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Sleep is such a critical part of a young child’s growth and development. Problems with achieving restful and high-quality sleep can impact many areas of a child’s life, including learning, attention, and emotion regulation (Kim et al., 2017). Unfortunately, sleep difficulties can be quite common in children and adolescents. In fact, anywhere between 5-40% of children and adolescents can struggle with sleep-related diseases (Kim et al., 2017). These difficulties can range from general difficulties maintaining a regular sleep schedule to different worries or fears related to sleeping. Here are a few ways that you can help set them up for well-rested days ahead.
For children of all ages, it’s important to establish a regular and consistent nighttime routine. Doing so can help their biological clocks recognize when it’s time to wind down and get ready for bed (Suni, 2022). Read below for some additional tips on setting up a consistent bedtime routine.
- Having a regular bedtime is important in maintaining your child’s natural sleep and wake cycles. Many find it helpful to have a regular time to begin their nighttime routine, in addition to a regular bedtime. By starting to get ready for bed around the same time every night, it can help create a consistent and restful sleep routine.
- It’s often helpful to limit use of screen time prior to bedtime, such as television or other electronic devices. Allowing for at least one hour without electronics prior to bedtime can help support their sleep routine (Shoen, 2022).
- Engaging in relaxing activities prior to bedtime can also be helpful in supporting a healthy bedtime routine. Listening to relaxing music, reading, or engaging in some mindful breathing exercises can help them wind down before bed.
If your young child is struggling with worries or fears related to sleeping, they might often struggle to sleep independently or remain asleep throughout the night. Many children who are afraid of the dark or feel afraid to sleep by themselves may constantly request a loved one or may frequently get out of bed to be near their caregivers. If this sounds like your child, see below for some tips to help support their sleep routine.
- It’s important to validate your child’s fears or anxieties related to sleeping, while also making sure to encourage brave and independent behavior. It can be helpful to have a conversation with your child ahead of time. It might sound like, “We know sleeping by yourself or staying in your bed can sometimes be scary and we also know that you can be brave and do it all by yourself.”
- If your child frequently gets out of bed in the middle of the night, it’s often helpful to quietly and calmly walk them back to their room and help them get back in bed, without engaging in any conversation or negotiating. Again, it’s important to let your child know ahead of time if this is something new that they haven’t experienced before. This might sound like, “We know that staying in your bed all night is something that feels hard and scary. From now on, we are going to help you be brave by walking you back to your bed whenever you come out of your room.”
- Using rewards for sleep-related behaviors can be an extremely helpful tool to increase your child’s motivation in the face of some of their fears or worries. By rewarding your child with stickers or prizes for staying in their bed or sleeping independently, it can help turn sleeping into a fun and positive experience.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5461280/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20recent%20study,%E2%80%9327%25%2C%20and%20the%20rate
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/14302-sleep-in-toddlers–preschoolers
https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/sleep/better-sleep-settling/sleep-better-tips
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/night-lights-affect-childrens-sleep#:~:text=Researchers%20recommend%20reducing%20light%20intensity,support%20their%20readiness%20for%20sleep. | https://www.kurtzpsychology.com/supporting-your-childs-sleep/ |
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, April 3 • 10:00am - 11:45am
D04: Can a UX Department Really Make a Difference?
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When a library is truly invested in UX, with total awareness of and buy-in on user-centered thinking, its staff more readily embrace UX principles and have more empathy. However, creating a user-centric culture can be challenging as a solo UX Librarian. Wouldn’t it be easier with a dedicated department? For this presentation, a panel of UX department heads will discuss organizational buy-in, advocacy and partnerships, and key elements needed for establishing more structure in libraries
Speakers
Josh Boyer
Department Head, User Experience, North Carolina State University Libraries
public services, library web, user research,
Debra Kolah
Head of User Experience, Rice University
Travel, participatory design, and UX!
CM
Courtney McDonald
Learner Experience & Engagement Librarian, University of Colorado Boulder
Nadaleen Tempelman-Kluit
Head, User Experience, NYU Libraries, New York University
I lead the UX department at NYU Libraries. You can follow our work via our blog, at: https://wp.nyu.edu/libux/
Rachel Vacek
Head of Design & Discovery, University of Michigan
Rachel Vacek (she/her) manages the Design & Discovery department that provides development, design, content strategy, user research, digital accessibility expertise, and UX strategy across the entire University of Michigan Library web presence. She has previously worked at the University...
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Can a UX Department Really Make a Difference
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Monday April 3, 2017 10:00am - 11:45am CDT
Room 106
Leadership & Organizational Strategies
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What do Hawaii, Yellowstone National Park and the Louisville Seamount Trail all have in common?
So your first guess may be “tourist destination.” That is 2/3 correct, the exception being tourists rarely visit the Louisville Seamount Trail (at least, not without a drill ship). The answer that is 3/3 correct is that all three of these places were created by hotspots.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, this kind of hotspot has nothing to do with free wireless internet; instead they are places where magma rises to the surface of the earth for thousands or millions of years in pretty much the same place. The rising magma usually produces a chain of volcanoes on the Earth’s surface.
A hotspot that stays in the same place and produces a chain of volcanoes probably sounds like a magic trick, but there is a scientific explanation. The hotspot magma rises from the Earth’s mantle, kind of like wax rising in a lava lamp (if anyone in your house was alive during the 1960’s, then you probably have a lava lamp in the attic that you can plug in and see what that looks like). The hotspot stays in about the same place in the mantle. It is the lithosphere (the crust and uppermost portion of the mantle) over the hotspot that is moving. As the lithosphere moves over the hot spot, the rising magma occasionally breaks through the surface to form a new volcano. This can happen for millions of years, so one hotspot can produce a chain of volcanoes thousands of kilometers long.
If you go to Google Earth (see the Educator Ideas blog for tips on using Google Earth) and check out the Hawaiian Islands and the Louisville Seamount Trail, you can easily see the chain of volcanoes caused by their respective hotspots. If you look closely at the northwestern United States, you can also see the path of the Yellowstone hotspot. Yellowstone has a particularly explosive hotspot that has been much more destructive than constructive. In its wake, instead of a chain of volcanoes, you will see the wide valley that extends from the southeastern corner of Oregon through southern Idaho to the hotspot’s current location under Yellowstone National Park.
So now the question is: what is making the crust move above the hotspots? Find out in my next post. Same blog time, same blog channel.
(Photo of Hawaiian volcano comes from the U.S. Geological Survey). | https://joidesresolution.org/what-do-hawaii-yellowstone-national-park-and-the-louisville-seamount-trail-all-have-in-common/ |
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of five draft resolutions addressing arms control, disarmament and international security earlier submitted by Russia at the UN's First Committee.
Three of the documents adopted late Thursday tackle the issue of avoiding a conflict in the space are dubbed "Transparency and Confidence-building Measures in Outer Space Activities", "Further Practical Measures for the Prevention of an Arms race in Outer Space" and "No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space. The other two drafts address preserving existing armed control treaties and strengthening information security.
The first resolution encourages countries "to continue to review and implement to the greatest extent practicable, the proposed transparency and confidence-building measures contained in the report, through the relevant national mechanisms, on a voluntary basis and in a manner consistent with the national interests".
The text of the second resolution urges the international community to continue undertaking efforts to maintain peace and improve security in the world and avoid conflict in space.
The third document asks all states, "especially spacefaring nations, to consider the possibility of upholding, as appropriate, a political commitment not to be the first to place weapons in outer space".
#Lavrov: I would like to say with certain optimism that I am encouraged by the approval of the Russia-submitted draft resolution on consolidating the system of treaties & agreements on arms control, disarmament & nonproliferation by the UN General Assembly First Committee... pic.twitter.com/X8fKK9hrfb
The resolution dubbed "Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security" expresses concern that some countries develop information and communications technologies (ICT) for military purposes and the probability of using ICT in future conflicts is growing.
It also welcomes the launch of the UN open-ended working group on developments in the ICT field in the context of international security negotiations, as well as the group of governmental experts on developments in the ICT field in the context of global security.
The document titled "Strengthening and Developing the System of Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-proliferation Treaties and Agreements" calls on all states parties to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation treaties to implement such agreements in their entirety and continue efforts to strengthen the system of arms control to preserve global stability, peace and security.
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Moore's Law has not only held true over the years, it has been even been surpassed in recent years. This paper provides an analysis of two inventions developed at New York University (NYU), a GRIN trend-Genomics, Robotics, Informational Technology, Nanotechnology) that applies Garreau's Radical Evolution's ideas followed by a synopsis of Garreau's main ideas, and the assumptions behind them. An examination concerning how these main ideas and assumptions apply to the inventions is followed by an evaluation of the potential of these inventions in the context of Kurzweil's "heaven," Joy's "hell" and Lanier's "prevail" scenarios. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning these trends and inventions are provided in the conclusion.
Review and Analysis
Two Inventions Developed at Universities
Invention No. 1. University of Tsukuba, Japan. Scientists at this university have invented a partial-body robotic exoskeleton that is capable of allowing even polio victims to walk again. The exoskeleton is powered by mechno-servers that amplify the wearer's existing physical abilities and provide ways to otherwise control the exoskeleton appendages in case of disabilities (Chiu, 2009).
Invention No. 2. University of Twente, the Netherlands. A team of researchers at this Dutch university invented a lower-body exoskeleton that can help paraplegics walk, and allows 8 degrees of freedom in movement. Pictured in Figure 1 below, this invention was commercially available in mid-2012 (Top ten robotic exoskeletons, 2013).
Figure 1. Robotic exoskeleton invented at University of Twente, the Netherlands
Source: http://www.infoniac.com/uimg/lopes-exoskeleton.jpg
Garreau's Radical Evolution: Main Ideas and Assumptions
Main Ideas. The first main idea propounded by Garreau is the people today live during a period in history wherein it has become possible to extent human life indefinitely. According to Garreau (2006b), "We are at a turning point in history. For the first time, our technologies are not so much aimed outward at modifying our environment" (p. 32). Indeed, technologies are not only increasingly being aimed at modifying the internal environment as well by facilitating the human-computer interface. In this regard, Garreau emphasizes that, "Increasingly, [technologies] are aimed inward -- at modifying our minds, memories, metabolisms, personalities, and progeny" (p. 32). A reasonable scenario from this perspective would be an extension of human lifespan within somewhat-reasonable limits, perhaps extending as long as 200 years but no more.
The second main idea advanced by Garreau concerns the implications of these trends on humanity. A full century of science fiction wherein humans become robot-like in appearance through technological innovations are becoming a reality today, and these trends have caused many observers to ask what the implications are for the human species. For instance, the introduction of the exoskeletons described above and others to the human race's repertoire of environmental adaptation tools is consistent with these trends, but the implications of these trends remains unclear. As Garreau points out, "If we can do that -- not in some distant science-fiction future but in the next five, 10, 15 years -- then are we not talking about altering what it means to be human?" (2006a, p. 33).
A final idea advanced by Garreau is that technological innovation will outpace the Grim Reaper in the near future. As noted in the introduction, Moore's Law has held true since Moore first propounded it. Moore's Law may need to be reconceptualized since its thesis that computer processing speeds double approximately every 18 months has been reduced to just a few months -- and many experts predict that these rates will continue to accelerate in the future. According to Younger (2006), "In the last decade, we have become the first species to start directly altering and enhancing our intellectual and physical gifts. The amazing capabilities of our genetic, robotic, information, and nano processes -- call them the GRIN technologies -- are doubling every few months" (p. 33).
According to Garreau, the logical extension of these trends suggest that the day may come, and it may be sooner than many people think, when the cyber-mechanical-exoskeleton human interface becomes sufficiently sophisticated to pass the Turin test. In this regard, Garreau emphasizes that, "It may not be long before you run into a young lady so seriously modified that you might ask whether she represents a transcendence comparable to the difference between Neanderthals and today's humans" ((2006b, p. 34). Just how much "human" can be replaced before people are no longer humans? Certainly, it is reasonable to suggest that these changes in physicality will have some effect on individual psyche, but when does the spark of humanity depart?
After the kidneys, spleen, heart, lungs, liver and other vital organs have been replaced? Or after the legs, torso and arms have been replaced with a full-body exoskeleton? How about the brain? Is that it? Is that what keeps people "human"? Some theorists such as Garreau argue that it will even be possible to transfer the entire store of human memory and emotions into these "cybermechanopeople" so that the essence of individuals can live on long after their physical "deaths." As Garreau emphasizes, "She might have a significantly transformed mind, memory, metabolism, and personality. You'd be curious whether this had changed her immortal soul" (2006a, p. 34). This final scenario is a chilling prospect in many ways, but it may not be fully achievable as noted below.
Assumptions. One of the fundamental assumptions of Garreau's thesis is that technology will outpace human frailties but other authorities argue that the biology and physics involved may reach their logical limits long before computer processing speeds reach theirs. As Braun (2011) points out, though, "In the year 2011, we do not possess the medical knowledge or the technological ability to radically extend the lifespan of a human" (p. 48). Indeed, Braun suggests that it may not really be possible to extend the human lifespan beyond the century mark by any measurable degree: "We have a much greater understanding of human biology, genetics, and the importance of nutrition than previous generations, but nothing proven to help someone live beyond the 122-year record lifespan" (2011, p. 48).
Evaluation of the Potential of These Inventions from Three Scenarios
Kurzweil's "heaven." Is it possible to marry man and machine and still remain human enough to need religion? In this regard, Kurzweil's conceptualization of "heaven" suggests that it may be possible, in the foreseeable future, to realize the man-machine cyborgs that have only been the stuff of science fiction to date. According to Braun (2010), "Given the multitude of scientific endeavors to extend human longevity it is very plausible that one or several of them will be successful. Further, this is a worthy human pursuit, particularly to those unsatisfied by religious offers of eternal life" (p. 48). To the extent that the technological capabilities exists to meld mind, body and machine will likely be the extent to which human reliance on mainstream religion is diminished. In sum, from Kurzweil's perspective, the prospect and realization of immortality through the marriage of technologies such as the exoskeletons described above will mean that mere humans will become superhumans that do not need God anymore and hyper-secular humanism will become the guiding philosophy of the future. Some religious theorists, though, argue that simply because people live longer (perhaps very much longer) in the future does not necessarily translate into a diminution of faith, but rather provides just that much longer to understand the relationship between the Almighty and his creations. For instance, Braun (2011) asks, "Should Kurzweil's estimation of the mortality line be taken seriously or should it be judged alongside history's many failed apocalyptic pronouncements?" (p. 48). Just as the debate over stem cell research delays major potential advances in medical technology, so too do fears of what immortality might mean for Homo sapiens in the future. In this regard, Braun (2011) advises that, "A discussion about the prospects of science developing ways for humans to transcend mortality should break down into two basic questions: could we and should we?" (p. 48).
Because Moore's Law is being outpaced, Braun (2011) argues that advances in technology will outpace human mortality to the extent that extended longevity can be achieved, and perhaps extend indefinitely. As Braun puts it, "In short, medical therapies will repair the biological damage caused by aging faster than we age" (p. 48). ritics have argued that Kurzweil's models mistakenly extend exponential growth, in several industries, too deeply into the future to be considered reliable. For example, even though Moore's Law has accurately described the exponential growth in computer processing power since 1965, the laws of physics will prevent indefinite miniaturization of computing power. Therefore, despite the introduction of inventions such as the exoskeletons described above, Kurzweil's "heaven" may remain the stuff of science fiction.
Joy's "hell." From Joy's perspective, the only reasonable outcome of current trends in technology advances such as the exoskeletons described above is the loss of humanity and the connection between humankind and its creator that has sustained the human species for millennia. To the extent that humankind replaces its humanity with…..... | https://www.helpmyessay.com/essays/inventions-nyu-125083 |
Since the first key publications in the nineties on videogames research in Humanities and Social Sciences contexts, the field of Game Studies has become an established platform for discussion and debate on how games contribute to our cultural, social and aesthetic experiences. Game Studies has, consequently, taken up debates on diversity and inclusion, time and again. Following the return of radical reactionary and conservative forces across the globe, the recent bigoted GamerGate controversy provoked incisive discussions on gender, and questions of race in games have also been at the forefront of such debates. Not much, however, has been said about the representation of colonialism, empire and neo-colonialism in videogames although some of the very earliest games have featured these issues, sometimes in problematic ways. As games perpetuate past and present global power structures in relation to inequalities in material wealth, exploitation of labor, and hegemonic articulations of history and the Other, it is necessary for game studies not only to bring these issues to light, but also critically to analyse the relationship between videogames and existing postcolonial power relationships. Analysing games as disparate as Age of Empires, Far Cry 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry reveal intrinsic questions about how the ludic relates to colonialism and how it informs the postcolonial experience.
This open access special issue of the Open Library of Humanities multidisciplinary journal aims to bring questions of Postcolonialism to the forefront of game studies. An often underexplored and neglected area in the domain of studying both digital and analogue games, a critique of the (mis)representation of Orientalist attitudes, race, hybridity, notions of space and the fragmented postcolonial identities is urgently required. We therefore seek submissions that provide critical analysis of colonial representations in games and challenge notions of colonial hegemonic power structures.
Possible topics might include, but are not limited to:
- Colonialism / Neocolonialism / Postcolonialism / Imperialism
- The Other / Alterity
- Decolonization
- Hegemony
- Orientalism
- Postcolonial praxis
- Global capitalism / economy
- Self-representation / voice / agency
- Subalternity
- Indigenous culture
- Religion(s) / Language(s) / Nationalism(s)
- Thirdspace
- Eurocentrism
- Game studies & politics of knowledge
Research articles should be approximately 8,000 words in length, including references and a short bibliography.
Submissions should comprise of:
- Abstract (250 words)
- Full-length article (8,000 words)
- Author information (short biographical statement of 200 words)
Please submit abstracts to Emil Hammar ([email protected]) by 15th December 2016.
Submissions should be made online at https://olh.openlibhums.org/submit/start/ in accordance with the author guidelines and clearly marking the entry as [“Postcolonial Game Studies” SPECIAL COLLECTION]. Submissions will then undergo a double-blind peer-review process. Authors will be notified of the outcome as soon as reports are received. Authors will be notified about the acceptance of their submissions by 16th January 2017. Final essays should be within the range of approx. 8,000 words, submitted as a Word or Rich Text Format. For abstract submissions that have been accepted, full papers will be due by Friday 28th April 2017. For more information please contact the co-editors.
The special collection, edited by Dr Souvik Mukherjee (Presidency University, Kolkata) and Emil Hammar (University of Tromsø, Norway), is to be published in the Open Library of Humanities (OLH) (ISSN 2056-6700). The Open Library of Humanities journal is an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded multidiscplinary humanities journal with a strong emphasis on quality peer review and a prestigious academic steering board. Unlike some open access publications, the OLH has no author-facing charges and is instead financially supported by an international consortium of libraries.
To learn more about the Open Library of Humanities please visit: https://www.openlibhums.org/
Featured image by Colony of Gamers under a CC BY-NC license. | https://www.openlibhums.org/news/52/ |
Haileybury, one of Melbourne’s leading independent schools, educates students from early learning to Year 12 at campuses in Brighton, Berwick and Keysborough, in an innovative, friendly and accepting environment. The school has been acclaimed for its outstanding academic achievements since its foundation in 1892 and now boasts a broad range of co-curricular activities and state-of-the-art facilities. Learning at Haileybury is student-centred and depends on the different learning styles of students and on their gender, age, interests and potential. The school’s innovative education environment includes a progressive curriculum at each stage of schooling based on individual learning programs. The curriculum has the Victorian Curriculum Standards Framework as its minimum basis, but provides extension and supplementary programs at all levels. Haileybury’s parallel education is an enlightened method of learning and teaching that recognises the diverse educational needs of boys and girls. Parallel Education gives boys and girls the benefit of learning together in their early years, combined with better educational outcomes through single-gender classes in the middle and senior years. Co-instructional classes continue until Year 4. From Years 5 to 12, boys and girls attend separate schools on the same campus.
Facilities: In 2003, Haileybury was the first Victorian independent school to guarantee that classes that count towards the VCE and university entrance score will have no more than 15 students. All other classes are capped at 18 students. Haileybury’s commitment to small class sizes extends to all stages of schooling, ensuring students become independent, resilient learners with all the support they need.
Curriculum: Haileybury has had an unrivalled record of outstanding VCE results for many years, with most students placed in the top 20 per cent of Victoria, half in the top 10 per cent, and a large proportion placed in the top one per cent. The school provides a unique three-year VCE program, allowing students to choose studies and academic levels to match their abilities, needs and interests. Studies can be spread more evenly, allowing Year 12 students to concentrate on their best four subjects.
Extra-curricular activities: Haileybury’s exciting range of activities includes drama, debating, clubs, music, publishing, extension programs, leadership and adventure activities, and community service. Extra-curricular activities mean extra enjoyment on weekends and school holidays and include an outdoor education program.
Student welfare programs: Haileybury provides a safe and supportive learning environment. Each student is under the guidance of a home-room teacher (Junior and Middle Schools) or a tutor, a head of house (Senior School) and supported by psychologists, chaplains and other expert staff. Students with individual needs are catered for under the mainstream program, as are students with special talents and strengths. Communication between teachers and parents is a high priority at Haileybury. Parents are kept up-to-date with their child’s progress and activities through regular newsletters, parent information sessions, daily communication between teachers and parents, and parent-teacher interviews. Haileybury understands that beginning and ending all stages of schooling can be challenging, so a comprehensive transition program is provided to help students through these difficult times. Academic, general excellence and music scholarships are offered. | https://www.schoolchoice.com.au/HAILEYBURY/ |
CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science implemented a program of ATCA Legacy Projects in the 2016OCT semester. Legacy Projects are large, coherent science investigations, not reproducible by any combination of smaller projects, that generate data of general and lasting importance to the broad astronomy community. ATCA Legacy Projects typically require more than 2000 hours over the lifetime of the project, with the expectation of over 300 hours to be allocated per semester. Up to 25% of the observing time may be allocated to Legacy Projects. The original announcement was made in November 2015 and is reproduced below.
C3132 and C3157 were allocated time in 2016OCT, with C3145 and C3152 commecning in 2017APR. Links to the webpages of these Legacy Projects will be added as they are established.
A call for Expressions of Interest was issued in December 2015, with a deadline of March 9th, 2016. EoIs were solicited to gauge the level of community interest and to assist CASS in ensuring appropriate arrangements are in place to conduct and support Legacy Projects. In total, 15 EoIs were received, spanning a diverse range in science topics that make excellent use of the full suite of ATCA capabilities. The high level of community interest for these types of ATCA projects is particularly encouraging.
The submitted EoIs are available below. These were made available to enable teams to consider options for merging, data sharing or commensal observing, and for other astronomers to register their interest in joining a team. EoIs were neither binding nor mandatory, but for the reasons given above were strongly encouraged. While the call noted that CASS would organise a one-day workshop in April to discuss ideas for Legacy Projects in more detail, the breadth of projects, and level of consideration already given in developing them, has negated much of the need for a broad, community workshop. Instead, CASS was happy to facilitate meetings of sub-groups of the community, with each other or with CASS staff, to further develop ideas outlined in the EoIs. CASS also provided some general feedback to the designated contacts of the EoIs ahead of the full proposal submission in June 2015.
After receiving advice from the Australia Telescope Steering Committee and consulting with the ATNF user community, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science (CASS) has decided to begin a program of Legacy Projects on the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), starting in October 2016. It invites the user community to submit Expressions of Interest for such projects by mid March 2016.
Legacy Projects will be large, coherent scientific investigations, not reproducible by any combination of smaller programs, that generate data which will be of lasting use and importance to a large section of the astronomical community. They are projects that will require more than 2000 hours' observing in total, and more than 300 hours per semester. They are distinct from, and will be additional to, the existing category of Large Projects, which are those needing more than 400 hours of observing time in total.
The ATCA is a mature, highly versatile radio interferometer, and is set to remain a forefront instrument until at least the completion of SKA1. Its broadband instrumentation provides high sensitivity for spectral-line, continuum and polarisation studies over an exceptionally wide frequency range (1--105 GHz), a range that complements those of ASKAP (0.7--1.8 GHz) and ALMA (> 90 GHz).
Summaries of the initial Expressions of Interest for Legacy Projects will be made publicly available by the end of March 2016, to allow teams to consider options for merging, data sharing or commensal observing, and for other astronomers to register their interest in joining a team. Teams will have to submit full proposals by mid June to be allocated time in the 2016OCT semester.
Legacy Projects will be reviewed by the TAC (augmented by additional expertise if required). From 2016OCT they will be allocated up to 25% of observing time on the ATCA. A call for Legacy Projects will be made about every two years, with the exact spacing between calls dependent on the number and length of projects already accepted.
There will be no proprietary period for the raw data from Legacy Projects. This is to maximise the scientific outcomes from the large fraction of observatory time they represent, and to enable timely follow-on observations.
Each project must release its value-added data or data products in a timely way: its rate of delivery will be assessed each year. Projects will also be re-assessed every three years in light of any changes in the external scientific environment. CASS will facilitate Legacy Projects in a number of ways.
We will allocate significant disk space on Marsfield machines for data reduction.
We will institute a residency program to allow Legacy teams to visit Marsfield for stays of weeks or months, so that they can receive help from Operations, Engineering and Astrophysics staff to develop or refine their observing or data-reduction strategy.
ATCA array configurations are currently offered in a manner that cycles through all 17 standard configurations in 18 months. For Legacy Projects we will consider scheduling the required array(s) more frequently.
We strongly encourage Legacy Project teams to include CASS collaborators, to incorporate local expertise. | http://www.atnf.csiro.au/observers/apply/ATCA-Legacy-Projects.html |
In January 2019, Seattle’s Aparna Rae and Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno launched Future for Us, an initiative designed to accelerate the advancement of women of color through community, culture, and career development. They envision a world where women of color lead at the highest levels of corporate, government, and social sector organizations. For everyone pioneering this important vision, one of the most meaningful questions is this: In a world where women of color are supported to be business and community leaders, what do these women look like?
This question’s significance stays firmly intact across wide-ranging cultural and societal lines, and in reference to people of all ages and backgrounds. My home country of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and my own Māori culture and ancestral line, provide one historical and ongoing example of the human connection between success and identity.
In Aotearoa, the treaty signed by Māori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown in 1840 was supposed to establish a path for shared land and leadership. But differences in meaning between the Māori and English translations of the bilingual treaty confused the Māori understanding of joint leadership with the British expectation of sovereignty. Disagreements culminated in nearly thirty years of conflict known as the New Zealand Wars, after which Māori had lost ownership of land and the treaty was disregarded entirely. The remainder of the 19th century and some half of the next saw the widespread oppression of Māori in New Zealand.
The most devastating means of progress and success sold to people in oppressed or non-dominant cultures is the necessary suppression of cultural identity. The same can be said about the identities of any non-dominant person or groups: “If you want to succeed, be more like us.” For Māori that wasn’t an option – owning our advancement meant owning our identity – and it shouldn’t have to be the solution for anyone. When we think about what it really takes to succeed, relative dominance and external norms don’t factor at all in the equation. It’s not about who anyone wants us to be. Meaning and fulfillment and lifelong success are achieved on the strength of whoever we are, what we know and can do, and our connections with others and the world.
Māori shared this understanding with the rest of New Zealand, whose cultural identity is increasingly intertwined with the cultural Māori experience. In schools, the focus has shifted to creating a culture committed to “Māori achievement as Māori.”
“Māori achievement as Māori” [is] essentially saying that our Māori students should not have to stop being Māori when they come in the school gates in order to be successful in education, that their ways of knowing and understanding are important and valid and should be valued by schools. We have several government initiatives specifically about Māori achievement as Māori . . . and [we] work on recognizing Māori success, the ways that Māori are successful, saying that every Māori student can be successful and still express their cultural identity, whatever that is, whatever part of the country they’re from. If we’re effective teachers of Māori students, what things will we be doing? What attributes will we have?
– Gwyneth Cooper, Head of Science, Bream Bay College, New Zealand (as quoted in Measuring Human Return)
Māori students don’t have to suppress their identity in order to succeed in the classroom. They can be, “look like,” and celebrate Māori. Everywhere, schools need to teach every one of their students that the person they are isn’t holding them back, but a powerful means for contributing back.
Sage, Aparna, and Future for Us remind us of the lesson that Māori have taught and continue to teach to this day. The focus is not on how women of color can gain a new world through the loss of identity, but rather on how the world’s women of color can create a new future that reflects who they are.
Instead of asking what might be in store for the world, ask what our leaders will look like in the future. What we see in the futures of women of color shines a light on the future of us all. | https://thelearnerfirst.com/2019/01/29/future-for-us/ |
Dealing with ethical dilemmas is an ongoing battle in all professions, which many people unfortunately choose to forsake doing the 'right' thing, or choosing the best option given the circumstances is never easy a multifold of factors and issues need to be adequately taken into consideration the main problem would be. Essay on the importance of ethics in engineering in every profession, there are various sets of positive qualities one, a universal set of qualities. Read this full essay on ethics of engineers engineers have an obligation to society to protect the public welfare the public has endowed engineers, through. Ethics is the moral behavior that guides our actions it motivates us in our personal behavior and is relevant in a business setting as well many organizations have set forth a set of guidelines known as a “code of ethics” the institute of electrical and electronic engineers, being one of these organizations, has set forth their. Find engineering ethics resources including news, conferences, standards, journals, and careers from asme - the center of engineering conversation.
Essay on the importance of ethics in the engineering sector by shuvanjanh in types school work, ethics, and engineering. If you are teaching engineering or philosophy students, you might end up addressing the complex and interesting field of engineering ethics this. Please also visit the new guide for more engineering ethics resources engineering ethics resources • engineering cases • journals and databases • bibliography of books and articlesengineering ethics resourcescsep's collection of engineering codes of ethicsengineering ethics at texas a&m. Engineering ethics “the need for safety is proportional to the danger of having an accident nothing is fool-proof, yet we must try to minimize risks if the public is willing to run or to take such risks, who are engineers to refuse and to say no ” ( a) in my opinion, the above is a very good argument.
Collectively the essays offer a set of perspectives on the development of a practical ethical approach to engineering and current technologic society papers in this volume include: (1) ethics in engineering: a pressing need by stephen unger (2) principles of responsibility forprofessional practice by charles reynolds. It also shows how engineers have to be “on the toes and ready for wrong doings around them to ensure that they can make sure that the problems do not escalate as seen the cases below the report also depicts the framework of which the engineering ethics “code based around table of contents executive summary i.
Essays, articles, and student projects concerning ethics in engineering practice and in a corporate environment. Professional ethics 9 15 the negative face of engineering ethics: preventive ethics 12 16 the positive face of engineering ethics: aspirational ethics 14 we believe the latter should have more prominence in engineering ethics ( philosophy, university of dayton) contributed her essay on women in engineering. Introduction ethical reflections applied to engineering are a lot more recent than to other professional activities nevertheless, there is a subject called “ engineering ethics” established as an autonomous field of academic research in the united states at the end of the 1970s, it has since developed in other. | http://fvhomeworkkwxi.n2g.us/essay-engineering-ethics.html |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
FIELD
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
This application claims priority and benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/230,501, entitled “Positioning System, Lithographic Apparatus and Method”, filed on Jul. 31, 2009. The content of that application is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The present invention relates to a positioning system, a lithographic apparatus and a method to reduce flexibility and resulting internal deformations by increasing stiffness and/or damping of a body of an object.
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. including part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Conventional lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at once, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the “scanning”-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
The known lithographic apparatus includes a positioning device to control the position of a substrate support supporting the substrate. This positioning device includes a position measurement system which is configured to measure a number of sensors or sensor target positions of the substrate support.
During use of the lithographic apparatus, forces will be exerted on the substrate support. For instance, during the expose phase, i.e. during projection of the patterned beam on a target portion of the substrate level, level actuations may be performed to position the upper surface of the substrate in a correct orientation with respect to the lens column. As the stiffness of the substrate support is limited, the level actuations may cause temporary internal deformations of the substrate support. Such internal deformations may lead to focus errors and/or offset in overlay.
To reduce the risk of internal deformations of the substrate table and as a consequence focus errors or overlay offset, it has been proposed to increase the stiffness of the substrate support by providing a stiffer structure. However, due to the increasing demand on accuracy and speed of the positioning of the substrate support, the possibilities to increase the structural stiffness of the substrate support structure without encountering further problems, for instance with respect to weight have come to their limits.
These limitations in flexibility of the substrate support as a result of increasing accelerations are also encountered in the position control of other objects such as the patterning device support.
It is desirable to provide a positioning system to position a movable object, in particular a substrate table or patterning device support, wherein the body of the movable object is stiff so that internal deformations of the body and consequent focus errors and/or offset in overlay can be avoided, or at least decreased.
According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a positioning system to position a movable object having a body, the positioning system including: an object position measurement system to measure a position quantity of the object, an object actuator to exert an actuation force on the object, and an object controller to provide an object actuation signal for the actuator on the basis of a difference between a desired position quantity and the measured position quantity, wherein the positioning system further includes a stiffening system to increase the stiffness and/or to damp relative movements within the body of the object, the stiffening system including one or more sensors, wherein each sensor is arranged to determine a measurement signal representative of an internal strain or relative displacement in the body, one or more actuators, wherein each actuator is arranged to exert an actuation force on a part of the body, and at least one controller, configured to provide on the basis of the measurement signal of at least one of the sensors, an actuation signal to at least one of the actuators to increase the stiffness and/or to damp movements within the body.
According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a lithographic apparatus including: an illumination system configured to condition a radiation beam; a support constructed to support a patterning device, the patterning device being capable of imparting the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam; a substrate table constructed to hold a substrate; and a projection system configured to project the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate, wherein the lithographic apparatus includes a positioning system to control a position of the support or substrate table, the support or substrate table having a body, the positioning system including: a body position measurement system to measure a position quantity of the body of the support or substrate table, a body actuator to exert an actuation force on the body of the support or substrate table, and a body controller to provide an actuation signal for the actuator on the basis of a difference between a desired position quantity and the measured position quantity, wherein the positioning system further includes a stiffening system to increase the stiffness and/or to damp relative movements within the body of the object, the stiffening system including; one or more sensors, wherein each sensor is arranged to determine a measurement signal representative of an internal strain or relative displacement in the body, one or more actuators, wherein each actuator is arranged to exert an actuation force on a part of the body, and at least one controller, configured to provide on the basis of the measurement signal of at least one of the sensors, an actuation signal to at least one of the actuators to increase the stiffness and/or to damp movements within the body.
According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method to reduce flexibility and resulting internal deformations by the increase of stiffness and/or damping movements within a body of an object, including: providing a stiffening system including: one or more sensors, wherein each sensor is arranged to measure a measurement signal representative of an internal strain or relative displacement in the body, wherein one or more actuators, wherein each actuator is arranged to exert an actuation force on a part of the body, and at least one controller, configured to provide on the basis of the measurement signal of at least one of the sensors, an actuation signal to at least one of the actuators to increase the stiffness and/or to damp movements within the body, measuring with at least one sensor a distance between two parts of the body to obtain the measurement signal, providing an actuation signal for one or more of the actuators to maintain the distance at a zero level, feeding the actuation signal to the one or more of the actuators to exert a force on at least one part of the body.
FIG. 1
schematically depicts a lithographic apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention. The apparatus includes an illumination system (illuminator) IL configured to condition a radiation beam B (e.g. UV radiation or any other suitable radiation), a patterning device support or mask support structure (e.g. a mask table) MT constructed to support a patterning device (e.g. a mask) MA and connected to a first positioning device 1M configured to accurately position the patterning device in accordance with certain parameters. The apparatus also includes a substrate table (e.g. a wafer table) WT or “substrate support” constructed to hold a substrate (e.g. a resist-coated wafer) W and connected to a second positioning device PW configured to accurately position the substrate in accordance with certain parameters. The apparatus further includes a projection system (e.g. a refractive projection lens system) PS configured to project a pattern imparted to the radiation beam B by patterning device MA onto a target portion C (e.g. including one or more dies) of the substrate W.
The illumination system may include various types of optical components, such as refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrostatic or other types of optical components, or any combination thereof, to direct, shape, or control radiation.
The patterning device support holds the patterning device in a manner that depends on the orientation of the patterning device, the design of the lithographic apparatus, and other conditions, such as for example whether or not the patterning device is held in a vacuum environment. The patterning device support can use mechanical, vacuum, electrostatic or other clamping techniques to hold the patterning device. The patterning device support may be a frame or a table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required. The patterning device support may ensure that the patterning device is at a desired position, for example with respect to the projection system. Any use of the terms “reticle” or “mask” herein may be considered synonymous with the more general term “patterning device.”
The term “patterning device” used herein should be broadly interpreted as referring to any device that can be used to impart a radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section so as to create a pattern in a target portion of the substrate. It should be noted that the pattern imparted to the radiation beam may not exactly correspond to the desired pattern in the target portion of the substrate, for example if the pattern includes phase-shifting features or so called assist features. Generally, the pattern imparted to the radiation beam will correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion, such as an integrated circuit.
The patterning device may be transmissive or reflective. Examples of patterning devices include masks, programmable mirror arrays, and programmable LCD panels. Masks are well known in lithography, and include mask types such as binary, alternating phase-shift, and attenuated phase-shift, as well as various hybrid mask types. An example of a programmable mirror array employs a matrix arrangement of small mirrors, each of which can be individually tilted so as to reflect an incoming radiation beam in different directions. The tilted mirrors impart a pattern in a radiation beam which is reflected by the mirror matrix.
The term “projection system” used herein should be broadly interpreted as encompassing any type of projection system, including refractive, reflective, catadioptric, magnetic, electromagnetic and electrostatic optical systems, or any combination thereof, as appropriate for the exposure radiation being used, or for other factors such as the use of an immersion liquid or the use of a vacuum. Any use of the term “projection lens” herein may be considered as synonymous with the more general term “projection system”.
As here depicted, the apparatus is of a transmissive type (e.g. employing a transmissive mask). Alternatively, the apparatus may be of a reflective type (e.g. employing a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above, or employing a reflective mask).
The lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two (dual stage) or more substrate tables or “substrate supports” (and/or two or more mask tables or “mask supports”). In such “multiple stage” machines the additional tables or supports may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables or supports while one or more other tables or supports are being used for exposure.
The lithographic apparatus may also be of a type wherein at least a portion of the substrate may be covered by a liquid having a relatively high refractive index, e.g. water, so as to fill a space between the projection system and the substrate. An immersion liquid may also be applied to other spaces in the lithographic apparatus, for example, between the patterning device (e.g. mask) and the projection system. Immersion techniques can be used to increase the numerical aperture of projection systems. The term “immersion” as used herein does not mean that a structure, such as a substrate, must be submerged in liquid, but rather only means that a liquid is located between the projection system and the substrate during exposure.
FIG. 1
Referring to , the illuminator IL receives a radiation beam from a radiation source SO. The source and the lithographic apparatus may be separate entities, for example when the source is an excimer laser. In such cases, the source is not considered to form part of the lithographic apparatus and the radiation beam is passed from the source SO to the illuminator IL with the aid of a beam delivery system BD including, for example, suitable directing mirrors and/or a beam expander. In other cases the source may be an integral part of the lithographic apparatus, for example when the source is a mercury lamp. The source SO and the illuminator IL, together with the beam delivery system BD if required, may be referred to as a radiation system.
The illuminator IL may include an adjuster AD configured to adjust the angular intensity distribution of the radiation beam. Generally, at least the outer and/or inner radial extent (commonly referred to as σ-outer and σ-inner, respectively) of the intensity distribution in a pupil plane of the illuminator can be adjusted. In addition, the illuminator IL may include various other components, such as an integrator IN and a condenser CO. The illuminator may be used to condition the radiation beam, to have a desired uniformity and intensity distribution in its cross-section.
FIG. 1
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The radiation beam B is incident on the patterning device (e.g., mask) MA, which is held on the patterning device support (e.g., mask table) MT, and is patterned by the patterning device. Having traversed the patterning device (e.g. mask) MA, the radiation beam B passes through the projection system PS, which focuses the beam onto a target portion C of the substrate W. With the aid of the second positioning device PW and position sensor IF (e.g. an interferometric device, linear encoder or capacitive sensor), the substrate table WT can be moved accurately, e.g. so as to position different target portions C in the path of the radiation beam B. Similarly, the first positioning device PM and another position sensor (which is not explicitly depicted in ) can be used to accurately position the patterning device (e.g. mask) MA with respect to the path of the radiation beam B, e.g. after mechanical retrieval from a mask library, or during a scan. In general, movement of the patterning device support (e.g. mask table) MT may be realized with the aid of a long-stroke module (coarse positioning) and a short-stroke module (fine positioning), which form part of the first positioning device PM. Similarly, movement of the substrate table WT or “substrate support” may be realized using a long-stroke module and a short-stroke module, which form part of the second positioner PW. In the case of a stepper (as opposed to a scanner) the patterning device support (e.g. mask table) MT may be connected to a short-stroke actuator only, or may be fixed. Patterning device (e.g. mask) MA and substrate W may be aligned using patterning device alignment marks M, M and substrate alignment marks P, P. Although the substrate alignment marks as illustrated occupy dedicated target portions, they may be located in spaces between target portions (these are known as scribe-lane alignment marks). Similarly, in situations in which more than one die is provided on the patterning device (e.g. mask) MA, the patterning device alignment marks may be located between the dies.
The depicted apparatus could be used in at least one of the following modes:
1. In step mode, the patterning device support (e.g. mask table) MT or “mask support” and the substrate table WT or “substrate support” are kept essentially stationary, while an entire pattern imparted to the radiation beam is projected onto a target portion C at one time (i.e. a single static exposure). The substrate table WT or “substrate support” is then shifted in the X and/or Y direction so that a different target portion C can be exposed. In step mode, the maximum size of the exposure field limits the size of the target portion C imaged in a single static exposure.
2. In scan mode, the patterning device support (e.g. mask table) MT or “mask support” and the substrate table WT or “substrate support” are scanned synchronously while a pattern imparted to the radiation beam is projected onto a target portion C (i.e. a single dynamic exposure). The velocity and direction of the substrate table WT or “substrate support” relative to the patterning device support (e.g. mask table) MT or “mask support” may be determined by the (de-)magnification and image reversal characteristics of the projection system PS. In scan mode, the maximum size of the exposure field limits the width (in the non-scanning direction) of the target portion in a single dynamic exposure, whereas the length of the scanning motion determines the height (in the scanning direction) of the target portion.
3. In another mode, the patterning device support (e.g. mask table) MT or “mask support” is kept essentially stationary holding a programmable patterning device, and the substrate table WT or “substrate support” is moved or scanned while a pattern imparted to the radiation beam is projected onto a target portion C. In this mode, generally a pulsed radiation source is employed and the programmable patterning device is updated as required after each movement of the substrate table WT or “substrate support” or in between successive radiation pulses during a scan. This mode of operation can be readily applied to maskless lithography that utilizes programmable patterning device, such as a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above.
Combinations and/or variations on the above described modes of use or entirely different modes of use may also be employed.
FIG. 2
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shows a part of a conventional lithographic apparatus in more detail. A projection system is mounted on a metro frame . The projection system is configured to project a patterned beam of radiation on a substrate supported on a substrate support . The substrate support includes a substrate table , also referred to as short stroke stage, and a substrate table support , also referred to as long stroke stage, arranged to support the substrate table .
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The substrate table support is movably mounted on base frame . The substrate table support is movable with respect to the base frame over a relative long range in at least two directions (X,Y). The substrate table is in its turn movable with respect to the substrate table support over a relative small range.
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A positioning system is provided to align a target portion of the substrate with respect to the projection system . The positioning system includes a substrate table position measurement system or sensor including encoder heads mounted on the substrate table , and a grid or grating arranged on the metro frame . Preferably, at least three encoder heads are provided, each capable of measuring a position in two directions, therewith providing at least six degrees of freedom (DOF) position information of the substrate table .
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The grid or grating is for instance provided on a grid plate mounted on the metro frame . The positioning system further includes a controller to provide an actuator signal to a substrate table actuator arranged to position the substrate table very accurately in a desired position, preferably in six degrees of freedom (DOF).
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Since the substrate table can only be moved over a relative small range with respect to the substrate table support , the positioning system actuates the substrate table support to follow the movement of the substrate table so that the required movement of the substrate table remains within the relative small range of the movement of the substrate table with respect to the substrate table support . In this small range the substrate table can be controlled with high accuracy.
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Each of the encoder heads provides a measurement signal which is representative of a position or change in position of the encoder heads with respect to the grid or grating . The controller includes a subtractor in which the measured position is subtracted from a desired position signal generated by a set point generator. The resulting error signal is fed to a control device of the controller which generates an actuation signal on the basis of the error signal. This actuation signal is fed to the substrate table actuator to move the actuator to the desired position. Feed-forward loops may be added in the control of the position of the substrate table to further improve the accuracy and response time of the control system.
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The above described positioning system is a conventional positioning system. In the position control it is assumed that the substrate table behaves as a rigid body, having no internal deformation during acceleration of the body. However, with increasing demands on throughput and accuracy of the lithographic, the acceleration and deceleration of the substrate table during positioning are generally increased. As a result, internal deformation of the substrate table during movements, in particular acceleration and deceleration, play an increasing role in the accuracy of the positioning of a substrate table . Therefore, in the relevant frequency range, the substrate table can no longer be regarded as a rigid body.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
FIG. 2
shows a positioning system according to an embodiment of the invention. Unless otherwise described the positioning system of is similar to the positioning system of , and the parts of the system are indicated with the same reference numerals.
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FIG. 3
The positioning system includes a rigid body control system or controller including encoder heads , grid or grating , controller and actuator . Next to the rigid body control system, the positioning system of includes a stiffening system or stiffener, which is configured to actively increase the stiffness and/or damp relative movements within the substrate table .
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The stiffening system or stiffener includes sensors , and actuators . The stiffener further includes a control unit which is integrated in the controller . In an alternative embodiment, the control unit of the stiffener may be a separate control unit. The actuators may be of any suitable type, for instance Lorentz type actuators. The actuators are divided over the surface of the substrate table , and arranged to exert a force on the substrate table in the z-direction as indicated by the double-headed arrows representing the actuators . To provide sufficient locations for exerting an actuation force on the substrate table multiple actuators , for instance ten to twenty, may be divided over the surface of the substrate table . However, in an embodiment it may also be possible to provide only one sensor and one actuator, for instance to counteract one specific internal deformation mode of the substrate table .
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The sensors , include a laser source and detector unit , and a mirror unit , . A laser source in the laser source and detector unit emits a radiation or laser beam towards the mirror unit , which reflects the beam towards a detector in the laser source and detector unit . The detector provides a signal which is compared with a signal provided by a reference beam which only travels within the laser source and detector unit between the source and a reference detector. In this measurement system in which use is made of laser interferometry, a change in distance between different parts of the substrate table may be determined.
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Any other sensor configuration in particular using an optical measurement system, such as laser interferometry, to determine a change in distance in the substrate table , may also be used. As an alternative, high performance strain gauges, i.e. strain gauges capable of measuring very small changes in distance in a short time, may also be applied.
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In an embodiment, the laser source and detectors of the sensors may be arranged in the substrate table support so that all parts which require cabling are not mounted in the substrate table . The measurement beams in the substrate table may be guided by mirrors along the desired measurement path to the respective detectors. The location of the laser source and detectors in the substrate table support may have a positive influence on the movability and the weight of the substrate table .
FIG. 3
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In the embodiment shown in , the substrate table is made of light-transparent material, for instance glass, through which the measurement beams may travel. In another embodiment, the measurement sensor may be mounted on the outside of the substrate table so that the measurement beams may travel along the side of the substrate table, or spaces, for instance channels, such as drilled holes, may be provided in the substrate table for passage of the measurement beams. The benefit of a light-transparent body through which the measurement beams travel is that there are no or less influences of changing atmosphere on the measurement beams.
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The sensors , are arranged to measure a change in distance between two ends , of the substrate table . In the shown embodiment a first sensor is arranged to measure a length between one end and the opposed end of the substrate table at the upper side of the substrate table , while the second sensor is arranged to measure a length between one end and the opposed end of the substrate table at the lower side of the substrate table . Both sensors , measure a distance which remains constant when there are no internal deformations in the substrate table . Measurement of a change in distance between the two ends , of the substrate table provides a measurement signal which is representative of an internal deformation in the substrate table .
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The measurement signal is fed to the controller . The controller provides actuation signals to one or more of the actuators to exert a force on the substrate table to counteract the change in distance between the two ends , of the substrate table , and therewith the internal deformation of the substrate table.
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The control action of the stiffener is aimed at keeping the change in distance measured between the two ends and at substantially zero. As a result, the stiffness of the substrate table is significantly increased and/or relative movements within the substrate table are damped. With the stiffener of an embodiment of the present invention it may be possible to increase the stiffness of a substrate table substantially, for instance with a factor four to eight.
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Generally, the control action is aimed at reducing the flexibility of the substrate table and therewith resulting internal deformations, by increasing the stiffness and/or damping of relative movements within the substrate table . In particular, the transfer function of force to displacement other than rigid body movements should be minimized.
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To increase the sensitivity of the measurements made, the measurement signals of the first sensor and the second sensor may be compared. For instance, when the ends , of the substrate table are bend upwards, the length of the upper side of the plate-shaped substrate table becomes smaller, while the length of the lower side becomes longer. As a result, the change between the two measurement signals of the sensors and is larger than the change of each the measurement signals itself. Therefore, in particular to measure bend modes or torque modes of the substrate table , it is beneficial to use sensors , arranged close to the upper and lower surface of the plate-shaped substrate table , and to preferably combine measurement signals of sensors close to the upper and lower surface to further increase the sensitivity of the measurements.
FIG. 3
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In the embodiment shown in , only two sensors , are shown. In practice, multiple sensors may be used to measure internal deformations of the substrate table , i.e. relative movements within the substrate table , as now will be explained.
FIG. 4
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shows a top view of a substrate table wherein multiple sensors , are arranged, each sensor having a source and detector unit and a mirror unit . These sensors provide a web of measurement lines over the surface of the substrate table . By measurement of the change of distance in any of the sensors , an internal deformation may be determined and used to counteract the internal deformation by the actuators . By providing sensors over the surface over the substrate table information regarding internal deformation at any location on the substrate table may be obtained. A similar web of sensors may be provided near the bottom side of the substrate table .
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The sensor parts , are arranged near the edges of the substrate table so that the measurement beams travel over a relative long path. Therewith, the sensors are sensitive to relative small shape changes of the substrate table . The sensors may be able to measure with a resolution of better than about 10 nanometers, or even better than about 1 nanometer over a distance of 200 mm.
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The information of the sensors may for instance be used in the controller to determine which deformation modes, the substrate table is subject to, for instance, a torque and/or bend mode. These deformation modes may be useful to calculate in the controller the actuation forces to be exerted by the actuators to counteract the internal deformation.
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FIG. 4
In alternative embodiments, the sensors may be divided in any suitable way over the substrate table for measuring changes in distance between different parts of the substrate table . For instance, the sensors may only be provided along the edges of the substrate table to determine particular bending modes of the substrate table . In general it is beneficial to know specific dominant bending modes of the substrate table and arrange the sensors in such a way that the sensors are sensitive to these bending modes. The sensors may also be arranged at different heights in the substrate table and the measurement beams may be provided at different angles than the X and Y directions shown in . For instance, diagonal measurement paths may be very suitable for determining torsion modes.
FIG. 5
FIG. 5
FIG. 3
6
12
6
shows an alternative embodiment of a positioning system including a stiffener configured to stiffen the plate shaped substrate table . In the embodiment of , a sensor structure similar to encoder heads is used in order to determine internal deformations within the substrate table . Other parts of the stiffener, such as controller and actuators are substantially the same as in the embodiment of and will not be further elucidated here.
30
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6
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6
6
6
4
30
3
30
12
12
13
31
6
6
13
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24
FIG. 5
The sensor structure includes sensor heads (only two shown) arranged at opposed ends , of the substrate table . The sensor heads are arranged at the upper surface of the substrate table , and may be divided over the circumference of the substrate table , i.e. divided over the top surface of the substrate table not covered by the substrate . Each of the sensor heads includes a laser source which provides a laser beam which is reflected by the grid or grating back to the sensor head . However, different than the encoder heads , the measurement beam not only runs between the sensor head and the grid or grating and back, but via optical elements , the measurement beam also runs through the substrate table . Any change in length in this measurement path may now be determined. Thus, both changes in the distance between the substrate table and the grid or grating but also changes of distances between the ends and may be determined by the sensor structure of the embodiment of .
12
13
6
14
22
In this measurement signal the changes in distance between sensor head and grid or grating due to rigid body movement should not be taken into account to determine internal deformation. For this reason, the sensor structure can be made independent of these movements or the rigid body movements can be subtracted from the measurement signals. The measurement signals independent of the rigid body movements are representative for the internal deformation of the substrate table and can be used as input for the controller in order to provide actuation signals for the actuators .
14
It is remarked that in practice a multi dimensional control strategy may be used for control of both the rigid-body mode and the internal deformation modes. Therefore, only one controller is depicted for the control of both modes. Also sensors and actuators may be used for both rigid body mode and internal deformation modes.
22
6
6
6
6
On the basis of the actuation signals, the actuators exert forces on the substrate table to counteract the internal deformations of the substrate table . As a result, the stiffness of the substrate table is substantially improved and/or the relative movements of parts within the substrate table are decreased.
30
3
6
6
A benefit of using a sensor structure having a measurement beam which also measures over the distance between the sensor head and the grid or grating in the z-direction is that measurements in this Z-direction are sensitive for specific mode shapes of the substrate table , in particular bending and torques of the substrate table . These bending and torsion modes are dominant in known substrate table lay-outs, and therefore it is useful to have a sensor structure which is particularly sensitive for these modes.
Other sensor structures using an optical measurement beam which runs both through or along the substrate table in a direction substantially parallel to the main plane, as in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main plane may be applied.
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
FIG. 3
6
40
6
shows another alternative embodiment of a positioning system including a stiffener to stiffen the plate shaped substrate table . In the embodiment of , sensors are provided to determine internal deformations within the substrate table . Other parts of the stiffener, such as controller and actuators are substantially the same as in the embodiment of and will not be further elucidated here.
40
6
4
40
6
13
40
12
40
13
6
The sensors are arranged about the circumference of the substrate table , i.e. in the top surface area not covered by the substrate . The sensors are configured to measure the distance or change in distance between the substrate support and the grid or grating . The sensors may correspond to the sensor heads , or may the any other type of sensor capable of measuring the distance or change in distance between the sensor and the grid or grating . It is desirable that the sensors be made insensitive to rigid body movements of the substrate support , or rigid body movements may be subtracted from the measured distances.
40
6
14
22
22
6
6
6
6
The resulting changes in distance measured by the sensors are representative of the internal deformation of the substrate table , and can be used as input for the controller in order to provide actuation signals for the actuators . On the basis of these actuation signals, the actuators exert forces on the substrate table to counteract the internal deformations of the substrate table . As a result, the stiffness of the substrate table is substantially improved and/or the relative movements of parts within the substrate table are decreased.
FIG. 6
6
13
6
13
12
A benefit of the sensor structure of the embodiment of is that the differential change in distance between different parts of the substrate table and the grid or grating provides reliable information on the internal deformations in the substrate table . Furthermore, no separate reference object has to be provided, as the grid or grating is already provided for the measurement of rigid body movement measured by sensor heads .
FIG. 7
FIG. 7
FIGS. 3-6
6
shows yet another alternative embodiment of a sensor structure to be used in a positioning system including a stiffener to stiffen the plate shaped substrate table . Unless described otherwise, the positioning system of may be carried out the same as in the embodiments of .
FIG. 7
50
6
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51
7
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51
7
51
The sensor structure of includes sensors arranged at the bottom side of the substrate table . The sensors are configured to measure a distance or change in distance with respect to a grid plate . The grid plate is arranged at the top side of the substrate table support via a kinematic coupling point therewith avoiding or at least decreasing the effect of accelerations and/or vibrations on the position of the grid plate . In an alternative embodiment, complete decoupling is provided through force actuators similar to substrate table actuation, or a passive or active damping system may be provided between the substrate table support and the grid plate .
50
7
6
50
6
The sensors may be suitably divided over the surface of the bottom side of the substrate table support to recognize internal deformations of the substrate table . The sensors may be placed next to the outer circumference of the substrate table , but also on other locations.
51
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15
FIG. 7
In the shown embodiment, the grid plate covers the whole area of the substrate table . However, since the range of movement of this substrate table support is small with respect to the substrate table , only a small grid on the grid plate can cover the whole range of movement of the sensors with respect to the grid plate . It is remarked that, as an alternative for one grid plate for all sensors as shown in , a relative small grid plate for a limited number of sensors , or even one sensor may be provided. In practice such smaller grid plates may be useful since there may also be space required for other components between the substrate table and the substrate table support , such as the actuator .
50
12
50
51
6
50
The sensors may correspond to the sensor heads , or may be any other type of sensor capable of measuring the distance or change in distance between the sensor and the grid or grating . Also in this embodiment, the sensor signals may be made insensitive to rigid body movements of the substrate support , for instance by the build-up of the sensors or by subtracting rigid body movements of the measured signals.
50
6
14
22
22
6
6
6
6
The resulting changes in distance measured by the sensors are representative of the internal deformations of the substrate table , and can be used as input for the controller in order to provide actuation signals for the actuators . On the basis of these actuation signals, the actuators exert forces on the substrate table to counteract the internal deformations of the substrate table . As a result, the stiffness of the substrate table is substantially improved and/or the relative movements of parts within the substrate table are decreased.
FIG. 7
51
7
7
6
50
51
6
4
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4
4
A benefit of the embodiment of is that the reference object, in the form of grid plate may be attached to the substrate table support . Since the range of movement of this substrate table support is small with respect to the substrate table , only a small grid plate can cover the whole range of movement of the sensors with respect to the grid plate . Furthermore, the space available at the bottom side of the substrate table is not limited by the presence of the projection system or the substrate . Thus, the sensors may also be arranged below the substrate . A benefit of this is that the internal deformation at the location of the target portion of the substrate , i.e. the part of the wafer on which a patterned beam is projected, may be determined with higher accuracy.
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7
Instead of an optical measurement system using the grid plate , also any other suitable system, preferably optical measurement system, may be used to measure the distance or change in distance between the substrate table and the substrate table support may be used. Preferably, the reference object, such as grid plate is made insensitive to accelerations and/or vibrations of the substrate table support by kinematic couplings, force actuators, or active damping systems or dampers or any other suitable system.
Hereinabove, a stiffener has been described which is applied in a positioning system of a plate shaped object. Since the stiffener is applied in a plate-shaped object, the stiffener is configured to provide an active stiffening in a layer substantially parallel to the main plane of the object. It is also contemplated that the stiffener may be applied in objects having another shape, for instance box-type structures. Also, the stiffener may be applied for objects in which internal deformations in multiple directions have to be counteracted. In these applications the stiffener may be configured to counteract internal deformations, wherein sensors and actuators are arranged in multiple directions.
Furthermore, it is remarked that the stiffener according to an embodiment of the invention may be used to counteract internal deformation during accelerations or decelerations, but also to counteract internal deformations due to other causes, such as temperature differences between different parts of the substrate table or external forces exerted on the substrate table, for instance forces exerted by an immersion system of the lithographic apparatus.
15
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6
6
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22
In one embodiment, actuator may actuated at a different frequencies than actuator . For example, actuator may actuate at a lower frequency than actuator . The lower frequency may correspond to the frequency range of the kinematic actuation of the substrate table . This way, it is possible to reduce undesired deformations of the substrate table caused by drift in the actuator . The drift may also be caused in an amplifier or a current sensor connected to the actuator .
Although specific reference may be made in this text to the use of lithographic apparatus in the manufacture of ICs, it should be understood that the lithographic apparatus described herein may have other applications, such as the manufacture of integrated optical systems, guidance and detection patterns for magnetic domain memories, flat-panel displays, liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), thin-film magnetic heads, etc. The skilled artisan will appreciate that, in the context of such alternative applications, any use of the terms “wafer” or “die” herein may be considered as synonymous with the more general terms “substrate” or “target portion”, respectively. The substrate referred to herein may be processed, before or after exposure, in for example a track (a tool that typically applies a layer of resist to a substrate and develops the exposed resist), a metrology tool and/or an inspection tool. Where applicable, the disclosure herein may be applied to such and other substrate processing tools. Further, the substrate may be processed more than once, for example in order to create a multi-layer IC, so that the term substrate used herein may also refer to a substrate that already contains multiple processed layers.
Although specific reference may have been made above to the use of embodiments of the invention in the context of optical lithography, it will be appreciated that the invention may be used in other applications, for example imprint lithography, and where the context allows, is not limited to optical lithography. In imprint lithography a topography in a patterning device defines the pattern created on a substrate. The topography of the patterning device may be pressed into a layer of resist supplied to the substrate whereupon the resist is cured by applying electromagnetic radiation, heat, pressure or a combination thereof. The patterning device is moved out of the resist leaving a pattern in it after the resist is cured.
The terms “radiation” and “beam” used herein encompass all types of electromagnetic radiation, including ultraviolet (UV) radiation (e.g. having a wavelength of or about 365, 248, 193, 157 or 126 nm) and extreme ultra-violet (EUV) radiation (e.g. having a wavelength in the range of 5-20 nm), as well as particle beams, such as ion beams or electron beams.
The term “lens”, where the context allows, may refer to any one or combination of various types of optical components, including refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic and electrostatic optical components.
In an embodiment there is provided a positioning system configured to position a movable object having a body. The positioning system comprises an object position sensor, an object actuator and an object controller. The object position sensor is configured to measure a position quantity of the object. The object actuator is configured to exert an actuation force on the object. The object controller is configured to provide an object actuation signal for the actuator on the basis of a difference between a desired position quantity and the measured position quantity. The positioning system further comprises a stiffener configured to increase the stiffness and/or to damp a relative movement within the body of the object. The stiffener comprises a sensor, an actuator and a controller. The sensor is configured to determine a measurement signal representative of an internal strain or relative displacement in the body. The actuator is configured to exert an actuation force on a part of the body. The controller is configured to provide, on the basis of the measurement signal of the sensor, an actuation signal to the actuator to increase the stiffness and/or to damp the movement within the body.
The sensor may be configured to measure the measurement signal within the body. The sensor may be configured to measure a distance or a change in distance between a part of the body and a reference object. The reference object may be a part of the object position sensor. The reference object may be mounted on the movable object, and the reference object may not be rigidly coupled to the body.
The sensor may be configured to measure a change in distance between two parts in the body, and the controller may be configured to provide the actuation signal to the actuator to maintain the change in distance at a substantially zero-level.
The sensor may be an optical sensor configured to measure a change in distance between two parts of the body. The optical sensor may use laser interferometry.
The body may comprise a light transparent element, and a measurement beam of the optical sensor may propagate mainly through the light transparent element.
The body may have a plate shape having a main plane, and the stiffener may be configured to increase the stiffness of the body in the main plane.
The positioning system may comprise a plurality of sensors configured to determine a measurement signal representative of an internal strain or relative displacement in the body. Each of the sensors may be arranged to measure a length between two different parts of the body, so that the sensors provide a web of measurement lines spread over the body.
The positioning system may comprise a plurality of sensors configured to determine a measurement signal representative of an internal strain or relative displacement in the body. The body may have a plate shape having a main plane. A first main surface may be at a first side of the body, and a second main surface at the opposite side of the body. A first sensor of the plurality of sensors may be configured to measure a first distance between parts of the body close to the first main surface and a second sensor of the plurality of sensors may be configured to measure a second distance between the parts close to the second main surface. The controller may provide an actuation signal on the basis of a change in a difference between the first and the second measured distance.
The sensor may be configured to measure a change in distance between two parts of the body in combination with a change in distance of the object with respect to another object.
In an embodiment there is provided a lithographic apparatus comprising a patterning device, a substrate support, a projection system and a positioning system. The patterning device support is constructed to support a patterning device. The patterning device is capable of imparting a radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam. The substrate support is constructed to hold a substrate. The projection system is configured to project the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate. The positioning system is configured to control a position of one of the supports, said one support having a body. The positioning system comprises a support position sensor, a support actuator and a support controller. The support position sensor is configured to measure a position quantity of the body of said one support. The support actuator is configured to exert an actuation force on the body of said one support. The support controller is configured to provide an actuation signal for the actuator on the basis of a difference between a desired position quantity and the measured position quantity. The position system further comprises a stiffener configured to increase the stiffness and/or to damp a relative movement within the body of the object. The stiffener comprises a sensor, an actuator and a controller. The sensor is configured to determine a measurement signal representative of an internal strain or relative displacement in the body. The actuator is configured to exert an actuation force on a part of the body. And the controller is configured to provide, on the basis of the measurement signal of the sensor, an actuation signal to the actuator to increase the stiffness and/or to damp the movement within the body. The sensor may be configured to measure the measurement signal within the body.
The sensor may be an optical sensor that is configured to measure a change in distance between two parts of the body. The sensor may be configured to measure a distance or a change in distance between a part of the body and a reference object. The reference object may be mounted on a metro-frame or a long stroke part of the support or substrate table.
In an embodiment there is provide a method for reducing flexibility and internal deformations by increasing stiffness and/or a damping movement within a body of an object using a stiffener. The stiffener comprises a sensor, an actuator and a controller. The sensor is configured to measure a measurement signal representative of an internal strain or relative displacement in the body. The actuator is configured to exert an actuation force on a part of the body. The controller is configured to provide, on the basis of the measurement signal of the sensor, an actuation signal to the actuator to increase the stiffness and/or to damp the movement within the body. The method further comprises measuring with the sensor a distance between two parts of the body to obtain the measurement signal; and providing the actuation signal to the actuator to exert the force on the part of the body so as to maintain substantially a same distance between the two parts of the body.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described. For example, the invention may take the form of a computer program containing one or more sequences of machine-readable instructions describing a method as disclosed above, or a data storage medium (e.g. semiconductor memory, magnetic or optical disk) having such a computer program stored therein.
The descriptions above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Thus, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention as described without departing from the scope of the claims set out below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, and in which:
FIG. 1
depicts a lithographic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2
depicts a conventional rigid body positioning system for a substrate table;
FIG. 3
depicts a positioning system for a substrate table according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4
FIG. 3
depicts a top view of the substrate table of ;
FIG. 5
depicts a positioning system for a substrate table according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6
depicts a positioning system for a substrate table according to an embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 7
depicts a positioning system for a substrate table according to an embodiment of the invention. | |
Communalytic is a computational social science research tool for studying online communities and discourse. This resource uses advanced text and social network analysis techniques to automatically pinpoint toxic and anti-social interactions, detect bots, assess posts’ sentiments, identify influencers, map shared interests and the spread of misinformation, and detect signs of possible coordination among seemingly disparate actors.
There are two versions:
CoFacts
A project of the g0v civic technology community in Taiwan, CoFacts is a fact checking bot for messaging groups. Messages can be forwarded to the CoFacts bot for fact checking by a team of volunteers; the CoFacts bot can also be added to private groups, and will automatically share corrections if a fact-checked piece of false content is shared within the group.
(Adapted from website)
TrolleyBust
TrolleyBust is a service for tracking and blocking Internet trolls and other sources of anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
The goal is to open access to tools and unite the efforts of volunteers to clean up propaganda directed against Ukraine and Ukrainians.
They operate in several areas:
- Blocking propagandists and "experts"
- Bots, fake accounts
- Other users questioning the territorial integrity of Ukraine
(Copied from website)
RefB
A Bot to Add References to WikiData Statements
RefB is a bot that can automate adding references to Wikidata statements in the biomedical context based on PubMed Central database (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). This bot can be adapted later to support Wikidata statements in other contexts or to add references to Wikipedia articles when needed.
(Copied from website)
Pegabot
Bots, short for robots, are computer programs designed to perform specific tasks. The first robots did not have malicious intentions, and even today there are good bots, whose purpose is to demand accountability from politicians, viralize causes for gender equality or help organize the (many) daily tasks of their users. Good right?
Hamilton 2.0
The Hamilton 2.0 dashboard, a project of the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, provides a summary analysis of the narratives and topics promoted by Russian, Chinese, and Iranian government officials and state-funded media on Twitter, YouTube, state-sponsored news websites, and via official diplomatic statements at the United Nations. (NOTE — there currently are no UN statements or YouTube data for Iran).
Digital Democracy Room
The Digital Democracy Room is an initiative of FGV DAPP to monitor the public debate on the internet and fight disinformation strategies which threaten the integrity of political and electoral processes, seeking to strengthen the democratic institutions.
Monitoring the political debate of social networks in Brazil and now in three more countries in Latin America.
Digital Democracy Monitor
The Digital Democracy Monitor Toolkit seeks to empower researchers with the knowledge, tools and examples to analyse democratic discourse online.
This toolkit was prepared by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) as part of our efforts on Social Media and Democracy.
BotSlayer
BotSlayer is an application that helps track and detect potential manipulation of information spreading on Twitter. The tool is developed by the Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University --- the same lab that brought to you Botometer and Hoaxy.
Botometer
Botometer (formerly BotOrNot) checks the activity of a Twitter account and gives it a score based on how likely the account is to be a bot. Higher scores are more bot-like. Increasing evidence suggests that a growing amount of social media content is generated by autonomous entities known as social bots. Many social bots perform useful functions, but there is a growing record of malicious applications of social bots. | https://counteringdisinformation.org/index.php/taxonomy/term/2 |
E-mobility stakeholders from Latin America and Europe will come together at this global knowledge exchange event to share perspectives and discuss policy pathways for the deployment of e-buses in urban public transport fleets.
Building on recent e-mobility projects in Uruguay, and ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021, the event aims to enable the exchange of experiences from various e-bus implementation projects and share insights on how to scale-up the transition towards e-bus deployment.
The first day of the event will be dedicated to knowledge-sharing on the topic of electric bus deployment. In a workshop on e-mobility good practices and experiences in EU cities, local and national authorities and public transport operators from Europe and Latin America will present their deployment experiences and share insights on possible policies, efforts and solutions to scale up urban public transport electrification.
Participants will find out about experiences from UITP, Gothenburg, Madrid, Amsterdam, and will hear about EU transport research that supports the scale-up of public e-transport.
A panel discussion will then focus on e-Mobility in LAC countries. Relevant organisations in Uruguay and other LAC countries will exchange their views on business model and financing mechanisms for fleet renewal, power supply and charging network, etc.
The second day of the event will focus on the Uruguayan e-mobility context. It will feature a World Bank analysis on the economic feasibility of the national transport electrification process and a workshop on scaling-up e-mobility in Uruguay. Experts will present potential financing mechanisms to accelerate e-bus introduction as well as fiscal impacts linked to e-mobility. The event will also present participants with successful policies supporting e-mobility.
Rounding out the event will be a panel discussion with local and ministerial stakeholders on the roadmap for an effective and financially sustainable e-mobility transition.
This event is organized by the World Bank Group as part of the technical assistance to develop a business model to finance and scale-up e-mobility in Uruguay, with financing provided by the MOLO Trust Fund and in cooperation with CIVITAS ELEVATE.
Information and registration
The event will be organised in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
For more information, please refer to Simone Bosetti (bosetti [at] trt [dot] it) and Liljana Sekerinska (lsekerinska [at] worldbank [dot] org). | https://civitas.eu/events/e-buses-from-pilots-to-mainstreaming |
and fostering creativity.
Founded in 2010, the Valley & Mountain community met in living rooms, coffee shops, community centers, a school gym, the streets, restaurants, bars and parks and now meets at the Hillman City Collaboratory. V&M’ers span a wide variety of beliefs and come from all over Seattle but most live within walking distance of the Collab. The community is deeply committed to this neighborhood. V&M is rooted in the progressive, mystical, and liberationist Christian traditions with an eagerness for wisdom from all spiritual paths.
V&M activities include an interactive, inclusive Sunday gathering (4:00-5:30pm on Sundays at the Collaboratory), numerous small groups that meet in peoples’ homes, and many of social justice actions, including their home-made holiday “Table-Turning Monday.” Their website is: www.valleyandmountain.org.
Community Arts Create
Mission
Community Arts Create (CAC) strives to build community through self-discovery and shared experience. We work to enhance a richer way of life by creating harmony through creative expression within Seattle’s very diverse culture. Simply put, CAC partners with the community to create cultural competency through art of all forms.
Our Approach
We hope to help Southeast Seattle express their artistic identity through programs, exhibitions, performances and art installations. We foster values intrinsic to art and artists: collaboration, patience, sensitivity, and the celebration of the collective achievement.
We realize that Southeast Seattle represents an amalgam of culture unique to the United States. CAC strives to be the unifying agent, using art as the vehicle for cultural integration and, ultimately, cultural acceptance.
We know that art mirrors life and life mirrors art. Creativity is an attribute that can be applied to any profession, any endeavor, and any discipline. It exists with that in mind that CAC exists – to encourage creativity, competency, and pride for everyone in our community.
Learn more about CAC at our webpage: www.communityartscreate.org
Families of Color Seattle
The FOCS vision is to provide a cultural cornerstone and a creative blend of family programming, child-centered play and an intergenerational space for families to gather. To achieve our vision, we have opened Cornerstone Café, which will provide entrepreneurial avenues for parents to integrate conscious parenting to perpetuate a global culture of inclusivity, community building and play-centered learning. Our values are global community, inclusivity, entrepreneurship, and women of color & mother leadership. | https://hillmancitycollaboratory.org/anchor-partners/ |
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Subjects taught at LSE | Services and divisions (administration)
All research groups | Research subject areas
Novel, potentially deployable approaches to operational adaptation of infrastructure and transport for the future climate would prove of great value, given the very limited insight current climate model simulations are able to provide at the high spatial/temporal resolutions previously considered by design engineers and regulators. GLIMPSE will explore a game-changing approach to extreme event in the unknown climate of the future.
A moderate-risk/high-reward proposal, it will develop mathematical methods allowing fundamental changes to the way we design, regulate and operate weather sensitive infrastructure. It will be the first component of a larger research program (Just Enough Decisive Information, JEDI) between the LSE, the University of Chicago and stakeholders worldwide.
Effective design of large-scale operational infrastructure and safety-critical systems with a lifetime of many decades is challenged by our inability to produce decision-relevant probability distributions of the weather expected under future climate. Nuclear power plants, for example, must be designed for the one in ten-thousand year event in, say, 2050. It is not generally held that direct simulation using current models or general methods from extreme value statistics could estimate the nature of events at this threshold with high fidelity. In cases where such estimates might become available, the regulatory consideration of “worst plausible case” scenarios can require design based on low mitigation, high impact scenarios; scenarios which, hopefully, will not be realized. This “safety margin” is likely (in fact expected) to result in extraordinarily expensive over-engineering.
An alternative to deploying designs to operate through such extreme extremes is to design much less expensive infrastructure able to survive in a “shut-down or avoid” state given early warning. GLIMPSE will develop algorithms for very early warning of low probability events, to enable a new approach to engineering design and operation. It is the first step towards our wider Just Enough Decisive Information (JEDI) scheme of climate adaptation. Under GLIMPSE the postdoctoral researcher will:
(a) explore four or five potential applications in the energy, transport, coastal infra-structure, coastal safety (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and shipping sectors with existing CATS industrial partners. The aim is to determine the lead time and likelihood levels required for each sector, regulatory restrictions, and openness to a JEDI approach.
(b) improve early warning by combining ensemble members in the medium range from multiple launch times (working with ECMWF and forecast archives from the US models already in-house at LSE)
(c) develop the novel “sculpting” of existing simulations to generate initial conditions indicative of possible high-impact events, noting that “high-impact” events need not require meteorologically severe weather. Proof of concept will be achieved in moderate dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems (Lorenz 95, Lorenz 2004, Quasi-geostrophic models…) including consideration of structural model error. Tests with operational models are beyond the scope of this proposal, but discussion on this will be conducted with ECMWF and NCAR.
This is clearly an ambitious proposal; we note that the reward would be significant and that any progress would prove of great value as at present the traditional approach both requires thresholds we cannot estimate realistically and all but insuring over-design. | http://www.lse.ac.uk/CATS/ResearchGrants/GLIMPSE.aspx |
The Argentina Consulate is in Atlanta, with Jorge Luis Lopez Menardi serving as the Consul general. The Consulate offers many services to the Citizen of Argentina in the United States, such as the passport renewal of Argentina, attestation certificates, emergency certificates, etc.
245 Peachtree Center Avenue NE, Suite 2450 – Marquis One Bldg., Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Tel: 404-880-0805
Email: [email protected]
To know more, please visit: https://catla.cancilleria.gob.ar/en
What are the primary tasks performed by the Embassy/Consulate of Argentina located in Atlanta, USA?
The embassy/Consulate assists travelers from the United States to Argentina, and citizens traveling from Argentina to the United States. It also plays a significant role in an educational exchange program sponsored by the Argentina government. To allow for more ease of use and access, the embassy/Consulate has established multiple consulates across the country to offer services seamlessly.
What type of passport services are provided by the Argentina Embassy/Consulate?
The primary purposes of travel to the United States by Argentina nationals are tourism, higher education, employment, and other activities (such as parents visiting children, business events, etc.). In the United States, any foreign resident needs to possess a valid travel document, or the traveler will be deported to their home country. If the travel documents, such as a passport, expired or were lost, the Embassy would work to provide new records to the traveler.
How many Argentina Consulates/Embassy is in the United States to serve travelers?
The Argentina consulate in Atlanta (address listed above) along with Six consulates/Embassy spread across the country aid travelers to and from Argentina.
Embassy of Argentina – Washington
1600 New Hampshire Ave.
NW Washington DC 20009
Consulate General of Argentina – Chicago
205 N. Michigan Ave Suite 4208/09
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Consulate General of Argentina – Houston
2200 West Loop South. Suite 1025
Houston, TX 77027
Consulate General of Argentina – Los Angeles
5055 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 210
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Consulate General of Argentina – Miami
1101 Brickell Ave. Suite 900 North Tower
Miami, Florida 33131
Consulate General of Argentina – New York
12 West 56th Street,
New York, NY 10019
Does a Consulate operate out of Atlanta Consulate/Embassy?
There is no separate consular address in Atlanta. Both Embassy and Consular service office located in the same address.
Can a traveler submit travel documents to the Argentina Embassy/Consulate in Atlanta?
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INTRODUCTION
Large double acting reciprocating compressor machines are presently manufactured with pairs of horizontally opposed cylinders. In each pair, the pistons move outward at the same time and inward at the same time. Thus, primary and secondary reciprocating inertia forces are balanced. There still remains, however, unbalanced inertia force couples due to the fact that the two pistons (in each pair) are separated by the crank spacing along the crankshaft. Such force couples cause the machines to vibrate and shake--an undesirable situation.
DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
German patent No. DE 3307708A Puki et al, shows a two cylinder four stroke cycle internal combustion engine. The two cylinders are horizontally opposed. A Countershaft 12 has balance weights 21 thereon. The Puki engine has only two cylinders and thus unbalanced secondary couples remain. Suppose the Puki engine were doubled so as to have four cylinders instead of two. In that case, all four Puki crankpins must be in a common plane or otherwise there would be an uneven firing sequence. In that case, the secondary couples would be addative instead of subtractive--as in my invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,072 Brogdon shows and describes a four throw horizontally opposed engine with eight cylinders, eight pistons, and eight con (connecting) rods. Brogdon has four crankpins and each crankpin drives two con rods. Brogdon said nothing about secondary forces or couples. It is not necessary to have eight pistons total to balance secondary couples as my invention now does this with only four pistons and four con rods.
Referring to FIG. 1 of Brogdon, the counterweight 24 is diametrically opposite the crankpin 16 and this is an incorrect position for proper balance. Instead, the counterweight 24 of Brogdon should be 135 degrees from the closest crankpin 16 for proper balance. See my FIGS. 1 and 2 where counterweight 14 is at 135 degrees from crankpin 2.
Referring to FIG. 2 of Brogdon, rotate gears 30 and 32 counter- clockwise until weights 34 and 36 are on the bottom. Also, rotate gear 26 of Brogdon counter-clockwise (an equal number of degrees) until weight 28 is on the top. At this location, the combined force of weights 34 and 36 is vertically downward and through the axis 14 of the crankshaft. At this location, the force of weight 28 is vertically upward and through the axis of (not the crankshaft) gear 26. Thus, this force is offset and creates an unbalanced twisting couple.
Brogdon teaches at lines 3 to 5 and lines 24 to 31 of column 3 that the axes of his gears 26, 30, and 32 must lie in plane X of the pistons-- and as shown in Brogdon's FIG. 1. Such a teaching by Brogdon was incorrect as it is not necessary that gears and countershafts lie in the same plane as the cylinder axis. Such a teaching by Brogdon (if correct) would make it impossible to use a single countershaft and a single pair of gears as taught in my invention. Suppose (for example) that the gears 26 and 32 of Brogdon were interconnected by a single new countershaft so as to eliminate gears 20 and 26. In that case, the new countershaft would interfere with the connecting rods and such a machine would be inoperative.
The crankpins 16 of Brogdon and the large end of each con rod constitute rotating weights which should also be balanced in addition to the reciprocating weights. Brogdon does not mention or show the balance of rotating weights. Brogdon (at lines 62 to 64 of Column 2) said "The weighted portions 34 and 36 together, are substantially equal in balance moment to the counterweight 22". In order to balance rotating weights also, it would be necessary for the Brogdon weight 22 to have a larger moment than weights 34 and 36 combined. At lines 24 to 31 of Column 3, Brogdon states that the weights balance reciprocating parts. The Brogdon abstract states this also.
Brogdon shows the thin wafer like weights 22, 24, 28, 36, and 34 attached to gears. Brogdon therefore did not bother to calculate the sizes of weights required to balance an actual engine because, if he did, those weights would become cumbersome in size and bigger than the gears themselves. All weights in Applicant's FIGS. 6 to 10 have been calculated for size to balance a double acting compressor and with crossheads in addition to pistons. Nevertheless, any argument as to patentability of my invention over Brogdon shall take those thin Brogdon weights into account.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF MY INVENTION
1. A general object is to impart near perfect balance to an opposed four throw four cylinder machine.
2. A specific object is to balance all the primary inertia force couples caused by the reciprocating parts.
3. Another object is to balance the crankpins and the large ends of the con rods. These are rotating parts which also should be balanced.
4. Both objectives 2 and 3 above are now accomplished using only four rotating weights total (two on the crankshaft and two on a countershaft).
5. Another object is to accomplish the balancing with as few parts as possible and thereby minimize cost and maximize reliability. Only a single countershaft, one pair of gears, and four rotating weights are now employed to secure the balancing in a four throw machine.
6. Another object is to orient all four rotating weights in their correct timed angular directions (relative to the crankshaft). Also, all four rotating weights must be of correct size and axial spacing. All drawings show correct angles, size, and spacing. Also, mathematical procedure examples are provided to secure all of these objectives.
7. Another object is to be able to balance the primary inertia force couples even if one pair of reciprocating parts are heavier than the second pair of reciprocating parts. Drawings and mathematical procedure examples are provided for this.
8. Another object is to balance secondary inertia force couples caused by the reciprocating parts. This objective is accomplished by selecting a particular crank sequence and particular cylinder locations and no other secondary balancing means is required. There is no need for example to employ one or more countershafts running at twice crankshaft RPM.
9. An advantage of this invention is that the two secondary inertia force couples are subtractive and not addative. This results that if the weights of all four reciprocating parts are not equal (as is generally the case) then the remaining secondary couple unbalance is very small (2 to 3 per cent of former total unbalance) as will be described.
10. An advantage is that two pistons reach the end of a compression stroke every 90 degrees of crankshaft rotation. Thus, there is a smooth torque effort with four equally spaced torque impulses per rev. This advantage is not new in itself; but is part of the overall objective to obtain a very smooth running machine.
11. Another object is to be able to retrofit my balancer mechanism to existing unbalanced machines and to incorporate the balancer mechanism into existing production designs--especially for large compressor machinery. The compatability of my balancer mechanism with existing machines and existing designs is a cost and time saving feature.
12. Another object is to be able to retrofit my balancer mechanism to existing machines (even in the field--on the job site) without having to remove the heavy crankshaft from its frame and without unbolting the con rods.
13. Another object is to be able to retrofit main counterweights to existing crankshafts with a simple bolt-on procedure.
14. An advantage of this invention is that it is easy and convenient to change main counterweights from time to time (in case of piston size/weight change). It is not necessary to remove the crankshaft from its frame in order to change counterweights.
15. In the case of FIG. 9, it is possible to retrofit my balancer to existing machines (in the field) without having to drill holes in the end of the crankshaft and without having to relocate an oil pump.
16. In some cases (FIG. 6), it is desirable to mount the main counterweight 47 on the far left end of the crankshaft. It is now possible to retrofit this to existing machines (in the field) without removing the crankshaft from its frame. A drilling fixture (FIG. 20) is provided for this.
17. Another object is to provide a lower cost partial balancer which balances all the rotating weights plus one half the primary inertia force couples.
18. An advantage is that with the addition of my balancer, the inertia forces on crankshaft main bearings are cut 60 per cent.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric, schematic, exploded view of the moving parts of a four throw machine. All parts on the sheet belong to FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 is a partial end view of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a partial section view of FIG. 1 taken perpendicular to the crankshaft and through the center of Crankpin 5. FIGS. 2 and 3 are for the case when all four reciprocating weights are equal.
FIGS. 4 and 5 are similar to FIGS. 2 and 3 except they are for the case wherein one pair of reciprocating weights are heavier than the second pair.
FIG. 6 is a section view of a large double acting four throw compressor machine. The balancing principles for FIG. 6 are the same as those shown schematically in FIG. 1. The section view (in FIG. 6) is taken in a vertical plane through the axes of both the crankshaft and the countershaft.
FIG. 7 is a section view taken in a horizontal plane through the axis of the crankshaft--as indicated at 7--7 in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a section view taken at 8--8 in FIG. 6.
FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 6 except one main counterweight has been placed at the center of the crankshaft instead of at the end.
FIG. 10 is a section view of FIG. 9 taken at 10--10 in FIG. 9.
FIG. 11 shows an alternate drive to be used in place of FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is a schematic line drawing showing how the secondary couples are balanced.
FIG. 13 is an end view of FIG. 12.
FIGS. 14 and 15 are the same as FIGS. 12 and 13 except the crankshaft has been rotated 90 degrees.
FIGS. 16 and 17 are the same as FIGS. 12 and 13 except the crankshaft has been rotated 180 degrees.
FIGS. 18 and 19 are operable but they would secure negative results and are so marked. These Figs. are shown so as to illustrate what not to do.
FIG. 20 shows a drilling fixture (applied to the end of the crankshaft) for the purpose of drilling and tapping the end of the crankshaft (in an existing machine) without removing the crankshaft from its frame.
FIG. 21 is the same as FIG. 9 except gears 63-64, countershaft 65, and balance weights 55--55 have been omitted. This results in lower cost partially balanced machines.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIG. 1
The crankshaft 1 has four throws with crankpins 2 to 5. The crankpins 2 and 3 are disposed 180 degrees from each other about the axis of the crankshaft. The crankpins 4 and 5 are disposed 180 degrees from each other. Crankpin 4 is disposed 90 degrees from crankpin 3. The pistons (or crossheads) 6 to 9 reciprocate in horizontal cylinders (not shown in this Figure). Each piston is connected to its respective crankpin with connecting rods 10 to 13.
The main counterweight 14 fits over the end of the crankshaft and is bolted to the gear 15 which rotates with the crankshaft. The shaft coupling 16 fits tight on the crankshaft and is keyed thereto. Another main counterweight 17 is bolted to the shaft coupling and rotates therewith. The countershaft 18 is mounted directly above the crankshaft and parallel thereto. Gear 19 is mounted rigidly to the countershaft 18 and rotates therewith. Gears 15 and 19 mesh so as to drive the countershaft at the same RPM as the crankshaft but in the opposite direction of rotation. Balance weights 20 and 21 are bolted 22 to the countershaft and rotate therewith.
BALANCING THEORY--REFER TO FIG. 1
Pistons 6 and 7 should have equal recip weights for proper balance. Likewise, pistons 8 and 9 should have equal recip weights for proper balance. For most practical purposes, it is not necessary for all four pistons to have the same weight.
A formula for the unbalance in FIG. 1 (prior to the addition of weights 14, 17, 20, and 21) will next be derived.
Let A=total recip weight (LBS.) driven by each of crankpins 2 and 3.
B=total recip weights (LBS.) driven by each of crankpins 4 and 5.
C=total weight (LBS.) of each crankpin 2 to 5 plus the weight (LBS.) of the large end of each con rod 10 to 13.
D=Crank throw inches=stroke/2
E=Distance (inches) from the center of crankpin 2 to the center of crankpin 3 measured parallel to the axis of the crankshaft.
E=Distance (inches) from the center of crankpin 4 to the center of crankpin 5 measured parallel to the axis of the crankshaft. Static moment applied to crank 2=(A+C)×D=LB inches. Same for crank 3.
Dynamic moment of cranks 2 and 3 combined=(A+C)×D× E=LB inch.sup.2, Dynamic moment of cranks 4 and 5 combined=(B+C)×D. times.E=LB inch.sup.2. ##EQU1##
This is the peak unbalance for the whole machine (prior to correction) and occurs when all four crankpins are 45 degrees from horizontal. This produces an alternating twisting effort about a vertical axis.
The unbalance is corrected as follows: The rotating unbalance C is corrected by the two counterweights 14 and 17 which supply an equal and opposite couple to that caused by the rotating unbalance C. The primary inertia force couples caused by the reciprocating weights are balanced one half by the counterweights 14 and 17 and one half by the oppositely rotating balance weights 20 and 21.
FIRST NUMERICAL EXAMPLE OF BALANCING FIG. 1
Refer to FIG. 1 and assume as follows: Stroke of each piston is 6 inches. Total reciprocating weight driven by each crank throw=200 LBS. This includes the weight of the small end of the con rod. Assume each crank arm is balanced (in itself) about the axis of the crankshaft. The total weight of each crankpin plus the large end of each con rod=50 LBS. These are the rotating weights which also must be balanced. The axial distance (measured parallel to the axis of the crankshaft) from the center of crankpin 2 to the center of crankpin 3 is 7 inches. The same 7 inch spacing applies also to crank pins 4 and 5.
The axial distance (measured parallel to the axis of the crankshaft) from the center of main counterweight 14 to the center of main counterweight 17 is 40 inches.
The axial distance (measured parallel to the axis of the countershaft 18) from the center of balance weight 20 to the center of balance weight 21 is 30 inches.
The first step will be to calculate the size of the main counterweights 14 and 17 which will balance all the rotating weights plus one half the reciprocating weights. The total weight to be balanced per crank=50+200/2=150 LBS.
Each crank has a throw of 6/2=3 inches.
Static moment to be balanced at each crank=150 LBS×3 inches=450 LB inches. Dynamic moment of each crank pair=450 LB inches. times.7 inch spacing=3150 LB in.sup.2. Dynamic moment of all four cranks=3150×. sqroot.2=4454 LB in.sup.2. Note one pair of cranks is 90 degrees out of phase with the other pair, hence the factor {square root}2. Static moment of main counterweight 14=4454 LB in.sup.2 /40 inch spacing=111.3 LB inches. The static moment of main counterweight 17 will also equal the same 111.3 LB inches.
Next, calculate the size of the balance weights 20 and 21. These will balance the remaining half of the reciprocating weights. The total recip weight to be balanced per crank=200/2=100 LBS. Each crank has a throw of 6/2=3 inches. Static moment to be balanced at each crank=100 LBS×3 inches=300 LB inches. Dynamic moment of each crank pair=300 LB inches. times.7 inch spacing=2100 LB in.sup.2. Dynamic moment of all four cranks=2100×{square root}2=2969.4 LB in.sup.2. Static moment of each balance weight 20 and 21 will be 2969.4 LB in.sup.2 /30 inch spacing=99 LB inches.
ANGULAR ORIENTATION OF WEIGHTS IN FIGS. 1 TO 3 FOR THIS FIRST NUMERICAL EXAMPLE
The main counterweight 14 is directed downward to the right at a 45 degree angle as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The obtuse angle B (in FIG. 2) is 180-45=135 degrees. The obtuse angle B is the angle from the nearest crankpin 2 to the center line of force of counterweight 14. The angle B is measured about the axis of the crankshaft. Likewise, the obtuse angle C (in FIG. 3) is also 135 degrees. The centerline of weight 14 is 180 degrees from the center of weight 17.
The balance weight 20 is directed upward to the right at a 45 degree angle as shown in FIG. 1. The balance weight 21 is directed downward to the left at a 45 degree angle as shown in FIG. 1.
These are the proper orientation of the four weights in FIGS. 1 to 3 relative to the crankshaft and reciprocating parts; and are for the following conditions--(a) Use only two main counterweights 14 and 17, (b) Use only two balance weights 20 and 21 on the countershaft 18, (c) all four recip weights are equal, (d) equal throw per crank, and (e) each crank pair has the same axial spacing.
A SECOND NUMERICAL EXAMPLE--FIGS. 1, 4, AND 5
Two opposing pistons 6 and 7 constitute a pair and their weights should be equal for proper balancing. Likewise, opposing pistons 8 and 9 constitute a second pair and their weights should also be equal. In large double acting compressor machines (FIG. 7), it has been the practice for one pair of pistons 44--44 to be lighter than the second pair of pistons 45--45. It is still possible under this condition to balance the primary inertia couples as will next be explained in the following numerical example: Again refer to FIG. 1. Assume the total reciprocating weight driven by cranks 2 and 3 is 400 LBS. each. Assume the reciprocating weight driven by cranks 4 and 5 is 200 LBS. each. Assume all other parameters are the same as in the first numerical example. Calculate the sizes of main counterweights 14 and 17 first and these again will balance all the rotating weights plus one half of the reciprocating weights. The total weight to be balanced at crank 2 is 50+ 400/2=250 LBS. The total weight to be balanced at crank 3 is also 250 LBS. Each crank still has a throw of 6/2=3 inches. Static moment to be balanced at crank 2=250 LBS. times.3 in.=750 LB in. Static moment to be balanced at crank 3 is also 750 LB inches. Axial center to center spacing between cranks 2 and 3 is still 7 inches. Dynamic moment to be balanced due to cranks 2 and 3 combined=750 LB inches×7 inch spacing=5250 LB in.sup.2. By a similar calculation, the dynamic moment to be balanced due to cranks 4 and 5 is still 450 LB inches×7 inch spacing=3150 LB in. sup.2. The dynamic moment to be balanced due to all four cranks is {square root}5250.sup. 2 +3150.sup.2 =6122 LB in.sup.2. Static moment of each main counterweight (14 and 17)=6122 LB in.sup.2 /40 inch spacing= 153 LB in.
Next, calculate the size of balance weights 20 and 21. These weights balance one half the reciprocating weight at each crank. The recip weight to be balanced at crank 2=400/2=200 LBS. The recip weight to be balanced at crank 3 is also 200 LBS. Each crank has a throw of 3 inches. So static moment to be balanced at each of cranks 2 and 3=200 LBS×3 inches=600 LB inches. Dynamic moment to be balanced due to cranks 2 and 3=600 LB inch×7 inch spacing=4200 LB in.sup.2. The recip wt. to be balanced at each of cranks 4 and 5=200/2=100 LBS and static moment to be balanced at each=100 LBS×3 inches=300 LB inches. Dynamic moment to be balanced due to cranks 4 and 5 combined=300 LB in×7 inch spacing=2100 LB in.sup.2. Dynamic moment to be balanced due to all four cranks={square root}4200.sup.2 +2100.sup.2 =4696 LB in. sup.2. Static moment of each balance weights 20 and 21=4696 LB in.sup. 2 /30 inch spacing=156.5 LB in.
ANGULAR ORIENTATION OF WEIGHTS FOR THIS SECOND NUMERICAL EXAMPLE
Next, determine the new angular direction of main counterweights 14 and 17 relative to the crankshaft and with the crankshaft at the rotative position shown in FIG. 1. The cranks 4 and 5 are vertical at this location so they exert no horizontal force or moment. Again, the main counterweights 14 and 17 will balance all the rotating weight (such as crankpins) plus one half the reciprocating weight. Horizontal component of moment at weight ##EQU2## The total moment of weight 14 (as previously calculated)=153 LB inches. The cosine of 131. 25/153=31 degrees; and this is the angle D in FIG. 4. The obtuse angle E becomes 180-31=149°. The weight 17 will be 180 degrees opposite weight 14. The obtuse angle F in FIG. 5 will be 90+31=121°.
Next, determine new angular directions of balance weights 20 and 21 with the crankshaft at the rotative position shown in FIG. 1. Horizontal component of moment at weight ##EQU3## The cosine of 140/156. 5=27 degrees. Thus, the weight 20 would be directed upward to the right at an angle of 27 degrees from horizontal. Weight 21 would be directed downward to the left and 27 degrees from horizontal.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGS. 6, 7, AND 8.
A four throw crankshaft 23 is mounted for rotation in main journal bearings 24 in the frame 25. The various parts of the crankshaft are: end bearing 26, crank webs 27 to 32, crankpins 33 to 36, center section 37, and end bearing 38. Con rods 39, interconnect each crankpin to crossheads 40 via wrist pins 41. The crossheads are guided for reciprocation in the cross head guides 42. Piston rods 43 join each crosshead to double acting compressor pistons 44 to 45. The compressor cylinders and valves are not shown.
A drive gear 46 and main counterweight 47 are fastened to the end of the crankshaft with bolts 48. A second main counterweight 49 is bolted 50 to the shaft coupling 51 (attached to the power input end of the crankshaft 23). Only one half of the shaft coupling is shown as the other half would be mounted on an engine driver or an electric drive motor. Instead of a shaft coupling, the counterweight 49 could be attached to a drive pulley or as a third alternate could be mounted independently on the end of the crankshaft.
A countershaft 52 is mounted for rotation on bearings 53 at a position above and parallel to the crankshaft. The gear 54 is keyed to the countershaft. The two gears 46 and 54 drive the countershaft at crankshaft speed. Balance weights 55 and 56 are bolted 57 to the countershaft. The weights 47, 49, 55, and 56 are all shown in their correct angular positions relative to the crankshaft. The FIG. 6 crankshaft 23 and countershaft 52 are shown at 90 degrees rotation from the FIG. 1 positions.
FOUR ROTATING BALANCE WEIGHTS TOTAL
The four crankpins 33 to 36 and the large ends of the four con rods 39 are heavy rotating weights which must be balanced. The two main counterweights 47 and 49 balance those rotating weights. The two main counterweights 47 and 49 also balance one half the primary inertia force couples caused by the reciprocating parts. It is thus seen that the main counterweights 47 and 49 perform a double function, i.e., they balance both rotating parts and primary couples. This novel feature is not taught by the prior art. The weights 60 and 66 in FIG. 9 perform in a similar fashion.
The other half of the primary couples are balanced by the two balance weights 55 and 56 on the countershaft. The balancing of secondary couples will be described later.
REDUCED INERTIA FORCE ON CRANKSHAFT MAIN BEARINGS
The counterweights 47, 49, 60, and 66 remove all the rotating unbalance consisting of crankpins and large ends of con rods. Those same counterweights also remove one half of the primary inertia force couples. These forces are thus neutralized right at the crankshaft. The net result is that main bearing loads (due to inertia forces) are reduced to about 40% of former amount, The same also applies to FIG. 21.
ACCESSABILITY AND EASE OF CHANGING WEIGHTS
In balancer work, changing weights is the order of the day and not the exception, especially during the early development stage. Also, if pistons are changed, then this may entail a change of recip weights and therefore a change of all four rotating balancer weights. The main counterweight 47 can be changed through the end opening and it is not necessary to remove the countershaft 52. The second main counterweight 49 (on the shaft coupling) is accessable and thus easy to change. The two balance weights 55 and 56 (on the countershaft) can be changed simply by unbolting and it is not necessary to remove the countershaft from its bearing mount. Such weight changing is further aided by the fact that there are only four rotating weights total even though the machine has four throws.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGS. 9 AND 10
FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 6 except one main counterweight 60 has been placed on the center section 37 of the crankshaft instead of at 47. The hub portion 61 is in two pieces so as to permit assembly onto the crankshaft. The bolts 62 clamp the hub tightly in place and several cup point set screws (not shown) permit further locking. The gear 63 is also two piece and is bolted to the hub. Gear 63 drives gear 64 and countershaft 65.
In FIG. 9, the axial spacing between main counterweights 60 and 66 is smaller than the spacing 47 to 49 in FIG. 6. This means therefore that the main counterweights in FIG. 9 have to be nearly twice as large for FIG. 9 than for FIG. 6. This is no problem as proper sizes have been calculated for specific machines now in production and now in operation in the field. It is further noted, that the two weights 60 and 66 are anti-symetrical (off to one side) about the center of the whole machine. This causes no problem because the weights 60 and 66 are together a couple and therefore their anti-symetrical axial location is correct for proper balancing. The counterweights 60 and 66 and balance weights 55 and 55 are all shown in their correct angular positions relative to the crankshaft. FIG. 10 shows the counterweight 60 to be downward to the left at 45 degrees. The counterweight 66 is 180 degrees from counterweight 60.
The counterweight 66 may be attached to the shaft coupling 51 in one of several ways as follows: Plan No. 1 is to obtain two longer bolts for the shaft coupling (Thomas) itself. Then a crescent shape steel plate would be attached to the shaft coupling using the two longer bolts. Plan No. 2 would be to bolt a split hub over the non-tapered hub of the coupling.
RETROFIT THE BALANCER PARTS TO EXISTING MACHINES AND TO EXISTING DESIGNS
About three years ago, I was asked by a large compressor builder if I could adapt an earlier invention to balance their large double acting four throw oil field compressor. Working entirely on my own time and expense, I finally rejected the earlier invention and came up with the combination shown herein. A principle object was to balance their existing production machine with the least possible changes. To be able to retrofit to existing parts would be ideal.
With FIGS. 6 to 8, it is necessary to drill and tap holes in the end of the crankshaft so as to fasten gear 46 and weight 47 in place. The drilling and tapping can be done in the field without removing the crankshaft from the frame (see FIG. 20).
With FIGS. 9 and 10, it is not necessary to drill holes in the crankshaft (of an existing machine) nor is it necessary to move an oil pump (not shown) further to the left end of the frame 25.
With FIGS. 6 to 8, it is not necessary for the gear 46 to be split in two. Thus, FIGS. 6 to 8 are better suited when constructing from new. FIGS. 9 and 10 are better suited for retrofit to existing machines in the field.
The balancer is compatable with existing designs as follows: No change to any compressor parts such as frame, crankshaft, con rods, crossheads, cylinders, pistons, valves, etc.
It is now possible to retrofit the balancer mechanism to existing machines out in the field under the following conditions: (a) Do not remove the heavy crankshaft from the frame, (b) Do not hire a crane, (c) Do not unbolt the con rod, (d) Do not drill and tap holes in the end of the crankshaft, (e) Do not relocate the oil pump or even tough the oil pump, (f) Do not equalize all four recip weights. Just go with existing balanced pairs as was described under "A SECOND NUMERICAL EXAMPLE".
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIG. 11
This Fig. shows an alternate chain and sprocket drive to use instead of gears. The sprocket 67 is two piece and clamped to the drive shaft. The sprocket 68 is mounted on and rotates with the countershaft 65. The sprocket 69 is an idler. Item 70 is a roller chain. This secures opposite rotation of the countershaft.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGS. 12 TO 17--THE BALANCING OF SECONDARY COUPLES IN A FOUR THROW MACHINE
FIGS. 12 to 17 are schematic (single line) drawings of four throw horizontal opposed machines at various rotative positions; and the purpose of FIGS. 12 to 17 is to teach the principle of secondary balancing in a four throw machine such as that shown in FIG. 1. The forces F.sub.1 to F.sub.12 are all secondary reciprocating inertia forces (due to the finite length of the connecting rods) and should not be confused with primary reciprocating forces. If the connecting rod is five times the length of the crank throw, then the secondary forces will be one fifth of the primary forces. The secondary forces have a frequency twice that of the primary forces.
In FIGS. 12 and 13, the crankshaft 71 has four throws with crank pins 72 to 75. The crankpins 72 and 73 have their axes in the plane of the paper. FIG. 13 is an end view of the FIG. 12 crankshaft showing crankpin 74 to be vertically upward and crankpin 75 to be vertically downward. Con rods 76 to 79 connect crankpins to respective pistons 80 to 83. Pistons 80 and 81 are both at outer end stroke and their secondary recip inertia forces are represented by F.sub.1 and F.sub.2. The pistons 82 and 83 are near mid stroke (cranks at 90 degrees) and their secondary recip inertia forces are F.sub.3 and F.sub.4. F.sub.1 =F. sub.2 =F.sub.3 =F.sub.4.
The secondary forces F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 cause a clockwise force couple. The secondary forces F.sub.3 and F.sub.4 cause a counterclockwise force couple. Thus, the two couples cancel each other and there are no unbalanced secondary couples in the four throw machine shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.
In FIG. 14, the secondary recip inertia forces are F.sub.5 to F. sub.8. The forces F.sub.5 and F.sub.6 cause a counterclockwise force couple. The secondary forces F.sub.7 and F.sub.8 cause a clockwise force couple. Thus the two couples cancel each other and there are no unbalanced secondary couples in FIG. 14.
In FIG. 16, the secondary reciprocating inertia forces are F. sub. 9 to F.sub.12. The forces F.sub.9 and F.sub.10 cause a clockwise force couple. The forces F.sub.11 and F.sub.12 cause a counterclockwise force couple. Thus, the two couples cancel each other and there are no unbalanced secondary couples in FIG. 16.
Refer again to FIG. 12. Assume the crankshaft rotated to a position 45 degrees from that shown in FIG. 12. At that 45 degree position, the secondary reciprocating inertia forces of all four pistons would be zero. Again there would be no unbalanced secondary couples.
It is thus seen that the balancing of secondary couples is made possible by using a particular crank sequence. That is, one opposed crank pair 72 and 73 is 90 degrees out of phase with the second crank pair 74 and 75. If (for example) the four crank pins 72 to 75 all lay in a single plane (the paper) then such secondary balancing would be inoperative as the secondary couples would be addative instead of subtractive. It is noted that the crank sequence shown in FIGS. 1, 6, 7, and 12 to 17 are all the same and that this particular crank sequence is particularly suited for use in a double acting compressor machine because this results in smooth torque effort with four equally spaced crank efforts per rotation of the crankshaft. Such a crank sequence is not suited for a four cylinder four stroke cycle internal combustion engine because it would be uneven firing.
All of the above results in a particularly advantageous combination which is: (a) Smooth torque effort with four equally spaced power strokes per rev. (b) No unbalanced primarys, secondarys, primary couples, or rotating unbalance (such as crankpins), (c) The secondary couples are subtractive and are zero if all four recip weights are equal, and (d) No need of secondary balancing devices such as countershafts running at twice crankshaft speed. These advantages are obtained with the particular crank sequence and cylinder locations taught herein and just any combination will not do.
With double acting compressors as shown in FIG. 7, it has been common practice for two pistons 44 and 44 to be lighter in weight than the other two pistons 45 and 45. With such a combination, it is still possible to balance the primary couples as was described under "A SECOND NUMERICAL EXAMPLE". However, if all four recip weights are not equal, then unbalanced secondary couples still remain. However, the two secondary couples are subtractive from each other and this generally results in a very small remaining unbalance. A typical case is as follows: Recip weight at each of two cranks=500 LBS. recip weight at each of second two cranks=400 LBS, total unbalanced rotating weight per crank=100 LBS, Stroke=5 inches, throw=5/2=2.5 inches, axial space between cranks=6 inches, con rod length=5×throw, Unbalance prior to adding my invention= ##EQU4## Unbalance after adding my invention= ##EQU5## Per cent remaining=300/11715=2.6%.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGS. 18 AND 19--WHAT NOT TO DO
Secondary forces F.sub.13 and F.sub.14 cause a clockwise secondary couple. Secondary forces F.sub.15 and F.sub.16 also cause a clockwise secondary couple. Thus, the two secondary couples are addative and not subtractive. This illustrates that a specific crank sequence and specific cylinder locations are required.
COUNTERSHAFT LOCATION
The countershaft 52 is oriented parallel to the crankshaft 23. In FIGS. 6, 8, 9, and 10, the countershafts 52 and 65 are shown mounted directly above the crankshaft. This is done to obtain symmetry and also so the gears 54 and 64 fit inside the large opening 58 in the top of the frame. However, it is possible to shift the countershaft to either side of center and still maintain theoretically perfect balance.
PARTIALLY BALANCED MACHINE--FIG. 21
FIG. 21 is identical to FIG. 9, except the following parts have been merely omitted: gears 63 and 64, countershaft 65, and two balance weights 55. In FIG. 21, the rotating weights consisting of the four crankpins 33 to 36 and the four large ends 39 of the con rods are still fully balanced by the counterweights 60 and 66. The secondary inertia force couples (in FIG. 21) are also still balanced as was described for FIGS. 12 to 17. However, in FIG. 21, only one half of the primary inertia force couples are still balanced. The net result of such omission of parts is that the peak unbalance for the whole machine is approximately 40% of the former unbalance prior to my invention. In other words, the new counterweights 60 and 66 (just by themselves) get rid of 60% of peak former unbalance.
The following is a tabulation of unbalance in a four throw machine using the same parameters given in the typical case above described.
______________________________________
About a Vertical
About a Horizontal
Axis. LB in.sup.2
Axis. LB in.sup.2
______________________________________
Unbalance prior to my
11715 2121
inventions
Unbalance With
300 ZERO
FIG. 9
Unbalance With
4802 4802
FIG. 21
______________________________________
Refer again to FIG. 6. Partial balance can likewise be obtained by omitting gears 46 and 54, countershaft 52, and balance weights 55 and 56 with the same result as just described for FIGS. 9 and 21.
For those cases, where cost is of paramount importance, partial balance as just described is a lower cost alternative. The counter- weights 60 and 66 are easy to retrofit to many existing machines already in the field and in operation. Such retrofit can be easily accomplished without removing the crankshaft from its frame.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIG. 20
The drilling fixture 84 is clamped on the end of the crankshaft which is then drilled and tapped in the field without removing the existing crankshaft from inside its existing frame. Also, this makes it unnecessary to remove con rod end caps and transport the crankshaft elsewhere for drilling and tapping. A tight fitting plastic barrier 85 and catch tray 86 are pressed over the end of the crankshaft so as to retain drilling chips.
MODIFICATION NOT SHOWN
In some rare cases, it may not be possible to attach a main counterweight 49 or 66 to a shaft coupling 51. In this case, proceed as follows: Attach one main counterweight to the end of the shaft as shown at 47 in FIG. 6. Fasten a second main counterweight 60 to the center section 37 as shown in FIG. 9. This will provide sufficient axial distance between main counterweights. In this case, the counterweight 60 should be rotated to the same angular direction as counterweight 66. Further, the two main counterweights will need slightly bigger static moments due to their smaller axial spacing.
In the description and claims, the word substantially means plus or minus 20 degrees in regard to specified angles.
Several claims specify exactly four bonafide fullsize con rods. These claims are not to be avoided through the use of four full size con rods plus one miniature con rod. The latter item would not be full size nor bonafide. In the claims, an eccentric is the full equivalent of a crankpin.
While the preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, the invention is not limited thereto since it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims: | |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wildlife barrier and, more particularly, is directed towards apparatus useable with a fence (or other perimeter structure) to prevent certain animals from climbing the fence.
2. Description of Related Art
High voltage power substations are generally surrounded by a perimeter structure such as a fence. Most frequently, such fences are of the chain link variety and are designed to keep out intruders from the sensitive and potentially dangerous equipment located within the perimeter of the fence.
Frequently, however, intruders of the four-legged variety, such as, for example, squirrels, do not find chain link fences to present much of an obstacle. Indeed, the criss-crossed links of the fence form an ideal foothold for such animals, and can normally be easily climbed.
If, after scaling the perimeter fence, an animal has the misfortune of coupling itself between a high voltage line and a ground or neutral line, not only will the animal be electrocuted, but an area wide blackout could occur.
Other sensitive facilities may also be surrounded by chain link or other fences or walls which similarly would not present much of an obstacle to small animals who can easily climb same. Wooden fences and cinderblock walls are typical of such other structures which are also subject to being climbed by such animals.
It would be highly desirable if something could be provided to prevent such animals from easily climbing the surrounding fences or walls, without doing harm to the animals. It is towards this end that the present invention is advanced.
| |
On June 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a new opinion letter regarding compensation of employees by third parties. The opinion letter was written in response to a request from automobile dealerships employing sales consultants who occasionally received payments directly from automotive manufacturers pursuant to incentive programs for selling certain cars or meeting sales objectives. The dealerships wanted to know whether payment received by sales consultants from automotive manufacturers may count toward the dealership’s minimum wage obligations for the sales consultants. The DOL indicated that, under the facts presented, the payment from car manufacturers to sales consultants would likely count toward minimum wage obligations of the car dealership.
Factual Background
The sales consultants at issue were employed by several car dealerships. The sales consultants at times received payment directly from car manufacturers pursuant to incentive programs for meeting certain sales objectives. The incentive programs were established by the car manufacturers, but the car dealerships communicated the incentive program terms to the sales consultants. The sales consultants received incentive payments from the car manufacturers only for work performed on behalf of the car dealership employing them. The dealerships considered these incentive payments as wages paid to the sales consultants. Further, the dealerships learned the incentive program terms, communicated these terms to the sales consultants, and worked with incentive program sponsors to determine when payments should be made.
Analysis
The DOL began its analysis by noting an employer’s obligation to pay covered employees a minimum hourly wage and emphasizing that the FLSA’s definition of “wage” is fairly open-ended insofar as it includes certain non-cash items and, under certain circumstances, a limited amount of tips received by tipped employees. In other words, the DOL reasoned that “[t]his definition does not serve to limit other payments under the FLSA” from being considered “wages.”
With this in mind, the DOL cited to legal precedent indicating that a third-party payment may constitute a “wage” under the FLSA. However, the DOL cautioned that not all third party payments will qualify as a “wage.” The DOL reasoned that determining whether a payment from a third party constitutes wages will depend upon the terms of the employment agreement (express or implied) and compliance with the other requirements of the FLSA. For example, the DOL noted that “[a]n agreement to include third-party payments as part of the employee’s compensation may be implied based on the particular circumstances, including the understanding and practices of the parties.” In support of these principles, the DOL cites to a recent Third Circuit decision—Dept. of Labor v. Bristol Excavating, Inc., 935 F.3d 122, 133 (3d Cir. 2019)—wherein the Court emphasized the following as relevant considerations:
- whether the specific requirements for receiving the payment are known by the employees in advance of their performing the relevant work;
- whether the payment is for a reasonably specific amount; and
- whether the employer’s facilitation of the payment is more than serving as a pass-through vehicle (e.g., as with processing tips).
Turning to the facts presented, the DOL noted that, while the parties did not indicate whether there were any employment agreements that explicitly address whether these payments are considered wages, “the facts demonstrate that the payments are, at least implicitly, part of the employment agreement.” The DOL identified the following “facts” as leading to this conclusion: (1) the employer “embraced” the payments as wages, as opposed to disputing them; (2) employees knew of the specific payment terms; and (3) the car dealerships played more than a “pass-through vehicle” role for the payments by learning and communicating the terms to employees and “work[ing] with incentive program sponsors to determine when payments should be made.”
Takeaway
The determination as to whether or not third-party payments count as “wages” presents a fact-intensive question dependent upon many circumstances, including but not limited to the terms of the employment agreement between the parties and the understanding and practices of the parties. In general, however, it seems that the more involved an employer is in the handling of third-party payments, the more likely it is that the third-party payments could be considered wages paid by the employer.
If you have an issue or questions concerning whether third-party payments should be considered wages, please contact Dolley Law, LLC by phone at (314) 645-4100 or email at [email protected]. | https://www.missouriemploymentlawattorney.com/labor-employment-blog/2020/july/the-united-states-department-of-labor-issues-new/ |
Ph.D. in agriculture/horticulture or extension with at least 10 years’ extensive experience working in vegetable, pulses and climate resilient agriculture crop production systems.
Extensive experience in commercial vegetable research and extension work with a good knowledge of improved production management practices.
Experience Requirements
Experience working effectively in teams and a proven ability to help improve farmers’ management practices. iv. Excellent analytical skills and ability to implement, monitor and evaluate varietal trials and integrated pest management trials. v. Extensive experience in conducting training programs and developing training materials. vi. Significant agricultural research and/or development publication record. vii. Excellent communication and computer skills, with fluency in written and spoken English and Assamese and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
Job Responsibilities
Provide technical advice and support to WorldVeg technical officers based in the districts in Assam.
Assist technical officers in implementing on-farm demonstrations of improved varieties and seedling production systems, good agricultural practices and integrated pest management in close coordination with WorldVeg researchers, international partners and state institutions.
Provide scientific solutions to technical officers to address vegetable farmers’ management problems, and seek out additional national and international expertise and inputs where needed.
Incorporate key technical input into training programs to strengthen the capacity of local partners to help vegetable farmers overcome practical management problems and to scale up innovative practices.
Contribute to writing training materials, technical progress reports and annual reviews and work plans as directed by the Resident Consultant and Project Leader in Taiwan.
How To Apply :
Applicants should apply on or before 26 February, 2021 with latest Curriculum Vitae, and the names and contact information of three referees who are knowledgeable about your professional qualifications and work experience. All applications will be acknowledged;
For more information, please visit www.icrisat.org
General Instructions
This is a Locally Recruited Staff (LRS) position for 24 Months with the possibility of extension depending on requirement of the role, funding availability and performance of the incumbent
This job has expired. | https://shrijobs.com/jobid/icrisat-associate-scientist-recruitment-2021-2/ |
Sun, Jun 07, 2020 page5
Vatican arrests businessman in shady real-estate deal
Vatican police on Friday arrested an Italian businessman involved in a controversial London real-estate deal on suspicion of extortion, fraud and money laundering, the Holy See said.
Gianluigi Torzi was being held in the Vatican gendarmes’ police barracks after he was questioned by its chief prosecutors, the Holy See Press Office said in a statement.
It is the first arrest in a nearly year-long investigation into the deal, which has convulsed the Vatican, raised questions about Pope Francis’ seven-year financial reform effort and exposed Machiavellian turf battles at the Holy See.
People gather in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday last week.
Photo: AP
The Vatican said in a statement that the charges of which Torzi stands accused carry a 12-year prison sentence if he is convicted.
The Vatican provided no name or contact information for Torzi’s attorney, whom it said accompanied him to the interrogation.
Vatican prosecutors are investigating allegations of corruption in the Secretariat of State’s 2012 purchase of a 150 million euro (US$169.37 million) stake in a luxury residence in London.
The Vatican bought the other investors out at the end of 2018, but then realized it had taken on Italian intermediaries, including Torzi, who were allegedly fleecing the Holy See of millions of euros in fees, officials familiar with the deal said.
Torzi was the Vatican’s intermediary in the buyout deal and also took strategic decisions for the property, located at 60 Sloan Avenue in London’s tony Chelsea neighborhood.
The Vatican has two signed contracts entrusting Torzi with enormous authority to manage the project, signed by a Vatican official who is also under investigation.
Torzi has not spoken publicly about his position.
However, the fact that he was arrested suggests that the Vatican superior who authorized the contracts, the Vatican deputy secretary of state, would also be called to explain why he authorized handing over so much power and money to him.
The scandal burst into public view when Vatican police raided the secretariat and the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, known as the Financial Information Authority, on Oct. 1 last year. A half-dozen Vatican officials were suspended, but none to date has been charged.
The lack of prosecutions among Vatican staff has suggested that the investigation was sparked by fears within the Vatican hierarchy that the watchdog agency was being too aggressive in rooting out financial malfeasance that could have implicated high-ranking Vatican officials.
The agency was already investigating Torzi and others at the time of the Vatican raids to see where the money he earned from the fees ended up.
Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times. | |
Summer: Labour Weekend (end OCT) to Easter Monday daily 9-17:30.
Boxing Day to 29-FEB additional tour at 20.
|
Winter: Tue after Easter to Labour Weekend (end OCT) daily 9-17.
Tours at least every 30 min.
|Fee:||
Adults NZD 48, Children (4-14) NZD 21, Children (0-3) free, Family (2+2) NZD 115.
|
Combined with Aranui Cave: Adults NZD 50, Children (4-14) NZD 24, Children (0-3) free, Family (2+2) NZD 130.
Glowworm, Aranui and Ruakuri Caves: Adults NZD 93, Children (4-14) NZD 39, Children (0-3) free, Family (2+2) NZD 200.
|Classification:||Karst cave|
|Light:||electric and natural (glowworms!).|
|Dimension:||L=1,300m, A=80m asl (lower entrance), A=94m asl (upper entrance), V=4,500m³.|
|Guided tours:||D=45min, V=440,000V/a|
|Photography:|
|Accessibility:|
|Bibliography:||
J. N. Jennings (1971):
Karst,
Australian National University Press, Canberra (1971).
|
Jeanne K Hanson (2007): Caves, 142 pp, 16 colour and 30 B&W photos. Chelsea House, New York. pp 75-81
|Address:||Waitomo Caves, Private Bag 501, Otorohanga, Tel: +64-7-8788227.|
|As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
|
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.
|1887||first explored by Tane Tinorau, a local Maori chief, and Fred Mace, an English surveyor.|
|1889||Tane Tinorau opened the cave to tourists.|
|1906||cave taken over by the government to protect it from vandalism.|
|1910||Waitomo Caves Hotel was built to accommodate the many visitors.|
|1989||the land and the cave were returned to the descendants of the original owners.|
|2005||Visitor Centre destroyed in fire.|
|2010||new Waitomo Glowworm Caves Visitor Centre opened.|
|Image: the swallow hole of the Waitomo River.|
The Waitomo Glowworm Cave system has two levels, the low one is the bed of the Waitomo River, the upper one is dry. There is a connection between both levels, the 16 meters deep shaft called the Tomo. Visitors enter the cave at the top level and walk down narrow passageways to the low level. The room called the Banquet Chamber is the place where early tourists stopped for meal. Then the path leads further down to the low level with the cave river, along numerous interesting formations.
|Image: a glowworm. The larva is at the upper rim of the picture, a little left of the middle. Note the vertical threads with sticky bulbs, similar to the web of a spider.|
The largest chamber of the cave is the Cathedral, with a demonstration platform and the jetty. The acoustics in this chamber are world-renowned, Kiri Te Kanawa, the famous New Zealand singer, has sung here and was delighted by the purity of the sound. This large chamber is used as a concert hall now and then. But still the visitors are now told to be as quiet as possible, because sound would disturb the glowworms.
The trip finishes with a boat ride through the Cathedral, small boats gently slide into the black darkness. The reason is the main sight of this cave, which gave this chamber the name Waitomo Glowworm Grotto. As the eyes adjust to the dark, the walls and roof start to sparkle like a star filled night sky. This tiny lights are produced by glowworm larvae (Arachnocampa luminosa). The larvae build webs along the cave walls, similar to spider webs, and try to attract their victims by the light. After eating and growing the larvae pupate and become two-winged flies, which live only a few days for reproduction. They do not have a digestive system. However, most of them become attracted by one of the lights and end in the web of a next generation larva. The glowworms are found all over New Zealand, also on Tasmania and Australia, but nowhere else on Earth.
The cave had its darkest days during the year 1979, when the population of glowworms dropped by 96%, and the famous night sky became dark. This was the first time, the management discovered that it could be necessary to protect the cave in order to protect the business. As a matter of fact New Zealand does not have a legislation protecting caves by now. In 1980 a scientific research program monitoring the cave climate started and a scientific advisory committee was founded. As a result the cave is very good monitored concerning humidity, temperature and CO2 content in the air. The air climate is controlled by opening and closing the airtight entrance door of the dry upper entrance in dependency on hourly measures of climatic parameters inside and outside the cave. A rule was installed to keep CO2 content below 2,400ppm, if it reaches this border the cave is closed completely. Actually the CO2 rises in times of high visitation during the warm summer season in February. So if you are not from abroad, we suggest to visit at other times of the year.
The entrance to the cave is 500 meters beyond the Museum of Caves. The cave is easily accessible to those with reasonable mobility, with good handrails and paths. The boat ride at the end of the tour ends outside the cave at the spring of the cave river. Independent travellers should try to avoid visiting during the middle of the day when the cave is very busy with tour groups.
The Visitor Centre of the caves was destroyed in a fire in 2005, right after the exhibition had been updated. The construction of the new Waitomo Glowworm Caves Visitor Centre took five years, the new centre was inaugurated on 22-OCT-2010. It took some time, but there was a lot of planning involved, and the result is spectacular. The building was designed after the minimal environmental intervention principle, the building follows the contours of the land and the curve of the Waitomo stream. A grid shell structure built of New Zealand Radiata pine is covered with transparent cladding. Right before the inauguration the building has already won awards, Commercial Architectural Excellence, Commercial Engineering Excellence, and the Clever Wood Solution Award on the NZ Wood Timber Design Awards 2010. | http://showcaves.com/english/nz/showcaves/Glowworm.html |
The concept of ambiguity is generally contrasted with vagueness. In ambiguity, specific and distinct interpretations are permitted (although some may not be immediately obvious), whereas with information that is vague, it is difficult to form any interpretation at the desired level of specificity.
Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity. For example, the same piece of information may be ambiguous in one context and unambiguous in another.
Linguistic forms
The lexical ambiguity of a word or phrase pertains to its having more than one meaning in the language to which the word belongs. "Meaning" here refers to whatever should be captured by a good dictionary. For instance, the word "bank" has several distinct lexical definitions, including "financial institution" and "edge of a river". Another example is as in "apothecary". One could say "I bought herbs from the apothecary". This could mean one actually spoke to the apothecary (pharmacist) or went to the apothecary (pharmacy).
The context in which an ambiguous word is used often makes it evident which of the meanings is intended. If, for instance, someone says "I buried $100 in the bank", most people would not think someone used a shovel to dig in the mud. However, some linguistic contexts do not provide sufficient information to disambiguate a used word.
Lexical ambiguity can be addressed by algorithmic methods that automatically associate the appropriate meaning with a word in context, a task referred to as word sense disambiguation.
The use of multi-defined words requires the author or speaker to clarify their context, and sometimes elaborate on their specific intended meaning (in which case, a less ambiguous term should have been used). The goal of clear concise communication is that the receiver(s) have no misunderstanding about what was meant to be conveyed. An exception to this could include a politician whose "weasel words" and obfuscation are necessary to gain support from multiple constituents with mutually exclusive conflicting desires from their candidate of choice. Ambiguity is a powerful tool of political science.
More problematic are words whose senses express closely related concepts. "Good", for example, can mean "useful" or "functional" (That's a good hammer), "exemplary" (She's a good student), "pleasing" (This is good soup), "moral" (a good person versus the lesson to be learned from a story), "righteous", etc. " I have a good daughter" is not clear about which sense is intended. The various ways to apply prefixes and suffixes can also create ambiguity ("unlockable" can mean "capable of being unlocked" or "impossible to lock").
Syntactic ambiguity arises when a sentence can have two (or more) different meanings because of the structure of the sentence—its syntax. This is often due to a modifying expression, such as a prepositional phrase, the application of which is unclear. "He ate the cookies on the couch", for example, could mean that he ate those cookies that were on the couch (as opposed to those that were on the table), or it could mean that he was sitting on the couch when he ate the cookies. "To get in, you will need an entrance fee of $10 or your voucher and your drivers' license." This could mean that you need EITHER ten dollars OR BOTH your voucher and your license. Or it could mean that you need your license AND you need EITHER ten dollars OR a voucher. Only rewriting the sentence, or placing appropriate punctuation can resolve a syntactic ambiguity. For the notion of, and theoretic results about, syntactic ambiguity in artificial, formal languages (such as computer programming languages), see Ambiguous grammar.
Spoken language can contain many more types of ambiguities which are called phonological ambiguities, where there is more than one way to compose a set of sounds into words. For example, "ice cream" and "I scream". Such ambiguity is generally resolved according to the context. A mishearing of such, based on incorrectly resolved ambiguity, is called a mondegreen.
Semantic ambiguity happens when a sentence contains an ambiguous word or phrase—a word or phrase that has more than one meaning. In "We saw her duck" (example due to Richard Nordquist), the word "duck" can refer either
- to the person's bird (the noun "duck", modified by the possessive pronoun "her"), or
- to a motion she made (the verb "duck", the subject of which is the objective pronoun "her", object of the verb "saw").
For example, "You could do with a new automobile. How about a test drive?" The clause "You could do with" presents a statement with such wide possible interpretation as to be essentially meaningless. Lexical ambiguity is contrasted with semantic ambiguity. The former represents a choice between a finite number of known and meaningful context-dependent interpretations. The latter represents a choice between any number of possible interpretations, none of which may have a standard agreed-upon meaning. This form of ambiguity is closely related to vagueness.
Linguistic ambiguity can be a problem in law, because the interpretation of written documents and oral agreements is often of paramount importance.
Philosophers (and other users of logic) spend a lot of time and effort searching for and removing (or intentionally adding) ambiguity in arguments because it can lead to incorrect conclusions and can be used to deliberately conceal bad arguments. For example, a politician might say, "I oppose taxes which hinder economic growth", an example of a glittering generality. Some will think he opposes taxes in general because they hinder economic growth. Others may think he opposes only those taxes that he believes will hinder economic growth. In writing, the sentence can be rewritten to reduce possible misinterpretation, either by adding a comma after "taxes" (to convey the first sense) or by changing "which" to "that" (to convey the second sense) or by rewriting it in other ways. The devious politician hopes that each constituent will interpret the statement in the most desirable way, and think the politician supports everyone's opinion. However, the opposite can also be true – an opponent can turn a positive statement into a bad one if the speaker uses ambiguity (intentionally or not). The logical fallacies of amphiboly and equivocation rely heavily on the use of ambiguous words and phrases.
In continental philosophy (particularly phenomenology and existentialism), there is much greater tolerance of ambiguity, as it is generally seen as an integral part of the human condition. Martin Heidegger argued that the relation between the subject and object is ambiguous, as is the relation of mind and body, and part and whole. In Heidegger's phenomenology, Dasein is always in a meaningful world, but there is always an underlying background for every instance of signification. Thus, although some things may be certain, they have little to do with Dasein's sense of care and existential anxiety, e.g., in the face of death. In calling his work Being and Nothingness an "essay in phenomenological ontology" Jean-Paul Sartre follows Heidegger in defining the human essence as ambiguous, or relating fundamentally to such ambiguity. Simone de Beauvoir tries to base an ethics on Heidegger's and Sartre's writings (The Ethics of Ambiguity), where she highlights the need to grapple with ambiguity: "as long as philosophers and they [men] have thought, most of them have tried to mask it...And the ethics which they have proposed to their disciples have always pursued the same goal. It has been a matter of eliminating the ambiguity by making oneself pure inwardness or pure externality, by escaping from the sensible world or being engulfed by it, by yielding to eternity or enclosing oneself in the pure moment." Ethics cannot be based on the authoritative certainty given by mathematics and logic, or prescribed directly from the empirical findings of science. She states: "Since we do not succeed in fleeing it, let us, therefore, try to look the truth in the face. Let us try to assume our fundamental ambiguity. It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our life that we must draw our strength to live and our reason for acting". Other continental philosophers suggest that concepts such as life, nature, and sex are ambiguous. Corey Anton has argued that we cannot be certain what is separate from or unified with something else: language, he asserts, divides what is not, in fact, separate. Following Ernest Becker, he argues that the desire to 'authoritatively disambiguate' the world and existence have led to numerous ideologies and historical events such as genocide. On this basis, he argues that ethics must focus on 'dialectically integrating opposites' and balancing tension, rather than seeking a priori validation or certainty. Like the existentialists and phenomenologists, he sees the ambiguity of life as the basis of creativity.
In literature and rhetoric, ambiguity can be a useful tool. Groucho Marx's classic joke depends on a grammatical ambiguity for its humor, for example: "Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know". Songs and poetry often rely on ambiguous words for artistic effect, as in the song title "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" (where "blue" can refer to the color, or to sadness).
In narrative, ambiguity can be introduced in several ways: motive, plot, character. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the latter type of ambiguity with notable effect in his novel The Great Gatsby.
Christianity and Judaism employ the concept of paradox synonymously with 'ambiguity'. Many Christians and Jews endorse Rudolf Otto's description of the sacred as 'mysterium tremendum et fascinans', the awe-inspiring mystery which fascinates humans.[dubious – discuss] The orthodox Catholic writer G. K. Chesterton regularly employed paradox to tease out the meanings in common concepts which he found ambiguous, or to reveal meaning often overlooked or forgotten in common phrases. (The title of one of his most famous books, Orthodoxy, itself employing such a paradox.)
Metonymy involves the use of the name of a subcomponent part as an abbreviation, or jargon, for the name of the whole object (for example "wheels" to refer to a car, or "flowers" to refer to beautiful offspring, an entire plant, or a collection of blooming plants). In modern vocabulary critical semiotics, metonymy encompasses any potentially ambiguous word substitution that is based on contextual contiguity (located close together), or a function or process that an object performs, such as "sweet ride" to refer to a nice car. Metonym miscommunication is considered a primary mechanism of linguistic humour.
Music
In music, pieces or sections which confound expectations and may be or are interpreted simultaneously in different ways are ambiguous, such as some polytonality, polymeter, other ambiguous meters or rhythms, and ambiguous phrasing, or (Stein 2005, p. 79) any aspect of music. The music of Africa is often purposely ambiguous. To quote Sir Donald Francis Tovey (1935, p. 195), "Theorists are apt to vex themselves with vain efforts to remove uncertainty just where it has a high aesthetic value."
Visual art
In visual art, certain images are visually ambiguous, such as the Necker cube, which can be interpreted in two ways. Perceptions of such objects remain stable for a time, then may flip, a phenomenon called multistable perception. The opposite of such ambiguous images are impossible objects.
Pictures or photographs may also be ambiguous at the semantic level: the visual image is unambiguous, but the meaning and narrative may be ambiguous: is a certain facial expression one of excitement or fear, for instance?
Constructed language
Some languages have been created with the intention of avoiding ambiguity, especially lexical ambiguity. Lojban and Loglan are two related languages which have been created for this, focusing chiefly on syntactic ambiguity as well. The languages can be both spoken and written. These languages are intended to provide a greater technical precision over big natural languages, although historically, such attempts at language improvement have been criticized. Languages composed from many diverse sources contain much ambiguity and inconsistency. The many exceptions to syntax and semantic rules are time-consuming and difficult to learn.
Computer science
In computer science, the SI prefixes kilo-, mega- and giga- were historically used in certain contexts to mean either the first three powers of 1024 (1024, 10242 and 10243) contrary to the metric system in which these units unambiguously mean one thousand, one million, and one billion. This usage is particularly prevalent with electronic memory devices (e.g. DRAM) addressed directly by a binary machine register where a decimal interpretation makes no practical sense.
Subsequently, the Ki, Mi, and Gi prefixes were introduced so that binary prefixes could be written explicitly, also rendering k, M, and G unambiguous in texts conforming to the new standard — this led to a new ambiguity in engineering documents lacking outward trace of the binary prefixes (necessarily indicating the new style) as to whether the usage of k, M, and G remains ambiguous (old style) or not (new style). Note also that 1 M (where M is ambiguously 1,000,000 or 1,048,576) is less uncertain than the engineering value 1.0e6 (defined to designate the interval 950,000 to 1,050,000), and that as non-volatile storage devices began to commonly exceed 1 GB in capacity (where the ambiguity begins to routinely impact the second significant digit), GB and TB almost always mean 109 and 1012 bytes.
Mathematical notation
Mathematical notation, widely used in physics and other sciences, avoids many ambiguities compared to expression in natural language. However, for various reasons, several lexical, syntactic and semantic ambiguities remain.
Names of functions
The ambiguity in the style of writing a function should not be confused with a multivalued function, which can (and should) be defined in a deterministic and unambiguous way. Several special functions still do not have established notations. Usually, the conversion to another notation requires to scale the argument or the resulting value; sometimes, the same name of the function is used, causing confusions. Examples of such underestablished functions:
Expressions
Ambiguous expressions often appear in physical and mathematical texts. It is common practice to omit multiplication signs in mathematical expressions. Also, it is common to give the same name to a variable and a function, for example,
Creators of algorithmic languages try to avoid ambiguities. Many algorithmic languages (C++ and Fortran) require the character * as symbol of multiplication. The Wolfram Language used in Mathematica allows the user to omit the multiplication symbol, but requires square brackets to indicate the argument of a function; square brackets are not allowed for grouping of expressions. Fortran, in addition, does not allow use of the same name (identifier) for different objects, for example, function and variable; in particular, the expression f=f(x) is qualified as an error.
The order of operations may depend on the context. In most programming languages, the operations of division and multiplication have equal priority and are executed from left to right. Until the last century, many editorials assumed that multiplication is performed first, for example,
A comma in subscripts and superscripts sometimes is omitted; it is also ambiguous notation. If it is written
Subscripts are also used to denote the argument to a function, as in
Examples of potentially confusing ambiguous mathematical expressions
Notations in quantum optics and quantum mechanics
It is common to define the coherent states in quantum optics with
Ambiguous terms in physics and mathematics
Some physical quantities do not yet have established notations; their value (and sometimes even dimension, as in the case of the Einstein coefficients), depends on the system of notations. Many terms are ambiguous. Each use of an ambiguous term should be preceded by the definition, suitable for a specific case. Just like Ludwig Wittgenstein states in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: "... Only in the context of a proposition has a name meaning."
A highly confusing term is gain. For example, the sentence "the gain of a system should be doubled", without context, means close to nothing.
It may mean that the ratio of the output voltage of an electric circuit to the input voltage should be doubled.
It may mean that the ratio of the output power of an electric or optical circuit to the input power should be doubled.
It may mean that the gain of the laser medium should be doubled, for example, doubling the population of the upper laser level in a quasi-two level system (assuming negligible absorption of the ground-state).
The term intensity is ambiguous when applied to light. The term can refer to any of irradiance, luminous intensity, radiant intensity, or radiance, depending on the background of the person using the term.
Also, confusions may be related with the use of atomic percent as measure of concentration of a dopant, or resolution of an imaging system, as measure of the size of the smallest detail which still can be resolved at the background of statistical noise. See also Accuracy and precision and its talk.
The Berry paradox arises as a result of systematic ambiguity in the meaning of terms such as "definable" or "nameable". Terms of this kind give rise to vicious circle fallacies. Other terms with this type of ambiguity are: satisfiable, true, false, function, property, class, relation, cardinal, and ordinal.
Mathematical interpretation of ambiguity
In mathematics and logic, ambiguity can be considered to be an instance of the logical concept of underdetermination—for example,
Logical ambiguity and self-contradiction is analogous to visual ambiguity and impossible objects, such as the Necker cube and impossible cube, or many of the drawings of M. C. Escher.
Pedagogic use of ambiguous expressions
Ambiguity can be used as a pedagogical trick, to force students to reproduce the deduction by themselves. Some textbooks give the same name to the function and to its Fourier transform: | https://alchetron.com/Ambiguity |
grow. Treasury functions, spurred on by rising interest rates, continue to transition from a post-crisis defensive crouch to an aggressive focus on maximizing both liquidity and yield.
Executing these two objectives will require an optimistic mindset given the combination of challenges impeding cash management activities. The survey results show that treasury leaders plan to work through uncertainty by re-ordering cash management priorities, consolidating the number of banks they use for cash management, and working with their banking partners to optimize new treasury technologies.
It is important to consider this year’s survey results in light of several significant forces. From a regulatory standpoint, Basel III requirements continue to drive revisions to multinationals’ liquidity strategies. On the macroeconomic front, Brexit is causing many treasury functions to reconsider where they issue European payments and to rethink cash pooling structures. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s draining of liquidity from the financial system is elevating short-term interest rates and reversing quantitative easing, which is nudging longer-term rates higher as well. This trajectory suggests that there will be less cash in the banking system in the near future, which should challenge survey respondents’ rosy expectations regarding their own cash reserves.
An extended period of low interest rates heaped an historic amount of debt on corporate balance sheets. Now “ corporate treasury organizations are likely rethinking their long-term debt strategies as interest rates rise,” notes Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory Partner Carina Ruiz-Singh, who leads Deloitte & Touche LLP’s treasury transformation practice.
Widespread technology advancements and related digital transformation initiatives promise attractive long-term benefits—including faster global payments and new payment models—but also give rise to shorter-term disruptions and risks. Artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, blockchain applications, and other advanced technologies enable “ treasurers in multinational corporations to work more efficiently while also gaining a better view into where cash around the world sits and the possibilities for it,” Ruiz-Singh points out. Yet treasury’s growing use of data and data-sharing gives rise to new cybersecurity and fraud risks, as well as compliance concerns. The “vulnerabilities presented by changing payments methods, more aggressive cyber risks, and managing through evolving and rapid technological changes challenge corporate treasuries to rethink their role in cash governance,” Ruiz-Singh adds.
The TCJA forced corporate treasurers, CFOs, and chief tax executives to evaluate how much cash to repatriate to the U.S. and how to reorganize different legal entities to optimize tax exposure and cash reserves. Treasurers and their executive colleagues also have been busy deciding where to invest tax-cut savings. A recent Korn Ferry International survey indicates that increasing capital investments and cash reserves are the two highest priorities. “Changes in tax code can impact cash management, as organizations rethink their internal banking structures, decide whether or not to pay down debt, and work to get their treasury and tax professionals working more closely together,” Ruiz-Singh points out.
During the past two years, other regulatory changes and interest rate hikes have spurred organizations to make key changes to cash and short-term investment policies, including adding new asset classes (cited by 19 percent of respondents), eliminating prime money funds as a cash investment option (17 percent), increasing enforcement of the corporate investment policy (17 percent), shortening allowable maximum maturities (11 percent), and modifying money fund language to reflect prime funds’ floating NAVs (9 percent). | http://www.treasuryandrisk-digital.com/treasuryandrisk/october_2018_special_report?pg=3 |
A wide range of species, from birds to butterflies, engage in migration – seasonal relocation of populations. As part of our research focusing on transboundary ecosystem services, we are researching the cross-border ecosystem services provided by migratory bats, which rely on habitat in specific locations yet provide valuable ecosystem services, mainly pollination and pest control, in other locations. This situation may present significant policy challenges, as locations that most support a given species may be in effect subsidizing the provision of services in other locations, often in different political jurisdictions.
Large numbers of bats migrate between summer and winter sites in southwestern United States and northern Mexico, establishing large colonies. These bats serve as mobile links connecting ecosystem processes in one location with the provision of ecosystem services in other areas.
For example, two species of endangered, long-nosed bats pollinate blue agave, the main ingredient of tequila. Corporate tequila producers in Mexico currently propagate agave plants vegetatively and only cultivate 1-2 genetic varieties. Pathogens have devastated the genetically homogeneous crops twice, resulting in substantial economic losses. If bats were allowed to pollinate agave, cross-pollination would increase genetic diversity and pathogen resistance. The regulating services provided by long-nosed bats are clearly important for sustainable agave crops.
Another migratory species, the Mexican free-tailed bat, provides critical pest control services for cotton crops in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Female bats migrate annually and form large roosting colonies, up to 20 million individuals, from central Mexico to the US-Mexico borderlands. The females feed on agricultural pests - corn earworm and cotton bollworm - providing an estimated $700,000 worth of pest control annually in one region of Texas.
Several factors threaten the bats and the services they provide. Millions of bats have been burned, dynamited, or barred from their roosts by ranchers who mistake them for vampire bats. Bat caves have also been destroyed or disrupted by urban development, highway construction, vandals, and undocumented migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.
To develop a more quantitative understanding of the bats’ migration and habitat needs, we are developing an multi-model that integrates models of Mexican free-tailed bat migration with models of bat ecosystem service provision. This will allow us to quantify how much different regions support the bat populations and to assess bat vulnerability to human-related disturbances including habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change.
SUBMITTED Recreation economics of an individual migratory species throughout its annual cycle: Northern Pintail case study Mattsson, BJ, JA Dubovsky, WE Thogmartin, KJ Bagstad, JH Goldstein, J Loomis, JE Diffendorfer, DJ Semmens, and L López-Hoffman. Replacement cost valuation of Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) subsistence harvest in Arctic and sub-Arctic North America Goldstein JH, W Thogmartin, KJ Bagstad, J Dubovsky, D Semmens, BJ Mattsson, L López-Hoffman, and JD Diffendorfer. | http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/programs-projects/environmental-policy/transboundary-ecosystem-services-shared-us-and-mexico |
With development, there are new or elevated influences on how individuals go about activities. So much change on the earth is tied and based mostly on technological advancement… Technology has reworked society, with each constructive and negative impacts. A simple statement of individuals will affirm that they are wholly depending on technology for their everyday life….
Some gadgets work on solar panels and wind turbines; they use green energy and are environment friendly. Instead of repairing an old equipment, we have to develop new technology which is more cost-effective. Self sufficient-Technology used to advance itself and continue to realize progress within the subject of expertise.
It makes the method of data sharing a lot simple, fast, low cost, and gratifying. In a nutshell, IT has made the world a better place with reduced workload and advanced consolation. The age of IT has revolutionized https://www.iupac2011.org/pages/abstracts_book.pdf our lives bringing in unfathomable changes.
First, all of the studies above have evaluated the influence of prerecorded classes mixed with several different parts (e.g., hardware, print supplies, or different activities). Second, whereas these studies evaluate some type of prerecorded lessons, none examines the content material of such lessons. As the figure above suggests, ed-tech interventions can have an effect on the academic core in a myriad of ways. Yet, simply because expertise can do something, it doesn’t mean it should.
A variety of establishments have changed, together with these associated to family, faith, morality, marriage, the state, property, and the state. Due to trendy expertise, trendy household group has been drastically altered as a outcome of elimination of business. Typewriters had been changed by digital systems corresponding to computer systems and phrases processing software because the age of the digital revolution grew.
For example, previously, automobiles used in the past had been manual, but car possession has considerably … In the dawn of technological development and innovations from totally different industries, people have made an amazing move of making use of expertise in almost each sphere of life…. Science, know-how, and society immediately relate to each other.
The Internet was the subsequent significant step in the progress of human civilization, however it came at a value. To see how different individuals construction their work, browse examples of know-how papers online. In specific, observe how they used the primary sentence to attract the readersâ attention â this would possibly allow you to with technology essay hooks. Like all know-how, the one that is carried out in smartphones and tablets is of nice help for on a daily basis life, but it is dependent upon every individual how it goes to be used and how it will have an effect on it. In the case of young individuals, this is extraordinarily necessary. They have to understand that they have in their palms a device of incalculable potential, by way of which they can constantly be taught and acquire data, but with out neglecting actuality or interpersonal relationships.
Today, acts of love unrelated to bodily proximity are par for the course. This doesn’t necessarily imply we love those who are physically absent any less, however it does imply we love them, and perceive what love means, differently. Yes, expertise is far more prevalent right now and thatâs why you see folks utilizing it far more, however check the statistics. People are more conscious of their health these days than 20 years back. So, cease being adverse and begin seeing issues positively. | https://saimuskan.com/2022/05/29/reflection-essay-on-know-how-and-new-technological-generation/ |
New documents shed light on which government agencies are experimenting with the domestic use of unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones.
Drone use isn't restricted to Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Air Force. Legal authorization to fly drones has also been extended to police departments including ones in Herington, Kan., (population 2,526) and Gadsden, Ala., (which touts the nearby Foggy Hollow Bluegrass Gatherin' on its town Web site).
The Electronic Frontier Foundation had to sue the Feds to obtain the lists of drone approvals, which the Federal Aviation Administration finally released this week. A second list shows which manufacturers have applied.
"Unfortunately, these lists leave many questions unanswered. For example, the COA list does not include any information on which model of drone or how many drones each entity flies," the EFF says in a blog post. (A COA is a Certificate of Authorization the FAA grants for drone activity.)
Domestic use of drones isn't exactly new. Six years ago, as CNET reported at the time, Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection Bureau proposed flying unmanned aerial vehicles over the southern border, and one North Carolina county was already using a UAV equipped with low-light and infrared cameras to keep watch on its citizens.
An FAA-related bill that President Obama signed in February accelerated this trend. It requires the agency to come up with a way to "safely accelerate" the deployment of UAVs, including figuring out how they will share the skies with manned aircraft.
That raises novel privacy concerns, especially when low-cost drones can hover over someone's backyard -- or police use them for domestic surveillance purposes that would otherwise be impossible or unlawful.
Last year at the Black Hat computer security conference, a pair of engineers showed up to demonstrate how their retrofitted U.S. Army target drone can eavesdrop on Wi-Fi, phone, and Bluetooth signals. And a drone recently helped North Dakota police make an arrest.
Reps. Ed Markey, a Democrat, and Joe Barton, a Republican, wrote a letter (PDF) to the FAA yesterday asking for details about how both the current temporary rules and the forthcoming ones adequately protect Americans' privacy rights.
It asks: "What privacy protections and public transparency requirements has the FAA built into its current temporary licensing process for drones used in U.S. airspace?" And: "How will the public be notified about where and when drones are used, who will operate the drones, what data will be collected?" | https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/more-drones-take-to-the-sky-like-it-or-not/ |
stoma
stoma
1.Botany an epidermal pore, present in large numbers in plant leaves, that controls the passage of gases into and out of a plant
2.Zoologyanatomy a mouth or mouthlike part
3.Surgery an artificial opening made in a tubular organ, esp the colon or ileum
Stoma
a slitlike opening in the epidermis of aboveground organs of plants. The stoma is bordered by two guard cells, which are usually bean-shaped. The walls of the guard cells that face the stoma are thick, while the opposite walls are thin. The stoma leads to a large intercellular space, the substomatal cavity. The stoma is often surrounded by two or more cells that differ in shape from ordinary epidermal cells.
Stomata are found in the epidermis of all aboveground parts of the plant containing chlorophyll but are especially numerous in leaf epidermis (100–300 per sq mm). They regulate the exchange of gas and water vapor between the atmosphere and the cells of the plant by increasing and decreasing in width. Stomatal movement is effected by changes in the turgor of the guard cells. When turgor is increased, the thin parts of their walls stretch and are drawn away from the stoma. The walls that face the stoma are distended in the same direction, and the stoma opens. When the turgor of the guard cells decreases, the stoma closes. Change in the turgor of the guard cells occurs as a result of reversible conversion of starch, which is osmotically inactive, into osmotically active sugars. However, according to some data, potassium ions play an important, possibly leading, role in regulating the turgor of the guard cells. Scientists are currently investigating these data with the intention of formulating a new hypothesis of the mechanism of stomatal movement.
At night, the stomata of most plants are closed, and gas exchange and transpiration are minimal. During the day, when the weather is fair, the stomata are open. Carbon dioxide gas readily enters the internal tissues of the plant, and oxygen formed as a result of photosynthesis is released with water vapor into the atmosphere.
E. A. MIROSLAVOV
stoma
[′stō·mə]
(biology)
A small opening or pore in a surface.
(botany)
One of the minute openings in the epidermis of higher plants which are regulated by guard cells and through which gases and water vapor are exchanged between internal spaces and the external atmosphere.
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Conducts and delivers user experience (UX) design research work that meets or exceeds the stated business goals and which is clearly and objectively measured and reported to prove our return on design investment. Leads and crafts UX research to ensure excellence in research, facilitation, artifacts, presentation skills, and distilling actionable insights for partners. Partners effectively with other UX disciplines, business line clients, product and channel management, marketing, analytics, delivery PMO, Information Technology and other teams to strengthen relationships and understand the business while delivering solid research. Derives measurable objectives against which UX research work will be evaluated for success.
Qualifications:
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree, with an emphasis on UX, design research, psychology, social science or another relevant field preferred, or equivalent experience
Three to five years of UX design research experience
Preferred Skills/Experience
Familiar with a variety of research methodologies, when to apply them, and when to make tradeoffs
Ability to deliver impactful and clear UX design research in a way that drives and directs better product/project outcomes
Effective presentation, verbal and written communication skills, and ability to facilitate collaborative sessions
Familiar with agile project management and how UX research functions within it
Demonstrated analytical, decision-making and problem-solving skills
Job: Information Technology
Primary Location: Minnesota-MN-Minneapolis
Shift: 1st - Daytime
Average Hours Per Week: 40
Requisition ID: 190037094
U.S. Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating a diverse workforce.
U.S. Bank is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse workforce. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status, among other factors. | https://usbank.jobs/minneapolis-mn/uxdesign-researcher-minneapolis-mn/29A0B3689C2443158ECD231CF227DC61/job/ |
Qualcomm, a world leader in the development of wireless technology and products, relies on its valuable patent portfolio to generate substantial revenue for investment in research and development. Qualcomm is seeking talented and motivated patent attorneys to apply their legal, technical, and communication skills with engineers and business units to develop the highest quality, high-value patents throughout the world. The candidate will be required to understand the technology, business plans, product roadmaps, industry practices, domestic and international patent laws, and work in a cooperative atmosphere to achieve this goal. Specific responsibilities include managing outside counsel, drafting patent applications, drafting responses to official communications, interviewing examiners, performing patent analyses including infringement, clearance, patentability and validity analyses, and collaborating with counsel across multiple jurisdictions to ensure compliance with local jurisdictional practices and laws. Other responsibilities include participating in design-around analysis, license and contract analysis, and performing due diligence analysis for potential acquisitions and investments.
All Qualcomm employees are expected to actively support diversity on their teams, and in the Company.
Minimum Qualifications
5+ years experience in preparing and prosecuting local and international patent applications are required.
Preferred Qualifications The candidate should be outgoing, motivated, demonstrate initiative, possess technical, legal, and interpersonal skills, and demonstrate an ability to work in a team environment. Engineering and law firm experience is required. Technical expertise in wireless communications is preferred. Experience preparing and prosecuting standards-essential patent applications is preferred. Experience in patent litigation or other contentious proceedings is desirable. Other desired experience includes preparation and review of claim charts, familiarity with technical standards (e.g., 3GPP technical standards), and seeking out opportunities to generate carefully crafted intellectual property coverage for Qualcomms many innovations.
Education Requirements
JD degree, USPTO registration, and at least one state bar registration. | https://us.job2u.org/job/402313-patent-counsel-diego/ |
Predictive analytics and disruption in business
Information is vital for business. Relevant information received at the right time has always given a competitive advantage. It is interesting to see how information in the shipping industry has evolved over time – the most vital pieces of information have not significantly changed for centuries. This information includes:
- How much cargo can the ship carry?
- When will the ship arrive at the port?
- How much time is required to load the cargo?
- When will the ship depart from the port?
- When will the ship arrive at the next port?
- How much time is required to unload the cargo?
- When will the ship sail from the next port?
Accurate predictions to these questions gave local traders a competitive edge when planning storage and transportation of their merchandise. There were many unknown factors which made it difficult to get the answers right and so there was a lot of estimation based on previous experience. However, transfer of information was mainly by word of mouth. Wired communication made it possible to pass information about arrival and departure of ships and cargo much faster between places on land.
With wireless communication, it was possible to communicate with ships at sea. This allowed traders to know where the ships were, to better estimate their arrival at the next port and to know the condition of cargo before arrival. Steam and mechanical propulsion also meant that ships not only needed to carry large amounts of fuel, but there also arose the possibility of breakdowns, and the need for repair and maintenance of machinery. This increased the need for communication from the vessel about its status and perhaps gave birth to the daily noon report.
Fast forward to today
The means of communication have advanced from sending messages by Morse code to receiving messages via email to automated data from sensors. Yet in this modern digital era we continue to rely on the ship’s noon report with no significant changes – except that it’s now more elaborate and detailed. The original purpose of the report remains the same:
- Position of the ship at noon to know where she is
- Status of machinery on board to avoid breakdowns
- Present weather conditions to estimate delays
- Estimated time of arrival at next port (ETA)
Analysis of data accumulated from noon reports has given insights into such things as inefficiencies, breakdowns and weather patterns that have occurred in the past. This allows not only better extrapolation and estimation of future voyages, but also action to avoid past delays and inefficiencies from being repeated. It does give competitive advantage, but the downside is that one must wait for data analysis to be performed on historical data in order to come up with insights that can be acted upon in the future.
Satellite communication and sensor technology on board has allowed real-time data transmission to and from the vessel. This has led some shipping companies to open marine operations centres that are manned 24/7 and can monitor the company vessels in real-time. The idea is that any deviations and inefficiencies can be identified as they happen and dealt with immediately without significant delay. This certainly gives a competitive advantage over those who don’t have access to real-time data, or a fleet operations centre that can take corrective action in near real-time.
What next?
With onboard broadband connectivity and the data transmission speeds and computational power available today, what is possible is not just real-time analytics, but predictive analytics. Using cutting-edge developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural networks and cognitive computing, a multitude of data from various sources including hindcast data, real-time data and forecast data can be used to predict with a great degree of accuracy deviations and inefficiencies long before they happen. Mobile devices and connectivity ensure enhanced visibility and transparency of critical information that can easily be disseminated to important stakeholders irrespective of where they are
Sufficient early prediction, warning and simulation give adequate time to mitigate risks and inefficiencies long before they are expected to happen. Predictive analytics is now the real game changer when it comes to competitive advantage. This means that even before the manned ‘marine operations centre’ concept has become mainstream in the shipping industry, they are already obsolete, i.e. being disrupted.
The older the industry, the more difficult it is to change things. There is a time-tested way of doing things, because those methods in the past have always worked, and the majority believe there is barely any reason to change anything unless really required. The world is now connected and digital, the way data is exploited is changing the rules of business rapidly. Data and digital transformation is causing not just disruption of traditional and conservative ways of operating ships, but also the rules of engagement in business.
Will you be the disrupter or be disrupted? Let me know your thoughts. | https://www.eniram.fi/predictive-analytics-and-disruption-in-business/ |
Description:The selected candidate will join the LMA Classified Cybersecurity Team as an Information System Security Officer (ISSO) supporting Special Access Programs (SAPs) to ensure classified information systems (IS) meet cybersecurity requirements and government directives.
Interpret the Joint Special Access Program (SAP) Implementation Guide (JSIG) to assist in determining technical Information Assurance (IA) requirements and facilitate proper security implementation of the Risk Management Framework (RMF).
Develop system documentation for information system authorization, security management, and continuous monitoring of both networked and standalone classified systems.
Perform system auditing, vulnerability risk assessments, Assured File Transfers, hardware/software configuration management, data integrity containments and investigations on IA related security violations/incidents.
Assist with providing cybersecurity education and training for all system users on appropriate risk mitigation strategies.
Interface with internal/external customers to identify requirements and provide problem resolution.
Possess an active DoD Secret security clearance, based upon a National Agency Check with Local Agency Check (NAC/LC) conducted within the last five years and access eligibility for Special Access Programs.
Subject to routine government security investigations and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information throughout their employment as required by the job.
MUST BE A U.S. CITIZEN - This position is located at a facility that requires special access. | https://www.lockheedmartinjobs.com/job/fort-worth/information-systems-security-risk-analyst/694/11551107 |
Kerstin Berghoff-Ising is one of the rare women on the board of directors at one of Germany's more than 400 savings banks.
She's the head of organization and IT, personnel, and audit and compliance departments at the Sparkasse Hannover, or Hannover Savings Bank, which also happens to be well above the average gender ratio, with a female contingent of 50 percent at the top.
According to a Handelsblatt survey early this year, women hold only 10 of the 185 executive positions at the 50 largest members of the German Savings Bank Finance Group, or DSGV, which are governed by public law. That's just 5.4 percent of the total.
"The development of management positions takes time," said Ms. Berghoff-Ising, who joined the board at the end of 2014. "At Sparkasse Hannover, my colleagues were already saying several years ago: 'We want women at the second level of level of management, with an eye toward the first.'"
This is time many other savings banks apparently have not taken. Nor has the other major network of small banks in Germany, the cooperative institutions known as the Volksbank and Raiffeisenbank group. They even have fewer women in top management than the savings banks.
According to the National Association of German Cooperative Banks, or BVR, women hold 3.6 percent of top management positions in the roughly 1,000 banks in that group.
For the 50 largest credit unions, including Sparda banks and special institutions, women make up only 4.6 percent of executive board members. The BVR is all too aware of the fact that this is too little. "Of course, this number is not satisfactory," a spokesman said.
The association of savings banks, the DSGV, is also promising improvement, noting that there is a will and intent to increase the number of women in top management. "We expressly want to see more women in leadership positions," said a spokesman.
More than a year ago, the association stated that the proportion of women in executive positions at its member savings banks was 5.1 percent – despite the fact that more than 60 percent of all savings bank employees are women. Women make up about 26 percent of second-tier management positions.
Still, very few women are appointed to the executive boards. Three years ago, DSGV President Georg Fahrenschon said that half of the executive positions becoming available should be filled by women as soon as possible.
"In that case, a proportion of women across all levels of the hierarchy of at least 20 percent would be realistic in the medium term," he said.
The issue of gender equity is near the bottom of the agenda of German financial institutions.
With quotients of about 5 percent, savings banks and cooperative banks are performing even worse than large banks when it comes to women leaders. According to a study by the ZEB management-consulting firm, the overall proportion of women on the executive boards of German banks is 11 percent, while the German Institute for Economic Research recently found that women make up 7.6 percent of senior executive positions in Germany's 100 largest financial institutions.
"The advancement of women is a question of professional personnel management and strategic planning. This comes more naturally to larger banks," said ZEB partner Katrin Lumma.
But the numbers are still woefully low compared to the 23 percent average of women leaders at 220 financial firms across Europe, with Norway and Sweden leading the pack, according to numbers released in January by London-based research firm New Financial. That was up 3 percent compared to the previous year.
Even that is still below the global average of 25 percent of women in senior management positions in the financial industry, according to a 2015 report by consulting firm Grant Thornton.
The numbers are a testament to how the entire industry struggles with the advancement of women. "In general, banks cling to rigid ideas of how exactly a position should be organized," said Ms. Lumma. This is true, for example, of part-time models, for which there have been only cautious approaches when it comes to executive positions, she added.
On the whole, the issue of gender equity is near the bottom of the agenda of German financial institutions, according to a recent ZEB study based on a survey of 900 bankers from 579 banks. When asked which problems personnel managers are most concerned with on an everyday basis, the improvement of advancement opportunities for female bankers was ranked second to last. Little has changed in this respect compared to the surveys conducted in 2011 and 2013, when the advancement of women was at the very bottom of the list of priorities.
The German Savings Banks Association and the National Association of Cooperative Banks also note that little has changed in the top management of banks.
In the case of cooperative banks, there is "very often a complete lack of female applicants" for executive positions, said the cooperative banks association. It suspects that this is partly because attaining the qualifications for top banking positions is a costly endeavor for employees, especially at a time when "family planning issues haven't been resolved yet." It also cites the location of cooperative banks in rural regions, where "conventional family structures may still play a greater role."
Rolf Stokburger, managing partner with personnel consulting firm Boyden Deutschland, also cites the relative lack of female applicants for executive positions at savings banks, cooperative banks and private banks.
"It is important that women with substantial expertise in one area of a bank diversify their skills to be seen as sufficiently qualified by regulators. Regulations have become much more stringent when it comes to the approval of senior executives," said Mr. Stokburger. However, he added, he does expect to see "major changes," noting that there will be a lot more women in top management just five years from now.
There has been some improvement at a few banks already. At Berliner Volksbank, for example, Marija Kolak is about to be promoted to a position on the executive board, where women already make up 30 percent of members.
Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank (Apobank), the largest cooperative bank next to DZ and WGZ Bank, is also taking strides in this direction. It aims to increase women in posts just below the executive level from 10 to 15 percent by the summer of 2017, and to 25 percent by the summer of 2027.
"The advancement of women in leadership positions is a matter of course for us," said a representative of Apobank, which has launched internal promotion and mentoring programs to provide women with the necessary skills for senior management positions. However, there are still no women on the bank's executive board, or any plans to add them.
Other large cooperative banks are taking similar approaches. Sparda Bank Baden-Württemberg, which currently has an all-male executive board, strives to achieve a 30-percent quotient of women across all management positions. This is already the case today, except on the executive board. And in the third tier of management, women make up more than 40 percent of employees.
Sparkasse Köln Bonn also wants to increase the proportion of women in managerial positions. So far, women hold 16 percent of positions at the managerial level below the executive board, a number with which the bank has achieved its self-imposed – but not especially ambitious – goal. The bank's chief representative Christiane Weigand is eventually expected to be appointed to the executive board.
There could also be an external catalyst to create more movement in this direction. Banks are under pressure, in light of very low interest rates, growing regulation and digitization of their business. Women in top jobs could have an advantage in this environment, given their potential ability to more effectively explain upcoming changes with a bank and inspire enthusiasm in employees.
"As our industry is in turmoil and many things are changing for employees, the right communication is important," said Hannover Savings Bank Executive Board member Kerstin Berghoff-Ising. | https://www.handelsblatt.com/today/finance/gender-inequality-small-banks-fail-to-prioritize-women-on-boards/23536374.html?ticket=ST-602956-KRNhaIrKEjTONRIA9UU0-ap3 |
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The Silmarillion (Pre-Lord of the Rings) (original: 1977; edição: 1985)
de J.R.R. Tolkien
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O Silmarillion de J. R. R. Tolkien (1977)
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As a standalone book, I don't know why anyone would want to read this. Now, I love Tolkien's world -- I've read LOR multiple times, same with the hobbit. Seen the movies more times than I can count, including midnight releases for each of them. But even armed with this background, and other information gleaned from videos, Tolkien encyclopedias and other sources I couldn't get into this. It's amazing in what it is -- a reference about the world -- but it is not a compelling story. I think of this more as a glossary that goes at the end of LOR to help give background to the world.
Heavy reading, lots of difficult names but filled in history long prior and up to the Hobbit & Lord of the Rings etc.
While this was quite a hard read, it was totally worth it! As a Tolkien fan, this book is just awesome. It is like a bible for Middle-earth, with heroic tales, mythology and it introduces the reader to the first age, long before a known Halfling came to life. If you are a fantasy enthusiast or interested in discovering more of the realms and beings JRRT created, you should definitely check it out!
I found the second time reading this easier than the first. Possibly because I let go of trying to keep track of names and kinds of folk and let the story flow. I still get confused with these older ages as to who is an elf and who a human. Nice little family trees at the back help if you want to keep track. Also a beautiful fold-out map of Beleriand at the back to help with the place names. For my part, I simply enjoyed the sad drama of it all. This has my favorite Creation story ever in the Ainulindalë.
Great story, poorly written. Nobody’s fault - this is what happens when someone else fleshes out somebody else’s notes. But the world building in the book is amazing. It took me three times to get through this book because of the writing. On the 3rd attempt I purposely sped read. That made the difference so I could just let the history of the place wash over me without attending to how it was told.
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At its best Tolkien's posthumous revelation of his private mythology is majestic, a work held so long and so power fully in the writer's imagination that it overwhelms the reader. Like Tolkien's other books, The Silmarillion presents a doomed but heroic view of creation that may be one of the reasons why a generation growing up on the thin gruel of television drama, and the beardless cynicism of Mad magazine, first found J.R.R. Tolkien so rich and wonderful.
If "The Hobbit" is a lesser work that the Ring trilogy because it lacks the trilogy's high seriousness, the collection that makes up "The Silmarillion" stands below the trilogy because much of it contains only high seriousness; that is, here Tolkien cares much more about the meaning and coherence of his myth than he does about these glories of the trilogy: rich characterization, imagistic brilliance, powerfully imagined and detailed sense of place, and thrilling adventure. Not that these qualities are entirely lacking here.
Pertence à série
O Senhor dos Anéis (Prequel)
Pertence à série publicada
Está contido em
Tolkien Fantasy Tales Box Set (The Tolkien Reader/The Silmarillion/Unfinished Tales/Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) de J. R. R. Tolkien
LORD OF THE RINGS, SILMARILLION, HOBBIT, BOOK OF LOST TALES, UNFINISHED TALES IN 8 VOLS Easton Press de J. R. R. Tolkien
The Children of Húrin Paperback Box Set: The Children of Hurin / The Silmarillion / Unfinished Tales de J. R. R. Tolkien
The J. R. R. Tolkien Deluxe Edition Collection: " The Children of Hurin " , " The Silmarillion " , " The Hobbit " and " The Lord of the Rings " de J. R. R. Tolkien
Contém
É resumida em
J.R.R. Tolkien Soundbook J. R. R. Tolkien Reads Excerpts From: the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, Poems and Songs of Middle Earth; Christopher Tolkien Reads the Silmarillion-- "Of Beren and Luthien" de J. R. R. Tolkien
É parodiada em
Foi inspirada por
Inspirado
Tem como guia de referência/texto acompanhante
Tem como estudo
Tolkien and the middle ages: interdisziplinäres Seminar der DTG, 29. April bis 1. Mai 2011, Potsdam = Tolkien und das Mittelalte (Hither shore, Band 8) de Thomas Fornet-Ponse
Tem como suplemento
Has as a commentary on the text
Referências a esta obra em recursos externos.
Wikipédia em inglês (15)
Tolkien considered The Silmarillion his most important work, and, though it was published last and posthumously, this great collection of tales and legends clearly sets the stage for all his other writing. The story of the creation of the world and of the First Age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The three Silmarils were jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the Elves. Within them was imprisoned the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before the Trees themselves were destroyed by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. Thereafter, the unsullied Light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils, but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, which was guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Feanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great Enemy.
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Book Discussion: The Silmarillion em The Green Dragon
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Torne-se um autor do LibraryThing. | https://br.librarything.com/work/3203319/105904325 |
What kind of teacher was Tolkien?
What kind of teacher was Tolkien?
Professor of Anglo-Saxon
Hear this out loudPauseTolkien was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, and would mark School Certificate exams in the summers to add to his salary.
Is Sauron a Melkor?
Hear this out loudPauseMelkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and was renamed Morgoth, the definitive antagonist of Arda from whom all evil in the world of Middle-earth ultimately stems. Mairon, one of the Maiar of Aulë, betrayed his kind and became Morgoth’s principal lieutenant, Sauron.
Is Tom Bombadil mentioned in The Silmarillion?
Hear this out loudPauseThey were not then explicitly part of the older legends that became The Silmarillion, and are not mentioned in The Hobbit. Bombadil is best known from his appearance as a supporting character in Tolkien’s high fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings, published in 1954 and 1955.
Why did Sauron turn evil?
Hear this out loudPauseAlthough Sauron’s origins are angelic, he becomes captivated by the idea of ordering things as per his own will, which might be a possible reason behind him being lured by Morgoth, a Dark Lord who corrupted countless souls and waged wars against Elves and Men throughout the First Age.
Who is the director of The Silmarillion trilogy?
The Silmarillion will be an upcoming three part film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson (Who has directed the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit). The Silmarillion is a collection of mythopoeic works by English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, which includes 5 main parts:
Why was The Silmarillion rejected by the publisher?
Tolkien sent them an early draft of The Silmarillion but, due to a misunderstanding, the publisher rejected the draft without fully reading it. The result was that Tolkien began work on “A Long Expected Party”, the first chapter of what he described at the time as “a new story about Hobbits”, which became The Lord of the Rings .
Who is the author of the Quenta Silmarillion?
The Quenta Silmarillion – the history of the events before and during the First Age 4. The Akallabêth – the history of the Second Age 5. Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age It was edited and published posthumously by his son, Christopher Tolkien, in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay.
Are there any movie adaptations of The Silmarillion?
The Silmarillion, however, though not famous is rich for movie adaptations. But then again the Tolkien family is not really a fan of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of their father’s masterpiece. | https://www.roadlesstraveledstore.com/what-kind-of-teacher-was-tolkien/ |
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Bob Worth explores solfège, the mnemonic system built around 1200 AD to teach the musical scale. We’ll take a quick look at how the system was developed by Guido d’Arezzo, and we’ll listen to a variety of Renaissance and early Baroque musical works which exploit its advantages and peculiarities in diverse ways. Featured composers will include Josquin Desprez, Cristóbal de Morales, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Michael Praetorius. | http://www.sonomabach.org/jan-3---climbing-the-musical-stairway-to-heaven---bob-worth.html |
TECHNICAL FIELD
BACKGROUND ART
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
Solution to Problem
Advantageous Effects of Invention
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
First Embodiment
1. Overall Structure
(1) Base
(2) Hygroscopic Layers
(3) Display Unit
(4) Surface Covering Layer
2. Hygroscopic Layers
(1) Overall Structure
(2) Covering Films
(3) Hygroscopic Film
3. Performance
(1) Hygroscopic Capacity and Hygroscopicity
(2) The Number of Defects
(3) Operating Life
(3-1) Experiment Results
(3-2) Relational Expression Between A and B
(3-3) Specific Examples
4. Design Method
Second Embodiment
1. Outline of Structure
110
2. Structure of Organic EL Display Panel
110
3. Materials of Organic EL Display Panel
(1) Base
(2) Hygroscopic Layer
(3) Display Unit
(3-1) TFT Substrate
(3-2) Insulating Layer
(3-3) Anode
(3-4) Bank
(3-5) Organic EL Layer
(3-6) Cathode
(4) Hygroscopic Layer
(5) Surface Covering Layer
Third Embodiment
1. Overall Structure
2. Structure of Units
(1) Base
(2) Display Unit
(3) Hygroscopic Layer
(4) Surface Covering Layer
Modifications
1. Organic EL Layer
2. Hygroscopic Layer
(1) Structure
(2) Hygroscopic Film
(3) Moisture Absorbent
3. Device
4. Display Unit
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
The present disclosure relates to an organic EL device including an organic EL layer and a hygroscopic layer.
There has been used an organic EL device that for example includes, above a glass substrate, a display unit having an organic EL layer between an anode and a cathode.
In recent years, there has been a demand for an organic EL display device that is excellent in terms of design and mobility. An organic EL display device having an excellent design for example includes a display unit that is curved. An organic EL display device having an excellent mobility for example has a further reduced weight.
In response to the above demand, a technology has been proposed that uses a resin substrate (a resin film) having flexibility for an organic EL display device instead of a glass substrate (for example, Patent Literature 1). However, the resin substrate exhibits a low barrier property against moisture. For this reason, moisture intrusion into an organic EL layer through the resin substrate might change luminescent color, or even worse, might disable light emission.
In view of this, a technology has been proposed that prevents moisture intrusion into a display unit (organic EL layer) by providing a hygroscopic layer between a resin substrate and the display unit to absorb moisture (for example, Patent Literature 2).
The hygroscopic layer has a hygroscopic film that is sandwiched between a pair of covering films. The covering films are made of a material whose moisture vapor transmission rate, which indicates a degree of moisture transmission, is low. The hygroscopic layer prevents transmission of moisture through the covering films, and absorbs moisture, which has intruded through the covering films, and thereby to prevent intrusion of the moisture into the display unit. Note that the hygroscopic layer is referred to also as a waterproof layer having a waterproof property because of preventing moisture intrusion into the display unit.
[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-031761
[Patent Literature 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-533152
However, it was proved that the operating life of the organic EL layer is not increased even by using the covering films having a low moisture vapor transmission rate such as disclosed in the above Patent Literature 2. That is, it was proved that hygroscopic (waterproof) property of the hygroscopic layer is insufficient to increase the operating life of the organic EL layer.
The present disclosure aims to provide an organic EL device that further prevents moisture transmission into an organic EL layer, a design method of the organic EL device, and a manufacturing method of the organic EL device.
2
2
One aspect of the present disclosure provides an organic EL device comprising: an organic EL layer; and a hygroscopic layer that is disposed above and/or below the organic EL layer, and has a hygroscopic film, a first covering film, and a second covering film, the first covering film covering one of main surfaces of the hygroscopic film, the second covering film covering the other main surface of the hygroscopic film, wherein a relational expression A/B≧0.2 is satisfied, where A denotes hygroscopicity indicating mass of moisture, expressed in g/m, that is absorbable by the hygroscopic film per unit of area, and B denotes the number of defects per unit of area, expressed in pieces/mm, that is calculated based on the number of defects in each of the first covering film and the second covering film.
The organic EL device relating to the above aspect includes the hygroscopic film having hygroscopic property in consideration of the defects in the covering films. With this structure, it is possible to prevent moisture transmission into the organic EL layer.
2
2
One aspect of the present disclosure provides an organic EL device comprising: an organic EL layer; and a hygroscopic layer that is disposed above and/or below the organic EL layer, and has a hygroscopic film, a first covering film, and a second covering film, the first covering film covering one of main surfaces of the hygroscopic film, the second covering film covering the other main surface of the hygroscopic film, wherein a relational expression A/B≧0.2 is satisfied, where A denotes hygroscopicity indicating mass of moisture, expressed in g/m, that is absorbable by the hygroscopic film per unit of area, and B denotes the number of defects per unit of area, expressed in pieces/mm, that is calculated based on the number of defects in each of the first covering film and the second covering film.
Also, an expression B≦1 may be satisfied.
With this structure, it is possible to improve a waterproof function of the covering films.
Also, the first covering film and the second covering film may each be an inorganic film.
With this structure, it is possible to increase a waterproof property of the hygroscopic layer.
Also, the moisture absorbent may be zeolite.
With this structure, it is possible to improve a hygroscopic property of the hygroscopic film.
2
2
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a design method of an organic EL device that includes: an organic EL layer; and a hygroscopic layer that is disposed above and/or below the organic EL layer, and has a hygroscopic film, a first covering film, and a second covering film, the first covering film covering one of main surfaces of the hygroscopic film, the second covering film covering the other main surface of the hygroscopic film, the design method comprising the steps of: calculating, as a reference, a relational expression between hygroscopicity A and the number B of defects that satisfies a desired operating life of the organic EL layer, where the hygroscopicity A indicates mass of moisture, expressed in g/m, that is absorbable by the hygroscopic film per unit of area, and the number B of defects indicates the number of defects per unit of area, expressed in pieces/mm, that is calculated based on the number of defects in each of the first covering film and the second covering film; counting the number b of defects based on the number of defects in each of the first covering film and the second covering film to be used; and calculating hygroscopicity a of the hygroscopic film to be used by substituting the counted number b of defects into the relational expression for the number B of defects.
With this structure, it is possible to design an organic EL device including a hygroscopic layer with a waterproof function and a hygroscopic function that fulfill the above purpose.
Also, a relational expression A/B≧0.2 may be satisfied.
With this structure, it is possible to design an organic EL device having a desired operating life.
Further another aspect of the present disclosure provides a manufacturing method of an organic EL device that includes: an organic EL layer; and a hygroscopic layer that is disposed above and/or below the organic EL layer, and has a hygroscopic film, a first covering film, and a second covering film, the first covering film covering one of main surfaces of the hygroscopic film, the second covering film covering the other main surface of the hygroscopic film, the manufacturing method comprising the step of manufacturing the hygroscopic film having hygroscopicity equal to or higher than the hygroscopicity a calculated by the above design method.
With the above structure, it is possible to manufacture an organic EL device having a high waterproof property.
In a first embodiment, description is given on the outline of a device including a functional layer whose function deteriorates due to moisture absorption.
Description is given here on an organic EL device including an organic EL layer as the functional layer.
FIG. 1
is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of an organic EL device relating to the first embodiment.
1
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An organic EL device includes a display unit . The display unit has an organic EL layer that is interposed between an anode and a cathode.
1
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The organic EL device includes a hygroscopic layer on the side of at least one of main surfaces of the display unit (the hygroscopic layer disposed above and/or below the display unit ). In the present embodiment, the organic EL device includes hygroscopic layers and on the respective main surfaces of the display unit (the hygroscopic layer is disposed below the display unit and the hygroscopic layer is disposed above the display unit ). In other words, the display unit is sandwiched between the hygroscopic layers and .
The specific description is given below.
FIG. 1
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As shown in , the organic EL device includes a base and the hygroscopic layer , the display unit , and the hygroscopic layer that are disposed on the base in respective order. Here, the organic EL device includes a surface covering layer on the side of the hygroscopic layer opposite the display unit . Note that the organic EL device has a front face on the side of the surface covering layer and a back face on the side of the base .
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The base has a function of supporting the display unit and so on. In other words, the hygroscopic layer , the display unit , the hygroscopic layer , and the surface covering layer are disposed (layered) on an upper surface of the base .
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1
3
The base is made of a resin material, a ceramic material, a metal material, or the like. The organic EL device relating to the present embodiment has flexibility, and accordingly the base is preferably made of a flexible resin material.
3
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In consideration of an influence of moisture on the organic EL layer, the base should preferably be made of a material having a low transmission rate of moisture (hereinafter, referred to as a moisture vapor transmission rate). However, a resin film that is made of a resin material is preferably used as the base such that the base has flexibility.
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The hygroscopic layers and each have a waterproof function of preventing moisture intrusion into the display unit from the front face and the back face of the organic EL device . The details of the hygroscopic layers and are described later.
7
The display unit has luminescent performance that deteriorates due to moisture intrusion into the organic EL layer and moisture absorption by the organic EL layer. Specifically, the luminescent performance deteriorates due to change of properties of an organic material of the organic EL layer.
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The surface covering layer covers the display unit . To be exact, the surface covering layer is formed as a layer on an upper surface of the hygroscopic layer to indirectly cover the display unit .
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The surface covering layer has a protection function of, when the organic EL device is subject to a mechanical shock, preventing the display unit from undergoing a direct damage. The surface covering layer has a function of preventing gas such as moisture and oxygen from intruding into the display unit though not completely.
11
1
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The surface covering layer is for example a resin film made of a resin material, a nitride film such as a silicon nitride film, an oxide film such as a silicon oxide film, a metal film, or the like. The organic EL device has flexibility as described above. For this reason, the surface covering layer is made of a flexible resin material.
11
11
In consideration of the influence of moisture on the organic EL layer, the surface covering layer should preferably be made of a material having a low moisture vapor transmission rate. However, the surface covering layer is preferably made of a resin material so as to have flexibility.
FIG. 2
5
shows a cross-section of the hygroscopic layer .
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FIG. 2
The hygroscopic layers and may have the same structure or different structures. In the present embodiment, the hygroscopic layers and have the same structure. As shown in , the hygroscopic layers and each have a first covering film , a hygroscopic film , and a second covering film . The first covering film , the hygroscopic film , and the second covering film are layered so as to adhere to each other. In other words, the main surfaces (a back face and a front face) of the hygroscopic film are covered with a pair of the first covering film and the second covering film , respectively.
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The first covering film is disposed on the side near an external air (the side of the base or the surface covering layer ). The second covering film is disposed on the side near the display unit . In other words, the first covering film which is included in hygroscopic layer is disposed on the side near the base , the first covering film which is included in the hygroscopic layer is disposed on the side near the surface covering layer .
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The first covering film prevents moisture intrusion from the side of the external air into a corresponding one of the hygroscopic layers and . The hygroscopic film absorbs moisture that has transmitted through the first covering film . The second covering film prevents intrusion of the moisture, which has transmitted through the first covering film and has been absorbed by the hygroscopic film , into the display unit . With this structure, the hygroscopic layers and prevent moisture intrusion from the side of the external air into the display unit .
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The first covering film and the second covering film may have the same structure or different structures. In the present embodiment, the first covering film and the second covering film have the same structure. For this reason, the first covering film and the second covering film are hereinafter collectively referred to as the first and second covering film , when it is not necessary to distinguish therebetween irrespective of arrangement or the like of them.
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−4
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The first and second covering film , is made of a material having a low moisture vapor transmission rate. Specifically, the first and second covering film , is made of a material having a lower moisture vapor transmission rate than the materials of the base and the surface covering layer . More specifically, the first and second covering film , has a moisture vapor transmission rate of approximate 1×10g/m/d to 1×10g/m/d at 40 degrees C. and 90% relative humidity (RH) atmosphere. Note that the first and second covering film , should preferably have a moisture vapor transmission rate that is as low as possible.
The material having a low moisture vapor transmission rate is for example an inorganic film. Examples of the inorganic film include a nitride film such as a silicon nitride film, an oxide film such as a silicon oxide film, an oxynitride film such as a silicon oxynitride film, and a metal oxide film such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) film and a silver oxide film. The inorganic film is made for example by using a vacuum deposition method such as a CVD method and a sputtering method.
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FIG. 3
However, the first and second covering film , , which is an inorganic film, includes minute defects (see ) that are inevitable in manufacturing. Also, it is difficult to manage parts where the defects are likely to occur in the manufacturing process, and accordingly it is difficult to partially provide hygroscopic films corresponding in position to the defects .
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Here, the defects indicate defects through which moisture transmits. The defects are for example pin holes or the like that have locally occurred in an inorganic film that is formed by using the vacuum deposition method.
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The hygroscopic film mainly absorbs moisture that has intruded through the defects in the first covering film into a corresponding one of the hygroscopic layers and . This prevents reaching of moisture, which has intruded through the defects in the first covering film , to the display unit .
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The hygroscopic film is basically made of a hygroscopic material. The hygroscopic film may be made for example of a resin material having a high hygroscopic property, a porous material, or a fiber material. The hygroscopic film should preferably have a hygroscopic property of 5 mass % or higher.
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FIG. 2
Further, the hygroscopic film may be made of a material containing a moisture absorbent. As shown in , the hygroscopic film here is made of a moisture absorbent that is mixed into a base material .
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The moisture absorbent is a chemical desiccant, a physical desiccant, or the like. The chemical desiccant takes advantage of the property inherent to chemical substances (chemical reaction, deliquescence, and so on), and examples thereof include calcium oxide (CaO), calcium chloride (CaCl), barium peroxide (BaO), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and so on. The physical desiccant takes advantage of the property that water molecules tend to adhere to a porous surface, and examples thereof include silica gel, aluminum oxide, molecular sieve, allophane, zeolite, and so on.
29
The base material is a ceramic material, an organic material, or the like. Examples of the ceramic material include yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) ceramic, alumina (aluminum oxide) ceramic, and so on.
Examples of the organic material include acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polystyrene resin, epoxy resin, silicone resin, and so on.
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7
7
5
9
5
The material of the base material is appropriately selected depending on the intended use of the display unit . For example, in the case where the display unit (and the hygroscopic layers and ) need to have flexibility, a resin material is preferably selected. In the case where the hygroscopic layer needs to have translucency, a translucent material is selected. In the case where manufacturing at a low cost is required, an organic material is selected.
31
21
25
5
9
21
25
21
25
As a result of various considerations, the inventors concluded that since the defects exist in the first and second covering film , of each of the hygroscopic layers and , it is impossible to completely prevent moisture transmission through the first and second covering film , even by using a material having a low moisture vapor transmission rate for the first and second covering film , .
7
23
21
25
7
2
2
Then, the inventors further made earnest considerations and found that the influence on the display unit is estimated from the relationship between the hygroscopicity of the hygroscopic film and the number of defects that is calculated based on the number of defects in each of the first and second covering film , . The inventors especially believed that the moisture vapor transmission rate of the covering films has a great relationship with the defects therein, but initially could found no relationship between the hygroscopicity and the number of defects per unit area of 1 m. However, the inventors made local observation (unit of area: 1 m) to detect a region where a lot of defects locally exist, and then found the relationship between the number of defects and the influence on the display unit from the number of defects in the local region.
7
7
5
9
Note that the influence on the display unit was specifically assessed based on the length of the operating life of the display unit (by an accelerated deterioration test). The operating life represents waterproof property in practical use of the hygroscopic layers and .
23
23
23
23
27
29
2
2
2
2
Hygroscopic capacity is a capacity inherent to the material of the hygroscopic film , and is defined by mass of moisture (unit: g) that is absorbable by the hygroscopic film per unit of thickness (unit: 1 μm) and unit of area (unit: 1 m). The hygroscopic capacity is expressed in g/(m·μm). In the case for example where the hygroscopic film , which has thickness of 5 μm and area (projected area) of 3 m, absorbs moisture of 15 g, the hygroscopic film has hygroscopic capacity of 1 g/(m·μm). Note that the hygroscopic capacity here is defined (adjusted) mainly by a content ratio of the moisture absorbent to the base material .
23
23
23
23
2
2
2
2
Also, hygroscopicity indicates the product of the hygroscopic capacity and the thickness of the hygroscopic film , that is, the mass of moisture (unit: g) that is absorbable by the hygroscopic film per unit of area (unit: 1 m). The hygroscopicity is expressed in g/m. In the case for example where the hygroscopic film , which has the thickness of 5 μm and the hygroscopic capacity of 1 g/(m·μm) such as above, the hygroscopic film has hygroscopicity of 5 g/m.
23
23
27
23
27
Note that the hygroscopic capacity and the hygroscopicity of the hygroscopic film are calculated by measuring variation in mass of the hygroscopic film that has been dried once and then caused to absorb moisture. Alternatively, in the case where hygroscopic capacity of the moisture absorbent is known, the hygroscopic capacity and the hygroscopicity of the hygroscopic film may be estimated from a contained amount of the moisture absorbent .
FIG. 3
5
31
schematically shows the hygroscopic layer in which the defects exist.
21
25
31
31
21
25
31
7
As shown in the figure, the first and second covering film , has the defects that have occurred in the manufacturing process. The defects here indicate defects through which moisture transmits through the first and second covering film , , as described above. That is, the defects cause moisture intrusion into the display unit .
33
35
21
25
31
33
35
Accordingly, foreign substances , concaves , and so on that exist in the first and second covering film , are not regarded as the defects unless moisture intrudes through the foreign substances , the concaves , and so on.
31
2
2
The number of defects is defined by the number of the defects per unit of area (unit: 1 mm), and is expressed in pieces/mm.
The inventors performed an operating life test on an organic EL device (a display unit) including a hygroscopic layer. The operating life test is an accelerated deterioration test at high temperature and high humidity atmosphere. The end of the operating life of the display unit was assessed when dark spots appeared in the display unit.
FIG. 4
shows specifications of samples used in the operating life test and results of the operating life test.
In the operating life test, five type of samples were used which have different specifications of the hygroscopic layer and the same specifications of the display unit.
2
2
The following explains the terms in the figure. Thickness t indicates thickness of a hygroscopic film, and is expressed in μm. Hygroscopic capacity C indicates mass of moisture that is absorbable by the hygroscopic film per unit of thickness and unit of area, and is expressed in g/(m·μm), as described above. Hygroscopicity A indicates mass of moisture that is absorbable by the hygroscopic film per unit of area, and is expressed in g/m. The hygroscopicity A is equal to the product of the thickness t and the hygroscopic capacity C.
2
The number B of defects indicates the number of defects per unit of area that is calculated based on the number of defects in each of the first covering film and the second covering film, and is expressed in pieces/mm. Note that the first covering film and the second covering film correspond to barriers 1 and 2 in the figure, respectively.
FIG. 5
Experimental value operating life l (lower-case letter L) indicates a time period before dark spots appear in the display unit, and is expressed in h. Estimated operating life value L was calculated with reference to the result of Sample 1. This calculation was made taking advantage of a proportional relationship between ratio A/B and the estimated operating life value L (see ).
For example, the barrier 1 in Sample 2 has ratio A/B of 0.13. This value is 0.667 times 0.20, which is the ratio A/B of the barriers of Sample 1. In Sample 1, ratio A/B of the barrier is 0.2 (the values in the barriers 1 and 2 and the average value are equal), and experimental operating life value l is 1000 h. Accordingly, in Sample 2, estimated operating life value L of the barrier 1 is 666.7 h, which is the product of the experimental operating life value l in Sample 1 and 0.667 h, which is ratio of the ratio A/B in Sample 2 to the ratio A/B in Sample 1.
FIG. 4
In , regarding a column A/B, ratio A/B is calculated with respect to the numbers B of defects in each of the barriers 1 and 2 shown in a column the number of defects B, and average indicates the average value of the ratios A/B of the barriers 1 and 2.
Similarly, regarding a column estimated operating life value L, estimated operating life value L is calculated with respect to each of the ratios A/B of the barriers 1 and 2 shown in the column A/B, and average indicates the average value of the estimated operating life values L of the barrier a and 2.
21
25
23
27
29
The hygroscopic layer used for the samples includes the first and second covering film , made of silicon nitride. The hygroscopic film includes the moisture absorbent made of zeolite and the base material made of acrylic resin.
FIG. 4
As shown in , the accelerated deterioration test was performed on Samples 1-5 each having different thickness t and the different number B of defects. Note that Sample 1, which is the reference, has the ratio A/B of 0.2 and the experimental operating life value l of 1000 h with respect to both the barriers 1 and 2.
FIG. 4
Regarding the samples other than Sample 1, it is found as shown in that the estimated operating life value L, which is calculated from the ratio A/B and the experimental operating life value l of Sample 1, is substantially equal to the experimental operating life value l which is the actual experimental value.
FIG. 5
shows the relationship between the ratio A/B and the estimated operating life value L.
FIG. 5
As shown in , it is found that the estimated operating life value L is in substantially a proportional relationship with the ratio A/B. It is also found that the estimated operating life value L is substantially equal to the experimental operating life value l.
The estimated operating life value L and the experimental operating life value l are in substantially a proportional relationship with the ratio A/B, as described above.
The following describes the relationship between the hygroscopicity A and the number B of defects.
R
R
R
R
R
First, ratio A/Band operating life value lcorresponding to the ratio A/Bare determined as a reference. When the ratio A/B is a variable for example, the estimated operating life value L is calculated by the following Expression (1).
L
I
A
/B
A/B
R
R
R
=(/())×() (1)
R
R
R
R
R
R
The above ratio A/Band the operating life value las the reference are obtained by preparing at least one sample and performing an experiment. Here, ratio l/(A/B) as the reference is the slope of a straight line in the relationship between the estimated operating life value L and the ratio A/B.
Expression (1) is modified to the following Expression (2).
A/B
A
/B
l
L
R
R
R
=(()/)× (2)
Here, a target operating life value of organic EL device (the display unit) as a real device is substituted into Equation (2) for the estimated operating life value L in the accelerated deterioration test. As a result, the relationship between the hygroscopicity A and the number B of defects is obtained.
23
The number B of defects indicates the number of defects that have occurred in the manufacturing process, and is countable in advance by experiments and so on. Specifically, when the number b of defects in the covering film is counted by experiments and so on, hygroscopicity a of the hygroscopic film corresponding to the number b of defects is calculated by Equation (3) which is based on Equation (2).
a=b
A
/B
l
L
R
R
×(()/)× (3)
Also, the hygroscopicity A is calculated from the hygroscopic capacity C and the thickness t by Equation (4).
A=C×t
(4)
Accordingly, the thickness t is calculated from the hygroscopicity a, which is a specific value, by Equation (5).
t=a/C
(5)
R
R
R
In this way, the ratio A/Band the operating life value lare determined by the experiments and so on, and the target operating life value, which is necessary for the organic EL device, is substituted for the estimated operating life value L in the accelerated deterioration test. As a result, specification of a hygroscopic layer to be used is determined.
The following specifically describes the above relational expressions.
The description is given here with use of the experiment result of Sample 2 as a reference.
R
R
R
Sample 2, the average value of the ratio A/Bis 0.10, and the experimental operating life value lcorresponding thereto is 500 h. Here, the estimated operating life value of the organic EL device relating to the present embodiment in the accelerated deterioration test is 1000 h or longer.
The following relational expression is obtained by substituting these values into Equation (2).
A/B
≧((0.1)/500)×1000
A/B≧
0.2
This results in the relational expression between the hygroscopicity A as a variable and the number B of defects as a variable.
Here, the number B of defects that was counted by experiments and so on is basically one or less. When b=1, the hygroscopicity a of the hygroscopic film to be actually used is calculated as follows.
a≧
0.2
2
Here, in the case where the hygroscopic capacity C is 0.1 g/(m·μm), which is equal to those in Samples 1-4, the thickness t is calculated as follows by Equation (5).
t≧
0.2/0.1
t≧
2
2
On the other hand, in the case where the hygroscopic capacity C is set to 0.2 g/(m·μm), which is higher than those in Samples 1-4, the thickness t is calculated as follows by Equation (5).
t≧
0.2/0.2
t≧
1
R
R
R
As described above, by determining the hygroscopicity A, the number Bof defects, and the experimental operating life value las the reference, it is possible to design the hygroscopic layer that satisfies the target operating life value of the organic EL device.
The following describes the design method in detail.
The hygroscopic layer is designed in the following procedures (i), (ii), and (iii).
2
2
(i) Calculate the relational expression between the hygroscopicity A and the number B of defects, where the hygroscopicity A indicates mass of moisture, expressed in g/m, that is absorbable by the hygroscopic film per unit of area, and the number B of defects indicates the number of defects per unit of area, expressed in pieces/mm, that is calculated based on the number of defects in each of the first covering film and the second covering film.
R
R
R
R
R
Specifically, determine the hygroscopicity A, the number Bof defects, and the experimental operating life value lof the organic EL device, and calculate the relational expression between A and B from the hygroscopicity A, the number Bof defects, and the target operating life value of the organic EL device by for example Equation (2).
Here, the defects exist in each of the barrier 1 (the first covering film) and the barrier 2 (the second covering film). The number B of defects as the reference may be the number of defects in the barrier 1, the number of defects in the barrier 2, or the average value of the numbers of defects in the barriers 1 and 2. Alternatively, the number B of defects as the reference may be a larger one of the numbers of defects in the barriers 1 and 2. As a matter of course, in the case where the larger number of defects is adopted, the hygroscopic layer is designed such that the hygroscopic film has a larger thickness and the display unit (the EL organic device) has a longer operating life than the case where the smaller number of defects is adopted and the case where the average value is adopted.
Also, even in the case where the first covering film and the second covering film have different thicknesses, the number B of defects as the reference may be the number of defects in the barrier 1, the number of defects in the barrier 2, or the average value of the numbers of defects in the barriers 1 and 2. Alternatively, the number B of defects may be a larger one of the numbers of defects in the barriers 1 and 2.
2
Further, the number B of defects, which indicates the number of defects that exist in an area of 1 mm, may be the average value of the respective numbers of defects that exist in a plurality of parts or the maximum value among the respective numbers of defects that exist in the parts. In the case where the maximum value is adopted, the hygroscopic layer is designed such that the display unit (the EL organic device) has a longer operating life than the case where the average value is adopted.
(ii) Count the number b of defects based on the number of defects in each of the first covering film and the second covering film to be used.
Specifically, determine the number B of defects by experiments and so on. Here, the number b of defects is counted in consideration of manufacturing irregularities and so on. For example, the number b of defects may be statistically counted based on the number of defects in prototypes.
(iii) Substitute the counted number b of defects into the relational expression between A and B for the number B of defects to calculate hygroscopicity a of the hygroscopic film to be used.
Specifically, calculate the hygroscopicity A by Equation (3).
By applying this design method to the manufacturing method of the organic EL device, it is possible to manufacture an organic EL device including a hygroscopic layer that satisfies the target operating life value.
The organic EL device is manufactured for example by the following manufacturing method. Specifically, the manufacturing method is a manufacturing method of an organic EL device that includes: an organic EL layer; and a hygroscopic layer that is disposed above and/or below the organic EL layer, and has a hygroscopic film, a first covering film, and a second covering film, the first covering film covering one of main surfaces of the hygroscopic film, the second covering film covering the other main surface of the hygroscopic film. The manufacturing method includes the step of manufacturing the hygroscopic film having hygroscopicity equal to or higher than the hygroscopicity a calculated by the above design method.
In a second embodiment, description is given on an organic EL display device.
101
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
The following describes the outline of the structure of an organic EL display device relating to the second embodiment with reference to and .
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
101
10
10
110
a
c
is a schematic block diagram showing the outline of the structure of the organic EL display device relating to the second embodiment. is a schematic plan view showing arrangement of subpixels -in an organic EL display panel .
FIG. 6
101
110
120
110
110
110
As shown in , the organic EL display device includes the organic EL display panel and a drive and control unit that is connected to the organic EL display panel . The organic EL display panel is an organic EL display panel that employs electroluminescence phenomenon of organic materials. The organic EL display panel here has a curved display surface.
FIG. 7
10
10
10
10
10
a
c
a
b
c
As shown in , the subpixels -are two-dimensionally arranged in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. In the second embodiment, the subpixels emit red (R) light, the subpixels emit green (G) light, and the subpixels emit blue (B) light, for example.
10
10
a
c
Combination of each three adjacent subpixels -in the X-axis direction constitutes one pixel as a display function.
FIG. 7
110
157
157
As shown in , the organic EL display panel includes a bank having a lattice shape (so-called pixel bank). The organic EL layer is formed in each of regions partitioned by the bank .
FIG. 7
157
Also, the organic EL layer is actually not visible in plan view because at least an anode or a cathode is formed on the organic EL layer as described later. In , the regions partitioned by the bank are represented by hatching.
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
120
121
124
125
110
120
101
Returning to , the drive and control unit includes four drive circuits - and a control circuit . Note that arrangement of the organic EL display panel and the drive and control unit in the organic EL display device is not limited to that shown in .
10
10
a
c
FIG. 7
Also, each pixel as the display function is not limited to be constituted from the combination of three subpixels -such as shown in . Alternatively, each pixel may be constituted from combination of four or more subpixels.
FIG. 8
FIG. 7
is a view showing a cross-section taken along a line A-A in when viewed in an arrow direction.
FIG. 8
FIG. 7
110
131
133
135
137
10
10
131
10
10
157
a
c
a
c
As shown in , the organic EL display panel includes a display unit , which is sandwiched between a pair of hygroscopic layers and , is disposed on a base . The subpixels -are two-dimensionally arranged in the display unit when viewed in plan. As shown in , the subpixels -are formed in subpixel regions that are partitioned to for example a rectangular shape by the bank , which has the lattice shape as a whole. The subpixel regions are arranged in matrix in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.
FIG. 8
131
153
151
153
151
155
153
As shown in , the display unit includes an insulating layer that is disposed on a TFT substrate . The insulating layer has substantially a planar upper surface in the Z-axis direction. Note that the TFT substrate in the figure is simplified by omitting a TFT layer and so on. An anode is disposed on the subpixel region of the upper surface in the Z-axis direction of the insulating layer .
157
153
155
157
159
155
Next, the bank covers an upper surface of the insulating layer and upper surfaces of both ends in the X-axis direction of the anode . In the subpixel region partitioned by the bank , an organic EL layer is disposed on an upper surface of the anode .
161
159
157
135
161
135
145
143
141
A cathode covers an upper surface of the organic EL layer and an upper part of a lateral surface and an upper surface of the bank . The hygroscopic layer is disposed on an upper surface of the cathode . The hygroscopic layer has a second covering film , a hygroscopic film , and a first covering film .
163
135
163
131
A surface covering layer is disposed on an upper surface of the hygroscopic layer . The surface covering layer has a function of covering and protecting the display unit .
110
FIG. 8
The organic EL display panel relating to the present embodiment is of a top emission type, and emits light upward in the Z-axis direction as indicated by an arrow in .
137
137
3
137
The base needs to have flexibility. The base is preferably made for example of a resin material as a flexible material, as well as the base in the first embodiment. Here, a polycarbonate film is used as the base .
133
141
143
145
133
143
141
145
141
145
141
145
The hygroscopic layer has the first covering film , the hygroscopic film , and the second covering film that are layered one on top of the other, as well as in the first embodiment. In other words, the hygroscopic layer has the structure in which hygroscopic film is sandwiched between a pair of the covering films and . Hereinafter, the first covering film and the second covering film are collectively referred to as the first and second covering film , .
141
145
141
145
141
145
−4
2
−6
2
The first and second covering film , is made of a material having a low moisture vapor transmission rate, more specifically a moisture vapor transmission rate of 1×10g/m/d to 1×10g/m/d at 40 degrees C. and 90% RH atmosphere. The first and second covering film , should preferably have a moisture vapor transmission rate that is as low as possible. Note that the first and second covering film , locally includes defects that are inevitable in manufacturing.
141
145
141
145
141
145
2
The first and second covering film , is an inorganic film that is made of an inorganic material. The inorganic film, which is used as the first and second covering film , , is for example a thin film such as a silicon nitride (SiN) film, a silicon oxide (SiO) film, and a silicon oxynitride (SiON) film, a metal film such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) film, or the like. Here, an SiN film is used as the first and second covering film , .
143
141
145
143
The hygroscopic film absorbs moisture that has intruded through the defects in the first and second covering film , . The hygroscopic film is made of a moisture absorbent that is mixed into a base material. Here, the moisture absorbent is aluminum oxide, and the base material is acrylic resin which is an organic material.
151
The TFT substrate includes a substrate and a TFT layer that is disposed on an upper surface in the Z-axis direction of the substrate. Although not shown in the figure, the TFT layer includes three electrodes, namely a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode, a semiconductor layer, a passivation layer, and so on.
151
The substrate, which is the base of the TFT substrate , is a resin substrate or the like. The resin substrate may be made of thermoplastic resin or thermosetting resin. The resin substrate may be made for example of a single layer of any of the following materials or a laminate of any two or more of the following materials including polyolefin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-propylene copolymer, and ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer (EVA), cyclic polyolefin, modified polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene, polyamide, polyimide (PI), polyamideimide, polycarbonate, poly-(4-methylpentene-1), ionomer, acrylic resin, polymethyl methacrylate, acrylic-styrene copolymer (AS resin), butadiene-styrene copolymer, ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH), polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and poly cyclohexane terephthalate (PCT), polyether, polyether ketone, polyether sulfone (PES), polyeter imide, polyacetal, polyphenylene oxide, modified polyphenylene oxide, polyarylate, aromatic polyester (liquid crystal polymer), polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, other fluororesin, thermoplastic elastomer such as styrenic elastomer, polyolefin elastomer, polyvinyl chloride elastomer, polyurethane elastomer, fluorine rubber elastomer, and chlorinated polyethylene elastomer, epoxy resin, phenol resin, urea resin, melamine resin, unsaturated polyester resin, silicone resin, polyurethane, or copolymer, blend, polymer alloy or the like mainly including such a material.
153
153
The insulating layer is made for example of an organic compound such as polyimide, polyamide, and acrylic resin. Here, the insulating layer should preferably be resistant to organic solution.
153
Also, the insulating layer sometimes undergoes etching processing, baking processing, and so on in the manufacturing process, and accordingly should preferably be made of a highly resistant material in order to avoid excessive distortion and transformation due to such processing.
155
110
The anode is made of a metal material including silver (Ag) or aluminum (Al). The organic EL display panel relating to the present embodiment is of the top emission type, and accordingly should preferably have a surface part that is highly light-reflective.
155
The anode is not limited to have a single-layer structure of a metal material such as described above, and alternatively may be a laminate of a metal layer and a light-transmissive conductive layer. The light-transmissive conductive layer is made for example of ITO, indium zinc oxide (IZO), or the like.
157
157
The bank is made of an insulating organic material such as resin. The organic material of the bank is for example acrylic resin, polyimide resin, novolac-type phenol resin, or the like.
159
159
The organic EL layer has a function of emitting light by excitation resulting from injection and recombination of holes and electrons. The organic EL layer is made of a luminous organic material by a wet printing method.
159
Specifically, the organic EL layer should preferably be made for example of a fluorescent substance disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H05-163488, such as oxinoid compound, perylene compound, coumarin compound, azacoumarin compound, oxazole compound, oxadiazole compound, perinone compound, pyrrolopyrrole compound, naphthalene compound, anthracene compound, fluorene compound, fluoranthene compound, tetracene compound, pyrene compound, coronene compound, quinolone compound and azaquinolone compound, pyrazoline derivative and pyrazolone derivative, rhodamine compound, chrysene compound, phenanthrene compound, cyclopentadiene compound, stilbene compound, diphenylquinone compound, styryl compound, butadiene compound, dicyanomethylenepyran compound, dicyanomethylenethiopyran compound, fluorescein compound, pyrylium compound, thiapyrylium compound, selenapyrylium compound, telluropyrylium compound, aromatic aldadiene compound, oligophenylene compound, thioxanthene compound, cyanine compound, acridine compound, and metal complex of 8-hydroxyquinoline compound, metal complex of 2-bipyridine compound, complex of a Schiff base and group III metal, oxine metal complex, and rare earth complex.
161
110
161
The cathode is made for example of ITO, IZO, or the like. The organic EL display panel relating to the present embodiment is of the top emission type, and accordingly the cathode needs to be made of a light-transmissive material such as ITO and IZO.
135
133
133
135
133
110
135
The hygroscopic layer may be made of the same material as the hygroscopic layer or a different material from the hygroscopic layer . The hygroscopic layer here is made of the same material as the hygroscopic layer . The organic EL display panel relating to the present embodiment is of the top emission type, and accordingly the hygroscopic layer needs to be made of a light-transmissive material.
163
131
163
131
131
The surface covering layer covers the display unit . The surface covering layer has a function of protecting the display unit from being damaged by shock and so on and a function of preventing the display unit from being directly exposed to moisture and air.
163
163
The surface covering layer is made for example of silicon nitride (SiN), silicon oxynitride (SiON), or the like. Alternatively, the surface covering layer may have a multi-layer structure including a layer made of a resin material such as acrylic resin and silicone resin that is layered on a layer made of a material such as SiN and SiON.
110
163
The organic EL display panel relating to the present embodiment is of the top emission type, and accordingly the surface covering layer needs to be made of a light-transmissive material.
137
The hygroscopic layer is effective for the function unit in which some kind of functional deterioration is caused by moisture absorption. In the second embodiment, the base is made of a flexible resin film. Alternatively, the base may be made of a glass material which has been conventionally used. In a third embodiment, description is given on an organic EL device (organic EL display device) that includes a glass material as a base and a hygroscopic layer on a top face of the organic EL device.
FIG. 9
201
is a cross-sectional view showing one subpixel of an organic EL display panel .
201
205
203
207
205
The organic EL display panel has the structure in which a display unit is disposed on a base and is covered with a hygroscopic layer . Subpixels are two-dimensionally arranged in the display unit when viewed in plan, as well as in the second embodiment. The subpixels of R, G, and B colors in the third embodiment have the same basic structure, as well as in the second embodiment. Accordingly, the following description is given without special distinction therebetween in terms of luminescent color.
203
137
203
203
137
203
205
203
205
205
203
The base cannot be curved, unlike the base in the second embodiment. In other words, the base is made of a material that does not have flexibility at the implementation level. Here, the base is made of a glass material. The glass material has a low moisture vapor transmission rate, unlike the resin material of the base described in the second embodiment. For this reason, no hygroscopic layer needs to be provided between the base and the display unit . However, a hygroscopic layer may be provided between the base and the display unit . This case exhibits an advantage that the display unit has a further increased operating life, the base has a reduced thickness, and so on.
205
213
211
215
213
217
213
215
219
217
The display unit includes an insulating layer that is layered on a TFT substrate as a base. An anode is disposed on a subpixel region of an upper surface of the insulating layer . A bank covers an upper surface of the insulating layer and upper surfaces of both ends in the X-axis direction of the anode . An organic EL layer is formed in the subpixel region which is partitioned by the bank .
221
219
217
A cathode covers an upper surface of the organic EL layer and an upper part of a lateral surface and an upper surface of the bank .
207
231
233
235
The hygroscopic layer has a first covering film , a hygroscopic film , and a second covering film , as well as in the second embodiment.
231
235
233
Here, the first covering film and the second covering film are each made of an inorganic material such as silicon nitride. The hygroscopic film includes a moisture absorbent that is made of zeolite in particle form and a base material that is made of polycarbonate resin.
231
205
205
235
Note that the first covering film , which is in contact with the display unit (or disposed near the display unit ) has a larger thickness than the second covering film .
209
235
207
235
The surface covering layer is made of an inorganic material such as silicon nitride. Note that the second covering film of the hygroscopic layer may be made of an inorganic material. In this case, the second covering film may double as the surface covering layer.
In the second and third embodiments, the hygroscopic layer is provided for the purpose of preventing moisture intrusion into the organic EL layer. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The hygroscopic layer may be provided for the purpose of preventing moisture intrusion into the functional layer other than the organic EL layer. That is, in the case where the functional layer has an inherent function that deteriorates due to moisture absorption, it is possible to use the hygroscopic layer to prevent deterioration of the function of the functional layer by preventing moisture intrusion into the functional layer.
Such a functional layer is included for example in an electronic component such as a TFT layer, a thin-film coil, a thin-film transistor, an organic transistor, and a thin-film filter, a function unit of an electronic device such as an electronic paper, a solar battery, and a thin-film lithium ion battery, or the like.
In the first, second, and third embodiments, only one hygroscopic layer is provided for each of the main surfaces of the display unit. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of hygroscopic layers may be provided for each of the main surfaces of the display unit or the like. This further improves the waterproof property.
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Further, in the first, second, and third embodiments, the hygroscopic layer has been described as including the first covering film and the second covering film for one hygroscopic film. Specifically, the hygroscopic layers and in the first embodiment each include the first covering film on one of the main surfaces of the hygroscopic film and the second covering film on the other main surface. The hygroscopic layers and in the second embodiment each include the first covering film on one of the main surfaces of the hygroscopic film and the second covering film on the other main surface. The hygroscopic layer in the third embodiment has the first covering film on one of the main surfaces of the hygroscopic film and the second covering film on the other main surface. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these structures.
The hygroscopic film only needs to have at least one covering film on each of both the main surfaces thereof, and may have a plurality of covering films on each of both the main surfaces thereof. In this case, the number of the covering films on each of both the main surfaces may be the same or different from each other. Further, the covering films may have the same structure or different structures.
Moreover, the hygroscopic layer may have a plurality of hygroscopic films that are layered such as a covering film, a hygroscopic film, a covering film, a hygroscopic film, and a covering film. In this case, the hygroscopic films may have the same structure or different structures.
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The hygroscopic film in the first embodiment, the hygroscopic film in the second embodiment, and the hygroscopic film in third embodiment each include one type of moisture absorbent. However, the hygroscopic film may include a plurality of types of moisture absorbents. Also, in the case where a plurality of hygroscopic films are used, the hygroscopic films each may include the same type of moisture absorbent that is mixed into a different type of base material, or each may include a different type of moisture absorbent that is mixed into the same type of base material.
The moisture absorbent in each of the first, second, and third embodiments absorbs moisture (moisture vapor). Alternatively, an absorbent which absorbs gas other than moisture vapor such as oxygen may be used. Also in this case, it is possible to set the operating life in consideration of the defects in the covering films by acquiring absorbability of the absorbent with respect to an absorption target by experiments and so on.
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The organic EL device in the first embodiment, the organic EL display panel of the organic EL display device in the second embodiment, and the organic EL display panel in the third embodiment each include, with respect to the display unit (, , and ), one or two hygroscopic layers ( and , and , and ). Alternatively, the organic EL device may have the structure in which part of the display unit doubles as one of the covering film of the hygroscopic layer which is disposed near the display unit.
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For example, the display unit in the second embodiment includes the cathode . In the case where the cathode is for example a metal oxide film such as ITO and IZO which is formed by sputtering, this metal oxide film may be used as the second covering film of the hygroscopic layer which is near the function unit (the display unit ).
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The description has been given on the basic structure of the respective display units and in the second and third embodiments. Alternatively, the display unit may for example include a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, and so on.
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Also, the respective display units and in the second and third embodiments are each of the top emission type. Alternatively, the display unit may be of a bottom emission type. In this case, the base needs to be translucent, the electrode which is near the base (a lower electrode, the respective anodes and in the second and third embodiments) needs to be light-transmissive, and the electrode which is distant from the base (an upper electrode, the respective cathodes and in the second and third embodiments) needs to be light-reflective.
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In the second and third embodiments, the anodes and are each disposed as the electrode which is near a corresponding one of the bases and . Alternatively, the cathode may be disposed as the electrode which is near the base, for example.
In the second embodiment, the organic EL display device has been described as a color organic EL display device. Alternatively, the structure in the above embodiments and modifications is applicable to for example a monochrome organic EL display device.
Further, the structure in the above embodiments and modifications is applicable to an organic EL light-emitting device having dimming and toning functions. In other words, the organic EL device relating to one aspect of the present disclosure is applicable not only to an organic EL display device mainly having a function as a display but also to an organic EL light-emitting device mainly having a function as a lighting device. In the case where the structure is applicable to such an organic EL light-emitting device, a light-emitting unit is included in the organic EL light-emitting device instead of the display unit having the display function.
The present disclosure is useful for preventing moisture intrusion into an organic EL layer whose function deteriorates due to moisture absorption.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of an organic EL device relating to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2
FIG. 1
is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of a hygroscopic layer shown in .
FIG. 3
is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of a hygroscopic layer in which defects exist.
FIG. 4
shows specifications of hygroscopic layers used in an operating life test and results of the operating life test.
FIG. 5
shows relationship between a ratio A/B and an estimated operating life value L.
FIG. 6
is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of an organic EL display device relating to a second embodiment.
FIG. 7
FIG. 6
is a plan view schematically showing arrangement of subpixels in the organic EL display panel shown in .
FIG. 8
FIG. 7
is a view showing a cross-section taken along a line A-A in when viewed in an arrow direction.
FIG. 9
is a cross-sectional view showing one subpixel of an organic EL display panel. | |
Economic evaluations, why we need them and how to use them.
Because of the increase in health care costs and the limited available resource costs, economic evaluation becomes more important in daily practice. What do we have to know for an economic evaluation?
First of all, we have to assess what kind of economic evaluation we want to perform. Do we want to do a cost-minimization, a cost-effectiveness, cost-utility or cost-benefit analysis? The cost-minimization analysis can be used when you want to compare alternatives with the same health effect and different costs. Basically, you compare the costs to each other. The cost-benefit analysis is a more complex method and many people are very uncomfortable with it because of the use of monetary terms for health state values.
In most cases, when we are talking about an economic evaluation we want to assess the cost-effectiveness of an intervention. In a cost-effectiveness analysis we basically want to see the difference between two alternative interventions in costs and effects. The effects are given in for example; number of life years gained, survival, blood pressure, number of cases detected etc. When we change the effects into QALY’s we are talking about cost-utility analysis (CUA).
The costs for treating a patient with intervention X are 50.000 dollars. Therefore you will have 10 years of survival with a utility of 0.6. Treating a patient with intervention Y costs 15.000 dollars, therefore you will have 6 years of survival with an utility of 0.4. Now we want to assess whether option X or Y is more ‘cost- effective’.
1. Calculate the QALY’s for X and Y.
= 8333 dollars are needed to gain 1 QALY more with intervention X compared with intervention Y.
Can we derive the cost- effectiveness of intervention X compared to intervention Y?
No, we can’t. We have to know the constant value of what is considered to be cost- effective, the willingness to pay (WTP). This is the amount that the society is willing to pay for 1 gained QALY, for example 20.000 dollars.
Now we can assess the cost-effectiveness. All outcomes of the cost-utility analysis under the WTP is considered to be cost-effective. In this example, intervention X is more cost-effective than intervention Y.
Taken it all together, for an economic evaluation we have to derive the costs per intervention, the effects given by this interventions and the willingness-to-pay to assess the cost-effectiveness.
One Comment on Economic evaluations, why we need them and how to use them.
hello. thanks for the post, I am from Tanzania but meanwhile I am doing masters in public health in UAN mexico and I was wondering if you can help me a bit more concerning CUA (cost utility analysis) for I have to prepare a presentation about it. | https://www.students4bestevidence.net/economic-evaluations-why-we-need-them-and-how-to-use-them/ |
Ayelet Tsabari is an award-winning Israeli writer who has traveled the world in searc of love, belonging, and an escape from grief following the death of her father when she was a young girl. We begin with the death of her father when she was nine years old. His death left Ayelet feeling rootless, devastated, and driven to question her complex identity as an Israeli of Yemeni descent in a country that both suppressed and devalued her ancestors’ traditions. Having lived in Israel for many years and having had many Israeli/Yemenite friends. I immediately recognized Tsabari’s feelings.
rebellion during her mandatory service in the Israeli army. She begins to travel from Israel to New York, Canada, Thailand, and India, falling in and out of love with countries, men and women, drugs and alcohol. In effect, she was running away from/ She writes about her first marriage and her struggle to define herself as a writer in a new language, her decision to become a mother, and finally her rediscovery and embrace of her family history which was “a history marked by generations of headstrong women who struggled to choose between their hearts and their homes.” She ultimately realized that she must reconcile the memories of her father and the sadness of her past if she was ever going to come to terms with herself. Tsabari writes with emotion that she passes on to her readers and what we see here is basically a meditation about the lengths we go to while trying to escape our grief and the search to find the place where we belong, and the sense of home deep within ourselves.
The memoir captures and transcends her journey of self-discovery as a Jewish Yemeni woman within and beyond the borders of Israel. Tsabari is tender and fearless as she digs into her memory and shares her nuanced, complex, and beautiful findings with us.
This entry was posted in Israel on February 24, 2019 by Amos. | http://reviewsbyamoslassen.com/?p=69249&share=twitter |
AbstractAnswers to the same question may change depending on the extra-linguistic contexts (when and where the question was asked). To study this challenge, we introduce SituatedQA, an open-retrieval QA dataset where systems must produce the correct answer to a question given the temporal or geographical context. To construct SituatedQA, we first identify such questions in existing QA datasets. We find that a significant proportion of information seeking questions have context-dependent answers (e.g. roughly 16.5% of NQ-Open). For such context-dependent questions, we then crowdsource alternative contexts and their corresponding answers. Our study shows that existing models struggle with producing answers that are frequently updated or from uncommon locations. We further quantify how existing models, which are trained on data collected in the past, fail to generalize to answering questions asked in the present, even when provided with an updated evidence corpus (a roughly 15 point drop in accuracy). Our analysis suggests that open-retrieval QA benchmarks should incorporate extra-linguistic context to stay relevant globally and in the future. Our data, code, and datasheet are available at https://situatedqa.github.io/.
- Anthology ID:
- 2021.emnlp-main.586
- Volume:
- Proceedings of the 2021 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing
- Month:
- November
- Year:
- 2021
- Address:
- Online and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- Venue:
- EMNLP
- SIG:
- Publisher:
- Association for Computational Linguistics
- Note:
- Pages:
- 7371–7387
- Language:
- URL:
- https://aclanthology.org/2021.emnlp-main.586
- DOI:
- 10.18653/v1/2021.emnlp-main.586
- PDF: | https://aclanthology.org/2021.emnlp-main.586/ |
Alcoa announces Thanksgiving holiday waste and recycling schedules
Solid waste collection in the city of Alcoa will be adjusted during Thanksgiving week, Nov. 22-27, the city announced this week.
Households normally scheduled for pickup Thursday, Nov. 25, will receive their service on Friday, Nov. 26.
The Nov. 26 residential solid waste collection will run as normal.
The Wednesday, Nov. 24, recycling routes will run without interruption.
Recycling collection normally collected on Friday will be collected on Saturday, Nov. 27.
However, there will be no bulky waste or leaf collection on Thursday or Friday. Crews will attempt to collect bulky waste and leaves citywide on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Commercial and industrial waste will not be collected on Thursday. Normal commercial routes will resume on Friday.
The Alcoa/Maryville/Blount County Landfill will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. It will resume normal operating hours of 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 26.
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(The Center Square) – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have given internet companies tax breaks if they provided broadband access to rural, underserved areas, saying the measure was too costly for slow service.
HB 4210, tie-barred to SB 46, would have allowed companies to exempt personal property taxes on eligible broadband equipment if they received funding from certain government agencies.
The bill would have reduced property tax revenue by an unknown amount, the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency said.
For the last year in many rural areas, frustration mounted as thousands of families leaned on unreliable or no internet services for kids’ school and parents’ now-remote careers and education. In 2018 the state found that about 368,000 rural Michiganders lacked access to broadband.
Internet service providers have invested heavily in infrastructure in urban areas — where the cost per customer is less — but have skipped over most of rural America where costs are higher per customer.
Whitmer said in her veto letter that the bill doesn't require a high enough internet speed and would cost too much taxpayer money via the School Aid Fund.
"I am grateful to have legislators with me in this fight, working to expand access to broadband," Whitmer wrote. "Unfortunately, this bill falls short: It would cost schools millions without spurring high-speed broadband development. In fact, the bill's target of 25 mbps service would deliver a mere fraction of the speeds well in excess of 100 mbps that U.S. broadband users have come to expect. If Michiganders are going to spend their hard-earned tax dollars to incentivize broadband development, it better be fast."
“The governor stresses the importance of increasing access to broadband, but when it came time to actually do something about it, she failed to help people in our rural communities,” Griffin said in a statement. “People need high-speed internet in all areas of the state – not just big cities and booming suburbs – and the COVID pandemic has dramatically accelerated this need. With this veto, the governor is hurting people in underserved areas of the state – patients who can’t get to a doctor and need telehealth options, kids who are relying more and more on online learning, and workers forced to do their jobs from home. These Michigan families face a connectivity crisis, and the governor refused to help them at a time they needed it most.”
While people living in urban areas can usually get fast and reasonably priced internet service, people in rural areas typically have slow internet access at higher prices. Most rural internet options restrict data, complicating many typical internet activities such as Zoom conferencing or online schooling. Some areas have no internet access at all.
“Governor Whitmer’s rejection of a common sense effort to expand broadband access is disappointing, but sadly not surprising as common sense seems to be decidedly uncommon in her administration," Nesbitt told The Center Square in an email. "The Governor is both out of touch and insulting as she tells people still using dial-up or those with no internet access at all that standard broadband is just not good enough. Her action today delays work on closing the digital divide by preventing a solution that would help people throughout our state that need access to broadband Internet.”
The SFA warned of language in SB 46 could drastically impact revenue loss because “lack of broadband service” isn’t defined. Broadband service can be delivered via satellite, fiber-optic cable, DSL, and more, so it’s unclear what areas lack all broadband or just one form of service.
The vetoed bill has been re-referred to the Senate's Committee on Communications and Technology.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi. | |
Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in the body, essential for energy, bone, heart, lung, and brain health. Imbalances may disrupt your metabolism and raise your risk of chronic diseases. Diet and income can have a huge impact, affecting the number of dangerous phosphate additives in your grocery basket. Learn more about the causes and effects of high blood phosphate and how to optimize it.
What is Phosphorus?
Phosphorus is the sixth most abundant element in the body after oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and calcium. It is the second most abundant mineral and makes up about 1% of our body weight [1, 2].
Phosphorus is mainly found as phosphate in the body. The terms phosphate and phosphorus are often used interchangeably, although they don’t have the same meaning [2, 3]. Phosphorus is an atom, while phosphate is made when phosphorus is bound to oxygen (4 oxygen atoms).
85% of phosphorus in the body is stored in the bones. The remaining 15% is scattered in tissues throughout the body [4, 5].
Phosphorus has many important roles :
- Helps build cells, DNA, and proteins
- Crucial for strong bones and teeth
- Vital for energy metabolism, as the “P” of ATP – the “energy currency” of our cells
- Required for muscle contractions and sending out nerve signals
- As the most abundant anion (negative ion) in the body, phosphate helps maintain the acid-base balance (pH)
Blood phosphate comprises a very small part of total body phosphate. Nevertheless, it gives a good estimate of phosphate levels in the body .
Phosphorus in the Diet: The Role of Processed Food
Phosphorus is naturally ubiquitous in all foods: meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and vegetables. Milk and dairy products are the richest sources of phosphorus [3, 2, 2].
A regular Western diet provides between 1,000 and 2,000 mg/day of phosphorus. The average intake of a U.S. adult is around 1,400 mg/day, double the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 700 mg/day [2, 7, 8].
It turns out that the amount of total dietary phosphate is directly influenced by the intake of processed food and beverages. However, this is not due to naturally high phosphorus in these food items. Instead, it’s a result of phosphate salts being used as additives .
Manufacturers add phosphates to their products to enhance appearance and shelf life. Phosphorus-based additives are used as pH stabilizers, leavening, and anti-bacterial agents. They account for about 10 – 50% of total daily phosphorus intake in the typical Westernized diet [8, 9].
One study looked into over 2,000 best-selling grocery products in Ohio. 44% of them contained phosphate additives. The additives were particularly common in:
- Prepared frozen foods (72%)
- Dry food mixes (70%)
- Packaged meat (65%)
- Bread & baked goods (57%)
- Soups (54%)
- Yogurt (51%)
People who consume meals comprised mostly of phosphorus-additive-containing foods take in 736 mg more phosphorus per day than people who mostly consume additive-free foods. However, “additive-enhanced” food items cost $2 less per day than additive-free meals .
In a study of over 7,800 people, milk and dairy products with phosphate additives greatly increased blood phosphorus levels (0.07 mg/dL for each additional serving). Additive-containing cereal and grain products had a similar effect (0.005 mg/dL increase for each additional serving) .
Several studies have associated high phosphorus intake or high blood phosphate levels with increased mortality and chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer .
Bioavailability
Natural or organic sources of phosphorus need to be broken down by digestive enzymes, leading to slower and less efficient absorption in the gut. The absorption ranges from 40 to 70% and is higher from animal sources (up to 70%) than from plants (up to 50%). Phytates greatly lower phosphorus bioavailability. They are found in whole grains and vegetables [13, 14, 7].
In a non-fortified mixed diet, most of the digestible phosphorus comes from proteins, making protein-rich foods the main source of natural phosphorus .
Conversely, inorganic phosphates used as additives don’t require enzymatic digestion. They are rapidly absorbed and have high bioavailability (over 80%) [13, 15].
Metabolism
Phosphorus is absorbed in the gut, stored in the bones, and removed by the kidneys.
Phosphate in the bones acts as a buffer that responds to specific imbalances. It moves in and out of bones as needed. Bone breakdown releases phosphorus, raising its blood levels. Increased bone mineralization, on the other hand, attracts phosphorus into the bones and lowers its blood levels [7, 2].
In adults, kidneys will normally get rid of a fairly constant amount of phosphorus (> 90%). But when the supply is low, kidneys can reabsorb phosphate very efficiently, reducing urine levels down to virtually zero. Also, when there’s phosphate overload, healthy kidneys can rid the body of any excess amounts [1, 2].
Apart from the obvious – gut, bones, and kidneys – blood phosphate levels are also controlled by the parathyroid gland. Hormones that affect blood phosphate levels are [2, 1, 16, 12]:
- Calcitriol, or active vitamin D: promotes phosphorus absorption in the gut and increases blood phosphate levels
- Parathyroid hormone: increases kidney excretion of phosphate and lowers blood phosphate levels
- FGF23: increases kidney excretion of phosphate and decreases its gut absorption, reducing blood levels
Other hormones, such as thyroid hormones, insulin, corticosteroids, and calcitonin, have a more modest role in phosphate metabolism .
Phosphorus metabolism is tightly bound to that of calcium – both minerals are affected by the same hormones, usually in the opposite direction. In addition, phosphate can bind calcium in the blood, thereby reducing its levels. Our health depends on a delicate balance between these two minerals [2, 3].
Normal Range
You can measure your phosphate levels by doing a simple blood test.
In adults, the normal range is between 2.5 and 4.5 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter). That equals roughly 0.8 – 1.45 mmol/L (millimoles per liter).
High Phosphorus (Hyperphosphatemia)
High blood phosphate levels are called hyperphosphatemia (“hyper” = high, “phosphatemia” = blood phosphorus).
A result that’s higher than normal, doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a health condition needing treatment. Your doctor will interpret your result, taking into account your medical history, symptoms, and other test results.
Causes shown here are commonly associated with high phosphate levels. Work with your doctor or another health care professional to get an accurate diagnosis.
Causes
These increase blood phosphate levels:
- Kidney disease/failure – impaired kidney function is the most common cause of high blood phosphate levels
- Too much vitamin D
- Overdosing on calcium (milk-alkali syndrome) [19, 20]
- Increased dietary intake of phosphorus-containing foods (phosphate supplementation, soft drinks, and pre-packaged food) [6, 21]
- Phosphate-containing laxatives and enemas [22, 23]
- Prolonged exercise [24, 25, 26, 27]
- Dehydration
- Smoking [29, 30]
- Rapid abnormal destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis) or muscle tissue (rhabdomyolysis), where phosphorus “leaks” from damaged muscles into the blood [5, 1, 31, 32, 33]
- Low parathyroid hormone levels (hypoparathyroidism)
- Overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)
- Diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious life-threatening complication of diabetes in which the body produces too many ketones
- Acromegaly, caused by too much growth hormone
- Cancer and initiation of cancer treatment (tumor lysis syndrome) [38, 5]
The following can interfere with phosphate measurement, resulting in falsely high levels:
- A high platelet count
- High bilirubin levels in liver disease
High Blood Phosphate and Poverty
Two studies have linked high blood phosphate with poverty.
In the first study of 14,000 US adults, participants with income below the poverty level were twice as likely to have high blood phosphate levels (≥ 4.4 mg/dL) .
Similarly, in the second study with over 2,800 people, those who had the lowest income or were unemployed were more than twice as likely to have high phosphate levels .
This relationship is probably a direct consequence of diet. People who are poor and live in urban environments consume cheaper processed and fast foods that contain phosphate additives .
Symptoms and Signs
If you have mild hyperphosphatemia, you probably won’t experience any symptoms.
However, if caused by severe kidney disease, you may also have low calcium levels in the blood (hypocalcemia). Low calcium levels can cause [43, 44]:
- Muscle cramps and spasms (tetany)
- Bone weakness
- Chalk-like calcium deposits (calcification) in tissues. Deposits within the walls of blood vessels can lead to a hardening of the arteries.
- Severe itching
Severe complications include :
- High resting heart rate (tachycardia)
- Low blood pressure (hypotension)
- Heart attack
- Coma
Health Effects
1) Heart Disease
High phosphate binds calcium and forms crystals (calcium phosphate) that can accumulate in various tissues. In the blood vessels, their buildup (calcification) may cause damage or hardening [3, 45, 46].
In a large study of over 110,000 people, both low and high blood phosphate levels were linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Higher levels within the normal range also increased the risk .
In another study of over 2,500 people, higher-range normal levels (> 3.6 mg/dL) were linked to a 1.5X higher risk of calcification in the arteries, while levels above 4 mg/dL increased the risk by over 2X .
High levels are linked to both heart risks in healthy people and heart complications in those with heart disease. In over 3,000 healthy people, each 1 mg/dL increase in phosphate levels raised the risk of heart disease by 1.3X. In over 4,000 people with heart disease, higher levels were linked with a greater risk of heart failure and heart attacks [49, 50].
2) Chronic Kidney Disease
In a study of over 2,000 healthy people, phosphorus above 4 mg/dL was associated with double the risk of developing chronic kidney disease .
3) Fractures
In over 12,000 people, higher blood phosphorus levels, even within the normal range, were linked with increased fracture risk in both men and women .
Many other studies looked at this relationship by focusing on dietary phosphate intake instead of the blood levels. As dietary phosphate intake increases, bones are broken down more and rebuilt less [53, 53, 54, 55].
Strong bones require a balance between phosphorus and calcium levels. High dietary phosphorus can throw this balance off. In 85 postmenopausal women, consumption of one or more bottles per day of phosphoric acid-containing soft drinks (such as coke) was associated with lower calcium levels .
4) Cognitive Function
In a study of over 5,500 men, higher baseline blood phosphate was associated with higher odds of poor executive function 4 years later .
High phosphate levels may weaken the blood-brain barrier, which can have a major effect on brain function. In a study of 186 people, phosphate levels > 3.9 mg/dL were linked with 3.7 higher odds of brain lesions, likely resulting from a weakened blood-brain barrier .
5) Infections
In over 1,000 dialysis patients, infections were more frequent among those with high phosphate levels .
6) Aging
Animal studies show that high phosphate levels can accelerate the aging process by triggering tissue damage. In mice, high phosphate caused premature aging symptoms such as weight loss, spine deformities, decreased production of sex hormones, infertility, muscle wasting, skin thinning, and reduced life span .
In over 7,000 people, higher phosphate levels were linked to an age-related decrease in muscle strength in those over 65 years old .
7) Cancer
The relationship between high phosphate levels and cancer is not straightforward. High phosphate levels are mostly linked to an increased risk of cancer, but they may also decrease the risk in some cases. High levels may be more detrimental for men than for women, although this is still uncertain.
In almost 400,000 people, higher phosphate levels were linked to higher overall cancer risk in men. High levels were associated with an increased risk of pancreatic, lung, thyroid, and bone cancer in men, and esophagus, lung, and nonmelanoma skin cancer in women. Conversely, the risk of breast, endometrial, and other endocrine cancers dropped with higher phosphate levels in both sexes .
In over 47,000 men, higher dietary phosphorus was associated with greater risk of total, deadly, and high-grade prostate cancer .
In a small study of 100 people, all cancer patients had high phosphate levels .
Feeding mice with a diet high in phosphate stimulates the growth of lung tumors, both in number and size .
8) Mortality
In a study of almost 13,000 people, high blood phosphate levels were linked to increased mortality .
In over 42,000 hospitalized patients, phosphate levels on either end of the extreme range (high or low) were linked to in-hospital deaths. Low levels increased the risk by 1.6 times, while high levels increased the risk by up to almost 4 times. In a smaller study on 4,000 people with heart disease, blood phosphate over 3.5 mg/dL increased the risk of death by 1.3 times [65, 50].
In almost 1,000 people, baseline phosphorus > 3.9 mg/dL was associated with an increased risk of death from heart disease over the next 5 years .
Some studies found that this link holds true only in men. In 6k people monitored for over 10 years, phosphate was linked to deaths only in men .
In another study on over 1,300 older men, higher phosphorus levels (≥ 3.6 mg/dL) increased the risk of death from any cause by 1.6 times. In an 18-year follow-up study of over 2,500 people with high blood pressure, diabetes, and/or obesity, higher phosphate levels were associated with more deaths in men [68, 69].
Phosphorus intake alone may increase the risk regardless of blood levels. In over 9,600 healthy adults, higher phosphorus intake was associated with higher deaths from any cause in those who consumed > 1400 mg/day of phosphorus .
Decreasing phosphorus levels may lower the risk. In over 6,700 patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis, phosphate-binding agents decreased deaths from heart disease or other causes by over 20% .
Decreasing Blood Phosphorus
The most important thing is to work with your doctor to find out what’s causing your high phosphate and to treat any underlying conditions!
Discuss the additional lifestyle changes with your doctor. None of these strategies should ever be done in place of what your doctor recommends or prescribes!
Eat foods that are low in phosphorus to maintain blood phosphate levels within a healthy range. Avoid protein-heavy and dairy products. Most importantly, eliminate foods that contain phosphate additives (cooked ham, roast breast turkey/chicken) and soft drinks. Processed food can have up to 70% higher phosphate content than non-processed alternatives [21, 72, 73].
Adopting a plant-based diet may help, as studies suggest that phosphate is less readily-absorbed from plants, especially those containing phytates [74, 14].
Avoid night-time snacks! In a study of 14 healthy men, night-time snacking increased baseline blood phosphorus levels, by reducing phosphorus flushing via the kidneys .
Decrease or quit smoking [29, 30].
Make sure you are properly hydrated .
Avoid using enemas that contain phosphate salts. Your body can absorb these salts, leading to excess phosphate levels in the blood .
If you have uncontrolled diabetes, it is critical to bring it under control with diet, exercise, and prescribed therapy .
If your phosphate levels high, your doctor will usually prescribe fluids (unless you have kidney failure). If your levels have been high for a long time, phosphate binders such as aluminum and magnesium salts can reduce the phosphate load. These do have side effects and can only be used in a limited capacity .
Discuss the following supplements with your doctor: | https://labs.selfdecode.com/blog/high-phosphorus/ |
Contract Months (Time): All options have an expiration date; they only are valid for a particular time. Options are wasting assets; they do not last forever. For example, a December corn call expires in late November. As assets with a limited time horizon, attention must be accorded to option positions. The longer the duration of an option, the more expensive it will be. The term portion of an option's premium is its time value.
Fluctuations in option prices can be explained by intrinsic value and extrinsic value, which is also known as time value. An option's premium is the combination of its intrinsic value and time value. Intrinsic value is the in-the-money amount of an options contract, which, for a call option, is the amount above the strike price that the stock is trading. Time value represents the added value an investor has to pay for an option above the intrinsic value. This is the extrinsic value or time value. So, the price of the option in our example can be thought of as the following:
With options markets, as with futures markets, long and short refer to the buying and selling of one or more contracts, but unlike futures markets, they do not refer to the direction of the trade. For example, if a futures trade is entered by buying a contract, the trade is a long trade, and the trader wants the price to go up, but with options, a trade can be entered by buying a Put contract, and is still a long trade, even though the trader wants the price to go down. The following chart may help explain this further:
Puts are more or less the mirror image of calls. The put buyer expects the price to go down. Therefore, he pays a premium in the hope that the futures price will drop. If it does, he has two choices: (1) He can close out his long put position at a profit since it will be more valuable; or (2) he can exercise and obtain a profitable short position in the futures contract since the strike price will be higher than the prevailing futures price.
Options are contracts giving the owner the right to buy or sell an asset at a fixed price (called the “strike price”) for a specific period of time. That period of time could be as short as a day or as long as a couple of years, depending on the option. The seller of the option contract has the obligation to take the opposite side of the trade if and when the owner exercises the right to buy or sell the asset. For more information, check out the Ally Invest Options Playbook here: https://www.optionsplaybook.com/
Options trading may seem overwhelming, but they're easy to understand if you know a few key points. Investor portfolios are usually constructed with several asset classes. These may be stocks, bonds, ETFs, and even mutual funds. Options are another asset class, and when used correctly, they offer many advantages that trading stocks and ETFs alone cannot.
With straddles (long in this example), you as a trader are expecting the asset (like a stock) to be highly volatile, but don't know the direction in which it will go (up or down). When using a straddle strategy, you as the trader are buying a call and put option at the same strike price, underlying price and expiry date. This strategy is often used when a trader is expecting the stock of a particular company to plummet or skyrocket, usually following an event like an earnings report. For example, when a company like Apple (AAPL) is getting ready to release their third quarter earnings on July 31st, an options trader could use a straddle strategy to buy a call option to expire on that date at the current Apple stock price, and also buy a put option to expire on the same day for the same price.
Traders that are willing to accept considerable amounts of risk with the prospects of limited reward, can write (or sell) options, collecting the premium and taking advantage of the well-known belief that more options than not expire worthless. The premium collected by a commodity option seller is seen as a liability until the option is either offset (by buying it back), or it expires. This is because as long as the option position is open (the trader is short the commodity option), there is substantial risk exposure. Should the futures price trade beyond the strike price of the option, the risk is similar to holding a commodity futures contract outright.
To reiterate, buying options in times of low volatility could prove to be advantageous should the volatility increase sharply. On the other hand, a lack of deviation in the price of the underlying asset will produce lower market volatility and even cheaper option premiums. Once again, pricing is relative and dynamic; "cheap" doesn't mean that it can't get "cheaper".
A sampling of terms defined includes: active premium, aggregation, angel financing, asset allocation, backwardation, benchmark, bridge loan, capital structure arbitrage, coefficient of determination, commodity option, convertible arbitrage, deferred futures, discretionary trading, distressed debt, enumerated agricultural commodities, extrinsic value, follow-on funding, hedge ratio, interdelivery spread, long short equity, modified value-at-risk, offshore fund, piggyback registration, social entrepreneurship, systematic trading, tracking error, underlying futures contract, venture capital method, and weather premium.
Options belong to the larger group of securities known as derivatives. A derivative's price is dependent on or derived from the price of something else. As an example, wine is a derivative of grapes ketchup is a derivative of tomatoes, and a stock option is a derivative of a stock. Options are derivatives of financial securities—their value depends on the price of some other asset. Examples of derivatives include calls, puts, futures, forwards, swaps, and mortgage-backed securities, among others.
In the case of perishable commodity, the cost of storage is higher than expected future price of a commodity (For ex: TradeINR prefer to sell tomatoes now rather than waiting for 3 more months to get a good price as a cost of storage of tomato is more than price they yield by storing the same). So in this case, the spot prices reflect current supply and demand, not future movements. There spot prices for perishables are more volatile.
Commodity futures used by companies give a hedge to the risk of adverse price movements. The goal of hedging is to prevent losses from potentially unfavorable price changes rather than to speculate. Many companies that hedge use or producing the underlying asset of a futures contract. Examples of commodities hedging use include farmers, oil producers, livestock breeders, manufacturers, and many others.
For example: A steel manufacturer importing coal from Australia currently and in order to reduce the volatility of changes in prices he always hedges the coal purchases on a 3 monthly forward contract where he agrees with the seller on day one of financial quarter to supply coal at defined price irrespective of price movements during quarter. So in this case, the contract is forward/future and buyer has an intention to buy the goods and no intention of making profit from price changes.
So, call options are also much like insurance - you are paying for a contract that expires at a set time but allows you to purchase a security (like a stock) at a predetermined price (which won't go up even if the price of the stock on the market does). However, you will have to renew your option (typically on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis). For this reason, options are always experiencing what's called time decay - meaning their value decays over time. | http://simplyforex4u.com/guadalajara-trading-psychology.html |
This title is part of:
Light
From switching on a lamp to seeing the sun rise in the morning, we experience light every day, but what exactly is light? In this title, students will have the opportunity to conduct experiments to help them understand what light is, how it travels, and how we see it. Kids will also investigate concepts such as what causes shadows to form, and how white light is made up of a mixture of different colors. Using everyday items that kids can easily find around the house, students will transform into scientists as they carry out step-by-step experiments to answer interesting questions. Along the way, children will pick up important scientific skills as they investigate light, record their observations, and draw conclusions. Light includes seven experiments with detailed, age-appropriate instructions, surprising facts and background information, a “Conclusions” section to pull all the concepts in the book together, and a glossary of science words. Colorful, dynamic designs and images truly put the FUN into FUN-damental Experiments. | https://bearportpublishing.com/shop/show/10406 |
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure relates to educational board games, and more particularly, to an educational board game wherein making a move is predicated on performing a mathematical operation.
The world of mathematics can be daunting to new students. In particular, mathematical operations beyond simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using whole numbers may be regarded as impenetrable by beginners. This can lead to slowed or even non-existent mastery by students.
There exists a need for a mechanism to encourage new students to become familiar with mathematical operations, so that psychological barriers to mastery are overcome.
The present invention contemplates a game which has as a consequence familiarity with certain mathematical operations. The actual game elements utilize mathematical calculations, yet are not inherently mathematical. Therefore, the game can be presented as a game, with mathematical aspects being delegated to secondary status. This may encourage students to play the game, thus becoming familiar with mathematic elements and related operations. Hence, the student may be more susceptible to self-teaching, and will not be put off by apparent impenetrability of the mathematic aspect.
To this end, the novel game contemplates displaying mathematical terms such as a combination of a numerical integer and an abstract unknown, the latter typically presented in alphabetical format.
The game is played by having a first player select a combined integer and abstract unknown. A second player selects a second combined integer and abstract unknown. The combined selections are used in an arithmetic operation, such as pertaining to quadratic equations. Potential answers are displayed on a playing board. A space displaying the appropriate answer for the arithmetic operation is then occupied by a token representing the second player.
Game play described thus far is repeated until a player occupies a requisite number of vertically adjacent spaces, horizontally adjacent spaces, or diagonally adjacent spaces. The game may simulate the well-known game of Tic Tac Toe, in which each player attempts to occupy three spaces adjacent vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Ordinarily, the other player will attempt to block a successful succession of occupied spaces. In the present game, with the bigger board than Tic Tac Toe, the game may continue beyond the first succession of three occupied spaces.
Game strategy requires players to calculate a number of results of the arithmetic operation, thereby forcing the players to become familiar and comfortable with integer/abstract unknown elements. Although not represented as the scored result of the game, the latter is actually the true point of the game.
FIGS. 2-8
FIG. 1
In , numeric values shown in which are irrelevant to the example being discussed are omitted for clarity of the view.
FIG. 1
100
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Referring first to , according to at least one aspect of the disclosure, there is shown a game board including a row of selectable numeric values and a matrix of resulting numeric values which would result from multiplying two of the selectable numeric values of row . Those schooled in mathematics will recognize that the selectable numeric values of row and the resulting numeric values shown in matrix pertain to quadratic equations.
100
By way of simplified explanation, the game played using game board in some ways simulates the game of Tic Tac Toe. However, rather than have players directly choose board spaces to occupy, the players are obliged to perform a mathematical operation which will result in authorization to occupy a desired board space. That is, correct calculation of the mathematical operation will authorize that player making the correct calculation to occupy that board space displaying the resulting numeric value arising from the calculation.
Stated in generic or abstract terms, there is shown a method of playing a board game having board positions presented as occupiable spaces. The method may comprise displaying a choice of selectable numeric values and performing a plurality of reiterative game operations. Each individual reiterative game operation of the plurality of reiterative game operations comprises having a first player select a first selectable numeric value, having a second player select a second selectable numeric value, performing a mathematical operation utilizing the first selectable numeric value and the second selectable numeric value, displaying a plurality of resulting numeric values each in one of the occupiable spaces, wherein each one of the resulting numeric values is a mathematical result of performing the mathematical operation using a unique two of the selectable numeric values, and designating that occupiable space having therein the resulting numeric value particular to the first selectable numeric value and the second selectable numeric value as being occupied by the second player. The method may further comprise performing additional ones of the reiterative operations, wherein roles of the first player and the second player are exchanged in each of the additional ones of the reiterative operations, and each of the occupiable spaces occupied by the first player and the second player is maintained as so occupied throughout each one reiterative operation, until one of the first player and the second player has occupied a predetermined array of adjacent occupiable spaces. The method may further comprise recognizing as a winner of each reiterative game operation that player having occupied the predetermined array of adjacent occupiable spaces, summing the number of occupied predetermined arrays for each of the players, and declaring as a winner of the game that player having the greatest number of occupied predetermined arrays.
Unless otherwise indicated, the terms “first”, “second”, etc., are used herein merely as labels, and are not intended to impose ordinal, positional, or hierarchical requirements on the times to which these terms refer. Moreover, reference to, e.g., a “second” item does not either require or preclude the existence of, e.g., a “first” or lower-numbered item, and/or, e.g., a “third” or higher-numbered item.
106
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FIGS. 3-8
Board positions refer to occupiable spaces . Each occupiable space may have indicia appearing thereon, such as the numeric values shown. Occupying a space may be performed for example by playing a token thereon. Tokens are not literally shown, but are shown representatively in , as will be further described hereinafter.
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In any one of the reiterative game operations, the first player selects the first selectable numeric value from row . Play then passes to the second player, who determines which occupiable space he or she wishes to occupy, then performs the mathematical operation which would result in the resulting numeric value which appears on the desired occupiable space A.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
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2
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For example, and also referring to , the first player selects a value “x−4” . The second player must then determine that the value “x+1” , when multiplied with the value “x−4” , will result in resulting numeric value “x−3x−4” . As shown in , the second player then places a token representing the second player on that occupiable space bearing the legend “x−3x−4” . In this example, a combination of selection of selectable numeric value “x−4” , followed by the calculation by the second player resulting in identifying the selectable numeric value “x+1” , and placement of a token on occupiable space bearing the legend “x−3x−4” constitutes the basic reiterative game operation. In subsequent reiterative game operations, roles of the first and second players are periodically exchanged so that the first player is given an opportunity to occupy a desired occupiable space .
Exchange may be performed in any desired way. For example, in one implementation of the method of play, the step of performing additional ones of the reiterative operations comprises alternating respective roles of the first player and the second player in each subsequent iteration of the reiterative operations. However, if it is felt that undue advantage may accrue to one particular player, exchange may be modified for example such that the same player plays one role twice in succession, thereafter reverting to simple alternation. In another example, one player make take two turns at the first role, followed by the second player taking three turns at the second role.
FIG. 4
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Returning to the example of play, and also referring to , roles have been exchanged, and the first player has now calculated which selectable numeric value will combine with the selectable numeric value selected by the second player to yield a result corresponding to a resulting numeric value of an occupiable space B. The first player may then place his or her token on occupiable space B.
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FIG. 5
FIG. 4
Play continues at least until the first player or the second player has occupied a predetermined array of adjacent occupiable spaces . This is shown in , where play has advanced well beyond play illustrated in . As indicated by broken line , which will not literally appear in actual play, the first player has occupied three diagonally adjacent occupiable spaces B, C, D, placing additional tokens on those occupiable spaces B, C, D. The second player has occupied another occupiable space E, blocking extension of the diagonally adjacent occupiable spaces B, C, D occupied by the first player. In most versions of the game, it will now be the turn of the second player.
FIG. 6
FIGS. 7 and 8
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shows a possible move by the second player, who has now occupied an occupiable space F. show further move and countermove by the two players, the countermove not only partly blocking two horizontally adjacent occupiable spaces D, G, but threatening to establish occupiable spaces E, G and F, H as future diagonal rows of three.
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In the method of play, the predetermined array of adjacent occupied spaces (e.g., B, C, D) may comprise three adjacent spaces of the board game arranged in a straight line. Additionally, the three adjacent spaces may be arranged serially in a horizontal row of the board game, arranged serially in a vertical column of the board game, or arranged serially in a diagonal row of the board game.
As hinted at previously, the step of performing the mathematical operation utilizing the first selectable numeric value and the second selectable numeric value may comprise generating and solving quadratic equations.
In the method of play, at least one the selectable numeric values and at least one of the resulting numeric values comprise an integer and a symbolic value of indeterminate magnitude, conventionally represented in mathematics and herein as “x”.
104
A win may be predicated on scores based on one or more predetermined arrays (e.g., three occupiable squares in a row occupied by one player). Given magnitude of matrix , a player may have a number of arrays, and may have more than three occupiable squares in a row.
It is contemplated that the novel game disclosed herein will be for the benefit of students learning mathematics. These students may vary considerably in age and ability. Therefore, scoring schemes may be varied to account for variations in age and ability. At the most junior level, attainment of the first row or predetermined array may end the game. At more advanced levels, play may continue until a great many predetermined arrays have been established by the players.
It should be understood that the various examples of the apparatus(es) disclosed herein may include any of the components, features, and functionalities of any of the other examples of the apparatus(es) disclosed herein in any feasible combination, and all of such possibilities are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Many modifications of examples set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.
Therefore, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited to the specific examples presented and that modifications and other examples are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing description and the associated drawings describe examples of the present disclosure in the context of certain illustrative combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative implementations without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the disclosed concepts will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
FIG. 1
is a representation of a game board for use with a board game, according to at least one aspect of the disclosure;
FIG. 2
FIG. 1
is a diagrammatic simplification of the game board of ;
FIG. 3
FIG. 1
is a diagrammatic simplification of the game board of , showing occupancy of a game board space after an exemplary first move by a player;
FIG. 4
FIG. 3
is similar to , but shows an exemplary second move, made by a second player;
FIG. 5
FIG. 4
is similar to , but shows additional exemplary moves made by both the first and second players;
FIG. 6
FIG. 5
is similar to , but shows a further exemplary move made by the second player;
FIG. 7
FIG. 6
is similar to , but shows a still further exemplary move made by the first player; and
FIG. 8
FIG. 7
is similar to , but shows still another exemplary move made by the second player. | |
Week Two's reading from Ethical Theory and Business, Eighth Edition included on pages 18 to 30 an overview on both the Utilitarian and Kantian Ethical Theories. As I read some of the varying examples provided by the text's three editors, another and more personal example breached my thoughts.
The television series LOST had and has a remarkably diverse cast of characters, including one of my personal favorites--John Locke. As the show progresses, the viewers slowly learn of each character's "back story" and usually some interesting unknown connection one LOST castaway has with another. John Locke's back story contains one haunting standout, where his birth-father suddenly enters Locke's middle-age life for the first time and figuratively rips his son's heart out. What happened was that John's father apologized profusely for being absent from his son's entire life, and then explained that he was--at that moment--in a situation where if he didn't receive a kidney transplant immediately, he would most certainly die.
John Locke, not wanting to lose the opportunity to get to know his long-lost father, hastily surrendered his perfect-match kidney to a man he knew nothing about. While Utilitarian Ethics is often boiled down to "the greatest good for the greatest number" (Ethical Theory, 23), the point can be argued from Kantian Ethics--among other things--that "using human organs as commodities is to treat human beings as though they were merely machines" (24). The strain here follows from the fact that John Locke's father, briefly after receiving the transplant and recovering from surgery, once again pushed his frazzled son out of his life.
Immanuel Kant said that "persons should be treated as ends and never purely as means to the ends of others" (24) and further that "people must not treat another exclusively as a means to their ends" (25). Through this straightforward declaration, John Locke's father can easily be classified as having acted immorally toward his son as per Kantian Theory. How though, does the morality of John Locke's decision to give up his kidney in the first place sit?
Was Locke's donation of his own kidney disrespectful to his own person? Was his "goodwill" immoral? The 1700's moral philosopher Kant "seems to require only that each individual will the acceptance of those principles on which he or she is acting" (25). So if John Locke was truly acting freely, with no underlying immoral motive, then his choice was that of a moral man.
John Locke was a willing albeit disinformed participant of the kidney transaction, acting from a sense of obligation...or was it really for a feel-good self-interest? From page twenty-six of Ethical Theory and Business we learn that "actions motivated by self-interest alone or compassion alone cannot be morally praiseworthy" and "to be deserving of moral praise, a person must act from obligation." While John Locke's sense of obligation to his father may have been there, from other television glimpses of his back story we know that Locke is often depressed and is absolutely seeking a chance to redeem his life, to make a connection to a dreamt-of man, and to gain peace with his inner-self.
Kantianism implies that "if conflicts arise between one's obligation and one's other motivations--such as friendship, reciprocation, or love--the motive of obligation should always prevail" (28). It is my deduction that John Locke therefore allowed the terrible force of love to outweigh any real sense of obligation he had and that he immorally donated his own kidney, to his own father. | http://www.sethcburgess.com/2008/03/fwd-journal-entry-week-2.html |
The Riemann Hypothesis, Part 1 – the Zeta Function
Okay. This is the most arcane topic yet. There is no easy way into the Riemann Hypothesis, or RH, as it is affectionately called. I’m testing the limits of my understanding even more than I have before.
If you want to pass on this one, please do. However, if you know enough math to get the beauty of Euler’s equation, you can follow what I’m going to say. Euler’s equation is: If you find yourself unable to look at that equation without a rapidly growing sense of awe, stick with me. What I say may ultimately be nonsense, but you will follow my reasoning (or lack of it!). BTW- the Euler equation is just a test. It has nothing to do with what I’m going to say.
Here we go.
In a paper in 1859, Bernhard Riemann discussed a function of an infinite series called the Zeta function. Here it is:
The squiggle at the front is the symbol for Zeta. The equation is read as “Zeta of s equals the summation, for all natural numbers (n) from 1 to infinity, of 1 over ‘n to the s power’”. The beginning of this infinite sum is shown in the last part. Of course, being infinite, it continues forever. There are ways to determine the answer to certain kinds of infinite sums, and the Zeta function is one of those, so finding the answer for any particular value of s is not a problem. (I know it is for you and me, but mathematicians can do it.)
The interesting part is finding patterns in those answers as you solve for more and more values of s, and particularly patterns in the values of s for which the answer is zero. The values of s for which the Zeta function equals zero are called solutions of the function. You’ll remember this from algebra.
Example (x^2 means 'x squared'): take the function f(x)= x^2-5x+6, then only look for those answers for which f(x) is equal to 0. x^2-5x+6=0 is true only if x=2 or x=3, so f(x)= x^2-5x+6 has two solutions, 2 and 3. Why does the answer zero matter more than all the other possible answers to f(x)= x^2-5x+6? It depends on the function and what you are using it for. For the Zeta function, the zeros, and the s values that produce them, matter a lot in number theory.
The significance of the Zeta function here, is that it’s an analytic function that is connected to how the prime numbers are distributed in the list of natural numbers. (Who saw THAT coming...I didn’t!) This connects analysis, which includes continuous functions, with number theory in a very deep way. Rigorously connecting the continuous to the discrete in math (sort of like analog to digital) is important, as it gives the tools of each some power to understand the other.
The prime numbers are to all appearances randomly distributed as you count up through the natural numbers. Riemann discovered (among other things) boundaries to the number of primes occurring (and their distribution) within the list of consecutive natural numbers up to any chosen number.
He used solutions to the Zeta function to do this.
Remember, solutions to the Zeta function are those values of s for which the function Zeta of s is equal to zero. Now, this is not one of your grandmother’s polite finite polynomial functions, this is an infinite analytic function, and there is an infinite number of solutions. Yikes!
However, the solutions can be grouped in to two categories, called trivial and non-trivial. The trivial solutions are all the negative even numbers: s = -2, s = -4, s = -6, etc., which all give zero as the value for Zeta of s.
The non-trivial solutions are, well, not trivial. First of all, while n is always an integer, s can be any damn number you can think of, AND --- it doesn’t have to be a real number. Most numbers aren’t real. Many, many, many more numbers are complex. They have a real part and an imaginary part and have the general form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of minus 1. The real numbers are just the subset of complex numbers for which b is zero and so the imaginary half (bi) is zero. a+0=a, a real number.
Riemann noticed that every non-trivial solution he found was of the form ½ + bi. In every solution the real number part was equal to ½ no matter what the imaginary part was. For reasons he didn’t make clear (though there are several good ones), he conjectured that all non-trivial solutions to the Zeta function have real part ½. This is the Riemann Hypothesis.
But he couldn’t prove it. Neither has anyone else in the more than a century and a half since then.
Who cares? Well, it turns out that if the RH is true, a whole lot of other math theorems are true also. There seem to be countless math papers that start with something like “Assume the Riemann Hypothesis is true…” and go on for thousands of words, or what passes for words to a mathematician. If the RH is NOT true, all of this comes crashing down. | https://hughmoffatt.com/04-the-riemann-hypothesis-part-1-the-zeta-function |
Yesterday marked the first day of the 2018 Winter Olympics, and for the next two weeks, many of us will be glued to our television screens as we watch the world’s top athletes compete for gold in PyeongChang, South Korea.
One competitor to keep an eye on is Mikaela Shiffrin, the top U.S. Olympic contender in women’s alpine skiing.
If you haven’t heard of Shiffrin yet, you will very soon. She is arguably one of the best downhill skiers on the planet. At age 22, she has already racked up a long list of impressive accolades, including four World Cup slalom titles and a gold medal in slalom skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics at age 18 — making her the youngest person in history to win Olympic gold in downhill skiing.
I happened to read about Shiffrin in the November issue of Outside magazine. The article was focused on what Shiffrin does to be a top competitive athlete. While I was inspired by her as an individual, what I found most interesting were the parallels between her approach to training and what helps people overcome health adversity.
I realized that whether you’re excelling as an athlete or simply regaining wellness, the principles of moving from one level of health to a higher level are much the same:
- Optimized nutrition
- Clean living environment
- Focused effort
- Rejuvenating activity
- Restorative rest
- Support and guidance
- Strong community
Here’s what each of these components look like for a professional athlete like Shiffrin, and how they can translate to improved health for you, wherever you are on the wellness spectrum.
1. Optimized Nutrition
Shiffrin is very particular about her diet; she eats like a champion. Her diet includes lots of vegetables and only fresh foods. While athletic performance does require higher levels of carbohydrates, fat, and protein than average, modern athletes still typically source their food from wholesome natural sources.
Eating a clean diet isn’t challenging. Fresh foods, with vegetables predominating, are readily available and not expensive. Simple cooking techniques such as sautéing, steaming, and batch cooking are easy enough to adopt, and they allow for immense variety so you don’t get bored with the same dishes every day.
To that, you can add herbal therapy: Herbs provide a robust spectrum of protective chemical substances that aren’t present in even the healthiest diet. These substances, called phytochemicals, counteract stress factors, support optimal immune performance, and balance the gut microbiome. Their unique properties are not only beneficial for athletic performance, but they’re also key to overcoming any type of health adversity and protecting wellness.
2. Non-Toxic Living Environment
Shiffrin’s living environment is as clean as her food. As a skier, she’s automatically breathing cleaner air than many of us — the cleanest air on earth exists in forests. Shiffrin’s lifestyle is also very pure: she’s not a partier, and she doesn’t allow indulgences. The price could be a fraction of a second difference on the racecourse, and that could cost her a medal.
Establishing a clean living environment is a matter of exercising as much control over your surroundings and interactions as possible. Fresh food, organic when practical, should be a top priority. Clean water is a matter of installing a filter on the water tap. The cleanest air is found in natural areas. Here you can follow Mikaela’s lead, and get outside and away from the city as frequently as possible. Indoor air quality can be improved with reduced clutter and air filter systems.
A less obvious part of making your world less toxic is shielding yourself from negative media, antagonistic people, and other things beyond your control. When you let go of what you can’t change, those things lose their power to influence you.
3. Focused Effort
As with any top athlete, the key to Shiffrin’s success goes beyond natural skill. It also hinges on years of focused effort on achieving a single goal, an approach that protects her from feeling stressed. Which might sound counterintuitive at first: Shouldn’t concentrating on something as big as winning at the Olympics be overwhelming? But in fact, stress is usually a result of life being too complicated. Shiffrin’s life appears to be remarkably simple — work every day to be a better downhill skier.
Similarly, focusing exclusively on a single objective of wellness over other concerns greatly reduces stress. It gives you permission to decline perceived obligations that do not move you closer to that goal. That includes social obligations like weddings and holidays, and work-related ones too.
I recognize that saying “no” to your boss isn’t always possible. But too often, people work long hours in stressful jobs in order to afford things they don’t really need. When you pare your worldly needs down to the essentials, you don’t require as much to live. This enables you to cut back on work, which not only reduces stress, but also opens up more time to focus on recovery.
People who approach recovery similarly to an athletic training program also tend to find that they have more control in life. This can translate into more judicious use of the medical system and lower medical expenses — which reduces financial stress, as well as overall stress.
4. Rejuvenating Activity
No surprise, Shiffrin spends a lot of time on the slopes. There’s no escaping physical training as a key part of any athletic success. It not only improves ability, it also improves stamina.
Exercise also stimulates healing. It increases levels of endorphins, chemical messengers in the body that fight pain, improve mood, and stimulate immune functions. Regular exercise also stimulates stem cells, the cells necessary for forming new tissue in the body.
Though moving should be considered essential for wellness, the level of activity must be strictly kept within abilities. Top athletes know that exceeding limits can come at great cost. This is true for overcoming health adversity as well: excessive movement when tissues are inflamed can be destructive. For someone at a low level of wellness, a simple goal of walking each day may be enough. Activity level can gradually be increased as health rebounds.
5. Restorative Rest
As Outside reports it, Shiffrin not only trains relentlessly, she also sleeps relentlessly. She takes naps at every opportunity and goes to bed early every night. Recognizing that to achieve physical prowess, the body absolutely requires rest and recovery, Shiffrin treats sleep with sacred devotion.
Rest is essential for illness recovery, too. While physical activity stimulates healing (and promotes better sleep at night), rest is required to allow healing to happen. During sleep is when the body heals most intensely. Meditating at every opportunity, with a focus on enhancing the body’s ability to heal itself, also counts as rest and leads to a better night’s sleep.
6. Support and Guidance
Another of Shiffrin’s advantages is having very supportive parents and coaches. Her mother and father are both avid skiers who recognized her potential early on, and she has some of the best professional coaching around.
Together, Shiffrin’s parents and coach staff provide the kind of guidance, advice, and therapy someone with chronic illness receives from their doctors, nurses, acupuncturists, herbalists, and other healthcare providers. This support team is motivated and united by the same wellness goal, and while success is ultimately up to the person aiming for wellness, they can offer tools that make it more achievable.
If you’re in the throws of battling chronic illness, you’ve likely put a team of experts together to help guide your recovery. If not, or if you’re unhappy with any member of your support team, don’t be afraid to keep looking—it’s not always easy to find the right health practitioners, but sticking with those who are sub-par won’t get you to wellness any faster.
7. Strong Community
Shiffrin puts a lot of value on her skiing community. Being a professional athlete is an enormous commitment, and it can be very isolating — it doesn’t allow time for normal relationships. Connecting with other competitors provides Shiffrin with both role models and friendships that otherwise would not have been possible.
Recovering from illness can be just as isolating as training for a top sport — and having community is just as essential. Numerous studies have linked social support with increased resilience to stress and better physical and psychological health. Unfortunately, too often during health adversity, people lose touch with their normal professional and social communities. I found this to be one of the most devastating parts of my struggle with chronic Lyme disease.
While you can’t hire a new community like you can a doctor or coach, rebuilding community through connections with others going through a similar struggle can be valuable. Fortunately, this has never been easier. Online forums and support groups provide endless opportunities to cultivate connections with others who share your adversities and common goals.
The reward of focusing all your effort on your personal recovery is getting your life back. While you may not celebrate from the top of a podium, your success will be just as exceptional and fulfilling.
Have you used any of these seven principles to reach your wellness goals? Please share your inspiring stories with us on Facebook.
Dr. Rawls is a physician who overcame Lyme disease through natural herbal therapy. You can learn more about Lyme disease in Dr. Rawls’ new best selling book, Unlocking Lyme.
You can also learn about Dr. Rawls’ personal journey in overcoming Lyme disease and fibromyalgia in his popular blog post, My Chronic Lyme Journey. | https://rawlsmd.com/health-articles/how-to-win-at-wellness-olympic-secrets-to-conquering-illness |
There’s a growing body of research all about the benefits of sharing your bed with a partner.
From improving your psychiatric wellbeing to boosting your overall health, read below the 10 reasons why it’s great sleeping next to someone you love:
1: Experience Better Sleep Quality
We all strive for good sleep quality but we don’t always get it.
Did you know that sleeping beside someone, especially if you’re in a solid relationship, is a good way to help you on your path to good quality slumber?
Wendy M. Troxel, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, unearthed that women in stable relationships fell asleep faster and had less sleep disturbances in the night than single women, or those whose relationship status changed during the experiment.
2: Fall Asleep Faster
Surely time taken to fall asleep doesn’t matter as long as we fall asleep, right?
Wrong!
A study by Northumbria University in the UK revealed that that there’s a link between time taken to fall into slumber and our overall sleep health.
Apparently 10 to 20 minutes is the normal amount of time it should take you to fall asleep for good sleep health. If it takes longer than 30 minutes, then your sleep efficiency drops considerably.
However, the average time it takes someone to fall asleep is actually seven minutes.
It’s pretty common when you’re by yourself to get caught up in your own head as your mind begins to wander.
Our brains become more and more active; we begin to overthink and, unsurprisingly, struggle to get that much needed shut-eye.
According to research reported by Andrea Petersen (New York Journalist and critically acclaimed author) in The Wall Street Journal, mental activity makes it difficult to sleep.
This is why sleeping next to someone you love is so beneficial. They’ll give you feelings of security so you begin to relax and drift off.
3: More Restorative Sleep
Have you ever wondered “Why do I sleep better with my girlfriend or boyfriend?”
Well, wonder no more! It’s because having a lover in your bed will make you more likely to experience restorative sleep, which is vital for brain health.
The National Sleep Foundation has explained that sex can make it easier to fall asleep as sex boosts oxytocin (the love hormone) and lowers cortisol (the stress hormone).
For women, sex boosts estrogen levels which improves the REM (rapid eye movement) stage and leads to deeper sleep.
Don’t worry men – you will sleep just as well, too. Post-sex, oxytocin is released and it makes everyone feel super sleepy.
The Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Morehouse School of Medicine in Georgia has shared similar findings, with sex positively influencing the sleep-wake cycle.
Leading health expert, nutritionist and author Shawn Stevenson, in the book Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to a Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success goes one step further and states that orgasms are like sedatives.
They stimulate the release of a cocktail of chemicals that can help you on your way to a great night’s sleep.
These include:
- Oxytocin (the love hormone)
- Serotonin (contributes to wellbeing and happiness)
- Norepinephrine (helps to regulate sleep and balances responses to stress)
- Vasopressin (increases sleep quality and decreases cortisol)
- Prolactin (associated with improving the immune system, great sleep and quality of life)
There’s more! For women, a good night’s sleep will increase their sexual desires.
A study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, has revealed that there’s a 14 per cent increase in the likelihood of sex after sleeping the optimal amount, with more sleep associated with better genital arousal.
4: Lowers Your Blood Pressure
A massive benefit of sleeping next to someone you love is that it can help you live a longer life!
It reduces the chances of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases.
Researchers from the University of North California carried out a sleep and intimacy experiment with 59 women.
They asked all participants to diarize their hugs and cuddles, with their oxytocin levels and blood pressure checked on a regular basis.
The findings revealed that those with the highest levels of oxytocin had the lowest blood pressure.
5: Improves Your Immune System
Sharing your bed with your partner is likely to lead to sex which is actually brilliant for your health.
Scientists from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania examined couples who were regularly intimate.
They discovered that sexually active partners were more resistant to common colds and the flu because they produced more antibodies.
Sexual health expert, Yvonne K. Fulbright, summed it up succinctly:
Sexually active people take fewer sick days.
Even cuddling your lover will have you high on oxytocin and will boost your T-regulatory cells, which are key ingredients for keeping your immune system both balanced and strong.
6: Reduces Anxiety
Anxiety can play havoc with your sleep, from preventing you falling asleep in the first place, to making you suffer with a restless night.
Laying beside a loved one is great for your mental health.
The skin-on-skin contact sends signals to your adrenal glands (that sit at the top of your kidneys) to stop producing cortisol.
Touch is a powerful force as groundbreaking research from the University of Virginia demonstrated.
The Assistant Professor of Psychology, James Coan, administered MRIs to 16 married women and warned them that they might experience some type of shock.
The MRI scans indicated that the participants were experiencing anxiety.
When the women held each other’s hands their stress levels decreased, but when they held hands with their husbands, the women became even more relaxed.
And as we learned earlier, sleeping in bed with a partner reduces cortisol and leads to a surge in oxytocin, which also helps to ease worry and fear.
7: Makes Us Happier
You’re more likely to feel happier when you’re physically close to someone and there’s science behind this.
Touching someone releases dopamine and serotonin, both of which can boost your mood and curb depression.
So what’s so special about dopamine and serotonin?
When dopamine, an important chemical messenger to the brain, is released in big amounts it can make you feel pleasure.
Serotonin is sometimes referred to as the “happy chemical” because it contributes to wellbeing and happiness.
Once serotonin has been produced, it can be converted into melatonin by the body.
As neuroscientist Matthew Walker explains in the international bestseller Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, melatonin, sometimes referred to as the ‘hormone of darkness’ as it’s released at nighttime, is important as it influences the sleep/wake cycle.
It’s no wonder you feel on a high when you awake in the morning.
8: Slows down Aging
There’s an easy way to look and feel more youthful which doesn’t involve a stack of cosmetics.
It’s free and just involves you sharing your mattress space with someone.
Quality time together cuddling, and, having sex, can actually take years off you.
Scottish neuropsychologist David Weeks wrote in Secrets of the Superyoung that under these conditions and when you’ve got lower stress levels, your body feels a lot younger – 10 years younger!
9: Improves Relationships
It would seem that couples that sleep in bed together, stay together.
Psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, surveyed 1,000 people to gauge whether snuggling up to someone in bed has any effects on your relationship.
Respondents had to divulge how close they slept to their partner, the quality of their relationship, and rate their personality.
The most popular sleeping positions for the couples involved was laying back-to-back (41%) compared to facing the same way or ‘spooning’ (31%) and facing one another (4%).
The investigation showed that proximity in bed and relationships were interlinked; the closer the couples spent the night, the strong their relationship.
As cited by Harvard University and mentioned in our recent feature on ‘The Benefits of Sleeping Naked‘, skin-to-skin contact helps you to build attachment to your partner.
10: Reduces Inflammation
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh firmly believe that sleeping next to someone reduces cortisol levels.
When this is reduced, so are cytokines, proteins that are involved in inflammation, and can lead to pain.
Don’t get us wrong, inflammation can be a force for good as it helps with the battle against infection and injury.
However, chronic low-level inflammation can also be damaging and has been known to play a part in many cancers, heart diseases, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes and depression.
Next time you’re dreading sharing your duvet with your loved one, in fear that they might hog it, remember it’s going to make you feel great, healthier and happier!
Skin-to-skin contact also helps you build attachment to your partner.
In fact, sleeping naked has many advantages for your health and wellbeing that you can read more about here! | https://www.thegoodbody.com/benefits-of-sleeping-next-to-someone/ |
Physical Therapy Evaluation FAQ's
The Family Advisory Council at Children’s Specialized Hospital is dedicated to collaborating with Hospital leadership and staff - empowering families to provide valuable input toward improving organizational policies and practices.The Council has created the information below to assist in preparing for your visit.
Physical Therapy: Questions Often Asked By Our Families
WHAT IS A PT EVALUATION ALL ABOUT?
Q: Why is my child seeing an Physical Therapist?
A: Your pediatrician or another health care professional may have referred you to a pediatric physical therapist to evaluate your child’s mobility, strength, balance, coordination, and ability to function in their environment. The physical therapist will work closely with you and your family to understand your concerns for your child, partner with you to develop goals and a treatment plan to accomplish those goals.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT DURING MY VISIT?
Q: What will happen during the evaluation?
A: Using a computer, the physical therapist will take a medical history. They will ask questions about your child’s birth, illnesses, medications, development (when they sat, walked etc) and what things your child can do now. You may also be asked to complete a form asking you questions about your child’s abilities. The therapist will do a physical examination, checking the mobility in your child’s joints, posture, muscle strength and will look at how your child functions. Depending on the age of your child the therapist will observe your child rolling, crawling, sitting, walking, running, hopping and throwing and catching a ball. The therapist may use a computer during the evaluation to document their findings.
Q: How long will the evaluation take?
A: The evaluation will take approximately 60-90 minutes.
Q: Will there be time to discuss the findings? If therapy is recommended how long will my child need services?
A: The physical therapist will discuss the initial evaluation findings with you at the end of the evaluation. They will discuss areas for improvement, a plan of care, and suggestions for physical therapy treatment. They will also talk about the plan for discharge when therapy ends.
Q: What is my role during the evaluation?
A: The therapist will ask you questions regarding your child’s medical history, development, areas of concern and what your goals for therapy are. The therapist will let you know if they need any help during the evaluation.
Q: When will I get a report?
A:You should receive a written report within 3 weeks.
WHAT CAN I DO TO BEST PREPARE FOR MY VISIT?
Q: What do I need to bring?
A: Please bring:
- A current photo ID (license)
- Insurance card
- Referral if needed
- Prescription
- School reports
- Prior evaluations
- Name/addresses of individuals you might want the report sent to
- Current list of medications
- Bring any equipment that your child regularly uses
- Many parents also find it helpful to bring a list of questions to ask the therapist
Q: What should my child wear?
A: Please have your child wear loose comfortable clothing and a pair of socks. It may be necessary for the therapist to remove some of your child’s clothing to see how your child breathes or the position of your child’s legs. Children with orthopedic concerns may want to bring a pair of shorts.
Q: Can I bring my other children?
A: If possible, it is recommended that siblings stay home so that the parent can give their undivided attention during the evaluation. Understanding that childcare is sometimes difficult, when bringing siblings, it may be helpful to bring another adult and activities to occupy the siblings during the evaluation.
WILL INSURANCE PAY FOR MY VISITS?
Q: What if therapy is recommended, will my insurance pay for it?
A: Medical coverage will vary, but many health insurance plans cover our services. Please contact your insurance company to verify if your plan offers a benefit for occupational therapy services. If therapy is recommended, our Patient Access Service will obtain authorization for treatment. Once the treatment is approved, you will receive a phone call from our scheduling dept to schedule an appointment for treatment. There is a wait for after school therapy. | https://www.rwjbh.org/childrens-specialized-hospital/patients-visitors/physical-occupational-speech-therapy-resources/physical-therapy-evaluation-faqs/ |
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been shown to impair major life activities including educational functioning. However, there is no consensus on the specific cause for the impact on this worse educational outcome. This systematic review aims to identify factors that have been associated with educational and academic underperformance of children and adolescents with ADHD. A literature search was conducted using PubMed and the PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). The study focused on articles presenting results of data-based analyses related to ADHD and keywords related to education. The search resulted in 376 records that were screened by title. Of these, 185 articles were screened by abstract and 35 met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the review. These 35 articles were related to seven domains: educational training, educational environment, pharmacological treatment, ADHD symptoms, associations of ADHD with academic outcomes, self-concept, and specific skills. The main source of educational challenges seems to be related to the inattentive symptoms (or subtype) of ADHD. This outcome is different than expected, since hyperactive symptoms are pronounced more prominently and often refer children to clinical practice. Inattentive symptoms amongst others refer to difficulties in organization skills and can lead to decreased self-efficacy and development of depressive symptoms. This decreased self-efficacy and the depressive symptoms were also found to be related to influence the relation between ADHD and academic performance. Educational outcomes were shown to be improved using small group work, learning via a computer-based service and as a result of coaching and pharmacological treatment. To help children and adults achieve educational goals that now are out of reach, more attention should be spent to the inattentive symptoms of ADHD and possibilities to overcome experienced problems.
Keywords
ADHD, Education, Academic Performance, PRISMA
Share and Cite:
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
References
Copyright © 2022 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. | https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=53918 |
The Society of Architectural Historians is establishing the SAHARA Travel Fellowship to document the global built environment for teaching and research. Since 2008 SAH has developed the SAHARA image archive, and we are positioning it to grow into an encyclopedic online image archive. To support this effort, SAH invites its current members to apply for the 2012 SAHARA Travel Fellowship. Awardees will take a suite of new digital photographs and/or panoramic photographs of buildings, urban settings and cultural landscapes that the recipient will upload and share through SAHARA. The SAHARA Travel Fellowship will provide reimbursement for three awardees: up to $500 for one recipient and up to $1,000 for two recipients, for travel anywhere in the world. Awardees will be expected to upload a minimum of 200 or 400 new, original digital images to SAHARA, respectively. These fellowships are open to all who are current members of SAH. All are welcome to apply including undergraduates, graduate students, scholars, architects, historic preservationists, librarians, visual resources professionals, and those who choose architectural history as their avocation. Team applications are welcome, but all applicants must be SAH members.
Amount: Check funder
Deadline: Check deadline
Funder: Society of Architectural Historians
Discipline:
Duration:
Award Type:
Degree:
Stage of Study:
International Travel:
Citizenship: International, U.S. Citizen
Activity: | https://gradfund.rutgers.edu/awards/sahara-travel-fellowships/ |
AP US History
"America"
by Brian Lande
I have been watching the videos "America: The New Found Land and America: Home Away From Home", which are part one and two of a 13 episode educational series on American history that is produced by BBC and narrated by Alistair Cooke. Originally a British citizen, Alistair Cooke gained a deep understanding about the US, his adopted country, from being a major news correspondent for over 20 years. Using video footage, pictures and historical sites, Mr. Cooke reveals a broad and fresh look into American history, beginning with the first people to arrive on the North American continent, up until the present day. Parts one and two cover the pre-history of America until the early 1700's. Unlike most historical documentaries that can be dull, Alistair Cooke gives his personnel opinions,adds some humor to American history and uses colorful analogies to make "America" an exceedingly engaging series. He presents a great deal of superb information from the British point of view that was new to me. You will learn more about how small events in American history have indirectly affected some of the major events in our country's history.
"Gettysburg"
by Brian Lande
"Gettysburg" directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, is a movie about the most famous Civil War battle of Gettysburg. It was difficult for me to determine one major theme in this movie which made it hard for me to see what message the movie was trying to convey, so it became boring or confusing.The theme was probably was about leadership. In "Gettysburg" you see good and poor leadership and the consequences of having poor leadership. Leadership is found in all the men in the movie and so it is displayed in many different forms. This movie made me think about why the Confederates wanted to leave the Union. From watching "Gettysburg" I began to see that the Civil War was very much like the American Revolution in several ways. The South felt that it was being repressed by an unfair government who did not share its beliefs. In this way the North, because of its large population compared to the South's few, did not allow fair representation in the House of Representatives and occasionally in the Senate. The North having policies against slavery tried to impose them on the south. This was very similar to Britain imposing its policies on the American colonies. The South also felt that because they had different beliefs and customs than the North, that they should be allowed to leave the Union. When the Union did not allow peaceful succession of the Southern states, the North sent its armies to forcefully bring the Southern states back into the Union. To the South this was an invasion by a foreign country. This was a new concept for me. If it had not been for "Gettysburg" I I'm not sure that I would have realized or learned from a book that the South felt that it was being invaded. My favorite parts of the movie were the Battle of Gettysburg reenactments. These reenactment were very real and well coordinated and, if I might add, very exciting!
Development of American Political and Governmental Theories
by Brian Lande
Colonists development of a theory of political independence and government was based on recurring crises beginning after 1763 during the aftermath of the French and Indian War. Though there were many events that lead to the development of a theory for political independence and government, taxation and trade regulations and other unfair laws were the main reasons for its development.
British laws enacted to tax and regulate trade in the American colonies which had the most visible influence on the development of an American theory of political independence and government were, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Act, the Quartering Act, unfair trade laws, and enforcement of the Navigation Acts. Many of these laws were seen as harsh and unfair since the American colonies did not have representation (only "virtual representation)" in the English parliament, thus not allowing them their right as English citizens to have a voice in the Parliament.
The Stamp Act put a hefty tax on many paper goods. The Townshend Act put a tax on lead, glass, paint, and other colonial exports. These laws lead to a great distrust of the government to levy taxes and lead to the theory that taxes should only be levied with the consent of the people. Under the Articles of Confederation, this theory was put into practice, and the states forbade the Congress to levy taxes ( only request taxes) without the consent of the states.
The Navigation acts which were first enacted in the 1650's to restrict trade, were now being enforced after the French and Indian War so as to lift Britain out war debts. Laws against the manufacturing of goods in the colonies along with laws that restricted trade with other countries were put into effect.
Another trade law that was enacted gave a monopoly on the tea trade to the British West Indies Company which was on the verge of collapse. In order to keep the British West Indies Company alive duties on shipments of tea to and from the American colonies were lowered to almost nothing. This lowered the price of the teas so much that it had no competition from other tea providers in the American colonies and foreign traders, thus, putting many smaller tea companies out of business and allowing for a monopoly on the tea trade. These trade laws encouraged the idea that trade should be regulated by the states and not by a central government which could grant favors. Thus under the Articles of Confederation the Congress was not allowed to regulate trade, only the states.
The Quartering Act was another law that influenced American colonists theories on independence and government. The Quartering Act allowed for British troops in the American Colonies to be boarded in colonists' homes while the legislature had to provide funds to maintain the British troops. This angered many colonists who now had to pay higher taxes to provide funds to maintain British troops and board them in their homes. The Boston Tea Party which is unrelated to the Quartering Act was another example of the use of British Troops which angered the American colonists. British Troops were sent to Massachusetts to keep order, but when a mob of colonists surrounded a garrison of troops they got skittish and when somebody yelled fire the troops fired into the mob killing six colonists. This bred a great distrust of large centrally operated standing armies.
All of these laws and regulations lead not only to the theory of political independence and government but to the Revolutionary War which freed the American colonies so that they could put their theories into effect. The Articles of Confederation was ultimately the result of the American theories of political independence and government.
Similar Problems of Rule Under the British and the Articles of Confederation
Brian Lande
Taxation, trade and the military are important to all governments and their people. During 1763-1776 they were issues between the American colonies and England. Between the period of 1780-1789 they were an issue between the American states and the federal government under the Articles of Confederation.
Taxation was the main issue of the years of 1763-1776. The British, after fighting in the French and Indian War were in need of money to pay its debts. Since they had fought to protect the American colonies, they decided to tax the American colonies to pay for their debt. The thought of being used as a source of revenue and not treated as members of the British Empire outraged many of the American colonists. In protest of what they thought of as unfair laws, the colonists resisted any attempt to be taxed, so long as they were not allowed fair representation in the English Parliament.
The Sugar Act of 1764 put a tax on sugar, textiles, and other goods. A year later the Stamp Act of 1765 put a tax on all legal documents, newspapers and playing cards. Then in 1767 The Townshend Acts were put into effect to tax iron, lead, glass and other manufactured goods in the colonies. Colonist were angered over these new taxes, which they thought were too heavy and were levied without their consent.
Another issue present was that of trade. England, not wanting its colonies to trade with its enemies of France and Spain, enacted laws to make trade hard between the colonies and other countries. In 1650, a series of laws called the Navigation Acts came into effect, though they were not fully enforced until after the French and Indian War. Restrictions on the trade of certain items made business hard for many of the merchants who relied on the French and other foreign countries for the success of their business. Restrictions on what could be manufactured in the colonies also angered merchants, since they were not allowed to produce certain items in the colonies any longer. This also put many small business out of business. Heavy tariffs on colonial goods and imports form other countries made trade difficult and led many Americans colonists to believe that Britain was deliberately trying to hurt the colonial economy.
The military was another rough spot in the relations with Britain and the American colonies. Specifically it was the British troops in the American colonies during a time of peace, that was a problem. The British thought it was only logical to keep troops in America for the protection of their colonies. The British thought it only fair that since they were doing such a large favor for the colonies, that the American colonists would not mind providing the provisions needed to care for the troops sent to protect them. What the British didn't count on was that there would be such large opposition to quartering troops in colonists homes. That troops had to stay in colonists homes was not the only problem. The colonial legislature also had to raise taxes to pay for all the troops provisions. The colonies wanted the troops to be gone since they thought themselves perfectly capable of providing themselves with their own protection, using their own militias.
As between the American colonists and the British, the Congress under the Articles of Confederation had problems with taxation. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress did not have the authority to collect taxes: only request funds from the states. Even then, the states were not motivated to always donate as much money to the Congress as they promised. This meant that the Congress did not have enough money to run a government or pay its bills. In America there was no strong central government to demand that taxes be paid. Taxes could only be collected with the consent of the people and state, thus leaving the American government constantly in debt. There were several attempts to collect taxes from the states, but all failed. Trying to solve the tax problems of 1763-1776 by requesting taxes instead of demanding them, the Congress found that the states were as unwilling to pay taxes now as they were during British rule.
Congress also lacked the power to regulate trade among the states and foreign countries. Results of this were that states taxed each other's products, quarreled over navigation rights on rivers that served as boundaries between them, and set up their own systems of tariffs on foreign imports. Foreign nations refused to negotiate commercial agreements with the federal government, because it was unable to enforce them. The Congress too had attempted to solve the problem of strict trade regulations that were in place during the years of colonial rule, by letting the states regulate trade. Several times the Congress tried to regulate trade, but many of the states were stubborn and unwilling to change their trade laws if they wouldn't profit from them.
The quartering of British troops in colonists' homes bred a great distrust of standing armies, and so the Articles of Confederation tried to solve the problem of having a standing army. It's solution was for the states to have their own militias and for the Congress not to be allowed to raise an army. Of course, this meant that there was no central training or unified army that could be operated by one government, instead of by many different state governments.
Many of the problems of taxation, trade and the military were solved when the U.S. Constitution was written in 1789. But even today there are still many problems over trade wars with other countries, military intervention, and questions over taxing. Taxes, trade and the military are all problems we continue to deal with in our county today and will most likely continue to do so in the future.
English Oppression: The Reason for Colonial Settlement?
by Brian Lande
Though the majority of the American colonies were settled to escape oppression in England, this was not the sole reason for colonization. The first colonies were settled by merchants from England who were eager to get rich fast by finding gold in the New World. Other colonies were settled by noblemen who were granted the right to set up colonies for their own purposes. However, many of the rest of the colonies were indeed set up to escape oppression in England.
The London Company (later to become the Virginia Company) was granted the right to settle in the New World and in 1607, a group of merchants planted the first permanent English colony in America called Jamestown. For the first few years, Jamestown was a failure. No homes were built nor were crops started to insure survival. Everyone was too busy looking for gold, but Captain John Smith's leadership eventually saved the colony from starvation. In 1609, Smith was injured and sent back to England. While he was away, the colony almost perished without his leadership and the winter was called the "starving time". For several years settlers were just employees of the London Company and they had no land to cultivate. Under the governorship of Sir Thomas Dale, this changed and he gave every man tracts of land as tenet farmers. This stimulated agriculture enough for them to enjoy the fruits (and, of course, the vegetables!) of their labor. Another factor that contributed to the newly found success of tJamestown was tobacco, which had become very popular in England and made tobacco farmers rich.
In New England, the main reason for settlement was to escape religious oppression in England. In December, 1620, a group of separatists called Pilgrims, arrived on the coast of New England. They had arrived in America to start a new colony where they could be separate from the Church of England and worship as they pleased. In 1628, a group of settlers known as the Puritans arrived in Salem, New England and set up the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Like the separatist Pilgrims, the Puritans came to the New World to escape religious persecution in England. The Puritans tried to reform the Church of England and purify it. The Church, not liking to be changed or criticized, made life hard for the Puritans and eventually forced them to seek refuge in America. The harsh laws enforced against the critics of the church led to the "Great Migration". In the next decade or so, 20,000 Puritans fled England for New England. The Puritan Church became the official church of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and everyone was compelled to support it or face banishment. Many Puritans were dissatisfied with the Bay Colony and sought new homes in the wilderness. In 1635, a small group of settlers, led by Thomas Hooker, settled Hartford, Connecticut. Other settlements that were established were Whethersfield and Windsor. In 1639, Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor joined together to became a unified government. Another Puritan dissatisfied with the Bay Colony was Roger Williams. He was a Puritan minister who believed in freedom of religion and was thus exiled from the Bay Colony by church and government officials. After leaving the Bay Colony, Roger Williams bought land and founded the Rhode Island colony in 1636. Under his leadership, Rhode Island allowed religious freedom and the separation of church and state. This attracted people of all faiths to Rhode Island.
Maryland was established by Lord Baltimore l and Lord Baltimore ll to provide religious freedom for Catholics. Although Maryland was settled to be a haven for Catholics, all religious denominations were welcomed with open arms. Puritans from England and the American colonies migrated to Maryland along with Presbyterians, Jews and Anglicans. Soon, Protestants (Puritans) outnumbered Catholics and so Lord Baltimore ll brought the Toleration Acts into effect. This Law provided that all Christian denominations could worship as they wished.
The Carolinas were settled, not to escape religious oppression, but because charters were given to eight noblemen to settle the Carolinas as they wished. North Carolina was a prosperous farming colony that attracted, Germans, Scots, Anglicans, French, Huguenots and Quakers.
Another settlement that was not settled because of English oppression was New York, formerly New Netherlands. The Dutch presence in America had irritated England for years. They saw New Netherlands as part of their claim to their North American claim, based on John Cabot's exploration. New Netherlands also separated the Southern Colonies from New England and violated English trade laws by trading extensively with American Colonies. New Amsterdam, which was part of New Netherlands, controlled an important and strategic harbor, that was also the finest on the east coast. So, in 1664, an English fleet sailed into New Amsterdam and ordered the colony to surrender to British rule. In honor of the Duke of York, New Amsterdam's name was changed to New York.
Quakers were a break-off of the Protestants and were persecuted by the Protestants in most of the colonies, and in Britain by the Church of England. William Penn was a Quaker and the son of a wealthy English admiral who was owed a debt by King Charles ll. When Admiral Penn died, the debt that was owed to him passed down to his son. Penn asked for a grant of land that became Pennsylvania. Penn planned a colony where there would be religious freedom and people of all races could live in peace. Pennsylvania was also one of the last colonies to be set up for religious purposes.
Georgia was the last of the thirteen colonies to be settled and was settled because of economic oppression. James Oglethrope wanted to settle a colony that would serve as a refuge for imprisoned debtors who wished to start anew in the New World. The colony also tried to stop Spanish expansion from Florida. Few ex-prisoners actually came from England, but many poverty-stricken people from the British Isles came to Georgia. The government of Georgia tried to set out fair laws about sharing land and about slavery. Unfortunately, the colonists disagreed with the government of Georgia and had the laws against slavery and land ownership repealed.
Though English oppression was the main reason for colonial settlement, it was not the only reason. Economic opportunity, grants of land, and territorial expansion were other reasons for settling the American colonies. For the first hundred or so years after the first settlement, escaping oppression in England was the primary reason to settle in the American colonies. It was not until Later in the later in 17th and the 18th centuries that economic resources were being tapped throughout the colonies.
The Importance of Theology and Politics In the 17th and 18th Century
Brian Lande
Theology and politics were both important in the 17th and 18th centuries, though each one played notable parts at different times. In the formative years of the 17th century, the search for freedom to practice religious beliefs was one of the predominant reasons that the American colonies were settled.
In 1620, the Plymouth Colony was settled by English separatists, or those that wanted to leave the Church of England. Then, in 1628, the Puritans settled the Massachusetts Bay colony to escape religious persecution in Britain. Puritans believed that the Church of England was becoming corrupt, so they endeavored to purify the Church of England and hence their name. The Church of England, not liking to be criticized, made life hard for the Puritans, forcing them to leave England for America where they could worship as they pleased. Once in America, the Puritans enacted their own harsh laws for violations of any of their numerous religious or social rules. Some of these laws were so harsh that if a colonist violated or disagreed with the church or the many social laws, and was not of the same Christian denomination he could be evicted from the settlement and left to starve. Roger Williams was a Puritan minister who believed in freedom of religion and, because of his beliefs, was exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony by church and government officials. A few years later, Roger Williams bought land and founded the Providence colony in 1636, which later became Rhode Island. Rhode Island, under Roger Williams, allowed religious freedom and the separation of church and state. The government was no longer allowed to pass laws about religious liberty. As a consequence, Rhode Island attracted people of all faiths.
Lord Baltimore, a Catholic and a friend of King Charles l, obtained a tract of land to found a haven for Catholics who were being persecuted in England. The first Lord Baltimore died shortly after receiving the grant and so the grant for land went to his son, the second Lord Baltimore. In 1634 a settlement was established in Maryland. Although Maryland was set up for Catholics, there was toleration for all Christian denominations. People from the American colonies and England soon started migrating to Maryland. Soon Protestants outnumbered Catholics. To prevent any religious conflicts and discrimination against Catholics, Lord Baltimore, in 1649, had the Toleration Act passed. This provided that all Christians may worship as they please.
Quakers were a break-off of the Protestants. Because the Quakers believed salvation came from seeing the inner-light, they saw no need for formal churches or ceremonies and, because of this, were persecuted by the Protestants in most of the colonies and in Britain by the Church of England. William Penn was an idealistic Quaker and the son of a wealthy English Admiral who was owed a debt by King Charles ll. When Admiral Penn died, the debt that was owed to him passed down to his son. Instead of money, Penn asked for a grant of land that became Pennsylvania. Penn planned a colony where all creeds and nationalities could live together with religious freedom and in peace. Pennsylvania was also one of the last colonies to be set up for religious purposes.
The reason that politics played a more important role in the 18th century than the 17th century was that by the 18th century, the American Colonies and their governments and religious principles had been established well enough for England to begin to exert its power. In the mid 1600's, political issues started to play there part in colonial history. Politics though did not have much of an effect on colonies until later in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In the 1650's, a series of trade laws called the Navigation Acts, came into effect. Basically these laws stated that: (1) No goods could be shipped from the colonies except on English ships. (2) Certain goods could only be sold to England. (3) Goods being sent to other colonies must first be sent to England where a duty could be collected and then shipped back to the colonies aboard an English ship. Another law that came into effect was the Molasses Act , which placed a heavy duty on all sugar goods imported from the French West Indies. Laws were then put into effect that regulated manufacturing in the Colonies such as the Woolen Act of 1699, which forbade the export of woolen goods, and the Hat Act of 1732 which banned the export of beaver hats. In 1750, the Iron Act was passed. This prohibited the manufacture of iron products in the American colonies.
England was too busy with wars to bother to enforce their laws that were imposed on the American colonies. Most of these laws were thus ignored by the colonies and smuggling became big business. After the French and Indian War, things changed. England now had time to focus on the American colonies. Since the American colonies had benefited from the French and Indian War, England decided that the American colonies should help pay for the cost of the war that faced England with a debt. Furthermore, England had to maintain a large army in the American colonies to ward off Indians. In order to pay for the great expense of maintaining its army, England decided to start enforcing its laws and to add new tax laws. Through the Writs of Assistance, England began enforcing laws to stop smuggling between its colonies and other countries.
The new acts and taxes that England was about to levy outraged the American colonies, creating a great political fever that would eventually lead to the Revolutionary War. Politics, by the 1760's had become a major part of Colonial life, as seen through the many new laws and social problems.
The first major law imposed by the British Parliament was the Quartering Act of 1765. This act stated that the colonial legislatures must provide shelter, funds and supplies to meet the expense of keeping troops in America. The colonists of America were outraged by this. They saw no reason why they had to support an army in a time of peace. This law is what may have lead to the Third Amendment that states, "No soldier shall, in a time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law." Later that same year, another Act was passed that affected everyone in the American Colonies--the Stamp Act. This law placed a tax on all legal documents, newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets and playing cards. Since this law affected everyone, it stirred up a ruckus in America. Patriotic societies such as the Sons of Liberty were organized to resist taxes. Tax collectors were mobbed in the streets by colonists who wished to resist the new law. Merchants vowed to stop importing British goods and products and the colonists boycotted British products. This widespread political outrage and boycotting finally forced the repeal of the Stamp Act.
Charles Townshend was responsible for passing the Townshend Acts of 1767. This law put duties on colonial imports of glass, lead, tea, paint and paper. The money earned from these taxes was used to pay for colonial officials such as governors. Before the Townshend Act, it was the local legislatures determined the income of governors and other British officials. Under Samuel Adams, the Massachusetts legislature urged the colonies to resist British taxes. Colonists responded to this with another effective boycott of British products, which led to another repeal of all of the Townshend Acts except for one on tea.
In 1770, tension increased between colonists in Boston and the Redcoats (British Soldiers). Just before the Townshend Acts were repealed an angry mob of colonists shouted insults and taunted British Redcoats. When the mob started to throw snow and rocks at the Redcoats, they got skittish and then when someone in the crowd yelled fire!, the soldiers thought they were being ordered to in defend themselves and they opened fire with their rifles, killing six civilians. In reaction to this, Samuel Adams demanded that all British troops be withdrawn from the city. Fearing revolt, Britain temporarily pulled all of its soldiers out of Massachusetts.
The Tea Act of 1773, gave a monopoly on the tea trade to the British East Indies Company. The new law reduced the duty the company had to pay when shipping its products to America which made their tea cheap. This lowered the price of tea and gave the British East Indies Company an advantage over companies that had to keep their tea at higher prices in order to pay for the duties. To show their anger for allowing a monopoly, colonists let tea from the British East Indies Company rot in warehouses. The Boston Tea Party took place on the night of Dec. 16, 1773, with Bostonians dressed as Indians who threw thousands of pounds of tea from merchant boats into the sea. The British Parliament then voted in the Intolerable Acts of 1774 to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts closed ports in Boston, revoking the colonists rights as English citizens. They also deprived many Massachusetts citizens of the right to vote and tried criminals (not in the colonies, but in England) without an impartial jury. This law may have lead to other Constitutional Amendments such as the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments. Along with other laws, these acts led to the Revolutionary War. If Britain had not been so ignorant of the colonial view of government, they would not have had to fight the Revolutionary War and the American Colonies most likely would have been granted their Independence from Britain as Canada did.
Thus religion played a much larger part in the 17th century than in the 18th century, when Europeans had wished to migrate to the American colonies so that they might worship as they pleased. Later, in the 18th century, after religious rights and colonial government were well established, laws, unfair taxes and different political beliefs caused politics to play a larger part in colonial life than it did in the 17th century. | http://windycreek.com/apushistoryessays.html |
This book is an attempt to analyse global administrative law through the elaboration and examination of a number of different cases and case-studies. The architecture of its contents mirrors the characteristics of this field. In order to fully grasp global administrative law, however, it is important also to have a sound understanding of the broader governance context in which it is situated. This volume attempts to provide this also.
The first chapter (States and Global Administrations in Context) examines the emergence of administrative law beyond the State and the rise of global administration. On one hand, it focuses on the notion of the State and the implications for this of the formation of a global administrative space. Topics analysed include the concept of “the State” in a globalized world; the application of this concept to the Palestinian case; and the rise of the global regulatory State in the South. On the other hand, it deals with the proliferation and differentiation of IOs, offering a classification of global institutions into four different types: formal intergovernmental organizations (e.g., the UN, WIPO, UNESCO, WHO, ILO, UNICEF, IOM, or even ASEAN); hybrid public-private organizations and private bodies exercising public functions (e.g. ICANN, the WADA, ISO, or the Global Fund); transgovernmental and transnational networks (such as the G-8, the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) ASEAN International Investment Agreements, or the Basel Committee); complex forms of governance, such as hybrid, multi-level or informal global regulatory regimes (e.g. global and national proceedings under the International Patent Cooperation Treaty, decision-making procedures in fisheries governance, the composite interaction of UNESCO advisory bodies in the World Heritage Convention, or the clean development mechanism).
The second chapter (Global Standards) addresses one of the most important activities of global administrative bodies: standard-setting. Global standards are generally addressed to national governments; this does not, however, mean that private parties are not affected by them. For example, the food that we eat is subject worldwide to the standards of the above-mentioned Codex Alimentarius Commission. The standards established by the Forced Labour Convention (1930) are addressed to national governments, but also affect private individuals. Such standards provide a clear example of the spread of global regulatory regimes, and of the ways in which they interconnect; in addition, they illustrate well the various kinds of interactions between the global and domestic levels. These standards can be set either by private bodies (as happens, for example, in the accounting sector) or by formal IGOs (such as the labour standards approved by the ILO); they can be considered either as regulatory devices (e.g., international accounting standard setting, the ICAO Standards, or the IAEA standards) a technology of global governance (as in the cases of the PISA Rankings in educational performance, the Rule of Law Index or quality standards for pharmaceuticals) or both (as in the case of credit ratings).
Analysing, this time, the activity of global administrative bodies, the contributions in chapter three (Global Administrative Law Principles) illustrate the increasing spread of principles established by global actors and/or global norms, which must be respected within national administrative procedures. The main examples can be found within the WTO system, such as the duty to disclose information (here dealt with in relation to antidumping duties) the duty to give reasons (definitive safeguard measures) and transparency (subsidies and countervailing measures). Other important principles in the global context include legality (as demonstrated by the Compliance Committee of the Aarhus Convention) reasonableness and proportionality (applied by the NAFTA Binational Panel) and the review of discretionary power (as with, for example, the resolution of disputes relating to bilateral investment treaties by ICSID arbitration panels). A central focus of many contributions is also on participatory rights: many global bodies, such as the ITLOS, the World Bank Inspection Panel, and the World Bank Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) have relied – albeit in different ways – upon principles of participation and due process.
In connection with the increasing activities of IOs there is another issue of real significance: the enforcement of global decisions, whether “administrative” or “judicial” in nature. From this perspective, chapter four (The Enforcement of Global Decisions) focuses on five examples that highlight the difficulties that might be encountered in the implementation of such decisions, which can, in some circumstances, result in some global norms or findings being only partially or ambiguously enforced.
Chapter five (Judicial Globalization) considers another fundamental topic in contemporary global governance: the rise of judicial globalization. Since the 1990s, the number of international courts and tribunals has grown rapidly. Previously, there were only a handful of operative international courts; in the last fifteen years, however more than twenty new permanent adjudicative mechanisms – and quasi-judicial bodies – have been established. One of the most important global dispute settlement bodies is that of the WTO, reflected in the attention it receives in various contributions to this volume This chapter, however, broadens this focus significantly, analyzing other examples of courts or quasi-judicial bodies, such the international administrative tribunals, the ITLOS, ICSID arbitral tribunals, and the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms created by the ICANN. Lastly, the impact of human rights law – namely of the European Convention of Human Rights and its Court – on supranational regimes is also considered.
The presence of many sectoral regimes, however, does not only give rise to various forms of cooperation or interaction; it also creates conflict. This happens, in particular, when separate jurisdictions reciprocally overlap, as is brought out in the four examples presented in chapter six (Conflicting Jurisdictions), dealing with the relations between global law and EU law, the Schengen Information System, the governance of cyberspace, and the international antitrust regime, respectively. Furthermore, these conflicts can often play out before global or national courts.
Within the many functions performed by IOs and their regimes, one of the most significant is the promotion of democracy through different means. This is why chapter seven (Global Dimensions of Democracy) examines global dimensions of democracy, by taking into account four different perspectives: promoting democracy and human rights globally, such as the case of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) the OAS, and the Foreign Aid Standards and the Electoral Democratic Standards elaborated by the Venice Commission; civil society and multinational corporations, such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to Responsible Business Conduct; the media, in cases relating to internet censorship and to Wikileaks; and global security, examining, for example, the reconstruction of Iraq and the limits on the use of force.
As noted above, alongside global institutions and global regulatory regimes, a range of different regional organizations have emerged. Amongst these, the EU represents undoubtedly the most legally sophisticated example of integration. Chapter eight (Europe in the Global Space), therefore, examines the significance of Europe in the global legal space. To this end, several cases are examined, such as the EU’s external action after the Lisbon Treaty, the EU comitology reform, the relationship between the EU and the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, the European System of Financial Supervision, the Data Protection Directive as a model for global regimes, and the interactions between EU and global administrative law more generally.
The whole text of the GAL Casebook in Kindle Format is available here. | https://www.irpa.eu/pubblicazione/global-administrative-law-the-casebook-2/ |
“Blue-winged Pittas (Pitta moluccensis) are monotypic. They have no sub-species under their own category; thus making themselves known to be superspecies.
“Their nearest cousins that wear same colour coat of plumages – black, buff to brown, green, blue, white and red – are the Mangrove Pitta (Pitta megarhyncha), Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha) and Indian Pitta (Pitta brachyura). What set them apart are the subtle, varying degrees of colour and design patterns located in their multicolour, feathered anatomy.
“Blue-winged Pittas are known to be generally accepted as monomorphic – where males and females are indistinguishable in plumages. However, to be more accurate, there will always as nature puts it – ‘no two leaves are totally identical’. So too… of these birds if we care to explore deeper and further. This makes each bird and specimen in the wild unique in its own.
“Under scrutiny – in the hands of scientists – they have documented some interesting and statistical obvious differences in their primary web feathers to determine the sex of the birds.
“Attached to the carpometacarpus and digits are the primary winged feathers of Blue-winged Pitta. It is only in flight that the signatory, white window patch is observed on its primaries.
“At most times, when bird is on ground or perched, the wings are in folding position. Occasionally, some white colour of the webs peeped out, sometimes they don’t (below left).
“A good illustration of wing feathers in field guide books has it that the primary feathers are made up of ten webbed feathers.
“I like Ben King’s Birds of Southeast Asia’s clear illustration of counting the primaries from inner to outer leading edge of the wing to read as from P1 to P10 (Primary feather No. 1-10).
“Based on scientific findings, it concludes that 92% of birds with white markings on outer web of P10 are MALE birds. A minimum of 86% birds without white on P10 are FEMALES and the window patch is averagely smaller than the male.
“So, let’s get real. When do we get to see and count those feathers when these wild birds are on ground or perched?
“Let’s visit their roosting and breeding grounds for a rare opportunity to observe them from a distance, behind the smoke screen, into their private realm and enjoy the colourful vibrancy of these ground dwelling gems.
“Here, a male bird was observed to wing stretch in comfort position displaying most of its primaries in the course of post preening. Caught in this rare shot, the primary feathers revealed full extent of the white, window patch (above right).
“This enlarged image shows primary feather P10 and clarity of feather webs and shafts of the male (above left).
“A side view and rare shot of another male taken during the breeding season, where his right wing hung low to enable counting of the ten primary feathers (above right).
“What made the bird to lax his wing, caught off guard which under normal circumstance and in predatory alertness would keep its wings tight and close to its flanks in preparedness for flight?
“The answer is of course shown in this rear image pose. The male bird, unaware of my presence, had other important matters in beak to deal with and to think about (left)!
“I will do no justice to the female bird for not showcasing its wing plumage for a comparison with the male. For that, I had to recall a breeding pair of Blue-winged Pitta 1st photographed seven years ago on 27th June 2006, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia.
“The male is shown here (below left). The female is shown here (below right).
“There must have been hundreds into the thousands of photographs taken of this pair by the many photographers from different places taken, when news of pitta nesting broke like wild fire. But… how many knew the sex of those birds they clicked away into storage then?
“When and what else would one be able to tell the sex apart… but only during the small window of opportunity during their courting period.
“For this, readers will need to follow me into the next exciting phase…. into the breeding moments of the Blue-winged Pitta on mainland Penang, Peninsula Malaysia.
“See you soon…”
Avian Writer Daisy O’Neill
Penang, Malaysia
29th September 2013
Copyright article and all copy images – Courtesy of Daisy O’Neill Bird Conservation Fund
Reference: | https://besgroup.org/2013/10/11/%C2%A9-my-odyssey-with-blue-winged-pittas-part-5-plumage-sexing/ |
Findings of Rare and Endemic Plant Species of the Maya River (Southeastern Yakutia) Valley
Nikolaeva O.A.
Data about new floristic findings of rare species in the Maya River valley (South-Eastern Yakutia) are presented. New locations of rare species of the sorts Spiraea – S. humilisPojark and S. sericeaTurcz., endemic to the River Aldan basin RumexjacutensisKom., and also endemic to the mountains of the North-East SaxifragalasteaTurcz. are found. A detailed description of the phytocenotic ambiance of the species, dates of collection, phenologicalphase, category of curiosity, ecology and biology, general distribution, as well as the image material and a map of the distribution of rare and endemic species in the studied area are given.
Key words: Rosaceae, Spireae, Rumex, Saxifraga, endemic, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Ust-Maya, Maya, Yudoma. | http://no.ysn.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1485:findings-of-rare-and-endemic-plant-species-of-the-maya-river-southeastern-yakutia-valley&catid=418&Itemid=176&lang=en |
The virtuality continuum describes the degrees of positive virtuality under the umbrella term mixed reality. Besides adding virtual information within a mixed environment, diminished reality aims at reducing real world information. Mann defined the term mediated reality (MR), which also considered diminished reality, but without the possibility to describe different degrees of fusion between a mixed and a diminished reality. That is why this work defines the new term blending entropy that captures the relations between a mixed and a diminished reality. The blending entropy is based on the information density of the mediated reality and the actual area the user has to comprehend, which is named perceptual frustum. We describe the blending entropy’s two-dimensional dependencies and detail important points in the blending entropy’s space.
1 Definition of the Blending Entropy
In information theory, entropy is the average information within a message. In a MR, entropy can be viewed as the total of any information perceived by the user. The blending entropy is characterized by the entropy density and the perceptual frustum as illustrated in Figure 1.
1.1 Entropy Density
The information density or entropy density of an environment depends on the number and kind of physical objects and other visible information such as text, speech and haptic. The blending of the realities as defined in the virtuality continuum fuses these entropy densities. Mann called it MR if this mixture can lead to a diminished reality. There is no clear concept yet that defines the stages between diminished and mixed reality. That is why the new term blending entropy is introduced.
The lower limit of entropy density is a reality with an entropy density of zero. The user that interacts in such a void reality would receive no information or knowledge. This void reality could be an environment that just consists of emptiness. Decreasing the entropy density in relation to the equilibrated reality leads to the diminished reality (DR), which aims at removing real-world objects unnoticeably, i.e, reducing the entropy density of the real world.
The mixed reality comprises a larger entropy density than the equilibrated reality, since its goal is usually to add valuable information to the real- or virtual environment. The upper limit of the entropy density raises the uncertainty to a maximum, i.e., the environment only comprises independent and dense information. Such an environment can be accomplished by combining the real with (multiple) virtual realities into a multiversed reality. This definition of a multiversed reality motivates the importance of the term blending entropy. A multiversed reality would overwhelm the user’s mind, i.e., the user would not be able to interact and reasonably process the information regardless of the size of the perceptual frustum. This is also called information overload and describes the overmuch processing of information . This issue can be addressed via the blending entropy. For instance, minimizing the blending entropy circumvents an information overload, which can be achieved by reducing the entropy density or the perceptual frustum.
1.2 Perceptual Frustum
The perceptual frustum is similar to the field of regard, but the perceptual frustum is dynamic. It depends on the situation and the spatial distribution of the necessary information. If the user has to be aware of information distributed in a vast environment for a certain task or purpose, the perceptual frustum is large. When compressing the required information into a small space, the perceptual frustum is tiny.
The largest perceptual frustum is dubbed “god-like”. It expresses a (theoretical) perceptual frustum that requires the user to concurrently access the total information of the world. In the work of Stafford et al. , a “god-like” user tagged navigation clues on a tabletop for a user that received them in the real world via augmented reality (AR). This work is close to but still different from a “god-like” perceptual frustum, since the “god-like” user just focused on a single person and it was not necessary to conceive the whole reality.
A perceptual frustum smaller than the “god-like” one is an omnidirectional perceptual frustum. The difference to “god-like” is that only the immediate environment of the virtual avatar or the person has to be comprehended and it is not necessary to consider multiple places of the world. Reducing the size of the perceptual frustum even further results in a tunnel-like perceptual frustum, which presents the necessary information right in front of the user. The ParaFrustum proposed by Sukan et al. is a practicable example of a tunnel-like perceptual frustum. The ParaFrustum did not add further expert knowledge but it guided the user’s view to the important parts of the current manual step.
The smallest (theoretical) perceptual frustum is a point-like spot. A scenario of a user that has to press a lone button depending on the augmentation would comply to a point-like perceptual frustum. A study by Marner et al. is close to such a perceptual frustum. Here, the users pressed buttons sequentially according to spatial AR cues.
1.3 Blending Entropy
Finally, the blending entropy is the integration of the entropy density along the perceptual frustum. It holds the information of the joint realities that have to be perceived by the user. An increased or decreased blending entropy states that more or less information has to be processed by the user, respectively. The dotted line in Figure 1 illustrates the direction of raising blending entropy. In consequence, the largest blending entropy exists for a multiversed reality with a “god-like” perceptual frustum.
1.4 Equilibrated Reality
It is important to note that the origin of the blending entropy is defined by the entropies of the extrema of the virtuality continuum, i.e., the real or virtual environments. A blending entropy of zero is called equilibrated reality. Here, the entropy density and the perceptual frustum of either the purely real or the purely virtual environments is identical to the density and the frustum of the equilibrated reality. Therefore, the equilibrated reality shares the same perceptual frustum and information density than the unmixed environments but it still consists of a modulated environment. Thus, the equilibrated reality can simply be described as a modulated reality that shares the identical information complexity as the purely virtual or real environments.
2 Examples
One of the goals of this work is to link mixed and diminished reality within a single representation. Mixed reality typically describes techniques and applications that advance the reality. The extension of the realities occurs for both extrema of the virtuality continuum. On the one hand, physical objects enhance the virtual reality, which is known as augmented virtuality . On the other hand, virtual objects are integrated into the real world, i.e., AR. In every case, additional knowledge or material complements the environment, which introduces a higher entropy density according to the new terms of this work.
Then reducing the entropy density connects the DR with the MR. An example for a DR application is the work of Korkalo et al. . They concealed AR markers via DR from the real environment, i.e., the goal was to lower the entropy density. Diminishing contents in the environment, while keeping the same perceptual frustum realizes a lower blending entropy. A term that describes all degrees of blending entropy already exists and is named mediated reality . The mediated reality consists of positive (MR) and negative (DR) entropy densities. The shortcoming of the original definition of the mediated reality is that there are no levels between mixed and diminished reality that describes the underlying relation. The definition of the entropy density allows such a classification.
The size of the blending entropy depends on the user as well as on the task. For example, the real environment of an industrial worker may already comprise a lot of information such as a console with different gauges, buttons and switches, i.e., the entropy density of the non-modulated environment is rather large. The worker, however, is accustomed to this environment and the specific tasks therein. This knowledge of the worker about the scene may produce a tunnel view, since the worker exactly knows where to look at, which minimizes complexity and creates an acceptable entropy for the worker. Consequently, the goal of a mediated reality can be the increase of the blending entropy and certain expert knowledge can be presented to the worker.
On the other hand, an untrained user that has not worked in such an environment before may be near an information overload. Because of the definition of the blending entropy, also a variety of options are available for this user. The mediated reality application could aim at reducing the blending entropy or, at least, produce a balanced blending entropy, i.e., stay at the equilibrated state. This can be achieved via an AR-guided reduction of the perceptual frustum , which narrows the user’s perception (tunnel vision). Moreover, the entropy density can be minimized via DR, i.e., the application identifies the actual relevant parts and diminishes the unimportant parts. Diminishing parts that are close to the border of the perceptual frustum may also decrease the perceptual frustum, which would generate an even smaller blending entropy.
3 Conclusion
Most MR applications aim at modifying the blending entropy. For instance, some MR applications guide the user (lowering perceptual frustum) or present special information (higher entropy density), which can now be expressed via the blending entropy. Furthermore, the introduction of entropy density allowed to define a relationship between diminished and mixed reality.
References
- Korkalo et al. O. Korkalo, M. Aittala, and S. Siltanen. Light-weight marker hiding for augmented reality. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, pages 247–248. IEEE, 2010.
- Mann S. Mann. Mediated reality. Techreport 260, M.I.T. Media Lab Perceptual Computing Section, 1994.
- Marner et al. M. R. Marner, A. Irlitti, and B. H. Thomas. Improving procedural task performance with augmented reality annotations. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, pages 39–48. IEEE, 2013.
- Milgram et al. P. Milgram, H. Takemura, A. Utsumi, and F. Kishino. Augmented reality: A class of displays on the reality-virtuality continuum. In Proceedings of the Conference on Photonics for Industrial Applications, pages 282–292. SPIE, 1995.
- Speier et al. C. Speier, J. S. Valacich, and I. Vessey. The influence of task interruption on individual decision making: An information overload perspective. Wiley Online Library Decision Sciences, 30(2):337–360, 1999.
- Stafford et al. A. Stafford, W. Piekarski, and B. H. Thomas. Implementation of god-like interaction techniques for supporting collaboration between outdoor ar and indoor tabletop users. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, pages 165–172. IEEE, 2006. doi: 10.1109/ISMAR.2006.297809.
- Sukan et al. M. Sukan, C. Elvezio, O. Oda, S. Feiner, and B. Tversky. ParaFrustum: Visualization techniques for guiding a user to a constrained set of viewing positions and orientations. In Proceedings of the Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pages 331–340. ACM, 2014. ISBN 978-1-4503-3069-5. | https://www.groundai.com/project/blending-entropy-a-term-for-addressing-information-density-in-mediated-reality/ |
A mental illness is a disease of the brain that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines. Serious mental illness among people ages 18 and older is defined at the federal level as having, at any time during the past year, a diagnosable mental, behavior, or emotional disorder that causes serious functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities serious mental illnesses include major . The most serious and chronic of these disorders—schizophrenia, manic-depression, and chronic major depression—often require hospitalization and medication in fact, serious mental disorders fill more hospital beds in the united states than cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis combined.
Depression is a common mental disorder that causes people to experience depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed . Emotional dimensions of chronic disease 12 the clinical course of heart disease is also influenced by depression, chronic disease superimposed on mental . Untreated mental illness can cause severe emotional, behavioral and physical health problems complications sometimes linked to mental illness include: unhappiness and decreased enjoyment of life.
In adults with moderate to severe depression, according to the national alliance on mental illness, prolonged or chronic depression can have a devastating impact on your emotional and . Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is another manifestation of depression which is a severe and sometimes disabling extension of premenstrual syndrome (pms) although regular pms and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (pmdd) both have physical and emotional symptoms, the mood changes in pmdd are much more severe and can disrupt social, occupational . Depression is a common feature of mental illness, whatever its nature and origin people with serious mood disorders also have twice the average rate of nicotine . While less common than depression and anxiety, 1 in 17 of americans have a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder unlike most physical illnesses, when someone has an untreated serious mental illness it can impact their friends, family, and even the community. Women in this study expressed a strong belief in religious coping, consistent with a recent findings indicating that 43% of african american female participants used religion to cope with serious health problems in the past year, including depression, cancer, and heart disease (dessio et al, 2004) although research supports the positive .
A mental disorder, also called a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or occur as a single episode. Serious mental illness is a mental, behavioral or emotional disorder (excluding developmental and substance use disorders) resulting in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. Depression is a common illness worldwide, with more than 300 million people affected depression is different from usual mood fluctuations and short-lived emotional responses to challenges in everyday life. Emotional dimensions of chronic disease chronic disease superimposed on mental illness losses and sadness that usually accompany severe illness is generally . Postpartum psychiatric illness is typically divided into three categories: (1) postpartum blues (2) postpartum depression and (3) postpartum psychosis it may be useful to conceptualize these disorders as existing along a continuum, where postpartum blues is the mildest and postpartum psychosis the most severe form of postpartum psychiatric .
Anxiety and physical illness they may also have more severe symptoms and a greater risk of death when they become ill antidepressants have the advantage of . Mental health (adults): home testing disease topics related to emotional disorders serious bouts of depression can be undiagnosed in teenagers the normal . It's not known exactly what causes depression as with many mental disorders, a variety of factors may be involved, such as: depression is a serious disorder that .
Mental health: keeping your emotional health mind/body connection: how your emotions affect your health depression is a medical illness that can be treated . It’s a serious mental health condition that requires understanding and medical care left untreated, depression can be devastating for those who have it and their families fortunately, with early detection, diagnosis and a treatment plan consisting of medication, psychotherapy and healthy lifestyle choices, many people can and do get better. Mental illness is associated with increased occurrence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, epilepsy and cancer (cdc) mental illness is associated with lower use of medical care, reduced adherence to treatment therapies for chronic diseases and higher risks .
2018. | http://wpessayudin.cardiffbeekeepers.info/depression-as-a-serious-mental-and-emotional-disease.html |
In the third and final blog of our 3-part series on watering, we're talking about underwatering.
All too often, when we get a new plant, we are careful with giving it the best treatment; positioning it in the place with just enough light and we're mindful not to overwater it. However, taking a light hand to watering may cause your plants to dry out and at the same time develop shallow roots which may cause a myriad of other problems.
HOW TO PREVENT UNDERWATERING
In the first post of this series, we talked about the right way to water
your indoor houseplants and some of the points will overlap here as well. These are a few points to keep in mind to prevent underwatering your plants.
- Always check the care instructions of the plant
- Always check soil condition to know how much to water
- Water your plants regularly
- Water deeply, not frequently (using a tray can be very helpful)
SIGNS THAT YOUR PLANT IS UNDERWATERED
If you are reading this, you are probably looking for signs on how to tell if your plant is underwatered. Here are 5 signs that you can look out for:
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Wilting and/or droopy leaves – This is the most classic sign that your plant will show if it is underwatered. A lack of water will cause the plant to lose turgor, which is the rigidity of cells and tissues due to adsorption of fluids, causing your plant to wilt. In most cases, as compared to overwatering, underwatered plants will wilt and have dry, crispy leaves instead of yellowing leaves. If you think that your plant may be overwatered instead, check out our previous blog post: How To Know If Your Plant Is Overwatered and What To Do – Part 2.
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Brown leaf tips and edges – This happens when your plant doesn’t get enough water. If left alone, the leaves will eventually turn brown completely and drop. This may also be an indication that humidity is too low. Try boosting humidity by misting more frequently or using a pebble tray for plants that need it.
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Dry Soil – If just by looking at the leaves, you are unsure whether the plant is overwatered, underwatered or is affected by something else altogether, check the soil condition. Remember to always check under the top layer of soil by sticking your finger or a bamboo chopstick 1-2 inches deep. If the soil is completely dry, the plant is underwatered (exceptions include cacti and succulents).
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Soil pulling away from the edge – In addition to the previous point, if the soil is pulling away from the edge of the pot, the soil is definitely too dry, and the plant is underwatered. When the soil has reached this state, it is harder for the soil to retain any moisture despite regular and constant watering.
- Stunted growth – As with overwatering, when the plant is underwatered, it also experiences stunted growth. It could be that there are no new leaves growing at all and/or the old leaves are dropping at an accelerated rate such that the plant is not growing more leaves.
SAVING YOUR UNDERWATERED PLANT
If your plant displays one or more of the signs mentioned above, it is definitely screaming (silently) for more water. It may seem difficult to nurse your plant back into shape, however, underwatering does not bring as many problems as overwatering does, and is actually quite simple to resolve. Here are some steps you can take to bring your plant back to full health.
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Assess the soil condition - Assessing the soil condition helps greatly in determining the next steps to take. If the soil is completely bone dry and visibly pulling away from the edge, repotting the plant in fresh soil would be the best option. When the soil is this dry, it is likely that none of the water would be retained at all and would just drain out from the sides. Just be sure to be gentle when repotting as the roots of the plant would be dry and brittle as well.
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Give your plant a good soak - Your plant would really thank you for this. Watering deeply and thoroughly is enough, however, soaking your plants in a tray of water would really make sure that they have enough to drink. Just make sure not to leave it sitting in water for too long as it may in turn cause the roots to rot. If the soil of your plant is bone dry and repotting is not an option, soaking the plant in a tray every time you need to water it may help in loosening the soil and retaining moisture as well. However, again, when the soil is at this stage, repotting the plant in fresh soil allows your plant to recover more quickly. For more details on how to soak your plants, check out our first post on watering: How To Water Your Indoor Houseplants The Right Way – Part 1
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Keep a closer eye on your plant - It usually does not take long for your plant to recover from underwatering, however, do give more attention to your plant as it may require more water than usual within the first 2 weeks of recovery. Just remember to always check the soil moisture before watering again.
- Adjust watering schedule and techniques - After your plant has recovered, make sure to adjust your watering schedule to ensure that the soil does not dry out completely again. Setting reminders on your phone is a good way to remind yourself without having to stress about it. Also, adjusting your watering techniques may help to prevent your plant from being underwatered.
Knowing how to water your plants effectively and knowing how much to water can seem difficult, but all this comes with experience. Nurturing plants is also a journey which is what makes it enjoyable. However, if you tend to underwater plants despite your best effort, try to get plants which are drought tolerant and less dependent on constant and consistent watering. | https://tumbleweedplants.com/blogs/plant-blog/how-to-water-your-indoor-houseplants-the-right-way-part-3-underwatering |
How Are Robots Tested for Harsh Conditions?
Advanced robots can spare human workers from dangerous or life-threatening conditions and environments - like the intricate underwater terrain of a search-and-rescue mission or extreme pressures faced by oil and gas workers. Robots aren't invincible, however, and they need to be carefully designed to handle these extreme conditions. Here are some of the extreme environments that robots face - and how designers test them
University of Texas "opens Doors" to Safer Nuclear Waste Retrieval
The Nuclear and Applied Robotics Group, based in the University of Texas at Austin, has a mission to "develop and deploy advanced robotics in hazardous environments to minimize risk for the human operator."
How Robots Are Changing Nuclear Disaster Protocols
Despite modern advancements, a great deal of robots, such as the one deployed to Fukushima in March 2017, have died as a result of the high radiation levels.
Records 1 to 3 of 3
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Dear Distinguished Faculty:
This has been a year of many changes at Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), as we have worked internally to strengthen our resolve to serving students, and equally important, being an effective resource for faculty. In anticipation of the new Stockton programs being offered at our Sacramento and San Francisco campuses, SSD sought to proactively explore how our office would support the need to provide services to students on those campuses.
In such preparation, SSD enlisted the expertise of a consultant who not only assisted us with preparing to serve our new populations, but also reviewed our current policies and practices and made recommendations to help our department provide the best level of service to students as well as optimize support to faculty.
As you know, faculty play a critical role in supporting students with disabilities, from listening and understanding to providing classroom accommodations. In doing this, you support the University's dedication to diversity, as well SSD's mission of providing equal and equitable accessibility to students with disabilities.
Congruent with our mission, and to assist you in your work with students, we've created a Resource Guide specifically for faculty. We would appreciate any feedback or suggestions you may have for improving the content-or for sharing creative and practical solutions to the provision of academic accommodations.
SSD values and celebrates a collaborative approach in our work with students, and we encourage you to contact us at any time if we can be of assistance. We will be delighted to answer questions, address concerns, or talk about ideas you may have for enhancing the services we offer to students. We sincerely appreciate the core role you play and all that you do for students with disabilities.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with you on behalf of our students.
Kind regards,
Daniel Nuss Director, Services for Students with Disabilities
Contact Information: | https://www.pacific.edu/campus-life/student-services/disabilities-and-accommodations---services-for-students-with-disabilities/resources-for-faculty.html |
Growth Trends for Related Jobs
A work schedule includes the days of the week and times of the day a particular employee is scheduled to work at a job. The traditional full-time work week in the United States involves five eight-hour days. However, many employers offer part-time and alternative schedules to cover their work needs and attract workers.
Traditional Shifts
Though the specific times vary, full-time U.S. workers often work three distinct shifts. Daytime schedules typically begin around 8 a.m. and go through 5 p.m., including a one-hour lunch. An evening shift usually runs from around 3 p.m. to midnight. Companies that have overnight shifts usually schedule them from around midnight to 8 a.m, with no dedicated meal break. In some workplaces, employees get scheduled for the same shift each day. In retail, it is common for full-time employees to work different shifts, such as the opening shift or closing shift.
Alternative Schedules
In addition to part-time work schedules, employers use a variety of alternative work schedules to attract talent. A compressed workweek involves four 10-hour days, for instance. Flex schedules allow employees to adjust their hours to an earlier or later shift, but core hours in the middle of the day are often required. | https://careertrend.com/about-6706123-definition-work-schedule.html |
The methods developed by Freud and Marx have enabled a range of scholars to critically reflect upon the ideological underpinnings of modern and now postmodern or hypermodern western societies. In this intriguing book, the discipline of psychology itself is screened through the twin dynamics of Marxism and psychoanalysis. David Pavón-Cuéllar asks to what extent the terms, concerns and goals of psychology reflect, in fact, the dominant bourgeois ideology that has allowed it to flourish.
The book charts a gradual psychologization within society and culture dating from the nineteenth century, and examines how the tacit ideals within mainstream psychology – creating good citizens or productive workers – sit uneasily against Marx and Freud’s ambitions of revealing fault-lines and contradictions within individualist and consumer-oriented structures.
The positivist aspiration of psychology to become a natural science has been the source of extensive debate, critical voices asserting the social and cultural contexts through which the human mind and behaviour should be understood. This challenging new book provides another voice that, in addressing two of the most influential intellectual traditions of the past 150 years, widens the debate still further to examine the foundations of psychology.
"David Pavon-Cuellar provides an impressive account of the Freudian contribution to the critique of capitalism and of the Marxist contribution to the theory of mental apparatus. His engagement with the variety of historical and theoretical attempts to bring together Marxism and psychoanalysis fills a notable gap in the existing scholarship. Most importantly, Pavon-Cuellar reminds us that resistance to capitalism is a laborious process, a process of working through the layers of ideological mystifications of devastation caused by capitalism in all registers of human reality. Resistance of capitalism begins at the level of organization of thought, which means that a critique of economic doctrines is anything but complete without a rigorous critique of psychology." Samo Tomšic, Humboldt University Berlin and author of The Capitalist Unconscious: Marx and Lacan
"This admirable book highlights what is Marxist about psychoanalysis and what is psychoanalytic about Marxism in detailed readings of key figures at the interface of the two traditions. It will be indispensable for future researchers on either side of the false divide between the two." Néstor Braunstein, psychoanalyst, formerly Professor of Psychoanalysis at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico
"Is the road to communism paved by psychoanalysis? If so, comrades of Marx and Freud have to unite against the normalizing forces of psychology. This fascinating book traces an international history of the complex alliance of Marxism and psychoanalysis, reminding us of the stakes of forgotten struggles and inciting us to return to the battlefield of critique." Jodi Dean, author of The Communist Horizon (2012) and Crowds and Party (2016)
Preface. Introduction: in or against psychology? 1. Marxian Psychologies 2. Marx and Freud 3. From psychoanalysis to psychologisation 4. Psychology and its critique in Marxism 5. Marxist Psychologies 6. Marxism, psychoanalysis and critique of psychology 7. Towards a Critical Metapsychology 8. Critique as praxis
Developments inside psychology that question the history of the discipline and the way it functions in society have led many psychologists to look outside the discipline for new ideas. This series draws on cutting edge critiques from just outside psychology in order to complement and question critical arguments emerging inside. The authors provide new perspectives on subjectivity from disciplinary debates and cultural phenomena adjacent to traditional studies of the individual.
The books in the series are useful for advanced level undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and lecturers in psychology and other related disciplines such as cultural studies, geography, literary theory, philosophy, psychotherapy, social work and sociology. | https://www.routledge.com/Marxism-and-Psychoanalysis-In-or-against-Psychology/Pavon-Cuellar/p/book/9781138916586 |
Please use this form if you would like to have this math solver on your website, free of charge.
The terms of a polynomial in one variable are usually arranged by degree,
in descending order, when read from left to right.
Example
Arrange the terms of this polynomial in descending order and determine
the degree of the polynomial: 7x3 - 8 + 2x - x4
Solution
Arrange the terms by degree in descending order (4, 3, 1, 0).
The last two terms may be written without exponents.
= - x4 + 7x3 + 2x1 - 8x0
= - x4 + 7x3 + 2x - 8x
The term of highest degree is -x4. The degree of -x4 is 4. So, the degree
of this polynomial is 4. | https://www.gre-test-prep.com/writing-the-terms-of-a-polynomial-in-descending-order.html |
In many temperate, rocky-reef coastal ecosystems, kelp forests modify alongshore currents, impact invertebrate settlement, and regulate understory algal abundances. Along the southern coasts of Alaska, in particular, two species of canopy-forming kelps with dissimilar morphologies, Nereocystis luetkeana and Eualaria fistulosa, co-occur but vary in their distributions and patterns of abundance, with one species often replacing the other at given sites in subsequent years. As a result, their differences in morphology may affect patterns of current flow through the forests, which could have strong impacts on invertebrate settlement and benthic diversity, particularly in Kachemak Bay, Alaska (59° 36′33ʺN, 151° 20′51ʺW), which experiences large tidal fluctuations resulting in strong alongshore currents. In this study, significant differences in current reductions were observed between the two kelp forest types within Kachemak Bay, but these reductions were small compared to the natural spatiotemporal variability of currents within the bay, and they were primarily limited to the upper few meters of the water column where the two species exhibit their greatest differences in morphology. Consequently, invertebrate settlement and abundance differed between the two kelp forest types as well as among study sites within the bay. In addition, there were differences observed in the composition and abundance of understory algae between the two forest types, which were presumably due to differences in shading abilities of the dominant kelps. Together, our results suggest that future changes in the distribution and abundances of these two kelp forest types may result in corresponding changes in hydrodynamic conditions within the forests, and thereby impact invertebrate and benthic algal assemblages.
KeywordsForest Type Pacific Decadal Oscillation Ecosystem Engineer Kelp Forest Algal Assemblage
Notes
Acknowledgements
We thank Renato Borras-Chavez for his assistance with fieldwork in Kachemak Bay, AK. We are grateful to Kris Holderied for her support and for reviewing early versions of this manuscript. We thank the NOAA and University of Alaska Fairbanks Kasitsna Bay Laboratory facility staff for logistical support, providing laboratory space, and supporting boating and diving operations. This research was funded by a scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Education Graduate Sciences Program. The views herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or any of its subagencies. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for their use by the United States government.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest
Both authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Ethical approval
All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. | https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-017-3111-3 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for measuring the level of a liquid in a radioactive enclosure.
It is known to measure the level of a liquid or solid substance within an enclosure by means of one or more radioactive source vertically positioned outside the enclosure at different levels, as well as detectors located on the opposite wall of the enclosure which receives the radiation coming from the said sources. The absorption level of the radiation emitted by these sources has an attenuation level which varies with the traversed material. The level of the substance in the enclosure is deduced from the intensity of the radiation measured by the detectors positioned along the enclosure wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,841 describes a device for measuring the level of the charge in a blast furnace and which operates according to this principle. It has a series of level indicators, each of which is constituted by a radioactive source, a detector and a pilot light. The radioactive sources are arranged along a vertical line on the blast furnace. The detectors are located along a vertical line diametrically opposite to the first line. Each radioactive source is located at the bottom of a cylindrical collimating well. The detector, constituted by a G-M counter, is also located on the bottom of a cylindrical well in such a way that the sensitive part of the counter or tube is exposed to the radiation of the diametrically opposite source. Each detector is only sensitive to the radiation coming from the source associated therewith as a result of a collimating device. Means are provided for recording a reading when the detected radiation level exceeds a given level. The charge level in the blast furnace is calculated therefrom.
However, a measuring device as described hereinbefore is not suitable for measuring the level of a liquid contained in a radioactive enclosure. Thus, the activity of this liquid swamps the radioactivity coming from radioactive sources, making it impossible to measure the level of said liquid.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for measuring the level of a liquid contained in a radioactive enclosure and which makes it possible to perform such a measurement. It applies more particularly, but not exclusively, to the measurement of the water level in the pressurizer of a pressurized water reactor (PWR).
It is known that in PWR reactors, the pressure in the primary circuit (and therefore in the reactor vessel) is maintained at a value of approximately 155 bars by a pressurizer, which is constituted by a sealed enclosure in which the primary circuit pressure is maintained by equilibrium betwen the liquid phase and the gaseous phase of the water. As a depressurization incident is particularly serious, it is of particular interest to control the operation of this pressurizer and consequently the level of the liquid phase therein.
The measurement of the liquid level in the pressurizer by means of the device described hereinbefore makes it possible to provide a complementary, redundant information, which is particularly useful in certain reactor operating conditions (large amplitude transient conditions, incident, etc) . This device makes it possible to calibrate and complete existing measurements by pressure difference which sometimes cause representativity problem (drift, hysteresis, readjustment, inability to detect possible two-phase situations).
N collimated radiation emitters, whose beam is substantially directed in accordance with the diameters of the enclosure are positioned along a first generating line of the latter, whilst detectors for collecting the radiation which has traversed the enclosure containing the liquid-gas mixture, are positioned along a generating line which is diametrically opposite to the first line. In this way, the attenuation of the radiation is measured and by indentifying the axial "chart" of the counting rates of the detectors, it is possible to measure the liquid level position. Moreover, as the device has been calibrated during its installation (initial measurement: empty enclosure, then with different water levels) it is possible to estimate by a number of vertical readings the average water density along the radiation path.
To permit the measurement of radiation coming from the radiation sources, the device according to the invention has at least one detector positioned in such a way that it is never exposed to the radiation emitted by the sources. Thus, within the total counting rate, it is possible to correct the part which is due to the activity of the water.
More specifically, the invention relates to a device for measuring the surface level of a liquid in a vertically axed enclosure containing a radioactive fluid, the enclosure wall being able to receive deposits of radioactive corrosion products, which comprises N radiation sources located on the same vertical line in the vicinity of the enclosure wall, said sources being able to emit radiation traversing the enclosure; N' radiation detectors D.sub.i (N' > N) located successively at levels on a second vertical line contained in the plane defined by the first vertical line and said axis, said detectors being able to detect the radiation which has traversed the enclosure, each detector measuring the intensity of the radiation received; and means for processing said measurements and deducing therefrom the liquid surface level and/or the local density of the two-phase mixture, wherein it also comprises at least one supplementary detector positioned outside the area reached by the radiation emitted by the sources, said detector being able to measure the radiation due to the radioactivity of the fluid and said deposits.
This measurement not only makes it possible to determine an equilibrium level between the vapour and the liquid, e.g. water, but also is able to give a picture of the two-phase equilibrium zones between the vapour and the liquid and an estimate of the corresponding density. They consist on the one hand of essentially liquid zones in which there are vapour bubbles and on the other hand of essentially vapour zones in which there are water droplets.
Preferably, the detector according to the invention comprises between the enclosure wall and each of the detectors a collimating device for the radiation which has traversed the enclosure and which is constituted by a system of parallel metal plates, whose function is to reduce the contribution of stray radiation in the vicinity of the detectors to the counting rate of the emitters.
Preferably, the number of N radiation sources is well below the number N' of radiation detectors.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is described greater in detail hereinafter relative to non-limitative embodiments and with reference to the attached drawings, wherein show:
FIG. 1 a vertical sectional view of a pressurizer showing the installation of the radiation sources and radiation detectors.
FIG. 2 a cross-sectional view showing in greater detail an embodiment in which the radiation is &ggr; radiation.
FIG. 3 a sectional view of an embodiment of the colllimator associated with the detector.
FIGS. 4 and 5 diagrams illustrating a level detection method using gamma radiation sources and detectors.
FIG. 6 an example of a two-phase configuration within the pressurizer illustrating one of the advantages of the device according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a device according to the invention. FIG. 1 shows in axial vertical section the pressurizer 2 constituted by a cylindrical sidewall 2a sealed by an upper base 2b. This enclosure contains a liquid phase 6 in equilibrium with a vapour phase 8. The horizontal line 10 indicates the interface between these two media. Obviously, the separation between them cannot be so precise.
In order to detect the level, radiation sources S.sub.1, S.sub. 2 and S. sub.3 are positioned along a straight line parallel to a generating line of sidewall 2a. A plurality of radiation detectors D.sub. i is positioned in accordance with a straight line parallel to a generating line of the sidewall 2a of the pressurizer and contained in the same axial plane as the first generating line. These detectors partly or totally cover the axial height of the pressurizer.
FIG. 2 shows in greater detail a part of this installation in the case where the radiation source is a &ggr; source. There is once again sidewall or envelope 2a of pressurizer 2. For example, the internal diameter of the pressurizer is 213.4 cm and the wall thickness is 10.8 cm. Source S.sub.1, which is for example a 1000 curie cobalt 60 source is located in a shield 20, which is extended by a shield 22 towards wall 2a. This is designed so as to limit the radiation of one of the sources S to a spatial portion around the vertical plane containing the source and the generating line on which are aligned the detectors. For example, the distance between the contact with wall 2a and the source is 100 cm.
A detector D.sub.1 is located on the same diameter of the pressurizer. This detector can be a sodium iodide scintillator and is also positioned in a shield 22. Between detector D.sub.1 and wall 2a and within the shield 22 there is preferably a collimator 24 formed from metal plates parallel to the incident radiation and whose cross-section can for example be in the form of a grid. This grid is constituted by a system of metal sheets. FIG. 3 more clearly shows a collimator which has, for example a 1 cm spacing. For example, the collimator length along the radiation path is 120 cm.
It is known that &ggr; radiation traversing a given material has a certain attenuation level (&tgr;) in a straight line. Thus, by placing a detector in front of the source it is possible to measure the radiation which has traversed the liquid or gas and deduce therefrom the density of said liquid or gas or even the liquid-gas mixture.
By placing the sources and detectors at different levels in the axial direction of the pressurizer, it is consequently possible to make an axial chart of the density of the fluid filling the pressurizer. However, it must be remembered that the radiation must also traverse the metal walls of the pressurizer. The following table gives the average free path for the &ggr; radiation as a function of its energy. ##TBL1##
Considering the special example illustrated by FIG. 2 and the numerical data referred to hereinbefore the following counting rates are obtained: ##EQU1## for a pressure of 155 bars and a temperature of 345. degree. C. In these calculations, it is considered that the detector D. sub.1 faces source S. sub.1 and is at the same height.
As stated hereinbefore, it is necessary to take account of the deposited activity corresponding to the deposits of corrosive products on the walls of the pressurizer. However, the grid-like collimation systems shown in FIG. 2 make it possible to minimise the influence of corrosive product deposits. Thus, each elementary emitting surface of the wall only lights up the facing surface of the detector without essentially limiting the radiation from source S. sub.1, which is in the form of a beam almost parallel to the detector level.
Under these conditions, the counting rate corresponding to the deposit is low compared with that due to the source.
Account must also be taken of the contribution of the activity of the primary water on the detectors. The corresponding counting rate would be very low for activities of the primary water corresponding to a normal operation of the reactor.
As the detector counting rate is a function of the number of water molecules encountered in a straight line by the radiation, this measured rate gives a picture of the water density level with the detector. This method in particular makes it possible to detect very special two-phase configurations, like those of FIG. 6. In the central part thereof there are vapour bubbles B, whilst the peripheral zone P is entirely constituted by liquid water.
FIGS. 4 and 5 give on the one hand a reference marking of the water levels N.sub.1, N.sub.2 . . . N.sub.8 (FIG. 4) with respect to the gamma sources S.sub.1 and S.sub.2 and on the other hand (FIG. 5) the counting rate &tgr; (s.sup.-1) as a function of the reading z (in cm) for the different levels marked 1, 2 . . . 8.
To permit the measurement of the water level in the case where its activity is high, one or two detectors are used, which are positioned in such a way that they are not subject to the radiation emitted by the sources. It is therefore possible to correct in the total counting rate that part which is due to the activity of the water.
In practice, problems are encountered in installing a 60 Co source of 1000 curies due to the size of the radiation protection which it requires. It is necessary to use a 21 cm lead container weighing approximately 1 metric tonne. The contact dose is then below 200 mrem/h.
It is therefore of interest to replace the gamma radiation by a neutron beam. It is in particular possible to use a deuterium-tritium source giving neutrons of 14 MeV with an emission of approximately 5.10. sup.10 s.sup.- 1 in a solid angle of 4&pgr;.
For a detector with a detection surface area of 160 cm.sup.2 and an efficiency of 0.01 the following approximate counting rates would be obtained with a source and a detector on a same diameter, both being positioned 30 cm from the wall:
&tgr;≃100s.sup.-1 in the vapour phase
&tgr;≃1.4×10.sup.-3 s.sup.-1 in the liquid phase
&tgr;≃3.6×10.sup.-2 s.sup.-1 for a two-phase mixture in which 3/4 of the passages are in the liquid phase.
In this case, a detector suitable for neutron detection is obviously used.
The counts are used as for gamma radiation and it is possible to make an axial "chart" of the densities and consequently of the liquid water- water vapour distributions.
However, it is pointed out that when a neutron source is used, the counting rates indicated hereinbefore show that it is substantially impossible to detect the presence of a small amount of vapour in the liquid.
Thus, the device according to the invention makes it possible to obtain an axial "statement" of the density of the fluid still in the enclosure, so that the liquid level in the enclosure can be calculated with an accuracy dependent on the number of detectors used. It is also apparant that it is possible to overcome the difficulties resulting from the possible activity of the water contained in the enclosure and deposits of corrosive products on the inner wall of the enclosure. | |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a measuring apparatus capable of accurately measuring a radiation source efficiency.
SOLUTION: A apparatus for measuring a radiation source efficiency of a radioactive substance which has a charged particle measuring apparatus the measures spectra of charged particles emitted from a sample and a γ-ray measuring apparatus that measures spectra of γ-rays emitted from the sample includes: calculating radioactivity of α nuclide emitting at least α rays or β nuclide emitting at least β rays in the α nuclide and the β nuclide based on γ-ray measurement result of nuclide emitting γ-rays; determining a radiation source efficiency of the α rays or the β rays of the α nuclide or the β nuclide from the calculated radioactivity value and the measurement result of the charged particle measuring apparatus; evaluating a radiation source efficiency of the α rays or the β rays of the other α nuclide or β nuclide based on the determined radiation source efficiency of the α rays or the β rays of the α nuclide or β nuclide; and calculating the radioactivity of the other α rays or β nuclide from the evaluated radiation source efficiency of the α rays or the β rays.
SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1
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The Hundred Years War I will be able to: Describe the significance of the Hundred Years War Explain the causes of the war, the effects of the long bow, and the impact of the war
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The Hundred Years War 1337-1453, 100 Years War? Causes –King of England married to first daughter of the King of France, who also has sons. –King of France dies. –Who gets the land?
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French Lands Belonging to English Kings A longer standing issue was the status of lands within France that belonged to English kings. Edward was actually a vassal of Philip VI, holding sizable French territories as fiefs from the king of France [it went back to the Norman conquest].
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Military Characteristics The War was a series of short raids and expeditions punctuated by a few major battles, marked off by truces or ineffective treaties.
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French Advantages Population of about 16,000,000. Far richer and more populous than England. At one point, the French fielded an army of over 50,000 at most, Britain mustered only 32,000.
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English Advantages Weapons Technologies. In almost every engagement, the English were outnumbered. –England’s most successful strategies: / Avoid pitched battles. / Engage in quick, profitable raids –Steal what you can. Destroy everything else. –Capture enemy knights to hold for ransom.
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Stage One of the War (1337-1360) King Edward III of England invades France and captures King John II of France. He is ransomed. Result of stage one: England captures ½ of France.
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The use of the English defensive position was the use of the longbow. Its arrows had more penetrating power than a bolt from a crossbow. –Could pierce an inch of wood or the armor of a knight at 200 yards! A longbow could be fired more rapidly. –6 arrows per minute. The Longbow as a Weapon
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Early English Victories
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The British Longbow: The Battle of Poitiers, 1356
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The Effective Use of the Cannon at Poitiers, 1 356
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Stage Two 1361 - 1396 King Charles V of France retakes all of the French lands from the English. French Flag Richard II
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Stage Three (1397-1420) King Henry V of England invades France and forces King Charles VII of France to sign a treaty giving him his daughter. Meaning? King Charles VII of France agrees, but King Henry V of England dies before Charles, so his son, Henry VI takes over. Fighting Continues…..why? Result? England takes over 2/3 of France.
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King Henry V (r. 1412 - 1422 ) At Agincourt in 1415, the English, led by Henry himself, goaded a larger French army into attacking a fortified English position. –With the aid of the dukes of Burgundy, Henry gained control over Normandy, Paris, and much of northern France!
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Stage Three 1397 - 1420 English nationalistic feelings soared when they heard of the stunting victory of King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt Henry V’s 8,000 soldiers defeated Charles VI’s 50,000 French troops
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The Treaty of Troyes is signed after the Battle of Agincourt Charles VI who suffered from periods of insanity gave his daughter Katherine in marriage to Henry V Henry V would inherit France after the death of Charles VI Charles VI cut his son Charles (VII) the dauphin (French heir to the throne) out of inheriting France Charles VI
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Stage Four 1421 - 1453 Henry V and Charles VI both die in 1422 Henry VI of England is only 9 months old A young French girl, Joan of Arc, felt moved by God to rescue France from the English The Dukes of Burgundy frequently sided with the English
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Joan of Arc (1412 - 1432) The daughter of prosperous peasants from an area of Burgundy that had suffered under the English. Like many medieval mystics, she reported regular visions of divine revelation. She dressed like a man and was Charles’ most charismatic and feared military leader!
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Joan of Arc brings a spirit of nationalism to the French The “voices” Joan heard told her to go to Charles the dauphin and aid him in driving the English from France She helps end the English siege of Orleans With Joan’s aid, Charles was crowned king at Reims in 1429 Joan, referred to as “the Maid”
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Cannons Used at Orleans
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Joan is captured and tried In 1430 Joan is captured and turned over to English church authorities She is charged with heresy and witchcraft because of her “unnatural dress” and claim to divine guidance, she was condemned and burned at the stake as a heretic in 1431. Charles VII does nothing to save her but he does win the Hundred Years War In 1920, Joan is declared a saint as the church retracts its judgment
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Results of the 100 Years War New Style of Warfare –Paid soldiers –Heavy armor –Canons Nationalism – fighting to defend/protect your country.
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Additional facts Nationalism – a feeling of loyalty and patriotism to one’s own land and people Nationalism will continue in France after Joan’s death Calais is the only territory in France that the French will not be able to win back New weapons such as the longbow & cannons lessened the importance of armored knights & castles
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Weapons
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A limitation of most prior research concerning socialization via sport has been a reliance on cross-sectional/correlational designs. Thus, one purpose of the study was to overcome this limitation by implementing a longitudinal design. A second purpose was to test the efficiency of two theories—self-selection and interaction—that attempt to explain value, attitudinal, and/or behavioral differences often noted between elite and casual athletes, and between athletes and nonathletes. Instructional and competitive league soccer players were interviewed before and after their seasons to ascertain changes in their sport-related value orientations; this procedure was repeated the following season with the competitive league players. The data for the subsamples revealed (a) some initial differences in value orientations, and (b) a slight modification of values during participation over the course of a season. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the study’s purposes, future research, and their meaning for youth sport practitioners.
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This study has two purposes: (1) to observe the step-count patterns of adult women who participated in an eight-month healthy lifestyle-based book club intervention and (2) to describe step-count patterns across seasons and body mass index (BMI) categories. Sixty-two participants (mean age ± SD = 53 ± 9, 92% Caucasians) had complete pedometer data, which was used for data analysis. After weekly, hour-long, discussion-based meetings during months one through four, and bi-monthly meetings during months five through eight, women increased their step counts by 26%. Significant step-count differences were observed among seasons (p < .05), and from pre- to post-intervention (p < .05), with the lowest steps being reported in the fall and the highest in the spring. Women in the obese category continued to increase steps during the winter, while the healthy-weight group decreased steps. There was a significant correlation between the average steps taken during the intervention and changes in BMI from pre- to post-intervention (r = −.26, p < .05). Overall, positive step-count pattern observations were found among adult women participating in a healthy lifestyle-based intervention.
Vicki Ebbeck, Patti Lou Watkins and Susan S. Levy
This study examined possible determinants of some of the health behaviors of larger women. Specifically, it was of interest to discern if affect (depression, social physique anxiety) mediated the relationship between self-conceptions (global self-worth, perceived physical appearance) and behavior (disordered eating, physical activity). The investigation was grounded in the model of self-worth forwarded by Harter (1987). A total of 71 overweight or obese women agreed to participate in the study. Data collection involved a researcher meeting individually with each of the participants to record physical assessments as well as responses to a packet of self-report questionnaires. A series of canonical correlation analyses were then conducted to test each of the three conditions for mediation effects outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986). Results suggested that indeed the set of self-conceptions indirectly influenced the set of behaviors via the set of affect variables. Surprisingly, however, involvement in physical activity failed to contribute to the multivariate relationships. The findings further our understanding of how self-conceptions are related to behavior and highlight the value of examining multiple health behaviors in parallel.
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Molly Burger and Dennis Dolny
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Medulloblastomas, primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the cerebellum, comprise 20% of all pediatric brain tumors and are the most common solid neoplasm in children. Primitive neuroectodermal tumors are believed to arise from cerebellar granule cell precursors. Occasionally, medulloblastoma occurs in children with genetically linked disorders, such as Turcot's syndrome or Gorlin's syndrome, which is also called basal cell nevus syndrome. Several genes have been implicated in the development of medulloblastoma in children, including Patched-1 and Smoothened. The protein products of these genes function within the sonic hedgehog molecular signaling pathways, which are important in neural development and disease. Through analysis of several well-designed multi-institutional trials, much has been learned about the clinical factors that influence outcome in children with medulloblastomas. Age younger than 3 years, bulky residual disease postoperatively, and metastasis constitute adverse prognostic features and indicate patients who are considered "high risk" for recurrence with standard therapy using 3600 cGy craniospinal radiation in conjunction with a posterior fossa dose of 5400 cGy. Patients lacking these features are considered "standard risk." Chemotherapeutic trials have been developed to assess the safety and efficacy of various multi-agent therapies to improve the poor results of high-risk patients and to allow reduction in the dose of radiation needed to cure standard-risk patients, which may allow a decrease in late cognitive sequelae. Currently, it is policy to evaluate all children with posterior fossa tumors characteristic of medulloblastoma with preoperative, staging neuroimaging studies of the craniospinal axis. Surgical resection is undertaken with the goal of gross total resection. Postoperative neuroimaging studies are compared with preoperative studies to determine the amount of residual disease. Cerebrospinal fluid is obtained from a lumbar puncture done at the conclusion of the surgical resection or 2 weeks after surgery in order to determine microscopic leptomeningeal spread. Children with tumor histopathology consistent with medulloblastoma are enrolled, when possible, in open clinical trials. Chemotherapy and radiation are given as per protocol. The goal of current treatment approaches is to tailor therapy based on clinical risk factors, with intensification of treatment for children with high-risk disease and reduction of radiation therapy for those with standard-risk disease. Evaluation of biologic predictors of outcome, which may further refine treatment stratification, is in progress.
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artworks.
These two artworks bookend our explorations of art in Chapters 1 & 2. Using formal vocabulary (consult the list of terms given in Module 1 and make sure you understand them), discuss what has happened to painting in the time between the making of these paintings. Discuss the respective movements, the artists, the historical contexts, the painting styles, the influences, the genres, etc. To do a really good job on this assignment I strongly recommend (that is pretty close to require!) that you go to Google Images and find the biggest file image you can of each painting and then zoom into it and study it up close. You will be amazed that these are both “oil paintings on canvas” but at the same time have nothing in common in other formal aspects. Note that the image for the second artwork here and in our textbook is only a detail–that means it’s only a partial view of the painting. I do not need you to include the images in your essay. It should take you at least one full page of normal font and spacing to accomplish what you need to. WRITE ONLY IN YOUR OWN WORDS, using the textbook as your source. If you quote directly from the textbook that must be clearly indicated. It is NEVER okay in this course–or any other course–to cut and paste from outside sources and present that as your own work. I am looking for an essay that shows your understanding of what you have read in our textbook. This is an important beginning essay as it will bring formal “reading” of artworks into the course right away. It will be somewhat challenging–but why not start out with a challenge!! Just do your best–I will give you feedback to help you improve. TextBook: The Search for Truth: Early Photography, Realism and Impressionism.
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Download Book Literary Research And The American Realism And Naturalism Period Strategies And Sources Literary Research Strategies And Sources in PDF format. You can Read Online Literary Research And The American Realism And Naturalism Period Strategies And Sources Literary Research Strategies And Sources here in PDF, EPUB, Mobi or Docx formats.
Literary Research and the American Realism and Naturalism Period: Strategies and Sources will help those interested in researching this era. Authors Linda L. Stein and Peter J. Lehu emphasize research methodology and outline the best practices for the research process, paying attention to the unique challenges inherent in conducting studies of national literature.
Literary Research and British Postmodernism is a guide for researchers of postwar British literature that defines best practices for scholars conducting research in this period. Individual chapters connect the complex relationships between print and multimedia, technological advancements, and the influence of critical theory that converge in postwar British literature. | http://journalistesdebout.com/pdf/literary-research-and-the-american-realism-and-naturalism-period-strategies-and-sources-literary-research-strategies-and-sources-/ |
For years, I held a very teacher-centered view of assessment. I would grade student work and use that to modify lessons and pull small groups. Students would receive a grade, which would then motivate them to work harder. Later, I started realizing that my feedback could help students determine what they knew, what they didn’t know, and what they needed to do next. Here, assessment shifted from a teacher task to a conversation between the teacher and the student. However, it remained one-sided until I started implementing self-assessments and peer assessments. I was skeptical at first. I thought students would cheat or, at a minimum, that they wouldn’t take the process seriously. I wasn’t sure their peer assessment feedback would be accurate.
To my surprise, students took the process seriously. They provided practical peer feedback and engaged in honest self-reflection. There were some growing pains (a topic I’ll be exploring in the next two weeks) but the key word there is growing. I watched my students grow in their self-awareness and metacogniton. I watched them grow into more self-directed learners. Meanwhile, this student ownership freed me up to provide better, more individualized feedback, through student conferencing.
Today, we’re going to explore what happens when students own the assessment process. It’s the first in a three-part series on empowered assessment.
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Empowering Students to Own the Assessment Process
Assessment is all around us. If you’re a skater at a skate park, you’re engaging in self-assessment every time you reflect on your progress and plan next steps. If you’re a runner training for a marathon, you look at time splits and compare it to your goals. If you’re a musician, you’re engaging in assessment every time you listen to yourself play and make modifications on your approach. As an author, you engage in self-assessment when you revise your work.
It’s not always individual. Often, assessment happens in community. If you’re a chef, you’re engaging in peer assessment when you ask a trusted fellow chef, “how does this taste?” If you’re an artist you might ask for an extra set of eyes on a particular project. If you’re an engineer, you might observe users to see if your design is working. If you do any kind of creative work, both self-assessment and peer assessment are vital for improving your craft.
It helps you refine your process and helps you improve your products. Assessment helps us figure how what we know, what we don’t know, and what steps we need to take in the future to master a skill or understand a concept at a deeper level. But what does this mean in the classroom? It starts with self-assessment. Here students engage in goal-setting: where they set goals, plan their approach, and keep track of the progress. They also engage in self-reflections. Here, they can reflect on their learning process but also focus on the strengths and weaknesses of their products, which then leads to new iterations. A similar option is a student survey with multiple choices, checkboxes, and Likert scales. In some cases, students might use a self-assessment rubric. Students are able to look at the progression from emerging to mastering with specific descriptions in various categories. They are able to gain an accurate view of how they are doing, while also having a clear picture of where they need to be. Students might also use checklists. These can be a powerful diagnostic tool that students use before, during, and after a task. When projects are done, they can present their work in a portfolio, where they reflect on what they’ve learned.
Peer assessment is also important. One option is the 20-minute peer feedback system. This begins with one student sharing their work or pitching an idea while the other student actively listens. It then moves into a chance to ask clarifying questions, get feedback, respond to feedback, and chart out next steps.
Another option is structured Feedback with Sentence Stems. Or you could use the 3-2-1 Structure. This is simple. Students provide three strengths, two areas of improvement and one question that they have. Or you could do a feedback carousel. Each group gets a stack of sticky notes and offers anonymous feedback as they move from group to group. Or you could keep it more open-ended with peer coaching. Students interview each other about the process, guide reflection, and provide feedback. We often think of classroom assessment as a conversation between teachers and students. But in life, students won’t always have a teacher to grade their work or provide them with necessary feedback. This is why we need self-assessment and peer assessment.
The more we can integrate this into our lessons, the better prepared our students will be for the creative life.
Five Reasons Students Should Own the Assessment Process
The following are five key reasons students should engage in frequent self-assessment and peer assessment.
1. Self-Assessment and Peer Assessment Save Time
In my first two years in the classroom, I spent anywhere from 15-20 hours a week grading papers. Sometimes I used a rubric. Other times I focused on qualitative feedback. Often, I used both approaches together. While this was exhausting, I often felt like I wasn’t doing enough. Students didn’t seem to use the feedback I gave them to improve their work. They didn’t seem to understand whether they had mastered the standards or accomplished the objectives. I worked tirelessly but my students didn’t seem to use any of the feedback I had given them.
When I shifted toward empowering students, I asked the question, “What am I doing for students that they could be doing for themselves?”
Assessment stood out as one of the core areas where I had been doing all of the work. So, I began implementing 1-3 self-assessments per week. Some of these were simply self-graded quizzes or a short reflections. Others were surveys or rubrics. By the end of the quarter, I launched our first student portfolio project. In the next semester, I began implementing peer feedback protocols for each lesson. Some of these were short, 1-3 minute turn-and-talks. Others were longer, like the 20 minute feedback system or the mastermind structure.
I soon felt a difference in my schedule. I felt less exhausted and began to experience more rest and even restoration. I spent fewer hours per week assessing student work but I still had all the data I needed to modify instruction and plan lessons. Meanwhile, I had more time to plan lessons, gather materials, and conference with students. Because I didn’t have to carry the entire assessment load myself, I was able to offer more frequent, targeted feedback during lessons and then provide less frequent, longer feedback when I filled out project rubrics at the end of a unit. Honestly, assessment became fun. I know that’s an odd word for it but once it no longer felt frantic, I could finally enjoy providing meaningful feedback.
This had an immediate benefit on my students. I was more energetic and less stressed. I could spend more time providing authentic feedback and less time grading. Something else began to occur as well. I noticed that my students started using the feedback to improve their work. Because it was fully formative, they were less focused on a grade and instead focused on their learning. That’s when I realized this second benefit to student ownership of the assessment process.
2. Feedback Is More Practical When Students Own the Process
As teachers, we have a finite amount of time and energy. No matter how hard we work, we cannot grade every paper or provide meaningful feedback on every assignment. We cannot always correct every mistake when students practice a skill. We can’t clarify every misconception when students study big ideas and concepts. And yet, we know that the best feedback is timely, practical, and relevant.
When students engage in self-assessment, the feedback is immediate. There’s not a one-week delay between turning in an assignment and receiving feedback. Furthermore, students can focus on key areas of growth where they want to examine their progress and come up with next steps. This makes the feedback feel more relevant and practical. Similarly, when students engage in peer assessment, they get immediate feedback.
This doesn’t mean teacher feedback is irrelevant or untimely. As an educator, you are both a content expert and pedagogical expert. Students need your feedback in order to improve in their skills and conceptual development. There’s actually a danger in using only self-assessment because students might not know what they don’t know or what steps they need to take to improve. Similarly, peer feedback can backfire if it’s too vague, overly positive, or inaccurate. As the teacher, you still need to design systems that help students engage in meaningful self-assessment. We’ll be exploring what this looks like in an upcoming article but a quick, more traditional approach, would be to provide an answer key and let students determine what they got right, what they got wrong, and what they need to do next. This in turn, helps improve their metacognition. Which leads to the next idea . . .
3. Students Improve in their Metacognition
People debate about which subjects will prepare kids for the future – whether it’s engineering or coding or philosophy. The truth is, we can’t always predict what knowledge students will need in the future. Our students will need to navigate an ever-changing, complicated world. The scary thing is that the rules are constantly changing. The exciting thing is our students will someday rewrite these rules.
So, how do we prepare students for that future? I love how A.J. Juliani puts it, “Our job as teachers is not to ‘prepare’ kids for something; our job is to help kids learn to prepare themselves for anything.” In other words, they need to be adaptable and resilient. They need to be self-directed, meaning they are both self-starters and self-managers.
This is why metacognition is so important. When students have strong metacognition skills, they are able to anticipate change and navigate complexity. But that doesn’t always happen. According to a Pascarella and Terenzini study, one of the most significant challenges college students face is managing their own learning.
However, it goes beyond success in college and career. If we want students to become lifelong learners, they need to know how to own their learning; which means they need to know how to think about thinking. I love the way the authors of How Learning Works put it, “To become self-directed learners, students must learn to assess the demands of the task, evaluate their own knowledge and skills, plan their approach, monitor their progress, and adjust their strategies as needed.”
The authors explain metacognition as a cycle:
It starts with the ability to assess the task at hand. Here, students have a clear picture of what they need to accomplish. This part sounds easy. However, this goes beyond simply reading instructions. It includes the ability to integrate prior knowledge with new knowledge and make connections between direct instruction and a new tasks. If a task feels too complicated, students can become overwhelmed and give up. Other times, they might oversimplify the task or get hung up on one specific detail.
In the second phase, students evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses. This can be tricky if students have an inaccurate view of their skills. Often, students who are highly skilled will suffer Imposter Syndrome, where they underestimate their skills because they are painfully aware of what they don’t know. On the other hand, students with a lower skill level might experience the Dunning Kruger Effect, where they overestimate their skills.
Afterward, students plan out their approach. Note that this does not have to be a detailed plan. In some cases, students might visualize where they need to be and what they need to do to get there. However, it’s interesting that experts tend to spend more time in planning than novices but are more effective in implementation, because novices experience more initial mistakes.
Students then take action and apply the strategies and monitor their progress, which leads to the next phase, where they reflect on their learning and adjust their approach. Here, they might determine new strategies that ultimately lead back to a re-assessment of the tasks. Effective problem-solvers are more likely to adjust their approach by highlighting what’s working and fixing what’s failing while poor problem-solvers are more likely to stick with an approach that isn’t working.
This cycle can happen rapidly or over a longer stretch of time. And it doesn’t always follow the sequence systematically. In some cases, it can almost feel so seamless that it’s invisible. However, even so, it is vital for learning. When students have strong metacognition skills, they are more likely to succeed in college, in their careers, and in life-long learning.
This is why it’s critical that students own the assessment process. They are able to figure out:
- What they have already know (prior knowledge)
- What they don’t know (areas of improvement)
- What they want to master (their goals)
- What they will do to improve (action plan)
By integrating small self-assessments, where students can get immediate feedback, they can move quickly through this cycle. Similarly, when students gain practical peer feedback, they have a more accurate view of what they know and what they don’t know, which helps them set goals and develop a plan of action.
4. Increased Buy-In Leads to Better Engagement
When students own the assessment process, they have a greater sense of buy-in. There’s a sense of control, or personal agency, in their learning. Students grow more aware of their progress as they navigate their learning. They’re more aware of what they know and what they need to know. In Empower, I shared a continuum of student agency from more teacher-oriented to more student-oriented.
On the left, we have compliance, where students engage in a task because it is required. Next, we shift toward engagement, where students engage in a task because of a desire to accomplish it. This task is still largely teacher-directed but it taps into student interests. Finally, we have empowerment, where students engage in a task out of a sense of ownership. Student-centered assessments are often in that space between engagement and empowerment. There’s a greater sense of ownership (leading to empowerment) but teachers will still design the assessment protocols.
Another way to think of assessment is through Schlechty’s Levels of Engagement:
When students own the assessment process, they are more likely to hit that place of true engagement instead of strategic compliance. If a student is actively assessing their own learning, they are not only focused but also committed to the learning at hand. This increased commitment is what shifts learning from strategic compliance to true engagement.
5. Students Develop Vital Lifelong Skills
Earlier I mentioned that we don’t always know what knowledge students will need for the future. Take coding for example. Some experts claim that coding is a critical skill and a new form of literacy. Coders will shape the future. Others believe that artificial intelligence and machine learning will replace coders within the next few decades and thus we are preparing students for jobs that won’t exist. As someone who has taught coding, I see it as a valuable skill, but not because it prepares students to code. Instead, coding teaches logic, syntax, and systems thinking. In certain respects, it’s similar to playing chess. In other ways, it’s like sketching a floor plan. And in other ways, it’s similar to learning a new language. Students might not need to learn a particular programming language but all students can benefit from systems thinking and logic. It’s not about programming. It’s about the transferable skills they can use anywhere.
In other words, in the future our students will need more than a set of core content skills. They’ll need transferable essential skills that they can use in any context. This is something Google learned a few years ago. They launched Project Oxygen as a way to determine what skills mattered most for employee success. They assumed the best predictor of employee success would be university program and grades, followed closely by STEM expertise. Instead, the top of their list was, “being a good coach; communicating and listening well; possessing insights into others (including others different values and points of view); having empathy toward and being supportive of one’s colleagues.” In other words, the most critical factors for success involved collaboration.
Later, when they studied their teams in Project Aristotle, they found the top skills were, “equality, generosity, curiosity toward the ideas of your teammates, empathy, and emotional intelligence.”
Some people call these “soft skills” but I hate that term. There is nothing soft about communication, collaboration, or creativity. Others call these “21st Century Skills,” but these skills are timeless. Yes, we need them in this century but we needed them last century as well. Moreover, we can help prepare students for the future by empowering them in the present.
When students own the assessment process, they grow in self-awareness and intellectual humility. They learn how to engage in goal-setting, how to monitor their progress, and, if this is embedded within PBL, they learn project management. As students assess their strengths and weaknesses and try new approaches, they grow more resilient. They engage in iterative thinking and often come up with novel approaches for problem-solving. When students engage in peer assessment, they learn how to “be a good coach.” They learn how to give and receive feedback. They learn how to collaborate and problem solve. In other words, when we empower students to own the assessment process, we empower students to become lifelong learners.
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A simplified cannulation procedure for pharmacokinetic experiments in rats.
A convenient, simplified method for cannulating the jugular vein of rats is described. The technique has been developed for use in pharmacokinetic experiments. The construction of the cannula has been simplified compared with previously described methods. In addition, a small and simple outlet device for the cannula is described which allows the connection of tubing for sampling at short time intervals or for short-term infusions (several hours). In order to reduce stress on the animal, the tubing can be disconnected during sampling at long time intervals, allowing free movement of the animal with only a very small external outlet device.
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The present invention relates to urination apparatus for use in three situations : - urine sample collection for testing of urine, waste urine collection for disposal of urine resulting from urination away from toilets, and simplification of urination by women without sitting on a toilet..
There are a large number of reasons why urine is sampled, usually for legal or medical reasons, and for biochemical and bacteriological testing.
With regard to the legal reasons, the police use urine analysis for drink drive testing, drug abuse, DNA testing, and also for male and female rape allegations. Competitive sports events, including military ones, routinely make such tests.
With regard to the medical reasons, the medical profession routinely use urine analysis for detection of protein, for detection of bladder infections, for detection of drugs, hormones, proteins, and pregnancy, and for any fetal or other abnormality during pregnancy or any infectious diseases which may be passed on to the unborn child. Further tests include the 10 5G tests (also know as the U10 tests) which as a single test covers the following 10 parameters;-Glucose, bilirubin, ketone, specific gravity, blood, pH, protein, urobilingogen, nitrite and leukocytes.
With the increased sophistication of modern equipment these can be tested in a number of combinations known as 9SG, 4B, 3, 2K or 1G and can be done on machines that are so small that they can be accommodated in the surgeries of general practitioners. The advantages of such machinery are that the patients's results are almost instantaneous (whereas some results can take 3-14 days) and are secure (they are not confused with any other patient or lost in postage or broken in transit). Further machinery for the testing of urine includes dipsticks in test tube bottles of a wider than normal diameter, which can also realize results for any types and density of bacterial growths and for any of the denominations of the agar media. The increased sophistication of machinery (and the desire of patient's for more immediate results) has placed a greater significance on the collection of urine samples. The above are given as examples only and do not constitute an exhaustive list of the types of tests or situations in which such tests are required.
Initially, a simple container was used into which an individual would urinate, these traditional containers being known as "sweetheart pots". Either the urine in the container would be tested directly, or a sample would be pipetted out and tested then, or a small quantity of the urine sample would be transferred to a transfer bottle, typically of 20 ml, for later testing.
However, the normal voiding quantity of urine for adults is typically between 250- 450 ml. Therefore, either a large sweetheart pot must be used or urine overflows the sweetheart pot. This results in either a mess on the surface or floor on which the sweetheart was resting or in spillage onto the hands of the individual holding the sweetheart pot. In the latter case, there are a number of drawbacks. Most individuals exhibit a high degree of squeamishness when it comes to urine, either through direct contact or in clearing up urine. There is also a risk of infection from contagious diseases. Thus, the above situation, as well as being unhygienic, messy and inconvenient, causes considerable distress and embarrassment ; to the individual giving the sample. This is particularly the case where the individual is in a sensitive state, perhaps because of a medical condition or through having been the victim of a criminal act.
One alternative is therefore to use a large capacity sweetheart pot. However, a problem with large capacity sweetheart pots arises because the sample volume actually required for most tests is much smaller than the capacity of the sweetheart pot. Accordingly, it is necessary for someone to decant some of the urine from the sweetheart pot into a smaller testing container used for the test. This transfer of urine from the sweetheart pot to the smaller testing container (and/or for transporting the sample to the location at which the test will be carried out) represents a further messy process having similar drawbacks to those mentioned above. In the event that another party performs the transfer, for example a nurse or a police officer, then they too need protection from contact with the urine sample. Moreover, due to the use of the sweetheart pot and the smaller testing container, the risk of contamination is greater.
Another alternative is to make the sweetheart pot smaller or to ask the individual to provide the sample directly into a smaller testing container. However, in this case, it is necessary to urinate into what are typically tubular or bottle shaped testing containers having a relatively small inlet surface. This makes it difficult for an individual to hold the testing container in their urine stream without contaminating their hands and the outside of the container. This is difficult enough when sitting down. However, even in surgeries and police stations, public toilets are often unhygienic because they have been soiled in some way by previous users. Therefore, women in particular often feel that they have to adopt an uncomfortable, hovering stance over a public toilet seat, making it even more difficult to provide the required sample. Thus, this alternative has similar drawbacks to those mentioned above.
It is estimated that some 120 million urine samples are taken each year in the United Kingdom, mostly using the aforementioned smaller testing container. The size of the container employed varies according to manufacturer and geographical area. Indeed, the container also doubles up for collection of blood and the like. Thus, such containers have been used for a long time.
WO-A-90/13280
One apparatus specifically directed at obtaining a mid stream urine sample is disclosed in . This document describes a urine sample collection apparatus and a waste urine collection apparatus wherein a front body contacting portion is connected to one end of an elongate tube which has a sampling passage located immediately adjacent that one end. The other end of the elongate tube can be open or joined to a disposal container. A mid stream sample container is attached to the sampling passage via a fracturable join. In use, the front portion is located against a female user's body such that the rim thereof surrounds the user's ostium and the user then discharges urine into the apparatus. By selective breakage of the fracturable join, a mid stream sample of urine passes through the sampling passage into the sample container. Alternatively, the urine can simply pass to a disposal container. The shape of the front portion is generally funnel shaped flaring uniformly from the connection to the one end of the tube out to a curved body contacting surface.
Thus, this known apparatus intends to provide a means by which the urine flow can pass out into a toilet whilst a proportion of the urine flow can be selectively collected in a sweetheart type of collection container. However, the collection container that collects the urine can not easily function as a testing container or provide a container which can be transported. Furthermore, there is still spillage of urine over the users's hands during urination; and spillage as the user attempts to separate the collection container from the apparatus. In addition, the body contacting end of the apparatus leaks and a back pressure is created that tends to contaminate the contacted area of the body with urine. There is also significant splashing of the female body that is within the area bounded by the contact of that portion with the body. It has also been found that certain of these apparatus do not fill correctly. It is believed that this is partly due to air locks being present, due to the orientation of the apparatus and collection container, and the speed and pressure of the urine flow. The apparatus can also not accommodate differing flow rates. Furthermore, this apparatus is difficult to use. The complexity of its manufacture makes it much more expensive than the aforementioned smaller sample containers. For the above reasons, this apparatus has not been commercially successful.
Other known urine sample collection apparatus have a body contacting portion which is funnel shaped and leads directly to a container. However, once again, it has been found that when such apparatus are used by a female user, the known funnel shape of the body contacting portion can result in backing up of urine within that portion, significant splashing of the female body that is within the area bounded by the contact of that portion with the body, or leakage around the rim thereof. This is unpleasant, messy, and unhygienic. It is a major inhibition to female users using such apparatus.
There is also known a leisure urination apparatus directed to the simplification of urination by women without sitting on a toilet. Such an apparatus comprises an elongate tube having one end which is partially narrowed whilst the other end is connected to open onto a front portion in the form of a relatively small shovel or scoop shaped receptor. In use, a female user places the receptor under her outer labial lips and around her urethra orifice. The outer labial lips then act as a leak-proof fit and secures the receptor in place. The user then starts to urinate. The urine flows down the tube and out through the narrowed end. Thus, the exit of urine can be preferentially directed, for example into a toilet or urinal, or against a tree or rock. In particular, the female user does not need to significantly undress to perform the act of urination. This is advantageous in many outdoor situations. Hence the term leisure urination apparatus.
However, some female users find the concept of locating this receptor under the outer labial lips distasteful and will not do it. It is a major inhibition to female users using such apparatus.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved body contacting portion which does not suffer the drawbacks associated with the known urination apparatus.
Another object of the invention is to provide a urine sample collection apparatus which reduces the likelihood of contamination of the individual's hands and/or a container in which the urine is collected for transport and/or testing.
Another object of the invention is to facilitate the collection of urine samples from children.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which allows bed-ridden and/or disabled people to urinate comfortably and hygienically.
A further object of the invention is to facilitate urination, at home or elsewhere, by people who (permanently or temporarily) have difficulty in adopting a comfortable position for urination, such as pregnant women, women with broken legs, the obese and so-on.
Yet another object of the invention is to relieve pressure upon carers, nurses and hospital staff by enabling bed-ridden or wheelchair bound patients to deal with some at least of their own urinatory processes without the need to call for attention.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a means which renders the action of urinating by such people easier to manage without assistance, thereby improving their quality of life and self-esteem.
a generally elongate tubular portion having an outlet in the side thereof including a coupling formed for releasably mounting an open topped urine sample collection container thereto in a direction extending generally away from the axis of said tubular portion; and
a receptor for reception of urine, the receptor having a rim shaped for intimate contact with a user's body and a surface portion from which said tubular portion extends in a direction generally away from a surface bounded by said rim;
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a urine sample collection apparatus comprising:
wherein the surface portion of the receptor, the direction of said tubular portion and the direction of said urine collection container are selected whereby urine voided from the body at normal speeds and pressures flows along said tubular portion whilst filling said container.
a generally elongate tubular portion having an outlet in the side thereof including a coupling formed for releasably mounting an open topped urine sample collection container thereto in a direction extending generally away from the axis of said tubular portion; and
a receptor for reception of urine, the receptor having a surface portion extending from a rim, bounding an inlet surface which is symmetrical about the axis of said tubular portion, to an aperture from which said tubular portion extends in a direction generally away from said inlet surface;
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a urine sample collection apparatus comprising:
wherein the edge of the rim on the side corresponding to said outlet is displaced along the axis of the tubular portion further from said aperture than the opposing edge of said rim.
a generally elongate tubular portion having an outlet in the side thereof including a coupling formed for releasably mounting an open topped urine sample collection container thereto in a direction extending generally away from the axis of said tubular portion; and
a receptor for reception of urine, the receptor having a surface portion extending from a rim, bounding an inlet surface which is symmetrical about the axis of said tubular portion, to an aperture from which said tubular portion extends in a direction generally away from said inlet surface;
According to a still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a urine sample collection apparatus comprising:
wherein the inlet surface of the receptor, the direction of said tubular portion and the direction of said urine sample collection container are selected whereby when the rim is held, during use, against the body of a female user to cover the urethra orifice, the open top of the sample urine collection container is generally horizontal or faces towards urine voided from the body.
a generally elongate tubular portion having an outlet in the side thereof including a coupling formed for releasably mounting an open topped urine sample collection container thereto in a direction extending generally away from the axis of said tubular portion; and
a receptor for reception of urine, the receptor having a surface portion extending from a rim, bounding an inlet surface which is symmetrical about the axis of said tubular portion, to an aperture from which said tubular portion extends in a direction generally away from said inlet surface;
According to yet a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a urine sample collection apparatus comprising:
wherein the receptor and the tubular portion are formed such that when the rim is held, during use, against the body of a female user to cover the urethra orifice, said aperture is generally opposite the urethra orifice with the tubular portion oriented downwards and generally parallel to the natural flow of urine from the woman during urination.
The user of the apparatus could be either male or female, but the apparatus is particularly applicable to female use. The apparatus of the present invention thus aids collection of urine for testing because it does not require the user to aim a stream of urine into a relatively small inlet surface of a typical urine sample collection container. In this connection, the user can hold the apparatus with the hand positioned so that the fingers are beneath the tubular portion with the thumb on top, thus permitting the apparatus to be held steady and reducing contamination of the user's hands, with the excess urine being directed to a suitable disposal site. In addition, since the urine is directed into the urine sample collection container through the coupling, the outside of the urine sample collection container itself does not become contaminated. Thus, the potentially degrading known situation of giving a urine sample is avoided. Moreover, since a urine sample can be given without contamination of the users hands, people who avoided giving urine samples because of squeamishness are more likely to give a urine sample. The ease of use and reduced risk of contamination makes it easier for assistants to help users without themselves getting contaminated. In addition, the present invention is particularly advantageous for urine sample collection from disabled and young children without contamination.
Furthermore, there is no need for the urine to be transferred to another container, since the urine sample collection container may have any desired capacity.
The apparatus of the present invention is such that it is easy to use so that users can readily understand how a sample is to be given. Accordingly, a good sample can be reliably obtained. Furthermore, the apparatus can be easily used by both sexes who are disabled, elderly, infirm, or obese since it is usable whilst sitting on a toilet or standing before a urinal. In addition, for women, this avoids the risk of contamination from toilet seats in public toilets.
Additionally, since the apparatus of the present invention has a simple form and construction, it can be made as one piece from medical grade plastics at a price level that renders it practical for Health Authorities to introduce.
The apparatus can be pointed more horizontally, for example at a urinal, or can be pointed more vertically down into a toilet bowl. In the latter respect, the compact design of the apparatus facilitates its simple usage whilst sitting on a toilet. Consequently, the apparatus can be used by both males and females either in a standing or sitting position.
Moreover, by having the inlet surface and the tubular portion arranged in this way, the urine flow is along the tubular portion so that less back pressure or back flow is likely thereby reducing the risk of contamination of the users body. In addition, a vacuum effect is produced which can suck the receptor onto the body thereby enhancing the seal between the receptor and the body. In addition, splash-back onto the body bounded by the rim is substantially reduced. This dryness during use differs noticeably from the prior art and is considered very beneficial by users.
Preferably, said inlet surface has a generally concave shape to fit the generally convex shape of the female body in the proximity of the urethra orifice.
By making the inlet surface with this shape, the apparatus has a complementary fit with the area around the urethra orifice for females in particular. Thus, a good seal at the body is provided to ensure that there is no leakage between the apparatus and the body, particularly at the high pressures that occur during urination.
It is preferred that the end of the tubular portion remote from the receptor is substantially closed excepting an-excess overflow outlet.
This allows urine to flow out of the tubular portion in a direction away from the user, after the urine sample collection container is full. This urine can be directed into any suitable disposal site, such as a toilet bowl, urinal or into any suitable container or receptacle placed in fluid contact with the excess overflow outlet. For example, a bag produced from plastics material and having a suitably dimensioned, elasticated neck can be secured, by its neck, in communication with the overflow outlet. The provision of an overflow outlet is a convenient feature because generally the user will void significantly more urine than is required to fill the urine sample collection container.
In one embodiment, the receptor and the tubular portion are integrally formed.
For this reason the apparatus can be easily formed from a single mould making production cheap and easy.
In another embodiment, the receptor and the tubular portion are separately formed and mechanically connected together.
This provides the opportunity for parts of the apparatus to be sterilized for re-use.
It is preferred that the coupling is directed away from the axis of the tubular portion at a fixed angle other than a right angle.
By having the coupling directed in this way, the urine sample collecting container, which is mounted parallel to the coupling, can be arranged to be substantially vertical when the apparatus is in use by a female sitting down.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the outlet is located along the tubular portion to be spaced from the aperture of the receptor.
By having the outlet spaced in this way, the flow of urine along the tubular portion has slowed sufficiently to enable a part of the flow to go into the urine sample collection container. In addition, the space between the outlet and the receptor provides a finger space to assist the user in holding the apparatus.
In a particular case, the outlet is spaced from the aperture of the receptor by at least 1.5 cm.
It has been found that this dimension provides a suitable position where the urine flow has slowed sufficiently and gives an appropriate dimension for the finger space.
Conveniently, the surface of the tubular portion on the side of said outlet and which is adjacent said outlet is curved away from said axis to meet the outlet.
By having this surface curved in this manner, the diversion of a proportion of the main urine flow into the urine sample collection container is assured.
In one embodiment, the outlet comprises a stub-like tubular section extending away from the tubular portion.
As a result, the section can provide a push fit connection for the urine sample collection container, although a bayonet or other connection could be used. Moreover, it is found that during separation of the urine sample collection container therefrom, substantially no spillage of urine therefrom needs to occur.
In a particular case, the stub-like section extends away from the tubular section to have a decreasing diameter to provide a friction fit to the urine sample collection container.
Consequently, the section provides a push fit connection which is compatible to differing diameter urine sample collection containers. Thus, the apparatus can be applied to a very wide range of collection containers.
It is preferred that the rim is formed whereby when the rim is held, during use, against the body of a female user to cover the urethra orifice, in a standing or sitting position, the tubular portion points in a generally downward direction.
Thus, disposal of the excess urine is facilitated.
In one preferred embodiment, the rim and surface portion of the receptor define a shovel like shape.
This particular shape has been found to be particularly good at making a seal with the female anatomy in the vicinity of the urethra orifice. In fact, it is preferred that the rim of the receptor is shaped to fit intimately over a woman's urethra orifice.
In one case, the rim defines a generally oblong shape.
This has been found to provide improved sealing to the body of the user.
In one case, the receptor is sized to fit beneath the outer labial lips of a female user during use.
This has been found to be particularly convenient since a vacuum effect is facilitated whereby the receptor tends to be sucked onto the woman to provide a very good seal. Moreover, the degree of contamination of the woman is minimised. In addition, women use the apparatus without having to take down their trousers or panties. In this connection, trousers can be unzipped or unbuttoned and panties moved to one side before engaging the receptor to cover the urethra orifice. Then, without having to sit on a toilet seat, a woman can urinate with confidence into the apparatus. Moreover, since urine has anti-septic properties, the lack of spillage can reduce the pain associated with giving a urine sample when the user has wounds, sores or lesions in or around the female genital area, has an outbreak of certain female genital infections, during the post natal period when an episiotomy has been performed etc.
In another case, the rim defines a generally key-hole shape.
This has been found to provide improved sealing to the body of the user.
In a preferred embodiment, the receptor is sized to cover the outer labial lips of a female user during use.
Thus, inhibitions with locating the receptor under the outer labial lips is avoided whilst still providing the aforementioned vacuum effect to provide a very good seal. ; Moreover, the degree of contamination of the woman is minimised.
a relatively narrow outlet aperture flaring out to a bell with a rim defining an inlet area;
According to still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a urine funnelling trumpet comprising:
wherein the inlet area has a long axis with a pubic locating portion extending from one end of the axis to meet a vaginal locating portion extending from the other end of the axis, the inlet area of the pubic locating portion being inclined relatively towards the inlet area of the vaginal locating portion.
The term "trumpet" as used herein is intended to encompass an apparatus having an aperture to which a tube can be joined, integrally or separably, and which has a flared bell which is bowl shaped.
It has been found that the relative inclination of the two portions of the urine funnelling trumpet aids in the location thereof over the region of the urethra orifice, and ' also enables a good seal to be provided by the rim when pushed against the body. In particular, it has been found that it is natural for the female user to locate the pubic locating portion over the pubic area and the vaginal locating portion over the vaginal lips.
In a preferred embodiment, the inlet area of the vaginal locating portion has a curvature along said'axis.
This improves the seal provided by the rim of this portion when pushed against the body.
In a particular case, the vaginal locating portion is dimensioned to fit substantially closely around the vaginal lips of a female user.
This ensures a good seal to the body of a female.
In a preferred embodiment, the inlet area of the vaginal locating portion is symmetrical about said axis.
This improves the seal provided by the rim of this portion when pushed against the body.
In another embodiment, the inlet area of the pubic locating portion has a curvature along said axis.
This improves the seal provided by the rim of this portion when pushed against the body.
Conveniently, the inlet area of the pubic locating portion is symmetrical about said axis.
In one embodiment, the side of the bell flaring out from the outlet aperture meets the rim at said one end of the axis substantially as a tangent to the curvature of the inlet area of the pubic locating portion to provide a generally flat surface in the region of said one end of the axis.
This has been found to improve the seal provided by the rim of this portion when pushed against the body and facilitates a good seal even with variation in the physique of the female user.
In a preferred embodiment, the radius of curvature of the vaginal locating portion is no more than 20% smaller than the radius of curvature of the pubic locating portion.
This has been found to provide a good seal with the female body which avoids leakage and aligns the outlet aperture with the urethra orifice of the female during use.
Preferably, the centre of the radius of curvature of the pubic locating portion is located on the side of a radius of the vaginal locating portion remote from the one end of the axis.
By having the two portions tilted relatively,to one another, a good leak free seal is provided at the body and reliable location is facilitated.
In a preferred embodiment, the central radius of the arc of curvature subtended by the vaginal locating portion is substantially vertical during use of the trumpet.
This again facilitates an appropriate location of the trumpet and a good seal.
In one case, the arc of curvature subtended by the vaginal locating portion is between 20° to 30°
In another case, the arc of curvature subtended by the pubic locating portion is between 30° to 50°
It is preferred that the outlet is located mostly within an arc of curvature subtended by the vaginal locating portion.
As a result, the outlet aperture is correctly aligned with the flow of urine from the female urethra orifice thereby avoiding splash-back and backing up of urine.
Conveniently, the surface of the bell extending from the outlet aperture along said axis towards said one end defines an angle of between 15° to 25° relative to a central radius of the arc of curvature subtended by the vaginal locating portion
Preferably, the outlet aperture has an axis extending at an angle of between 125° to 145° relative to a central radius of the arc of curvature subtended by the vaginal locating portion.
This ensures correct alignment with the urine flow from the female urethra orifice.
Conveniently, the surface of the bell extending from the outlet along said axis towards said another end comprises a first section which is parallel to the axis of the outlet aperture and meets a second section defining an angle of between 5° to 20° relative to a central radius of the arc of curvature subtended by the vaginal locating portion.
It has been found that this form of surface presents a larger effective area at which the urine flow from the female urethra orifice may be directed without splash-back occurring since urine reflected therefrom still tends to pass into the outlet aperture.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a urine sample collection apparatus having a urine funnelling trumpet as herein above defined.
The urine sample collection apparatus can have the forms mentioned above wherein the receptor is replaced by the urine funnelling trumpet as herein above defined.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a waste urine collection apparatus having a urine funnelling trumpet as herein above defined.
Such an apparatus is of benefit to those who are disabled and/or bed-ridden, incontinent, and who may need to provide a urine sample in circumstances where assistance is not readily available. In such circumstances, there is merit in the availability of an apparatus into which they can urinate at will. The provision of such a facility is of great value, not only from the practical standpoint but also in the sense of improving the standard of life and general self-esteem of those unfortunate enough to be to any extent reliant on others for assistance in connection with the performance of their bodily functions.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a leisure urination apparatus having a urine funnelling trumpet as herein above defined.
Thus, the need to use a receptor which must go under the outer labial lips is avoided.
Figure 1 illustrates a left side view of the female anatomy in the region of the urethra;
Figure 2 illustrates an oblique perspective view of a first embodiment of a urine sample collection apparatus embodying the present invention;
Figure 3 illustrates a side view of a second embodiment of a urine sample collection apparatus embodying the present invention together with a standard tubular urine sample ' collection container attached;
Figure 4 illustrates an alternative form for the sample collection container coupling.
Figure 5 illustrates a side view of a third embodiment of a urine sample collection apparatus embodying the present invention together with a standard tubular urine sample collection container attached, and a variation thereof to provide a waste urine collection apparatus;
Figure 6 illustrates a perspective view of the receptor forming part of embodiment shown in figure 5;
Figure 7 illustrates a side view of a urine funnelling trumpet embodying the present invention;
Figure 8 illustrates an oblique perspective view of the urine funnelling trumpet shown in figure 7; and
Figure 9 illustrates a top plan view of the urine funnelling trumpet shown in figure 7.
Examples of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Components common to different figures bear common reference numerals.
As explained above, the present invention intends to provide a urination apparatus which can be an apparatus for unisex urine sample collection for testing of urine, for unisex waste urine collection for disposal of urine resulting from urination away from toilets, and for simplification of urination by women without sitting on a toilet, the latter being referred to hereinafter as a leisure urination apparatus. To be practical, such an apparatus must be small, compact, neat, and easily usable. However, a major problem which such an apparatus must overcome arises from the intrinsic differences in the emission characteristics of urine between male and female.
In the male, since the urethra is located at the end of the penis, which is manually movable to orient it in a desired direction, the emission direction of urine can to a reasonable degree be controlled. This enables urine to be directed into relatively small openings. Thus, a relatively small and compact apparatus can be produced which avoids splash-back, although there can still be a problem with urine backing up. Furthermore, urination can take place in a variety of different bodily postures.
In the female, the urethra is hidden by the labia. It is not commonly known, but an element of directional control can be obtained by careful manipulation of the region around the labia. In the absence of this, it has been found that during urination, the direction of emission varies over an angular range of up to 30°. Indeed, the direction can vary according to whether the female is seated or standing. Moreover, the direction varies from female to female according to a number of characteristics including, but not restricted to, age, weight and childbirth. Thus, the urination apparatus must take into account this variable angular range whilst ensuring that there is no splash-back of urine onto the body or backing up of urine onto the body.
Referring to figure 1, there is shown a left side view of the female anatomy. It can be seen that the female urethra orifice 33 is located between the clitoris 31 and the entrance to the vagina 34 and substantially below the pubis 32. The anus 35 and rectum 36 are also illustrated. It can be seen that the surface of the body in the proximity of the vulva generally curves from an upper or front portion in the region of the pubis to a lower or rear portion in the region of the anus. In fact, a plan view of this area (not shown) reveals that there is a concave curved strip, the radius of the curvature at the upper portion being quite similar to the radius of the curvature at the lower portion.
Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of a urine sample collection apparatus 100. The urine sample collection apparatus 100 comprises a urine receiving portion or receptor, generally identified by reference numeral 1, having an outlet aperture 2 coupled to one end of a generally elongate hollow ; tubular body or pipe portion 3 which extends therefrom. The receptor 1 is defined by a surface 4 which extends from the outlet aperture 2 to an oblong shaped rim 5, which defines a concave inlet surface area. The receptor thus has a resulting shape resembling a high sided shovel or a scoop.
The rim 5 is configured to fit intimately under the outer labial lips to cover the woman's urethra orifice 33 with one edge 110A of the rim directed towards the aforementioned upper portion and with the opposing edge 110B directed towards the aforementioned lower portion. This form of receptor is an internal receptor and typically has a dimension, extending from the edge 110A to 110B, in the region of 2.5 to 4 cm.
A sample container coupling 60 comprises a short hollow tube which is formed to open into the centre of the side of the tubular body corresponding to the edge 110B of the receptor. The sample container coupling 60 is located along the tubular body 3 to be spaced from the outlet aperture 2. The sample container coupling has an internal thread (not shown) onto which a standard urine sample collection container or bottle (not shown) can be screwed. The sample container coupling 60 is located such the sample container is orientated vertically downwards during use.
The end of the tubular body 3 remote from the outlet aperture 2 is closed apart from an excess outlet 80 in the form of a tear shaped aperture.
In use, a standard tubular urine sample collection container (not shown) is screwed into the threaded neck of the sample container coupling 60.
For a female, the receptor is located under the outer labial lips to cover the woman's urethra orifice with the edge 110A located higher than the edge 110B. This positioning may be achieved by covering the vagina area with the receptor 1 and then sliding it upwards into place over the urethra orifice before urinating.
In this position, the outer labia acts as a leak-proof fit and secures the internal receptor in place. By having such a leak proof fit and the location directly at the urethra orifice, the risk of contamination of the urine sample is reduced, and the risk of spillage and any associated drawbacks therefrom are reduced.
For a male, the tip of the penis is located against the receptor to cover the man's urethra orifice with the edge 110A located higher than the edge 110B before urinating.
The surface 4 of the receptor 1, the tubular body 3 and the location of the outlet aperture 2 are configured so as to encourage the free flow of urine into the apparatus 100. In this respect, it has been found that the outlet aperture 2 should be located so that in use it lies close to opposite the urethra opening 33. Thus, urine expelled from the urethra orifice under great pressure will tend to flow along the axis of the tubular body 3. With the receptor of this embodiment positioned as above, it is found that the outlet aperture 2 is aligned opposite the urethra orifice.
Thus, located, the sample container coupling 60 faces downward with the inlet surface of the sample container horizontal or facing towards the urine flow. The user then starts to urinate. The urine flows into the receptor 1, through the outlet aperture 2 and along the axis of the tubular body 3. As it passes the sample container coupling 60, a proportion of the urine falls under gravity into the collection container, with the air in the container being pushed out. The remainder of the urine flow continues down the tubular body 3 to pass through the excess outlet 80 into a toilet or urinal.
Once the collection container is full, the user can simply finish urinating because excess urine flows out of the excess outlet 80. Alternatively, the user can withdraw the apparatus 100 and continue to urinate, but this increases the likelihood of contamination to their hands.
Since the tubular body 3 is positioned in use substantially opposite the urethra orifice of a female in particular, so that the axis thereof is generally aligned with the natural flow axis of the urine from the body, the urine travels directly down the tubular body. As a result, the amount of splash-back onto the female body is insignificant and there is little if any backing up of urine along the tubular body and into the receptor.
After urination has been completed, the apparatus 100 is removed from the body. If the sample collection container is over full, the apparatus may be tipped slightly with the excess being poured through the excess outlet 80 while ensuring that sufficient urine is left in the collection container. The collection container is then unscrewed from the sample container coupling 60 and a secure closure (not shown) is screwed on. The apparatus 100 can then be disposed of or sterilised for further use.
With the apparatus of the present embodiment, it can be seen that a hygienic and simple urine sample collection apparatus-is provided which does not suffer from the drawback of splash-back or backing up, particularly for the female user.
Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of a urine sample collection apparatus 100A together with a standard tubular urine sample collection container 70. The second embodiment is similar to that of figure 1 except that the sample container coupling 60A is formed as a short solid stub-like part having an exit passage 40 extending there through along with a smaller diameter vent pipe 40A, also extending there through for venting air during filling of the container 70. It will be apparent that the vent pipe 40A can be omitted in the event that air can adequately flow out of the exit passage 40 during filling with urine.
The external surface of the coupling tapers downwards in diameter with increasing distance from where it joins to the tubular body 3. The sample container coupling 60A is located along the tubular body 3 to be spaced from the outlet aperture 2 and is located such that it is orientated vertically downwards during use whereby the desired flow of urine through the exit passage 40 is assisted by gravity.
As with the embodiment of figure 2 and subsequent embodiments, the components of the apparatus 100A are formed without internal ribs or other components that could obstruct, or cause unwanted deviation of a flow of urine voided from a body at normal speeds and pressures. Moreover, the part of the tubular body 3 which joins the sample container coupling 60 on the side closer to the outlet aperture 2 (identified by reference numeral 3A) is curved, or alternatively angled, into the join in order to encourage the diversion of urine into the exit passage 40 from the flow of urine along the tubular body 3.
As with figure 2, the sample container coupling.60A is provided approximately in the centre of the lower surface of the tubular body 3, corresponding to the edge 110B, in order that there is a sufficient portion of the tubular body 3 provided at its end remote from the receptor 1 for the user to hold the apparatus comfortably. In addition, this spacing has been found to allow the urine to slow sufficiently to fall into the container 70 rather than flow past it. In this respect, as with figure 2, it is intended that the apparatus be held in a user's hand such that the user's fingers (F1 F2) are disposed beneath the tubular body 3 and splayed to either side of the sample container coupling. The apparatus is steadied by placing the thumb (T) on top of the tubular body 3 in a position roughly above the position of the sample container coupling. It has been found that the sample container coupling should preferably join the tubular body 3 at a distance of at least 1.5 cm from the aperture 2.
The use of the apparatus shown in figure 3 is similar to that of figure 2 except that the urine sample collection container 70 is attached to the sample container coupling 60A by means of a push fit or interference fit. Moreover, with the taper on the outlet coupling 60A, urine sample collection containers having necks of different diameters can be appropriately attached.
Figure 4 illustrates a sample container coupling having an annular groove 66A formed in the lower surface (as illustrated), which groove extends into the body of the ' coupling with an increasing radius. In this way, smaller diameter urine sample collection containers can be pushed into the groove to provide an interference fit thereby increasing the number of different diameter containers that can be attached to the coupling.
In relation to figure 3, as with figure 2, it will be noted that when considering the axis of the tubular body 3, the edge 110A of the rim 5 is located closer to the outlet aperture 2 along that axis than the edge 110B of the rim 5 and that the sample container coupling 60 is located on the same side of the tubular body 3 that corresponds with the edge 110 B. The receptor 1 has this form since, during use by a female user, the outlet aperture 2 is located in the receptor 1 at a position which is slightly higher and which tends to locate the outlet aperture 2 more opposite the urethra orifice.
In addition, the rim 5 is formed such that when a female user is using the apparatus, the tubular body 3 extends at a particular angle from the body, that is the tubular body points in a generally downwards direction regardless of whether it is used in a standing or sitting position. In particular, the angle should be selected such that the axis of the tubular body is generally parallel with the direction of urine released during urination. In practice, this has been found to be in the region of 30° to 60° from horizontal when the rim 5 is located against the female body, and preferably 45°.
The sample container coupling may extend from the tubular body 3 with its axis at differing angles, for example figure 2 illustrates an angle of the order of 90°, whilst figure 3 illustrates an angle closer to 120°. The combination of angles of the tubular body 3 extending from the receptor and the sample container coupling 60 are selected whereby when the urine sample collection container is attached, the collection container is generally vertical or the plane of the upper edge of the collection container is horizontal or is angled to face towards the flow of urine during use of the apparatus.
Referring to figures 5 and 6, there is shown a third embodiment of a urine sample collection apparatus 100B in which the receptor 1B, shown in greater detail in figure 6, is shaped to be placed over the outer labial lips, over the area of the vulva of a female, in order to generally cover the urethra orifice 33. This form of receptor is an external receptor. This form has general application for use by a wide range of the female population who may feel disinclined to use the internal receptor. The tubular body part of the apparatus 100B is similar to that shown in figure 3 apart from the end remote from the receptor.
Referring to figures 5 and 6, it will be seen that, in this example, the receptor 1A comprises a surface 4B which extends from an outlet aperture 2B to a generally key-hole shaped body-contacting rim 5B comprising first and second arcuate portions, 110'A and 110'B, linked by substantially linear interconnecting portions 111 and 112. The rim 5B presents a smooth, slightly curved peripheral lip that is intended to be pressed into intimate contact with the female body to cover the outer labial lips.
The rim 58 defines an inlet surface for the receptor 1B which is slightly convex in shape and complementary to the curved strip of the female body between the upper and lower portions referred to above in relation to figure 1. For comfort and soundness of fit, the rim 5B is shaped with a general configuration being that the arcuate portions 110'A and 110'B are disposed somewhat further from the outlet aperture 2B along the axis of the tubular body 3 than the centre of the interconnecting portions 111 and 112.
The receptor 100B is shaped and configured for use with the arcuate portion 110'A disposed towards the upper portion of a female user and the arcuate portion 110'B disposed towards the lower portion of a female user. Whilst a female user as aware of the location of their anus, they are typically not so clearly aware of the location of the urethra orifice. Since the apparatus 100B is intended to take a urine, sample, it has been found that the female user using the receptor 1B will not locate it over the vulva region such that the arcuate portion 110'B is located over the anus. For this reason, the anus provides a reference point for location of the receptor 1B. On this basis, the outlet aperture 2, as defined by the surface 4B, can be positioned such that during use, for a typical range of female users, the outlet aperture 2 is located as close as possible to being opposite the urethra orifice.
The dimension of the receptor 1B in this embodiment comprises a length of 6.5 cm and a maximum width of 3.2 cm and a minimum width of 2.0 cm. The rim 5B has a radius in the region of 10 cm whilst the tubular body 3 has an overall length of 9 cm. The diameter of the exit aperture 40 in the sample container coupling 60A is 0.8 cm and is located centrally along the tubular body 3.
The surface 4B is shaped to define a bowl-like concavity communicating with the outlet aperture 2 which links directly to the tubular body 3. This shape has been found to reduce splash-back during use by a female and substantially avoids backing up of urine in the tubular body.
In the present embodiment, the receptor 1B is a separate component which is a push-fit to the tubular body 3. In addition, an excess aperture is not provided. Instead, a curved outlet or diverting tube 88 is pushed over the end of the tubular body 3 to direct urine flow in the body downwards. The diverting tube may be detachable or integral with the tubular body. Of course, the diverting tube may be omitted and the tubular body can instead include the excess aperture 80.
The apparatus 110B is used in the same manner as the apparatus of figures 2 and 3 except that the receptor 1B is located over the outer labial lips.
The apparatus described above concerns a urine sample collection apparatus. This apparatus can be changed to a unisex waste urine collection apparatus for disposal of urine resulting from urination away from toilets. In essence, the tubular body is formed without the sample container coupling and hence comprises a simple tubular body connecting at one end to the outlet aperture 2. Then, a flexible elongate pipe 200, shown by dotted lines in figure 5, is attached to the end of the tubular body 3 remote from the outlet aperture 2, in this case the diverting tube 80. The other end of the flexible pipe 200 is connected to an expandable bag 201. The bag thus forms a waste container, although it could be replaced by a bottle.
Thus, when a user needs to urinate, they locate the receptor in the appropriate position, as mentioned above for providing a sample, and urinate. The urine will then flow down the tubular body 3, down the pipe 200 and into the bag 201. Consequently, a simple and easy apparatus is provided for collection of urine resulting from urination away from a toilet or urinal.
In a similar manner, by not including the pipe 200, an apparatus is provide for simplification of urination by women without sitting on a toilet. In this respect, when a female needs to urinate, they locate the receptor in the appropriate position, as mentioned above for providing a sample, and urinate. Since the tubular body 3 provides a means for directional control of the urine flow, the user can direct the urine to a desired location. Moreover, since urination using the receptor described above can take place in a standing position, a female user can use such an apparatus standing up directing the urine into a urinal or into a conventional toilet without sitting down. Indeed, such an apparatus can be used in the open with the advantage that there is a much reduced exposure of the female body during standing usage compared with conventional urination by squatting.
In arriving at the embodiments described above, that is a urination apparatus which can be an apparatus for unisex urine sample collection for testing of urine, for unisex waste urine collection for disposal of urine resulting from urination away from toilets, and for simplification of urination by women without sitting on a toilet, it was found with the prior art that if the flow of urine by a female during urination is rapid, back-splashing and backing up of urine can take place. It is believed that a primary cause of this results from the outlet aperture 2 not being located directly opposite the urethra orifice so.that urine flowing therefrom will not preferentially flow down the tubular body 3. Moreover, for females usage, it has been found that correctly positioning the outlet aperture within the receptor to overcome this problem is very difficult due to variation in the female anatomy and partly due to variation in positioning of the receptor in use.
Whilst the above embodiments reduce the problems, figures 7, 8 and 9 illustrate a receptor or trumpet which substantially entirely overcomes these problems. These figures show a receptor 1C which it is believed positions the outlet aperture correctly and enables reliable positioning of the receptor by females during use. In these figures the receptor is defined as a urine funnelling trumpet 1C comprises an outlet aperture 2C defining a generally planar circular cross section. The outlet aperture has an axis Z-Z which extends perpendicularly from the cross section thereof to join and be aligned with the axis of an elongate tubular body 3 (shown in shadow outline) forming part of a urination apparatus in the form of a urine sample collection apparatus, a Waste urine disposal apparatus, or a leisure urination apparatus.
From the edge of the aperture a surface 4C flares out and extends to a rim 5C to form a bell. It will be appreciated that the precise shape of the bell will vary according to the form of the surface 4C as will be apparent hereinafter. The rim defines an inlet surface for the urine funnelling trumpet. The rim is intended to be pushed lightly onto the body of a female user.
As can be seen from figure 9, the inlet area defined by the rim 5C has a long axis X extending between end points P (pubic) and V (vaginal). Points M are located between the points P and V on the rim 5C.
The part of the rim between the point P and the points M defines a pubic locating portion 6 which has a radius of curvature RP as measured from the point P to a point CP.
The part of the rim between the point V and the points M defines a vaginal locating portion 7 which has a radius of curvature RV as measured from the point V to a point CV.
Taken along the axis X, the pubic locating portion 6 subtends an arc having an angle θP whilst the vaginal locating portion 7 subtends an arc having an angle θV.
The urine funnelling trumpet 1C has been produced so that when positioned by females for use, the line 10 (as illustrated) should be aligned with the centre line of the body, that is to say substantially vertical. In this position, the line 10 substantially bisects the arc having an angle θV, that is to say the point CV lies on line 10.
It will be seen that as the arc of the angle θV is extended beyond the vaginal locating portion 7, as shown by the dotted lines 9, the aperture 2C mostly lies within this arc. Moreover, the axis Z-Z makes an angle of θA with the line 10.
It will be seen that the surface 4C of the bell extending along the axis X-X from the outlet aperture 2C to the point P makes an angle of θF with the line 10.
It will be seen that the surface 4C of the bell extending along the axis X-X from the outlet aperture to the point V comprises a first section 11, parallel to the axis Z-Z, which meets a second section 12 extending down from the point V making an angle of θB with the line 10.
TABLE 1
Value
Illustrated
Range
θA
135°
125° - 145°
θB
10°
5° - 20°
θF
20°
15° - 25°
θP
60°
45° - 75°
θV
25°
20° - 30°
Table 1 shows the angles that are used in the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated, along with the ranges that can be used.
In the illustrated embodiment, the value of RV is 70 mm and that of RP is 75 mm. In addition, the points CV and CP are separated by a distance of 15 mm, this distance being on the vaginal side of and substantially perpendicular to the line 10. It will be appreciated that these values can be changed. Preferably, the value of RV is not more than 20% less than RP. The inclination between the vaginal locating portion and the pubic locating portion is obtained by having the distance between the points CV and CP. The diameter of the outlet aperture 2 is 21 mm and preferably between 15 mm and 25 mm.
The urine funnelling trumpet of the present invention can be integrally formed with or attached to a tubular extension, such as that shown by reference numeral 3 in the earlier described figures. This tubular extension can then take a form as described above to obtain a urine sample collection apparatus, a waste urine collection apparatus, or a leisure urination apparatus.
In use, the rim 5C is located against a female body with the pubic locating portion located over the pubic bone and the vaginal locating portion located over the vaginal lips. The user then urinates and the apparatus is used as described above.
It has been found that the inclination of the pubic locating portion-towards the vaginal locating portion matches the anatomy of females well. By dimensioning the vaginal locating portion to cover the vaginal lips, it has been found that leakage during urination does not occur. Indeed, due to the angles selected and the fact that the surface 4C of the bell in the region of the point P meets that point substantiality at a tangent to the arc formed by angle θP, it has been found that a generally flattened area is produced in the region of the point P. This has been found to encourage females to identify this part with their pubic area thereby automatically providing a clue to the orientation and positioning of the trumpet. Furthermore, due to the flattened area, a good seal is provided at this point even with variations in the anatomy of the female.
In addition, by having the particular angles mentioned above and the outlet 2C mostly within the arc subtended by the angle θV, splash back and backing up of urine in the trumpet does not occur. The urine funnelling trumpet of the present invention has been tested by females in a standing, sitting and prone position with differing types of urine sample collection apparatus, waste urine collection apparatus, and leisure urination apparatus as described above. It has been found that the females users do not suffer from any splash back. Indeed, they have are no more wetness than that resulting from urination without the trumpet. Moreaver, no leakage around the rim 5C has occurred during the relatively high pressure conditions that exist during urination. In addition, backing up of urine in the bell has not been observed if the tubular body 3 and subsequent parts of the apparatus provide sufficient drainage away from the bell 4.
Thus, the urine funnelling trumpet enables reliable location of the trumpet when used by females and this together with the correct location of the outlet aperture 2C provides a receptor which substantially avoids splash-back and backing up problems.
Although the embodiment of figures 7 to 9 has been described as for use with a urine sample collection apparatus, a waste urine collection apparatus and a leisure urination apparatus, it will be apparent that it can comprise an integral part or a major component of all of such apparatus. In fact, it can also be used as part of a kit for female incontinence. Moreover whilst the urine funnelling trumpet has particular usage for females, it can still be used by males.
It will be apparent that the embodiments described above show one example only of the relative angular disposition and location of the outlet aperture, the tubular body and the sample container coupling. In particular, the orientation of the sample container coupling may be oriented to the tubular body at an angle significantly different from 90°. Moreover, the exit passage in the coupling can be angled to the axis of the coupling rather than parallel thereto.
The excess aperture described above was tear-shaped or pear-shaped such that, during use of the apparatus, the narrower end of the excess aperture is located lower in the end wall of the tubular body 3 than is its wider end. Whatever form is taken by the excess aperture 8, there can be an advantage in the formation of an associated lip, external of the end of the tubular body 3 onto which a flexible sac, length of tubing, or diverting tube may be attached by means of a resilient or push fit neck so that excess urine can flow out of the excess aperture 8 without spillage into the sac or tubing as the case may be.
The sample container coupling may be pivotally mounted with respect to the tubular body 3 so that the angle of the sample container with respect of the urine sample collection apparatus can be altered to an angle which is comfortable for the user while ensuring that the sample container is adequately filled. This pivotal motion may be achieved by connecting the coupling to the tubular body with a thinned portion of material, by using a material that is naturally malleable or otherwise constructed or formed to be so or by using a tubular outlet of corrugated, concertina-like construction that can accommodate relative movement between adjacent folds.
The receptors described above provide greater comfort and security in use, and also reduce the risk of leakage at the body due to a vacuum effect produced during urine flow through the apparatus and also because any splashing back of the urine only affects a small area. In addition, for a female user, a woman can locate the receptor without having to take down her trousers or panties. In this connection, trousers can be unzipped or unbuttoned and panties moved to one side before locating the receptor. Then, without having to sit on a toilet seat, the woman can urinate with confidence into the apparatus.
The present invention enables the use of the apparatus by a female in a sitting or standing position. Since the woman may use the apparatus standing up, the apparatus can also aid women who have difficulty hovering over public toilet seats, for example the permanently or temporarily disabled. Moreover, ' urine is sterile and thus urinals have much less bacteria than toilets which have had faeces in. It has been found that women who urinate over or on such a toilet have a higher risk of aerosol contamination of the vulva area than a man or women using a urinal.
It will be apparent that the apparatus and trumpet described above can be produced from plastics material (either hard or soft such as EVA), rubber, papier mâché or metal, depending upon factors such as cost and the need for sterilisation and re-usability.
The apparatus can be formed as a single integral unit or may be a separate tubular body part connectable by suitable means to a receptor.
It will be appreciated that the sample container coupling can be arranged to connect to a urine sample collection container in many different ways, including, but not restricted to bayonet fitting, screw fitting, or push-fit fitting. Moreover, whilst a coupling for circular cross section sample collection containers has been illustrated, the present invention is not limited to such containers.
It will be understood that the embodiment illustrated shows one application of the invention only for the purposes of illustration. In practice the invention may be applied to many different configurations, the detailed embodiments being straightforward for those skilled in the art to implement.
STATEMENTS OF INVENTION | |
03 Aug The most critical gap in cybersecurity today: Talent
You only have to look at recent headlines to confirm that cybersecurity is a critical concern that touches every industry and every individual, and threats are only continuing to increase.
Yet in a recent study conducted by ISACA and RSA, 52 percent of global cybersecurity and IT managers and practitioners said “that less than a quarter of applicants for cybersecurity positions have the necessary skills for the open position. As a result, 53 percent said it can take three to six months just to find a qualified candidate.” Then it takes another three to get them on board. This is a pressing issue within this field of work that needs to be addressed. So how did this shortage or “talent gap” happen in the first place?
When the information security industry first began to be a focus area, three decades ago (when I entered the IT/Security world!), enterprises did not anticipate the incredible advancements in technology, the rapid increase in advanced cyber attacks and the constant need to protect sensitive data. The major advancements of technology alone from mobile applications to cloud to the internet of things has shined a spotlight on both the security vulnerabilities these technologies present, and the lack of cybersecurity professionals who know how to fix them. | https://wtnnews.com/2016/08/03/critical-gap-cybersecurity-today-talent/ |
This invention relates generally to a development system for creating color output images in an electrostatographic printing machine and, more particularly, concerns a system for providing customized color control in a liquid developing material-based electrostatographic printing system. The color mixing and control system operates by sensing the color of an operational mixture of developing material comprised of a blend of multiple basic color components and to further control the concentration of respective basic color components used to replenish the operational mixture.
It is well known that conventional electrostatographic reproduction processes can be adapted to produce multicolor images. For example, the charged photoconductive member may be sequentially exposed to a series of color separated images corresponding to the primary colors in an input image in order to form a plurality of color separated latent images. Each color separated image is developed with a complementary developing material containing a primary color or a colorant which is the subtractive complement of the color separated image, with each developed color separated image subsequently superimposed, in registration, on one another to produce a multicolor image output. Thus, a multicolor image is generated from patterns of different primary colors or their subtractive complements which are blended by the eye to create a visual perception of a color image.
US-A-4111151 and US-A-4113371 disclose electrophotographic printing machines having a plurality of developing material supply receptacles with toner particles of a preselected color and a unit, wherein the toner particles are mixed in order to obtain a desired resultant color according to the original document being reproduced, the concentration of the toner particles in the mixture being automatically regulated.
DE-A-2724776 discloses a method for developing electrical latent images wherein developing is carried out using a liquid developer containing a mixture of at least two different toners, the hue, saturation and gradation of color in the mixture being controlled at will by mixing different color toners and white and black toners.
With the capabilities of electrostatographic technology moving into multicolor imaging, advances have also been directed to the creation of so-called "highlight color" images, wherein independent, differently colored, monochrome images are created on a single output copy sheet, preferably in a single processing cycle. Likewise, "spot color" and/or "high-fidelity" color printing has been developed, wherein a printing system capable of producing process color output images is augmented with an additional developer housing containing an additional color beyond the primary or subtractive colors used to produce the process color output. This additional developer housing is used for developing an independent image with a specific color (spot color) or for extending the color gamut of the process color output (high fidelity color). As such, several concepts derived from conventional electrostatographic imaging techniques which were previously directed to monochrome and/or process color image formation have been modified to generate output images having selected areas that are different in color than the rest of the document. Applications of highlight color include, for example, emphasis on important information, accentuation of titles, and more generally, differentiation of specific areas of text or other image information.
One specific application of highlight color processing is customer selectable color printing, wherein a very specific highlight color is required. Customer selectable colors are typically utilized to provide instant identification and authenticity to a document. As such, the customer is usually highly concerned that the color meets particular color specifications. For example, the red color associated with Xerox' digital stylized "X" is a customer selectable color having a particular shade, hue and color value. Likewise, the particular shade of orange associated with Syracuse University is a good example of a customer selectable color. A more specialized example of a customer selectable color output can be found in the field of "custom color", which specifically refers to registered proprietary colors, as used, for example, in corporate logos, authorized letterhead and official seals. The yellow associated with Kodak brand products, and the brown associated with Hershey brand products are good examples of custom colors which are required to meet exacting color standards in a highlight color or spot color printing application.
The various colors typically utilized for standard highlighting processes generally do not precisely match customer selectable colors. Moreover, customer selectable colors typically cannot be accurately generated via halftone process color methods because the production of solid image areas of a particular color using halftone image processing techniques typically yields nonuniformity of the color in the image area. Further, lines and text produced by halftone process color are very sensitive to misregistration of the multiple color images such that blurring, color variances, and other image quality defects may result.
As a result of the deficiencies noted above, customer selectable color production in electrostatographic printing systems is typically carried out by providing a singular premixed developing material composition made up of a mixture of multiple color toner particles blended in preselected concentrations for producing the desired customer selectable color output. This method of mixing multiple color toners to produce a particular color developing material is analogous to processes used to produce customer selectable color paints and inks. In offset printing, for example, a customer selectable color output image is produced by printing a solid image pattern with a premixed customer selectable color printing ink as opposed to printing a plurality of halftone image patterns with various primary colors or complements thereof. This concept has generally been extended to electrostatographic printing technology, as disclosed, forexample, in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 5,557,393, wherein an electrostatic latent image is developed by a dry powder developing material comprising two or more compatible toner compositions to produce a customer selectable color output.
Xerox Disclosure Journal, Vol.21, no.2, 1 March 1996, page 155 discloses a development process having a developer housing containing a liquid developer comprised of at least two different colored links that are premixed at a desired concentration ratio to provide custom specified color images.
Customer selectable color printing materials including paints, printing inks and developing materials can be manufactured by determining precise amounts of constituent basic color components making up a given customer selectable color material, providing precisely measured amounts of each constituent basic color component, and thoroughly mixing these color components. This process is commonly facilitated by reference to a color guide or swatch book containing hundreds or even thousands of swatches illustrating different colors, wherein each color swatch is associated with a specific formulation of colorants. Probably the most popular of these color guides is published by Pantone®, Inc. of Moonachie, New Jersey. The Pantone® Color Formula Guide expresses colors using a certified matching system and provides the precise formulation necessary to produce a specific customer selectable color by physically intermixing predetermined concentrations of up to four colors from a set of up to 18 principal or basic colors. There are many colors available using the Pantone® system or other color formula guides of this nature that cannot be produced via typical halftone process color methods or even by mixing selected amounts of cyan, magenta, yellow and/or black inks or developing materials.
The present invention contemplates a development system including a color mixing and control system, wherein the color value of the developing material in a supply reservoir can be controlled and the rate of replenishment of various color components added to the supply reservoir can be selectively varied. By adding and mixing precise amounts of specific developing materials from a set of basic color components, the actual color of the developing material in the reservoir is brought into agreement with a predetermined selected color. Moreover, by controlling the replenishment process accordingly, a wide range of customer selectable color developing materials can be produced and maintained over very long print runs.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a system for providing a customer selectable color liquid developing material for printing a customer selectable color image area on an output substrate in an electrostatographic printing machine, comprising a plurality of developing material supply receptacles each containing a differently colored developing material concentrate corresponding to a basic color component of a color matching system, a developing material reservoir having at least one of said plurality of developing material supply receptacles coupled thereto, for providing an operative supply of developing material having the customer selectable color, a system for systematically dispensing a selected amount of developing material concentrate from at least a selected one of said developing material supply receptacles to said developing material reservoir to provide a selected basic color component to said operative supply of developing material; a color sensing device for monitoring the color of said operative supply of developing material, characterised by a control system coupled to said sensing device for selectively actuating said systematic dispensing system in response to the measured color of said operative supply of developing material, said control system being operative to provide the customer selectable color developing material by blending the plurality of differently coloured developing material concentrates.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrostatographic printing apparatus including at least one development subsystem for developing at least a portion of an electrostatic image with a liquid developing material having a customer selectable color to produce a customer selectable color image area on an output substrate, the subsystem being in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, an electrostatographic printing process wherein at least a portion of an electrostatic latent image is developed with a liquid developing material having a customer selectable color, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of developing material supply receptacles, each containing a differently colored developing material concentrate corresponding to a basic color component of a color matching system, selectively delivering at least one of said plurality of differently colored developing concentrate materials to a developing material reservoir for producing an operative supply of developing material having the customer selectable color, systematically dispensing a selected amount of developing material concentrate of a selected basic color component to said developing material reservoir for providing a selected basic color component to said operative supply of developing material, monitoring a color of said operative supply of developing material, systematically dispensing a selected amount of developing material concentrate of a selected basic color component to said developing material reservoir (10) in response to the color of said operative supply of developing material, and blending said plurality of differently colored developing material concentrates for providing said customer selectable color developing material.
in situ
Another aspect of the present invention is that the control system may also be utilized to mix a customer selectable color , whereby approximate amounts of primary or basic color components are initially deposited and mixed in the developing material reservoir, with this developing material mixture being continually monitored and adjusted until the mixture meets some predetermined target optical properties.
Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and upon reference to FIG. 1, which provides a schematic, elevational view of an exemplary liquid developing material applicator and an exemplary liquid developing material development system incorporating a liquid developing material color mixing and control system in accordance with the present invention.
While the present invention may find particular application in tri-level highlight color imaging, it will become apparent from the following discussion that the color mixing and control system of the present invention may be equally well-suited for use in a wide variety of printing machines and is not necessarily limited in its application to any particular single-pass highlight tri-level electrostatographic process. In fact, it is intended that the color mixing and control system of the present invention may be extended to any electrostatographic printing process intended to produce a customer selectable color image area including multi-color printing machines which may be provided with an ancillary customer selectable color development housing, as well as printing machines which carry out ionographic printing processes and the like. More generally, while the color mixing and control system of the present invention will hereinafter be described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the description of the invention is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to this preferred embodiment, the present invention being solely defined by the appended claims.
Turning now to FIG. 1, an exemplary apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image, wherein liquid developing materials are utilized is depicted in schematic form. Typically, a highlight color electrostatographic printing machine would include at least two developing apparatus operating with different color liquid developing materials for developing latent image areas into different colored visible images. By way of example, in a tri-level system of the type described hereinabove, a first developer apparatus might be utilized to develop the positively charged image area with black colored liquid developing material, while a second developer apparatus might be used to develop the negatively charged image area image with a customized color. Each different liquid color developing material comprises pigmented toner or marking particles, as well as charge control additives and charge directors, all disseminated through a liquid carrier, wherein the marking particles are charged to a polarity opposite in polarity to the charged latent image to be developed.
The developing apparatus of Fig. 1 operates primarily to transport liquid developer material into contact with a latent image on a photoreceptor surface, generally identified by reference numeral 100, wherein the marking particles are attracted, via electrophoresis, to the electrostatic latent image for creating a visible developed image thereof. With respect to the developing material transport and application process, the basic manner of operation of each developer apparatus is generally identical to one another and the developing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 represents only one of various known apparatus that can be utilized to apply liquid developing material to the photoconductive surface. It will be understood that the basic development system incorporating the mixing and control system of the present invention may take many forms, as for example, systems described in U.S. Patents 3,357,402; 3,618,552; 4,733,273; 4,883,018; 5,270,782 and 5,355,201. Such development systems may be utilized in a multicolor electrophotographic printing machine, a highlight color machine, or in a monochromatic printing machine.
Focusing on the development process before describing the color mixing and control system of the present invention, in the exemplary developing apparatus of FIG. 1, liquid developing material is transported from an supply reservoir 10 to the latent image on the photoreceptor 100 via a liquid developing material applicator 20. Supply reservoir 10 acts as a holding receptacle for providing an operative solution of liquid developing material comprised of liquid carrier, a charge director compound, and toner material, which, in the case of the customer selectable color application of the present invention, includes a blend of different colored marking particles. In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of replaceable supply dispensers 1 5A - 15Z, each containing a concentrated supply of marking particles and carrier liquid corresponding to a basic color component in a color matching system, are provided in association with the operational supply reservoir 10 and coupled thereto for replenishing the liquid developing material therein, as will be described.
The exemplary developing material applicator 20 includes a housing 22, having an elongated aperture 24 extending along a longitudinal axis thereof so as to be oriented substantially transverse to the surface of photoreceptor 100, along the direction of travel thereof, as indicated by arrow 102. The aperture 24 is coupled to an inlet port 26 which is further coupled to reservoir 10 via transport conduit 18. Transport conduit 18 operates in conjunction with aperture 24 to provide a path of travel for liquid developing material being transported from reservoir 10 and also defines a developing material application region in which the liquid developing material can freely flow in order to contact the surface of the photoreceptor belt 100 for developing the latent image thereon. Thus, liquid developing material is pumped or otherwise transported from the supply reservoir 10 to the applicator 20 through at least one inlet port 26, such that the liquid developing material flows out of the elongated aperture 24 and into contact with the surface of photoreceptor belt 100. An overflow drainage channel (not shown), partially surrounds the aperture 24, may also be provided for collecting excess developing material which may not be transferred over to the photoreceptor surface during development. Such an overflow channel would be connected to an outlet channel 28 for removal of excess or extraneous liquid developing material and, preferably, for directing this excess material back to reservoir 10 or to a waste sump whereat the liquid developing material can preferably be collected and the individual components thereof can be recycled for subsequent use.
Slightly downstream of and adjacent to the developing material applicator 20, in the direction of movement of the photoreceptor surface 100, is an electrically biased developer roller 30, the peripheral surface thereof being situated in close proximity to the surface of the photoreceptor 100. The developer roller 30 rotates in a direction opposite the movement of the photoconductor surface 100 so as to apply a substantial shear force to the thin layer of liquid developing material present in the area of the nip between the developer roller 30 and the photoreceptor 100, for minimizing the thickness of the liquid developing material on the surface thereof. This shear force removes a predetermined amount of excess liquid developing material from the surface of the photoreceptor and transports this excess developing material in the direction of the developing material applicator 20. The excess developing material eventually falls away from the rotating metering roll for collection in the reservoir 10 or a waste sump (not shown). A DC power supply 35 is also provided for maintaining an electrical bias on the metering roll 30 at a selected polarity and magnitude such that image areas of the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive surface will attract marking particles from the developing material for developing the electrostatic latent image. This electrophoretic development process minimizes the existence of marking particles in background regions and maximizes the deposit of marking particles in image areas on the photoreceptor.
In operation, liquid developing material is transported in the direction of the photoreceptor 100, filling the gap between the surface of the photoreceptor and the liquid developing material applicator 20. As the belt 100 moves in the direction of arrow 102, a portion of the liquid developing material in contact with the photoreceptor moves therewith toward the developing roll 30 where marking particles in the liquid developer material are attracted to the electrostatic latent image areas on the photoreceptor. The developing roller 30 also meters a predetermined amount of liquid developing material adhering to the photoconductive surface of belt 100 and acts as a seal for preventing extraneous liquid developing material from being carried away by the photoreceptor.
The application of developing material to the photoconductive surface clearly depletes the overall amount of the operative solution of developing material in supply reservoir 10. In the case of the liquid developing materials, marking particles are depleted in the image areas; carrier liquid is depleted in the image areas (trapped by marking particles) and in background areas, and may also be depleted by evaporation; and charge director is depleted in the image areas (trapped in the carrier liquid), in the image areas adsorbed onto marking particles, and in the background areas. In general practice, therefore, reservoir 10 is continuously replenished, as necessary, by the addition of developing material or selective components thereof, for example in the case of liquid developing materials, by the addition of liquid carrier, marking particles, and/or charge director into the supply reservoir 10. Since the total amount of any one component making up the developing material utilized to develop the image may vary as a function of the area of the developed image areas and the background portions of the latent image on the photoconductive surface, the specific amount of each component of the liquid developing material which must be added to the supply reservoir 10 varies with each development cycle. For example, a developed image having a large proportion of printed image area will cause a greater depletion of marking particles and/or charge director from a developing material reservoir as compared to a developed image with a small amount of printed image area.
Thus, it is known in the art that, while the rate of the replenishment of the liquid carrier component of the liquid developing material may be controlled by simply monitoring the level of liquid developer in the supply reservoir 10, the rate of replenishment of the marking particles, and/or the charge director components of the liquid developing material in reservoir 10 must be controlled in a more sophisticated manner to maintain the correct predetermined concentration for proper functionality of the marking particles and the charge director in the operative solution stored in the supply reservoir 10 (although the concentration may vary with time due to changes in operational parameters). Systems have been disclosed in the patent literature and otherwise for systematically replenishing individual components making up the liquid developing material (liquid carrier, marking particles and/or charge director) as they are depleted from the reservoir 10 during the development process. See, for example, commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08/551,381 and the references cited therein.
The present invention, however, contemplates a developing material replenishing system capable of systematically replenishing individual color components making up a customer selectable color developing material composition. As such, the replenishment system of the present invention includes a plurality of differently colored concentrate supply dispensers 15A, 15B, 15C, ... 15Z, at least a pair of which are coupled to the operative supply reservoir via an associated valve member 16A, 16B 16C, ... 16Z, or other appropriate supply control device. Preferably, each supply dispenser contains a developing material concentrate of a known basic or primary color component used in a given color matching system. It will be understood that each of the plurality of supply dispensers 15A - 15Z may be coupled to the reservoir, or only selected supply dispensers may be coupled to the reservoir 10. For example, under certain circumstances, such as space constraints or cost restraints, it may be desirable to use only dispensers 15A, 15B and 15C, making up a simplified color matching system.
In one specific embodiment, the replenishment system includes sixteen supply dispensers, wherein each supply dispenser provides a different basic color developing material corresponding to the sixteen basic or constituent colors of the Pantone® Color Matching System such that color formulations conveniently provided thereby can be utilized to produce over a thousand desirable colors and shades in a customer selectable color printing environment. Using this system, as few as two different color developing materials, from supply containers 15A and 15B for example, can be combined in reservoir 10 to expand the color gamut of customer selectable colors far beyond the colors available via halftone imaging techniques or even the colors available from mixing just Yellow, Magenta, Cyan and Black colored developing materials.
An essential component of the developing material color mixing and control of the present invention is a mixing control system. That is, since different components of the blended or mixed developing material in reservoir 10 may develop at different rates, a customer selectable color mixing controller 42 is provided in order to determine appropriate amounts of each color developing material in supply containers 15A, 15B ... or 15Z which may need to be added to supply reservoir 10, and to controllably supply each of such appropriate amounts of developing material. Controller 42 may take the form of any known microprocessor based memory and processing device as are well known in the art.
The approach provided by the color mixing control system of the present invention includes a sensing device 40, for example an optical sensor for monitoring the color of the liquid developing material in the reservoir 10. It will be appreciated that although a spectrophotometric approach to color sensing may provide extremely rigorous color measurements, the high cost and computational demands may yield advantages to more basic technology. Thus, while sensor 40 can take various forms and could be of many types as are well known in the art, the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a filter series for sensing the color of the developing material delivered out of the developing material reservoir 10 to the developing material applicator 20. The filter series contemplated by the present invention is represented diagramatically in FIG. 1 as sensing device 40, situated so as to sense the liquid developing material being transported from the liquid developing material reservoir 10 to the developing material applicator 20. It will be understood by those of skill in the art that various multi-wavelength filter devices may be utilized to detect the color of the developing material including devices which are submerged in the liquid developing material reservoir 10, or devices which monitor the light attenuation across the entire volume of the reservoir 10.
Sensor 40 is connected to controller 42 for controlling the flow of the variously colored replenishing liquid developing materials from dispensers 15A - 15Z, corresponding to the basic constituent colors of a color matching system, to be delivered into the liquid developing material supply reservoir 10 from each of the supply containers 15A - 15Z. In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the controller 42 is coupled to control valves 16A - 16Z for selective actuation thereof to control the flow of liquid developing material from each supply container 15A - 15Z. It will be understood that these valves may be replaced by pump devices or any other suitable flow control mechanisms as known in the art, so as to be substituted thereby.
As previously noted, in accordance with the present invention, sensor 40 includes a filter series. As such, sensor 40 includes a suitable lamp, filters and a photodetector, wherein light is transmitted from the lamp through the filters and onto the developing material. The reflectance, transmission, or emission of the developing material as it is illuminated, in turn by the light passing through each filter. In a well recognized approach, a predetermined number of relatively narrow bandwidth filters having transmittance peaks distributed across the visible spectrum are utilized to determine the spectral distribution of a test sample, in this case, the developing material being sensed. By using a sufficient number of filters having filter transmittances which are confined to sufficiently narrow wavelengths, discernible spectral power distribution can be provided by the filter series so as to distinguish basic color components making up the developing material so as to define the color thereof.
The spectral distribution information can also be used to define the color of the developing materials in terms of a particular color coordinate system, such as, for example, the well recognized standardized color notation system for defining uniform color spaces developed by the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE). The CIE color specification system employs so called "tristimulus values" to specify colors and to establish device independent color spaces. The CIE standards are widely accepted because measured colors can be readily expressed in the CIE recommended coordinate systems through the use of relatively straight-forward mathematical transformations.
Once the color for the monitored developing material is determined, the color of the measured sample, as may be defined by the spectral distribution or tristimulus values, among other units of measurement, is compared to the known values corresponding to the desired output color (as may be provided by the color matching system) to determine the precise color formulation necessary in the supply of operative developing material to yield a correct color match. This information is processed by controller 42 for selectively actuating valves 16A - 16Z to systematically dispense to the reservoir 10 selective amounts of developing material concentrate corresponding to selected basic color components from selected supply dispensers 15A - 15Z.
a priori
In sum, sensor 40 is provided in the form of a series of filter elements in combination with a light source and light detector for providing measurements that can be utilized to provide color mixing control. Measurements obtained from the filter series are compared to knowledge of like optical properties of the basic color components making up the customer selectable color developing material to provide an estimate of the concentration levels of each color component in the reservoir as well as the correction necessary to obtain target concentration levels yielding the desired customer selectable color output. Thus, the filter series provides a measurement of selected optical properties of the blended developing material in the reservoir 10, wherein this optical property information is subsequently transmitted to the controller 42, which compares the measured optical property information to corresponding known optical property values of the desired output color, as may be stored in a look up table or the like of a memory device. This information is used to determine the appropriate amounts of each color component which should be added to the reservoir 10 via actuation of valves 16A - 16Z, respectively.
n
i
n
{w
i
}=F({f
n
})
One method of carrying out the color mixing control process provided by the present invention will be described as follows: Initially, light passing through each filter is detected by a photodetector, producing a set of N filter signals, identified as f, corresponding to the number of filter elements, identified by the variable N. Assuming there are I developing material compositions corresponding to a number of basic color components utilized to produce the customer selectable color developing material, the composition of each color component making up the developing material passing through the filter, identified as w, can be calculated from the filter responses f, represented as follows:
ni
w
i
= Σ
n
A
ni
f
n
One method of performing this calculation uses a previously determined matrix; A:
ni
ni
i
The A are related in principle to the absorption spectra of the developing material components and to the transmission spectra of the filters. However, the A can be most usefully obtained by fitting the filter signals from a known set of mixed developing materials. The accuracy of the w can be improved by using knowledge of which components are added to the mixed developing material.
ni
In a first method by which this invention can be practiced, a set of filters is used which is equal to the total number of primaries or basic color components from which all customer selectable colors will be mixed. The transmission of light through each component and each filter is measured and the resulting matrix is inverted to obtain A.
ni
ik
In a second method by which this invention can be practiced, a set of filters is used which need not be equal to the total number of primaries from which all customer selectable colors will be mixed. Filter responses of a large set of mixed toners are measured and A is obtained by minimizing the RMS error between known and estimated concentrations, w, for the ith component of the kth mixture.
{w
i
}=NN({f
n
})
In a third method by which this invention can be practiced, a set of filter responses and a set of known concentrations for a large set of mixed toners is used to train a neural net. The matrix multiplication defined above is replaced by a neural net calculation: where the braces denote that a set of filter functions is input to the neural net and a set of weights is output.
ni
ni
ni
ik
In a fourth method by which this invention can be practiced, a set of filters is used which need not be equal to the total number of primaries or basic color components from which all customer selectable colors will be mixed. In this method, filter responses of a large set of mixed developing materials are measured. Different sets of A are obtained for different combinations of primary components. For example, a set of A is obtained for each unique combination of primary developing materials, such as Yellow and Red; Yellow and Blue; Blue and Red; Yellow, Blue and Red; etc. Again, each set of A is obtained by minimizing the RMS error between known and estimated concentrations, w, for the ith component of the kth mixture in the set.
The performance of some of the above disclosed processes have been tested by modeling methods. For example, by selecting six colors, namely colors similar to: Pantone's Yellow; Warm Red; Rubine Red; Reflex Blue; Process Blue; and Green, as our primary set of basic colors. It has been estimated that this set will reproduce about 75% of the Pantone customer selectable colors. Transmission spectra for 70 mixtures of these primaries were calculated, wherein each mixed developing material has total solids of 1 wt% and 2-3 basic color components. Component concentrations differ from one mixture to the next by amounts as small as 0.01 wt%. Filter responses for idealized sets of Gaussian filters were also calculated, where each filter is specified by its center wavelength and its full width at half maximum transmission.
center (nm)
400
430
510
570
630
700
width (nm)
25
25
25
25
50
10
In one modeling example, using six 25nm wide filters, centered at 425, 475, 525, 575, 625, and 675 nm, respectively, it was found that the direct method of calculating component concentrations is only approximate and may yield non-zero concentration measurements for some basic color components which are not necessarily present in a given mixture, as well as some negative estimated concentrations. These erroneous calculations can be roughly corrected by substituting zero for all negative estimated concentrations and by using knowledge of the mixtures to force estimated concentrations of unused components to zero such that the RMS error in estimated concentrations can be substantially corrected. The RMS error in the individual component concentrations was about 0.36 wt%. Adjusting the filter positions and widths appropriately, an improved set of filters was determined as follows:
These new filters yielded an RMS error of 0.20 wt%. Of course, further optimization of the filter set may reduce the RMS error even further. However, these estimates may be sufficiently accurate for crude color control and may suffice for some applications.
ni
ni
In another example, the first set of six filters above was used to empirically adjust the A, resulting in a reduction of the RMS error to approximately 0.067 wt%. In a similar manner, an empirical adjustment of the A corresponding to the second filter set reduced the RMS error to 0.040 wt%, thus providing much more accurate color control than the first method.
ni
ni
ni
ni
ni
ni
In another experiment the test set of 70 mixtures was broken into subsets, each made of 2-3 primary developing materials. For each mixture subset, only the first filter set was utilized and a set of A was empirically optimized, where i relates only to the primaries used in the mixture subset. For 13 mixtures of Yellow and Warm Red in the test set, empirical optimization of the 2x6 A matrix reduced the RMS error to 0.001 wt%. For 8 mixtures of Yellow and Rubine Red in the test set, empirical optimization of the 2x6 A matrix reduced the RMS error to 0.001 wt%. For 6 mixtures of Warm Red and Rubine Red in the test set, empirical optimization of the 2x6 A matrix reduced the RMS error to less than 0.001 wt%. Since the test set contains only 3 mixtures of Yellow, Rubine Red, and Process Blue, the set was supplemented with three additional mixtures spanning a larger range of component compositions than the mixtures in the original test set. The resultant empirical optimization of the 3x6 A matrix reduced the RMS error to 0.006 wt%. In addition, for 7 mixtures of Process Blue and Green in the test set, empirical optimization of the 2x6 A matrix reduced the RMS error to 0.001 wt%. In all these cases, it was found that the accuracy of component concentration estimates is great enough to clearly distinguish all the colors in the test set for the color control system.
It will be understood that the foregoing methods represent a only a few of the numerous and various processes that could be implemented for controlling the mixture of color components using a series of filters in order to provide a specified color output.
in situ
In review, the present invention provides a system and method for color mixing control in an electrostatographic printing system. A developing reservoir containing an operative solution of customer selectable colored developing material is continuously replenished with the color thereof being controlled and maintained by selectively varying the rate of replenishment of various color components added to the supply reservoir. A series of filter elements is used to measure the optical properties of the developing material in the supply reservoir so that the corresponding optical properties thereof can be brought into agreement with corresponding target optical properties. The present invention can be used to control and maintain the color of the developing material in the reservoir through continuous monitoring and correction thereof in order to maintain a particular ratio of color components in the reservoir over extended periods associated with very long print runs. The present invention may also be utilized to mix a customer selectable color , whereby approximate amounts of primary color components are initially deposited and mixed in the developing material reservoir, this developing material mixture being continually monitored and adjusted until the mixture reaches a some predetermined target optical properties. | |
Author Mary Stewart, 97, died May 9, 2014 at home in Loch Awe Scotland.
Stewart is best known for her Merlin series of Arthurian fantasy novels: Mythopoeic Award winners The Crystal Cave (1970) and The Hollow Hills (1973), and The Last Enchantment (1979). Related Arthurian novels include The Wicked Day (1983) and The Prince and the Pilgrim (1995), and other novels with speculative elements include Touch Not the Cat (1976), A Walk in Wolf Wood (1980), and Thornyhold (1988). She was also well known for her suspenseful romance novels, publishing over 20 books in all. Her last novel was Rose Cottage (1997).
Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow was born September 17, 1916 in Sunderland England, and attended Durham University, graduating in 1938 with a bachelors, and earning a MA in 1941. She went on to teach English there through 1956. She was predeceased by husband Sir Frederick H. Stewart in 2001.
The Horror Writers Association would like to congratulate the following authors and editors for their superior achievements. The association handed out the Bram Stoker Awards® at the annual award banquet on May 10, 2014, at the World Horror Convention in Portland.
В понедельник (12.05.2014) в Швейцарии на 75-м году жизни скончался художник Ганс Рудольф Гигер, больше известный как автор визуальных эффектов к киноленте “Чужой” Ридли Скотта.
The winner of the 2014 Arthur C. Clarke Award was announced during a ceremony at the Royal Society in London, May 1, 2014, as part of the SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival.
Ancillary Justice, Anne Leckie (Orbit)
The other nominees were:
God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Del Rey UK)
The Disestablishment of Paradise, Phillip Mann (Gollancz)
Nexus, Ramez Naam (Angry Robot)
The Adjacent, Christopher Priest (Gollancz)
The Machine, James Smythe (Blue Door)
This year’s judges were Duncan Lawie and Ian Whates for the British Science Fiction Association, Sarah Brown and Lesley Hall for the Science Fiction Foundation, and Georgie Knight for SCI-FI-LONDON. Andrew M. Butler was chair of judges. Tom Hunter is awards director. Leckie received a £2014 prize and a commemorative engraved bookend.
See more at: http://www.locusmag.com/
It was announced on Friday, April 18, at Norwescon 37, in SeaTac, Washington, that the winner for the distinguished original science fiction paperback published for the first time during 2013 in the U.S.A. is:
COUNTDOWN CITY by Ben H. Winters (Quirk Books)
Special citation was given to:
SELF-REFERENCE ENGINE by Toh EnJoe, trans. Terry Gallagher (Haikasoru)
The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Philip K. Dick Trust and the award ceremony is sponsored by the NorthWest Science Fiction Society. The 2013 award was given to LOST EVERYTHING by Brian Francis Slattery (Tor Books) with a special citation given to LOVESTAR by Andri Snær Magnason (Seven Stories Press). The judges for the 2014 Award were Elizabeth Bear (chair), Siobhan Carroll, Michael Kandel, Jamil Nasir, and Timothy Sullivan.
This year’s judges are Jon Armstrong, Ritch Calvin, Ellen Klages, Laura J. Mixon, and Michaela Roessner. | http://fantast.net.ua/author/urgaz/page/20 |
Take Your Dog To Work Day is June 24, and although the holiday might seem silly, it turns out there are benefits to bringing little Fido to the workplace.
A survey conducted by the Banfield Pet Hospital found that pet-friendly workplaces are viewed as highly positive, help boost morale and contribute to talent retention. The employees surveyed also agreed that the presence of pets in the office fostered better relationships at work, improved work-life balance and reduced stress levels.
Allowing pets in the office could also give your company a competitive edge when it comes to hiring employees. While it can encourage people to get their own pets (and research shows owning pets makes us happier), and it also removes any guilt employees may feel about having to leave their animal at home when they come into work.
Of the 1,006 employees and human resource decision makers surveyed, only 22 percent of employees work in a pet-friendly environment, but those who do say that it greatly improves their workplace. It may not be the norm yet, but with all the research coming out about how it can improve your company, you might be seeing more puppies in your office soon. | https://www.simplemost.com/research-shows-pet-friendly-offices-make-everyone-happier/ |
St Michael’s House welcomes the publication of the much anticipated and important
Report of the Independent Review Group established to examine the role of voluntary organisations in publicly funded health and personal social services.
The voluntary sector provides two thirds of publicly funded disability services.
The review group report sets out a series of challenging but important recommendations that will seek to re-establish a relationship of mutual respect and value between the state and the non-statutory sector.
The reports states clearly the added value that the voluntary sector provides through leadership, flexibility, responsiveness, and local community involvement; a long tradition of advocacy and a capacity to make decisions close to the service provided and involving volunteers who give their time and expertise freely for the benefit of fellow citizens.
The report challenges the statutory and voluntary sectors to work closely in the shared interests of benefitting citizens. It makes essential recommendations about developing a charter to officially recognize the voluntary sector; reviewing governance structures, agreeing essential services and providing full cost funding for those services; reducing bureaucracy and reviewing the service agreement and compliance approaches.
It also importantly records the current challenges in funding, recommending multi-annual funding and the need for measures to address the deficits that many organisations presently experience. | https://www.smh.ie/news/2019/03/01/st-michaels-house-welcomes-independent-review-grou/ |
Continuing from my previous work, I decided to do some artist research that links in with my chosen theme of litter and pollution. Felix Gonzalez-Torres was a Cuban-born American visual artist, who was known for his minimal installations and sculptures in which he used a range if materials, including string of lightbulbs, clocks, and my area of interest, hard candies. Torres’s ‘Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA)’ uses candies in colourful wrappers to create a simplistic and aesthetically pleasing sculpture.
This was an interactive sculpture, as the viewers were encouraged to take the hard candies and eventually replenish the taken piece. This concept represented Torres’s late lover and his eternal love for him. Although this piece has a heart-felt meaning behind it, I am focusing more on the appearance of the piece, and the overflowing effect of the pile of candies. I would like to further explore this concept and incorporate it into my own work, utilising the idea of litter overflowing and being in excess.
Here are some initial ideas I have come up with, represented by some pencil sketches. I would possibly like to create a sculpture out of plastic bottles concealed with litter and packets, and situate it in different areas in order to represent the excessive overflow of litter we have today. By wrapping the structure around a natural form, or even having it overflow from someone’s mouth, I feel like it would be a clear representation of pollution and how change is needed.
Here I got my friend to pose with the sculpture, and I intended for it to look like it was protruding from her mouth in an overflowing way, in order to represent the excessive amount of waste we have. I then decided to try and incorporate it within nature, and the contrast between the natural and man-made materials creates a stark look. | https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/s2197141_drawn-from-the-city-2021-2022sem1/2021/11/29/making-and-breaking-narrative-developing-ideas-and-outcomes/ |
How to keep cool and look good during a heatwave
I don’t think that it’s too optimistic to state that we are in the middle, or hopefully the start of a heatwave in the UK. It’s also fair to say that many people are ill prepared for the hot weather and can feel the effects of the heat and the sun quite dramatically. I’ve put together a few tips and guidance on how to cope with the current high temperatures.
Water, Water, Everywhere!
Water makes up around 60% of our bodies, so it’s important to replenish the water lost through perspiring during hot weather. You should aim to drink at least 1.5 litres each day in average temperatures, so it makes sense that you will need to consume more when it’s hot. The volume you should drink will depend on your activity levels too, so do take this into account. If you’re not keen on plain water, add slices of lemon, lime or cucumber for a refreshing hydrating drink.
However, around 20% of water is consumed from the food we eat every day, 80% of that from fresh fruit and vegetables. So there are many ways to make sure your body is getting enough water to function properly. A mixture of fresh whole fruit, vegetables, cordials, tea, milk and of course water etc. is best.
Consuming the right amount of water regularly throughout the day, is good for your vital organs, in particular your brain. If you’re dehydrated, you can’t think straight and everyday tasks like decision making or concentrating might become difficult. Here a just a few other benefits of drinking water:
- Replaces the water you’ve lost
- Helps digestion
- Helps blood circulation
- Keeps your joints moving
- Increases athletic performance
- Improves focus and concentration
- Beats tiredness
- Encourages you to eat less
- Won’t rot your teeth
Although your body will absorb water from whatever you eat and drink, there are some drinks to avoid. These are diuretics that make your kidneys expel (wee out) more than you drink and you’ll be losing vital fluids and nutrients that your body cells need to stay healthy. Ones to avoid or reduce intake of are:
- Alcohol of any form – It can be difficult to avoid sometimes, so drink the equivalent in water as you go along to counter the loss of fluids (and nutrients).
- Coffee – keep consumption to perhaps one or two cups each day and in between drink water.
- High sugar fizzy drinks – these give the body too much sugar at once and can cause sluggishness and fatigue after the initial hit, not to mention tooth decay.
Looking good when it’s hot, hot hot!
It’s very tempting to become a sun worshipper from day one of a forecasted heatwave. We’re really not used to the sun sticking around for too long in the UK, so people want to make the most of it.
The reality of taking in too much sun can usually be seen in the bright pink, red, or even scarlet coloured skin on show. I look at in a ‘say what you see’ kind of way. You burnt your skin! However, 15 minutes sun exposure to bare forearms and face each day gives you enough vitamin D (the happy vitamin) to supply your liver that will then release it when it’s dull weather. No wonder people who live in hot countries are so happy!
Too much sun, and heat, can over heat your body internally and externally too. Just like a chicken in the oven, you’ll be roasting yourself if you stay in it too long.
Top tips for keeping cool during hot weather.
Don’t stay out for too long – Between 11 am and 3 pm the sun is at it’s hottest, so best to avoid direct sun.
Wear a hat – keeping your head covered in a light coloured brimmed hat or scarf really does reflect the heat away from your head/hair, keeping you cooler. Especially important if you have no hair!
Keep covered up – like the hat, wearing light coloured loose clothing keeps the heat from your skin. Avoid synthetic materials though, they may make you sweat more.
Know your limits – before you start to turn pink, get out of the sun and into the shade.
Wear the right sun protection for your skin – Aim for a high factor to avoid burning.
Above all, keep hydrated and cool and enjoy this lovely weather sensibly. The NHS have enough to do. | https://michellehay.com/2018/06/27/how-to-keep-cool-and-look-good-during-a-heatwave/ |
It’s hard to resist reading others’ diary entries, especially when the diaries in question belong to famous writers. Now that a selection of Jack Kerouac‘s journals is being released from The New Yorker archives and made available online, resistance is more or less futile. Originally published in 1998, these journal entries span the years from 1948 to 1950, from just after the long drive that inspired On the Road to the publication of Kerouac’s first book, The Town and the City.
Jack Kerouac’s Journals
Know Any Oregon-Based Writers?
Portland-based Literary Arts is offering a total of $59,000 in Fellowships and Book Awards this year for Oregon-based writers and their published works. Past prize recipients have included Wild author Cheryl Strayed, as well as Patrick deWitt for his novel, The Sisters Brothers (which our own Mark O’Connell raved about).
McSweeney’s Newspaper Issue Preview
McSweeney’s offers a nine-page sneak peek at its forthcoming newspaper issue.
NowTrends Now Digital
Putin’s Call for a Russian Canon
The process of “Russification” is almost as old as Russia itself, yet to see it take shape in the present day can be quite distressing. In particular, Vladimir Putin’s recent proposal in Nezavisimaya Gazeta — in which the prime minister called for a “Russian canon” of literary works — has some people worried about its insidious potential for propaganda. Count Alexander Nazaryan among that group.
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Orwell in Burma
Three weeks ago, Vishwas Gaitonde wrote a piece for us about a house in India once owned by the family of George Orwell. Now, in the Times, Jane Perlez pays a visit to Burma, where Orwell served in the Imperial Police Force and gathered impressions for his first novel, Burmese Days.
VIDA Shall Be Pleased
By happy accident, the third issue of Brooklyn-based lit mag Armchair/Shotgun (which uses an anonymous submissions system) is composed entirely of female writers. Issues are available for online purchase. EDIT: Following our update, the publication put out a notice on how the “all-female-writers issue” issue came to be.
The Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans
The Iowa Review will begin accepting submissions for the Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans on April 15. The award honors creative writing by members of the U.S. military, and it’s open to both veterans as well as active duty personnel.
Wiesel Returns Reward
Night author Elie Wiesel is returning a Hungarian prize he won in 2004 because he believes the country is “‘whitewashing’ its collaboration with the Nazis,” writes Alexander Nazaryan. | https://themillions.com/2014/05/jack-kerouacs-journals.html |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protector capable of being closely attached along the shape of a human body, excellent in the air permeability, and capable of reducing the stuffiness.
SOLUTION: The protector includes a plate-shaped center protective member 1 for protecting the chest and the front abdominal region of the human body; a pair of right and left plate-shaped side protective members 2 and 2 for protecting the sides of the human body; and connecting bands 3 for bendably connecting the right and left side edges 13 and 13 of the center protective member 1 to the side protective members 2 respectively. The protector has unsewn first vents 15 formed by intermittently sewing the center protective member 1 and the connecting bands 3 in the vertical direction, and has unsewn second vents 25 formed by intermittently sewing the connecting bands 3 and the side protective members 2 in the vertical direction.
COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT | |
Friday, 8 May, 2015
Disbelief and disappointment; that in 2015 a nation of so-called animal lovers elects a party whose policies for non-human animals are either non-existent or abysmal.
While some Conservatives may be compassionate voices for the most vulnerable in society in a climate in which no politial party puts into practice what is truly required, the track record of the party is appalling.
The people of Britain seem to have spoken: let us hunt more foxes, deer, pheasants and other animals; let us have our entertainment while non-domesticated animals suffer in circuses; let us continue to prop up industries exploiting farmed animals, which causes immense suffering to nearly a billion land animals and many millions of fish in the UK alone; let us not worry about tomorrow when climate change is one step closer; and let us be the boss of our own mismanagement of health – no need to reform the health system to focus on healthy lifestyles and prevention.
No, let us instead be concerned about economic growth at all cost, at the expense of vulnerable people, other animals and the environment. We do not have any room in our hearts to care about the plight of others. We need to fend for ourselves and get a bigger share of the pie, before the magpie gets it.
Yes, I am saddened but not deterred. If anything, we should continue to engage with the elected MPs and show them that we expect, even demand, a compassionate society – a community where the interests of other animals and the environment are respected, a nation that was once the bedrock of progressive policies for other animals, leading the way in the world of animal protection, becomes a leader again.
Moreover, we will need to influence MEPs, as most agriculture and related regulations originate in Europe and will have to be implemented in the UK. The EU budget was set before the 2014 European Parliament Elections, which means that the current MEPs have to implement this, and their room for change may be somewhat limited. However, there is scope for progress. The second Pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy, the rural development policy, offers hope in reforming agriculture, making it more sustainable, focuses on preserving and enhancing ecosystems, and promotes a shift towards a low-carbon economy.
Vegan momentum is taking hold in Europe, perhaps even overtaking the UK. I will be attending a fruit and vegetables policy conference in Milan in June, organised by the French Aprifel & Interfel ‘Fruit et Légume’ professional and research organisations. MEPs, research organisations and academics, public health officials, and not-for-profit organisations will discuss how we can live healthier lives incorporating more fruit and veg. That’s an exciting prospect.
We need to continue to strongly pursue our agenda of promoting compassion for other animals, lowering our carbon footprint and encouraging healthier diets and lifestyles. Are you with me? Hell yes! | https://tasty-vegan.com/1379/ |
Applications connecting to a database server have always been vulnerable to connection breaks due to back-end failures and network instability. However, in a LAN based environment working against dedicated database servers these errors are rare enough that extra logic to handle those failures is not often required. With the rise of cloud based database servers such as Windows Azure SQL Database and connections over less reliable networks it is now more common for connection breaks to occur. This could be due to defensive techniques that cloud databases use to ensure fairness of service, such as connection throttling, or to instability in the network causing intermittent timeouts and other transient errors.
Connection Resiliency refers to the ability for EF to automatically retry any commands that fail due to these connection breaks.
DefaultExecutionStrategy: this execution strategy does not retry any operations, it is the default for databases other than sql server.
DefaultSqlExecutionStrategy: this is an internal execution strategy that is used by default. This strategy does not retry at all, however, it will wrap any exceptions that could be transient to inform users that they might want to enable connection resiliency.
DbExecutionStrategy: this class is suitable as a base class for other execution strategies, including your own custom ones. It implements an exponential retry policy, where the initial retry happens with zero delay and the delay increases exponentially until the maximum retry count is hit. This class has an abstract ShouldRetryOn method that can be implemented in derived execution strategies to control which exceptions should be retried.
SqlAzureExecutionStrategy: this execution strategy inherits from DbExecutionStrategy and will retry on exceptions that are known to be possibly transient when working with Azure SQL Database.
Execution strategies 2 and 4 are included in the Sql Server provider that ships with EF, which is in the EntityFramework.SqlServer assembly and are designed to work with SQL Server.
This code tells EF to use the SqlAzureExecutionStrategy when connecting to SQL Server.
The constructor of SqlAzureExecutionStrategy can accept two parameters, MaxRetryCount and MaxDelay. MaxRetry count is the maximum number of times that the strategy will retry. The MaxDelay is a TimeSpan representing the maximum delay between retries that the execution strategy will use.
The SqlAzureExecutionStrategy will retry instantly the first time a transient failure occurs, but will delay longer between each retry until either the max retry limit is exceeded or the total time hits the max delay.
The execution strategies will only retry a limited number of exceptions that are usually tansient, you will still need to handle other errors as well as catching the RetryLimitExceeded exception for the case where an error is not transient or takes too long to resolve itself.
By default, EF6 and later version will buffer query results rather than streaming them. If you want to have results streamed you can use the AsStreaming method to change a LINQ to Entities query to streaming.
Streaming is not supported when a retrying execution strategy is registered. This limitation exists because the connection could drop part way through the results being returned. When this occurs, EF needs to re-run the entire query but has no reliable way of knowing which results have already been returned (data may have changed since the initial query was sent, results may come back in a different order, results may not have a unique identifier, etc.).
When you have configured an execution strategy that results in retries, there are some limitations around the use of transactions.
By default, EF will perform any database updates within a transaction. You don’t need to do anything to enable this, EF always does this automatically.
For example, in the following code SaveChanges is automatically performed within a transaction. If SaveChanges were to fail after inserting one of the new Site’s then the transaction would be rolled back and no changes applied to the database. The context is also left in a state that allows SaveChanges to be called again to retry applying the changes.
When not using a retrying execution strategy you can wrap multiple operations in a single transaction. For example, the following code wraps two SaveChanges calls in a single transaction. If any part of either operation fails then none of the changes are applied.
This is not supported when using a retrying execution strategy because EF isn’t aware of any previous operations and how to retry them. For example, if the second SaveChanges failed then EF no longer has the required information to retry the first SaveChanges call.
One possible workaround is to suspend the retrying execution strategy for the piece of code that needs to use a user initiated transaction. The easiest way to do this is to add a SuspendExecutionStrategy flag to your code based configuration class and change the execution strategy lambda to return the default (non-retying) execution strategy when the flag is set.
Note that we are using CallContext to store the flag value. This provides similar functionality to thread local storage but is safe to use with asynchronous code - including async query and save with Entity Framework.
We can now suspend the execution strategy for the section of code that uses a user initiated transaction.
Another option is to manually use the execution strategy and give it the entire set of logic to be run, so that it can retry everything if one of the operations fails. We still need to suspend the execution strategy - using the technique shown above - so that any contexts used inside the retryable code block do not attempt to retry.
Note that any contexts should be constructed within the code block to be retried. This ensures that we are starting with a clean state for each retry. | https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/ef/ef6/fundamentals/connection-resiliency/retry-logic |
A cloud of dust billows up as the rickety state run bus leaves the bus stop. One hour back, en route to Bangalore from Srirangapatnam, Michelle, Nisha and I, spontaneously decided to get down at Channapatna – the land of toys. We head to the auto-rickshaw stand and hail a vehicle towards the toy factories. Although a couple of hours away, the weather here is sunny, hot and humid – a stark contrast to the cold and cloudy skies of Bangalore. A ten-minute bumpy ride later, we are on Tatekere Road, searching for a factory, hoping to see how these famous toys are made. The street is lined with small vegetable shops, vehicle repair workshops and small brick houses washed in bright colours. Halfway through the narrow lane, we spot a maroon board with Lacquerware Craft Complex painted on it in white.
The auto takes the turn into a large open field with rows of buildings covered with tin roofs on the right and a row of makeshift and semi brick houses on the left. A group of 6-7 young boys run towards our vehicle and crowd us.
“Is this a toy factory?” I ask them.
“Yes,” they say unanimously.
Two faces pop out of the first workshop to our left and a middle aged man motions us to come in saying, “Come, come. You want to see how the toys are made?”
“Yes,” this time we say, unanimously.
A distinct hum of running machines fills the air as we enter the workshop shed. At the far end of the huge room, three men are busy working on the machines that reach the ceilings. The man who called us in introduces himself as Dasharatha and then points to a man sitting at the far right corner saying, “Feel free to look around. You can ask him everything. Go ahead.”
We make our way across heaps of cut wood piled up on the floor to Muneer Pasha – a middle aged man, with thin graying hair and mustache, sitting precariously atop a wooden stool, working on a piece of wood attached to his workstation. Wearing a white sleeveless vest and a pair of sawdust covered trousers, he stops and looks up with his droopy eyes, as we greet him. His workstation is a muddle of wood chips, sawdust, and tools.
“What type of wood are these?” I ask him.
“We use either Milk Wood or Ivory Wood to shape the toy parts. Lac is mixed with different vegetable dyes to give natural colour and then pressed onto the wood before polishing it with lac polish and print paper. All the designs are carved after that. Sometimes designs are also hand painted by us,” he informs, “let me show you a sample,” and starts to make a toy part.
His calloused hands reach for a piece of raw wood and work swiftly on the machine as he shapes it into a perfect round piece with his chipping tool. Next, he takes a stick of coloured lac and presses it against the soft white wood, effectively turning it black and then with a piece of print paper polishes the piece. He draws a sharp pointed tool and with a swift motion carves two concentric rings before cutting out the finished piece from the raw part. Within a matter of minutes, a perfect piece of wooden craft is ready.
“I have been working in the toy factory for 24 years,” he tells me, “my father also worked here and now my 18-year-old son has also joined the factory.” He deftly keeps working on the machine as he says further, “There are more than 5,000 artisans working in Channapatna in various factories, most of them for generations. Almost every family has 3-4 members in this trade and it has been passed onto us as a legacy.”
“This is simply beautiful,” I chirp like a child, still admiring the small piece of toy part he just finished.
“It is not just toys, we also make key chains, bangles, bracelets, hair accessories, even napkin holders and coasters,” he tells us as he starts to fish into a gunny sack next to him and pulls out a handful of key chains with smiling faces painted on small round wooden surfaces. Seeing him, the other artisans also reach out for their respective wares and we are suddenly surrounded with a mélange of colourful knick-knacks of everyday use. They encourage us to buy a few things and we realise that the prices they are quoting are half of what we get in Bangalore. We indulge in a small shopping spree in that tin roofed factory.
Dasharatha, wearing a dark green tee shirt and trousers, now joins in and tells us proudly, “These toys we make, are not just playthings, they are informative too, like the abacus that we make. They are exported all over the world, even to Europe and USA.”
At his statement, I recall reading a news article about Michelle Obama being impressed with the organic nature and safe edges of these toys, on her recent visit to India and taking a few back to the White House as mementos. I tell Dasharatha about this news article and instantly he agrees, “Yes, they are very safe for children as they have no sharp edges and no harmful chemical paints.”
Their enthusiasm and pride in their art are almost infectious. However, I can’t help but notice the mediocre conditions they work in and still churn out hundreds of toys every day that brings so much joy to children. Conditions today are definitely much better than the earlier generations that have worked on the same factory floors, but their eagerness to make a sale, also tells a tale of wages that are nowhere close to the exquisite art that they are masters of.
After half an hour tour of the factory with these warm-hearted and welcoming artisans, we make our way back to the bus station with our bags filled with handcrafted wooden painted trinkets. | https://wanderingruminations.com/2013/09/23/the-toy-artisans-of-channapatna/ |
Joe enrolled in Transform Milwaukee Jobs in April 2015. A continuation of a statewide initiative launched in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Milwaukee program was one of many “demonstration projects” the stimulus bill funded that are considered transitional jobs programs.
Transitional jobs programs arrange temporary jobs for people who aren’t able to find their own, while also fully or partly subsidizing the wages for that worker. The aim is to make sure everyone who wants a job gets a fair shot at one. It’s not uncommon for employers to hire workers permanently once a program period ends, or for workers to find a permanent job during or shortly after, thanks to experience and often a reference from their transitional worksite. Advocates of transitional jobs programs include the co-author of $2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America.
Since 2013, Transform Milwaukee Jobs has gotten funding through Wisconsin’s federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families allocation. Joe, like 95 percent of its participants, is an ex-offender. (His last name has been withheld to protect his privacy.) Like 77 percent of participants, he also has child support orders. But out of 816 participants over the course of 2014 and 2015, Joe was one of about 200 who got temporary placement with the city of Milwaukee, through the Compete Milwaukee partnership.
“We wanted to find ways we could connect this to public safety, to neighborhood development, to some of the things that are priorities throughout the city, using workforce development to tie all these things together,” says Leslie Silletti, who led the effort to design and run Compete Milwaukee while she was part of Mayor Tom Barrett’s administration.
Silletti and her team realized the potential in leveraging the city as the largest worksite within the larger Transform Milwaukee Jobs program. Like any city government, there are multiple career paths, and a near endless stream of work to build and maintain infrastructure and public buildings. There’s plenty of office work too, though most Compete Milwaukee participants worked outdoors. Not only could the city provide so many different kinds of work experience, it could also improve public service delivery with some extra hands on deck.
The Compete Milwaukee team began by surveying their colleagues in other city departments, to find out what kinds of jobs could be filled by transitional workers. So far they’ve come up with a number of short-term positions in six departments, including the police department (the “MPD Ambassadors Program”).
“We had a 100 percent retention rate for participants in the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) positions,” Silletti says. “That’s unheard of in transitional jobs programs.”
There were 17 participants in the first MPD transitional jobs cohort, including a few participants from a program for young adults aging out of foster care. They graduated from Compete Milwaukee in December. Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn told the local Fox News channel that the program benefits the department because it’s a way to learn more about the community and increase diversity in the police force. (Ninety-four percent of Transform Milwaukee Jobs enrollees are African American.)
Other work included inspecting the 1,100-plus foreclosed properties owned by the city, making sure they do not fall into disrepair and blight, as part of Mayor Barrett’s Strong Neighborhoods Plan. For the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative, participants did transitional work as community organizers. Joe found placement in the Department of Public Works, with a streets crew.
Participants worked a maximum of 1,040 hours, doing at least 20 and no more than 40 hours a week. While the wage subsidy from Transform Milwaukee Jobs only covers the minimum wage in Wisconsin, which right now is the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, worksites may choose to pay participants above that. Compete Milwaukee participants received a minimum of $10.66 per hour. A living wage in Milwaukee for a single adult is around $10.33 an hour.
Compete Milwaukee also distinguished the city as a transitional jobs worksite by actively connecting with potential future employers to provide training and networking opportunities. They did it largely through the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP). Through WRTP’s signature Big Step program, Joe received the necessary training to eventually be hired at one of Milwaukee’s largest private employers as a tumble barrel machine operator making $13.06 an hour plus benefits.
Silletti says Compete Milwaukee is a model that could be continued and scaled within the city and adopted by other municipalities.
“Mentoring became an extension of a public service. People get excited by that,” she says. “Meanwhile we improved service delivery, while connecting these vulnerable individuals to career paths.”
So far, Silletti estimates about 30 of the 117 Compete Milwaukee participants in 2015 have already found permanent employment in the public or private sector. Some were hired by the agencies they worked for under Compete Milwaukee.
A few months ago, Silletti transitioned into a new role as vice president of policy and fund development for the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, which will be working with industry leaders in the region to develop transitional jobs programs as just one part of its work under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
“One of the phrases I heard early on in my career was ‘opportunity infrastructure,’” Silletti says. “We’re creating access points into opportunity infrastructure for people as well as for cities and companies that want to be part of that.”
The Equity Factor is made possible with the support of the Surdna Foundation.
Oscar is Next City's senior economics correspondent. He previously served as Next City’s editor from 2018-2019, and was a Next City Equitable Cities Fellow from 2015-2016. Since 2011, Oscar has covered community development finance, community banking, impact investing, economic development, housing and more for media outlets such as Shelterforce, B Magazine, Impact Alpha, and Fast Company. | https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/building-opportunity-infrastructure-in-milwaukee |
From National Affairs George Will writes The Limits of Majority Rule. I strongly recommend you read the entire essay.
an excerpt:
So, we must ask: How aberrant, or how frequent, are abusive majorities? A related but different question is: When legislatures, which are majoritarian bodies, act, how often are they actually acting on behalf of majorities? My belief, based on almost half a century observing Washington, the beating heart of American governance, is that as government becomes bigger and more hyperactive, as the regulatory, administrative state becomes more promiscuously intrusive in the dynamics of society and the lives of individuals, only a steadily shrinking portion of what the government does is even remotely responsive to the will of a majority.
Rather, the more that government decides that there are no legal or practical limits to its proper scope and actual competence, the more time and energy it devotes to serving the interests of minority — often very small minority — factions. So, paradoxically, as government becomes bigger, its actions become smaller; as it becomes more grandiose in its pretensions, its preoccupations become more minute.
HKO
This is a great irony that Will uncovers. The more our Progressive government sought to weigh democracy and majoritarianism over liberty the more it subverted majoritarian will by succumbing to special interests. Courts ruled that as long as laws had a rational basis dictated by a majoritarian election then judicial activists justified using the courts to uphold legislative action rather than enforce constitutional limits. Part of the explanation is the growth of the administrative state which gave way to the regulatory and welfare state. The micromanagement beginning under FDR led to intense lobbying and cronyism which subverted the interests of the majority. Progressivism which sought to counter the special interests and influence of the Gilded Age merely replaced the corruption with the official channels of registered lobbying. | https://www.rebelyid.com/2016/09/the-great-irony-of-majoritarianism/ |
World Health Day Sheds Light on the Internal Communications Demands of Frontline Medical Staff
Tuesday, April 7 marks the World Health Organization’s World Health Day. This annual observance couldn’t be more impactful as it is now during the COVID-19 pandemic as healthcare workers across the globe are on the front lines caring for patients.
From labs to testing sites to temporary tents to hospitals, these warriors are not only providing high-quality treatment and care, but also leading public dialogue to address fears and questions and, in some instances, collecting data for vital clinical studies.
This year’s World Health Day is focused on nurses and midwives. As technology continues to advance medical care, nurses have even expanded roles in performing life-saving procedures. That’s why communication with these front-line associates and physicians is so paramount to help deploy efficient and effective protocols, especially during this global pandemic.
Four years ago, St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s leadership understood how vital it was to engage associates spread across six different hospital locations and more than 100 physician and specialty offices. St. Elizabeth, a Cerkl client, with 10,000 associates, physicians, and volunteers working on various shifts and tasks ranging from cafeteria staff to neurosurgeons.
Developing a unified message with various hospital initiatives and important policy and protocol communications was top of mind as Sarah Wice-Courtney, Director of Communications and Public Relations.
“We have critical information that our employees need to know as well as hospital system news that they can elect to receive,” Sarah says. “Cerkl gives us the capability to create a truly personalized communications experience based on associate roles and interests. The result is automated, intelligent content delivery that is sent on associates’ preferred schedule and within the communications channel they choose.”
Targeting communications to associates plus giving them choice on delivery communications channel and time frame is the right formula that engages the entire workforce from cleaning staff to top specialty surgeons.
Through RSS feeds, St. Elizabeth is able to deliver a wide variety of content that reflects the diverse interests of its associates and well as compliance-driven communications. According to Sarah, shifting from the tight confines of a traditional newsletter has made the St. Elizabeth IC team “feel more like an online newsgroup.”
Lately, Sarah and her team have been working nonstop to communicate critical business continuity communications during the crisis. Having RSS feed from top medical and epidemiology sources auto-populate their content management system has allowed them to easily push out relevant pandemic content to inform their medical personnel.
Broadcast intranet personalization extends the personalized experience to St. Elizabeth’s intranet so associates and physicians can see what information is featured for them based on their job role and interests.
The St. Elizabeth Internal Communications team has received many positive associate reviews that specifically mention their love for their personalized newsletters. Cerkl matches associates’ personalized content preferences with company news that eliminates time spent weeding through emails that don’t affect their job roles or interests.
Greater engagement and the simplified flow of information is helping with associate retention, says St. Elizabeth’s Communications Coordinator, Chad Schwalbach. “Since our use of Cerkl, our open enrollment engagement continued to increase.”
Having sent over 35,000 communications so far with Cerkl, Sarah says it “allows us to make our newsletter a very reliable resource to our associates which contains relevant information that they want to hear and learn about.”
For more of our internal communications resources and tips, check out the Cerkl blog. | https://cerkl.com/blog/world-health-day-sheds-light-on-the-internal-comms-demands-of-frontline-medical-staff/ |
Spiritual Autobiography – Part 1 of 2by Richard Harvey on 04/14/20
This is the first of a two-part article on Spiritual Autobiography. In this article we explore thought, action, and emotion.
The first autobiography: thought
Biography means charting a life. Charting a life implies a narrative form: some beginning, some end, as we have briefly looked at, and "auto" of course means you do it. It is about you, considered and from your own perspective, you might say. There is another perspective and that is from another, another's view of you and your life. The autobiography of anyone begins curiously, not in their life as such, but in their mind, in their thought patterns. Everything we see, touch, taste, smell, and feel is subject to some interference, or we should say interpretation, by these patterns of thought. We impose those patterns. Thus it is almost impossible for us to look at the cloud or its reflection in the puddle without saying something like, Can you see that dragon in the sky? Or it looks like a face, a flying saucer, or a cat, and so on. We impose pattern by making associations and these associations are amplifications of our life's experience, images which we overlay, or repeated patterns we see over and over in our minds, the products of our thoughts, the extensions of our mind.
What if our biographical narrative is no more real than these images we "see" in the sky, in the reflections in the water? What if the sense we have of ourself traveling, evolving, making his or her way through life, are merely impressions, patterns of thought, a kind of stencil that our thought patterns insist everyone and everything in its way conform to?
The second autobiography: action
If the thought, narrative, pattern, or reflection is the first autobiography then the second is surely the action one. Everyone is the central hero in his or her own drama of life. You, like Odysseus, Parsifal, Randolph Scott, or Clint Eastwood ride into town and... ride out of town and in between, well that's another story. You are your own action hero and like modern movies you have to do to be seen, to make an impression; to be someone you must do. Always in the narratives of movies today there is doing, lots of doing. Even in Shakespeare you had to have people doing. In myths and fairy tales there is action and drama and dramatic tension from these actions. If no one does anything, there's not much to see and so not much grip or engagement or the required tension that feeds that sense of engagement, interest, and concern.
Movies about writers, for example, are just not that good, not that absorbing, usually. Similarly movies about meditating or other inward processes. We tend to join the protagonists, if you can call them that, in a kind of soporific state, when after all there's not enough doing to keep us awake and attentive. And this tends to be the case too in the outer, so-called real world. We need drama, crisis even, to sustain attention. The news media knows this, the novelist and short-story writer knows it too, just as the neighbor, the person you meet at the bus stop, and your friends or relatives who you meet periodically at social gatherings know it. They're all looking for the drama, for the sympathy, the pity, the involvement, the identification, the living by proxy, safely suffering through another, perhaps through you, in a vicarious sleight of hand that sustains and lives them.
We too in our lives perhaps covertly crave drama. Without some drama we may fall asleep. It is rather like ending. It is rather like death. It is rather like everything that in life we try to avoid endlessly. So the second level of biography reflects this fundamental need, the one to enact, to create dynamic tension and drama in relationships, in doing, acting, achieving, succeeding and failing, some novelty, some content—heaven forbid there should be none!—no content, that we should be blank is a terrible state and not one you should own up to and certainly not aspire to.
The third autobiography: emotion
So now we have the thought patterns of mind and the compulsive action level of biography. This then is followed by the third level and it is the emotional one. Everyone has some form of emotional biography, autobiography, going on. It is how we feel, our feeling engagement with life. Some people live this biography more than others of course. Some people are more centered, more governed by emotion than, say thought or action in which case this level of autobiography is the stronger of the three levels. When you are primarily an emotional person, when this is the principal corridor through which you meet experience, you see, experience, and interact with the world and are predominantly affected and motivated by feeling emotions.
Indeed some people's lives are exclusively motivated, even animated, by feeling emotions. Their decisions are all emotional ones. The primarily thinking person considers such folk irrational, illogical, impetuous. They do not understand them and their motives and they tend to look down at them. Much the same way as the head apparently presides over the body and the heart, the thinking-oriented person adopts a superior looking-down attitude to the emotional person and their exploits through life. The action person may be mystified by both the thinking and the emotionally-oriented person. Their access to life is through doing and sometimes thinking less and not feeling may mean they make rather superficial or uninformed decisions in their lives.
What should start to become apparent from this consideration is that we as human beings are thinking, acting, and feeling organisms. Surely there should be a way to be all these rather than only one? Surely we should be able to harmonize and make confluent these differing modes of experience and engagement to become more than a mere partial human being, a biased, imbalanced being that favors his or her apparently innate preferences?
Part 2 of this article will look at wholeness, transformation, and true nature.
Richard Harvey is a psycho-spiritual psychotherapist, spiritual teacher, and author. He is the founder of The Center for Human Awakening and has developed a form of depth-psychotherapy called Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) that proposes a 3-stage model of human awakening. Richard can be reached at [email protected]. | https://www.centerforhumanawakening.com/BLOG.html?entry=spiritual-autobiography-part-1-of |
Why do I fall asleep after I eat sugar?
Why do I fall asleep after I eat sugar?
Why do I fall asleep after I eat sugar?
When glucose formed by foods high in carbohydrates, the sugar causes insulin production to increase, resulting in a decrease in energy and an increase in tiredness. The amino acid, tryptophan, is also a well-known food ingredient that causes increased chances of being tired and falling asleep after eating.
Why do I fall asleep when my blood sugar is low?
Nocturnal hypoglycemia has been found to be a common cause of insomnia. When there is a drop in the blood glucose level, it causes the release of hormones that regulate glucose levels. These compounds stimulate the brain and are a natural signal that it is time to eat.
Is falling asleep a symptom of diabetes?
People who have diabetes often have poor sleep habits, including difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Some people with diabetes get too much sleep, while others have problems getting enough sleep.
Do diabetics get sleepy after eating sugar?
Diabetes. If someone with prediabetes or Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes feels tired after eating, it could be a symptom of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) may occur when too many sugars are consumed.
How do you detox from sugar?
Tips for cutting back on added sugar
- Swap sweetened drinks for water. Cut out sugary soda, fruit juice, and energy drinks and replace them with plain or sparkling water.
- Start your day the low sugar way.
- Read labels.
- Choose unsweetened snacks.
- Rethink dessert.
- Focus on your whole diet.
How do I stop my blood sugar from dropping at night?
What are some tips to prevent nighttime blood sugar level dips?
- Check your level before bed.
- Don’t skip dinner.
- Potentially adjust your exercise routine.
- Monitor your alcohol intake.
What is dangerously low blood sugar?
Low blood sugar is called hypoglycemia. A blood sugar level below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L) is low and can harm you. A blood sugar level below 54 mg/dL (3.0 mmol/L) is a cause for immediate action.
How long does it take your body to detox from sugar?
You may enter ketosis after cutting your carbohydrates to 50 grams per day, whereas someone else may need to cut them to 10 grams or under. It can take your body a few days to enter a state of ketosis.
What is a normal nighttime blood sugar?
Check your blood sugar level Your blood sugar goal at bedtime should be in the range of 90 to 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
Is it safe to sleep with low blood sugar?
Studies suggest that almost half of all episodes of low blood glucose — and more than half of all severe episodes — occur at night during sleep. Nocturnal hypoglycemia can be potentially dangerous.
Is 150 sugar level normal?
Ideally, blood glucose levels range from 90 to 130 mg/dL before meals, and below 180 mg/dL within 1 to 2 hours after a meal. Adolescents and adults with diabetes strive to keep their blood sugar levels within a controlled range, usually 80-150 mg/dL before meals. | https://www.onteenstoday.com/students-advice/why-do-i-fall-asleep-after-i-eat-sugar/ |
A Longitudinal Investigation of Periodontal Disease as a Risk Factor for Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in the PRIME STUDY
The Belfast PRIME study was set up by Professor Alun Evans to identify the reasons for the high levels of heart disease in men in Northern Ireland. Between 1991 and 1994 a group of 2745 men in Northern Ireland aged between 50 and 60 years was recruited. The men provided detailed information on their health, diet, physical activity, smoking behaviour and alcohol consumption. They had a baseline examination which included measurements of their height, weight, blood pressure, lung function and an ECG. Since the initial examination the development of heart disease and stroke in this group of men has been closely monitored.
The men in PRIME have been contacted at regular intervals and any changes in their medical history noted. The study is located at the RVH in close proximity to the Regional Medical Cardiology Centre which provides treatment for the majority of those in PRIME who have developed heart problems. Most such studies have stopped after 10 years, however, international experts have suggested that there are good scientific reasons for prolonged (20-year) follow-up in studies of heart disease and stroke such as PRIME. The steady reduction in the early onset of heart disease in recent years, due to improvements in public health and better focus on prevention, mean that the effects of atherosclerosis are presenting ever later in life resulting in the need for longer follow-up. PRIME is ideally placed because the stability of the local population and the willingness of the men to co-operate have resulted in excellent levels of compliance.
This study is also investigating the relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease. Periodontal disease is what is commonly referred to as gum disease and causes damage to the bone supporting the teeth and ultimately may lead to the loss of some or all the teeth. The study is looking at whether the specific bacteria in dental plaque are associated with heart disease or stroke
Periodontitis is widely known as gum disease; it is an inflammatory condition caused by the bacteria which build up on the surface of the teeth known as dental plaque. Almost two-thirds of those aged 65 or older have either moderate or severe periodontitis. Studies have suggested that it could increase the risk of later dementia. There is also evidence that nutritional status impacts upon cognition. We aim to carry out a cognitive assessment, along with analysis of fresh and stored blood samples and genetic analysis to ascertain if prior periodontitis and/or inflammation increase the risk of dementia. Participants are asked to complete short questionnaires about general health, dental health and diet; and anthropometric measurements (weight, height, waist circumference and grip strength) These additional measures will allow complete assessment of dental, cognitive status and nutrition during the 25-year follow-up of men in PRIME.
PRIME is a unique study and has improved our understanding of the reasons why some men get disease and some do not. | https://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/PRIMEStudy/ |
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Basilica of the Sagrada Familia
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About the place
The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia is a monumental church devoted to the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Construction began in 1882, based on plans drawn up by the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, and Antoni Gaudi was commissioned to continue the project in 1883.The Temple has always been an expiatory church, built only from donations. As Gaudi said: "The Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia is made by the people and is mirrored in them. It is a work that is in the hands of God and the will of the people." In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the site as a minor basilica. | https://www.triplisher.com/location/795056/Basilica%20of%20the%20Sagrada%20Familia%2C%20Barcelona%2C%20Spain |
Press Release:– The St.Lucia Civil Service Association (CSA) has been made aware of another round of transfers/promotions at the senior levels of the Public Service, which appears to be a continuation of the recent disturbing trend of interference by the political directorate in the operations of the Service.
- The Accountant General has been removed from that office on a lateral transfer to serve as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. We recently heard of criticisms leveled at the Treasury Department by a Government Minister and now we are seeing retaliatory action being taken by Government, because of the stance taken by the former Accountant General to defend her staff.
- The Acting Permanent Secretary in the Department of External Affairs was returned to her substantive post as a Deputy Permanent Secretary and transferred to the Department of Equity. The CSA has been made to understand this sudden move was related to the effort to bring closure to an outstanding matter with a vehicle belonging to a former diplomat, which presumably is not in sync with Government’s preference at this time.
- Finally, a new Acting Accountant General is in place for the next six (6) months. The CSA offers congratulations to him on his temporary promotion and is hopeful that the individual continues to maintain the professional standard set by previous holders of the post and will not be dissuaded from his fiduciary duties by pressures exerted from above.
The CSA has observed that the Government continues to play around with the Public Service, as if engaged in a game of musical chairs.
Government as an employer must be held to a higher standard and should never manipulate the system in a manner that causes its employees to be treated unfairly and unjustly.
We call on the members of the Public Service Commission (PSC) to demonstrate their independence as envisioned by the provisions of our Constitution and ensure that fairness, reasonableness and justice is always exercised in matters of discipline, transfers and promotions.
These recent transfers/promotions appear to be triggered by persons and events outside the realm of Public Service and do not consider the experience, competences and the suitability of the individuals for the respective positions.
CSA will continue to speak out against this disturbing trend, which if not curtailed, will only serve to further undermine the impartiality, neutrality and professional integrity of the Public Service. | https://stluciatimes.com/csa-speaks-out-against-continued-political-interference-in-public-service/ |
Why is Deion Sanders in a wheelchair? Health condition updated
Why is Deion Sanders in a wheelchair? Health condition of the Jackson State coach updated after recent appearance in win over Southern. It’s been a difficult for weeks for Deion Sanders who has missed the Tigers’ last three games due to a serious medical issue. However, on Saturday he...
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Jackson State Tigers head football coach Deion Sanders has been missing from the sideline for his team’s last two games and it’s been revealed that he underwent several surgeries. Sanders, who was also recently recovering from a surgery on his foot, used social media to update his fans that he had several other undisclosed operations but was on the mend.
Good news from Deion Sanders -- the Jackson State football coach just gave an update on his current status after suffering complications from foot surgery ... and he's out of the hospital!!. Coach Sanders recently had a setback during recovery from surgery he had on his dislocated toe -- an...
Jackson State coach Deion Sanders is poised to miss his second consecutive game this weekend amid health concerns. Sanders did not coach Jackson State’s win against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, and is expected to miss this Saturday’s contest against Mississippi Valley State, according to John Brice of Football Scoop. Sanders is still recovering from foot surgery in September, and is now hospitalized in a Jackson-area hospital due to an unspecified illness.
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It seems that Prime Time will most likely not be coming to Fort Worth. According to a report from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Drew Davison, Deion Sanders impressed TCU officials during his interview for the program’s vacant head coaching job, but TCU has decided to focus on targets with more experience. Sanders, Davison reported, is still on TCU’s list, however. He has not been ruled out entirely.
Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Coach Deion Sanders said Jackson State football players "acted like idiots," and he apologized for a postgame celebration that followed the Tigers' latest victory over Southern. Sanders made the apology through a video he posted Sunday night on Instagram. The Tigers beat Southern 21-17 on Saturday...
Deion Sanders was finally back on the sidelines this week for Jackson State after missing the past couple of games due to complications from surgery to fix a gnarly foot issue that has plagued him since his playing days. He clearly wasn’t at full strength, though, as he was relegated...
TCU star running back Zach Evans wants Deion Sanders to be his next head coach. The Horned Frogs parted ways with Gary Patterson earlier this season in a fairly surprising move. Now, they’re on the search for a new head coach. Believe it or not, Sanders is in consideration for...
Over the past few weeks, Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders hasn’t been on the sideline for the Tigers due to health concerns. Unfortunately, it sounds like the former NFL star won’t be there again today. In late September, he underwent surgery to repair a foot injury that has plagued him for several years.
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Deion Sanders is in his first full season as Jackson State’s head coach and has already had success. “Prime Time” has Jackson State at 9-1 this season and 7-0 in conference. This comes after they went 4-3 in the shortened spring season. Between his immediate success at Jackson State and...
Ever since TCU’s head coaching job became open, Deion Sanders has been linked. The Fort Worth-Star Telegram reported he interviewed for the job and impressed Horned Frog officials. When asked about being linked with the job, Sanders was able to put some of the rumors to bed on Monday. He...
Coach Prime could be on his way out of historically Black colleges and universities. On Nov. 9, The Fort-Worth Star Telegram reported Deion Sanders is “in the mix” to become the next head coach at TCU, a Power 5 program under the Big 12 Conference. He interviewed for the job on Nov. 8, according to the report. The Power 5 conferences consist of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. The source noted to the Texas outlet while the Jackson State coach is in the running, it doesn’t guarantee he’ll get the job or even if he’s a “leading candidate at this point.”
Deion Sanders has been dealing with a health issue that has caused him to miss coaching Jackson State for the last three games. Not much about his condition has been shared publicly. Even interim coach Gary Harrell said that they are somewhat kept in the dark about Deion’s status. Sanders’...
Coach Prime gave way to Deion Sanders the father on Saturday. But it didn't just start on the sidelines at Mumford Stadium.
The post Deion Sanders is influential as a father as well as coach appeared first on HBCU Gameday.
As TCU looks to fill its coaching vacancy, Deion Sanders has emerged in the mix of possible candidates to fill that spot. As Sanders has recovered from foot surgery, he was reportedly interviewed for the gig on Monday and impressed in his interview. But his Jackson State players and coaches...
Deion Sanders is on the road to recovery and got back out to the practice field. And he had some unexpected company, too.
The post Deion Sanders visited by mom as he returns to practice appeared first on HBCU Gameday.
Deion Sanders returned to the sideline. Jackson State made a familiar visit to the win column. But Saturday night's Southwestern Athletic Conference tilt between the Tigers and host Southern University Jaguars will most be discussed for the on-field brawl after the game. Jackson State, which entered the game ranked No.... |
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