a formal procedure for coordinating system integration activities among multiple teams, ensuring complete coverage of all interfaces
Ten (10) years of experience as a SE in programs and contracts of similar scope, type and complexity is required.
Bachelor’s degree in System Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering Science, Engineering Management, or related discipline from an accredited college or university is required.
Five (5) years of additional SE experience may be substituted for a bachelor’s degree.
Desired Skills:
SE Experience in telecommunications, networking and data-centric systems.
Master’s degree in System Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering Science, Engineering Management, or related discipline from an accredited college or university
Education Requirements:
Associates degree - required
Bachelor's degree - preferred
Security Clearance:
Current Top Secret (TS) Security Clearance with SCI eligibility, and the ability to obtain access to Special Access Required (SAR) Programs and Special Technical Operations (STO). Candidates without a TS clearance may be considered, but candidate must have a current SSBI to be considered.
#LI-KJ1
ID: 2020-4629
External Company Name: Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. | https://employnevada-manufacturing.jobs/las-vegas-nv/5g-systems-engineer/B7D92335C15E46279142008F488EDDF7/job/?vs=28 |
The purpose of peer review is to assists the Editor-in-Chief in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communication with the author it may also assist the author in improving the manuscript. In order to ensure the highest scholarly standard, all research articles published in this journal are subjected to rigorous peer-review process which entails initial editor screening and double-blind refereeing by no less than two referees.
In the double-blind peer review procedure, both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process. Editors will assign at least two independent and objective reviewers to each paper. Reviewers will give a recommendation according to the following options: Accept – No revision needed, Accept – Minor revision needed, Major revisions needed, Reject – Decline the publication of a paper. The peer review process is normally completed within six month.
The choice of reviewers is at the Editor’s discretion. The reviewers must be knowledgeable about the subject area of the manuscript; they should not have recent joint publications with any of the authors.
All of the reviewers of a manuscript act independently and they are not aware of each other’s identities. If the decisions of the two reviewers are not the same (accept/reject), the Editor-in-Chief may assign additional reviewers.
During the review process Editor-in-Chief may require authors to provide additional information if they are necessary for the evaluation of the scholarly merit of the manuscript. These materials shall be kept confidential and must not be used for personal gain.
The Editorial team shall ensure reasonable quality control for the reviews. With respect to reviewers whose reviews are convincingly questioned by authors, special attention will be paid to ensure that the reviews are objective and high in academic standard. When there is any doubt with regard to the objectivity of the reviews or quality of the review, additional reviewers will be assigned. | https://www.balcanica.rs/peer-review-process.html |
Support Query:
At disposal of foreign investment, there may be foreign tax withheld. This article provides a potential solution as to how to process this transaction.
Please note BGL does not provide tax advice. Users may find other options that suit better.
In this example, 1000 units foreign shares are sold for an equivalent of AU$20,000, with AU$4,000 foreign tax withheld from overseas.
Solution:
As an option, the Investment Expense (37500) can be utilised to record the tax withheld, in a way that does not affect the CGT consequence.
1. Navigate to and select . Use the filter on the top right to search for the 37500 account and locate the sub account for the shares disposed of.
2. Click anywhere on the line to access and select More Details
3. Update the Tax Label to Not Applicable and then select Save to complete.
4. Navigate to Transaction List and select Bank Statement from the drop-down under New Transaction.
5. The journal entry to record the tax withheld would be as below.
|Dr.||Bank Account (60400)||$16,000|
|Dr||Investment Expense Sub Account (37500/Sub account)||$4,000|
|Cr||Foreign Investment Sub Account (77700/Sub account)||$20,000|
6. To claim the foreign tax offset/credit, an adjustment can be made via Tax adjustment before Create entries. Navigate to and select under
7. Click on and select Credit for foreign resident capital gains withholding (H8). Input a claimable amount and select to finalise. This way, the foreign credit will be included in the tax return. | https://sf360.zendesk.com/hc/en-au/articles/360042456712-How-to-process-a-disposal-of-foreign-investment-with-Foreign-Tax-Withheld- |
Q:
Exercise vs stimulants, which is more effective for promoting concentration?
Stimulants are the first choice for treating ADHD. But we also know that exercise helps to improve concentration.
We know that both stimulants and exercise increase bloodflow to muscles and to the brain by activating the sympathetic nervous system. Is this is the MAIN cause of the effect of improved concentration, rather than, say, specific activation of parts of the brain responsible for learning or planning or something similar?
What I'm asking is, do drugs and exercise have different effects on the brain, what are the differences, and what are the consequences of these differences on concentration and learning? Which is more effective for promoting concentration and why?
A:
exercise stimulates brain regions that are involved in memory function to release a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is a protein that helps in the survival of neurons and promotes the growth of new neurons. BDNF rewires memory circuits so they work better.
Memory enhancers or smart drugs or Nootropics as they are called help in improving the efficiency of neurotransmitters and its associated receptors in cognitive function. Three systems that are stimulated by these drugs which I could find are:
1) Cholineric System
2) Glutamatergic System
3) Dopaminergic & Serotonergic Systems
You can read about about them here along with links to published articles on their effects. Details of different nootropic drugs are mentioned in this article along with their effects.
Of course naturally improving concentration would be the way to go considering the hazards of long term use of drugs. Some links to the side effects are this and this
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Cape Town and the Western Cape are Africa's most sought-after holiday travel destination, while Cape Town is the number one business events destination.
As a popular global holiday destination, Cape Town offers a wide variety of accommodation options and has about 20 000 formal three-, four- and five-star hotel bedrooms. Most of these hotels are located within the City Bowl, Waterfront and Atlantic Seaboard areas, all in close proximity to the Cape Town International Convention Centre. There are also many deluxe boutique hotels, serviced apartments and B&Bs.
Cape Town offers a large number of outstanding and rated guesthouse and B&B alternatives, and these are a popular choice for visitors. At present, Airbnb, the global accommodation booking and sharing website, has over 18 000 rooms available in its room inventory. Various student and budget accommodation options are available ate two-star hotel options, short-term holiday apartment rentals, guesthouses, and also university residences during holiday periods. | https://wesgro.co.za/convention-bureau/accommodation |
Struggling Out of Addiction
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
As a bright schoolboy from a loving, middle-class family Ben Rogers was expected to make a success of his life. Raised in a quiet, picturesque village Ben was a Boy Scout, loved cricket, played in the school orchestra and looked forward to the annual family holiday. But despite his privileged start in life Ben found himself on the road to ruin, injecting heroin up to four times a day.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
In 2009, Swansea drug agencies reported a 180 percent rise in heroin use, and it's visible on the city's streets. Early one morning we meet a young, homeless couple named Amy and Cornelius in a city centre alley. As heroin-addicted alcoholics, they're smack in the middle of two of South Wales's most harrowing epidemics.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Heroin has its dangerous way of working on our body. It basically works on our central nervous system first. The drug acts within 5-7 seconds after taking it intravenously. After it is taken in by the body, it instantly results in euphoria.
As the euphoria wears off, it results to skin flushing, feeling of heaviness, and dryness of the mouth. Eventually, it can cause nausea, itching, and even vomiting. After this, the addict is sedated and will be sleepy for several hours. A lot of the important cognitive functions starts to slow down and will be impaired. Users will have a declined ability to reason, breathing slows down, and so is the heart beat.
Heroin addiction has detrimental effects on the person’s body, mind, and emotions. It is highly one addictive drug that one should not mess up with. Physical effects can lead to adverse health issues to the lungs, liver, arteries, kidneys, and can lead to severe bone complications like arthritis. Heroin addiction can be a big problem, as emotionally the user becomes dependent on the drug use. Many of them isolate themselves from their loved ones, family, and even refuse to work or attend school.
The withdrawal symptoms of heroin addiction is something a lot of users dreaded and can include severe muscle pains, bone problems, diarrhoea, restlessness, cold flashes, insomnia, vomiting, paranoia, and convulsions. The symptoms can last for several months.
The treatment for heroin addiction can vary. Several methods may be used to bring the addict to become sober and regain control of his or her life. The initial step is detox, where the user is ‘cleansed,’ then next is the cutting of the urge and cravings. Lastly are behavioural therapies which are best done in rehabilitation centres. The best approach to treat heroin addiction is the use of both medical and behavioural therapies.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
More scientifically smoking excessive levels of heroin was shown to impact on memory significantly weakening your head and also your capacity to solve complex issues. The time to onset of effects is normally about one hour and certainly will continue for a substantial amount of time, while the effects of smoking heroin are nearly immediate. The physical withdrawal symptoms are somewhat like a man or woman who's quitting cigarettes. Heroin addiction is apparently very much like other substance use disorders, even though the long-term clinical outcomes might be less severe. No matter how the presence of these symptoms allow it to be hard for long-term heroin users to quit. Heroin releases dopamine which makes you feel good, however in the very long run can bring about dearth of motivation as well as depression.
Heroin addiction can be a serious issue for many users. This isn't a superb justification and heroin is quite addictive in a few cases and may ruin lives just like with any other drug. Individuals using heroin may claim the substance is harmless, and in a number of states, it's legal to utilize the drug. These consequences not merely alter the heroin user, but also her or his family members and friends. Additional stopping heroin use didn't fully restore the damage. Heroin offences aren't severely punished.
The very first step to overcoming heroin addiction will be to recognize you have an issue and need assist. Another of the initial steps that will be able to help you make a good beginning in fighting such addiction is to create a number of changes inside your lifestyle. If you're smoking, you might also try to stop smoking as well to get around the temptation of heroin usage. The solution and the problem is in your mind, you got to discover the root reason for your addiction and you have to eliminate it from your own life or come to terms with it. Within the end every one of these problems are about analysis, honesty and also a motivation to do things aside from just stopping smoking that is sometimes the simplest bit. This intervention is, in addition, made to motivate the individual to modify.
When someone arrives to consider the ways that their heroin addiction is wreaking havoc in their own lives, it's frequently at this point that they choose to seek the expert assistance of a drug rehab center. Many times a person using a heroin addiction will instead made all kinds of numerous excuses concerning why now wouldn't be an excellent time to stop smoking pot. If heroin's a problem for you, and in case you can't stop all on your own, it is totally reasonable to find outside treatment help. Heroin affects people in a variety of ways, however in the case of long-term use, it's almost certain an individual will gradually become hooked on the drug. People that are psychologically hooked on heroin are inclined to allow it to define all their activities. You wish to know the particular date by which you opt to become drug free.
Regardless of what it is you're smoking it has some effects so acquire wise. The actual fact is that a lot of heroin abusers simply are not able to stop using, even when they want to achieve that. From there are lots of helpful things which are possible to do in order to help against cravings but with no base understanding you may fall back in the habit.
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The average family size in Washburn, ME is 2.9 residential members, with 70.4% being the owner of their own domiciles. The average home appraisal is $85116. For individuals paying rent, they pay an average of $396 per month. 43.4% of households have two sources of income, and a median domestic income of $38258. Average individual income is $20711. 15.8% of citizens live at or below the poverty line, and 24.2% are disabled. 15.7% of inhabitants are former members of this US military.
Washburn, Maine is situated in Aroostook county, and has a populace of 1585, and exists within the greater metro area. The median age is 49.7, with 9.1% of the population under 10 years old, 8.7% between 10-nineteen years old, 11.5% of inhabitants in their 20’s, 11% in their 30's, 10.1% in their 40’s, 16.6% in their 50’s, 16.1% in their 60’s, 12.1% in their 70’s, and 4.6% age 80 or older. 47.6% of residents are men, 52.4% female. 60.4% of citizens are reported as married married, with 16% divorced and 17.9% never married. The % of individuals recognized as widowed is 5.7%.
Is it convenient to use solar fountain pumps? Solar energy is a concern for many people. Are fountain pumps able to use it? It is important that solar energy be available for free. There is nothing better than using the sun to rather generate electricity than paying out even more for this. However, there are many limitations. Solar power panels use photovoltaic cell technology to convert sunshine into power. Solar panels are created to absorb sunlight. Using the chemical reaction that develops, sunlight produces free-flowing electrons. Practical Use Some gadgets are not compatible with solar energy. A solar-powered fountain pump may be an option if the water is only ornamental. The environment cannot be kept alive. You should select a solar-powered device with energy storage that can power your filtration system. There are many fountain pumps that we offer. Send us an email to receive more information. The water fountains can release water, often while the two other options try not to. Water ponds can be large bodies of water, or small waterbodies that are located outside the home. You can add small fountains if you wish, but it is not necessary. Wall water functions can be used indoors or out-of-doors and flow down walls. These are the key differences between these water characteristics. | https://www.texasindemand.com/101-classic-waterfall-wall-fountains-washburn.html |
Since 1943, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) holds an annual award show featuring highly acclaimed movies and TV series. Comedian Andy Samberg and actress Sandra Oh hosted the star-studded event on Jan. 19 and was aired live on NBC.
Throughout the three hour show, the two entertainers warmed up their audience by addressing the Oscar host controversy and playfully “roasting” the attendees. Near the end of their monologue, Oh gave a sincere and emotional speech about being the first Asian host for the Golden Globes. The rest of the night was filled with light-hearted humor that rarely used the go-to political jokes.
Though many found their hosting style unique, some believed their routine could have been more natural. Kianna Maglaqui, 12, shares her opinions on what the Golden Globes should improve for their next show.
“They should get better jokes and better monologues,” Maglaqui stated. “Make sure that all the people who present the awards look more enthusiastic because a lot of them look like they’re not excited to be there.”
The ceremony awarded actors and actresses whose performances stood out in each respective category. Some of the winners included Glenn Close for Actress in A Drama Motion Picture (The Wife), Mahershala Ali for Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Green Book), Olivia Colman for Actress in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture (The Favourite), and Ben Whishaw for Supporting Actor in a Miniseries/Television Film (“A Very English Scandal”).
The decision to give Patricia Arquette a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries/Television Film attracted attention on social media. Multiple viewers were shocked by the outcome as they expected Amy Adams to win for her performance in HBO’s limited series “Sharp Objects”. Among them are film enthusiast Emily Rivas, 11, who is a fan of Adams and the show.
“I was honestly very sad about Amy Adams losing because she played such a difficult role so well,” Rivas said. “Her character [Camille Preaker] went through very traumatic things and she managed to play the part perfectly.”
Bohemian Rhapsody’s win for Best Drama Motion Picture sparked controversy within the social media community. The portrayal of Freddie Mercury’s life was deemed inaccurate and disrespectful to his legacy by certain Queen fans. The film’s ties with accused sexual harasser Bryan Singer also received criticism as it went against the MeToo movement.
A fan of Bohemian Rhapsody and the band itself, senior Brandon Castro believes the director’s actions should be separated from the entire project.
“I think they should criticize him [Singer] if he really did do it, but I don’t think it should affect the fact that the movie itself won because of something surrounding that situation,” Castro stated. “It’s its own kind of entity. He made it happen, the actors made it happen, the writers made it happen. It’s not just one person. He may have put out the general idea, but without everybody else’s support, he may not have been able to pull it off.”
The Golden Globes is only the start of awards season. Other upcoming award shows include the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 27, the British Academy Film Awards on Feb. 10, and the Oscars on Feb. 24. | https://www.thedowneylegend.com/ae/2019/01/25/76th-annual-golden-globe-awards/ |
In practice, several indicators are used that reflect the effectiveness of enterprise asset management, and one is the asset turnover ratio. In simple terms, this indicator reflects the rate of return on resources invested in the assets of a commercial organization.
Turnover ratio characteristic
In English, this term sounds like Total Asset Turnover, and literally it translates as “total asset turnover”, which also allows you to get an idea of the value of this indicator. The asset turnover ratio is calculated as the ratio of the turnover of funds to the value of total assets in average annual terms.
Briefly, it shows the effectiveness of managing the company’s active resources and funds. But then what is the difference between the profitability ratio and the asset turnover ratio? A simple example – to characterize the level of business activity, it is the analysis of the turnover of assets that is used, and the profitability indicator evaluates the level of profitability by assets.
Scope of the indicator Total Asset Turnover
For a company that needs to assess asset management literacy, using the underlying formula for asset turnover helps determine whether current investment in assets is justified. The optimal value affects how large the cash flow of free funds is, and, as a result, increases the value of the company’s shares.
For investors, learning how to find asset turnover ratios isn’t going to do much good. The fact is that this indicator is not very informative, and therefore its separate use will not help to get a complete picture of how competently the company manages assets. Therefore, the scope of the current asset turnover ratio formula on the balance sheet is quite small:
- Comparison of companies in the same field of activity – the higher the asset turnover ratio of a company among competing enterprises, the more profitable it is to invest in its assets;
- Comparison of indicators of one company for different periods of time – this is used to analyze the dynamics of this coefficient. If the indicator is growing moderately, this also indicates that the company’s shares are attractive for investment.
The formula for calculating the asset turnover ratio and the standard value
So, the investor got acquainted with the term and studied why the analysis of the asset turnover ratio is necessary. How to calculate this value? For this, a single formula is used, where the coefficient is equal to sales revenue divided by the value of assets in average annual terms.
To obtain data on the asset turnover ratio, the balance sheet lines in the financial statements take into account the following – 2110, showing revenue, 1600, showing the value of assets at the beginning and end of the year. The final value obtained as a result of the calculation will show how many times the assets were turned over in a year. If the value is, for example, 3, then the company received three times more revenue for the year than the value of its assets.
How to understand that the asset turnover ratio is normal? A simple rule applies here: the higher the better, but we must not forget about the specifics of the activities of each company individually. Taking into account industry specifics and comparing indicators of competing enterprises will help to give a correct assessment of the effectiveness of asset management. | https://boardbrokers.com/en/coefficient-calculation/ |
“Leaving no person behind” and “inclusiveness” are the two major core principles for the Gross National Happiness (GNH) policy. The first expression of Gross Happiness was seen in 1972 by the fourth king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk when he responded to the Western economists who were constantly saying that Bhutan is poor in GDP. The King challenged that though they are poor in conventional resources, they were measurably high in happiness and togetherness. Following this, a 2007 global study about subjective well-being ranked Bhutan as 8th among 178 countries. Bhutan is also notable for being in the top 20 countries that are poor but happy. Later on, Bhutan started establishing many policies from poverty alleviation to universal healthcare and the Bhutanese people are performing up to their levels of comprehensive potential.
HEALTH- aiding therapy and other medication by considering both the aspects of physical and mental health.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING- includes aspects of individuals like life satisfaction, affect to situations, and spirituality.
TIME USE- time constraints of working and non-working periods, sleep cycles and also considering the work-life time balance.
COMMUNITY VITALITY-focuses on strengths and weakness of people in a group and includes group cohesion among family members and societal norms.
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND RESILIENCE-primary attempts for accounting the norms of culture, traditions, values, and ethnicity.
GOOD GOVERNANCE-rights and freedom of people and also how every individual perceives their own duties and values in various levels of government plans.
EDUCATION-equal significance to both formal and informal ways of acquiring information and knowledge.
ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND RESILIENCE- values and norms regarding the land and ecological settings of the place, including environmental perceptions and hazard and calamities.
LIVING STANDARDS- focus upon the physical goods of people like income, housing, properties, and other individual personal material comforts.
The World Happiness Report is the state survey for happy people among various countries in global accounts. The latest global happiness report of 2018 mentions about 156 countries by their happiness report and among them are immigrants too, in about 117 countries. The report was launched at an event of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican on the 14th of March 2018. There exists a separate council called the Global Happiness Council (GHC) which includes papers of various experts and professionals who are actively working on the improvement of happiness and well-being of the people. The council has key practitioners in various areas like psychology, economics, urban planning, business, and civil society.
In support of World Government Summit (WGS) in accordance with the dialogue of global happiness, each member from various areas of expertise submits papers and works for the improvement of people on every one of the 9 domains of happiness. These papers help the council members actively participate and promote the values necessary for enhancing the happiness and well-being of individuals. The council differs from the Global Happiness Report in that, the report exhibits actions for measuring and explaining happiness, whereas the council aims at surveying and intervention strategies for the country’s people.
Inclusion at all levels of work and all the bodies involved.
Happiness and positivity promotion as a lifestyle factor.
Developing tools and other new benchmarks for measuring happiness.
Appointment of CEO’s for every happiness government body.
Establishment of office sectors for happiness and positivity.
Adoption of standard norms for all governing bodies with happiness as the concern.
Allocation of workshops and programs pertaining to happiness by federal officials.
UAE is still developing its nation to make every individual inclusive and also they have a new “happiness portal” to address and welcome the notions of other foreigners who visit their country, to share their opinions and also measure happiness during their residence in Dubai.
South Korea is aiming to make its entire people happier by administering happiness laws after considering all the factors from working stress to economical cues. President of Korea, Moon Jae-in stated in a conference that while the annual per capita income will be up to $30,000, what really matters to him are the people’s levels of happiness and peace. Considering this, the timing of work hours, which was earlier a problem in South Korea, has now been changed by reducing the weekly clock of work from 68 hours to 52 hours. This is not simply a justification, but is followed strictly as a law and the those not following it can be imprisoned for 2 years.
President Moon once said that, “overworking must not persist in our society”. He considered that people cannot achieve full happiness when the time for working in various organizations is long and exerting pressure upon the individual. Having so many personal and public concerns for the working hours of people, the President has given new laws and norms for reducing the gross working time. by establishing new methods like ‘automatic computer-off system’ after a certain time, and allowing people to join in evening fitness classes; instead of wasting time in front of monitor screens in the workforce after the set forth time limits.
Creative education, especially for the dreamers and the talented minds.
National protection from disaster with a secure and sustainable environment.
Social integration by decentralizing the powers of the state.
Since Bhutan’s first socioeconomic development plan in the year 1961, the nation developed a separate Planning Council under His Majesty, the Late King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The prime goals of the council are to make the country function well in terms of evaluation of programs and develop the best aids for many intervention strategies at the macro level.
Guiding the integration of policies and plans of the GNH.
Ensuring the effective actions for the 5 year key projects.
Ensuring the resolution of cross-cultural issues.
Giving proper attention to the vulnerable groups.
National monitoring and a thorough evaluation programme.
To promote the 5year key plan to all the active bodies of works.
To co-ordinate and facilitate the actions of the GNH for effective delivery.
To provide timely aids and also receive feedback from the concerned organizations.
Ensuring an equitable and efficient resource allocating system.
The GNH Survey of Bhutan along with the GNH Indices are designed to guide the steps to advance the GNH across Bhutan. The report, “A Compass Towards a Just and Harmonious Society”, gives a detailed description of the results from the survey, for use by both the professional source experts and also the general public. It also emphasizes a strong guidance for planned active delivery in the public policy, by the private sector, and also inside the organizations of civil society.
Considering so many cues from international society and a special emphasis from Bhutan’s working strategies for GNH, it is essential to understand that Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product of any nation and its people.
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On the basis of the very similarity in the system concept of FCIPS (Flexible Computer-Integrated Production Structure) with that of smart factory, this book describes the effective application of the system technology, know-how at the factory floor, human resources and so on, which have been so far accumulated by our long-standing experiences in the design and use of FCIPS, to the smart factory. To ease of understanding, both FCIPS and the smart factory are first represented by the human-mimetic model, and in consideration of the very importance of “Limbs and Tools” in the production activity, then the book discuss concretely the capability for converting FMC (Flexible Machining System) for “One-off Production with Keen Cost” to CPS (Cyber Phisical Systems) module in the smart factory. Importantly, such an FMC may be facilitated by the “Highly Function-Integrated Machine Tools”.
The book states quickly the fundamental knowledge about the production systems in general, and reviews furthermore the present and near future perspectives in FCIPS and also some representative case studies on the smart factory. Of special note, the book suggests the research and engineering development subjects as well as those related to the manufacturing culture and industrial sociology for further convenience of people in academia and industry.
CHAPTER 1 Of quick notes, the “Flexible and Intelligent Factory System”, exactly calling the FCIPS (Flexible Computer-Integrated Production Structure), and its variants are in the leading position of the production system of wider scope at present, and can facilitate the production activities in the industrial nation to a large extent. In contrast, a recent upheaval in the production activity is the smart factory, which is one of the flagship projects within the “Industrie 4.0” Programme initiated by the German Government; however, nearly all discourses, discussions and suggestions of the smart factory have been carried out without any considerations of FCIPS (refer to Preface for details).
This chapter describes first the definition of and fundamental knowledge about FCIPS, and then its present and future perspectives, extremely suggesting its wider availability for various production activities in the localised globalisation area, e.g. in the form of the “Virtual Concentration of Production Bases”. In addition, for ease of understanding, FCIPS is detailed and visualised quickly by using the “Production Morphology (Life History of Product)”. Obviously, FCIPS can be facilitated considerably by the manufacturing culture and we see the same story in the smart factory. It is furthermore notable that the authors assert the similarity of both the concepts in FCIPS and smart factory, and duly suggest the better convertibility of FMC (Flexible Manufacturing Cell; Small-sized FMS) for one-off production into the CPS (Cyber Physical Systems) module in the smart factory.
CHAPTER 2 A product is to be in reality by integrating a group of parts, and thus the kernel of FCIPS is, needles to say, the manufacturing system (Limbs and Tools). The manufacturing system consists, in principle, of processing, assembly and inspection procedures. In discussing the production activity, thus, it is extremely important to place the stress on the processing system. To suggest first the importance of understanding the hierarchical structure in the production system, Chapter 2 demonstrates (1) the differing aspects between the machining and assembly systems, and also between FMCs for metal cutting and metalworking. In contrast, we may suggest the configuration similarities between FMCs for machining and assembly.
Although we can use various processing methods, the major is part machining, and then to clarify the characteristic features of the machining system, Chapter 2 describes (2) a classification of the machining system in consideration of the production pattern (mode) like “Much Variation and Small Volume Production”, (3) some representatives ranging from the production cell and transfer line to NC transfer line, and also (4) the input and output for both the material and information flows in the machining systems.
CHAPTER 3 We must use various machining systems depending upon technological, economic and social environments in the nation and region across the whole world, and within the industrial nation, FMS (Flexible Machining System) and its variants like FMC (Flexible Machining Cell) and FTL (Flexible Transfer Line) have been prevailed. Importantly, FMC and both FMC-integrated FMS and FTL are growing their importance almost daily, whereas we must modify the design guide for FMS and concerns so far used in consideration of their present and near future perspectives. In fact, the traditional design guide becomes obsolete with the advance of FMC.
This chapter describes first the definition of FMS after classifying the applicable area of FMS and its variants at present, and then shows some representative FMCs especially placing the stress on the (defacto) standardised FMC, and also FTLs in consideration of its importance within the motorcar industry. In this context, it appears that FMC for one-off production is available for the CPS module in the smart factory, provided that the cell controller should be contrived something necessary.
In consideration that both FMC and FMS are modular-designed to be facilitated the flexibility, expandability and redundancy, the basic knowledge about the design for FMC is also stated. It is furthermore important to enhance FMC by incorporating the function-integrated kinds in the machine tool, and thus a quick note for such kinds is given, where the transfer centre, i.e. a forerunning trial of such kinds, is discussed.
CHAPTER 4 In the system design, there are two ways, i.e. top-down and bottom-up methods. In general, we used to design the system by the bottom-up method, in which we can purchase widely the system components necessary from the market through the supply chain, and we are capable of integrating them into a system or cell in accordance with the design specifications. In the very rare case, we design the system in a top-down manner, although we need to develop some new system components, if necessary.
Importantly, in both methods, primary concern is the modular design, and thus this chapter describes the system components generally available for flexible machining in consideration of the determinants for system configuration and layout. In this context, the chapter places the stress on the system components for machining, transportation and storage, and for ease of understanding delineates their classifications in the form of first-hand view and gives a quick note for each component. In addition, the system component for main machining is explicated in detail considering its present and near future perspective, and it is notable that the chapter clarifies to what extent FMC, FMS and FTL can be characterised by the system component for main machining together with pre- and post-machining.
CHAPTER 5 We have certain symptoms, in which FMC for one-off production is being established, and in due course, we can expect to apply such an FMC to the CPS module in the smart factory. Paraphrasing, we may verify the validity of our hypothesis to a large extent that FMC for one-off production with keen machining cost may be converted into the CPS module in the smart factory. For further verification, thus, this chapter reviews the present perspectives of the smart factory together with conducting the necessary discussion. In the review, the smart factories being on work are classified into those of (1) “Brains, Nervous System and CPS module”, (2) “Brains and Nervous system”, and (3) “ Limbs and Tools” types (see Fig. 1.9). In due course, we can find the considerable number of interesting smart factories, and of these, those of Volkswagen and Bridgestone are very attractive. This is because both the factories are in fruition according to the “Original Concept of Smart Factory as a Whole” proposed by “Industrie 4.0”, and importantly, the former pays the special attention to the “Design Principle of Production Structure”, i.e. the closest linkages among the objective product, available production structure and production patterns, to a large extent. Of further special notes, primary concern of nearly all smart factories is for the establishment of the lucrative business for the time being by not designing them in accordance with the original concept as a whole, i.e. simplified ones by placing the stress on either “Brains and Nervous System” or “Limbs and Tools” type.
CHAPTER 6 As shown in some practical applications of the smart factory within Chapter 5, we must be aware that the production activity should create the wealth for the human society by conducting, in preferable cases, the lucrative business. In fact, it is rare that the original concept as a whole of the smart factory is in fruition, but the smart factory being on work has been established by employing a part of the original concept especially activating its beneficial features, which depends considerably upon the customer’s requirements.
In the full application of the original concept, a root cause of difficulties lies in the preferable harmony and chemistry among various reciprocal attributes, which can determine the system characteristics. Obviously, we must establish a smart factory in accordance with the customer’s requirements, and thus a further hindrance is certain uncertainties in such requirements. In addition, such leading attributes ranges from engineering, through economics, to social attributes (see Fig. 1.9).
As a result, nearly all production engineers and researchers do not delve into the essential features within a facing problem, but do solve such a problem by the case-by-case way in both FCIPS and the smart factory to some extent. Obviously, the solution obtained by the case-by-case method is very valuable together with high applicability.
In contrast, it is desirable that people in the academia should scrutinise in detail the essential features of each R & D (Research and Engineering Development) subjects and could transfer the valuable achievement into the practice after conducting an innovative research. Paraphrasing, we may appraise often the well-intellectual backup method rather than the experience-based remedies to solve the engineering problem.
In many respects, we must investigate leading R & D subjects in FCIPS and the smart factory in consideration of their essential features, and this chapter will place the stress on the technological subjects. On the basis of our long-standing experiences for FCIPS and investigation into the crucial problems in the smart factory, we first analyse and suggest some leading R & D subjects in both FCIPS and the smart factory, and then some representatives in such subjects will be detailed and discussed herein. Of note, Chapter 7 will discuss the R & D subjects within manufacturing culture and industrial sociology aspects.
CHAPTER 7 So far we have been demonstrated the potentials of flexible manufacturing technology that is currently available or in the process of development for convertibility towards CPS Module in the smart factory. We have seen that an important factor of the ‘Industrie 4.0’ strategy is the preservation and continuous further use (and improvement, i.e. the “elevation” of technological potentials) of already existing smart production technology and to include these technologies in the emerging structures of the smart factory. Obviously this requires migration strategies towards the smart factory. But since the existing technological components are not sufficient to implement the concept of ‘Industry 4.0’, the pathway to this end is thus both, evolutionary and also radical innovation. And it is very likely that also the work organisation and qualification structures of the smart factory can not only be thought of as an evolutionary continuation of today’s structures, but also require radical re-thinking.
This Chapter will address the so far unexplained relationship between the technology of the smart factory and the organisational and qualification aspects of production under the conditions of ‘Industrie 4.0’. In popular debate, this often reads as follows: Will the smart factory revolutionise the world of work? Or: Will ‘Industrie 4.0’ demand completely new qualifications of the work force? These and other questions will be taken up and answered tentatively. The focus will be on requirements for work organisation and qualification in the areas of design (construction) and manufacture. This means that on the one hand engineers are targeted and on the other technicians and personnel at shop-floor level. The former see themselves as developers of smart production systems, the others as implementers and maintenance personnel exposed to the newly arising challenges. | https://www.kousakukikai-zaidan.or.jp/epublication/no01-flexible-intelligent-and-smart-factory-systems/ |
Hello, I am a newbie to this forum, as well as a digital camera novice/newbie. I have been using a Canon PowerShot G1 for a couple years now, and overall have been happy with it. Recently I purchased a Nikon Coolpix 3500 primarily because of its size and weight. However, I am noticing that image quality of the Nikon seems to be noticeably poor compared to the Canon. As they are both 3 mega-pixel cameras, I am puzzled. I am assuming that I am the cause of the discrepancy, as I can't imagine others would not have noticed. At this point in time, I am not worried about the differences in exposure. I am concerned about the grainy look of the image produced by the Nikon.
Would someone be so kind as to offer some hints for improving the quality of the image output on the Nikon?
Sample images are available at: http://www.pbase.com/iansearle/canon...sus_nikone3500
If you view the originals, you should be able to see the differences I am referring to. Though, be prepared the originals are each over 1 MB.
Thank you!
-Ian
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|Dec 2, 2002, 10:22 AM||#2|
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,216
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Well my favorite is the Nikonshot, the colors seems more real!
(ofcouse I dont know the colors of your walls) Concerning the graininess - I dont see the problem.
|Dec 2, 2002, 10:38 AM||#3|
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,625
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I guess that the canon default to a lower ISO setting ( can't see in the exif) , and may be more in camera noise reduction processing. | https://forums.steves-digicams.com/general-discussion-11/need-help-nikon-coolpix-3500-image-quality-4917/ |
A compression artifact (or artefact) is a noticeable distortion of media (including images, audio, and video) caused by the application of lossy compression. Lossy data compression involves discarding some of the media's data so that it becomes small enough to be stored within the desired disk space or transmitted (streamed) within the available bandwidth (known as the data rate or bit rate). If the compressor cannot store enough data in the compressed version, the result is a loss of quality, or introduction of artifacts. The compression algorithm may not be intelligent enough to discriminate between distortions of little subjective importance and those objectionable to the user.
The most common digital compression artifacts are DCT blocks, caused by the discrete cosine transform (DCT) compression algorithm used in many digital media standards, such as JPEG, MP3, and MPEG video file formats. These compression artifacts appear when heavy compression is applied, and occur often in common digital media, such as DVDs, common computer file formats such as JPEG, MP3 and MPEG files, and some alternatives to the compact disc, such as Sony's MiniDisc format. Uncompressed media (such as on Laserdiscs, Audio CDs, and WAV files) or losslessly compressed media (such as FLAC or PNG) do not suffer from compression artifacts.
The minimization of perceivable artifacts is a key goal in implementing a lossy compression algorithm. However, artifacts are occasionally intentionally produced for artistic purposes, a style known as glitch art or datamoshing.
Technically speaking, a compression artifact is a particular class of data error that is usually the consequence of quantization in lossy data compression. Where transform coding is used, it typically assumes the form of one of the basis functions of the coder's transform space.
When performing block-based discrete cosine transform (DCT) coding for quantization, as in JPEG-compressed images, several types of artifacts can appear.
Other lossy algorithms, which use pattern matching to deduplicate similar symbols, are prone to introducing hard to detect errors in printed text. For example, the numbers "6" and "8" may get replaced. This has been observed to happen with JBIG2 in certain photocopier machines.
At low bit rates, any lossy block-based coding scheme introduces visible artifacts in pixel blocks and at block boundaries. These boundaries can transform block boundaries, prediction block boundaries, or both, and may coincide with macroblock boundaries. The term macroblocking is commonly used regardless of the artifact's cause. Other names include tiling, mosaicing, pixelating, quilting, and checkerboarding.
Block-artifacts are a result of the very principle of block transform coding. The transform (for example the discrete cosine transform) is applied to a block of pixels, and to achieve lossy compression, the transform coefficients of each block are quantized. The lower the bit rate, the more coarsely the coefficients are represented and the more coefficients are quantized to zero. Statistically, images have more low-frequency than high-frequency content, so it is the low-frequency content that remains after quantization, which results in blurry, low-resolution blocks. In the most extreme case only the DC-coefficient, that is the coefficient which represents the average color of a block, is retained, and the transform block is only a single color after reconstruction.
Because this quantization process is applied individually in each block, neighboring blocks quantize coefficients differently. This leads to discontinuities at the block boundaries. These are most visible in flat areas, where there is little detail to mask the effect.
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Main article: Deblocking filter
Various approaches have been proposed to reduce image compression effects, but to use standardized compression/decompression techniques and retain the benefits of compression (for instance, lower transmission and storage costs), many of these methods focus on "post-processing"—that is, processing images when received or viewed. No post-processing technique has been shown to improve image quality in all cases; consequently, none has garnered widespread acceptance, though some have been implemented and are in use in proprietary systems. Many photo editing programs, for instance, have proprietary JPEG artifact reduction algorithms built-in. Consumer equipment often calls this post-processing "MPEG Noise Reduction".
Boundary artifact in JPEG can be turned into more pleasing "grains" not unlike those in high ISO photographic films. Instead of just multiplying the quantized coefficients with the quantisation step Q pertaining to the 2D-frequency, intelligent noise in the form of a random number in the interval [-Q/2; Q/2] can be added to the dequantized coefficient. This method can be added as an integral part to JPEG decompressors working on the trillions of existing and future JPEG images. As such it is not a "post-processing" technique.
The ringing issue can be reduced at encode time by overshooting the DCT values, clamping the rings away.
Posterization generally only happens at low quality, when the DC values are given too little importance. Tuning the quantization table helps.
When motion prediction is used, as in MPEG-1, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4, compression artifacts tend to remain on several generations of decompressed frames, and move with the optic flow of the image, leading to a peculiar effect, part way between a painting effect and "grime" that moves with objects in the scene.
Data errors in the compressed bit-stream, possibly due to transmission errors, can lead to errors similar to large quantization errors, or can disrupt the parsing of the data stream entirely for a short time, leading to "break-up" of the picture. Where gross errors have occurred in the bit-stream, decoders continue to apply updates to the damaged picture for a short interval, creating a "ghost image" effect, until receiving the next independently compressed frame. In MPEG picture coding, these are known as "I-frames", with the 'I' standing for "intra". Until the next I-frame arrives, the decoder can perform error concealment.
Block boundary discontinuities can occur at edges of motion compensation prediction blocks. In motion compensated video compression, the current picture is predicted by shifting blocks (macroblocks, partitions, or prediction units) of pixels from previously decoded frames. If two neighboring blocks use different motion vectors, there will be a discontinuity at the edge between the blocks.
Video compression artifacts include cumulative results of compression of the comprising still images, for instance ringing or other edge busyness in successive still images appear in sequence as a shimmering blur of dots around edges, called mosquito noise, as they resemble mosquitoes swarming around the object. The so-called "mosquito noise" is caused by the block-based discrete cosine transform (DCT) compression algorithm used in most video coding standards, such as the MPEG formats.
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Main article: Deblocking filter
The artifacts at block boundaries can be reduced by applying a deblocking filter. As in still image coding, it is possible to apply a deblocking filter to the decoder output as post-processing.
In motion-predicted video coding with a closed prediction loop, the encoder uses the decoder output as the prediction reference from which future frames are predicted. To that end, the encoder conceptually integrates a decoder. If this "decoder" performs a deblocking, the deblocked picture is then used as a reference picture for motion compensation, which improves coding efficiency by preventing a propagation of block artifacts across frames. This is referred to as an in-loop deblocking filter. Standards which specify an in-loop deblocking filter include VC-1, H.263 Annex J, H.264/AVC, and H.265/HEVC.
Lossy audio compression typically works with a psychoacoustic model—a model of human hearing perception. Lossy audio formats typically involve the use of a time/frequency domain transform, such as a modified discrete cosine transform. With the psychoacoustic model, masking effects such as frequency masking and temporal masking are exploited, so that sounds that should be imperceptible are not recorded. For example, in general, human beings are unable to perceive a quiet tone played simultaneously with a similar but louder tone. A lossy compression technique might identify this quiet tone and attempt to remove it. Also, quantization noise can be "hidden" where they would be masked by more prominent sounds. With low compression, a conservative psy-model is used with small block sizes.
When the psychoacoustic model is inaccurate, when the transform block size is restrained, or when aggressive compression is used, this may result in compression artifacts. Compression artifacts in compressed audio typically show up as ringing, pre-echo, "birdie artifacts", drop-outs, rattling, warbling, metallic ringing, an underwater feeling, hissing, or "graininess".
An example of compression artifacts in audio is applause in a relatively highly compressed audio file (e.g. 96 kbit/sec MP3). In general, musical tones have repeating waveforms and more predictable variations in volume, whereas applause is essentially random, therefore hard to compress. A highly compressed track of applause may have "metallic ringing" and other compression artifacts. | https://db0nus869y26v.cloudfront.net/en/Compression_artifact |
The main goals of mathematics education are to prepare students to:
- use mathematics confidently to solve problems
- communicate and reason mathematically
- appreciate and value mathematics
- commit themselves to lifelong learning
- become mathematically literate adults, using mathematics to contribute to society.
At the completion of a program, students should have developed a positive attitude toward mathematics and have a base of knowledge and skills related to Number, Patterns and Relations, Shape and Space, and Statistics and Probability.
English Language Arts
The aim of English language arts is to enable each student to understand and appreciate language, and to use it confidently and competently in a variety of situations for communication, personal satisfaction and learning.
Students become confident and competent users of all six language arts through many opportunities to listen and speak, read and write, and view and represent in a variety of combinations and relevant contexts. All the language arts are interrelated. In the outcomes of the and interdependent; facility in one strengthens and supports the others program of studies, the six language arts are integrated.
The General Outcome for Junior High English Language Arts are listed in the attached document
Social Studies
Social studies provides opportunities for students to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge that will enable them to become engaged, active, informed and responsible citizens. Recognition and respect for individual and collective identity is essential in a pluralistic and democratic society. Social studies helps students develop their sense of self and community, encouraging them to affirm their place as citizens in an inclusive, democratic society.
CORE CONCEPTS OF CITIZENSHIP AND IDENTITY
The General Outcome for Grade 7, 8 and 9 are listed on the attached file.
The dynamic relationship between citizenship and identity forms the basis for skills and learning outcomes in the program of studies.
Science
Science programs provide opportunities for students to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes that they need to explore interests and prepare for further education and careers.
The Goals of the Junior High Science are:
- encourage students at all grade levels to develop a critical sense of wonder and curiosity about scientific and technological endeavours
- enable students to use science and technology to acquire new knowledge and solve problems, so that they may improve the quality of their own lives and the lives of others
- prepare students to critically address science related societal, economic, ethical and environmental issu
- provide students with a foundation in science that creates opportunities for them to pursue progressively higher levels of study, prepares them for science-related occupations, and engages them in science-related hobbies appropriate to their interests and abilities
- enable students, of varying aptitudes and interests, to develop a knowledge of the wide spectrum of careers related to science, technology and the environment. | https://www.buckmountain.ca/programs/junior-high-classes |
Last week, Mexico’s Senate passed a rather ambitious climate change law. And it did so with a 78 to 0 vote – something not seen too often in our country! This makes our neighbors to the south only the second nation in the world (the United Kingdom is the other) and the first developing country, to pass such legislation.
Just as we did last year at this time, we are pleased to bring you the results of the 17th annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). And… drum roll please… we here at GREENberg bLAWg (along with pretty much everyone else that reported on the topic) correctly predicted that along with economic recovery (which we seem to be inching toward) would come an increase in overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the previously reported year – a 3.2% increase from 2009 to 2010, to be exact.
The time has finally come… California’s cap-and-trade regulation finally went into effect in January of 2012 (not without its litigation drama along the way – see here, here, here, here, and here for the full saga). The crowning jewel of California’s AB 32, the regulation establishes an overall cap on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for all covered sources. There are two “compliance instruments” contemplated as a part of the cap-and-trade regulation. In other words, there are two different items that a covered facility may obtain to allow them to emit GHGs: (i) allowances, which are a particular facility’s tradable portion of the total GHGs permitted to be emitted under the overall cap, and (ii) offsets, which are projects that will reduce emissions outside of the cap. This article will focus on the regulation’s offset program which is run by the California Air Resources Board (ARB).
As our readers know, we have been following the cap-and-trade regulations both domestically and abroad. Quebec recently joined California in adopting a cap-and-trade regulation for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission allowances based on the rules established by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). WCI is a collaboration of independent jurisdictions, including California, working together to “identify, evaluate and implement emissions trading policies to tackle climate change at a regional level.” Quebec joined WCI in April 2008.
On Tuesday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest H. Goldsmith, issued an order that removes one more obstacle from the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) efforts to implement its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through an unprecedented cap-and-trade program adopted by the agency in October and slated for enforcement in 2013. The court’s order discharging a peremptory writ of mandate issued by the court in May, indicates that CARB has complied with the Court’s previous order by adequately considering alternatives to its market-based cap-and-trade program, ending a year-long legal saga that threatened to derail the state’s plan to implement its landmark greenhouse gas reduction law, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32).
In a letter to the Department of Justice late last week, California and 10 other states, the cites of New York and D.C., as well as the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council agreed to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an extension until November 30th of this year to create regulations limiting the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by power plants before pursuing legal action to enforce a December 2010 settlement.
This all began back in 2006 when these petitioners sued EPA under the Clean Air Act (CAA) upon passage of a final rule regulating utility emissions without limiting GHGs. The petitioners’ position was given teeth following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, in which the court held that carbon dioxide falls within the definition of a pollutant under the CAA. The 2010 settlement required that EPA create the rules by July of 2011. This deadline was extended to the end of September of this year and was then further extended to the end of October. The petitioners stated that they are willing to agree to this third extension “in light of progress made to date.” The extension talks are confidential (since they are really settlement modification discussions), however, various news outlets are reporting that the discussions are centered more around the schedule for rule-making rather than the meat of the rules.
Last week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), in an unanimous vote, adopted the final regulation for its controversial cap-and-trade program, which serves as the centerpiece of the state’s landmark greenhouse gas reduction law, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, Assembly Bill AB 32 (AB 32).The program, which has had to overcome hurdles in both the court room and on the ballot during a multi-year development process, will cover some 600 facilities that emit 85% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.The program is being rolled out in phases with the first compliance phase beginning in 2013, covering all major industrial sources along with electric utilities. The second compliance phase, beginning in 2015, will include distributors of transportation fuels, natural gas and other fuels.
Earlier this month, the lower house of Australia’s parliament (think House of Representatives) passed a series of bills, including the Clean Energy Bill 2011, by a vote of 74 to 72. The bill is known as the “carbon tax.” Starting in July of 2012, approximately 500 of the biggest emitters in the country will be required to pay A$23 (approximately $23 USD) per metric ton of carbon emissions they produce. Then in 2015, a market based trading system will take over.
Australia is the biggest exporter of coal in the world and approximately 80% of its electricity is generated by coal. It is one of the biggest per capita greenhouse gas emitting countries in the world. The bill’s goals include a 5% reduction in carbon emissions from the levels in 2000 by 2020 and an 80% reduction by the year 2050.
Stating that it was “time for big thinking and big projects that put Californians back to work,” Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law two bills, AB 900 and SB 292, aimed at streamlining the judicial review process for large-scale development projects. Introduced in the final days of the legislative session, AB 900, the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011, amends the state’s landmark environmental protection law, the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), to allow litigants to bypass superior court trials and have environmental legal challenges to certain “environmental leadership projects” heard directly by the Court of Appeal under a shortened decision-making time frame. | https://environmentallawblog.greenbergglusker.com/category/climate-change/ |
Treating pollutants, such as endocrine disruptors, is an effective way to protect the environment. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that alter the hormonal systems and the development of organisms that are exposed to them, even in small quantities. Doctoral student Julie Robitaille and Professor Valérie Langlois of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) are working on an effluent analysis tool to predict their harmful effects.
“There is interest in Quebec and around the world in finding ways to track endocrine disruptors. These methods could even identify where the contamination is coming from in a given area—whether it’s from agricultural, hospital, municipal, or industrial environments,” says Professor Valérie Langlois.
The pair of researchers is also working with municipal and industrial partners to monitor drinking water and wastewater to plan for potential infrastructure changes. Unlike many current techniques that test on fish, their method does not involve animal testing. Instead, their approach uses human cell lines, genetically modified in the laboratory to be sensitive to certain hormones.
“When an endocrine disruptor activates the receptors on these cells, they emit a small light. That’s how we determine whether the wastewater could be posing a risk to the hormonal system,” explains Julie Robitaille, a doctoral student in water sciences. However, she says that further research is needed to reveal how their cellular findings translate to aquatic species.
The contaminant cocktail
The challenge in monitoring wastewater comes from the “cocktail” of endocrine disruptors it contains. “You can’t just look at whether each individual substance is present. You need to analyze whether the entire mixture has any effect, since these contaminants can have different consequences when combined with other chemicals,” says the PhD student.
To test the effects of the pollutant mix, the researchers turned to bioassays, using the biological analyses to measure the reactions of their cell lines when exposed to wastewater samples, without knowing exactly which contaminants they contained.
Robitaille used several techniques to demonstrate the effectiveness of this type of approach, one of which involved making an inventory of all the tools available to regulatory authorities. She conducted this literature review in collaboration with scientists who are members of the Intersectoral Centre for Endocrine Disruptor Analysis (ICEDA). The publication appeared in the Environmental Research journal’s 2022 Special Issue on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.
About INRS
INRS is a university dedicated exclusively to graduate level research and training. Since its creation in 1969, INRS has played an active role in Québec’s economic, social, and cultural development and is ranked first for research intensity in Québec. INRS is made up of four interdisciplinary research and training centres in Québec City, Montréal, Laval, and Varennes, with expertise in strategic sectors: Eau Terre Environnement, Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications, Urbanisation Culture Société, and Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie. The INRS community includes more than 1,500 students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and staff.
Source : | https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/949462 |
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Books by Tommy Wieringa
Tommy Wieringa was born in 1967 and grew up partly in the Netherlands, and partly in the tropics. He began his writing career with travel stories and journalism, and is the author of several internationally bestselling novels. His fiction has been longlisted for the Booker International Prize, shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Oxford/Weidenfeld Prize, and has won Holland's Libris Literature Prize. Sam Garrett has translated some forty novels and works of non-fiction. He has won prizes and appeared on shortlists for some of the world's most prestigious literary awards, and is the only translator to have twice won the British Society of Authors' Vondel Prize for Dutch-English translation. | https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-au/books/author/tommy-wieringa |
The climatic changes that have been increasingly observed in recent years are, to a large extent, driven by human activities linked to energy overconsumption and overreliance on fossil energy sources. Developing strategies and interventions to promote more sustainable energy uses is one of the most pressing tasks facing our planet and its inhabitants. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines psychology, affective sciences, behavioral economics, and neuroscience, our research group aims to contribute to this “energy turn” by trying to understand the factors and mechanisms that drive decisions related to energy consumption.
News:
08-03-2019
"Interventions today for the environment of tomorrow": Prof. Brosch is talking about green nudges at the IPU conference in Zurich today.
05-03-2019
Join us today for a talk by Prof. Sander van der Linden on "The role of warm-glow and intrinsic motivation in sustainable decision-making"!
04-03-2019
"Beyond nudges: Becoming a better choice architect". Talk by Prof. Eric Johnson today in the Geneva Center for Interdisciplinary Decision Research Series!
27-02-2019
Consumer preferences for electricity-saving programs: New paper out now.
21-02-2019
Prof. Brosch is presenting our work at the UN Perception Change Project.
15-09-2018
Introducing "Environmental Trait Affect": new paper out now!
27-08-2018
Congratulations to Dr. Gilles Chatelain for successfully defending his PhD thesis!
24-08-2018
Carrots and sticks: Our new paper on the role of incentives in electricity tariffs is out now.
23-07-2018
Our new paper on affective dilemmas is online.
13-03-2018
Tonight: Screening of Al Gore's new movie "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power" followed by a discussion with vice-mayor Sandrine Salerno and Prof. Brosch at the Cinelux.
01-03-2018
We are happy to welcome Mario Herberz as a new PhD candidate to our team!
14-02-2018
Feel good, stay green! Our latest paper is online.
21-09-2017
We're hiring: PhD position available within the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Lab
01-09-2017
Congratulations to our own Beatrice Conte and Jasmin Mahmoodi for winning the best paper awards at the 2017 International Conference on Environmental Psychology!
05-05-2017
We participated in a very interesting conference by the Cour des Comptes on the role of behavioral insights in public policy. Click here to learn more about the Behavioral Insights Network at UniGE.
31-01-2017
Join us today for an exciting environmental double feature at Campus Biotech: A talk by Linda Steg, then a graduate seminar on Behavioral Insights and Nudges.
01-01-2017
We are happy to welcome Kimberly Doell as a new postdoc to our team!
01-11-2016
We are happy to welcome Stefanie Hille and Goda Perlaviciute as visiting professors and Beatrice Conte as a new PhD Student to our team!
24-10-2016
"Seeing Green" – Our new paper on identity-based climate change judgements is out now! | https://www.unige.ch/fapse/decisionlab/ |
Good news! Installing a microwave oven is actually not as complicated as most people think. Trust me, with these 10 easy steps, the whole process is a breeze and you will have your microwave up and running in no time.
But before you start with the installation process, make sure you have all the necessary equipment like a measuring tape and a wall plate. Also, don’t forget the screwdriver and the screws!
Step 1: Locate Power Outlet
Now that you have all your equipment ready, the first step is to locate the nearest power outlet. Try to ensure that you choose the one that will be nearest to the microwave, especially if the microwave has a short power cord.
After all, you don’t want to install the whole thing and then find out the cord is too short! However, if that does happen to you, then the only way you can fix the problem is to get an additional outlet installed by an electrician near your microwave.
Step 2: Measure The Wall Space
After locating the power outlet, the next step is to measure the space that you have chosen for your microwave. This is a critical step, and I would recommend you use a measuring tape to measure the space above your stove instead of eyeballing it.
You will need to measure the wall space above your stove to see if there is enough space to fit a microwave above it. The minimum requirement is that there must be at least 25 inches between the stove and the microwave, but you should ideally aim for a little over 25 inches to be safe.
Step 3: Ensure Proper Ventilation
This step is extremely crucial because insufficient ventilation can be dangerous. In fact, without the proper ventilation mechanism, the microwave may overheat, so make sure there is a kitchen vent installed above the microwave.
A good kitchen vent will direct the exhaust air from the microwave fan outside and prevent it from building up around your stove and microwave so that you can cook safely.
Step 4: Reframe
When installing a microwave oven above a stove, it is highly recommended that you reframe the wall space that you have chosen for the microwave. Reframing ensures that the microwave will be securely attached and stay fixed to the wall.
The process involves removing a large enough section of the drywall so that the microwave will fit easily. Once you have removed the drywall or plasterboard, secure the area with 2×4 wooden planks. That’s it; the reframing is done and you can safely attach your microwave to the wall.
Step 5: Install The Wall Plate
Once the reframing process is complete, you can start installing the wall plate. Usually, a wall plate is provided with the microwave when you buy it at the store. If yours didn’t come with a wall plate, then you may want to go back to the store and ask them to provide it.
Instructions for installing the wall plate will also come with the microwave’s installation guideline. Make sure you install it following the steps outlined in the installation guide because each microwave model is different. You should only use the wall plate that the store provided and attach it the exact same way that the store recommends.
Step 6: Fit The Microwave Into Wall Plate
Now that you have your wall plate in place, you can go ahead and place the microwave in the wall plate bracket. The bracket will hold it in place, but to be on the safe side, ask someone to hold the microwave in the bracket to ensure it doesn’t move from its spot.
A friend or family member holding the microwave in place will free up your hands so that you can complete the final steps.
Step 7: Plug-In the Power Cord
Next, plug in your power cord into the outlet that was selected for the microwave right at the start. But make sure the power is not on. As long as the installation process is underway, the power must stay switched OFF because you don’t want to get an electric shock while installing your microwave.
Step 8: Secure It With Screws
Finally, it’s time to screw in the microwave into the wall. Attach all the screws into their designated holes.
Then tighten the screws with the help of a screwdriver and you are good to go! Ask the person holding up the microwave to slowly remove their hands and step back. This way, you will be able to check if the microwave is fixed securely and will stay in its place.
Step 9: Attach The Exhaust Fan
Keep going! You are almost there! All you need to do now is attach the exhaust fan that came with the microwave. Again, follow the instructions in the installation guide because the exact instructions may vary by the microwave model so make sure you follow the instructions in your own installation guide.
Keep in mind that the exhaust fan must face the kitchen vent so that all the exhaust air goes up the vent and the kitchen stays adequately ventilated.
Step 10: Give It A Test Run
Congratulations! You have just successfully installed your very own microwave oven. The only thing left now is to give your microwave a trial run to ensure that everything is working perfectly.
Now you can switch the power back on and heat something up to check if your microwave is actually working.
Conclusion
And that’s a wrap! So how to install a microwave oven over the stove? It’s easy with the steps above! What do you think? Isn’t installing a microwave oven above a stove not as complicated as you first thought? Of course, it isn’t! These 10 simple steps actually make the whole process pretty straightforward.
And it definitely shouldn’t take you more than 2 hours to be done with the whole installation. So, what are you waiting for? Go fix up your kitchen with a new microwave oven right now! Happy Cooking! | https://breadandbuzz.com/how-to-install-a-microwave-oven-over-the-stove/ |
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2000-155324 and 2000-164891 filed on May 25, 2000 and Jun. 1, 2000 respectively, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device, a method of controlling an image forming device and a computer program product for controlling an image forming device.
2. Description of Related Art
As the scale of computer networks becomes larger, a type of network system is becoming popular in which multiple image forming devices such as printers and digital copying machines (descriptions of the invention will be made hereinafter using a printer as an example) are interconnected with each other through the network. In such a network system, a technology is known in which a portion of or all of the print jobs assigned to a printer are transferred to other printers. For example, a printer that receives a print job may transfer a portion of the print job to another printer to be printed by the latter on behalf of the former. As a result, the time required for completing the printing job can be shortened. Another example is where a printer that cannot produce color prints receives a job in which color image and monochromatic image pages are mixed, the printer separates color image pages from the rest of the job and sends those color pages to a printer that can produce color prints. Yet another example is where a printer runs out of a certain consumable item and consequently transfers a job to another printer so that the printing can be continued without interruption.
In the Publications of Unexamined Japanese Patent Applications Nos. H10-333845 and H10-319795, a technology is disclosed where the information of the location of a piece of equipment, which is the transfer destination of a print job as it is a device suited for the execution of the print job, is provided to a device such as a computer that ordered the print job, and the information is displayed with a map showing the location.
However, the technology disclosed by said publications has a shortcoming that it is necessary for the user to memorize or write down the location of the transfer destination so that the user can go to the transfer destination to pick up the printed pages. Also,if the system only notifies the computer that requested the print about the transfer location, the user may have difficulty finding the transfer destination as the printer may automatically separate the print and divert a portion of the print job to another printer after the user left the computer to pick up the print at the originally specified printer.
Moreover, if a print job is divided and another printer is printing a portion of the print job, it is difficult for the user to determine immediately which pages are transferred. In such a case, the user has to confirm the page locations of the transferred pages by checking the serial number of each page printed on the page. Finding the page locations of the transferred pages will be even more difficult if the serial numbers are not printed. Since it is so difficult to confirm the page locations of the transferred pages, the user may end up stacking up the printed pages in a wrong order.
It is an object of this invention to provide an image forming device, its control method and a computer program product that can eliminate the user's burden of memorizing or writing down the transfer target location and easily advise the user about the transfer destination even if a portion or all of a print job is automatically transferred to a printing device other than the one the user specified.
It is another object of this invention to provide an image forming device, its control method and a computer program product that can detect the transferred locations instantaneously to alleviate the user's burden of compiling the printed pages distributed among multiple devices.
According to an aspect of the invention, an image forming device connected to a network has an interface receiving a print job, a memory storing location information of one or more other devices connected with the image forming device via the network, a processor executing a process of transferring a portion of or all of the received print job to one or more transfer destinations that are included in the other devices, and a printing unit printing location information of the transfer destinations to which the print job is transferred.
According to another aspect of the invention, a control method for an image forming device connected to a network has a step of receiving a print job, a transfer step of transferring a portion or all of the received print job to one or more transfer destinations that are included in one or more other devices connected with the image forming device via the network, a step of accessing a memory, in which locations of the other devices are stored in advance, to acquire the location information of the transfer destinations to which the print job is transferred, a printing step of causing the image forming device to print the obtained location information of the transfer destinations.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a computer program product for controlling an image forming device connected to a network executes a procedure for receiving a print job, a transfer procedure for transferring a portion or all of the received print job to one or more transfer destinations that are included in one or more other devices connected with the image forming device via the network, a procedure for accessing a memory, in which locations of the other devices are stored in advance, to acquire the location information of said transfer destinations to which the print job is transferred, a printing procedure for causing said image forming device to print the obtained location information of the transfer destinations.
First Embodiment
FIG. 1
shows an example constitution of a network system, which is a preferred embodiment of this invention.
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In this network system, personal computers (“PC”) -, a server , printers -, a digital copying machine , and a facsimile machine are interconnected via a network . The network is constituted of a LAN such as Ethernet. The types and quantities of computers and peripheral equipment connected to the network are not limited to those shown in FIG. . For example, in place of or in addition to a PC, a workstation can be connected to the network . Also, a scanner can be connected to the network as a piece of peripheral equipment.
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Any one of PCs or printers used in this system will be denoted in the following by their reference numbers and respectively.
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The PC prepares a print job and transmits it to an arbitrary printer . Application software and printer driver software are installed on the PC . The application software is, for example, a piece of word processing software. The printer driver software is a program to control the printer .
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The user prepares or edits image data by means of the application software. The image data here include document image data. The user instructs printing based on image data prepared or edited. It specifies the printing conditions such as the paper size, the number of prints, and the choice of single face or double face, as well as the printer to be used. The printer driver prepares the print job based on the specified printing conditions. The print job contains the image data, which holds the contents to be printed and the printing conditions. The image data are normally described by the page description language (PDL). The prepared job is transmitted to the printer from the PC through the network .
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The device for preparing the print job and transmitting it does not have to be limited to the PC , but rather can be the abovementioned workstation.
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The server is a computer that provides various services (communication process, database control, controlling large capacity files, printer sharing, e-mailing function, etc.) to other computers on the network .
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is a block diagram showing an example constitution of the printer .
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The printer has, as shown in , a CPU , a ROM , a RAM , an operating panel , a rasterizer , a printer engine , a network interface , and a bus .
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The ROM stores programs. The ROM also stores various font data. The ROM consists of a flash ROM (sometimes called flash memory) whose contents can be electrically rewritten so that their programs and data can be updated. The RAM stores data temporarily. A print job which is transmitted by the PC on the network is stored temporarily on the RAM or a hard disk (not shown).
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The operating panel is used for various inputs and displays. The operating panel is, for example, equipped with message displays, display lamps, and various keys. The rasterizer develops the image data described in the page description language into bit map data. The rasterizer is constituted of, for example, a raster image processor (RIP).
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The printer engine output the image data onto printing paper according to the printing conditions. The printer engine consists of a laser printer (LBP) engine, ink jet printer engine, etc.
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The network interface connects the printer to the network to serve as an interface for receiving and transferring print jobs. The network interface is constituted of, for example, a network interface card (NIC). The network interface card is sometimes called a LAN board. The bus is used for exchanging signals between various units mentioned above.
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The printer divides a received print job as needed and, as a result of the division, transfers a port of the print job to a printer. This job assignment information used for determining the contents of the dividing process and transferring process is stored in the RAM and the hard disk in table formats.
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The job assigning information is transmitted to another printer as requested when another printer conducts dividing and transferring processes. On the other hand, if the printer is to conduct dividing and transferring processes, it obtains from another printer the job assigning information of the printer.
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The job assigning information includes the information concerning the function of the printer , the information concerning the status of the printer , and other information.
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(1) The information concerning the function includes the information concerning the printing function such as the information concerning the printable paper size, and/or whether the printer is a color printer or monochromatic only printer. The information concerning the function is setup or entered through the operating panel in advance.
(2) The information concerning the status includes the remaining amount of consumable items such as paper and toner, whether any errors such as paper jam exist, number of sheets of paper remaining in the paper discharge tray or bin, whether any printing is in process, and/or the number of print jobs waiting to be executed (number of accumulated jobs). The remaining amount of consumable items such as paper and toner, whether any errors such as paper jam exist, number of sheets of paper remaining, etc., are detected by specified sensors (not shown). Status information that varies with time is updated each time it changes.
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(3) Other information includes the location where the printer is installed, the font it owns, and its memory information.
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Each portion of a print job obtained as a result of automatically dividing the received print job based on the job assigning information is transferred to other devices on the network , i.e., the printers , the digital copying machine and the facsimile machine to be printed (“division printing”). In this embodiment, prior to the division printing is executed, a transfer destination guide map showing the location information of the transfer destination will be printed by the first device designated by the user.
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For the sake of simplicity, let it is described in the following a case that the user specifies the printer to be used for printing.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
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is a flowchart that shows the operation of the printer that corresponds to the first embodiment. More specifically, shows the operation of the printer when it receives a print job from the PC . The algorithm shown in the flowchart of is stored in the ROM of the printer and is executed by the CPU .
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First, at the step S, the printer makes a judgment whether a print job has been received through the network inter face . If the printer determines that a job has been received (S: Yes), the printer executes the step S; if the printer determines a job has not been received (S: No), if the printer waits until it receives a print job.
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At the step S, the printer temporarily stores in the RAM the print job received at the step S.
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At the step S, the printer detects other devices connected to the network , and receives job assignment information from each device. For example, among various devices on the network , it detects printers -other than the printer that received the print job, the digital copying machine , and the facsimile machine . the printer then receives job assignment information from each of these devices -, and via the network interface . The job assignment information received will be stored in the RAM associated with each device.
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At the step S, the printer automatically divides the received print job at the step S. The printer also determines the transfer destinations so that optimum printing can be achieved. The dividing process of the print job and determination of transfer destinations are conducted based on the contents of the print job received at the step S, the job assignment information at various other devices, and its own job assignment information, i.e., the assignment information of the specified printer , stored at the RAM .
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(1) If color image pages and monochromatic image pages coexist in a mixed status in the image data to be printed, the print job is divided into the color image pages and the monochromatic image pages. As a result of this division, the color image pages and/or the monochromatic pages are transferred to transfer destinations respectively. The color image pages are transferred to color printers and the monochromatic pages are transferred to monochromatic printers. For example, if the printers and are color printers and the printers and are monochromatic printers, and all printers can perform printings that satisfy all printing conditions other than the color vs. monochromatic setting, the specified color printer prints color image pages on its own. On the other hand, only the monochromatic image pages are printed by at least one of the monochromatic printers chosen from the monochromatic printers and . For example, if the other printer can print faster than the specified printer , the color image pages can be transferred to the other printer . Moreover, if the specified printer is a monochromatic printer, the monochromatic image pages are not transferred, but rather are printed on the specified monochromatic printer. On the other hand, only the color image pages are transferred to one of the color printers selected from other printers to be printed by it.
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(2) If the specified number of sheets to be printed is larger than the number of sheets remaining in the specified printer , it is expected that paper empty situation will occur. In such a case, the print job is divided. The portion of the print job, which is expected to be unprintable by the specified printer due to the lack of paper, are transferred to a transfer destination. At least one device that is capable of executing the printing that satisfies the specified printing condition is selected from the printers -, the digital copying machine , and the facsimile machine as the transfer destination.
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(3) When the toner quantity judged to be required to print the image data is larger than the toner quantity remaining in the specified printer , it is expected that toner empty situation will occur. In such a case, the print job is divided. The portion of the print job, which is expected to be unprintable by the specified printer due to the lack of toner, is transferred to a transfer destination. At least one device that is capable of executing the printing that satisfies the specified printing condition is selected from the printers -, the digital copying machine , and the facsimile machine as the transfer destination.
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(4) When the font specified in the received job is a font that is not stored in the memories such as the ROM or the hard disk of the specified printer , the print job is divided into a portion that contains the unprintable font and a portion that does not contain the unprintable font. As a result of the division, the portion that contains the unprintable font is transferred to a transfer destination. At least one device that has the font that the specified printer cannot print and also is capable of executing the printing that satisfies the specified printing condition is selected from the printers -, the digital copying machine , and the facsimile machine as the transfer destination.
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If the received print job does not contain any page that can be printed by the printer , which received the job, all pages can be transferred to other printers. More specifically, the printer can transfer the entire print job without dividing it to a device. The printer can also divide the received job, and transfer the portions obtained as a result of the division (“divided print jobs”) to various devices.
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At the step S, the printer transfers the divided print jobs obtained as a result of the division to the transfer destinations determined at the step S via the network interface . Each one of the divided jobs that are transferred is executed at each device, which is the transfer destination. It is described that the divided print jobs are transferred to three printers , and respectively.
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FIG. 4
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At the step S, it reads the map information on which the locations of the transfer destination devices, i.e., the printers , and , are indicated. shows an example of such a map. The map shown in shows the layout of a room, which is the environment where the devices, or the transfer destinations, are located. The map information is stored in the inside of each device in advance. For example, the map information is stored in the ROM of the printer . The map information can be updated and it is updated to the latest one each time when the layout in the room changes.
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Different from this embodiment, the map information can also be stored as shared information in equipment such as the server on the network . In such a case, the printer obtains the map information through the network as required.
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At the step S, the printer reads the location information of the transfer destination devices, i.e., the printers , and . The location information of each device is included in the job assignment information of each of the printers , and received at the step S.
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Although the location information of each device is stored in each device as the job assignment information in this embodiment, it is also possible, different from this embodiment, to have the location information of each device stored as common information in equipment such as the server on the network in advance. In such a case, the printer obtains the map information through the network as required. The location information of each device can be updated and it is updated to the latest one by automatic detection each time when the layout in the room changes.
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FIG. 5
FIG. 5
At the step S, the locations of the devices (printers , and ) read at the step S are added to the map read at the step S. Thus, the transfer destination guide map is completed. is a diagram showing an example of the transfer destination guide map. The transfer destination guide map may be added with other useful information for the user in addition to the transfer destinations. The additional information may include, for example, the estimated print out completion time, the number of sheets to be printed, and/or the order of print pick up (course). For example, in case of , balloons , and are provided in the areas where the transfer destination devices (printers , and ) are shown. The balloon contains useful information for the printer , the balloon contains useful information for the printer , and the balloon contains useful information for the printer
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
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is a diagram of another example of a transfer destination guide map. The transfer destination guide map shown in indicates the locations of all devices connected to the network , i.e., the printers -, the digital copying machine , and the facsimile machine , wherein the transfer destination devices, i.e., the destination devices , , and , are being displayed with an arbitrary special effect so that they can be easily identifiable, for example, displayed in a different color or screened. In order to prepare the transfer destination guide map shown in , it is necessary to be configured in such a way as to read the position data of all the devices on the network at the step , or to write in advance the position data of all the devices in the map which is read at the step S.
FIG. 5
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
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In case of , the specified printer itself is not shown. Also, in case of , there is no indication for identifying the specified printer although the description of the specified printer itself exists. However, different from this embodiment, it can be configured in such a way that the user can specify the location of the specified device. In such a case, the position of the specified printer is described in the example of FIG. . In case of , the display for identifying the specified printer is being made.
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At the step S, it prints the transfer destination guide maps or prepared at the step S and shown in FIG. and FIG. . More specifically, the rasterizer develops the prepared data of the transfer destination guide maps and into bit map data and the printer engine prints them out on paper.
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At the step S, the specified printer that received the print job executes the already divided print job that it is specified for. More specifically, the rasterizer develops the image data included in the already divided print job, to which it is specified, into bit map data. After that, the printer engine prints it out on paper based on the printing condition.
FIG. 7
FIG. 7
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is a diagram showing the printed sheets to be discharged from the specified printer , to which the job is transferred, as a result of the processes at the step S and the step S. As shown in , a bundle of the entire printed pages to be discharged from the specified printer consists of a sheet with the transfer destination map printed at the step S and a bundle of the pages printed at the step S.
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The user goes to the printer that the user has specified to pick up the printed pages. If the print job was automatically divided and printed, the user can go to other devices to pick up the rest of the printed pages looking at the transfer destination guide map on the sheet . The user can efficiently pick up all the rest of the printed pages even if the job has been assigned to multiple printers so long as the user can rely on the transfer destination guide map.
Therefore, according to this embodiment, even if a print job is automatically divided and transferred to multiple devices on the network for printing, the user can easily know where to collect the rest of the pages without memorizing or writing down the transfer destinations as the system prints a map showing the locations of those transfer destination devices.
While the printed map is a map for guiding the user about where to pick up the printed pages, but its usefulness of such a printed map can be enhanced by adding other useful information, e.g., the time of print out, number of printed sheets, optimum pick up course, etc.
Second Embodiment
The second embodiment is a case where printing is executed without interruption by dividing the print job and printing it by other printers when a minor error occurs at the specified device such as a shortage of paper of the particular size or paper jam.
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It is described that the user is specifying the printer for the sake of simplicity.
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
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is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer that corresponds to the second embodiment. Specifically, shows the operation of the printer when it receives a print job from the PC . The algorithm shown in the flowchart of is stored as a control program in the ROM of the printer and is executed by the CPU . The drawing used here is the same as the one used in the first embodiment unless otherwise indicated specifically.
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FIG. 3
Since the steps S and S are identical to those in the flowchart shown in , their descriptions are not repeated here.
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At the step S, a judgment is made whether above-mentioned minor error is detected. The minor errors mentioned here mean errors that allow the printer to print at least the transfer destination guide maps and . The minor errors include cases such that the specified printer does not have the specified font or the specified paper size. Such errors can be detected by comparing the information contained in the received print job and the job assignment information for the specified printer stored in the RAM . If no minor errors are detected (S: No), the step S is executed; if a specified minor error is detected (S: Yes), the step S is executed.
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At the step S, a print job received at the step S is executed. More specifically, the rasterizer develops the image data contained in the print job into bitmap data. After that, the printer engine prints it on paper according to the printing condition.
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At the step S, the printer makes a judgment whether the execution of the print job is completed. If the execution of the print job is not completed (S: No), it returns to the step S, while the printer terminates the series of process if the execution of the print job is completed (S: Yes).
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Since the steps S through S are identical to those steps in the flowchart shown in , the detail descriptions will not be repeated here except specific examples.
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When it is detected that the specified font is not available (S: Yes) in the specified printer during the execution of the print job (S), other devices on the network are detected and the job assignment information are received by them (S). After that, the print job is divided into the executed portion and the yet-to-be executed portion. One or more devices are determined as the transfer destination devices to which the ye-to-be-printed portion is transferred (S). As a result of the division, the divided print job that corresponds to the ye-to-be-printed portion is transferred (S). Thus, the map shown in FIG. and the locations of the transferred destinations are both read (S, S), the transfer guide map are prepared (S), and printed (S).
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The user goes to the printer that the user has specified to pick up the printed pages. If the print job was automatically divided and printed, the user can go to other devices to pick up the rest of the printed pages looking at the transfer destination guide map. As a result, the user can efficiently pick up all the rest of the printed pages even if the print job transfer occurs unexpectedly so long as the user can rely on the transfer destination guide map.
Third embodiment
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FIG. 2
The third embodiment shows a case where the transfer destination location information is insert printed instead of the transferred page. In this embodiment, the transfer destination guide map added with the transfer destination's location information is insertion-printed. The contents of the insertion printing will be described later. Since the constitution of the network system in this embodiment including the PC -, printer -, digital copying machine and facsimile machine is identical to that shown in FIG. and in the first embodiment, the detail descriptions are not repeated here. Identical members are identified using the same reference codes.
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For the sake of the simplicity, it is described that the PC specifies the printer , and the printer transfers a portion of the print job it received to the printers and
FIG. 9
is a diagram for describing the contents of the process in a case corresponding to the third embodiment, where a printer divides the received print job by page and transfers them to other printers. Hereinafter, “transferring pages to another printer” means “transferring a divided print job that correspond to a certain number of pages to another printer.” Another printer, which is the transfer destination, will print the transferred pages.
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FIG. 9
The PC transmits a print job containing image data corresponding to multiple pages of images to the specified printer . In the case shown in , the printer receives a print job containing image data corresponding to 15 pages. The printer divides the print job according to a specified condition similar to those indicated in the first and second embodiments. The image data contained in the print job are normally prepared by page so that they can be applied a page printer. Therefore, it is possible to select image data that correspond to certain pages from the image data contained in the print job. A divided print job is prepared by adding the corresponding printing condition to the image data corresponding to the selected pages. The divided print jobs are then transferred to the other printers and to be executed. On the other hand, the remaining divided print job, which was not transferred, is executed by the printer
FIG. 9
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In the case shown in , the 4th through the 6th pages among the originally received print job consisting of 15 pages will be transferred to the other printer . The 10th through 13th pages will be transferred to the other printer . The transferred pages will be printed by the printer and and the resultant printed matters and will be discharged. The remaining pages that are left without being transferred will be printed by the printer and discharged as the printed mater .
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The printer insertion-prints the transfer destination's location information on the page where the pages that were transferred to the other printers and existed. The insertion printing means printing immediately after printing the remaining pages that are left without being transferred. In other words, the insertion printing means printing the transfer destination's location information instead of printing the transferred page on the page where the transferred page existed.
FIG. 9
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In case of , the pages and showing the transfer destination guide maps containing the transfer destinations' location information are printed between the 3rd page and the 7th page as well as the 9th page and the 13th page.
Thus, according to insertion printing the transfer destinations' location information on the pages where the transferred pages existed, the user can instantaneously see the locations of the pages where the transferred pages existed.
It is preferable to conduct the insertion printing on a sheet of paper larger than the paper used for printing regular pages, as the user can see at a glance the fact that there was a page that was transferred and the location it existed.
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FIG. and are diagrams to show specific examples of insertion printed pages.
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shows a page insertion-printed on the page location where the pages that were transferred to the other printer existed, i.e., between the 4th and the 6th pages.
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As can be seen from , reduced images of the pages that were transferred are preferably printed in addition to a transfer destination guide map . As a result, the user can see the contents of the transferred pages. Moreover, reduced images are attached with the page numbers of the transferred pages. Moreover, the name of the transfer destination device is added as well.
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For example, the transfer destination guide map shows multiple printers , and diagrammatically. The printer selected as a transfer destination printer is shown in a different shape and color to indicate it as the transfer destination printer. It is also possible to indicate the printer as the job transfer destination by adding an arrow or adding a caption. This is the same as the transfer destination guide map described in the first embodiment.
FIG. 11
FIG. 11
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shows a case where various kinds of information are printed on a page where the pages transferred to the other printer existed, i.e., between the 10th and 13th pages. The contents shown in are similar to those shown in , so that detailed information is not repeated here.
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The format of printing transfer destination guide map is not limited to the one shown in FIG. and FIG. . For example, as shown in FIG. and , it is possible to print the transfer destination device's name , the transfer destination guide map , where the transfer destination printer is shown, and the page numbers of the transferred pages, skipping the printing of the reduced images of the transferred pages.
FIGS. 14 and 15
FIGS. 14 and 15
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show a flowchart representing the operation of the printer that corresponds to the third embodiment. The algorithm of the flowchart shown in is stored as the control program in the ROM of the printer and is executed by the CPU .
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At the step S, a judgment is made whether the print job is to be divided for printing. If the divided printing is not to be executed (S: No), the process of the step S is executed. If the divided printing is to be executed (S: Yes), the step S will be skipped.
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At the step S, regular printing is performed.
302
At the step S, a judgment is made whether the job should be transferred by page. The judgment whether the page is to be transferred is to be performed according to various conditions as in the case of the first embodiment.
30
30
30
302
303
309
303
a
a
a
For example, the pages of the received print job that cannot be printed by the printer are transferred. Alternatively, either color pages or monochromatic pages of the received print job are transferred. Or, alternatively, pages of one kind of page size are transferred from the received print job. Moreover, if the printer is short of supply concerning a certain color toner is lacking, or a certain size of paper, some pages may have to be transferred to other printers. Similarly, if the printer does not have a specified font, some pages may have to be transferred to other printers. The transfer destination is selected from the devices suitable for printing the transferred pages. If the page that is being judged is to be transferred (S: Yes), the step S is executed, while the step S is executed if it is not to be transferred (S: No).
303
303
304
303
305
At the step S, a judgment is made whether the page previous to the page currently in question should be transferred. If the previous page is also a page to be transferred (S: Yes), the process of the step S is executed. If the previous page is a page not to be transferred (S: No), the process of the step S is executed.
304
304
307
304
304
At the step S, a judgment is made whether the page in question is transferred to the same destination as the page previous to the page in question. If the transfer destination of the page currently in question is the same as the transfer destination of the previous page (S: Yes), the process of the step S is executed, while the process of the step S is executed if they are different (S: No).
305
70
70
150
170
b
b
FIG. 10
FIG. 3
At the step S, the transfer destination guide map as shown in is prepared. Since the preparation of the transfer destination guide map is similar to the process of the steps S through S shown in of the first embodiment, detail description is not repeated here.
306
70
305
33
b
At the step S, the transfer destination guide map prepared at the step S will be stored in the RAM (memory).
307
86
10
At the step S, the reduced images of the transferred pages are added to the insertion-printed page as shown in FIG. .
308
33
88
88
b
At the step S, the image data of the pages to be transferred are temporarily stored in the RAM . The image data are also added with the transfer destination's data. The transfer destination names and are also added to the insertion printed page.
309
70
305
308
33
70
33
309
310
313
309
b
b
At the step S, a judgment is made whether the transfer destination guide map containing the location information of the transfer destination prepared at the steps S through S is temporarily stored in the RAM . If the transfer destination guide map is stored in the RAM (S: Yes), the process of the step S is executed, while the process of the step S is executed if it is not stored (S: No).
310
70
86
88
b
At the step S, the contents of the transfer destination guide map are finalized and a page containing the transfer destination guide map added with the reduced images and the transfer destination device name is insert-printed.
311
308
30
30
b
c.
At the step S, the image data of the transferred pages and the printing condition temporarily stored at the step S are transferred as the divided print jobs to the transfer destination printers and
312
70
33
b
At the step S, the transfer destination guide map and the image data of the page temporarily stored in the RAM are removed and the memory area is initialized.
313
30
302
a
At the step S, the printer prints the page that is judged not to be transferred at the step S.
314
314
302
30
30
314
315
318
b
c
FIG. 15
At the step S, a judgment is made whether the page in question is the last page. If the page in question is not the last page (S: No), it will return to the process of the step S, and a judgment is made whether the page is to be transferred to the other page or . If the page in question is the last page (S: Yes), the processes of the steps S through S shown in is executed.
315
318
309
312
33
315
33
312
302
The processes of the steps S-S are similar to those of the aforementioned steps S-S. If the transfer destination guide map is temporarily stored in the RAM at the step S, the last page is always a page to be transferred. The reason is that the transfer destination guide map stored in the RAM should have been deleted at the step S, if the last page were a page that is not to be transferred (S: No).
315
319
70
86
88
88
315
319
b
b
Therefore, the processes of the steps S-S are executed only when a series of pages including the last page, and the transfer destination guide map added with the reduced images and the transfer destination device names and are printed by executing the processes of the steps S-S.
14
FIG. 15
FIG. 9
The process contents of the flowchart shown in FIG. and is described using a case shown in as an example.
302
30
30
302
30
313
FIG. 14
b
c
a
According to the process of the step S shown in , the first through third pages are judged not to be transferred to the other printers and (S: No). Consequently, the first through third pages are printed by the printer according to the step S.
30
302
302
303
70
305
308
88
88
b
b
b
FIG. 14
On the other hand, the fourth page is judged to be transferred to the other printer according to the step S of (S: Yes). Since the third page that is also the previous page is not transferred (S: No), the transfer destination guide map is prepared anew according to the processes of the steps S-S. The transfer destination devices' names or as well as the reduced image of the fourth page (including the page number) are added to the page of the transfer destination guide map prepared as above.
30
302
30
304
70
307
70
b
b
b
b
It is determined that the fifth page is to be transferred to the other printer (S: Yes). Since its transfer destination is the printer , the same as the transfer destination of the fourth page, i.e., the previous page (S: Yes), a new transfer destination guide map is not prepared, and the reduced image of the fifth page is added according to the process of the step to the transfer destination guide map , which was prepared during the fourth page process. The process for the sixth page is the same as that of the fifth page.
30
302
309
70
33
70
309
70
88
80
310
30
b
b
b
b
b
a
It is determined that the seventh page is not to be transferred to the other printer (S: Yes). At the step S, a judgment is made whether the transfer destination guide map is temporarily stored in the RAM . Since the transfer destination guide map prepared in the above process is temporarily stored (S: Yes), the page contents including the transfer destination guide map , the transfer destination device name , the reduced image , etc., are finalized at the step S, and printed by the printer . The transfer destination guide map is thus insert-printed immediately after the printing of the first through third pages.
311
33
312
At the step S, the image data of the fourth and fifth pages stored in the memory are transferred with the printing condition as the print job to the transfer destination. When the printing of the transfer destination guide map and the transfer of the print job are finished, the memory area of the RAM is initialized at the step S.
30
313
a
The seventh page is printed by the printer at the step S.
As seen in the above, the received print job is divided to a print job to be transferred and a print job not to be transferred. A series of continuous multiple pages of image data that are to be transferred to the same transfer destination are processed as a single divided print job. A transfer destination map is prepared for each transferred divided print job by adding series page numbers, reduced images, and a transfer destination device name. Consequently, a new transfer destination map is produced each time the divided print job transfer destination is changed.
Although a case of judging whether the pages should be transferred page by page is described in the above description, it is also possible to judge whether a page should be transferred by number of copies and transfer the pages by number of copies.
FIG. 16
is a diagram showing an example corresponding to the third embodiment where a printer divides and transfers a print job to other printers by number of copies.
10
30
30
30
30
30
a
a
a
b
c.
FIG. 16
The PC sends a print job, which is instructed to be printed in multiple copies, to the printer . In the case shown in , the printer receives the print job as a job that needs nine copies. The printer divides the print job by number of copies according to the prescribed condition shown in the first and second embodiments. The process of dividing a print job by number of copies to be made is used as a means of expediting the completion of the printing. The print job is divided by number of copies and the pages divided by number of copies are transferred to the other printers and
FIG. 16
30
30
30
30
100
110
30
90
b
c
b
c
a
In case of the job shown in , wherein nine copies are to be made, the job of printing the pages of the fourth through sixth copies is transferred to the other printer . The job of printing the pages of the seventh through ninth copies is transferred to the other printer . As a result of printing the jobs, the printers and discharge the printed items and . The pages of the first through third copies that are left without being transferred is printed by the printer and discharged as a printed item .
30
92
92
30
30
92
92
a
c
d
b
c
c
d
The printer insert-prints and at places where the pages that were transferred to the other printers and . Specifically, a transfer destination guide map is inserted in place of the pages of the transferred fourth through sixth copies immediately after printing the third copy. Immediately following the same, a transfer destination guide map is inserted in place of the pages of the transferred seventh through ninth copies.
Thus, it is possible to conduct the process of insert-printing the location information of the transfer destination in case of transferring pages divided by number of copies.
17
FIG. 18
FIG. and show the insert-printed pages in case of transferring pages divided by number of copies.
FIG. 17
86
70
88
89
b
c
As it is obvious from , it is preferable to print the reduced images of the transferred pages. A transfer destination guide map is printed with the name of the transfer destination and the location information of the transfer destination printer. Moreover, the number of copies indicating the number of copies transferred to the transfer destination is printed.
FIG. 18
FIG. 17
As the contents shown in are similar to the case shown in , the detailed description is omitted here.
17
18
FIGS. 19 and 20
The format of insert printing the transfer destination location information is not limited to those shown in FIG. and FIG. . For example, it is possible to print the number of pages included in each copy, the number of copies transferred and the name of the transfer destination device concisely instead of printing the reduced image of each page as shown in .
70
As can be seen from the above description, in performing a divided printing by transferring a portion of the pages of the received print job to multiple transfer destinations on the network , the printer according to this embodiment enables us to insert-print the location information of the transfer destination at a page position where the transferred pages existed, so that the user can instantaneously confirm the page position where the transferred pages existed.
Also, above-mentioned insertion printing is preferably done on a size of paper different from the size of other pages, so that it becomes easier to advise the user of any missing pages if there are any when the pages are transferred.
Fourth Embodiment
The fourth embodiment relates to a printer that prints by relating the page numbers of the transferred pages with the location information of the transfer destinations. Different from the third embodiment, this embodiment is applicable to cases where no insertion printing is performed.
10
30
30
40
50
1
a
d
FIG. 2
Since the constitution of the network system in this embodiment including the PC , printer -, digital copying machine and facsimile machine is identical to that shown in FIG. and in the first embodiment, the detail descriptions are not repeated here. Identical members are identified using the same reference codes.
10
30
30
30
30
a
a
b
c.
For the sake of the simplicity, it is described that the PC specifies the printer , and the printer transfers a portion of the print job it received to the printers and
FIG.21
is a diagram for describing the contents of the process in a case corresponding to the fourth embodiment, where a printer divides the received print job by page and transfers them to other printers.
30
30
30
9
a
b
c
The contents of the print job that the printer receives and the pages that are transferred to the other printers and are the same as in the case shown in FIG. .
It is not necessary to prepare a transfer destination guide map each time when the transfer destination of the divided print job changes. The location information of each transfer destination of the print job can be shown in one transfer destination guide map.
FIG. 22
shows a specific example of the page of the transfer destination guide map in case of the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 22
86
b
As can be seen from , the reduced images of the pages, the page numbers, and the name of the transfer destination device for each page, and the transfer destination guide map are printed.
FIG. 22
3
30
30
30
b
b
c
In the case shown in , the reduced images of the page 1 through page , their page numbers (pages 1 through 3), and the name of their transfer destination device, i.e., the printer , are printed correlatively. The reduced images of the page 4 through the page 6, their page number (pages 4 through 6), and their transfer destination, i.e., the printer , are printed correlatively as well. Also, the reduced images of the page 7 through page 9, their page numbers (pages 7 through 9), and the name of their transfer destination device, i.e., the printer , are printed correlatively.
22
23
FIG. 23
The format of printing location information of the transfer destination is not limited to the one shown in FIG. . It is possible to omit the printing of the reduced images of the pages as shown in FIG. . In the case shown in , the transfer page number and the transfer location shown on the transfer destination guide map are printed in such a way as to mutually correlate them.
FIGS. 24 and 25
FIGS. 24 and 25
30
32
30
31
a
a
show a flowchart to show the operation of the printer that corresponds to the fourth embodiment. The algorithm shown in the flowchart of is stored as a program in the ROM of the printer and is executed by the CPU .
400
408
300
308
FIG. 14
Since the process of the steps S through S are similar to those of the aforementioned steps S-S shown in , the descriptions are not repeated here.
409
33
33
409
410
412
409
At the step S, a judgment is made whether the image data of the page to be transferred is temporarily stored in the RAM as a process in case a page in question is not to be transferred. If the page to be transferred is temporarily stored in the RAM (S: Yes), the process of the step S is executed, while the step S is executed if it is not stored (S: No).
410
30
30
b
c.
At the step S, the image data of the transferred pages and the printing condition temporarily are transferred as the divided print jobs to the transfer destination printers and
411
33
At the step S, the image data temporarily stored are removed from the RAM .
412
30
402
a
At the step S, the printer prints the page that is judged not to be transferred at the step S.
413
413
402
30
30
413
414
b
c
FIG. 25
At the step S, a judgment is made whether the page in question is the last page. If the page in question is not the last page (S: No), it returns to the process of the step S, and a judgment is made whether the page is to be transferred to the other page or . If the page in question is the last page (S: Yes), the process of the step S shown in is executed.
414
405
408
33
33
414
415
414
At the step S, a judgment is made whether the transfer destination guide map prepared in the steps S through S is temporarily stored in the RAM . If the transfer destination guide map is stored in the RAM (S: Yes), the process of the step S is executed, while the process is terminated if it is not stored (S: No).
415
70
70
86
b
b
b
At the step S, the contents of the transfer destination guide map are finalized, and the transfer destination guide map as well as the reduced images and the transfer destination device name are printed. In this case, the transfer page numbers and the transfer location are printed correlatively.
416
33
30
30
b
c
At the step S, the printing condition and the image data of the pages to be transferred temporarily stored in the RAM are transferred as a divided print job to the transfer destination devices, i.e., the printers and .
417
33
At the step S, the transfer destination guide map and the image data of the pages to be transferred temporarily stored in the RAM are removed and the memory area is initialized.
14
15
Therefore, the location information concerning all the transfer print jobs is combined and printed on one page in this embodiment, different from the third embodiment shown in FIG. and FIG. .
It is possible to divide a print job by number of copies in this embodiment as well as in the third embodiment.
FIG. 26
FIG. 26
FIG. 16
30
a
is a diagram showing a specific example corresponding to the fourth embodiment where a printer divides and transfers a print job by number of copies. shows, similar to , the process of a case where the printer receives a print job that requires nine copies.
30
30
30
a
b
c
The specified printer divides the print job by number of copies transmitting the fourth through sixth copies to the printer , while transmitting the seventh through ninth copies to the printer . In a case like this where the print job is transferred to different printers dividing by number of copies, a transfer destination guide map can be printed added with the transfer destination location information as well.
FIG. 27
is a specific example of a transfer destination guide map in case of transferring the pages divided by number of copies in the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 27
86
30
30
30
30
b
c
b
c
As can be seen from , the reduced images of the transferred pages are printed. Also, the two transfer destinations, i.e., the printers and , are shown together on the transfer destination guide map. Correlated with the transfer destination location information, the number of copies transferred to each of the printers and . When the pages are transferred by number of copies, all the pages included in one copy are transferred. Therefore, it is possible to print all the page numbers and the transfer destinations correlatively.
89
28
b
It is also possible in a case of transferring by number of copies, however, to use a format wherein the individual page numbers are not printed, as it is possible to indicate that all the pages included in a copy are transferred by adding information of the number of copies transferred. It is also possible to omit printing of the reduced images of the pages as shown in FIG. .
Although several preferred embodiments of the invention were described in the above, the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.
29
Although it was indicated to print the transfer destination location information on a sheet of paper larger than regular pages to alert the user that the transfer destination guide map is printed in the third and fourth embodiments, the invention is not limited to that. For example, it is possible to print the location information of the transfer destination, e.g., the transfer destination guide map that shows the transfer destination location information, on a sheet of paper with an orientation different from that of other pages as shown in FIG. . What is meant by “an orientation different from that of other pages” means that the orientation of the sheet is different from that of other pages relative to the direction of paper transport, while the sheet size can be the same.
30
It is also possible to print the location information of the transfer destination on a sheet of paper with a color different from that of other pages as shown in FIG. . Moreover, it is also possible to print the location information of the transfer destination on a sheet of paper with characteristics different from that of other pages, e.g., a sheet of paper made of a material different from the material of other pages.
In case of printing the transfer destination location information on a sheet of paper with characteristics different from that of other pages, the image forming device is constituted as follows.
Multiple paper cassettes are provided to be able to store paper of different sizes, directions and colors. In order to print the transfer destination location information as described above, the system selects a paper cassette, which is different from the cassette used for printing other pages. Paper from the selected cassette is transported.
It is also possible to print the transfer destination location information using colors different from the colors used for printing other pages. For example, when other pages are printed in black and white, the transfer destination location information can be printed in full colors or a mono color. It is also possible to print the transfer destination location information in by adding colors to the background. It is also possible to add letters and watermarks in the background or adding identification marks in a specific are of the page, e.g., the right or left top corner.
Although it is preferable to print the transfer destination location information on a sheet of paper with characteristics or in a format different from those of other pages of a print job, the invention is not limited to it and includes a case where the transfer destination location information is printed on a sheet of paper with characteristics not different from those of other pages.
Although it was described in the above cases where the invention is applied to printers where printing is performed by receiving a print job from a computer, the invention is not limited to it but can be applied to digital copying machines as well. It can also be applied to a case where image data are obtained by scanning documents by a scanner and printed by multiple printers by dividing the job.
FIG. 31
is a case where the invention is applied to a digital copying machine that can work as a printer.
40
30
30
a
b
The digital copying machine obtains image data by scanning documents. The user sets up the copying condition by operating the operating panel. A copy job is thus prepared from the image data and the copying condition. A portion of the copy job is transferred to other printers and . In this case, the location information of the transferred destination is insert-printed at the location where the transferred pages existed.
FIG. 32
shows a case where the invention is applied to a print job, in which an image data obtained by scanning the document with the scanner is divided up and printed on multiple printers.
140
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
a
b
c
a
a
b
c
a
b
c
The scanner scans the document to obtain the image data. When a sheet feeder is used to scan multiple pages of documents, it creates an image data of multiple pages of images. This image data of multiple pages is divided up and transferred to the printers , and . A default printer (e.g., ) is selected among the printers , and . The printer selected as the default printer can insert-print a transfer destination guide map containing the transfer destination location information on the pages where the pages that are transferred to printers and existed.
FIGS. 3
8
14
15
24
25
30
40
30
40
The control method of this invention can be executed by a processor such as a CPU executing a program that contains algorithms such as those shown in , , , , and . The program can be provided stored in computer readable recording media (e.g., floppy disks, CD-ROMs, etc.). This specified program can also be provided as an application software that executes above-mentioned processes or in a format built into the software of the printer or copying machine as a part of the function of the printer or copying machine . The computer program product claimed includes the program itself, the recording media that stores the program, and devices that operate based on the program installed in them.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
shows an example a block diagram of a network system, which is an embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 2
1
is a block diagram of a printer shown in FIG. .
FIG. 3
is a flowchart showing the operation of a printer that corresponds to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4
is a diagram of an example map that serves as the basis of the transfer destination guide map in the first embodiment.
FIG. 5
is a diagram showing an example of a transfer destination guide map in the first embodiment.
FIG. 6
is a diagram of another example of a transfer destination guide map in the first embodiment.
FIG. 7
30
a
is a diagram showing an example printed matter printed by the specified printer in the first embodiment.
FIG. 8
is a flowchart showing the operation of a printer corresponding to a second embodiment.
FIG. 9
is a diagram showing a specific example corresponding to a third embodiment where a printer divides and transfers a print job by page.
FIG. 10
is a diagram showing an example of an insertion-printed page in the third embodiment.
FIG. 11
is a diagram showing an example of another insertion-printed page in the third embodiment.
FIG. 12
is a diagram showing another example of an insertion-printed page in the third embodiment.
FIG. 13
is a diagram showing another example of another insertion-printed page in the third embodiment.
FIG. 14
is a flowchart showing the operation of a printer corresponding to the third embodiment.
FIG. 15
14
is a flowchart that continues from FIG. .
FIG. 16
is a diagram showing a specific example corresponding to the third embodiment where a printer divides and transfers a print job by number of copies.
FIG. 17
a diagram showing an example of an insertion-printed page in the third embodiment where pages divided by number of copies are transferred.
FIG. 18
a diagram showing another example of an insertion-printed page in the third embodiment where pages divided by number of copies are transferred.
FIG. 19
a diagram showing an example of another insertion-printed page in the third embodiment where pages divided by number of copies are transferred.
FIG. 20
is a diagram showing another example of another insertion-printed page in the third embodiment where pages divided by number of copies are transferred.
FIG. 21
is a diagram showing a specific example corresponding to a fourth embodiment where a printer divides and transfers a print job by page.
FIG. 22
is an example of a transfer destination guide map printed in the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 23
is another example of a transfer destination guide map printed in the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 24
is a flowchart showing the operation of a printer corresponding to the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 25
24
is a flowchart that continues from FIG. .
FIG. 26
is a diagram showing a specific example corresponding to the fourth embodiment where a printer divides and transfers a print job by number of copies.
FIG. 27
is a diagram showing an example of a page of the transfer destination guide map printed when transferring pages divided by number of copies in the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 28
is a diagram showing another example of a page of the transfer destination guide map printed when transferring pages divided by number of copies in the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 29
is a diagram showing an example of printing a transfer destination guide map when it is printed on a page of an orientation different from other pages.
FIG. 30
is a diagram showing an example of printing a transfer destination guide map when it is printed on a page of a color different from other pages.
FIG. 31
is a diagram showing a connection example for a digital copying machine to which the invention is applied.
FIG. 32
is a diagram showing a connection example when multiple printers print image data obtained by a scanner. | |
Mercedes-Benz has issued a recall for nearly 150,000 vehicles from the 2013, 2014, and 2015 model years. According to a bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a number of vehicles from the luxury automaker's E-Class and CLS-Class lines suffer from a design flaw that could create a fire hazard in the engine compartment.
ALSO SEE: Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Vs. Dodge SRT Viper: Compare Cars
In documents posted to NHTSA's website, the problem stems from a rubber seal manufactured by Veritas AG in Germany. That seal is meant "to isolate noises, odors, humidity and heat".
Unfortunately, Veritas made some design changes to the seal, which has created problems:
"Due to a cosmetic design change of the rubber seal used on the affected vehicles, the confirmation of the correct mounting and proper securing of the seal during assembly became more difficult. In the event the rubber seal is not properly secured to the secondary bulkhead, it is possible for the seal to temporarily adhere to the engine hood when the hood is opened. Should this occur, the rubber seal might be partially lifted from the secondary bulkhead."
If that happens, it's possible that the seal might drop from the underside of the hood and land onthe catalytic converter. If the converter is hot, it's possible that the rubber seal could ignite, creating a fire in the engine compartment.
CHECK OUT: Auto Dependability Increasingly Defined By Tech Woes, Not Breakdowns
The recall affects the following Mercedes-Benz models:
- 2013-2015 E350 Sedan, E350 4Matic Sedan, E350 4Matic Station Wagon, E400 Hybrid Sedan, CLS 550 CGI, and CLS550 4Matic
- 2013-2014 E550 4Matic Sedan
- 2013 E63 Sedan, E63 Station Wagon and CLS63
- 2014-2015 CLS63 4Matic, E63 4Matic Sedan, E63 4Matic Sedan "S", and E63 4Matic Station Wagon
- 2015 CLS400
- 2015 E400 Sedan, E400 4Matic Sedan and CLS400 4Matic
- 2014 CLS63 "S"
All told, Mercedes-Benz says that the recall affects 147,224 vehicles registered in the U.S.
Mercedes says that it will begin mailing recall notices to owners in mid-March. After receiving those notices, owners will be able to take their cars to a Mercedes-Benz dealership, where four additional retaining clips will be attached to the rubber seal at no charge.
If you believe that you own one of the vehicles listed above and have further questions, you're encouraged to contact Mercedes-Benz customer service at 201-573-5339 and ask about recall #2015020001. If you prefer, you can also call NHTSA at 888-327-4236 and inquire about safety campaign #15V088000. | https://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1096945_mercedes-benz-recalls-2013-2015-e-class-cls-class-models-for-fire-risk |
The digital book Guggenheim - Full Abstraction belongs to the exhibition held at the ING Art Center. This exhibition traces the origins and development of Abstract Art on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1940s to 1960s, through masterpieces from two museums founded by the American collectors Solomon R. and Peggy Guggenheim.
Abstract Art is a concept used in many different contexts. This exhibition focuses on its true meaning, how and why it arose and how it spread in the United States and Europe. The artworks tell that story as well as the stories of their unusual collectors, each of whom in turn contributed to the recognition of this artistic movement. Abstraction is an exciting standpoint adopted by the artist, a direct way to give expression to feelings and visions. It is related to colour, gestures, materials and a philosophy of life.
For the visitor, viewing this style of art demands a particular mode of entering into the works in order to see them with “empathy”. This is the reason for the specific mise-en-scène, a decor with colourful fabrics intended to take the visitor away from the hustle and bustle of today’s society and place him or her within an ethereal setting, face to face with the masterpieces. | https://www.musebooks.world/us/guggenheim-full-abstraction.html |
Thirteen-year-old Lily Hartman always dreamed of adventure. A strong-willed girl, Lily felt trapped in a life of Victorian stuffiness at her prim boarding school. But after her father-a famous inventor-disappears on a routine zeppelin flight, Lily's life gets turned upside down. Now cared for by her guardian, the heartless Madame Verdigris, Lily is quite certain that she's being watched. Mysterious, silver-eyed men are lurking in the shadows, just waiting for their chance to strike. But what could they possibly want from her? There are rumors, Lily learns, that her father had invented the most valuable invention ever made-a perpetual motion machine. But if he made such a miraculous discovery, he certainly never told Lily. And all he left behind is a small box-with no key, no hinges. With the help of a clockmaker's son, Robert, and her mechanimal fox, Malkin, Lily escapes London in search of the one person who might know something about her father's disappearance-and what he left behind. | https://www.inklingsbookshop.com/book/9781631632877 |
About Peru...
- The total population of Peru is approximately 29,549,000+.
- 82% of the population is Amerindian or Meztizo.
- There are 104 different people groups in Peru.
- More than 104 different languages are spoken in Peru, with the top three being Quechua, Spanish, and Aymara.
- In the Quechua language, there are 45 different dialects spoken in Peru. Some Quechua-speaking communities cannot understand other Quechua-speaking communities because the dialects are so completely different.
- Peru has three very distinct geographical areas: The desert, the mountains, and the jungle.
- The Amazon River and Jungle actually begin in Peru.
- Peru has ancient civilizations that date back more than 4000 years. | http://www.iveymission.org/peru-information.html |
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Newseum visit explores how museums depict history and shape memory
October 23, 2013
Newseum visit explores how museums depict history and shape memory
Penn State Berks students enrolled in three Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS) courses recently visited the Newseum in Washington D.C. to explore the ways in which museums depict history and shape public memory.
Fourteen students from three CAS courses – Rhetorical Theory, Storytelling, and Family Communication – visited the Newseum on Oct 12. Students were given specific assignments for the trip. For example, in the Storytelling course, students read articles on public/collective memory, and applied the articles/concepts from these articles to the "visual storytelling" strategies in the Newseum exhibits.
According to Cheryl Nicholas, associate professor of communication arts and sciences, who led the students on the excursion, other goals of the field experience included focusing on “experiential learning”; fostering diversity/inclusivity by giving students the opportunity to explore different cultural perspectives, artifacts, spaces; and cultural matter that may take students outside their “comfort zone”; exposing students to creative projects and other creative outlets; and fostering a sense of fellowship in diversity by having them participate in a communal event while recognizing and learning cultural differences.
Funds for the field excursion were provided by the Elsa L. and John W. Bowman Curriculum Endowment and the Penn State Berks International Fund. For more information, contact Nicholas at [email protected] or 610-396-6168.
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Physics of Ultrasound and Nerve Stimulation
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780190856649.003.0029
1. Ultrasonography
Ultrasound guidance has become the principal tool for the placement of peripheral nerve blocks since the beginning of this century. The evolution of point-of-care ultrasound imaging systems has made these systems more affordable, easy to use, and ubiquitous in the clinical environment. In the US military, point-of-care ultrasound systems are organic to role 2 and above levels of care, and new handheld devices are finding their way to the most austere areas of medical care.
As with any device or instrument, an understanding of the fundamentals of how ultrasound systems work and how they can be optimized affords the operator the greatest likelihood of safe, efficient, and successful placement of a needle adjacent to the target of interest.
2. Physics of Ultrasound
2.1. Properties of sound
Sound is a form of oscillating mechanical energy transmitted through a medium by the compression (condensation) and expansion (rarefication) of particles of matter. Ultrasound is emitted at frequencies above the threshold of human hearing (>20 kHz). The frequencies used for medical ultrasound imaging range between 1 MHz and 20 MHz. The wavelength ( λ) of a sound wave is the quotient of the speed of sound (v) and frequency (f).
The speed of sound (v) is defined as the square root of the quotient of elasticity (or bulk modulus, B) and density (ρ).
It is thus related to the characteristics of the conductive media and unrelated to frequency or amplitude. Harder materials (greater bulk modulus) conduct sound at greater velocity. However, in practice the speed of sound in solid is not exactly described by the equation above as it is also related to the geometry of the substance and the interactions of longitudinal and transverse waves.
Acoustic impedance (Z) is the resistance of a substance to conduct sound and is defined as the product of the velocity (v) of sound in and density (ρ) of a substance.
Air and lung have low acoustic impedance, while bone and metal have high acoustic impedance. The difference between the acoustic impedance of 2 substances dictates how much sound energy is transmitted or reflected at their interface. Air-tissue and tissue-bone interfaces reflect nearly all the incident sound wave. Table 29.1 lists the velocity of sound and acoustic impedance of several biologic and man-made materials.
Table 29.1: Speed of sound and acoustic impedance in various media.
|
|
Substance
|
|
Speed of Sound (m / s)
|
|
Acoustic Impedance (g / [cm2∙ s])
|
|
Water (20°C)
|
|
1480
|
|
1.48 × 105
|
|
Blood
|
|
1570
|
|
1.61 × 105
|
|
Bone
|
|
3500
|
|
7.80 × 105
|
|
Fat
|
|
1450
|
|
1.38 × 105
|
|
Liver
|
|
1550
|
|
1.65 × 105
|
|
Muscle
|
|
1580
|
|
1.70 × 105
|
|
Polythene
|
|
2000
|
|
1.84 × 105
|
|
Air
|
|
330
|
|
0.0004 × 105
|
|
Soft tissue (average)
|
|
1540
|
|
1.63 × 105
|
|
Aluminum
|
|
6320
|
|
17.1 × 105
|
|
Steel (434)
|
|
5850
|
|
45.63 × 105
Adapted from Allan, P. (2006). Clinical Doppler ultrasound. Oxford: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier.
2.2. Piezoelectric effect
Piezoelectricity is the fundamental principle driving the operation of ultrasound transducers. The prefix piezo is derived from the Greek “to compress,” and refers to the properties of some crystals to emit an electric impulse when deformed. This piezoelectric effect has 2 components: direct piezoelectric effect, which is the ability of a crystalline structure to emit an electric impulse following deformation, and the reverse piezoelectric effect, where the deformation of a crystalline structure occurs with the input of electrical energy to the material.
2.3. Attenuation, power, and intensity
Attenuation is the loss of sound energy within a medium. This lost energy represents information that cannot be processed or used in the imaging process. Such losses can be from absorption of the energy (conversion to heat) by the material, reflection and scattering as the sound wave encounters interfaces within the substance, and transmission through the medium (Figure 29.1). The coefficient of attenuation (ac) is the attenuation that occurs through each centimeter of a substance expressed as decibels per centimeter (dB/cm); as the attenuation coefficient and the length the sound wave travels through the substance increase, so will attenuation. For soft tissues, the attenuation coefficient is between 0.3 and 0.7 dB/cm. The most significant source of attenuation is through absorption of sound energy by a substance.
Attenuation is also related to the frequency of the sound wave. As frequency of the wave increases, attenuation increases. The practical result is that as the frequency gets higher, more of the sound energy is lost to the tissue, diminishing the tissue penetration at a given amplitude.
Adjustments to both the power and the intensity of a sound wave can be used to overcome attenuation losses within a substance, providing more information for image processing. Power (P) is the rate at which energy is being delivered to a system described as units of energy over time and expressed as watts (W).
Intensity is the rate at which energy is delivered over a given area. For a point energy source, intensity (I) is expressed as:
Thus, as a sound wave travels through a substance, the intensity decreases with the square of the distance from the source (r) (Figure 29.2). Increasing power will increase the intensity of the sound wave at a given distance from the source; however, this is at the price of a greater amount of heat imparted to the tissue through attenuation.
2.4. Frequency, resolution, and penetration
As was touched upon earlier, the attenuation through a medium (in dB) is related to frequency:
where f is frequency and L is the depth traveled through the substance. Thus, lower frequency sound energy has lower attenuation and therefore better penetration into a medium. This has implications with regard to transducer selection; over a given power range, the lower the frequency, the greater the penetration of the sound wave into a tissue, allowing the imaging of deeper structures. Table 29.2 provides average tissue penetration (assuming an average soft tissue attenuation coefficient of 0.5 dB/cm) and attenuation relative to transducer frequency.
Table 29.2: Penetration and attenuation of sound at different frequencies.
|
|
Frequency (MHz)
|
|
Penetration
(cm)
|
|
Attenuation (dB)
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|
15.0
|
|
4
|
|
7.5
|
|
10.0
|
|
6
|
|
5
|
|
7.5
|
|
8
|
|
3.8
|
|
5.0
|
|
12
|
|
2.5
|
|
3.5
|
|
17
|
|
1.8
|
|
2.0
|
|
30
|
|
1.0
Adapted from Kremkau, F., & Forsberg, F. (2016). Sonography: principles and instruments. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
However, with the greater penetration that comes with lower frequencies, there is a loss of resolution for objects within the tissue being imaged. Lateral resolution (LR) is the minimum distance 2 echogenic structures must be separated to be imaged as 2 distinct echo returns. It is directly related to the beam width (wb). Thus a 15 MHz wave has a lateral resolution of 0.1 mm while a 2 MHz wave has a lateral resolution of 0.8 mm. Axial resolution determines the minimum depth 2 echogenic structures must be separated to be resolved as discrete objects. Like lateral resolution, it is related to wavelength but also includes the spatial pulse length. Spatial pulse length (SPL) is the size of the pulse measured in millimeters as a factor of wave cycles:
Where n is the number of cycles and λ is wavelength. Axial resolution relates to frequency through the following equation (in mm):
Most point-of-care ultrasounds emit a 2- to 3-cycle pulse; thus a 2 MHz transducer will have an axial resolution of 1.2 mm, and a 15 MHz transducer will have a resolution of 0.2 mm.
2.5. Reflection, refraction, and transmission
In the ultrasound transducer, the piezoelectric crystal array acts as both the emitter and the detector of ultrasound waves; as a result, only the energy from the echo return that reaches the probe can be processed for imaging. The strength of the ultrasound wave return depends on the nature of the reflective surface and the amount of energy lost to the tissue through attenuation.
Reflected waves are the echoes generated by the tissue; these are directed toward the transducer (perpendicular incidence), or at angles other than perpendicular to the incident wave (oblique incidence). The greater the component of perpendicular incidence, the better the quality of the image; thus optimal resolution of in-plane objects such as needles occurs at incident angles between 90° and 45° to the face of the object. Beyond 45° most of the ultrasound energy is reflected away from the probe face and is lost. Along a smooth echogenic boundary such as fascial sheaths, the diaphragm, walls of major vessels, and block needles, the reflected waves travel parallel to one another (Figure 29.3a) in a process called specular reflection. Irregular boundaries such as pleura and visceral organs, incident waves are reflected at variable angles, creating scatter (Figure 29.3b). This scatter directs energy away from the transducer, reducing image quality. This scattering may also result in signal noise that creates a hazy appearance to the structure and tissue beyond it known as backscatter.
Transmission is the incident wave energy that passes into and through a media. Refraction is the change in the path taken by the sound wave when transiting a boundary between 2 dissimilar substances (see Figure 29.1). If the propagation speed of the deeper medium is higher than the superficial medium, then the transmitted wave will refract at an angle greater than the incident wave at the interface. Refraction may impact on image quality if the change in direction results in reflection of the transmitted wave obliquely to the incident wave.
2.6. Doppler ultrasound
The Doppler effect describes the change in frequency of a wave caused by motion of the reflector or emitter. The difference in the received (fR) versus emitted frequency (fO) is called the Doppler shift (fD) and is expressed using the following equation, where v is the velocity of the reflected wave and c is the speed of sound through the media:
As the reflector moves toward the source, the received echo will increase in frequency, and then as the reflector moves away from the source, the frequency of the received wave will decrease.
The Doppler angle (θ ) impacts on the degree of Doppler shift observed for a given emitter and reflector. The Doppler shift (fD) is related to the cosine of Doppler angle by the following equation, where v is the velocity of the reflected wave, c is the speed of sound in substance, and fO is the emitted frequency:
Thus, the ideal Doppler angle for maximum detection of the flow of a substance (maximum Doppler shift) would be 0° or parallel to the direction of flow. At 90° the Doppler shift would be 0; thus placement of a transducer should be 60° or less to the direction of flow for best assessment of fluid flow. However, at angles less than 30° the ultrasound wave is reflected almost completely at the vessel wall-blood interface, preventing detection of blood flow.
By convention, color Doppler modes display the relative velocities of blood flow using a color scale, with blue hues indicating a negative Doppler shift (blood moving away) and red hues indicating a positive Doppler shift (blood moving toward) from the receiver. This can be remembered using the mnemonic BART (Blue Away, Red Toward). The numeric portion of the scale indicates the maximum velocity range that can be displayed.
3. The Ultrasound Machine
Point-of-care ultrasound machines are computerized instruments consisting of a transducer, pulsed beam generator, signal processor, and display. The transducer emits and detects the ultrasound energy used in tissue imaging. The pulsed beam generator drives the transducer, times the pulse and receive phases, sets the wave frequency, amplifies the return signal, and digitizes the data for the signal processor. The signal processor filters and analyzes the data from the pulse generator and then creates and stores the image for display. The display presents the processed information in a format usable by the ultrasound operator.
3.1. Transducers
The transducer both emits ultrasound waves and detects their echo returns using an array of piezoelectric crystals. Modern devices use synthetic lead zirconate titanate ceramics. These composite materials are imparted with specific piezoelectric properties during manufacture that determine its resonant frequency. An assembly of these piezo-composites is arranged in a linear or curved array of varying frequencies that dictate the resolution and penetration properties of the probe.
The ultrasound beam can be focused, allowing the sound energy to be concentrated over a narrow region. This results in a reduction in the beam width, improving lateral resolution. This can be accomplished through curvature of the array, placement of an acoustic lens, or electronically through phased arrays.
Coupling medium (ultrasound gel) is used as an interface between the probe and the skin. This layer fills gaps between the skin and the probe, eliminating air/probe and air/skin interfaces. The low acoustic impedance of air would result in total reflection of the ultrasound wave at the air/skin interface.
3.2. Pulsed beam generator
The pulsed beam generator is responsible for creating the specific ultrasound wave emitted by the transducer. Most manipulations performed by the operator to optimize the ultrasound image are effected through adjustments to the behavior of the pulsed beam generator. This includes gain, phased arrays, and compound spatial imaging.
3.3. Image formation
The ultrasound machine creates an image by correlating the depth of an echo return with the time taken for the signal to reach the detector following the pulse:
where c is the propagation speed of sound through a substance and t is the pulse-return transit time. A pixel corresponding to a reflected wave is illuminated on a display, corresponding to the calculated depth of the reflected wave. Though this process is fundamental to the function of the ultrasound machine, it is also a source of error. The processing software must make specific assumptions with regard to the behavior of sound within the medium and the reflected waves:
1. Sound waves propagate linearly from the source.
2. The amplitude of the echo is directly related to the echogenic properties of the reflector.
3. Echoes represent reflections from objects in the path of the wave.
4. The distance to the imaged target correlates to the round-trip travel time of the pulse.
5. The propagation speed is uniform through the tissue.
When any of these assumptions are inaccurate, improper representations of tissues or structures occur. These artifacts may confuse or mislead the operator if they are not recognized. One of the more common sources of artifact relates to the uniform propagation velocity of sound through tissues: most manufacturers use a soft tissue average of 1540 m/s as the propagation speed; however, tissues often contain a mixture of adipose, muscle, and connective tissues. Examples of specific artifacts will be detailed later in the chapter.
3.4. Gain and time gain compensation
Amplification of a signal is a form of processing that increases the amplitude of the input waveform without altering the frequency or pulse length. The signal processor receives the amplified signal and filters background noise from the data. In effect, waves below a certain amplitude are filtered from the processed image to provide the necessary contrast to identify structures. When significant attenuation occurs, the return echo may be weak and the default amplification fails to meet the threshold for display of the data. Gain on the ultrasound machine is the ratio of voltage of the amplified output wave to the original input wave and is expressed in decibels (dB). Gain adjustments increase the amplification of the input signal, bringing more of the waveform above the filter threshold of the signal processor, thereby improving resolution. This, however, occurs at the price of increased displayed noise or speckling, creating a grainy image and loss of contrast.
Time gain compensation takes advantage of the increased attenuation that occurs the deeper an ultrasound wave travels in a substance. It allows for progressively increased amplification of reflections from deeper structures. This is achieved by boosting the amplification of signals that arrive to the transducer later during the detection phase of the transmit/receive cycle. Manufacturers accomplish this by dividing the image into depth zones that correspond to return signals with greater transit times. User adjustment of these zones is accomplished through sliders, knobs, or keys, depending on the number of regions programmed by the instrument manufacturer (Figure 29.4).
3.5. Spatial compound imaging
Phased array transducers are capable of selectively triggering individual piezoelectric elements. The array can be fired simultaneously, creating a beam wave front parallel to the transducer face, or can be fired sequentially with a small (<1 μs) delay between each element, creating a directed wave front that propagates at an angle tangential to the array. These directed tangential waves image the tissue at differing angles, allowing visualization of structures that would otherwise be obscured by overlying objects. Compound spatial imaging combines a sequence of angled wave fronts to create a single image that can impart improved resolution and dimensionality to the target tissues (Figures 29.5a and 29.5b).
3.6. Exam modes and user-adjustable parameters
Most point-of-care ultrasound systems have preprogrammed examination modes designed to optimize the image to suit the specific procedure to be performed. These modes have preset gain adjustments, transducer frequency ranges, focal points, and postprocessing algorithms that are applied to the input signals to create the desired effects. For example, modes designed for nerve exams and block placement are designed to improve the contrast at interfaces of similar acoustic impedance and maximize resolution, while modes used for vascular access are designed to highlight vascular wall/blood interfaces with decreased affinity for small structures. Selecting the proper exam mode for the desired tissue and procedure is a significant determinant for the ease and precision of image acquisition.
Some manufacturers allow user selection of electronic focal points. Electronic focusing takes advantage of phased array systems to create an ultrasound wave front that converges to concentration point in much the same way a physical acoustic lens focuses the sound energy. However, unlike a fixed acoustic lens, the wave generated by the phased array can be adjusted so that the depth of the convergence point can be changed. Through the use of submenus or hot keys, operators can adjust the depth of the convergence point on these machines to maximize the resolution of specific structures.
3.7. Contrast agents
Differentiation of tissues with comparable echogenic properties, such as nerves within adipose containing connective tissue or highly vascularized organs, is difficult as the sound will tend to propagate through the various tissues without significant reflection at the interfaces. The use of injectable media with differing acoustic properties than the target tissues can create the necessary interfaces between tissue planes to allow echogenic reflection between the tissues, enhancing differentiation of the anatomic structures. To aid in the identification of nerves, injection of saline or local anesthetic can create such an interface where reflection rather than transmission occurs between the solution and surrounding structures, improving image quality.
For vascular tissues, the use of engineered injectable encapsulated microbubble contrast agents improves the resolution of the vessels and detection of flow using Doppler due to the high difference in acoustic impedance between the air-filled spheroids and the surrounding blood.
4. Transducer Manipulation
There are 4 cardinal transducer movements used in image acquisition embodied by the mnemonic PART: Pressure, Alignment, Rotation, and Tilt.
4.1. Pressure
Pressure movements (Figure 29.6a) are the axial forces applied to the patient through the transducer used to improve coupling of the transducer to the tissue surface, compress structures, and improve resolution of objects at the limit of the transducer’s penetration range. These movements may be quite forceful and can lead to patient discomfort. Furthermore, these manipulations can lead to compression of structures such as veins, obscuring them from view. Two variations on pressure movements are often used to optimize imaging of objects: heel-toe and roll. Heel-toe (or press) manipulations (Figure 29.6b) apply distal pressure while relaxing the proximal side of the probe face. This, in effect, aligns the probe face tangentially to the skin surface, angling the wave front so that it better aligns with the reflective surface of the target structure. Roll is a similar maneuver performed using the curved edge of a curvilinear probe (Figure 29.6c). Roll and heel-toe can also be used to image structures deep to tissues of high acoustic impedance such as bone by angling the incident beam to a plane where the target structures are no longer obscured.
4.2. Alignment
Alignment movements are longitudinal and transverse movements (Figure 29.7) of the transducer along the body surface. These are the primary movements used in performance of the ultrasound examination and in aligning a nerve block needle with the target structure. The operator glides the transducer along the skin to image the underlying structures and acquire the desired objects.
4.3. Rotation
Rotation movements are clockwise and counterclockwise movements along the long axis of the probe (Figure 29.8). These manipulations are used to optimize the orientation of the probe to the desired imaging plane (transverse or longitudinal) of the target structure. They fine-tune the alignment maneuvers during in-plane procedural techniques. Rotational alignment errors are the most common source of improper needle placement during in-plane approaches. It is for this reason that the “bevel-up” (Figure 29.9) or bevel oriented toward the probe orientation of the needle is emphasized during needle advancement. With the “bevel-up” orientation the classic step appearance of the needle is visualized. This appearance is due to the length difference between the front and back walls of the needle due to the slope of the bevel. Other orientations may mask the front wall due to shadowing by the back wall, making determination of the needle tip unreliable.
4.4. Tilt
Tilt manipulations change the angle of the ultrasound beam relative to the probe face (Figure 29.10). Much like pressure movements, these adjustments can be used to image structures obscured by other echogenic objects or to align the ultrasound beam with multiple target structures so that they are viewed in the same plane. Tilt maneuvers also allow the operator to take advantage of a property of specular reflective objects called anisotropy. Anisotropy is the difference in the reflective properties of a material due to changes in the incident angle of the wave source. The optimal reflective angle for nerves lie within 10 degrees from perpendicular to the fascia; thus the transducer must be within this 20 degree band, otherwise the signal will be lost to attenuation. When tracing a structure along its course, the path it takes may be altered and deviate from the plane of the skin. As the path the probe advances along the skin diverges from that taken by the target, the angle of incidence will deviate as the plane of the skin is no longer parallel to the tissue plane. Tilting the probe realigns the incident beam with the target plane. The degree of anisotropy can also be used to differentiate among tissue types: tendons have an anisotropy of about 2 degrees; thus, by titling the probe one can distinguish nerve from tendon using the difference in reflective behavior.
5. Artifacts
Artifacts are false displays of anatomy due to errors or distortions in echo signal processing and display. These errors result in incorrect display of structures that are nonexistent, missing, distorted, or in the incorrect anatomic location. Artifacts can be due to operator error and misconfiguration of the machine for the exam to be performed, resulting in poor resolution of the desired anatomic structures. Most artifacts that result in anatomic distortions or misrepresentations are due to the behavior of the incident and reflected ultrasound waves in the differing tissues and the consequence of the computational assumptions made by the engineers who designed the system discussed earlier in the chapter. The following artifacts are due either to differences in the actual propagation speed of sound from the assumed propagation speed for tissues, or to delays in echo returns as the return echo meets interfaces of differing acoustic impedance.
5.1. Bayonet sign
The bayonet sign is an apparent kink and step-off of the needle shaft, giving the impression of a bayonet under the barrel of a rifle (Figure 29.11). This is due to the needle transiting between 2 tissues of dramatically different propagation speeds. In the instance where the tip of the needle looks to have kinked deep to the needle, the segment of the needle that appears to be more superficial is in a substance with faster propagation velocity, such as muscle, while the segment that appears deeper has a slower propagation speed, such as a fluid-filled space.
5.2. Refraction error
Refraction error occurs when the reflected wave transits between tissues of differing acoustic impedance, resulting in a shift in the path of the wave off its initial axis. This causes the machine to interpret the source of the echo to be along the deviated path rather than from its actual origin.
5.3. Reverberation artifact
Reverberation artifacts (Figure 29.12) occur when the incident wave strikes 2 strong reflectors or between the transducer and reflector. These artifacts are the result of 2 possible acoustical interactions.
In the first mechanism, the incident beam strikes the strong reflector and the typical reflection occurs; however, the reflected beam then strikes a surface with greater acoustic impedance, causing a portion of the energy to be transmitted to the transducer and a reflection occurs back into the tissue toward the first highly reflective surface. This process repeats until attenuation results in the loss of detectable echo, or the next pulse cycle begins.
The second process involves reflections of sound waves between 2 highly echogenic surfaces such as the walls of a needle. The incident beam reflects off the shallower reflective surface, with transmission through the first surface followed by reflection by the deeper surface, resulting in repeated echoes of the same structure, the extent of which is determined by the extent of attenuation and the length of the pulse-return cycle.
In both cases, each return echo occurs at a later time point than the one before. This causes the machine to interpret the reverberations as having taken a longer transit time, which is falsely displayed as a deeper object.
Comet tail artifact (Figure 29.13) is a form of reverberation artifact that occurs along an irregular reflective plane such as pleura, diaphragm, and lung. A significant amount of the reflected energy is scattered; however, some of the planes will be perpendicular to the incident wave. Since the interface between the pleura and underlying lung represents a transition between an area of relatively high acoustic impedance (the pleura, diaphragm, and lung tissue) and low acoustic impedance (air within the alveoli), alternating reflection and transmission occurs, leading to the reverberation. Since only certain portions of the echoes are reflected back to the transducer, the reverberations are restricted to a limited area. This artifact can be used to aid in the identification of pleura or diaphragm and may appear to shift position with ventilation as the reflective surface changes with movement of the structures.
Posterior acoustic enhancement (Figure 29.14) is a reverberation artifact observed in cystic structures or vessels. The vascular or cystic walls are specular reflectors with high acoustic impedance, while the fluids within have a low acoustic impedance. This creates a system where reverberations occur between the walls of the structures, creating false echoes of the back wall deep to the object.
These reverberation artifacts can obscure the ability to identify deeper structures as the reflections may overwhelm any echoes from those tissues that lie within the path of the reverberations. This is why advancing a needle superior to a target structure may lead to obscuring of the target due to reverberations. This may also be observed in imaging the radial nerve at the level of the axilla, due to its lying behind the artery in relation to the transducer, and may thus be masked by any posterior acoustic enhancement that may occur. One means of differentiating posterior acoustic enhancement artifacts from actual structures is to observe the behavior of the sonographic image: if it pulses in synchrony with the vessel, this likely represents reflection of the vessel wall; if it is static, it is likely the nerve, since it is not adherent to the vessel and would not oscillate with pulsations.
5.4. Acoustic shadowing
Acoustic shadowing (Figure 29.15) artifacts occur at the interface between media of significantly differing acoustic impedance such as muscle and bone or air and tissue, with the tissue of higher acoustic impedance deep to the lesser. This results in near-total reflection of incident energy at the interface with minimal transmission, causing an image dropout deep to the reflective surface. Any objects deep to the shadow will be unresolvable.
6. Nerve Stimulation
Prior to nerve stimulation–guided blockade techniques, block placement was guided by external or palpable anatomy and paresthesia. These methods were relatively unreliable and placed the patient at risk for injury during the performance of the nerve block. The development of techniques utilizing electrical stimulation of motor and sensory nerves to confirm needle localization in the late 1970s greatly improved the safety and reliability of nerve blockade and led to wide adoption of regional anesthetic procedures for surgical and postoperative analgesia.
7. Physics of Nerve Stimulation
Peripheral nerve stimulators generate a pulsed electrical current that triggers depolarization of the target nerve. This depolarization results in muscle stimulation along the distribution of the targeted motor nerve or electrical tingling referred to the cutaneous distribution of sensory nerves. To accomplish this nerve stimulation, the device must be designed such that the characteristics of the electrical waveform will trigger depolarization and can be adjusted to allow detection of the minimal stimulation threshold. The user observes the strength of the motor or sensory reaction to impulses at a set intensity (current). The needle is advanced until brisk response is noted. The current is reduced until the motor or sensory twitch is lost. If the loss occurs at the desired threshold current, the needle is at the target location. If the loss occurs at a current lower than the threshold, then the needle is too close to the nerve and should be withdrawn. If the loss is at a higher than desired current, then the needle is advanced until reaction to the stimulus is observed. This process is repeated until the needle placement is optimized to the desired current level. The nature of the waveform and current required is dictated by the physical properties of the nerve, such as degree of myelination or density of ion channels. These histologic features determine the rebase and chronaxie for a nerve type.
7.1. Rebase and chronaxie
Rebase is the minimum amount of continuous current required to depolarize a nerve, and chronaxie is the minimum duration of a current impulse to stimulate a nerve at 2 times the rebase. The current (I) required to stimulate a nerve is related to rebase (P), chonaxie (κ), and duration of the impulse (t) through the following equation:
Each nerve type has a distinct rebase and chronaxie, which influence the current required to stimulate depolarization. Large A-alpha motor fibers have the lowest chonaxie (0.05–0.1 ms), while smaller A-delta sensory and C-fibers have higher chonaxie (0.150 ms and 0.4 ms, respectively); thus it is possible to selectively stimulate motor fibers using pulse lengths of 50 to 100 ms and minimize or prevent stimulation-related pain as it is below the threshold for sensory A-delta (140 ms) and C-fibers (400 ms). Adjustments to impulse duration allow for selective nerve stimulation or stimulation of physiologically deranged nerves; for example, glycosylation of nerves in diabetic patients alters the chonaxie; by increasing pulse duration, stimulation of these nerves may be possible without the need for excess current.
7.2. Cathodic versus anodic stimulation
The polarity of the nerve tip dictates the way in which the current behaves as the needle is passed through tissue and the current/distance relationship with the target nerve. In nerve stimulation, the cathode is the negative terminal and acts as the electron donor; the anode (or grounding lead) is the positive terminal and acts as the electron acceptor. Current thus flows from the cathode to the anode, counter to electron flow. In anodic stimulation, the cations are discharged from the anode on the skin and flow through the body to the needle cathode, where stimulation occurs.
Conventional peripheral nerve stimulators make use of cathodic stimulation for 2 principal reasons: (1) anodic stimulation results in an increase in the concentration of cations under the anode, resulting in a hyperpolarization of the nerve under the anode, placing the nerve in a refractory state and thus resistant to depolarization; and (2) significantly higher current (3–4 times) is required to depolarize a nerve using anodic stimulation.
7.3. Peripheral nerve stimulator
The peripheral nerve stimulator (Figure 29.16) consists of a needle lead, a grounding lead, microprocessor controller, timing clock, display system, and controls. Modern nerve stimulators are capable of delivering a constant current by adjusting output voltage to accommodate for differences in impedance as the needle advances through different tissue planes.
Using timing inputs from the clock, the microprocessor controller creates the stimulating impulse at the desired pulse width dictated by the rebase and chronaxie of the target nerve type.
The user adjusts the delivered current to the patient using an analog or digitally controlled potentiometer. Many peripheral nerve stimulators also allow the user to adjust the pulse width to allow stimulation of motor or sensory fibers. Users are also able to set the rate at which the machine produces a pulse wave. This frequency adjustment is typically between 1 Hz and 2.5 Hz. The higher the frequency, the more pulses are generated per second, and the easier it is to detect changes in response to movement of the needle. However, higher frequency pulses may lead to greater discomfort in patients with fractures or other musculoskeletal injury due to more frequent contracture of traumatized tissue. In cases of injury along the motor distribution of the target nerve, a lower frequency is used to decrease the amount of stimulation, but slower and more cautious needle manipulations should be performed so as not to miss the desired stimulation.
7.4. Insulated needles
The energy density at the needle tip is the current that stimulates the target nerve. Uninsulated needles suffer from greater current dispersion as the entire needle shaft is in contact with potentially conductive body tissues. This may lead to alternate electrical paths that draw current away from the target area, necessitating increasing current to overcome these losses. Insulated needles have a nonconductive covering along the shaft. This prevents loss of energy to surrounding tissue through dispersion currents and concentrates the energy at the needle tip. This concentration effect restricts dispersion to the tip alone and greatly reduces the current necessary to depolarize the target nerve.
7.5. Needle tip to nerve distance estimation
Nerve stimulation–guided techniques rely on correlation between the amount of current necessary to achieve the threshold for stimulation and the distance the needle tip is from the nerve. The greater the distance from the nerve, the more current is required for depolarization. This current/distance relationship is described by Coulomb’s law:
Where E is the threshold depolarization current, K is Coulomb’s constant, Q is the needle tip current, and r is the distance of the needle tip from the nerve. Expressed in terms of the needle tip current:
Thus, the amount of emitted current necessary to attain the threshold depolarization current is proportional to the square of the needle distance from the nerve. The needle tip requires 16 times more current when it is 4 mm from the nerve than when it is 1 mm from the nerve to achieve depolarization.
In practice, for peripheral nerve localization, depolarization currents of 0.2 to 0.5 mA correspond to needle tip placement adjacent to the nerve; at current less than 0.2 mA there is significant risk for intraneural placement.
7.6. Limitations of peripheral nerve stimulation
There are several factors that impact on the reliability and utility of nerve stimulation–based block techniques. Anatomic derangements may impact on the ability to use such techniques. For example, an amputee may no longer have a limb distal to the point of stimulation to observe response; in such cases a sensory stimulator could be used, with the patient describing the perceived location of the stimulus; this perceived stimulation is known as phantom stimulation. Patients with contractures may also not demonstrate motor responses at the desired threshold for determination of needle tip proximity to the nerve.
Patients with neurologic pathology such as glycosylation of nerves in diabetics, demyelination disorders, or nerve trauma may not respond to nerve stimulation or may require significantly higher current to achieve the same degree of motor response as would a nonaffected individual.
Because this is a stimulating procedure, patients traditionally received moderate sedation in the performance of these techniques. Furthermore, patients with trauma along the distribution of the stimulated nerve may not tolerate the motor contractions and might require significantly more sedation to perform the procedure. Use of these techniques is limited when the patient is under general anesthesia with motor blockade.
In vivo and in vitro study of cathodic stimulation demonstrated biphasic variability in intensity of motor stimulation with increasing current as the needle approached the nerve. In a rat sciatic model, at currents over 0.5 mA the intensity of the muscle twitch decreased by 60%, and at >1.0 mA complete conduction block occurred in vitro. In vivo a 10% to 30% conduction block was observed as current was increased beyond 1.0 mA. This paradoxical decrease in nerve conduction with closer proximity to the nerve began to manifest at about 2 to 4 cm from the nerve depending on the current. Intraneural needle placement demonstrated an expected return in nerve stimulation and a threefold decrease in threshold activation current. Anodic stimulation showed a linear relationship between nerve distance and current with nerve response and was proportionate to increasing current. This biphasic behavior of cathodic stimulation may explain the relatively high incidence of intraneural injections using nerve stimulation techniques when evaluated using ultrasound.
8. Conclusion
A sound understanding of the basic physical principles that underlie the instruments used to aid in the performance of nerve blocks provides the clinician with the tools to safely guide the needle to the target nerve. Whether nerve stimulators, ultrasound machines, or both are used to perform regional anesthesia, this basic understanding of how these technologies function when used on a patient is an important addition to, but not a substitute for, detailed anatomic knowledge. This technology can only confirm and refine correct needle placement for regional blocks; it should never be considered a substitute for the physician’s understanding of the anatomic basis for each block. | https://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780190856649.001.0001/med-9780190856649-chapter-29 |
The Densest Planet In Our Solar System Is?
Answer: Earth
Our solar system can be divided, when talking about planet density, pretty neatly along the Mars/Jupiter dividing line. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are in a planetary class known as terrestrial. They’re composed of silicate rocks and/or metals, have a solid surface, and while their general density varies a bit as you move away from the core, it is pretty consistent overall.
Among the inner terrestrial planets, Earth is the densest planet by a somewhat narrow margin. The size of Earth combined with the mass of the iron/nickel core, the molten silicate upper and lower mantle, and the dense crust, yields an overall density of 5.514 g/cm3–our closest competitor in the density Olympics is Mercury with a density of 5.427 g/cm3 , followed by Venus (5.243 g/cm3), with Mars trailing in a distant fourth (3.933 g/cm3).
By contrast, the four outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, are classified as gas and/or ice giants and are characterized by greater size, mass, and a much lower (and wide ranging) density than the inner planets. Despite having significantly bigger volume than the inner planets, the giants have extremely low density. The densest outer planet is Neptune with a mean density of 1.638 g/cm3. Jupiter, despite its size, still manages to hold down a bit of weight and has a density of 1.326 g/cm3. Uranus is in third place at 1.27 g/cm3. So light and airy it might as well be cotton candy, the last giant, Saturn, has a density of 0.687 g/cm3. Saturn’s density, you might note, is lower than that of water–if you could find an enormous intergalactic lake to throw it into, it would float like a beach ball.
TriviaHard
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The Only Predator That Regularly Preys On Skunks Is?
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Carl Sagan Hailed Which Time Travel Movie As The Most Accurate?
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Crepuscular Animals Are Most Active During?
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What Bit Of Space Memorabilia Was Auctioned Off For $68,000 In 1993?
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The Five Taste Sensations Are Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, and?
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The Longest Running Movie Franchise In The World Is? | https://www.mindbounce.com/trivia/the-densest-planet-in-our-solar-system-is-2/?answer=3 |
Microsoft 365 Certifies Fundamentals certification training course provides you with a firm grip over the new cloud services and Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms. This further expands into cloud models and dedicated implementation on Microsoft cloud services. Cloud is the most widely deployed technology, and cloud knowledge is essentials for a technology role.
With our well-planned Microsoft 365 Certified Fundamentals certification course, you will be taught the ins and outs of cloud fundamentals to advance your skills and knowledge. Upon completion of this certification training course, you can validate your skills by attempting the MS-900 Exam and obtain the Microsoft 365 Certified Fundamentals certification.
What is included with the Microsoft 365 Certified Fundamentals Course? | https://www.logitrain.com.au/courses/microsoft/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-fundamentals.html |
1.
Introduction
In August 2000, when Project PHOTON received funding from the Advanced Technology Education (ATE) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF), only three community colleges in New England were offering programs in photonics and high school optics labs were a rarity. The goal of the project was to increase the number of middle schools, high schools and colleges in the six New England states teaching units or courses in optics/photonics. Project PHOTON's strategy included
• Providing professional development for teachers to increase the number of instructors qualified to teach optics/photonics
• Providing professional development for career and guidance counselors to enable them to speak knowledgeably about careers in optics/photonics
• Developing alliances among educators at the middle school, high school and college levels to facilitate articulation among levels of instruction
• Developing partnerships between educators and industry to provide school-to-career activities for students and support for classroom learning
• Increasing student interest in optics/photonics by creating hands-on activities to supplement classroom learning
• Improving the lab facilities at participating schools through the development of a laboratory experiment kit.
Recognizing that many science and technology teachers either never studied optics or need an update on modern applications, PHOTON featured a strong teacher professional development component. Career counselors were included in workshops and activities to equip them with outreach information to encourage students interested in careers in science, math, engineering and technology.
Project participants met at initial two-day workshops held in Connecticut and Massachusetts in Fall 2000. The first day of the workshop was held at a corporate location (Zygo Corp, in Middlefield, CT and Lucent, in North Andover, MA). At each workshop, teachers and counselors from 30 schools received an introduction to photonics technology and listened to speakers from industry and academia discussed pathways in photonics education and careers. The second day was for teachers only. Workshops held at college locations (Three Rivers Community College in Connecticut and University of Massachusetts in Lowell, MA) provided teachers with take-home activities for multiple grade levels based on the Optical Society of America (OSA) Optics Discovery Kit. The PHOTON team described the upcoming summer workshop, the equipment kit that each school would receive, and responsibilities of participants continuing in the project.
From the initial group of participants, 40 schools were chosen by competitive application to complete the project. Each school team consisted of a teacher and a career counselor, and schools were required to apply as regional alliances ideally including one college and one or more high schools and middle schools. Selected teachers attended a one-week workshop in July of 2001 held at Springfield (MA) Technical Community College. The workshop featured technical lectures and hands-on labs for teachers and a one and a half day program for counselors. Teachers worked with materials developed by the PHOTON team, including a custom designed laboratory kit. Opportunities for networking and a joint activity for teachers and counselors were included in the week's schedule. Several members of the project's industry advisory committee, as well as representatives of OSA and SPIE (the International Society for Optical Engineering) were present for all or part of the week.
During the academic year following the summer workshop, teachers worked at their own institutions to create units, courses and even entire programs in optics/photonics technology. Technical assistance was provided to participants by phone, email and personal visits from the PHOTON team. A listserve was created, allowing participants to have ready access to technical and practical curriculum advice from the project team and from each other. Industry mentors from the OSA New England Chapter volunteered to monitor the listserv and continue to take part in lively discussions of topics ranging from change of phase upon reflection from a metal to the merits and disadvantages of spending the senior year of high school in college.
In May 2002, a showcase workshop was held to allow participants to present their school's implementation of the PHOTON project. Sixteen schools made presentations, including three community colleges, 12 high schools and one middle school. Success stories included new high school labs for optics/photonics built at Tantasqua High School in Sturbridge, MA and in Bangor, ME at the United Technologies Center. Sixth graders at Tolland (CT) Middle School are exploring light and lasers in their technology education class, and new photonics courses have been developed at Central CT State University in the School of Technology.
The final PHOTON workshop was held in November 2002 to satisfy requests from teachers for an additional workshop on more advanced topics. The one-day program featured sessions in holography and optical image processing. Topics covered by demonstration and hands-on activities included creation and viewing of reflection holograms, spatial filtering, optical Fourier transforms, and using a 4f optical data processor to remove unwanted dots and lines from photographic slides.
Although the initial project plan was to create a set of notes for the teacher workshops which would be distributed to participants and to write detailed instructions for using a PHOTON developed laboratory equipment kit, the development of new materials became an important focus of the project. It was evident that suitable text and laboratory materials for teaching a complete introductory optics course at the high school/two year college level were not commercially available for participants to use in their classroom; thus a PHOTON textbook, laboratory experiment manual and teacher manual were developed. The remainder of this paper focuses on the PHOTON materials and future PHOTON development through project PHOTON2.
2.
PHOTON materials
2.1
The PHOTON textbook
If high school and college students encounter optics at all, it is usually toward the end of a full-year physics course. The PHOTON textbook seeks to remedy the situation by providing an introduction to optical science and technology for students who have only a rudimentary knowledge of physics concepts. The math level is algebra/trigonometry, making the text more accessible to high school and first year college students. Practical and natural applications of optics concepts are emphasized, rather than theory and derivations. Like all the PHOTON materials, the text has been thoroughly tested in high school and community college classrooms both as a stand-alone course for non-majors and as the first course in a laser electro-optics technology program. The text has also served as the basis for one-semester online courses delivered to traditional college students, and it has been used in a corporate training environment.
As originally developed, the “set of notes” consisted of eight "modules". Using feedback from PHOTON participants and potential publishers, the work was subsequently expanded to ten chapters in a more traditional book format. The first chapter is devoted to laser safety. Although some of the optical concepts used in this chapter may not be thoroughly introduced until later in the text, the authors feel strongly that laser safety must be a first priority, even in classrooms featuring only low power Helium Neon lasers and laser pointers. Since many laboratory experiments and demonstrations in optics involve the use of lasers, it is imperative that students gain an early respect for the hazards associated with their use. It is essential that students treat all lasers with care and respect; inculcating safe behaviors at this level will help avoid accidents when students are exposed to lasers of higher power.
Subsequent chapters follow a fairly traditional exposition of optical science and technology. After an introduction to the nature of light, including an overview of radiometry and photometry concepts and units, geometric optics and wave optics are presented, followed by a full chapter introduction to optical instruments such as the camera, telescope, microscope, and several types of interferometer. The second half of the textbook includes chapters on laser physics and characteristics, laser material processing applications, and introductions to optical fiber, holography and imaging. Each chapter is richly illustrated with diagrams and photographs, many in color, to aid visual learners in understanding the material. Worked out example calculations are included to assist students in understanding the orders of magnitude relevant to the given problem. Always, practical and natural applications of optics concepts are emphasized.
To maximize usefulness of the textbook as a classroom tool, end-of-chapter conceptual questions and problems, including answers to odd numbered problems, are found in every chapter. Complete worked out solutions to the numerical problems are provided in a separate teacher manual. An appendix to the text includes a review of important concepts from mathematics and physics including scientific notation, Greek letters used in optical science and technology, right angle trigonometry, the concept of energy, and significant digits. Such information is vital when students who have not yet studied physics use the textbook in a physical science classroom.
In addition to the complete solutions to all of the chapter problems, the accompanying teachers manual contains alignment of the text materials to national science, mathematics and language arts standards for grades 9-12. This information is useful for teachers who must show that the course based on the text meets educational standards for instruction. Directions for demonstrations using inexpensive equipment are also included to assist teachers in creating stimulating presentations of optical phenomena.
2.2
Optics explorations
PHOTON participants included five middle school teachers, several of whom are now actively incorporating optics/photonics into their science or technology classrooms. In order to have hands-on activities at an appropriate level for grades 5-8, a set of six "Explorations" was created for the original PHOTON workshops. Later, the number of Explorations was increased to nine. The activities use commonly found items and OSA Optics Discovery Kit, and the language and math of the Explorations is at an appropriate level for younger students. The Explorations have been thoroughly tested by the students of PHOTON middle school participants, and include experiments such as Exploring Lasers, Exploring Diffraction and Exploring Scattering.
The Explorations may also be used as classroom demonstrations in a high school or college setting. One of the authors (JD) has created a career exploration workshop based on the PHOTON Explorations, offered each spring during a college career conference for high school students.
2.3
PHOTON laboratory kit and experiment manual
The custom PHOTON laboratory kit was designed to support the experiments in basic and applied optics in the laboratory manual developed by the PHOTON project team. A list of PHOTON lab experiments and explorations is shown in Table 1. Since the summer 2001 workshop, several additional laboratory experiments have been written, and refinement to the lab materials has reclassified some of the labs as "explorations", since they require inexpensive materials and are suitable for students at the middle school level as well as high school and community college.
Table 1.
Laboratory experiments and explorations from the PHOTON project
|EXPERIMENTS||EXPLORATIONS|
|Sources of Light||Exploring Light Spectra|
|Plane mirrors||Exploring the Pinhole Camera Viewer|
|Snell’s Law||Exploring Reflection|
|Single Lens: The Thin Lens Equation||Exploring Refraction|
|Systems of Two Lenses||Exploring Lasers|
|Laser Beam Collimation||Exploring Scattering|
|Spherical mirrors||Exploring Diffraction|
|Young's Double Slit||Exploring Polarization|
|Michelson Interferometer||Exploring Rayleigh's Criterion and Resolution|
|Interference in an Air Wedge|
|Diffraction Grating|
|Malus' Law|
|Brewster's Angle|
|Single Slit Diffraction|
|Laser Range Finder|
|Laser Bar Code Scanner|
|Single Beam Reflection Hologram|
|Two Beam Transmission Hologram|
|Laser Beam Profile|
|Numerical aperture of a plastic fiber|
An unusual feature of the PHOTON kit is the inclusion of components and component mounts of high quality, the type one might encounter in a research lab or industry, rather than the more commonly encountered aluminum or plastic educational materials from science education supply houses. Not only is the equipment more versatile than the "educational" variety, it is similar to equipment students will see on industry field trips, making the school laboratory experience more relevant to the world of work. Because teachers are largely unfamiliar with this type of equipment, the PHOTON summer workshop devoted each of the five afternoons to learning to assemble and use the equipment.
Half of the approximately $3000 cost of each kit was paid for by the PHOTON grant and the remaining $1500 was paid by the participating institution. This matching fund requirement was a screening strategy used in the application process to establish which institutions were willing to make a financial commitment to the project. Assistance in locating matching funds was available to schools that showed a strong commitment but were unable to secure funding.
Table 2 lists the equipment and supplies in each of the kits and figure 2 is a photograph of the kit in its bright yellow packing cases. Three light sources were provided: a linearly polarized low power Helium Neon laser, a ray box/multi-feature light source, and a gas tube power supply with Hydrogen and Helium gas tubes. Each kit included a 24"x36" optical breadboard and a variety of mounting posts, post holders and base plates. The separate lens and mirror kit, plus lens mounts and flat mirrors on kinematic mounts, allowed maximum flexibility for both standard physics labs, such as investigating the thin lens equation, and for more advanced experiments, such as constructing interferometers and laser beam collimators. A small parts box contained the necessary hardware for assembly, plus small items such as a single and double slit slide and a calcite crystal.
Table 2:
PHOTON Laboratory Equipment Kit
|1||24’ x 36’ Aluminum optical breadboard tapped 1/4-20 on 1" center|
|1||Ray box/Light source|
|1||Laser tilt table|
|1||HeNe laser, polarized (0.8 mWatt)|
|1||Spectrum tube power supply with one H spectrum tube and one He spectrum tube|
|1||HeNe Optical Power Meter|
|2||1 inch 50/50 Cube beam splitters|
|2||Linear polarizers, 42 mm diameter|
|2||Mounted 1’ plane front surface mirror|
|1||Mounted Objective Lens f= 8 mm|
|1||Concave spherical mirror front surface f=6 mm|
|4||Plane Mirror 50 mm x 50 mm, front surface|
|2||Rotary Mount Assembly|
|2||Prism Mount Hardware|
|1||Single axis translation stage|
|1||Plate holder|
|6||Lens holders|
|3||Small base plate|
|2||Large base plate|
|1||Microscope Objective Holder|
|1||Plastic Refraction Box|
|4 each||2’ Post, 3’ post, 2’ post holder, 3’ post holder|
|20||Card mounted diffraction viewers|
|1||Flat Glass Plate kit|
|1||Quantitative Spectrometer|
|1||Iceland Spar Crystal|
|1||1 and 2 slit diffraction slide|
|1||Small Parts Kit, including 1/4-20 and 8/32 socket head screws and cap screws; hex keys|
|1||Lens and mirror kit (an assortment of 50 mm diameter lenses, flat and spherical mirrors)|
A unique feature of the PHOTON laboratory kit and experiment manual is that each laboratory procedure was thoroughly tested using the PHOTON kit equipment to ensure that the lab experiments would actually work as intended. The authors have had the frustrating experience of purchasing equipment or lab manuals with poorly designed instructions, or worse, instructions that could not possible work as stated. In order to avoid this situation, each experiment was first tested by the authors and by college student interns before being used by teacher participants in the summer workshop. After the workshop, suggestions for improvements made by participants were incorporated into the next version of the laboratory manual, which was then field-tested by participants' students at their home institutions. Again, feedback from participants was used to produce an edited version of the experiments and new experiments were added on plane and spherical mirrors at participant request.
The final laboratory testing was performed by Sarah Orde, a college student intern who was a graduate of the Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science in Hartford, CT, one of the PHOTON participant schools. While an instructor might compensate for, or not even notice, small mistakes such as a typographical error or using both upper and lower case letters for the same variable, Ms Orde was an exacting editor. As a result of her input, the lab procedures were further clarified so that, with careful reading by students, an unfavorable laboratory outcome is very unlikely.
3.
PHOTON2
3.1
Adapting the PHOTON materials
The success of PHOTON in achieving its goal of increased courses and programs in optics/photonics in New England schools and colleges has led to NSF funding for PHOTON2, a national dissemination project. The PHOTON materials are now being adapted to distance learning and the resulting course will be taught online to 10-12 regional alliances nationwide. Following the PHOTON model, each alliance will include high school teachers, college faculty, career/guidance counselors and local industry.
Additional chapters on optics applications are being added to the textbook and new lab experiments have been created on numerical aperture of a plastic optical fiber and laser beam profile measurements. Additional demonstrations will be added to the teacher manual and a CD-ROM containing videotaped demonstrations of each of the laboratory exercises is being produced.
The components for the initial 40 PHOTON equipment kits were purchased from various vendors and assembled with great effort and enthusiasm by the PHOTON team, student interns and friends. For PHOTON2, LumenFlow, Caledonia, MI, has been contracted to produce the equipment kits and ship them to participants. Minor modifications have been made, for example, a smaller optical breadboard has been found to be more practical and plastic optical fiber will be included. The kit will no longer be packaged in heavy, bright yellow military surplus shipping containers, a change requested by PHOTON participants.
3.2
Adapting the Photon Professional Development Model
Project PHOTON utilized the traditional model of short (two-day and one-week) workshops, within the New England region, to train middle and high school teachers and college faculty in photonics engineering technology. The workshops provided participants with “hands-on” training in photonics curricula, use of laboratory equipment, opportunities for face-to-face interaction with peers and instructors, and exposure to career opportunities. Workshops were supplemented with technical assistance and on-going communication (e.g., phone, email, listserve, and in-person visits) to ensure a high level of support and a continuous learning experience. While the PHOTON project provided an effective model for teacher and faculty professional development on a regional basis, this highly concentrated learning experience had some shortcomings. First, it compressed a great deal of new information into a short timeframe and did not allow the participants sufficient time to reflect and absorb content material. Second, the follow-up to the short-term workshop model required a great deal of technical assistance and on-going communications.
To overcome the limitations of the traditional short-term professional development model and to effectively disseminate the highly successful field-tested PHOTON instructional materials and alliance model nationally, PHOTON2 will employ a web-based distance learning approach supported by the infusion of “adult learning principles” to provide learners with a collaborative, inclusive, and sustained learning environment through the use of modern technology.
3.3
Utilizing Distance Learning To Disseminate Nationally
With the advent of the World Wide Web, the use of the Internet for delivery of educational materials, instruction and training has revolutionized higher education. Advantages of web-based courses include the ability for learners to learn at their own pace, access information at a time and place that is convenient to the learner, and communicate easily with instructors and peers (Quintana, 1996). Researchers argue that in contrast to face-to-face instruction, online courses provide learners with extended reflection time through asynchronous dialogue allowing learners to compose thoughtful, probing contributions (Collison, Elbaum, Haavind, & Tinker, 2000). Web-based instruction allows individuals from around the corner and around the world to come together to form a close-knit community of collaborative learners that capitalizes on professional and common interests.
The format and structure of the PHOTON2 web-course will use collaborative or group learning principles and strategies to facilitate professional development among teachers and faculty. In collaborative learning, instruction is learner-centered rather than teacher-centered and knowledge is viewed as a social construct, facilitated by peer interaction, evaluation, and cooperation (Hiltz, 1998). Fundamentally different from traditional teacher-led instruction, collaborative learning employs instructional methods that encourage learners to work together on academic tasks and construct knowledge and ideas through interactions and responses from others. In collaborative learning, the role of the instructor changes from lecturing to transfer of knowledge to facilitating learner’s construction of his or her own knowledge. Research shows that collaborative learning results in more learner involvement with the course, more engagement in the learning process, and is more effective than traditional methods in promoting learning and achievement (Hiltz, 1994; Harasim, 1990; Johnson, 1981). Experts from a number of different fields and from remote geographic locations can “log on” to a threaded discussion on a specific topic and provide insight and fodder for thought that adds richness to the learning experience that would otherwise not be possible. Web-based courses also offer learners instant access to vast amounts of resource material available through the Internet for comparison and research within a dialog. To fully access the benefits available through web-based learning, PHOTON2 will assist teachers and faculty in developing proficiency as web-based learners.
3.4
Incorporating Adult Learning Principles
While web-based instruction has many positive aspects, it also has some downsides. These include high dropout rates among learners; a feeling of isolation in the learning process; and a lack of personal connection to instructors and fellow students. Furthermore, instructors who are unfamiliar with the educational framework and support structures necessary for successful self-directed learning may develop web-based versions of traditional curriculum by simply “cutting and pasting” course material into the web-based environment. PHOTON2 will address these issues by designing and developing web-courses from the ground up in collaboration with experts in adult learning to establish a pedagogical foundation of guided inquiry whereby learners construct their own knowledge in the context of a supportive and collaborative learning environment. PHOTON2 Co-PI Dr. Marijke Kehrhahn from the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut (UConn), a nationally recognized leader in adult learning methodologies, will oversee the pedagogical aspects of the web-based course development. The project will also draw from the expertise of other nationally recognized experts in the field of adult learning and distance education including Dr. Barry Sheckley and Dr. Alexandra Bell from UConn and Dr. Morris Keeton from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). PHOTON2 will also draw upon the research of the Concord Consortium, an NSF-supported organization involved in the development of effective facilitation of web-based instruction.
The development of the PHOTON2 web-course will be guided by three principles of effective adult learning adapted from Keeton, Sheckley, and Griggs (2002):
Principle 1: Active Learning. Learning that is active results in the development of learner proficiency. Instruction must include hands-on experience, reflection, practice, and feedback to actively engage learners in constructing and organizing a rich knowledge base that they can successfully apply to real problems of practice.
Principle 2: Continuous Learning. Learning that is continuous results in the development of proficiency. Instruction must include sufficient number of contact hours over a span of time to enhance learner processing and problem solving.
Principle 3: Coherent Learning. Learning that is linked to genuine problems of practice results in the development of proficiency. Instruction must be centered around the problems of teaching and program development that faculty face to allow for practice with employing new knowledge in real world contexts.
By integrating strategies that engage learners through active, continuous, and coherent learning within the context of web-based instruction, PHOTON2 will create a collaborative learning environment and experience that will allow learners to: (1) develop the self-directed learning skills necessary to support life-long learning; (2) apply and adapt the content knowledge and learning strategies learned in their own courses and institution; and (3) establish and maintain a collaborative learning community consisting of students, educators, and industry professionals that supports the transfer of learning through synergistic learning activities.
Finally, in addition to providing web-based professional development to teachers and faculty on a national level, PHOTON2 will contribute to the growing body of research on web-based learning. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of distance education as compared to traditional classroom instruction. (Russell, 1999). While researchers generally report positive results with respect to learning outcomes, they also argue that more research is needed to identify factors related to learning outcomes specifically in the context of web-based instruction (Phipps & Merisotis, 1999). To address this gap, the PHOTON2 team of researchers will conduct comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analyses throughout the duration of the project to determine the extent to learner characteristics and learning environment, as well as situational and institutional factors relate to learning outcomes and transfer of training. Ongoing formative evaluation and feedback will ensure that teacher and faculty needs are addressed during the course and that the opportunity for learning is maximized. Research results will culminate in peer-reviewed journal publications and a comprehensive guide for effective web-based instructional delivery and facilitation for teacher and faculty professional development.
4.
Conclusion
Project PHOTON developed curriculum materials for a one semester course in optics/photonics that can be used at the high school or college level, including a draft textbook, laboratory manual, teacher manual and laboratory equipment kit. Using a traditional model of professional development, 40 teachers throughout New England were trained in the use of the materials, and guidance and career counselors were made aware of career opportunities in the field. The materials have been thoroughly tested by PHOTON schools, many of whom now have photonics courses or programs as a result of PHOTON participation.
The PHOTON materials will be further refined and expanded as a result of PHOTON2, a national dissemination project beginning in July 2003. A new model for professional development for teachers and counselors in optics/photonics will also be developed, using distance learning and incorporating adult learning strategies. It is expected that additional courses and programs will be created in schools and colleges nationwide as a result of PHOTON2.
5.
5.
References
6. | https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/9663/96631Y/The-light-fantastic-PHOTON-materials-for-technician-education/10.1117/12.2207509.full?SSO=1 |
Redshift is a term commonly used in astronomy and physics to refer to the phenomenon by which electromagnetic radiation's observed wavelength increases, thereby causing an apparent decrease in the observed frequency. Generally, redshift occurs for one (or both) of two reasons:
1. The distance between the source and the observer of the electromagnetic radiation is increasing, thus causing an apparent increase in wavelength. This is commonly referred to as the Doppler effect. The effect can be easily observed in day-to-day life, causing, among other things, the shift in pitch of a siren when an emergency vehicle passes by.
2. The observer is in a stronger gravitational field than the source, and the wavelength's increase can be attributed to gravitational time dilation as predicted by Albert Einstein in his theory of special relativity.
There is, naturally, an opposite effect observed when the change in wavelength is a decrease, and this is commonly referred to as blueshift. | http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Redshift |
Absence of compaction, intraformational breccias, resedimention, internal sediments and synsedimentary hardgrounds indicate early lithification of finegrained carbonate rocks. One of the factors controlling early lithification is the purity of lime mud. Less than 2% of insoluble residue (especially clay minerals) favours cementation and recrystallisation before further sediment accumulation causes compaction. Thus, early lithification is terminated in or near the environment of sedimentation. “Electrodiagenesis” is considered to be a possible mechanism for cementation. | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3091.1969.tb00877.x/abstract |
Russian Registry Certificate for the (brig) "Alexander A' " owned by Athanasios Sekiris.
Date: August 1819
Location: Russia
Stamp: Tsar Alexandros
The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca
On July 21, 1774, the Ottoman Empire and Russia sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca The Treaty ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774
Article III – Russia and the Ottoman Empire acknowledge all the Tartar peoples as free and independent nations, with freedom of religion and the freedom to be governed by their own ancient laws. Describes the withdrawal of troops from the lands they have ceded to the Tartars.
Article VII – The Sublime Porte promises constant protection of the Christian religion and its churches.
Article VIII – Subjects of the Russian Empire have the right to visit Jerusalem and other places deserving of attention in the Ottoman Empire. They will have no obligation to pay any tax or duty and will be under the strict protection of the law.
Article XI – The Sublime Porte will allow the residence of consuls from the Court of Russia to reside in Ottoman territory wherever the Court deems it expedient to establish said consuls. Prescribes free and unimpeded navigation for merchant ships of both countries. Subjects of both Empires may also trade on land.
The treaty opened the Black Sea to Russian merchant and navy ships. Until 1774, the Black Sea and the Straits were of exclusive use to the Ottoman ships. Article 11 of the Treaty now allowed the right of merchant ships of both parties to navigate freely on the seas which washed the shores of both empires. Russians bestowed the privilege of flying Russian flag on their ships to the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. The inhabitants of the Archipelago islands who were skilled sailors and mainly Greek built large merchant fleets flying the Russian flag.
Article XVI – The Empire of Russia returns Bessarabia, the fortress of Bender, Wallachia and Moldavia. The Sublime Porte promises to in no way obstruct the free exercise of the Christian religion in these areas, and to grant to families who wish to leave the country a free emigration with all their property. And, from the day the treaty is established, the Sublime Porte will require no taxes of these people for two years. At the expiration of this two-year term, the Sublime Porte promises to treat them with fairness and respect in the taxes they impose.
Article XVII – Russia returns the islands of the Archipelago to the Sublime Porte. In turn, the Sublime Porte promises to observe amnesty of all crimes committed or suspected to have been committed by these people against the interests of the Sublime Porte. The Sublime Porte also promises to not oppress the Christian religion in the area, and to observe the same tax and emigration policies as mentioned in Article XVI.
Article XVIII & Article XIX & Article XX The Castle of Kinburn, the fortresses of Jenicale and Kertsch, the city of Azov shall belong to the Empire of Russia. | https://aegean-maritime-museum.gr/en/exhibits-history/treaty-kuchuk-kainarji/129-synthiki-kioutsoyk-kainartzi-eng-2 |
Customs authorities are age-old institutions whose missions have been subject to numerous changes over time. Historically, the main role was to levy customs duties, which, in other words meant collecting resources for the benefit of local authorities. Today, customs performs many other functions, from securing national borders, recording import and export trade and prevention of fraud and illegal trade activity.
From the customs authority’s perspective, there is a constant focus on finding innovative technology and new methods and techniques to become more effective on risk assessment and inspection of the goods circulating across their borders. At the same time, customs authorities must examine the consequences these changes will have on trade, avoiding the creation of additional burden and obstacles for industries and entities involved in the exchange. Adopting flexible technology is often key for meaningful strategic transformations.
More quality data with accuracy and speed
Each country has its own policies for operating border control when goods arrive or depart from their territory. Most of these policies work from systems built off a central repository, powered by data collected from different sources. Time and effort are often spent in sorting and cleansing data from these various sources but disconsonant data can still create confusing outcomes when analyzed.
While globalization gives an incentive to operate in an open market, the increased amount of trade activity also conceals illicit activities that must be supervised by customs authorities, such as tax evasion, drug traffic or smuggling. It is in the best interest of the entire industry to cooperate, allowing data sharing to flag the early recognition of risky trade transactions.
Receiving data related to the supply chain activities prior to and during the transportation process can assist authorities, supporting them to pinpoint risky elements on international trade. Data validation across various trade and transportation documents allows authorities to manage detailed risk assessment processes and is enhanced with access to earlier and more granular information.
Providing government authorities with access to upstream transport data is one of the features of TradeLens. On the platform, customs authorities have access to data related to their countries from the moment a booking is placed with a carrier. Updates on documents from different data sources and transportation milestones are shared in near real-time.
Additional data is not only a way to make sure that accurate risk assessments are being made, but it can also help decrease the burden placed by the bureaucracy related to importing or exporting goods. Increasing the accuracy of the inspection of goods, can enable authorities to focus their resources on the most important targets and improve trade documentation processing for reliable shippers, truckers and carriers. Enhancing global trade and the upstream exchange of information can drive growth and prosperity for the entire ecosystem.
Doing more with less
While many technologies and platforms exist in the marketplace, organizations are often constrained by limited public resources that must be utilized wisely. TradeLens does not aim at replacing existing systems but enhancing them with additional data from the supply chain. The TradeLens Platform provides a forum for authorities to run pilots and test innovative solutions in a true end-to-end shipment lifecycle.
In order to contribute to the logistics operations of the entire ecosystem, customs authorities can send notifications related to their inspection and release activities to TradeLens. This information will be made available in near real-time to all the players involved in the shipment and permissioned to see the data.
Several countries have already started using TradeLens to improve their access to valuable information that will in turn support their mission goals:Indonesia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Jordan and Azerbaijan. | https://mpoverello.com/2020/05/31/blockchain-introducing-customs-to-the-global-supply-chain-earlier/ |
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ELIMINATE DEATH AS A PENALTY FOR CAPITAL MURDER; TO AMEND SECTIONS 99-19-101 AND 99-19-103, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; TOREPEAL SECTION 99-19-87, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR NONABROGATION OF THE DEATH PENALTY; TO REPEAL SECTION 99-19-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES THE MANNER IN WHICH AUTOMATIC APPEAL OF THE DEATH PENALTY TO THE SUPREME COURT IS HAD; TO REPEAL SECTION 99-19-106, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE MANNER OF EXECUTION OF THE DEATH SENTENCE; TO AMEND SECTION 99-19-107, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE EVENTUALITY THAT THE DEATH SENTENCE IS FOUND UNCONSTITUTIONAL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
Every person who shall be convicted of capital murder shall be sentenced * * * (a) to imprisonment for life in the State Penitentiary without parole; or (b) to imprisonment for life in the State Penitentiary with eligibility for parole as provided in Section 47-7-3(1)(f).
99-19-101. (1) Upon conviction or adjudication of guilt of a defendant of capital murder or other capital offense, the court shall conduct a separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether the defendant should be sentenced to * * * life imprisonment without eligibility for parole or life imprisonment. The proceeding shall be conducted by the trial judge before the trial jury as soon as practicable. If, through impossibility or inability, the trial jury is unable to reconvene for a hearing on the issue of penalty, having determined the guilt of the accused, the trial judge may summon a jury to determine the issue of the imposition of the penalty. If the trial jury has been waived, or if the defendant pleaded guilty, the sentencing proceeding shall be conducted before a jury impaneled for that purpose or may be conducted before the trial judge sitting without a jury if both the State of Mississippi and the defendant agree thereto in writing. In the proceeding, evidence may be presented as to any matter that the court deems relevant to sentence, and shall include matters relating to any of the aggravating or mitigating circumstances. However, this subsection shall not be construed to authorize the introduction of any evidence secured in violation of the Constitutions of the United States or of the State of Mississippi. The state and the defendant and/or his counsel shall be permitted to present arguments for or against the sentence * * *.
(c) Based on these considerations, whether the defendant should be sentenced to life imprisonmentor life imprisonment without eligibility for parole * * *.
(b) That there are insufficient mitigating circumstances, as enumerated in subsection (5), to outweigh the aggravating circumstances.
* * * If, after the trial of the penalty phase, the jury does not make the findings requiring * * * life imprisonment without eligibility for parole, or is unable to reach a decision, the court shall impose a sentence of life imprisonment.
99-19-103. The statutory instructions as determined by the trial judge to be warranted by the evidence shall be given in the charge and in writing to the jury for its deliberation. The jury * * * shall designate in writing, signed by the foreman of the jury, the statutory aggravating circumstance or circumstances which it unanimously found beyond a reasonable doubt. * * * If the jury cannot, within a reasonable time, agree as to punishment, the judge shall dismiss the jury and impose a sentence of imprisonment for life.
SECTION 4. Section 99-19-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides that nothing in Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87 shall abrogate or affect punishment by death, is repealed.
SECTION 5. Section 99-19-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides the manner in which automatic appeal of the death penalty to the Supreme Court is had, is repealed.
SECTION 6. Section 99-19-106, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the manner of the execution of the death sentence, is repealed.
SECTION 7. Section 99-19-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the eventuality that the death sentence is found unconstitutional, is repealed. | http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2006/html/SB/2600-2699/SB2617IN.htm |
Poetic language is often highly symbolic, dense, and abstract, taking readers out of their comfort zone. In much the same way, comics-as-poetry not only uses compact, frequently cryptic imagery in order to force the reader to engage it outside of the framework of a conventional narrative, it also adds an additional layer of complexity when the reader is also asked to grapple with the tension between word and image.
Conventional comics make a point of trying to make the reader forget about their underlying structure. Exaggerating and highlighting structure in comics-as-poetry can be a way of teasing out emotional and symbolic meanings. Closely reading this relationship is essential in understanding the work of John Hankiewicz, one of the premier cartoonists who works in the medium of comics-as-poetry.
Hankiewicz has long created stories with an enigmatic, elusive quality that fully employs the language of comics, featuring conventional page and panel designs recognizable to any reader of the form. He uses standard four and six-panel grids, for example. He draws in a naturalistic style. Though on the surface level, his iconic imagery seems familiar, his comics do not have a traditional, linear, plot-driven narrative. Rather, they have an emotional and cryptographic chronicle in which meaning is more challenging to tease out.
Hankiewicz’s 2017 book Education (Fantagraphics Underground) provides most of the textual and narrative clues the reader needs on its very first page. The first line, “The stars arrived sometime before my father’s arrival,” is deliberately cryptic, but Hankiewicz soon explains that an envelope full of perfumed gold stars has been sent to the nameless protagonist by a Canadian woman he’s corresponding with. Also, the protagonist’s father is coming to visit him in Arkansas in order to check out an abandoned railroad station. The narrative is written in the first person.
The relationship between text and image is clear in the early going. In the first six pages, the narrator meets his father in a hotel room, they exchange gifts, and they start their road trip. The narrator notes that the woman who had sent him the gold stars, “the scented, gleaming, insidious gold stars,” had “annoyed and offended him.” He notes that he had encouraged her to write explicit, erotic letters at first, but that this particular letter with the gold stars led him to stop replying. It was too late, however, as “The longer I lived with the scented stars, the more the scented Alberta girl troubled my mind. She had broken out of Canada and into my life.“
Hankiewicz’s work, for all of its poetic and formal crypticness, has always been about the difficulty of human connection. This is especially true of Education, as the narrator’s actions belie his stated needs for intimacy. He is the ultimate unreliable narrator, as the images we see can be interpreted as dreams, fantasies, or conflated memories. From the beginning, communication is muted and stilted. In the early pages, when father and son briefly speak, the word balloons never point to the speaker. Instead, the reader sees the person spoken to, and their conversations are banal.
After this, the relationship between text and image fractures. Most of the images involve a series of interactions between the narrator’s father (frequently pictured as a very young man) and a mysterious, playful, and mischievous young woman. These interactions are flirtatious, playful, and sometimes absurd. Throughout the book, the narrator keeps finding the annoying gold stars and picks them off his body. However, he never interacts with the young woman, as he attempts to erect barriers against this woman who has “invaded” his life.
The images shift to a classroom, but the only students we see are the dad and the woman. The only voice we hear is that of the teacher, who goes on and on about the next writing assignment and what he expects. It becomes obvious in the course of the book that the narrator is the teacher. These sequences are reveries involving his increasingly inappropriate and desperate comments to the class, begging for validation, along with his fantasy images of his dad and the woman. The images find her needling, poking, and prodding his dad because that’s what thinking about her makes the narrator feel.
This is ultimately a book about the treacherous relationship between memory and intimacy. He believes that he’s trying to be open and vulnerable, but the lingering fantasies belie that belief. He’s more interested in the idea of being beloved, of being a teacher who connects with his students, than actually doing it. He wants all of his intimacy to be only on his own terms, where he’s in a position to control it.
Crucially, another narrative emerges: it is the text of the letters written between the narrator and the woman, rewritten as a conversation held only in his head. It is revealed that she is a teacher, too. The details of the narrative are achingly intimate and then disturbing, as she claws him with her blue nails and later won’t let him out of her classroom. These are the words and images that he can’t get out of his head, the ones that have infiltrated his memories and interactions. What prevents him from manipulating these memories like any other? It’s the smell of the perfume on the omnipresent gold stars.
Smell is the sense most evocative of memory. It clings, it lingers. The perfumed gold stars are cloying, invasive symbols of a relationship the narrator loses control of. Indeed, given the written nature of their correspondence, there’s a sense in which the narrator loses control of his own narrative. She takes the relationship into areas he’s not ready or willing to explore, especially with regard to power relationships. She wants to claw his flesh and he tears up grass in response; this is a frequent visual metaphor in the book. The perfume traps him in this memory and jumbles his perceptions. He pictures his father with her because he doesn’t want to think of himself in this position.
Hankiewicz suggests that the narrator’s human relationships are contingent on his ability to control them. He only interacts with his father through a series of safe discussion topics. That these topics are repeated throughout the book when the other narratives spin out of control is no coincidence. His interactions with women are long-distance, first of all, and, even then, he prefers another woman who more innocently sends him twine in the mail. She’s more “Canadian,” somehow, which seems to be code for an American’s understanding of Canadians as nice and thus submissive. His interactions with students are mediated entirely in writing, and he despairs that the students are not reading what he is writing to them–again, from a position of authority.
His intimacy with others is fake, and getting called out on it with the gold star Canadian woman is something he can’t shake. She’s giving him an education he doesn’t want but can’t let go of. When he’s in her schoolroom in the fantasy scenario she evokes (or he perhaps imagines), he can’t breathe. He’s suffocated by real intimacy and the possibility of not having a dominant power position. He wants her to let him go, but she won’t allow it. He brought her into his life, and now she’s living in his head, accentuated every time he finds a gold star on his body or can’t breathe because he is overwhelmed by their sweet smell. His unwillingness to open himself up has trapped him.
In his work, Hankiewicz explores ways in which the mundane becomes alien and threatening, how communication can be a form of aggression, the madness that isolation can induce, and the possibility that we are essentially doomed to be isolated from both the world and each other. At the same time, this quest for connection is our only chance at creating meaning and purpose, impossible as it may seem. Hankiewicz gets at this by balancing the mundane and the absurd in his imagery, challenging the reader to grapple with these juxtapositions as well as their varied relationships to the text. It has a hermeneutic quality, where, in order to understand individual images, one must have a grasp of the overall themes, but the themes themselves are built through the careful, deliberate structure of the comic. The deadpan, naturalistic quality of Hankiewicz’s images belies the desperate intensity of Education’s emotional narrative, allowing readers the opportunity to make connections on a number of different levels.
SOLRAD is made possible by the generous donations of readers like you. Support our Patreon campaign, or make a tax-deductible donation to our publisher, Fieldmouse Press, today. | https://solrad.co/treachery-of-images-hankiewicz-education-rob-clough |
bus, tram, metro, train, and ferryservices. The system is managed by Helsinki City Transport(HKL) for the lines that remain in Helsinkiand by Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council(YTV) for the routes running in several municipalities, mostly including the surrounding municipalities of Espoo, Vantaaand Kauniainen.
Helsinki's diverse public transport system consists of trams, light commuter rail, the subway, bus lines and two
ferrylines. The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Councilmanages traffic to neighbouring municipalities.
Today, Helsinki is the only city in Finland to have trams or subway trains. There used to be two other cities in Finland with trams:
Turkuand Viipuri(Vyborg). However, Turku abandoned trams in 1972 and Viipuri (at that time already part of the Soviet Union) abandoned them in 1957.
The
Helsinki Metro, opened in 1982, was the first, and so far the only, subway-system in all of Finland. For the first 16 years of its existence, the line was topologically only one straight line, but in 1998 a fork with three stations each was added at the eastern end of the line. In 2006 the construction of the long debated extension of the subway system west into Espoowas approved in Espoo City Council, and serious debate about an eastern extension into Sipoohas taken place [http://www.lansimetro.fi www.lansimetro.fi] - an information portal dedicated to the "länsimetro" subway expansion in the Helsinki capital region.] . To cope with the rising usage the Helsinki Metro is also planned to be further automated by 2010, allowing trains to run without drivers and therefore be able to run on shorter time-intervals in between trains.
Trains depart from the Central Railway Station and
Pasilato destinations across Finland. Pendolinos offer higher speed (220km/h) connections to major cities, as do Intercity and Intercity2 trains at slightly slower speeds, and regional and suburban trains cover all of the YTVregion and smaller cities as far north as Riihimäkiand Lahti, and as far west as Karjaa. A tunnel has been proposed to connect Helsinki with Tallinn, though the proposal is still in the investigation phase. Keharata, a project to connect Helsinki-Vantaa Airportwith the national rail network and down town Helsinki, has been approved and construction should be completed by 2013.
ystems
Bus
Internal
Internal bus routes of Helsinki ("Helsingin sisäiset linjat") can be found almost anywhere in Helsinki. For some parts of the city these buses provide the backbone of the public transportation system.Fact|date=June 2008
The routes are drawn and the timetables set by HKL, but operated by independent companies. HKL holds a competition for each route or a set of routes, and the company offering to operate the route for the best quality-price ratio will get the contract. The quality is measured with a pointing system which gives points for such aspects as the quietness and size of the buses that would be used.
Many of the buses operate as a feeder lines for the
Helsinki Metroor VR commuter rail. This is especially true for eastern Helsinki.
Nearly all other routes have the other end of the line in the downtown near the
Helsinki Central railway station.
The line numbers for the internal lines contain two digits and for some a letter.
Most lines are operated between 5:30 and 23:45, the most popular between 5:30 and 1:30. Nighttime lines which operate only from 23:45 to 1:30 (and sometimes early morning) are signified by letter N. Lines 01N-09N operate from 2:00 to 5:00 but only on Friday-Saturday and Saturday-Sunday nights.
Regional
The regional bus lines are managed by YTV in similar manner to the management of the internal lines by HKL. The regional lines have been designed for moving people between important points in the metropolitan area or for the sole purpose of getting to downtown Helsinki. These lines tend to use the fastest possible way to get out of Helsinki, usually through
motorways. They have also quite often newer buses than in HKL routes and more empty seats. Because of that they are popular among the people living along the routes inside Helsinki.weasel-inline
Most regional lines that come to downtown end either on
Rautatientori(from eastern Vantaa) and Elielinaukio(from western Vantaa and northern Espoo) next to the Central Railway Station or in the Kampin Keskus, a modern bus terminal (from southern Espoo).
The operating hours for the regional lines are similar to those of the internal lines, but the departures are not as frequent as the city lines.
The line numbers are composed of three digits and occasionally a letter accompanying them, which means a different route than the normal route.
Tram
The trams provide transportation in the downtown and areas close to it. The network is composed of 11 lines. Over 50 million trips are made with the trams each year.
The trams are managed and operated by HKL. Line numbers are 1-10 and for some an accompanying letter.
New line no. 9 will be opened in 2008.
Metro
The metro is the backbone of the public transportation for
East Helsinki. There is a single line with two branches. The whole system has 17 stations. Plans for several extensions are in the works. By 2011, all trains should be automatic without drivers.
The metro is managed and operated by HKL.
Commuter train
The commuter train system is the backbone for the areas northeast and northwest from downtown. The network reaches relatively far from Helsinki, and there are more departures from stations near Helsinki and less lines to farther off. It is managed by YTV and operated by VR.
Ferry
Helsinki has two ferry lines, both operated by Suomenlinnan Liikenne Oy. Ferries connect
Suomenlinnato the mainland. The ferries are the only connection to the mainland for the residents of Suomenlinna, though a tunnelfor emergency vehicleaccess is in place.
Tickets
Zones
The public transportation system has two zones: internal and regional. Internal covers a single city and regional the whole Helsinki metropolitan area. The different areas are symbolised by different colours: Blue signifies Helsinki, green signifies Espoo and
Kauniainen, red signifies Vantaa and purple signifies the entire metropolitan area.
Ticket types
The transport system offers a vast number of different tickets and several ways to get them.
Single fare tickets can be bought from bus drivers, tram operators, automats, and by a text message. Each metro station, ferry stop, and train station is equipped with at least one ticket automat.
Most users of the public transport have a Travel Card ("Matkakortti"), an
RFIDcard used as an electronic ticket. Users can load period ("kausi") and value ("arvo") on their cards. Period ticket offers unlimited travel for the dates paid for. Value is used to pay for one trip, which may contain changes. The price of a single trip is lower when paid with the travel cardinstead of buying a single fare ticket.
Internal single trip tickets are valid for one hour (for the eastern and north eastern feeder lines 80 minutes). For regional tickets the transfer time is 80 minutes.
Ticket prices
For the transportation system, a child is anyone aged 7–16. Anyone under the age of 7 may ride for free. Adults with children aged 0–7 in a pram or carriage may travel for free. Permanently resident blind people, disabled war veterans and front-veterans are eligible for free travel. [http://www.ytv.fi/ENG/transport/tickets_and_fares/prices_2008/free_ticket/Blind+persons+and+war+veterans.htm]
Fare collection
The transport system uses the
proof-of-paymentapproach for fare collection for the metro, local trains, trams and ferries. In the buses the driver checks the tickets as passenger step in. Ticket controllers check tickets on randomly selected vehicles and a penalty fee of 80 EUR and a price of a single ticket is charged from any passenger without a valid ticket. If a passenger has forgotten his/her Travel Card with valid travel period, the passenger may later visit a service point of the transport company and will not have to pay the penalty fee.
ee also
*
Public transport
*
Urban sprawl
References
External links
* [http://www.hel.fi/wps/portal/HKL_en/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/en/Helsinki+City+transport/ HKL official site]
* [http://www.ytv.fi/eng YTV official site]
* [http://aikataulut.ytv.fi/reittiopas/en/ Journey Planner for the Helsinki region]
* [http://www.helsinki.fi/en/index/kaupunkijaseutu/liikenne.html Helsinki.fi - Information about transportation and maps in Helsinki region]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries: | https://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/1874899 |
# German submarine U-368
German submarine U-368 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out no patrols. She did not sink or damage any ships.
She was sunk after Germany's surrender as part of Operation Deadlight on 17 December 1945.
## Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-368 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged. She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph). When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-368 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
## Service history
The submarine was laid down on 20 August 1942 at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft yard at Flensburg as yard number 491, launched on 16 November 1943 and commissioned on 7 January 1944 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Schäfer.
She served with the 21st U-boat Flotilla from 7 January 1944 and the 31st flotilla from 1 March 1945.
### Fate
U-368 surrendered at the German-occupied island of Heligoland on 5 May 1945. She moved to Wilhelmshaven and was transferred to Loch Ryan in Scotland for Operation Deadlight on 23 June. She was sunk by naval gunfire on 17 December. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-368 |
Talking to key protagonists in the still-nascent impact investment field quickly reveals that it is still subject to many interpretations. Government leaders, for example, might search for public infrastructure investments that have the impact potential of creating new businesses -- such as the original GPS deployment did -- while development banks have made supporting job creation their impact priority.
Photo Credit: Md. Khalid Rayhan Shawon, CGAP Photo Contest
The flavor of impact investment that I find most intriguing is the one that seeks to address pressing societal issues by catalyzing novel approaches that are based on market principles. This intrigue comes from my experience with financial services for the poor and is not based on an ideological pro-market bias. What attracts me is the underlying logic that the success of sustained, market-based solutions by definition means your initial impact investment will have achieved manifold leverage.
But how can we identify investment areas where new models based on market principles are most likely to succeed? And at the level of the individual investment, how should we think about the likelihood of success of innovative business models? A number of lessons based on my experience in financial services for the poor might be helpful in other sectors.
The financial inclusion experience to date, corroborated by others through a broader lens, suggests several plausible criteria for assessing the degree of difficulty for broader investment themes:
1. Is there already what economists would call demonstrable, latent demand or will demand need to be stimulated? For example, pioneers of microcredit a few decades ago knew there was unsatisfied demand for a better alternative because poor households in the informal economy had, for ages, turned to the moneylender. By contrast, there has been less uptake of formal microinsurance, where there is little informal demand to tap into. Meaningful, latent demand also indicates whether there is enough potential for scale both from an impact and from a viability perspective.
2. Are the key elements of the required infrastructure already in place or do they need to be built? Going back to the microcredit example, standalone, monoline credit businesses were possible because local and often subsidized global, wholesale markets developed in parallel to refinance microcredit loan portfolios. By contrast, while there was always known latent demand for formal savings (witness the popularity of informal rotating savings schemes in virtually all developing countries), before the advent of relatively low transaction costs via mobile money, most formal sector providers saw no viable business model for handling high-frequency, low-denomination savings.
3. What are the inherent business economics and resulting likely industry structure? New businesses might be characterized by economies of scale and network effects, which imply larger investments and space for only a few viable players. This would be true, for example, for new payment or money transfer services which grow more attractive to customers as they increase reach.
4. What are the boundaries on the role of government -- is there room for a meaningful private sector contribution or does government view the provision of specific services as its obligation and prerogative? This aspect is a bit trickier because it strays into the field of political economy, but it's probably safe to argue that important parts of "social safety nets," such as security in old age, require intergenerational and large-scale solidarity mechanisms that only the public sector can bring about. Private sector financial solutions might only be complementary.
5. Lastly, what are the policy and regulatory regimes that are either already governing the target area or likely to emerge in a new space? In financial services for the poor, for example, regulators apply higher safety and soundness demands on ventures taking money from the poor compared to those giving it. Deposit-taking microfinance typically requires more equity capital and has higher compliance costs than non-bank microcredit refinanced in secondary markets.
Impact investment success in any given area typically requires both industry infrastructure and demonstrated success in business model innovations for others to pick up and replicate. Far-sighted impact investors such as the Omidyar Network see the need for sector-wide approaches and consequently also fund the pieces required for industry development that are more public good in nature. Most are largely interested in funding specific business model innovations.
For such retail-level investment, there are similarly a number of considerations across client reach, delivery economics and business set up that are likely to make innovation success more or less probable.
1. Success in addressing latent market-level demand relies on being close to your customers and meeting the true underlying need. For example, remittances services are critical for recent migrant communities and physical presence where they congregate on days off is key to easy access. In financial services for the poor, being trusted in the community and conveying a sense of, "We are here to stay," are paramount.
2. Getting the pricing right is important to ensure affordability and suitability. Product and pricing features, for example, must match the catch flow patterns of poor households in the informal economy.
3. Supply-side economics can be improved by using back-office technology to ruthlessly cost-optimize service delivery. Standardize the core processes as much as possible to improve service quality and reduce errors. This improves both revenues because consistency and predictability drive customer satisfaction and lowers costs. Process standardization also allows you to "right-skill" the workforce along the delivery process. KGFS in India, for example, focused on developing a set of frontline customer interaction protocols that help them understand client needs and give product-agnostic advice. Behind that front end processes are highly automated and set up for straight-through transaction processing to enable sophisticated analytics and facilitate secondary market transactions.
4. Successful base-of-the-pyramid innovations reduce start-up investments and capital intensity by "borrowing" other companies' assets, such as physical distribution sites or even brand. For example, many new "pay-as-you-go" businesses that deliver access to water or solar energy in East Africa, leverage mobile money providers' agent networks to gain a sense of trustworthiness and name recognition from M-PESA by branding their new services, "M-something or the other." Mobile money, in and of itself, became a viable value proposition not least because mobile network operators had already invested in an agent network for prepaid distribution and airtime top-up, and in many developing countries, mobile network operators were among the most respected and trusted domestic institutions.
New solutions for pressing societal issues based on market principles are powerful because they can sustain and scale beyond what public purse or charity could ever fund. To think "a priori" about the likely market and business model characteristics will maximize the likelihood of success or, at least, make the challenges more explicit and therefore help manage expectations. | https://www.huffpost.com/entry/impact-investing-_b_3862257 |
Josh Lilley is pleased to announce the opening of Falling into Positions, the second solo exhibition at the gallery by Sarah Dwyer.
Dwyer's works evolve through a natural process of improvisation and spontaneity. She works quickly, building up layered interpretations, veiling previous directions, constantly revising her canvases as an entire composition - in order to create dynamic works that represent a continued study of the subconscious. At times drawing on the canvas, she pulls together inchoate shapes and ambiguous forms, to give a presence to something suggestive but unknown.
Elements of Irish poetry spill onto Dwyer's canvases. Her mark-making echoes the flow of action writing, a painterly parallel to James Joyce's stream of consciousness passages. His poetry — full of suggestion and ambiguity — reflects the hybrid forms within Dwyer's paintings, full of experimentation and lyricism. Dwyer builds on allusions and free associations, bringing a certain unpredictability to her painting.
Although her work is impulsive and momentary, it is unavoidably historical, imbued with reference to paintings past. Just as Joyce's works are built upon the understanding of historical literature and poetry, Dwyer self-consciously shadows historical painting. She builds on Arshile Gorky's ability, for example, to describe ambiguous floating shapes in an indeterminable ground, dragging them away from the figurative — an autonomous engagement with the physicality of the paint. Multiple styles jostle for primacy in her artistic vocabulary, so that the viewer is kept constantly engaged. The result is dynamic and courageous painting. Bold areas of colour compete for attention and play against each other, wrestling with the brushwork for prominence over form.
Sarah Dwyer (b. 1974, Cork, Ireland) Lives and works in London. Dwyer graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2004, winning The Sheldon Bergh Award. Previous solo exhibitions include Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin, 2011; Hands Stuffing a Mattress, Josh Lilley, London, 2009; and Kybidou Gallery, Tokyo, 2007. Group exhibitions include Fade Away (touring exhibition), Transition Gallery, London, and Gallery North, Newcastle, 2011; Fear, Lo and Behold, Salon de Vortex, Athens, 2011; and Sarah Dwyer & Diego Sainz, Godoy, Madrid, Spain, 2007. | https://joshlilleygallery.com/exhibitions/falling-into-positions-2012 |
The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR), funded by the province of British Columbia, is BC's health research funding agency. MSFHR helps develop, retain and recruit the talented people whose research improves the health of British Columbians, addresses health system priorities, creates jobs and adds to the knowledge economy.
Since its inception in 2001, MSFHR has been a key participant in BC's health research and life sciences ecosystem. The Foundation works as a trusted partner with government, the health research community and the health system to support better health outcomes through research and its translation into new treatments, cures, practices and solutions. Learn more at www.msfhr.org.
Position Summary
MSFHR is seeking a detail-oriented individual who will work alongside and support the Manager of Marketing & Communications for an 18 month maternity leave contract starting in May. The Marketing Communications & Design Coordinator will support the development and implementation of MSFHR’s strategic marketing and communications plans and related activities, including oversight of organizational branding and graphic standards. This role will also provide graphic design, writing and editing, event planning, distribution, and print production services for the Marketing & Communications team and the rest of the Foundation.
Key Responsibilities
Branding & graphic design
- Maintain organizational style guide and provide editing, formatting and proofreading services for all MSFHR departments.
- Develop and maintain MSFHR graphic and brand standards and ensures their consistent application by internal and external stakeholders.
- Design marketing materials for print and online – including conceptualization, creation and execution.
- Support strong relationships with various vendors, including printers, manages relationship with vendors for coordination of content and materials, liaison with suppliers, and production.
Sponsorship
- Administer an organizational sponsorship program including initial assessment of sponsorship requests; acting as primary contact for sponsors; ensuring delivery of agreed-upon benefits; and post-event documentation.
Internal communication
- Assist in the development of and implementation of internal communications strategies, including staff engagement activities.
- Manage MSFHR’s intranet and make recommendations as necessary to improve functionality. Write content in an appealing matter to engage staff. Serve as a resource to staff to help them maximize organizational collaboration tools.
Media monitoring
- Monitor media for health research stories related to our awardees and industry; compile and summarize appropriate stories to share with staff (via intranet and weekly roundup emails) and on social media.
- Maintain MSFHR’s list of media contacts.
Communication planning & execution
- Participate in departmental strategic and project planning, working collaboratively with the rest of the Marketing & Communications team and other staff, as appropriate.
- Execute internal and external marketing & communications plans and projects including building and distributing the monthly newsletter; communicate with key internal and external stakeholders to fulfill these duties.
- Support event planning and administration including annual awardee recognition event.
- Manage and maintain email marketing system and associated distribution lists.
- Support the Manager, Marketing & Communications with digital communications including website content updates and monitoring and drafting content for social media channels.
Department administration
- Monitor MSFHR general email account, respond to external inquiries by triaging request and directing to the appropriate internal resource.
- Support development and monitoring of relevant parts of departmental budget.
- Ensure ongoing work standards are met, particularly standards for discretion, judgment, accuracy and timeliness, and that reports and other regularly recurring tasks are completed effectively and on time.
- Ensure that the department’s service standards are met on a daily and weekly basis by setting priorities for own workload.
Education/Work Experience
- A post-secondary degree or certificate in communications, marketing, public relations or related discipline.
- Minimum three to four years’ experience in a communications department setting. Work experience in a research, non-profit, health care or educational setting an asset.
- OR Equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
Skills
- Superior writing, editing and proofreading skills; strong verbal communication skills.
- Strong understanding of typography, layout, graphics and colour theory; ability to conceptualize, design and execute, with an impeccable eye for detail and accuracy.
- Advanced knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (g. InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop).
- Knowledge of print production is an asset.
- Excellent computer skills including demonstrated intermediate level proficiency with Microsoft Office programs (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint,), email marketing software and content management software.
- Ability to write in a variety of styles for a range of audiences and to translate complicated scientific concepts into lay language.
- Demonstrated ability to implement plans for communications projects, including publications and events.
- Ability to identify priorities, complete multiple tasks and deliver results on deadline without close supervision.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to maintain confidentiality and deal with stressful, sensitive or difficult situations with tact and diplomacy, including ability to exercise judgment and discretion.
How to Apply
If this sounds like you and you would like to play a role in maximizing the impact of health research in BC, please submit your resume, cover letter and portfolio online at MSFHR Bamboo Application. We thank everyone for their interest but only suitable candidates will be contacted. | http://iabc.bc.ca/job/marketing-communications-design-coordinator-temporary-maternity-leave-coverage/ |
This is a locally contracted position. International positions are advertised here.
ISSUED BY OSCE Mission in Kosovo
VACANCY NUMBER VNKOSN02316
VACANCY TYPE Local Contracted
FIELD OF EXPERTISE Human Rights
GRADE NP2
NUMBER OF POSTS 1
DUTY STATION Prishtine / Pristina
DATE OF ISSUE 16 February 2021
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION 1 March 2021 - 23:59 Central European Time (CET/CEST)
DATE OF ENTRY ON DUTY 1 June 2021
Under the supervision of Chief Communities Section, the National Programme Officer, Communities Policy is responsible for:
1. Identifying sources of information, gathering documentation and research and analyses international human and community rights instruments, domestic law standards and the current situation in Kosovo relating to the protection and participation of communities;
a) Identifying by exploring the Internet, and through contacts with Kosovo institutions, international organizations, NGOs, educational institutions and communities, relevant sources of information, reporting and documentation on human rights and community rights;
b) Identifying, studying and analysing international human rights treaties, standard-setting international community rights case-law and relevant best practices and policy options, including authoritative commentaries, and analyse relevant domestic legislation and policy as it relates to the protection and participation rights of communities, in order to assess and provide advice regarding the implementation of standards related to the rights of communities within the domestic legal and political context;
c) Maintaining regular contacts with key interlocutors important for information gathering or action on human rights and community rights issues in Kosovo, including community representatives, government contacts, civil society and relevant international organisations, as well as Mission field teams;
d) Undertaking proactive monitoring to identify and track issues and concerns related to the protection and participation of communities, including analysis of reports produced by OSCE field staff and other monitoring material and information gathered, contributing to and/or designing specific monitoring exercises to be implemented by Communities Teams in Regional Centres in order to investigate specific issues; and
e) Discussing and analysing issues related to the rights of community rights standards with colleagues of the Communities Section, and share information among and advise relevant Mission colleagues to support monitoring and co-ordination, including providing timely and accurate inputs for Mission consideration as required;
2. Undertaking steps to address identified needs, including project development and implementation, coordinated advocacy, and other relevant measures related to fulfilment of human and community rights. a) Contributing to the development of proposed measures or policies to address identified problems, including the development of Mission projects and proposed legislation or policy amendments; b) Undertaking, lead or co-ordinate Mission project implementation, including related project administration, Mission field co-ordination activities, reporting, and monitoring and evaluation; c) Undertaking relevant advocacy steps, and coordination of advocacy with Mission field teams and relevant external stakeholders, including facilitation of discussion between relevant authorities and representatives of communities to promote more effective participation and protection of communities’ rights; d) Contributing to awareness-raising on identified communities rights issues and agreed measures through presentations, events, meetings, policy recommendations and discussions with relevant colleagues, Mission field teams, interlocutors and representatives of respective communities; and e) Contributing to and/or undertake the development and production of policy reports for public dissemination, briefing papers, talking points and recommendations on the situation of participation and protection of communities in Kosovo;
3. Performing other duties as assigned in support of the Communities Section, including reviewing translations of documents and materials into Albanian and/or Serbian, and occasional interpretation.
Necessary Qualifications:
- First-level university degree, preferably an advanced-level degree, if possible from a foreign academic establishment and including International human rights law subjects. Specialized understanding of human rights concepts and law is essential, gained either through education or experience.
- Minimum of four years of working experience in a professional or academic capacity; some of the working experience should have been acquired in an international organization or mission environment.
- Prior involvement in human rights work would be an asset;
- Ability to adapt legal principles and concepts to different professional and non-professional environments.
- Ability to explain complex concepts in simple terms in order to ensure comprehension of legal standards and principles.
- Ease of communication and ability to speak in front of groups of different (non-) professional and other backgrounds.
- The incumbent must have undergone core and specialized training designed for the various occupational groups prior to being assigned NPO status.
- The incumbent has to be able to type his/her own reports and to use e-mail and Internet.
- Excellent spoken and written English, including drafting ability; excellent knowledge of Albanian or Serbian is essential.
- Knowledge of additional local languages (Serbian/Albanian, Roma, Gorani or Turkish) would be an asset.
- Ability to work with people of different nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds;
- Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
- Holding a valid driver's license.
Remuneration Package
Monthly remuneration, subject to social security deductions is 1810.33 Euro/month. Social benefits will include participation in the OSCE Group Insurance Plan (Health, Life, Accidental Disability and Temporary Incapacity Insurance) and the OSCE Provident Fund. Appointments are normally made at step 1 of the applicable OSCE salary scale. At the discretion of the appointing authority a higher step may be approved up to a maximum of step 3 subject to specific conditions.
How To Apply
In order to apply for this position you must complete the OSCE's online application form, found under https://jobs.osce.org Applicants are encouraged to use the online recruitment and only fully completed OSCE applications will be accepted. However, if you have technical difficulties with the system you may use the offline application form found under https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/offlineapplication-form and forward the completed form quoting the vacancy number by e-mail to: [email protected] In line with your qualifications please indicate preference to one or more field of expertise listed above (while using the online application the field of expertise preference can be indicated in the cover letter part). Kindly note that applications received after the deadline, submitted in different formats than the OSCE Application Form or in other languages than the English language would not be considered. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the organization. | https://kastori.net/listim/national-programme-officer-communities-policy/ |
The major parties in the U.S. are not ideological parties in the European sense, but are constantly changing coalitions.
Successful strategic thinking starts with gaining knowledge, particularly gaining adequate knowledge of the big picture; of all the political and economic forces involved… It’s not a one-shot deal. Since both Heaven and Earth are always changing, strategic thinking must always be kept up to date, reassessed and revised.
This statement was part of the opening to a widely-circulated article I wrote about two years ago, “Strategic Thinking on the U.S. Six Party System.” It’s time to take my own advice, and reassess the working hypothesis I put forward back then.
For the most part, the strategic picture holds. I suggested setting aside the traditional “two party system” frame, which obscures far more than it reveals, and making use of a “six party” model instead. The new hypothesis, I suggested, had far more explanatory power regarding the events unfolding before us.
Some critics have objected to my use of the term “party” for what are really factional or interest group clusters. The point is taken, but I would also argue that U.S. major parties in general are not ideological parties in the European sense, but constantly changing coalitions of these clusters with no firm commitment to program or discipline. So I will continue to use “parties,” but with the objection noted.
The “six parties,” under two tents, were labeled as the Tea Party and the Multinationalists under the GOP tent, and the Blue Dogs, the Third Way New Democrats, the Old New Dealers, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, under the Democratic tent. Most of these ran at least one presidential candidate as their voice — Bernie Sanders for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Martin O’Malley for the Old New Dealers, Hillary Clinton for the Third Way, Jim Webb for the Blue Dogs, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio for the Multinationalists, and a mixed bag under Tea Party (The GOP had 17 contenders starting off, and Hillary nearly hegemonic in the Democrats).
First and most important for us on the left was the rise of Bernie Sanders.
The changes, however, are important. Instead of four under the Dem tent and two under the GOP tent, we now have three under each. First and most important for us on the left was the rise of Bernie Sanders, who showed far more strength than imagined. Second was the dramatic and unexpected flowering of Trump and right-wing populism on the right. Both of these, from different directions, challenged, narrowed, and weakened the dominant neoliberal hegemonic bloc, which spanned both the GOP multinationals and the Third Way Democrats. Here’s a new snapshot of the range of forces for today, starting from the left side:
The Rainbow Social Democrats. This is a better description than simply calling it the Congressional Progressive Caucus. It doesn’t mean each leader active here is in a social-democrat group. It means the core of the CPC platform is roughly similar to the left social democrat groupings in Europe, and this is made even more evident with Bernie’s self-description as a “democratic socialist.”
It must be noted, however, that even though he’s made the term “democratic socialist” more popular and acceptable, he’s not running on socialism, but on a platform best described as a common front vs finance capital, war, and the right. This is true of groups like Die Linke (“The Left”) in Germany as well. This is good, since it can unite more than a militant minority of actual socialists. Instead it’s a platform that can also unite a progressive majority around both immediate needs and structural reforms, including both socialists and non-socialists.
For details, see Bernie’s full platform at BernieSanders.com. Joining with Sanders in the Congressional Progressive Caucus, are PDA leaders such as Rep. Raul Grijalva of New Mexico, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, and Rep Barbara Lee of California — all key voices giving the “party” a “rainbow” character.
It needs to be noted, though, that the Congressional Black Caucus, close overlapping ally of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has largely gone over to Hillary and the Third Way grouping, with the result of only three out of 10 Black voters currently going for Sanders. Sanders does manage to win Latino voters by larger numbers. For example, all the Latino wards in Chicago on the second Super Tuesday went for Sanders, while the Black wards continued to be dominated by Clinton.
Apart from winning several primaries with a positive, high road approach, this party is noted for two things: first, the huge, elemental outpourings of young people, mainly students and the young workers of the distressed “precariat” sector of the class, in gigantic rallies and “Bernie marches”; and second, by an incredible online fundraising machine, involving some five million donors, making small donations every few weeks or months, that enables the campaign to continue to thrive without Super PACs’ or other wealthy donors. This points the way for candidates of the left in the future at all levels.
The Keynesian Liberal-Labor Bloc. Previously called the Old New Dealers, this is a bit more accurate as a label. It’s mainly the political action side of the AFL-CIO and their close allies in civil rights, women’s and retiree groups, and several related think tanks like Campaign for America’s Future. They are currently fence-sitting, after O’Malley made a bid for their support, but collapsed. Many among the leadership of their base organizations are leaning toward Hillary, while many below lean toward Bernie. Expect them to side with Clinton in the end, since she has been going all out with a “united front from above” approach to winning them to an alliance with her Third Way party.
Bernie has taken a ‘united front from below’ approach, aimed at the rank and file.
In similar fashion, Bernie has taken a “united front from below” approach, aimed at the rank and file, that has won over the Transit Workers, Nurses, and Postal Workers unions, and former leaders of the NAACP like Ben Jealous. Once this party with its union base does get into motion, however, it has a powerful get-out-the-vote and educational apparatus. It will face a special problem, however, in winning workers at the base away from Trump, who are estimated at as much as 33% of white workers, although some of these workers may also be more inclined toward Sanders than Clinton.
The Third Way New Democrats. Formed by the Clintons, with an international assist from Tony Blair and others, and funded by Wall Street finance capitalists, their founding idea was to move toward neoliberalism by “creating distance” between themselves and the traditional Left-Labor-Liberal bloc, the traditional unions and civil rights groups still connected to the New Deal legacy. Another part of the “Third Way” thinking was to shift the key social base away from the core of the working class to college-educated suburban voters, but keeping its alliances with Black and women’s groups still functional.
Thus it tries to temper the harsher neoliberalism of the GOP by “triangulating” with neo-Keynesian policies. But the overall effect is to move Democrats generally rightward. While this has been Hillary Clinton’s starting point, in the current campaign she has, piece by piece, adopted some positions, at least for the sake of campaigning, from both the Liberal-Labor bloc and the Rainbow Social Democrats to what she espouses in her stump speeches.
GOP turnout is up, while Democratic turnout is lackluster, save for Bernie rallies.
In terms of the current relation of forces, counting by delegates, Hillary currently has a two-to-one advantage over Bernie. The Third Way and allied groupings, however, are facing serious problems at the base. In many races, GOP turnout is up, while Democratic turnout is lackluster, save for Bernie rallies. Part of this is racialized, with 90% or more Blacks favoring either Clinton or Sanders, while white workers are split, as just noted, with as much as a third going to Trump and the GOP.
The Blue Dogs. This party has collapsed. Its presidential candidate, Jim Webb, dropped out after a few rounds in the debates where he gained little traction. He tried to combine pro-militarism with an anti-Iraq war stand. He then explored the prospects of a third party run, but recently held a press conference giving it up. He also indicated he was leaning toward Trump, which fits in with his Southern and Appalachian social base among military-industrial workers. The Blue Dogs may return at some point, but we still get “six parties” rather than five by new developments under the GOP tent, most importantly, the huge expansion and then division of the Tea Party into two parties.
The GOP Establishment. This is the name now widely used in the media for what we previously labeled the Multinationalists. It’s mainly the upper crust and neoliberal business elites that have owned and run the GOP for years, allied with the smaller groups of neocons on foreign policy, and opposed by the anti-global neo-isolationist nationalism in a sector of the GOP base, ie, the Tea Party. The Establishment also favored a U.S. hegemonist and unilateralist approach abroad, with many still defending the Bush-Cheney disaster in Iraq.
Their candidates were Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, but when both of these collapsed under fire from Donald Trump, their voice is now reduced to that of John Kasich, governor of Ohio. Kasich presents himself as a pragmatic, pro-worker neoliberal, a difficult circle to square. Previously dominant in the GOP, the Establishment forces are now weakened by both sides of the Tea Party split, the Rightwing Populists under Trump and the Christian Nationalist Theocrats under Sen. Ted Cruz, who are currently both stronger in numbers than the “Establishment” party. They could be pushed out entirely by the time of the Cleveland convention, and formally split into two.
They present themselves as the only true, ‘values-centered’ (Biblical) conservatives.
The Christian Nationalist Theocrats. This is a subset of the former Tea Party made up of several Christian rightist trends, some simply conservative while others are theocracy-minded fundamentalists, especially the “Dominionist” sects of which Ted Cruz’s father is active. They present themselves as the only true, “values-centered” (Biblical) conservatives. They argue against any kind of compromise with the “liberal-socialist bloc'” which ranges, in their view, from the GOP’s Mitt Romney to Bernie Sanders.
They are more akin to classic liberalism than neoliberalism in economic policy, and thus stress abandoning nearly all regulations, much of the safety net, overturning Roe v. Wade, getting rid of marriage equality (in the name of “religious liberty”) and abolishing the IRS and any progressive taxation in favor of a single flat tax. Effectively, it amounts to affirmative action for the better off, and the rise of the rich is supposed to pull everyone else upwards as well.
They do at times argue for neoisolationism on some matters, but favor an all-out holy war on “radical Islamic terrorism,” to the point of “making the sand glow,” and stand for ripping up Obama’s recent agreements with Iran and Cuba. With Cruz as their leader, they have become the second most powerful grouping under the GOP tent, and the one with the most reactionary platform and outlook, even more so than Trump.
The Rightwing Populists. Starting as still another subset of the Tea Party, this “party” has mushroomed under the self-bankrolled Trump candidacy. Trump, an “outlier elite” in his own right, is now positioned either to win the GOP nomination outright, or have a plurality of enough militant delegates at the GOP convention that the nomination will be given to him on the first or second ballots, or as Trump puts it, “there will be riots.” Given the fact that as many as one-third of the traditional GOP base is refusing to vote for Trump, with many willing to vote “third party” if one shapes up, and since they believe Hilary will defeat Trump anyway, the GOP, at this time, is thus effectively split into three warring parties.
The core outlook of Rightwing Populism is “producerism” vs “parasitism.” Employed workers, business owners, real estate developers, small bankers are all “producers” and they oppose parasite groups above and below, but mainly those of “the Other” below them — the unemployed (“Get a Job!” as an epithet), the immigrants, poor people of color, Muslims, and more. Trump entered politics by declaring Obama to be an illegal alien and an illegitimate office holder (a parasite above), but quickly shifted to Mexicans and Muslims and anyone associated with “Black Lives Matter.”
Trump’s favored outlook has deep roots in American history.
Trump’s favored outlook has deep roots in American history, from the anti-Indian ethnic cleansing of President Andrew Jackson, to the nativism of the Know Nothings, to the lynch terror of the KKK, to the anti-elitism of George Wallace and the Dixiecrats. Internationally, he combines aggressive jingoism, threats of trade wars, and an isolationist “white nationalism” aimed at getting others abroad to fight your battles for you.
Trump’s success, however, also contains his weakness: the support of distressed white workers. At present, they are forming the social basis of his victories, assuming they will get lush jobs with his ‘Make America Great Again!’ promises. The problem is, Trump has no programs. He only has hot buttons he pushes, but when it comes to spelling out an actual program and how any promise would be implemented and funded, he’s always the artful dodger. This creates an unstable class contradiction in his operation, one bound to surface as promises are unfulfilled.
What does it all mean?
With this brief descriptive and analytical mapping of the upper crust of American politics, many things begin to fall in place. The subaltern groupings in the GOP have risen in revolt against the losses imposed on them by the neoliberal Establishment of the Romneys and the Bushes. Ironically, this is “the chickens coming home to roost,” since the GOP Establishment has encouraged and funded these “New Right” alliances ever since Ronald Reagan’s and Richard Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” and its appeal to the base of George Wallace.
But they could never deliver the goods to right-wing workers. They were still, after all, workers, who saw themselves sinking or stagnating under the harsh neoliberalism of the right. Now, even though they have rebelled and flocked to a “Great Leader,” one whose rule would deepen every crisis and conflict facing the country, they are social dynamite.
On the other hand, the Hillary Clinton candidacy, seeking a “continuation” of the Obama administration, represents, at its core, an alliance between the “Third Way” and the Keynesian Labor Liberals, while holding out an olive branch to the Rainbow Social Democrats as an energetic but critical secondary ally.
The Sanders campaign, and its allied groupings, the Progressive Democrats of America and the Working Families Party, are still likely to soldier on to the convention, doing as much grassroots organizing along the way as they can. They have few illusions about Clinton’s leftward shift, and are well aware that campaigning is one thing, while governing is another. So they continue to press all their issues and policies of a common front vs finance capital, war, and the right, building more and more clout as they go.
This “big picture” also reveals much about the current budget debates, which are shown to be three-sided — the extreme austerity neoliberalism of all three parties under the GOP tent, the “austerity lite” budget of the Third Way-dominated Senate Democrats, and the left Keynesian, progressive and social democratic “Back to Work” budget of the Rainbow Social Democrats and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The “Keynesian Labor Liberals” remain caught in the middle, often holding decent programs as positions, but not willing to do much to fight for them, looking for safe ways “to go with the winner” and accept “half a loaf.”
The far right has grown in strength
and virulence.
All this shows why and how Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders would likely be able to pull together a majority electoral coalition. But it also reveals why either of them might still be thwarted in pulling together an effective governing coalition in 2017, (assuming they are able to defeat Trump or Cruz). The far right has grown in strength and virulence, while the “regular” conservative right has grown in intransigence. They still hold the House and the Senate, though this may change a bit in November, but Congress will still be an obstacle to any Democrat in the White House.
The old Establishment, led by Kasich at this point, is likely to be out in the cold, unless they shift over to Hillary, which a few are already talking about. All the parties of the GOP right, especially the ones on top, need to be crushed in November 2016. Both Clinton and Sanders have strengths and weaknesses, but Sanders would likely be the stronger candidate, given the historic scandals and anti-worker policies of the Clintons. Trump has already warned that he will use every piece of mud he can find to sling in her direction.
Finally, there is the one major positive factor that was barely conceivable only two years ago: the dramatic youth insurgency behind the only socialist in Congress. No longer on the margins, Sanders has both widened the legitimacy of socialism and put anti-finance capital, antiwar, and anti-fascist proposals at the center of the country’s political discussion, and to audiences of tens of millions.
It didn’t come from nowhere, but can be best seen as a reemergent Occupy 4.0, following the original Occupy 1.0 explosion of protest against the Banksters, to Black Lives Matter and the Fight for 15 insurgencies (2.0), to the Climate Justice mobilizations (3.0). These are all elemental risings of the “precariat,” the young and stressed out and underemployed and debt-ridden sector of the working class and the oppressed generally, as a critical force in society calling on the main force, “the 99%,” to activate itself and enter the battleground.
In summary, here are a few things to keep in mind. If you decide to intervene in electoral work to build independent working class grassroots organizations, you don’t go “inside the Democratic Party.” There’s not much of an “inside” there anymore. Most of what is left are small groups of lawyers, fundraisers, and media consultants clustered tightly around each incumbent.
What you do instead is join or work with one of the two factions/”parties” that are left-of-center under its tent. Your aim is to make either of these stronger, preferably Rainbow Social Democrats. Then to shift the overall balance of forces, your task is to defeat the Rightwing Populists, the Christian Nationalist Theocrats, and the Establishment GOP while expanding the Congressional Progressive Caucus. But you want to do this in a way that builds your organizational clout and influence under the Democratic tent at the expense of the Third Way.
Strategically, we want to build a growing force along the class and democratic fault lines under that tent until it is stretched to the ripping point. Even in the short run, the balance of forces needs altering in favor of the left. At present, not a single piece of progressive legislation is going to get passed without a major shift in this direction, and that would require growing a new counter-hegemonic bloc inside and outside of the Democratic tent, and at all levels of government.
We are interested in pushing the popular front vs. finance capital to its limits.
We have to keep in mind, however, that “shifting the balance of forces” is mainly an indirect and somewhat ephemeral gain. It does “open up space,” but for what? Progressive initiatives matter for sure, but much more is required strategically. We are interested in pushing the popular front vs. finance capital to its limits, and within that effort, developing a 21st century socialist bloc.
If that comes to scale in the context of a defeat of the right, the “Democratic Tent” is also likely to collapse and implode, given the sharper class contractions and other fault lines that lie within it, much as the Whigs did in the 19th Century. That demands an ability to regroup all the progressive forces there and on the outside into a new “First Party” alliance, one that also includes a militant minority of socialists, which will be able to contend for power.
An old classic formula summing up the strategic thinking of the united front is appropriate here: “Unite and develop the progressive forces, win over the middle forces, isolate and divide the backward forces, then crush our adversaries one by one.” In short, we have to have a policy and set of tactics for each one of these elements, as well as a strategy for dealing with them overall. Moreover, take note of warning from the futurist Alvin Toffler: “If you don’t have a strategy, you’re part of someone else’s strategy.” Then finally, as to tactics, “wage struggle on just grounds, to our advantage and with restraint.”
To conclude, we still need to start with a realistic view of ourselves as an organized socialist left. We are quite small as organizations, but now we can see we are swimming in a sea of millions open to socialism. What can we do now? In brief, set up Jacobin/In These Times reading groups in your living rooms and unite socialists with them, join or start PDA or WFP chapters everywhere, use organizations and broad “Third Reconstruction” alliances and popular rainbow assemblies to build mass mobilizations and win elections, with both socialists and Rainbow progressives, starting at the base, focused on city and state governments, and expanding the Congressional Progressive Caucus. You rarely gain victories at the top that have not been won and consolidated earlier at the base.
Most of all, in order to form broader and winning coalitions, you need organizations of your own to form coalitions and alliances WITH! Seize the time and Git ‘er done!
Read more articles by Carl Davidson on The Rag Blog and listen to Thorne Dreyer’s five Rag Radio interviews with Carl. | https://www.theragblog.com/carl-davidson-does-the-u-s-really-have-six-political-parties/?replytocom=20398 |
The increase of Greenhouse gases emission is a growing concern nowadays all over the world. The consequences of the global warming which is caused by the Greenhouse gases emission start to be seen everywhere. Geological sequestration of carbon dioxide is one of the few ways available to reduce the emission of CO2. Deep saline aquifers considered as the primary option for sequestration of CO2. However, oil and gas reservoirs offers huge storage capabilities for long term. Even though, CO2 is currently being used as an enhanced oil recovery operation, injection of CO2 as a carbon sequestration strategy needs validation. This study focus on storing CO2 in watered-out reservoirs which are shallower compared to deep saline aquifers, it has relatively similar storage conditions to deep saline aquifers with advantage of the surface facilities and the information available. The watered-out reservoir has been producing for long time until the aquifer has moved up and the water saturation became very high. The injected CO2 dissolves and diffuses in oil and water, then the dissolved CO2 reacts with formation minerals and induces precipitation of minerals.
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iOS 14, judging by the numerous leaks, will bring many new features. About one of them today told the resource 9to5mac. The source says that in the new version of the operating system, an as yet unnamed feature will appear that allows you to run applications without first installing them on your smartphone.
It will work based on the API Clips. But this will not be done as one might think. The source says that one or another of the software that is not installed on your smartphone will be launched after you scan the corresponding QR code.
For example, someone wants to share a YouTube video with you and for this generates a QR code and sends it to you. It will be enough for you to scan this code, and the smartphone will launch the video from YouTube in a separate window, even if you do not have this application installed.
Developers themselves will be able to determine which part of the program should be activated as part of this function – because all the software features in this mode are not required.
In Android, a similar function is called Slices, but it is implemented in a slightly different format – in the search results of Google and the Assistant. | https://mackintosh-hd.net/in-ios-14-a-feature-similar-to-android-slices-will-appear/ |
EDS312 Research Methods
There may be changes to the course due to to corona restrictions. See Canvas and StudentWeb for info.
Norsk emneinformasjon
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Showing course contents for the educational year 2021 - 2022 .
Course responsible: Elisabeth Molteberg
Teachers: Cassandra Edson Bergstrøm, Lars Kåre Grimsby
ECTS credits: 15
Faculty: Faculty of Landscape and Society
Teaching language: EN
(NO=norsk, EN=Engelsk)
(NO=norsk, EN=Engelsk)
Limits of class size:
90
Teaching exam periods:
This course starts in Autumn parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in Autumn parallel, Spring parallel.
Course frequency: Annually
First time: 2012H
Preferential right:
M-GDS, M-IES and M-IR
Course contents:
EDS312 is a broad introductory course in research methods at master’s level. Having completed the course, students will have been able to acquire basic research competence and skills relevant to the master's programs M-IES, M-GDS, and M-IR, with main emphasis on social science methods and interdisciplinarity-related methodology issues. They are able to prepare and carry out their own master's thesis research, and they have a general understanding of how choices and execution of research design, sampling, data collection, and analysis have implications to what knowledge claims they can make and defend, as well as ethical implications. To this end, research ethics, epistemological premises and pre-analytical assumptions shaping research are discussed, and issues of interdisciplinary and combining quantitative and qualitative strategies are addressed.
Students are able to acquire a basic understanding of, and some skills training in, the following research methods and design features: quantitative research design, sampling and data collection, and statistical analysis; qualitative sample selection, qualitative interviewing, observation and text analysis (content, discourse analysis), archive research and document analysis, and qualitative data analysis, and use of some visual methods. Case study design, ethnography, and participatory action research are discussed as well.
Learning outcome:
- the characteristics of quantitative and qualitative research questions and design, the similarities and differences in the logic underpinning these strategies, and potential implications of combining them
- the possibilities and limitations of qualitative and quantitative methods of sampling, data collection, and analysis
- the quality criteria of qualitative and quantitative research; how good research design and practices promote empirically and theoretically strong research outcomes
- meta-theoretical debates and philosophical issues related to interdisciplinarity and mixed-methods research
- ethical considerations and methodological challenges related to research involving humans, including power relations in research, positionality, and representation issues
- formulate good research questions and hypotheses for an empirical study
- create a theoretical/conceptual framework for an empirical study, incorporating relevant literature
- develop a robust design and carry out a Master's-level research study, selecting appropriate research methods and justifying methodological choices made
- effectively apply and evaluate methods for sampling, data collection and analysis
- evaluate the quality of published qualitative and quantitative research
- critically reflect on methodological challenges in own and published research involving humans, including ethical and quality issues and demands
- effectively communicate own research problems, objectives, research design, findings, and conclusions in proposal and thesis. Further develop academic writing skills, including use of an academic genre.
Learning activities:
The course is oriented towards practice. Knowledge of methodology issues and practical skills towards proposal and thesis construction are acquired through a combination of lectures and discussion, exercises and assignments covering central aspects of qualitative and quantitative research: topical and conceptual development, review of methodology in research literature, design and planning, sampling, data collection and management, analysis, reporting, and peer review.
Teaching support:
Ample time for teacher input and guidance is set aside during teaching hours, support is provided during work on assignments. Additional information and communication through Canvas and via e-mail, appointments for further teacher contact can be made if needed. Use of the Writing Center for support in term paper writing is encouraged.
Syllabus:
Textbook: Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. UK: Oxford Univ Press. 5th edition.
Further compulsory literature will be made available by the start of each course module (autumn, spring parallel).
Prerequisites:
Bachelor's degree or equivalent
Recommended prerequisites:
Mandatory activity:
Group and/or individual assignments and hand-ins on qualitative and quantitative research methods and on research methodology.Attendance is mandatory at first lecture of each course module. Attendance throughout is necessary, as activities related to mandatory assignments are carried out in classes.
Approval of all mandatory activities is required for receipt of a course grade. The course grade is not released to students who have failed to hand in their signed plagiarism forms to Noragric (normally done during program introduction course).
Assessment:
- Autumn parallel: Written assignment on quantitative research methods, counting 35% towards course grade
- Spring parallel:
- Written assignment on qualitative research methods, possibly in smaller instalments, counting 55% towards course grade
- Quiz (multiple choice test) on methodological issues, counting 10% towards course grade.
Passing the course requires a passing grade on all graded assignments. All assessment and assignments are given and submitted IN ENGLISH ONLY.
Nominal workload:
375 hours
Entrance requirements:
Minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway (generell studiekompetanse)
Type of course:
1x2 class hours per week during autumn parallell + 2x2 class hours per week during spring parallell (a total of around 80 hours). Teaching has a blended format: contents are conveyed through readings, some pre-recorded and some in-class lectures, and practical exercises and simulations of quantitative and qualitative research design, sampling, data collection, analysis, and assessment. In addition, students do group and/or individual independent work.
Examiner:
External examiner is involved in formulation of graded assignments. | https://www.nmbu.no/course/EDS312 |
The COVID-19 pandemic offers Sri Lanka an opportunity to review and strengthen its social protection programs to help citizens recover from future shocks faster. Social protection includes social assistance (welfare programs for the poorest), insurance (unemployment, disability, sickness and old age) and programs to improve opportunities to help people find better jobs.
The World Bank helps the government reform and improve its social protection policies and programs. At the heart of these efforts is the development of a national social protection strategy. Sri Lanka has never had a coherent social protection strategy, which in many countries is used as a common guide and planning tool for government social protection programs.
Sri Lanka’s social protection programs have been introduced sporadically. This limited their impact and prevented them from working in tandem with other government programs like education, health and disaster response. Because there is no comprehensive framework for thinking about well-being, there are still large gaps in the safety net, as for informal workers. Therefore, it is necessary to have a clear strategy for social protection.
âSocial protection is fundamentally about risk management. It is about having a real safety net that prevents people from falling into poverty and helps those who lose their income to recover. It goes beyond tackling chronic poverty or the long-term drivers of social exclusion to examine job security and employment and the help people can expect to receive s ‘they get sick or lose their jobs,’ said Thomas Walker, senior economist at the World Bank.
The COVID-19 crisis is forcing policy makers to redefine their understanding of âpoor and vulnerableâ. The pandemic has affected many people economically, most of whom may have experienced a significant drop in their standard of living. In the context of COVID-19, the simplistic âpoor and non-poorâ dichotomy – which has often guided social protection policy – is not a useful tool in determining who really needs government help.
The pandemic has also proven that shocks can push even relatively financially secure people into dire straits. Countries around the world have started to realize that a broader approach to safety nets, using advances in identification and information technology, is needed to ensure that all households can obtain temporary assistance and stay safe. recover quickly from negative shock. This is particularly important in a context like that of Sri Lanka, where the majority of the population lived on relatively low incomes even before the crisis.
Countries like Pakistan and the Philippines are pre-positioning financial resources to help respond to shocks. This includes external insurance programs for natural disasters like the one adopted by Sri Lanka in 2016, or a fund reallocation mechanism that can be used effectively to provide support to households.
Well-targeted policies also save valuable public funds and can help vulnerable groups in the long run. Sri Lanka’s difficult fiscal situation and large budget deficits are forcing the government to review the targeting of its social protection programs.
âIn Sri Lanka, spending on social protection has not had a big impact on poverty reduction. This limited impact is due to weak targeting, which means funds don’t always go to those who need them most. In the case of Samurdhi, which is the government’s largest social protection program, the funds are too dispersed. Better targeting could help focus resources on the poorest 10-15% of the population, helping them increase their incomes and lift them out of poverty.
The World Bank estimates that by 2030, one in five Sri Lankans will be over 60 years old. The changing demographics of the country make it essential to expand the coverage of social insurance programs. Only around 30% of citizens are currently covered by an official pension. Women are much less likely to have their own pension and will live an average of seven years longer than men. It is therefore essential that they receive adequate support for their retirement.
âA large portion of working people will retire without a regular income, and the state will either have to pay for these people through welfare or depend on charity from friends and family. It will be more and more difficult as the addiction ratio increases, âadded Dr. Walker.
A coherent strategy to bring a long-term vision of social protection to all Sri Lankans could benefit and improve the lives of millions of people. | https://www.thinklocalfirst.net/sl-can-benefit-from-the-experience-of-the-pandemic-to-develop-a-comprehensive-social-protection-strategy-bm/ |
For decades, critics of pluralism have argued that the American interest group system exhibits a significantly biased distribution of policy preferences. We evaluate this argument by measuring groups' revealed preferences directly, developing a set of ideal point estimates, IGscores, for over 2,600 interest groups and 950 members of Congress on a common scale. We generate the scores by jointly scaling a large dataset of interest groups' positions on congressional bills with roll-call votes on those same bills. Analyses of the scores uncover significant heterogeneity in the interest group system, with little conservative skew and notable inter-party differences in preference correspondence between legislators and ideologically similar groups. Conservative bias and homogeneity reappear, however, when weighting IGscores by groups' campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures. These findings suggest that bias among interest groups depends on the extent to which activities like contributions and lobbying influence policymakers' perceptions about the preferences of organized interests.
We examine the mechanical effect of a multiple vote, proportional representation electoral system on party vote share in n dimensions. In one dimension, Cox (1990) has proven that such a system is centripetal: it drives parties to the center of the political spectrum. However, as populism has swept across Western Europe and the United States, the importance of multiple policy dimensions has grown considerably. We use simulations to examine how a multiple vote system could alter electoral outcomes in all possible parliamentary systems. We find that multiple vote systems act centripetally in multiple dimensions too, though weakly in extreme cases where parties are sorted into ideological clusters at opposite corners of the ideological space. Even in these cases, though, we find that a slight disturbance of the conditions (by introducing an additional party- even if it is very small) strengthens the centripetal properties of the multiple vote system. | https://www.researchgate.net/project/Polarization-and-Electoral-Systems |
This one surprised me.
Since I work out of a home studio, and since I’m a daddy (of a 2-year-old boy and soon-to-arrive twin girls…man, I never get used to saying that), I have to coordinate my recording and mixing schedule around nap times.
Owen naps every day at 1pm. That means I do most of my recording and mixing in the mornings, when I can be loud and not wake up a sleeping kid (and evoke the wrath of an over-tired 2-year-old).
It works nicely.
I work on studio stuff in the mornings, and I work on HSC-related stuff in the afternoons. (Hopefully at our next house I’ll have some separation and isolation, so I can work in the studio any time.)
Well, the other day I was waiting on a photographer to arrive for an afternoon appointment. He was coming to take some shots of my studio for some sort of new ad campaign. (Not sure if I can say anything more than that.)
He could only come in the afternoon, which is fine. While I waited for him, I pulled up a mix that I needed to work on. (He needed shots of me working, so I figured I’d go ahead and start working until he got there.)
As you may recall, it was nap-time, so I couldn’t really turn up the speakers very loudly. So I had them nice and quiet, well below my normal listening level.
And it felt ODD.
I kept wanting to turn it up, then I remembered Owen was sleeping (and I didn’t want to mix on headphones).
So I maintained the low volume.
At first I thought it would be an exercise in futility. Heck, I can’t even REALLY hear things that well. How am I supposed to make EQ and compression decisions?
As it turns out, I could make them JUST fine.
In fact, the mix came together surprisingly well.
Like…really well.
Being forced to listen more carefully made me work for it more. I had to listen more critically, because the mix was at such a lower volume.
And somehow the mix just started to SING.
When Owen woke up from his nap (not my fault), I cranked the speakers, fully expecting there to be way too much low end or too much harshness in the upper mids.
And?
It still rocked!
So that’s your homework assignment today.
Pull up a mix and don’t allow yourself to turn the speakers up very loud at all. It’s pretty amazing what can happen.
But it takes discipline.
What’s that?
You don’t have any tracks to work on?
Well, there’s a great set of tracks waiting for you inside Dueling Mixes, if you’re interested. Grab ’em here:
…and let me know how your Naptime Mix Session goes. | https://www.homestudiocorner.com/naptime-mixing/ |
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